Or, you guys find another savior

Helping Xi Jianxi and Morgan wasn't without its benefits.

After the previous battle, Artoria knew Morgan wouldn't be easy to deal with, and even if they ended up as enemies, she would need more thorough preparation.

Any Master who rashly tried to sneak attack Morgan would likely fail to achieve their objective.

"But how did you know where my Master was?" Artoria's second question.

Morgan chuckled dismissively, "One should gather intelligence before the Holy Grail War begins. The Einzbern family came from Germany to participate in the Holy Grail War in Japan, so they must have their own base. It's not difficult to obtain this information."

Speaking of which, Morgan still hadn't turned around, her gaze fixed on Xi Jianxi's drowsy face.

"Since you already know where your Master is, you can leave anytime you wish. Tomorrow, I will wait for you and your Master to arrive, along with Tianxi."

Returning from Miyama Town to the Einzbern Castle didn't take much time for Artoria.

That was her plan as well.

"I'm deeply grateful."

Artoria never expected to say such words to Morgan from her own mouth one day.

However, until she left the room, Morgan didn't look at her, merely leaning back on the sofa with a contented air.

"You should get some sleep too. I'll be responsible for monitoring the surroundings. A mere Lancer is no match for me."

Sakura and Karen had already gone to sleep, and Xi Jianxi was also very tired, so Morgan would stay here to watch over them.

Whether as a Servant or in some other capacity.

"Then... I'll be counting on you." Xi Jianxi couldn't refuse Morgan's kindness and agreed earnestly.

Witnessing tonight's battle, all parties participating in the Holy Grail War would have different thoughts.

"So, Young Master Xi Jianxi has caught the eye of Lord El-Melloi."

At the Tohsaka residence, Tokiomi listened to Kirei's report and sighed slightly.

"The infighting within the Clock Tower is becoming increasingly fierce, even to the point of killing people from opposing factions during the Holy Grail War."

Kirei had his own opinion on this, "Perhaps through tonight's battle, Kayneth saw the threat posed by Xi Jianxi himself, who is no less than a Servant. If he and Lancer were to face Xi Jianxi and Berserker simultaneously, their chances of winning would be extremely slim."

More than that, even Kirei himself had to consider whether it was even possible to win a proper fight against Xi Jianxi.

When carrying out joint missions for the Mage's Association and the Holy Church in the past, Kirei had indeed observed Xi Jianxi's fighting style up close.

His usual style was to see the big picture by understanding the small details, breaking through the opponent's magical weaknesses with the most exquisite techniques.

Kirei had never seen him unleash large-scale magic consecutively like tonight.

Was that the power possessed by the restored Ancient Rune Foundation?

"From a tactical standpoint, it's very reasonable, but this way, Kayneth has also successfully shifted Young Master Xi Jianxi's strategic objective onto himself," Tokiomi smiled. "Regardless, Young Master Xi Jianxi will prioritize hunting Lancer from now on."

Based on the intelligence transmitted by Kirei, the true name of Lancer could already be roughly guessed, and Tokiomi was very confident about this.

"Furthermore, they took Saber with them. It's likely they've already reached a private agreement, and they won't interfere with Xi Jianxi and his Servant attacking Kayneth," Kirei said. "What should we do, my teacher?"

"Of course, we let them fight," Tokiomi chose the most stable tactic.

Let the other Masters and Servants fight each other first. When only one or two pairs remain, Gilgamesh would step in to clean up the mess, and victory in the Holy Grail War would surely fall into the Tohsaka family's hands.

"I understand."

"Later, I will find a way to send a message to Young Master Xi Jianxi, telling him that I will not interfere with his battle against Kayneth."

Tokiomi did not wish for Xi Jianxi to die in his battle with Kayneth. The outcome he most desired was for Xi Jianxi's Servant to be defeated by Gilgamesh, and for himself, as a Master, to spare Xi Jianxi, another Master.

This way, he would not only achieve victory in the Holy Grail War but also secure the future for Sakura and Rin.

"Excuse me, Tokiomi-kun. Kirei's Assassin has just sent word that they've discovered the whereabouts of Caster and their Master."

Chapter 22: Awakening

—And then, Xi Jianxi had a dream.

It was a dream someone had when they were young.

A witch's dream, about a fondness for quiet and gentle stories.

A library with no one in it.

Through the window, a hazy sky could be seen.

The gentle patter of falling rain.

Amidst what seemed like endless bookshelves, a girl who constantly sought infinite knowledge.

In the dim and warm library, like a child sitting at a table reading a fairy tale.

She... was painting a 'dream'.

There is a pathway formed by magic between a Master and a Servant. Originally, it was a mechanism solely to allow Masters to provide the magic needed for Servants to maintain their physical forms, but it also had an "unforeseen side effect" that the original designers of the Holy Grail War system did not anticipate.

Occasionally, Masters would see the memories of Heroes from their past lives while dreaming.

Perhaps fragments, perhaps more complete experiences.

The list goes on.

"…Ah." Xi Jianxi opened his eyes, looking at the familiar ceiling of his bedroom.

The aftereffects of the dream hadn't faded, his body felt exceptionally heavy, and he didn't want to move from the bed, only letting out a short sound.

Then, he couldn't help but sigh, and even Xi Jianxi didn't know where this emotion came from.

"Awake?"

A childish voice came from beside his ear. He turned his head and saw Karen's small face.

"Is it that late already…" Glancing at the alarm clock by the bed, Xi Jianxi was shocked. "I need to hurry and take you and Sakura to school."

