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[FMMISM] Chapter 85: Helplessness
🕑 Added 2024-08-09 01:03:49 +0000 UTC"Are you deliberately trying to provoke me, Tokiomi?!"
Gilgamesh's roar shattered the quiet of the Tohsaka residence late at night.
Inside a luxurious mansion's reception room, Gilgamesh sat on a sofa in the center of the room, glaring furiously at his Master standing by like a subordinate.
Tohsaka Tokiomi, the usually elegant gentleman of the Tohsaka family, now wore a face of frustration and exhaustion.
Just last night, Gilgamesh was defeated by an unknown boy and had his precious treasure, Ea, taken from him. Following this, he staked his kingly pride on a death battle against the boy.
Unfortunately, this death battle was forcibly stopped by Tokiomi using a Command Spell without Gilgamesh's permission.
Given this, the outcome was obvious—Gilgamesh returned to the Tohsaka residence in a furious rage.
Although Tokiomi was a boring man, Gilgamesh had always tolerated him because of his loyalty and humility as a subordinate. And yet, unexpectedly, this man had committed such a rebellious act, stepping on his bottom line.
Originally, Tokiomi would have been expected to atone with his life for such foolishness.
However, Gilgamesh, rather than focusing on punishing him, had something else in mind—returning immediately to the Einzbern Castle to resume the interrupted death battle against the boy.
For this, Tokiomi's magical energy supply was clearly essential.
As such, Gilgamesh forgave Tokiomi's treasonous behavior and decided to visit the Einzbern Castle again the following night.
However—
"Absolutely not, My King! Please consider the bigger picture. We must not act recklessly before we fully understand the enemy's weaknesses."
Tokiomi lowered his head deeply, abandoning his pride as a subordinate and persistently advising the King of Heroes.
In his view, Gilgamesh challenging the boy was merely seeking death, but he certainly couldn't say this directly and had to choose his words as carefully as possible.
"Currently, the Holy Church, acting as the overseer of the Holy Grail War, is investigating the boy's background. If it turns out that he has violated any rules of the Holy Grail War, the Holy Church might announce a temporary alliance to all participating Masters to deal with him."
Tokiomi explained patiently with his head lowered.
"That's why, please remain patient here, conserve your strength, and wait for the right time."
All day today, Tokiomi had been discussing matters regarding Ragna with his ally, Kotomine Risei, at the church.
After a day of discussion, it was concluded that only a combined effort from every Master could defeat the boy, which even the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh, could easily suppress.
However, as the official overseer, Risei needed a significant reason or crime to make such an announcement.
In the coming days, Tokiomi would do his best to find any rule violations of the Holy Grail War committed by Ragna.
In fact, Tokiomi was close to uncovering a certain truth. While investigating Ragna's recent movements, he discovered that Ragna had traveled from Fuyuki to Tokyo.
Needless to say, if Tokiomi were to discover that Ragna was actually the monster that had appeared at Tokyo Bay before, the Holy Church would have a legitimate reason to unite all the Masters and launch an attack against him.
However, before that could happen, Tokiomi needed to find a way to calm the uncontrollable Gilgamesh.
"...Tokiomi, you don't actually think I can't beat him, do you?" Gilgamesh said coldly, his crimson eyes burning with fury.
"No! You are the one and only King of Heroes! There's no enemy you can't defeat!" Tokiomi, sweating profusely, hurriedly replied. "However, as you can see, this boy's strength clearly exceeds the bounds of the Holy Grail War. He must have used some cheating methods to hurt you. Please give me some time to investigate…"
"Fool! There's nothing wrong with his strength! If anything, that guy hasn't even used his full strength..."
Gilgamesh crossed his arms over his chest, firmly denying Tokiomi's nonsense statement.
"Tokiomi, I suggest you stay out of this matter and don't try any more tricks. This is an agreement between me and that guy. It's a battle that belongs solely to me."
Upon hearing this, Tokiomi couldn't shake the feeling of helplessness.
How did things end up like this anyway?
The Holy Grail War, which should have been well-prepared and thoroughly planned, had turned into such an unsightly situation.
Anger, with no outlet, made Tokiomi clench his fists, nails digging into his palms. After a while, he gritted his teeth and bowed deeply to Gilgamesh, who was sitting on the sofa.
He stared at the luxurious carpet on the floor and then spoke with a bitter expression.
"My King… three days, please give me three more days. If I can't find the evidence of that boy's cheating within three days, then you may deal with him as you see fit."
"..."
Gilgamesh stood up from the sofa and then disappeared from the room in a swirl of golden particles.
"Tokiomi, remember this... This is my last bit of patience with you."
===
Zenjou Residence, Tohsaka Aoi's Room.
"Aoi, why not give your husband a call?"
When Ragna suddenly said this, Aoi's face, still fresh from a bath, showed a look of confusion.
"Call my husband? What's wrong, Ragna? Why are you bringing this up all of a sudden?"
"Aoi, didn't you tell me before that your husband was busy with something very important? That's why you had to leave Fuyuki and return to this place. If that's the case, you should call him. He must really need your support right now."
"No, that's not it... Ragna, he's an amazing man and already an adult. He'll be fine even without my encouragement." Aoi explained, gently stroking his hair. 'Ragna is such a naive child...'
As a woman who married into a prestigious mage family, she had never interfered with her husband's work.
In simple terms, she was a typical Japanese wife of the Showa period, where women shouldn't meddle in men's work or offer them guidance.
She stayed out of men's world, serving only as a beautiful vase and a wife capable of bearing excellent children.
Ultimately, this was the worldview Aoi had always held.
Silently supporting her husband from the background was the way she existed as the mistress of the Tohsaka family.
Even when her husband sent her daughter to the Matou family, she had no right to voice her opinion.
"..."
Thinking of her daughter who had been missing for over a month, Aoi's face involuntarily darkened.
Ragna looked up at her and, with a bright expression, spoke up.
"Nah, that's not true. If it were me, I'd want to hear Aoi's voice even more during crucial moments."
His words made Aoi feel a warm sensation in her chest, and she couldn't help but reflect again on how he was such a good child.
Looking at Ragna's clear, beautiful black eyes that were almost identical to Sakura's, Aoi fell into thought.
If she had this child by her side, could she also change? No longer just a silent wife, but someone who could share part of the family responsibilities.
More importantly, she clearly needed to talk to her husband about their daughter, Sakura.
"Well... I understand... Since you say so, I'll give my husband a call." Aoi resolutely picked up the telephone handset on the table.
As she looked at Ragna, they both shared a smile.
After a long wait, the call to the Tohsaka residence was finally connected.
