Investigation / Chance Encounter (Bonus Chapter)

"Oh, by the way, this seems to be the first time you've spoken, Saber."

"Um..."

Saber, carrying her unconscious Master on her shoulder, responded softly.

"So what's your name?"

"..."

Truly, this is what they call "Rationality Evaporation"...

With these thoughts in mind, Archer stepped forward to stop Rider from pressing him for answers, and in return, he received a token of gratitude from Saber.

Although I have already violated the "no speaking" order, I should at least get my Master's permission before telling Rider my "true name".

"What?! Archer, you're actually helping Saber?!"

As Rider complained, the three figures gradually merged into the darkness deep within the forest, leaving only the once-silent forest and the unconscious android on the ground, whose awakening time was unknown.

[RT, Ending; skip this chapter if you don't want to follow the plot.]

(I've repeated this three times, please be gentle with your criticism, the following is the protagonist's storyline, similar plots are unlikely to appear again)

Chapter 193. Investigation

Meanwhile, on Wang Xiaoming's side—

Now that he had decided to accept Lord El-Melloi II's commission, dragging his feet was not in Wang Xiaoming's nature.

There was nothing to pack, but when I parted ways with Grandma Lina, she stuffed a whole bunch of Bucharest's local snacks into my bag to help ease the boredom of the journey.

"Grandma Lina, we will definitely come back to see you."

Lily made this promise to the kind old man who had provided her and Master with food and lodging for a few days. Afterwards, Wang Xiaoming took her onto a bus bound for Sighisoara.

"Master, can we really come back to see them?"

After finding a seat and sitting down again, Lily turned around and asked Wang Xiaoming, who was sitting next to her. However, perhaps because of the separation, Lily's light purple eyes seemed a little dim.

I am but a mere Servant in this Holy Grail War. Regardless, once the Holy Grail has determined its allegiance, I will ultimately return to my throne...

Making an impossible promise to an old man left Lily with a vague sense of guilt, even though she had never lied before.

Don't worry...

Reaching out to smooth Lily's slightly disheveled sideburns, Wang Xiaoming gave her a gentle smile, "I promise I'll make sure you see them again."

"Um--"

Lily nodded slightly. At times like this, she would subconsciously forget that she herself seemed to be the Servant.

There's no need to elaborate on the journey; in short, the two arrived at their destination before evening. However, since it was getting late, Wang Xiaoming took Lily to a local hotel and rented a suite.

Since Sighisoara is a well-known tourist destination, the hotel, though not large, was at least nicely decorated inside.

Perhaps because Lily hadn't yet recovered from the trauma of their previous separation, or perhaps because she was exhausted from the journey, Lily washed up early and went straight to bed, falling asleep soon after.

This left Wang Xiaoming, who had been sitting in the room the whole time, speechless. This kid really has a big heart.

He got up and went to the bedside. Looking at Lily sleeping peacefully, a smile involuntarily appeared on Wang Xiaoming's lips. After tucking her in, he whispered "Goodnight" in her ear, then turned off the light and left the room.

Click--

As the door closed and the moonlight streaming through the window began to dance again, a soft, sleepy murmur echoed in the room, which should have been quiet:

"Good night."

The next day--

Sitting in the hotel lobby, Wang Xiaoming watched Lily walk towards him. He noticed that the girl seemed to have regained her former spirits, so he smiled and asked her a question.

"I seem to be in a good mood today."

"That's right~"

Lily winked playfully at Wang Xiaoming, but didn't explain why. Wang Xiaoming didn't press her for an answer; in his opinion, as long as the girl in front of him was happy, that was enough.

"Then let's go."

With that, Wang Xiaoming got up and walked out of the hotel, while Lily obediently followed beside him.

However, after leaving the hotel, Lily realized that something was wrong—

"Master, why are there so few people in this city?"

Sighisoara, the birthplace of Vlad III Tsepeș, the hero who once saved Romania, has always been a source of pride for Romania and a must-see for foreign tourists visiting Romania.

But now, in Lily's eyes, the city was so desolate. The streets, which should have been bustling with activity, were deserted. Even when passersby occasionally walked by, they hurried on and quickly disappeared from the girl's sight.

"This is probably why the Lord El-Melloi II sent us to investigate."

As he spoke, Wang Xiaoming handed the change he had to the owner of the newsstand on the street, picked up a newspaper, glanced at it, and saw that the first page was about the city.

[A tenth unidentified body has been found on the street. Who will protect the safety of Sighisoara?!]

As a former journalist, ignoring the headlines that only third-rate newspapers would use, Wang Xiaoming focused his attention directly on the accompanying photos, all of which were labeled with the names of unidentified victims.

Although he had never met these dead people, Lord El-Melloi II had already told him their identities during their previous phone call.

The deceased were all Magecraft sent by the Mage's Association to provide liaison and support.

While the Magecraft of the Mage's Association have no say in Trifas, the situation is different in neighboring Sighisoara. Many Magecraft are stationed there as backup. Although their combat abilities are inferior to the "Red" Master, they still have many tasks to perform, such as surveillance and dispatching familiars.

