46 - Sword of Supremacy
"Uh… Am I supposed to know you?"
Shirou had no idea who this person was, although she looked familiar. She simply stood next to him for awhile, and proceeded to talk to him. She had a light blush on her face, which made Shirou somewhat uncomfortable.
Have I developed a fear for older women?
The woman's eye twitched, "…Wouldn't it be important to know who the hosts of the ball are?"
So she's part of Valor?
This might have been a good opportunity, but Shirou didn't know exactly where she was in the hierarchy. He needed someone who was higher up, like Saint Madoc.
Shirou tilted his head, "Can you be more specific? I'm haven't seen the faces of all the important people."
She sighed, "I am Morgan of Valor. It is a pleasure to meet you, Sir Forged In Hell."
Shirou paled.
Doesn't she count as royalty?!
[Kingslayer] had taken an effect on her, meaning that he was more at threat than with the other women in the ball.
"Uh… Nice to meet you too, Miss Morgan."
Wait, was I supposed to say "lady" instead?
Shirou started to get more uncomfortable as she giggled, probably at how nervous he looked. However, his reasons to be nervous were completely different than what she may think.
"I'm sure you can tell why I have approached you, yes?"
Shirou didn't want to seal his fate, so he decided to ask her instead.
"No, not really. Would you mind telling me?"
Morgan smirked, "Allow me to formally invite you into the Valor Clan. If you would like, we can privately negotiate any conditions in a seperate room."
…Oh.
Shirou though that he was being hit on by another older woman, and one that was affected by [Kingslayer]. However, it seemed that this was simply a political meeting.
Shirou sighed, "Lead the way."
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This is… a weird place to conduct negotiations.
Shirou and Morgan were sitting at a table within a room. It was furnished quite luxuriously, as there seemed to be quite a bit of expensive products in here. A maid had arrived and offered them some snacks. Specifically, the type of snacks that rich people would have.
Shirou took a sip of some tea, as his gaze never left Morgan. He didn't really know what he should do currently, so he was quite uneasy.
That unease only increased as he glanced at the bed in the middle of the room.
Shirou flinched as Morgan spoke, "To begin with, if you choose to be brought into the clan, you will be given access to all of our resources. This includes Memories, Echoes, Soul Shards, Nightmare Seeds, and any other resource."
What?
Shirou may not have ever negotiated before, but weren't they offering too much? They were basically saying that he owned the clan at this point.
Shirou nodded, allowing her to continue, "In exchange, we would require you to marry into the clan, while also using your Aspect to create weapons for our highest personnel. Are there any questions you may have?"
Shirou thought for a moment, "Why is Valor offering me so much? You specifically said 'all of your resources', which would be the same as me leading the clan. Also, who exactly would I be marrying if I accepted?"
Shirou had a guess when it came to the second question, but he wasn't going to make assumptions.
Morgan smiled, seeing that he had caught on, "Are you aware of the Sovereigns?"
Shirou nodded, wondering where she was going with this.
"You see, I have a half-brother named Mordret. He was given away as a hostage for some time, before being returned as an Awakened. Interestingly enough, his Aspect was of the Divine rank, and it allowed him to grow multiple cores. However, he was exiled from the clan due to the dangers of his Aspect. It would be too high of a risk to have somebody who could take over bodies, don't you agree?"
Shirou was already aware of Mordret, even though he had never met him. He nodded to her words, listening as Morgan continued.
"As his Aspect was Divine, his potential was much higher than my father, the current Sovereign of Valor. It was a major loss for the clan, but it was a necessary one. Of course, this brought up the possibility that there are others with Divine Aspects."
Shirou's eyes widened, seeing where she was going with this.
"We had implemented sentries into this stronghold, just in case Mordret decided to sneak in. They were mainly for the purpose of finding humans with multiple soul cores. However, although we didn't find any trace of Mordret, we had found something quite interesting."
Morgan gave Shirou a piercing gaze, "An Ascended Titan, and two Ascended Devils had arrived at the exact same time. We didn't attack, as we were sure that they weren't corrupted individuals, so we simply let them in."
Shirou gulped.
"The most interesting part was that these three individuals were from the Changing Star cohort. Specifically Changing Star, Ascended Sunless, and you, Forged In Hell."
She didn't speak for a moment, as if allowing what she had said to sink in. It seemed that there were multiple reasons for Saint Madoc to be glancing at him so often.
"This secret hasn't been spread to the rest of the clan, as only those from the highest ranks are aware of it. Although it would be a major boon for either of you three to join the clan, you would be the one with the most worth. A weapon-based Aspect of the Divine rank would not be something that we would like to miss out on."
She took a sip of her tea, "As long as you joined the clan, we would at least be sure that Changing Star and Ascended Sunless would not go against us. Even if they don't ally with us, it would be better to not have two Divine Aspect users as our enemies."
Shirou had completely understood the logic behind that. A pyromaniac and a treacherous shadow we're not something to be trifled with.
"My father and the elders have discussed your worth, and had come to a decision. If they wanted to further increase Valor's power, they would need to have someone who could surpass my father. What would be better than a Divine Aspect user who can create weapons?"
Shirou's eyes widened, "You don't mean…"
Morgan smiled softly at him before taking another sip of her tea.
