Chapter 111
Mordred paused for a moment, then said listlessly, "What's there to say? Haven't you studied history?"
Ryougi Shiki gently shook her head. "I want to hear you say it in person."
"So, as I said, there's really not much to say. I grew up with my mother, grew up to become Knights of the Round Table, it's that simple," Mordred said.
"And what about your Father King?" Ryougi Shiki suddenly asked.
She felt that if she could learn about that period of history, she might be able to understand where the bond between the father and daughter came from, and why the Rebellious Knight was not so rebellious in front of his own father.
"Father King?"
Mordred's eyes brightened slightly, giving her a "you're asking this and I'm wide awake" look, and she said, "My Father King is a very powerful man. Do you know Vortigern? That dragon. Back then, my other mother was ambushed, and we were trapped inside the palace gates. At that time, my Father King single-handedly faced an army of thousands and defeated Vortigern..."
In Mordred's depiction, Lan Ze is portrayed as a flawless hero, gentle and considerate towards his daughter, yet ruthless towards his enemies.
Ryougi Shiki paused slightly, "Facing an army of ten thousand alone?"
Mordred nodded. "And he's very considerate, and he has a singing voice that's awful but works really well."
"Singing?"
"Hmm, it's awful, but she once scared Vortigern with her singing." Mordred looked up at the ceiling and pondered for a moment, then opened her mouth slightly.
"Aaaaa~"
"That's roughly the kind of singing," Mordred said.
"... It really does sound awful," Ryougi Shiki said quietly.
"Actually, I didn't have many emotions when I was a child. You could say that even my emotions were given to me by my Father King." Mordred looked up at the moonlight, a hint of reminiscence in his eyes, and said softly.
"I see..." Ryougi Shiki looked thoughtful.
"So, your Father King gave you everything you have now?"
"Well, that makes sense." Mordred nodded slightly.
"To imbue with emotion..." Ryougi Shiki sat in the darkness, the soft moonlight illuminating her slightly pale, beautiful face. The silvery moonlight seemed to fall down, further highlighting the girl's fragility.
Although she already looks like a mature young woman, the expression she's displaying right now is as innocent as that of a middle school student.
Sajyou Manaka Aika is right, Ryougi Shiki is indeed not a rival in love, because she doesn't have any feelings for him.
She is Ryougi Shiki, no... to be precise, she should be called Origin Shiki.
"Could you say a little more?" Ryougi Shiki suddenly said softly, raising her eyelids to look quietly into Mordred's eyes.
The girl's beautiful eyes were breathtakingly gorgeous.
Mordred was involuntarily drawn to Ryougi Shiki's eyes, and after a brief moment of staring, she slowly shivered.
For a fleeting moment, Mordred even thought he was peering into an abyss.
She nodded gently. "Then let me tell you more. My Father King used to be incredibly powerful..."
Mordred began to recount her past experiences, while Ryougi Shiki simply gazed at her calmly, nodding slightly from time to time with a thoughtful expression.
Meanwhile, back at Einsbern Castle, Lan Ze immediately saw Yubis waiting for them at the gate. Yubs was dressed in a sharp suit and bowed slightly upon seeing Lan Ze, saying respectfully:
"King Arthur."
As he spoke, he subconsciously glanced at their clasped hands and nodded to himself.
It seems the king is quite satisfied with Irisviel...
Lan Ze nodded slightly. "Thank you for your hard work, Yubis. Next, the Master and I need to discuss the next steps. Do not enter Irisviel's room tonight without my permission."
"Yes," Yubis replied respectfully.
Lan Ze took Irisviel's hand and led her into the woman's boudoir.
"Irisviel, may I ask you a question?"
Back in his room, Lan Ze plopped down on the soft bed, then looked up at Irisviel and asked.
"Hmm... just say what you want to ask, Arthur," Irisviel said in a gentle voice.
"How much do you know about Ryougi Shiki?" Lan Ze asked.
He had felt a strange feeling when he first met Ryougi Shiki, and now, after thinking about it carefully, he realized where that sense of unease came from.
Why did Ryougi Shiki appear in Fuyuki?
In Lan Ze's memory, there shouldn't have been Ryougi Shiki during the Fourth Holy Grail War, but she just happened to appear in Fuyuki now and even participated in this Holy Grail War.
... It's really quite strange.
Irisviel gently shook her head and said, "Actually, I don't know much about Miss Shiki either. I've only ever met her once, and she's the only person from the Ryougi Family I've ever met."
So, the timeline I'm in is indeed different from what I remember... Lan Ze thought to himself thoughtfully.
Soon after, Lan Ze started to have a headache.
Thinking it over carefully, even if he could survive to the end in the Holy Grail War, he would still have to face Ryougi Shiki... To be honest, he wasn't very confident.
If I had known this would happen, I would have just waited patiently for Aika or Morgan le Fay to concoct Magic Potion to restore my body... Lan Ze thought to himself.
Of course, he had no intention of waiting patiently for someone to concoct the Magic Potion.
After all, you have to fight for things yourself... You can't just live off someone else all the time.
If I ultimately fail to win the Holy Grail War, I'll just rely on a woman then.
Just as Lan Ze was thinking this, Irisviel suddenly raised her head and called out, "Arthur..."
However, just as Irisviel raised her head, she saw a golden halo appear behind Lan Ze.
The Noble Phantasm from the Gate of Babylon hurtled toward Irisviel.
Then, the sword passed right past Irisviel and struck a large tree branch outside the window.
On that branch, a Servant was crawling on it, seemingly searching for an opportunity in the shadows.
That's... an assassin!
