Dinner at the Tohsaka House

Sakura knew, of course, that the other party was trying to keep her away from battle as much as possible and let her act alone, which also showed their great confidence in her Assassin. You know, when that old man first appeared, he scared Reines's summoned Saber half to death, and even Gray stammered a few words when she saw him.

"It was as if it were the embodiment of death."

Therefore, they directly used Assassin as a trump card. If Saber could defeat the enemy, there was no need for her to appear; she could just protect Sakura. When Saber alone was not enough, after successfully exhausting the opponent or holding off the enemy Servant, Assassin would step in to reap the rewards. It can be said that the plan was perfect.

Upon hearing this, Rin Tohsaka's lips twitched slightly.

Look at their alliance, one in the open, the other in the shadows, it's the perfect match. Then look at our side, Rovey and Merry are slacking off, and we were previously tormented by Ishtar. It's the stark contrast.

Thinking of this Rin Tohsaka felt even more heartbroken.

Because the Holy Grail War is completely hopeless.

Putting aside Astraea and what to do with Heracles, she couldn't even figure out how to fight against Sakura's team alone.

As the older sister, she could never lay a hand on her younger sister, and even if she did, she definitely wouldn't win; the other sister's team was too well-rounded, and she didn't want to be tormented by them again.

After much deliberation, Rin Tohsaka decided...

That's all set up, it's almost over.

She no longer has the will to fight for victory, and it seems that Luvia has no chance now.

Since she can't win, it doesn't matter to me.

From now on, we just need to let things develop naturally. If Sakura needs my help, I'm sure she'll step in.

But now...

"Come on, let's not talk here anymore. Come inside with me, I'll make you some black tea." Putting all her worries aside, Rin Tohsaka took Sakura's hand and started walking into the mansion behind them.

"But..."

Although Rin Tohsaka grabbed her hand, Sakura's gaze fell on Rovey, as if she still had a lot to say to Rovey.

Seeing this, Rovey smiled helplessly and said, "Don't worry, go chat with your sister first. I won't suddenly disappear again this time."

"Um."

Upon hearing Rovey's words, Ying nodded, and Rovey promptly stepped aside.

Then Rin Tohsaka stepped over his foot.

Show no mercy.

"Honestly, after their true nature was revealed, they didn't even bother pretending anymore..."

Rovey grinned, feeling helpless about Rin Tohsaka's parenting issues. He then turned his head and looked at a dark corner in the corner of the house.

"It's time to come out, old man. Staring at the target isn't what an assassin does. If you really want to kill someone, just grab your big shield, charge in, and smash them to death."

"..."

After a deathly silence, a tall, dark figure appeared in the shadows of the corner of the house. A hideous skull mask completely covered his face, and black armor and a cloak draped his body. Although he was an assassin, the enormous shield and black greatsword he carried were not what one would expect from an assassin.

Rather than calling him a Hassan, an assassin, it's more accurate to describe him as a skeleton swordsman who can crush any enemy with sheer physical strength and skill. And he is precisely the origin of the name "Assassin, "Hassan.

Hassan among Hassan, the original Hassan, the Hassan who killed Hassan, and the King Hassan.

So...

"Why would an old man like you participate in such a trivial game? Are you here to bully the noobs too?"

Rovey stared intently at the pair of skull eye sockets flickering with eerie blue flames and asked, "If Grand Servant is going to battle, it means something terrible is about to emerge. So what is it? Which beast is about to be born? Is it the one I'm imagining? Can you answer that, old man?"

If Rovey had initially approached this Holy Grail War with a lighthearted attitude, now, at this moment, his eyes held no trace of jest, only seriousness and resolve.

He would not allow his world to suffer any destruction, not even if the other party was a beast.

Chapter 385 The Tohsaka Family's Dinner

"So, according to you, then..."

"Why were you summoned? Why did you come here with Grand Rank Spirit Origin? These are special reasons that even you yourself don't know, right?"

On the streets of Fuyuki City, an old man and a young man stood side by side, and then began to chat as they walked at a leisurely pace.

However, in order not to cause panic or attract too much attention, Rovey reminded King Hassan to take off his armor. Thus, the long-absent vagrant King Hassan reappeared and began to walk and talk with Rovey, the two of them walking through the bustling crowd.

"Indeed, as for the deeper reasons, even I, an old man, do not fully understand. I have answered the summons today because of a past connection, and also to repay the kindness the young girl showed me then. I am willing to wield the sword in my hand, to become her blade, to help her die and fulfill her wish. However, the title of Grand Rank still rests on my shoulders, and the story is not simple. As for the reason, I will seek it out today."

