Gray, Waver, and Hephaestion

"So when did you start to have doubts?" Hartless asked Waver again.

Waver said seriously, "I had my suspicions from the moment you started questioning me about the Holy Grail War."

"It seems I was too hasty," Hartless nodded.

"The former head of the Department of Modern Magecraft, the academic leader who managed the Department of Modern Magecraft before me, I never expected to meet you here."

Waver stared at Hartless, whom he had heard of before. Even though he was the only non- Lord among the twelve departments of the Clock Tower, his mystery was not to be underestimated.

"The one who provided you with the information must be Yvette, my good student?"

"You've been exposed?"

Yvette frowned, looking troubled.

"Before he became a spy for the Mei Astia Faction, he had other jobs and received a lot of help from this person back then."

Furthermore, he promised that they could study the photographed Mystic Eyes before the transplant.

Hartless chuckled and continued, "After all, I wasn't able to hand over the reins in person when you took over as Dean of the Faculty. By then, I had already given up on the Clock Tower."

He seemed genuinely happy about the encounter, yet also genuinely indifferent; perhaps these two feelings were essentially the same.

"By the way, the reasoning isn't over yet, is it? It's the part you're most fixated on, 'Why didn't you do it?'"

Why do this?

Waver readily replied, "Isn't it obvious? Your curiosity about the Holy Grail War, and the appearance of the Heroic Spirit Hephaestion, all point to your purpose."

"Summon Heroic Spirit!"

"You've already achieved your goal, haven't you? As for why you didn't leave and instead came to this auction, it's probably because you wanted to get the Mystic Eyes as a bonus."

"Wait a minute! You mean he really summoned that thing?" The other Magus all looked at Waver, incredulous at the news.

Waver continued to explain, "Repairing the Ley Line, connecting to the Greater Grail in the Far East, plus my Master once participated in the Holy Grail War, and the relics."

"You summoned Hephaestion on the very first night, didn't you?"

"It took me a whole year to come up with this idea," Hartless did not deny.

He looked at Yuxian and the children around him, "But to be honest, I was quite shocked to see so many Heroic Spirit by Mr. Yuxian's side at the same time."

Upon hearing Hartless's words, everyone's gaze turned to Yuxian Xian.

The fact that legendary figures like Heroic Spirit were on this train with them, right beside them, was astonishing.

The thought filled them with immense shock.

Hartless continued with a smile, "The legendary serial killer of foggy London, Jack the Ripper, no one would have imagined that he would be such a cute little girl."

His gaze fell on Jack, and he scrutinized him closely.

Yuxian's face darkened. He narrowed his eyes and said in a low voice, "Watch your tone, or you might not be able to leave this carriage!"

"Mom, can we disassemble him?"

Jack was disgusted by Hartless's gaze. She drew her dagger, held it upside down in her hands, and if Yuxian nodded, she would rush forward without hesitation and tear this guy with the fake smile in front of her to pieces.

Hartless seemed to be swayed by Yuxian and Jack's threats, and he bowed to them with very standard aristocratic manners.

"I'm sorry, I misspoke."

The others also turned their attention away; it would be unwise to provoke Yuxian at this moment.

Upon seeing this, the train conductor Rohan, immediately opened the sunroof of the carriage, fearing that if they started fighting, the Eyeball Collection Train would be destroyed, and he would have nowhere to turn to cry.

"Mr. Yuxian's relationship with these children is truly enviable," Hartless continued. "Could you please explain how you summoned so many children?"

Yuxian said calmly, "Because I used all my money to summon Heroic Spirit."

Such an answer was certainly unconvincing, and Hartless didn't dwell on it; he hadn't expected Yuxian to answer his question anyway.

"One last question, and I hope you won't find it annoying," Hartless said with a slight bow. "This is Hephaestion wants to ask."

Before he could ask the question, Yuxian answered directly, "Is it Iskandar? Because Iskandar is among the people I summoned."

"Oh?"

This time, not only Hartless, but even Waver looked at Yuxian with shining eyes.

However, Yuxian had no intention of explaining. He said indifferently, "Have you finished asking your questions?"

Hartless smiled and nodded.

"Then you can get out!" Yuxian gave him a rude dismissal, as if he were the master of the place.

Hartless wasn't angry. He asked Yvette, "Aren't you going to come along?"

Yvette tossed her pink twin tails. "Our contract is just to assist with investments, right? I don't want to live on the run. I'm prepared to confess honestly and wait for punishment."

"Then good luck," Hartless said, summoning Hephaestion.

Hephaestion glared at Waver, then took Hartless's hand and easily jumped out of the carriage with him.

Waver asked Yuxian, "Are we just going to let them leave like this?"

"I have no grudge against him." Yuxian shrugged. "Besides, he heeded my warning and didn't cause any trouble on this train, so it's only natural for me to let him leave."

"But..."

