Chapter 40: What Are You Thinking? This Is Surveillance!

At this moment, though Lancer was clad in that black armor, he sat in the living room with perfect ease, casually opening a bottle of beer before him.

“What are you looking at? Join me for a drink,” he said, calmly opening another bottle and handing it over.

“I’m just pondering who you truly are. When beer first appeared, which hero in Britain was born in that era?” Taking the bottle Lancer handed him, Kariya was not at all shy, draining it in one gulp.

“Era? Every Heroic Spirit, upon arrival, is instructed in the basic common knowledge of the modern world. Hmm, I suppose I’m from around the sixth century AD.” Lancer seemed unconcerned about revealing his identity. Even if tales of old had reached this era, his supposed weakness, according to myth, might be arrogance. After all, he had charged alone in the end. To his mind, perhaps his flaw was persistence—he could go to great lengths for what he loved, even things he would never normally do.

“The sixth century AD?” Though Kariya was not a distinguished magus, he loved to travel and had once visited Britain, naturally knowing a few local legends.

“Could it be…” Seeing Kariya’s pupils widen, Lancer took a sip and smiled, pleased at least to be remembered by posterity.

“King Arthur?!”

“Pfft!” Lancer sprayed a mouthful of beer onto Kariya’s face.

“Did you ever hear in those tales that King Arthur fell and became darkness?” Lancer was unbothered by the mistaken guess, but found it rather unreliable. The knights knew full well that Toria was a woman. Even knowing Kariya was unaware of these black histories, being mistaken for a “woman” unsettled him.

“Not him? Then is it the one who ultimately betrayed King Arthur?” Kariya mused, rubbing his chin.

“What? Did I not warn them in the end? Tell me, who was it!” He had thought that even if Toria would, as history foretold, fall at the Battle of Camlann, his own death and warnings would ensure Lancelot would not betray Arthur.

Kariya pointed at the hands gripping his shoulders, and Lancer realized he’d gotten too agitated. He composed himself, took a sip of beer, and asked, “Tell me, what happened?”

Kariya rubbed his shoulders; after the incident, he was sure Lancer was connected to Arthur. Yet in legend, all of Arthur’s knights survived until the final battle at Camlann, none perishing beforehand, and each should have known who the “traitor” was by then. Judging from Lancer’s reaction, he likely did not know the ultimate outcome. Kariya, though his mind spun, continued.

“This person was said not to be one of Arthur’s Round Table knights, but was greatly valued, even tasked with mentoring the young Mordred. As heir, Mordred was outstanding—shown by the way he ruled after slaying Arthur. The betrayer was remarkable, having raised such an exceptional king. Arthur trusted him too much. In the end, he revealed every knight’s weakness to his disciple, and in the Battle of Camlann, all the knights fell in that fight.” At this, Kariya grew excited; even though defeat was inevitable, every knight sacrificed themselves for their faith, not one betraying Arthur at the end. It amazed him—humans overcoming the desire to live for the sake of belief.

“A trusted one, then?” Lancer now grasped who betrayed Arthur. Only someone in his own “Stinger” unit could have earned Toria’s absolute trust.

But Kariya, oblivious to Lancer’s change, continued, “That person was said to be the only leader of an assassination squad in Arthur’s era. I can’t imagine why someone known as the King of Knights would have an assassination squad, and its leader was the final traitor. Were it not for The Death of Arthur mentioning this group, no one would know it existed.”

“Stinger!” Lancer muttered quietly.

Kariya stared at Lancer, surprised. He’d first heard the word in a British village, from an old man who said, “When you stray far from king and people, Stinger is already stirring.” He still didn’t know what it meant; the old man only said it was an ancestral saying.

Lancer hadn’t expected his own unit to bring about the collapse of royal authority. “Was it my fault? So I am…?” Removing his mask, Lancer drank in loneliness, then said to Kariya,

“Master, do you know? King Arthur was an excellent King of Knights, but actually not a great ruler.” His words contradicted themselves, but Kariya remained silent, knowing an explanation would follow.

