Do I Want Your Head?

My name? Hmm, what should I say... I'd hate to get your hopes up only to let you down...

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You want me to help you get out of here, right?

'Course you do. It's only natural.

But I can't. I really am just as much of a prisoner as you are.

I don't have any magecraft, or skills, or Noble Phantasms that could get us out of these cells. Just a whole lot of nothing.

Whoa, really? I'm impressed. You're like a real big shot, huh?

I'm glad to hear that, 'cause there's really nothing I can do. My skills, Noble Phantasm, swordsmanship, magecraft... All sealed away.

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Hmm. I guess I'm technically doing all right, but...

Well, uh, you know how there're some Noble Phantasms that involve blowing yourself up? That's basically me right now.

I could probably do something about this situation if I unleashed all my power at once...

...but my intuition's telling me that now's not the time to pull that trigger.

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Huh? You mean I haven't yet?

... ...

Oh man, I haven't! And I still don't know yours, either!

Wahahaha, here we've been talking the whole day, and I didn't even realize we're still technically strangers!

Wait, it's been an entire day! Hey, are YOU okay? Aren't you hungry?

No, wait. You need water!

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Oh crap, you're not kidding! Heeey! Guaaard! Anyooone!

This guy needs heeelp!

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Oh. Are you awake now?

Are you okay? Can you get some water down?

Oh my, how polite. What a good boy you are.

But where are my manners? I still haven't introduced myself yet.

Oh my, hehehe. You want to know that badly?

Still, you're right. I should properly introduce myself.

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I'm Salome, daughter of Herodias. Nice to meet you, Master of Chaldea.

Um... You must be hungry, right?

Well, there's fruit, if you like that. We have apples, oranges, and plenty of others, too.

I really like oranges, myself! We didn't have them when I was alive, but they're great. They remind me of the sun.

Oh good. I'm glad you liked them.

But this still isn't enough, is it? You probably want meat, and fish, and bread, and stuff too, don't you?

I'll bring you some later...if you do something for me.

Is that okay?

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Oh yes, of course! That's totally fine with me!

Okay, so, um, I want you to tell me about yourself!

Because, you see...

...every Servant here is the same.

They're always fighting, and killing, and fighting, and killing... And when they're not doing that, they're winning and losing, too.

I guess they also came from stories and legends, as people who forged their own path through their times.

Oh yes, they're all really wonderful people.

They're all super amazing, too. It's no wonder each of them made history.

It's a shame there aren't many like Jokanaan...but they're still all heroes.

Maybe there are lots of heroes like Jokanaan in the Reinstatement Realm... Chaste, noble, and holy.

Oh, but I'm getting distracted. I'm sorry.

You're...not like them, are you?

You're not a hero... You're not a Servant... Really, you don't seem amazing at all.

So please, tell me about yourself? Please?

I just want to hear about you. I don't care what.

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I really don't!

Even if it's boring, I don't mind! I won't cut your head off or anything, okay?

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Oh my, teehee. That was fascinating!

I had no idea something like that happened in America. Lord Edison sounds wonderful.

Lord Jekyll of England sounds adorable, too.

Still, neither of them seems very Jokanaan-ish. Hehehe.

Heeey. You there, the Servant.

Yes? What is it?

Weren't you supposed to be getting him something to eat? That Master, I mean.

Oh! You're right. I am, aren't I?

Hang on, I'll be right back. Let's see, I need meat...fish...bread...

Hey, you sure you're okay?

I don't mean that. I mean with Salome.

Yeah, her.

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I mean, you know what she is, right?

She's a Berserkeran innocently cruel girl who wanted John the Baptist's head.

She's like a walking disaster in Servant form. She might decide to kill you at any moment.

Doesn't that scare you?

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That so? Man, you're kind of badass in your own way, aren't you!?

Oh, I really mean that, you know! I wasn't being facetious or anything!

Y-yeah? Hmm... Well, I guess that's one way to approach things.

Eh, whatever. You know, you're pretty awesome!

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Yeah, I do.

Sorry if you don't agree.

...Hm? Is that Salome? ...No, it's not.

Ah, dammit. Listen, Chaldean. Don't worry about looking bad here.

