I Don’t Want to Be a Heroic Spirit

After hearing about Roche's situation, Artoria couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt.

After all, Avicebron had chosen to save Roche because of her words.

But as she thought about it more... if not for her, Roche might have died as the core of Avicebron's Noble Phantasm—betrayed and killed by the very person he admired most.

People say comparisons make all the difference.

With that in mind, Artoria realized... perhaps she didn't owe Roche an apology after all.

In fact, if anything, Roche should be thanking her.

Artoria decided to gather more information about the current state of the Black Faction's forces, primarily through Fiore.

The loss of Caster Avicebron was a severe blow to the Black Faction's strength. His departure not only cost them the golem army but also their ace, the Adam Golem.

Additionally, the captured Red Berserker Spartacus had been eliminated.

Fiore explained that after eliminating Avicebron, Amakusa Shirou was inevitably discovered by the Black Faction's Servants.

Though a Servant himself, Amakusa's combat abilities were limited compared to others of his kind.

To escape, he had manipulated Spartacus, triggering his Noble Phantasm, "Crying Warmonger"—an ability that converts damage into magical energy to strengthen himself. However, when that energy exceeds his body's limits, it results in a catastrophic self-destruction.

As a result, at least two-thirds of the Yggdmillennia castle was reduced to rubble—not by Semiramis's Hanging Gardens, but by Spartacus's explosion.

The chaos allowed Amakusa to escape unscathed.

Hearing this, Artoria couldn't help but feel a growing admiration for Amakusa Shirou.

Not only did he have ambition and cunning, but he also had the boldness to infiltrate enemy territory alone and achieve such devastating results.

No wonder so many people felt indignant that such a man lost to Sieg.

As for the remaining forces:

The Black Faction still had four Servants: Saber Siegfried, Archer Chiron, Lancer Vlad III, and Berserker Frankenstein.

The Red Faction, on the other hand, was harder to gauge.

The only confirmed active Servants were Assassin Semiramis and Lancer Karna.

The fact that the Hanging Gardens, though damaged by Rhongomyniad, hadn't been completely destroyed suggested Semiramis was still alive.

And as for Karna... Artoria believed he was too formidable to be defeated by a single attack, even one as powerful as her spear.

Oh, and there was Mordred, of course.

Artoria almost forgot that Mordred technically belonged to the Red Faction.

Though, given the current situation, Mordred and her Master Kairi could almost be considered a neutral third party.

Perhaps even a fourth faction if you counted the elusive Jack the Ripper.

During her discussion with Fiore, Artoria learned another surprising detail: Amakusa Shirou's true identity as a Ruler-class Servant.

As a participant in the previous Grail War, Darnic had recognized Amakusa immediately.

Fiore had shared this information with Artoria, likely hoping she would consider Amakusa's actions a violation of the rules and intervene.

But Artoria remained firm in her stance.

"If the Grail chose him as a Master, then it is not a violation of the rules. It's legitimate."

Seeing Artoria's resolve, Fiore reluctantly abandoned her attempts to persuade her.

After their conversation, Artoria wandered through the castle corridors, pondering.

The red carpet beneath her feet was ornately embroidered with gold—a display of the Yggdmillennia family's wealth.

She placed a hand on her chin, mulling over a curious thought.

"I've seen the Black Faction's side. Should I pay the Red Faction a visit too?"

Hmm... she'd probably be thrown out immediately.

After all, she'd just blown their Hanging Gardens out of the sky. Showing up uninvited now would definitely look like a provocation.

But then again... what could they even do about it?

Not like they could beat me, Artoria thought with a small smirk.

---

Artoria stopped in front of a door. It wasn't locked, so she pushed it open with ease.

The scene inside caught her off guard.

"Mordred... and the Black Faction's Berserker? What are you two doing?"

There they were—sitting side by side, seemingly at peace... playing a video game?

Artoria blinked in disbelief.

"Oh! Father!"

Mordred, sitting cross-legged on the floor, turned her head to greet Artoria with an excited grin. Her cheer was short-lived as she noticed her character taking damage on the screen.

"Ah! Damn it, hold on—let me finish this! I'll crush these monsters in no time!"

Artoria couldn't help but feel an odd pang of melancholy, like a parent watching their child fall into a questionable new hobby.

Still, her curiosity won out.

"How did you two end up playing video games together?"

After a short pause to consider, Mordred responded.

"Well, my Master's been busy doing who-knows-what, and I was bored out of my mind. So, I decided to explore this castle a bit."

She gestured to the game console.

"And that's when I stumbled across this thing! They call it a video game or something, right?"

Mordred laughed, her tone filled with genuine excitement.

"Come on, we're a thousand years in the future! I couldn't just leave without checking out something cool from this era. What a waste that'd be!"

Artoria then turned her attention to Frankenstein.

"And Berserker? Why are you here?"

"Ugh... Ahh..." Frankenstein made a series of unintelligible noises before Mordred stepped in to clarify.

"Frankenstein's the one who brought me here. Honestly, if it weren't for her, I wouldn't have figured out how to turn this thing on."

Mordred gave Frankenstein a thumbs-up.

"She even helped me set it up! Pretty cool, huh?"

Artoria found herself at a loss for words.

The image of these two rowdy, chaotic individuals sitting together in peace, engrossed in a game, was almost surreal.

---

T/N: Ichinose was blocked :D