To become a king and a magician

Lancer smiled and said, "It seems you have a very good Master. That's good. It's just a pity that you can't reveal your name because you're facing Saber. It's a regrettable constraint."

"But that doesn't stop us from having a showdown."

"Exactly."

After performing a couple of gunfights and striking a slightly odd pose, Lancer's eyes instantly filled with ferocity and murderous intent.

next moment--

"Clang—!"

The spear and the invisible sword collided suddenly, the impact and sound instantly shattering the silence of the harbor at night.

16. The most important transaction

"It still hurts so much."

Leaning against a corner of the wall, Xia Chuanhu clutched his chest tightly.

"That idiot, even though I told him to do whatever he wanted, he really didn't hold back at all when using my magic. My life force is almost completely drained... cough cough cough!"

He coughed a few times, leaned against the corner of the wall, and peeked at the warehouse diagonally opposite. He had scouted the area during the day, so he knew exactly where to spot the two men's fight. He had already searched almost everywhere, and the warehouse not far away was the only place left.

Given Kenneth's arrogant personality, he would inevitably choose a position from which he could observe the entire battle from a high vantage point. The noble magician of the Clock Tower was just like that, always considering himself superior. To Kenneth, the Holy Grail War was at most a drama for him to watch.

"However, if this place isn't here either, then tonight will truly be a fruitless night, a complete waste of time."

Sneaking into the warehouse from a blind spot, keeping his footsteps as low as possible, Xia Chuanhu quietly approached the stairs leading to the roof and climbed to the second floor.

(Considering the other party is a magician, they might have already detected my presence, using sensing magic or a barrier or something. I wouldn't be able to avoid them even if I wanted to. Considering this premise, the fact that they haven't made a move yet means either I missed them, or they completely disregard me.)

Given Kenneth's pride, even if he discovered Natsukawa Torato, he wouldn't leave. Instead, he would patiently wait for him to appear and then kill him. In Kenneth's view, all the participants in this Holy Grail War, apart from himself and Tokiomi Tohsaka, were third-rate and wouldn't receive much attention.

This carelessness and underestimation of his opponent is Natsukawa Tiger's only chance.

Crouching at the doorway, holding his breath, Xia Chuanhu had already made up his mind.

(Make this quick and decisive; take him down before he summons Lancer back!)

Glancing at the Command Seal on the back of his hand, Natsukawa Torara immediately said, "[By command of the Command Seal, come to my side, Saber!]"

A flash of red light appeared, and the topmost stroke of the Command Seal pattern, which resembled the Thousand-Year Eye, transformed into a pure magical whirlwind. The next moment, Arthur's figure appeared beside Natsukawa Tora.

"Saber! On the rooftop!"

"Yes!"

Instantly understanding Natsukawa's meaning, Arthur swung his sword and smashed through the rooftop, then leaped up to the rooftop with Natsukawa in his arms.

Seeing Kenneth standing not far away, clearly terrified and even preparing to summon Lancer with a Command Spell, Natsukawa Torara hurriedly said, "Subdue him, Saber! Alive!"

"Yes!"

The moment the voice fell, a strong gust of wind swept past Xia Chuanhu. In less than the blink of an eye, Arthur had already rushed in front of Kenneth. All of Kenneth's defensive magic was instantly broken through, and an invisible sword was placed against his neck, the blade slightly cutting his throat.

"If possible, I don't want to take action against anyone other than a Servant. My Master seems to have something he would like to ask you, so please cooperate."

It was a very polite remark, but coupled with Arthur's murderous gaze, Kenneth abruptly lowered his hand, which was about to be raised and inscribed with the Command Seals.

He would die. Even if he wanted to resist, he would be beheaded before he could activate his magic. Kenneth knew this clearly. How reckless of him to use his Command Seals during the probing phase of the first night of the Holy Grail War!

Also, could you please advise?

Does he have absolutely no manners? For a magician to be so rude is even more despicable than that modern-technology Emiya Kiritsugu! Are you a barbarian from before Christ?!

