How come the Ace of Cups isn't considered the Holy Grail?

"Oh, Mr. Saber, is the girl you're talking about in the special isolation ward at the Central Hospital?"

Seeing Yu Du nod, Flatt fell silent, unsure how to tell Jack the Ripper about it.

It seems he's already established a cooperative relationship with the bureau chief over there...

If we tell them at this point that the mission objective has already been eliminated, won't they just start fighting right there on the spot?

While Flat was struggling with his thoughts, Ayaka Sajou, who had been left behind by Yuuto to watch the commotion for a while, also noticed what was happening on their side.

Why is there someone next to Saber who looks exactly like that person over there?

Driven by curiosity, and having gradually grown accustomed to the concealing effects of illusion magic throughout the day, Ayaka Sajou walked over to Yuuto and asked directly.

"Saber, who is this person?"

Hearing the voice behind him, Flatt, who was still troubled, turned around and met the eyes of Ayaka Sajou, who was also blonde. He then stared in shock.

"Ah! Ayaka! What are you doing here!"

Ayaka Sajou: "???"

Who is this person?

Do they know each other?

Ayaka Sajou's expression revealed a deep, almost tangible sense of doubt.

Fratt's words not only puzzled Ayaka Sajou herself, but also left El-Melloi II, who had not yet hung up the phone, equally perplexed.

"Wait a minute, Flat, are you referring to Ayaka Sajou when you say 'Little Ayaka'? Is she also in Snowfield City now?"

"Ah, excuse me, I'll ask the girl from the Kuchika family we just mentioned about her wishes after the Holy Grail War ends. Now, could you please hand the phone to her?"

yeah?

Am I, as Master, related to Waver?

“Ah, of course, no problem. But I need to explain in advance that Ms. Ayaka Sajou is now my Master.”

"What?! She—I know, she's actually one of my students too. Please give her the phone..."

Hearing the surprised voice on the phone, followed by a deep breath to forcefully compose herself, Yuuto raised an eyebrow and handed the phone to a bewildered Ayaka Sajou.

"Um, I'm Ayaka Sajou. May I ask what brings you here?"

"...You don't recognize me?"

"Huh? Do I... know you?"

After so many years of teaching, Weber experienced for the first time what it felt like to be treated like a stranger by his beloved students.

A sense of loss welled up inside him, but he still insisted on saying his name.

What if?

What if his voice changed because of the phone call, which is why Ayaka Sajou didn't recognize her professor's voice?

however……

"I'm sorry, I don't know any El-Melloi II..."

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone. After waiting for a while without the other party continuing to speak, Ayaka Sajou returned the phone to Yuuto with a lot of doubt.

Seeing this, Flat immediately came over and took over his teacher's position, starting to ask Ayaka Sajou all sorts of questions out of curiosity.

"Ayaka, Ayaka, didn't you go to Romania on business? What's this? Why are you in Snowfield City, and why did you dye your hair blonde? I almost didn't recognize you at first glance!"

"Ah, but if Lu Xi'an were here, he probably would recognize you just by smelling Ayaka's scent, right?"

His words successfully elicited an indescribable look of disgust from Ayaka Sajou, who moved a few steps toward Yutari to distance herself from him.

After exchanging a few words with the dejected Webber, Youdu hung up the phone, his face thoughtful.

Her Master is Waver's student, but Ayaka Sajou doesn't recognize her professor?

Moreover, he remembered that his Master was clearly an ordinary person who knew nothing about magic, so how could he have enrolled in the Clock Tower?

So, one of these two people is lying?

Or has Ayaka Sajou lost her memory?

Or……

Is there actually more than one 'Sajō Ayaka' in this world?

……

"Really... I understand. Sorry to bother you. I'll contact you again if I have any further news."

After hanging up the phone, El-Melloi II pinched the corner of his eye with a melancholy expression.

Just before his call with Flat ended, he vaguely heard Flat asking Ayaka Sajo about her trip to Romania. Coupled with Ayaka Sajo's unfamiliar attitude towards him, he felt that something was wrong.

So after the call ended, he tried sending a text message to Ayaka Sajou's phone.

Please call me immediately after receiving this letter; I have something urgent to ask you.

Soon, almost seconds after he sent the text message, a phone call came in from Ayaka Sajou.

As for the result... should we say it was as he expected or somewhat unexpected?

Ayaka Sajo said she is currently in Romania.

This time, he confirmed that the other party knew him and was most likely the person in question... that is, the student Ayaka Sajou whom he knew.

He trusted Flat's eyes quite a bit and didn't think he could mistake someone at such close range...

"If that's the case, then who exactly is this 'Sajō Ayaka' in Yukihara City?"

Chapter 294 What a coincidence, you live here too?

In a dimly lit place in the area surrounding the factory district of Snowfield City.

This is one of the reserve outposts prepared by the Squartio family.

After the guy who looked like Caster pulled them into an illusion while they were fighting in the factory district, Bazdilot had no choice but to agree to the guy's offer to make a ceasefire.

After leaving the illusion, Bazdilot decisively abandoned his workshop in the factory area and came to this new base to wait and recover.

A 'communicator' made into the shape of a psychic board was operating in front of him. An iron arrow with a hole cut in it moved slowly across the board, circling letters in sequence to form an article.

