Chapter 240
"Yo. What exactly are you planning to do to my Servant?"
The sudden voice made Vlad III and the others’ expressions change at once, while Astolfo reacted with open delight.
"Master! You finally came! I was starting to think you’d abandoned me!"
As he spoke, tears were already gathering in Astolfo’s eyes.
He hurried forward a few steps and threw himself straight at Kiriya.
Clang!
Kiriya reflexively raised his sheathed sword in front of him.
Astolfo’s pretty face promptly enjoyed an intimate encounter with the scabbard, and the dull impact was painful enough that even Jeanne, standing nearby, instinctively covered her own face.
That had to hurt.
"Ow, ow, ow...!"
Astolfo rolled around on the ground, wailing at the top of his lungs.
"You’re too loud. Shut up."
Kiriya spoke coldly and casually raised the still-sheathed sword again.
Astolfo immediately stopped rolling, though he continued muttering under his breath.
"Seriously... Master finally showed up looking all cool and dependable for once. Couldn’t you let me stay moved for a little longer?"
"Do you really have no idea why I react to you like this?"
Kiriya’s expression remained completely flat.
If Astolfo had been a cute girl, Kiriya might have accepted being tackled like that.
Unfortunately, this one was a boy.
That rather ruined the mood!
"And besides..."
Kiriya glanced around at the situation before him.
"I’ve barely been gone, and you’ve already managed to cause something this big. You really are talented at making trouble."
"Hehehe..."
Rider knew perfectly well that he was in the wrong, so all he could do was laugh awkwardly.
"Kiriya-kun, your Rider is... quite interesting."
Jeanne looked at Astolfo with a decidedly strange expression.
Darnic, meanwhile, watched Kiriya banter with his Servant as though no one else present mattered, and his face gradually darkened.
"Kiriya-dono, regarding the circumstances here, please allow me to explain—"
Before he could finish, Kiriya raised a hand and interrupted him.
"No need. I already understand more or less what happened."
His expression remained perfectly calm.
"My Servant caused losses on your side, so yes, that part is his responsibility. I’ll deal with him properly afterward. For now, let’s leave it at that."
With that, Kiriya turned as though he intended to take Astolfo and simply walk away.
"That’s it?"
Darnic was so angry that he actually laughed.
They had lost an exceptionally valuable potential core for a golem, along with Saber—one of the most important trump cards in their entire faction—and Kiriya thought a single I’ll deal with it later was enough to dismiss the matter?
Just who did he think he was?
Vlad III’s brows also drew together.
The gaze he directed toward Kiriya carried a distinct chill.
As the king of Romania, Vlad felt that he had been treated with profound disregard, and once that impression settled in his mind, magical energy began surging violently around him.
"What?"
Kiriya turned his head.
His eyes transformed instantly into the crimson Three-Tomoe Sharingan, and a sharp killing intent filled the air.
"You have a problem with it?"
"..."
The atmosphere became suffocatingly tense.
"During the fighting earlier, I personally eliminated Archer and Berserker of Red. If we’re judging by results, I should currently have the best record in the entire Black faction, shouldn’t I?"
Kiriya’s tone was calm, but there was nothing conciliatory about his words.
"Now my Servant merely wants to save a single homunculus. What, after everything I’ve contributed, you won’t even give me that much consideration?"
His words were unabashedly domineering.
Darnic’s expression grew even uglier.
Astolfo, on the other hand, puffed out his chest proudly as though Kiriya’s achievements were somehow his own!
"See that?"
He turned toward the homunculus boy behind him.
"That’s my Master! Pretty cool, right?"
The homunculus boy stared blankly at Kiriya’s imposing figure, momentarily speechless.
"Kiriya-dono, aren’t you being rather unreasonable?"
Darnic’s voice had become stiff.
"Reason?"
Kiriya chuckled.
Then he pointed in the direction of Sighișoara.
"If your intelligence network is still functioning, I suggest you contact it and ask what’s happening. After that, you can decide whether you still want to waste time arguing with us here... or whether you should start preparing to receive an enemy attack."
"What?"
Darnic’s heart tightened when he saw how certain Kiriya looked.
He was just about to summon one of his subordinates and demand a report when a member of the clan hurried in from outside, panic clearly visible on his face.
Darnic immediately felt a terrible premonition.
"Lord Darnic! Our observers at the edge of Trifas have detected an enormous airborne fortress approaching at high speed. At its current rate, it will reach the castle in approximately one minute!"
"What?!"
Darnic’s expression changed dramatically.
Beside him, Vlad III’s face became as dark as storm clouds.
