Aleister, I Understand You!

Full chapter title: Aleister, I Understand You. The feeling of knowing everything yourself is just too great, and a twenty-character chapter title is nowhere near enough for me to play with. Why would anyone want to eat it? If you really don't want it, just give it to me.

The renowned Knight King, the hero who saved Britain from disaster, martial prowess unmatched among armies, and legends steeped in myth—all of those gathered in one person. Some folklorists even believed that rather than being the protagonist of a heroic epic, King Arthur was more likely a deity from Celtic mythology whose true name had been lost.

But regardless of how many halos surrounded her, this girl named Artoria was, frankly, rather hopeless when it came to emotional intelligence...

You could infer as much from those two utterly screwed-up love stories in history. Whether it was Guinevere or Morgan, their love... or rather, their yuri bond, did not end in any heartwarming fashion.

So after hearing Jizi's declaration of love, coupled with that genuinely sincere look in her eyes, Saber truly did not know how to respond for a moment.

Her lifelong masculine way of thinking and the upright, kind conduct expected of a knight made her unwilling to hurt a girl's fantasies about love. Yet she also did not want a girl to waste her youth on a dream that would bear no fruit—though, generally speaking, Heroic Spirits' youth had already expired centuries ago. Deep down, she leaned toward telling Caster the truth, but her current position forced her to hesitate—Caster's love was undoubtedly sincere. With just one word from her, their side would gain another Servant's support in this Holy Grail War. They could practically be said to have already won.

But that would violate the knightly creed of being faithful to one's love and respecting women—though if she sincerely treated Caster as a lover too, then it could not be called deception, could it? She had never personally admitted her gender, after all...

No, such self-deception was not something a knight should do. She should tell the truth. This Caster did not seem entirely irrational; she probably would not turn hostile over this... right?

No matter what, it would be better than this awkward situation. At worst, they would cross blades, which was what they had been going to do anyway.

After taking a deep breath, Saber spoke.

"Caster, actually, I am..."

"Wait, my king! There's no need to rush to give me an answer!"

"What?!"

Wasting someone's emotions after they had finally finished struggling with themselves was just as satisfying as wasting their expression while taking a photo—by Jizi.

----------Jizi's Perspective---------------

Oh my, that expression. Saber, had you fallen into meaningless hesitation again? You could not bear to hurt a maiden's feelings. You were far too gentle, far too kind. It was precisely because you always did not want to hurt others that you eventually earned the judgment of "not understanding people's hearts"! Sometimes disputes and conflicts were necessary between people.

Mm, it looked like she had reached a decision now. But I was not going to let you off that easily. Her favorability had risen already; if I made her feel a little guilty toward me as well, that should greatly deepen the impression, right? That would make the arrangements afterward much easier. Hehe.

I'll cut her off here first!

"Wait, my king! There's no need to rush to give me an answer! In truth, that confession just now was too impulsive. The emotions I had suppressed for so long needed an outlet. Please forgive my earlier impropriety. As a king, marriage and love are not things you can choose as you please. I understand that very well. Besides, you do not know me at all. I spoke so resolutely before, but after calming down, I realized that perhaps I would not make a good Queen Consort. And you do not love me either. Even if you did, as the saying goes, falling in love is easy, but getting along is hard. I cannot guarantee the many things that would come afterward. I only wanted you to know that there is a girl who loves you. I do not actually care that much about your answer. This is enough."

"I said a whole lot that even I do not know the meaning of. Please do not mind it. Allow me to take my leave for tonight."

---------Switching Back to the Yuri Duo's Perspective-----------------------

"This Saber... Caster might unexpectedly be quite innocent. She was really shy just now, wasn't she? Such a good girl, you..."

"Airi, I will handle this properly. Let's go back too."

----------------Scene Change-----------

Kariya Matou was a pitiful and tragic man. At the same time as his love life failed, his relationship with his family had also reached the point of a complete falling-out. Furthermore, although he accepted the choice of the woman he loved, deep within his heart he still harbored profound feelings for her. Yet for her happiness, he chose to leave.

Doesn't that make him sound like one of those miserable second male leads in novels with female protagonists? The kind who got handed good-guy cards until his hands went numb!

Forget it. Anyway, Uncle Yanye's tragedy was not something I could casually comment on. What I wanted to say was that this guy, who merely wanted to protect a loli... ahem, who wanted to protect the daughter of the woman he deeply loved and the man he swore to kill—wait, doesn't that sound even more tragic?! It felt even more tragic than becoming a father against his will, didn't it?!

I got sidetracked again... In short, this guy was currently dragging his crippled body along a rarely traveled path, even during the day, and limping toward the Matou Residence. The body that had been modified just enough to qualify as a Master was deteriorating even further under Berserker's expenditure tonight.

