Daily France-Bashing

"King of Heroes, Gilgamesh...?"

Hearing that name, Kenneth could not help but freeze. His eyes widened slightly, and just as he was about to say something—

Knock knock knock!!

A rapid series of knocks made his heart jolt.

Even Fionn mac Cumhaill across from him was startled by the sudden knocking.

"What? Has someone broken in?!"

Kenneth's eyes flew wide open. As the owner of the Magic Workshop, he naturally knew exactly what this meant.

A Magus had brazenly barged into his Magic Workshop.

What audacity! They actually dared to enter his Magic Workshop and fight!

He had just been about to do something when a familiar voice carried in from outside through a loudspeaker, making Kenneth lower his raised hand again.

"...We buy refrigerators, color TVs, old phones."

"You idiot, where did you even get that megaphone? Give it to me. Anyway..."

"Ahem. Teacher Kenneth, listen up. Weber and I have surrounded you from outside! If you lay down your arms and surrender with proper decorum, you shall still retain the rank of marquis!!"

Amplified by the loudspeaker, Rovey's voice passed through the entire floor and echoed directly in Kenneth's ears.

That familiar voice, and that punchable tone...

Even if it turned to ashes, Kenneth would recognize it immediately.

"That damned brat actually dares to come knocking on my door! He clearly has no respect for me at all!!"

Upon hearing that familiar voice while leaning back in his chair, the veins on Kenneth's forehead bulged. The reality was so shocking that no matter how unwilling he was to believe it, the image flashed through his mind in an instant, nearly angering him into a cerebral hemorrhage.

On the other side, Weber, whom Rovey had dragged here all the way, was equally shocked when he saw Rovey holding up a loudspeaker and shouting that at Teacher Kenneth's workshop. He could fully predict the terrifying chemical reaction those words would produce once they reached Teacher Kenneth's ears. Just thinking about it sent chills down his spine. If Rovey had not been pulling him along from the front, he would definitely have fainted on the spot.

"Whew—"

Huh? He wasn't opening the door?

"Teacher Kenneth, open the door! Otherwise, I'll have to take extraordinary measures."

Rovey shouted loudly.

But Kenneth, who was currently searching for fast-acting heart pills, clearly had no time to deal with him.

Extraordinary measures?

He wanted to see what extraordinary means this fellow had. Was he planning to breach the Magic Workshop from outside?

What a joke. This workshop was a Lord-class workshop he had painstakingly prepared, and it had three Mana Reactors supplying it. Even great magecraft would find it difficult to break through from outside.

What could a brat like you possibly do?!

Hmph, he really had become depraved after leaving him. He had even learned to make empty boasts.

Kenneth sneered.

"Hm, so you really refuse to open the door? Then don't blame me, Teacher Kenneth. Ahem... I think it starts like this..."

Seeing that the effect was not very good, Rovey thought seriously for a moment. Then he cleared his throat, raised the megaphone in his hand, and began reciting slowly with deep emotion.

"Ah~ my beloved beauty, within your eyes dwells a radiance like morning dew..."

—Bang!!

The instant the words left his mouth, the previously shut door to the Magic Workshop was decisively thrown open from within.

"See? It worked. Weber, shall we go in together?"

Seeing the door open, a smile appeared on Rovey's face. He beckoned Weber behind him, signaling for him to follow.

At that moment, Weber stared into the room ahead with only one thought in his heart.

I want to go home...

About half an hour earlier.

While Kenneth was still worrying over the developments of this Holy Grail War and discussing the next strategy with Fionn mac Cumhaill.

A strange pair of senior and junior disciples were slowly making their way through the hotel beneath him.

"Weber, what's wrong with your legs? Or is your Parkinson's acting up... We've spent nearly ten minutes covering this tiny two hundred-meter stretch since entering."

"..."

"You look like a prisoner being escorted to execution."

Feeling the countless strange gazes directed their way, Rovey continued dragging Weber beside him while complaining helplessly.

"By the way, are you really that afraid of Teacher Kenneth? I heard that when you openly published a paper and debated him in class, you seemed pretty spirited."

"Huh? Why does even someone like you, who isn't at the Clock Tower, know about that?!"

