Era of Heroic Spirits: I Was Exposed by Alaya

Why could Father be summoned?

Mordred could hardly believe her eyes.

At the center of the magic circle stood a knightly maiden who looked exactly like her, clad in silver Lyonesse armor, her emerald-green eyes calmly fixed on the red-haired boy before her.

At that moment, countless viewers stared at their screens in awe, fantasizing about how wonderful it would be if they could summon King Arthur to their side.

The barrage of comments exploded instantly—

-[Ahhh, I'm so jealous! I want to summon King Arthur too!]

-[King Arthur is the perfect knightly maiden, so beautiful!]

-[So, is the red-haired boy the young Nameless? Where is this Holy Grail War taking place?]

-[Feels like a parallel world. Surely no one actually believes in the '99 Confidentiality Agreement,' right?]

-[Is Alaya about to expose the Nameless's true identity?]

...

"Why would Father be summoned to participate in the Holy Grail War? Who are the enemies?" Mordred muttered to herself.

For her, Father was the goal she had spent her life chasing.

And now, the mighty Father had been summoned as a tool, forced to fight as someone else's Servant.

Most importantly, the one who summoned Father was likely the young [Nameless]!

Could this be the world where Nameless truly lived?

Beside her, Gawain glanced at the gloomy sky outside the window. "Your Father was probably forced into the Holy Grail War, summoned against her will by some power."

"Impossible!" Mordred retorted sharply.

"Just keep watching. Everything will be revealed soon enough," Gawain said, choosing not to argue further.

He then brought over a freshly made, steaming plate of mashed potatoes and a glass of milk. "Mordred, time for breakfast."

"..."

Mordred instantly felt a wave of potato-induced PTSD.

After losing two bets in a row, she had been forced to eat potato-based meals made by the Potato Spirit every day.

It was unbearable!

"Mordred, want to make another bet? I bet your Father can end the Holy Grail War single-handedly. If I lose, you won't have to eat potato meals anymore!" Gawain said with a smile. "But if I win, you'll have to learn how to make potato dishes from me—for everyone to enjoy!"

To him, the King was invincible!

A mere Holy Grail War? She could crush it effortlessly.

No one could possibly believe that some random boy could defeat a Heroic Spirit, right?

Even if this red-haired boy named [Shirou] was the young [Nameless], it was still impossible!

"...Again???" Mordred gritted her teeth, her mind racing.

Now it's three meals a day, and losing means others have to eat.

Sorry, all you kind, honest, and just Knights of the Round Table. You'll have to bear the cost of my defeat.

"Fine, I'll take the bet!"

Mordred instantly made up her mind.

Next.

In the video, she saw a red-haired youth who appeared to be from his younger days summon King Arthur, yet didn't have her fight.

Instead, he tried to persuade her: "You've done enough. The fall of Britain wasn't your fault—it was Mordred's. There's no need to wish to return to the selection of the king!"

My fault???

Mordred gritted her teeth.

This guy actually dared to say it was her fault.

Gawain glanced sideways at her.

Won't admit your mistakes?

He silently resolved to make her eat more potato rice!

Nothing better than seeing you forced to eat mashed potatoes when you clearly don't want to!

However.

King Arthur was still King Arthur.

Even the king without a human heart in the video unhesitatingly refused the youth's request.

She only wanted to win the war and obtain the Holy Grail!

The onlookers vaguely began to piece things together—

-[Damn, this connects to the second exposé video, The Perfect King!]

-[Shit, it really does! Back then, Nameless showed up and kept trying to stop King Arthur from pulling the sword from the stone—clearly trying to make up for regrets!]

-[I'm so confused. Did Souma summon King Arthur first, or did Nameless appear in King Arthur's era first?]

-[Don't ask—just blame the choices of the Steins Gate! Why not ask which came first, the chicken or the egg?]

"Nameless's real name is Shirou?"

Roya's eyes sparkled as if she'd stumbled upon the juiciest gossip.

That was the [Nameless] Heroic Spirit who walked through human history, interacting with countless other spirits.

No matter which Heroic Spirit he faced, he always called himself Nameless.

But now, in the new video Unlimited Blade Works, his real name seemed to have been exposed.

"Shirou... Souma..."

Roya suddenly turned to the sofa opposite, her face full of shock as she asked, "Could you be the Nameless Heroic Spirit?"

The two names sounded exactly the same—even the tones were identical!

Under her gaze.

Souma sighed lightly, crossing his legs: "I wanted to live among you as an ordinary person, but all I got was mockery and distance. Fine, I'll come clean—I, Souma, am Nameless!"

His attitude was downright arrogant, as if he was just short of demanding they kneel and beg.

"Pfft, if you're the [Nameless] who walked through human history, then I'm a Beast of Humanity like Tiamat!"

Roya scoffed, not buying a single word.

Who couldn't brag?

Some ordinary otaku trying to act all high and mighty in front of her?

If he really were [Nameless], would he be reduced to penny-pinching over daily necessities?

"Don't believe me? Suit yourself."

Souma gave her a strange look.

Were the layers of seals loosening?

Seemed like he needed to step it up!

Feeling a pair of burning eyes on him, he smiled. "What is it, Illya?"

He felt slightly uneasy.

After being exposed by Alaya, those involved seemed to regain lost memories.

Had Illya really recognized him?

"Nothing, just thought the two names sounded alike."

Illya answered in her soft voice.

Waves of overwhelming memories were violently crashing through her mind.

A forgotten figure seemed to slowly overlap with the young man before her...

"There are many with the same name—just a coincidence," Souma replied with forced composure.

He stared at the video, desperately wanting to turn it off.

But it was useless.

This was an exposure video by [Alaya], and no one could stop that bastard from freely revealing others' dark histories.

The video continued.

The perspective shifted from the daily companionship between the red-haired boy and King Arthur to a massive estate.

A silver-haired, red-eyed little girl sat on a chair.

She swung her adorable little feet, clad in white stockings, while staring at the projection on a crystal ball.

The magical crystal ball displayed a red-haired boy and a twin-tailed girl.

Illya's small face was filled with a sweet smile. "My little brother, I can finally meet you."

Ever since being saved by [Nameless] back then, she had been eagerly awaiting their reunion.

She wanted to ask him face-to-face.

What exactly had happened back then.

Everything—she would understand it all once they met.

She was so excited!

Her adorable behavior made countless viewers exclaim, "AWSL!"

However.

The first to arrive at the manor wasn't the person she was waiting for, but an uninvited guest!

A radiant, godlike Heroic Spirit, clad head to toe in dazzling gold—his name was—

Gilgamesh!

***

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