IBHJ 1271

Like a contented cat with no worries in the world, Arcueid eventually tired of her games. She stretched out lazily in the garden and promptly fell asleep in the warm afternoon sun.

The Incarnation sat quietly nearby, watching Arcueid's peaceful sleeping face.

"Brigid," Artoria said, coming to stand in front of her.

"Are you still trying to change my mind? It won't work, King of Knights. I..."

"No," Artoria interrupted gently, shaking her head. "I'm not going to try that anymore. That would be denying who you truly are as the Counter Force. I just wanted to give you this."

She held out a wooden bracelet to the Incarnation.

She took it and examined it closely, noticing a string of ancient characters carved into the wood—"Brigid."

"I don't understand," the Incarnation said. "You refuse to support what I'm doing, yet you give me this gift. What's the point?"

"Just because I can't support your actions doesn't mean I can't care about you," Artoria replied.

The Incarnation looked up, Artoria's figure reflected in her eyes. "Your stories have been filled with so much sadness... Overturning all those painful stories and rewriting them, resolving all that sadness—that's what I should be doing. That's the purpose of the Counter Force."

"But if all our stories are rewritten, would we still be the same people?" Artoria asked softly. "Would Arcueid still be Arcueid? Would the King remain the King? Would I still be me? And what would happen to you after everything is rewritten?"

"Eternal King will still be Eternal King, and you will still be you," the Incarnation replied with certainty. "Nothing will change. And I will remain as I am—the Counter Force ensuring your existence."

The Incarnation slipped the bracelet onto her wrist and stood up. "I'll keep this for now. When the kingdom is restored, I'll return it to you."

Artoria watched her as she turned to leave. "You understand our pain and suffering, but you don't understand why none of us have ever truly regretted it."

"And you claim you're not trying to change my mind..." The Incarnation said quietly, walking away without looking back.

Arcueid secretly opened one eye as soon as the Incarnation was gone. After making sure Brigid was truly out of sight, she sat up and looked at Artoria, who was sighing deeply.

"Art, you aren't seriously trying to convince her, are you?" Arcueid asked. "It's pointless. You can't change Counter Force's mind. They're not human."

"From the moment she appeared, when she first felt our sadness, she already became human, Arcueid," Artoria replied thoughtfully. "She became a Holy Spirit, became the Emperor, because our sadness moved her. I'm not trying to make her give up on the kingdom. I just want her to free herself from carrying all the kingdom's sorrows and learn to live for herself. If she doesn't choose to transcend..."

Her voice trailed off.

"Why did you stop?" Arcueid looked at her with confusion.

"It's nothing," Artoria said, shaking her head.

"Live for herself?" Arcueid gave a knowing smile. "Counter Force can't do that. If it could, then it wouldn't be Counter Force anymore."

"I suppose you're right..." Artoria admitted with a helpless smile.

"By the way, did Brigid release it?" Arcueid asked. "If Shirou sees it, he's definitely going to be shocked."

"Yes, Brigid gave it life. The King will definitely be surprised when he comes across it. But don't worry—it won't obey Brigid, and it won't hurt the King. It just holds a grudge against him. After all, the King did abandon it..."

Arcueid nodded thoughtfully, then rubbed her hands together. "I think we should start making our move too. We can't just let Shirou handle everything by himself. What kind of friends would that make us?"

...

"Ayaka... um, why are you suddenly serving me tea?" Kiara looked at Ayaka with confusion. "You being so nice out of nowhere is making me a little uncomfortable."

"Kiara!" Ayaka looked her straight in the eyes. "We're good friends, and no matter what happens, you'll always be my good friend—now and in the future!"

"Why are you saying all this so suddenly?" Kiara studied Ayaka's serious expression, collected herself, and then nodded firmly. "Of course! We are good friends!"

...

"Here, this is your book."

"Thank you very much, Miss Kiara. Oh, and by the way... we found the bonfire party described in the book really interesting, so the village is planning to hold one. We'd love for you, Miss Ayaka, and Miss Leticia to join us."

"I'd be happy to attend." Kiara smiled as she watched the young man leave. Then she turned around and noticed Ayaka staring at her again.

"Ayaka, what's going on with you?" she couldn't help asking.

"What do you mean, 'what's going on'?"

"You've been like this ever since Tír na nÓg... just staring at me with this strange look. Is there something weird attached to me or something?"

"No, no, not at all," Ayaka quickly waved her hands. "I-I'm just worried about you, Kiara. You're my good friend, after all."

"But do you really need to stare at me like that? It's not like I'm going to vanish into thin air. And honestly, it makes me feel uncomfortable..."

"Well..." Ayaka scratched the back of her head, unsure what to say.

Laeticia, standing beside them, covered her mouth and laughed. "You two have such a wonderful relationship, Miss Ayaka, Miss Kiara."

"Of course we do. We're good friends, Miss Laeticia," Kiara replied with a smile.

Laeticia paused when she heard this, then smiled gently. "...I wish the other Kiara could be as bright and lively as you."

"The other me? I think she's pretty approachable too. Actually, Miss Laeticia, since you formed a contract with the other me, can you sense where she is?" Kiara asked.

Laeticia shook her head. "I'm afraid not. Jeanne and I are basically just magical energy reservoirs for her."

Her expression grew somewhat sad as she said this.

"The other me is really something else," Kiara said indignantly. "She's incredibly powerful, yet she forced you and Jeanne to be her Masters. She's not even a Servant, so she doesn't need Masters or magical energy to exist, right? I swear, the next time I see her, I'm going to give her a piece of my mind."

"No," Laeticia shook her head and offered a gentle smile. "Even though I was forced into the contract, I'm not upset, and I don't dislike her at all. Jeanne seems rather bitter about it, though... But thinking about it more, that Miss Kiara seems very lonely..."

"Lonely? That can't be right. The other me is completely self-indulgent. Her mind is filled with nothing but her own desires—how could she possibly be lonely?"

"Maybe we've been wrong about her all along. Perhaps she's actually the only one without selfish desires..."

"Ayaka?" Kiara turned to look at Ayaka with confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"No... it's nothing." Ayaka quickly shook her head. The matters involving Demonic Bodhisattva were things she neither wanted to nor could talk about.

"Let's just report the situation here to Fujimaru first," Ayaka said, changing the subject.

"Sounds good," Kiara nodded.

...

Camelot.

"There have been numerous books with strange content appearing throughout various regions lately. Agravain, what are your thoughts on this?" Apostle Pendragon asked from the throne of Camelot.

"It must be the work of those stubborn Pan-Human Heroic Spirits who refuse to surrender. We should confiscate all these books, then track down and eliminate all the Heroic Spirits distributing them," Agravain replied coldly.

"I see." She nodded, then gestured toward the pile of books stacked on the floor. "What should we do with all these books we've collected from across Wales?"

"Keep one or two samples to show His Majesty. Destroy everything else," Agravain said.