“Matou Kariya, you still bear the Matou surname.” Kuonji Yuzu said calmly: “Escape will not solve the problem, why not shoulder the responsibility of Matou as well.”
"If you hate the Matou family's magic system, then you, as the inheritor of the seal, have a good opportunity to change it."
After saying this, Kuonji Yuzu slowly passed by Matou Kariya and gently placed the Magic Seal on the sleeping child in front of him. A thick fog gradually rose and enveloped Kuonji Yuzu's figure. She gave the order without giving any objection:
"To inherit the Magic Mark, you can ask for help from the manager of Fuyuki City, your...classmate."
Ah……
In the thick fog, the witch's figure gradually disappeared. Matou Kariya slowly took the magic seal from the sleeping Matou Shinji, and clenched it tightly with his other hand...
From the beginning, there was no right to refuse...
……
On the other side, Victor was staring at the blond Saber, "Master, I don't understand what you mean."
"Ahem, what I mean is... I want to study the blood of the heroic spirits. Didn't you ask me to take some blood?"
For some reason, Victor always felt guilty, and his voice became weaker.
This made Saber frown slightly: "Master, with all due respect, it is not a good idea to indulge in research during a war, especially when it is still unclear where the enemy is."
"hold head high……"
At this moment, a figure slowly walked into the entrance of Liudong Temple.
Saber reflexively protected Victor behind her. With a whoosh, she raised the sword with both hands and held it upright in front of her. She turned it slightly - the invisible Wind King barrier suddenly whistled up, blowing her golden hair up. The next moment, Jiuyuan Temple Youzhu walked in lightly and looked at the two of them calmly and silently.
"Uh, you're back." Victor pushed Saber aside helplessly and waved.
"Hmm." Jiuyuansi Youzhu hummed expressionlessly, glanced around, and after realizing that Victor ran away without waiting for her, she rarely showed a trace of dissatisfaction: "Who is she?"
……
"Uh, Heroic Spirit? She's the Servant I summoned—" Feeling a hint of pressure, Victor's keen desire to survive instantly made him explain hastily: "Saber, come and meet me, this is my... um, companion, Kuonji Yuju."
"Arizumi, this is Saber, the Sword Servant."
"..." Kuonji Yuju was speechless. She kept staring at the other person, which made Saber, who had already realized that this was one of her own, feel a little uncomfortable. She hesitated for a moment, put down the invisible sword in her hand, and said seriously and uncomfortably: "I am the Servant Saber..."
"King Arthur." Unexpectedly, at this time, Jiuyuan Temple Yuju suddenly said: "So it's a woman."
"Ability has nothing to do with gender, ma'am!" Upon hearing this, Saber immediately retorted. She was not surprised why the other party could reveal her identity in one go. After all, this person seemed to have a close relationship with her master.
"I don't mean anything special. I'm just shocked by the discrepancy between the facts and the legend." Kuonji Yuju shook his head calmly and turned his gaze to Victor: "So, your goal has been achieved."
This also means that Victor needs to go back to...well, should it be the Clock Tower?
After Victor nodded, she continued to ask, "What about her?"
What she asked was about Saber's stay or departure and her identity. She actually didn't care about Saber's existence. What she was worried about was whether it would bring trouble to everyone if there was a problem with Saber's identity.
This is indeed a problem, because there is no way Victor would allow her to go back to participate in the Dead Apostles War. In other words, she can only be taken to the Clock Tower by the puppet, or travel. But in this way, her identity as a Servant may be hidden from most magicians, but it will definitely not be hidden from those who are proficient in the art of summoning spirits.
The characteristics and aura of servants made up of spirit particles are very obvious, and it is a pipe dream to want to summon servants without relying on any miracle. Even the pinnacle of spirit summoning today is just relying on mediums, or containers, for servants to possess, such as Sima Yi and Lanis, Zhuge Kongming and the princess, etc.
Therefore, if Victor wants to keep Saber with him openly, it would be best to give her a container or a human body, such as... an android?
"I can take her to the Einzbern family and rob them, or buy them some artificial bodies. But if I do that, not only will her artificial bodies look like the Einzbern standard, but their combat effectiveness will also be greatly limited."
As mentioned before, androids are a completely different branch route from dolls.
Unlike puppets that can be customized, such as the perfect version of Victor, which can fully unleash his full strength, the focus of android technology is not on this aspect at all.
"Speaking of which... does Aozaki Touko still owe me a request?"
Judging from previous battles, Aozaki Touko is indeed not very strong now, but she is definitely not weak either. According to the timeline, in another two years, she will be close to being designated sealed.
Now that she can create a weakened version of the Golden Wolf doll in just one week, it should not be impossible for her to create a weakened version of Saber.
Of course, or maybe just let Saber hide and stay in the spirit state to accompany Victor.
