To become a king and a magician

She instinctively caught the object, and upon closer inspection, Artoria was stunned.

"This is... my sword sheath?"

"The relic unearthed in Cornwall ten years ago, was it the scabbard you lost? Don't lose it this time," Natsukawa Tiger laughed. "The holy sword can only defeat all external enemies; only the scabbard can protect everything. Right?"

Artoria couldn't help but chuckle.

This is a question Merlin once asked her.

"I understand, Master. This time, I will protect you with my sword sheath. No matter who the enemy is, I will defeat and crush them."

"Okay, it's up to you."

Watching the harmonious master and servant pair, Mordred, who was lying on the chair, showed a somewhat complicated expression.

This was the first time she had seen her father like this. In her memory, Artoria was usually serious and never smiled. Mordred had almost never seen her with a gentle expression.

Now, looking at her father, who was chatting happily with his Master, Mordred couldn't help but wonder if it was someone else entirely.

"Xiao Mo, do you know what you look like right now?"

Suddenly, Mary leaned closer.

"Huh? What do I look like?"

"Like a little puppy that's become withdrawn after seeing its crush being affectionate with someone else."

"Bang----!"

"Hahaha~~~~ I'm angry~~~~"

Watching Mary drift away so casually, Mordred, enraged by her words, immediately went into full-on armor mode: "You damn Mary, you stop right there! I'll kill you!"

"Waaaaaah~~~~ Your Majesty and Lia, help! Your child is going to kill someone!"

"Oh, then go die once first. Xiao Mo, go easy on me."

When faced with Merry's plea for help, Natsukawa Torato showed no interest whatsoever and even added fuel to the fire for Mordred. With her Master's permission, Mordred ran even faster.

However, before she could catch up, Artoria blocked her way.

"That's enough, Lord Mordred. I just praised you for your growth and maturity, but it seems you still can't control yourself when provoked. That won't do. As a knight, controlling your emotions is an essential skill."

"Father... well, actually, what I can control is that this nightmare is just too annoying! She's exactly like that bastard Merlin! I can't help it!"

As they were talking, Mordred saw Merry making faces at him again, and the anger that had subsided somewhat because of Artoria was immediately reignited!

"Merry!"

"Hahahaha~~~~~"

Seeing this familiar scene unfold again, Xia Chuanhu and the others couldn't help but sigh, then gave a wry smile.

(Looks like things are going to be quite lively for a while now.)

“Well, it’s getting late. Now that we’ve summoned Ms. Artoria, we should probably go to sleep.” Sajou Rei suggested with a smile, “Considering the number of rooms, Ms. Artoria, would you mind sharing a room with Ms. Mordred?”

Mordred: "What... Eh ...

——————————————————————————————————————

Meanwhile, in a small seaside town in France.

Inside a hotel.

Seeing the female figure wielding two bright red pistols appear in the summoning circle, Aozaki Aoko couldn't help but quicken her breathing.

"It seems... it was a success?"

"So you are the Master who summoned me?" Scáthach stared at Aozaki Aoko from within the summoning circle. "I see. One of the few remaining mages. I never imagined that my first participation in the Holy Grail War would be with a Master like this."

"You know me?"

"I only gained a slight ability to glimpse the future based on my clairvoyance, and thus learned your identity. In addition, I am still in the Shadow Country outside the world, so I am not completely ignorant of the affairs of the present world."

Scáthach explained after removing her mask.

Upon hearing this, Aozaki Aoko couldn't help but feel puzzled: "So... you're still alive?"

"Exactly."

"Then how did you become a Servant? Aren't living people not allowed to become Servants?"

"It's nothing, I just used some tricks," Scáthach laughed. "Right now, I'm just descending through the spirit of a girl who resembles me. My true body is still in the Land of Shadows. It's more like a divine descent."

Is it divine possession?

"This works?"

"With my abilities, this is a piece of cake. As long as I can learn what death is, I will try to go anywhere. This is also the wish I want the Holy Grail to fulfill—however, it seems that it may be possible to achieve this without the Holy Grail."

Scáthach's words startled Aozaki Aoko: "Do you want to die?"

“I cannot die like a normal person. Whether it is an ugly death or a beautiful death, these are not for me. If I could, I would indeed want to die. This is why I answered the call of the Holy Grail. After all, according to my foresight, in this Holy Grail War, death will come very close to me.”

"So, you might die in this Holy Grail War?"

"It's just this body; the real body will still live. But the opportunity is rare. If someone can kill this clone, then perhaps that person can also kill my real body."

A servant who is determined to die.

"I've really summoned a terrible troublesome Servant. I'm still thinking of trying to see if I can win the championship."

"You don't need to worry about that. Although I seek death, I will not submit to slaughter. I will do my best to defeat the enemies that need to be defeated."

"That's good." Aozaki Aoko sighed and extended her hand to her. "Then I'll be looking forward to your guidance for the next period of time, Scáthach."

15. A comedic character arrived.

Fuyuki City, Tohsaka House.

Returning to this villa after ten years, Gilgamesh looked at the person opposite him with great interest: "Even I never expected such an interesting situation. Tokiomi, you've aged quite a bit in ten years."

"I am but a mortal, and naturally I am not like Your Majesty, who can transcend time. It is inevitable that I will grow old ten years from now."

Ten years have passed, and Tokiomi Tohsaka, whose hair has turned somewhat white, responds to Gilgamesh with the same respectful manners as he did ten years ago.

