great-warnovel Chapter 51 Partners
Chapter 51 Partners
As Ayaka finished drawing the last stroke of the summoning circle, silvery-white light spread outward from the center of the circle, passing over every corner of the star shape, over the outer ring, and reaching her feet.
She crouched at the edge of the formation, her hand resting on the edge. The red of the Command Seals was dimmed by the light, and the light was reflected in her black pupils like starlight on the water. Then she spoke.
"Tomorrow night will be when the magic is at its strongest."
Arthur didn't reply. He squatted on the other side of the formation, still holding a cloth for polishing silver powder in his hand.
The basement was quiet; the old stone walls absorbed most of the echoes, leaving only Ayaka's breathing and the faint hum of the remaining magic from the summoning circle in the air.
Ayaka looked up at him. "You don't want me to summon?"
Arthur looked at her. She stood beside the summoning circle, radiating a faint light. The mist in her eyes had dissipated, but it wasn't completely clear yet.
"You don't want to participate in the Holy Grail War," Arthur said.
Ayaka's fingers tightened slightly on the edge of the array. "I don't want to."
"You don't want your servant to die in your place."
"In no mood."
"You drew this summoning circle because you felt you 'had to draw it'."
"Because the Command Seals are in your hands, because you are the heir of the Sajō family, and because your father dedicated his life to studying the Holy Grail War."
Ayaka didn't speak; her fingers tightened even more.
"It's not because you want a Servant."
The basement remained quiet for a long time. The light from the summoning circle slowly dimmed, fading from silvery-white to grayish-white, and from grayish-white to faint engravings on the stone slab.
Ayaka lowered her head, her face obscured by shadows.
"...I want it." Her voice was very soft.
"I want someone to help me, but not a 'Servant,' not someone bound by Command Seals who must obey my commands."
She moved her fingers away from the edge of the array and pressed them onto the Command Seals on the back of her hand.
"These three Command Seals, each stroke can force a Servant to do something, including committing suicide, but I don't want that power."
She looked up, her dark eyes reflecting the dim light of the basement.
"What I don't want is... someone to die for me, and I don't even know if he'd want to."
Arthur looked at the Command Seals on the back of her hand, three bright red lines, like three unhealed wounds.
Her fingers pressed against it, her knuckles turning white, as if she wanted to press it back.
"Then don't summon it."
Ayaka was taken aback.
"The Holy Grail War, Command Seals, Servants—these are all 'other people's rules,'" Arthur said gently.
"You don't want anyone to die for you, and you don't want to force anyone to use Command Spells."
If you don't want to participate in this war that your father has studied his entire life but never asked if you wanted to participate, then don't participate.
Ayaka looked at him and said, "If you don't participate, you'll die. A Master without a Servant is just a sitting duck."
"You may not summon Servants, but you will still be protected."
Ayaka's pupils contracted slightly. Arthur stood up, the stone wall of the basement behind him, the four beats of the Dragon's Heart clearly audible in the quiet air.
"I am a living person, I have no class, no Command Seals to bind me, and no Master to command me."
I entered this world because its frequency resonated the loudest within the Trails of Stars, so I came; this was my own choice.
He looked at her.
"If you don't want to summon a Servant, then I will protect you in place of the Servant that you haven't summoned yet."
I'll stand in front of you while you're still unwilling to use your Command Seals."
Ayaka's fingers slid off the Command Seals. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
"...You're alive? Then you can get hurt and bleed?"
"meeting."
"Will I die?"
"meeting."
"Then why...?"
"Because you've been sitting for a long time," Arthur said. "Because you want to live, but you don't want to be a burden to others."
Ayaka's breath hitched for a moment, her eyes reddened, but she didn't turn her face away.
She looked at him, the thin layer of tears in her dark eyes shimmering, reflecting the lingering glow of the summoning circle.
"...Why?"
"I hesitated before drawing the sword. I stood in front of the sword in the stone, and Merry waited for me the whole time."
Arthur's voice was calm.
"So I know that people who have waited a long time don't need others to make decisions for them, but rather they need someone to tell them—"
"It's fine not to pick up that sword, it's fine not to participate, it's fine not to summon."
Ayaka's tear fell, a single tear landing on the edge of the summoning circle.
The silvery light had almost completely died out. The teardrop shone for a moment in the fading light before seeping into the carvings on the stone slab.
"...I won't summon it." Her voice was hoarse. "Then what about the Command Seals on the back of my hand?"
"Keep it, not to command others, but to remind yourself."
You chose 'not to summon,' that was your own choice.