“As a knight, no one could surpass him. Even Gawain and Lance wouldn’t claim to have never broken the Eight Virtues, but Arthur led his knights by them, establishing his own rule. He was an excellent King of Knights; every knight thought so. Yet it was precisely his steadfastness—his inability to adapt, his ignorance of darkness—that caused trouble.” Kariya grasped Lancer’s meaning, but Lancer pressed on. “Merlin, Arthur’s mentor, knew that alone could not forge a strong kingdom. Someone had to bear the burdens Arthur couldn’t. Thus was founded the strongest, and only, assassination squad of Arthur’s era. They purged traitors, stole information from rival nations.” Lancer drank, his loneliness deepening. “I was one of those knights, I took on that task. All feared me; even the people of Britain. But we never regretted dedicating our lives to our king. Still, why did they betray him after I died?”

“Perhaps they misunderstood your orders, or had their own reasons,” Kariya offered simply, seeing the knight’s sorrow.

“Never mind. It’s been centuries; I don’t want to waste brain cells on it any longer.” Lancer drained his beer, but Kariya sensed it was only to cover his feelings.

“But Master, do you have any wish for the Holy Grail?” Lancer suddenly asked.

“A wish? My only reason for participating is Sakura.” Thinking of the demon that had troubled him for a year finally vanquished, Kariya smiled.

“So you don’t care about the Grail’s final outcome, then?” Lancer eyed him.

Kariya nodded, and the two fell into an odd silence.

“By the way, Master, what about your familiar?” Lancer recalled something from the early days of Zero.

He was quite interested in the vanguard battle between a certain gymnast and a golden devotee. Though summoned as a Heroic Spirit, and thus should meet basic standards, he was curious about the difference between his abilities and those of the most tragic assassin.

Kariya shrugged calmly.

“All right, I get it.” Lancer then remembered his own “friend.”

Heroic Spirits must be sustained by their summoner’s mana, but truthfully, though Lancer possessed the so-called MP attribute, his skills always drained HP, leaving his MP untouched.

“Respond to me, cross the boundary between life and death, reunite with me once more—White Night!” Lancer called out to the air.

A sharp cry echoed, and a flash of white light ushered forth a giant white eagle, appearing within the Matou mansion.

“It’s been a long time, White Night.” Lancer rubbed his face against the eagle’s wing. At first, he’d only brought the fledgling home to carry messages, not out of any kindness. Afterwards, White Night quietly accompanied him, and even before death, Lancer treated it merely as a tool. But seeing White Night die for him, he realized he could never again see it as just a tool. But it was already too late; White Night was gone. When he returned, learning White Night would be revived as his own Heroic Spirit deeply moved him. And now, seeing White Night again, Lancer unexpectedly revealed his gentle side.

White Night replied with a cry, rubbing its head against his.

“All right, White Night, go scout out my enemies!” Their brief reunion ended, and Lancer sent White Night out. As for the enemy, there was no need to explain; though still an eagle, as a Heroic Spirit it could sense other spirits within Fuyuki City.

After dispatching White Night, Lancer checked its attributes.

White Night, avian Heroic Spirit, Rank: B
Abilities:
① Eagle Eye—no enemy can hide from White Night’s gaze.
② Reconnaissance—to assist Master, everything White Night sees can be seen by Master as well.
③ …

What was the third? Lancer didn’t even look, instead immediately commanding, “White Night! Hurry to the Tohsaka residence—spy on Rin’s bath… No! I mean, monitor the movements of the next head of the Tohsaka family!”

White Night nearly faltered mid-flight, almost crashing on its first sortie as a Heroic Spirit. Steadying itself, it resolved to head for the Tohsaka home, not understanding Lancer’s meaning but grasping the destination.

It’s been a while since I’ve written three thousand words at once—feels utterly satisfying.

End of page.