Weakness...
His shadow had just mentioned weakness. Did that mean that in Aventurine's subconscious he felt he shouldn't be weak?
But weakness is also a part of human nature. In Aki Hayakawa's view, only an Aventurine who can be weak, who understands fear and dread, is a real, living Aventurine. Once a person has no weakness or fear, it's like a car that has lost its brakes—sooner or later there will be a day when the car is wrecked and the person dies.
——
["How can a weak person walk on the edge of a knife?" Aventurine countered.]
["That's right. You like walking on the edge of a knife… yet you just refuse to let go of certain unnecessary things. Even inside this sweet dream, you only dare to try 'death' on yourself."]
["Those accompanying personnel could have become the joker cards in your hand and played a greater role. There are as many stains on the Family as you want—just make a few small sacrifices… if it were [Opal], it would have been solved long ago."]
[The shadow put on a regretful pout: "What a pity. You're not as good as him. If you had done it, you wouldn't have fallen to this state… Why didn't you do it? It shouldn't be out of some professional ethics, right?"]
["Those techniques you mentioned are indeed very efficient, but it's not that I can't—it's that I disdain to, understand?" Aventurine stared at him coldly. "If the match isn't fair, what's the fun in it?"]
["[Fairness]… heh, as if your opponents have been fair to you. The situation is clearly disadvantageous to you—why can you still remain so composed? What exactly did that Masked Fool's words awaken in you?"]
[Aventurine: "She gave me an answer capable of overturning everything."]
——
Harry Potter.
"He won fairly and openly... truly remarkable."
In the Gryffindor common room, the flames in the fireplace crackled. Hermione curled up in an armchair, wrapping the wool blanket tighter around herself while sighing with emotion.
"He never abandoned kindness or his bottom line. At the beginning I actually thought he was the worst person in all of Penacony..." Hermione's voice grew softer and softer, shame almost written across her face.
Ron was stuffing a third Chocolate Frog into his mouth and comforted her a little unclearly: "It's fine. At the beginning I also thought he was the worst one. Uh… no, at the beginning I thought he and Sunday were the worst. Looking at it this way my eye isn't that bad—I misjudged Aventurine, but at least that Sunday guy is beyond doubt—he's absolutely the super villain on television."
Ron paused, swallowed the chocolate in his mouth, and continued: "But then again, no wonder [Diamond] took a liking to him. Fate dealt him nothing but rotten cards and was never fair to him, yet he himself is the one who most stubbornly upholds fairness. In terms of character... Mr. Aventurine really has nothing to criticize."
"[Diamond]'s judgment probably has nothing to do with character." Harry pushed the glasses on the bridge of his nose. "That Opal seems to be someone who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. His status in the Strategic Investment Department is even higher than Aventurine's."
"Those who let personal morals affect their work... he and Topaz are probably just a minority of outliers among the Ten Stonehearts, right?"
——
["Hmph, overturn everything?" The shadow coldly laughed. "You mean—make everything on the card table disappear?"]
[Aventurine let out a long sigh: "…That's cheating."]
[He continued searching for a way out inside the maze. As he walked, a golden amulet appeared at his feet.]
[Aventurine's pupils suddenly contracted, and even his breathing instantly quickened a few degrees.]
[The shadow smiled meaningfully: "Your current expression is really hard to describe. This amulet left to you by your mother is pure gold. Why did you never consider selling it? Clearly that way you and your sister could have lived a normal life for a while. Looking back, that would have been the better choice."]
["Mother only left us two pieces of jewelry: one necklace, one amulet. There will never be a third."]
["You've always said it that way—but actually you regret it a lot, don't you? Not selling them?"]
[Aventurine glared at him in disgust: "Don't go looking for topics when there's nothing to say."]
["Ha… I get it. You must still remember the words your sister said at the time: you are the child blessed by the Mother Goddess; you can lead the clan toward happiness, so you must protect yourself well... the words still ring in your ears, right? You're a good child—you would never forget."]
["So you also must never forget how miserable her final moment of life was, and how those sharp laughs behind you drilled into your heart… You just fled without looking back, doing exactly as she said."]
["Tsk tsk… a lifelong regret."]
——
Fate.
"Wuwuwu stop talking stop talking!"
"He really loves his family more than he loves himself! You shadow, stop stabbing him with knives!"
Inside the room, Illya had already cried until she was almost melting. She had originally come to the Emiya household happily as a guest, only to coincidentally run into the Celestial Screen playing scenes about Aventurine, and then cried for a full half hour...
"Hey, little girl, are you okay?" Lancer lightly poked Illya who was lying motionless on the table.
Rin Tohsaka also helplessly sighed at the sight: "Probably still needs some time to recover? Sigh… this Aventurine is too tragic. How has he managed to hold on all these years?"
"Just forced himself to hold on. But because of that his psychological resilience has been tempered to an excellent degree. Being spoken to like this and still not changing expression—he's very suitable to be a Master." Archer smiled faintly and meaningfully glanced at the twin-tailed girl beside him. "Compared to a certain someone who throws young-lady tantrums at the drop of a hat, cough cough, cough cough cough…"
"Archer, what are you pretending to cough for?! What did those words just now mean? You think I can't hear?!" Rin Tohsaka was so angry her teeth went "creak creak." She fiercely yanked Lancer's sleeve and pulled him a few inches closer to herself. "Lancer, you say something fair! If it came to being a Master, between me and that Aventurine, who is more outstanding?!"
The girl's powerful aura startled Cú Chulainn so much he almost choked on a mouthful of beer. He hurriedly opened his mouth to soothe: "Hey hey little girl, don't go comparing here. That Aventurine doesn't even have Magic Circuits—how could he possibly be a Master?"
"Hmph!" Rin Tohsaka crossed her arms, deliberately raising her voice a few notches. "Then… Lancer, if you were given a choice, would you rather be my Servant, or Aventurine's?"
"Uh, ah this..."
Lancer instantly broke out in a cold sweat: "O-of course I'd rather be little girl's..."
"You hesitated, Lancer! In your heart you still think that Aventurine is more suitable to be a Master than me, right?!" Rin Tohsaka angrily slapped the table, making the beer on it start to sway.
"Little girl, you've misunderstood! There's absolutely no such thing!"
——
["That's enough… don't you have any other topics to talk about?"]
[The shadow couldn't help but laugh: "This is the second time you've interrupted me. You're really easy to understand. I can finally understand your thoughts… Hmph, truly insane."]
["In the end, I will overturn this sweet dream and create the grandest death—this is indeed your assertion, carried through from beginning to end, never changed." The shadow spoke eloquently. "From that Stellaron, to Robin losing her voice, the two murders, the negotiations with Sunday, and then the Masked Fool's hint—only these two unchanging words can stir your interest..."]
["And now, you have indeed grasped it in your hand... but whose [Death] is it exactly?"]