Chapter 514: Identities
"You knew her name?"
Oberon turned to look at Riezel and asked in a surprised tone.
"Sort of."
Riezel gave a vague answer, then looked at the three sitting on the grass and suddenly smiled.
"I also know the names of all three of you. Want me to tell you?"
"..."
Inside the cave, after Riezel spoke, what followed was not a flood of eager questions but rather a subtle silence.
At first, the three sitting on the haystack exchanged glances with each other, then turned their eyes to Riezel.
Among them, one had a sharp gaze.
Among them, one’s eyes were full of scrutiny.
Among them, one seemed about to speak, as if wanting to say something but not knowing how, looking completely conflicted.
In this situation, Riezel simply shifted his gaze to the little girl on his right, the one whose eyes were filled with scrutiny.
"You are Leonardo Da Vinci."
Riezel’s overly direct words left the girl stunned, and even Oberon looked surprised.
"Leonardo Da Vinci?" Oberon said in astonishment. "You mean the genius known for mastering everything?"
Artoria and Mash, on the other hand, were both at a loss.
One of them was a fairy from a Lostbelt, the other had lost all her memories, so naturally, neither could know who Leonardo Da Vinci was.
Leonardo Da Vinci was originally a man who was renowned in European history, active from the fifteenth to the sixteenth century, a genius whose impact on modern human civilization was second to none.
Some called him an extraordinary mind.
Some called him an omnipotent and universal genius.
In life, he was a powerful magus, but his achievements in magecraft were just a small part of his natural talent.
Besides magecraft, he also excelled in science, mathematics, engineering, natural history, music, architecture, sculpture, painting, invention, weapon development, and many other fields—he could even be called an authority in all these areas.
Especially in painting, he left behind countless masterpieces that would be admired for generations, such as the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper—these were his works from life.
As a Servant from Proper Human History, Oberon naturally could not fail to recognize the universal genius whose influence and fame in Proper Human History were so great, so when he learned that this little girl before them was actually Leonardo Da Vinci, he could not help but be shocked—until Riezel added one more sentence.
"Well, to be precise, she is an Artificial Heroic Spirit, a homunculus created by Leonardo Da Vinci, inheriting all of that genius’s memories and skills, and was left in Chaldea to work as a backup body."
Riezel’s frank words made everyone’s eyes widen in surprise.
"Backup body?"
Everyone looked at Da Vinci in shock, making Da Vinci lower her head, hiding her expression, but this reaction made Riezel’s eyes flash as he looked at her thoughtfully.
Chaldea had once summoned Leonardo Da Vinci as a female Servant, but that universal genius had sacrificed herself in a battle Chaldea had to face, and she was no longer in Chaldea now.
However, as a contingency, before her death, Servant Leonardo Da Vinci activated an Artificial Heroic Spirit she had prepared, awakening a homunculus that inherited all her memories and skills.
Simply put, this little girl before them was a Servant, but different from normal Servants—not a hero summoned from the Throne of Heroes, but rather a shadow of Leonardo Da Vinci, a copy of her.
As these things crossed his mind, Riezel suddenly stopped paying attention to Da Vinci and instead turned his gaze to the melancholic young man sitting on the left.
"You are Tristan."
When this name was spoken by Riezel, this time, Artoria finally reacted strongly.
"Tristan? He’s Tristan?" Artoria asked in disbelief. "Riezel, the Tristan you’re talking about... is that the one I know?"
Naturally, Artoria only knew one Tristan, and that was the lord of New Darlington in Faerie Britain, Queen Morgan’s adopted daughter, Fairy Knight Tristan.
Unlike the name Leonardo Da Vinci, this name was well-known not only to Oberon but throughout all of Faerie Britain.
But...
"He’s definitely not the Fairy Knight Tristan you know." Riezel glanced at Artoria and said indifferently. "I mean, the name ’Tristan’ was his to begin with, and that Fairy Knight only stole his name."
"Her real name is Baobhan Sith, and the name Tristan was given to her by Morgan to strengthen her powers."