Just, whatever you do, don't fight back!

There you are. Been a while, hasn't it? Anyway, it's time for your torture.

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If you were going to execute someone, wouldn't you want to find out what useful things they know first?

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Oh, don't worry.

Scraping out people's brains tends to reveal information even they didn't know they had.

Hey! You sure this is a good idea!? Sure seems like a terrible one to me!

Hm? Who said that?

...Oh, it's you. Does that mean you're willing to be tortured in his place?

If it'll help, gladly!

My, my. Not even a moment's hesitation.

I'm afraid that would take all the fun out of it, though.

Besides...I have my own thoughts on humanity.

You don't mind indulging an old man in his unscrupulous hobbies, do you? Though, I'm afraid your answer will change nothing.

Stop that, Grandfather Zhang Jue.

You can't torture him, okay? No way, nohow.

...Salome. What are you doing here?

I'm bringing him food. I just know he still has so many more wonderful stories to share!

But he won't be able to tell me any if you torture and break him. Yah!

...Well, now.

You don't HAVE to torture him, right, Gramps?

... ...Oh, all right.

Besides, Kriemhild seems to have a soft spot for you. This at least makes a good excuse.

Sorry for scaring you, young man.

If you start feeling sick, try dissolving this charm into water and drinking it.

Well, see you later.

Oh, right. I almost forgot to tidy up.

Oh my, you even cleaned up after me, Gramps? Thank you so much!

Are you okay? Did you lose your appetite?

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Wow, how voracious♡

That's wonderful. Make sure you eat up so you have plenty of energy, okay?

...You know, I'm not especially hungry myself, but I couldn't help but overhear what sounds like a delicious meal.

Hey, what're you eating?

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I don't suppose you could be a little more specific, could you?

Let's see... Um, I think the meat is called roast beef?

The fish was caught at the lake. I don't know what it's called.

I heard it was yummy, though, so it's probably fine.

I chose a bread that wasn't too hard, but aside from that...

Got it. Thanks, lady!

You're the captured Servant, huh?

I can only hear your voice, but you seem very heroic.

You can tell that from my voice?

Hmm... More or less.

I bet you're going to be an amazing hero one day. Are you an incredible adventurer or something?

Hmm. You're kind of right, and kind of not.

Besides, as you can see, I've been stuck in here watching the days go by ever since you guys caught me.

Is that what you think? Are you sure you couldn't just leave whenever you wanted?

I don't know... I guess it's technically possible, sure.

But if I did, then...it'd all be over.

Hmm.

I'm curious to know more about you too, but right now, Fujimaru is more important.

Hmm... Important? Valuable? No, neither of those sounds right.

Anyway, would you tell me more stories, Fujimaru?

You can keep eating, of course!

No point worrying about manners or etiquette here.

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Oh my. Oh my, oh my!

That was wonderful! Just absolutely wonderful! You lived a very different life a long time ago, huh?

I don't think us Servants can really enjoy meals properly since we don't actually get hungry...

...but that Uruk food you mentioned has my mouth watering just thinking about it.

In fact, for the first time in forever, I think I actually feel like eating something myself!

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Oh my! Hehe, that's fine. It's perfectly all right.

I'm happy you ate so much. I'll bring you more food tomorrow.

When I do, let's eat together, okay?

Hey. Any chance I can get in on this meal action?

Nope. You stay put, Mr. Hero.

Tch! Ah, fine, whatever!

... ...

I'm sure♡

Hmm...

Okay, if there's any food left over when we're done, I'll let you have some of that.

Great! I'll take it!

You're very easygoing, aren't you? It's almost like you don't have a care in the world.

Or, you're ignoring the ones you do have.

O-ouch. You're a lot sharper than you look...

Teeheehee. I am who I am.

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...All right, I'd better get going.

See you tomorrow, Fujimaru.

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... ...

Bye!

Nice job. I'm sure the meal helped, but are you doing okay beyond that?

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I see.

...You know, I'm pretty sure humans are still supposed to eat three meals a day, right?

Looks like Salome forgot that bit...

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Plus, you've still got water!

...By the way, just to make sure...

Do you know Salome's story?

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Gotcha. Well then, I guess there's nothing I need to tell you.

