Unlimited Ambition

Chapter Four is such a pain! Marriage my ass!!

When you're down on your luck, even drinking cold water can cause you to choke. When I'm down on my luck, even picking up a girl turns out to be a Heroic Spirit. Huh? You're saying that in that statement I'm separated from humanity. So you're saying I'm not human? Come on, I haven't been human for many years, okay? Even including my nameless past life, it's the same. My time as an angel, my time as a demon prince, and my time as a god—each of those completely surpasses my time as a human.

So you want me to admit I'm human? On what grounds? Where in my body or soul do I resemble a human? Huh? You say my appearance looks human? There's a logical problem to solve here.

It is humans who look like gods, not gods who look like humans.

Because humans were created by God according to His own blueprint.

that's all.

That's it.

Of course, this topic has actually gone quite far off-topic. What we're discussing now is the Holy Grail War—the Holy Grail War, and the Holy Grail War. As I said before, I no longer want to participate in the Holy Grail War as a Master—this has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that every single time I summon someone, I always end up summoning Caster. Really, absolutely nothing. The reason I don't want to summon Saber even though I have a scabbard isn't because I'm afraid of summoning someone who isn't Saber, but rather that damn Caster. It's really just because I feel sorry for Rin, that unlucky girl. I want to do something for her. After all, she's my student. That's right.

—But, can anyone tell me why—why is this girl I picked up a Heroic Spirit?! WTF, and what's even more infuriating is that she's a Caster!!!

So, I was conflicted. Surprisingly, despite my lust, I didn't make a move on this young widow. I just stared at her, slightly lost in thought, before letting out a soft sigh.

You are a beautiful woman, why did you become a thief?

Caster, feeling a bit uneasy under my gaze, swallowed hard. Sensing my displeasure, she proactively introduced herself. After all, although she didn't know the underlying principles, I had infused her with some magical energy when I saved her life. According to the rules of the Holy Grail War, I was now her master. Although I had no Command Seals or anything like that, it didn't prevent me from dominating her with my superior power. If she disobeyed, I would simply humiliate and discipline her. That was perfectly acceptable.

"Thank you so much for saving me. From today onwards, you will be my Master. Please take good care of me."

The girl spoke very politely and bowed to me, which made me feel even more helpless.

Then came silence. A very awkward silence. Since they'd already gone this far, I couldn't just push them away.

"Um... don't you know the rules of the Holy Grail War? After all, you picked me up halfway through... so... no, at this time, I should properly introduce myself."

So the girl cleared her throat: "I am Medea, a princess of a small, unknown country, and my rank is Caster. Please take care of me."

“Wright Baldwin, whose identity is a very famous emperor and god, whose rank… well, he can probably hold almost any rank. Please take care of me.”

Then came silence again. Of course, this silence was slightly different from the others.

"Aaaaaah... You, you are that... the Northern God? Fenrir, the giant wolf who swallowed the sun?!"

"If there is no second Fenrir in this world, then it is me."

"...It's truly unimaginable."

So shouldn't the usual situation be the opposite? Shouldn't the summoner be surprised by the legendary history of the heroic spirit they summoned?

Silence remained.

"Then, um... Your Majesty?"

"It's better to call me Master."

“Hmm, Master…” The girl who called herself Medea nodded seriously, “If it’s Master, then there’s absolutely no problem. It seems like someone as powerful as Master should have no problem with the Holy Grail War. No, it should be said that the Holy Grail is just a piece of cake, as if it already belongs to you. Actually, I heard about your deeds when I was over there. It seems that in all those Holy Grail Wars, only Your Majesty has emerged victorious. It’s truly amazing. I was a little scared when I came here. What should I do if I were to face Your Majesty? But this time, there’s absolutely no problem—”

She suddenly became very talkative. So, teaming up with me makes you feel more confident? Really.

I rolled my eyes: "Stop for a second."

"Oh, my apologies, my apologies. I tend to go on and on once I start talking. Your Majesty, please tell me, is it time to hold a war meeting?"

