"Oh, hey there!"
"Hey... I... I brought you flowers..."
"Ok!"
"That's not the reaction I was expecting!"
"I wasn't really sure what flowers you liked, so I picked a few."
"Great!"
"..."
"... so why are you giving me flowers?"
"What? I mean... I head... I think... that people who are in romantic relationships gift each other flowers as a gesture of... affection."
"Ohhh... well, I didn't get you any flowers... I'm so sorry."
"It's fine, really, it's not something mong- humans do often either."
"... I really like the red rose."
"Oh, in that case, I can get you one with all red roses."
"Hehe, that treasury of yours sure is nifty."
"Honestly, I never realised how useful it could be until now... mainly because I never had to do so much physical labour. Here you go."
"Thanks, but I'd rather keep this one. It's the first one you gave me."
"You can have both, I don't mind."
"Well, in that case... how can I keep them though?"
"..."
"..."
"... I'll store them back in my vault."
"How will you distinguish them from the others?"
"Oh, there aren't that many."
"I don't think that your idea of many-ness corresponds to that of most people."
"Do you have an idea?"
"Mmm... you know, today I'm feeling really naughty, hehe..."
"Why does she sound like a toddler that's about to do the most pathetic prank ever?"
Nero took a small piece of her sleeve and threw it in the air.
"Gil, can you hold these flowers for me and move a bit to the side, please?"
"Sure, I guess."
As the piece of cloth was falling down, Nero took out her sword and in the blink of an eye slashed it countless times.
Once she was done, she had a red liquid substance in her hand.
"W-What the hell did you do, Nero?"
"Oh, I just slashed that thing so thoroughly that it became liquid."
"That doesn't make any sense..."
"Isn't our entire existence due to the fact that we are above logic?"
"... fair point."
Nero gently applied the liquid to her lips and then imprinted them against the plastic wrapping of the bouquets.
"There you go, now you will always know which ones are mine... and which ones you still have to give me, hehe."
"Is this what she meant when she said she was feeling naughty? If it were Saber, I would call this delicious innocence, but I'm not even sure how to describe what just happened... and yet, I don't dislike it."
"That's pretty helpful, Nero."
"Umu, look! There's a field of flowers there! Come on, let's go, I'll make you a crown!"
"That's not nec-"
Before Gilgamesh could speak, he was dragged away.
Later, that evening...
"..."
"..."
"..."
"If you guys laugh, I'll kill you."
"What? No, we aren't laughing... we... are... we are not... laughing..."
"Laughing? Were you guys laughing about something?"
"No, no, Nero, I was just saying a joke and they were laughing at that."
"Really? I want to hear it too!"
"It's... it's not that funny."
"I'm sure it is! They were all about to burst out, right?"
Gilgamesh's mind rushed through all his life. He had never, ever told a joke. Enkidu had for the most part no idea what a joke was. Then, suddenly, he saw it.
It was a stormy night in Fuyuki. He was watching TV, finalizing his plan for the Fifth Holy Grail War. He thought about all the different Servants who were summoned. Kyrie passed by.
"So what do you think of the Servants, King of Heroes?"
"They're all mongrels, apart from my dear Saber. However... that Berserker has piqued my interest... reminds a bit of that mad dog from last time... I shall crush him thoroughly, along with that Faker."
"You mean the Servant that Rin summoned?"
"I mean that mongrel who can only copy other heroes' weapons. Such a ridiculous power, a pale imitation of mine."
On the screen, a talent show was happening, with a comedian on stage.
"Are you still familiarising yourself with modern culture?"
"I'm still finding ways that it disgusts me. Look at this foolish jester... everyone could do his job better than him... even I."
"Oh really? Why don't you give it a shot then?"
"Kyrie... I can tolerate you disturbing me without my permission... but I can hardly tolerate you speaking to me so casually."
"My apologies, King of Heroes."
"Let's see..."
Back to the present...
"So... what do you use against a Faker who copies all your attacks?"
"What?"
"A copyright strike."
There was a single, eternal moment of silence. Everyone else glanced at each other, talking with their eyes.
"Do you guys know what this means?"
"Nope."
"No."
"I do and that's what makes it worse..."
Suddenly, a single laugh could be heard.
"Hahaha, nice one! That's a classic!"
"How did that work?"
"No idea."
"Me neither."
"No clue."
"I made the joke and I also have no idea how that worked..."
