Although Tsutsumi had already provided the exact location, not everyone in the hero group was willing to place their full trust in him. The information was too precise, too convenient, and came from someone who had already proven himself to operate far outside normal expectations. Because of that, several of the more cautious heroes insisted on maintaining surveillance on the other suspected bases, sending out smaller teams across different regions of Japan just in case the information was wrong.
The result was a temporary standstill. The operation didn't move forward immediately, and instead shifted into a waiting phase while everything was cross-checked and confirmed.
During those few days, the U.A. students were sent back to campus to continue their regular training and classes, as if nothing major was about to happen. Tsutsumi didn't bother hiding his annoyance, and Mirko wasn't any better, openly complaining about how they were wasting time. Still, Miyabi shut both of them down without much difficulty, making it clear that this operation belonged to Nighteye and that they would follow his lead whether they liked it or not.
Even she wasn't fully satisfied with the delay, but she understood what was at stake. This wasn't just about fighting; it was about making sure they could actually secure Eri without risking her life. She can't exactly act under the excuse that she believes in her child.
With nothing else to do and no interest in sitting around waiting, Tsutsumi eventually decided to leave. Without saying much, he stepped through his Aurora Curtain and disappeared from the world once more.
...
"Okay, so we've already seen Lancer, Archer, and Berserker," Artoria said while holding an onigiri that was honestly too big for a normal person to eat comfortably. She didn't seem to mind, taking another bite while speaking like it was nothing. "That leaves Rider, Caster, and Assassin."
She chewed for a moment, then glanced to the side at her Master, who was lying flat on the tatami floor like he had no intention of moving anytime soon.
"So what's the plan?" she asked, still eating.
Tsutsumi didn't even bother looking up. "Does it even matter? This is a Grail War. They'll show themselves eventually. When they do, we deal with them."
His tone was casual, like he was talking about something routine rather than a battle royale between legendary heroes. On the very first night, he had already forced Berserker into retreat, pushing things far enough that the enemy Master chose to withdraw rather than risk losing everything.
Artoria looked at him for a moment, then shrugged slightly and went back to finishing her food.
Later that night, the two of them moved through the city together, the quiet streets turning into a blur beneath them as they chased after a Servant moving across the rooftops.
The purple-haired woman ahead of them moved quickly, leaping from building to building without hesitation. Tsutsumi followed on the Agito Tornador, weaving through the air while keeping pace with her.
"Why do I have to sit in the back? I can drive," Artoria complained, one hand gripping his waist while the other held onto Excalibur.
"There's no need. Focus on attacking," Tsutsumi replied, eyes forward as he adjusted their trajectory to intercept.
As they closed the distance, Artoria swung her blade, releasing a clean arc aimed at their target. The Servant reacted instantly, ducking low and sliding across the rooftop, narrowly avoiding the strike before continuing her escape.
Tsutsumi clicked his tongue. "You had one job."
"Shut up," Artoria shot back, already preparing for another strike.
He turned the bike sharply, continuing the chase, but before they could close in again, something dropped from above.
Tsutsumi reacted immediately, abandoning the motorcycle mid-motion and holding Artoria in his arms as he jumped clear. A red arrow crashed down where they had been, obliterating the hoverbike in a single hit.
Artoria's expression shifted as she scanned the surroundings. "That was… Archer."
"You're not finding him," Tsutsumi said, setting her down. "At least he knows how to stay hidden."
She clicked her tongue, annoyed, and reactivated Invisible Air around her blade.
Then she paused, looking down at her own hand. "…You loosened the magic energy restriction."
Tsutsumi gave a small shrug. "You were moving like you'd collapse any second. It was annoying to watch."
A vein popped slightly on her forehead. "You're getting bold. Aren't you worried I might just stab you in the back?"
He finally turned to look at her, expression calm. "What's there to worry about? It'll be fine. After all..."
There was a brief pause before he added, almost as an afterthought.
"You're weak."
The wind around Excalibur burst apart as golden light flared, and Artoria closed the distance in an instant, bringing her blade down toward him without hesitation.
Kamen Ride: Saber!
His form shifted as he drew the Kaenken Rekka, meeting her strike head-on. The impact forced him down to one knee, the ground beneath him cracking under the pressure.
"Not so confident now, huh?" she said with a smirk, pressing forward slightly.
"I thought you could have done more," Tsutsumi replied calmly. "Seeing how I'm only using Reinforcement."
That only made her tighten her grip.
She pulled back and struck again. This time, Tsutsumi rose to meet her, coating his blade in cursed energy before clashing with her once more. The moment their weapons met, a second impact followed just a fraction later, forcing her backward.
Artoria steadied herself, eyes narrowing slightly. "What the? That feels like... Your sword actually hit twice?"
"Something I pick up along my journey, Divergent." Tsutsumi said simply. "To put it simply, I can cover my fists or weapons with a lair of cursed energy that triggers a second later after the attack. Effectively creating two impacts with one attack."
"If that's the case." She exhaled, adjusting her stance. "Then I'll just have to hit you harder!"
"Go ahead."
She didn't hesitate, stepping in again, and their blades met once more under the quiet night sky.
Steel rang out again and again as they moved across the empty street, their movements clean and direct without unnecessary flair.
Above them, the moon hung quietly, casting its light over a fight that, to both of them, felt more like a dance of blades than an actual fight.
...
