In Type-Moon, it all starts with adopting Sakura.

Upon seeing this, even the usually composed Luo Wei couldn't hide the undisguised disgust that flashed in his eyes.

However, none of that matters, as long as I can win. Even if Zouken Matou eventually turns against me, I will still be the one who wins in the end.

But it's truly heartbreaking...

The righteous partners who once cared for humanity have decayed into this disgusting state under the ravages of time. Time is indeed a terrifying thing.

Since that's the case, rather than letting you rot and die in the shadows as an insect, I'd rather send you on your way and let you leave this world as a human being in the end.

This can also be considered a farewell to my righteous partner, Machirizogan.

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P.S.: Update complete. The purpose and calculations for the adoption have been initially explained. Moreover, the idea this time is to cooperate with the old bug, which is quite interesting to think about.

Now we're about to get into the main story and begin a new chapter, so please look forward to it.

Since this is a new book and it will be released for trial this week, every collection, follow-up reading, and recommendation vote during the new book period is very important.

So please give me some help, thank you.

Cast some votes or give some props, and keep reading, or you'll be exiled.

Chapter Thirteen: You Old Fool, You're Really Bad! (Please Add to Your Favorites!)

—The Tower of Purification, creaking and groaning, shines like light throughout the world.

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"Hmm, although things have taken a bit of an unexpected turn of events, this strange development is getting more and more interesting. What an interesting human being."

In the Starry Sea, Merlin, who was enjoying a tea break atop a high tower, slowly opened his eyes.

"But I remember that Vivian's tower was supposed to be forever isolated, so how did someone still manage to sneak in?"

"Hehe, with the unparalleled magical skills of the Fairy of the Age of Gods, even gods would find it difficult to break into this area, let alone enter this tower that imprisons sinners."

"However, the so-called Inner Sea of ​​Stars, the eternally isolated utopia, Avalon, is essentially similar to and connected with the Thousand-Year City of Crimson Moon, isn't it? In addition, having been through so many parallel worlds, I have a better idea of ​​Avalon's location. As long as I find a similar node and use the second magic to assist, it's not that difficult to get in. Compared to the other side of the Shadow Kingdom, this place is already a relatively simple destination."

An elderly man dressed in a black robe adorned with magnificent gemstones pulled out a chair, sat down, and then unceremoniously poured himself a cup of flower tea, which he drank in one gulp.

"To say that this place is inferior to the Land of Shadows, if Vivian heard that, she would definitely be angry, wouldn't she?"

"Haha, I didn't say that. I just think the Land of Shadows is harder to reach than here, since the location of that other side is not fixed."

"But in the end, although this is your place of confinement, this place full of birdsong and fragrant flowers doesn't seem like a place to imprison criminals. Although your freedom is restricted, you seem to be living quite comfortably, Merlin."

After finishing his flower tea, Gemstone looked at Merlin sitting in front of him, pointed to the series of high-tech products he had seen when he passed by the tower, as well as the messy novels and paintings, and then made a joke.

"Oh dear, how can you say that? Being imprisoned for thousands of years is not a pleasant experience. All I see here are flowers and towers. There isn't even a lady I can have a deep conversation with, even though I know I deserve all of this."

Merlin sighed and responded helplessly to the Gemstone's teasing.

"Heh, you old rogue, you still know you deserve what you got? Rather than saying that you've already made a huge profit by only receiving this punishment for what you did, haven't you? Not to mention that at the last moment, you, this inhuman being, even got what you've always dreamed of... emotions."

"You're right, that was indeed the first time I truly experienced human emotions... but it wasn't as wonderful as I had imagined."

"However, you came here today to find me, surely it wasn't just to criticize me?"

Merlin looked somewhat helpless in the face of the Gemstone Elder's sarcasm.

"What do you think? You don't actually believe I would have nothing better to do than sneak in and chat with you, hiding from a bunch of elves? You're not a magical girl. If it were Merry, I might do the same."

“Merry…my legendary female counterpart? It seems you quite like her.”

"I wouldn't say I like her. She just happens to be suited to be a magical girl, and when it comes to the wickedness of non-human beings, she far surpasses you."

The image of a certain dangerous woman, Meli, came to mind, and the Jeweler also gave his assessment of her.

"I've come to see you today because I have something I want to talk to you about. I'm sure you've already figured that out, haven't you?"

"Is it because of the Holy Grail War?" Merlin asked, though his tone was one of absolute certainty.

"Of course, after all, the Holy Grail War system was built by my disciple, and he is the most outstanding one at that. As his teacher, it is only right that I pay more attention to it."

"But in all the parallel worlds I've observed, I've seen countless traditional Holy Grail Wars. They're all the same old routines and templates. I could write the script with my eyes closed right now."

Gemstone Elder shrugged and continued.

"The first night, Assassin faked his death, then Saber and Lancer fought at the dock but were stopped by Rider. Then Ryunosuke Uryu and that Caster were collectively defeated by the Servants for their recklessness. After that, Kenneth was tricked to death by Kiritsugu Emiya, and Tokiomi Tohsaka was betrayed by Kirei Kotomine. We've seen enough of this kind of boring stuff."

"So you mean to say..."

Merlin already understood what the other party wanted to express.

"You're asking a question you already know the answer to, Merlin. Surely your clairvoyance can't have missed it? You've even personally encountered that variable through the Mother of Gazelle's absolute future vision, haven't you?"

