Six hours after Naoki and Angelica arrived in the Imperial Capital Singularities.
After enduring a series of events—including being attacked by Nobunaga, demolishing the Imperial Army Headquarters, and finding temporary lodging—the two finally found rest as night fell.
Seated beside a window on the second floor of an inn, Naoki gazed out at the distant edge of the Imperial Capital, its skyline still glowing with scattered lights.
"They're still fighting. What a pointless, tiresome war… Wouldn't it be better to just admit defeat? This country is stubborn to the bone—even though objectively, I don't hate it… Angelica, what do you think would happen if I dropped a moon right onto it now?"
"The war would probably end in an instant."
From behind Naoki, in the room beside the round table, Angelica replied calmly: "Natsukawa-sama… do you truly hate this era so much?"
"Yes. Honestly, I want to wipe this place off the map. But truthfully—I won't. Hate is hate, anger is anger. If I truly loathed this land down to my marrow, I would've already dropped several moons and leveled this entire city the moment I arrived."
"Even if it means killing countless civilians."
Japan of this era was an unforgivable target—but that didn't mean it should become a dumping ground for his future self's rage. Nor should he unleash his fury upon innocent civilians who were also suffering under the war.
Destroying the Imperial Army Headquarters earlier today was enough.
Of course, even if called a "headquarters" there may have been few people inside. Even if one or two escaped, he could deal with them later. Right now, the priority was resolving this Singularities.
Before that—
"Let's summon a Servant first."
Naoki slid the round table to the corner of the room, then sliced the tip of his finger with a wind blade, letting a single drop of blood fall onto the floor. The moment the blood touched the ground, it instantly spread outward, forming within seconds a perfect Summoning Circle beneath their feet.
Rising to his feet, Naoki raised his hand before him, the Command Spell glowing brightly, and recited the invocation chant—
"Continuation revoked—Answer my call, Guardian of Balance."
*ZING!*
The magic circle erupted in a blinding flash of light.
The next second, from within the radiance, a figure slowly emerged.
"The newly appointed Captain of the First Division of the Shinsengumi—Okita Souji, at your service!"
A girl with cherry-blossom hair, clad in a pale green haori, stepped forth from the summoning circle—exactly as Naoki had envisioned.
"You are my Master—Eh?! Natsukawa-sama?!"
Okita, poised to introduce herself with dignified pride, froze mid-gesture upon recognizing the man standing before her.
Waving the Command Spell on the back of his hand, Naoki grinned. "Yo, long time no see, Okita. Sorry, but I need your help this time."
Okita Souji.
Ten years ago, during the previous Holy Grail War, she had been summoned as Assassin by Arcueid. In truth, she was a representative dispatched by the Counter Force, assigned to ensure Naoki became its agent.
After Naoki became a Fairy and the Sword Bearer, Rei forcibly detained her—as petty revenge against the Counter Force—and kept her bound to this world.
Yet unlike Atalanta, who gained flesh from the Holy Grail, or Artoria, who could not fully separate from Naoki and thus remained, Okita remained a Servant. Should the contract be broken or Mana supply cease, she would immediately return to the Throne of Heroes.
Thus, over the past decade, Naoki had continuously supplied her with Mana—not because he needed to, but because as a Fairy, his Mana was inexhaustible. Had any other Magus attempted this, they would have been drained dry.
In return, Okita faithfully upheld her duties as a Servant: occasionally substituting for Naoki to teach martial arts classes at the Clock Tower, or carrying out missions ordered directly by him.
But most of the time, she did absolutely nothing.
Because of this, several years ago, Okita had briefly fallen into depression—haunted by the guilt of consuming Naoki's boundless Mana without ever being useful to him. She nearly suffered a psychological breakdown.
Fortunately, Merry eventually intervened with counseling. As for what exactly transpired during those sessions… only Merry and Okita knew.
And now—
"So… you summoned me to resolve the incident occurring in this Singularities?"
After hearing the majority of Naoki's explanation, Okita couldn't suppress a slight tremble—her eyes sparkling with overwhelming joy. "Ten years… I've finally waited for this moment—Natsukawa-sama! I, Okita Souji, will traverse fire and water for you this time!"
"You're really fired up."
"Of course I am! After all, this is the first time in ten years you've needed me, Master!"
Having an overly capable Master wasn't purely good news for a Servant. It was a mixed blessing. On the positive side, a Servant never needed to worry about protecting a weak Master—they could focus entirely on combat. But the downside? An overly capable Master could render a Servant completely useless.
That was Naoki's case. Because he was so powerful, there had been virtually nothing in the last ten years requiring Okita's intervention. Consequently, for a decade, Okita had languished as a full-time unemployed tenant in Camelot's apartment complex!
Even when she did something small, to Okita, it paled in comparison to the endless Mana Naoki poured into her.
Which was precisely why she was so ecstatic now.
Naoki, who could read her thoughts fairly well, couldn't help laughing. "Alright, glad you're excited—but tonight, no fighting needed. So you'll have to wait a little longer. And to resolve this Singularities… simply winning the Imperial Capital Holy Grail War won't be enough."
"If it could be solved that easily, I wouldn't have summoned you, Okita. I could've just dropped dozens—or even a hundred—moons here. Eh? Okita, why are you suddenly sad? Your energy just vanished!"
"Ugh… I'm fine. So… I'm actually not needed?"
"I didn't say that!" Seeing Okita's spirits plummet again, Naoki quickly waved his hands to reassure her. "Besides, I summoned you because I do need your power right now, don't I? This time, I genuinely hope you'll lend me your strength. Me and Angelica alone can't handle this."
Hearing those words, Okita's previously gloomy face instantly lit up: "Really?! Master!"
"Yes, truly, truly. More real than diamonds."
"In any case, eighty-one Holy Grail bombs aren't something two people can casually handle."