But for Sakura, for Aoi's happiness, this life of mine...

"Even if you throw away your life, you still won't be able to do it. Neither Mrs. Tohsaka nor Sakura can be saved by you."

That cold voice sounded painfully grating in the empty night.

---------Why Are There So Many Dividers in This Chapter------------

The tall humanoid shrouded in black mist brutally swung the water pipe he had just torn off. Jizi rapidly retreated to evade the strike, then flung several fireballs at the black knight chasing after her. Yet the moment they touched that black armor, they bounced away. A trash can innocently caught in the crossfire melted into a puddle of iron with a sizzling sound.

"Seriously, what kind of stat allocation gives you this speed and strength, plus that ridiculous physical and magical defense?!"

If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.

Forced into a position where she could no longer dodge, Jizi could only use the Ruyi Jingu Bang to take a heavy blow head-on. The tremendous numbness running through her hands forced her to drop her weapon, and then she took another upward swing.

"Fuck! That hurts like hell! Damn double sensory perception." (Why didn't you say that when you were dominating Assassin last night?)

Enduring the intense pain as she regained her balance, Jizi's field of vision was once again filled by that water pipe, complete with an enlarging visual effect.

"Damn it, again?! Even a clay man has some temper! Not to mention that I'm probably made of wood!" (The real body is a mask.)

Jizi crossed both hands over her head in a defensive posture. But if even the Ruyi Jingu Bang, as sturdy as a meteorite, could not withstand that force, how could those slender arms possibly block it? If Berserker had been conscious, he would probably have mocked his opponent's intelligence.

However, that guy seemed to be clutching a red-and-white little ball in his hand?

"Pokeball, Counter, blast him to death!"

This one-use Pokeball containing a Wobbuffet had been instantly created by Jizi using the Command Seals on the back of her right hand as a source of Mana, consuming two Command Seals. Otherwise, crafting items came with all kinds of drawbacks: it took a long time—around ten minutes—could not be interrupted, consumed a great deal of Mana, had a shelf life of around six or seven hours, and was a consumable that disappeared after use. But it still had its strengths: it could be prepared in advance and activate its effects directly! So no matter how good your equipment or how strong your skills are, I'll crush you with item builds—let me catch a glimpse of the world of pay-to-win players too!

Jizi swiftly rushed past that idiot who looked as though he had just smashed himself in the head with a club. Without giving him any time to react, she placed her blade against Yanye's neck.

"I only wanted to have a talk! Why did you suddenly start attacking me?! Can't we just play nicely together?!"

-------------I Really Am Not Someone Who Likes Abusing Dividers--------

"Fine, fine, I apologize for that taunt at the beginning. But those two hits hurt plenty too, so we're even, okay?"

They had moved to a bench set up along the street. Jizi and Kariya Matou sat shoulder to shoulder in a very "intimate" manner, and Jizi even had an arm draped around Yanye's neck like a true "bro."

"What... do you want to say?"

Although the other party had put away her blade long ago, Yanye did not think the slender, beautiful hand around his neck would have any trouble strangling him to death. So, quite rationally, he had Berserker dematerialize and stand by some distance away. His life had long ceased to matter, but he could not die so casually. Besides, the other party truly seemed to want negotiations.

"I put considerable effort into studying every pair in the Holy Grail War, including you, Mr. Yanye. You could say I know everything about your path of love and what you want to obtain from the Holy Grail War."

"..."

"Do you really think that giving the Holy Grail to that old undead bastard will make Sakura happy?"

"How do you..."

With one sentence, Yanye went from wearing a noble, aloof expression to looking like some lust-crazed whatever. Under Jizi's forceful restraint, he somehow broke free with both hands, seized Jizi by the shoulders, spun around, and pinned her against the bench, his eyes blazing with the flames of desire...

"Don't rush, Yanye. The night is long, and we have plenty of time."

--------The Last Divider-----------------

Behind the scenes:

Yanye: "Were those flames of lust? Those were shocked eyes, okay?"

Voice of Heaven: "Didn't you want to know Caster's objective at the time?"

Yanye: "Of course I did."

Voice of Heaven: "The desire for knowledge is also desire."

Yanye: "Fuck!"

Jizi: "And me! That last line made me feel the author's intense malice!"

Voice of Heaven: "Anyone who cares about the details can go freeze frogs at Misty Lake."

Jizi and Yanye: "Those aren't details, damn it!"

(The unsegmented one at noon was the result of me suddenly deciding to log into Qidian's desktop site with an Android phone to upload it—better not do that again in the future...)