"There's not much time left for the Holy Grail War."
"Indeed... But what was the point of doing the 5th Holy Grail War?"
"Ah, it was a test run in preparation for what will happen in the next Holy Grail War. Anyway, considering Tiamat's mana has the ability to execute the Grail's functions, I plan to intervene in the subsequent Holy Grail War and fight with 7 Servants."
"Phew... do you need my help?"
"I don't know. The next one is the French Holy Grail War... but there's a saint who will cast the Third Magic on all of humanity..."
"What? If it's the Third Magic on all of humanity, doesn't that mean returning to the Age of Gods? Even if we become immortal, for ordinary humans to handle what the Greek gods did... it seems too harsh, doesn't it?"
"It is harsh. As emotions erode and they slowly devolve into dolls, they'll probably become toys for the Outer Gods. From the perspective of those remaining in the past, it might be natural, but from the perspective of seeing the future, it sounds like karma collapsing."
"Sigh, who will protect you, Master?"
"This pet here will protect me."
"Yip~♡"
Medea transformed into a fox and was being petted by her Master, looking like she was in heat. The feeling was so strong that... Medea wondered if she could trust this.
"I'll go too. Rather than trusting that fox bitch, I have no choice but to go myself!"
At Medea's words, I had no choice but to nod, but the Holy Grail War would end tomorrow.
The mana from the Grail supporting them would be cut off, and the burden on the Master would surely increase tens of times... so they needed to incarnate quickly.
'Berserker is excluded... He's too big. No. And he stands out... The only ones I think pass right now are Future Shirou, Cú Chulainn, Gawain, Boudica, Kama, and Tamamo.'
I fell into various dilemmas, but if I were to incarnate them, I planned to take Future Shirou and Cú Chulainn.
The remaining forces must protect the base.
The Clock Tower would know about our existence, but they weren't the type to just watch.
I had a strong feeling they would dispatch Enforcers, claiming we had reached the Root.
Well, Shirou wasn't the type who wanted to reach the Root, and neither were Rin or Sakura.
"Well, the reason I'm not taking everyone is that we have to worry about the Clock Tower's interference now."
"Ah... hmm... there are a lot of things to worry about. Then, are you planning to take anyone other than me?"
"For now, I'm taking all of the Round Table except Lancelot, and Rin's Archer. But if they refuse, I have no intention of forcing them."
At my words, Medea sighed.
"Phew, with that much force, there won't be any worries, but what about dealing with magi... That's what I'm worried about."
Poof~
"If that's the case, don't worry! Tamamo has Witchcraft EX, so dealing with magi's curses is entirely possible! I can just reflect them back! Mikon!"
However, Medea's frown showed that she had absolutely no faith in 'that fox bitch.'
"I wonder if we can trust that..."
"Medea, don't trust Tamamo too much... I acknowledge her Witchcraft, but her durability is paper-thin, and she's an ambiguous support Servant skilled in close combat."
"Mikon!? Why is Tamamo's evaluation like that?"
In Fate/EXTRA and Extella, Tamamo's combat power was the lowest.
Nero or Altera would be better, but considering Tamamo is EX in Witchcraft, she was the best, but she was nothing more than a pet.
"Tamamo is just a pet."
Well, she's like Paimon from Genshin Impact, but Tamamo was more for healing than combat.
"Eeh... am I not treated as a person?"
"You're a fox, right? A fox can't become a person. Just as a person can't become a fox. Even you should know that..."
Tamamo looked at me with a shocked expression and eyes.
"Tamamo has received a Great★Sho☆ck."
"Still, petting you feels nice."
"Ehehe, that's because even as a fox, I'm top-tier, and my looks are top-tier too! I also possess bigger breasts than Medea!"
Then, a vein popped on Medea's forehead.
"Fufu. Shall I take a potion to make my breasts bigger?"
Big breasts are good, but too big is a problem...
"Just show me your younger self. I want to see the youthfulness midway between the current Medea and Medea Lily."
"...."
At those words, Medea turned to stone.
No, not literally stone, but it felt like her heart and body had turned to stone.
"It's all because of that guy......."
"Yeah... I know."
I know everything. I knew well the story of a woman who was used and discarded amidst the sweet lie called love, a curse bestowed by the gods, and came to be called a witch.
"Fighting?"
