Fate: Hero of Justice Takeover

"Hello, sorry to bother you."

A polite knock came from the door. Sakatsuki and Draco, who had been deep in thought, looked up and exchanged glances.

"Someone's here."

"I know."

"Will you refuse them? Refuse the Master from Chaldea and your own sister?"

"That... depends on who's asking."

Smiling lazily, Sakatsuki stepped out of the entryway and opened the door.

There stood Kiyohime in a black, white, and gold kimono, her slender figure elegant and posture graceful, wearing a dazzling smile.

"Forgive my abrupt visit. I'm sorry I didn't bring any gifts." As expected of a high-born lady—despite having EX-level Mad Enhancement, Kiyohime was impeccable in her manners.

"Mr. Sakatsuki, as you can see, this island's weather is unpredictable. I simply can't bear to see the Master suffer in the wind and rain. So... may I ask if you would allow the Master to stay here?"

A very proper request. She wasn't asking him to accommodate a dozen people—just the Master for now, presumably to find a chance to bring in Mash, Illya, and the others later. Of course, there was also the chance that Kiyohime genuinely only meant to get the Master inside first.

Unfortunately, even if the request was reasonable, the one she was facing was vacation-mode Sakatsuki—very different from the meticulous and serious version seen during battle. This Sakatsuki was whimsical, lazy, and lived for fun.

What Kiyohime said wasn't wrong, but reasoning alone wouldn't persuade someone like Sakatsuki.

"Hmm, this sort of thing... of course, I can—"

Drawing out his words dramatically, before Kiyohime could react, Sakatsuki stepped forward, leaned in close—so close his face was nearly touching hers.

"But... how will you repay me?"

The sudden closeness, combined with the upward lilt in his voice, suggestive and teasing, struck Kiyohime like lightning.

Too close—far too close!

That posture, that tone—wa-wait, could he mean...?

Me?!

"Eek!" Startled by her own thoughts, Kiyohime took a step back, momentarily forgetting to even react properly. Her golden eyes were filled with panic. "T-This... this isn't allowed..."

As she backed away, Sakatsuki stepped forward. His golden slit-pupiled eyes gleamed mischievously, giving her no room to breathe. An invisible pressure—like that of a dragon—radiated from him, making Kiyohime's legs go weak. A snake-type being like her could hardly stand under the heat of embarrassment and mistaken affection.

"Rosy-cheeked Youth (B++)" passive skill activated.

Roll: Critical Success!

For a moment, Kiyohime could hear her heart pounding, burning wildly—just like the time she first met Anchin-sama... But this couldn't be happening.

Her Master was supposed to be her only love—her eternal soulmate!

But just as her gaze began to waver, Sakatsuki suddenly wrapped an arm around her exposed waist, leaned close, and whispered in her ear:

"You wouldn't want your Master to have nowhere to stay... would you, miss?"

That devilish whisper shattered her last defense. Screaming with a bright-red face, Kiyohime fled in a panic, completely losing her composure.

Once she was out of sight, Sakatsuki clutched his stomach and broke into shameless laughter.

"Having fun?"

A low voice behind him made Sakatsuki freeze. Turning his head stiffly, he saw Draco standing behind him, her gaze dark and piercing.

"...How long have you been there?"

"From the beginning," she replied flatly. But the tail swaying behind her, like a rattlesnake, gave away her irritation.

Which meant... she had seen the entire farce—Sakatsuki acting like a playboy and flirting with Kiyohime until she ran off in shame.

Sakatsuki could even feel a faint killing intent locking onto him. But since he was in vacation mode, he simply dropped the act and gave her a big thumbs-up:

"In someone's words—I was having the time of my life! Hahaha—ah!"

With a shout of "Die, you bastard!" he was whipped to the ground by a furious tail, and before he could get up, a small figure leaped on top of him and bit down.

"I'm dying! Let go already, Your Majesty!"

"Wryyyy…"

"Truly unfortunate!"

And thus, amidst a chorus of screams and chaos, Kiyohime's romantic advance ended in complete failure.

***

On the slope near the cave—

"How's Kiyohime?" Ritsuka asked anxiously, grabbing Tamamo-no-Mae, who was filling in as a doctor. "I heard she collapsed after returning! Was she injured? Cursed?!"

