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Next morning!
Minato and the others had already finished breakfast—except for Artoria, who was still wolfing down her food like there was no tomorrow.
"What is your stomach made of, Sis?"
Sakura stared at her own chubby little belly, then looked at Artoria, confused.
"Did I eat too much?"
Artoria quickly straightened her posture and blushed. "It's just too delicious, I'm really sorry…"
"No worries, there's plenty more where that came from."
Minato smiled and pushed his leftover portion over to her.
"Thank you, Master."
Just then, Medusa walked in holding a fancy-looking invitation. "Master, the Einzbern family sent us this. They're inviting us over. Should we go?"
"Oh?"
Minato's eyes lit up. "Why not?"
He stood up and headed for the door.
"W-Wait for me, Master!"
With her cheeks still puffed out from food, Artoria rushed to finish eating and quickly followed after him.
...
The Einzbern residence wasn't exactly close to the Matou mansion.
But instead of teleporting or using any magic to get there, they went by car.
Artoria was the driver.
As a Servant, she was great at handling any non-magical vehicle.
Finally—
A grand, majestic-looking castle, practically dripping with history, came into view.
"Can't believe I'm back here again…"
Artoria stared at the place with a complicated expression.
Medusa asked curiously, "You've been here before?"
"Yeah… Kiritsugu Emiya used to work for the Einzbern family."
"Huh?"
Sakura's eyes widened. "So… they're the enemy?"
She was still young, but Minato had already explained the basics of the Holy Grail War to her.
"I'm not sure,"
Artoria shook her head. "That's why we should be cautious, Master."
"Don't worry."
Minato smiled faintly. "If they try anything sneaky… I'll just wipe them out."
Artoria went silent.
She could tell Minato wasn't joking.
No wonder people called her Master a demon.
And yet… this "demon" was the one who saved Sakura.
Artoria looked at the cheerful smile on Sakura's face.
Even with their short time together, she could already tell—without Minato, something terrible would've happened to this girl.
Honestly, her Master was… a complicated man.
Shaking her head a little, she decided to stop thinking about it for now.
At the castle gates—
An old man dressed in black with a totally emotionless face had clearly been waiting for them.
As they approached, he stepped forward and said, "You may call me Ahad, head of the Einzbern family. It's a pleasure to meet you all."
Even as he said that, his face didn't change at all.
Minato wasn't surprised.
After all, in many ways, this guy was basically just a walking program—a living automaton following strict protocol.
After giving him a quick once-over, Minato got straight to the point. "So, what do you want with me?"
Ahad answered calmly, "To be precise, we're here for your Master."
"I am the Master."
"I see."
Seeing that Medusa didn't object, Ahad nodded.
He had no strong emotions either way.
Looking at Minato, he asked, "Are you participating in the Holy Grail War on behalf of the Matou family?"
"No, I'm only representing myself."
"In that case, would you consider participating on behalf of the Einzbern family instead? It's very important to us."
"I've got one question."
Minato's tone turned serious. "Is Kiritsugu Emiya your son-in-law?"
"No."
Ahad replied, "He was simply a hired mercenary. Looking back, we overestimated his capabilities."
Hearing that, Minato smiled a little.
So, his guess had been right.
"What's Master thinking about now?"
Medusa muttered quietly, "Don't tell me… he's eyeing some other woman again?"
Sure enough!
Minato spoke up. "I'm okay with being hired—but my reward has to be Irisviel. That should be fine, right?"
It was basically an empty promise.
Same as with Artoria—he'd just take the perks and go.
Later on, he'd just fulfill his part of the deal and let everything else be someone else's problem.
"You want her to become your wife?"
Ahad paused, clearly weighing the pros and cons, before replying, "If that's what you want, then yes."
"She'll be one of my wives."
Minato said seriously, "That I can guarantee."
"Very well. Deal accepted."
Medusa's eye twitched as she overheard the conversation.
Yep. As expected…
Her Master.
If his head wasn't full of girls, it was basically empty.
And he wasn't even trying to hide it—with her standing right here.
She instinctively glanced over at Artoria.
Alright then…
With her around, guess this wasn't new.
Her Master had always been like this. Nothing to worry about.
"....."