Rumor Has It That Protagonists Under Dian Niang Are All Oscar Winners

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger."

"..."

"I am truly fearful and awestruck, but this is all for the grand plan. I hope you can understand."

"..."

"I am immensely grateful."

"..."

"I will obey your will. There will be no next time."

Wiping the cold sweat that had beaded on his forehead, Tokiomi Tohsaka let out a long breath. He had finally managed to placate his Servant, ensuring their greatest trump card remained hidden. However, the cost was one Command Seal and the ill will of the King of Heroes.

While a powerful Servant certainly guaranteed a greater chance of victory, being too strong also brought the drawback of an inability to cooperate. With Archer's Independent Action skill at Rank A, he could still barely follow Tohsaka's plan, but only because his interest in Tohsaka hadn't completely waned.

Archer acted on impulse, while Tohsaka wanted to control the King with his own will. The rift that already existed between them had only widened.

However, for Tohsaka, who was too inhuman to understand due to his adherence to the "orthodox path of magecraft," these were things he couldn't perceive.

Now, recovering from his tense state, he asked his disciple, "What about Assassin? Any progress?"

"She was discovered while searching for Caster."

"What!" Tohsaka was startled again. If the information about Assassin's non-elimination leaked, his "perfect" operational plan would be ruined. "Why didn't you report something this important sooner?"

"My apologies, Master." Kirei Kotomine replied in his usual monotone, making it impossible to tell if he was genuinely sorry. "It's because I didn't believe the situation was particularly urgent at the time."

Tohsaka remained silent, nodding for Kirei to continue.

"Caster did not discover Assassin's identity. Furthermore, he is a mentally deranged lunatic who revealed his true name himself. He is Gilles de Rais, a general under Joan of Arc. He should currently be manifesting in a fallen state after Joan of Arc's death."

"Oh, I see. Then what is Assassin's current situation?" Tohsaka continued asking as he processed the information.

"Caster has the ability to summon powerful familiars, and Assassin is currently surrounded."

"Where is she now?"

"Near the outskirts, close to the Einzbern castle. Originally, she seemed to plan on luring Caster there to have Saber confront him, using the opportunity to escape while also gathering some intel on Saber."

Weighing the situation quickly in his mind, Tohsaka found no fault with Assassin's strategy and instructed, "Let her proceed as planned, Kirei. You may use a Command Seal to assist if necessary."

"As you command, Master."

Tokiomi Tohsaka did not notice the ambiguous glint in his beloved disciple's eyes, hidden as they were by his bowed head.

"Is that so? The truth is actually like this? Ah~ what sorrow, what pain! After the heavenly gods arranged such a tragic fate, must they also strip away that beauty?"

The stage was made of broken stones and tiles, the audience was grotesque monsters, and the lighting was the cold silver moon. On this theater, a man who looked more like a demon than his summoned creature performed like he was in a musical, his voice like a choir, his hands clasped to his chest as he exaggeratedly acted out an unknown script.

"You needn't dwell on it, my friend Gilles. As long as the heart remains, the outward appearance is of no importance."

The one acting opposite the strange man was a figure completely covered in a black robe, their head hidden by a mask and hood. However, from their clear voice, one could tell it was originally a girl.

"Ah~ you are so compassionate and kind. Even when crushed by cruel fate, you have not lost that pure radiance. It is precisely this radiance that makes me, incredibly, incredibly..."

The man extended his claw-like hand and walked towards the girl, one step, two steps, like the steps of a devil.

"Gilles, blindly trusting another person without your own thought is foolish. If everyone hadn't been so superstitious of me back then, we probably wouldn't have lost the war without me."

The girl crossed her arms and turned away, speaking to the starry sky while subtly stepping a few paces away from the man.

Ah, why has it become like this?

The girl, Jizi, thought this as she continued to deal with Caster.

Actually, it wasn't a long story...

Surrounded by tentacles and a creepy old man, about to have her mask removed and her true identity exposed, possibly leading to some perverse scenarios—was she really going to accept this future willingly?

Of course not!

Countless thoughts flashed through Jizi's mind in an instant. Then, her logical circuits quickly organized the scattered thoughts into a concrete plan, and finally, she selected the most feasible option—

It was a skill that every transmigrator possessed: The Actor!

How could one be a transmigrator without knowing how to feign weakness? How could one be a transmigrator without knowing how to play the pig to eat the tiger? Although Jizi's current situation was more about playing the tiger to scare the wolf, most worldly principles were the same, so it should be fine!

And so, the "Oh, hello Gilles, long time no see, it's not that I like wearing this mask, it's just that my face was so badly burned during the auto-da-fé that I wear this mask to protect others' eyes, hahahahaha" grand operation began.

While using this hastily fabricated excuse to fool the handsome Gilles, Jizi also sent a distress signal to Kirei Kotomine, reporting her current situation and subsequent plan at the fastest speed possible.

After all, whether she could fool him was uncertain. Obtaining the assistance of a Command Seal was the best way to escape.