"Calm down, calm down, Master." Tamamo patted her shoulder. "Even though I only picked up a little healing from Ōkuninushi-sama, I can say this: Kiyohime-chan is totally fine. No curses, no injuries—just emotional overload. Some rest and she'll recover. However..."

Her voice took on a strange tone.

"Before she fainted, the last thing she said was... 'I'm sorry, dear Master'... I wonder what she went through."

"Sorry to me? What does she have to apologize for?" Ritsuka frowned—then suddenly turned pale.

"Don't tell me... Sakatsuki forced her to...!"

"Who knows?" Tamamo shrugged. "Anyway, Mordred went over to demand answers, and Artoria followed. Those two should handle it, right?"

Handle it? Yeah right! They'll probably end up fighting each other!

Ritsuka turned green with worry. She quickly gathered a group and marched toward Sakatsuki's place in force.

It wasn't that she feared Sakatsuki, a mere human, getting killed by Servants—but that he'd witness the "father-daughter" duo making a scene.

She couldn't afford that level of embarrassment!

But when she arrived on the scene, what greeted her was quite the surprise: Artoria bowing in apology, and Mordred bound up in futons, hanging from the doorway like a squirming maggot.

"Huh? What's going on?" Sakatsuki, leaning against the doorframe, blinked in surprise at the approaching crowd. "Has the Master finally decided to siege the magus's home and take it by force?"

"N-No! Of course not!" Ritsuka frantically gestured behind her, signaling everyone to put away their Noble Phantasms, while forcing a laugh. "Uh, so… what exactly happened here?"

"Oh, nothing. Just a troublemaker got caught, and their relative is here apologizing." Sakatsuki replied nonchalantly.

"Hiss—" Ritsuka gasped, looking between the dejected, trussed-up Mordred and Sakatsuki, who was joking around with Artoria like nothing had happened.

...Mordred, are you sure you're a proper Servant?

"That guy's totally my worst type!" Mordred yelled, flustered under the group's shocked stares. "The moment I walked in, I got blasted by some ridiculous magic. I didn't even get a chance to draw my Noble Phantasm!"

Artoria's expression twitched with guilt, while Tamamo's eyes narrowed in thought.

"So Sakatsuki-san is... a powerful magus?"

Considering Mordred—a copy of King Arthur—has at least B-rank mana resistance, most modern spells wouldn't even scratch her. To defeat and bind a legendary Round Table knight, even a Caster-class Servant like Tamamo would need time and preparation.

But Sakatsuki isn't even a Servant. No mythical buffs or heroic status. Just a modern magus who can do that—it was nothing short of shocking.

"I just had the advantage of being prepared, that's all," Sakatsuki replied modestly. Then he turned the conversation back on track. "So then, King of Knights, and Master Fujimaru... what brings you all the way here?"

Ritsuka had been mentally preparing for this, but Artoria stepped forward first. Her golden hair swayed as she looked him squarely in the eye and spoke with dignified conviction:

"Could we ask to stay here? Unfortunately, my hands are only skilled in destruction, not in creation. It is my failure that I cannot provide our Master with a proper living environment. So, I humbly request…"

"You don't need to call me that. Honorifics feel too distant—just use my name." Sakatsuki waved his hand casually and turned away, leaving the door wide open behind him.

"Well, since you're already here, you might as well make do for tonight. My courtyard's quite spacious. I'll help you put up some lodgings tomorrow." Sakatsuki turned back with a mischievous smile as he looked at the dumbfounded King of Knights.

"What? You don't want to stay?"

"Yes! Of course we do!" Ritsuka quickly jumped in, her Master's charisma on full display. She ran up and threw an arm around Sakatsuki's shoulders with a bright grin. "Come to think of it, we haven't properly met yet! Hi, I'm Ritsuka, 17 years old, female, 158 cm, 59 kg, single and not seeing anyone…"

"Heh, the difference between you two really is something."

"Who? People have different personalities, that's normal! Or do you mean he's similar to me?"

With the Master setting the tone, the Servants no longer held back. After five grueling days, they eagerly followed Sakatsuki's lead inside, happily splitting up into rooms.

