Miracle Summoner

And so, Rozen and his group settled in Uruk, using a tavern as their base and foothold in this era.

The day passed like that, with the sun gradually setting and nightfall approaching.

As for Ishtar, perhaps due to her wariness of Altera or growing interest in Rozen, she requested to be unbound on the condition that she would not leave without permission.

Everyone seemed to believe Ishtar's words, and since Rozen had also said she could move freely, Mash personally removed the talisman seals from her. Merlin then drew upon them to undo the divine era magecraft that bound Ishtar, returning her freedom.

As expected, after regaining her freedom, Ishtar kept her word and remained in the tavern. But when the sun had set, she simply collapsed onto a shared table on the first floor and fell fast asleep.

"Let's not bother Miss Ishtar for now."

Mash looked at her for a while, conflicted, then decided to leave her be and began tidying up the tavern.

Having been uninhabited for some time, the place had accumulated quite a bit of dust and garbage.

Mash voluntarily took on the cleaning duties, determined to tidy the place up.

"...I'll help too."

After a long silence, Anna surprisingly offered to help.

She had seemed reluctant to approach Rozen or Mash, but after observing them all day, her guard had slightly lowered.

"That's wonderful," Merlin said, nodding with satisfaction.

Then, shifting tone, he added, "In that case, I'll stay here too. Compared to the Divine Tower, this place seems more interesting. And I love ale—this place is like paradise to me. Too bad there aren't any cute girls around."

Muttering such things, Merlin went upstairs on his own and started picking a room.

It looked like the Magus of Flowers from Britannia truly intended to stay here and live with Rozen and the others.

Siduri, who had stopped by once during all this, learned of the situation. After initial surprise, she expressed her delight.

"If Lady Ishtar can remain here peacefully, that would be ideal for us. The same goes for Merlin."

While her position required her to protect Ishtar as Uruk's tutelary deity, the truth was that Ishtar had caused a fair amount of trouble for the city.

For Rozen to be able to restrain Ishtar and even have her stay quietly in Uruk—it was a great relief for Siduri.

"As expected of Lord Rozen, someone who has earned the King's trust and recognition."

Siduri's opinion of Rozen continued to rise.

As for Merlin, she was even more pleased he was staying.

"Though Magus Merlin has certainly helped us a lot, he's also harassed quite a few priestesses and court ladies in the Divine Tower during his idle moments. Honestly, I wish he'd never go back."

Siduri said this solemnly, leaving Mash speechless, and prompting Anna to mutter, "Maybe we really should just kill him."

Thus, Rozen, Mash, Anna, Merlin, and Ishtar became residents of the tavern.

Even Altera was here, though she disliked appearing in person and remained in Spirit Form, quietly residing within the building.

However, Rozen's group would not be the only ones staying here.

As Siduri said:

"The Servants at the frontlines are almost back. I hear they're quite interested in all of you. Unfortunately, they have to participate in the defense battle at the eastern gate tonight, so they won't return until morning. Once they do, I believe they'll come here. I hope you all get along."

In other words, the Servants summoned to this era by Gilgamesh's Heroic Spirit Summoning were about to meet Rozen and the others.

Besides Merlin the Caster, there were still four frontline Servants who would return to Uruk and arrive at the tavern.

"In that case, this place is the Chaldea Embassy now."

Mash said joyfully, and officially named the tavern.

The Chaldea Embassy.

From today on, Rozen and company would live here.

It would serve as their base—a decision unanimously supported by the Chaldeans.

After all, in this era, only Uruk could be considered truly safe.

From both a strategic and practical standpoint, staying in Uruk was the best choice.

As for how to pursue the search for the Holy Grail, that would have to be discussed further.

"I'll think carefully about that. For now, let's put everything aside and get some rest."

Rozen said, earning the agreement of the others.

That said, after everything that happened today, the members of Chaldea still had many questions they wanted to ask Rozen.

Like, for instance: what exactly was Altera's true identity?

Unfortunately, Rozen only knew part of the answer.

He had plenty of theories, but lacked the final piece of confirmation.

In other words, it wasn't something he could answer—nor something he intended to answer just yet.

But there was one question Rozen couldn't avoid.

After all—

"When did you become a Magician? Have you already acquired Magic? Did you reach the Root?! Answer me now!"

Olga Marie finally found her opportunity to demand an explanation and began ranting non-stop.

"Can't I just be a Magician?" Rozen rolled his eyes.

But Olga Marie clearly wasn't having it.

You see, becoming a Magician was the ultimate aspiration of all Magi, or rather, the final proof and result of achieving that goal.

Magi seek to explore the Root. That's the purpose behind the Mage's Association, as well as the foundation of all magical bloodlines.

To reach the Root—this dream had become an obsession, especially in ancient families of long lineage. Some families had pursued this goal for over a thousand years, exhausting resources, wealth, lives, and all mortal pleasures.

They cut themselves off from the world, from joy, from humanity—just for that one goal.

Olga Marie was no exception.

As the heiress of the noble Animusphere family, a high-ranking house in the Mage's Association, no one could imagine the immense pressure she bore, the sacrifices she made, or the efforts she endured to carry on a thousand-year-old obsession.

And now that very goal—the dream of every great noble and magical family in the Association—had already been realized in Rozen.

How could Olga Marie stay calm?

Even Roman said:

"The Five Grand Magics, the Four Magicians… that's a status quo that's lasted for countless ages. If it becomes known that the Sixth Magic and its Fifth Magician have appeared, it'll shake the entire magical world."

Roman spoke with deep emotion.

If one reaches the Root, it bestows upon them a Mystery capable of reshaping the world itself—that is Magic.

Conversely, if one achieves a Magic, they will naturally reach the Root.

Magic is both the key to the Root and the reward for reaching it.

So if Rozen had become a Magician, it could only mean one thing:

He had already achieved that feat.

But only Rozen knew the truth.

"I never reached the Root's location—I only caught sight of its existence."

Rozen let out a sigh of mixed emotion.