"I'm saying... old man."

Hearing that King Hassan had answered everything, but his tone and manner of speaking left him completely confused, Rovey's lips twitched slightly.

"Can't you speak in a normal tone? Do you have to use classical Chinese?"

He covered his forehead and sighed helplessly.

While King Hassan's encrypted pronouncements upon every appearance seem to better highlight his sophistication, it's still quite tiring to listen to.

However, Rovey roughly understood what he meant. He meant that because of the bond he had formed with Sakura in the past, King Hassan was responding to the summons this time to repay that bond and was willing to fight for him. However, this was only out of his own will, so he should have received a normal Spirit Origin after the summons. But King Hassan found that Grand Rank Spirit Origin had also been brought along, which meant that things were not as simple as they seemed on the surface.

Whenever Grand Rank Spirit Origin appears, something significant is bound to happen. Since King Hassan has appeared with Grand Rank Spirit Origin this time, it means that there must be something that requires Grand Servant to resolve, and he is currently searching for clues about that thing.

While he was surprised that the old man could form a bond with Sakura, Rovey's attention was more focused on the fact that the Counter Force could send Grand Rank Spirit Origin to King Hassan.

It's well known that the Counter Force is notoriously stingy. Whenever Singularity or other crisis arises, the Counter Force is always extremely stingy, only providing roughly equal combat power to fight it. A situation where they have an advantage is almost never seen.

Even though normally, a fully evolved Beast would require seven Grand Servant to defeat, the Counter Force manages to send only one Grand Servant, claiming it's due to elemental advantage, but it's really just being stingy.

It's only a Holy Grail War, yet the Counter Force has already sent out a Grand Rank Spirit Origin, so it's easy to guess that there's a trap waiting for them.

Even the usually composed and profound King Hassan couldn't help but feel surprised and worried after witnessing this strange situation, because he couldn't sense where his destiny lay, since the Sword of Destiny that originally belonged to him should have been swung down on Tiamat.

However, because of Rovey, neither he nor Solomon entrusted their destiny to Tiamat and Goetia, who were preordained by fate, but instead preserved them both. Therefore, he did not know when his own Sword of Destiny should be wielded again.

"Thank you, King Hassan, for giving me so much information."

After learning this important information, Rovey nodded slightly and thanked the old man.

Although it's not good news, having this old man reveal the truth gives him some insight and allows him time to think about countermeasures and solutions.

"It's alright, you should have known that anyway."

King Hassan shook his head, clearly unconcerned about the matter, and continued speaking to Rovey, "Now, I have told you everything that is important. In the coming days, I will venture alone into the Valley of Shadows to explore the mysteries of this world and seek the reason for the appearance of the title of Grand Rank. However, in this time, my Master will be entrusted to the protection of the Saint."

"I understand. Then I'll leave the task of investigating the situation to you."

Upon hearing this, Rovey nodded and immediately agreed, "Don't worry, I will take good care of Sakura and the others. You don't need to worry."

Upon hearing that King Hassan had volunteered to investigate the hidden secrets of the Holy Grail War, Rovey breathed a slight sigh of relief.

If it were anyone else, he might worry about what great secrets and dangers were hidden behind this Holy Grail War. But if it were King Hassan, who bore the title of Grand Rank, then it should be Hassan who was worried.

This old man is, after all, the originator of assassins, and his strength is top-tier even among Grand Rank. At least, Rovey can't think of anyone who could kill him. Even a fully-formed Goetia or Tiamat would be no match for King Hassan, who wanted to leave. It's safe to say that having King Hassan, who can ignore everything and infiltrate at will, to do this kind of thing is the perfect choice.

He hadn't acted before because he was worried about Sakura getting hurt, but now that his worries were gone, he was ready to wield the Sword of Destiny.

"Yes, I understand."

Hearing Rovey's assurance, King Hassan nodded sullenly. The next moment, his body was engulfed in a layer of deep blue flames, transforming him once again into the skeleton swordsman, ready to leave immediately.

"By the way, I personally recommend that you start by investigating a few Ley Line nodes, and then go to Ryūdō Temple. These places are the most suspicious."

Rovey narrowed his eyes, sighed, and said, "Also, if anything happens, please let me know as soon as possible. If my prediction is correct, this matter may also be related to me, and I should take responsibility."

"I understand. I'll take my leave now."

Upon hearing this, King Hassan gave Rovey a deep look, then nodded. Immediately afterward, dark blue flames and shadows rose up beneath his feet, and in the blink of an eye, his tall figure vanished from Rovey's side.

