Chapter 680

The tranquil dreamland was shaken by the birdsong outside the window, but, would there even be a Zhigengniao singing in a vacuum?

The Zhigengniao appeared in the space station at some point, and Miss Note slowly walked past her.

Let us tell the story of a bird, a bird wrongfully imprisoned. She was once a singer, imprisoned in an iron cell for composing ballads disliked by the nobles. In the cage, the bird heard many sorrowful voices. Thus she sang for those imprisoned with her, soothing their homesickness and inspiring their resolve to revolt.

Miss Note took out an old, worn-out photo; although it was blurred, it still recorded her youthful appearance singing on stage.

Finally, the bird, together with a pocket watch, a wolf, and countless companions, broke out of the cage.

The bird thought that gaining freedom would allow her to start a new life. She could display her beautiful feathers and voice on stage and screen, bringing hope to the penniless as before… but she was wrong. Pinokangni quickly changed beyond recognition. The songs she sang, the films she appeared in, and even her own life were all locked away in a cage called money, becoming commodities.

The film company wanted to turn the bird into a beautiful symbol, but the bird wanted to fly away from this suffocating cesspool… so they took her stage name, found a brand-new chick to replace her on screen, and used sordid rumors and fantasies to choke her to death in an inglorious ending.

——

The Funeral of Frieren

These are all Lao Aodi's doing, right? Even if it wasn't Lao Aodi who did it, he surely had a hand in it.

The bonfire crackled in the night, illuminating four faces with different expressions. Xiuta'erke broke the silence first, looking confused: "Why does Miss Note still want to team up with Lao Aodi? She obviously hates this kind of person."

Zan Yin stroked his chin: "The point is still her wish. I guess she wants to take revenge on those people from back then."

"Revenge… after a thousand years, there's nothing left but a pile of graves, right? How could she possibly take revenge on a bunch of dead people? At most she could make Lao Aodi the target of her revenge." Filien said lightly, "If she seeks revenge, she should, upon seeing Lao Aodi for the first time, try to attack his head with magic."

Or is it to amend the stigma of those years? To leave a spotless reputation in Pinokangni's history?

Filien didn't quite understand: for a heroic spirit without even a name, even if she had been a dazzling star a thousand years ago, in the highly developed entertainment industry of Pinokangni, stars like her have been replaced countless times… would anyone really care about a figure from a thousand years ago who could only appear in history books?

——

"... So, you want to take revenge on those who caused you disgrace?"

Miss Note calmly shook her head: "Quite the opposite… when I returned to this world, I found I had no one left to take revenge on. So I will reclaim the name that was taken from me, erase all works that are mine… so that every trace of my existence during the ███ period vanishes."

"Since you were once imprisoned and deprived… you now ought not to lock all the Masters and Heroic Spirits who came to end this Holy Grail War inside their Noble Phantasms. Mr. Lao Aodi might be able to grant your wish, but what he demands is a higher price. This point, you know better than I, having shared an era with him."

"Hah…" Miss Note gave a cold laugh. "Aodi is just a worm gnawing at Pinokangni—of course he's untrustworthy. But the Master, he's merely a worm seeking something from the Holy Grail… and you, the Holy Grail cannot buy your mind."

"Want me to dispel my Noble Phantasm? Then command me with a Command Seal! Master, just like those people used contracts and laws to take away my name and career—come on!"

"You know I won't do that, Miss Note! … Let's make a bet, although I've never bet with anyone in my life." Zhigengniao declared solemnly, "I bet that the Masters and Servants whose heroic guises you've stripped will never be trapped by your Noble Phantasm—I have faith in them!"

Miss Note's lips curled into a smile as she slightly bowed to Zhigengniao: "... Then we shall wait and see."

——

fate/zero

Ailisī fei'er turned her head in disbelief toward the Saber beside her, "Could that truly be what you really think? About those thoughts of one who is a 'king,' those burdens, and those responsibilities…"

Weigong Qiesi didn't speak, merely gazing quietly out the window as the cigarette between his fingers smoldered, ash piling up. He didn't want to say much about Saber's ideal as a king, but he never expected that the first time he truly understood his own Servant would come from the Saber in the heavens.

Yes, Ailisī fei'er.

A'ertuoliya took a deep breath, feeling the worry in the other's gaze, and she nodded solemnly.

As a king, I ought to be flawless, leading Britain to prosperity. I have never regretted drawing the Sword of Selection; that is my duty and destiny. But…" Her voice stalled for a moment, "After witnessing an irredeemable sacrifice, I too have indeed once thought…… if there were someone wiser and more merciful than me, Britain's fate might take a different course, becoming an eternal ideal land.

"I will do everything possible to save the Britain I failed to protect, although spoken through another 'me,' but this is also my wish in this Holy Grail War."

"Pfft…"

Ailisī fei'er suddenly covered her mouth and gave a light laugh.

Umm… Ailisī fei'er, does my wish amuse you?

Ah, sorry, sorry…" Ailisī fei'er waved her hand, handing Saber a cup of freshly brewed black tea, "I was thinking this is the first time I've heard Saber speak her own inner thoughts, although not spoken by 'you' herself, but this feeling…… is truly quite strange. Really, seeing you so different from before.

——

(I seem to have had a strange dream, but I can't recall the details…… my body feels heavy, no, I still have today's work to do.)

Xing no longer remembers how long she's worked on the space station—thirty days, ninety days, or longer? All the researchers' project applications are second nature to her, but even after easily finishing work, the image of the Starry Sky Train keeps circling in her mind, impossible to shake.

(They're about to depart soon…… I want to leave……)

But whenever Xing has this thought, a wave-like strange feeling surges from all sides, forcibly overriding her will.

"I want to stay."

If you board the train, all that awaits you is terrifying unknown and danger. Your achievements will eventually be forgotten, and your journey will inevitably reach its end.

"I long for an ordinary life."

She was happy to choose to stay here, living a life without tickets, without a bat, without danger, peaceful and comfortable.

The work at hand has delayed too much time—one day, two days, ten days……

(Perhaps I can no longer catch up to the Starry Sky Train.)