Chapter 223
"Hahaha, please don’t take offense. The younger members of our clan can be rather immature."
Darnic hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over, his tone so warm and accommodating that anyone unaware of the situation might have mistaken Kiriya for one of his favorite younger relatives.
"Still, I’m quite curious. What led you to conclude that our side is weaker?"
"As am I, young human."
A majestic voice echoed through the hall.
Vlad III’s tall figure appeared upon the throne at the head of the chamber.
Every Master present, Darnic included, immediately bowed.
"My king!"
Vlad possessed a square, dignified face and the commanding presence of a capable ruler.
Unfortunately, the dark circles beneath his eyes were so severe that Kiriya found them incredibly distracting.
’Man, he looks like he hasn’t slept in three hundred years.’
Considering the atmosphere, Kiriya wisely kept that thought to himself.
Even so, Vlad noticed the slight oddity in his expression and frowned.
"Answer me, young man."
"Because the Red faction is ridiculously stacked."
Kiriya began counting on his fingers.
"Red Saber is Mordred, the Knight of Treachery and child of King Arthur."
"Red Archer is Atalanta, the legendary huntress of Greek mythology."
"Red Lancer is Karna, son of the sun god and the Hero of Charity."
"Red Rider is Achilles, one of the most famous heroes in human history. In terms of sheer name recognition, he’s probably near the very top."
Kiriya spread his hands.
"Those first four alone should give everyone here a pretty good idea of how terrifying the Red faction’s lineup is."
"What...?"
The Masters of Black were visibly shaken.
Even the Servants standing behind them reacted.
Every name Kiriya had listed belonged to an extraordinarily famous hero of tremendous stature.
"By comparison, your side does have Lancer benefiting from his fame and territory here in Romania, along with Siegfried the dragon slayer and Chiron, the legendary sage of Greece."
Kiriya glanced around the hall.
"But the overall difference should still be obvious."
A shadow fell over the expressions of Vlad and the other members of the Black faction.
Because Kiriya was right.
Mordred could occupy Siegfried.
Atalanta could hold Chiron in check.
And Karna and Achilles fighting together would be more than capable of overwhelming Vlad III, even with the enormous boost he received from fighting within Romania.
Once Vlad fell, the Black faction’s entire battle line could easily collapse with him.
Could Caster, Rider, and Berserker somehow reverse the situation?
Hardly reassuring.
The Red side possessed a Caster of its own, Black Berserker was hardly in the best mental condition, and Black Rider was practically the living embodiment of reason taking an unscheduled vacation.
At that point, they might have been better off hoping Assassin could save them.
"Oh, right."
Kiriya casually added another blow.
"Your Assassin already killed her original Master and changed Masters."
"So I wouldn’t count on Assassin coming to help either."
"Impossible!"
Gordes slammed both hands onto the table and shot to his feet.
"Oh?"
Kiriya looked at him.
"Then contact Assassin’s Master right now."
"See if you get an answer."
Gordes immediately tried and no response came.
The atmosphere in the hall became considerably heavier.
"So that’s the situation."
Kiriya calmly summarized everything.
"Your side needs reinforcements."
"And I happen to want strong opponents."
"That gives us a pretty solid reason to cooperate."
He smiled.
"Of course, if you don’t want me, I can always go talk to the Red faction."
"I doubt they’d complain about getting another powerful fighter."
Cold sweat appeared on more than one forehead.
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
Vlad III began applauding.
"An incisive analysis, clearly reasoned."
His voice carried genuine approval.
"Remarkable for one so young."
He turned toward Darnic.
"In that case, Darnic, prepare a position among the Masters for him."
With that, Vlad’s body dissolved into particles of light and disappeared.
He had come primarily to see the human who could stand against a Heroic Spirit.
He had now seen Kiriya for himself and gained valuable intelligence in the process.
There was no reason for him to remain.
"As you command, my king."
Darnic naturally had no objection.
In fact, the moment he had seen Kiriya’s Sharingan, he had already decided that building a good relationship with this young man was absolutely necessary.
"Kiriya-san."
Darnic smiled warmly.
"Which Servant would you like to contract with?"
