Or, why don’t you find another savior?

"Ok."

Shiomi stood up, took out the ritual crystal he had prepared in advance, walked to the open space in the room and threw it down.

The summoning circle is automatically constructed after the crystal falls to the ground - this is the idea that Shiomi summed up at the London singularity.

However, Scathach, Morgan, and Chaldea Romani, who were all focusing their attention on Shiomi, did not notice the subtle smile on Merry's face.

"…You are the seven heavens that are entangled with the spirit of stargazing and speaking.

Run! Fall! Deliver the verdict!

Guardian of the Scales——!"

After a brief thought, Shiomi started the summoning ceremony and recited the spell clearly.

A strong wind swept through the room.

Shiomi, who had already gotten used to the situation by the third appearance of his summoned Servant, stared at the figure in the thick fog and felt that the aura and outline were somewhat familiar.

The sound of armor stepping on the stone floor was heard.

"...No wonder I went there. Was it for now? This is also a kind of fate, a kind of atonement."

The pure white figure became clear after the thick fog dissipated, and the clear and dignified voice was filled with intimacy.

"Ruler, Artoria Pendragon, in order to atone for your previous mistakes and to save this world, this time I will become a sharp blade to protect human justice. Let me ask, are you my Master?"

There is no doubt that this is the Lion King who should have disappeared along with the sixth singularity and could never become a Heroic Spirit.

Now, he actually responded to this random summon without a catalyst as a Ruler.

Compared to the joy of summoning a top servant, Shiomi now feels like she is in cardiac arrest.

No one noticed, and Mary's expression became even happier.

Chapter 9: A good idea, but a little bad

Siduri was the chief priest of Uruk and one of the king's right-hand men. Being the king's secretary was just one of her duties.

Originally, the job of caring for and receiving important guests was also the responsibility of Siduri.

It's only because I'm busy with official duties during the day that I ask Tomoe Gozen to do some of the work.

In the evening, Siduri, who was in charge of arranging staff to entertain the Chaldean group for dinner, came to the dining hall in the side hall of the sanctuary to take charge after the meal began, but she found that the atmosphere at the table was a little subtle.

There was no doubt that it was Xijian Tianxi from the Chaldean group. He was sitting alone in a corner of the dining table, gulping down beer. On his left sat Scathach eating lamb chops, and on his right sat Morgan holding a bowl and eating quietly with a wooden spoon.

But the food in the bowl was not all something that the court chef could make.

It was an ordinary bowl of mutton rice, a homely meal made from peeled wheat and mutton.

Although Morgan was also enjoying the sumptuous meal and snacks on the table, the food in that bowl was hers alone.

But what Siduri cared more about than this was the slightly subtle atmosphere at the dining table.

While drinking beer, Shiomi kept looking around, as if he wanted to speak, but he couldn't utter a word.

This was completely different from his calm and composed style in the hall.

"General Tomoe Gozen, what on earth is going on..." Siduri asked Tomoe Gozen, who was sitting in the corner of the bench, in a low voice.

As comrades who would fight side by side in the future, Tomoe Gozen and Leonidas returned from the front line where the situation had temporarily eased, at the suggestion of Siduri, and had dinner with the Chaldean group.

Women made up the vast majority of the attendees, and Leonidas ate very reservedly and didn't even speak.

"Ahahaha... I think it's better not to ask too many questions at a time like this..." Tomoe Gozen said in a low voice.

Siduri frowned, her mouth slightly open behind the translucent black veil, expressing deep confusion.

"Oh, it's nothing serious, just the usual jealousy."

Meili, who was sitting opposite Tomoe Gozen, spoke in a low voice.

She had already had several glasses of ale and seemed to be enjoying her dinner very much.

The dinner was not dull, the girls were talking and laughing, the only dull one was Shiomi.

"Lady Meili..."

Siduri really wanted to persuade Meli to drink less, but this court magician was different from Gilgamesh in that he did whatever he wanted, so it would be useless to persuade her.

She then noticed a new face at the table that she didn't recognize.

Of course, it can't be considered a completely new face. The woman has a face similar to Gray's. She is sitting next to Gray and Mash, talking to them in a kind and friendly manner.

