Anomalies Of A Holy Grail War

Chapter 1 - Part 2 "Servant"

Ayanokouji POV

"My vassal, what is with that response?" A hint of malice could be heard from the voice.

"Sorry about that. I was just a bit startled. The mess it has made of this place was not something I expected."

"Is that so? Then, allow me to ask. Do you have knowledge of my True Name?"

"Morgan le Fay... Am I right?" That was simply an educated guess on my part. She wore a crown with a black veil that covered her face. However, the face is not what was important to me.

Her clothes gave the impression of her belonging to European royalty. I probably wouldn't be able to recognize her. Although statues may have a sense of realism, they would still differ from the original person. They were mostly made to highlight the greatness of the person after all. On the other hand, there would be plenty of paintings, but that still only covers only a small portion of kings and queens in the entire history of Europe.

Those factors won't narrow it down at all. Europe had a lot of monarchies. Royalty was countless in number. What I concluded, came from her staff. It seemed far too heavy to be used for nothing. Magical energy was leaking out of it. She had the traits of both a mage and a queen.

Of course, there are still a few people to choose from. But, a Servant's power depends on their fame so I went with one of the safer options. Who would one choose in a Holy Grail War? Moreover, tied to her legend was King Arthur, a person who sought the Holy Grail. She was on some accounts, his sister and had a claim to the throne.

Although, it was still hard to find a proper name for her. This is due to the fact that many iterations of the Arthurian legends have many discrepancies that disagree with what her true nature is, the fairy who gave King Arthur his sacred sword, the enemy of the Knights of The Round Table, King Arthur's sister, and so on, each carrying several names.

"How were you able to summon me?"

Her tone was serious. She didn't confirm to me that she was Morgan le Fay. She was trying to confirm whether or not I was the one who set up the ritual for summoning.

*Sigh* "There's no point in hiding it then. I wasn't the one who provided the catalyst."

"Let me make this clear. I have no complaints about your ability as a Master. I can tell that you are a level-headed and cunning individual, you also possess an acceptable mana reserve. Nonetheless, I would like to know the conditions of my summoning."

"Then allow me to explain. I summoned you by accident. I was only observing the place where the summoning ritual would take place until the summoning spell activated abruptly when I touched a small crystal on the center."

"What about the magus that provided the catalyst for me?"

"I don't know. As a fellow magus, I only came here to investigate the hazards of the ritual and the mage."

"Why?"

She was still trying to pry for my reasons for investigating. Her gaze was sharp and focused as if awaiting for a lie to come out my mouth. What a thorough Servant. Well, it wouldn't do any good to piss her off. Servants are a lot stronger than most mages.

"The circumstances of this place are quite unique, to students at least. No one is allowed to leave unless and contact the outside world, except in specific situations. These specific situations are very limited to me. I am trying to have my life in this place to be as tranquil as possible."

"I see. In your attempt, you stumbled upon the ritual and summoned me."

"That's about right."

"Then a few more questions still remain. Namely, how did you know my True Name?"

"It was an educated guess."

Her eyes remain relentlessly sharp. She finally confirmed her True Name.

"Cunning indeed. Then, who is the mage that provided the catalyst?"

"I absolutely have no idea."

"I see."

Sighing at my response, she walked around, observing.

"Why are you putting up a bounded field in place?"

"It is only for simple monitoring. If anyone enters the bounded field, I would know. There was no bounded field here to protect the catalyst, correct?"

"Yeah. It was only hidden by being in a secluded area with limited access."

"Then this mage is either a novice or was pushed for time."

"Right."

"I would like to decipher the mystery of the magus, but firstly... Berserker, Morgan. I'm the rightful queen of Britain. If you don't have any further problems, I'll lend you my power as a Servant. It's an unchangeable fact that I'm a queen. I expect you to work as my retainer. Or perhaps do you want me to treat you as my husband?"

...

...

...

...

... What an utterly ridiculous thing to say. My mind was blank for a while. Well, this was quite an unexpected situation in the first place. Husband?... This put my thoughts into a jumbled mess...

"Sorry... The last part of your introduction confused me. Husband? "

"?"

Her eyes were basically saying 'It's obvious what I mean.'

No, that doesn't help my case at all... I sorted out my thoughts as much as I can. I even used Thought Acceleration at some point.

"Whatever. I don't mind being called your husband, retainer, or whatever. I've never cared about titles or names. If you want to be treated as a queen, so be it. I only want to live a normal life. Winning the Holy Grail will grant me that. I don't care what I have to do to obtain it."

"Hmm. What an unusual human. Very well, my husband, serve me your Queen, and I will kill every other Servant with my demonic spear."

I should have said that I would prefer being called a retainer? Is it too late to change it now?

"... I got it. My name is Ayanokouji Kiyotaka. I've already mentioned my wish upon the grail. As much as possible, I will try and keep my life's status as undisturbed."

"Then our contract is complete. Now, say your knowledge of The Holy Grail War and I will fill in the gaps."

She was a straightforward person. This Servant was, without a doubt, rational and intelligent. I wondered why she was summoned as Berserker. The image of that Servant class in my head didn't exactly fit her.

I thought to myself that this broken world is finally giving me a chance to get what I want.

A/N: Just a quick heads up. Lostbelt 6 spoilers will be included! I will put a spoiler warning whenever something specific comes up. Well... Someone predicted the servant the chapter before so congrats!