[FDJ]Chapter 123: Enlightenment

Suzuki slept soundly in the latter half of the night. When he woke up, the sun outside seemed to have risen to about the height of 9 o'clock. The room assigned to him was well-positioned, and Suzuki woke up slowly only after the sunlight shone on his cheeks.

Today marked the fourth day since he arrived in this era. As soon as he regained consciousness, he immediately scanned the room to confirm that no additional items had been added. Using the three Command Spells he possessed, he also verified that Eleanor was not nearby.

The memory of Eleanor suddenly appearing by his bedside in the middle of the night sent a shiver down Suzuki's spine. He couldn't fathom Eleanor's plans or objectives. His servant seemed to be playing multiple sides, both protecting him and leaning towards Richard, who aimed to create a singularity.

If he had to stay with such a manipulative and controlling person every day, Suzuki couldn't imagine whether he would develop psychological issues. He once felt that the three Command Spells he possessed were not a trump card to command Eleanor but rather an invisible chain that bound him firmly within the "safe zone" defined by Eleanor. The relationship between Master and Servant was completely reversed.

Looking at the three unused Command Spells, he couldn't help but intuitively feel that even if he encountered a situation where he needed to use a Command Spell to force Rider Eleanor's hand, it would be best not to use it. If Eleanor turned against him, he would certainly come to no good end.

"Wouldn't it be nice to be my child?"

Recalling Eleanor's hypnotic inquiry, Suzuki felt even more frightened. Chaldea had recorded a considerable number of Servants, but there was no case like Eleanor. A superficial understanding might make one think that Eleanor was merely a proud and unique support-type Servant. In reality, her unique and pathological "personality" could let those who made deep contact understand what true terror was. Masters who did not meet Eleanor's preferences would be smilingly killed or abandoned by her.

Suzuki was lucky that he pleased Eleanor greatly, but once this luck ran out, Suzuki did not know how long he could struggle before Eleanor with the three Command Spells.

He tried calling Eleanor again, but she still did not respond. The distance between them was quite far. Suzuki guessed that Eleanor received the signal but, as in the previous days, deliberately did not respond. Once, she was exchanging information with Saladin, and another time she was searching for clues outside. Suzuki estimated it was similar this time.

After adjusting his state, Suzuki headed to Saladin's palace. Familiar attendants, guards, and several nobles greeted him. Suzuki did not see Saladin on the throne and did not get any information on his whereabouts from the guards. They dared not inquire where His Majesty the Sultan had gone and skillfully changed the topic.

"Suzuki Yuki? You finally came." Aphaf, still veiled as before, used magecraft to drive away the nobles trying to get close to Suzuki.

This time, several mercenary magus of different skin tones followed her, but they all stopped outside the palace and waited.

"What about them?"

"You added three pages last night, and the remaining four pages will soon be completed, right? Regardless of completeness, I will try to use a large amount of magic to restore my Servant. Solely relying on the last Command Spell and my magic may not be enough. They will be useful then."

Holding the important book Don Quixote, Aphaf walked up to Suzuki and briefly explained the reason. Suzuki was unclear about how they would assist, but with a standard magi's mindset, he guessed that in case of unexpected situations, their lives were secondary, with the completion of the magical ritual being the primary goal.

Seeing Suzuki's concerns, Aphaf instructed her subordinates to waiting outside to temporarily withdraw.

"I will not deliberately harm anyone's life. Each of them has received a generous reward and understands that the higher the reward, the greater the danger. Moreover, they are all infidels. You need not worry about them."

Aphaf was slightly younger than Suzuki, but her knowledge of magecraft and her cold-blooded nature were no different from those of a senior magus. Previously, Suzuki wouldn't have cared, but now he felt it necessary to remind her of something.

"You're wearing armor from Berserker Godfrey's Noble Phantasm. Isn't he also an infidel in your eyes? I don't know how you came to possess his armor, but it certainly wasn't a trophy for defeating him, right?"

Suzuki respected Heroic Spirits and their manifested Servant forms in the Holy Grail War. This respect extended to famous historical figures, but no further. Originally, he had planned to continue helping Aphaf fill in the remaining four blank pages upon seeing her. However, the term "infidel" grated on his ears. The armor Aphaf had mysteriously obtained was likely a gift from Godfrey himself.

"For future magus, matters of faith are not up for discussion! An infidel is an infidel; please respect this fundamental line!" Aphaf, too, guessed that Berserker Godfrey had given her the armor. An enemy Servant, a berserker who had slaughtered many Islamic soldiers on the battlefield, had given her a chance to live, and her severely damaged magic circuits and Mystic Eyes were fully repaired. But she did not want to admit that she had accepted a gift from an infidel, as it would taint her pure faith.