Siduri could tell at a glance that the blonde woman exuded the aura that only a king could have.

"Who is that?" Siduri asked.

"The newly summoned Servant of Chaldea, the Lion King, Arthur Pendragon." Meili said happily, "Oh, it would be more appropriate to call him Altria."

She said to Siduri with a story-telling expression: "She is the culprit who caused the Sixth Singularity to be even more serious than the problems in Uruk. Now she is fighting alongside Chaldea. Are you surprised?"

"Aha……"

Siduri was not very familiar with the concept of singularity. She just knew that an unprecedented crisis had swept Mesopotamia, so she could only continue to make implicit and confused sounds.

"That's all in the past. Now I'm a servant of Chaldea. I will assist in the repair of the seventh singularity and protect the city called Uruk." Altria answered calmly.

Just like she said when she said goodbye at the sixth singularity, she didn't think her actions were wrong, it was just that Chaldea, or Shiomi, had proved through her actions that there were other options, and she simply accepted the fact of defeat.

At this time, Morgan put down the bowl, took the beer from Xijian and took a sip.

——She clearly had her own cup at hand.

"Willing to protect this city?" Morgan asked.

"It may be difficult for you to cooperate with someone who was your former enemy, Morgan." Altria looked at him, "but what I just said is not false at all."

Morgan smiled faintly: "Of course, even without the goblin eyes, I can tell the authenticity of this level."

"If you have any other questions, feel free to ask," said Altria.

"No, I just suddenly thought of a plan." Morgan supported his chin with one hand and held a wooden spoon with the other.

"Oh? It sounds like it should be interesting. Tell me about it." Scathach replied.

Feeling that the content might be a little off, Shiomi wanted to end the topic, but now was obviously not the right time.

"Originally my husband summoned servants just to supplement the manpower. Now that the one who responded to the call is the Lion King, there is no need for me to stay and defend the city." Morgan said, "After all, Altria is more suitable."

"Why?" Xi Jian finally had the chance to ask.

"The northern wall is very strong, but the enemy's strength is still unknown. Once it is breached, the road to Uruk will be smooth." Morgan said, "At that time, let the Lion King build a city to protect Uruk."

The Holy Lance was able to erect the Tower of the End, allowing the Lion King to create the chalk city of Camelot overnight.

But this idea sounded problematic no matter how you looked at it, and even Artoria herself disagreed:

"Are you serious, Morgan? If we summon the Tower of the End here, even I can't guarantee what the singularity will become. It may be even more troublesome than last time."

In other words, by then perhaps the culprit of the singularity will no longer be the alliance of the three goddesses and the army of monsters, and it will become the same result as the sixth singularity.

"It doesn't matter. I'll just wait until I've used up all your power and then kill you." Morgan raised his finger, looking quite serious.

Shiomi slammed his forehead heavily on the table. He turned his head weakly and looked at Morgan: "In the end, this last sentence is the core of your proposal..."

"It's very effective, isn't it? After dealing with the others, Gilgamesh will be able to recover his strength. Then we can let that man do some work." Morgan's expression began to become malicious.

The seriousness of the proposal began to look doubtful.

"It seems that I, who was once your enemy, am not welcome by you all." Altria smiled calmly and stood up from her seat. "Then I will be leaving now. Enjoy your meal, everyone."

"No matter what, there's no need to be like this..." Shiomi picked up the towel and wiped Morgan's mouth.

"It's just a little response to her previous behavior. Are you heartbroken?"

"...Anyway, I'll go take a look first..."

Chapter 10: True Sound

On the surface, Morgan and Scathach's words were quite directed towards Altria.

But Shiomi knew that was their usual style, and it was indeed quite irritating to those who were not familiar with the rhythm of this conversation.

Therefore, after gaining Morgan's consent, Shiomi ran out of the dining hall and found Altria on the upstairs terrace, who was looking at Uruk and enjoying the breeze.

"It's a really nice country, and it should be ruled by a wise king." Altria said softly.

She was talking to Shiomi behind her.

"I don't know. Although in the legend, Gilgamesh returned to Uruk and became a wise king after searching for the elixir of immortality." Shiomi walked to Altria with a plate in his hand, "But now the real Gilgamesh has not returned. The one sitting on the throne is a very extraordinary girl."

