I am the protagonist

This is a technique that magicians wouldn't attempt to use, but it's actually quite useful nowadays.

For my daughter.

For his wife.

For yourself.

Tokiomi Tohsaka has abandoned his past principles and has resorted to methods that magicians should not use.

But after coming into contact with these things, Tokiomi Tohsaka was able to understand why Kiritsugu Emiya was able to grasp the magician's thoughts every time.

Because magicians are too conservative; all their actions are predictable.

Having staked everything on the future, on Rin and Sakura, Tokiomi Tohsaka has abandoned his dignity as a magician and resorted to methods that a magician should never use.

However, some things are not necessarily bad, at least not for the future.

“Father Li Zheng, I have some things I need to discuss with you in detail.”

"Okay, could you please come over here?"

Chapter 157 The idea of ​​replenishing mana was quite a shock to Caster.

As night fell, the entire Einzbern castle remained brightly lit.

Shirou, who was resting in the front hall, looked at Saber.

"How are you feeling? Are you in a better mood now?"

"No problem."

I've completely adjusted my playful mood from this morning and won't get caught up in that kind of playfulness anymore.

“Playing is the greatest enemy of life. Even a wise ruler cannot spend all his time on playing.”

"Heh~ You're wrong about that, Saber. It's precisely because you're a wise monarch that you should pay even more attention to having fun."

"Think about it, no one can keep their nerves on edge all the time. Everyone needs time to relax. As a king, you also need such time, and your subordinates need such time as well."

“A family or a kingdom cannot be built by one person alone; it is the result of everyone’s efforts.”

"As a king, you need to understand your subordinates' thoughts, and sometimes it is key to properly adjust their moods."

"And playtime is simply a time for you and your subordinates to relax appropriately."

"But Shirou, this kind of play is a great enemy."

"I'm talking about appropriateness. You need to adjust the degree yourself. As the king, this is something you must do. You can't be tense all the time. Maybe you can handle it, but others can't."

Saber, lost in thought, did not refute this statement. Just as many laws are governed by the king, this state is also something that needs to be governed, just like laws.

"Shirou knows a lot. Could it be that you were once a king?"

"Saber, do you think there are still kings in this era? There are no kings in this modern world, and as a teenager, I could never be a king."

Saber felt a little apologetic for asking the question; she had forgotten that this was a modern world.

"However, Shirou's tone and manner of speaking were just like those of a king, showing compassion for his subordinates, understanding their feelings, and being able to control their emotions."

"Moreover, after getting to know Shirou for a while, I can sense that Shirou has some things that I don't have."

It's something dazzling; you can feel it after being exposed to it for a while.

"I don't quite understand this conceptual statement."

"No, the feeling I'm talking about isn't conceptual; it's just a feeling I can't quite describe..."

But when it comes to actually describing it, I never know how to describe it properly. Some words are already on the tip of my tongue, but I just can't say them.

"If you can't say it now, then forget it."

"Caster has arrived."

Saber instinctively stood up, but seeing Shirou sitting calmly over there, she slowly sat back down.

"Isn't Shirou worried?"

"There are many ways to deal with Caster, but there's no need for it right now."

“Saber, we’ve already attracted enough attention on the battlefield. Once we deal with Caster, even more attention will come, which isn’t a good thing.”

"You should have already heard from Artoria what Caster's trump card is, so do you think you can't deal with him before he causes more harm?"

"No, that method can be solved by simply freeing Excalibur."

"That's the idea."

Shirou never considered Caster a threat.

It wasn't because of arrogance, but because I knew.

What kind of trump cards does Caster have, and is it possible to deal with them? Because it's certain that Saber's Noble Phantasm can handle it, Shirou won't consider Caster a threat.

Moreover, he now hopes that Caster's existence can further deplete those Heroic Spirits.

Although fighting them in perfect condition would be fun, Shirou suppressed that thought.

War does not tolerate such naive ideas.

"Saber, take victory from Lancer."

"Yes!"

Saber, whose energy and spirit had been raised to the limit, had made up her mind that she would definitely win today.

"Yes, that's the kind of momentum I want."

He touched Saber's hair.

"You are a very simple person. You don't need to think about complicated things. Just focus on what's in front of you."

"I'll go see Caster first, and then I'll head to the scheduled location in five minutes."

Shirou, who had just turned around, did not see that Saber's face was already flushed red at that moment.