Bazdilot waited patiently, watching as the communicator slowly transmitted the messages sent to him and imprinted them one by one onto a roll of parchment.

stab-

Once the communicator stopped transmitting information, Bazdilot used a small pair of scissors to cut out the part of the parchment that contained the information.

After confirming the above information, Bazdirott casually used magic to ignite it, and in the firelight, he expressionlessly said to the darkness, "Alcides, can you still move?"

Alcides emerged from the darkness, his spirit form dispelled, and intense magical power coursed through his body.

"no problem."

"The 'rats' inside the police force have sent word that the next target is the hospital." He gave the order to Alcides in his usual emotionless voice.

"The time has come. Tomorrow I may need your help to treat a patient who is completely helpless."

"I understand," Alcides replied without the slightest hesitation.

This decisive attitude pleased Bazdilot, but he also openly raised his doubts.

"It might seem strange to bring this up now, but I didn't expect you to actually retreat obediently..."

“Even if you didn’t lose out in the previous deal with that Caster, I thought you would refuse the deal and insist on killing that goddess.”

After all, Bazdilot had already used up all his Command Spells, and now he had no means to forcibly command Alcides.

Even when the Caster, whose true identity was unknown, proposed the deal, he was already mentally prepared that Alcides would ignore the deal and kill the goddess no matter what...

To everyone's surprise, Alcides readily accepted the deal and put away his bow and arrows.

After a moment of silence, Alcides replied: "...That is not the god I know."

"Not the god you know... do you mean a geographical issue?" Bazdilot speculated. "Is that 'thing' not a goddess from the Greek pantheon? But they should be similar in essence, right?"

But Alcides shook his head, denying his guess: "No, that's not what I meant."

"That... is neither the original body nor an avatar. It is probably a kind of cry that is attached to the personality of others. It is an ominous curse that transcends time."

"Although I hate God, the curse left by God is secondary to me now. Compared to her, whom I will have to deal with sooner or later, that demigod who calls himself the King of Heroes is my current target... that's all."

Simply put, it's God > Demigod > Curse left by God?

Bazdilotte nodded, saying nothing more about it.

“Then, I’ll have to trouble you to finish tomorrow’s work properly.” Bazdilot looked at Alcides, who was preparing to return to his spirit form, and explained the benefits of completing this task.

Without Command Seals, he can only guide rather than command Alcides in this way now.

"If things go smoothly, it will greatly reduce the instability when dealing with the King of Heroes, and it will also thoroughly discredit the gods who took everything from you."

Alcides did not slow down his spiritualization process at all, only casually uttering a word of agreement after disappearing from the stronghold.

"You don't need to tell me, I myself... am here precisely to tarnish its reputation."

……

"M——ast——er——!"

"You must give me a reasonable explanation today!"

Outside the police station.

So shocked by seeing Ayaka Sajou, Flat completely forgot that his Servant was impersonating him and talking to Orlando.

It wasn't until Jack the Ripper and Orlando finished their conversation, formed an alliance, and went their separate ways, that he remembered the incident again and sent a telepathic message to him.

So he quickly left the police station with Youdu and the others, and then used telepathy to call Jack the Ripper out of the station and told him what had just happened.

Seeing his alter ego, who had become one of the targets of the Black Magician's illusion magic and was now angrily walking towards him, Flatt's face displayed an almost tangible expression of embarrassment.

"Sorry, Jay—Berserker, I accidentally forgot about you just now..."

"You forgot by accident?!" Upon hearing his Master's explanation, Jack the Ripper nearly fainted.

You mean that as a Master participating in the Holy Grail War, you accidentally forgot about the Servant you summoned?

Jack the Ripper was starting to have an existential crisis.

How could a Master forget their own Servant?!

Ah... I'm so tired, I really want to find a more reliable Master...

At this moment, as Frat's servant, Jack the Ripper felt a spiritual resonance with El-Melloi II, who was far away in the Clock Tower.

Flat is definitely a problem child...

After agonizing over his troubles, Jack the Ripper listlessly told Flat and Yudo about the alliance he had formed with Orlando. He then learned from Flat that Yudo had already dealt with the Servant at the hospital.

Realizing that he had done nothing of value, he silently transformed back into a watch and put it back on Flatt's wrist.

He doesn't want to talk right now.

Yudo didn't say anything about going back to Orlando now and telling them to cancel the operation.

After all, maybe other Masters and Servants will notice the commotion at the hospital and be drawn to it?

That will save him the trouble of searching for them one by one later!

"What are Ayaka and Mr. Saber planning to do next?" Flatt, not wanting to bother Jack the Ripper any further, instead extended an invitation to Yuuto and the other two.

"If you don't have anywhere to stay, why don't you come to my place? The motel I'm staying at is very cheap, and it should still have rooms available!"

You stay in a motel too?

A question flashed through Ayaka Sajou's mind, and when she looked up again, Yuuto had already declined Flat's invitation.

Although they are now considered allies, they haven't reached the point where they would attack each other's strongholds, and...

Yuuto glanced at Ayaka Sajou, whose face was etched with exhaustion and heartache.

He felt that the other person could probably fall asleep the moment their head hit the pillow...

So, after saying goodbye to Flat's group, considering that the magical power he had obtained from Ayaka Sajou was unexpectedly abundant, he simply asked the dark magician to keep an eye on the movements in the police station to see if he could find Caster's location, while he himself took Ayaka Sajou back to the hotel to rest.

Then...