"I-I'm grateful that you saved me. Fujimaru, Mash. And Hero King Gilgamesh... that's right, isn't it?"
"...If you would show me proper respect, fulfill your duties. Let that achievement alone be your repayment to me."
"I-I understand."
"Pfft, snicker. Look Mash, the high-and-mighty Director is bowing and scraping to Gil."
"I-I can hear you, you know!"
"And you! Yes, you, Fujimaru Ritsuka! Why are you here as a Master!? I understand you Rayshifted here! But why has Mash become a Servant!? Explain this to me!!"
"No way."
"No way!?"
"Fujimaru-kun, please don't play with the Director. She's, well, difficult and bad with interpersonal relationships..."
"What do you mean!? My social relationships have nothing to do with this! Ugh, I hate this! Why am I alone!? Lev! Where is Lev!?"
"Now, now Director, if you get all worked up it'll ruin your beauty, you know? Want some gum? ...Ah, sorry, that was my last piece."
"~~~Why are you so carefree!? Are you making fun of me!?"
Ritsuka laughs, Olga Marie gets angry, Mash panics.
"If it weren't for this situation, I'd feel warmly about what seems like good friendship between peers of similar age."
"It can't be helped. Expecting a warrior's mindset from those young girls would be cruel. If they're in mortal danger, their sense of life and death will naturally be sharpened."
"...You're quite tolerant. Are you in a particularly good mood, or have you found something in her?"
"Found something, eh. Indeed."
In terms of promise, the girl who calls herself Master, Fujimaru Ritsuka, has more than enough promise.
Laughing while in mortal danger, facing an uncertain future, that spirit trying to overcome the despair that lies before her.
That mental toughness and resilience, completely opposite to myself who enjoyed peace—I honestly take my hat off to it. Well, I don't say it out loud since she'd get carried away if praised.
Moreover, the girl beside her, Mash, also has more than enough promise.
She's constantly rousing herself. Her faltering heart, her body. She goes into battle with courage.
Acknowledging the fear that nests in her heart, she struggles to move forward however haltingly.
In the current situation, physical strength is a trivial matter—she truly perceives that the heart that faces difficulties is the beacon that will cut open the future. Though it's doubtful whether she's aware of it.
"At the very least, taking care of fledglings isn't bad. Protecting and supporting an inadequate contractor is part of the job."
"...Honestly, I was worried whether she could control a mighty Servant like you. But it seems my concerns were unfounded."
I feel Romani's voice soften. It seems he's lowered his guard toward me and placed some trust in me.
"I don't sense the temperament of a tyrant in you now. This is good fortune that comes once in a thousand years. I hope that fortune continues for as long as possible."
"Hmph. ...I won't allow you to fall either, physician. You're making such young girls stand on the front lines. As their elder, you must pay them back with appropriate labor and devotion. Negligence is unforgivable. Though I'll tolerate carelessness and arrogance."
I drive the point home just in case. This frivolous man somehow seems untrustworthy. There's something about his statements that lacks heat.
"You hit where it hurts, this king does. Of course. My mission—or rather what I should do—I intend to do properly. That's my way of fighting."
...But at the same time, unwavering sincerity comes through. I can't trust him, but I can rely on him. I can't fathom his true intentions, but there's no problem entrusting my back to him—that would be the compromise.
"Work hard..."
That being the case, the problem is with myself as a Servant.
In that earlier battle, I was never able to dispel that clinging sense of wrongness. It was like I had a fundamentally mistaken understanding of how to fight.
"...Physician. My Class was Archer, wasn't it?"
"Hmm? That's right. Your current Spirit Origin is registered as Archer. What about it?"
"Archer is a Class that uses bows, wasn't it?"
"U-uh, yes. That's why it's called Archer."
"I see. ...Bow, eh."
Bow, a bow eh. Indeed, at that time I didn't take up a bow but swept away the small fry with hand-to-hand combat and carelessly swinging a random sword.
Is this the source of the wrongness? Being an Archer but not using a bow. This conclusion fits most comfortably.
After all, in my previous life I was at least a commoner who never stood on a battlefield. I couldn't possibly have knowledge of warfare.
"Very well, next time I shall take bow in hand and go into battle. That is what an Archer should be, after all."
"...Challenge runs already? How leisurely of you, Hero King-sama. Is that also just killing time?"
"Fool. This is the result of deliberation. The mindset of a challenging spirit is essential in all things."
"What a positive Hero King!?"
This guy has exaggerated reactions to everything.
...That's right. There's no point if I neglect training.
Since I am a tasteless, dry soul poured into the vessel of Hero King Gilgamesh, I must at least aim for a dignity befitting the vessel.
"Hey! Gil! We're about to set out!"
Before I knew it, the pleasant conversation seemed to have reached a lull. Ritsuka is waving from a distance.
"Look, you're being called. Your Majesty?"
"Such a lively girl. Come, let's get moving..."
—An instant
"!!"
Sensing piercing killing intent and
"Ritsuka!! Get down!!"
"Eh..."
"—Senpai!"
Gilgamesh raising his voice and an arrow being fired toward Ritsuka at tremendous speed happened simultaneously.