Worries of the Starry Mage

"𝑾𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒅 𝒊𝒇 𝑰 𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒚?"

————

After hours was the best. No one questions what you would do because everyone had retreated back to their rooms, asleep, working, or even just staying up.

A perfect time for a knight to wallow in her thoughts and help herself with alcohol. No longer capable of intoxication, she could just drink and drink and drink until there was nothing left to wallow.

Truthfully, she shouldn't do this. This is not her home. This is a military base, the bastion of the last of mankind. And she's a stranger.

Well, not much of a stranger, considering she has three servants now under her. Obediently awaiting her command.

How she loathed how they would tell her to use them as she wishes. Not when they look anything but a weapon.

But who is she to talk? She's a weapon in disguise, a rose with thorns that can kill.

She takes another swig. She never bothered getting a wine glass. Just went to the cafeteria, took a wine bottle, sat at a booth at the far corner of the cafeteria, popped it open, and drank.

"Master."

"I'll come to my room soon. I promise.", she said in an upbeat tone without missing a beat. She's played this game for so long it's almost second nature to her.

"Master.", a softer voice spoke behind her, muscular arms wrapped loosely around her shoulders.

"Did I worry you?", she muttered, a hand reaching to caress the god's arm. Her inquiry only got a hum from him.

"Drinking your thoughts away and yet you're still thinking about others.", she hears the jingle of metal and in her peripherals enter an ash blond man with pale skin and same ash blond shade for eyes. He stared at her indifferently, but his voice say otherwise.

"My woes is something I shouldn't burden you with.", the Master shook her head, "Besides, this is… very occasional.", with that she takes a smaller swig, making sure she doesn't tilt her head too far back or she might bump heads with her dear Berserker.

"I knew we shouldn't have left you alone.", the Avenger clicked his tongue in annoyance. He looked like his lancer counterpart, but held none of the reservation of the knight, especially towards their king; Fionn. Black pushed back hair, with a lock of wavy hair freely swaying out of place, red eyes and similar to his Lancer counterpart, what he wore was a black and red alternative to his green and black one. "Who dared hurt you, Master? We'll punish them for even attempting to hurt you.",

Their master looked up towards the Avenger, "Diar.", she muttered, "Nobody did. I just wanted to drink."

"Usually one drinks in glory. Yet, you drink in sadness.", with that, the Avenger, Diarmuid, sat down. "What saddens you, master?", he asks again, his eyes darkened in anger.

His master said nothing, but smiled. "Nothing has. Nobody has hurt me.", her other hand reached for him, to which he extended his hand to take hers, caressing her smaller hand in his larger, calloused hand.

"Then tell us, little master.", The ash blond haired man, Arthur Alter, Althur — as she called him in public to avoid confusion with his other self —leaned closer, "Why are you in the far corner of this dark cafeteria, at one in the morning, drinking one of the King of Heroes' wine?"

The Master perked up, and looked at the brand, noticing it was indeed one of his favorite red wine brands, "Oh shit—"

"Concern yourself with the Archer later, master.", Diarmuid sighs, "Please tell us."

No escaping. It seems.

With that, she sighs, "I was thinking – processing – something.", then she removes her hand caressing the Indian God's arm to reach for the drink, but Althur was faster, swiping the bottle far from her reach. She stared up at her Saber, expecting him to be angry, but he was more concerned than anything, the slight raise of his eyebrows showed so.

"Would you like to talk about this over tea, master?", The saber inquired.

With her drink out of reach, she just sighs, "I'd like that. Thank you, Arthur."

The Saber just nods and walks towards the cupboards.

"I wonder.", she muttered, and her two servants listened carefully. "When I leave, what will be of you three?"

"Master?", The Berserker released his master from his hold, and began to hover above the table. "Are you leaving?"

"Leaving?", Diarmuid snaps his head from her towards Arjuna, who stares back before turning back to her master. "Master, be truthful. Did someone threaten you?!"

"Diar, please.", she chuckled lightly and pulled him close to her.

"I hear something about our master leaving. What is this about?", Althur said, returning to the table with a tray of four cups, and a teapot, gently placing it down the table.

"I have to at some point. I can't be in Chaldea forever.", she muttered. "You all know, similar to you, we all don't belong here – in this era, this timeline, this universe.", she slowly explains, staring at the stream of tea flowing from the pot to the cup, "One day, my duty will call for me again, requiring me to take another role added atop my many personas.", with that looks towards her servants, "When that day comes, would you forgive me, for leaving without notice, or would you despise me for abandoning you?", Althur stops and places down the pot and stared at her in disbelief. "Especially you,", she said to Diarmuid, "I had the misfortune of watching what made you an Avenger, and then in another timeline, become your Master replacing Kayneth El-Melloi in that same grail war. I know it was hard to accept, realizing your Master was a lady and you feared I would be affected by your curse."

"No. I will not.", Diarmuid said, stern and solid, the hand holding her was held tightly, but not tight enough to induce pain "You've shown me your kindness, your true self. You allowed me to serve you loyally. I will continue to do so until you retire me from being your knight."

