Command Spells Used Willfully

Mo Li's group arrived at the Einzbern Family castle first, where Kiritsugu Emiya and the others received them and led everyone into the courtyard.

Medea looked around throughout the journey, then remarked upon reaching the courtyard, "My, I didn't expect such an imposing castle to still exist in modern times."

Kiritsugu Emiya replied calmly, "They are an ancient Magus family, after all."

Mo Li said, "Kiritsugu Emiya, there's something you still need to do. Once it's done, the Einzbern Family won't pursue any matter concerning you any further."

Kiritsugu Emiya froze for a moment, unable to imagine what could possibly achieve such a result. He immediately asked, "What is it?"

Mo Li explained the arrangement he had reached with the old head of the Einzbern Family to Kiritsugu Emiya and Irisviel. Both were deeply shaken after hearing it.

"So that great power is going to intervene in the Holy Grail War..." Kiritsugu Emiya said thoughtfully. "That isn't entirely unexpected. After all, they are newcomers in the world of magecraft and have only just gotten started. If they could obtain an all-powerful wish-granting device, they really could surpass the old powers. Besides, having one's wishes fulfilled is undeniably tempting, even for a great power..."

Irisviel looked worried. "Will the main family truly forgive us? We did break directly into the Einzbern Family estate and rescue Illya."

Mo Li said, "Don't worry. The new head of the Einzbern Family splitting from the previous head due to disagreements is entirely different from rebelling against the new head, leaving the Einzbern Family, then charging back into Winter Castle and causing a huge scene. The impact on the Einzbern Family would be vastly different too. Even without my support, he would choose the former over the latter. If it came to the latter, the Einzbern Family would lose all face."

Besides, in the original history, the Einzbern Family had merely disliked the failed Kiritsugu Emiya and prevented him from returning home to see Illya. They had never actually attacked him.

Illya looked at Mo Li and gave him an adorable smile. "Thank you for saving me, big brother!"

On the way back to Fuyuki, Irisviel had already explained the entire situation to Illya. Suddenly returning home and taking Illya away had caught everyone by surprise, not to mention bringing along an unfamiliar Servant.

Mo Li smiled and rubbed Illya's head. "You haven't been completely saved yet. Let's talk after we finish the final step."

Illya said, "Okay!"

Kiritsugu Emiya looked anxiously at Illya. He himself did not have much time left to live, and he absolutely could not let Illya be as short-lived as he was.

His gaze shifted to Mo Li's face, which seemed to be smiling yet held little real emotion. Kiritsugu Emiya could only hope that this man truly had a way to save Illya.

Irisviel suddenly said, "More people are coming."

Artoria said, "Lancelot and I will go receive them."

The two arrived at the entrance.

Fortunately, because they knew people were coming, the Einzbern maids had opened the gates and had not specifically closed them again. Otherwise, Iskandar's chariot would definitely have smashed them apart.

At this moment, the chariot carried not only Iskandar and Waver Velvet, but also Kirei Kotomine and Hassan of the Hundred Faces. As the chariot's owner, Iskandar seemed unafraid that Hassan of the Hundred Faces and the others might have thoughts of assassinating him.

They had run into each other by chance. Kirei Kotomine saw Iskandar passing by and simply hitched a ride.

Iskandar glanced at the maids, then looked toward Artoria and Lancelot, who had come from the courtyard. "Yo, Saber. You two came out to welcome us? But why is that Berserker still wearing a suit of black armor?"

Artoria, dressed in men's clothing, said, "Sir Lancelot currently has the appearance of a Berserker and could easily frighten people. This is better."

Kirei Kotomine jumped down from the chariot and asked Artoria, "How many people have arrived so far?"

"The Lancer's group and the King of Heroes' group are the only ones who haven't arrived."

Kirei Kotomine took several stacked boxes from the chariot. "I need to borrow the kitchen here. I've brought all the ingredients myself."

Artoria said in confusion, "Hm? You need the kitchen?"

Kirei Kotomine answered as though it were only natural, "That's right. Now that all these heroes have gathered, I intend to challenge everyone with my own abilities. My cooking is what I rely upon!"

Artoria said, "...All right. Just have a maid take you there."

Kirei Kotomine immediately asked one of the Einzbern maids for assistance, then took Hassan of the Hundred Faces with him to the kitchen. At this moment, he rather appreciated the fact that Hassan of the Hundred Faces had so many bodies—there would at least be plenty of hands to prepare ingredients and cook.

Iskandar said expectantly, "I'm truly looking forward to seeing what special food that Master can produce to challenge us."

Still unaware of just how absurd Kirei Kotomine's cooking was, the Conqueror King let out an ignorant laugh.