I felt like I had said something I shouldn't have, but since it didn't harm me... let's move on~
For now, burying myself in Tamamo's tail, I decided to enjoy some leisure time while receiving mental healing.
"Mikon, it seems you like my tail~"
Well, the tail transformed into human form was bigger than when she was a fox, and the fur was abundant, so I liked it, but whenever I hugged her tail, Tamamo flinched.
'Hmm? It's not like she's in heat because she's a fox, right? Or is the tail a sensitive area because she's a beastkin?'
At the same time, I began to worry about the animal (Tamamo) that could take human form.
'Well, there are many Servants around, so would there be a problem? Just having a pet with a bodyguard by my side should be reassuring.'
I have no intention of just sitting still if she pounces on me. Whether ordering with a Command Spell, knocking her out with Gandr, or resisting, I believe it's my job in the end.
"Then, shall we move on to the next topic? What should we do now?"
"What?"
"I'm bored to death... The Holy Grail War is peace, not war. And there are no fights to watch, and we've returned to daily life, but there are no games to play, right?"
"That's true, but... we are in the middle of a Holy Grail War?"
Medea spoke to me with a bewildered expression, but I told her the truth.
Do all 6 of them have the will to fight?
Medea checked the information reflected in the crystal ball and said.
"No, it seems not. Lancer appeared at the Emiya residence, but no matter how I look at it, it feels like he came to play. Saber's Master and Rin are fighting just enough not to kill each other..."
"What about Berserker?"
"Berserker... I sent a familiar to patrol, but it was destroyed in an instant."
"Is it because he's Heracles?"
"...Muscle pig. For a moment, I understood. The reason why it was destroyed immediately even though I sent it on patrol..."
"Should we be hostile?"
"I don't know... It felt like a light shot, but should I say it felt like a warning shot?"
At Medea's words, I could only nod.
'If they were enemies, there would have been casualties, but if we can go peacefully, that's good for me.'
I lightly stroked Tamamo's tail, and I could observe Tamamo trembling.
"Hyaaa♡~"
"Well, if it was a light shot, it means he's not a berserker. Considering he can be suppressed with Command Spells, well... it's not strange. Then, there's a possibility that Berserker's Master is hostile to us, but maybe they'll come because of Illya."
Honestly, the original Illya was left alone and endured torture-like time, and eventually came to kill Kiritsugu's family, but that side didn't really have a justification.
If they were hostile, maybe an old man from the Einzberns ordered them to kill us through brainwashing and suggestion, but considering there hadn't been any attacks so far, only ambiguous situations remained, so there was no certainty.
'Is it because of me, the cause of her birth? Or Illyasviel, who is living happily now? Or is it because of Irisviel, Illyasviel's mother? Those are all the suspicious parts, but to say she was created to obtain the Grail feels far from the truth. So I probably won't experience the worst-case scenario.'
"It's too risky to meet in person. It's a bit much to meet. We'll know in time."
Even if he is a legendary hero, I concluded that it would be difficult for him to defeat the incarnated Artoria.
Plus, there are numerous Servants, and if we fight defensively and deal with him with Noble Phantasms, it might be possible somehow, but if his Madness Enhancement is removed, conversely, it becomes a problem.
"Medea, does Heracles have any weaknesses?"
"Hmm, curses of the gods or Hydra venom? Even if not fatal, I think he's vulnerable to mental damage. If he resists that, there's really no answer, is there?"
Indeed, being Heracles, it was clear he had no weaknesses.
His achievements were immense, and considering he killed his family with his own hands and didn't want to live even while enduring poison in a mental breakdown, Heracles was highly likely to resist poison.
If Heracles' goal in life was fundamentally simple, he would just self-destruct, but if his goal in life wasn't simple, he would definitely resist.
Considering the original story where he thought of Illyasviel as his daughter and acted as her Servant by her side, and broke the Chains of Heaven in rage when Illya was killed by Gilgamesh, his goal was simple, yet not simple.
It was close to a choice not to repeat his regrets, and his will to protect was clear.
Then, if he considered Emilia von Einzbern as his daughter, poison would surely be useless.
Taking hostages might work, but since I'm not Kiritsugu, I don't prefer such methods, but if casualties seem likely, I have no choice but to do it.
"Well, shall we wait until they come for now? How much time is left for the Holy Grail War?"
"About a day left now."