"No." I shook my head, then spoke the truth without any hesitation: "In fact, I didn't intend to summon any more Heroic Spirits to fight. Well, actually, what happened between us was just a beautiful misunderstanding."

"...Your Majesty."

After hearing my words, Medea sighed slightly, then became very dejected, and then seemed to be turning to the dark side. She lowered her head, covered her eyes with her hood, and black mist swirled around her...

"You must have heard about what happened to me... There's a reason I'm called the Witch of Betrayal... If Your Majesty continues to be so irresponsible, the consequences will be dire."

Holy crap... these days, the ways people try to extort money are truly endless. Seriously, person in charge?! If I had actually slept with you before, I'd accept it—but, nothing happened—what are you trying to do?!

"Calm down first," I said, rubbing my forehead. "Things aren't unnecessarily unchangeable."

"—I knew it, Your Majesty, you're definitely not that kind of person—when is the wedding?" Medea's mood instantly turned from sunny to cloudy, and she immediately came up and hugged my arm, rubbing her chest against me.

...Speaking of which, weren't we discussing the Holy Grail War earlier? I looked at Medea with a slightly speechless expression.

After that, I softened.

Indeed, I softened.

People always complain that people aren't decisive enough. When the enemy is male, they should be killed. But when they encounter a woman, they immediately have a reason not to kill her—women have this damn privilege! Especially when the opponent is male.

"...Never mind." I said, feeling a little helpless.

Although the guy I picked up and brought home seems a bit mentally unstable and obsessed with marriage, he's still a Heroic Spirit, right? He should at least have some fighting ability...

Chapter Five: The War Begins

"Therefore, I must inherit the tragic aspirations of the Tohsaka clan and the legacy of my father. I must protect the glory of the Tohsaka family! The Holy Grail, I am determined to obtain it!!"

After silently making this vow in her heart, Rin Tohsaka placed the pen I had given her on the summoning magic circle—this child is so honest. So she didn't try to cheat by using someone else's blood, or animal blood, or mercury. That would be unreliable. Instead, she directly took a dagger and cut her wrists. As a result, she almost died from excessive bleeding because the wound was too large. If she hadn't been a magician and could use healing magic, she probably wouldn't have survived until the ambulance arrived.

Of course, regardless, the magic circle was complete. Rin, gazing at the gleaming summoning magic circle, suppressed her excitement and loudly recited the summoning incantation she had practiced and memorized countless times. The light from the magic circle grew increasingly intense, mingling with the wolf-shaped Command Seal on the back of Rin's hand. Finally, after Rin finished reciting the incantation, the light was so bright it was almost blinding. The feeling of her entire body surging with magical power told Rin that her summoning this time had been successful.

After that, the magic circle lost its luster, and nothing happened.

"...Did the summoning fail?"

Just then, I pushed open the door and entered: "My lovely little Master, don't doubt it, your summoning was successful. Look, here I am!"

"...Um, but...you came in through the door?" Rin looked at me with a hint of disbelief.

"So how do you want me to appear? Out of this magic circle in a puff of smoke? Seriously, don't be ridiculous. I don't want that kind of lame behavior."

Saying something very capricious, I shrugged, walked over and patted Rin on the head.

"Don't do that! You'll become an idiot!" Rin complained loudly.

"Whatever, I'm already stupid enough. It doesn't matter if I'm a little stupider." I smiled like that, and Rin couldn't help but smile as well.

"Well then, let's talk about the Holy Grail War." Perhaps pleased by the pat on the head, Rin quickly forgot about the fact that "Heroic Spirits don't appear from summoning magic circles" and spoke solemnly.

"Hmm, let's go somewhere else. How about the living room? Would you like some coffee?" I asked.

"Two sugar cubes, please." Rin nodded, then said, "Speaking of which, teacher, what kind of magic did you use? How come the instant coffee you made tastes better than the thousands of dollars a cup sold in coffee shops?"

"It's a secret." I chuckled softly.

"What... It won't kill you to say something." Rin followed me out, slightly annoyed.

