[What, indeed, is he hoping to accomplish if the end is, in some ways, a foregone conclusion? On most days, his view is so macroscopic he won't even notice the minutiae, and it still counts as witnessing.

But that's not what this is about. Once more, he finds himself watching over a handful of individuals - two kings, one student, and whoever else Chaldea ends up sending. Slowly but surely, he may yet be convinced to turn this into a long-term collab instead of a one-off thing.

Oh, if anything else, he wants to see how his student ends up blooming. That tree in the dreamscape remains a sharp image in his mind: elegant and enduring amidst the storm, and Merlin gives an approving smile at Watanuki's answer.]

Very good.

And you best mark your words. Not only are you contending with two sets of expectations other than your own, but we now seem to have a deadline. Even your dreams will be full of lessons, and you may as well set up a picnic blanket and a chalk board beneath that charming tree of yours.

[As if they hadn't started doing that, but Merlin will take the same approach as he had once done with Arturia if he has to.]