Epilogue

Senpai! How are you feeling, Senpai!?

？！

You look...like you always do. Phew. What a relief.

Yup, vitals are all looking good. Not that there was ever a problem with them.

More like you fell into a strange coma, but not one like your usual REM REM state. Then you woke up just as suddenly.

Hmm. It's a real head-scratcher all right.

And then there's Sion. Same thing happened to her, right down to waking up at the same moment.

Yes, that certainly was strange. But, now that we have both woken up, and we are in perfectly good health...

...I would say we have nothing to be concerned about! Do you not agree?

I mean, sure, that's the most important thing, but did this actually happen for no real reason?

Like, did you two get hit with localized sleeping gas? An electromagnetic pulse to your brains? Some unknown form of magecraft?

I can't help but think there must be a reason behind this.

... ...

Ah, right. I just recalled the problem we were working on prior to Fujimaru and I falling asleep.

How is the Paper Moon doing now?

Oh, that? For some reason, it started working again right around the time you woke up.

It's working like always now, though we're still checking to make sure. I wonder what happened with it.

We'll need to keep digging to see what we can find out.

I see, I see. I am glad to hear it is back to its old self.

？！

You look troubled, Senpai. Is something wrong?

I suspect you had a dream while you slept, yes? Do you recall what it was about?

？！

...

Surprise. Sorry to interrupt, but can I ask you something?

Our Foundation of Humanity grade just jumped from E to D not too long ago.

Our Foundation of Humanity grade just jumped from D to C not too long ago.

Do you two have any idea why that might be?

？！

No comment from me, either. After all, it was not something "I" experienced.

So let us just chalk it up to both me and Fujimaru growing without realizing it!

The important thing is that one of our problems is solved. Can we not just be happy about that?

Hmm? (That's weird. It's not like Sion to be so vague...)

More importantly, I think you should keep examining Master Fujimaru.

It seems he pushed his brain harder than usual this time, so that deserves a thorough checkup.

O-oh, yeah. Good point.

Okay, one last round of medical exams, then we'll call it a day.

We might still call you in for follow-ups, but for now, the best thing you can both do is rest up in your own rooms!

Not you though, Mash. I want you to stay and rest here, where I can keep an eye on you until you're properly recovered.

You haven't gotten a wink of sleep since Fujimaru lost consciousness! You've been at his bedside the whole time, so I'm ordering you to get some rest, right here, right now!

Oh, I get the feeling you are about to have an unusual visitor.

I would like to see what happens next, but my room is off that way, so I will just wish you good night.

？！

...Hey. Can I talk to you for a second?

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Yeah. You know who I am, right?

I'm Cerejeira Elron. I work in the records department.

？！

？！

She is the Alter Ego...the Involved type, I suppose you could say.

She just happened to be nearby during the first rotation, so she probably was at least physically close to you.

However, her Alter Ego is just a copy of the original's personality model...

...so she has no direct connection to her counterpart in the outside world.

Your minds were drawn in here by direct, if accidental, intervention, which probably rendered your bodies comatose.

But the real Cerejeira is going about her normal life completely unaware that she's been copied.

Any feedback she does experience is likely to be no more than a slight subconscious tingle of sorts.

The reason there is such a difference between you two and her is that, well...

...she was already in a state of mind that made her very easy to copy.

Whereas the two of you fell in here entirely by accident.

That's why she became an official Master AI, and you didn't.

I can only guess, but I believe she may have already been slightly mentally unstable, such that it would be easy for a fragment of her personality to be detached.

She was likely experiencing the kind of instability which would make her dislike who she is and look for a chance at becoming someone else...

...Hey.

Aah!

Don't just shout like that! You scared me.

So, anyway...

Don't just say what I want before I get a chance to. Did you use a mind reading spell on me?

Well, whatever.

？！

I usually leave the personal relationship stuff to Meunière and the others, so we've never really talked much before...

...but there's something I want to talk to you about now. Would you come with me? It won't take long.

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Well...

There's...something I've been meaning to apologize for.

I just suddenly had the feeling now would be a good time to talk to you.

(Inhale...) (Exhale...)

Okay, here goes. Remember back when...

What are you so upset about? Are you really gonna be that sad to say goodbye to this job?

Is that how it works?

Don't be ridiculous. I'm just following orders.

This might well be the first time anything noteworthy happened at this gate, so they wanted a record keeper here for posterity.

Also, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me by my first name?

... ...

...Three hundred and twelve.

That's how many times you've called me by first name without my permission. I kept track.

That's not the point.

...My point is, do you really just want to grab one bite with me?

You've been trying to get to know me for a while, pretty unsubtly too, as many times as you've used my first name.

Do you really want to ask me out just this one time?

Hey, come on. Stop pumping your fist and get back to work.

Look, they're outside the gate right now.

That must be our new director, Goredolf Musik, and...

