Who are you calling a stable boy?!

"it's your turn."

Chapter 102: I understand now!

"Sir!"

Only then was Kotomine Risei able to get close to Zheng Jing.

The old man stretched out his hands, wanting to stop him, but he knew that he couldn't stop this person with his mortal body. For a moment, he could only hang his hands, his old face bitter.

"Your Excellency, Your Excellency! It is I who secretly colluded with the time. My son was merely acting under my orders and had no choice but to do so! Now that Assassin has been beaten to death on the spot, I dare not ask for your forgiveness, but please, considering that I am old and frail and that it was not easy for me to have a son in my old age, please have mercy and spare my son's life!"

He figured it out.

Regardless of who this Master is or how he ended up in this small mortal land of Fuyuki, at least when it comes to fighting and killing, this one doesn't care if you're an overseer or a church; once that piece of iron is revealed, blood and flesh will fly everywhere!

As for waiting for reinforcements to arrive, that's just wishful thinking.

Putting aside the fact that distant waters cannot quench this immediate fire, Li is currently preoccupied with appeasing Gilgamesh, so how could he possibly persuade that tyrant to come and save his father and son?

tough?

What gives Yan Feng and his son the right to stand up for themselves at this moment?

To be honest, he was already prepared to lose his life if he didn't. Since he dared to wade into the murky waters of the Holy Grail War again, Kotomine Risei was already aware that he might lose his life.

But for his outstanding son, whether as a father or a devout believer, Kotomine Risei simply couldn't bear to see him die here...

Kotomine Ryougi knew that the person in front of him was known for being compliant to gentleness but not to force.

Therefore, if he really wants to save his eldest son, he has no choice but to say all the nice things and express all his suffering, hoping to win the heart of this bodhisattva.

Upon hearing Li Zheng's plea, Zheng Jing narrowed his eyes slightly, turned to look at Yan Feng Li Zheng, and pointed at him.

“Li Zheng, Li Zheng, I, Old Zheng, have already made it very clear that you and Shi Chen Lao Deng are in cahoots. This matter will be considered closed when I kill Bai Mao.”

"But your unfilial son's actions have nothing to do with that!"

Upon hearing this, Li Zheng couldn't help but glance at Qi Li, only to find that his son remained expressionless, his eyes fixed on Zheng Jing.

It was as if the person before them was not a demon come to claim their life, but a true Buddha who was guiding them through their confusion.

"This... Your Excellency, may I ask how my son offended you?"

“You old man, don’t you understand? I have no grudge against this old woman, but if I, Old Zheng, pretend not to see her today, and she does something bad in the future, then it will be my fault.”

Li Zheng became increasingly confused as she listened.

In his eyes, his son, Kirei Kotomine, was a saintly, devout, and outstanding representative.

This wasn't because he had any special affection for his only son, but because many people in the church held Kirsty in high regard.

It can be said that Kirei Kotomine's excellence is a recognition bestowed upon him by the world.

—How come in Zheng Jing's mouth, such a person as Kirei Kotomine becomes a bad seed who is about to commit heinous crimes at any time?

Kotomine Risei really couldn't understand it.

"Kirei Kotomine, what is your wish that the Holy Grail grants?"

Zheng Jing suddenly asked Kotomine Kirei this question.

"I......"

I have no wishes.

—This has always been Kirei Kotomine's answer to his father and master.

However, now, facing those golden eyes that seemed to burn fiercely in the dark night, this man who had been relentlessly searching for the answer could not bring himself to speak it.

"......I have no idea."

As if to avoid Zheng Jing's gaze, Kirei Kotomine closed his eyes.

"I want to know, but I really don't know why the Holy Grail chose me, or what I unconsciously entrusted to that so-called omnipotent wish-granting machine. I... don't know."

"But you must have seen it with your own eyes, the answer I longed for, and the true nature of Kirei Kotomine."

When he opened his eyes again, he was met with those golden eyes once more.

"Please... Venerable One, teach me!"

"Qili..."

Kotomine Ritsu was looking at her son.

This was the first time he had seen such profound confusion in Kirei.

It's as if that steadfast shepherd never actually existed...

"Qili, let me ask you this: in your opinion, are all kinds of people in the world inherently good or inherently evil?"

"...Man is born with original sin."

"Hey!"

As soon as Qili finished speaking, Zheng Jing abruptly waved his hand.

"What crime? I, Old Zheng, am asking about good and evil!"

Kirei frowned.

"It should be... that human nature is inherently good."

"If human nature is inherently good, and everyone is born with good roots, then you are a Buddha, I am a Buddha, we are all Buddhas, and Buddhas are everywhere. In your opinion, why bother cultivating Buddhism?"

Kirei's brows furrowed even deeper.

"Then, could it be that human nature is inherently evil?"

"If human nature is inherently evil, then cultivation is like sweeping fallen leaves in the courtyard. They fall today, they fall tomorrow, and leaves fall every day. In your opinion, when will this end?"

"..."

"The so-called good and evil are not about 'existence' or 'non-existence,' but about 'knowing' or 'not knowing.' You, Feng Qili, have been practicing for over twenty years. I, Old Zheng, ask you, do you know the good and evil in this world?"

"..."

After a moment's hesitation, Kirei Kotomine nodded.

"Now that you know good and evil, you've long known that your inner demons are deeply ingrained. What the church says is none of my business. If you ask me about Buddhism, well, you'll have to find your own way out."

"A way out?"

