To become a king and a magician

(You can save your breath.)

After calmly dealing with Aika Sajou, Natsukawa Torara continued to look at the two people in front of him: "Since King Solomon is here as well, let me explain my purpose—as Your Majesty is aware, I also participated in the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City ten years ago."

Maris Billy nodded; this was something he had already investigated.

“And during the Holy Grail War ten years ago, I once reached the Root.” Natsukawa Torato said something that would make all magicians jump up. “Of course, it wasn’t a real arrival, otherwise I would have disappeared long ago. I just arrived at a place close to the Root. King Solomon’s words should be able to tell whether I’m lying or not.”

King Solomon possessed the ability to see into the past and future, and with his power, it wouldn't be difficult for him to discern whether Natsukawa Tora had ever reached the Root.

King Solomon nodded, his eyes filled with a hint of trepidation from Marisbury.

A feeling of exhaustion suddenly spread throughout Marisbury's body: "It's true... I never thought that the goal that we magicians have pursued for thousands of years has been achieved by you ten years ago. You weren't even a magician back then, were you? It's really hard to know what to think."

“I don’t really have a real feeling about this, but what I’m going to tell you and King Solomon is actually related to the root of the problem.”

"The source contains all knowledge, all in the truest sense. In that brief contact, I also gained a part of that countless knowledge, and from that knowledge, I learned some things about the future."

"Lord Animusphia, the reason you participated in this Holy Grail War is to wish upon the Holy Grail for enormous wealth in order to establish Chaldea, the institution that safeguards human order, right?"

“You really did get some surprising knowledge from the root of things. It’s amazing how coincidental things can happen in the world.” Marisbury smiled wryly. “That’s right. In order to realize the long-cherished wish of the Astronomical Society, I am working on building Chaldea. In fact, most of the preparations are already on track. The only thing lacking is enough time and money to support the completion of the construction.”

"Then, may I ask if it is possible to stop the construction of Chaldea?" Natsukawa Torama's sudden suggestion surprised the three people present.

"Stop? You've really made a ridiculous suggestion, Lord Natsukawa. You know it's impossible, don't you?"

Xia Chuanhu nodded: "However, please let me tell you about a future that I know of, and then you can consider it."

"That's the future that Chaldea might experience after it's built."

What will the future be like after Chaldea is built?

Marisbury looked at King Solomon. If it were just about the future, he could already know it through his clairvoyance, and he didn't want Natsukawa Tiger to tell him. However, King Solomon nodded slightly: "Tell me about it."

"Okay. In the future, after Chaldea is built..."

In the tens of minutes that followed, Natsukawa Torato briefly recounted his memories of the "future"—including the experiments on sub-Servants, artificial life experiments, in vitro fertilization, and the actions of Rafe Lenore Floros... He recounted most of the events that occurred before the Burning of Humanity.

After listening to Natsukawa Tora's account, Marisbury instinctively looked at King Solomon, trying to seek the opinion of the all-seeing eye.

"We can still see the future beyond 2015 today."

King Solomon paused for a moment before replying in this way.

"But such a future does exist, and after several divergences, it can indeed be led to such a future."

"So, it can be avoided, is that right?" Marisbury breathed a slight sigh of relief. "Thank you for telling me something so important, Lord Natsukawa, but unfortunately, my answer is still no."

"In the future you described, the incineration of humanity was not caused by my founding of Chaldea, but by my experiments with Demi-Servants, which led Professor Lef to despair and have his body possessed by the Demon Pillar. Therefore, as long as I do not conduct Demi-Servant experiments, that future will not happen."

"Of course, you probably won't believe me if I say that."

Magicians are all untrustworthy people; verbal promises are worthless.

"Therefore, I would like to make a suggestion to you here—do you have any intention of taking up a post at Chaldea, Lord Natsukawa?"

30. I have a preliminary idea.

To take up a post at Chaldea?

Marisbury's suggestion was something Natsukawa Torato hadn't considered.

"May I ask why?"

"My original intention in establishing Chaldea was to protect humanity. For this purpose, we need talented people from all fields with sufficient strength. If Lord Natsukawa is willing to take up the post, we will have no shortage of combat personnel."

Last night, almost every magician in Fuyuki City witnessed the battle that took place in the port district. The power that could fight Gilgamesh head-on was far beyond the realm of humanity. As Marisbury said, once Natsukawa Torato joins Chaldea, the rather troublesome selection of combat personnel will become completely unnecessary.

Who among today's magicians can beat Natsukawa Tora? You can bring out those old guys who have been in seclusion for who knows how many years, and it won't make a difference.

“Besides, if you join Chaldea, you can also keep an eye on my actions, can’t you?” Marisbury continued. “If you don’t trust verbal promises, you can use your own eyes to watch.”

"In that case, wouldn't it be better to just have you sign a self-mandatory statement?"

"If you want, then I can agree."

Is it really that easy to agree?

Xia Chuanhu frowned, then shook his head: "Forget it. Even if you sign a contract, you have countless ways to bypass it, right?"

For magicians, the self-forced proof is indeed the most rigorous contract, but it is ultimately just a contract. If you want to find loopholes, there are always ways to do so—the most obvious example is the case between Kiritsugu Emiya and Kenneth.

Therefore, self-compulsory testimony is unreliable and would only give Marisbury an opportunity to play dirty tricks.

