True Magician

Chapter 21

Emiya residence.

- "Romani-san, right?" Barakiel, who had regained his senses, asked doubtfully, to which I nodded, "Are you saying that this girl is King Arthur?"

Ohhhh... Dude. You don't know how deep the hole of Nasuverse and his genderbend is yet.

- "Oya? You don't believe me, you masochistic pervert?" I grinned, and Barakiel twitched at his nickname.

- "I... I won't even ask how you know this," he sighed before continuing, "But I have met Arthur, and he was definitely a man, not a woman... Besides, if she is King Arthur, how was Mordred, his son, born?"

You... you're not being petty, are you? Look at Artoria. The poor thing's mood has soured, and she looks irritatedly in the direction of Merlin, who clearly finds the situation extremely amusing.

- "Fou," Fou yapped, looking at Merlin and scratching behind his ear.

- "And I'm not denying that he's a pervert," I shrugged and looked at Barakiel, "You know, I'll explain it to you. A flower wizard cast a spell on a young girl that made her m..."

- "If you care about your head, Master, shut up," Artoria said icily, holding Excalibur, hidden by the wind, to my throat. I only raised my hands and turned back to Barakiel with an understanding glance at her.

- "As you can see, this is a delicate subject. If you're interested, you can go to her personally. Or to him..." I wondered what pronoun to use so as not to ruin his life, "In short, to Artoria."

With a brief glance at the invisible blade, he nodded. And Artoria slowly put the blade away and turned back to the rest of the Servants.

- "And may I ask one more question?"

- "Go ahead."

- "I remember clearly that King Arthur, as well as the other individuals you named, are dead. How can they be here?"

Instead of answering, I looked at Azazel.

- "You didn't say anything to them? I thought you'd have said something by now."

- "I didn't," Azazel said with a shrug, "I didn't have time for that. Besides, I didn't know what information I was allowed to share."

- "I understand," I nodded and turned toward Barakiel, "They're still dead. The Servants are copies of Heroic Spirits who can be classified as familiars of the highest rank. And as you guessed, each of these souls has written their name in history. This applies to both heroes who save princesses and villains who kill those very princesses. However, heroes of folklore are also included in this list."

- "And..."

- "Yes, the abilities and items they had when they were alive are still with them," I interrupted him, answering his unspoken question, and pointed toward Artoria, "And, as you correctly realized, the sword in her hands is Excalibur. As real as your ten wings."

- "I... understand," he muttered, "And you mentioned two Hashashin leaders... Can I see them? I may have had a... conversation with them sometime in the past."

- "I apologize, but no," I shook my head, "I'd like to keep their identities a secret. Maybe some other day."

He nodded briefly and withdrew into himself, processing the information he'd gotten today. To which I only shrugged and looked at Akeno. She had her index finger to her lips and was tensely thinking about something.

- "Akeno-san? Is something bothering you?" I asked. Truthfully, I already knew her answer. Heh. Only one person in Rias's retinue had the standing for Excalibur.