Weber looked at him in astonishment.

"After all, that was the masterpiece that made our Mr. El-Melloi II famous. It's only natural that I'd look into it, right?"

Rovey teased with a smile.

Inside the enormous hotel, the two men had been tugging and pulling at each other ever since entering. More accurately, Rovey was dragging Weber along while Weber's legs trembled nonstop.

If two close boys shoved and played around with each other on the street, that would be perfectly normal. No one would think anything of it, since boys of every era enjoyed such things.

But if their movements became too entangled, that was another matter...

On top of that, Weber was small in stature and had delicate features to begin with. As a result, the two of them looked somewhat overly intimate at that moment, causing some rather impolite speculations to arise in the minds of passersby.

After all, although society promoted romantic relationships between men and women, and human biology was built that way, there were still some cases in this world that went against the norm.

At that moment, the two of them had clearly been taken for such a case, drawing all sorts of looks from the bystanders.

"Weber, if you still haven't made up your mind and are still hesitating, you can go back now and think it over slowly. Or you can write Teacher Kenneth a letter and wait for him to come find you."

"But I still think it would be better if you went to him in person. Taking the initiative to admit your mistake should at least help him calm down a little."

Rovey held his head and looked at Weber, who was still shivering beside him. His tone was rather helpless. "And we're only going to see Teacher Kenneth. We've met him before at the Clock Tower, haven't we? Do you really need to be like this?"

"If I hadn't stolen Teacher Kenneth's Sacred Relic, secretly used it, and come all the way here..."

Weber stared stiffly at the conspicuous Magic Workshop overhead. He could already imagine Teacher Kenneth's gaze, one fierce enough to devour someone whole.

He looked toward Rovey beside him, hoping he might have some good idea. But Rovey only waved his hand and spoke calmly. "Don't look at me. At most, you stole a Sacred Relic and talked back to him. My mistakes are far worse than yours. Not only did I take the Sacred Relic from Teacher Kenneth's home, I also made off with quite a few Mystic Codes... And I haven't contacted him for nearly half a year. He'll definitely be angrier when he sees me than when he sees you."

"You sound pretty proud of that!!"

Hearing Rovey's outstanding record, which far surpassed his own, Weber's expression changed. The heart that had been hanging in suspense finally died.

He now seriously suspected that when Teacher Kenneth saw them again, he would immediately blast their faces with great magecraft without saying a word.

After all, by ordinary standards, what the two of them had done would count as betraying their master and defying their teacher even in a martial arts novel.

Instead of honestly finding somewhere to hide at a time like this, they had swaggered right up to their teacher's Magic Workshop. The effect was no different from jumping directly into his face.

Could they possibly meet him and say, "Rovey saw your future, Teacher Kenneth. You will die horribly in the Fourth Holy Grail War, and your Magic Crest will be blown apart until only ten percent remains. I will become El-Melloi II in the future, and we've come to save you."

Then, naturally, Kenneth would be immensely relieved upon hearing that, promptly forgive both of them, and the three master and disciples would hold hands and overcome the crisis together... Yeah, right!

There was no need to think about the outcome. From Kenneth's perspective, two traitorous disciples had suddenly returned and told him that he would die, and that they had come to save him.

Anyone with half a brain would never believe that! It sounded more like a provocation and a curse.

In Weber's view, compared to the development where they lovingly held hands, the possibility that Teacher Kenneth would seize them first and clean house without another word was obviously much greater.

So... should he leave?

Weber sighed and stared stiffly at the building before him.

A Magic Workshop, and an extremely rigorous and complete one at that, built directly within the city without the slightest attempt to conceal it.

That level of confidence was practically exaggerated. In the entire Holy Grail War, Teacher Kenneth was probably the only one capable of doing something like this.

His idea was simple: openly expose his location, lure in enemies with ulterior motives, then eliminate them one by one.

It was an extremely straightforward tactic, a strategy only someone with absolute confidence in their own strength could employ.

Hm, maybe he should still leave...

Having come this far, Weber subconsciously swallowed and took a step back.

He knew he had wronged Teacher Kenneth and that he needed to make amends, but... perhaps he did not necessarily have to face him directly, right?