Well, want me to go over it real quick, then?

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All right.

That said, everything I know about her's secondhand, but at least it's better than nothing.

Salome's the adopted daughter of King Herod Antipas. She's a princess, basically.

One day, she fell head over heels for a prophet named Jokanaan, or John the Baptist, depending on who you ask.

If she'd just fallen for the guy, that'd be one thing. Nobody could've blamed her for that.

If it'd ended happily with them getting married, or tragically with rejection, it'd have been pretty unremarkable.

...Instead, Salome wanted Jokanaan's severed head on a platter. Nothing else would satisfy her.

I guess it was some kind of weird fetish or something?

Or maybe her love was so overwhelmingly strong, it compelled her to keep him forever as her own.

I wasn't there, so I can't really say.

But, either way, she kept begging King Herod for his head, and eventually, he agreed.

And so, Jokanaan's head was cut off and presented to Salome as a gift.

Eventually, Salome herself came to be executed, too.

...Anyway, that's the long and short of it.

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Hm?

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...Good point!

Whatever she may have done in the past, she did save you today.

I still think it'd be smart to keep her past in mind when dealing with her, though.

Feelings can be many, many things, but predictable isn't typically one of them.

...Sometimes, they can be so intense that they even make you ruin something you care deeply for.

Okay, you got it.

And hey, seeing how you've handled her so far, maybe you'll do just fine without knowing her backstory.

Anyway, now that you're all fed and hydrated, the only thing left to do for the day is go to sleep.

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Hm?

... ...Oh! Right! My name!

Hahahaha, sorry about that. With everything that's happened, I guess it kept slipping my mind.

Okay, let me finally introduce myself then. I'm...

Um...Seton!

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Uh... Yup! That's me!

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Sure I did! I fought, uh, dung beetles and stuff!

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Bah...details!

Anyway, once again, I'm glad to have met you, Fujimaru!

Salome's taken a liking to that human?

I believe so.

She brought him the meal I forgot to prepare for him, and now he's seemingly all she can talk about.

...Well, that's fine.

That she's taken a liking to him only makes his death that much more likely.

You're talking about the Jokanaan incident from when she was alive?

No, I'm talking about the Servant who's materialized right now.

The thing about Salome, Zhang Jue...

...is that everyone she cares for eventually starts to look like Jokanaan to her.

She starts to believe they're having a lovely conversation even if they're talking past each other.

She may not see him as Jokanaan right now, but it's only a matter of time.

And when she does, she won't be able to hold herself back.

Hmm. Does that mean we can leave her to her own devices then?

Oh, I think it would still be prudent to have a Servant or two stand guard.

But when she inevitably starts to believe he is Jokanaan, that will be the end of him.

Let's set that aside though, Zhang Jue. What about that other matter we discussed?

...Follow me and I'll show you.

Very good. Will it be ready for the final battle?

Of course.

Then we'll just have to wait and see if that battle does in fact take place on the day you predicted.

That's what my fortune said, and it hasn't steered me wrong yet.

...Well, you're not the only one. Most of the Servants with prognostication skills have said the same thing.

I suppose that's just how predicting the future works.

Indeed.

...Oh, right. I also want you to take care of this.

Written orders? ...Hmm...

Lord Zhang Jue.

What is it? Can't you see I'm busy reading?

I find it hard to believe that you-know-who truly understands how incredible this research is.

...True, she probably doesn't.

That...no, he is far beyond any normal Servant's capabilities.

This could affect the entire universe.

And? Why are you telling me this?

I think you should overthrow you-know-who and take the throne for yourself.

Oho. Do you now?

That's quite an entertaining idea! So, you want me to use our research to rebel against her?

We're already rebelling against Proper Human History. What's one more rebellion on top of that?

Hmm, a fair point.

...You once served the nation the Liu family established in Ba-Shu, yes?

I'm told you also practiced sorcery in secret before proudly unveiling it to the world.

I did, sir.

Then I have just one question for you.

What do you think of Queen Kriemhild?

No, wait, let me clarify. Do you accept her as our rightful leader?

Or, failing that, do you recognize her power?

...No, sir. I don't think she's proven herself in either regard.

