Chapter 78

“…I see.”

At the end of the concert, just as Yagentoshiro had expected, the two Nobunagas forced all the swordsmen of the Oda-gumi present to participate in the vote. The two men who acted on their own did not care about the subtle expressions on the swordsmen's faces, and came to the conclusion on the spot that Oda Nobunaga was more recognized by them. So Lord Nobunaga resigned in front of everyone, leaving only Oda Nobunaga to face these swordsmen of the Oda-gumi.

"Ah, it's already this time." Fujimaru Ritsuka glanced at the position of the moon in the night sky. While helping Emiya put away the barbecue tools, he noticed Lancermello's figure out of the corner of his eye. "It was really a big scene today - huh? The man next to the deputy director... I'll go take a look first, Mr. Emiya!"

The concert was over, and most of the Chaldean staff had returned to the observatory - but the other visitors invited by the Watchers were allowed to stay overnight; Oda Nobunaga asked the Watchers for permission to use the castle tower shortly after the voting ended, and left the beach ahead of time with the swordmen who once belonged to her.

Fujimaru Ritsuka ran to Lancermello with Mashu and stopped, only to notice that the person walking with the deputy director tonight was not the Watcher from the previous nights, but the C16 Honmaru's Judge No. 48 and Shielder - that is, she and Mashu in a parallel world.

"Ah, so you're here now?" Lancermello crossed his arms and smiled at the two people standing beside him when he saw Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash. "It just so happens that Fujimaru mentioned that he wanted to meet you before the first day he came here - why don't you take this opportunity to have a good exchange... what do you think?"

"Ah, Deputy Director - don't you have to meet Miss Watcher today?" Fujimaru Ritsuka looked at the two people from C16 Honmaru who were following Lancer Mello, frowned and fell into deep thought, "I still remember the Deputy Director told me during the day that he would spend the evening talking to Miss Watcher."

"That part of the content has been said - it can be considered as said." Lansemello touched his chin and smiled, pushing Fujimaru Ritsuka in front of No. 48, "Although it is said that the time is already late, but I see that you have no intention of going back to rest - then, these are our Fujimaru and Mashu, they are left to you."

"But..." Number 48 paused and clenched his hands. "I still want to ask - who was the doctor you walked with today? In my impression, Chaldea should not have such a member - but even though I don't remember him, I always feel that... I should have seen him."

"Him..." Lansemero turned his head to look at the sea filled with silver moonlight, but sighed helplessly, "He is just an ordinary doctor. Our Chaldea has crossed more than seven special points to get here - you haven't seen him, just because he didn't exist in your journey at the beginning, but joined Chaldea later."

No. 48: “Is that so?”

Fujimaru Ritsuka: "Eh? Um... yes, that's right, that person is just an ordinary doctor."

——『Other than that, there is nothing special about him.』

The golden eyes filled with divinity pushed the self-consciousness of both No. 48 and Shielder deep into their hearts. Fujimaru Ritsuka calmly engraved the hint into their minds, erasing the last impression of the person who had reached the realm of "nothingness". The journey to the anomaly had already ended, so naturally no one would remember the existence of that person...

"The temple has disappeared, only the throne remains, and there is no sign of the beast anymore."

——That's right. Unless another Grand Servant becomes the Grand Servant who defeats Beast I, King Solomon will erase all traces of his existence in the world. This is the only possibility for them to defeat Beast I. Apart from the world of Phoenix Chaldea, there is no other possibility for the direction of the final anomaly.

"...Deputy Director." Fujimaru Ritsuka took the opportunity to hint that the influence of magic on the two of them had not yet ended, and asked with his back to Lancer Mello, "Why do you say that? The doctors in those worlds... No matter how I think about it, I feel sad for their endings - after all, their traces have been completely wiped out from the world by that treasure."

"Fujimaru, that Noble Phantasm does not exist to make the king disappear. It can only be used when the king recognizes that all his achievements are over. Although the result is that the king disappears from the world, that Noble Phantasm does not exist for this result."

"…When all lives come to an end, there will be some 'remnants' left. No matter how perfect a person's life was, there will be 'remnants' left. People in later generations inherit this 'remnant' and leave a mark in human history." Lancermello raised his hand and ruffled Fujimaru Ritsuka's hair, "Just like our ending."

"Or rather, it's just like the mission that the Star Inland Sea originally gave me."

Lancermello's original mission as a paradise fairy was to die and become the furnace of the inner sea of ​​stars; just like countless previous generations of paradise fairies who were forged into holy swords after completing their tours; no one would remember the existence of paradise fairies, because when their lives ended, they were already in a state of "no unfinished business in this life."

