"Utaha, are you awake?"
"I'm awake, please come in."
Roy pushed open the door.
Utaha had probably just woken up. She was sitting on the bed, wearing a bright yellow nightgown. A scabbed collarbone was still visible at the neckline, but her eyes were already clear.
"About this morning—thank you, and also, I'm sorry."
Roy walked over to the bedside and sat down, sincerely apologizing to Utaha.
Although he had been in a state of lost sanity at the time, he still felt uneasy for having given a young girl such a terrible first experience.
"Let me help heal your injuries."
Roy reached out his hand and drew healing runes on Utaha's body.
"This morning was my own choice."
Utaha felt the gentle warmth coming from her injuries and was surprised at how versatile Roy's magic was.
"I was being willful before, and Lady Illya helped dull the pain, so there's no need for Lord Roy to apologize."
After all, her status was merely that of an attendant.
Even if she were to die in his household, it probably wouldn't have much impact on Roy.
But Roy treated her like a person—an equal in terms of personality.
To thank and apologize like this was also a form of respect rooted in equality, and this gave Utaha great comfort, knowing how dark the mystical world could be.
"Then take this—consider it a gift of apology."
Roy took a charm wrapped in pink from his chest and handed it to her.
"What is this?"
Perhaps because she had recently awakened her magic circuits, Utaha could feel that the charm was unusual, with a faint magical energy flowing within.
"A rune charm I specially made. In all of Fuyuki City, my charm-making skills are second to none."
Roy smiled, looking very confident in the charm he had made.
Of course he was.
His Mystic Eyes Inverted Moon could control all spells—not just to control the opponent's, but also to enhance his own and allow them to perform at peak levels.
It was as if the spell itself was striving for greatness.
Maximizing its power.
Back when he fought the Lancer-class master and servant, he had created over two hundred runes in a single breath. That was thanks to the power of his Mystic Eyes, which allowed him to control the runes and even have them generate more runes on their own.
Otherwise, even someone like Touko couldn't create over two hundred runes in a single breath.
In magical combat, Roy's Mystic Eyes were invincible.
Naturally, the charms he made were of the highest quality.
When he was short on money, he'd sell some of the charms he made to support the household.
"I actually meant to give it to you earlier, but I didn't have time these past two days."
Roy continued, "But now is just right. The charms I make aren't disposable trash. As long as you replenish them with mana, you can keep using them. Now that you've awakened your magic circuits, you can make full use of the charm's power."
The charm's main use was defense—against both physical attacks and magical interference—with some minor auxiliary effects.
"Then I'll gladly accept it."
Utaha was very interested, and without putting on airs, she accepted it without hesitation.
"Right, there's one more thing."
Roy suddenly remembered, "There are magical divinations in this world that can detect the status of people close to you. If your family has also come to this world, you should be able to divine their whereabouts. At that time, just bring them here under my name."
"Really?"
"Of course."
"Thank you, Lord Roy!"
Utaha thanked him excitedly.
"Dinner is ready. I'll bring it over to you."
"I can get out of bed..."
"Alright, until you're fully recovered, don't move around unnecessarily."
Roy gently pressed her back into the bed.
Then he stood up and left the room, heading toward the kitchen.
Utaha's lips curled up involuntarily, and when she noticed, she quickly suppressed the smile, grabbed her pillow, buried her face in it, and rubbed her cheeks against it like crazy.
Her whole body ached faintly, and even her walking posture would clearly give away that something had happened. But more than anything, Roy's attitude was what warmed her heart the most.
Although she had said it countless times before—Roy truly was the moral compass among magi.
It wasn't until she started learning magecraft later that she truly realized how rare a magus like Roy was.
He practically lived in a different world from other magi.
His attentiveness gave people that impression—
—As if he was purposefully rebelling against what it meant to be a magus.
At dinner—
"Miss Touko? Long time no see."
Rin showed up almost exactly on time, unexpectedly bowing to Touko.
"Don't mind me, just pretend I'm not here."
Touko replied with a cheerful smile.
Roy brought Utaha her meal, then returned to the living room to find Rin had arrived.
"Rin, how's the situation now?"
He had been unconscious most of the day and had no idea what had been going on in the Holy Grail War. Roy asked Rin for the latest intel.
"The good news is, there are only two Blackened Servants left."
Rin didn't act like a guest, taking the chopsticks from Hayasaka and sitting down at the table.
"Last night, while we were fleeing for our lives from the Blackened Saber and Berserker, Bazett and Caster managed to take out the Blackened Assassin."
Whoa, that was fast!
Bazett really was a beast in battle—taking out two Blackened Servants in one night. Her strength and willpower were no joke. She probably had five Command Seals by now.
"The bad news is, Blackened Saber and Berserker have completely disappeared from our surveillance. No one knows where they went."
Rin looked helpless, even troubled.
"Even worse, the boundary field is even more damaged than yesterday. At this rate, a spirit might find a weakness in the field and slip into the city!"
And when that happens, it'll be a disaster.
The kinds of spirit disasters—vengeful spirits, cursed spirits, etc—that had occurred in other cities would start to invade Fuyuki City.
"Haven't you found the cause?"
"The boundary field's anchor points are all intact. The only other possibility is the leyline, but it's huge. Checking it would take forever."
"A pile of troublesome issues..."
"Now that three of the five Blackened Servants are dead and the other two have vanished, it's almost like they're gone altogether."
Rin's face darkened slightly.
"From here on, it's probably time for this generation's Masters to start fighting each other."
Hayasaka's movements subtly froze.
She glanced cautiously between Roy and Rin. Seeing that the atmosphere between them was still fine, she let out a quiet breath.
If these two did end up fighting, judging by their relationship, it would probably be a fair, face-to-face battle.
That's what she personally hoped for, too.
Otherwise, stuck between them like this, she'd be in real danger.
***
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