"Magus do not need to respect faith! By the way, I am not a qualified magus, just a Master. I respect heroes, regardless of their positions or affiliations. To restore a Servant, sacrificing others naturally aligns with the rules of the Holy Grail War. In emergencies, necessary evils must be committed, especially in this 12th-century era. I will not interfere with the morals of this time, nor can I propose a better alternative. But I will not allow the gift of a hero to be ignored. Until the Holy Grail War ends, you should not use terms like 'infidel'."

After his outburst, Suzuki felt he might have been overly concerned with verbal details. Acts of sacrificing others should be stopped if possible. However, when it came to topics related to the Holy Grail War, it was as if a program had forcibly activated, prioritizing the war above all else.

Aphad was left speechless by Yuki Suzuki's peculiar "advice." The conflicts between magecraft, faith, and social status were the sources of her inferiority. As Suzuki said, she knew she had received a gift from an enemy and also knew that devout believers shouldn't practice magecraft. Naturally possessing Mystic Eyes was a grave sin, and being a slave to atone for it was considered fortunate.

No one had ever exposed her self-deceptive "lie" like Suzuki. Due to the value of her Mystic Eyes and magical talent, she had risen from slavery to become a confidante of Sultan Saladin, exceptionally obtaining noble status. She continuously studied magecraft, acquiring others' magecraft through various means. By the age of 15, she had reached a level of magecraft that most magus couldn't achieve in a lifetime, delving into many secret arts that magus avoided. She genuinely appreciated the second chance at life given by the hostile Servant's gift, the ability to see a colorful world and continue her pursuit of magecraft. Yet, she quickly fabricated a lie convincing enough to deceive herself.

Faith? Did she need it? She knew the answer all too well.

"...Is faith too extravagant for me...? I apologize for my previous slip of the tongue."

In a self-reflective manner, Aphaf painfully admitted her mistake. After speaking, she felt a sense of relief. Faith and magecraft were at odds; what she had now wasn't granted by faith. Faith had given her a childhood of slavery and a lingering sense of inferiority. Once discarded... for many in this era, losing faith meant losing everything, but Aphaf instead felt enlightened. Her wish to see a colorful world had been fulfilled; the rest of her life could be solely devoted to the pursuit of magecraft. With her Mystic Eyes, she was inherently disconnected from faith; she should never have chased after what ordinary people sought.

It was as if she had been pushed off a cliff, expecting to fall into an abyss, only to land on a path of light spanning the sky—a true trajectory belonging solely to a magical genius, unrelated to ordinary people. In her excitement, Aphaf's Mystic Eyes emitted a special glow, recording Suzuki's words within them.

"What did you do?" Suzuki instinctively stepped back, trying to evade the shining Mystic Eyes.

"Thank you, Suzuki Yuki. As expected, you, coming from the future, possess a unique quality," Aphaf said, quickly retracting the glow from her Mystic Eyes. She indicated no hostility and solemnly thanked Suzuki. She finally understood what she wanted and what she should pursue with her precious second chance at life.

Suzuki didn't know what conclusions Aphaf had reached in her brief ten seconds of contemplation. He only felt immense pressure from the magic emanating from her Mystic Eyes, a feeling he had only experienced from some of the magecraft professors invited to lecture at Chaldea.

Under natural law, weaker creatures instinctively become wary of stronger ones. Relying on her magical talent, the 15-year-old girl shed the shackles of her self-imposed limitations and boldly displayed her age-defying magical power to others. She had long since had no reason to feel inferior.

Not only Suzuki, but also those around them, who had initially been oblivious due to the influence of magecraft, were affected. Though it lasted only a moment, everyone instinctively stepped back and looked around.

"Suzuki Yuki, I'll leave the task of filling in the remaining four pages of this book to you. I need to step away for a moment," Aphaf said, handing over the book and flipping to the blank pages.

"Step away for a moment?" Suzuki didn't understand what could be more important than restoring Alterego Don Quixote.

"I need to thank the hero who allowed me to see the vibrant colors of this world. It's just a brief magical ritual; it won't take long," Aphaf said before teleporting away with magecraft.

Suzuki felt that Aphaf had changed. It wasn't just her demeanor and magical power; even her speed in casting spells had improved. Previously, he could catch a glimpse of her spell formations, but this time, he couldn't see any trace with his naked eye.