Once a servant transforms into a spirit particle state, it is difficult to be discovered unless there is special detection equipment and other servants. However, this method also means that Saber cannot appear in public, and there is still a chance of being discovered, although it is very low.
"Come to think of it, isn't it a bit early to say this now? Saber may not stay."
Victor suddenly thought of it and smiled.
"Hmm?" Jiuyuansi Youzhu was slightly stunned and said softly: "You didn't tell her, and she didn't find out?"
"What?" Saber gradually came to her senses and felt something was wrong. She was a little confused by their conversation: where to go, identity issues, and what she didn't notice?
Isn't she here to participate in the Holy Grail War? !
By the way, why don't these two have any tension about participating in the Holy Grail War?!
At this moment, Saber finally noticed something was wrong—her green eyes showed confusion and she looked at Victor suspiciously.
The latter, with his eyes squinting and dry coughing twice, suddenly said: "Saber, how about we talk about the blood issue again?"
Saber: “…”
120. I finally dealt with Saber, but who the hell are you, Liz Baife?
"Master, I hope you can explain it to me clearly—" Saber turned around and said seriously: "You don't seem to have any plans to participate in the Holy Grail War?"
Since servants are instilled with modern knowledge when they are summoned, Saber has some general understanding of many modern things, such as androids, dolls, and clock towers.
"It's not that I don't plan to participate in the Holy Grail War..." Seeing Saber's serious expression, as if he would not cooperate unless she said so, Victor helplessly spread his hands, saying that he would not pretend anymore, "It's just that the Holy Grail War hasn't started yet, so where can I go to participate?"
"Hasn't... started yet?" Saber blinked in confusion, a little dazed.
"You know about early summoning, right?" Victor wanted to explain, but then thought it was too much trouble, so he said directly: "Anyway, for some reason, I started the Holy Grail summoning ceremony in advance."
"So... how long is left before the Holy Grail War begins..." Saber actually didn't know what the heck was going to happen with an early summon, but considering the terrible curse in the other party's body, this statement didn't seem unacceptable, so she frowned and asked in a tight voice.
"Uh..." Hearing this fatal question, Victor looked at Jiuyuansi Youzhu for help, but the latter just turned around and went to check the mountain that was already a little shaky.
"Okay!" Victor said helplessly, "Five years."
"Five years... then..." Saber just opened her mouth, but suddenly she froze there... "Five... five years?!!!"
Then, a surge of anger rose from the bottom of her heart, causing her to involuntarily clench the Sword of Victory in her hand: "Master, do you know what you are doing?"
An invisible storm erupted violently with her as the center, and the magical aura filled with it once again told Victor how angry she was at the moment.
"You are playing with the obsession of a heroic spirit—" She closed her eyes in anger, and suddenly looked at Victor who had opened them. Her green eyes were filled with anger as she said, "You fooled the contract!!"
"Saber, the contract does not stipulate that I can only summon you on the eve of the Holy Grail War." Upon hearing this, Victor looked into her green eyes and said, "I only took advantage of the loophole in the contract to a limited extent. It does not count as a violation."
"you……"
"But I don't want to deny my fault." Victor raised his hand, revealing the broken Command Seal. Due to the early summoning, almost all of Saber's magic power for actions now must be provided by him.
"I am willing to repay you for the help I gained by deceiving you, Saber. I can honestly tell you that in the upcoming Holy Grail War, my combat ability will definitely be... top-notch."
Even without counting the bonus from the Dead Apostles and the Blood Ring Principle, Victor is confident that he can elevate himself to the top level of magic in five years.
"As the ace among magicians, I can even maintain your existence effortlessly. So, if you are willing, you can wait with me for five years. After five years, I will unite with you and give you victory as a reward."
To be honest, the compatibility between the two was definitely inappropriate, but compared to Kiritsugu Emiya's solitary behavior - Victor was at least willing to explain and show respect.
Besides, he really took advantage of the other party, so giving some kind of reward was his style.
However, although he was repaying the favor, in order to prevent any unexpected consequences to his plan, Victor did not tell Saber too much directly.
He really didn't care much about the Holy Grail, just like he didn't care about the fifth method. The third method, oh, the product of the third method, isn't there one lying here sleeping?
However, the Holy Grail is not important to him, but the Holy Grail War is very important.
Kenneth's defeat, the decline of the El-Melloi faction, and whether he can begin to intervene in the trajectory of the Clock Tower are all closely related to the Holy Grail War.
Victor's words were spoken sincerely, which made Saber's slightly angry expression calm down a little.
"Of course, if you want to go back to the Throne of Heroes and sleep, I won't stop you." Victor stretched out his hand and chuckled, acting quite free and easy... If Saber really insisted on going back to the Throne of Heroes, he really had no intention or need to stop her.
The only pity is Avalon.
It would be easier to summon a tool man or one with good compatibility when summoning again during the Holy Grail War.