"Hoo-ha~~~Hoo-ha......"

After catching his breath, finally recovering from the emptiness of having his magic drained by Arthur, Natsukawa Tora dragged his trembling legs to Kenneth. This time, he was genuinely impressed with himself for not fainting from the magic draining.

(Compared to the pain of the curse taking effect, having my magic drained is actually easier. I guess I've gotten used to the pain, or even somewhat used to it?)

With a slight sigh, Natsukawa Tora looked at Kenneth: "Nice to meet you, Mr. Kenneth El-Melloi Archibald. I apologize for meeting you in such a rude manner, but unfortunately, this is the only way I can do it."

"Saber's Master, I didn't expect him to be just a brat? Hmph." Kenneth's face was full of disdain, as if it wasn't him with a sword to his neck, as arrogant and conceited as ever—and as annoying as he was.

Natsukawa Tora gave a wry smile: "This is a bit sudden, but I would like to ask Lord El-Melloi to sign a simple contract with me. Of course, since I don't know magic, you will be responsible for preparing the parchment."

If possible, Natsukawa Torama would like a more restrictive self-imposed coercive document, but that is a contract that uses a magic crest as a medium. Natsukawa Torama does not have a magic crest, so he can only consider the next best option.

"contract?"

Kenneth frowned.

He went to great lengths to infiltrate my side, even expending a Command Seal to summon a Servant to threaten me, all for the ultimate goal of getting me to sign a contract with him?

"What do you want to do?"

“I would like to ask you to be my magic teacher, Lord El-Melloi,” Natsukawa Tora said.

"The contract contains three clauses."

"First, Kenneth El-Melloi Archibald must provide Natsukawa Tora with at least five basic magic lessons during the Holy Grail War, without holding back any information."

"Secondly, Kenneth El-Melloi Archibald must do everything in his power to ensure the safety of Natsukawa Tora during the Holy Grail War, and must not allow Natsukawa Tora to suffer direct or indirect harm from his Master or Servant."

"Third, Natsukawa Torato and his Servants are prohibited from harming Kenneth El-Melloi Archibald during the Holy Grail War."

By contracting with Kenneth to teach him magic, this was the fastest way Natsukawa Torato could think of to gain power. Kenneth was a first-class instructor at the Clock Tower, a Color Rank Magician, whose magic and teaching skills were beyond question. Receiving his guidance would undoubtedly greatly shorten the time needed to learn magic.

Natsukawa Torara had certainly considered Tohsaka Tokiomi, but Gilgamesh's existence made him abandon that idea from the start. Perhaps he could use the rescue of Matou Sakura as leverage, but Gilgamesh... Natsukawa Torara really didn't know what he would do.

Moreover, targeting Kenneth is relatively the easiest option. A Servant's combat power far surpasses that of a mage, and as a non-mage, I can minimize his arrogance.

and--

“These three contracts may seem like a bit of a hassle to me, but compared to the price you pay, it’s negligible.”

After carefully considering Xia Chuanhu's conditions, Kenneth frowned and asked, "What is your purpose? What do you want to achieve by paying such an unequal price?"

"Lord El-Melloi doesn't need to know that. Now you just need to answer whether you're willing to sign a contract with me. This is a great opportunity to reduce an enemy. You only need to give up a little basic knowledge of magicians in exchange for the semi-permanent departure of me and Saber. You've really hit the jackpot."

"Are you just like that idiot Webber Velvet, harboring unrealistic fantasies?" Kenneth looked at Natsukawa Torata with disdain.

"Say what you will, but if you don't sign, I'll have Saber take action."

17. Weber, I've become your junior.

Kenneth was left with only one path.

(I was careless.)

Although he had set up a barrier and indeed sensed Natsukawa Torama approaching, the magical reaction he received was quite weak, so Kenneth believed he could handle it and didn't need Lancer's return. Furthermore, he had indeed seen Saber appear, so he didn't immediately associate Natsukawa Torama with Saber's Matser.

