'This is the Old Man of the Jewels of the Fate world...?
It's not the first time I've met him, but remembering our last encounter before he died—when steel robot legion was indiscriminately annihilating the 27 Dead Apostles on the surface, and I accidentally wiped him out without noticing—it still leaves me with quite complicated feelings...
The counterpart in the Fate world isn't a Dead Apostle, and he might not be the same person as the Dead Apostle magician from my Tsukihime world, so I hope he doesn't remember the little squabble we had in my previous life…'
Facing those jewel-like sharp eyes that seem to peer through eternity and probe the root of all things, Steve quietly grumbled to himself in his mind, simply raising a hand and scratching his head with a slightly troubled expression.
Then, a genuine, somewhat innocent, and perplexed look appeared on his face.
"...Honestly, I don't really understand it myself."
In an instant, the immense pressure enveloping Gakumazawa cafe—caused by the magician's arrival and the freezing of time itself—experienced a faint pause.
The living legend, who had witnessed the rise and fall of countless parallel world civilizations and fought against the Crimson Moon, the Old Man of the Jewels, had his usual carefree smile frozen on his face, which was a rare sight.
He was clearly pondering countless answers—conquest, salvation, knowledge, or perhaps destruction.
However, what he hadn't anticipated was that casual yet unbelievably sincere response.
Seeing his troubled expression, Steve continued explaining his situation in a relaxed tone.
"In the end, I've already done everything I wanted to do before dying."
He let out a small sigh and spread his hands as if stating the obvious. "Zelretch, you should understand this feeling best, right? Like back in the distant past, after your decisive battle with the Crimson Moon. The battle that decided the fate of the stars."
"My greatest achievement in life has been accomplished. The remaining time is just a bonus, nothing more than pointless entertainment."
These words sliced through the core of the conversation like a precise scalpel.
Steve wasn't positioning himself beneath, but rather naturally placing himself on the same level as an experienced veteran.
He saw the old jewel's sharp gaze waver slightly, and the intent to probe diminished considerably.
Instead, a purer curiosity emerged.
"So, actually, I'm not that interested in the Holy Grail itself."
He added, "The reason I responded to this summoning... well, it might be a bit complicated to explain."
"It was simply out of a kind of 'tourist' curiosity."
"Tourist?" Zelretch couldn't help but speak in a tone of absurdity.
"That's right." Steve nodded. "In the world I lived in, summoning Heroic Spirits was impossible."
"It was a parallel world where humanity was relatively sparse, but extraterrestrial beings like Dead Apostles and True Ancestors exceptionally thrived."
"So, I've always been curious about what it would be like to live in a parallel world where humanity is more active, Heroic Spirits respond to calls, and legends are reenacted."
"That's all I wanted to achieve."
He picked up the coffee brought by the maid and took a small sip, as if savoring the taste of two different worlds.
This confession was so straightforward and almost outrageous that the Old Man of the Jewels fell into a long silence.
His mind, which had been active for thousands of years and witnessed the possibilities of countless parallel worlds, seemed to be exerting all its effort to process this entirely new, illogical logic.
"So..." After a long silence, he said hesitantly, "In your original plan, once the 'tourism' was over, you intended to leave quietly?"
"That should be the case, yes." Steve shrugged weakly. "Once the Holy Grail War ends, I plan to immediately break the contract and return to the Throne of Heroes."
"After all, having seen what I wanted to see and done what I needed to do, there aren't many reasons left to stay in this world."
"Then, what changed your mind?" Zelretch was clearly intrigued and continued the conversation.
Steve turned his gaze to the window, as if seeing through the walls of space to a golden figure lounging in front of the TV at the Tohsaka residence, legs crossed, engrossed in a fighting game.
"Unfortunately, during this time, that King of Hero has been giving me some... subtle attention."
He sighed, his voice tinged with the fatigue of "encountering a troublesome neighbor."
"If I really left like this, who knows what that self-centered king would do out of boredom after losing his only 'amusement.'"
"I don't want to sit on the Throne of Heroes, using extraordinary wisdom to deduce the 1,919,810 possible future directions in which he might overturn this hard-won peaceful world..."
"So, like him, I had no choice but to stay in the real world for a while."
"Just think about it... I need to keep an eye on him."
The reason was very realistic and very... logical.
Zelretch was stunned for a moment, then suddenly, an earth-shaking, uncontrollable laugh erupted from his aged face.
"Hahaha! Hilarious! Hilarious! Because if no one looks after those unruly kids, they'll trash the house! So you have to stay as babysitters! This is the reason such powerful beings remain in this world!"
"This is a million times more interesting than clichés like 'saving the world' or 'reaching the root'!"
He laughed so hard he nearly fell over, tears streaming down his cheeks.
The other customers in the cafe (if they were ordinary people) cast surprised glances, but they were blocked by an invisible barrier.
Much later, the Old Man of the Jewels stopped laughing, wiped his eyes, and looked at Steve with a completely new gaze filled with deep gratitude.
"I get it, Steve... I'll believe your words for now."
He raised his teacup in a distant toast and said, "If you've chosen to stay here, shouldn't you at least find something to do?"
"Have you ever thought about recreating those astonishing feats you accomplished in life, like 'cosmic magecraft'?"
"With your abilities, you know it wouldn't be difficult to do so now."
This was his final test.
However, Steve shook his head, his expression turning serious.
"Indeed, I've thought about this carefully... but the conclusion is [it won't work]."
"Oh? Why?"
"There are three reasons."
He raised his fingers to explain. "First, simply repeating what I did while alive would be... too boring and troublesome for me."
"It's like telling me to fight ORT again now. There's nothing new about it, right?"
Hearing this, Zelretch nodded in deep agreement.
"Second, and most importantly, this world's planetary will and humanity's collective unconscious might not be willing to accept that level of 'dramatic change.'"
"After all, in my timeline, due to the external dire situation of 'if we don't destroy ORT and the predatory planet, we'll all perish,' the Counter Force implicitly allowed me to completely remake the entire civilization."
"But this world is... generally peaceful, despite constant small illnesses and disasters."
"If I forcibly organized all of humanity, removed those two 'cancers of the Earth' early within a few decades, and then transformed everyone into new humans and sent them to space... such 'overtreatment' would likely provoke backlash from the world itself."
"Gaia aside, Alaya might not appreciate me interfering so casually and crudely. The Counter Guardians, a faction of Alaya's inhibitory force, is also a problem."
Steve paused for a moment before stating the final, and most important, reason.
"Lastly, this is also my personal philosophy, but doing so might be seen as a kind of 'deprivation' for this world's future and humanity's civilization in this era."
"They have the right and opportunity to explore and find their own path through their own efforts and failures."
"Just because I know the 'standard answer,' why should I rob them of the process of solving the problem? That would be far too arrogant."
He looked up at the clear blue sky and said quietly, "So, for now, I plan to stay in this world for a while, temporarily working as an ordinary magecraft teacher, living as an ordinary person, and leisurely observing the situation."
"I'll see what kind of future this world, fluttered by my little butterfly, will welcome."
"It might be much more interesting than creating the future with my own hands."
A long silence fell over Gakumazawa Cafe once more.
The smile completely vanished from Zelretch's face, replaced by an expression mixed with surprise, approval, and the relief of finding a kindred spirit.
He looked at Steve as if gazing at an artwork with a complex structure he'd never seen before.
Finally, he let out a long breath, and his entire aura softened.
"...Steve, I take back what I said earlier."
He raised his teacup, this time greeting him as an equal, and said, "You're not just 'interesting.'"
"You... you are the embodiment of 'possibility.'"
….
Bonus chapter at 300 PS