"Really?" Altria did not comment. She placed her hands on the balcony railing and turned to look at Shiomi. "The party is still going on, right? If you run out alone, I'm afraid Morgan and your master will be angry."

Shiomi pursed her lips and said, "I left the table with them knowing."

Then he lowered his eyes and said, "I'm sorry. The responsibility was originally mine, but I let you bear the blame."

"If that level of bad words could hurt me, how could I have been undefeated in the past and built Britain?" Altria's expression was very indifferent.

"Then why did you suddenly leave the table——"

"If we don't do this, the Master won't abandon the others and come out to find me," said Altria.

This made Shiomi almost drop the plate, and she dropped the snack in her hand: "Tristan said 'King Arthur doesn't understand human nature'... Isn't this pure nonsense!"

"No, what Sir Tristan said in the past was not entirely wrong, even though I now know what he meant." Artoria looked back at the city of Uruk, "But in the past, I didn't have much room to carry a human heart."

She is the king, and kings sometimes have to become ruthless and cruel, existing as a pure tool of rule.

But the Knight King, who dedicated the rest of his life to Britain, was not ignorant of these things.

"Really? Then I was worried for nothing." Shiomi put the plate on the stone railing, "I was worried that you didn't eat well, so I brought out some butter cakes. It's a bit of an old-fashioned craft, but it's not so hard to swallow."

"Thank you for your trouble, Master." Altria reached out her hand, picked up a piece of cake and tasted it naturally. The change in her expression also showed that she was also very satisfied with the taste of the dessert.

Shiomi looked at her, shook his head, and put his hands on the railing: "You can eat human food now."

"Well, so I even felt a little regretful that I couldn't eat the food you made at that time."

"Don't worry about it." Xi Jian smiled helplessly, "By the way, why is it you?"

"what?"

"This is the fifth time I've seen you." Shiomi began to count on his fingers. "The first time was during the Holy Grail War in 1994. We were opponents at first, and then we became allies in order to resolve the crises that occurred one after another during the Holy Grail War."

"Yeah." Altria responded while eating.

"The second time was at Singularity F, in the twisted year of 2004. You, who were contaminated by malicious intelligence, turned into an enemy in front of me and recognized me, but because of the mastermind behind the scenes, we fought together again."

"Hmm." Altria was still eating.

"The third time was in the London singularity. In order to replenish my combat power, I summoned the heroic spirits of Chaldea. The one who responded to the summons was the one who possessed the Holy Spear. However, in order to avoid being corrupted by the Holy Spear, you chose to transform into the King of the Wild Hunt."

Then came the fourth and now the fifth.

"Looking back, you and I have a strong bond, but it's nothing compared to your bond with Morgan." Altria picked up the second piece of cake.

"Eh?"

Shiomi was confused, but Altria didn't intend to elaborate.

"So it can't be that just because of our repeated entanglement in friendship, it must be you who responds to my call." Xijian said with emotion.

"If Morgan isn't here, then she'll be the one who responds to your call," Altria pointed out flatly, "and then it'll be me."

As for Master Scathach, she is an exception. No one cares about such a crisis. It is impossible for Scathach to even leave the Shadow Kingdom, let alone respond to the call.

"Generally speaking, summoning a Servant requires a catalyst. When there is no catalyst, or when the catalyst is not precise enough, the Servant with the best compatibility will be selected based on the Master's own nature." Altria looked at him, "But there is a third possibility, that is, the Servant being summoned holds the catalyst."

These words almost made Shiomi spit out.

Because Altria took out an ineffective rune stone.

"...This kind of thing is even possible?" He covered his face in embarrassment, "I should have given something more decent earlier."

I didn't expect that a rune stone that was not a gift could become a "fate".

"It is special precisely because it is inconspicuous." Altria pinched the stone with a very gentle look in her eyes.

"By the way, why are you treating me...uh, never mind." Xijian couldn't bring himself to ask.

"Thanks to you, I was freed from the shackles of the Holy Lance and regained my human heart, but I am still the Holy Lance Goddess." Artoria said, "As a compatriot who did not reach the end, you are unique to me and this has not changed."