"Haha, your little trick has been discovered."

"I'm not blind, I can still notice such a big change."

Gemstone Elder blew on his beard and said irritably.

"My observations of parallel worlds have made me aware of the huge changes in this world line, which have greatly affected the original world, and this has successfully piqued my curiosity. Moreover, it's not just the Fourth Holy Grail War; the fate of a rather unfortunate girl in Guanbu City seems to have been altered as well, and so have the likes of Aozaki Touko. So out of curiosity, I wanted to come and ask you, Merlin, what do you think of these strange things?"

"Haha, how am I supposed to watch it? I'll just sit at home and watch it from there, of course!"

'Should I just stay home and watch it...'

Gemstone Elder shook his head slightly: "As expected, no matter which time or space you're in, you'll always be a shut-in. It seems that after being locked up for so long, Vivian has completely turned you into the oldest shut-in."

"Well, I am a bit of a homebody, but there's nothing I can do about it. After all, I don't have a second magic spell, so I can't just come and go from Avalon at will."

"However, I still think the title of 'the oldest shut-in' suits Scáthach better; she's much older than me."

Merlin muttered to himself.

"Le, with your personality, how could I not understand? Since this matter involves change and your naive king, you will definitely not just stand by and watch. Moreover, this change is so peculiar, how could you possibly resist getting involved? Your previous contact with the Mother of Guanbuzi City using her absolute future vision is the best proof, isn't it?"

He first revealed the truth in one sentence, and then the Gem Elder asked with a smile, "Since that's the case, how about we do something interesting together? After all, such interesting things are rare."

"Let's go stir up some trouble...? You don't actually want to go down and compete yourself, do you? Me, your partner? Let's not even talk about me not being dead yet. Even if I were dead, I wouldn't want to team up with a lecherous old man as my Master."

Merlin glanced at the Jewel King, then turned his head away with a look of disgust, which made the other man blew his beard in anger.

"What are you thinking? If I wanted the Holy Grail, would I need to go down and snatch a corrupted one? Besides, I have no interest in bullying the weak."

"Bullying the weak? But if you really think that way and underestimate that young man because of it, you might end up getting yourself into trouble."

"Heh, if it were me making the move, do you think I would give him that kind of opportunity?" The Jewel Elder said unhappily, without denying Merlin's words.

'You're so prescient, bullying the weak, and you actually feel quite honored about it?'

Merlin gained a new understanding of the old man's shamelessness.

"So what do you want to do?"

"Well, it's just to make this Holy Grail War more interesting, and it would be best to also resolve this little problem that's been bothering us. What do you think?"

"The Holy Grail and Artoria... it does seem feasible."

Merlin stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and then nodded.

"Right? I think it's feasible too. After all, that kid has a lot of hidden skills, and he has a very powerful trump card that even I would be impressed by."

The Gemstone Elder continued, "Since you've agreed, let's participate together. After all, it's a great program for both of us, so... how about we make a bet?"

"Gambling? Ah, if it were anyone else, I would definitely agree, but gambling with you would be too much of a loss. After all, you can observe the future of parallel worlds, while my clairvoyance can only see what is happening now."

Merlin stroked his chin.

"Heh, stop with the nonsense. You can't see that kid's uniqueness. He's the only one in all parallel worlds, so you can't observe him even if you want to. Therefore, you're the one who has the advantage in this bet."

Ignoring Merlin's interruption, the Jeweler continued speaking, then directly stated his bet, "Let's bet on the future he chooses and whether he can achieve our respective goals."

"If I win, you'll voluntarily transform into Merry for a while and help me test out the latest magical girl transformation device. If you win, I'll find a chance to secretly take you out of Avalon for a while. What do you think of that suggestion?"

"Hiss... Bringing me out of Avalon is quite a tempting reward, but Meryl..."

After hearing the Gemstone's suggestion, Merlin paused, lost in thought, seemingly pondering something.

Finally, a pair of jewel-like, sparkling eyes reflected a few streaks of light, and then a gentle smile appeared on his face.

"It sounds interesting. I'll take the gamble. No matter what the outcome, I won't lose out."

So what if I become a woman? So what? Nightmares don't have genders anyway; they can be either male or female.

"Haha, that's more like it. Whether you go out for a stroll or become Meryl, it's not a bad thing for you. Enjoying the moment is the key."

"Then I'll be taking up your time. I'm getting tired of my dusty office, so I'll stay here for a while and get some rest."

"Huh? You don't mean you want to stay with me, do you?"

"Of course. How can it be considered a gamble if we don't observe fairly and impartially together? It's alright, I won't mind that you're here. Just provide food and drink."

As he spoke, the Jewel Elder leaned against Merlin's bed without any hesitation, eating a rice cracker that he had somehow produced, while rummaging through Merlin's collection.

"The Legend of King Arthur, How to Become a Webcaster, One Hundred Ways to Be Popular, and The Self-Cultivation of a Web Scammer—what kind of nonsense is this? Don't you have any magical girl DVDs or books?"

"How could such a thing possibly exist?"

Merlin was speechless with exasperation and, unusually, even felt like punching someone.

"You old rascal, you're really wicked!"

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[Volume 1 - End]

The next volume, The Holy Grail War.

Please give us your support and don't let us be exiled.

Volume Two: The War Belongs to You and Me