Chapter 109

She walked with her hands behind her back, her boots clicking on the floor, and then stood in front of the window, turning back to smile.

"I'm not just your adopted sister,"

"I'm still Heroic Spirit."

"Your Majesty, are we still going there?"

After leaving the Ryougi Family with Lan Ze, Irisviel followed him through the streets late at night and suddenly asked a question.

"Let's go to the Holy Church first. If we can find a way to transfer the Command Spells to you, the situation will be more favorable for us," Lan Ze said.

After all, those are Command Spells, and each Command Spells replenishes the Heroic Spirit's magical energy, so they are quite useful.

Of course, if the magic power is infinite, then Command Spells are not needed.

For example, if the Master of the Holy Grail War were Sajyou Manaka, there would probably be no need to worry about the lack of magical energy.

Actually, it's not good for Master to have too many Command Spells... The more Command Spells Servant has, the stronger the Master's control over the Heroic Spirit becomes, which is actually quite dangerous.

But if Irisviel receives the Command Spells, then Lan Ze won't be worried.

Irisviel is a gentle woman. Even if she obtains more Command Spells, there's no need to worry about her using them recklessly. As long as she replenishes his mana at crucial moments, it's equivalent to having two mana bars against someone else's one.

Even if you encounter Golden Trio of the same level, you can wear them down.

"But before that, we need to double-check if anyone is following us..." Lan Ze said, glancing back at the scene.

The pale white light shone on the empty street; there were no pedestrians around, nor was there any sign of any Heroic Spirits.

"Are you worried that Miss Ryougi might secretly follow us?" Irisviel asked in a low voice.

Lan Ze nodded slightly. "She didn't follow us, so it seems she doesn't suspect why we went out earlier... Let's go."

I wonder if Ryougi Shiki is a particularly upright person. If she knew they were planning to cheat and steal more Command Spells, I wonder what she would think.

It might turn into. "King Arthur, I never imagined you were a cheater! To preserve the beautiful image I have of Mo Zai, I'll personally send you back to the Throne of Heroes!"

Then he drew his sword and swung it at him.

"Arthur... we've arrived."

As Lan Ze was still lost in thought, Irisviel's soft call pulled him back to reality.

Lan Ze snapped out of his daze and looked up.

Ahead stood a church exuding an ancient and sacred aura, nestled perfectly under the dark night sky, where all was quiet.

After his gaze lingered on the Holy Church for a moment, Lan Ze suddenly paused, and then his expression changed slightly.

It smells bloody!

Holy crap, someone got here before us to steal the Command Spells?

I hate cheaters more than anything in my life!

Of course, he also dislikes those who try to stop him from cheating.

Noticing the questioning look from Irisviel, Lan Ze explained, "Someone got here before us."

Mother of All had given Lan Ze a lot of magic power. This magic power not only transformed Lan Ze's magic power into Mother of All's magic power, but also improved Lan Ze's physical fitness.

Therefore, he was extremely sensitive to the smell of blood.

"Hold on tighter." As Lan Ze finished speaking, he wrapped his arm around Irisviel's slender waist.

"Ah!"

Irisviel suddenly let out a small gasp. Lan Ze had already grabbed Irisviel's soft body and jumped to the top of the Holy Church. The wind blew her silver hair into a mess, and she held Lan Ze's neck tightly with both hands.

Lan Ze looked down at the city from above, but did not see any Heroic Spirit.

Without giving Irisviel any time to process what was happening, Lan Ze leaped off the Holy Church. Irisviel covered her mouth with one hand and let out a small, excited cry, seemingly finding the feeling of freefall quite thrilling.

Despite her sexy and mature body, she seems like a little girl. If this were during a battle, she might have already been spotted by the enemy. Moreover, she's so oblivious to her surroundings that I have to spend more time looking after her... Lan Ze frowned secretly, feeling somewhat dissatisfied. As he put Irisviel down, he turned around, about to reprimand her.

Irisviel looked up, a strand of silver hair falling across her delicate, fair face, and blinked. "What's wrong, Saber?"

... It's really beautiful.

"It's alright, but we need to be careful now, there might be danger here." Lan Ze smiled slightly, his anger subsiding considerably.

Well, it's no big deal to put in a little more effort to protect the Master; after all, it's Servant's duty!

Pulling Irisviel behind him, Lan Ze carefully pushed open the door of the Holy Church.

Almost the instant the door was pushed open, a strong smell of blood assaulted the nostrils. At the end of the red-carpeted aisle, an old man in a priest's robe lay in a pool of blood, spitting out blood.

Lan Ze's pupils widened slightly.

Holy crap, what happened to the referee?!

Kotomine Risei is a priest of the Holy Church and also the supervisor in charge of this Holy Grail War.

In the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki, being a referee is a high-risk profession, especially since they carry a large number of Command Spells. If other Master discover this, it will inevitably raise suspicions.

For example, there's the mysterious person who attacked Kotomine Risei, and then there's Lan Ze, who was planning to attack Kotomine Risei.

After all, obtaining Command Spells means a substantial boost to Heroic Spirit's combat power, and anyone would be tempted by that.

In this Holy Grail War, if you maintain elegance or look down on other Master, you'll probably be crushed long ago.

Lan Ze quickly stepped forward, Irisviel reacted just as quickly, rushing forward to squat down next to Kotomine Risei, a healing green light emanating from her hand.

"How is he? Is there any chance of saving him?" Lan Ze asked from the side.

Irisviel nodded slightly, her expression solemn.

She no longer had the energy to speak.

