30 Chapter 30: A letter from Tacitus
(Titus's POV)
I glanced at the mission rewards, curiosity piqued. Despite completing the mission, I delayed opening the rewards. After all, I had just spent two decades in my dream reality, and I needed time to shake off the warm memories of raising those children.
[Congratulations! You have received the following rewards]
[Passive skill: Foster Saint's Love A]
[Passive Skill: Presence Concealment B]
[Luck: 1500]
[Skill 'Enhance' upgraded]
[LCs: 200,000]
"Holy moly! These skills are impressive," I exclaimed as the rewards I received had far surpassed my expectations. My high luck was likely due to my stellar performance, and the LCs would undoubtedly prove useful for upgrading my skill set.
It was then I saw a new notification.
[The skills (Saint's Love A) and (Golden Rule D) can be merged. Would you like to combine them?]
"Wait, I can merge these skills?" I hesitated, concerned about potential compromises in their effects.
[Yes. While some effects might be compromised, new effects will be much better.]
"Well, if you say so, then merge these skills…"
[Congratulations. You now have a new passive skill: (Saint's Golden Rule B)]
[Saint's Golden Rule B
Effect 1: 15% overall increase in wealth monthly.
Effect 2: 1.5x return for any host 'donates' to others.
Effect 3: Skills of a 'Good Parent' like fostering children and cooking.]
I couldn't believe the power of this skill. It was simply 'BROKEN.'
"This is basically a shortcut to getting rich without effort!"
Let's say I have $100 today. In a month, it would grow to $115. And if I donate $100 to anyone, I'd instantly get $115 back. I could exploit this skill endlessly!
"I should do some charity work later on…" I mused. Despite my newfound wealth from the first mission, why stop there? I never knew how much money I might need in the future.
"By the way, what's this 'Enhance' skill option?" I was puzzled. Skill level-up was clear, but the 'enhance' part was confusing me.
[It means you can upgrade already effective effects. It won't change the rank but enhances the effects. It's available for certain skills.]
I checked the skill options and found only (Imperial Manager A) and (Force Slow C). Upgrading the first seemed pointless, so I opted for the latter.
[Congratulations. Enhancement complete. (Force Slow C) -> (Force Control C)]
[Force Control C
Effects: Slow down time around the Host by 50% for two seconds. You can also attract or push using gravitational force.
Cooldown: 1 hour
Cost: 2 MP]
"This is much better!" I exclaimed. Excited, I glanced at an apple on my desk. Grinning, I chanted the name of my move, "Almighty Push!" In an instant, an invisible force sent the apple flying off my table.
"This is AMAZING! I feel INCREDIBLE. YES. YES. YES. YES. I can win! I feel great! I can do this!" I cheered, then realized I looked stupid. I coughed awkwardly and returned to my desk, deciding to upgrade more skills.
---
[You have spent 55,000 LCs. (Force Control C) -> (Force Control A)]
[Force Control A
Effects: Slow down time around the Host by 90% for 3 seconds. You can also attract or push using gravitational force.
Cooldown: 15 minutes
Cost: 1 MP]
---
[You have spent 50,000 LCs. (Saint's Golden Rule B) -> (Saint's Golden Rule A)]
[Saint's Golden Rule A
Effect 1: 20% overall increase in wealth monthly.
Effect 2: 2x return for any host 'donates' to others.
Effect 3: Skills of a 'Best Parent' like fostering children and cooking.]
---
I then tapped on my [Status] bar to see the final result.
---
[[Status]]
Name: Titus Dusklock
Age: 19
Elements: Light (Special)
Level: 20 (EXP: 42/6262)
…
Parameters:
STR: 25
MAG: 28
END: 23
AGI: 24
LUC: 1510
Additional SPs: 20
…
HP: 125
MP: 135
…
Passive Skills: (Imperial Manager A), (Saint's Golden Rule A), (Presence Concealment B)
Active Skills: (Force Control A), (Imperial Privilege A)
…
Magecraft:
Illusionary Arts Rank D: [Illusion Hide], [Expression Distort]
Miscellaneous: [Bounded Field] etc
LCs: 115,000
---
"This looks promising," I said, smiling and nodding in approval.
You might be wondering why an additional section appeared under my magecraft panel, right? Well, that's because my magic output had improved, allowing me to learn new spells. Now, I could easily chant low-level spells and create basic bounded fields.
I was just about to test these new skills when I noticed another prompt that had escaped my attention.
[Memory Fragment Part # 46]
"Wait, another one of these? Does the number signify the number of resets?"
[Yes, these serial numbers represent the 'attempts'.]
I nodded, intrigued, and then settled in to watch yet another one of my previous memories unfold.
---
[Fate/Extra World Part 46: Jack Memory]
(3rd person POV)
In this instance, Titus had summoned an assassin-class servant named "Jack the Ripper," a childlike servant with lethal abilities for hunting and killing her prey. Despite Titus employing every tactic available, he lost in the final round.
"I… am sorry… mommy…" The little child moaned as her body was consumed by black miasma. The same fate befell the person on whose lap she lay.
