When he opened his eyes, he saw a ceiling fan spinning slowly.
Sitting up from the sofa, Naoki looked at the blanket covering him and glanced around.
"Where is this..."
"A hotel room."
Misaya's voice sounded. Naoki turned his head and saw her sitting on a chair by the window, flipping through a book in her hands.
Misaya closed the book and asked, "What's wrong? You look really out of it. It wasn't your head that got shot, so you're not going crazy, are you?"
'Got shot?'
Naoki carefully recalled his last memories.
'I remember I was fighting Emiya Kiritsugu, and I used my Mystic Eyes on him, then...'
"Then..."
"Ha, seems like you really don't remember anything." Misaya sighed, "Do you want me to explain it from the beginning?"
"Well..."
Pulling a chair closer, Misaya thought for a moment and then said, "You were attacked by Caster and her Master in this Holy Grail War. You fought a man named Emiya Kiritsugu and got shot several times before you managed to turn the situation around with your Mystic Eyes. That's the gist of it."
"Since I was drawn by the sound of your fight, I turned back from where I was supposed to be heading to find Rider. When I arrived, all I saw was you and another person lying unconscious on the ground. Shortly after I arrived, Saber also came, and she and I brought the two of you here."
"By the way, this happened two days ago."
What happened two days ago?
"So that's how it is... Then I really slept for a long time..." Letting out a soft sigh, Naoki nodded, "Anyway, thank you, Misaya, thanks for saving me."
"You're welcome. After all, it would be really troublesome for me if you died. So, if possible, I don't want to see you lying on the ground like a corpse waiting for me to save you again."
"It's not like I wanted that. What could I do if I got attacked?" Naoki smiled bitterly. "By the way, you just mentioned there was someone else... where is he?"
"He woke up yesterday and left a long time ago. I don't know where he went."
So Kariya has already left? That's good, after all, his Servant is Lancelot, and if he stayed with Arthur, who knows what would happen.
"Oh, there's one more thing. While you were unconscious, I managed to find the Rider you mentioned, and also contacted Lancer. They've already gone to Mount Enzou."
"Huh?"
Naoki was stunned.
"They went to Mount Enzou?"
Misaya nodded: "Of course, but it seems they didn't trust me completely. Although Saber confirmed it, I think their goal was to scout the area first. It's just..."
"They're going to die." Naoki said with a grim face, "Even if it's just scouting, they've entered Sajyou Manaka's territory. Given her personality, the approach she'll take is probably... to eliminate them all."
This is an undeniable fact. To Manaka, this world consists only of herself and Arthur. Everything else is unimportant, and unimportant things should be removed and destroyed.
Gritting his teeth, Naoki stood up and walked out of bed. He staggered, grabbed his clothes, put them on, and headed for the door.
Seeing Naoki standing up and preparing to leave, Misaya suddenly asked: "Are you planning to go there?"
"Mm."
"You're still seriously injured and haven't recovered. If you drag your half-dead body into this situation... you'll die."
"Maybe..."
Naoki took a deep breath and said, "But... I have to go too. After all, I am that person's Master. As long as I can still connect with that person, Manaka will be someone I have to face sooner or later. Besides, since Rider and Lancer have already rushed there, going there now would make it three against one – that's when our chances of winning are the highest."
"So, what's your best chance of winning?"
"I don't know, I just feel that way." Naoki sighed, "You said that Manaka has been continuously absorbing ley lines to restore her strength, which means she's getting stronger over time... I was delayed for two days by Morgan and Kiritsugu, and now there's no time for me to linger any longer."
"That makes sense... but can your body handle it?"
"This... I should be able to endure it if I grit my teeth. This pain is actually quite mild compared to Manaka's curse."
"Haha, you're really... unbearable."
As if having made a big decision, Misaya grabbed the back of Naoki's collar, and like a dominating female CEO facing a weak male subordinate, she threw him straight onto the bed and stripped off his clothes!
After being stunned for a second or two, Naoki immediately stood up: "Hey! What are you doing? Bullying me – Wait, are you going to set up some kind of weird death flag for me?"
"What weird thing are you thinking? I'm just healing you."
Rolling her eyes at him, Misaya straddled him and quickly wrote some runes on his chest: "With your body, you might cause a lot of trouble for others even if you go, so I'll write some healing runes on you so you don't die on the way."
"You're the only one I can rely on now. If I want to die, you're the only one I can count on right now. If you die, then I might not be able to die, so–"
Grabbing Naoki's collar, Misaya leaned in and said, "So, my life is in your hands. You have to kill me. If you can't do it, then even if you die, I'll use necromancy to summon your spirit and make it my pet. You won't be able to rest in peace even after death."
"Then I really want to say thank you! Based on what you said, I'll definitely make sure you die a death that can't be saved even by summoning spirits or reversing time. Just wait for your death calmly and go to the Western Paradise to become a Buddha!"