"Other than Saber, Archer, Lancer, and Caster, you may choose freely."
"Those four are critical to our current strategy, so I hope you’ll understand."
At those words, Caules and Roche visibly relaxed.
Celenike, on the other hand, immediately grew tense.
She lowered her head, unwilling to meet Kiriya’s gaze for fear that her resentment would show.
"Oh?"
Rider perked up.
"A new Master?"
His face immediately brightened.
"At least this guy looks interesting."
And surely he couldn’t be worse than the sadistic creep Rider was currently stuck with.
Kiriya’s gaze moved between Caules and Celenike twice.
Then he looked toward the timid-looking Berserker and finally at Rider, whose expression was practically glowing with anticipation.
After a moment, he made his choice.
"I’ll take Rider."
Berserker visibly relaxed.
Rider, meanwhile, practically launched himself into the air.
"Yes! Finally, a fun Master!"
He rushed forward, arms wide, clearly intending to tackle Kiriya in an enthusiastic hug.
Bonk!
Rider had accelerated too quickly to stop.
His face collided directly with the sword sheath Kiriya had raised between them.
"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!"
Rider dropped to the floor and rolled around clutching his face.
The sheer ridiculousness of the scene left several Masters unable to watch.
"You’ve got to be kidding me..."
Celenike bit her lip so hard that the taste of blood filled her mouth.
But she did not dare to object.
The nightmare Kiriya had forced her through moments ago had thoroughly crushed any desire she had to confront him directly.
Besides, Darnic had already made the decision.
None of the other Masters or Servants would take her side.
All she could do was swallow her anger.
"Well then."
Kiriya walked over and looked down at her.
"Transfer the Command Spells."
He smiled.
"Don’t tell me you don’t know how."
"...Fine."
Celenike extended her right hand in resignation.
The Command Spells were clearly visible upon it.
Kiriya extended his own hand.
Caster performed a brief ritual, and the Command Spells transferred onto the back of Kiriya’s right hand.
Kiriya studied the bright crimson pattern, shaped almost like a branching tree.
"That went surprisingly smoothly."
He could immediately feel something unusual.
A tiny amount of his life force was being drawn away at an extremely slow rate and converted into magical energy for Rider.
Most of the Black faction’s magical burden was actually carried by the homunculi serving as living mana batteries, meaning the Masters themselves supplied relatively little.
For Kiriya, the loss was utterly insignificant.
His sage body replenished that tiny amount of vitality almost as soon as it was drained.
Still, the sensation was novel.
"Ehehe."
Rider stuck out his tongue and grinned.
"I’m the one who should be surprised. I suddenly ended up with such an amazing Master!"
Then he lunged at Kiriya again!
"Let’s get along from now on, Master!"
Bonk!
Kiriya calmly raised the sheath into Rider’s path once more.
That cute face collided directly with it.
Everyone in the room stared.
"Master!"
Rider clutched his nose indignantly.
"What was that for?!"
"Sorry."
Kiriya remained completely expressionless.
"I’m a guy who likes women."
"I’m not equipped to deal with an adorable cross-dressing knight constantly throwing himself at me."
"How rude!"
Rider waved his fists in protest.
"This isn’t some weird hobby!"
"It’s a symbol of friendship!"
"Proof of an unbreakable bond!"
Technically, Astolfo was telling the truth.
During his life, Astolfo had once dressed as a woman for the sake of helping his dear friend Roland, who had gone mad from heartbreak over the princess he loved.
The episode later became one of the more famous stories associated with him.
Heroic Spirits were often summoned in forms strongly connected to the legends and deeds for which they were remembered.
And apparently, one of Astolfo’s most memorable moments involved cross-dressing to save a friend.
Thus...this.
"So, Master!"
Astolfo proudly puffed out his chest.
"Don’t you think I’m incredibly noble and impressive?"
"Your intentions were admirable, and your friendship was touching."
Kiriya nodded solemnly.
Then, as Astolfo tried to jump at him yet again—
Bonk!
The sheath stopped him cold.
"But what I said still stands."
"Quit launching yourself at me every five seconds!"
"Otherwise, I’m going to keep reacting on instinct."