After lunch, everyone decided to relax. CasGil slept for a while as Lartoria looked over him, Galter explained a classic card game of his reality to Artoria, 25, and they played a few rounds with Jalter and Salter. Nero and Gilgamesh... talked. If saying a sentence every 10 minutes counts as talking.
Eventually, they ended up not talking at all. Nero rested her head against him as he hesitantly moved his hand across her head.
"Thank you. That really helps my headache."
"Why do you keep having migraines?"
"You can tell with your eyes, can't you?"
"I would never use them so carelessly. Besides, I'd like to hear it from you."
"... I guess it's a condition I was born with. I like to think that my head is so full of ideas that sometimes they burst out of it. It is useful, though. It shields me from mind attacks. My mother used to be able to ease up the pain a bit... but she was just using that to manipulate me... still, it hurts quite a bit..."
"I see... well, I have this thing in my treasury... I think it's... here..."
Gilgamesh opened a portal and a small necklace fell into his hands.
"May I?"
"Sure... That's pretty nice!"
"Feel your head now."
"It's... it's..."
"Yeah, it blocks out all sources of pain from the neck upwards, so I guess it shields you from migraines... it's nothing really, just-"
The King of Heroes couldn't finish as he felt himself nearly suffocating due to Nero pulling him by the neck.
"Thank you! Thank you!"
"It's... it's... nothing, really..."
Nero gently wiped her tears away and gave Gil a peck on the cheek.
"I'm... I'm glad you like it..."
"Thank you so much, you have no idea how much this means to me!"
"I truly don't... But you have to be careful, I advise you not to use it during battle... it's not indestructible."
"That's fine, I won't let anyone touch it."
"Hehe, sure..."
"I mean it!"
"I'm sure you do."
A couple of weeks later...
"Huff... huff... well, what do you think?"
"I can't go on any longer. What about you, Lion King?"
"If the fight drags on, I see no way I can win."
"That means that I won, right? Do I pass?"
"No... you have far surpassed that stage and my expectations... not only did you beat us, but you also did that without injuring us. You were capable not only of achieving victory, but the victory you wanted. Setting the conditions necessary to win is just as important as winning. Great job, King of Heroes. You're truly ready now."
"Let's round up the others, then. We can start travelling after lunch. We don't have much time left."
[...]
"... well, that does the trick. Hey, Gil! Back so early?"
"I manage to beat those two."
"Really? Amazing job! I'm glad we can count on someone as strong as you!"
"Is it really necessary to ruffle my hair..."
"More importantly, have you finished your task, Empress?"
"Yep! Sorry, Sleepy! I wasn't able to master my super-fast slash, but I did get pretty fast."
"That's satisfactory. As long as your general speed has increased, so has your the speed of every single attack you possess. Your top speed now is greater than your previous one. That's already an improvement. Not everything needs to be replicable."
"I see, that's comforting. Oh, hey, Salty!"
"Am I interrupting something?"
"No, no, don't worry."
"What about your task?"
"I smashed that thing up into a thousand pieces."
"Was it hard?"
"Do you see me sweating?"
"Hmm, cheeky..."
Later...
"Ok, is everyone ready?"
"Yeah, we took everything we needed."
"You mustn't travel too quickly, or you'll be shot down."
"We already know that, but let's try not to take too long... I'm starting to grow tired of all these interruptions."
"Good luck, heroes. I shall watch over you."
"You're not coming to help us?"
"Not yet."
"Making us do all the work, huh..."
"I have to watch over other missions."
"Isn't ours the main one?"
"Shouldn't you be happy? That means you don't need our help to win... and to win the way you want to."
"We'll see, I guess."
"Well, we'll go now."
"Bye bye!"
"Good luck!"
"..."
"..."
"Are you sure it was the right choice to send just them, King of Uruk?"
"I can foresee that our other objectives will succeed if we operate like this."
"So why do you have such a troubled look on your face."
"Does it look like I'm troubled?"
"No, not really, but I can tell."
"You're a troublesome woman... truth is... I can't tell if they'll win or not."
"Then why were you so sure?"
"Because my younger self was so sure. Meaning that he can either see that future... or he's confident that he'll obtain it."
Back with the group...
"I'm glad we could spend some time together... although we mostly trained... but... I feel like we didn't really make any progress... we just sit down or do some things together... and I give her some gifts... but other than that... I'm none the wiser on her... I... I don't really know her... or any of them... I know their story... I know what they did... but I don't know them as people. What they like or dislike, what secretly scares them... what they really think about me... I know nothing..."
"Is something the matter, Gil?"