Compared to charging headfirst into Teacher Kenneth's Magic Workshop and facing an uncertain fate, he felt it might be better to first write a heartfelt email, or use a phone or something. In any case, perhaps he should wait until Teacher Kenneth had calmed down before meeting him... maybe?

Weber secretly shook his head.

No, there was almost no time left... The Holy Grail War only lasted seven days, and Teacher Kenneth would die during it. That meant he might have less than six days left to live.

He had no time to delay...

"You aren't thinking of apologizing through some insincere method like email or a phone call, are you?" Rovey rubbed Weber's head. "You know perfectly well that there isn't enough time. If we want to save Teacher Kenneth within such limited time, we can't delay. Every second matters now."

"I know..."

Weber nodded, though his expression remained deeply troubled. "But I'm really scared."

"Well, there's nothing to be done about being scared, right? A man must take responsibility for his actions. Look at me, I came here too, didn't I? If there's going to be punishment, I'll be punished before you, won't I?"

Rovey smiled at him, then suddenly changed the subject. "And besides... Weber, now that we're already here, do you think you can still choose to retreat? Even if you truly decide to be selfish, would your Rider agree?"

After saying that, Rovey raised his hand and waved toward Iskandar, who had been following beside them in spirit form without revealing himself.

The King of Conquerors had spent his life conquering and traveling the road of conquest. Having fought countless battles and achieved countless feats, he would undoubtedly never allow deserters among his followers... Much less Weber, a companion he had already begun to acknowledge and regard as his retainer.

The reason he had remained unseen was only because he did not wish to interfere with Weber. This was a resolve Weber had to make for himself, and he should choose to act upon it himself.

As a king, he understood that only by personally crossing this obstacle could his little Master truly grow!

Though he was letting Weber choose for himself, that did not mean he could tolerate a deserter.

The only options he gave Weber were...

Face it.

Go face it.

Face it bravely.

Those were the three choices. If Weber refused to face it, then this king would help him face it.

After all, he was ultimately a forceful and overbearing king.

"I understand. Let's go together. Anyway, even if I die, at least you'll be with me."

In the end, Weber seemed to finally resign himself to it. He sighed helplessly, then followed Rovey into Kenneth's Magic Workshop area with his head hanging low.

A Magic Workshop was, in essence, a kind of "otherworld" created by a Magus to hone their magecraft. No matter how powerful a Magus was, as long as they were not the workshop's owner, the magecraft or Mystery they wielded would be severely restricted.

To a Magus, a Magic Workshop was like a camp: both their first and final trump card. To make examples of those arrogant challengers and lowly thieves, Magic Workshops were generally laid with numerous layers of defensive formulas.

Thus, the instant the two stepped inside, a powerful weakening force descended directly upon their bodies.

Weber, who already lacked any sense of security, felt a chill run through his heart. At a time like this, even if Teacher Kenneth truly wanted to do something, he would have no ability to resist.

Unlike geniuses such as Rovey and Kenneth, he could not construct a complete Magic Workshop. Yet he still possessed the insight and knowledge, so he simply could not understand why Rovey, standing inside the workshop, showed no change in expression whatsoever.

Fortunately, on their way toward the core area of the Magic Workshop, there were no ambushes from familiars or Servants. Even some of the magecraft formulas deliberately avoided them.

Perhaps Kenneth was worried that Rider's high mobility would cause widespread destruction here. Or perhaps he felt that it was daytime and did not want to make too much noise, alarming ordinary people and exposing Mystery. Of course, the more likely possibility was that he felt he did not need a Magic Workshop at all to deal with Weber and Rovey.

As a Lord and their teacher, if word got out that he needed to use a Magic Workshop just to deal with his students, the other Magi would probably laugh themselves to death.

Thus, under the gaze of unseen eyes, the two made their way to the core area, arriving before the door to Kenneth's room.

To give the two of them a taste of his authority, or perhaps to display the level of a teacher, Kenneth did not open the door immediately this time. Instead, he wanted to see what the two of them would do.

Would they have Rider or Caster force their way in?

Or would they adapt to the situation and use magecraft to break through his workshop?