Despicable Me

True Title: Gu Ming is a Stupid Child—Haha, I didn't say that.

－－－－－－－－－－－ The protagonist's setting and presence are too weak, so the author has decided to do something －－－－－－－－－－－－－

Saber and Lancer stared at each other silently.

From Lancer's eyes, the Knight King saw confusion and doubt. She knew that Caster's words had influenced him, causing him to question the path of a knight.

How should she answer him—or rather, how should she answer herself?

Should she tell him that her lifelong beliefs were correct? What a joke. Considering Lancer's experience, that would be a complete insult to his character and intelligence.

Should she tell him that Caster was right? Then what would she do next? Would she reform the path of the knight in her capacity as the Knight King, as Caster suggested?

But what right did she have to do such a thing?

The noble knight, the absolutely correct king—the ruin and decay behind these titles, the truth revealed by the final outcome of this path, how could she issue commands from a position of authority again?

Absolute correctness—but this correctness was merely the "correctness of a flawed ideal." Saber, who had realized this truth, couldn't verbally admit it...

Was there truly no way?

What would happen if she admitted it?

Hadn't the things she had always held onto already shown cracks when she saw Lancelot appear as Berserker, or witnessed the bond between the tyrannical King of Conquerors and his subjects?

If it couldn't be repaired, why not just break it and rebuild—Wait, what am I thinking!?

Caster's ** , Lord Lancelot's advice, Rider's reprimand, Archer's mockery, Lancer's questions—No, I can't keep thinking about this!

I must do something to distract myself, I must say something—What should I say?

—That's right! I'll use this to change the subject:

"Caster, why are you so determined to change the path of the knight?"

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－ Perspective Switch －－－－－－－－－－－－－

Jizi, who had taken in all the entanglement and pain of Saber and Lancer, should have continued to press her advantage at this moment, shattering their beliefs with sharp, cutting questions and then reshaping them according to her will.

But at this very moment, she too had fallen into a certain psychological problem.

That was the intense self-loathing that had been exposed since the character setting in the prologue, but had never really manifested—Jizi's own intense self-loathing.

After her mother's death before transmigration, she (who was then still a he) had become withdrawn, immersing herself in the virtual world and giving up on herself. It wasn't until her sister appeared that things slightly improved, but then that accident happened—which pushed her self-loathing to its peak.

She didn't like herself, hated herself, and even resented her own existence.

"If it weren't for me, Mother wouldn't have forced herself to maintain a broken marriage, leading to her death from exhaustion." "If it weren't for me, Father wouldn't have to worry about the relationship between his second wife and me." "If it weren't for me, my sister's eyes wouldn't have gotten hurt." These thoughts appeared in her mind more than once.

The saying "living is a waste of air, dying is a waste of land"—this was how she had always self-deprecatingly joked about herself.

But she also feared death—this cowardice made her hate herself even more. To deceive herself and make herself feel better, she had always told herself that she at least had to compensate for the harm done to her sister, so she worked desperately to do everything she could to make her sister's life better. Besides being available 24/7 to be ordered around and followed around the clock under the guise of "protection," she also made time to study medical knowledge. If she hadn't been killed by an electric iron, she had actually decided to apply to medical school—although she knew that with the current level of medical technology, her sister's eyes were unlikely to be cured, she had to force herself to do something.

And now she had an opportunity to atone for her greatest mistake.

"I originally thought I would risk everything to achieve this goal."

Of course, she had indeed done so, employing tactics to put herself in an advantageous position, forming alliances with other powerful individuals, using methods that could be called despicable to shake her opponents' beliefs and even sow discord, deliberately disguising herself as a character that others liked to make a good impression. The ultimate goal was actually to exploit them.

Yes, exploit...

Berserker and Rider should be able to contend with Archer. Lancer and Saber have a duel agreement—from the current situation, Saber has the advantage. Then Saber and Berserker will have another battle. After this series of battles, the last remaining opponent will surely have little fighting strength left. At that time, as long as she appears, she can easily win by getting rid of one more Ahoge.

Despicably exploiting...

She didn't have to do anything, just play the role of "their ally." She wouldn't have to risk any danger but could reap the fruits of victory.

If this script played out, it would definitely succeed. Then her sister's eyes could be cured. For that goal, she could do anything...

Then why did she feel such deep self-loathing in her heart right now?

