Waver's miserable cries echoed through the clouds.
"Rider! Put me down!"
"Put me down already—"
Right after that, Iskandar steered his chariot down to the ground, with his Master Waver draped over his shoulder.
"Ha ha ha—"
His hearty, bold laughter echoed across the docks.
Iskandar looked at Su Luo with approval. "Not bad, Lancer's Master. You actually blocked Saber's sword and even pinned her down completely."
"It's hard to imagine that a Magus like you appeared in this era."
"I am Iskandar, the King of Conquerors! Lancer's Master, are you willing to join my ranks and conquer the world with me?"
Because of Su Luo's [Grand Caster Succubus] Trait.
No matter their age or gender, whether they were Divine Spirits or Heroic Spirits, everyone who saw Su Luo would develop a strong favorable impression of him.
That favorability would not decrease and would prevent them from doing anything to harm Su Luo.
However, the favorability of female Heroic Spirits differed from that of male Heroic Spirits.
For the former, it was love—steadfast affection, a desire to become Su Luo's wife.
For the latter, it was friendship—pure, sincere friendship, a desire to become Su Luo's closest friend.
Therefore, when Iskandar saw Saber's Master use a Command Spell to order Saber to attack Su Luo, he had intended to step in and block the attack for him.
It was simply that he was too far away from Su Luo.
He could not teleport to Su Luo's side.
Yet that allowed him to witness Su Luo suppressing Saber.
That only strengthened the King of Conquerors' desire to recruit Su Luo, a desire he had felt the moment he saw him.
Before Su Luo could reply, another Servant impatiently revealed himself.
"Zasshu, where did you get those Chains of Heaven!?"
On a streetlamp not far from Su Luo and the others.
A golden figure suddenly appeared, standing atop it.
The arriving Servant was none other than Gilgamesh.
He had originally been watching Artoria and Lancelot's battle from afar.
Then Su Luo appeared with the King of Lions.
Even after Su Luo and the King of Lions eliminated Lancelot, he still had no intention of showing himself.
Not until he saw Su Luo use the Chains of Heaven did he finally change his mind.
What surprised him even more was that, despite his arrogant nature, he felt no anger upon seeing someone else use his good friend. He was merely curious.
Curious about where Su Luo had obtained the Gate of Babylon—and even the Chains of Heaven.
Hearing Gilgamesh's question, Su Luo flashed a brilliant smile and said something that made the corners of the mouths of the many Servants present, as well as the Masters secretly watching, twitch.
"I got lucky and pulled it from a Lottery."
Sajyou Manaka's Watchful Gaze
"I got lucky and pulled it from a Lottery."
Su Luo's words kept echoing in their minds, leaving Kiritsugu Emiya and the others speechless.
Did he even hear what he was saying?
He pulled a divine artifact from the Age of Gods in a Lottery?!
Why not say the Chains of Heaven were a free gift when he topped up his phone bill?!
The Masters participating in the Holy Grail War had thought of the myths and history associated with the Chains of Heaven as soon as they heard Gilgamesh mention them.
That was why they found Su Luo's words utterly absurd.
Even if he did not want to explain, there was no need to make up such a ridiculous lie.
A crack instantly appeared in the streetlamp beneath Gilgamesh's feet.
The light went out, clearly showing just how unsettled Gilgamesh was.
Su Luo did not care about any of that and directly summoned the system to bind Gilgamesh and the others.
As a series of successful binding notifications sounded in his mind, a hint of regret appeared on Su Luo's face.
Aside from Kiritsugu Emiya and Waver, the remaining sly Masters had not shown themselves.
Only Hassan of the Hundred Faces remained among the Servants he had yet to bind.
What a pity.
"Fine. Since you do not wish to say it, I shall not force you."
"However, the Chains of Heaven are not merely a divine construct forged by the gods in the Age of Gods. They are also my dear friend, Gilgamesh's!"
"If you cannot treat her well, do not blame me for being unpleasant!"
Gilgamesh ultimately did not lose his temper and merely delivered a rather tsundere declaration.
Yet this left his Master, Tokiomi Tohsaka, utterly stunned, as though his entire worldview had collapsed.
Since when had the oldest king been so easy to talk to?