Hm? Who's the pink-haired lady? His secretary?

Hey! Where's the mic on this thing? Is this it? We're here! Someone open the gate, dammit!

Got it.

...I'm good with anything, but Portuguese food would be nice to have again. I haven't been back home in ages...

？！

So, there you have it. I was the one who opened the gate and let them in.

As I look back on it, that was our last chance to stop all of this from happening.

I keep dreaming about how things would be different if I'd just realized something was off back then...

？！

I know.

We were all writing up documents, getting ready for court hearings... And Director Musik's takeover was completely legal.

Hell, he was tricked just like the rest of us, for that matter. So I know we were basically destined to end up here.

But even so... Even so!

I can't help but think about what would've happened if I hadn't hit that button.

The fact is, I pushed us across that final line between this happening and not happening.

And I just can't get that out of my head.

Maybe I could've noticed something was off with Koyanskaya and told them the gate was acting up or something.

Maybe I could've then talked to one of the higher-ups, and things would've turned out differently.

Maybe, if things had gone differently, he would've made it onto the Border, too...

...and I wouldn't have broken my promise to have dinner with him!

There's so many possibilities all swirling around my head. I can't just forget what happened.

I mean...I'm a record keeper. I write journals for fun, and my family's lineage of memory magecraft never lets me forget anything.

That's why I can't get rid of this guilt.

All the time, I've got this giant ball of guilt making me wonder how things could've gone differently if I'd just been a little more careful.

I've talked about this in therapy. Maybe everyone else here already knew how guilty I feel.

Hell, maybe even you noticed at some point.

But, right now, for some reason...I got the urge to tell you myself. I...wanted to apologize to your face.

So please, let me say this.

I know it's selfish of me, but, I just have to get these words out.

...I'm sorry.

？！

？！

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...Okay.

(That's right, strange person I feel like I met in a dream.)

(Letting the guilt overwhelm me isn't going to do anyone any good.)

(So even if I can't forget it, I can still use it to fuel me...and let it drive me to do what I can, how I want.)

(And I'm going to trust that one day...that'll be enough to finally make amends...)

Oh? How so?

Go on, tell me. What did you forget? What's got you feeling lonely?

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Hmm, really now? What's that all about?

They said you were in a coma or something and none of them knew why.

So I thought I'd stop by to see if there were any fun changes in you...

...but you look the same as ever. Ugh, you're so boring.

Why couldn't you be drowning your woes in booze or whining about not wanting to work anymore or something?

All I wanted was a golden opportunity to drag you into depravity, and you couldn't even give me that.

...What? What is it?

？！

Huh? Why are you scolding me when I didn't even do anything?

Did you forget that I've been boycotting my entire god of love gig this whole time?

You really don't need to tell me not to work too hard. Waaay ahead of you there.

So don't get the wrong idea, okay? I'm only here because, well...it just worked out that way.

？！

Are you still half asleep or something? Why would you be glad to see the Demon King of Depravity?

Teehee. Maybe you really did experience some kind of degenerative, self-destructive change, the kind just begging to be corrupted.

...But for now, why don't you just treat yourself a bit? Go on back to sleep if you're still drowsy?

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(...Sigh)

...Idiot.

Well, that was certainly embarrassing.

Now that I have analyzed Rani-XII and determined how she came about...

...it is clear this incident was one of the Ordeal Calls that man told us about.

Still, quite a surprise to see so much distortion built up on the Paper Moon, of all places.

It may not have risen to the level of the Seven Taboos, but if I had been a little more diligent, maybe we would have discovered this distortion before it became a problem.

As I am meant to be the Paper Moon's caretaker, this has been a humbling experience.

The only positive is that, despite being taken by surprise, we were still able to resolve the situation.

Everything else simply demonstrates how much room we have for improvement.

And thanks to my frequent use of Memory Partition, I can recall the whole experience clearly.

In fact, I wonder if I am the only one who does.

Hmm... Kama is also accustomed to existing as multiple versions of herself.

I would not be surprised if she remembers too, but I think I will be merciful and not bring it up.

As for Ms. Elron and Fujimaru, I would expect their memories are subconscious at best.

Still, an opportunity like this does not come along every day, so I may as well go over it as a thought experiment.

We were brought into the Paper Moon's world during the first spin of the Alter Ego generating centrifuge.

It is therefore extremely likely that Fujimaru was an Alter Ego, too.

It is therefore extremely likely that Fujimaru was an Alter Ego, too.

But what kind of Alter Ego was he?

His poor condition when we first entered that world may be a hint.

He was in bad enough shape that he could barely fight without help from my Etherlite.

So, he was in suboptimal physical condition for reasons unknown, and there was a discrepancy between his mind and body. Put all this together and... Ah, now I see.

Hypothesis One: he was an Alter Ego who was fed up with fighting.

Yes, I like that idea. In fact, I certainly hope he has such a side to him somewhere.

