I'm really not a top magician

So of course Kenneth wanted to obtain the Command Seal.

However, the self-enforced agreement he and Sajo Aika signed said,

The alliance between the two will last for 72 hours.

And now, less than a day has passed.

In other words, in the next two days, Kenneth will not be able to take action against Aika Sajo.

I'm afraid that many of the masters who came out to help in the sea demon war made this kind of deal with Aika Sajo.

Therefore, this so-called [Shatiao Aige encirclement] was dispersed by Shatiao Aige's strategy from the very beginning.

This is also the reason why Kenneth was yelling at the air before.

"So, master, will our next enemy still be Shajo Aika?" asked Lancer.

At this moment, Lancer, because of his increased bond with Kenneth, took the initiative to use a wrap to cover the teardrop mole on his face.

This alone is enough to make Kenneth like him more.

"No need to rush, lancer!"

Kenneth said, "The battle between us and Sajo Aige will be fought later, but now I will go to another battlefield."

"I am willing to fight for my master!" Lancer knelt down and said.

Seeing Lancer's respect, Kenneth was in a good mood.

"Very good, Lancer. Next we need to head to the Einzbern's castle and attack Saber."

"Einzbern? I remember Aika Sajo said she wanted to go there to attack Saber too?" Lancer said.

"Yes."

Kenneth nodded. "Although I can't fight Aika Sajou right now due to the Self-Enforced Certificate, I can take advantage of Aika Sajou's battle with Saber to attack Saber's Master. I can even use the Self-Enforced Certificate to get Aika Sajou to come and help us."

Because the self-compulsory certificate also stipulates that the two parties are in an alliance relationship.

Therefore, asking allies to help you is also part of the contract.

"Sajo Aika never imagined that since she could use the contract to exploit us, we could also use the contract to exploit her in return."

And Kenneth could never forget the humiliation of last night.

Emiya Kiritsugu, who actually used a bomb to carry out a terrorist attack,

This guy doesn't understand the glory of magic at all. Just for this reason,

It was enough to make Kenneth El-Melloi take action to attack!

And today will be my first step towards victory in the Holy Grail War!

ps: Actually, I had already written the second update yesterday, but I felt it would be inappropriate to separate them, so I combined the two chapters and put them together today.

Today's second update, I will write it after I watch my SN game, this time I will write it all night

Chapter 194: Shajo Aige is coming! [Two chapters merged into one]

Go straight west from the bustling streets of Fuyuki City for about thirty kilometers.

There is a national highway that runs east-west and crosses the inaccessible mountains far away from the villages. There is a dense forest on both sides of this national highway. This forest area seems to have been forgotten by the turbulent land development boom.

This land may be state-owned land, but according to the land registration book, it is private land belonging to a foreign-funded company, and whether this foreign-funded company actually exists is not yet certain. If one had to investigate this land, the first puzzling thing would be this magical urban legend.

Legend has it that in the deepest part of this dense forest, there is a mythical city.

Of course, this legend is just a boring weird story.

Although this forest is undeveloped, it's less than an hour's drive from Fuyuki City. If such a strange castle truly existed, it would surely be widely known. In fact, surveys have been conducted in this pristine forest several times in the past, but no trace of man-made structures has ever been found.

But every few years, someone always mentions the legend again.

A group of children, half on a quest, half on a journey, entered the forest. Along with a lost hiker, they saw an ancient castle suddenly emerge from the mist. This magnificent rock castle was deserted, seemingly abandoned. Yet, its amenities and orderly layout gave the illusion of human habitation.

It is said to be an extremely bizarre ancient city.

Of course no one would believe this legend. At best, it is just a story told in a one-page page in the summer special issue of a third-rate magazine that suffers from no news material.

Only a handful of magicians know that this castle is real.

This castle only welcomes an owner who enters the castle to participate in the war every sixty years. In short, it is a magical castle.

