Archer said nothing. His gradually furrowing brow seemed to show that he already understood the reason—or rather, the intent—behind her sudden proposal.
"That's right. What I mean is, would you like to join forces with me? I can offer better terms than your current companion. At the very least, I can provide you with a more capable mage than your current Master to form a contract with."
Archer frowned as though considering it carefully. Noticing this, Caster spoke again, patiently coaxing him. "Those are decent terms, aren't they? I've also made preparations to end this war. I told you already, winning would be easy. So, what do you say?"
Just as she finished speaking, Caster suddenly heard Shinji, who was hiding beneath a nearby wall, mutter something under his breath. Her teeth clenched at once.
At the same time, Archer seemed to have heard Shinji's muttering as well and burst into delighted laughter. "Hahaha, insatiable desire—what an apt assessment."
"You can hear that from so far away?"
Shinji looked somewhat surprised in the distance.
What Shinji had just muttered was, "She said she needed me just a moment ago, and now she's inviting someone else right away. Is this woman insatiable?"
Watching Caster grit her teeth again in furious indignation, Archer stopped laughing and said seriously, "I refuse. There is no reason for me to borrow your strength. First, your faction's combat strength is somewhat lacking. No matter how much you expand your forces, they cannot compare to Berserker alone. The conditions for cooperation have not yet been met."
After that, just as in the original story, the two sides argued for a while before Caster vanished and departed.
The only slight difference was that, at the instant Caster turned and disappeared, Archer looked at Shinji in the distance, curled