FATE: Target of Grand Master

For the next two days, Xia Yan had a relatively leisurely time. He was no longer responsible for managing Uruk's internal affairs and military, nor was he tasked with exploring more areas. Apart from continuing to entrust Morgan with a large-scale search for Nero's magical reactions, there was nothing urgent for him to do.

Since arriving at this trial, all the Masters and Servants, including him, have been on edge. If this continues, everyone will be exhausted before they even see Tiamat. Therefore, before the next wave of monsters, Xia Yan decided to give everyone a day off to relax their tense nerves.

After that outburst of anger, Xia Yan tried to hide his negative emotions. After all, he wasn't the only one here. As the leader of "Lighthouse," his negative emotions would affect others. Moreover, he couldn't ask everyone to search just because one of his Servants had gone missing. He had to lead by example and prioritize the greater good.

"By the way, my arm is a little numb, could you guys give it a little rest?"

At this moment, Xia Yan was being held on one arm each by Yuri Ellie and Ibuki.

"No way! Xia Yan, you promised to go shopping with me, but you brought another woman!"

Euryale, who had been stationed at the North Wall by Xia Yan since arriving at this trial, was finally relieved of her duties by the other Servants and given a day off.

Xia Yan was currently fulfilling his promise to accompany her to stroll through the Uruk market, which he had made earlier when they were at the North Wall.

"Greek gods, we have to be reasonable. Xia Yan promised to keep me company and catch up with me. Besides, he's not yours alone, so why can't he take me with him? I didn't even ask Xia Yan to keep me company alone, yet you're making demands."

Looking at Ibuki's tall and imposing figure and her snake-like attributes, Euryale thought, "Isn't this just a perfect Eastern Medusa?"

The thought that Medusa dared to speak to her like that made Euryale think that Ibuki was really too arrogant.

"I said no, and that's final! Xia Yan can only stay with me today; you'll have to wait until tomorrow!"

Ibuki couldn't understand where this kid's arrogance came from. Was he relying on his seniority to put on airs like a senior?

Although he had only signed a temporary contract with Xia Yan, Xia Yan was not bound by the "Six Goddess Alliance" rule that prohibited them from attacking each other. If they really fought, he could keep her pinned to the ground and rubbed against her for a whole day.

"Eureka, look at your flat-chested figure. Are you trying to make Xia Yan commit a crime? Grow up a few more years before you start learning how to seduce people."

Ibuki wrapped her arms around Xia Yan's neck, her full breasts clamping around his arms. This was both an attempt to seduce Xia Yan and a provocation to Euryale.

Euryale was like a boiling kettle, her whole body flushed red with anger, and steam rising from her head.

"STOP!"

Xia Yan didn't want her precious day off to be ruined by an argument, so she immediately spoke up to stop it.

"Stop arguing. I'm giving you two options: either we stay here and go shopping and catch up, or we break up here and do whatever you want. I'm going back to my room to rest."

Upon hearing this, Yuri and Ibuki, who had been at odds, simultaneously began to comfort Xia Yan in unison.

"We were just bickering. I haven't seen Medusa in ages, so I'll use Ibuki as a substitute."

"That's right, that's right. Xia Yan, why are you still angry? It's better for the three of us to make the most of today."

Xia Yan wasn't really angry. Seeing that the situation was under control, he immediately put on a smile.

"Let's go then."

The three of them finally managed to stroll through the market peacefully.

Since Quetzalcoatl chose to side with Uruk, the Marduk Axe of Eridu and the citizens of Ur, which were protected by it, also moved to Uruk, just like the citizens of Kusa.

Now the population gap caused by the previous monster attack on the city has finally been filled, and the market is larger than Xia Yan originally expected.

The market sells a wide variety of items, including food, livestock, medicinal herbs, timber, stones, and even handicrafts made from materials from monsters.

"Huh? Isn't that Lan Muyan?"

Xia Yan looked in the direction Ibuki was pointing and indeed saw Lan Muyan bending down to carefully identify the medicinal herbs, and Okita Souji standing behind him with a slightly flushed face.

"Alan, that's enough. My illness is etched into my spirit foundation, so it's already a very good situation as long as it doesn't get worse."

"No. I promised you I would help you get your body back in shape. This trial happens to be in the Age of Gods, so there might be some more potent medicinal herbs there."

Lan Muyan remained persistent in communicating with the boss about the medicinal effects of each herb.

The story of Lan Muyan and Okita Souji's relationship begins with their initial Master Candidate Trial.

Okita Souji was the first Servant he summoned; he was powerful but always coughed up blood.

At first, Lan Muyan was unaware of Okita Souji's experiences. It wasn't until he returned to the safe house and began to cram on Type-Moon knowledge in order to survive that he learned about his own experiences as a Servant.

Okita Souji was the captain of the first division of the Shinsengumi in the late Edo period. He was a swordsmanship genius but also killed many people. He died young at the age of 26 from tuberculosis.

Although he didn't know why the Souji he summoned was a woman, Lan Muyan felt a strong empathy for her because her life experience was very similar to that of a girl he had once met.

Lan Muyan didn't know who his parents were, and even his name was given to him by the mercenary leader who raised him.

Of course, the reason he was able to be raised by the mercenary group was because of a chance encounter. He used his homemade slingshot and pebbles to steal the food that several members of the mercenary group had left on a bench while they were playing ball.

After succeeding twice, the mercenary group, not being fools, resorted to entrapment and caught him red-handed.

Just as the mercenary group members were about to give him a good beating, their leader noticed his talent for aiming and shooting, and recruited him into the mercenary group.

Although his mercenary group also did things for money, they were not without principles, and because of their excellent skills, they gradually gained considerable fame.

Lan Muyan also met a girl among them. She was two years younger than him, but had superb fighting skills and was proficient in both cold weapons and firearms.

Lan Muyan and she got along very well. This was not because they had developed romantic feelings for each other, but because as peers, they could talk about topics that resonated with people of the same generation.

When she wasn't on missions, the girl would feed the stray animals around her residence. Occasionally, she would put on makeup, dress herself up, and then drag Lan Muyan shopping.

Could feelings begin to develop between them?

It's not that there was absolutely none, but at the time they weren't consciously aware of it; rather, they were more like childhood friends, like siblings.

As the mercenary group grew larger, Lan Muyan and the girl often went out with the group to do different missions, which would last for one or two months at a time. Both Lan Muyan and the girl were used to the feeling of being able to continue the conversation as if they had just parted yesterday after a long separation.

Until one day, Lan Muyan's mercenary group was persecuted, and the girl's mission resulted in the death of all its members. In order to avenge her, Lan Muyan and the remaining members launched a revenge operation. Just as he was fighting the enemy, BB's Master Trial began.

Whenever Lan Muyan saw the commander standing in front of him, his back to fight for him, he would always think of that girl.

This is not because Lan Muyan used Souji as a substitute for that girl, but because of that girl's experience, Lan Muyan could no longer ignore Souji.

He couldn't bear to lose another girl who cared about him and whom he liked.