Fate: How About a New Savior?

Shiomi caught a faint scent at the tip of his nose. He slowly adjusted his breathing, opened his eyes, and ended his meditation.

Dream-entering Magecraft came with significant limitations. To infiltrate the Lion King's mind—especially without any preparation or even certainty that she dreamed—he needed a catalyst.

It was a small stroke of fortune that the Lion King hadn't discarded the Rune Stone.

...Even if the negotiation still ended in failure.

He glanced to the side. Caren and Sakura were walking toward him.

At the base of the hill he sat on, the army had set up camp. Dawn was just breaking, and the camp was already busy cooking and eating in preparation for the coming battle.

"We can march in an hour. Do you want to rest a bit longer, Dad?" Sakura sat beside him on a large rock, while Caren took a seat on his other side.

"No need, I'm ready," Shiomi said with a smile, shaking his head. He reminded them again, "Sieging Camelot is exceptionally difficult. Whatever you do, don't act recklessly."

"Mother said that city is the embodiment of the Holy Lance. Unless the gates are opened from within, ordinary methods won't break through," Caren added.

"Don't worry, I'll figure something out," Shiomi nodded. "How's everyone else?"

"According to Chaldea, the Director and her group—with the Divine Beasts and their handlers—are already in position and can start the feint on the western front at any time," Sakura replied calmly.

"Good," Shiomi nodded again.

Just as he was about to stand, he caught the girls exchanging glances, as if they wanted to say something but were hesitating.

"What is it? Don't keep things bottled up, not with me," Shiomi said in mock exasperation. "If you're not going to say anything, I'll head down to prepare for the march."

He stood up briskly, ready to descend the hill along the path.

"...Dad..." Sakura frowned slightly, pouting in frustration.

"So you realized you couldn't hide it and decided to run," Caren said.

Shiomi froze. "Hide what? It's not like I've done anything shady…"

Even his relationships with Morgan and his Master were open secrets. They simply kept things low-key in public to avoid negative perceptions.

"Don't listen to Caren, Dad." Sakura sighed, visibly exasperated. "It's just... we split up from Mother and went to the Atlas Institute—"

Shiomi already knew. It was thanks to the records at the Atlas Institute that they'd learned the true name of the Servant who lent Mash her power and uncovered the broad outlines of the Lion King's plan.

However... the Tri-Hermes Tower, the medium that recorded everything at the Atlas Institute, hadn't just logged those two details.

If someone wanted to look up anything else, it would've been easy.

Like information on Tenkei Shiomi himself.

"Judging by your expressions, you looked into me while you were there, didn't you?" Shiomi feigned hurt. "After living together for over twenty years, I never expected you two to still suspect me."

He sold it well, and given how open their relationship was, always speaking frankly with one another, Sakura was clearly flustered and quickly waved her hands in denial.

"No, no, it's not like that—"

"Do you really think that, Dad?" Caren wasn't buying it.

Shiomi shrugged. "Of course not. There's no way you'd think of digging into my past. Someone else must've been at the Atlas Institute and got curious about who I really am. Was it Zepia?"

If it was Zepia of this era, that wouldn't be surprising.

Sakura then told him everything about what had happened at the Atlas Institute, including Holmes' request not to reveal his existence to outsiders.

"I see... Holmes..." Shiomi nodded in understanding. So that was why the Mage's Association data on the London Singularity had already been compiled in advance.

But could a modern detective, a character from fiction, really appear across different Singularities just because of the Counter Force?

That wasn't important now. There were more pressing matters than that detective.

"As for the question you couldn't find an answer to at the Atlas Institute... I don't have an answer either," Shiomi said apologetically to the two girls. "It's something I've never known. Lately, I've had a few brief flashes of unfamiliar memories, but I still don't know what they mean."

"So even Dad doesn't know," Caren nodded.

Unlike Sakura, she had always been sharper and more perceptive. From a young age, she'd noticed that their father had no other family—no parents, no relatives, no one ever mentioned.

Until she heard the intel Sakura brought back, she assumed he had a background similar to her own.

"But... I feel a lot better now," Sakura said with a small, regretful smile that gradually relaxed.

She and Caren hadn't come looking for answers. What really bothered them was the uncomfortable feeling of having "investigated" their father behind his back, even if they hadn't meant to. They just wanted to talk it through.

"There's no need to put that weight on yourselves. Everyone has a few secrets. And you're not kids anymore," Shiomi said as he reached out, gently patting both of their heads. "I don't need to keep lecturing you about right or wrong. Don't let it eat at you."

Sakura was quickly cheered up. "Of course I have secrets too."

Shiomi raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What kind of secrets?"

"...You just said all that, and now you're already prying," Caren said as she pulled his hand off her head. "You're such a terrible adult, Dad."

"Curiosity is a basic human instinct," Shiomi replied with mock seriousness. "You can just not tell me."

"You're still the same, always twisting logic. And to think humanity's future rests on someone like you... how bleak," Sakura teased, smiling as she enjoyed the head pats.

Shiomi pulled his hands away and gave each of them a gentle flick to the forehead.

"Don't forget, you two are amazing adults in your own right." He stepped back, striking a mock-scolding pose with hands on hips, though his tone was completely light. "By Sakura's standards, we're all cut from the same cloth."

That got both of them laughing again. Shiomi turned and began heading down the mountain.

"No matter who you are, where you came from, or what happens next... I'm your daughter, and I'll always believe in you!" Sakura cupped her hands and shouted into the wind.

Shiomi turned back, surprised, and saw Caren nodding as well.

He couldn't help but smile.