Fate/Grand Order: the Path of a Sword

Chapter 22: S.P.Q.R. (Part 5)

"Hmm, it is great!" Claire said as she dived into the hot springs.

A little rest after returning to Rome was mandatory as the next move would be to declare total war on the United Roman Empire led by the Divine Ancestor Romulus. Every soldier in Rome would be deployed on that front and so Nero had given everyone free time to spend with their families since not everyone would return.

"I would have loved this kind of place during my life." Claire immersed herself in the hot water to her chin.

"Weren't there?" Nero asked, shocked.

"Unfortunately most of the territories were under the control of dragons and the kingdom where I lived did not have hot springs," Claire said.

"Now that I think about it, you're not a Heroic Spirit from this world," Illya remembered that her Rider Class Servant was her nephew from a parallel world, but she didn't know much else about him. "Can you tell me about yourself?"

Mordred was curious enough, too. She had known Rider Yuto for a long time and was curious to find out more about the woman Rider Yuto was obsessed with.

"I met Rider when I was a child. He saved me from bandits after my village was destroyed and I was captured. At that time, mages like Rider and I were enslaved or killed. He saved me and took care of me. We lived with little. We hunted for food and fought to survive. We were a real family, we did everything together and I liked it. Unfortunately, Morgan triggered a series of events that led to being who we are right now."

Claire said Rider "created" Dragon Slayer magic. It was actually more accurate to say it was a discovery because Yuto's original intent was to gain more power to be able to protect everyone.

"Ten years later, we worked as mercenaries to survive. We would take any kind of work for money, food, or anything else that would come in handy in our everyday lives. This brought us a remarkable fame that caught the eye of a disgruntled faction of the kingdom in which we lived. We were paid to take part in the uprising and kill the king and his whole family. That battle had another meaning for me since that scum slaughtered my parents."

Even now she could not forgive that man and still wished him to suffer the worst pains of hell. That night she released all the hatred she had, using her magic to slaughter every member of the royal family while Rider supported her.

He hadn't stopped her or made a moral argument about her parents not wanting such a massacre. The only thing he told her was that revenge wasn't everything.

"Just like him," Saber Mordred murmured inwardly.

"We won in the end, but the repercussions after those events are what shaped our world. After the death of the king and the extermination of the entire royal family, chaos broke out. Power struggles broke out and neighbouring countries attempted invasions. Rider fought to protect me, and eventually, he was elected King. He brought order to the kingdom again and began a series of war campaigns that allowed him to quickly conquer more lands. Shortly Rider became known as the King of Dragons."

"And what did you do?" Nero asked, intrigued.

"I supported him in every choice, even those I didn't approve of," Claire said, holding herself close. "I honestly didn't want Rider to become king for my sake. I was satisfied with the life we led."

Claire had no regrets about this. When Rider Yuto's choices were wrong, she corrected them or helped him correct them. On the other hand, Rider's bad choices showed that he too was human, but no one understood this.

"You're wrong, Mom," Martha intervened. "Dad did not become King for you. He did it for himself. He wanted a place where he could live in peace with the people he loves." She showed the guild symbol, which was blue and printed on his back. "However, such a utopia did not exist and so he decided to create it himself."