Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

Upon hearing the staff's report, the shop owner, who had rushed over, stared at the boxes and plates piled high on the three tables. His vision blurred, his face turned pale, and under the weight of the devastating losses, his lips trembled, turning bluish-purple. His hand, clutching his chest, shook uncontrollably, and he nearly had a heart attack.

"boom!"

As everyone was respectfully ushered out, the shop owner, who had just been walking with the help of the staff as if he had Parkinson's, suddenly sprang up with incredible agility, decisively closed the door, hung up a sign that read "Temporarily Closed," and then locked the door behind him.

Clearly, yet another delicious and affordable buffet restaurant has added them to its blacklist.

Is this the nth... twelfth... or even the twentieth?

Blackie and Bazett licked the last bit of sauce off their lips, seemingly wanting more.

"You guys go back first. I need to see Aika and Ayaka off. We're still unsure about the cause of that incident, and I'm a little worried about the two of them."

Samai straightened up slightly, cleared his throat, and spoke after a moment's thought, leaning against the wall as he stepped outside.

Then, the ancient snake turned to look at a certain illegitimate daughter of the Tohsaka family next to him, his gaze meaningful, and his heart filled with malice.

"Ereshkigal, Rin, and Sakura, I'll leave them to you. Is that alright?"

Tsk tsk, I wonder what Tokiomi Tohsaka would think if he saw his daughter living abroad?

Ai Lei had no objection to this; after all, taking care of her two younger sisters was her duty.

After all, the Tohsaka family has more than just her nominal father living there.

The goddess of the underworld watched Samael's retreating figure, her ruby-red eyes gleaming with cunning.

"Let's go, Bazett, it's time for us to head back."

Scáthach called her disciples to take their leave, then turned and nodded to Ereshkigal and Rin Tohsaka. A meaningful look appeared on her face, completely devoid of the tension from before. She made no mention of the tense argument earlier, and showed no dissent about Samael's bias in abandoning them to send off the sisters.

As goddesses and queens, they may have distinct personalities, but they are not unreasonable.

The tacit understanding cultivated over thousands of years, as well as countless life-and-death experiences, have led them to always unconditionally trust and support a person's actions when it comes to important matters.

Samael is not the type to be easily swayed by lust; there must be a deeper reason behind his actions.

This time, it is certainly no exception.

"It's in that forest in the old capital, right? It's on my way, I'll give you a ride!"

As they parted, Irisviel, who had remained smiling and silent the whole time, stepped forward and took the initiative to make amends.

Considering the distance and to avoid the hassle of a long journey, Scáthach and Bazett readily agreed and, at Irisviel's invitation, sat in the back seat of the extended Mercedes outside.

Immediately afterwards, Black Saber, who had squeezed into the middle carriage and sat next to the maid Lyselette, searched around the area near her seat.

Seeing this, Bazette, sitting in the back seat, politely inquired.

"What are you looking for? Do you need help?"

"seat belt……"

Blackie answered casually, then pulled out the seatbelt from the gap, quickly fastened it, and then turned to look at Scáthach and Bazett behind him, who were completely unaware, and gave them a quiet piece of advice.

"Friendly reminder: I advise you to button them up as well."

As the three were talking, they somehow found the silver-haired beauty in the driver's seat, who peeked out with an excited expression.

"Everyone, are you ready? We're about to depart!"

Moments later, before Scáthach and Bazett in the back seat could react, amidst the dull roar of the engine and the screeching of the tires, they felt their souls begin to detach from their bodies as they drifted at high speed.

At this moment, the two victims who had been tricked into getting on the bus finally understood, amidst the violent shaking, where Hei Dai's advice and pitying gaze had come from.

There's something wrong with this car!

Chapter 186 The Genius on the Left, the Madman on the Right

Along the way, Sajo Aika held Samael's arm, her pretty face beaming with a satisfied smile, like a happy little bird chirping and chattering with her prince about the little things in life, just like a young girl in love.

Although the ancient serpent felt a great deal of pressure under the intense gaze of this Root Princess.