It was true, his other selves can attest so.

At first it was off-putting, seeing not only a woman with a massive mana pool, but also somewhat shared facial characteristics, to which she genuinely laughed at, ("My, it's good to know this one's beauty has been compared to yours, considering your genuine beauty." "..." "Oh? Oh! Don't worry, the trouble maker below your eye does not affect me at all. I have one too, see? Oh, Uhm, except this one isn't cursed.") and from there, the friendship grew. Until she became an official Master after summoning her first Servant, an Avenger Class. The outcome of what happened to him during a grail war almost three decades ago.

"𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘋𝘪𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘶𝘪𝘥 𝘜𝘢 𝘋𝘶𝘪𝘣𝘩𝘯𝘦. 𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘦. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘭, 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺 𝘪𝘵.", 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘈𝘛𝘌 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥. 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮, 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥, "𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘭𝘦𝘵'𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳.", 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮. "𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘬, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳."

𝘈𝘳𝘫𝘶𝘯𝘢 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘙𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘶𝘬𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘓𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘵, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 – 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘏𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 – 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘶𝘬𝘢 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘔𝘢𝘩ā𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘢.

"𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵. 𝘉𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳, 𝘈𝘳𝘫𝘶𝘯𝘢… 𝘔𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭… 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘥…", 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘴𝘩-𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘔𝘢𝘩ā𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘢, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥. "𝘠𝘰𝘶…"

"𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦.", 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘈𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦. 𝘛𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘸.

𝘓𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘊𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘵. 𝘙𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘶𝘬𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱. 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘩, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘙𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘶𝘬𝘢, 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘩, 𝘋𝘪𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘶𝘪𝘥, 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯, 𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘳, 𝘈𝘳𝘫𝘶𝘯𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘜𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘵'𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘩, 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴, 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘊𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴. 𝘕𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘒𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘈𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘦'𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦. 𝘈𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘮.

"𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦.", 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥, 𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯, "𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵."

"𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳!", 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳, "𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮?"

"𝘕𝘰.", 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵, "𝘞𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.", 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦.

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯…", 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘩'𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥, "𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨?"

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, "𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘥, 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘚𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦—", 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘴, 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥, "— 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘺. 𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘱𝘴𝘦𝘴. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘴, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘯𝘰 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥.", 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨, "𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨'𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘵?"

"𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴.", 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘧, 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥, 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳, "𝘛𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦, 𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘵.", 𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘍𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴, "𝘐𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯?"

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴, "𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴. 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳. 𝘐 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦'𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦."

"𝘕𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘙𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭."

"𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘵?",

"𝘔𝘦? 𝘉𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥?", 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥, 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦. "𝘞𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵."

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯, 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.

"𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘱."

"𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦'𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵, 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦."

𝘚𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯. 𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘵.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘳𝘩𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨'𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺. "𝘕𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥. 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘒𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴.", 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴 𝘶𝘱.

"𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦", 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘥. "𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦. 𝘊𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦."

"𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘊𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘵, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦?", 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥. "𝘊𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳?"

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨'𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥, "𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯."

"𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴, 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯—", 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵 𝘫𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘭, "— 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦, 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵. 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘸, 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦."

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨.", 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳.

"𝘐 𝘥𝘰, 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘤𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦, 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭.", 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘦. "𝘈 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘵."

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨'𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘈 𝘚𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘥'𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘯, 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯, 𝘢 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳, 𝘉𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥… 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘏𝘪𝘮. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦.

"𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘵?"

"𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘈 𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘒𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴."

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘴, 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦. "𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴."

"𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘪𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦, 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨.", 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺.

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦.", 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 , "𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸."

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦, "𝘛𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦."

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥, "𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴."

"𝘛𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳-𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵."

𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳.", 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦𝘥. "𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘭𝘭—", 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸, 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, "— 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘥𝘦.", 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘩, "𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘢𝘺𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘧𝘵!"

𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥. 𝘈 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦.

"We've come so far. I don't want you to think I've abandoned you, I promise if there was a way for me to bring you with me, I would but… you belong here."

"How presumptuous.", Althur huffed, sliding the cup of tea towards her, moving to sit beside her.

"I believe the Dark King is correct.", Diarmuid hummed, his hand clenching her smaller one's tightened a bit.

"We never belonged here.", The former Lostbelt King said in an uninterested tone, a hand reaching for the starry Master's navy blue hair, gently caressing her hair, to which she looked up at him in a confused look. He might look uninterested, but his voice meant meaning. "We always belonged with you. You who embraced us for us."

"Only a master with great patience can understand us Alters. Even the blue Lancer Alter is more open to you than he is to Ritsuka."

"I find a problem with that, considering I'm not his Cu's Master.", she said with a frown.

"Worry not about it.", Althur inches closer, and puts a gloveless hand on her back, "He will come to us, when he chooses to. Now, drink your tea, it's getting cold."

The Master sighed, taking a sip of her tea, before putting it down, and pulled her three servants close, and they accepted, engulfing their master in a hug.

"For Alters, you sure know how to make me cry in a good way."

Chuckles softly vibrated in their chests.

"No matter where fate leads us, we will follow you. Until the very end."

————

"𝑵𝒐. 𝑨𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒍, 𝒘𝒆'𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖."