Fate: How About a New Savior?

"So, in the end, the Aristocratic Faction, the Democratic Faction, and the Neutral Faction all agreed to pretend the Grand Roll never happened, huh?"

Half a month had passed since the end of the Fifth Holy Grail War.

Caren, now back in Fuyuki, recounted the Grand Roll meeting—which Shiomi was supposed to attend—and everything that had led up to it.

"I heard it was Ms. Touko Aozaki who explained things to the Neutral Faction, but only those who attended the briefing really know what was said," Gray added softly.

Incidentally, Gray had flown in with Caren, her first time ever leaving Britain, and now found herself in faraway Fuyuki, Japan.

A foreign land, unfamiliar surroundings, and unfamiliar people.

Precisely because everything was unfamiliar, no one paid her any special attention. To her surprise, Gray found she actually liked the feeling of being in a foreign country.

"Touko really has it rough," Shiomi said with a weary sigh.

Caren gave a sly grin. "Isn't it dad's side that has it rough? She lost a carefully prepared Holy Grail War. Sakura must've taken it hard, don't you think?"

"She cried for a bit, said she wasn't good enough because she couldn't beat the Lord of the Department of Astromancy," Shiomi replied with a sigh.

Sakura had been in low spirits for a few days after that, but with Rin keeping her company, she recovered fairly quickly.

The Holy Grail War was always a life-or-death battlefield—just surviving it was already a stroke of luck.

The three of them were walking through the streets of Shinto.

Having heard that Shiomi had purchased another house, Caren half-jokingly told him he should prepare a coming-of-age gift for her, too.

So Shiomi brought her to Shinto to check out the local properties.

...Though in the end, Caren didn't find any that she liked.

It was a rare day without driving, so as they walked, Shiomi took the chance to go over everything that had happened with the Grand Roll.

Dr. Heartless had vanished without a trace, and Faker Hephaestion was also missing.

Still, Shiomi had a different feeling about it—unlike Kirei Kotomine ten years ago, who vanished without even a corpse, this man named Heartless probably really had reached the end of his life.

"Speaking of which, I'm planning to stay in Fuyuki until summer before heading back to the Clock Tower. Lord Valualeta's already handled everything over there anyway..."

Shifting away from the topics of the Grand Roll and the Holy Grail War, Shiomi turned to Caren and Gray to talk about what came next. Just as he was about to ask for Gray's opinion, a worker unloading goods on the roadside lost his grip, and two large boxes came tumbling toward him.

Shiomi calmly reached out and steadied the boxes, helping the worker lower them safely.

"I'm really sorry... It's my first day doing this, so I'm still not very good at it..."

The voice was timid and uncertain. The man slowly straightened up, revealing orange hair and bright green eyes under a standard-issue baseball cap.

His features were delicate and rather pleasant to look at, but the way he forced himself to seem upbeat made his whole face look strangely strained.

But that was the least of it.

"You are…?" Shiomi narrowed his eyes slightly.

The man clearly recognized him. He took off his cap. "I'm Romani Archaman now. Kind of surprising to bump into you like this. Though I guess it's not all that unexpected—this is Fuyuki, after all."

"I see. So that's what's going on." Shiomi immediately grasped the situation and extended a hand. "What brings you here, Mr. Archaman?"

Romani took his hand. "Oh, nothing much. Just working and studying. And please, just call me Romani. No need to be so formal."

"Studying, huh..." Shiomi gave a puzzled but understanding smile. "Still, with your background, physical labor seems a bit—"

"It's necessary," Romani interrupted, his expression turning briefly serious. "Besides, I'm only in Fuyuki temporarily to get a feel for the place. I'll probably leave by next month."

"I see." Shiomi nodded.

"Didn't expect you to recognize me right away... It's a little unsettling," Romani admitted, scratching the back of his neck with a troubled look.

"Don't worry about it. Aside from him, I'm probably the only one who'd recognize you," Shiomi replied calmly. "You could say I've been through the land of the dead—I'm a bit sensitive to souls."

"You're impressive. Both as a person and as a Magus," Romani said.

Shiomi gave a slight smile. "If someone else said that, I'd think they were just flattering me. But coming from you, it sounds kind of backhanded. I'd love a rematch with you, though I doubt that's possible now."

"If we fought again, I'd probably be taken out instantly in this state," Romani said with a wry smile, shaking his head.

"Hard to say." Shiomi didn't fully agree with his modesty.

At that moment, a coworker leaned out of the store and called for Romani to get back to work.

"Ah, right, right. I'm still on the clock. We'll talk more another time." Romani hoisted the box again and headed into the shop.

"It's fine, go on."

As Romani disappeared into the store, Shiomi resumed walking down the street with Caren and Gray.

"Who was that?" Caren asked.

"An old acquaintance," Shiomi said vaguely. "We go back a bit."

He hadn't expected the King of Magecraft, Solomon, to use his Holy Grail wish to reincarnate as an ordinary human.

Unlike simply gaining a body, this was a complete rejection of his past identity—for a new life.

In a way, it was a kind of reincarnation.

Shiomi couldn't quite grasp Romani's mindset, but for now, he chose to keep the truth—that he was the King of Magecraft—to himself.

After all, to give up such a special identity and become an ordinary person... Shiomi couldn't help but feel a bit reflective about it.

"He looked kind of timid and weak," Caren remarked.

"Don't be like that. Anyone would feel uneasy in a foreign place," Shiomi said, ruffling her hair.

"That's just the first impression. After hearing him talk to Dad for a bit, I don't think he's a bad person," Caren added honestly.

Gray shared her thoughts. "He seemed really serious, like someone carrying a heavy burden..."

"Whoa, dramatic much?" Shiomi chuckled, gently steering the conversation away. "Anyway, didn't I say we'd head back in the summer? What do you think, Gray?"

"Summer..." Gray fell into thought. She wasn't sure what she could do in Japan.

She'd probably just end up staying at home all day.

"Japanese mystery novels are really well developed. Might as well stock up on some original editions while you're here," Caren suggested.

"Yeah."

As Caren shared more about Japan with Gray, Shiomi slowed his pace as they turned a corner.

He cast one last glance at Romani, still unloading boxes, and thought of Gilgamesh and his companion, wondering if they'd already left.

'What would Gilgamesh say if he saw this?'