Chapter 23: Chapter 24: Dream

A white dove took flight in the bright sky. Haruki found himself following it from a fixed distance as if he was inside a third-person game. The flashing view of the vivid blue ocean left him breathless.

‘Is this Semiramis’s past?’

He associated everything dove-related to his Assassin Servant.

Soon, an island appeared in the distance. The dove landed on the coast where a black-haired girl sat with flocks of doves surrounding her.

‘She looks cute.'

“Come… h-here,” Semiramis said as she turned to him.

Her voice was beyond childish, and she stuttered; it was hard to find any resemblance between her and the woman he summoned except for their sharp ears and mesmerizing golden eyes. This was the result of living in the wild for a decade or so after her mother abandoned her. It was surprising she could speak a proper word.

‘She is the descendant of some mermaid goddess.’

Haruki watched as the dove snuggled up to her.

“A girl?”

Unfortunately, the moment was ruined by a middle-aged shepherd who had wandered far from his destination.

Semiramis didn’t seem excited to hear his voice. She slowly stood up and turned to face the shepherd.

“Mi-Mister,” Semiramis stuttered.

The shepherd gave a kind smile. “Are you lost?”

Semiramis fell silent.

Then everything became vague. Brief scenes of Semiramis’s life flashed before him. Her struggles from she learned to properly speak, to dealing with the children, who shunned her for her long ears. During all this, she was struggling with her inner demons.

Even then, her life wasn’t that tragic. 

Sure her mother abandoned her, and she grew up alone on an island. It was far from what happened to Sakura.

Haruki kept following Semiramis’s life as an old general came to meet her and fell for her beauty. That night, Semiramis sat in her small room as she admired herself in the mirror. After a long silence, she opened her mouth.

“Men are such pitiful creatures,” she mumbled with a cold expression. “Driven by their desires.”

“I will not succumb to them like my mother.”

“I will conquer them.”

“Rule over them.”

The turning point for Semiramis’s life was her first marriage. She couldn’t do anything right now. But it didn’t mean she was going to remain weak and let men control her life.

The dream ended at that moment. Haruki opened his eyes to find Rin, Medea, and Sakura around him. Medea was holding her chin, deep in thoughts. Rin coughed before she looked away with a tiny blush. Sakura pulled a picnic blanket out of her bag and unfolded it. Humming a strange tune, she spread it on the ground and opened the bento.

Haruki was used to the strange sight since it happened almost every day at the school. Except for the time they used the cafeteria for lunch.

“Rin Nee-san. Caster-san. Join us.”

Medea couldn’t help but find Sakura cute. She had an extreme weakness for all cute things.

Unable to resist the aromatic ramen, Rin sat down with a proper posture befitting her status. Haruki knew it was merely a front she put on for everyone. The real Rin was a bossy girl, who loved teasing her friends. Her true self was anything but elegant.

Medea also joined, and the four began eating. The sight of them sitting together was an odd one for sure. 

A magus from the Age of Gods.

A girl who could potentially form a contract with Angra Mainyu, the All World’s Evil. If the Counter Force didn’t exist, she could wipe out humanity.

Then there was Rin. A proud magus who sought Holy Grail just to appease her father’s soul in achieving what her father couldn’t.

All of them were here because of him.

‘A good thing, I suppose.’

After an uneventful lunch, Sakura packed up everything in her bag and looked at Haruki. She couldn’t just warn him when Medea was still around. Rin interpreted her hesitation as her reluctance to leave Haruki. Her position in Sakura’s heart was second to him. That much was clear.

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‘I deserve it for abandoning her…’

Deep down, she still felt guilty over everything. She shook off her gloom with a bright grin.

“Class is about to start.”

“Rin Nee-san,” Sakura mumbled with a soft smile. “Okay.”

Deciding to tell Haruki when Medea wasn’t around, Sakura took her bag. “Senpai, will you come?”

Haruki looked over his shoulder. He could feel Semiramis’s presence nearby through their connection.

‘She must be done with the temple.’

He shook his head. “Not now. I have to do some stuff.”

“Okay.”

“Wait,” he said and rubbed her head. “You worked hard. Don’t forget to rest, okay?”

Sakura was momentarily caught off guard. He was cherishing her more after his mother’s death. She just hoped this spoiling didn’t stop once he became successful in the war.

“I will,” Sakura replied, her chest fluttering with warmth. “You didn’t sleep last night.”

Suppressing her smile, Sakura gave him a suspicious look. “What were you doing?”

“Studying for the war.” He looked at Rin and mouthed to her to take Sakura and catch up about everything.

Rin tilted her head, not understanding his intention. After two more tries, she realized his motive.

Rin gulped nervously as she walked through the door with Sakura.

‘Hope she doesn’t give up.’

Rin had trouble connecting with others, so the chances were rather high.

As soon as the door closed, Semiramis materialized before him. “My master, did you have fun?”

“What do you mean?”

“You had a dream about my past. Did you not?” She grinned. “This connection between us is annoying, don’t you think?”

Through the bond, she sensed when Haruki accessed her memories.

“Your past doesn’t matter,” Haruki said in a firm voice. “All I need from you is your abilities as a Heroic Spirit.”

Semiramis looked at him in disbelief. Many men had asked for her love and her beauty, but he was the first man to ever ask for her power. As if her beauty didn’t enter his eyes.

“As long as I get my wish, I will gladly lend my strength to your cause.”

“And what is that?”

“To rule the world,” she said, giving a calm smile. “To become the Empress of this world. A Ruler.”

Her ambitions triggered something in Haruki. His magical energy pulsated as if it wanted to break free and attack Semiramis.

“Dragons are conquerors,” Arch explained. “Tyrants. Brutes. They never share their throne.”

‘I don’t want to be a tyrant though.’

Tyrants never lived long. He, on the other hand, wanted to live hundreds of years with his family. Dragons could live longer than that in Nasuverse.

“What if the tyrant has absolute strength? Will his subjects rebel?”

'No. They won't,' he sighed. 'It'll be a long time before I'm anywhere close to absolute.'

“Indeed.”