"If it was around the time when the Holy Grail War started, then maybe... I know something."
"This child must have been affected by some kind of magic... I can feel that her body does contain the power of the king."
Annuo walked up to Gray and looked at the girl who looked exactly like Wang.
Seeing this face again, he could only lament in his heart.
He had made many mistakes, the biggest of which was to place the responsibility on the back of a girl who might not have become the king, and to put the entire country and the whole of Britain on the life of a girl who might not have suffered such a fate.
middle.
so.......
"Thank you for your hard work, kid."
Raising his hand, after hesitating for a moment, Annuo put his hand on Gray's head and stroked it twice.
"......well?"
Unlike Annuo who just touched her head lightly before, Gray seemed to be able to...feel Annuo's temperature more clearly.
She was slightly startled, raised her head, and looked into An Nuo's eyes.
——What did she see in those eyes?
regret?
Or something else?
——
"Yade, who is that Annuoqing?"
"Although you don't have the memory of being a Knight of the Round Table, you should have the impression... right?"
It was the night before leaving for Germany. A somewhat uneasy Gray put Adelaide on the table, buried her head in her arms, and asked Adelaide in a dull voice.
"Uncle Annuo... Although there is nothing particularly profound about him, if it is an impression..."
"I think it may be that he is not the calm person he appears on the surface, right?"
When Yade talked about this topic, his voice became less sharp.
"Isn't he as calm as he appears?"
Gray pulled her head out of her arms and looked at Ad with some curiosity.
"I told you it was an impression! An impression!"
"Although I say I have no memory, based on my understanding of that incident, Uncle Annuo... I'm afraid he has always regretted it."
"He doesn't just regret one thing, he regrets many things...Although it sounds a little weak, Uncle Annuo is such a man who leaves all his weaknesses to himself - how about it! Super handsome
Right!"
——
Leave all your weaknesses to yourself...
Seeing the inexplicable emotion in An Nuo's eyes, Gray seemed to feel that her own mood was also aroused.
——Is it my own emotions? Or is it the emotion brought about by the power of King Arthur in my body?
Gray was a little confused.
But...she knew that she felt very sad.
"Anno... Qing..."
"Don't think of this face as a curse, kid."
Annuo lowered his body, raised his head and looked at Gray's tearful eyes, and said with a smile.
"As I said before, no matter who your face looks like, you are still yourself. You can regard this face and this power as a blessing, own it, and live on."
"I think that the Holy Spear can stay by your side not only because you look like King Arthur and have the power of King Arthur, but also because you have a heart as great as King Arthur."
He held Gray's hand holding Yade's cage and pressed this hand to Gray's chest.
An Nuo's hand was very big and rough, and it even hurt Gray's hand when it was scratched, but...
Peace of mind.
This feeling is very reassuring.
It's like, Master... But what's different from Master is that Mr. Annuo feels more like...
A real "elder"?
After all, the feeling Master gave Gray was a bit like the admiration of his peers... Otherwise, Yade wouldn't have said something like "Why don't you give him a kiss while he's asleep?"
This is what happened.
"King Arthur's...heart?"
Gray muttered to himself.
"She is the greatest king and the most glorious leader of us, the Knights of the Round Table."
El-Melloi II stood aside, sighed, and looked away.
Gray, this child, has always been a little repelled by his appearance and has some psychological problems... If not, he would not have brought Gray to Germany to meet Annuo.
I hope Mr. Anno's persuasion can have some effect.
puff--
Annuo stood up, but unexpectedly Gray hugged him directly.
"Annuo...uncle, can I call you that?"
As if realizing her rudeness, Gray quickly let go of Annuo, and then wiped away the remaining tears from the corners of her eyes.
"......Can."
Annuo nodded slowly and took a step back subconsciously.
"Although, although I don't know why I want to say this now...but!"
Gray raised her head and looked at Annuo with serious eyes.
"I think that king... she has never regretted her choice, and what she doesn't want to see is you feeling guilty for her choice...!"
"That's all I want to say...!"
"I hope you won't trap yourself in your own weakness...!"
After saying these words loudly, Gray lowered his head again, as if he had returned to the timid Gray.
"Gray..."
Adelaide in the cage seemed surprised that Gray would say such words here, and his expression became a little surprised.
"...So, Uncle Annuo, what do you think?"
After shaking twice in the cage, Yade moved himself over, looked at Annuo and asked.
"...Thank you, Gray."
After a long silence, it seemed that this was all Annuo could say.
...
"That kid is really brave."
Walking to a deserted street, feeling the snowflakes falling from the sky on his head, Kotomine Kirei looked at Anno's back.
"...She will grow into an incredible woman."
An Nuo raised his head and looked at the sky and said with a smile.
——Even if she doesn't take the road of becoming a king, it's still the same.
"I'm leaving, Kotomine Kirei."
Annuo turned his face and glanced at Kotomine Kirei.
"Don't you need to say goodbye to more people?"
"That kid Gray is right. Maybe, sometimes I do trap myself in my own weaknesses."
"I can't change it anymore."
"In that case, let me go back to where I belong."
"More - I won't tell you."
"Follow Zuo Cun and be a law-abiding priest."
"Bye now."
Annuo's farewell was quiet, even a little sudden.
He turned around and walked towards the heavy snow, turned into a golden spirit, and merged into the world with the snowflakes all over the sky.
Kotomine Kirei exhaled a breath of mist and subconsciously raised his head.