The next day, Tsutsumi took Artoria out to raid multiple ramen shops, and by the time the afternoon had settled in, the two of them had already gone through more bowls than most people would order in a year. The owners were stunned at first, then quickly shifted into something closer to resigned admiration as Artoria kept eating at a pace that made it look like the food was disappearing before the cooks could even turn back around.
Tsutsumi made sure to pay in advance every single time, which at least spared them the humiliation of wondering whether the two of them were going to walk out without settling the bill. Between Artoria's appetite and Tsutsumi's order everything for her, the shops were getting emptied out faster than they could restock.
"Please come again," the ramen shop owner and staff said with polite smiles that were starting to look a little strained, sweat beading on their faces as they bowed to the two of them.
Artoria had already finished her last bowl and was looking entirely unbothered after emptying the tenth store. Tsutsumi gave a simple nod and led the way out. The moment they were gone, the staff immediately turned the sign from open to closed.
The shop had not even made it to night service yet, but the ingredients were already gone, and honestly, even if they had more, there was a very real chance someone in the kitchen would collapse if they kept pushing.
As they walked down the street together, Tsutsumi could feel it. They were being watched.
Not just by ordinary people, either. The gaze came from several directions, some curious, some cautious, some clearly trying to figure out what kind of pair they were supposed to be. It wasn't exactly hard to notice them. Artoria stood out immediately, not just because she was beautiful, but because she had a distinctly European presence in the middle of Japan that naturally drew attention. Tsutsumi stood out in a different way, with his purple and magenta hair and that androgynous look that made it difficult for most people to decide what to stare at first.
Artoria glanced sideways while still eating. Through their mental link, she spoke without moving her lips. "We're being watched."
"It doesn't matter," Tsutsumi replied in the same quiet mental tone. "If they come out, we'll just kill them."
That was his answer, simple and flat, as if it were an obvious conclusion rather than a threat.
At the same time, he pulled a card from his pocket and spun it between his fingers before turning it over in his hand.
Kamen Ride: Decade.
His eyes rested on the image of his true form for a brief moment. The one he usually kept behind everything else. The one who connected everything and destroyed everything. The one who set foot into the world of others without ever really belonging to any of them.
Then he flicked his wrist and put the card away.
Artoria noticed his mood shift slightly, but she didn't ask. Instead, she simply frowned a little and kept walking beside him.
The two of them moved on, eventually making their way into a shopping mall. Tsutsumi turned his head toward a BBQ store as he passed it, meeting the owner's eyes by accident. The owner stared back for a second, then immediately reached out and flipped the sign from open to closed without saying a word as he began closing his store.
Tsutsumi ignored it and kept walking.
He wasn't in the mood for a fight, and he didn't feel like starting one either. For the moment, he just wanted to spend the day with his Saber until something interesting happened.
Artoria kept drifting toward every food stall they passed, which only made Tsutsumi sigh and keep buying her more food. She ate while walking, taking in entire portions in a few bites, and every time she finished one, she was already looking at the next stall like it had personally offended her by not being close enough.
Eventually, Tsutsumi paused and looked toward a bookstore ahead.
Artoria noticed immediately.
She clearly wanted to follow him in, but she was still holding food in both hands. After a brief pause, she stuffed the last of it into her mouth in one go, swallowed, and then followed him inside.
The bookstore was quiet, the kind of place that made even small movements feel louder than usual. Artoria slowed slightly, watching Tsutsumi as he moved down the aisles and checked the shelves one by one. He picked up a few books, flipped through them, and frowned each time.
Nothing there was interesting.
Most of it was either pointless fiction or stories aimed at children. None of it held his attention for long.
"Not finding anything you like?" Artoria asked, coming up beside him.
"Yeah," Tsutsumi said, putting another book back. "It's either made-up nonsense or fairy tales for kids."
He didn't sound annoyed. Just disappointed.
He wasn't really interested in stories that were invented just to fill pages. As someone who had long since accepted that he would carry the stories of others while never truly having one of his own, Tsutsumi valued the real ones more. The ones that actually happened. The ones that belonged to people who lived, struggled, and were eventually forgotten by everyone else.
If they disappeared into time, he would be the one to remember.
After checking a few more shelves and finding nothing else worth keeping, the two of them left the bookstore and continued walking.
By then, the day was starting to cool down. They passed into an open park, where the trees were thin enough to let the orange glow of the sinking sun spill between them. Their footsteps were light against the path as they moved deeper through the park, the air calm and quiet around them.
Artoria slowed down near a patch of flowers and crouched to look at them more closely. Tsutsumi glanced at her, then lifted his camera and took a picture without saying anything.
It didn't feel strange to him that she would stop for flowers. Even Artoria herself probably didn't find it strange at how different she looked from the version of herself she usually carried. Because of him, she had become less like the distant king she once presented herself as and more like a girl spending a simple day out with someone she knew.
Tsutsumi just let her look at the flowers while he stood nearby, quietly taking in the scene.
By the time the sun had almost fully set, he gave a bored sigh and dropped onto a bench.
A blonde man in an expensive white fur coat and designer clothes was already sitting there.
Tsutsumi sat beside him without asking.
The man turned his head slowly, looking offended on principle before he even said anything. "You dare sit beside me, Mongrel?"
Tsutsumi glanced at him, purple eyes calm and unimpressed. "You know, you really look like a creep following a girl around all day and spying on her."
The man's red eyes narrowed.
The air between them shifted immediately.
"King of Heroes,"