“Alright then.” I cleared my throat and then said, “The reason you think it tastes so good is because I put poppy shells in it.”

"Eh?! Eh?! Eh?! Eh?!" Rin exclaimed in great surprise.

"Yeah, so you've actually become addicted to drugs without even realizing it. You'll feel terrible if I don't make you coffee anymore."

"Really?!"

"Of course it's fake."

"...Teacher, you're really mean-spirited, bullying me like this."

"Anyway, no one's watching here, so it's not a big deal if I bully you a little, right?" I said, while pretending to be a hooligan and lifting Rin's chin, just like I had done countless times before.

"Come on, give me a smile."

This time, however, Rin didn't throw a punch like before. Instead, her face flushed, and she turned to the other side. It made me a little embarrassed.

"Speaking of which, it's amazing how quickly Rin has grown into a young woman." I chuckled twice, trying to ease the slightly tense atmosphere. "Speaking of which, Rin, you're quite popular in your class—no, I should say throughout the entire school. Have you ever thought about dating anyone? Or perhaps you already have a boyfriend behind my back?"

"There's no such thing!" Rin retorted excitedly. "All the boys in school are idiots. Anyone who wants to date them is out of their mind."

"Oh my, if those boys heard Rin's comments, the school board might be in a real mess this year because of the series of student suicides."

"It's not that exaggerated!"

"Because Rin, you are really, really, really cute. You're cute to an exaggerated degree." I said to Rin with a smile.

So, Rin blushed and remained silent. And just like that, I easily defused this awkward situation.

At least that's how it appears on the surface.

The kitchen was now right in front of us. Rin watched as I expertly found the instant coffee, sugar cubes, coffee cup, and spoon, and inwardly sighed slightly. She seemed to understand why my coffee tasted so good. Or perhaps what she was addicted to wasn't coffee, this popular beverage, but something else entirely—for example, a certain teacher she'd spent two years with, humorous, capable, handsome, and charming.

And this addiction seems to be something he can never break free from for the rest of his life.

Of course, Rin herself didn't intend to untie it.

"...Teacher?" After I finished making the coffee and turned around, holding a coffee cup in one hand, I saw Rin with her head down, seemingly gathering her emotions, and saying to me in a slightly trembling voice, "Um, actually..."

"What's meant to happen will happen." I sighed softly to myself, feeling a little sad, a little proud, and a little relieved.

Well, in two years, you could harvest six crops in the south. So, I should reap something here too, right?

For example, a certain girl's feelings for me were like those of a father, a teacher, an older brother, and a lover—a mixture of many emotions, including trust, dependence, affection, liking, and attachment… love.

How should I answer?

Should we refuse?

Or did they simply agree without hesitation?

This is really a headache...

"Actually, um... I've always had feelings for you, teacher—" Just as Rin's feelings reached their peak and she mustered up the courage to confess to me—another girl who had been watching the teacher-student romance comedy from the sidelines, completely turned to the dark side, spoke up...

The archers in Chapter Six died without even a single shot.

"How nice, a teacher and students... So that's why Master rejected me?" The one who said this was the girl I picked up from the street. Hmm, I think her name is Medea. She was dressed in a full shrine maiden's outfit, looking every bit the villain. And that murderous aura was completely exposed. Even someone as slow-witted as Rin realized in an instant: this girl was an enemy.

"Who are you?! Are you a Heroic Spirit sent by the opposing magician?!" Rin quickly entered battle mode.

"It is indeed the enemy's heroic spirit! And it has already decided to take your life. Further words are useless; prepare yourself—"

Then I knocked him on the head.

"...It hurts so much, ouch..."

"You're thousands of years old. Act a little more like an adult. Let's solve this rationally, okay?"

As he spoke as if he were a cheating husband addressing his angry wife, who had caught him in bed with another man, I suddenly felt a strong murderous intent rising up behind me. And it seemed that this murderous intent wasn't just directed at Medea.

so.

"Rin, allow me to introduce you. This is the legendary magician from ancient Greece, Princess Medea. I found her by the roadside; I didn't know she was a Heroic Spirit at the time."