In Naoki's room.
Sitting by the bedside, Gray holds her brother's hand.
Manaka has successfully transferred into Rei's body. Originally, according to her, her brother was supposed to wake up soon, but just moments ago, Merry informed her that Naoki had encountered another problem before he could return, so he might not come back smoothly.
Gray has long known that her brother often gets caught up in trouble. She also knows that, in the end, he's unlikely to come to harm. Even in an incident as massive as the one four years ago, he returned safely, and this time should be no different.
Still, despite that, every time Naoki gets involved in or resolves something, she can't help but worry about him.
"Big brother…"
Gazing at Naoki lying on the bed with his eyes closed, like a sleeping princess, Gray clenches her fists slightly and leans against him: "Please make sure you're okay, Brother… Hurry back with Sister Lia."
Next to Naoki, Artoria also lies on the bed with her eyes closed, just like him.
According to Merry, the two are still deep within the realm of consciousness, fighting against the last fragments of Manaka's power. If those two fragments aren't defeated, their consciousnesses won't be able to return fully.
(Big brother and Sister Lia will definitely be fine)—that's what she thinks, but as they remain unconscious, Gray grows less certain. It's been over half an hour now, nearly forty minutes. A battle that hasn't ended in this long… As far as Gray can recall, this is the first time.
There shouldn't be any problems, right?
"Ugh…"
A sudden groan breaks the silence in the room. Hearing it, Gray immediately pulls away from Naoki, her eyes and face full of hope as she looks at the two lying on the bed.
(There was a sound—does that mean Brother and Sister Lia… Oh, Sister Merry! I need to tell her right away!)
Gray starts to run downstairs, but as she turns, the door behind her opens. Merry and Rei walk in one after the other.
"Sister Merry, Rei."
"Thank you for watching over them, Gray. Any changes? We just confirmed that the King and Lia have completely annihilated Manaka-chan's power."
"Brother and Sister Lia are okay?" Gray lets out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness… By the way, Brother groaned just now. Does that mean he'll wake up soon?"
Merry nods: "In theory, yes. But if the King wants to get a bit cozy with Lia in the realm of consciousness, it's hard to say exactly when he'll wake up~"
"As if there's time for that…"
In a room filled almost entirely with women, a man's weak voice suddenly rings out.
Gray turns around immediately, and there, sitting up from the bed with his eyes open, is Naoki's silhouette.
"Brother!"
She rushes to hug him, her arms wrapping tightly around his waist: "Thank goodness… You're finally back."
Gently stroking Gray's hair, Naoki smiles faintly: "Sorry, Gray, I made you worry. Things over there were a bit tricky, so I came back a little late."
"As long as you're back, that's enough. And Sister Lia too—welcome back."
"Mhm, we're back, Gray."
Artoria also pats Gray's head.
Walking to the bedside with a smile, Merry crosses her arms and looks at the two: "You two really had me worried, King, Lia. I hope you can give me a bit of peace of mind. I don't want to get a stomachache from overworking at my young age."
"Young? You're thousands of years old—Ouch…"
Flicking Naoki's forehead with her finger, Merry laughs: "Even if it's the King, if you carelessly badmouth my age, I'll get mad, you know—Anyway, though there's a lot to talk about, whether it's your matters or ours, the main thing now is to eat, okay?"
"You two have been lying in bed for half a month without food or drink—you must be starving. After you're full, then we can continue with the things we need to discuss."
"Even though the Holy Grail War is over, there's still a lot to clean up."
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Three hours later.
In the dining room.
"Uh… Burp~~~~~~"
Swallowing his last burger, Naoki leans back in his chair, patting his slightly bloated stomach before letting out a long burp: "Full, full, I'm really full this time. You can eat in the realm of consciousness, but it's basically like eating air. Eating real food like this is what feels real."
"Yes, I'm also very full. It was truly a lavish dinner. Thank you for preparing it for us, Rei, Gray."
Hearing Artoria's words, Gray, washing dishes at the sink, smiles and shakes her head: "As long as you and Sister Lia are full. You haven't eaten in so long, and we couldn't feed you in that state, so now you have to eat until you're satisfied."
"I actually suggested feeding you both mouth-to-mouth, but sadly, Gray stopped me." Merry says with a regretful tone. "I bet the King was really looking forward to it, right? Being fed mouth-to-mouth by me."
"I'd have to make sure there's no weird potion in your mouth first."
"Eh~~ I wouldn't do that."
"You think I'd believe you?"
Naoki sighs slightly: "By the way, it's just the three of you here now? Where's everyone else? All out on business?"
Rei nods: "Yes, Master. Since everyone has their own matters to settle, they've been leaving one by one during the half-month you and Lia-sama were asleep."
"Touko-sama and Ryougi-sama have returned to Mifune City. Aoko-sama didn't specify her destination. Riddell-sama went back to the Clock Tower and left a message for us to pass on to you, asking you to visit her when you have time. She said there are some family matters that need your attention."
That's definitely about marriage. It seems the Acherolette family is getting impatient.
"Atalanta, Mordred, and Okita Souji—the three of them left with Morgan recently. They've been handling all the necessary legal documents over the past half-month. This time, they're out dealing with work and future living arrangements. They'll probably be back tonight."
"Those three are going to work?"
"After all, they'll be living in the real world for a long time. If a Servant gains a physical body, they shouldn't start weakening naturally for at least a hundred years, and death is still far beyond that." Rei says, glancing at Artoria. "I'll also accompany Lia-sama to handle these things later."
"Thank you so much."
For Servants from distant past eras, even with modern knowledge granted by the Holy Grail, living in the modern world is somewhat challenging. The modern era is far more complex than ancient times.
After speaking, Rei pulls a letter from her sleeve and hands it to Naoki.
"Also, this is a letter sent by Master Caster… Lord Animusphere before leaving Japan. I believe it contains matters related to you, Master, so I didn't open it and kept it until now."