“I will consider joining Chaldea, but only if you and King Solomon can win this Holy Grail War—although I have no need for the Holy Grail, it is essential for you, Your Majesty.”

Natsukawa Torato stood up: "I have reasons why I must win the Holy Grail War, and in that respect, our goals are in conflict."

"It seems so, but if I may be so bold, Lord Natsukawa, you and your servant are no match for the King."

"Heh, who knows the outcome before the fight even begins?" Xia Chuanhu chuckled. "Excuse me, Your Majesty, I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave now."

"I'll see you both off."

......

A few minutes later.

"Maris Billy".

After confirming that Natsukawa and Artoria had left the vicinity of the mansion, King Solomon reappeared before Marisbury.

"What do you plan to do about what the spirit master said?"

“I will continue building Chaldea. Now that things have come to this, I will not stop because of a few words from one person.”

With the full assistance of the Atlas Institute, the clock tower's monarch-level secret techniques, the simulated Earth model... all sorts of things that are needed or might be needed are gradually being prepared, and it is no longer possible to stop.

Thinking of this, Marisbury looked at King Solomon: "Does Your Majesty intend to stop?"

That's what I meant.

Although he answered the call because he had a wish to entrust the Holy Grail to him, if his actions might lead to the destruction of humanity, King Solomon would decisively abandon his wish and prioritize the survival of humanity.

Maris Billy fell silent.

These are indeed words that King Solomon, as a Grand Servant, would say, and he is powerless to change this situation. Command Seals have no effect on King Solomon; they are merely a symbol to maintain the contractual relationship between them.

"My king, you once said that to reach the future where humanity has been burned away, we must pass through several points of divergence. Could you explain these points of divergence to me in detail?"

"Yes, but it's basically the same as what the elf envoy said."

King Solomon told Marisbury about the future he had foreseen.

Looking from the present into the future, in order of proximity, there are three main points of contention: whether Chaldea was established, whether in vitro fertilization experiments were initiated, and whether Rafe Lenore Floros developed despair for humanity.

"If we avoid all three of these points, we can prevent a future where humanity is consumed by fire, right?"

Yes. So, what are you going to do?

How to do?

Maris Billy closed his eyes and fell into deep thought.

Giving up is impossible; success is within reach. As long as we proceed step by step, the Animusfia family's long-cherished wish will be realized in his generation or Olga Marie's generation.

However, if he does not give up, the future will be a time of burning away humanity. According to his plan, those three points of divergence are unavoidable. Of the three, the latter will be triggered by the occurrence of the former. At least for now, he cannot think of a way to avoid it.

"........(Inhale)"

After a long period of contemplation, Marisbury opened his eyes: "My king, I am not prepared to give up."

This was the answer King Solomon expected. If a magician gave up so easily, he wouldn't be a magician, let alone Marisbury, who was a magician among magicians.

"So, I had an irresponsible idea."

"An irresponsible idea?"

King Solomon frowned, and then, listening to Maris Billy's ideas, even he couldn't help but feel a little dissatisfied: "There's nothing wrong with what you're doing, from a magician's point of view."

"But do you think he'll agree?"

"So I hope to speak with him again tonight and confirm some things, and if I can get the answers I want... Your Majesty, could you please intervene once more tonight?"

"..."

This time, it was King Solomon's turn to fall into deep thought.

As a follower, he is happy to act according to Marisbury's requests, but he will resolutely refuse if it leads to a disastrous future.

But this time, it seems there's still room for a turnaround.

Stroking the Ten Commandments in his hand, as if he had made a decision, King Solomon nodded slightly: "Alright, that's perfect. I also have some ideas that I want to verify with the Spirit Master. If possible... then do as you wish."

————————————————————————

At the same time, at Fuyuki Station.

Dragging his suitcase, Morgan walked out of the station with Arthur, hailed a taxi on the side of the road, got in, and said to the driver, "To the Fuyuki Grand Hotel in Shinto."

The last group has officially arrived.

31. Meryl + Morgan = ?

This marks Morgan's return to Fuyuki City after ten years, and the same is true for Arthur.

It's more like a memory; looking at Fuyuki City through the car window, the memories of the Holy Grail War from ten years ago gradually surfaced in my mind.

"Do you miss it, Berserker?"

Morgan asked with a smile.

"By the way, according to the report from the backup plan I left in Japan, the child we've been longing for is currently staying in the hotel we're about to go to."

"Did you leave behind something similar to [Agravivan] in Japan?"

"How could that be? It's more like a familiar or a spy. Before that, I was considered a woman as innocent as a fairy. I haven't used any schemes or tricks for almost ten years."

"Then, the first trick after a decade was to summon me out of this insane class."

Arthur's class is Berserker, not because he has any natural affinity for it, but because he was forcibly imbued with a Berserker spell during the summoning process. After being summoned in this class and discovering that his Master is Morgan, Arthur roughly guessed what she wanted to do.

Faced with the sharp gaze of his Servant, Morgan simply smiled: "This is not something I did on purpose. After all, the only remaining class is Berserker. Moreover, since you were able to successfully manifest with this class and obtain C-rank Berserk, it means that you do indeed have the potential to become a Berserker."

"For example—the obsession with obtaining the Holy Grail in order to recreate Britain's glory, and the willingness to use anything to achieve it."