Upon leaving the castle, Shirou immediately contacted his adoptive father.

"Caster has arrived. I've already activated the teleportation array, and he should be ready to come over in about ten minutes."

【I see. 】

The two had enough tacit understanding that they didn't need to say much to know each other's thoughts, which made Shirou's life much easier.

I arrived at the place where I felt the magic, and I also happened to see this year's Caster in person.

Her looks are truly... indescribable.

Looking into those frog-like eyes, Shirou began to reminisce about Medea's beauty.

Compared to the grotesque Caster in front of him, Medea was clearly much more pleasing to the eye.

"It's you!?"

Caster, on the other side, also showed bloodshot eyes when she saw that bastard who had blasphemed the Holy Maiden.

"Oh dear, isn't that the clown chasing after Joan of Arc?"

"What are your thoughts after watching my date with her?"

Upon hearing this, Caster's eyes became even more bloodshot.

"You bastard! How dare you deliberately desecrate the Holy Maiden in front of me!"

"Pfft~ Blasphemy? I think you've got it wrong. I'm just leading an inexperienced girl down a different path."

"Oh, right, right, didn't we participate in a battle a few days ago?"

Suddenly, a very bad premonition enveloped Caster, and a suspicion made his body tremble involuntarily.

"To ensure Saber's combat effectiveness, we did some mana replenishment."

The sound of heartbreak filled Caster; breathing became uncontrollable, and even her face turned ashen.

Mend magic!

This is a professional term among magicians; it's actually a ritual performed to help other magicians replenish their magical power.

Although there are many legitimate mana replenishment rituals in the world, such as connecting magic circuits, the most efficient mana replenishment rituals are used.

However, just as there are these proper mana replenishment rituals, there are also those less proper ones.

Caster immediately thought of an unconventional approach, even mentally rehearsing the entire process and including today's date.

"Kill you……"

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"

"I will definitely kill you!"

Chapter 158 Caster's Escape Speed ​​is Very Fast

[Would you really believe a lie this simple? Did I overestimate Caster's intelligence?]

Is it because excessive emotional factors prevented the ability to make accurate judgments?

That would be incredibly stupid.

A magician must maintain a certain level of composure at all times.

A magician's battle is not a battle of muscle control, but a battle of wits.

His gaze swept over the dozens of controlled children present, his fingers lightly gliding across the air before quickly flying out.

"boom!!!!"

Several runes blasted the children into dust.

Looking at the remains on the ground, there was no trace of the child's body anymore; all that remained were the remnants of tentacles.

However, these residues still have a certain amount of magic attached to them.

Shirou took two steps back slightly.

"I see. As expected of Caster's Heroic Spirit, he wouldn't appear in the enemy's camp like an idiot without making certain preparations."

Caster's face broke into a cruel smile.

"It's amazing you could spot it. If it were Saint Maiden, she might have fallen into this trap."

There's really no way to refute that; if it were Saber, she would definitely fall into this trap.

The problem is, he's the one who came to Caster.

He's not just a simple magician; he must know what Caster is capable of.

"Unfortunately, this time your opponent is me, not Saber."

"I won't fall into your naive trap."

"However, summoning so many summons requires an extraordinary amount of magic power. Now, we also need to give these summons the magic power to regenerate. Even if you are a Caster with a high level of magic power, you probably can't withstand this kind of magic power consumption."

"These things can be tested a little."

A rune appeared beneath each pile of numerous tentacle fragments.

The appearance of these runes made Caster's face turn very ugly.

These fragments quickly regenerated into a complete tentacle monster.

But just as those tentacle monsters were reborn, the runes below suddenly exploded, blasting them to pieces once again.

None of the tentacle monsters escaped being blown up again.

This time, Shirou stared intently at Caster and noticed that the spellbook in his hand was emitting an eerie light. Then, the scattered fragments on the ground began to come together again.

"I see. Is that why you can summon such creatures?"

"It is not you who provides the magic supply, but the spellbook in your hand."

"Is it because it's the core of the magic that those things were summoned?"

"In other words, that book is the weakness of your magic trick."

Caster's expression grew increasingly grim; he hadn't expected his magic trick to be so easily seen through.

Upon seeing this, Shirou's smile became even calmer.

"As a magician, your close combat ability is practically zero. Anyone with even a little martial arts background could easily defeat you."