However, they suddenly lost contact. Since they were obligated to report to the Mage's Association regularly, it was assumed that something had happened to them.

My task is to investigate who the "murderer" is.

"It must have been done by a [Black] faction Servant."

After putting the newspaper away, Wang Xiaoming was troubled.

His memories of the Great Holy Grail War were already blurred. He had originally planned to summon Medea and use her Magecraft to help him recall information about the battle, just like before.

Unexpectedly, Lily was summoned by a twist of fate. Although she was also Medea, Wang Xiaoming had no intention of letting her access his memories.

Having already severed all ties with the Mage's Association due to his slacking off during the Great Holy Grail War, he was completely clueless about the current state of the battle between the Red and Black factions.

"Since we're going to investigate, we'll first need relevant intelligence... Speaking of which, someone mentioned before that we seem to have a contact person on the mountains of Sighisoara, right?"

"Shall we go take a look?"

After hearing Wang Xiaoming talking to himself, Lily asked curiously.

"I think I'll pass... I just don't have a good feeling about that place."

Although Wang Xiaoming didn't have any concrete evidence, his sixth sense made him shake his head and reject Lily's suggestion, which meant that his only source of information had been cut off.

No, suddenly, an image of a fierce-looking middle-aged man flashed through Wang Xiaoming's mind—

The Master of the Red Faction seems to know someone as well...

Then Wang Xiaoming felt a heavy pat on his shoulder.

"Yo, Kadoya!"

Chapter 194. An Unexpected Encounter (Bonus Chapter)

"Yo, Kadoya!"

Wang Xiaoming, who had been patted on the shoulder, turned around and found a middle-aged man with a fierce face behind him, the kind of face that would make anyone instinctively reach for their phone to call the police, waving his hand at him.

"It's Saber's Master."

After recognizing the man, Wang Xiaoming's expression became quite interesting.

--This person really can't stand being talked about.

"Forehead..."

Kairi Shishigou felt a bit annoyed. He had simply seen an acquaintance and walked over to say hello. But what was with that look, like someone was looking at a rare animal?

Wang Xiaoming's response to this was--

Do you know who the fastest person in the world is?

Although somewhat puzzled, Shishigou still shared his guess:

"It should be 'Achilles', right?"

"..."

After hearing Shishigou's reply, Wang Xiaoming was now the one who felt frustrated. Why did they suddenly bring up that idiot?

"What's wrong?"

Shishigou, who also noticed Wang Xiaoming's negative emotions, couldn't help but wonder if his answer was wrong.

As the Greece hero who left behind the legend of being the fastest of all heroes throughout all ages, he is undoubtedly the fastest among all human Heroic Spirit.

"No, you're right... it's definitely that idiot."

Wang Xiaoming covered his face, no longer even wanting to argue.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Looking at Wang Xiaoming, who suddenly seemed to have been given a negative buff, Shishigou was also full of questions.

Caster's Master is really strange; he only ever says half of what he means.

"Master, what's wrong?"

Just then, a loud, carefree voice suddenly reached the ears of the group. Looking in the direction of the voice, they saw a blonde girl in casual clothes carrying a plastic bag marked with a gold "M" walking towards them.

"It's Caster and her Master."

Upon seeing Wang Xiaoming and Lily, the girl raised her hand to greet them, then took a hamburger from the plastic bag in her hand and stuffed it into her mouth.

"..."

"..."

Upon Saber's arrival, the atmosphere gradually took an awkward turn, and Shishigou increasingly felt that his act of approaching to greet her was a mistake. However, he still had to bite the bullet and break the awkward silence.

"This is Saber. You probably haven't seen her without her armor yet, have you?"

After hearing the introduction of Shishigou, Wang Xiaoming was fine, since he had developed some resistance to that face. But Lily was different. As the only bystander watching the two Masters ' "friendly interaction," she almost dropped her melon the moment Saber arrived.

After hearing Shishigou's introduction, Lily smashed the melon in her hand to the ground.

"Eh--Eh?!"

The agonizing screams of someone whose brain had short-circuited carried far, far away through the deserted streets of Sighisoara...

I'm so sorry!

In front of an open-air café, Lily was blushing as she apologized to Shishigou and Saber.

"Ah, it's nothing."

Shishigou waved his hand, indicating that he was fine, while Saber continued to stuff her hamburger into her mouth with a disgruntled expression.

What just happened was simple: Lily's scream of surprise attracted a passing police officer. To the officer, standing before the screaming girl was a menacing-looking middle-aged man...

In the end, Lily used Magecraft to help herself and the others escape.

"However, Caster, I'm still a little curious, why were you so surprised when you saw Saber?"

This question intrigued not only Shishigou but also Saber, who was standing nearby, who turned her attention in their direction.

"Because we had already met Ruler before this."

In response, Wang Xiaoming gently pulled Lily behind him to shield her from the prying eyes of others.