"However, what I didn't expect was that Your Majesty would appear in the mortal realm twice in a row. Although I had suspected this after the snake molt was acquired, but..."

"Nothing much, I just thought something interesting would happen in this Holy Grail War, so I came down to take a look. Thanks to this, I also ended up with a Master who is not bad."

Gilgamesh was referring to his current Master, Lydelle, who was not here at the moment.

It has been four days since he arrived in the world. In order to participate in the Holy Grail War, Lydel came to Fuyuki City with him. Out of nostalgia for the old things, Gilgamesh went to the Tohsaka family residence without permission as soon as he arrived, and then planned to take a good look around Fuyuki City.

Lydel didn't say anything about his behavior. Using Command Spells would only provoke his resentment, and Gilgamesh, who could act alone, wasn't worried about running out of magic power. So, Lydel eventually just ignored him. After all, with his abilities, it was impossible for him to be killed on the street.

"However, there is one thing that still puzzles me, Tokiomi."

Swirling the red wine in his hand, Gilgamesh looked at his past Master through the liquid.

"Why did you give up on this Holy Grail War?"

As Gilgamesh said, none of the three families that founded the Holy Grail War—Tohsaka, Einzbern, and Matou—participated in this Holy Grail War.

The Matou family was destroyed ten years ago, and due to the passing of Matou Kariya, only Matou Shinji still carries the Matou bloodline. He has essentially withdrawn from the world of magic and no longer participates in normal activities.

The Einzbern family is in a similar situation. Ten years ago, after the Fourth Holy Grail War, the entire clan suffered severe losses due to Morgan's invasion, and Illya was taken away. They probably have no one left to fight. Meanwhile, Illya is currently living a very peaceful life in the Emiya family. Their abstention is not incomprehensible.

But Tohsaka is different.

Tokiomi Tohsaka is still alive, and his eldest daughter, Rin Tohsaka, is old enough to stand on her own. Even though his second daughter, Sakura Tohsaka, is not considered a combatant because she has not been taught magic, with the former two around, the right to participate in the battle can still be secured.

Tokiomi Tohsaka still has red bruises on the back of his hand, which is proof that he was chosen by the Holy Grail. He only needs to summon a Servant to officially become a Master.

“There’s no particular reason. If I had to say, it would be that I have the will but not the strength.” Tokiomi Tohsaka’s words carried a hint of bitterness. “I’m well past my prime and no longer have the will to compete for the Holy Grail. Rin hasn’t been given any signs and doesn’t qualify to become a Master. Even if she did, I wouldn’t let her participate.”

"The Holy Grail War is too dangerous for Rin."

"I see. Compared to ten years ago, you've aged, and your priorities have changed. Between your dual roles as a magician and a father, have you chosen the father role?"

Tokiomi Tohsaka nodded with a wry smile. Ten years ago, when he decided not to adopt Sakura into another family and instead prevented her from being involved in magic, he had already made such a change. As a magician, this was extremely unbecoming.

“That’s very good. Although not striving for excellence is a sign of weakness and lack of ambition, this concern for one’s children is commendable. Educating future generations and raising children is also a noble cause. Your subject.”

Having said that, Gilgamesh put down his wine cup, rose up, and transformed into countless points of light that vanished from the room.

Facing the direction he left, Tokiomi Tohsaka also straightened up and bowed respectfully: "Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty. I respectfully see you off. May Your Majesty return victorious from this war."

——————————————————————————————

At the same time, in Xindu.

On a certain commercial street, two beautiful figures are attracting the attention of passersby.

One of them looked like a foreigner, with blonde hair and red eyes, and an extremely beautiful, even bewitching, appearance. Once you saw her, you couldn't help but keep looking at her. I doubt anyone would doubt that she was a princess from some country.

The other one is almost the complete opposite.

If the former was a beautiful young woman, embodying nobility, elegance, and charm, like a rose, then this one is a gentle woman, a humble woman who evokes the image of a Yamato Nadeshiko (ideal Japanese woman).

But wearing a cherry blossom-colored kimono in broad daylight...won't it be hot?

It's summer now.

"Um... Master, is it just my imagination? I feel like we're being watched."

Noticing the gazes gathering around her, the cherry-colored girl couldn't help but speak to her companion.

"It's alright, I'm used to this kind of thing, just ignore it." The blonde princess waved her hand with a smile. "More importantly, I've already told you not to call me Master, just call me Arcueid, Souji."

"I'm sorry, but I think we should be more formal... Also, Yu, Arcueid, please don't reveal my real name casually. It's fatal to an Assassin."

Assassin—Okita Souji—was advising his Master in this way.

Arcueid, however, seemed not to have listened at all: "It's okay if we're exposed. Even if our real names are known, it won't affect us."

"Well, that's true... I don't really have any weaknesses that can be exploited."

Okita Souji immediately lowered his head in frustration.

Generally speaking, the purpose of concealing one's true name is to hide a certain weakness of the Servant. For example, Siegfried's biggest weakness is his back. If his true name were exposed, anyone would attack that area.

However, Okita Souji did not have such concerns. Perhaps her poor health was one of them? But that was a weakness that would only have an impact in a protracted battle. For her, who was manifesting in the world as an Assassin this time, direct combat was unnecessary. She could simply hide in the shadows and wait for an opportunity to launch a sneak attack.

However, considering Arcueid's strength, perhaps Okita Souji doesn't even need to fight...