"You bastard! You only made that bet with me for this moment, didn't you?"
Mordred took off her helmet and stormed over furiously.
Heracles instinctively stepped forward, intending to stand in front of Su Ning, but Su Ning waved him back.
"Congratulations, you guessed right. But there's no prize~"
"..."
Mordred raised her clenched fist in fury, veins bulging across it.
Yet Su Ning showed no sign of dodging or fear. Instead, she raised her chin and leaned closer, staring straight into Mordred's eyes.
"What? Are you so embarrassed that you want to hit me?"
"Damn it! Once the agreed time is up, just watch how I teach you a lesson, you little brat!"
Mordred gritted her teeth, but ultimately lowered her fist.
Su Ning smiled faintly, completely unconcerned by the threat, and leisurely walked toward Artoria and Shirou Emiya.
"Thank you for saving me just now!"
Artoria thanked Su Ning with great courtesy. She did not lash out at her merely because she was an "enemy."
"See that?" Su Ning shot Mordred a look over her shoulder, making her so furious that she turned her head away.
"Hello, Sister Artoria. My name is Illyasviel von Einzbern. You still remember me, don't you?"
Artoria froze, then looked Su Ning up and down, a look of realization appearing on her face.
"So it was you. No wonder you looked so familiar... I never expected... in the blink of an eye, you've grown this much..."
A trace of tenderness unconsciously appeared in Artoria's sapphire-blue eyes.
During the previous Holy Grail War, she had been summoned into the modern world very early and had stayed at Winter Castle for a long time.
Although she was full of dissatisfaction and resentment toward Kiritsugu Emiya, and they had never gotten along, her relationship with Irisviel had been exceptionally good. It could even be said that Irisviel was the woman closest to her from her previous life until now.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, Artoria's expression changed at once.
"You—"
"Yes. Because of Kiritsugu's failure last time, my family had no choice but to arrange for me to participate in this Holy Grail War. But I don't want to accept that fate, and I don't want to die either. So, Sister Artoria, will you help me?"
Artoria's eyes filled with deep pity.
If she could, she truly wanted to help Su Ning change her fate, just as she had once wanted to help Irisviel.
"But..."
But she was already someone else's Servant.
"If it's only because of the Holy Grail contract, then let me figure out a way!"
With a faint smile, Su Ning turned to Shirou Emiya.
"Hello, my Shi... little brother Shirou~!"
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