"What was discussed two days ago?"
"That issue, Master?" Artoria asked.
The Incineration of Humanity caused by the establishment of Chaldea and Professor Lev's despair—that was the only thing Naoki and Marisbury had ever discussed.
The outcome of that discussion was that both sides failed to reach an agreement. Naoki wanted to prevent the Incineration of Humanity, but Marisbury was determined to build Chaldea.
Naoki had initially thought that after that, they could only settle their differing ideals through the outcome of the Holy Grail War. Unexpectedly, Marisbury now wanted to discuss it with him again?
(What's he planning?)
Marisbury wasn't the type to change his mind just because of someone else's words. Naoki had realized this from their last meeting. He was surely still set on establishing Chaldea.
So, what else did he want to discuss with him?
(Could it be… about me joining Chaldea?)
That was the only topic Marisbury could discuss with Naoki at this point: having Naoki join Chaldea as a key combat personnel, monitoring his every move, and immediately stopping any actions that could lead to the Incineration of Humanity—that was the condition Marisbury had proposed.
At the time, Naoki had refused, knowing Marisbury would find ways to conduct experiments behind his back. After all, he was a Magus. For the sake of certain goals, disregarding agreed-upon contracts was all too common.
(If you want to discuss this with me again, does that mean you've found a way to make me agree, Marisbury?)
After much thought, this was the only possibility.
And as Naoki was deep in thought—
"That issue? What issue?"
Led by Rei, everyone in the room looked at Naoki and Artoria with confused expressions. From their behavior, it seemed the issue involved the Lord of the Department of Astromancy and had significant consequences; otherwise, Naoki wouldn't need to discuss it with him.
"Is something big about to happen, Brother?" Gray asked with a hint of anxiety.
Patting Gray's hair to calm her, Naoki nodded slightly. "It's a big issue, but it hasn't happened yet. There's still time to prevent it… It's not good to keep hiding it from you all, so I'll just come out with it."
"In fact, the Lord of the Department of Astromancy plans to establish a special organization called the Chaldea Security Organization…"
Naoki didn't hold back. He detailed everything he could share at the moment: Marisbury's apparent goals, matters related to Chaldea, and the situation following the Incineration of Humanity. As for the fact that Solomon was the mastermind behind it, he kept that hidden.
It wasn't that he didn't want to say it, but he felt it wasn't necessary. For now, it was enough for those present to understand what might happen in the future.
After hearing Naoki's story, the room fell silent for a long time.
The Incineration of Humanity, caused by an entity called the Demon King, would create seven Singularities in the past, burning human history and rebuilding it from scratch. The cause of this event was the establishment of Chaldea and the despair of a Magus named Lev.
"Lev? I didn't expect him to be the mastermind behind the world's destruction." Touko muttered.
"You know him, Touko?"
"You could call him a friend. He's a very rare Void-attribute Magus, once a renowned genius at the Clock Tower. Due to some technical connections and similar ways of thinking, we got along fairly well." Touko explained. "So, based on what the kid said, should we just go take out this Lev guy now? I remember he's been hiding in the Department of Archaeology's lab for the past twenty years. He'd be easy to find."
Saying this, Naoki gave an awkward smile. "Going there now would take too much time, and rather than heading to England to take someone out, stopping Chaldea's establishment is faster… I should've thought of this earlier, but I forgot when I first got back."
Forgetting something concerning the world's safety and humanity's survival?
"It's rare to see a young person so careless."
"Master, you should've remembered something this big."
"I didn't know the Lord of the Department of Astromancy would join the Holy Grail War. If I had, I'd have taken out Professor Lev first!"
If Marisbury hadn't joined the Holy Grail War, it would mean the world's timeline wouldn't lean toward the Incineration of Humanity. Naoki also had no intention of killing someone without reason. Besides, without his intervention, Professor Lev would take himself out.
"So, what are you going to do now?" Aoko asked. "Are you going to stop Chaldea's establishment?"
Naoki nodded. "That's the most direct way. As long as I can win the Holy Grail War and obtain the Grail, Chaldea's establishment will halt due to lack of funding."
"So, in the end, the cause of the world's destruction comes down to money."
"What a laughable statement, but surprisingly, in a way, it makes sense—but if that's the case, you'll have to face Caster directly." Morgan said, frowning. "The King of Magecraft who commands the 72 Demon God Pillars, each requiring multiple Servants to defeat. Plus, Magecraft performed by human hands doesn't affect him. Are you sure?"
"I don't think it's a problem."
The one answering Morgan wasn't Naoki but Touko. "Before you caught me, I was planning to ally with the kid. Even if it's a legendary demon, as long as it's a Spirit, it's no match for the kid's Mystic Eyes."
"The Mystic Eye of Soul Eater?"
"Besides, aside from the kid, we also have someone with even more cheat-like Mystic Eyes, don't we, Shiki?"
Shiki, whose name was called, looked up, her Mystic Eyes already glowing icy blue. "Even without you telling me, I'd join. I've been beaten up twice already—I need to pay it back."
Previously, Naoki had been chased by Shiki every day over a slight misunderstanding. Now, having been humiliated by Solomon twice, though she didn't say it, Shiki was undoubtedly harboring a lot of anger.
In the battle two days from now, even if others tried to stop her, she'd force her way in.
(The current situation is both sides forming an alliance. You haven't stated your stance, Master?)
Scáthach, intrigued by the situation, asked Aoko in her mind.
(Huh? My stance? Haven't we been allied with Naoki for a while now?)
(My oversight.)
With the Masters of both sides so close, even if they had to fight, it would likely only go so far. Besides, given their interactions over the past few days, it could indeed be said they'd long been allied.
A Three-Way Alliance—United Front Against Caster.
*📲📲📲*
Suddenly, the urgent sound of a ringing phone broke the silence. Everyone turned to Naoki. Taking out his phone and seeing the caller, Naoki was slightly surprised.
[Arcueid]