Starting from Adopting Sakura in Type-Moon

Rovey raised a finger and smiled faintly at Weber.

"Do you want to know the truth of things? An answer... about the future."

That serious and earnest gaze gradually stopped his clamor.

Finally, looking into Rovey's eyes, Weber swallowed and then spoke with difficulty in a dry voice.

"...I do."

"That's more like it."

Upon hearing Weber's answer, Rovey's eyes narrowed slightly, and a meaningful smile appeared on his face.

Chapter 40: Saving Private Kenneth (6K words)

"So, the future I observed is roughly like this."

Rovey said, then took a sip of the "Happy Water for Otakus" that Iskandar handed him.

"Much better..."

After telling such a long story, he needed to moisten his throat.

"How... how could something like this happen?"

After sincerely listening to Rovey's series of serious and bizarre tales, Weber's expression became increasingly strange.

Finally, unsure how to face it, he stuffed his head back into the covers, covering himself with a pillow, as if trying to hide from reality.

"What's wrong? You don't like this story?"

Rovey, sitting on the floor and playing another round of games with Iskandar, looked back at Weber, who was hunched over the bed, and asked.

"Or do you think it's too bizarre to believe? That you will become Lord El-Melloi II in the future. Do you think I would be so bored as to make up such an absurd reason to trick you?"

"Hmm, although I think it's far-fetched, I can still tell the seriousness from your tone and eyes... and my intuition tells me this is mostly true."

"I never thought you'd come into contact with magecraft similar to Second Magic, like Parallel World Observation, and observe such absurd parallel world events... but this is just full of malice for me."

Weber continued in a helpless tone from within his covers, "As expected, I can't accept this kind of thing with a clear conscience no matter what..."

After hearing that Kenneth would die in the Fourth Holy Grail War and that he would inherit his title and academy.

Although Weber couldn't fully empathize with his parallel world self's feelings, the complexity in his heart at this moment was no less than that of his other self.

"Oh, what is it you can't accept?"

Rovey tilted his head, skillfully executing combos on his controller, demonstrating a Kyo Kusanagi special move combo to Rider beside him, making the latter anxiously scratch his head, and continued to ask Weber, "Is it the fact that Teacher Kenneth might die? Or the possibility that you, a half-baked, third-rate magus, would inherit the title of Lord El-Melloi II?"

"Does that even need to be asked? Of course, it's everything!"

Weber retorted excitedly, "Although I hate Teacher Kenneth, and I absolutely detest his arrogant attitude, that's from an ordinary person's perspective. As a magus, of course, I also respect him greatly and admire his talent! I also aspire to become a magus like him one day..."

"But I also know very well that it's impossible for a third-rate like me to become a magus like Teacher Kenneth. And unlike you geniuses, Teacher Kenneth must also really dislike me. Perhaps he never really considered me his student in his heart?!"

Weber's voice grew more agitated, and with accompanying gestures, he actually emerged from the covers, his eyes slightly red, looking wronged at the two people still engrossed in their game below.

Unsurprisingly, Iskandar's Iori Yagami was once again defeated by Rovey's Kyo Kusanagi, making him desperately run his hands through his hair.

"Sigh, you..."

Rovey sighed and was about to say something, but Iskandar, who had just been thoroughly beaten by Rovey, spoke faster. He flicked Weber's forehead with his finger and said irritably, "Little Master, you're saying such immature things again... No wonder you're looked down upon by that so-called Kenneth."

"How should I put it... perhaps 'wise beyond his years'? Hmm... he is indeed quite small, but his mind isn't very sharp."

Iskandar mused, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"Why are you bringing up my height again? Rovey said that my future self will definitely grow another thirty centimeters!"

Weber protested vehemently.

"Hahaha, let's talk about the future when the future comes. You're still a child right now."

"Damn it..."

Unable to do anything about Rider's teasing, Weber could only sulk.