"They chose to attack from the sky?"
"A friendly warning."
Kiriya’s leisurely voice came from the side.
"There are at least three thousand Dragon Tooth Warriors up there, along with some very high-ranking beam attacks."
He smiled pleasantly.
"You should probably be careful. Otherwise, one shot might erase you from the map."
"..."
Darnic clenched his teeth.
He understood immediately that continuing to argue with Kiriya and Rider was now completely meaningless.
He turned toward Vlad III and bowed.
"My king, the situation is urgent. I ask that you proceed to the front and take command of our defense."
"I understand."
Vlad III nodded.
Before leaving, his gaze settled on Kiriya.
"Young warrior, I expect you to honor your promise when the battle begins."
"To cross blades with the strong is one of my greatest desires."
Kiriya’s expression was composed, but his voice carried unwavering conviction.
"Then I shall look forward to seeing what you accomplish."
With those words, Vlad III dissolved into particles of light and vanished.
Darnic immediately began issuing orders.
"Assemble every combat-capable homunculus of the clan and form defensive ranks."
"All Masters are to prepare themselves and remain alert for enemy infiltration."
"Gather the Servants and maintain constant surveillance on the movements of the Red faction."
One command followed another in rapid succession.
A subordinate recorded them all and hurried away to carry them out.
Celenike cast one final unwilling glare toward Rider.
She ground her teeth, but with an enemy army almost upon them, even she had no choice but to leave.
Caster remained considerably calmer, though the shifting light in his eyes made it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Once the others had begun moving, Darnic turned back toward Kiriya.
A perfectly natural smile appeared on his face, as though the confrontation only moments ago had never happened.
"Everything earlier was simply an unfortunate misunderstanding. With a powerful enemy approaching, I hope Kiriya-dono will place the greater situation first and join us in overcoming this crisis."
"Hahaha! Of course."
Kiriya broke into a bright, hearty smile and agreed without the slightest hesitation.
"As expected of such an outstanding young hero. Your broad-mindedness is truly something the rest of us should learn from."
"You flatter me."
Kiriya smiled even more warmly.
"You’re the truly impressive one. Knowing when to bend and when to stand firm, adapting immediately when circumstances change—your reputation as a wise leader is clearly well deserved."
The two men smiled broadly at one another and exchanged several rounds of shameless mutual praise before Darnic finally departed in apparent satisfaction.
Astolfo and Jeanne could only stare after him.
The speed with which the atmosphere had changed left both of them momentarily speechless.
"Master, you’re amazing."
Astolfo sounded genuinely impressed.
Being able to change faces that smoothly was a skill in its own right.
"Stop screwing around."
Kiriya glanced toward the homunculus boy.
"You’re free now. You can leave this place whenever you want."
In the end, he was only a homunculus.
Admittedly, this particular one possessed unusual potential and had even received the gift left behind by the dragon-slaying hero Siegfried, but from Kiriya’s current perspective, that did not mean very much.
A person who did not even know what he wanted could hardly be called a proper warrior.
Throwing someone that lost onto a battlefield would accomplish little beyond creating another burden for everyone around him.
More importantly, Kiriya had entered this Holy Grail War because he wanted to fight personally, push himself against powerful opponents, and increase his own abilities.
He had no interest in sending someone else to fight in his place.
"Leave...?"
The homunculus boy looked completely lost.
"I don’t know what I’m supposed to do... or where I should go."
"You can do anything you want!"
Astolfo answered immediately, his enthusiasm returning in full force.
"Go eat delicious food. Make friends. Travel somewhere you’ve never seen before. Go on adventures in strange places... There are so many things in life worth seeing, feeling, and experiencing."
His expression softened.
"Even if the time you have is short, you should still fill that time with as much happiness and meaning as you can."
Kiriya gave the homunculus boy a long, searching look.
"Treasure the life you’ve been given."
Then he turned toward Jeanne and Astolfo.
"Come on."
His eyes shifted toward the direction from which the Hanging Gardens were approaching.
"Our battle is beginning."
"Mm!"
Astolfo nodded and obediently followed behind him.
Jeanne paused for a moment beside the homunculus boy and gave him a gentle nod.
"May your journey be a safe one."
With that blessing, she followed Kiriya as well.
The homunculus boy remained where he was, silently watching the three figures disappear into the distance.
Somewhere deep inside him, he felt as though something intangible was slipping farther and farther away.
Something important.
Something he should have understood.
Yet his thoughts were still too confused and indistinct for him to grasp what that feeling meant.
"What... is it?"
The homunculus boy murmured quietly to himself.