Chapter 86 My Heart and My Actions Are Clear as a Mirror

  "Holy Sword Master, how do you feel now? I just saved your life, right? Is this the expression you give your benefactor? Am I on the same level as Gilgamesh in your eyes?"

  In terms of how bad you are, you two are just as bad as each other.

  Although he thought so in his heart, Saber, who had changed two Masters in a row, felt that he had no right to criticize others. Although the reasons for changing the Master were completely different, compared with that oriental warrior, it still made the Knight King feel a little creepy.

  But he could not refuse the Master's order, not to mention that Roland did save him. As a knight, he failed to fulfill his duty to protect and ended up being protected.

  This wonderful experience made Saber stand up and salute Roland solemnly.

  This made Roland feel a little uncomfortable. "Although I guessed that you won, looking at Lancelot's state before his death, he, the loser, is more comfortable than you, the winner."

  "Because Sir Lancelot...is much more suitable than me. He can find reasons to swing his sword, but I don't know what to do."

  Saber's face was filled with depression, and she even looked a bit self-destructive.

  "But didn't you do a good job? You are a perfect king without selfish desires. That's why Lancelot regrets his decision."

  "But this alone is not enough. I seem to have redeemed everything, but I can't do anything. Sir Lancelot asked me to recognize why I am fighting. What does this mean?"

  "It's just the literal meaning," Roland shrugged. "Sometimes, I find that perfectionists like you tend to get stuck in a rut. Putting aside your current dream, what were you fighting for before you died?"

  "Fairness and justice."

  No matter what the situation or his identity, King Arthur can always make clear judgments, which is one of the reasons why he is called the ideal king.

  Just like when he refused Mordred to inherit the throne, it was not because he was prejudiced against his identity, but because the other party did not have the qualifications to be the successor to the throne. However, he never wasted time explaining the reason, and thus gradually developed a rift with the people around him.

  Saber looked at Roland, hoping to get his opinion on this answer.

  Roland nodded without hesitation, "As expected of my Servant, you think exactly the same as I do. I also fight for justice."

  "Oh…ah?"

  The old sword's always stern face broke down for a rare moment. Roland fought for justice? Even though he had only come into contact with Roland for a few events, he could see that Roland was plotting something. However, at present, Roland had not done anything really bad. Even if he let Lancelot fight with him, it was out of Lancelot's own will, so Saber accepted this master.

  "No wonder you don't believe me. After all, I'm not a justice partner in the broad sense. The justice I fight for is very small, so small that it only covers me."

  Saber fell into deep thought. After a long while, he spoke: "Although I do not understand this kind of individual justice, I will accept its existence. However, it cannot protect Britain, and it cannot benefit the people."

  "Why not?" Roland tilted his head and asked doubtfully, "If I spread my justice to the whole world, then my justice will be the justice of the world, right?"

  "Anyway, humans are like a flock of pigeons. If one flies to the right, all will fly to the right. All we need to do is pretend to step on the heads of the pigeons to control the direction of travel."

  "I cannot accept this kind of rule. It completely goes against the will of the people. Even if it succeeds, how can you guarantee that your actions are just?"

  Saber was a little angry. Such a tyrant was exactly what he despised. In the concept of the Knights of the Round Table, the origin of equality was included from the very beginning.

  But Roland just laughed disdainfully, showing his white teeth, and answered in a matter-of-fact tone.

  "My heart and my actions are as clear as a mirror, and everything I do is just!"

  Such a pure and extreme idea made Saber open his mouth wide, not knowing how to respond. Even though this was an extreme sophistry, he could not find the words to refute it for a moment.

  But Roland did not let him go and began to pursue him, "Besides, isn't this what you are doing?"

  "Master!"

  Saber raised her head and looked at Roland with a serious expression. Although this was their first time to get along formally, Saber had already deeply realized that Roland was the type of person she was least good at dealing with, and she tried her best not to have a conflict with Roland.

  But this incident still angered Saber.

  "What? Did I say something wrong?" Roland's eyes were still full of amusement, as if he didn't see Saber's expression.

  "You just want to save this country. You have fulfilled your duty as a king. The lives that have survived that suffering and reproduced to this day have different weight from the lives that exist in the homeland you want to protect, right?"

  From this point of view, Saber and Kiritsugu have a good compatibility. Although the forms of their demonic insanity are different, there is not much difference in essence.

  Extreme selflessness is essentially a kind of selfishness. When life becomes something that needs to be judged by value and quantity, it is easy for people to go to extremes.

  "I...I...must save Britain."

  Saber was speechless and spoke ambiguously. Roland's words really hit his sore spot.

  "So this is your dream?" But Roland was not relentless. "You are not born to be a king. If you had such an awareness before you pulled out the sword from the stone, then I have nothing to say. But if not, then you should think about whether protecting Britain is a means to fulfill your dream or a goal."

  Hearing these harsh words, Saber forced a wry smile onto her pensive and melancholy expression.

  He remained silent and began to recall the time he had not thought about for a long time.

  Before drawing the sword, Merry had told him the ending and fate of Britain, but he still chose to accept this fate without hesitation.

  This was Saber's answer at the time.

  "There were a lot of people laughing, so I thought, that can't be wrong."

  He has no dreams, but at least he can protect the dreams of others.

  This simple reason is the driving force behind Saber's progress.

  "I want to protect their smiles and the hope that exists."

  "Then do it. Compared to the past and the future, being able to protect your present smile is a great thing."

  Roland nodded and spoke casually, reaching out his hand and patting Saber's shoulder. "I am not a good person in the strict sense, and I cannot guarantee my future direction, but at least, in this Holy Grail War, I can guarantee that I am righteous."