I see. Then I have no use for you.

But...why...?

I don't care whether you're willing to follow her leadership or not. As heroes, we're all egotistical to varying degrees.

But what I cannot abide is a failure to recognize her power.

It tells me you're too much of a fool to accurately gauge another's ability.

You may be dying, but listen carefully, Caster: Kriemhild is, bluntly, a monster.

Recall what happened after her lover was killed.

Her desire for revenge alone led her to seduce the king of a foreign land, muster troops, and instigate a major rebellion.

She even trampled her own brother in pursuit of her vengeance.

She used the demonic blade she never should have been able to wield to behead her enemy.

Yes, she may have been killed shortly thereafter in punishment for her own actions...

...but I suspect she only allowed that to happen because she didn't care what became of her after she took her revenge.

Whether she lived or died didn't matter to her as long as she killed the one she so loathed.

She is a Berserker, to be sure, but one blessed with intellect and cunning.

How did you fail to see that? Why couldn't you understand?

She's been aware of your desire to rebel against her for some time now.

She even told me to dispose of you in the written orders she gave me shortly before you showed up.

That...can't be...

Why did you think she wouldn't catch on?

It would have been one thing if you'd kept your thoughts to yourself, but the moment you began preparing, you failed.

And despite your preparations, you had no contingency plan.

You could have contacted like-minded comrades. You could have planned an escape in case things went wrong.

You could have negotiated for either of the other realms to take you and your fellow rebels in. But you didn't do any of those things, did you?

I...

You underestimated the queen when you should have been afraid of her. No one in their right mind would aid such a rebellion.

Good grief. Tell me, everyone.

Do I really seem that untrustworthy?

Do I just come across as a scheming old man who will betray his queen the first chance he gets?

Well...yes. Absolutely.

I'm honestly amazed you haven't betrayed her yet.

Sir! I still can't believe you haven't betrayed her, sir!

Do you think all old men are alike or something?

Well, no matter. All right, let's take this thing for its twenty-eighth test-drive, shall we?

I can know what you know, I can know what you try to hide, and while we're on the subject, I can even know what you've unconsciously forgotten.

Do we understand each other?

... ...Yes.

(Did he just brainwash that guy?)

...That gives us the general coordinates for both the Revenge Realm and the Reinstatement Realm.

By extension, we now know where the Righteous Realm must be as well, at least roughly.

Here, this place, right in the middle of the Singularity.

Heading north from here will take us to the Revenge Realm, and east to the Reinstatement Realm.

Which must mean the Righteous Realm is in the southwest.

According to that Archer, the other two realms have been sending in tons of scouts.

But they're no closer to learning anything about the Righteous Realm's capital.

Indeed. It seems the Righteous Realm has put up all manner of Bounded Fields to bolster its already considerable natural defenses.

So how'll we get past all that without a Caster?

Oh, I have an idea or two. But first, let me ask you something, Kadoc.

Hm?

...How do you feel about rock climbing?

I feel like I really don't love where this is going.

Oh, you'll be fine, Kadoc. You've always said you like rock, haven't you?

The MUSIC, you moron! What the hell kind of pathetic dad joke was that!?

... ...

Um, Kadoc?

Our new director is very sensitive to remarks about his age and his paternal temperament...

I still say you'd look way younger if you just shaved your mustache off.

And I still say, "No"!

Okay, okay! I'm sorry!

That's the spirit.

Dammit, if only we had tools with us or something. Holmes, have you got a knife you can lend me?

I do indeed.

Okay, we'll need a way to keep warm and rock climbing equipment... I can start by changing this into an ice axe...

Okay, that should do it.

Hmm. I daresay Fujimaru could stand to learn some survival magecraft as well.

Hahaha. I expect he would be delighted.

Well, I suppose asking you to share your magecraft's secrets would be too much...

What, this? These are just cheap tricks.

Hell, if you want me to teach them to him, I'll write 'em all down in a how-to guide for him.

Excellent. Now, let's be on our way.

Given this Singularity's overall area, I expect we can reach the capital within two days.

From there, it will simply be up to us to convince them that it is in their interests to rescue Mr. Fujimaru.

Come, let's hurry.

Yep.