"It's okay, little girl. You did well. Just rest for now…" Titus smiled, gently caressing Jack's hair. On those words, Jack nodded and drifted into sleep.
Titus lifted his head and spotted his opponent from the other side of the bar.
(AN: In Fate/Extra game, when an opponent loses, a jail-like bar divides them so they won't fight back.)
There, he saw a beautiful young girl with dark hair and a red shirt.
"Rin, you should have gone easy on me, you know," Titus said, raising a smile and calling the girl by her name.
"Hah! You were the one who said to give my best!" Rin retorted. She then smiled, looking at Titus with a pained expression. "Well, this win is useless anyway. It's not like I would be getting any wish."
"That's true. Sorry for that." Titus continued to wear the same fake smile.
A silence settled in the room as Rin watched her friend disappear into nothingness, just like Titus, whose vision grew blurry.
It was then that Rin broke the silence. "You know, Titus, you are my type."
"I know."
"Then make sure to find me if you get a good body. Make sure to accumulate good wealth since I am not easy to sustain."
"Is that so? I will do that."
"Also, I am different from this look," Rin struggled, her cheeks flushing, "My hair is blond in real life."
At this point, Titus raised his brow. "Blond? But weren't you Japanese? This doesn't match up…"
"It is what it is!" Rin shrieked. It was a secret she never wanted anyone to know, but since it would be hard for her crush to find her, it took a lot of courage to confess this secret. "Anyway, goodbye for now. Be sure to invoke my memories in your next reset."
"I will." Titus nodded and smiled. "Thank you, Rin Tohsaka."
With those words, everything went dark.
---
(Titus's POV)
"What was all that about?" I felt utterly confused. This version of Titus was different from the previous one. While the initial Titus seemed like an empty shell, this one at least pretended to be human. And what was the deal with Rin? I knew Rin from the Fate/Extra game, but their relationship didn't seem friendly. Did I have that kind of history?
Then another prompt appeared.
[Jack the ripper has been added to the list]
[Summon Servants:
Prime: Nero Claudius (Saber)
Others: Boudica (Rider), Jack the Ripper (Assassin)]
"So this mission isn't the main one because I lost with Jack?"
[That's correct. The rest of the information will be unlocked as you complete more missions.]
"I understand…" I was a curious person, eager to unravel all these mysteries. However, I knew I had to tread carefully to grasp the full picture.
*Knock! Knock!*
I heard a knock, and I signaled for the person to enter.
It was Rin who stepped into my room. I realized that since the 'kiss' incident, I hadn't seen her at all. Shiro informed me that she had been spending a lot of time searching for something.
"Hey, Titus… I have something to show you," Rin said awkwardly.
I had mixed feelings about her, especially after seeing another memory where she was involved. I wondered if the two Rins were somehow connected.
"Yes, come here. Have a seat." I gestured towards the sofa. She nodded and sat beside me, not opposite.
"I was searching through some old stuff and found this…" Rin handed me a box. Inside was an oddly shaped key, rusty and definitely not resembling any modern lock's key.
My eyes widened when I saw the key. "W-where did you find this…?"
"I was just going through my old belongings at Clock Tower when I found it. Based on the description, it seemed like a key from the Roman Empire," Rin explained, then rolled her eyes. "It's not like I was doing this for you or anything-"
I couldn't contain my excitement. I pulled Rin into an embrace. She seemed utterly bewildered as I held onto her.
"Wha! Wha! Wha! Wha!" Rin stammered, turning red, but I continued to hug her.
I eventually released her and looked into her eyes. "Pack your things. We are going to Italy."
---
Roma RM, Italy
(Titus's POV)
"Is this really what you looked like? Pfft!" Rin snickered as we both examined the statue of 'Tacitus' in the history museum. Sure, there were sculptures of Tacitus in my original life, but a naked one?
"I'll have you know that my thing is big! If you want to see, try it yourself!" I was annoyed by Rin's snickering about Tacitus's private parts, so I decided to play along. Although my "sleeping dragon" wouldn't be standing, a person could compare the size by just touching.
"W-wait, really?" Rin blushed and asked with a smile. Then, as if reality hit her, she started shrieking, "It's not like that!"
"Let's go," I said, starting to walk toward Domus Aurea, the golden theater that Nero had built. I had mixed emotions about this place. I had very sour memories of this golden theater, but there was one place that connected to the place I wanted to go.
After bribing some people and evading officials, we made it into a tunnel leading further into the theater. It was an underground network that not many people knew about. Rin and I then created an illusionary bounded field so that no one would be able to detect us. We stood in front of a wall.
"Is that really a gate?" Rin asked, puzzled. "How are you going to open it?"
I smiled and walked toward the wall, chanting some ancient Greek words. The wall crumbled, revealing a keyhole. I rubbed the key with some of my blood and inserted it. Soon, the wall crumbled once again, revealing a path.
We entered, and what we saw blew our minds.
"Titus… this is… Nero, as you described her?"
There were countless female Nero sculptures in this vast room, all original pieces created by Nero herself. The room also contained numerous paintings and other ancient artifacts crafted during Nero's lifetime. Some records and books related to Nero's life were there too, all confirming her identity as a woman.
