บท 527: C527
What he saw left him stunned.
He could see his servant the petite knight, clad in sleek armor, dousing herself with a huge bucket of water.
She had removed her bull horns-adorned helmet, revealing a mane of golden hair that shimmered like the sun.
She took the bucket and splashed the water over herself.
"Splash!"
Her golden locks became soaked, and the cold water streamed down her armor.
"Who's there?"
The petite knight, alerted by the noise behind her, turned to look.
At that moment, Sisigou couldn't help but stare in disbelief.
"Is that... No way..."
How was he supposed to react?
The face beneath that helmet wasn't intimidating, but rather a childish one, even a bit chubby, which gave a feeling of youthfulness. Her sharp blue eyes, however, locked onto Sisigou like an eagle.
And yet, there was no denying it. This armored knight appeared to be no older than twelve!
"What, it's just you, Master? I thought we had an intruder. Lucky for you I didn't take a swing." she picked up her sword from the side, gave it a playful swing, and smiled.
He raised an eyebrow and retorted, "You only grabbed that sword after seeing me!"
She looked at him earnestly, "Maybe I didn't have it in my hand, but I always have one in my heart. You had to learn well, Master."
Sisigou: "..."
This kid sure had a way with words.
Glancing at the basin next to her, he asked, "What were you doing?"
"This?" she glanced at the basin and chuckled, "I wasn't doing much, just trying to cool myself down, don't mind it."
"Where's your helmet?" Sisigou, noting its absence, questioned. He'd looked around and still couldn't find it.
A troubled expression appeared on the petite knight's youthful face, "It was ruined by an idiot."
"Idiot?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Mhm," she nodded, a hint of exasperation clearly visible in her eyes. "She actually released a beam cannon 200 meters underground. Really, wasn't she afraid of burying herself?"
The petite knight let out a sigh, clearly bothered by something on her mind.
"But, there's something I need to apologize for first, Master," she lamented.
He tilted his head, "For what?"
"I could have killed the Black Saber, but because of my personal reasons, she almost killed me instead. Hmm, what a grave mistake."
"Wouldn't it have been better not to mention it?"
"Mmm... that won't do. Right now, we're tied together, like grasshoppers on the same rope. Even the insignificant things should be shared to maintain a good relationship."
His mouth twitched, "Did you just say it's insignificant?"
She looked straight at him, her expression sincere, "They say sweating the small stuff is for fools. Master, let's not be those fools!"
Sisigou: "..."
He felt a sudden pang in his chest, like his heart might give out.
He took a deep breath and sat down, "There's something you should know, Sir Galahad. The Red Faction's plan has completely failed, and they've also lost Rider and Berserker."
But the petite knight didn't seem fazed. She simply crossed her arms and said, "Sounds about right."
With every nod, droplets fell from her damp hair.
He pulled a towel from his backpack and handed it to her. "Here, dry off a bit."
She blinked in surprise, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Oh? Are you showing concern for me, Master?" She flashed a playful smirk. "Is it my dazzling beauty that's captured your heart? Can't blame you, I was blessed with good looks."
He felt a tightness in his chest, halfway between exasperation and genuine heart attack.
"Who in their right mind would fall for a kid?" He said exasperatedly,
She let out a hearty laugh. "Okay, okay, I'll lay off the teasing, Master. I appreciate the concern, but I like it this way. Helps me cool down."
After a moment, her smile faded and her face turned serious, "To be honest, I'm not surprised by this outcome. After all, we're dealing with that sly old man."
"You knew this would happen?"
"Isn't that obvious?" she gave a matter-of-fact nod, arms folded. "Even though I've never dealt with him directly, I have heard about his cunning. Just the fact that he managed to snatch the Assassin class from me says a lot. But don't worry, I have a plan."
"Oh?" He leaned closer, "And that would be?"
She paused, a playful glint in her eye. "Well, naturally... eat when I'm hungry, drink when I'm thirsty, and catch some sleep when I'm tired."