Karen shook her head. "No need to go. Ms. Morgan called the school today and said that my sister and I should rest at home."

"She's quite resourceful…" Xi Jianxi had no objections to this, merely teasing her playfully.

However, this was quite suitable. Continuing to send Sakura and Karen to school during this period would only distract Xi Jianxi further.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Karen's eyes sparkled.

"No, just a little tired," Xi Jianxi said.

"Oh." The light in Karen's eyes dimmed, as if she were disappointed.

Xi Jianxi felt speechless. "You seem to have some rather unpleasant expectations?"

"It's just your imagination," Karen replied with a well-behaved and dignified smile.

There had been subtle differences before, and as Karen grew older, she increasingly displayed her precocious traits. However, accompanying this precociousness was a somewhat "unpleasant" personality.

Was his parenting approach flawed? Xi Jianxi asked himself.

After all, he had never been married and had no experience raising children. It wasn't impossible for something to go wrong.

"Who on earth does she resemble so much?"

By the time Xi Jianxi said this, Karen had already run out.

He struggled to sit up in bed, recalling the dream from the previous moment.

Because the Master and Servant were connected by spirit, it was possible to accidentally enter the other's memory layer during sleep.

Normally, one could avoid peeking by simply severing consciousness.

Last night, Xi Jianxi's falling asleep was entirely the result of Morgan using magic without any warning.

"That woman's personality is truly malicious. Should I say she truly is the 'Witch of the Rain Country'…"

Recalling last night's events, he unconsciously wanted to complain, but his words stopped midway.

The Rain Country… What kind of place was that?

In various legends, records of Morgan often appeared as one of the characters in the Arthurian legends. Even in the world of mages, verifiable information was very limited.

Was that Morgan's past… or perhaps her time as a girl full of dreams?

Moreover, that appearance was so similar to Artoria's, making it even harder not to believe their sisterly relationship.

Xi Jianxi's household breakfast wasn't monotonous, especially with two children under ten who were growing rapidly. Xi Jianxi couldn't neglect their daily meals.

After a nutritious breakfast, Karen was watching television in the living room.

Xi Jianxi went to the magic workshop to check on things.

Since they were resting at home today, Sakura was learning magic from Morgan, focusing on Imaginary Element magic.

Sakura possessed an innate "Void" attribute. In the world of mages, this attribute was defined by mages as "potentially possible, but non-existent in the material world." Some mages who were proficient in modern science also referred to it as the Imaginary Element.

Regarding the essence of this magic, it was quite mysterious to modern mages. Mages with this attribute were exceedingly rare, and those considered to have excellent aptitude were even rarer, perhaps once in a century.

"It seems she's mastering it quickly," Xi Jianxi commented, holding a cup of water and watching Sakura's magic practice.

Although she was still far from mastering it, the fact that she could already touch upon a non-existent domain made Xi Jianxi marvel at Sakura's talent.

"Your mother is truly amazing, she knows so much!" Sakura suddenly chimed in with praise.

The way she addressed Morgan caused Xi Jianxi to choke on his water, coughing violently.

"Cough, cough, cough, cough…"

Although he wanted to complain about Morgan instilling strange notions in Sakura, she had impersonated his stepmother to call the school for leave today and was now teaching Sakura magic of an ancient level.

Xi Jianxi could only glare resentfully at Morgan while coughing.

"It's better not to get too excited. The curse hasn't completely faded, and my magic can at most allow you to move without hindrance in daily life," Morgan said, a faint smile on her face. "Also, you look like you haven't slept well. Did I accidentally use curse magic on you?"

"……You can be careless about something like that?" Xi Jianxi's eye twitched uncontrollably. "It's nothing, just a bit too many dreams."

Morgan's gaze grew meaningful. "Then how about I personally prepare something to calm your nerves? The Holy Grail War is a matter of life and death. If you can't rest properly, you'll die."

"A witch's sleeping incense, perhaps." Xi Jianxi was noncommittal. "Besides, I'm not going to die just because I can't sleep well. Rather, I'd like to discuss with you how we should attack Lancer and their Master."

"It's good that you have that in mind, but before that, there are other things you need to know," Morgan said. "The Holy Church has sent out a summons for all Masters."

Xi Jianxi's action of drinking water paused. "What?"

Chapter 23: Alliance

After pressing the doorbell outside the Xi Jianxi family's gate, Irisviel saw a little girl with the same silver hair as her daughter Illya, her ends slightly curled into waves, and golden eyes, come out to open the door. She was about the same size as Illya.

"Guests?" the girl asked.

Irisviel and Artoria had prepared to visit Xi Jianxi as a Master, but they hadn't expected this situation.

So, Irisviel crouched down slightly and spoke through the iron gate, "Yes, that's right… we are acquaintances of Mr. Xi Jianxi, and we had an appointment to meet today."

"They are guests, open the door, Karen," Xi Jianxi's voice came from the steps of the main entrance.

Clearly, he had also come out when Karen came to open the door.

"Okay." Karen efficiently opened their courtyard gate, letting the two in.

Xi Jianxi also walked down to greet them, lifting Karen with one arm.

"Wh-what a surprise, is that your daughter?" Seeing a child about Illya's age, Irisviel couldn't help but feel a pang of sentimentality and asked another question.

"She's my younger daughter, her name is Karen," Xi Jianxi introduced naturally.

"You have more than one?" Irisviel was greatly surprised.

She could tell Xi Jianxi was very young, so having one child wasn't strange, but having two… that was very strange.