This castle is shrouded in layers of illusions and magical barriers, never revealed except under rare circumstances. It is a strange space. Those who know of the castle's existence call this dense forest the Einzbern Forest.

At that time, the Holy Grail War was being held in Fuyuki City. The head of the Einzbern family, Eubusta Kuhaid, felt that it was inappropriate to establish a base in the direct territory of their mortal enemy, the Tōsaka family.

So he made full use of his family's financial resources and bought out the spiritual vein closest to Fuyuki City, using it as the Einzbern family's base. This was the eve of the Third Holy Grail War, which also happened to be a tense period before the outbreak of World War II.

This vast primeval forest was shrouded in a barrier and completely isolated from the outside world. The Einzbern family moved all their original castles to this forest. This shows that the Einzbern family's huge financial resources and dedication to chasing the Holy Grail are extraordinary. At that time, the Tohsaka family made various negotiations to purchase land in Fuyuki, and worked hard for covert work in the local area. Compared with the Einzbern family, these actions can only be laughable.

The gloomy atmosphere in the conference room made Irisviel sigh several times.

"Are you tired, Alice?" Kiritsugu asked.

Alice hid her melancholy expression, smiled, and shook her head.

"It's nothing, I'm not tired. Just go on."

It would be a lie to say that he wasn't tired, but Irisviel at least rested a little in bed, but Kiritsugu didn't rest for a single moment.

It was almost noon when Kiritsugu and his assistant Hisau Maiya arrived at the castle.

However, as soon as they arrived at the castle, they received a summons from the Fuyuki Church. Kiritsugu was busy handling various chores, such as operating familiars and confirming notifications from supervisors.

Last night, after the sea demon battle, Emiya Kiritsugu attacked Lancer's Master, Kayneth. Despite all of this, Emiya Kiritsugu didn't show a single sign of fatigue, so Irisviel had no reason to complain about being tired.

However, Irisviel sighed for another reason.

"Using Ryudo-ji Temple on the summit of Mount Enzo as the base, we will establish a powerful barrier. This way, other natural creatures, except for Servants, can only enter the barrier through the mountain path. Saber, please be mindful of this when you act."

"Besides these two locations, there are two other key locations in the new capital where ley lines are concentrated. One is the Fuyuki Church on the southern hill. The other is the newly developed residential area east of the city. In total, there are four locations in Fuyuki City where spiritual power is essential for the Holy Grail's descent."

If you want to remind Saber to pay attention, you can just say it directly to Saber.

But Emiya Kiritsugu never even glanced at Saber, who was wearing men's clothes and standing behind Irisviel.

There are two reasons why the air becomes heavy.

One was Saber's resolute rejection of Kiritsugu. This attitude of Saber's wasn't new, but had only become more pronounced since arriving at Einzbern Castle.

"But how should we deal with Sajo Aika?"

But faced with Alice's questions one after another, Kiritsugu shook his head.

"After Sajo Aika appears, there's no need for us to confront her head-on. You just need to make the most of your geographical location. As for Saber, you can just disrupt the enemy's sight."

Irisviel was shocked.

After hearing what Kiritsugu said, Saber was so angry that her eyes were wide open:

"Aren't you going to fight with Sajo Aika?"

"All the other Masters are already targeting Sajo Aige. There's no need for us to take action. Others will take care of Sajo Aige. There's no need for us to do anything."

"For those Masters who are already chasing Shatiao Aige with lustful eyes, Shatiao Aige is a piece of juicy meat. Since Shatiao Aige has set her sights here, if Shatiao Aige makes any move, one or two of the other Masters hunting Shatiao Aige will surely enter this forest. We can then attack them from the side. The Masters who are so focused on chasing Shatiao Aige would never imagine that they will switch from hunter to prey."

I see. This is truly a tactic worthy of Kiritsugu.

There was neither human ethics nor the pride of a magus in Kiritsugu's eyes.

He just derived a hunting tool based on the law of the jungle.

Originally, Kiritsugu had no intention of coming to this castle.

