"Sakura, if you keep doing this you won't be able to rest properly." Meruem said with a headache as he looked at Sakura clinging to him.
Yes—clinging. Meruem was lying on a large bed resting, while Sakura had her arms wrapped tightly around Meruem's waist and refused to let go for even a second.
"No…" Sakura said stubbornly, burying her little head against the left side of Meruem's waist and whispering, "What if Meru leaves Sakura behind again and goes away? Sakura doesn't want to be all alone."
Meruem smiled bitterly in silence and glanced at his left elbow, where a small but very clear bite mark was imprinted. That was Sakura's revenge for him sneaking out on his own. But if Meruem hadn't allowed it, then even if it were someone else, forget leaving a bite mark—even if they cracked their teeth, they wouldn't be able to leave the slightest trace on Meruem.
Meruem gently rested his hand on Sakura's little head and stroked it softly. Sakura's small body trembled; Meruem could feel the unease in her heart. Yeah… what am I supposed to do with you.
With both arms, he lifted Sakura up and placed her on his chest. At least this way it would be more comfortable to sleep. He lightly patted Sakura's back, and before long, he felt the faint, steady rhythm of Sakura's breathing against his chest.
She fell asleep.
Sakura was far too dependent on him. That wasn't a good thing. Because… sooner or later, he still had to leave this world.
Whatever. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Isn't Rin still around? Worst case, in the end he could leave Sakura in Rin's care. If you ask who caused this whole situation, it's obviously Tokiomi's fault!
"Click." Just then, a crisp sound came from the barrier at the entrance of the Matou family's new villa. A bat dropped down from above, and strapped to its right leg was a miniature camera.
"Hm? Using surveillance at this level—only that guy Kiritsugu Emiya would do it. But unfortunately, when it comes to tech-based reconnaissance, you can't beat me."
As Meruem finished speaking, countless tiny bees flew out from a window that opened somewhere in the Matou house, and those bees flashed with a distinctive metallic sheen across their bodies.
"I didn't expect that man to be a Servant. Looks like there are other people in the Matou family besides Sakura—so they're hidden in the shadows? No wonder he refused my visit that day. Hmph. But that Servant dared insult me back then—sooner or later, I'll settle that score." Inside the Tohsaka mansion, the always refined Tokiomi Tohsaka finally showed an uncharacteristically angry expression.
Aside from Sakura, the Matou family really did have other "members," but the situation wasn't what Tokiomi had imagined.
Looks like what Meruem did to him that time left a deep impression.
What Tokiomi didn't see, though, was that behind the wall not far from him, the King of Heroes Goldie—whom he pinned his hopes on to win the Holy Grail—was staring at him with disgust, like he was looking at a rotting corpse.
"Jeanne… Jeanne, Jeanne… aaah!" The silver-armored knight stared at the blonde girl before him, murmuring as he plunged into endless madness.
Not far from the battlefield, before Irisviel and Artoria had gone very far, the two of them were blocked by the Bluebeard–Ryuunosuke duo, who had been drawn in by the lingering aura of the Servants' battle.
As a Berserker, the moment Bluebeard laid eyes on Artoria, he went crazy. Only Saint Jeanne was his heaven—he would give everything for Jeanne.
But Bluebeard's eyesight must be broken. Artoria and Saint Jeanne are still pretty different. And he could confuse them anyway? You can only say it really fits the "Berserker loses their reason" setting.
Please look carefully at Artoria's chest and then at Jeanne's before you say they're the same, okay! Most importantly, Jeanne doesn't have an ahoge on her head, you bastard—serves you right to be single forever. They just look somewhat alike, that's all.
"This aura… a Servant!" The instant she saw Bluebeard, Artoria went on guard. She held her holy sword horizontally in her hands and placed herself in front of Irisviel.
But she didn't know that Bluebeard's target was her.
"Jeanne…" Bluebeard ignored Artoria's stance and only stared blankly at her face, as if just seeing that face could make him feel at ease.
If other magi saw this, they would definitely cry out—she isn't even the Master, yet she can suppress Berserker and keep him from going berserk? That's unheard of.
"Saber, do you know him? An acquaintance?" Irisviel asked, puzzled.
Artoria frowned and examined Bluebeard up and down for a long while. Finally, under Bluebeard's slightly hopeful gaze, she slowly spoke, completely certain: "Irisviel, I do not know this person!"
"Aaaah! Jeanne! Jeanne! Jeanne!" After hearing Artoria, Bluebeard seemed to be hit by some overwhelming shock and suddenly went insane. Sword in hand, he launched an attack at Irisviel beside Artoria.
Bluebeard was already mentally unstable to begin with, and at least could still manage some rudimentary communication—but once he manifested as Berserker and lost his reason, he could only be described as a pure madman. Especially after being stimulated by Artoria, who looked eighty percent like Jeanne, what he might do next was anyone's guess.
He thrust his sword—but Artoria's Invisible Air barrier blocked it firmly.
"So you want to fight?" Artoria said gravely. But when she looked at Bluebeard again, she froze.
He… he was crying?
That gaze looked like a believer whose faith had collapsed. He stared at Artoria in despair, then suddenly grabbed the equally confused Ryuunosuke and ran off toward the other side of the road.
In the blink of an eye, they vanished from the two women's sight. Looks like Ryuunosuke really is compatible with Bluebeard—he didn't even forget his Master. That's rare.
What was that? What did he even come for?
Why was he crying? Artoria didn't understand and felt baffled. He'd appeared so abruptly, attacked Irisviel for no clear reason, cried for no clear reason, and then turned around and ran. What was that?
Artoria's head was full of question marks, and Irisviel beside her was just as confused. Forget Artoria, who already didn't understand people's hearts all that well—if it were the Conqueror King Iskandar or anyone else, they probably wouldn't be able to figure out what the other guy was thinking either.
You can't keep up with a madman's logic.
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