"Not only are we offering you the chance to be the head of Valor, but we are also giving you the chance to become a Sovereign. One who would be able to crush the other domains, and lead humanity on his own."
Shirou was astonished. He really should not have underestimated the Great Clans. It would only make sense for them to have countermeasures against Divine Aspects, considering their history with them. Their desire for a Divine Aspect related to swords was something that he should have expected as well.
Morgan seemed to have more to say however, "As for your second question…"
She smirked at him.
Shirou gulped for the second time since these negotiations started.
"…That would be me."
Of course it is!
He should have expected this, considering that they desired for him to surpass Anvil. Yes, the name of the Sovereign is literally Anvil.
Shirou was starting to get tired of these strange names.
Anyways, it would only make sense for Shirou to marry the daughter of the previous Sovereign. However, that brought up a different question.
"Wait, aren't you the heir of the clan? Wouldn't it make sense to make you a Sovereign instead?"
Morgan sighed, "Originally, yes. However, after my First Nightmare, things had become… unpredictable."
Shirou tilted his head in confusion.
"If I were to inherit my fathers domain, my Aspect would need to be related to swords or war. We carry the lineage of the War Goddess after all. However, even though my Aspect is quite powerful, it has almost no connection to any of the domains of the War Goddess. In a scenario in which I become a Sovereign, my domain would need to be built up from scratch, and that would leave too many openings for the other Sovereigns."
Shirou thought for a moment, before realizing that he might be able to simply take over Anvil's domain, simply because his Aspect was both better, while also being related to multiple of the War Goddess's domains.
"The clan uses divination Aspects in order to predict what the Aspects of the members would be. I was supposed to have a sword related Aspect, but I had instead obtained one which was more… destructive."
Morgan realized that she was getting completely off-topic, so she decided to get back to the negotiations at hand.
She coughed into her fist, "Well, what is your decision?"
Shirou thought for a long while. He had originally planned to announce the return of the Emiya Clan, but the benefits she was offering were simply too high.
Shirou imagined the amount of people he could save with all of that power.
He sighed, "There is just one last issue I have to ask about."
Morgan nodded, "And what would that be?"
Shirou thought about it one last time, "What exactly do you think about this?"
She blinked, "…What do you mean?"
Shirou scratched the back of his head, "Um… how old are you?"
"…I do not believe that would be a suitable question to ask a woman."
"It's really important actually, so please answer."
"…Twenty-three."
Shirou nodded, "What I mean, is that are you really okay with marrying a guy who's half a decade younger than you? You don't even know me that well!"
Morgan raised her brow, "Does it truly matter? This is simply how Legacy Clans operate. Arranged marriages are hardly uncommon."
"I want to hear you say it."
"…Excuse me?"
Shirou had a spark of determination in his eyes, "I want to hear you say: Darling, I absolutely love you and all of your heroic personality traits. I would marry you even if it wasn't arranged!"
Shirou doubted that she would be able to do it, since there was absolutely no way that she was completely okay with marrying him. Even if he had [Kingslayer]!
"…This is ridiculous."
Shirou nodded, "It is, but that is how ridiculous one needs to be to be able to handle all of this."
Shirou spread his hands out, signifying that he was referring to himself.
He wasn't quite wrong, since even Saints couldn't quite handle his sword.
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…Am I really doing this?
Morgan would prefer to save words such as those for a later date, but unfortunately, it seemed that he wouldn't marry anyone who didn't seem to truly like him.
In fact, he seemed quite confident that she didn't, which was quite strange, since anyone with a face like his would have at least some confidence in their ability to attract the opposite gender.
Morgan was quite confused about why he hadn't simply accepted the offer, as she believed that there wasn't many downsides to to this agreement.
…Oh. Is he not attracted to me?
She had caught him glancing at her chest a few times, but he only seemed curious about it. She knew that she was quite prodigal in that department, and it was quite obvious to others due to how… revealing her dress was.
Unfortunately for him, there was no other women in the Clan who had a similar standing in power. They wouldn't want his genes to go off into a branch family, as they were simply too precious.
Morgan sighed, "If I am not to your liking, you can have as many concubines as you want. You only have to produce an heir with me."
Morgan was quite insulted, as she was sure that she was one of the most attractive Masters. She was even more beautiful than some Saints!
Forged In Hell froze, giving her an incredulous look. He seemed bewildered at what she had just said.
Shirou stuttered, "W-wait. That's not the issue here. I mean, I'm asking if you genuinely want to marry me. I'm not really somebody that a person like you would want to have to deal with. Especially romantically."
Oh.
Morgan found it quite cute that he was genuinely worried about what she had thought.
It reminded her of someone that she had met in her First Nightmare, over half a decade ago.
They had even looked similar!
Morgan realized what she had to do now.
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"Darling, I absolutely love you and all of your heroic personality traits. I would marry you even if it wasn't arranged!"
Shirou blinked.
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
Type_Sword
Type_Sword The whole thing with Valor being able to track down Divine Aspects in their strongholds only makes sense. I know that canonically, they weren’t aware that Mordret could grow multiple cores, but I feel like they should have considering their resources. Did they really have not a single Aspect or Memory that allowed them to see a person’s soul?
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone