In a luxurious bed, I wake up. Next to me, the surely most stunning Roman Emperor—or rather, Empress—in existence: Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus . A woman that should be way too high for me to reach, and yet she fell in love with me. And, so did I—or at least she says so. I myself… am not completely sure.
We have been through a lot, here in the Moon Cell's core. We have managed to prevent the threat of the Umbral Star, despite Archimedes—a Caster class Heroic Spirit who worked in favour of the Umbral Star and its destruction of the world—trying anything possible and borderline impossible to keep the Umbral Star on its way.
When I came to, in these new surroundings, my memories were blank. I remembered nothing but my own name, not how I got here or what happened previously. I was filled in, though there are things that do not add up: There are two Servants claiming that they were my partner in a special kind of Holy Grail War. This cannot be correct, but neither of them seems to be lying so I have decided to accept the both of them.
Even though, this comes with issues—They do not get along because both of them are more than just a little infatuated with me, for some reason.
Roman Empress Nero—the personification of beauty as well as narcissism, the ruler of this place. A Saber class Servant, fighting by my side whenever it is needed.
Tamamo no Mae—a mischievous fox, who took over most of the household of this palace. A Caster class Servant, who also fights by my side whenever it is needed.
With those two, it is always a fight between Roman and Japanese culture. As far as one could tell from my name, I am Japanese, but I do not take any of their sides. To be honest, I just wish they would start to get along, especially now that this place became completely peaceful.
And also, we do have a "child" to raise—Altera, the little girl of what was a giant before, related to the Umbral Star. But none of this matters anymore, as we are her guardians now. And at least when it comes to her, Nero and Tamamo manage to quell their fighting to act like the responsible adults they are supposed to be.
There were other Servants assisting us, though. But, at this time—a few weeks after the peace came over the Moon Cell's core—it would be hard to find or contact any of them. They all went to take care of their own businesses, as they were not really required near the capital anymore. So, for now, the palace's only inhabitants are Nero, Tamamo, Altera and me.
"Praetor , I see you've woke up already," comments Nero, shifting the cover with her movement. She is clinging to me, like so often. And while it does not feel entirely uncomfortable, it feels off. I cannot exactly make sense of this, but it just feels wrong.
"Yes, did I wake you?" Nero shakes her head.
"Of course not! You are too quiet to wake the most sensitive eardrums." I chuckle. She is completely exaggerating as she always does, but I like this about her.
"Do we have any plans for today?" I know this is a stupid question to ask. There is not too much for us to do, after all.
"Not unless you have any, Praetor. Neo Roma is flourishing better every passing day, there is nothing even I could do to help."
"I don't think I ever agreed to Neo Roma as name, Nero." Ah, there is the fox girl—Tamamo. Of course, she would never leave Nero and me alone for too long, fearing we would do something indecent that she would rather be the one to do with me.
"Of course, it is Neo Roma. Every road leads to Rome, after all!"
"This has nothing to do with it! Something more traditional Japanese would be much more fitting, even for Ojou-sama. Don't you agree?"
"Praetor! Tell this fox that it is Neo Roma that your heart is beating for!"
And again, I am the mediator. This exact discussion occurs every few days, and it never gets completely dropped.
In my opinion, Neo Roma seems just fine. Nero is the one who took on the ruling position, so it only feels right that she decides the capital's name. And, this empire is basically made of nothing more than the capital.
"Are you fighting again? That's bad civilization, isn't it?" A white-haired child appears in the bedroom, rubbing her eyes sleepily. Altera—also known as Attila the Hun—who is now the child we are taking care of. Her second question is aimed towards me, and I take her onto my lap.
"Not exactly," I explain, as I already did so often. "Wherever there is more than one person, there will be fights. It is a normal thing to do and it helps to convey your point and feelings sometimes." I take a look at both Servants still glaring at each other, but at least being quiet right now. "Though these two take that a bit… far."
"My honest apologies, Praetor…"
"I'm so very sorry, Ojou-sama…"
As genuine as both their apologies are, I know them for long enough to be sure that this topic will come up again, and again and again. I am not exactly sure there is even a way to solve this, one time I suggested a solution.
I suggested, that this place could have two capitals—one ruled by Nero, one ruled by Tamamo. But this just lead to them fighting over where I would be staying, claiming that would have to be the main capital. When I said I would be fine with switching equally between them, Tamamo brought up a good point: I would have to take Altera with me, because she is too clingy towards me. It would not exactly be good for a child, so I dropped the idea.
Maybe those two are just meant to be fighting forever and ever. Forever and ever, this seems like it is meant for something else… but that may just be me overthinking, or worrying too much. After all, for me there is no life outside of Neo Roma, there has never been one.
Or at least, that is what I have been told.