"Alright, let's begin."
Waver got off the chariot, walked over to Tia, and pulled out a pocket watch from his coat to begin his hypnosis spell.
But just as he was about to start, Tia suddenly jumped up from the ground and shouted.
"Teacher! Professor Waver! I want to be your student! Your number one Caster disciple!"
"Huh?" Waver was stunned by Tia's words, and never even got a chance to begin the hypnosis. The pocket watch just dangled uselessly in front of Tia.
"Oh?" Alexander the Great raised his eyebrows, surprised by what he just heard.
"Wait, kid! What are you talking about? Be my student? I'm not someone who can teach magic to others! Alright, stop messing around. You should go home now — don't make your dad and mom worry," Waver waved it off, thinking it was just a kid being silly. Then he tried to get back to the hypnosis.
"No! I'm not joking! I came here just for you! King of Conquerors Alexander the Great, and Waver Velvet from the Clock Tower! I already knew there'd be a fight here tonight between King Arthur and Diarmuid, and that Alexander the Great would step in — that's why I came!"
"Oh?" This time, Alexander the Great was genuinely starting to get interested in Tia.
"What?" Waver was shocked and instinctively stopped his hypnosis spell. "You knew ahead of time? Are you kidding me? You don't look like a Caster at all! And you still dared to get involved in the Holy Grail War? And you're just a kid! Tell me right now — where did you get this information?! I'm gonna go give that person a piece of my mind! Letting a little kid take part in such a dangerous war!"
Tia listened to Waver yelling at him and couldn't help but feel speechless. His face even showed a bit of disdain without him realizing it.
Wasn't this guy exactly the kind of person he was complaining about?
"Hey, hey! What's with that look on your face? I'm not like you, alright? I am a Caster! I've been fully prepared!" Waver saw the expression Tia was making and immediately got defensive, trying to point out that what he did was completely different.
"Hahahaha!" Alexander the Great burst into loud laughter as he listened to Waver and looked at Tia's face. "Master, this little brat clearly did his homework on you!" While laughing, he jumped off the ox-drawn chariot and came up to Tia. But in an instant, his whole presence changed — an overwhelming pressure poured out of him, and his face turned serious.
Tia looked up at the towering figure of Alexander the Great now standing right in front of him. The man's height blocked out all the streetlight above, and his presence alone was enough to make every hair on Tia's body stand up. He froze on the spot, a deep fear taking hold inside him.
"Kid, tell me — where did you get your information?" Alexander the Great's voice was low and steady, and the pressure from it made Tia tremble all over.
Waver also returned to his normal state, now calmly watching Tia — after all, this was important for both him and Alexander.
But right now, Tia was so overwhelmed by the pressure that he couldn't get a word out. Still, stubborn as he was, he kept his head up and stared at Alexander the Great, even as his body shook. He refused to take a step back in fear again.
"Sigh... Rider, you're scaring him," Waver said helplessly as he looked at Tia's stiff expression.
"Hahahaha!" Alexander the Great laughed loudly the moment Waver spoke. "Alright, kid, now can you talk?"
As Alexander laughed, the pressure around them eased, and Tia finally let out a long breath. "Hoo... Actually, I saw it happen."
"Huh? You saw it?" Waver was shocked again. "Wait — do you have future sight?"
"Oh?" Alexander the Great leaned down and stared into Tia's eyes. "These eyes… they can see the future?"
Tia nodded, and seeing that huge face so close to him made him feel nervous again.
There really was a big difference between anime and reality. For 7-year-old Tia, Alexander the Great standing before him looked like a mountain.
"I… I… I can't see the future anymore. Because… because… I don't have magic circuits, no magic crest, and no magic in my body. I used my future sight recklessly, and now these eyes… they've been overused, and I can't see the future anymore," Tia stammered as he looked at the massive face in front of him.
"Ohhh? Then tell me what you have seen," Alexander said calmly. He didn't laugh or try to pressure Tia anymore — he just stood up straight, arms crossed, and looked at him quietly.
Tia looked at Alexander the Great, took a deep breath, and calmed himself down.
"I saw that Saber is King Arthur, and she's a woman. She got cut on the arm by Lancer Diarmuid's cursed short spear, the Yellow Rose, and the wound won't heal, so she can't use her Noble Phantasm. Berserker is Lancelot, and he was given the Mad Enhancement spell when summoned. Hundred-Faced Hassan, as the name suggests, is a single Assassin made up of many faces. Goldie is the Hero King — Gilgamesh the King of Heroes. His Master, Tohsaka Tokiomi, and Assassin's Master, Kotomine Kirei, are teacher and student — they're working together. That Irisviel who left just now is a homunculus from the Einzbern family. She's not King Arthur's Master. The real Master is the Caster killer, Emiya Kiritsugu. He's probably still hiding somewhere, holding a sniper rifle, ready to shoot Professor Waver in the head!"
Tia said a lot in one breath, revealing everything he knew about the story. But just as he mentioned that Waver might already be in Emiya Kiritsugu's sights, Waver suddenly shouted and cut him off.
"What?! That Caster killer is hiding out there, ready to snipe me?!" Waver yelled, instantly raising his head and looking around in a panic — but of course, there was nothing to see. Emiya Kiritsugu had already left.
"You said all this is what you saw with your future sight?" Alexander the Great asked calmly.
Tia nodded.
"Hey, kid, you do know the difference between future sight and clairvoyance, right?" Alexander the Great said, turning to look at Waver while giving him a light slap on the shoulder.
Hearing that, Tia suddenly realized — his eyes should be called clairvoyant, not future-seeing. He just hadn't thought about it in the moment. But whatever, a mistake's a mistake — he'd just pretend he didn't know. Though… if he really could see the future, then someone would've told him it's called clairvoyance, meaning he shouldn't have messed it up. Eh, if someone ever presses him about it, he'll just come up with another excuse then.
(end of chapter)