It was the secret room that only Nero and I knew of.
"Titus! Titus! Look! So many jewels…!" Rin attracted my attention to a chest filled with jewels and gold coins.
Upon closer inspection, I realized these were all the jewels and gold coins that Nero had gifted me. Even after gifting most of these jewels to Boudica's daughters as dowry, I still had plenty of wealth. I had always been a pragmatic man who never considered anything beyond Nero or government affairs so I just saved these things at that time.
"These are all jewels that Nero gifted me during her reigns," I said, smiling. It was nostalgic to see all these gifts Nero had given me.
"I-is that so…?" Rin looked a little down.
I smiled and petted her head. "But now they are all yours."
"Really?!!!" Rin's eyes lit up. "I-I mean, are you okay with it?"
"Yeah, I would have never found this place if not for you. This is all yours." Since I was already wealthy, I decided to gift these treasures to Rin. Especially the jewels, they were crucial for her magecraft.
"Titus, I love you!!" Rin hugged me tightly and gave me a solid kiss on my cheek before turning her attention back to the treasure chest.
"Huh, this is unexpected." I knew Rin was all about money and jewels, but that confession was unexpected. I wasn't shocked by the kiss; Rin always kissed me whenever I gave her similar gifts or money to spend. I knew there probably wasn't a second meaning to her confessions or kisses; they weren't genuine.
I moved to a pile of books where many original documents were preserved. They were remarkably well-preserved for papers that were over 2000 years old, emitting a unique herbal scent. I guessed some of OG Tacitus's herbs were used to preserve them. However, what caught my attention was a small box with the words written on it in English: "To future Titus!"
'Wait, Titus…! Calm down; let's see what's inside.' I wiped the sweat from my forehead and sat down to inspect the contents.
As I opened the box, the first thing I saw was a picture of me and Nero. It was a palm-sized photo of me kissing Nero on her cheek, the only image Nero had created using her magecraft.
Tears began to leak from my eyes. It wasn't just any picture; it was a memory of my first love.
I moved on to the next item, a letter. It was written in English and addressed from 'Tacitus' to me, Titus.
"System, explain this to me! How come my body remembers me?!" I urgently asked the system. How could my body remember me, or should I say, the OG Tacitus remembered my name? I thought history just followed the same path, just like when a singularity is solved in FGO.
[System is unable to answer.]
'Arg!! This useless system!' I was furious, but there was no point in cursing the system, so I decided to read the content of the letter.
[If you are reading this message, then it means you have found the key in the Clock Tower and are now reading this letter in 2006 as Tacitus Faria Dusklock.]
I put down the letter and closed my eyes. I felt a little pain from all the stress that this letter was causing. After calming down, I decided to read the rest of the letter.
[You might be confused and have a lot of questions regarding my identity. To be honest, even I don't know if I am Tacitus or Titus. But this is not important. There are some urgent matters that you need to know.
The first is… Nero was pregnant when she died.]
"…what?"
---
*[Breaking News! A new discovery at Domus Aurea! It appears that the infamous Roman Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was actually a woman.]
[From the new records found in Nero's theatre, it appears that it was the Senate that raised the conspiracy and altered Nero's life event records and her general identity. These records align perfectly with events described in other sources.]
[It appears that the Senate forced Tacitus and other philosophers to forge fake documents.]
[The person who discovered this is a young man from London.]*
These headlines were splashed across newspapers in Italy. After gathering the necessary items, I made the decision to turn over the remaining records found in Domus Aurea to the authorities in Italy. Some might call it a foolish move, considering it would draw a lot of attention. Others might argue that I should have taken everything back to London. But that wasn't the person I was.
I loved Nero, and I wanted the whole world to know the truth about her. I wanted them to understand that she wasn't the disgusting person portrayed in the old records. I wanted the world to know about the love between Nero and Tacitus.
So, I brought the truth to light. I involved some mages from the Mage's Association since the great fire involved the summoning of a demon.
And so, three days had passed.
"Hm?" I entered Rin's room and found her on the balcony, gazing blankly at the streets below.
"Oh, Tacitus," she said upon sensing my presence, "Are you done with all the work?"
"Yes, it was tiresome, but now I am free to leave."
"Great. I've also packed my things."
"Hm? Why?"
"What do you mean? Aren't we leaving? You might have a lot going on."
I sighed, then looked at her. She knew about the letter and my situation, growing increasingly dire. While it was true, I felt warm and relaxed seeing her so concerned for me. It was comforting to have someone who understood me.
I lifted her hand and gently kissed it. "Worries and challenges are part of this life, but what kind of man would I be if I came to this city of romance and didn't even enjoy my time with such a beautiful girl?" I said, smiling. "Come, let's make some good memories as our date. Just the two of us."
Rin blushed and nodded with a beautiful smile. "Um~!"
Together, we explored the streets of the new Rome, making unforgettable memories. I wasn't ready to start a relationship, but perhaps there was a chance for me with her.
===
Sorry for not uploading any chapter yesterday. I was low on spirits and forgot to schedule the chapter.
