Alexandre Dumas said in a joking tone, and then continued talking.
"Do you know? The so-called pheasant is the Argonauts led by Captain Jason, who brought it back to Greece from the distant Colchis and spread it in Europe, right? It is the most suitable scene to become a hero.
Right? Although I still want to chat a few words, time waits for no one. Hey, let’s go quickly. If you need Noble Phantasm support, I will make up for you while cooking Bouillon (French meat soup).”
"Warlock."
"What's wrong?"
Alexandre Dumas seemed a little disappointed with the serious-looking Orlando. The director bowed his head slightly and thanked Alexandre Dumas.
"Whether I am a magician or a policeman, I have no reason to accept your unreasonable feelings... As the chief of police in Snowfield, I thank you for taking care of my men."
In Dumas's opinion, although Orlando still had a straight face, his expression was positive.
"The time for sleeping and eating will be reduced in the next two days, but it will be a headache if my body cannot bear it. Get me something nutritious to eat."
After watching Vera and Orlando leave, Alexandre Dumas smiled and said to himself.
"Oh my, there is no fighting among the heroes today. This is probably the last Sabbath, and I am quite busy. However, will this city disappear in two days? It is an emergency now... What if
If things change, it might really be the last supper."
——Actually, how much can you taste it?
——I don’t have many cards left in my hand.
——What follows is just like what I hoped for in the beginning, ‘Witness a real-life story that becomes interesting’.
——They plan to sacrifice themselves and burn until the end.
Dumas sighed deeply and said mockingly.
"However, as a mere audience, the emotions for the brothers are too strong...am I going to get aroused too?"
After he put away the dishes, he accidentally saw many books placed on the bookshelf in the corner of the workshop.
I bought it from a bookstore on this street, including the English versions of "The Three Musketeers" and other books I once wrote.
Not only are there his own works, but also the works of many people who lived in the same era as him are on display.
There is one book among them.
He murmured to himself while holding a fairy tale that was circulated in the form of a picture book and written by a writer who was his friend during his lifetime.
"I didn't expect that his books are still being read by young boys all over the world. Didn't the guy fail to sell the manuscript of "Tallow Candle" in the end? Because it was a work he wrote when he was still immature, so he couldn't use it.
It sells, so that’s my favorite one.”
Alexandre Dumas murmured to himself, while turning the pages of the book, his eyes stopped on a painting, which was a girl lighting a match.
"The memories that emerged in the light of the match? Putting aside the intention of that guy's writing, from the surface, our heroic spirits may be similar..."
Alexandre Dumas said mockingly and turned another page.
"Um?"
Feeling something was wrong, I read the above text again.
"……ah?"
The page he turned to described the last scene of the story "The Little Match Girl".
He immediately understood where the dissonance came from.
Because the ending in this book is completely different from the fairy tale that Alexandre Dumas knew.
Originally, the little girl was supposed to freeze to death in her beautiful memories, but instead she was rescued by a rich man and continued to live happily.
"Hey, hey, hey...wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute? Is it true or false?"
This picture book was published in some countries, including the United States, and "is not a tragic ending, but a version that has been tampered with to look like a happy ending."
"You guy...are actually like this..."
After confirming the author's name again, Dumas stared at the picture book for a long time, his hands shaking excitedly——
"Hahahahahaha! What happened? Is there such a thing in the world?"
He laughed so hard that people fell off their feet.
"I became aware of this when I saw Aramis become a woman in my book The Three Musketeers, but that guy... the basis of the masterpiece written by that solitary genius also encountered
Such a thing! Will life itself change!?"
I saw his eyes shining brightly, holding up the fairy tale picture book high, and kept shouting.
"No, no! Although I am also taking over the task of revising the script, the idea of subverting the completed work is still not there! It is not like Dusis did to overturn Shakespeare's works! Just aim at the sentences! I think
If I were to write about the same theme, it would be a completely different story... I would just change the title and author's name at the end and sell it, you guy! You guy! What modern publishing houses are doing to you.
It's so interesting! I really want to see that guy's expression! That guy must have a straight face, 'But, seeing this happy ending, my soul was saved. There must be many readers who thank you.
Right?’ Just tell him that.”
Dumas chuckled while talking about things that were difficult to judge whether they were good or bad for the author himself -
Suddenly, his smile became gentle.
"Well, even if he is so provocative, that guy... Regarding this story, 'I have nothing to say,' he would comment like this... The most unfortunate thing is that the little girl was saved by a rich man? Life is
A series of satires, everyone is ugly, but their fate is beautiful... That's the kind of guy he is."
Perhaps recalling the past, Alexandre Dumas's eyes showed a little nostalgia, and he closed the picture book.
"No, no, it's not good to just buy books and pile them up!"
The quiet atmosphere just now was gone, and Alexandre Dumas murmured with the same vivid eyes as when he was first summoned.
"Well, thanks to that guy, I'm very motivated, so let's work hard now!"
The phone rang behind him.
It was probably Orlando calling to inform them of the number of police members attending the dinner.
Staring at the phone receiver, thinking about cooking, he was constantly tinkering with new scripts in his mind.
"Before they freeze to death, give those bastards who turned a blind eye a couple of punches in the face."
············
Coleman Special Orthodontics Center.
"About the above decision, don't you need to notify Director Orlando?"
Faldius responded calmly to his secretary Aldra's question.
"No need. Originally, in this case, the chain of command between me and Director Orlando would be severed. If there is a problem, it is whether Francesca will be nosy."