Waver hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Yuxian smiled and said, "No buts, you've already retrieved the relic and know Hephaestion's identity. Let's discuss our next steps."

Yuxian's purpose in Eyeball Collection Train wasn't to kill Hartless; he was just looking for Waver and broadening his horizons.

Avoid doing things that involve life and death if possible.

Of course, this was also because Hartless was sensible; otherwise, Yuxian wouldn't have minded going through the trouble of dealing with him.

Clang!

The train suddenly shook...

P. S.: This is a friend's book.

Me, an interesting woman!

This is a heartwarming story about growth and dreams, co-written by a young woman who understands men's hearts best, and the dream-driven young people she meets. It may not be epic, but I promise it will be very interesting!

Throughout his long life as a single man, Lin Tao was always searching for that interesting woman in his mind. His criteria were: good at video games, beautiful, knowledgeable about Kamen Rider, and preferably a model kit enthusiast. Unfortunately, until the day he died, he still exuded the aura of a bachelor.

After he was reincarnated and began a new life, that interesting woman finally appeared.

Even if it's just yourself in the mirror.

Section 240, Chapter 19: Gretel, Waver, and Hephaestion

As the train shook violently, the passengers inside the carriages were thrown about.

This is the train braking suddenly.

"Train conductor, there's a problem ahead. It's... Child of Fuyuki!"

The staff immediately came to report to Rohan.

Yuxian, who was standing nearby, laughed in exasperation after hearing this.

Hartless's sudden attack at this moment made him laugh in anger.

Yuxian originally thought he would take the opportunity to leave, and this journey to Eyeball Collection Train could end peacefully.

Unexpectedly, Hartless still dared to provoke Yu Xian despite knowing that Yuxian had so many powerful allies around him.

So, Yuxian didn't teach him a lesson, he would really be letting him down.

The train had come to a complete stop, and Yuxian and the other passengers got off the train and went outside.

A spatial rift appeared in mid-air in front of the train, Child of Fuyuki slowly spread outwards.

Hartless and Hephaestion were standing prominently to the side.

"This is the imaginary space. He sealed Child of Fuyuki into the imaginary space, and now he's releasing him!"

Olga Marie pointed out Hartless's methods with great surprise.

Hartless smiled and said, "Last time, the Child of Fuyuki was almost destroyed, and I barely managed to recover it."

"Now that it is injured, it desperately needs magic to replenish itself. The Child of Fuyuki has never been so thirsty."

As he spoke, tendril-like branches kept approaching from the front of the track.

The outer side of the tree branch was still covered by ice, but it was clear from the bark that something as red as blood was constantly pulsating. This was the new form chosen by the Child of Fuyuki, who was injured to the limit.

What has the strongest magic here?

The answer is undoubtedly yes.

The Eyeball Collection Train is now entangled by ice tree branches, Child of Fuyuki is attempting to devour it entirely.

Yuxian squinted at Hartless, "Why aren't you leaving?"

Hartless's expression remained unchanged. "Hephaestion somewhat unwilling, but as her Master, I had no choice but to comply with her wishes."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Hephaestion rushed over from beside him, her target being Waver.

Despite being a fellow subject of Iskandar, she still couldn't accept Waver's existence and wanted to get rid of him.

Clang!

Gretel stepped forward, instantly transforming into Ad's form, and wielding the Scythe of Death to fight Hephaestion.

"This time I must protect my teacher and never make the same mistake again."

Gretel thought firmly to herself.

Her resolute attitude made her actions equally forceful, and Hephaestion was unable to defeat her for the time being.

The children around Yuxian were itching to join in. If they hadn't seen that Gretel wasn't at a disadvantage yet, they would have already swarmed her.

"Forgive me, Master."

Hephaestion leaped back and raised his sword once more.

"My intention in appearing in this world is to serve you faithfully, but I cannot turn a blind eye to the person before me."

"Why..."

Hartless sighed dramatically.

His red hair and blue suit billowed in the howling wind, and his sigh was also blown away by the wind.

"I also want to get along harmoniously with my Servant like Mr. Yuxian, even though I know that leaving here is the best option."

"But since you've already decided to stay, there's nothing I can do about it. You'd better hurry up."

Hartless spoke with a smile, as if he were talking about something trivial.

"I pray here. I pray here."

Hephaestion's expression turned solemn, and he began to chant in a low voice.

Upon seeing this, Waver's heart tightened, and he immediately warned, "Be careful! Gretel, that's Divine Era Magic!"

"Don't even think about it!"

Gretel immediately lunged forward, trying to stop Hephaestion's Magecraft incantation.

But suddenly her body was frozen in place, unable to move.

Golden and silver eyes.

Hephaestion would not allow Gretel to interrupt her Magecraft so easily.

Gretel's condition became critical.

Whoosh!

An arrow struck Hephaestion squarely.