However, through subtle inquiries, he also learned quite a bit of information about Ayaka Sajou.

First of all, having never experienced the Holy Grail War, Ayaka Sajō retains her innocent and carefree nature. Although she can be a bit eccentric at times, she seems harmless.

Secondly, because he did not go down the path of fanaticism, he naturally had a very good relationship with Ayaka, and the Sajou family, who were originally based in Tokyo, also ended up in Fuyuki City by chance.

In addition, during her adolescence, Aika Sajou unexpectedly became enthusiastic about various light novels and hoped that one day she would meet her ideal prince.

Now it seems that she has found her Prince Charming.

Samael looked down at his right hand, which was being held tightly, a hint of helplessness in his eyes. He turned to look at the princess beside him, her face beaming with happiness, and felt a mixture of amusement and exasperation.

"Aige, why are you so special to me? We've only met twice in total?"

"Because Your Highness, you are one of a kind!"

Saya Aika looked up at that handsome face and the endless mystery in his red and black eyes, her smile bright and her expression completely natural.

Samael was speechless at this idealistic claim, for it was irrefutable.

However, perhaps to confide in her family, or perhaps to deepen her prince’s impression and understanding of her, Aika Sajou couldn’t help but talk about her past.

This is a girl who is almost omniscient and omnipotent because of her connection to the root.

Because she was omniscient and omnipotent, everything was taken for granted in her eyes.

Everything in the future was as if it were written in a script. No longer experiencing any anticipation or surprise in her life, she became a "living ghost" devoid of self-awareness.

She felt little of either her parents' love or her sister's affection.

In her view, her past life was as dull and tasteless as a blank sheet of paper.

Unable to find joy and motivation in life, she set a single rule for her talent, or rather, her curse: "Don't look at your future."

If she sees through everything, possesses everything, understands everything, and the world and herself intertwine and become one, then she will lose the last bit of herself.

Even though her ability to foresee the future has been limited, everything around her still appears to her as an uninteresting mountain that she knows all too well.

There was no surprise, no joy, and no expectation.

The world is just a familiar sandbox; as long as she's in the mood, she can touch any tiny corner of it.

The only thing that could prevent her from going insane and giving up on herself was probably the sense of morality instilled in her from childhood and the familiarity of being with her family for so long.

But then someone appeared, and the pale world in the girl's eyes was given color.

Everything related to him is unknown, a mystery, and full of endless interest, making everything come alive.

With just one glance, the girl believed that he was an angel from the light who had come to save her, and also the prince she had longed for and yearned for.

Gazing at that sincere and eager pretty face, Samael's gaze became somewhat dazed.

At this moment, he vaguely saw the shadow of another person in Ayaka Sajou.

Solomon, a man blessed by God and possessing divine wisdom.

That wise king of Israel, the Grand Magician with futuristic vision, seems to be the same.

Because he is almost omniscient and lacks interest in anything, he is like a perfect machine for ruling a kingdom.

His wish in participating in this Holy Grail War was to return the divinely bestowed wisdom to the heavens and choose to be an ordinary person with both joy and sorrow.

Although times have changed, the principles remain the same.

Genius on the left, madman on the right.

Just one step away, just one step apart.

For ordinary people, an excessively heavy talent is sometimes not a blessing, but a curse.

Especially when the recipient of this blessing is initially a child whose mind and soul are not yet fully developed, this blessing will erase much of the joy of life and exploration from their world. It may even cause severe repression and distortion of their personality.

Solomon was like that, and so was Sajou Aika.

At this moment, Samael finally understood why the girl in front of him had fallen in love with him at first sight and was so infatuated with him.

Because his appearance injected vitality and change into Ayaka Sajou's unchanging life, bringing color to her originally pale world.

The ancient serpent's thoughts returned, and a hint of understanding appeared in its deep eyes. It finally understood where this favoritism came from.

"So, you've had a tough time all these years, haven't you?"