After receiving the order from his superiors to destroy the city, Faldius did not show any anxiety.
Although the Holy Grail War continues to be troubled, the operators behind the scenes had anticipated this possibility before the war began.
Therefore, from the perspective of a national civil servant, whether Francesca will be nosy or not is a major instability factor.
It would be okay if she was alone, but now with her assistant, there are two people.
Judging from the scale of the genjutsu they released in the factory area, they might be able to use genjutsu to prevent the city from being blown up.
In any case, even her illusions may not be able to deceive the entire city into being bombed, but it is not surprising that the bomber's sensors and pilots used some tricks to make the bombing position deviate from the planned target.
"It would be great if we could use illusions to transfer the system of the Great Holy Grail according to the original plan... That guy is very keen on playing tricks. What if she has the idea of 'It would be a shame to end it now'
, we don’t know what tricks she will do.”
"Then how should we proceed?"
"We will retreat tomorrow. It seems that the remnants of the curse created by Jun Qiu Chun's servants still remain, but it is possible to escape from the city through ordinary rituals. It is better to say that there are not even such magic rituals.
It is a fluke that ordinary people did not escape from the city. As the hurricane approaches, Snowfield's network and wireless communications will be completely cut off. If they are in the storm, there is no need to worry about them being able to detect what is happening in the sky."
"That hurricane is also considered an anomaly..."
"If the power of heroic spirits and the activation of the Great Holy Grail come here, the power of the hurricane will also weaken as the city is destroyed. In any case, even if a hurricane strikes, the city will be burned down.
Turned into ashes.”
Faldius, who had no emotion about the sacrifice of ordinary citizens, gave Aldra a few orders and walked to his workshop.
Then, after making sure that no one was around, he said hello to the darkness behind him through the mirror.
"You're listening, right? Assassin?"
The deep darkness became thicker and thicker, and Faldius felt a slight movement in the shadow.
"...There are two uncertainties that I am very concerned about. The current whereabouts of Flat Escaldes are unknown. It is even possible that he has left the city...In this case, there is nothing we can do, let the clock tower and
Just worry about the El-Melloi classroom where he belongs."
——That monarch seems to be the one who solves problems when faced with such problems.
This sarcasm meant nothing to the assassin, so Faldius did not say it.
For him, what matters is the next instruction.
"...Another worrying factor is that Philia, who was prepared as the Little Holy Grail, has something possessing her body...perhaps it is the residue of the god or a curse. However,
She is now rooted in this land and is currently promoting the transformation project of the surrounding magical environment... Assassin, I would like to ask you to investigate Philia's camp."
No answer came from the darkness.
However, while making sure that the other party was listening, Faldius continued.
"If you hadn't possessed the most advanced breath-shielding ability, I'm afraid you wouldn't have been able to avoid the search of the god possessing Filia. She transformed the land itself according to her own will... If her power were to follow
Strengthened by the changes in the land... it may even be possible to seal an attack that could destroy the city."
Although he did not tell Aldra, Faldius expressed great concern about Philia's magical power, which had increased rapidly in the past few days.
"It would be fine if the storm that is approaching here is affected by heroic spirits and the land... If that thing was summoned by Philia, it would be very tricky. The system of the Great Holy Grail has been cut off, and the system of the Great Holy Grail has been created, including you.
All the magic power of the heroic spirits flows to the Little Holy Grail. If this happens... in some parts of this world, 'gods' may come again."
"..."
There was movement in the darkness.
Faldius was convinced that Hassan was listening to him, so he wiped away his emotions and regarded himself as a puppet, overlooking his own body and mind.
It's not a lie, what I'm going to say next is the truth - precisely because Hassan is my follower, I don't want my followers to notice my emotions when I say these words.
"If you and I want to win the Holy Grail War and end this ritual, there are only two days left. If you want to overturn the decision above, you must at least expel the remnants of the gods from Philia's body. Even so,
Whether it can be done is still unknown..."
"You have no need to hide it, Contractor——"
"!"
Faldius had the illusion that the darkness itself was making a sound.
Faldius cut off his emotions from his body, not letting a drop of sweat escape, waiting for the other party to finish speaking.
"You have already decided, it's time to destroy my spiritual base."
"...Well, that's right."
Saying the wrong thing can cost you your life.
If it were an ordinary heroic spirit, it would not be surprising to kill me now. But after Faldius continued to observe the assassin in front of him, he judged that the servant would not take such arbitrary action.
On this basis, he further said.
"I...as the master, I want to order you to die. However, this is not an order for you to commit suicide. I will issue an order with a high fatality rate, and then you can do whatever you want."
"..."
The servant showed no emotion towards this sentence.
There is no hostility, no intention of harm, and no thought of giving up.
As if convinced that the Master still had something to say, the assassin remained silent amid the shaking shadows.
"After accepting the next order, there is no need for you to come back here. As the person in charge...in order to protect the beliefs you said, I will never run away..."
"As a participant in the Holy Grail War, I will withdraw from the fight."
············
Cottage in the moorland area east of Snowfield.
"As a result... neither of them came back. Sigma and the Assassin."
Ayaka sat on a chair in the room, staring at the old wall clock.
An uneasiness welled up in my heart from deep inside, and I felt like my chest was blocked.
I should have opened the window to breathe in the outside air, but it had only been a day since someone was sniped in front of me, so I wasn't in that mood at all.