"In other words, the Fairy Knight Tristan we know is only using the real Tristan’s name and powers, while the original master of those things is this one right here—a Knight of the Round Table, the actual Tristan."
A Knight of the Round Table, Tristan.
He was also a character from the legend of King Arthur.
He was a knight who loved music and singing, and his harp strings could not only kill but also delight others. He was also known for his beauty, said to be so great that even fairies would fall for him.
Countless stories based on this knight had emerged in all kinds of settings and spread widely across the world.
Regardless, his life was actually full of tragedy.
Not only did his mother die in childbirth, but his romance with his beloved was also seen as forbidden, leading to many twists and turns that all ended in tragedy.
Because of that, after the legend of King Arthur became widely known, Tristan became a symbol of tragic love, inspiring many poems and plays with him as the protagonist.
In some ways, those might even be more famous than the legend of King Arthur itself.
Because of his tragic life, some called him the most sorrowful knight, while others called him the child of sorrow, but one could not deny that he was an outstanding knight, or else he would not have become one of King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table.
It was also said that his archery was the best among the Knights of the Round Table, second to none, and his martial skills were so powerful that they even rivaled Lancelot, who was known as the greatest among the Knights of the Round Table.
"Actually, whether it’s Lancelot, Gawain, or even Tristan, these are all heroes from Proper Human History who followed King Arthur as Knights of the Round Table. They are famous heroes in human history."
Riezel continued to explain to Artoria.
"As for those Fairy Knights, all of them have different identities and true names. It’s just that most of those identities can’t be made public, so Morgan used the names of the Knights of the Round Table from Proper Human History to disguise them, turning them into the Lancelot, Gawain, and Tristan you know."
Riezel’s explanation successfully awakened Artoria’s memory.
She certainly knew that the Fairy Knights’ current names were fake.
Gawain was one such case.
Artoria had a history with the Fairy Knight Gawain, so she knew Gawain’s true name.
Because of that, Artoria understood that the names of the current three Fairy Knights were all false. She simply did not know those names actually belonged to the Knights of the Round Table from Proper Human History.
Now, after Riezel’s explanation, Artoria could not help but recall the life of her other self that she had dreamed of.
Under the command of that legendary king, there truly had been a Knight of the Round Table named Tristan.
Artoria recalled the appearance of that knight, and gradually overlapped that image with the melancholy, handsome young man before her.
Now, Artoria was certain that the melancholy, handsome man in front of her was Tristan, the Tristan of the Knights of the Round Table.
However, as Artoria recalled the matter of this Knight of the Round Table, a phrase surfaced in her mind.
—The king does not understand the hearts of men.
Upon recalling these words, Artoria felt inexplicably suffocated.
As a result, when Artoria looked at Tristan, her gaze shifted slightly.
No one noticed this change, not even Riezel, who did not realize Artoria’s strange mood and continued speaking.
"Tristan and Da Vinci—these two are both Servants."
"Of the two, one should have been summoned only recently, appearing after Chaldea landed because of their ties to this land, while the other is technical staff from Chaldea who accompanied Chaldea’s Master to this Faerie Britain."
As Riezel spoke, he turned his gaze toward the young man sitting in the middle, who looked the most ordinary and the easiest to fool.
"As for your identity, there’s no need to say any more, right?"
Indeed, there truly was no need to say more.
At the very least, Artoria and Oberon had already guessed it.
It was only natural.
Unlike Riezel and Mash, this young man could not hide his human identity for any special reason.
In the first place, the magical energy and scent on this young man, who looked as though he had never suffered any hardship, had already told Artoria and Oberon from the very beginning that he was human.
Given that, his identity was already obvious.
"You are Chaldea’s Master."
"You are a magus who can summon Servants, command Servants, and make them fight for you."
"Mash, Da Vinci, and Tristan—strictly speaking, all three of these Servants answer to you."
Riezel had appeared in front of the boy without anyone noticing, extended a finger, and tapped the crimson marks on the back of the young man’s right hand.
