ROUND 1—Awakening/binary heaven 3

Remaining Days: 4

After wasting most of yet another day in classes that were pointless for every student except for one, the winner of this War, Saber, who generally slept on the table next to mine, opened her eye. So, at least, I wouldn't have to wake her. "Master," she says, "You remember that knowledge of the enemy's tactics is your job?"

I don't know what made her decide to remind me of that now but considering she does the fighting and takes the damage, it's not even fair if I am just in charge for tactical matters. But then again, it's not like I could do anything else. I can't fight. I'm not even an amateur magus. And neither can I code.

"I do. What about it?" Saber groans, frustrated by my apparent naivety. I can understand her reaction very well. She risks her life for this battle, for me, and I barely learned the basics at this point. Truly frustrating.

Our conversation doesn't draw too much attention anymore, however. At first, other Masters found it weird that Saber didn't use her astral form but preferred to be by my side physically instead but soon they stopped caring. I wasn't their opponent now so they probably just had no second to spare just to think about an inexperienced girl's Servant and her decisions.

Maybe they also just consider my toleration of Saber's stubbornness very carefree but I couldn't care less. If there is just one single person not intending to kill me I'd rather have them around for company.

Also, I have to admit, having Saber by my side somehow calms me done. She keeps me from the despair of this mess and from giving up and thus, dying.

"I'm saying, you should try to gather information every day. After going to the Arena I'm too drained to walk around with you anymore, so remember to do whatever you want before that." I nod and Saber adds, murmuring, "Talking to others might prove helpful once in a while, too."

It's not a bad thought at all; Shinji is just the person to boast about his Servant to others that are not his opponent for the current round. If I happen to find someone who has information, I might be able to raise my chances.

Also, maybe if I ask Rin—

No, she surely wouldn't help me. To her I'm just one of the potential opponents being after her blood. Rin Tohsaka has absolutely no reason to support me in any way.

On the other hand, though, maybe I'm being too pessimistic. Rationally speaking, it would be thoughtless to prefer Shinji as possible enemy over me, an inexperienced, amnesiac girl without any skills.

I should give it a try at least. I owe Saber to do whatever I can to help us.

"You're right, Saber," I say as I get up from my chair, "Then, shall we go?" Sighing, she joins my walk out of the classroom.

"You're helpless without me, Master." I'm not completely sure, but I think I saw a faint smile.

As we get out of the classroom, at the end of the hall I hear an annoying voice and spot a blue-haired boy. "Oh, look who we got there," Saber says. I can hear a minor annoyance in her voice and she subtly shifts to her combat persona.

"Calm your bloodlust for now. We might be able to find something out if we approach him, right?" My blonde Servant obviously is not too fond of engaging in any conversation with Shinji of all people, showing that by pouting, but she knows the information we might be able to get could bring us closer to victory. So, she wouldn't really object.

And after all, she was the one who told me to go talk to other Masters for information to help forming our strategy. In the end, I'm just doing what she told me to.

So, we slowly walk towards him, the surrounding air feeling more tense the closer I get to him, though Shinji doesn't seem to notice us. He is in the middle of a conversation with Rin Tohsaka, as I know him he is probably trying to impress and hit on her.

"How do you like the Arena, Rin-chan? On the first sight, it seems amazing but actually it's kind of primitive," he tries to break the ice, apparently, to which Rin reacts with an annoyed expression, though hidden behind a smile.

But just when one would think he couldn't be more irritating, he goes on. "Kidding, I really dig the sea theme. Have to admit, this game is quite well done." I feel honestly sorry for Rin, being caught in this exchange which is mostly Shinji talking.

"Would you cut out the chan maybe? I'd rather not be called Rin-chan by you," her emphasising showing her hostility clearly. I can't see Shinji's expression from my position but I'm sure he just grit his teeth.

Rin doesn't stop there, though. "Seems like you summoned a decent Servant, Shinji Matou, premiere hacker of Asia?"

She is clearly provoking him but apparently, Shinji is quite famous for his coding skills. So, I have an even greater disadvantage in this first round than I anticipated. This isn't looking too good for me still.

"Maybe I took a lot of your crap in the past, but this time I won't. Thanks to her Armada I'm practically invincible, you couldn't even touch me." An armada is a fleet of many ships. So, his Servant definitely has something to do with the sea.

Rin chuckles, "Quite confident, aren't we? Giving out crucial information about your Servant like this, Matou." Shinji flinches at those words, apparently, he noticed his error.

"Uh, yeah. Sure! If I didn't tell you, you wouldn't have any chance and one-sided fights are boring, right? Also, who knows, it could have been a lie or bluff!" It is highly unlikely for Shinji to react this flustered had that been a misinformation.

Rin's gaze meets mine for a second, probably unnoticed by Shinji who is still trying to cover up his mistake. "True. And either way, a single word rarely ever exposes a Servant's True Name anyway." I feel like she is subtly trying to help me.

"Though, a Servant with an Armada would thin out the candidates. What might her attacks be like? Bombardment? Frontal assault? Either way, her attacks will be physical, hm?" Feeding me small but helpful data while making Shinji insecure about his place, Rin manages to kill two birds with one stone easily.

And I'm more than thankful for that.

"Gah…!" Shinji's reaction makes it clear: Rin hit the nail on the head. 