"Hey! Did you all forget about me?!" Mordred, still trussed up like a caterpillar and hanging at the gate, shouted in protest. But her voice was drowned out by the joyful laughter in the courtyard. Even as the aroma of dinner wafted through the air, she could only look up at the sky, shedding two thick anime-style tears.

So tired. Let the world burn.

As Mordred gazed helplessly at the sky, night fell. The crescent moon and silver stars shimmered like jewels across the canvas of night, bathing the island in soft moonlight.

And under that gentle veil, the island fell into complete silence. Servants and Masters, girls and young men alike, were drawn into an unnatural slumber.

Night falls. Please close your eyes.

No one knew how much time passed before Sakatsuki heard the system chime in the depths of sleep.

[Dreamcatcher, please open your eyes.]

He opened his eyes, groggy but aware. His first instinct was to complain.

Damn, the Holy Grail system really is something. I don't even remember falling asleep—guess my sleep quality's guaranteed from now on…

Just then, another prompt appeared.

[Please choose a player to become the Sleepwalker.]

A screen appeared before him. Every participant had a number floating above their heads. Sakatsuki only needed a thought to choose the one whose dreams he would enter.

After a brief moment of thought, his eyes locked onto one particular figure—sprawled out on the tatami, one hand casually resting on her kouhai's chest.

Alright then. Player 6, Fujimaru Ritsuka, it is!

There was no real deduction on the first night—just instinct. And among the group, Ritsuka stood out the most. If the werewolves were going to make a move, she was likely their first target.

[Selection complete. Please close your eyes again.]

A soft yet irresistible force washed over him. Sakatsuki closed his eyes once more and drifted back into peaceful slumber.

When everyone awoke the next morning, daylight had already broken. The fact that everyone was still in the exact position they'd fallen asleep in proved that the night's "game" had not been a dream.

"Hey! I've been hanging up here all night! Can someone please get me down?!"

Mordred's loud protest kicked off the day's chaos.

***

Unlike the others, who were already making a racket early in the morning, Draco had stayed curled up in bed for a long time before finally sitting up. She stretched in the morning light.

When she turned her head, she noticed that the other bed was still perfectly made, no signs of anyone sleeping there.

Sakatsuki had been busy setting up the rooms last night and never made it back.

Draco was an understanding girl. So of course Draco wasn't angry.

…Just a little lonely.

Alone in the room, she curled up, hugging her knees, with her fearsome dragon tail coiled gently at her side.

Psychologically, it was a posture that suggested deep insecurity. For Draco, who had already accepted her fate, her greatest fear was that no one would be there to witness her end.

Born from the depths of the black mud, crossing the sea to consume civilization—she was the Whore of Babylon, the Scarlet Dragon with seven heads and ten horns. That was Draco's form as a Beast, a destroyer of humanity.

But that uncontrollable, fallen form had been undone. That young man—Sakatsuki—had faced her in the arena, drawn his bow and hunted her down. He exhausted every last bit of his soul to strip away her potential to return to being a Beast, with gentle yet inescapable resolve.

And so, she returned to the void—to the domain of imaginary numbers. Though she remained here, her true body slumbered in that cold, infinite sea of unreality.

…And, oh, some woman kept singing all day with no soundproofing. It was so annoying.

Draco reflexively filtered out the KTV concert happening next door and sighed.

She no longer belonged to Rome, nor to the Beasts, and she certainly couldn't belong among mankind.

She was like drifting duckweed—her only anchor, her only root in this place, was Sakatsuki.

That's why Draco was terrified of being alone.

Even a single extra second without him felt like torture. But she didn't hate Sakatsuki's high-handedness. That desperate desire to save her—it was enough to warm the eternity of her existence.

She was a shadow-born parasite clinging to Sakatsuki. If something happened, she'd just go down with him. As long as they were looking at each other, even the journey to death wouldn't feel lonely.

"To repay him… should I transform into my third ascension…? N-No! I definitely, definitely won't become that!"

Arguing with her own thoughts, Draco leapt down from the bed, still in her small-girl form. Though her face was as pouty as ever, her tail betrayed her with a happy little wag.

What kind of story will unfold today, I wonder?

***

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