Besides, this is the Holy Grail War, a war between Servants. Aren't their Masters supposed to just strategize from behind the scenes and direct their Servants' actions? Who would directly attack their Master?

But in any case, there's no need to find any more reasons now; he has indeed fallen for it. If he wants to continue living, he can only sign the contract proposed by Natsukawa Tiger, which is practically harmless to him. All he needs to give up is some insignificant basic magic knowledge.

A deal that is unilaterally advantageous to him.

There is no reason to refuse.

"I don't have any parchment with me. Could you come to my workshop if you'd like?"

“Why don’t you have your companions bring them over? You have companions, right?” Natsukawa Tiger laughed. “If you think we might harm you, you can also summon Lancer back. Of course, for my own safety, I won’t let Saber release you, at least not until the contract is signed.”

"can."

"For our safety and for the smooth progress of the transaction, let's go indoors. It's quite easy to be sniped in such an open place. This Holy Grail War has an exception."

Emiya Kiritsugu, a disgrace among magicians. Kenneth curled his lip: "Mere firearms and ammunition cannot penetrate my Moon Essence Liquid."

"But I'm afraid."

As soon as Xia Chuanhu finished speaking, he jumped back to the second floor through the hole in the ceiling, and Arthur followed with Kenneth.

--------------------------

A few minutes later, Lancer appeared in the warehouse. Seeing Kenneth's hands and feet bound, Lancer's rare beauty twisted with rage: "Saber! I thought you were a noble knight, but I never expected you to commit such a despicable and shameless act as ambushing my Master!"

"Despicable? That's called tactics, Lancer." It wasn't Arthur who answered him, but Natsukawa Torato. "Like burning the enemy's supplies to cut off their logistics in battle, or launching a surprise attack on the enemy's camp under cover of night, these are tactics that can be used to achieve victory. They're quite common during wartime, aren't they, knight?"

“Enough with the nonsense, Lancer,” Kenneth interrupted Lancer before he could retort. “I told you to bring Sora and the parchment.”

"Yes, because of the possibility of an ambush, I had Madam wait outside. — Please come in, Madam."

Lancer ushered a woman in from outside the warehouse. She had fiery red hair, yet gave off an aura of an exceptionally cold and icy beauty.

She is Kenneth's fiancée, another unfortunate victim of the Fourth Holy Grail War, Sora Nazele Sophialie, the daughter of the monarch of the Clock Tower's Spiritoric Court.

Did you bring the parchment?

“I brought it, but please release Kenneth first,” Sora said, taking out the parchment.

Natsukawa Tora smiled: "Saber, release them."

"But Master..."

"Whether to lose an obstacle without bloodshed, or to fight us to the death here, I think Lord El-Melloi can clearly distinguish the interests involved."

After a pause, Arthur sheathed the sword he had been holding to Kenneth's neck and pushed Kenneth toward Lancer.

Kenneth immediately cast a healing spell on his slightly cut neck, took the parchment from Sora, and began writing down the three points that Natsukawa Tora had just mentioned.

"Okay, sign it now, I've already signed it."

Soon, Kenneth handed Xia Chuanhu a parchment filled with a long string of densely written English text.

After glancing at it, Natsukawa Tora simply tossed the parchment to Arthur: "The contents of this parchment are too advanced for an English learner like me who hasn't even passed the CET-4. Saber, can you take a look at it for me?"

"Master, you really should study this properly."

"I'm still a high school student!"

After reading the contents of the parchment three times on behalf of Natsukawa Tora, Arthur, with the help of the modern knowledge given by the Holy Grail, confirmed the accuracy of the contents, even though they were somewhat different from Old British English. Kenneth had not tampered with the contents.

"No problem, Master."

"Well."

Picking up a piece of broken iron, Natsukawa Tiger pricked his finger and wrote his name in blood on the parchment.

The moment the last word was uttered, Natsukawa Tora clearly felt something land on him; this must be proof that the contract had taken effect.

Approaching Kenneth, Natsukawa Tora smiled and extended his hand: "The contract is established. I look forward to your guidance during the Holy Grail War, [Teacher]."