"So, to win I only need to prepare physical barriers," she adds. Whenever I think Rin couldn't possibly give me another hint so subtle, she proves me wrong. She's an amazing girl, magus and Master for sure.

Shinji takes a small step to the back, he is visibly afraid of Rin now that she started making plans to be dangerous to him. "I wonder if the Invincible Armada rings a bell for your Servant." Shinji grits his teeth. "Does she perhaps have bad memories related to it?"

"W-Whatever. Your strategies and ideas mean nothing. We will probably never face each other in battle anyway!" His final attempt at a comeback was pathetic, he sure seemed cornered. To prevent himself for causing more damage, he turns around and starts stomping away, before noticing me.

"Uhm… Hi, Shinji?" His face goes completely white as he realizes what me standing here and greeting him means. "You… Don't tell me you were there the entire time?!" 

Saber grins. "Sorry to break it to you, but we heard all of it."

Shinji clenches his fists. "T-That's still not enough to help you. R-Right, there is no need to worry. Hah! My victory is assured," he says more to himself than to me, somehow getting back to his usual high self-esteem, "Catch you later, Ritsuka!" And he runs off, after bumping into my shoulder intentionally.

Rin sighs before making her way out of this hallway. She slows down her pace when she's next to me and whispers, " El Draque." Before I can ask for the meaning, she's gone already.

"What did she say?" Saber asks, her brows narrowed. 

"She said El Draque," I repeated Rin's words. My Servant asks me what that means but I can only shrug as reply. "We could research it in the library, I guess."

Not too pleased with that idea, Saber groans but follows me. "Fine." 

Luckily, this hallway is the one leading to the library. I scan the shelves, filled with books, for anything that might be useful while Saber waits behind me, visibly bored. 

"El Draque… that sounds Spanish… And Armada… hmm," I mumble to myself as I pick out a book about Spain's history.

Scanning the pages, I spot a term Rin used. 

"Invincible Armada…" I voice my findings. That draws Saber's attention. 

"Isn't that something that girl had said to the peasant?" I nod. 

"Rin said something like that. Here it says, the Spanish Navy was given that name in the Age of Exploration. They had over a hundred thousand-ton ships."

Saber's expression shifts to worry. "So, our opponent might be of the Spanish Navy?"

Without looking up from the printed work in my hands, I agree, "That's possible. In the worst case, we might face the person in charge of the whole Invincible Armada…"

It was stated that because of the navy's power, Spain was called the kingdom on which the sun will never set. 

"A terrifying opponent, most likely." Most hopes I had on a victory lost me at this moment. I did not know Saber's true name or if she could compete with Shinji's Servant, even if she could use her full power, but if the worst case was the reality, I would probably be done for.

No, we would be done for.

"Don't give up yet, Master," Saber pats my shoulder, "We don't know yet what position that woman had in the navy for sure. Anything about that… El Drake thing?" 

I smile at her attempt to cheer me up but have to correct her. "El Draque, not Drake, Saber." 

She averts her gaze and shrugs, pretending not to care for her mispronunciation. "Whatever."

To answer her question, though, I shake my head. "As far as I can see, no. Nothing." 

In the end, we didn't get much further with our research.

"Then it's a question for another day, Master. Your eyes are gonna get tired if you work through many more books."

Saber is right, I shouldn't overwork myself. I pull out my terminal from my uniform's jacket and put the information I gathered today into the Matrix. The more data I can collect and put into it, the higher my chance to figure out that woman's True Name.

Tonight, after more training, I will go through our current data and try to think of a first strategy. Also, I should collect information about Saber. I feel kind of bad to do such a thing behind her back but I want to know more about her.

However, for now, Saber and I head to the Arena's First Floor yet again, both of us need more training and especially I need more experience. I don't want to drag her down even though she barely complains about it anymore. At least vocally.

She still makes it somehow clear that she isn't happy with being so limited due to the incapableness of her Master. I feel bad for it but all we can do now is use as much time as possible for training. To strengthen me and also our bond—The closer we are and the greater our bond, the better Elimination Battles should go.

And the more Enemy Programs we fight, the less problematic battles become and Saber gets faster at killing them with every fight. I'm unbelievably happy we're making progress after all.

***

After a long day, we find ourselves in our private room. 

"I'm done for, Master." Saber drops herself on her table bed. I chuckle at that. "What is it?" She looks at me now, pouting. 

"Nothing. You deserve rest, Saber. Sleep well."

"Hmph." She turns away from me and seems to doze off soon enough.

I take out my terminal. "Related to a fleet for sure, possibly the Spanish navy, huh… Archer seems like the wrong Class after all," I mumble to myself. Though I give up thinking too much on it. After all, I don't have any more research material here and due to my lost memory, my own knowledge is very limited.

I switch to Saber's Matrix database. As her Master, I can access some information about her, such as the name of her weapon—Clarent. It doesn't ring a bell for me, sadly. And there is no other information about her besides her height or measurements but those are no help either.

I sigh and turn off my terminal. I'll leave these matters for tomorrow or maybe even the day after. I take off my uniform's jacket and put it over Saber. Her light clothing seems too cold to sleep comfortably.

I lay down, facing away from her and it doesn't take me too long to fall asleep either.