Aslan did not plan to wait around for the Holy Grail War to begin before heading to the Far East with Kayneth. That would be too late. Before that, there was something he needed to do—he had to seize the right to summon the final Heroic Spirit from a murderous boy.
While he had claimed that, upon descending into that city, the Holy Grail would automatically choose him due to his power as a magus, that didn't mean he would let a certain killer go. The reason was simple. He was displeased—and that was reason enough to act. What? Could one of those murdered children have grown up to change the future?
If such a child truly existed, there would have been a guardian assigned to quietly eliminate him during his growth. Looking back to the distant past, under the influence of the fading divine belt, those born to alter the course of the world were always exceptional—like himself. If such a child really were lost, it could bring irreversible consequences.
But in modern times, who could surpass a Guardian? Besides, the Guardians were just projections of Heroic Spirits. If a difficult magus truly appeared, they could simply dispatch hundreds of Emiya units.
Though Emiya's strength wasn't top-tier, even against a combined force like himself and Melusine, a hundred wouldn't be enough. After all, neither Melusine's true body nor his own supreme masterpiece was so easily destroyed. Still, regardless of which version of Emiya appeared, he was at least above second-rate in terms of power.
Of course, that was assuming Mr. Emiya took things seriously and applied his full capabilities.
As for the holy relic Aslan had entrusted to Kayneth—whether Kayneth used the shield inscribed with fairy words that Aslan had given him, or Balin's personal belongings, or even went ahead with his own plan to summon the Glorious Appearance—none of it mattered to him. That was Kayneth's decision.
At most, if Kayneth summoned the Glorious Appearance, they would simply operate independently, with no collaboration.
As for who Aslan would summon, now that he had taken a magus's summoning position, he already had an idea. He wasn't going to do all the work while some old bastard loafed around. Worst case, he'd just summon himself on the magus's side. With the island's power under his control, that would be more than enough to allow his dragon to regain human form within seven days.
And after the Holy Grail War? He could return to Great Britain and draw upon the island's power again. If that wasn't enough, he could simply inherit the title of Island Lord. In this era, to him, that was just a title within the dwindling world of mystery.
At that time, he merely needed to pretend to be Melusine's Master—and that would be sufficient. However… this Holy Grail War was full of formidable foes. If that old bastard were truly willing to make an appearance, it would be a great help to Aslan and his allies. The main reason was that Aslan wished to keep his identity concealed. If it came to it, though, what was so wrong with going all out?
It was always easier to investigate from the shadows than to have one's identity exposed and end up with everyone avoiding you.
Aslan had never been to the Far East—well, unless one counted the Far East Aslan in the Star Inland Sea. He had visited twice, actually. Back then, he was in the Huaxia region of the Star Inland Sea and happened to hear that Yama Hall had opened, so he had gone to see the spectacle. He had to admit, he still wasn't used to eating sashimi.
Even if the food didn't suit his taste, at least in the Star Inland Sea, nothing was contaminated. Besides, all creatures there were of mysterious lineage—their flavor was unmatched.
After disembarking from the plane, Aslan looked out at Tokyo, now an international metropolis. He didn't immediately head for Fuyuki, choosing instead to explore Tokyo for a while. There were still a month or two before the Holy Grail War began, so he might as well enjoy this world-class city.
Meanwhile, in the Einzbern Castle in Germany, the magus killer Emiya Kiritsugu was frowning at the bloodstained silver-white armor fragments laid before him. He had been told by his elders that these fragments were recovered from the ruins of a battlefield in Great Britain. The knight who wore armor of such high quality had to be one of the Knights of the Round Table.
Most notably, the battlefield was Camlann, and the fragments included parts of a right arm—ruling out Bedivere, the one-armed knight of the Round Table. That left few candidates who had participated in the Battle of Camlann. If he were lucky, he might be able to summon King Arthur or Mordred.
Judging by the elegant blue design on the armor, it didn't appear to be the style of the Rebellious Knight. Of course, there was always the possibility that the Rebellious Knight's true personality differed from common assumptions.
Come to think of it, thanks to Aslan confusing parts of the Arthurian legends, the modern world still believed King Arthur was a man. That explained a lot. If King Arthur could be a woman, then surely somewhere out there, there might exist a more reserved version of Mordred too, right?
The Mordred most people imagined now was the yandere-type from the Arthurian world. In contrast, the Mordred in Aslan's world was already extremely well-behaved.
The reason these armor fragments had been left behind was, in fact, Aslan's fault. If he hadn't interrupted the duel between those two with spear and sword—giving them the chance to catch their breath and unleash their full power—there wouldn't have been so many shattered pieces scattered across the battlefield.
As Kiritsugu touched the bloodied armor, his brows furrowed deeper, and he sighed. The Knights of the Round Table were undoubtedly powerful, but they weren't his preference. Compared to such upright warriors, he preferred assassins—fighters who used underhanded means without hesitation.
Only those willing to employ every method, even at the cost of betraying all knightly ideals, were suitable for him. Ideally, they would be heroes like him—willing to embrace the shadows to bring peace.
Kiritsugu narrowed his eyes.
Whether the world could be saved or not would depend on this Holy Grail War. Better for the Grail to become the foundation of world peace than some magus's passage to the Root.
-End Chapter-
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