What's even stranger is that, despite being surrounded by a bustling crowd and walking into the heart of the city, despite their conspicuous appearance and actions, no one seemed to notice them. From the perspective of others, it was just Rovey talking to himself.

As a result, many people thought that Rovey had some kind of mental illness, so they took out their phones to call the hospital.

Rovey: "..."

While such an ability isn't surprising, the way it Presence Concealment is simply too terrifying. Just the ability to disappear into the Valley of Shadows alone would make it difficult for him to accurately detect even if someone leaves right in front of him.

Moreover, this old man is still the same as always. If he could simply Presence Concealment, then there would be no need for him to cosplay as the leader of the Beggars' Sect.

Is it a personal hobby?

The same thing happened in Mesopotamia.

Seeing this, Rovey Wei couldn't help but mutter a helpless complaint to himself.

He then politely declined several offers of help, slightly raised his hand, snapped his fingers near his ear, and hypnotized the hundreds of people around him, telling them not to pay attention to him, before successfully leaving.

However, entering the bustling city center was not accidental.

Rovey originally intended to come here to buy groceries.

After all this commotion since morning, lunchtime has already been skipped, and now it's already dinnertime.

He hadn't eaten, Rin Tohsaka hadn't eaten either, and it seemed Sakura hadn't eaten either. In that case, he decided to buy some ingredients to cook for them. And since this was their first meal together after their reunion, he planned to cook it himself and make it a bit more elaborate.

So Rovey Wei walked through the crowd, looking at the goods on the stalls.

However, there are still many high-end ingredients that are touted as such by unscrupulous merchants, but are actually cheap frozen products.

This made Rovey sigh that the people of this era were truly all cunning and unscrupulous in business.

Moreover, since these guys had already planned how to boast about their products, each of them stared intently at passersby, eager to pull them down and start a new round of manipulation.

Because Rovey was too lazy to haggle with them and had no habit of being taken advantage of, he maintained an indifferent attitude. Coupled with his Magecraft that made him inconspicuous, no one noticed him.

Only...

"Hey, buddy, we meet again!"

Before he could even take a step out, a hearty voice suddenly rang out, and the next moment, a thick, powerful arm suddenly stretched out from behind him.

Rovey turned around and, sure enough, there was Cú Chulainn's face behind him—a face he knew all too well.

"Don't be nervous, buddy, it's me, it's me!"

Cú Chulainn chuckled, completely oblivious to whether his behavior was impolite. He simply put his arm around Rovey's neck, pulled him to his stall, and then sat down in a hearty manner.

"Great, we meet again!"

Looking at the pile of all kinds of marine fish laid out in front of him, Rovey couldn't help but feel a little surprised.

"Are you... selling fish?"

Even though he already knew the answer, he couldn't help but ask.

"That's right, as you can see, that's exactly it."

Cú Chulainn, wearing a floral shirt and floral shorts, flashed a sunny and cheerful smile.

"These fish were caught by Master and me from the sea off Fuyuki City today. Just pick any you like; consider it a thank you for the drinks you bought me last time."

Cú Chulainn readily agreed.

"I see..."

Seeing Cú Chulainn's energetic appearance, Rovey couldn't help but smile.

It seems Cú Chulainn is living a very happy life in Fuyuki City...

However, seeing that there was only one person at the stall, Rovey couldn't help but ask.

"By the way, Cú Chulainn, where's your Master? Are you the only one?"

"Oh, you're asking about my master?"

Cú Chulainn, who was helping Rovey pick out fish, looked up when he heard the mention of Bazett and answered without hesitation, "Oh, she went to do other odd jobs after we finished catching fish together. She's probably still working as a delivery driver at this hour."

"That must have been really tough..."

Hearing the schedule of catching fish in the sea in the morning and working as a food delivery driver in the afternoon, Rovey immediately thought of the title "King of Wage Earners".

However, Cú Chulainn didn't think much of it; after all, that was a relatively easy job compared to the bloodshed of his time.

"Alright, buddy, these are the best ones. Take them all. Let's drink together again next time."

"Yes, thank you."

Taking the bag from Cú Chulainn, Rovey smiled at him, then reached into his pocket and took out a wad of banknotes, handing it to him.

"Huh? What's going on? This isn't a transaction, it's a gift from me..."

"Take it. Even if you don't eat, your master still needs to eat. How can I take away the fruits of your hard work for nothing?"

With that, Rovey stuffed the money into Cú Chulainn's hand.

"Besides, according to our last agreement, as long as I find some good wine that can get you drunk, you'll do my job. So consider the extra money your payment; you can use it to buy the wine yourself. I think as a Celtic warrior, you should still keep your word, right?"