"So? You in or not?"
"…Yeah."
At that moment, Angra and I were sitting together, discussing things seriously.
More specifically… the Holy Grail War.
Yes, I had… accepted what Angra said about me.
And now Angra, who's normally the laziest bastard alive—was finally going to fulfill my wish the way a proper Servant should.
That is: create a Holy Grail War… for my entertainment.
Meaning I'd get to watch Masters slaughter each other while I observed safely from the sidelines like a spectator.
I really don't want to admit it, but… watching people kill each other over a single wish actually excites me way more than usual.
"Too bad we're kinda… you know…" Angra sighed, looking at me.
I only have one magic circuit, and it's utter garbage. Angra himself isn't exactly overflowing with power, even though he carries the name of an evil god from ancient Arabia.
So when the mood hits hardest… we still can't do shit.
"Hmmm…" Angra stared at me, thinking.
"What? Got any ideas?" I blinked back at him.
"…Has anyone ever told you that you look like Yu Narukami from Persona 4?"
"Get lost."
I stood up, planning to think about it more tomorrow, when a sudden idea flashed through my mind.
"…What if, instead of creating a crappy, insanely expensive Holy Grail War… we hold it in dreams?"
The moment I said that, Angra froze for a second, which immediately caught my attention.
"Ah… that thing…"
"What? Can't do it?"
"It's not that I can't, it's just…"
"Just what?"
"…Fine, I'll do it. But Master, you have to give me enough mana to sustain it."
Looking at his evasive expression, I immediately realized something.
This bastard was being lazy on purpose! Creating a real Grail War here is basically impossible, so he picked this because he knew it wouldn't work!
"AND YOU STILL SAID YOU'D FULFILL MY WISH?!"
"STOP PULLING MY HAIR, MASTER! I'M DOING IT RIGHT NOW!!"
After I calmed down, Angra patted my head.
"I have three Noble Phantasms. One of them… isn't exactly a Noble Phantasm, but it became one because it's my most stable combat ability. Another is the paired daggers Tawrich and Zarich, born specifically to kill people."
Then Angra took a deep breath.
"The last one I got after helping out a Master I once knew. It's not an official Noble Phantasm."
"This newest one lets me create a space similar to a Reality Marble. The target gets trapped in a four-day time loop. Their consciousness gets sent there, while their physical body stays fine. So calling it a 'dream' isn't exactly wrong."
"For real? You're not hiding anything, right?" I asked.
"If I'm hiding anything, may this TV turn itself off!"
Click.
The TV that had been playing a drama suddenly shut off. Angra and I stared at it, then at each other.
"You better hope that TV's still working, or I'm dragging you out to do manual labor with me to earn money."
"Noooo!!"
Back to the present.
Angra is currently tweaking that four-day loop Noble Phantasm to stretch it into a full week. I have no idea how he's doing it, but he keeps going "Just leave it to me~" while somehow scrounging up enough mana on his own to activate it.
…As if I believe that. Angra doesn't have the authority to activate that thing properly. I remember the notebook saying it required the Holy Grail itself to use.
Still, no idea how he's pulling it off… I was scared he'd start killing people, so I strictly forbade it unless I gave permission.
In response, he mocked me for being a hypocrite.
Ugh… his tongue is sharp as hell, but I still hope he doesn't kill anyone. I don't want my peaceful hometown suddenly full of murder cases.
At the same time, holding a Holy Grail War inside dreams means no real danger to the participants' lives, and it doesn't torment my conscience either. I think I'll be able to enjoy it more than usual since, fundamentally, no one actually has to die. (At least… I think so.)
"Vincent!"
I jolted. Looking up, I saw the teacher staring at me.
"What are you deep in thought about? Come up here and get your test paper to see your score."
"Ah, yes sir."
I stood up and walked to the front to collect my test.
The top students could sneak peeks at everyone's scores as they went up. When they saw mine, they sighed.
"Full marks again."
"Seriously? This guy always gets perfect scores."
They murmured for a bit, then went quiet again, as if my existence was just a passing breeze.
However, one person noticed something on my hand—specifically, my Command Seals.
"Ah, there's some pervert flying around with fake wings and a pigeon!" I pointed outside with an innocent face.
"Huh?! Where where?!" All the boys immediately looked out the window—including the one who'd spotted my Command Seals.
Heh, these guys are so easy to trick.
"Woa, there really is someone flying!"
"?"
"Damn! He's posing too—and eating a taco while flying!"
"??" I got confused and looked over.
There was a figure completely shrouded in shadow, indeed flying with fake wings.
…That bastard is Angra!!!
"Ahem." The teacher cleared his throat, and everyone settled down.
After I returned to my seat, I immediately spoke through telepathy.
'WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING??'
'Ah, Master, I'm… boosting my own fame! Servants get stronger with recognition, you know!'
'ARE YOU MESSING WITH ME??'
'Yep, this is part of our plan! Since your world is freakishly peaceful and there aren't any Magus around, I can safely build up my reputation!'
What a genius… if only you'd use that genius brain for something useful.
'Wait… I've got it!' My eyes lit up.
To increase his fame, combined with Angra's pretty terrifying appearance… I can use this to set up the dream Holy Grail War.
All we need is for people to know him as "the guy who drags people into dreams"!
…Would that actually work?
'I don't know? Let's just do it.' Angra didn't complain.
Perfect! We can deal with the low mana issue later. For now—let's turn Angra into the Servant of Dreams!