En echo à ce que dit Zankaze au-dessus, un passage du roman clarifiant ce à quoi Waver pensait.
Rider, on the back of his beloved horse, nudged his body backward to make space
for Waver. Nevertheless, Waver smiled wryly and shook his head.
Only heroes were qualified to ride on the back of a steed that was second to none in
the entire world. It was definitely not a place to be taken by ordinary youngsters.
For instance, a useless magus who could not even cast a hypnosis spell, the most
basic of basics—
Or for instance, a clown who overrated himself and only got in the way of the
despotic path of the King—
Waver understood that—the night before—it had been he, the Master, who had at
the last moment caused Rider’s determination to challenge Saber to end in vain. At
that time, if Rider had challenged the ‘Sword of Promised Victory’ with a desperate
heart, then perhaps he would have been victorious over Saber’s Noble Phantasm by
a small distance and trampled the King of Knights beneath the hooves of the divine
bulls. The reason why he could not but give up at the decisive moment—had been
the Master standing beside him in the driver’s seat. At the last instant, Rider could
only jump from the chariot in order to protect the clown beside him. Of course, he
could not sacrifice the contractor who had made him appear in this world. At that
time, what had decided the victory between Rider and Saber had been whether or
not their Master had been at their side.
Waver Velvet had once thought he had what it took to become a victor, and had
been complacent about it.
But now it was different. Now, after two weeks had passed, after he had personally
witnessed true heroes; now, as he understood his own useless and meager
existence.
A dog without a home has its own intentions as well. At the very least, it can gaze
upon that back, the nobility of which it can never match—
“My Servant. I, Waver Velvet, use a Command Seal to give this order.”
The youth raised his tightly clenched right hand, displaying the Command Seals that
were as yet unused. These were the shackles that bound the Heroic Spirit before his
eyes, the greatest obstacle that blocked his despotic road.
“Rider, you must take the final victory.”
This was not a restriction, only a judgment that was a matter of course. Therefore,
Waver gave the order. His heart was light as he watched the first of the Command
Seals unleash its prana and disappear.
“Again I use a Command Seal to give this order—Rider, you must seize the Grail.”
The second Command Seal also vanished; he felt a thread of pain in his heart for
this light. If he stayed his hand now, there would still be time—this meaningless
confusion swept across his heart. It was a fool’s hesitation not worth mentioning.
“Lastly, I use a Command Seal to give this order.”
Waver resolutely raised the hand on which the last Command Seal was drawn,
looking at the King who rode on the horse’s back. In that instant, Waver could meet
his eyes without the slightest show of timidity. This was his last and only glory as a
Master.
“Rider, you must seize the whole world. Failure is not allowed.”
Swiftly liberated, the third holy mark radiated hidden prana; summoning a whirlwind,
it disappeared. Waver the magus would probably never again have the chance to
perform such tremendous thaumaturgy in his life. But even thus, he felt from the
bottom of his heart that this was the most satisfying action of his life. He had no
regret whatsoever. In compensation for losing everything, this was enough.
Waver lowered his head to look at his own hands. The proof of the contract etched
on his hand had already vanished and left no trace.
“And thus, I am no longer your Master.”
Waver said, looking at his feet with his head bowed. He did not want to know what
expression Rider wore as he looked at him. Perhaps it was surprise at Waver’s
cowardly act of giving up the fight; perhaps it was a relieved smile at having been
freed from the hands of a useless Master. Regardless of which it was, Waver did not
want to see it. If it were possible, he even wished that Rider would forget the entire
process of their encounter.
“Go. You can go anywhere, you are already…”
Oh, rang out the quiet reply.
Subsequently, he should hear the sound of a horse's hooves swiftly galloping away
over the land. Even as Waver thought this, he was lifted by the collar. In the next
instant, he was sitting on Bucephalus’s back.
“Of course I will go at once—but, since you have given that annoying command,
surely you are also determined? Come to witness the moment in which the order is
fulfilled.”
“You, you, you idiot! I say, eh!”
His will having been changed so easily, Waver cried out awkwardly. Bucephalus
gave a rough cry through its nose as if mocking his panic. Even that horse mocked
people in the same way as its rider—thinking this, driven by an indignation that even
he did not understand, Waver cried out.
“I don’t have Command Seals any more! I don’t want to be a Master any more! Why
do you still want to take me with you? I—“
“Whether you are or are not a Master, you are my friend, and that will never change.”
Waver knew that these words, spoken along with the smile that was the same as
always, had been spoken to him. In that instant, the hardest part of his heart
crumbled—even though he had protected it with his life, only a moment was
required to destroy it.
The tears flooded like a spring unending from his eyes, mixing with snot as they
flowed past his nose; he found it difficult to breathe, and even more difficult to make
a sound. Even so, he still asked in a choked voice.
“… I… someone like me… can… can I really… be by your side…?”
“After going forth into battle with me so many times, why are you saying all this? You
idiot.”
As if listening to jokes at a banquet, the King of Conquerors poked fun at the youth’s
tears. He slapped his thin, weak shoulders.
“Aren’t you a real man who has faced enemies with me? So, you are a friend. Stick
out your chest and stand shoulder to shoulder with me.”
“…”
Waver forgot self-deprecation. He forgot the mortification before today, the timidity
towards tomorrow, as well as the fear in the moment facing death
.
‘Fight and win’—this unshakable conviction took root in his heart.
There would be no failure, there would be no disgrace; now he was with the King,
and as long as one believed and continued to run forth on the despotic road, one
would set foot, no matter how unreliable those feet, on the edge of the world—this
he firmly believed.
“So, I should make my answer to the first Command Seal now. Open your eyes wide
and look properly, boy.”
“Ah, I will definitely use this pair of eyes to watch!”
The legendary steed gave a cry of assured victory and began to gallop, carrying the
King and magus whose hearts were linked, rushing towards the decisive battle with
a mortal enemy.
The location indicated by the smoke signal was the opposite bank of the Mion river,
the fourth leyline of Fuyuki.
