Destiny, Salvation, and a Deal

What?

Take Irisviel away! The Lesser Grail?

Saber's words were too blunt, not only making Shiki's eyes widen in surprise, but even Irisviel, sitting beside him, looked at her in shock, completely unable to understand why she would suddenly say such a thing.

"Saber, you!"

Irisviel couldn't help but speak, but Saber raised a hand to interrupt her.

"Irisviel, listen to me," Saber said, giving Irisviel a reassuring glance before turning to Shiki, her expression serious. "Young Shiki, thank you so much for coming today. To be honest, if you hadn't come, I wouldn't have known how to save Irisviel."

"Uh..."

Shiki put down his teacup, his mind filled with confusion. He wondered if he was still dreaming, how he could have encountered such an absurd situation.

Everything today felt too unreal, as if he were still asleep. But he knew that as an awakened one, he had long lost the right to dream; the price of traversing worlds was to become a dreamless person.

Looking at the serious and earnest Saber, he found it hard to comprehend her thoughts.

Save the Lesser Grail? What was she planning?

After thinking for over ten seconds, Shiki finally asked, "King of Knights, I'd really like to know your reasons for doing this. To be frank, we were already planning to take Ms. Einzbern with us today. Since you're proactively offering to let me take her, I'm even more curious as to why you're doing this, as it relates to my next course of action."

Shiki's direct words didn't anger Saber.

After all, it would be strange if someone knew Irisviel's identity and had no intentions. No one wanted to have their hard-won Holy Grail easily snatched away after a fierce battle.

Irisviel looked at Shiki, her gaze fluctuating slightly, but she wasn't angry.

Before coming to Fuyuki City, she had anticipated that such a thing might happen. As the Lesser Grail, this was their purpose and meaning of existence.

After Shiki finished speaking, silence fell in the room.

After a long pause, Saber sighed and slowly said, "I want to save Irisviel's life. It's not just because we are friends, but because I see Irisviel as my own child. I can't bear to watch her lose her life at such a young age."

"..."

Shiki almost thought he had misheard.

The petite King of Knights, Saber, before him looked like a high school student of sixteen or seventeen, about his age. How could she have a child?

And one that was the same age as Irisviel?

"No, that's not right..."

Shiki suddenly came to his senses. He remembered that although King of Knights Saber looked young, her true age was much greater than his.

To be precise, much older than his counterpart's age, or rather, older than the total age he had experienced across several worlds.

Saber, as if not noticing Shiki and Irisviel's shocked expressions, continued, "You should know the name Mordred. She is one of the representative knights of the Knights of the Round Table. She was created by my sister, Morgan, for a certain purpose, using my genetic material. Like Irisviel, she is an artificial human..."

"..."

Shiki felt an urge to complain, but didn't know where to start. The use of "she" was quite clever. He wondered if that Knight Mordred looked like Saber.

As Saber spoke, her voice was the only sound in the living room.

Initially, Saber was unaware of Mordred's existence because Mordred always wore a mask. Later, the highly competitive Mordred, in order to gain Saber's approval, voluntarily revealed her identity.

Only then did Saber learn of her sister's actions.

What followed was Mordred's efforts to gain the King of Knights' approval, but ultimately, due to her personality, she was only met with Saber's rejection. Saber believed she was not suitable to be her successor.

As a result, an incident caused by Lancelot led to heavy losses for the Knights of the Round Table, and Mordred took the opportunity to rebel, plunging the country into turmoil.

At this point, Saber's expression became very somber. "If I had treated that child as a father instead of a king at that time, perhaps the subsequent events would not have happened. In the final battle of that rebellion, my holy lance pierced her, and she also wounded me with her sword. I don't know if she is still alive..."

Saber paused, then looked at Irisviel beside her, her eyes filled with unprecedented tenderness. "I think that child might have hated me, her father, until the very end. But I hope she is alright. From the time that child was born until the end, it was less than ten years, just like Irisviel. That's why I especially hope Irisviel can live on and enjoy this beautiful world. Similarly, I hope that child Mordred is safe. After I return and resolve this rebellion, I will apologize to her for what happened before."