However, due to the disappearance of personality, the Paradise Fairy cannot reach that end.

"When we finish rebuilding the world, it means that there will be nothing unfinished for us in that world." Lansemello put down his hand, retracted his gaze, closed his eyes and told Fujimaru Ritsuka the final ending of Phoenix Chaldea, "We will become the restraining force itself, but the world will only know the restraining force and will no longer know our names; no one will know that in addition to the bell-ringing hall, there is another observatory."

Humans will forget all of this, and perhaps the gods will remember—but either way, there will be no trace of them left in the world.

“Perhaps the kings of those worlds will be watching them from an unknown place, but since they are already kings with no unfinished business, they can only move forward without looking back.” Lanser-Mello glanced at the Command Seal on the back of Fujimaru Ritsuka’s hand, “They have disappeared from the Throne of Heroes and have lost the ability to respond to ‘you’.”

"Besides, they have such a past. I think the king of that world might regret his choice when they were taken away by the magician. But there is no turning back. The only thing to do is to erase the traces in their memory more thoroughly. In this way, at least their subconscious will not let them dream that someone other than the Time Government will come to save them."

"Even if they can't even see the person's face."

On the other hand, after the watcher brought Oda Nobunaga and the swordsmen to the castle tower of Honmaru, he turned around and left with Rando Shiro, who was his attendant, leaving them enough space to relax and talk; the swordsmen who were left behind by the watcher looked at each other, and no one was willing to be the first person to talk to Oda Nobunaga.

"Okay, first let me introduce myself..." Oda Nobunaga found a place to sit down, raised his head and looked at the swordsmen standing together, "I am the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven, Oda Nobunaga!! Just like that sickly executioner can be called Sakura Saber, you can also call me Demon Archer!!!"

——The sickly executioner...ah, you mean Ms. Okita.

"Ah, we meet again, Lord Oda Nobunaga." Yagen Toushirou looked at the people around him who were obviously depressed, sighed helplessly, and forced himself to deal with the obviously overly energetic Oda Nobunaga in front of him, "Please allow me to briefly explain the current personnel composition here."

"First, there are four swordsmen in Honmaru that you once held - Honmaru Zero, C16, H41, and K17. Secondly, the Oda-gumi swordsmen illustrated collection currently available to the government only includes six - the short swordsmen of Yagen Toushirou "I" and Fudo Yukimitsu; the katana of Oshikiri Hasebe and Sozo Sawamonji; and the tachi of Kadakiri Mitsutada and Tsurumaru Kuninaga."

"Among them, Yakentoshiro has four strikes, and the rest of the swordsmen have three strikes each." Yakentoshiro glanced at Yakentoshiro K17 and relayed to Oda Nobunaga the situation of the audience's invitation to tonight's concert. "The judges of K17 only sent six strikes to attend the appointment. Among them, Yakentoshiro came as the representative of the swordsmen of the Oda Group--"

——Ah, Okita's method is totally useless against these guys.

"...Too restrained." Oda Nobunaga yawned in boredom, forgetting the method of communicating with sword men that he had learned from Okita-kun and Okita-san. "By the way, you guys - don't you have anything to say to me? I heard from the Master that more than one guy is very resentful of me, right?"

The atmosphere at the location of the katana warriors became even more depressing after Oda Nobunaga finished speaking. Yagen Toushirou·H41 turned his head and discovered that the ones in the worst condition among the katana warriors were Suppression Hasebe·H41 and Sozo Sahmonji·H41. So when he was racking his brains to come up with something to deal with Oda Nobunaga, he discovered that Yagen Toushirou·K17 had moved first.

"I don't think there's much to say." Yagen Toushirou K17 leaned against the railing with his arms folded across his chest, looking at the hat that Oda Nobunaga had casually placed on the table. "After all, the past is doomed, and our story ended in Honnoji Temple - not to mention that we, 'Yagen Toushirou', are the short sword that Oda Nobunaga used for self-defense..."

"It can't be helped that my life ends at Honnoji Temple. There is no need for any further communication between us."

"...Indeed." Minister Hase breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Yagen Toushirou, who looked helpless because of what K17 said. "Even though I still don't think Lord Oda Nobunaga is a respectable master, even though I still feel dissatisfied...but there is really no need for us to continue the conversation."

"Even though I once envied California, I was cherished by the Kuroda family in the past, and now I am valued by the lord... Therefore, I no longer need to communicate with my past master."