The Revival of Makiri Zolgen

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Chapter 29: The Revival of Makiri Zolgen

Yesterday, at the banquet Li Zihan had spent a full hour preparing alone, all the Masters and Servants forgot their troubles, grudges, and even sorrow. They completely let themselves go and had a wonderful time. Even Tokiomi Tohsaka getting punched full of holes did nothing to hinder the guests' merriment. Host and guests alike were delighted—truly the greatest spectacle of the Holy Grail War.

That was all complete bullshit. Anyone who believed it was Aqua.

The black-haired youth sat alone in the pavilion, looking at the empty courtyard as he sighed. "Berserker, they left so quickly. They didn't even say goodbye. How rude."

"Tch, Rider's bull ate a huge patch of the lawn. And Archer, he took one bite and threw the rest away. He has no idea how to cherish food. Teacher was better—he and Lancer didn't eat anything or do anything. They didn't damage the venue, and they saved food." Li Zihan muttered on and on, looking deeply pained by the losses.

"Are you upset about it?" Alcaeus suddenly asked. "I couldn't tell."

"Of course not." Li Zihan spoke with perfect confidence. "It's not my stuff, so why should I care? A son selling his father's land doesn't feel bad about it. Besides, this isn't even my old man's property."

"Li-kun's words truly grieve this old man." Countless flying insects emerged from every corner of the courtyard and flew toward Li Zihan. The flies and crawling bugs gathered together like a living dark cloud. An old man holding a wooden staff stepped out from it. He was a hunched elder dressed in an indigo and dark-gray kimono. As he appeared, the entire courtyard filled with a nauseating stench of decay, like a corpse that had lain in a coffin until half its flesh had melted into putrid fluid. "Though you have not yet married this old man's granddaughter, you have already inherited the Matou Family's magecraft. Without question, you are the future head of the Matou Family. Everything here is your property."

Even if that's true, I can't exactly pack up the Matou Family and take it to another world! Never mind that the system hasn't activated yet—even if it does, and it has some absurd thing like a spatial inventory, there's no way it could fit the entire Matou Family inside!

"Old Man Matou, you came for the Immortal Grass." A broad smile appeared on Li Zihan's face. "You should know that the Immortal Grass is a divine object from mythology. Its price won't be low."

"But that price is within my means, is it not?" The old man leaned on his cane, his body unsteady as though he might collapse at any moment. He truly looked like an ordinary old man on the verge of death.

"Yes, you can afford this bill. But before that, please sign the agreement." Holding the divine herb in his hand—which looked no different from the weeds in the courtyard—Li Zihan hawked his wares like a second-rate salesman.

The parchment floated into the air under an unknown force and slowly drifted toward Matou Zouken. Matou Zouken reached out and caught it, carefully examining its contents.

The terms were not harsh. They were far more lenient than Matou Zouken had expected. If he had not sensed the binding power within the contract, he would have thought it was a fake.

"Believe me, this is a treasure for you." Li Zihan coaxed him patiently. "As long as you eat it, you can regain your youth once more. The magecraft you forgot will return as your soul is repaired, and your depleted vitality will be replenished again."

"Truly a transaction that tempts this old man." Matou Zouken tapped his cane and stared at Li Zihan. "Then what can you obtain from me?"

If Li Zihan's gains were less than the Immortal Grass, then this so-called transaction would be nothing but a joke. No one liked a losing deal, and mages—the oddities among humanity—took the instinct for profit to its absolute extreme.

The Immortal Grass was certainly tempting, but Matou Zouken would not gamble his life on a legend of immortality.

"The Command Spell system used to control Heroic Spirits. I want to reconstruct the Holy Grail." Li Zihan smiled. "You should have heard, through your familiars, the answer I gave before all the Masters and Servants. Compared to my plan, a mere Immortal Grass is not worth mentioning."

"Li-kun truly has lofty ambitions." Matou Zouken smiled as well. This was indeed a fitting answer.

Once the exchange of benefits was laid out in the open, negotiations became extraordinarily simple. There was no need for sophistry, nor was there a client with a broken brain. There was only each party taking what they needed, and that was more convincing than the most grandiose rhetoric.

"Then this old man thanks Li-kun once more." Matou Zouken signed the contract with his true name. With that, the transaction was complete.

"Then please consume it soon." Li Zihan handed the Immortal Grass to Matou Zouken. The narrow corners of his eyes easily brought some canine creature to mind.

Without hesitation, Matou Zouken stuffed the Immortal Grass into his mouth and chewed it in front of Li Zihan. His savage manner of eating was wilder than Rider's—wilder even than Rider's Divine Bull.

"How does it feel, Old Man Matou?" A flickering gleam appeared in Li Zihan's hand. It was Odin's exclusive armament, though it had yet to awaken.

If even the Immortal Grass could not save Matou Zouken's soul, then after obtaining the knowledge of the Command Spell system, he could only purify him by physical means.

"I feel wonderful." Matou Zouken chuckled softly, like Mephistopheles receiving Faust's soul—strange and terrifying.

"So this is what it feels like to be alive?" Matou Zouken's wretched body gradually began to straighten. He became a handsome man, with flowing blue hair, solid muscles, and a resolute face carved as if by a blade.

His vitality continued to grow. Flesh that had long ceased to exist was reborn beneath unknown divine power, his soul was gradually repaired, and forgotten memories were awakening. Matou Zouken had not felt this sensation in a very long time.