Shiki gradually began to understand King of Knights Saber's thoughts.

She had complex emotions towards Mordred. This might stem from herself, from her sister Morgan, and perhaps involved many factors such as the nation.

Seeing Irisviel, also an artificial human, she felt pity and didn't want Irisviel to die as the Holy Grail, wishing to save her.

Similarly, it could be said that Saber hoped to return to her world after the Holy Grail War to save her country and save Mordred.

"I understand the King of Knights' intentions, but why do you believe that letting Irisviel go with me will save her? I don't seem to have displayed any special abilities that would make you trust me so much."

This was also something Shiki had been unable to figure out.

They had never met before, nor had they fought. He was definitely no match for Saber, and his true information had not been revealed. How could Saber be so sure he could save Irisviel?

This was too absurd.

Facing this doubt, Saber simply smiled faintly. "Young Shiki, you underestimate yourself too much. Being able to restore Lancelot's sanity from the berserk state of the Berserker class is not something an ordinary Master can do. At first, I only guessed that this was a possibility. After meeting you in person, my intuition told me that you could accomplish this."

Intuition...

This ability was too overpowered.

Shiki felt a headache coming on. King of Knights Saber, with her Intuition skill, was truly formidable.

He hated encountering opponents with strong intuition the most, because no matter how much preparation he made, even if the opponent didn't know the specifics, they could still disrupt his plans based on their intuition.

However, he often forgot that his own intuition wasn't bad either.

After thinking for a moment, Shiki turned to Irisviel and asked, "Then, Ms. Einzbern, what are your thoughts? Are you willing to come with me?"

Irisviel was a bit dazed at the moment.

After hearing Saber's story, she understood why Saber cared about her so much and appreciated the other's good intentions.

But it was precisely those good intentions that left her flustered.

After all, leaving Saber to go with a stranger of a Master was a first for her.

They hadn't been separated since Saber's arrival.

After hesitating for a long time, Irisviel finally shook her head, "I, I don't know. But I think even if I don't agree, Mr. Shiki will still force me to go, especially since Saber won't stop him now."

She hadn't forgotten that Shiki had just stated plainly that their objective today was to take her, the Lesser Grail.

"That's right, I will take Ms. Einzbern. But King Arthur, what benefit will I receive for saving her? I'm not some kind-hearted soul who only gives without expecting anything in return."

Upon hearing this, Saber's lips curved slightly. She stared at Shiki for a moment before smiling and saying, "Since young Shiki considers himself not a good person, I'll take you at your word. Then, as the price for saving Irisviel, I can temporarily transfer the authority of Avalon to you. What do you say? Shiki should know about the legendary treasure Avalon, right? It's currently with Irisviel, and I have the right to decide its ownership during the Holy Grail War. As for what happens afterward, that will depend on your own abilities."

"Oh? So that's what it is."

Shiki's heart stirred. He had heard of Avalon's fame but couldn't recall its current location. He hadn't expected it to be with the Lesser Grail; it was truly an easily overlooked blind spot.

If he had known it was with Irisviel, he would have gone after Irisviel first before dealing with Archer, saving himself the trouble of finding Lancelot's Noble Phantasm.

But it was too late to say that now; Archer had already been dealt with.

Even if he only had authority over Avalon during the Holy Grail War, for Shiki, it was quite worth it.

However, it was hard to say how much of a role this treasure, exclusive to King Arthur, could play in his hands.

Unlike a Servant's Noble Phantasm, Avalon was a real treasure, a conceptual weapon, and it belonged to someone. Saber, King Arthur, and the King Arthur he knew were not the same.

Still, Shiki agreed immediately. They could worry about the future later; the priority now was to gain control of the Lesser Grail.

"Alright, I agree, King Arthur. I will save Ms. Einzbern's life."