To Become a King and a Magician

Should we meet with Kayneth?

Looking at the address written on the letter, Naoki fell silent for a moment, then turned to Arthur and asked, "Arthur, what do you think?"

"If you're asking me, I suggest we go."

"Why?"

"For your safety, Master. Although I'm confident I can protect you, no matter what kind of enemy I face, I can't protect you all the time. If I get entangled by an enemy Servant, you'll be helpless, which is too dangerous. Master also mentioned that there's a man in this Holy Grail War who will do anything to achieve his goals."

The person Arthur was referring to was, of course, Kiritsugu.

'Indeed, even if it's Caster, if Morgan wants to restrain Arthur, she should be able to do so. At that point, I'd have to face Kiritsugu alone, and with his style... he'd probably hide somewhere and shoot me.'

If Naoki thought about it this way, the reason Arthur suggested going to Kayneth was simple. Because of the contract, Kayneth would have to protect him, and with Kayneth's level of Magecraft and the strength of his workshop, it would be nearly impossible to breach as long as he didn't encounter a Servant.

Even if Kiritsugu pursued him, with Naoki's information, Kayneth shouldn't suffer a defeat in a direct confrontation like in the original story.

In other words, as long as he went to see Kayneth, Arthur wouldn't have to worry about Naoki's safety all the time as he does now and could focus more on fighting off attacking Servants until Misaya found Waver and Rider again.

"Alright, I'll listen to you. So when should we leave?"

"From a safety perspective, now is the best time. The Holy Grail War has an unwritten rule that battles can't take place during the day. Moving during this period is the best option. If it's still dark, we might be attacked while moving, not to mention our presence might already be exposed."

"Good."

Naoki nodded. When it came to combat, Arthur's ideas were clearly better than his own, as he was just an amateur.

Neither Arthur nor Naoki noticed that as they spoke, a bird perched on the window frame with a small camera-like device hanging from its neck.

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

On a rooftop not far away, crouching at the edge of the roof and peering at the faint outline of Naoki through the small surveillance camera, Kiritsugu curled his lips and said, "The angle isn't great... Maiya, how's it on your side?"

'Same, slightly worse than yours. I can't hit a vital spot from this angle.'

Maiya's voice came through the headset.

Since this was the expected result, Kiritsugu wasn't disappointed and immediately switched to another channel: "Caster, are you in position?"

'The cleansing barrier has been set up. Most people within 500 meters are now asleep. They won't wake up even if there's a huge explosion. Master, you can do whatever you want.'

"Where's Berserker?"

'I'm with his Master. Because of the curse, he's now a puppet that obeys my commands. When the time comes, I'll have him summon Berserker to hold off Saber.'

There were no issues with the preparations.

Kiritsugu nodded. "Then let's repeat the plan. First, Maiya and I will shoot separately to force Saber and Naoki out of the house. Then Caster and Berserker will hold off Saber, while Maiya and I will look for an opportunity to kill Natsukawa Naoki alone. Is that alright?"

'What about the rules of the Holy Grail War?' Morgan asked.

'We're breaking the unwritten rules of the Holy Grail War by doing this.'

"As long as we finish this before the commotion gets out of hand, no one will report us to the church." Kiritsugu said as he picked up the sniper rifle beside him and aimed it toward the Natsukawa household not far away. "Besides, dead men tell no tales—everyone, take your positions, and we'll begin the operation in one minute."

'Understood.'

'Got it.'

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

After finishing her communication with Emiya Kiritsugu, Morgan stood at the entrance and sighed helplessly: "What a boring man, Emiya Kiritsugu. Although his concept of action is quite interesting, the methods he uses are truly uninspiring."

"Don't you agree, Matou Kariya?"

Behind Morgan, Kariya, who was hooded, raised his pale face upon hearing the voice and stared at her without saying a word. His lifeless eyes contained an undisguised intent to kill.

"Ah, I forgot. You're currently under hypnosis due to my curse. You probably can't hear what I'm saying."

Berserker requires Kariya's Mana to manifest in the world, and due to the previous battle with Gilgamesh, Kariya's magic circuits were nearly drained by Berserker and almost destroyed. So, to allow him to use Berserker again, Morgan used a rather taboo spell to force his exhausted magic circuits to move once more.

When the curse's effect ends, Kariya will die on the spot, but that doesn't matter at all. What Morgan and Kiritsugu need is simply to have Lancelot fight Arthur in this plan. It would be better if he could defeat Arthur, but if not, it's enough to hold him off. After all, no matter how strong Arthur is, if his Master is killed, he can only return to the Throne of Heroes.

Additionally, to allow Lancelot to maximize his strength, Morgan also used mental suggestion hypnosis Magecraft on Kariya. Specifically, now whoever appears in his eyes, he will think it's Tokiomi.

As for what Kariya will do when he meets Tokiomi, it goes without saying.

This is a fight to the death!

"There are still two Command Spells left. I'm really looking forward to it. Facing Lancelot, who has been strengthened by two Command Spells, what can my brother from another world do?"

"Of course, what makes me even more curious is..."

The image of Naoki, covered in a sealing cloth, flashed through Morgan's mind, and she couldn't help but feel a slight sense of anticipation.

"That boy is undoubtedly a Pandora's box. He has no clear understanding of himself. I'm really looking forward to what will happen to him once that box is opened..."