"Hey, Weber, do you know? Sometimes human growth happens in an instant~"

Rovey put down the controller, declined Iskandar's invitation for another three hundred rounds, and looked at Weber, saying, "Human futures are the most likely to change, and they also have the most possibilities. No one can absolutely predict what a person's future will be. Actually, I know a very powerful fortune teller. She can predict future events with one hundred percent accuracy. Even Merlin's legendary Clairvoyance might not be able to compare to her."

"Are you talking about... Absolute Future Vision? Does such a thing exist in this world?"

Hearing Rovey's example, Weber couldn't help but be surprised, and Iskandar stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"Absolute prediction, that's truly a cheating ability. If this King had this ability during his lifetime, he could have predicted Darius's army movements. That way, the war would surely have been won in a very short time!"

As the King of Conquerors, Iskandar was also very interested in the one hundred percent divination Rovey mentioned.

"Alright, this King has decided! Once this King obtains the Holy Grail and gets a new body, he will recruit that capable person who can predict absolutely into his service! Then, we'll form an invincible, strongest army again!!"

"..."

"..."

Rovey and Weber ignored Rider's interruption, the fool. Of course, he wouldn't reveal the existence of the Mother of Kanbako City, and continued speaking as if telling a story.

"But... Weber, you have to think about it. Even with absolute prediction, is it truly absolute? If the other party predicts you'll eat cake tonight, you can choose not to eat cake, thus evading their prediction, the original future, and creating a new possibility... And if this is possible for small matters, what about big ones? Like your growth?"

Rovey pointed to his height and continued, "Before I told you, who could have imagined you'd grow another thirty centimeters? So don't belittle yourself, and don't deny your own future. Who can say for sure about possibilities? Who you want to become has always been up to you. Whether you want to become better or worse, it's all your decision..."

"I feel like you're just feeding me platitudes..."

"Perhaps? But aren't what I'm saying all truths? As mages, you and I should both understand the meaning behind them."

Sigh, understanding is one thing, but I still can't accept it!

"Someone like me, a rebellious disciple, ends up inheriting the teacher's title..."

Weber's expression remained awkward, his heart still struggling to accept that reality.

"Well, it's just one of the possibilities anyway, thinking about it isn't a bad thing."

Rovey waved his hand, not pushing the issue.

"Your future self is much more outstanding than your current self..."

When it comes to overtime, he's top-notch.

"Much more outstanding..."

Weber muttered a few words to himself, then looked back at Rovey and asked.

"Rovey, can I ask you a few detailed questions?"

"Ask me questions? About your future? Sure, there's nothing I can't say."

Rovey shrugged, indicating he had no problem.

"Then I'll ask..."

"First, why didn't your future self inherit? Even if Teacher Kenneth really died, you would have been the more suitable successor, right? How could it have possibly fallen to me!"

"Oh? Blind Monk, you've finally noticed the key point."

Rovey clapped his hands and then answered Weber's excellent question.

"It's very simple. I don't exist in that parallel world, or rather, I died long ago, perishing in a certain magical experiment."

It was similar to how that defiant individual in this world sacrificed his soul to conduct an angelic summoning ritual while researching the Law Book.

He was a complete defiant.

He thought to himself.

"You died?"

"Yes, I died. The untimely death kind."

Weber looked surprised, then hesitated before asking the next question, "What about the others? Even without you, wouldn't someone else have been more suitable?"

"Yes, there were indeed people more suitable than you."

Rovey nodded. "But they all chose to refuse."

"Why? Inheriting the position and legacy of a Lord should be something people fight over! Why would they refuse?"

With Rovey's answer, Weber sat up properly, having grasped the crux of the issue.

"Yes, by all accounts, Teacher Kenneth's legacy should be vast, including his school, his classrooms, and his research achievements."

"However, that's assuming a normal death. What if I told you... that after his death, he left behind not only these assets but also a colossal, exaggerated debt?"