Ideally, no human should ever want to fight more than is necessary.

If he lacks that trait, then he will never be able to go back to a normal life once the fighting is over.

Let us try the opposite approach.

If a given person was excited about fighting a battle for the fate of the world, and was neither hesitant nor concerned about it...

If that person did not have the slightest trace of a personality that would push them to avoid fighting where necessary...

That person would be a Berserker in human form. Something about them would have to be broken.

Such a person would never be able to return to a normal life after the fighting ended. They would continue to seek bloodshed wherever they went.

But fortunately, Fujimaru has also demonstrated the strong likelihood that he will not go down that path.

That is good. That is how he should be.

Well, when he used Medusa's virtual Noble Phantasm Mystic Code to fight back himself...

...I did also see that he was completely unafraid to stand on the front line...but the one does not cancel out the other.

There are times in many people's lives when they end up loving someone despite trying to avoid it...

...and when they fight in hope of not having to fight again.

...Of course, if he IS willing to fight despite being sick of fighting as long as he has sufficient reason...

...that is a worrying possibility unto itself.

But there is probably nothing we can do there except encourage him to continue seeing a therapist.

Another possibilitymade, perhaps, with the benefit of hindsightis that he did not win the Holy Grail War.

Using that as a hint...

...maybe it was a version of him which was not the last Master of humankind, and was not responsible for the world's fate.

Maybe that version of him was just an ordinary Master.

An Alter Ego who was just looking to take it easy for once.

Hmm. That one seems unlikely.

Of course, ultimately, this is all just conjecture.

It could simply be that he was pulled into that world because he was a Master with Command Spells...

...and that he was the one exception that was never made into an Alter Ego at all.

In that case, his poor physical condition could be chalked up as a simple reconstruction error during the import process.

I think I would give that one about fifty-fifty odds.

...Anyway, I think that is enough considering what happened to Fujimaru for the time being.

Right now, I need to reflect on my own mistakes.

Like the fact that I took advantage of my childhood appearance...

...to use that "thread" I threw away because it was simply too unethical to rely on.

Talk about a black mark.

Anyway...I suppose I failed to realize I still had these feelings.

Even though I had long since come to the conclusion that I should not be their friend...

...it seems there is still a childish part of me who wants to, regardless.

That simply will not do. I had better excise this memory permanently.

(Munch, munch, munch)

(Gulp) ...No, you can't have a bite.

Baker and that super jacked new cook came up with this curry bread together.

It's got a perfect balance of spice, salt, sugar, and, uh...other amazing flavors.

If you want one, go get your own.

...What's that? You want to know what I'm reading while I snack?

(Gulp) What? You got a problem with that?

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It's some kind of essay that just popped up in the database one day.

It was a good test subject for my emergency excitation response system...

...but once I used that to materialize it, I didn't have anything better to do than, well, read it.

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It's a treatise on Alter Egos. How they're formed, the implications of their existence, that kind of thing.

"We have been quick to make use of this class of Servants despite not understanding their greater significance or true nature..."

"...and perhaps it is time we take a moment to reconsider that choice."

"I believe doing so will lead us to a greater understanding of Alter Egos in general..."

"...and also help us learn how to make even more effective use of their power."

I know, right? Takes itself real seriously. Oh, it goes on to say this, too.

"Alter Egos generally appear of their own accord..."

"...so be warned that, unless you are using yourself as material, and you already possess an incredibly OP skill..."

"...intentionally making a new one would be both difficult and ill-advised."

Well, duh.

Hell, even speaking for myself, I have no idea why this version of me is an Alter Ego.

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Of course not.

I might not know why I came out like this, but I know exactly why I am this way.

Obviously, it's because of my deep, abiding love for...(pause for dramatic effect) Lady Yu.

That's the part of this essay I agreed with the most.

It says that even though Alter Egos are derived from fragments of the original's personality...

...the nature of their existence also makes it possible for them to do things the original couldn't.

In my case, if I was still my old self, with all my extraneous ties and obligations...

...I wouldn't be able to live the dream of devoting everything to Lady Yu.

...(Munch)

Hmm. Since I'm one of the keenest intellectuals around here, and one of the Alter Egos in question...

...I think I'll add my own thoughts on the subject.

I'm pretty sure regular people are just as capable of doing the same things as Alter Egos filled with a singular focus.

For example, let's say you accomplish a great feat and go down in history.

Maybe the you who accomplished that wasn't the normal you, but a you who only lived to love someone else.

Maybe it was a you who just wanted to protect a certain someone, even if it cost you your life.

Or maybe it was a you who only cared about killing someone.

My point is, maybe us Alter Egos...

...are just a series of the countless moment to moment heroic forms everyone has within them.

Or something like that.

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Which is it?

Oh well, it's no big deal. Like I said, I was just reading this 'cause I didn't have anything better to do.