The World turns grey,
The Air grows cool,
The Fog blows in.
Only at evening can you really value Home.
Combatants remaining: 4
When Scholars study a Thing,
They strive to kill it first, if it's alive.
Be lost the whole, for the Link that's missing
Was the living Soul.
Remaining Days: 6
In the morning, I take my time to wake up Saber. This would be our last time waking up together with just the two of us for quite a while, after all. I enjoy every moment with Saber and I would not trade these times for anything in the world, but at the same time, Rin is an important friend for me. I cannot abandon her, even if it may be a bit selfish of me…
I caress Saber's cheek, like I do so often. Her cheeks are just so soft, I cannot help but want to touch them. I am positive there is close to no patch of skin on her body which's softness could match her cheeks. I softly pressed my lips on Saber's. "Wake up, Mordred." It feels really intimate to use her True Name, and I know I should not do that in front of anyone else.
But it fulfills its purpose—Saber instantly shoots up upon hearing me call her by her name instead of her Class, along with a faint blush decorating her delicate face.
"Oh, you are awake," I say, sounding as carefree as I only can at the start of a new round, when we do not know who we would face yet. There is a high chance it would be Leo we are facing, since there should only be four Masters left. I prefer not to think about this, though, we will check our opponent soon anyway.
"Yeah, I'm," Saber agreed groggily. Even being called by her True Name will not make her any more of a morning person, it seems. Though that is to be expected. "This is the second last round, huh?" Surprisingly attentive of her, in this state.
"Yes. If we win this one, there would only be one more opponent." I can hardly believe we made it this far already. In the beginning, I felt like every day could be the last one. I have no skill or talent, I am just unfitting as a Master. But now, at this point… Thanks to Saber, I overcame so many strong opponents. I feel like I may have a real chance and winning and making it out alive now.
If I am still alive outside of the Moon Cell, that is.
I pushed away any thought about this the last few days, but in the end, I do not know much more than I did before. I may be dead, or in a coma or anything. And as Saber has said before, if I am dead the Moon Cell would delete me even if I win. I would probably not even get to make any sort of wish. And yet, I will not give up. I cannot give up at this point and make everything Saber and I go through go to waste.
Spending as much time as I possibly have left with Saber feels like a good enough motivation to keep going.
I get up from our bed and get dressed, while Saber throws her sleeping clothes on the bed and materialises her revealing armour—I imagine while it offers less protection it is much more comfortable to walk around in. Of course, our first thing to do today is go to the bulletin board to check our opponent's name.
However… This would probably not be my life if there would not be an unexpected irregularity. I am not even surprised anymore at this point. Written next to my name, barely readable, is:
ERROR_406
Whatever this error means, I do not know who I am going to face. I turn to face Saber, who seems more irritated than me, although not as much. It probably just surprises us that this exact error has not happened to us before.
"Training?" I ask her.
"Training," Saber agrees. "And let's look for the Trigger."
It is a great idea—we do not know who we will face yet, so they would not really be able to check it themselves, would they? This means, today is the safest day to look for a Cipher Key, it will give us a head start. In some way, at least. On the way to the Arena, I still have not met Leo or his Servant. They are probably avoiding us, or they are too busy. That would explain why I have not met them for a long time. Or maybe they lost already? I could not know.
In the Arena, Saber has no trouble. I doubt any Enemy Programs would give her any trouble anymore at this point, but still, slashing through those poor, helpless programs makes her happy, so I will gladly let her do so.
I am surprised at how easy we find the Trigger Code Lambda, though. It is as if someone has just put it there for us to collect, but I chalk it up to the odds being in our favour this time and that is it.
Now that we are back in school, we cannot really procrastinate any longer. We have to take Rin to our room now, she is probably already waiting for us. (Not that she would ever admit that)
"Taking long, didn't you?" There is no hostility from Rin, just a certain sweetness in her words. I chuckle.
"Sorry, we went to the Arena and lost track of time." It is true, though somehow it sounds like a lame excuse. I could have also told her that I just wanted to spend some more last quality time with Saber alone.
On the way back to our room, the conversation stays just between Rin and me, Saber does not participate. Well, I do prefer this over them fighting, so I should not complain.
"Who's your opponent this time?" That is a really good question. I wonder, too.
"The bulletin board showed 'Error 406', so we don't really know." Rin seems concerned, though she does not really know what to make of it either.
"I'll look into it for you, don't worry." Moments like this would remind me why it was no mistake to save Rin or to risk tension by inviting her to our room. She is a close friend to me, and I probably would not have made it as far without her.
"Thank you, Rin."
There is not much more to talk about before the three of us go to bed—hopefully there will be no reasons to fight any soon for the two of them…