While Baiye and Morgan talked, the spear-wielding Caster in the circle said nothing—only watched.
Once they finished, she spoke.
"Caster Scáthach, answering from the Land of Shadows. You seem to have recognized me already—so I won't elaborate."
She paused, then looked at Baiye.
"The contract is bound to her, but you are the one who actually summoned me, yes?"
"…Yes," Baiye nodded. "Queen of the Land of Shadows—an honor."
Could you at least pretend? Baiye silently complained. If you know you're manifested as Caster, why immediately show up holding your spear?
Scáthach twirled the spear in a clean flourish.
"Magecraft is hardly so inconvenient a thing."
The spear-tip traced a graceful arc. Runes appeared in the air.
"…All right."
Baiye gestured to the sofa in the living room—new furniture, replaced under Matou Tsuruno's money-burning renovation to purge the estate of "worm vibes."
They sat: Baiye and Morgan at opposite ends of one couch, Scáthach across from them.
"So you summoned me not to use my power, but to learn rune application?" Scáthach asked. She beckoned lightly, and a cracked rune stone floated from the circle into her hand.
She traced the grooves, sensing the lingering force, and gave a small sound of surprise. Then she wrote the same modern rune in the air—confirming it wasn't imagination—and studied Baiye.
"This rune—did you carve it?"
"Yes."
Baiye drew the same rune in the air.
Both runes hung suspended.
The difference was immediate.
The rune's base meaning was "sun," which could be extended into "light," "warmth," and more.
If Scáthach's rune was like a white bulb—warm only when close—Baiye's was like a miniature sun, radiating heat from meters away.
Same modern rune set, but Baiye's Rune Magecraft (Lv.5) had 5 extra Strength, granting a 32× amplification.
"Interesting," Scáthach said, dispersing her rune. "I accept. Until this Grail War ends, I will teach you all of my interpretation of modern rune magecraft."
"Then I'll be in your care," Baiye said, standing and giving a respectful bow.
Next morning.
Sakura woke by habit, rubbed the stuffed bear she used as a pillow, then sat up and looked toward the beanbag chair.
Kama—"another Sakura"—was still there, hands on the controller.
"Kama… you're still playing?"
"I— I am a god," Kama huffed. "I descend into the world, I don't kill people, I don't burn things down. I'm just playing a game. What, is that not allowed?"
She stretched a foot, hooked a grape from a bunch beside her with her toes, and popped it into her mouth.
"No, I mean… you're still stuck on this boss," Sakura said carefully. "I remember when I fell asleep last night, you were already fighting it…"
Kama: "…."
On-screen, her character—already running on fumes—made one mistake. The last sliver of HP vanished.
The boss, also with only a sliver left, proceeded to combo her corpse.
Kama's eyes went hollow. She slowly turned to Sakura.
"Do you know that was the closest attempt out of one hundred seventy-two runs over nine hours, thirty-one minutes, fifty-two seconds?"
"I'm sorry…" Sakura shrank under her blanket. "I thought it wouldn't be hard for you."
"If I had normal mana supply, it wouldn't be," Kama said, gaze full of resentment. "These games are made for humans. No matter how hard, they're still capped around 'most ordinary humans can clear it.'"
She leaned forward, voice low and bitter.
"Do you know what it means for a Servant to have Strength, Endurance, Agility, Mana, Luck—all E-?"
"I'm sorry…" Sakura repeated, even though Baiye and Morgan had said Kama's parameters weren't Sakura's fault. This was not a moment for logic.
Kama exhaled.
"Forget it."
Her character revived at the checkpoint.
"Since you're awake, stop hanging around distracting me. Go do whatever you're supposed to do."
"Okay."
Sakura changed, washed up, and—pretending not to notice Kama already dying again—tiptoed out.
Downstairs in the dining room—
"Good morning, Baiye. Good morning, Morgan."
Sakura was about to sit when she noticed someone new.
"Um… is this big sister also a Servant Baiye summoned, like Morgan?"
Scáthach's outfit didn't look remotely late-20th-century.
"Strictly speaking, Morgan summoned her," Baiye said. "Her name is Scáthach—the Queen of the Land of Shadows in Celtic myth. She manifested as Caster this time… Sakura, call her 'big sister' like you do Morgan, if she's okay with it."
Baiye looked to Scáthach.
"That's fine," Scáthach said.
And so the day began with Sakura's bright:
"Good morning, Sister Scáthach!"
....
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