Fate: Hero Simulator

[3rd POV]

"Kirei, don't look at me like that. I'm not one to be fooled by appearances. To give you an example… You've heard of King Arthur, haven't you?"

"Of course."

Kirei couldn't forget that man, Emiya Kiritsugu, who was a key figure in his life. And Artoria, the King Arthur of legend, had been his Servant.

There was no way Kirei wouldn't know who she was. Despite being a woman, King Arthur's presence and authority were undeniable.

During the Fourth Holy Grail War, the three kings gathered in the Einzbern Castle to discuss their ideals of kingship and the reasons behind their pursuit of the Holy Grail.

Iskandar, the King of Conquerors, wished to regain his physical body so that he could relive his grand conquests.

As for the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh aimed to reclaim what was once his.

King Arthur, Artoria's goal, however, was to change the past and relive history once more.

Gilgamesh mocked her as a fool, while Iskandar scolded her for disrespecting the history she and her comrades had created together. Yet Artoria's response was...

"So what?"

That young girl was unfazed by their words.

"So what if I deny that history? I have confidence in my strength. I believe that if history were to be rewritten, I could prevent more tragedies. I know I can do it."

She clenched her fists. Even though she had already minimized the losses caused by the decline of the Age of Gods, it still wasn't enough…

Lancelot and Guinevere bore disgrace, and Mordred became a traitor in later history. Agravain was always seen as a schemer, and… that pure, unyielding courage should never have been her enemy.

"If you want to stop me, then try. See if you can withstand the wrath of King Arthur."

That kind of dominance and determination immediately caused both Iskander and Gilgamesh to change their expressions.

From that moment on, no one dared to see her as just a girl but as a king who would change history for her own desires.

The king of Britain, the Maid of Orleans, the Emperor of Rome... so many people wearing the face of one person.

Even in the same era, there can be people who look very similar to each other, let alone across all of history.

That person is already dead.

Gilgamesh would never project his feelings for someone onto someone else.

"Moreover, if it really was him, then I still have some debts to settle with him. Although I allowed him to chop off my head, it really hurt."

Gilgamesh touched his neck and laughed cruelly.

"Chop off your head?"

Kirei couldn't believe that such a person existed in this world, and wasn't Gilgamesh's final death…?

"Kirei, how did you learn about me? The Epic of Gilgamesh? An unknown book, written by someone who knows nothing?"

Gilgamesh sneered.

There was no need to explain the events from back then because he believed that person would never be forgotten by history.

"It seems there are quite a few mysteries in history, but as I'm no scholar, I really don't need to know about them."

Kirei didn't want to dig deeper.

After all, these things were more of an interest to archaeologists and the magus at the Clock Tower.

...

"Today's lesson will cover The Epic of Gilgamesh..."

The Department of Modern Magecraft Theory classroom at Clock Tower was packed.

Although El-Melloi II's name had spread throughout the Clock Tower, his classes were now as hard to get into as a rare gem.

Unfortunately, they would regret attending this lesson.

At the back of the classroom, a famous magus was easily recognizable by his fiery red hair and exceptional puppet, indicating her identity.

"El-Melloi-sensei, we already know most of the details about The Epic of Gilgamesh. How about talking about something we don't know? Like the newly uncovered stone tablet?"

"Tch~ That's not within the scope of my lecture."

El-Melloi II glanced at the uninvited Touko Aozaki.

Although they did have some history together, if possible, he would rather not get involved with her especially regarding her past.

However, considering he was merely an ordinary professor while the other was powerful at such a young age and even from a background... sometimes it's necessary to bend.

"The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest known hero epic in the world, but the exact year of origin is unclear. The accuracy of its historical and mystical descriptions couldn't be verified until the recent discovery of a new stone tablet."

He took a laptop from his briefcase, causing students from other departments to change their expressions.

"This is an image of that stone tablet. While it's not very clear, you can still see something."

The projection on the blackboard was blurry, but everyone could still see a figure surrounded by a circular ring.

"The Sun? No, it's the Moon."

The students in the classroom answered.

It was a person standing bathed in moonlight.

"Holy King of the Moonlight."

Touko looked at the cuneiform text on the image. She had been able to decipher runes since her student days and was very skilled in linguistics.

She immediately recognized the meaning of the text on the stone tablet.

"That's right. The tablet refers to this person in such a way. He is the king who judges the nature of other kings. If a ruler is benevolent, he remains unseen, but if a ruler is tyrannical, he will strike the king and kill the ruler. The most important part is that this tablet says... he killed Gilgamesh."

This statement caused an uproar among the students.

After all, Gilgamesh's death was tied to the concept of the "serpent" and rebirth, and if this legend were debunked, it would shock many magus who sought immortality.

"Quiet down, it's just a stone tablet. There is no evidence to prove the content yet, and more experts are working hard to research it. I'm just revealing a bit early. Don't worry about it until things are settled."

He knew bringing up the topic would cause a stir and purposely avoided it.

Touko certainly knew how to cause trouble for him.

However, why did she put on such a show in my classroom?

El-Melloi II was puzzled.

After all, Touko was a mysterious woman, and this time, the puppeteer was carrying a long, narrow box with her.

Could it be some kind of new puppet inside? But that length... it seemed a bit familiar.

To be continued...

...

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