“If you do evil, you should be beaten; if you do great evil, you should die; if you do evil for pleasure, you deserve to die a thousand deaths.”

Zheng Jing shook the Ruyi Jingu Bang (a magical staff) that was pressed against Kirei Kotomine's eyes, his face showing a mixture of a smile and a reproach. Under the moonlight, Kirei Kotomine, standing to the side, couldn't really tell the difference.

"Look at me, Old Zheng has neither a golden headband nor a lotus platform, only this Ruyi Jingu Bang in my hand. I beat down the demons and monsters that harm the innocent, and kill the evil spirits and monsters that do evil. Kirei Kotomine, let me ask you, is my fighting and killing good or evil?"

Upon hearing this, Qi Li slowly opened her eyes, meeting Zheng Jing's gaze, which seemed both smiling and reproachful.

He seemed to have suddenly thought of something.

"Hey, good lad, you finally have some understanding, and I didn't waste my breath."

Suddenly, Zheng Jing withdrew his stick and patted Kirei Kotomine on the shoulder.

"But remember this: evil knowledge and wicked wisdom are the most troublesome. This path is not easy to walk. With your level of cultivation, if you really encounter it, what's the point of wasting words?"

"Alright, that's all I have to say. Also, this chanting is only for this one time. If you go astray, hmph!"

Before he could finish speaking, Zheng Jing leaped up and disappeared into the night.

After gazing at the night sky for a while and finding no trace of Zheng Jing, Yan Fengli finally felt a little relieved.

"Qili, just now you—Qili?"

"......Father."

On his face was a joyful smile that Kirei Kotomine had never seen before. His left hand held his right hand, which no longer had a Command Seal. Kirei Kotomine's usually calm voice now showed a hint of playfulness.

"I understand!"

Chapter 103: The Poor Hour

"An invitation to form an alliance?"

Sora examined the envelope repeatedly and muttered something under his breath.

"That's right, it was sent by the Einzbern family. Although they have fallen so low that they have to rely on androids and uncouth wild dogs to compete for the so-called Holy Grail, they are still quite polite."

With his hands clasped together, Kenneth looked down at the letters laid out on the coffee table.

This letter was delivered to me this morning by the hotel receptionist.

The contents of the letter need not be elaborated upon; it was an invitation from the Einzbern family for Kenneth to come to their castle outside Fuyuki that evening to discuss an alliance against the Berserker.

That's right, Berserker.

The follower who called himself Zheng Jing has been identified as a Berserker.

In the letter, the Einzberns mentioned that during their retreat the previous night, they were intercepted by a caster who called himself Gildre.

Considering Zheng Jing's performance at the mouth of the Weiyuan River last night, it is indeed more realistic to identify him as a Berserker than a Caster.

As for why a berserker, who should be irrational, could speak so freely...

Explaining this phenomenon is much easier than explaining why the "Monkey King" appeared in the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki.

"Are they trustworthy?"

Sora put down the envelope, first glancing at Diarmuid, who was silent with his head down, before looking at Kenneth.

"They even chose their own territory as the location for the negotiations. Perhaps the negotiations are a pretense, and the ambush is their real purpose. The Einzbern family's Saber has already been injured by Lancer. They must be eager to lift that curse now."

"so what?"

Kenneth smiled confidently at his fiancée's question.

"This is a formal request for alliance. To break this promise would only bring shame upon their family. Moreover, even if the Einzbern family were to commit such a despicable act, what trouble could they possibly cause in the face of my Moon Spirit Essence Liquid?"

"The only one worth paying attention to is the Einzbern family's servant, the King of Knights who is Saber..."

As he spoke, Kenneth glanced at Dirumdo.

"Finally, if you hadn't been unable to withstand Berserker, I wouldn't have needed to accept any of this! Not only did you fail to defeat Saber, but you also wasted one of my Command Seals to escape. Do you really intend to fulfill your contract properly—"

"Hasn't this topic already passed, Lord El-Melloi?"

Sora suddenly interrupted Kenneth's reprimand of Dirumdo.

She crossed her arms and stared at Kenneth.

"That Berserker cannot be viewed through the lens of ordinary reasoning. You, who are hailed as the number one prodigy in the Summoning Department, don't you understand how incredible it is that 'gods'—especially the 'gods' of that land—can appear like that?"

"That is......"

"Furthermore, Lancer did enough, inflicting an incurable injury on Saber, specifically to her arm, a crucial part of a swordsman's body. Had they retreated earlier and left her unattended, she might already be dead, thanks to Berserker. In the end, it was your misjudgment of the situation as Master that led to us losing a Command Seal, wasn't it?"

"Ms. Sora, please stop talking."

Diarmuid, who had been silent all along, finally spoke.

"Ah... I'm sorry, I..."

Seeing the distress on Diarmuid's face, Sora opened his mouth, then looked at Kenneth.

"I'm sorry, I went a bit too far."

"..."

Kenneth glanced at Sora, then at Diarmuid, and especially at the beauty mark on Diarmuid's face, before blinking.

"If it's difficult to win in a battle between Servants, then we need to seriously consider a battle between Masters."

He said in a deep voice.

"Who exactly is the Master of the Berserkers, capable of commanding such beings?"

-

"Ah! My fried chicken nuggets! Zheng-jing!"

"Hehehe! First come, first served. It's such a simple principle, how can you not understand it, Rin-chan?"

"Uncle Zheng, do you like fried chicken nuggets?"

"Hmm? I love them all, I love them all!"