Kirie Sakuragi

The next day, Li Mo checked over his belongings, then headed to the airport alone, looking thoroughly disheveled.

No one came to see him off, because Brishisan had ultimately seen through his act last night.

"I spent an entire afternoon finding something suitable for you, and you still had the nerve to turn your nose up at it?"

Remembering Brishisan's hour-long torture of "love" last night, Li Mo still felt lightheaded.

Jokes aside, though, touching the spearhead hanging from his chest made Li Mo feel much more at ease.

Experience counted for something. Before handing the item over to him, Brishisan had already stuffed plenty of materials inside. As long as Li Mo did not squander them recklessly, they would probably last him half a year.

"Teacher Brishisan has shown me such immense kindness!" Tears glistened in Li Mo's eyes as he looked toward the Department of Lore headquarters in the distance and climbed into a taxi.

Then he said, "Driver, how long will it take to get to the airport from here? And don't even think about overcharging me—I've been in London for more than half a year!"

The taxi driver stared blankly at the young man who had looked like the protagonist of a tragedy before getting into the car.

So that was all an act?

And so, the miserable taxi driver endured someone's nonstop yammering as he sped all the way to the airport.

Then he once again experienced that person's shamelessness.

"Thanks, driver. Your speed was seriously incredible. No need to give me the change—consider it your tip." Li Mo flicked his trench coat and strode away.

The taxi driver was left staring blankly at the hundred-pound note in his hand.

That didn't seem like enough money, did it?

But by the time he came to his senses, it was too late. The shameless Li Mo had already entered the airport terminal and reached the boarding gate.

"Sir, your boarding pass." The young woman checking boarding passes was gentle and exotic-looking, making the high-spirited Li Mo's heart stir.

Hehe, weren't flight attendants all beautiful? And with how open foreign countries were...

He could not keep thinking about this, or it would turn into some restricted scene!

Li Mo sniffed and tucked the boarding pass the young woman handed him into his pocket.

Good. No nosebleed.

Yet ten minutes later, what Li Mo got were not all sorts of beautiful flight attendants, but...

A group of broad-waisted, thick-armed aunties in flight attendant uniforms!

Press F1 to enter the tank?

Where were the pretty flight attendant girls he had been promised? Li Mo no longer saw any point in living.

What he did not know was that, aside from a certain ancient country in the East, flight attendants in most other countries were basically aunties...

With a bitter expression, the bored Li Mo casually picked up a magazine beside him and began flipping through it aimlessly.

Until a choking smell entered his nose.

He looked up. Hm!?

Li Mo was startled. When had someone sat down beside him?

But that was not what surprised him. What startled Li Mo was that the person beside him looked damn familiar!

Black sunglasses, black coat, long blond hair—why did he look so much like the Terminator?!

Turning his head, Li Mo looked at the lit cigar in the man in black's hand. His lips moved a few times, but in the end, he stopped himself from speaking.

He had a feeling this guy might just leap up and attack him...

Wait, no? Li Mo froze.

Wasn't I a Magus now? What was there to be afraid of?

Narrowing his eyes, Li Mo gathered his courage and put on a fierce expression before turning back. "Um, could you put out your cigarette, please?"

That was it? The man in black was stunned.

He had actually been observing Li Mo for quite some time. He had deliberately lit a cigarette to test Li Mo's reaction.

Yet Li Mo had put on such a fierce face, only to say something so mild?

No wonder that Lord had specifically given him this commission. So he was just a novice. And he looked like he was not even an adult yet. Kids were the biggest pain...

The man in black rubbed his head in frustration. With his other hand, he stubbed the cigar out in the ashtray in front of the seat, then said, "Hello. I'm Kirie Sakuragi. Your teacher asked me to protect you."

Li Mo froze. The person Teacher Brishisan had hired to protect him?

Teacher cared about me that much? (Brishisan: When have I ever not cared about you?) Li Mo was deeply moved, feeling that he should have squeezed out a few more tears when he left.

Still, this man in black was Kirie Sakuragi? No wonder he had looked so familiar!

Yes, Li Mo knew this man. In fact, after Kirie Sakuragi introduced himself, all of his information had already flashed through Li Mo's mind.

Kirie Sakuragi was a character from Fate/Apocrypha, written by Mushroom. Though he had a rough, villainous-looking appearance, he really was a student of the Clock Tower. The Clock Tower had commissioned him to participate in the Holy Grail War in Fate/Apocrypha, where he became the Master of the King of Knights' daughter—Mordred, Knight of the Round Table—and fought until his death.

As those memories continued to flash through his mind, Li Mo's gaze toward Kirie Sakuragi suddenly grew quiet.

To be honest, Li Mo had been Kirie Sakuragi's fanboy for a time.

Bold, steady, frank, and alert—though he looked terrifying and used necromancy, a form of magecraft ordinary Magi disliked, he was actually an exceptionally gentle person deep down. That much could be seen from the recognition he earned from that rebellious princess during the Holy Grail War.

Faced with Li Mo's silence, Kirie Sakuragi suddenly felt somewhat flustered. Muttering something like, "Kids are the hardest to deal with," he took off his glasses, pulled a paper document from his coat, and handed it to Li Mo, who was looking at him strangely.

"Here. This is the letter of commission your teacher gave me. Your teacher really did hire me to protect you."

Li Mo merely sighed, pushed aside the document Kirie Sakuragi offered him, and said, "I know who you are. I'm very glad to have your help this time."

Now it was Kirie Sakuragi's turn to stare blankly. He had long since left the Clock Tower, and the places he frequented were mostly battlefields for Magi. This kid actually knew him?

Just as he was about to ask for clarification, Kirie Sakuragi looked down at Li Mo and saw that he had already closed his eyes, leaning back in his seat as though lost in thought.

"Fine, fine." Kirie Sakuragi turned back in disappointment. After putting on his black sunglasses, he took a magecraft notebook from his coat.

Logically speaking, since Kirie Sakuragi had been entrusted by his teacher to protect him, Li Mo should have spoken with him more. So why had he simply closed his eyes?

Because of love—scratch that.

Because he was considering whether he should intervene and change Kirie Sakuragi's fate.

Most members of the Sakuragi family called themselves magecraft users rather than Magi, because unlike Magus bloodlines, none of this family's inheritors shared any blood relation!

Why?

Perhaps it was the price of meddling with necromancy. This was a cursed family, one that would never have descendants!

And Kirie Sakuragi had it worse than his six predecessors, because even his adopted daughter had died during the transplantation of a Magic Crest!

What Li Mo was considering was whether he should tell him this.

Since this world already had the two great Counter Forces, could there also be some kind of force that corrected timelines?

If such a thing truly existed, then if Li Mo really changed something that had been predetermined, would that corrective force erase him along with it?