"At that point, do you think anyone would still be willing to inherit? So, this 'scapegoat' naturally fell to you."

"Debt..."

Hearing Rovey's words, Weber's expression was one of disbelief. He replied in astonishment, "How is that possible? It's one thing if others don't know about Teacher Kenneth, but you must know very well how formidable Teacher Kenneth is... He's a prodigy and genius in the magical world. Every concept he conceived, every discovery he made, would cause ripples. Their value couldn't possibly be measured by mere money! How could he have accumulated so much debt?! What exactly happened?"

"It's very simple..."

Rovey tilted his head slightly, having anticipated Weber's question.

"As I said before, unlike you idealists, Teacher Kenneth was a man of action, someone who could put theories into practice. Under his hands, those theories had the opportunity to become achievements, thus naturally holding great value. But what if... he died? Who would put these theories into practice? You? Or the other students? Do you think anyone has that level of skill?"

"And after he died, the other Lords would have swarmed in without mercy to divide his remaining assets. Who would leave good things for the next successor? Furthermore, Teacher Kenneth's Magic Crest was destroyed, leaving less than one percent..."

"You, you're saying... Teacher Kenneth's Magic Crest is only left with one percent?!!"

Upon hearing this, the already uneasy Weber lost his balance and tumbled off the bed. He quickly scrambled to Rovey's side, looking at him with disbelief.

"That Magic Crest, passed down for nine generations, is only left with one percent... all the inheritance has been destroyed..."

The mere thought of it made him tremble uncontrollably.

Then, he stopped asking questions and began to rack his brain, desperately trying to think of more things. His expression changed rapidly, as if he had eaten poisonous mushrooms...

"Kid."

Seeing this, Rider wanted to step forward and ask what was wrong, but Rovey stopped him.

He knew that Weber was on the verge of figuring things out.

Ten minutes passed quietly.

Finally, after a long period of thought and torment, Weber gradually deduced the cause and effect of the situation. He then turned his stiff head like a broken machine and looked at Rovey beside him, asking word by word.

"So, Rovey... please tell me, is Kenneth's death related to me? Did I steal the Catalyst he prepared, which led to his... death?"

"Hmm... there is indeed a connection. According to the outcome of that day's timeline, it was because you stole a fragment of his cape and summoned Rider. This forced him to summon a very troublesome Servant, indirectly leading to his death."

Rovey wasn't lying.

Even according to the original timeline, it was because Weber stole the cape fragment that Kenneth summoned Diarmuid.

And as for the Servant Diarmuid, Rovey could only offer one assessment: "More trouble than he's worth."

Although he seemed obedient, he would defy his master's orders on the battlefield due to his knightly pride. Furthermore, because of his tragic love affair, Kenneth's fiancée was charmed, causing Kenneth to be distracted throughout their battle. He was killed without unleashing his full power.

What if, just what if, Kenneth's Servant had been Iskandar?

Even though Rovey couldn't see any compatibility between them, the situation couldn't possibly be worse than with Diarmuid, right? At least Diarmuid wouldn't charm his fiancée.

Even if the possibility was still slim, Kenneth had a chance to survive.

"So it really is like that... Then, your participation in the competition, was it also to..."

As he spoke, Weber lowered his head and gazed at the bright red Command Seals on Rovey's hand, then asked, "...save Kenneth."

"That is indeed a factor. After all, Kenneth treated me well and I owe him a debt of gratitude. Knowing he might die, as his disciple, I have no reason not to help."

Rovey nodded and readily admitted it. While his participation in the Holy Grail War was for his own calculations, he undeniably wanted to help Kenneth. That feeling was absolutely genuine.

"So, what do you think? How do you feel about this future?"

"Kenneth dies tragically, and you, someone who was denied, inherit everything... is that what you've always wanted?"

Rovey earnestly gazed at Weber's trembling eyes and asked word by word, "Tell me your choice now?"

"Your wish? And what you intend to do next..."

"I... my wish."