A gentle voice reached Aika Sajou's ears, and a fair hand pressed against the girl's head, gently stroking it, conveying warmth and comfort.

Princess Genyuan subconsciously looked up, and the eyes that were quietly looking down at her did not show the envy and praise she had seen countless times before, but rather... pity.

Pity? It's actually pity...

This unexpected feedback left Aika Sajo bewildered, and for some reason, a slight soreness welled up in her nose; she felt like crying.

Strange, why do I feel like crying?

Clearly, she was powerful enough to glimpse fate, powerful enough to arbitrarily shape the world.

"Um……"

However, before Aika Sajou could figure out her question, a muffled nasal sound involuntarily responded, and her little head, which seemed much heavier than usual, had unknowingly buried itself in the man's arms.

"Don't worry, it won't happen again..."

Samael looked down at the girl clinging to him like a koala, showing great patience and gentleness. He gently stroked Ayaka Sajou's head with his fingers and palms, while a wisp of light silently entered the girl's brain.

Gradually, the girl felt as if her consciousness had fallen into a colorful cotton candy, constantly sinking amidst bizarre and dazzling colors, and her eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

Get a good night's sleep, and when you wake up, enjoy your life and appreciate the new world.

Silent murmurs flowed from between the ancient snake's lips and teeth. Samael gently picked up the girl who was sleeping soundly and defenseless in his arms and followed Ayaka Sajou up the stairs.

They've arrived home.

As the sun sets and the moon rises, a girl lies on her soft bed, hugging her pillow, curled up, a glistening drool hanging from the corner of her happy mouth, like a cat fast asleep on a blanket.

"Yeah..."

With the soft sound of the window being pushed and pulled, a tall figure, elongated by the cool moonlight, was projected into the bedroom.

For a full half hour, Sajou Aika remained fast asleep on the bed, showing no signs of waking up.

"cough!"

Finally, a figure on the balcony, unable to contain himself any longer, let out a soft cough.

Awakening from a deep sleep, Aika Sajou rubbed her sleepy eyes, sat up in bed, and tilted her head to look at the figure with white hair, red eyes, and strange star-shaped patterns etched on his wheat-colored skin under the moonlight. Her dazed mind finally cleared up a bit.

"Saber? Why are you here?"

"The last fruit has ripened; the real battle is about to begin."

Under the moonlight, the tall figure hesitated for a moment, then stepped across the balcony and into the house, her red eyes showing a hint of confusion.

“However, Master, you seem to have lost your vigilance.”

Sajo Aika paused for a moment, then seemed to realize something. She excitedly pushed open the doors and windows, looked up at the boundless starry sky, and the pedestrians coming and going under the night sky.

The view was no longer as clear and penetrating as before, but it had an indescribable hazy beauty. Everything seemed to be painted with colorful hues. The dewdrops on the leaves were crystal clear and lovely, and even the smell of cooking fires outside the window was so fragrant and tempting.

Sajou Aika covered her wildly beating heart with both hands, her golden eyes sparkling.

It seems that God closed the door and window that had been opened too early for her.

Chapter 187 The Great Wedding Operation

"What's wrong? You seem very happy?"

The silver-haired, brown-skinned heroic spirit girl leaned against the corner of the wall, tilting her head to look at her smiling Master on the bed, quite surprised.

"I can't wait to get into this competition."

Saya Aika, kneeling on the bed, held her hands together in front of her chest, welcoming the cool moonlight streaming in from the window, her golden eyes filled with anticipation as she murmured.

"Why? Didn't you say before that the Holy Grail War was just a boring game? Why are you suddenly interested in it again?"

A hint of confusion appeared on the cool and aloof face of the heroic spirit girl, as if she did not understand her Master's sudden change.

"I joined this competition before only for Ayaka. That idiot would have a hard time surviving the Holy Grail War without me."

Sajō Aika thought for a moment and answered casually.

"And the Holy Grail itself means nothing to me."

As the nearly omniscient and omnipotent Princess Jing, her wishes can often be easily fulfilled with a mere flick of her wrist.