The subsequent development was so smooth that Jizi herself couldn't believe it. Handsome Gilles seemed to have no suspicions. After hearing the story Jizi made up, he appeared deeply moved, shedding tears and cursing the gods.

If you can't find the book by searching the title, you can try searching for the author. Perhaps the name has just been changed!

Jizi was happy to play along with him to stall for time. Speaking of which, why was Father so slow? Did a single Command Seal really require so much deliberation?

Turning the scene back.

Jizi took a step back, narrowly dodging Caster's claws. However, Caster was not deterred and continued to advance. Jizi had no choice but to keep retreating.

"My holy maiden, why do you avoid me? Do you perhaps despise my fallen state?"

"This... Gilles, while I understand the pain in your heart, venting your anger on innocent children is truly beneath your heroic reputation! I'm sorry, but I can't treat you the same way I used to."

During the exchange of words, Jizi was gradually cornered with nowhere left to retreat.

"I am truly regretful, but there's nothing to be done. However, it's alright, I won't mind, because my Saint, my Saint she—"

With two large eyeballs bulging outwards, Caster yelled with a ferocious expression:

"My Saint is not you at all! Liar!"

From behind, above, below, and directly in front of Caster's advance, countless tentacles erupted and stretched out, targeting Jizi, who was completely surrounded.

"Impersonating my Saint, that crime alone is enough to sentence you to the most brutal death penalty! Not to mention forcing me to play this disgusting act with you to ensure you had no escape!"

Jizi, who seemed to be pushed into a dead end, responded with—

"You're stalling for time, don't you think I can do the same? Marbo's Command Seal buff is finally here. Goodbye, **!"

The previously faint magical aura surged in an instant. Jizi leapt into the air, evading the tentacles attacking from the front, back, and below with a height far exceeding her previous level. As for the ones from above, Jizi skillfully dodged them, even using the tentacles as stepping stones to jump further away, making it impossible for Caster to catch up for a moment.

"Aaaahhh! Die! Woman! I've decided, I will treat you to the absolute finest death, a terror so imprinted on your soul that you won't forget it even when you return to the Throne of Heroes!"

"Heh," Jizi, having escaped danger, twisted her body in mid-air to face Caster after hearing his threat, giving him the middle finger with both hands.

"Face me head-on!"

"Clang!"

The crisp sound of something shattering put the Einzbern castle on full alert.

The initial excitement of experiencing the outside world had faded with time, and now her body was overcome with fatigue from the long journey and exhaustion. However, even so, upon sensing the castle's magical barrier being broken by brute force from the outside, Irisviel adjusted her state as quickly as possible, preparing to deal with the attack.

It's fine—the Holy Grail War has just begun, this should just be a probing attack. And even if something unexpected happens, Saber is here.

Opening her bedroom door, the armed maids running in the hallway bowed their heads in greeting and made way for their mistress. These were the very people who had protected her safety before, but now Irisviel couldn't entrust this task to them. Because the enemy they faced this time was different from any before. The only one who could protect her—

She hurried towards the foyer with a near-running pace. There, she saw her knight, who had sworn to protect her, fully armed and ready.

"Iris!"

"How is it, Saber? Have you made any assessments?"

Her knight wasn't particularly skilled at reconnaissance, but with the enemy at their doorstep, sensing their strength from their magic and aura should be possible.

"Two presences, but neither has a clear killing intent towards us. It seems there's more to it. What should we do, Iris?"

"Let's go out and see, Saber. At least we need to understand the basic situation."

Saber nodded, raising her own aura as she walked towards the main gate. Irisviel also hurried to her side, forcefully suppressing her unease, and gave Saber a smile:

"Can you bring me victory, my knight!"

"I fight for you, my lady!"

When the door connecting the hall to the outside was finally opened, Saber and Caster's eyes first fell upon a terrifying-looking man standing on the tentacles of a colossal jellyfish. He also turned his gaze towards them.

Then, the man froze in place for several seconds as if electrocuted, and then shouted with ecstatic joy:

"Ah~ Is this another farce designed by the wicked gods? But it's alright, this time I definitely won't let your schemes succeed again!"

"I will save that maiden's fate from your hands! I will embrace her! I will obtain that light and purity!"

"Long time no see..."

"My—Saint—Maiden—Ahhhhh—"

① Because the Einzbern family possessed the Lesser Grail, Tokiomi knew that Assassin's feigned death wouldn't be hidden from them, which is why he agreed to let Jizi lure Caster there.

Ps1. Since both "Fantasy Kaleidoscope" and "Garden of Avalon" are out, I'll chime in too.

Ps2. As the ancients wisely said, you only regret not having enough books when you're reading, and not enough money at the end of the month.

Ps3. I suddenly want to wish everyone an early New Year.

Ps4. Happy Christmas, New Year's Day, and Spring Festival.

If you can't find the book by its title, try searching for the author. Perhaps they've just changed the name!