"Abner, how many people did you run into?"
The burly man dressed in a black suit, styled like some super bodyguard from a TV show, lowered his voice as he asked.
But for this giant, what he imagined was a lowered voice was still far too loud for ordinary people and utterly failed at being a whisper. His noisy voice immediately drew the attention of the people around them, but one look at the bodyguard's enormous frame made everyone afraid to stare for too long, worried that this thug-looking man might start throwing punches at the slightest disagreement...
A lot. Mostly familiars. Among those I could identify were Einzbern familiars, and one Servant... Assassin is probably watching me too. The target arrangement isn't perfect, but it is at least within my calculations. The deviation isn't large.
Magus and Servants who had formed a Master-Servant contract only needed to speak in their minds to communicate. Anyone with even a basic foundation in magecraft could easily do this.
Without a doubt, the burly man beside Abner was his Servant, the Lancer-class warrior Leonidas. Even dressed as a bodyguard, such an exaggerated physique could not conceal his imposing presence. The extent to which passersby stopped to look was nearly on par with Archer Loxia.
Furthermore, Leonidas deeply disliked mysticism, and thus also disliked Spirit Form, which was related to mysticism. Naturally, he would not readily enter Spirit Form. A figure that huge could hardly be disguised cleverly.
That strange sensation Archer Loxia had felt earlier was precisely because Lancer did not know how to control his magical energy, and so had naturally released a torrent of it.
There was absolutely no way to conduct covert operations like that... Thus, Abner came up with a strategy similar to Archer Loxia's.
It was to do the opposite: not to weaken his presence, but to make it overwhelming.
Yet their objectives were completely different.
Loxia's goal was to make her own presence stand out, allowing Tsukahara Meiji to disappear from everyone's sight. In other words, she was providing cover.
As for Abner sending Leonidas out, it was to openly tell his enemies: I am Abner, a participant in the Holy Grail War. The one beside me is my Servant. If you've got a problem, come fight.
In other words, he cast secrecy aside, exposed his location, and lured his enemies to his workshop for a positional battle, waiting at ease for exhausted opponents.
It was a good idea.
And it carried the arrogant air expected of a Family Head.
However, it was also foolish.
Once someone knew where he was hiding, there was a considerable chance they could kill him.
For instance, during the Fourth Holy Grail War, Lord El-Melloi II had suffered a bombardment of bombs precisely because he had exposed the location of his workshop.
Loxia made full use of her special abilities to move covertly, drawing upon every bit of experience from her time as a human. Like a qualified Assassin, she quietly followed Abner and the others, preparing to find their hiding place.
Abner's actions today were very simple.
His goal was to focus everyone's attention on himself.
There were three reasons for this.
First, as mentioned before, he wanted to draw the enemy's attention to himself. Since his Servant had no intention of entering Spirit Form, covert operations were complete nonsense and utterly meaningless. He might as well let Leonidas appear in physical form. While attracting targets, it would also allow him to build a good Master-Servant relationship with Leonidas.
Moreover, Leonidas's abilities were perfectly suited for chaotic battles. The more troublesome the battlefield, the more Leonidas could unleash his formidable strength. From that perspective, if two or three Servants attacked him, it would actually be more advantageous for Leonidas.
Second, it was to cover for Tohsaka Mina.
From Tohsaka Rin's anxious correspondence, Abner had already learned of Tohsaka Mina's disappearance and confirmed that she had bought a plane ticket to China.
For a little girl so inept with machinery, the airport had surely drawn plenty of people eager to help. Many people remembered the little girl who had been reduced to tears by an automated ticket machine. And when she had nearly missed her flight, the airport broadcast had even thoughtfully announced, "Miss Tohsaka Mina, the flight you are booked on is about to depart. Please board immediately."
Coming to China? Abner could only think of the Holy Grail War. Generally speaking, The Three Families were the first to receive Command Spells. If it wasn't Tohsaka Rin... then surely Tohsaka Mina was the most likely candidate.