Why did he suddenly change his strategy and join her? Irisviel finally understood Kiritsugu's intention.

"Master, how despicable do you want to be?!"

Saber shouted angrily, and Irisviel felt a dull pain in her heart.

"Lord Emiya Kiritsugu, you are insulting the Heroic Spirit."

"I joined this war to avoid the shedding of blood. In the fight for the Holy Grail, we must avoid unnecessary bloodshed and minimize sacrifice. One person shoulders the fate of thousands of troops. Competing here is what we Servants should do."

"Why don't you leave the responsibility of participating in the war to me? You don't have to resort to such despicable means. Or, Kiritsugu-sama, do you not trust me as a Servant?"

Kiritsugu did not answer.

He remained in a cold silence, as if Saber's harsh words were just some insignificant remarks.

Kiritsugu's cold expression, like a mask, disgusted Irisviel.

That man was not the husband she knew.

She did know that Emiya Kiritsugu had a dual personality.

She sensed that Kiritsugu poured all his affection into his wife and daughter.

On the other hand, there are still scars from the past hidden in my heart.

Alice also knew what kind of life Kiritsugu had led before joining the Einzbern family.

But is this the decisive factor that caused the rift between the two of them?

and.

What made Alice realize this was the woman in black who was attending the meeting.

The woman remained silent, silently entrusting everything to Kiritsugu.

That woman was another reason why Irisviel felt depressed.

This is not the first time I've seen Hisau Maiya.

I've met Hisau Maiya a few times in Einzbern Castle.

During the nine years that Kiritsugu was in retirement, it was Hisau Maiya who was in charge of all of Kiritsugu's affairs.

A woman who worked with Kiritsugu before he met Irisviel.

During this meeting, he remained silent without a trace of doubt about Kiritsugu's words.

Perhaps for Maiya, the current Kiritsugu is the Emiya Kiritsugu she knows.

Suddenly, a faint smell wafted into Irisviel's nose—the smell of tobacco.

When Alice first met Kiritsugu, he already had the smell of tobacco on his body.

Alice still remembers being disgusted by the smell.

I haven't smelled this smell for a long time since I married Kiritsugu, and now Kiritsugu smells like tobacco again.

Maybe this is the smell of battlefield smoke.

The current Kiritsugu has undoubtedly transformed back into the Kiritsugu of nine years ago. At that time, Ahad took Kiritsugu in in order to obtain the Holy Grail. Kiritsugu was like a ruthless hound.

And Irisviel at that time was merely a puppet guarding the Holy Grail. While recalling Kiritsugu's past, Irisviel seemed to be looking back on her own past. It was as if the nine years they had lived together had ceased to exist.

Irisviel began to feel restless.

The person closest to Emiya Kiritsugu right now is not her, his wife.

But it was Hisau Maiya.

Irisviel didn't reveal her thoughts completely, but instead asked a completely unrelated question:

"How should we respond to the new rules of war proposed by the Overseer? Doesn't he want us to enter a truce with all enemies except Sajo Aika?"

"Don't worry about the new rule. The Overseer only provides compensation for compliance and doesn't specify penalties for violating it. If the Overseer really wants to cause trouble for us, we can just pretend we don't know about it."

Completely different from his attitude toward Saber, Kiritsugu answered Irisviel’s questions one by one.

"And the overseer of this war seems unconvincing. He feigned ignorance and hid Assassin's Master. Perhaps he's in league with Tōsaka. Until we know more about him, we should remain skeptical."

Saber's entire body was shaking with anger, and Irisviel had a thousand thoughts in her mind.

For a moment, both of them fell into silence.

Kiritsugu took this silence as a signal to end the meeting.

Then let's end the meeting here. Irisviel and I will remain in the castle to prepare for Sajo Aika's attack. Maiya will return to the city to gather intelligence. Report any changes to me.

"As ordered."

Maiya nodded without hesitation, stood up, and left the meeting room.