Anyway, wait, the issue here isn't whether she smells nice or not!
That was close—he had almost been charmed by that woman right from the start.
Taking a deep breath, Auram forced himself to calm down.
Before thinking about his own preferences, there was clearly a much bigger and more contradictory problem here.
If he remembered correctly, the Class most suited for Tomoe Gozen was undoubtedly Archer. Though it was said she could also adapt to Saber, since he had taken the Saber Class himself this time, she could only be Archer.
Which raised the question… If she was Archer, then what about our King of Heroes?!
As far as the strongest Servant of the Fourth Holy Grail War went, Auram was convinced it was none other than Gilgamesh.
Forget the Fourth War—even across the entire Throne of Heroes, Gilgamesh stood near the very top of the pyramid of strength, sheer power personified.
Auram was confident in his own abilities, but even so, he never underestimated the most ancient and most extravagant Hero King of mankind, always considering him his greatest rival in this Holy Grail War.
'And now you're telling me that my biggest imagined enemy wasn't even summoned…?'
The difficulty of this dungeon just plummeted beyond belief.
What on earth was going on?
Could it be that the Tohsaka family's notorious knack for messing up at critical moments had struck again, and Tokiomi had drawn the short straw this time?
Whatever the cause, just the thought that the most troublesome King of Heroes had been replaced by a white-haired beauty…
"haha, hahahahaha…"
Auram's lips curled upward in a grin he could no longer suppress.
Victory was assured!
He felt like he could already start giving his victory speech.
"...…"
No, no, this was practically jinxing himself!
Taking another deep breath, Auram forced his frenzied grin back into a neutral expression.
Calmly thinking it over, the most famous forces of the Fourth War were the "Three Kings."
Besides the Hero King Gilgamesh, there were also King of Knights Artoria, and King of Conquerors Iskandar—each a formidable powerhouse. Artoria was standing right before him, so that was confirmed. Once he confirmed whether the Conqueror King was present too, then it would be time to laugh.
With this in mind, Auram began glancing around.
This night, this harbor—
The sense of déjà vu was strong.
If Iskandar was here, he'd most likely be watching from there.
…
The wind was strong tonight.
Standing at a high vantage point, the feeling was even more intense.
And now, atop the Fuyuki Bridge, more than 50 meters above ground on the arch that spanned the Mion River, Waver Velvet was shivering uncontrollably with no safety rope or equipment strapped to him.
At such a height, a single gust of sea wind could send him tumbling to his death, shattered to pieces.
"Ri…der… let's… get down from here…"
Clenching his chattering teeth from cold and fear, Waver tugged desperately on the cloak of the giant beside him. Nonetheless, his weak resistance was like air to the man.
"Master, this is a perfect observation point. Let us remain aloft for now and enjoy watching Lancer and Archer's duel."
With a hearty laugh, the massive man sat cross-legged beside Waver, slapping him hard on the back as though something amusing had been said.
His towering frame loomed like a mountain, bronze armor covering his bulging muscles. The man wore a broad, confident grin, overflowing with exuberant vitality. He was none other than Waver's summoned Servant for this Holy Grail War—Rider, Iskandar.
Though Waver's eyesight wasn't keen enough to see, by Iskandar's account, Lancer and Archer were clashing down at the harbor.
"Timing is vital on the battlefield. With the intensity of the aura they're releasing, surely we're not the only Master and Servant drawn here. One must not be hasty at such moments. Patience—soon, more excitement may unfold."
On principle, Waver agreed with this explanation.
Despite that, what he couldn't accept was—this was no place for observation! For Rider, such a height was nothing. Regardless, he was just flesh and blood—falling from here meant certain death!
"Anyway, let me down! I've had enough!"
"Alright, alright, just a little longer. Honestly, you really can't sit still."
With a scratch of his head, Iskandar offered his noisy Master the wine bottle he had been holding.
"If you're cold, have a drink. It'll warm you up."
"I-I don't drink alcohol…"
"Oi, Master, don't tell me you're such a virgin you can't even drink wine?"
"What does being a virgin have to do with it?! Fine, I'll drink, happy?!"
Goaded by Rider's provocation, Waver snatched the bottle and tipped it back, gulping it all down in one go.
"Hahaha! That's my Master—such a bold drinker!"
Watching Waver lower the bottle, face flushing scarlet, head spinning, Iskandar roared with laughter.
"Oh? And over there, that's…"
"Hm? What is it, Rider?"
Still dizzy, Waver lifted his head to see Iskandar stroking his chin, eyes fixed intently on a certain spot in the harbor's warehouse district.
At the far end of his gaze stood Auram.
And at the very moment Iskandar noticed him, Auram noticed as well.
Even across a distance of a kilometer, both men locked onto each other at the same time.
Was this the magnetism between heroes?
Auram didn't know.
What he did know was—the Emperor was still the Emperor, and hadn't turned into some red-haired beauty.
A slight pang of disappointment.
Anyhow, since their eyes had met, doing nothing would feel awkward. So Auram thought for a moment, then raised a hand in greeting to this familiar figure in his mind.
"Yo!"
"Yo!"
Noticing Auram's gesture, Iskandar grinned broadly and waved back with gusto.
"What's going on? Did you run into someone you know?"
Waver, clueless, asked curiously.
"No, a complete stranger."
"Then why wave at him like an idiot?!"
"Master, you've got it wrong. Since the other party greeted me first, returning the gesture is the courtesy of a king."
"But you just said we shouldn't expose ourselves so easily!"
"Hahaha, why worry about such trifles~"
"Don't think laughing like that will let you gloss it over! And stop smacking my back, I'll fall off!!"
Ignoring his Master's sharp protests, Iskandar let out another hearty laugh before rising to his feet.
"I had planned to wait longer, but it seems Lancer and Archer's exchange is too tentative. Neither is using their full strength. At this rate, even fighting till dawn might not decide a victor."
"Hold tight, boy—looks like it's about our turn to take the stage."
...
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