Abner would not hurt Mina, but that did not mean others would be so gentle. If he truly let this
little girl charge about recklessly, it might lead to consequences that could not be contained. And Tohsaka Rin was famously devoted to her family. If something really happened to Mina... who knew what earth-shattering thing that woman, who had once dismantled a Holy Grail, might do!
For the sake of keeping the Clock Tower from being thrown into upheaval, Abner pushed himself into the spotlight. Compared with an unfamiliar Master, this Master, whose background they knew and whose workshop location they knew, was easier to deal with. It could effectively divert the other Masters' attention and make them focus on him.
As for the third reason... it was Abner's special strategy. The secret killing move he had prepared in order to win.
So today, he took Leonidas—to the movies.
Above the entrance to the crowded cinema hung a huge screen banner. Blood-red letters displayed the number 300, beside a powerful, muscular man striking a roar that seemed to rise from his very soul.
There was no need to say more. In this world, there were not many movies named after the number 300, and even fewer that used that number directly as their title.
300 Spartans.
Abner had looked into Leonidas before, but the man himself seemed completely different from how the records described him. To draw him into conversation, Abner had brought Leonidas to the cinema.
Of course, he did not think a movie was reliable, but watching it together with Leonidas himself was another matter.
If there were discrepancies, Leonidas would surely say something like, "Why did it turn out like this? It clearly wasn't like that!" Then Abner could naturally follow up with, "Oh? Then what really happened?" This would naturally lead into conversation and deepen their understanding of each other.
And there was another advantage.
Where were people most densely gathered? Cinemas.
Where were there the most young people? Schools and cinemas.
What did young people love to use most? Smartphones.
Abner believed that bringing such a bold character as Leonidas along would definitely cause a sensation. Then, whether on Twitter or some other platform, there would surely be images of him and Leonidas everywhere. His declaration of war would naturally spread far and wide.
Abner possessed the typical pride and self-confidence of a Magus, but he also possessed a rare calmness and caution for one. He knew himself well, excelled at battle, yet never underestimated his opponents too much. He would never pass up any chance of victory.
Tactics existed to make up for the gap between the weak and the strong, a method by which the weak defeated the strong.
Then what if a strong person also began to value tactics?
Naturally... it became difficult for the weak to turn the tables on him.
At first, Abner had been somewhat worried that Leonidas might not follow cinema rules. But when Abner explained them to him, he quickly accepted that he could not make loud noises and watched the movie seriously until the end. Come to think of it, Sparta had merely been barbaric, not lawless. They placed great importance on their laws.
Inside the theater, the faint blue light reflected from the screen illuminated Leonidas's heroic figure, giving him the weathered air of an old hero. No expression showed on his solid face, making it impossible to understand what he was thinking. All Abner knew was that Leonidas was focusing all his attention on the screen before him.
What did it feel like, watching someone else tell your story like this?
Abner caught sight of his face and could not help thinking so.
It was a fairly good movie.
Its main plot was the Battle of Thermopylae, using the latest technology to depict highly fantastical battles. The actor playing Leonidas was clearly someone who worked out often, with powerful muscles. Unfortunately, compared with the genuine Leonidas beside him, he was simply not worth mentioning.
Leonidas frowned throughout the entire film and watched intently. Was that a serious expression? Or was he angry because someone had distorted his story?
No matter what, Abner was enjoying the moment.
At the Clock Tower, as a Magus, he rarely had the opportunity to watch movies.
Magus had always scorned such high-tech things.
But a Magus with a master's degree in fluid mechanics could hardly be considered a traditional Magus, strictly speaking. From that perspective, there was a reason he was called a heretic.
Watching a movie with my Servant? I might be the first person in the history of the Holy Grail War to do something like this.
Thinking that, he quietly adjusted his posture and sank fully into the soft chair, enjoying its plush texture as he continued watching "Leonidas" bravely slaughter his enemies on the screen.
Before you continue