Lan Ze stared coldly ahead, then raised his hand again, unleashing the Noble Phantasm of the Gate of Babylon.
I can't believe there's an assassin with the guts to infiltrate the enemy camp on the very first day of the Holy Grail War... and just now they even planned to attack Irisviel! Did they really think I didn't notice?!
"Wait here for me, I'm going out to take a look."
Lan Ze muttered something under his breath, and after confirming that there were no other Servant nearby, he summoned Vimana and caught up with the Assassin who was fleeing towards the forest exit.
Meanwhile, Assassin was running frantically through the forest, his mind filled with shock.
He remembered what his Master had said to him earlier that day.
"Assassin, go and gather information from the Tohsaka Family."
Assassin initially intended to refuse, but Kotomine Kirei told him not to worry about the Servant summoned by Tohsaka Tokiomi, as it was just a mediocre Servant.
Upon hearing this, Assassin naturally chose to carry out his Master's mission. However, on his way to the Tohsaka Family, he encountered the Einzbern Family's Servant and Master. After obtaining Kotomine Kirei's permission, Assassin changed course and set his sights on Irisviel.
However, her Servant intuition was too sharp. Even though she had maintained an extremely wide distance, one that could easily cause her to lose track of him, there were still signs that she was about to be discovered.
Just moments ago, he had managed to sneak into Einsbern Castle undetected, and had only climbed to the treetop to scout out the enemy's situation when he was spotted by the enemy's Servant at the very first glance.
Damn it, what kind of insane thing is this?!
Assassin cursed inwardly as he sped up his escape, but the moment he turned around, he saw the enemy caster riding Vimana and closing in.
Assassin's heart pounded. He pushed his speed to the limit, dashing out of Einzbern's range. His figure was like a ghost, but the Servant relentlessly pursued him in the Heavenly Ark.
Where is the Master?!
Didn't you say you'd use Command Spells to send me back if I got into trouble?!
Before the assassin could even think, he sprinted off in a certain direction.
Facing the Servant behind him, he had absolutely no intention of retaliating.
The assassin's intuition told him that if he retaliated, he would definitely die!
As Assassin dodged and weaved, a very luxurious mansion soon came into view.
The Tohsaka Family!
He turned his head and glanced at the boy who had caught up in the distance. He gritted his teeth and stepped into the Tohsaka Family.
As my Master said, the Servant summoned by Tohsaka Tokiomi are quite mediocre. Compared to that extremely powerful Caster behind me, it's definitely safer to hide here.
As Assassin quietly infiltrated the Tohsaka Family compound, behind him, Lan Ze stopped high above the Tohsaka Family, looked down at the mansion below, and clicked his tongue.
Their strength isn't great, but they're pretty fast.
That makes sense, considering they are Assassins. These types of Servant excel at scouting enemy positions and concealing their presence. In terms of direct combat ability, they are definitely inferior to other classes.
Of course, there are always exceptions... like a certain assassin who doesn't seem like an assassin at all.
However, that assassin was more like a berserker than an assassin.
On another note, did that assassin never die, or what?
Lan Ze muttered to himself.
After leaving Einsbern Castle, she actually went to the Tohsaka Family on her own initiative...?
As Lan Ze thought of this, he turned to return to Einsbern Castle, but at that moment, a box suddenly popped up in front of his eyes.
[Mission: Obtain the blueprint for the Tohsaka Family's Jewel Sword before the Holy Grail War ends.]
"Jewel Sword?" Lan Ze was taken aback when he saw the words.
Jewel Sword... Why does this name sound so familiar?
In Lan Ze's mind, several murals he had seen in a cave in Britain slowly came to mind.
Wasn't that Jewel Sword being held by the man in the mural?
"Could that mural be related to the Tohsaka Family?" Lan Ze muttered to himself.
If that's not the case, then how come the blueprints for the Jewel Sword are in the Tohsaka Family?
But that's fine too... now couldn't be more opportune if I wanted to steal something.
After all, at this moment, both Golden Gil and Tohsaka Tokiomi's attention was probably completely drawn to that Assassin.
Thinking of this, Lan Ze put away the Vimana, then performed a leap of faith from high in the sky, quietly sneaking into the Tohsaka Family.
Late at night, a man in a red suit stood alone in the dark hall. He had a sexy mustache and held a wine glass in one hand. By all accounts, he was an exceptionally outstanding man.
Tohsaka Tokiomi, Type-Moon's designated scapegoat.
Theoretically speaking, all the blame can be placed on Tokiomi.
Regardless, this man was an extremely elegant Magecraft always maintained a gentlemanly demeanor.
At this very moment, Tohsaka Tokiomi was standing by the window, gazing up at the hazy moonlight, silently counting down in his mind.
As agreed, he would be putting on a show tonight with his disciple, Kotomine Kirei, one of the Master of this Holy Grail War.
A small experiment to test the true strength of the oldest King of Heroes.
Kotomine Kirei's Servant are theoretically multiple, so it would be best to use one of these multiple Assassins for the experiment.
After this experiment is completed, we can proceed with the next step of the plan.
With his disciples joining forces this time, their chances of seizing the Holy Grail will greatly increase.
Even the usually elegant Tohsaka Tokiomi couldn't help but feel a little excited at the thought of this.
But you can't laugh yet; it's not the right time.
The fact that one is an ally of one's disciple must never be revealed, otherwise, if the other Master find out, they may be attacked by all of them.
A soft bell rang out. Tohsaka Tokiomi looked up at the hazy moonlight, took a sip of red wine, and muttered to himself, "Has it finally arrived?"