1157 -1143- Plenty of time to wait

"————!"

Rozen suddenly opened his eyes.

Before him appeared the familiar ceiling.

At this moment, Rozen was lying on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling of his room, before sighing after a while.

"Is it this dream again?"

Rozen muttered to himself.

Yes.

Again.

Rozen had this kind of dream again.

In other words...

"Including today, how many times have I had the same dream?"

This dream had visited Rozen multiple times.

Since coming to this world, Rozen would occasionally have such a dream.

The first half of the dream was galloping on the grassland, relatively happy.

But, by the second half, the dream would suddenly change, becoming the terrifying scene of the world burning in flames, gradually heading towards its end.

Rozen would have this kind of dream every one or two years after coming to this world.

However, since successfully sealing the Fourth Primogenitor six months ago, Rozen's frequency of having this dream had been increasing. Recently, it could be said that he would have this dream every night.

"What's going on with this?"

Having the same dream so many times, even the dullest person should realize that there is definitely a problem.

Rozen was not dull, and could even be considered extremely intelligent, so he naturally couldn't believe that all of this was just a coincidence.

The reason he kept having this dream must be because of something.

As for what the reason was, Rozen was very clear about it.

If he thought carefully, he would understand, right?

What did Rozen do before coming to this world and starting to have this dream?

Very simple, he formed a contract with the first Servant capable of engraving into his soul, and summoned a Heroic Spirit.

So, what changes occurred around Rozen after the Blazing Banquet six months ago?

Also very simple, he formed an absolute contract with Hokuto and transformed him and Kinu into Beast Vassals, nurturing them within his blood, while assigning the position of guardian to the Heroic Spirit who solved the problem of supply magic.

Furthermore, the white girl riding on the horse on the grassland and the white giant appearing at the end of the world, these two entities were not unfamiliar to Rozen.

Therefore, Rozen was very clear why he kept having this dream.

"Is this one of the phenomena caused by the contract between Master and Servant?"

That's not such a rare thing.

Chaldea's records mention that Masters and Servants who contract with each other during the ritual called the Holy Grail War often dream about each other's past experiences.

This is because the contract opens up a channel between the two, allowing them to fulfill commands, communicate, supply magic, and even bind each other. The excessive connection between the two parties allows both sides a high chance of glimpsing each other's past in dreams.

This situation, if it were an absolute contract, would probably become even stronger, right?

After all, an absolute contract not only establishes the aforementioned connections but also connects and merges the souls of both parties. Dreaming about the past of the contracted object, that is only natural.

Now, what Rozen encountered was this kind of situation.

What he dreamed of was precisely the past of the Servant with whom he had an absolute contract.

"Altera."

Rozen couldn't help but speak.

"Are you there?"

Rozen asked like this.

However, the question was met with silence.

Rozen sighed bitterly.

"No response again, huh?"

That's right.

Altera wasn't absent, but she chose not to respond to Rozen.

This wasn't the first time this had happened.

Since sealing the Fourth Primogenitor six months ago and having Altera replace Kinu and Hokuto, Rozen had been having this dream frequently. He had called out to Altera numerous times for this reason, but each time, he received no response.

Normally, whenever Rozen called out, Altera would respond and dispel her spiritual form, appearing before him. However, during the time Rozen woke up from the dream in the morning, no matter how much he called out to Altera, she wouldn't respond.

Rozen knew very well that this was because Altera didn't want to be questioned about her past.

Therefore, only at this time would Altera ignore Rozen's calls and silently maintain her spiritual form, waiting for the situation to pass.

Of course, unlike other Servants, Altera was Rozen's familiar under an absolute contract. Even if she was powerful, since she had become a pure record engraved in Rozen's soul, she couldn't disobey Rozen's commands.

If Rozen truly wanted Altera to respond and reveal her past, he could simply command it, and everything would be realized.

However, Rozen didn't want to issue any commands regarding this matter.

"I won't force you to say it. Whenever you're ready to speak, it's not too late to tell me."

Rozen spoke to the invisible girl present in the room.

"You are my Servant, my familiar. Unless I die, we will always be together. So, I have plenty of time to wait, and you have plenty of time to consider."

Rozen simply said these words.

In return, there was still silence.

Rozen didn't mind at all. After stretching lazily, he got up, put on his clothes, opened the door, yawned, and walked out.

Behind him, the invisible girl watched silently, then slowly followed Rozen, never leaving his side.

...

When Rozen arrived in the hall, it was almost filled with people.

"Good morning, Nichiyo-kun."

Nagisa, who was wearing an apron and arranging dishes on the table, saw Rozen coming out and greeted him with a smile.

"Good... good morning."

Avrora wasn't wearing an apron but was helping to set the table. She greeted Rozen timidly upon seeing him.

"Good morning, Attack Mage Minamiya."

Astarte, in a maid outfit, said these words expressionlessly as usual, her voice calm as she walked out of the kitchen with two plates.

Lastly, the newest member of the household also greeted Rozen.

"Good morning, Minamiya-senpai, sorry for waking you up."

Bowing politely to Rozen was the silver-haired saint, who, like Nagisa, was wearing an apron and carrying dishes, following behind Astarte from the kitchen.

Who else could it be besides Kanase Kanon?

Just as La Folia had declared, in the end, the princess herself came to visit and begged Natsuki to take in Kanase Kanon.

Although Natsuki had a troublesome expression, she didn't refuse.

"Adding one more doesn't make a difference, and one less doesn't make a difference either."

Natsuki accepted Kanase Kanon for this reason, making her the fifth person to stay at the Minamiya residence after Kojou, Nagisa, Avrora, and Astarte.

Including Rozen and Natsuki, this household now had a total of seven people.

Just as Rozen had predicted, this home was indeed becoming livelier.

Rozen shook his head at Kanase Kanon's apology.

"You didn't wake me up, no need to apologize."

Rozen replied honestly.

"Nichiyo-kun always wake up at this time. Unlike Kojou-kun, who's still sleeping, I don't want to deal with him."

Nagisa hugged Kanase Kanon and smiled brightly at Rozen.

"Go wash up quickly, Nichiyo-kun. Breakfast will be ready soon."

Rozen nodded at her words, turned around, entered the bathroom, and began to freshen up.