"Master, you—seem very familiar with me?"
Altria's question caused waves in Shinji's heart, and the name of these waves was memories.
Familiar? Of course familiar, how could it be possible not to be familiar
In my previous life, you were the second most familiar 2D character to me, more familiar than my master Scathach.
I remember how stunning you were when you first appeared on stage, and I was also worried about you getting injured.
When you leave, although I am reluctant, I still hope you can find peace.
I remember all your settings, every plot of yours, your various clones and job backgrounds.
I can proudly say that among the millionaire chefs, there are only a handful who are better than me.
Even now that I've traveled to the Type-Moon world and come into contact with all kinds of characters in person, you can still rank in the top ten among the characters I'm familiar with.
Without you, I wouldn't be a real moon chef.
There was a time when I longed to meet you, whether to be your enemy or to become your Master.
But now, the person I least want to see is you, because no matter what role you come in, as long as you are a follower, it means that you have not gotten out of the sorrow and found peace as I wish.
Your appearance proves that my efforts in the Fourth Holy Grail War have failed.
Abandoning your human body, you shoulder the responsibility of being a girl of Britain. Is your time still stuck in Camlan Hill? Are you still traveling through different worlds and eras in pursuit of the Holy Grail
Or, after the Holy Grail War in which you and I both participated, you were still confused and hesitant in your heart, and did not break the shackles of restraint, and eventually became a pathetic guardian
Either way, it's not a good ending.
His eyes changed and his expression was complicated.
At this moment, Shinji is not an ambitious assassin ready to kill everyone, nor is he a cautious master who is scheming and planning. Now he is just a moon fan, a king fan, who hopes that this woman who has dedicated her life to her country and her subjects can have a peaceful ending - even though this woman may not be the same woman.
"Master?"
The one being stared at by Shinji, although no longer a young girl, still couldn't understand why her Master looked at her in such a way, as if he was missing her, as if he was regretting her, and there were many other things she didn't understand.
"What's wrong?"
Altria's slightly dazed voice woke Shinji from his own world. He sighed: "Nothing - Miss Lingxia, take little Jack out to play for a while. I have something to say to Altria."
"Jack, come with me. I'll play hide and seek with you."
Lingxia, the sixth director who has experienced the ups and downs of life, knows how to read people's expressions and know when to advance and retreat. She took Jack's hand and walked out of the room.
"Hide and seek?" asked the innocent little Jack, tilting his head.
"It's a very fun game. Mommy will teach you how to play it."
"Yes, yes, I love mom the most."
Jack hugged Director Liu Lingxia's arm and smiled happily.
Children's happiness is sometimes so simple, but it's a pity that the children who make up little Jack have never enjoyed it, not even for a single day.
After Sixth Director Reika took little Jack away and closed the door considerately, Shinji spoke slowly.
"Altolia, I have some questions for you. Please answer them."
"Is the answer to the question important to you?"
"It's very important. Very important."
"I understand. I will answer truthfully."
Although she was somewhat concerned about her Master's strange behavior, Artoria still nodded. Her intuition told her that he would not harm her.
"Have you ever been to a place called Fuyuki and participated in a Holy Grail War?"
As a Servant, Altria is the most complex existence of Type-Moon. The statement that "the various spirits of one person can fight a Holy Grail War" is by no means false.
Including various characters in the original story and games, there are eight people named Altria. Excluding two funny characters, there are six people left, and these six people are derived from three different possibilities of Altria. Among them, Altria in silver-white armor and lancer class, commonly known as Gun Daze, and Altria in sword class, commonly known as Sword Daze, who we have met before, are probably the same person in different worlds, or different possibilities derived from the same person.
Although they are the same person, their experiences and choices are very different. Jian Dai chose the sword as her main weapon between the gun and the sword. Both the Sword in the Stone and the Sword of Victory have the ability to solidify the body, so Jian Dai was a girl until her death. Gun Dai is different. She used the Holy Spear as her main weapon, but the Holy Spear did not have the effect of solidifying the body, so she became the mature woman that Shinji sees now.
