187 Greeting Gift
Across the beast-ravaged plains of Mesopotamia, a group of oddly dressed outsiders moved steadily forward.
"So heavy, Roy. Why's a Caster like me stuck with manual labor? Couldn't you just…"
Carrying Enkidu's body—brought back by Tezcatlipoca—Merlin hadn't trudged far before he started griping.
It wasn't the task's difficulty; he just hated being left behind while the others chatted and laughed up ahead, relegating the team's brains and beauty to baggage duty.
As the group's resident clown, Merlin felt compelled to voice some protest.
"Useless Merlin! Even as a Servant, you're still so pathetic—whining about being tired like that," Dr. Roman, who'd clashed with Merlin since their first meeting, jeered instantly.
"Useless Roman!! You've got no room to talk! Aren't you just a shut-in obsessed with magical girl virtual streamers? As worthless as that old geezer Zelretch!!" Merlin shot back.
"You know nothing! You can't grasp the beauty of Magi☆Mari!!"
"Hmph, how could I not? Watch yourself, Roman—that virtual idol might just be some burly guy on the other end."
"No way, absolutely not! Stop slandering Mari, you waste!!"
Panicked by the horrifying thought, Roman shook his head in a frantic triple denial.
"Heh heh heh, actually…"
"So embarrassing, Doctor."
Watching Merlin—lugging Enkidu—and Roman's hologram bicker across the airwaves, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash covered their eyes, barely able to look. This wasn't the composed Dr. Roman they knew from Chaldea.
"Idiot…"
Trailing Merlin, Ana gazed at him with the pity one might spare a fool. The figure on the comms device was just as bad.
Still, the antics of these two clowns injected some levity into the otherwise tedious trek.
Unlike the others, Roy smiled warmly at Merlin and Roman's squabble.
He'd known Merlin—this fool—for a while now, long enough to call him a friend and understand him well.
As for Romani Archaman…
Unlike Ritsuka and Mash, who didn't know him deeply, Roy—having cleared FGO's first arc—knew Roman's truth.
Roman's first impression was a slacker who hogged rooms, loved slacking off, virtual idols, and strawberry cake—a textbook shut-in. But his true identity was far from simple.
Only after conquering the Grand Temple of Time did Roy uncover this staggering revelation.
Dr. Roman was the King of Magecraft Solomon. Becoming human was Solomon's wish to the Grail after aiding Marisbury in winning the Holy Grail War.
Marisbury gained untold wealth to build Chaldea; Solomon became Dr. Roman.
It was the first wish Solomon ever made from his heart.
It was the most vital choice of his life.
Compared to the anguished existence as King Solomon, these years as Roman let him feel truly alive.
From birth, Solomon existed as a king by default—listening to the Lord's voice, ruling as a wise saint-king, all as if preordained.
Most heroes grew into greatness through human struggles, ascending beyond mortality.
Not Solomon. His life flowed smoothly, calmly, naturally.
His achievements, power, and miracles were countless; he earned the adoration of endless subjects.
To him, it was all expected, dull, predetermined.
Everything he did—the talent to govern, the miracles he wrought, the magic he wielded, the boundless wisdom in his mind—was gifted, imposed, false.
He never lived a single second as a human.
He felt like he was merely existing, not living—a puppet in a scripted play with a fixed ending.
Recognized by the Lord, crowned the King of Magecraft, he was still betrayed by those he loved.
His all-seeing eyes witnessed it all.
Would his life just begin inexplicably and end by the book?
No! He refused.
Solomon yearned to exist as a true "human," free from a dictated fate.
One day, dozing on his throne, he answered the Grail's call.
He appeared before Marisbury, and…
Victory came naturally.
Together, they stood before the Grail, each making their wish.
Marisbury wished for wealth beyond measure; Solomon simply wanted to live as an ordinary man.
Yet that wish never fully came true.
The moment the almighty Solomon shed his crown's radiance to become human, Roman glimpsed humanity's future.
The Human Order Incineration.
An end to mankind's story, looming at an unknown hour. It stole the freedom he'd fought to claim.
Soon, humanity would perish!!
He strained to use his all-seeing eyes to pierce that future.
But...
Too late.
He was no longer the omnipotent King of Magecraft Solomon—just an ordinary man.
Romani Archaman, a mere human.
His wish granted, his desired life attained, yet no joy filled him—only dread at humanity's doom.
To avert that fate, Roman resolved to toil step by step as a mortal, stripped of divine favor, to prevent that future.
He never paused, ceaselessly learning, hoping to one day fill his former role.
Seeing Marisbury's elite recruits—Chaldea's Masters—he felt a flicker of relief.
With these kids, protecting humanity wasn't impossible. He just had to do his part.
But Marisbury's death, Lev's betrayal, and Chaldea's catastrophes shattered his last shred of hope.
A mere human again, he took up the banner of saving humanity once more, leading Chaldea alongside Fujimaru Ritsuka—the last Master—and Mash, whom he saw as a daughter.
They faced Fuyuki's inferno, France's dragon war, Rome's cataclysm, the endless sea's storms, America's Celtic clash, Camelot's Round Table, Babylon's primordial goddess.
And finally, the Grand Temple of Time.
At the final Singularity, Roman's life reached its end.
Yet this man harbored no regrets, resolutely severing ties with his original sin—the ultimate evil born from his body, Beast I: Goetia, the Beast of Pity.
Reclaiming Solomon's mantle, he returned everything—life, soul—to God.
His fate was worse than death: his soul erased, cast into oblivion's abyss.
Still, Roman didn't waver.
As Solomon, he never lived for himself.
Now, even a single second sufficed.
It was his heartfelt choice, a moment lived for himself.
So Roy didn't mock Roman's goofy demeanor—only admired it.
Here, near his life's end, he still smiled from the heart.
Watching Roman bicker with Merlin, Roy shook his head gently.
King Solomon… that lofty title didn't suit him half as well as "Roman."
Merlin, too, longed to be human like Solomon—perhaps that's why he treated Roman this way.
"Alright, Merlin. Hand Enkidu's body to me. I'll carry it from here."
Noticing the pair's squabble winding down, Roy smiled and reached out to take Enkidu from Merlin.
"Huh? For real? You'll carry it for me?"
Merlin blinked, incredulous at Roy's offer.
In his mind, Roy would've mocked him here, leaving him to lug it to Uruk. Why the sudden change?
Doubts lingered, but Merlin obediently passed Enkidu over.
Heavy…
That was Roy's first thought.
Enkidu's body, a divine construct, weighed far more than a human's.
It felt like clutching a coiled mass of chains—cold, smooth.
"Roy-san, I can help carry Enkidu-san too," Mash offered.
"Thanks, Mash, but no need. I'm not that whiny waste Merlin back there—this weight's nothing to me."
Roy declined, slipping in a jab at Merlin.
"Master, shall I carry that body for you?" Karna stepped up, eager to ease his Master's load.
"I can too!" Ritsuka chimed in, stepping forward eagerly.
The team rallied, offering help.
Merlin, watching, fumed. "Why'd you all stay quiet when I was carrying it, but jump to help him? I'm pretty handsome too, you know…"
"Maybe your aura of uselessness turns people off," Roy quipped, brushing off the others' offers.
"Uruk's close now—I'll manage. Besides, I'm here to talk with Gilgamesh. Bringing Enkidu to him as a greeting gift fits perfectly."
As he spoke, they'd unknowingly reached the main road to Uruk.
Gazing ahead, the towering silhouette of the Beast Front flickered into view.
Unlike overlooking it with Kingu from above, they now stood at its flank—just hours from reaching it.
After all that'd happened…
Finally.
Uruk.
___
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