Ayaka lowered her head, staring at the three Command Seals on the back of her hand for a long time. Then she wiped her eyes hard with her sleeve and looked up.
Her nose was red, her eyes were red, but the watery light in her black pupils was slowly receding.
She took it back herself, little by little, like pressing the ripples on the lake back into the water.
"I don't summon," she said, her voice still trembling, but she enunciated each word clearly, "I don't summon Servants."
The last ray of light from the summoning circle went out, leaving only the old wall lamp on the stone wall in the basement, its dim light casting the shadows of two people onto the stone floor.
Ayaka squatted by the darkened array, her hand still resting on the edge. There was no silver powder on her fingers, but the ash from drawing the array remained on her fingertips.
"And this Holy Grail War," she asked, "you alone..."
"It's not just me, it's you and me."
Ayaka was taken aback.
"You don't summon Servants, but you are still a Master. Command Seals are in your hands, and magical energy is within you."
The Sajō family's magic crest is imprinted on you; you are not "the one who is protected."
Arthur looked at her. "You're the one standing next to me."
Ayaka's fingers moved away from the edge of the array, slowly curled up, and tucked into her palm.
"...What can I do?"
"You can do more than you think. How much of the notebook your father left behind have you read?"
"I've watched it all many times."
"What does it say on it?"
Ayaka's eyes changed; the watery light that had just receded completely disappeared, replaced by something very quiet, rising from the depths.
"The flow of ley lines, the class characteristics of Servants, the limits of Command Seals, the analysis of the victories and defeats in previous Holy Grail Wars, and the alliances and betrayals between Masters."
Her voice had stopped trembling. "I can remember it. I can remember it after seeing it once. My father said it's my only..."
She stopped.
"Talent," Arthur continued, picking up where she left off. "That's what your father said."
Ayaka's eyes reddened for a moment again, but this time no tears fell. She nodded vigorously.
Arthur reached out, palm up, and placed it in front of her.
"If you don't want to summon a Servant, I'll stand in front of you. I'm not familiar with this world, so you look behind me. We're not Master and Servant, we're..."
He thought about it.
"partner."
Ayaka looked at his palm; the dim light from the wall lamp made the lines on his palm appear very deep. She placed her hand on it.
His fingers were cool and trembled slightly in his palm, but he didn't pull them back.
"Partner," she said.
Two hands clasped together above the darkened summoning circle.
That night, Arthur did not return to the park. Ayaka cleaned up the empty room on the second floor, stood at the door, and said "Goodnight".
Arthur sat on the edge of the bed, the Dragon Power River stretching out before him, every corner of the mansion within his perception.
The row of black notebooks on the bookshelf in the living room on the first floor, the darkened summoning circle in the basement, and Ayaka's heartbeat in the room at the end of the corridor on the second floor.
Stable, a little faster than yesterday.
He placed his hand on his chest, the four beats of the Dragon's Furnace rhythm remained steady as always, and the silvery-white response was still present in the riverbed where Meryl anchored.
one two three four.
He conveyed today's "peace" through the anchor point.
After the transmission, the dragon's energy consumption was much less than yesterday, and the anchor point was stabilizing. After a long time, the anchor point river responded, still with that silvery-white rhythm.
One, two, three, four to five.
There was an extra beat at the end of the rhythm, an extremely light fifth beat.
Arthur closed his eyes. He saw it. Mary was saying, "I know," she was saying, "I'm here."
He took the yellow wildflower out of his pocket and placed it on the windowsill. The moonlight shone on the petals, which were a little more wilted than yesterday, but the color was still bright.
Outside the window, the Tokyo night sky was so clear that you could hardly see any stars, but deep in the Longli River, the river channel of Meili's anchor point looked like another Milky Way.
The next morning, Arthur was awakened by the aroma of coffee.
He walked down the stairs. Ayaka was in the kitchen, water was boiling on the stove, and she was holding a bag of instant coffee.
She tore open the packaging bag much more efficiently than yesterday, opening it in one go without spilling. But she stood in front of the stove, staring at the two cups side by side, motionless.
"A few." She didn't turn around.
Two.
Ayaka put two candies in one cup and three in the other.
Then she picked up the cup with three candies, hesitated for a moment, put it back, picked up the cup with two candies, turned around and handed it to Arthur, the edges of her ears were red.
Arthur took it, took a sip, and found it sweet but not cloying.
Ayaka held her cup, took a sip—the one with three candies—and frowned slightly.
"It is too sweet."
Arthur looked at her. She didn't look up, but the red from the edge of her ear spread from her earlobe to the tip of her ear.