For example, Karna and the like.
"Huh." Looking at such a frank young man, Saber was silent for a moment, her eyes passing through his body and staring at the scabbard.
The opponent summoned me through the scabbard, and the curse on the opponent has been basically purified. It is difficult to guarantee that the opponent will continue to play when the Holy Grail War really begins and choose to summon me again. If it is another magician, without the scabbard... the possibility of summoning me is also very low...
The most important thing is... it's not so easy to completely remove a curse that can be called a miracle. It has been basically completely removed, but even if there is only a trace, a billionth of a breath, it may come back. If I leave like this... without my own magic power supply, Avalon will not be able to protect this guy...
Finally, Saber lowered her green eyes, lowered her head, and raised it again to ask seriously: "I can stay, Master, as a return of the magic supply, and I will also protect your safety at all times."
“But I’m hopeful that we can reach some agreement.”
"Oh? You tell me." Victor immediately said that everything could be discussed.
"I hope to gain absolute autonomy..." She looked at the Command Seal on the back of Victor's hand and said pointedly, "Please believe in my principles as the Knight King. I will not disobey your orders, but that is on the premise that it does not violate my principles."
This request was beyond Victor's expectations. To be more precise, he didn't expect Saber to be so smart. In his impression, Saber should be an absolute fool...
"You seem to be very sure of my style of doing things?"
"I can't say it's certain." Her deep green eyes showed absolute distrust: "But your behavior so far makes it hard for people to be reassured."
"..."
Being able to deceive heroic spirits to achieve one's own goals, even if the other party's promise is true, his behavior is definitely not upright.
Saber does not have the ability to see through people's hearts, nor does she have the talent to identify and use people well, but she can accurately determine whether a person can become a qualified knight.
"Okay." Upon hearing this, Victor smiled and said, "Then, similarly, as my servant, I hope that no matter what, even if you disagree with my actions, you will not interfere with my judgment and actions."
Although the principle of non-interference seems to be true on the surface, it is obvious that the situation is absolutely beneficial to Victor, because as long as Saber wants to participate in the Holy Grail War five years later, at least his life will be guaranteed. In other words, even if he keeps doing bad things, he will have an extra trump card to save his life, unless he touches Saber's bottom line - and in some other things, such as saving people, he will also have an extra free labor.
Well, it can't be said to be free, after all, it cost a huge amount of magic power, but - the initiative is on his side. As a heroic spirit, the intelligence he obtains is limited, which gives Victor a lot of room for operation.
For example, if Victor wants to save a bad guy, he can just hide some facts about the bad guy and only tell Saber that he needs her to... save someone.
Good people are much easier to use than bad people.
"Of course, the contract is established." Saber thought about it for a moment and quickly agreed. In her eyes, as a servant, she should not interfere with the master's judgment and actions. At this time, she had not yet experienced Emiya Kiritsugu, and obviously had not thought about how much pain it would cause her if she could not interfere if her master's actions were too different from hers.
"Very good, it's getting late, let's go back and rest." Victor smiled happily, walked towards the exit, and suddenly turned back and said, "Oh, by the way, let's talk about the blood again?"
Saber: “…”
……
Victor and Saber reached a consensus, which meant that the matter in Fuyuki City had been resolved.
It's time for Kuonji Yuju to go home.
Although she was only away for two and a half days, she had to admit that she missed the black tea at home quite a bit.
Finally, the four decided to rest in Liudong Temple for an afternoon and set off again in the evening.
Saber was puzzled by this, but did not ask any further questions.
But a small accident happened on the way back to Ryudo Temple.
Victor sensed the call from another body, Altruci was waking him up.
"Yuzu, Saber, please look after him for me. I have something to do."
Considering the urgency of the war there, Victor did not give too much explanation. After hurriedly saying something to Kuonji Yuzu, he left the place first.
In the warm afternoon breeze, Jiuyuan Temple Yuju stared blankly at Victor's figure disappearing behind the trees, and tilted her head slightly.
Then, she silently took out a cat bell.
Together with Saber, he became alert.
……
In the blood-red castle, Victor, who had been dozing off, suddenly opened his eyes and frowned slightly.
Although consciousness can switch rapidly within one second, it is still a bit inconvenient.
It would be nice if I could do two things at once.
With this thought suddenly coming to his mind, Victor turned his head slightly, looked at Altluchi who was blinking beside him, and asked quickly, "What happened, Your Highness?"
"I just finished processing it. Phew, your Highness's contract technique is indeed as good as its reputation."
"Humph, of course. I am the ruler of the contract. It's just a few hundred years of ritual. I can't go... well." Hearing Victor's helpless voice, Artluqi wrinkled her nose proudly, and suddenly remembered something, interrupted her own topic, and said: "Our third line of defense has been breached."
"Further ahead is the area that Lord Black Wing is in charge of."
