Fifth Game: Togakushi Souryuden (5/8)

There we go. We just jumped ahead about a thousand meters!

That's nothing! I'll show you REAL impressive jumpinglike leaping over no fewer than eight boats!

Here comes Ushiwakamaru!

We won, Senpai! We defeated Ushiwakamaru!

What a wonderful show♪

...Before I go, there is one thing I would like to ask. Who are you?

You mean you don't know? I'm Marie, of course. Vive la France♪

...All right, I'll leave it at that. But not before you answer me this:

What is your role in this world?

My role? Well, that's rude.

Erice just appeared behind us. She's only about a hundred meters away now.

It's over. You must remain here for a single turn.

And there goes Erice. Luckily, she didn't roll too high.

But it won't be easy to increase our lead now that we have to sit out a turn.

Oh my, this is so thrilling. I'm positively on pins and needles♪

So you're only watching from the sidelines, without even trying to help Lord Fujimaru? And you call yourself his friend?

Don't look at me like that. I just came along because I hadn't had my fill of fun yet.

If that's true, it would mean you don't have a Master.

And in this world, the only way such a being can continue to exist is if they fill some sort of role.

So what's yours, Marie Antoinette?

I don't owe you a single word of explanation, but

Erice just appeared behind us. And she's looking this way.

I'm the queen. I am queen now, as I was in life. My job is to rule over my people, and to be the recipient of their respect and admiration.

And can you do that job while kicking back and watching your allies battle from the sidelines?

That's for the people to decide. Whether they praise us, or blame us, is up to them.

I have nothing but praise for you, Queen Marie!

Erice?

Why thank you, Erice. So you must have been watching.

Yes, Your Majesty. I don't know if you're aware of this, but soon after I came to this world...

...I saw you declaring yourself a player back in Akihabara, though from a ways away.

？！

Fujimaru, remember how we first met back in the werewolf house?

And do you remember how everyone there had left their Masters in Akihabara...

...and come to challenge this Monde du Jeu world of their own volition?

I'm the one who invited them.

Doing everything our Masters say is dreadfully boring, after all, and we have just as much of a right to enjoy ourselves as anybody, don't you think?

Every Servant who accepted my invitation and came to that house was there of their own free will.

That was when we all became players, and set about playing in this world on our own.

I suppose you could call it a Servant revolution of sorts.

I know this is only a game world, but even so...

Servants voluntarily turning against their Masters? Is that even possible?

You do see the occasional Servant going rogue. Here in this world, having that many Rogue Servants would truly be a revolution!

But once you've gone rogue, what do you do for your magical energy supply?

Based on my understanding of how things work in this world's Akihabara...

...a Servant that separated from their Master would lose their connection to their Master's Holy Grail, and their Spirit Origin could disappear at any time.

Oh, our Masters in Akihabara know about our decision, and they're fine with it. So since we're still connected to them, we don't have to worry about disappearing.

It just goes to show how much Masters love their Servants!

So as long as the people sing my praises and support my decisions, I'm free to do as I like.

I can be my own king, and rule over myself.

No one calling themself a king could be that removed from the ways of this world.

Marie, you are nothing more than a fool treating the Monde du Jeu as your personal playground!

YoshitsuneI mean, Ushiwakamaru.

I respect you deeply, but I would never try to imitate your way of life.

If anything, right now, I think you're much more out of line than Queen Marie.

You're just playing the part this game forced upon you. I can barely stand to see you like this.

Is that so?

Hahaha, well, I can't say the thought of giving her a little cut didn't cross my mind for a moment.

N-not at all. I'm perfectly fine. I'm Ushiwakamaru, you know. Always calm.

(I think that's exactly what Master was worried about...)

？！

Ahem. Very well, Erice, then let me ask you this: Who are you, and what do you fight for!?

I... Right now, I'm...

...Fujimaru's enemy.

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