Even before Gilgamesh, Tokiomi had to lower himself and act like his subject just to barely persuade that arrogant king to help him win the Holy Grail War.
Yet Su Luo had maintained a frivolous attitude from beginning to end.
Even in front of Gilgamesh, he remained the same.
Most importantly, Gilgamesh did not seem to mind at all.
Given Gilgamesh's temperament, he should have been furious upon seeing Su Luo use the Chains of Heaven. He might even have started a battle immediately and killed Su Luo.
Yet Gilgamesh merely made a few tsundere declarations and let the matter go?!
How could Tokiomi not be shocked?!
Back to Su Luo's side.
After saying those words, Gilgamesh left first.
He knew that no matter what happened next, they would not fight. Besides, Su Luo still needed to deal with Kiritsugu Emiya, so he would leave the space to him.
Gilgamesh's appearance left everyone present feeling rather baffled.
But that did not affect Su Luo and the others.
After seeing Gilgamesh leave, the King of Conquerors turned his gaze back to Su Luo. "Well, Lancer's Master? What do you say?"
"I refuse. I have no intention of serving under anyone. Even if I were to join someone, I would join the king beside me."
Seeing Su Luo's unwavering attitude, Iskandar understood that he would likely be disappointed this time.
While feeling a trace of regret, his desire to conquer rose once again.
Only someone with such firm convictions made him want to conquer them.
Only then would he conquer them!
Once he conquered Su Luo, he would be far happier than if the conquest had come easily.
With that thought in mind, Iskandar laughed heartily, then hoisted Waver beside him onto his shoulder and boarded his chariot.
"In that case, Lancer's Master, my invitation will remain open. Whenever you change your mind, I will welcome you."
He had also noticed that their arrival had interrupted Su Luo's business.
Now that he had received his answer, there was no need to continue taking up Su Luo's time.
As Waver's miserable screams rang out once more, Iskandar and his chariot vanished from Su Luo and the others' sight.
Seeing this, Su Luo wore a malicious smile as he looked at Kiritsugu Emiya.
"Now no one will interrupt us. Kiritsugu Emiya, ally of justice, right?"
"Heh. What exactly do you want?" Kiritsugu Emiya heard the mockery in Su Luo's final words, but his expression remained calm.
The moment he decided to participate in the Holy Grail War, he had already prepared for the worst.
For himself to die in the Holy Grail War.
If that truly happened, he would only regret failing to realize his ideal.
He would not fear death.
Thus, not only was he unafraid at this moment, he was also deeply curious about why Su Luo had spared his life.
Was he going to torture him?
Or did he have a deeper purpose?
Kiritsugu Emiya was curious.
From the moment Su Luo had the King of Lions kill Lancelot, Kiritsugu Emiya could tell that he was not a softhearted person.
If that was the case, how could Su Luo possibly spare someone who had tried to kill him?
Yet Su Luo had chosen to leave him alive, so he must have intended to use him for some purpose.
Su Luo chuckled at his words and originally had no intention of paying Kiritsugu Emiya any attention.
But at that moment, a burning gaze watched him from afar.
Su Luo was more than familiar with such a gaze.
Melly had once looked at him with the same eyes.
But at this distance, with a gaze intense enough to draw his attention.
The person watching him was clearly no ordinary person.
With that thought, Su Luo used Clairvoyance and turned toward the source of the gaze.
His view continued to draw closer until he saw the top of a crimson tower.
A blonde girl in a pale blue Lolita dress entered his sight.
The girl was extremely cute.
Her delicate features and ethereal aura made her seem like an Elf descending from myth into the modern world.
Her flawless skin was as fair and translucent as white jade, as though it had never been tainted by worldly dust.
She retained the purity of an infant.
The girl noticed that he had looked over.
She neither stopped watching him nor fled the scene at once.
Instead, she gave him a noblewoman's salute, then wore a radiant smile on her delicate, adorable face.
Just like that, the girl continued standing atop the tower and watching Su Luo.
Seeing this, Su Luo withdrew his gaze.
He recognized who the girl was.
Sajyou Manaka.
A girl who had been connected to the Root from the moment she was born.
She was the genuine Princess of the Root.
The purpose behind the burning gaze she was directing at him was already obvious.
Because Sajyou Manaka could not see his future.
Everything about him was unknown to the girl.
Before you continue