"Huh? Oh, no, don't worry, Nero."
"Mmm... well, if you say so..."
"... what do you like to do, Nero?"
"... that's a bit sudden, don't you think?"
"We spent our time together mostly either sitting on the couch or walking... we didn't talk an awful lot, and for that I'm sorry... I really want to know you better... like I did the day I gave you that necklace."
"Let's see... obviously, being an artist, I like creating masterpieces!"
"What do you prefer, sculpting or painting?"
"I've been perfecting my craft as a painter."
"Have you painted something already?"
"Yes, well, actually... I mean... not really..."
"... what's the matter?"
"Ehm... nothing... why do you ask?"
"Because you're looking away from me and you look pretty red."
"There... there's something I did... but it's pretty bad... you probably shouldn't see it..."
"You think I'm supposed to be some great painter?"
"You don't need to be a great artist to appreciate art."
"Well, I also have no reason not to appreciate you, so you can show me, don't worry."
"... it's... it's that thing wrapped in paper I put in your vault..."
"Oh, so that's what it was... let's have a look then..."
Nero curled up into a ball, hiding her face behind her knees, bracing herself for a negative comment. Gilgamesh tore up the wrapping and looked at the painting: it was a portrait. A portrait of himself.
"Oh..."
"I know, it's-"
"It's actually quite nice."
"Umu?!"
"Yeah, its quality is not something to be scoffed at... it's valuable on its own... and it's even more valuable because you made it... thank you, I shall treasure it."
"Are you serious?"
"Have you ever seen me joking?"
"You don't have to say it, you know..."
"I know, I just said what I thought."
"Thank you..."
"No, thank you."
"May I see it?"
"Did I say you could touch it, mongrel?"
"Hold on, Gil. If it's ok with you, I don't mind them seeing it."
"... fine. But treat it with the utmost care."
"Yeah, don't worry, we won't spit on it."
"Oh wow!"
"Yeah, I'd say that's pretty good."
"You are talented, Nero."
"You look more handsome in this than in real life..."
"Agreed. This one doesn't talk."
"Maybe it's like Dorian Gray. If we destroy his picture..."
"I ordered you not to touch it, damn it!"
"Hehe, I'm so happy..."
"Yeah, we can see that, you're beaming..."
"... what about you, Gil? What do you like doing?"
"I... I... well... I suppose I enjoy collecting things..."
"You're like a hoarder!"
"A hoarder?! Well, I guess that's one way to look at it..."
Eventually, they all fell asleep.
Gilgamesh found himself in a space that he couldn't quite make out, changing between a garden, a banquet, a desert and a busy street. He was unsure on what was happening around him, but he knew that he was no longer awake.
"How is it going, Father?"
Gilgamesh turned around or looked up or didn't move at all. Either way, he saw a glowing golden figure floating toward him.
"Is that you, King of Dreams?"
"You could say that."
"Artoria told me you had been killed."
"It's complicated. My human body died a few centuries ago and I was placed in the Throne of Heroes, becoming a Heroic Spirit. That part of me was killed by Alaya. However, the dream of Sandman, what people see when they think of me in their sleep, the idea of my existence still exist, therefore, this part of me, or I guess this projection of me is still alive, if you want to call it that."
"You're a shadow that reflects people's impression of your concept."
"Basically."
"I see. Your demise saddens me, so I'm glad we can still communicate in some capacity."
"I'm glad to hear that. I'm sorry. I wish I could have done more."
"You did more than enough, Artoria is in a much better place now."
"I see... well, what about you? Any news?"
"Well, there is something new..."
Some time later...
"Wow, that's lovely. I hope your love can keep growing stronger and stronger."
"Love, you say..."
"Yes, of course. Why not?"
"I'm not sure about that. I doubt I'd actually shed any tears over her demise... or over the demise of anyone, for that matter. Perhaps... I'm not capable of loving others the human way."
"I think you're selling yourself short, you admitted that you were saddened by my end, and you barely even knew me... everyone has their way of dealing with grief, and everyone loves a different way... you just need to realise what's yours."
"... who knows..."
"Don't you want to find out?"
"... I do."
"I'm sure you do. And I'm sure you'll manage just fine, King of Heroes. In any case, I hope to see you soon. Farewell, Father."
"Goodbye..."
Everything faded to black, then there was a light.
"... my son."
Gilgamesh woke up.
A couple of days later, they finally arrived to their destination.
The magnificent palace that once was and still is envied by all.
The Palace of Versailles.