"Cough..."

Kotomine Risei suddenly coughed, and blood spilled from his mouth.

He slowly opened his eyes and weakly asked, "Who are you...?"

"Who attacked you, Master Servant this Holy Grail War?" As Lan Ze spoke, he rolled up Kotomine Risei's sleeves, but found no Command Spells on his arms or the backs of his hands.

"Where are the Command Spells?"

"It was... it was stolen."

"Who did this?" Lan Ze asked hurriedly.

This priest had an absurd number of Command Spells, and now they've all been snatched away. If he doesn't confirm the identity of the person who took them, he might suffer a lot in the ensuing battle.

"Yes, yes..."

Kotomine Risei's pupils slightly lost focus, as if he was about to faint.

Irisviel grew anxious, and her clear, pleasant voice urgently asked, "Who is it?"

"Yes..."

You better hurry up and say it!

Lan Ze stared at Kotomine Risei's aged face and said in a deep voice, "Finish what you have to say, or I'll really send you on your way!"

The old man clearly still had the energy to speak, but he refused to. Obviously, Kotomine Risei wanted them to stay and protect him, and also to have Irisviel continue his treatment.

That old scheming freak.

"It's Heroic Spirit... the arbiter of this Holy Grail War..." Kotomine Risei struggled to keep his mind from collapsing and weakly uttered the true culprit.

The adjudicator...?

How could there be a arbiter in this Holy Grail War?!

Lan Ze had some doubts.

"What's your name?" Lan Ze asked quickly.

Aren't the adjudicators supposed to be responsible for ensuring the fairness, impartiality, and transparency of the Holy Grail War? How come they stole someone else's Command Spells on the very first night of the Holy Grail War?

"I don't know... the other person was wearing a cloak, I couldn't see clearly..."

After saying this, Kotomine Risei could no longer bear the dizziness in her brain, rolled her eyes, and completely fainted.

Lan Ze remained silent in the church hall for a long time.

Unexpectedly, the adjudicator blew the whistle unfairly... and took away someone else's Command Spells.

Is this what adjudicators should be doing?

"Saber, what do we do now?" Irisviel suddenly asked softly.

Lan Ze snapped out of his daze and thought for a moment, "Let's get out of here first. If others see us, they'll probably think we stole the Command Spells."

"But isn't the reason we came here precisely because..."

"Our goal is also to obtain the Command Spells, but at most we'll communicate with this priest and get him to cooperate in handing Command Spells over," Lan Ze said. "In short, if it were me, I wouldn't force him to hand over the Command Spells."

Irisviel smiled slightly and nodded gently, "Yes, I believe Saber is an upright person."

This woman is so dazzling... Lan Ze was unusually embarrassed by Irisviel's words. He pretended not to hear Irisviel's words, raised his finger, and the healing ability of Rune Magic slowly healed Kotomine Risei's wound.

Then, he moved Kotomine Risei to a bench nearby.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Kotomine Kirei will definitely find his father tomorrow; the rest can be left to Kirei Kotomine.

But just as Lan Ze was about to leave, his gaze suddenly fell on the ground beneath his feet.

That's where Kotomine Risei just fell down.

He crouched down, lowered his head, and lightly touched the small hole in the red carpet caused by the burn with his index finger.

This is probably a trace left by the adjudicator.

His Noble Phantasm is the Arbiter of Fire...?

Lan Ze fell into a brief moment of contemplation.

"Saber, did you find anything?" Irisviel walked up behind Lan Ze and asked softly, afraid of disturbing his thoughts.

Lan Ze quickly collected his thoughts, shook his head and smiled:

"It's alright, let's go."

In the Fuyuki of night, not a soul could be seen in Fuyuki. Lan Ze and Irisviel walked among the swirling, falling leaves of late autumn. Under the pitch-black sky, the cold wind made them shiver.

Irisviel pulled her collar tighter to keep herself warm, while glancing at the boy beside her.

Lan Ze was clearly distracted throughout the journey, pondering who had attacked the priest.

Logically speaking, the arbiter summoned by the Holy Grail, even if not entirely fair, should at least abide by the rules, right?

According to the rules, the adjudicator should not act without cause.

... unless it is legitimate self-defense.

Did the adjudicator provoke the priest first, and then retaliate only after the priest made the first move?

Regardless, since we haven't obtained the Command Spells, we can only wait and see tonight until we confirm the identity of the Arbiter before taking any action.

"By the way, Saber, there's something I can ask you?"

Just then, Irisviel's clear voice came from the side, pulling Lan Ze back from his thoughts.

"Why do you think that girl brought up the alliance?" Irisviel asked softly.

You've touched on an area I'm unfamiliar with; I'm quite curious about it myself... Lan Ze pondered for a moment, "She probably has some kind of purpose, like with your father... I guess you could call him your father?"

Lan Ze paused, looked at Irisviel's exquisite face, smiled, and said, "Probably like Yubis, she'd give me her child to curry favor."

Irisviel's small mouth opened slightly, and soon a beautiful blush rose on her delicate, snow-white face. She lowered her head slightly.

She recalled the scene of sharing a bed with Lan Ze last night. Although Lan Ze didn't do anything to her, it was still quite embarrassing.

Yubis said she was to serve Lan Ze well, but the true meaning behind the phrase "serve well" is something only those who understand can truly grasp.

The atmosphere was slightly silent, and withered leaves drifted in the cold wind, landing right on Irisviel's snow-white neck.

Lan Ze removed the withered leaf from her neck and gently patted off the dust. "Let's go back first."