Sisigou: "???"
He was dumbfounded.
She looked so serious, and yet her so-called 'plan' was... that?
"Oh dear, it seems Master doesn't understand the depth of my plan!" she exclaimed, spreading her arms. "Look, the gameboard's already set. If we step out now, we'll be painting targets on our backs. We need to blend into the background and bide our time until the situation becomes chaotic before making our move."
He frowned, "But isn't that Eternal King you spoke of very powerful? Shouldn't we deal with him sooner rather than later?"
Her eyes sparkled, "Exactly my point. We're not the only ones in the know, except, of course, the Black Faction. Our dear heretic will likely clue them in soon enough. And let me ask you, Master: would they be dim-witted enough to save the big bad for last?" She finished with a cheeky smile.
"Hmm..." He scratched his chin, thinking it over.
It made sense. If it were him, he wouldn't leave a major threat for last.
Stretching out comfortably on the ground, the petite knight said, "So, we'll let that heretic stir the pot for us. Once things really hit the fan, that's when we jump in."
"And until then?" He raised an eyebrow.
She looked him in the eye and said, "Being impatient will blow our chances. We wait, watch, and when the time's right, we pounce. So, get some rest. We need to be at our best when the time comes."
He gave a nod of understanding. "What are you going to do in the meantime?"
"I'm gonna read a book!" she replied casually.
That's when he spotted the hefty book beside her.
— "The Legends of King Arthur"!
Eyebrows raised, he turned to her, "Aren't you one of the famed Knights of the Round Table, Sir Galahad? Why 'The Legends of King Arthur'?"
"Hehehe... I'm just curious to see how future generations have portrayed us in their writings."
She leaned back, casually opening the book and flipping through its pages.
...
Over at the Church...
Kotomine's gaze swept over the remaining Servants with a heavy heart.
The price they had paid in this campaign was crippling. Not only had they lost the legendary hero Achilles, but Spartacus was gone as well. And for what? Just to discover that the still-recovering Eternal King was still a powerful enemy they couldn't even dream of defeating? They had learned little else.
The pressing question was, what should they do next?
"Why the long face?" Semiramis asked, sitting loftily on her throne, swirling the red wine in her glass. "It's just a minor setback."
"A minor setback, huh?" he responded with a weariness in his voice,
He glanced over at Karna, holding back his words, and let out another sigh.
Karna calmly said, "The misinformation was my oversight. I wasn't aware that Eternal King possessed that mud-like Noble Phantasm. Even Achilles' dueling space was no match for it."
"It's alright. While this situation was beyond my expectations, it's still within reason," Kotomine sighed and added, "If there's a failure, it's on me, the Master."
Semiramis chuckled. "Owning up to your mistakes, Master? Quite commendable."
A faint smile crossed his face in response to Semiramis. He then moved to the window, taking in the early light of dawn. After a moment, he looked back at Karna. "Do you think Arjuna will reveal Eternal King's identity to the Black Faction?"
Karna paused before answering, "Arjuna will keep it to himself."
"You seem pretty sure about it. Why?"
Meeting his gaze, Karna replied slowly. "Arjuna isn't one for gossip. He's like me – not much of a talker."
Semiramis shot Karna a skeptical look. Seriously? Did he even listen to himself sometimes? The audacity of this guy!
Karna acted as if he didn't notice her reaction and continued, "Arjuna's wish in this world is merely to have a fair duel with me and then achieve victory. Now that I am here, his wish is already fulfilled. His passion for the Holy Grail has also disappeared."
Kotomine narrowed his eyes in thought. "So, you believe he's lost his motivation and won't bother informing the Black Faction?"
Karna slowly nodded.
"In that case, things just got easier." Kotomine said with a growing smile.
"Oh? What are you planning to do?" Semiramis asked with interest.
"Nothing much," he shook his head and then laughed, "I just want to see how determined the Black Faction's Servants are in obtaining the Holy Grail."
...
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