"Well, I can't promise that we'll win this Holy Grail War."
"But I can promise you one thing, Waver Velvet."
"This Holy Grail War will not be the greatest stage of your life."
"One day, you'll find a path that truly makes you proud of who you are. Right now, you're simply going through the growing pains of youth. Endure them. Temper yourself. Keep moving forward until the day fate finally calls your name."
"And when that day comes, whether you want to or not... you'll have to fight for your own sake."
"So when that time arrives, go and seek out the battlefield that truly belongs to you. Until then, all you need to do is stay by my side and watch me fight."
"Understood?"
Iskandar ruffled Waver's bowl-cut hair a couple of times.
"..."
After a long silence, Waver quietly asked,
"Rider."
"Hm?"
"...Is it really okay for someone as useless as me to be your Master?"
"Your original Master was supposed to be my professor. I stole his catalyst and summoned you through underhanded means..."
"So what?"
Iskandar answered without hesitation.
"We get along just fine now."
"Besides, your professor has been supporting us from behind the scenes this whole time. Has he ever told you to hand your Servant contract back to him?"
"Isn't that proof that he believes in you?"
He laughed heartily.
"...Huh?"
Waver froze.
"Professor Kayneth... believes in me?"
"Look."
Iskandar reached into Waver's backpack and pulled out the world atlas he had "borrowed" from a bookstore shortly after arriving in the modern era. Opening it to the world map, he pointed at the page.
"This..."
"...is the enemy I face."
"The world itself."
"Now draw you, me, and your professor on this map to the same scale. Put us side by side so it's easier to compare."
"That's impossible..."
Before Waver could finish, Iskandar smiled.
"Exactly."
"In the face of the world, you, me, and even your professor are all nothing more than tiny dots."
"So what's the point of comparing ourselves?"
"What if he's stronger than you today?"
"What if you surpass him someday?"
"So what?"
"..."
Waver lowered his head without a word.
Iskandar's eyes, however, shone with excitement.
"That's exactly what gets my blood pumping!"
"So what if we're weak?"
"So what if we're insignificant?"
He struck his chest with a powerful fist.
"My ambition..."
"...is that one day, with this body that's smaller than a grain of sand..."
"...I'll stand above the world itself!"
"This thunder in my chest..."
"...is the heartbeat worthy of the King of Conquerors!"
"And compared to the world, your professor is just another insignificant grain of sand."
"So stop belittling yourself, Waver Velvet!"
"...But..."
Waver looked down again.
"What you really mean is that... no matter how weak I am... it doesn't matter to you."
"How did you arrive at that conclusion?"
Iskandar draped an arm around Waver's shoulders again, his expression utterly sincere.
"That inferiority complex of yours..."
"...is actually the first sign of greatness."
"Because no matter what you say, you understand exactly how small you are."
"And despite knowing that..."
"...you still recklessly reach for heights beyond your ability."
"You possess both awareness and ignorance at the same time."
"That courage..."
"...might better be called the precursor to true domination."
"Arrogance."
"...I'm arrogant?"
Waver had never imagined that word could ever be used to describe him.
"That's right."
"It is arrogance."
"You really are a fool, boy."
"Your desires reach far beyond your own limits."
"I once said something."
'Glory lies beyond the horizon.'
"In my era, those words were a way of life."
"So that's why you kept marching east like an idiot?"
Waver deadpanned.
"Exactly."
Iskandar admitted it without the slightest embarrassment.
"Because I wanted to see the endless sea with my own eyes."
"But in the end..."
"...that dream never came true."
"So even now..."
"...the endless sea remains my destination."
"It's the dream I never finished."
But...
The Earth is round.
An 'endless sea' doesn't exist.
The map already proves that.
So what are you still chasing?
Waver kept those thoughts to himself.
He didn't want to spoil the moment.
Perhaps...
Everyone carried an "endless sea" within their heart—
A dream that could never truly be reached.
At that moment, Waver finally understood.
For the first time, he felt nothing but genuine admiration for the man named Iskandar.
Not because he was a legendary conqueror from history.
Not because he had once ruled a vast empire.
But because he possessed the unwavering resolve to pursue his dream with everything he had...
...never fearing failure.
"If you want to laugh at me..."
"...go ahead."
Leaning casually against the roadside railing, Iskandar gazed toward the boundless ocean stretching beyond the horizon.
"For over two thousand years..."
"...I've been chasing the same dream."
"Doesn't that make me just as much of a fool?"
"So meeting another fool like you..."
"...and forming this contract..."
"...has truly made me happy."
"...You're such..."
"...an idiot..."
Lowering his head, Waver fought back the hot tears threatening to spill from his eyes as he muttered under his breath.
"Hahahahahaha!"
Amid Iskandar's hearty laughter, time quietly drifted by.
After a long while...
Waver finally composed himself.
When he looked up again, the hesitation and timidity in his eyes were gone.
"By the way..."
"What exactly did you buy?"
"Ta-da!"
Like a child proudly showing off a new toy, Iskandar pulled a palm-sized game box from his canvas bag.
Across the front were the words:
Admirable: Dai Senryaku
"It was released today!"
"And this is the limited first-edition release!"
"My Luck parameter isn't just for show!"
"Hahahaha!"
"...That?"
Waver stared at him in disbelief.
"I thought you'd bought something important."
"You only bought the game."
"Without the console, you can't even play it."
"Heh heh heh..."
Grinning smugly, Iskandar reached back into the bag and triumphantly produced an entire game console set, complete with controllers.
"Of course I thought of that."
"Preparing thoroughly before battle and ensuring victory in advance..."
"...is the basic duty of every commander!"
"Hahahahaha!"
Still laughing, Iskandar impatiently urged Waver onward.
Then, deciding walking was too slow, he simply lifted the startled boy onto his broad shoulders.
"Come on, boy!"
"Let's get home and start our two-player match!"
"W-What?! Right now?!"
Cold sweat immediately broke out across Waver's forehead.
"If we go back this early..."
"...won't Professor Kayneth scold us again?!"
"Don't worry!"
Iskandar replied with complete confidence.
"Really...?"
Waver sounded far from convinced.
Bathed in the afternoon sunlight, the overlapping silhouettes of Master and Servant stretched farther and farther across the road.
"Oh, right."
"There's one more thing."
"What is it?"
"Waver Velvet..."
"Would you..."
"...Ah, never mind."
"It's still too soon."
"Huh?!"
"What were you going to say?"
"I hate it when people leave things hanging! Just tell me already!"
"Hahahahahaha!"
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