Although both Sword and Spear are called Altria, they are actually independent and different individuals. Theoretically, Spear could not have participated in that Holy Grail War. However, Shinji still has a glimmer of luck in his heart. He and Spear have neither fate nor cause and effect, and it is even more nonsense to say that they are compatible. The only one who is destined is Sword. Sword also had a Holy Spear when he was alive, but he rarely used it. It is not impossible for him to appear as a Spear. As for the appearance, the summoning of servants is full of infinite possibilities. Any accident may cause the spiritual foundation of the spiritual weapon to change. Besides, Shinji summoning a servant as a servant is an accident.
Altria answered without hesitation: "Yes, I have."
"What job?"
"Saber."
Shinji's face was filled with joy, his guess was indeed correct, this was the familiar Ahoge, just with a different appearance.
The relationship between this world and the world where Shinji is located is like the reincarnation of a lotus. The two worlds will return to the same world line before the Third Holy Grail War. On that world line, there is a special time point when Artoria stops at the sword fence and makes a contract with the restraining force.
Because Artoria, who was stationed at the sword fence, was still alive, she remembered every time she was summoned, unlike the Heroic Spirit who lost the memory of her previous summons after being summoned as a Servant.
"Who was the winner of the Holy Grail War?"
"From the results, it was me, even though I should have lost the last battle." For the Knight King, victory is victory and defeat is defeat. No matter what form he takes in the world, his nobility will never change.
"What happened after that? Did you... go down, no, did your wish come true?" Shinji finally did not directly ask the question that concerned him most, but changed his way.
"It didn't happen because the Holy Grail had been contaminated and no longer functioned as a wish-granting machine, so I destroyed it." When saying this, Altria's expression was calm, without the slightest regret.
"And then what? You continued to seek other Holy Grails and responded to my call?" The trembling of the last voice showed that Shinji's mood was far from as calm as he appeared.
"No." Artoria shook her head. "Perhaps Master, you will believe me, but I no longer pursue the Holy Grail. I have other reasons for responding to the summons this time."
"Other reasons..."
Shinji's heart skipped a beat. If she no longer pursued the Holy Grail, she would not stay at the sword fence. If she responded to the call, it meant that she did not go to sleep in the utopia. So there was only one answer -
"You... you made a pact with the Restraining Force?"
"Eh? Master, do you know?"
There was obvious surprise on Altria's face, and whether she was in a girlish or mature lady posture, her curious expression was as cute as ever.
"I know a little."
"That's great. I was just wondering how to tell you, Master—"
Altria couldn't continue because she saw Shinji's eyes, a look that was a mixture of reluctance and heartache.
"—Master, why are you looking at me like that?"
Shinji didn't answer, but just asked: "It must be very hard, being the guardian of restraint, the scavenger of Alaya, and killing non-stop to protect the survival of mankind."
"Master, you are mistaken. I am not the guardian of Alaya."
Altria's reflexive answer made Shinji frown.
"Not Alaya? Could it be Gaia, the will of the planet? Yes, that's right. You hold the holy sword forged by the planet and the Star Spear that fixes the surface of the earth. It's normal for you to work for Gaia."
According to the supplementary chapter of Fate stay night, Garden of Avalon, it is true that the one who made the contract with Altria was Alaya, the collective of human unconsciousness. But it is hard to say, after all, Altria has a deep connection with the two major inhibitory forces, so it is normal for her to work for either of them.
"No, Master, you are on the wrong track. It was indeed Alaya who made the contract with me, but not the Guardian."
"What is that?"
"It's the observer. This is the first time I have received a request from Alaya."
"What?" Suddenly, Shinji felt that something unexpected had happened.
PS: Guess who is the first one? Erye has already mentioned her existence.