"Ha ha ha! Fine then, King of Knights, hurry and lead us to the gathering place! If it's a gathering, then of course there must be wine, and for wine, there must be a good place! Quickly, let's go to the courtyard!"

"Fine. Follow us." Artoria turned and walked into the castle, while Berserker Lancelot followed her back in silence.

Iskandar hoisted a wine barrel onto his shoulder and followed with Waver Velvet.

Once they reached the courtyard, Iskandar set down the wine barrel and said to Mo Li, "Hey, Mo Li. This is a gathering of seven heroes, at the very least. Can you let your Servant regain his sanity and properly join us for the banquet?"

"Well..." Mo Li looked at Lancelot. Berserker Lancelot could indeed regain his sanity. Though he had suffered from the early Berserker setting, he was not beyond saving. Once the Moon World had refined the lore, there were plenty of ways to resolve his problem.

Besides, Berserker Lancelot had retained his sanity to begin with. Sometimes, he even played the fool.

Mo Li smiled helplessly, then extended a hand toward Berserker Lancelot. "By the name of the Berserker's Master, I command Lancelot to fully regain his sanity!"

A circular Command Spell on Mo Li's hand lit up, then faded somewhat.

Waver Velvet stared at Mo Li in shock. "You used up a Command Spell for something like this?!"

Mo Li said, "Yeah. What else was I supposed to do? Besides, Lancelot with his sanity fully restored might be even harder to deal with."

Iskandar laughed loudly. "Ha ha ha! I think more and more highly of you, Mr. Mo Li!"

Nearby, Ritsuka Fujimaru said to Mash Kyrielight, "Senior Mo's way of using Command Spells seems pretty reckless."

Mash Kyrielight replied, "Because he isn't under any pressure, perhaps? He should be quite powerful."

After the Command Spell was used, black smoke still rose from Lancelot's body, but he quickly drew it back under his control before removing his helmet.

What appeared before everyone was the face of a middle-aged man who seemed weathered by countless hardships. Artoria could not help but feel a pang of sorrow when she saw him. Compared to the spirited knight in her memories, he looked utterly exhausted. "Sir Lancelot, I pushed you all too hard..."

"My king, we hold no resentment toward you. Please do not dwell on it." Lancelot bowed to Artoria.

"But Britain under my rule had already reached its end, and it was all my fault for being incapable..."

Lancelot continued, "My king, please do not doubt yourself. You are our absolute king, our shared choice, and the chosen king of all Britain at that time. Reaching its end was the fault of the entire kingdom itself. The blame does not rest entirely on you."

Mo Li suddenly spoke up. "Artoria, would you mind if I said something?"

Artoria looked at Mo Li. He was extraordinarily capable, and he was even close to becoming the king of this land beneath their feet. What did he want to say?

Artoria took a deep breath, steadying her tumultuous emotions. "Please, speak."

Mo Li said, "You are a king. As a king, all you need to do is fulfill a king's duties. Artoria, do you know? If I had been in your position, I would not have done much more than you did. As a man, I could have resolved the matter with Guinevere in advance—that is something you could not compare with—but the downfall of your kingdom did not lie there."

Mo Li looked at Lancelot. "A nation has never been upheld by a single king alone. Just as Lancelot said, reaching its end was the fault of the entire kingdom itself. When ancient Britain fell, every official and subject in your nation was at fault. If your subjects had been capable of governing Britain properly, then your kingdom would not have fallen. Conversely, since it did fall, it simply meant that you lacked the ability."

Mo Li walked over to Artoria, placed both hands on her shoulders, and stared straight into her eyes. "Do you know? When I learned that a country actually needed to rely on a Sword in the Stone to choose its king, I knew that country would not last long. It was far too childish. In my land of Huaxia, our emperors always fought their way to the throne themselves. We did not rely on some chosen king or a Sword in the Stone to determine who was qualified to become king."

"You drew the Sword in the Stone and became Britain's chosen king of that era. Through your own efforts, you truly became the King of Knights. But since you chose to bear that legend sung by all, then from the moment the Sword in the Stone broke, wasn't it only natural that the kingdom you ruled would be destroyed? Your qualification to become king was certified by drawing the Sword in the Stone, not by drawing the Sword in the Stone after becoming king."

"After all, the path you chose was to draw the Sword in the Stone and be recognized as the chosen king. Naturally, the Sword in the Stone accounted for most of what made you king. If you had not needed the Sword in the Stone, had not believed in those legends, and had instead created a nation through your own abilities, then your ending would absolutely not have been merely this. Your kingdom would not have met its destruction while you were still on the throne."

Artoria clenched her teeth. "You..."

Mo Li continued, "Artoria, was your path as king about wanting to become king yourself and govern Britain of that era well, or was it about the Sword in the Stone representing the will of heaven and choosing you to govern Britain well? Have you ever considered that question? That is your greatest problem!"