"And this is the proof—the command spells."
Yes, the crimson marks that looked like a tattoo carved on the back of the young man’s hand were indeed command spells.
However, these were not the command spells Morgan used to forcibly drain fairy magical energy, but the crystallization of magical energy that connected to Chaldea’s Heroic Spirit Summoning System, allowing their wielder to command, assist, or even strengthen a Servant.
Simply put, the crimson command spells were the solid proof of the contract and bond between Chaldea’s Master and the Servants from Proper Human History.
Because of this, the human young man before them could only have one identity—Chaldea’s Master.
"Your name is Fujimaru Ritsuka, the one who has conquered multiple Singularities and five Lostbelts."
Riezel smiled at the young man before him—Fujimaru Ritsuka.
"So? Does that ring a bell?"
Riezel’s question, unfortunately, received no response.
At this moment, whether it was Mash, Tristan, Da Vinci, Oberon, or Artoria, all fell silent and exchanged looks with each other in shock.
"...Master?"
Ritsuka simply stared blankly at Riezel, looking completely lost in thought, unable to react at all.
"Master..."
Mash, standing beside him, gazed intently at Ritsuka as a familiar feeling slowly welled up in her heart.
In the end, the entire cave suddenly fell silent, making the air feel heavy and stifling.
No one knew how much time had passed before someone finally broke the silence.
"So that’s how it is... My name is Tristan...?"
Tristan spoke softly, eyes closed, face full of sorrow.
"Indeed, this name sounds very familiar, almost makes me want to respond instinctively... It seems that all of you are not our enemies."
It was not surprising that Tristan said this.
In a situation where one had forgotten everything, suddenly being surrounded by people who claimed to have saved you was, after all, not something one could trust so easily.
Whether it was Tristan or Da Vinci, up until just now, both had been watching Riezel and the others, trying to judge whether they were friends or foes.
Now, with Da Vinci remaining silent for the time being, it seemed that Tristan had come to a conclusion.
"It’s good that you understand." Oberon immediately spoke up at just the right moment, smiling with a hint of emotion. "Still, I really didn’t expect that after Chaldea arrived in Britain, Tristan was summoned as a Servant. Honestly, this is something worth celebrating."
It was not strange for him to say this.
Nearly every Knight of the Round Table was a heroic warrior, and even among these powerful heroes, Tristan was one of the most outstanding, possessing great strength.
To be able to summon such a Servant as an ally was undoubtedly something to be happy about for anyone wanting to overthrow Morgan.
"...Even if you say that, I don’t feel like being praised at all when I can’t remember anything. It’s honestly pretty sad." Tristan let out a long sigh, the air around him becoming even more sorrowful.
"Well then, what about this young lady here?" Oberon turned to Da Vinci. "You’ve been quiet this whole time, and even when you heard your own name and identity, you didn’t react. Could it be that you can’t accept it?"
Hearing this, Da Vinci lifted her eyes and looked at Oberon.
Before long, the girl finally spoke, her youthful voice echoing through the cave.
"No, it’s just that it doesn’t feel real to me yet... Sorry, I couldn’t give you any kind of proper reaction."
As she said this, Da Vinci wore a gentle smile that was both innocent and mature, giving off a deeply contradictory feeling.
"And what about Chaldea’s Master over here?"
Oberon gave Da Vinci a deep look, then turned his gaze to Ritsuka.
Strictly speaking, this young man was the most important one here because, as the Master, Ritsuka was the central figure for Chaldea’s side.
In other words, Ritsuka was the leader of the Chaldea group.
For Faerie Britain, this young man was also of critical importance.
It was only natural, since the so-called foreign traveler mentioned in the Mirror Clan’s prophecy referred to none other than this seemingly ordinary and unassuming Master standing before them.
He was the one who, according to the prophecy, would be the foreign magus who would assist the Child of Prophecy.
Having realized this, the look in Artoria’s eyes as she watched Ritsuka changed.