Fate: I Will Eventually Become the Hero of Justice

Mordred was feeling restless. Not far away, she saw Saber flipping through a notebook.

She walked over and suddenly hugged Saber's slender waist.

Saber, who was looking at the notebook, stiffened instinctively at her sudden embrace.

She lifted her head, eyes flashing sharp and bright as a lion's. Seeing it was Mordred, she let out an exasperated sigh.

"What are you doing now?" Saber asked, her voice half-annoyed, half-resigned.

"Hugging you, of course," Mordred said with a laugh.

Saber asked with a look of annoyance, "Why are you hugging me?"

"Didn't we agree earlier? In this Holy Grail War, you'll be my mother." Mordred beamed happily.

Saber frowned in confusion. "Isn't Eternal King here with you?"

"Don't mention him," Mordred muttered. "I don't feel close to him at all."

"Why not?" Saber asked, puzzled.

Though she didn't consider herself well-versed in the matters of the heart, she could sense the gentleness Shirou showed toward Mordred. So why did Mordred feel so distant from him?

Moreover, if Shirou was King Arthur, then as King Arthur's wife, shouldn't she have been his queen and Mordred his daughter? Wasn't that a normal relationship? What was there to feel unclose about?

Even if they were parallel world counterparts with different lives, at their core they were still the same person. The King Arthur she knew should have a similar personality.

"You really want to know?" Mordred's eyes narrowed.

Saber's frown deepened, but she said nothing.

Mordred's mouth curved into a smile. "In your world, how was I born?"

Hearing this, Saber's expression grew complicated.

Unlike this Mordred, a king, the rebellious Knight Mordred from her world...could be considered a hurdle Saber could never get over.

And the circumstances around the knight's birth were utterly disgraceful. She was the vengeful creation of Saber's sister, the sorceress Morgan le Fay.

The witch had enchanted her, cultivating the rebellious Mordred as a weapon against her.

In the end, it was at the hands of Mordred that Camelot fell.

But why was this Mordred bringing up such history now?

Saber knew this parallel world's Mordred differed greatly from her rebellious knight. Most glaringly, as a king herself Mordred's actions held deeper meaning, unlike Saber's more straightforward rebel knight.

That meant...

No, it couldn't be!

Saber's eyes went wide with dawning horror as a revolting truth sank in.

"That's right," Mordred said with a laugh, eyes narrowing. "However I, your parallel world counterpart, came to be in your history...that's how I was born as well."

Impossible.

How could this be?

Saber was shocked speechless.

If...if what Mordred said was true, it was no wonder she felt distant from Eternal King.

But...but...

No, I could never...she would never...it wasn't right either way.

In any case, how could 'she' possibly do something so improper with a man?

This...this was impossible!

Saber was shocked.

"Looks like you understand now," Mordred said, smiling faintly. She took a deep breath, hugged Saber tighter, and buried her head in Saber's chest, murmuring, "Still...I feel more at ease with you."

Mordred may have felt comforted, but Saber was in turmoil.

She absolutely could not accept that there was a 'her' who would commit the same immoral act as the witch Morgan le Fay!

How was this even possible?

How could she have done such disgraceful things?

Saber's mind was in turmoil, utterly confused.

Now she felt a powerful urge - the urge to directly confront her alternate self from Camelot!

...

In a cafe, Shirou told Sisigou about the connection points.

"Connection points? Parallel worlds? Chaldea?"

Sisigou was now completely lost. He thought the 7v7 Holy Grail War he was in was shocking enough. But he didn't expect it was just the surface!

The real matter turned out to be related to interference from parallel worlds!

This...this was a major event involving the Second True Magic!

Sisigou broke out in cold sweat. This kind of matter should not have involved a small-time necromancer like him, but should have been the business of magi and the Lords of the Clock Tower...

Wait!

Chaldea!

Sisigou remembered now. Long before leaving the Clock Tower, the magus who commissioned him about the Holy Grail War had mentioned that organization.

And at the time, that magus had also said Chaldea came in order to...

Sisigou tilted his head slightly, gazing out the window at the dark rings in the sky.

After thinking a moment, he looked back at Shirou and asked, "Is it related to the black rings then?"

"It's connected, though I don't know the details either. But Chaldea's experts already contacted me earlier." Shirou smiled and added, "My goal is to resolve the connection points first, then go to Chaldea. So you don't need to worry - I have no interest in the Holy Grail."

Sisigou nodded thoughtfully.

"Alright, let's end the information exchange for now." Shirou pushed back his chair and stood. "I should think about how to get along with that child."

"Oh, one more thing - as a token of our alliance, consider these coffees your treat. Pay up." Shirou laughed, pointing at the two cups on the table.

"Huh? Is...is that what a token is supposed to mean?" Sisigou was surprised.

But Shirou just smiled, turned, and waved as he walked away.

Shirou walked out of the cafe and saw Mordred hugging Saber, looking a bit surprised.

"Why are you hugging Saber?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mordred lifted her head from Saber's arms, and glanced at him, "I'm hugging my mother, what's wrong with that?"

"Although you're counterparts, Saber is not actually your mother," he pointed out.

She buried her head in Saber's arms again and muttered, "That's none of your business!"

He just shook his head, not angry but helpless.

He understood Mordred was using Saber as a substitute for Artoria.

Shirou could understand Mordred's thinking. He didn't have any particular objection, just said gently, "If Artoria knew you were doing this, she would probably be very sad."

That casual line made Mordred's body stiffen.

"But aren't I Artoria?" Saber asked.

"I'm not talking about you, Saber," he said gently.

I see. She was overthinking things.

Still, looking at him now, Saber felt rather awkward.

Sisigou finished paying and left the cafe looking depressed.

"Master!" Mordred called out, immediately letting go of Saber.

That's right!

It wasn't that she believed Eternal King's nonsense. Her Master was here now, so as a Servant she had to be by his side.

Yes, that was the reason!

Mordred told herself.

Shirou saw through it but didn't say anything.

He led them to find Gray, Mash, and the others.

Shirou lacked any searching abilities, but [All the World's Evil] could detect evil intentions. That made it a decent locator.

Other than those like Saver, Solomon, and Francois Prelati who either had no evil intentions or special means of concealment, most regular Heroic Spirits could be found by him.

For instance, right now Shirou sensed Gray based on the ill intent aimed at her, pinpointing the girls' position.

Shirou led the three of them towards the girls.

He and Saber walked together up front.

Behind them, Mordred chatted normally with Sisigou as they followed.

Seeing this, Shirou felt uncomfortable, shooting ominous glances at Sisigou.

Sisigou felt a chill down his spine.

Shirou turned to Saber apologetically. "Sorry she caused you trouble."

"No trouble at all," Saber shook her head.

To be honest, if she didn't view this Mordred through the colored lens of the "rebellious Knight Mordred", Saber actually didn't dislike her.

It was just that compared to her rebellious knight, this Mordred was much more crafty. And this gave Saber a headache.

Of course, this wasn't something she would ever tell Mordred.

There was no way she'd be so close to Saber otherwise, right?