If she could compensate her sister, wouldn't that give her a reason to forgive herself?

Or is this all just self-satisfaction?

No, even if it's self-satisfaction or self-deception, I really want to cure her—as long as the result is achieved, the motive and process don't matter, right?

Hmm, Saber, what are you saying?

Ah, so you want to change the subject? Did you think I hadn't considered this outcome before coming here?

To your question, let me continue to answer with a despicable deception—fortunately, I had planted seeds earlier.

－－－－－－－－－ Monologues are quite good, aren't they? Shakespeare's classics all have them －－－－－－－－－

Why change the path of the knight?

Hearing Saber's question, Lancer suddenly jolted awake and looked at Jizi with a wary gaze.

They were enemies—no matter how friendly Caster's demeanor was, it couldn't change the reality that they were fighting to the death for the one and only wish-granting artifact.

So what was Caster's intention in trying to shake their spiritual beliefs now?

Although it seemed that Caster would gain nothing, she was a witch!

During the long period from the dark Middle Ages in the West to the Renaissance and beyond, the fear and disgust of witches firmly occupied people's minds, becoming a common cultural phenomenon.

No matter what kind of person they were, no matter how they behaved in their daily lives, as long as they were labeled a "witch," everyone—including friends and family—would hate them.

This is the sorrow of civilization brought about by the long-standing dominance of church culture.

While the attitudes of these two knights weren't that extreme—Celtic mythology features witches in heroic epics, playing roles that are neither purely good nor evil—they possessed a deeper understanding of witches: that the words of a witch never mean only what they say on the surface.

Caster definitely has another motive—even if they don't know what it is, this gives the knights a reason to stop thinking about her words.

Seeing that Jizi didn't answer immediately, Lancer confirmed this, preparing a righteous interrogation to shift the atmosphere back from Caster's dominance.

"Why don't you answ—"

He stopped abruptly as soon as he spoke, the reason being the expression on Jizi's face—it was one he knew all too well, the source of the tragedy that had defined his life. It was the look of love, the kind that makes one feel as though they are in paradise even when walking towards hell, willing to endure all its suffering for the sake of walking with that one person.

It didn't make sense. Although she was a woman, humans with even a slightly higher magic capacity could be immune to the curse of this mark (Lancer didn't know Irisviel was an artificial human). With Caster's abilities, how could she be affected? Besides, she had been perfectly normal when confronting her before. There was no reason for her to suddenly—Huh? Saber, why are you suddenly stepping forward to join the commotion?

Clearly, knowing Saber's gender due to her own peculiarities, Lancer naturally assumed other Servants could see it too. Thus, he never considered Saber and Jizi together, attributing the situation solely to himself. He had no idea how misleading rare resources could be. Haven't you heard of the soul's Yooooooo dream?

Of course, one of life's inevitable three great illusions was also at play—she likes me.

"A knight must be loyal to love," Jizi's tone, matching her expression, was filled with deep melancholy. "But that love brought him tragedy—I think such vows that bind people should also be changed."

"Caster..."

"Rather, this is the very thing that needs changing the most! Look at it—whether it's Lancer, Lancelot, or yourself, it's all because of love and marriage... In short, if love doesn't bring a happy ending, why cling to it so tightly, right?"

Jizi's acting, which instantly broke through the heavens, successfully portrayed the role of "a maiden calculating for love." Her previously assertive attitude was mistaken for "overcompensating to hide shyness in front of her beloved." While creating psychological pressure and guilt for Saber once more, she successfully answered Saber's question, steered the topic back, and most importantly, teased Miss Artoria again. It was truly a case of killing four birds with one stone.

Forcibly suppressing the intense self-loathing that resurfaced due to her despicable actions, Jizi maintained an appearance of expectant worry, her gaze shy yet compelling as she forced herself to meet Saber's eyes. Beside her, Lancer, who had apparently conjured some elaborate scenario in his mind, also shifted his gaze back to Saber, waiting for her answer and urging her on with his eyes—a lustful gaze... I mean, an expectant one.

The first rays of dawn were about to break, and this troublesome night was finally drawing to a close—

I was forced to enroll in driving school... Sigh. Anyway, I won't have a car for many, many years. What use is a driver's license? I want a wonderful vacation where I can stay home all day and wake up naturally in the morning!

My broadband is having problems... Life without internet is so sad...

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