Sluurp—
The hot noodles slid down Shiomi's throat, settling warmly in his stomach. Instantly, he felt revived.
He took another sip of the fresh broth. It was just a simple bowl of bone broth noodles, but on a cold winter night, it hit the spot perfectly.
Lifting his gaze, he glanced at Morgan.
She was also quietly savoring the noodles he had made.
The broth came from the leftover stock at dinner, and the noodles were handmade earlier that day.
If not for the Holy Grail War, spending a few quiet days in Fuyuki with Morgan like this would've been exactly what Shiomi wanted.
"How is it?" Shiomi asked.
"Tastes just like always. Like something you'd find at an old, long-established shop," Morgan replied calmly, pausing with her spoon. "Well, that makes sense. I have been eating it for years."
"Haha..." Shiomi let out an awkward chuckle.
He hadn't expected Morgan to share the same appreciation for these small comforts.
Their patrol through the city had yielded nothing beyond encountering Ruler Gilgamesh and his Master, so they'd returned home.
Feeling hungry, Shiomi made some soup noodles as a late-night snack—and to warm up.
Unlike magical cold-resistance, the warmth from food gave a completely different kind of comfort.
On TV, the late-night news was playing, but there was nothing new to report. It was as if the Holy Grail War had never even begun.
"But thinking about it now... with Ruler summoned, it probably means that the moment we set foot back in Fuyuki, we were already part of the Holy Grail War, included by the Greater Grail," Shiomi said, looking down at his half-eaten noodles.
"That's a fair interpretation. Apparently, Fuyuki's Grail system can assess exceptional cases," Morgan said, picking at a side dish in the center of the table with her chopsticks. "Before we returned, the Grail War was following standard procedure. Even the irregular appearance of that Caster wouldn't have disrupted the Grail's selection."
Though the ritual was created by the Tohsaka, Matou, and Einzbern families, it wasn't designed to favor any one of them.
Their only advantage was their deep understanding of the system, built up over generations of preparation.
"That Berserker was seriously tough. Even Saber and Archer together couldn't take him down completely," Shiomi said, recalling their first clash.
Perhaps because their attempt to secure victory in the previous war by recruiting outside Magi had failed, the Einzbern this time opted for a more controllable Lesser Grail—and summoned a Berserker without self-awareness.
The previous Saber—Artoria—had ultimately rejected the Grail, choosing instead to help purify the Greater Grail before disappearing. That must have dealt a heavy blow to the Einzbern.
"Most likely he turned his own legend into a resurrection-type Noble Phantasm," Morgan said, raising an eyebrow. "That Berserker must have been quite the warrior in life."
"Any idea what his true name is?" Shiomi asked, then added, "...You've got the breadth of knowledge, so I figured you might guess it more easily."
Morgan stirred the chopped scallions floating in the soup with her chopsticks. "And if I don't know?"
"Then we'll find another way." Shiomi gave up without hesitation. "I was just being hopeful. I can't treat you like a walking encyclopedia."
"You're actually pretty curious, aren't you?" Morgan said suddenly.
"Curious?" Shiomi blinked in surprise.
"About where I came from. And why... I know you so well." For once, Morgan brought up the topic herself.
Since the Fourth Holy Grail War, they'd shared an unspoken understanding.
Shiomi never asked about Morgan's past, and Morgan never offered it.
It wasn't out of secrecy or reluctance—but for a much simpler, and more unsettling reason.
That reason was called "the future."
"If you think about it carefully, it's obvious," Shiomi said with a helpless smile. "I'd never seen you before the Fourth Holy Grail War, but your reaction back then... you clearly knew who I was."
That ruled out the past—and the present they were experiencing—leaving only the "future."
"The Throne of Heroes isn't bound by time. As long as the conditions are right, summoning a Servant from the future isn't impossible," Morgan said, resting her chin on one hand. "As expected of my husband—sharp intuition."
"What's there to praise?" Shiomi resumed slurping his noodles. "Any Magus would figure that out eventually."
So...
That was why Shiomi had asked Morgan earlier.
If she really was from the future, she might already know how the Fuyuki Holy Grail War played out—or perhaps she had other reasons for knowing about the Servants involved.
"So, do you still want to ask?" Morgan circled back to the earlier question.
"...Let me confirm something first. Is this part of the 'result' in the quantum fixed record already locked in?" Shiomi asked, head lowered.
"Hard to say," Morgan replied, sounding a little wistful. "There's a slight anomaly in this case."
"In that case, never mind," Shiomi said, giving up on the idea.
To him, this was still the "present." But for Morgan, it was something akin to "reliving the past."
If the "result" was already fixed, then as long as he didn't interfere with it directly, he could still interact with the "process."
Even so, he wasn't sure whether trying to learn Berserker's true name from Morgan counted as crossing that line.
"I was just teasing," Morgan suddenly said, reaching over with her chopsticks and plucking a fish cake from Shiomi's bowl. "It's just the name of a Greek hero. Heracles might not be your average Heroic Spirit, but knowing his true name isn't enough to shake the quantum fixed record."
"Seriously..." Shiomi felt like he'd been played. He was frustrated—but powerless to do anything about it.
He was always weak against this type of sharp, composed woman.
His master had been like that. So was Touko.
Morgan's eyes narrowed, her smile turning sly. "Compared to my husband, that so-called great hero still falls far short."
"What's the point of putting me on a pedestal?" Shiomi grumbled, trying to reclaim his fish cake—but his chopsticks were intercepted halfway. "Still, looking at it now, the Servant lineup this time is insanely strong."
Archer's true name remained unknown, but his flexible combat style—capable of both long- and close-range engagement—and the way he used Noble Phantasms like consumables...
If his actual Noble Phantasm was some kind of armory, it might be able to go toe-to-toe with Gilgamesh's "Gate of Babylon."
"So, what's your take?" Morgan raised a brow, her expression calm, voice cool as distant mountains. "Ultimately, the other Servants don't matter. The only real threat is Caster—the King of Magecraft."
"Don't act like every other hero is just background noise!" Shiomi protested. "Ugh, forget it—just eat your noodles before they get soggy."
...
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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