  Compared to the evil in this world, Roland, who only wanted to regain his body and his talisman, could be described as kind. The fundamental reason why he could accept the old sword was because there was no fundamental conflict between their goals.

  Saber sighed sincerely as she looked at Roland, who had no confusion at all, was able to quickly see through the essence of things and give guidance to others.

  "Master, you are so powerful."

  ——

  A few hours ago, in the basement of the Tōsaka Mansion, far away from the battlefield, Tōsaka Tokiomi sighed deeply.

  Since the last time, Archer didn't even know where he was going to go, and this servant now completely regarded him as nothing.  

  Even if he respectfully offered advice, he would only be scolded. Among all the master-servant relationships among masters, there was probably no one worse off than himself.

  Having said that, Tōsaka Tokiomi did not regret his decision to use that Command Spell. The King of Heroes was the strongest Heroic Spirit, and he was still convinced of this until now.

  Apart from his overly arrogant personality, Archer is almost impeccable. In theory, even if he does nothing, he can still wait for victory in the Holy Grail War.

  But Tōsaka Tokiomi cannot accept this hands-off model. He must maintain a certain degree of control over his servants. Fortunately, although Archer doesn't obey orders very much now, his disciple Kirei is still as loyal as ever.

  With his assassin around, he could always get the latest information about the battle and place his familiars, allowing him to micro-manage the situation on the battlefield.

  "Master."

  A familiar voice came from outside the door, and Kotomine Kirei walked in and began to report the situation.

  "According to Assassin's report, Archer seems to have gone to Einzbern, and Berserker and Saber seem to be fighting in the forest."

  "It seems that if everything goes well, we might be able to eliminate an opponent today."

  Tōsaka Tokiomi showed a leisurely look as he looked at the magic furnace behind him that had already started running.

  "This battle comes at the perfect time. The construction of the magic furnace has just been completed. After the exciting battle, I'm sure Archer's anger will be much lessened."

  "To this day, I have not been able to do anything for you. I am really ashamed."

  Kotomine Kirei bowed his head deeply, but Tōsaka Tokiomi waved his hand nonchalantly.

  "Most of the masters this year are veterans. It's normal for them to be on guard against assassins. This is not your fault."

  As he spoke, Tōsaka Tokiomi stood up and picked up a long black box from the table.

  "Because I was a little tight on money these days, I didn't have time to prepare your graduation gift. I hope it's not too late now."

  Tōsaka Tokiomi smiled and pushed the box in his hand over. Kotomine Kirei opened the box and looked at the dagger inside.

  Kotomine Kirei recognized this thing, a mercury sword, a fine magic gift weapon. The gems inlaid on its tail handle were very exquisite. Both its price and purpose were very decent.

  "Master, such a great favor..."

  Before Kotomine Kirei could finish his words, a dark red light flashed in the room.

  This was a sign that the magic barrier had been triggered, and Tōsaka Tokiomi quickly stood up. Looking at the outer barrier, a swarm of dark insects was wreaking havoc everywhere.

  "The insect technique of the Matou family? Humph, knowing that Archer is not here, you want to take this opportunity to come and settle things?"

  Even at the critical moment of being invaded, Tōsaka Tokiomi remained calm and took out his usual magic wand quickly.

  Thinking of the Master of the Matou family, Tōsaka Tokiomi became even calmer. Matou Kariya was just a half-baked guy who gave up halfway on the path of magic. He couldn't even make people alert.

  What's more, he has Kotomine Kirei by his side. This disciple who once shone as an agent is even more professional in fighting against magicians.

  "Kirei, please wait for a moment. Your identity as my ally has not yet been exposed. There is no need to wait for an opportunity. Just sit and wait."

  Tōsaka Tokiomi calmly assessed the current situation and quickly went downstairs to meet the enemy.

  "The key to open the magic furnace is on the table. If it lights up, it means Archer is consuming a lot of magic. Please help me open it so that I can avoid being distracted during the battle."

  Seeing his decisive action, Kotomine Kirei's voice actually added a bit of worry and anxiety.

  "Master..."

  Having keenly noticed this, Tōsaka Tokiomi felt more at ease. Although he only had two short years of experience, Kotomine Kirei was undoubtedly a talent he could trust.

  "There's nothing to be afraid of, Kirei," Tōsaka Tokiomi said as he walked down the stairs confidently without looking back, "The wind of victory is blowing from behind me, so just wait for good news."

  Tōsaka Tokiomi walked calmly in his garden, as if this was not a battlefield full of dangers.

  Kotomine Kirei looked at his master's resolute back, stretched out his index finger, gently stroked the edge of the mercury sword, and prayed sincerely.

  "Master...please don't die like this."

  Toosaka Tokiomi walked calmly in his garden, ignoring the swarm of insects around him, and walked straight to the figure wrapped in a black robe in the garden.

  Even on a battlefield fraught with danger, Tōsaka Tokiomi maintained his usual elegance.

  "Matou Kariya, I have to praise you. Although you are just a newbie, you are so courageous that you dare to challenge the Tōsaka family's workshop openly. I don't know whether you are stupid or fearless."

  Matou Kariya did not respond, but just waved his hand, causing the black swarm of insects to surround Tōsaka Tokiomi in an instant. He expressed his inner hatred, but Tokiomi only frowned and raised the civilization staff in his hand.

  Without any hesitation, Toosaka Tokiomi activated the defense formation. With the huge ruby on the staff of civilization as the center, an elaborate formation symbolizing the Toosaka family crest was deployed. Toosaka Tokiomi also began to chant in an orderly manner.

  "Give my enemies a harsh cremation!"

  Red fire snakes crawled out from the defense formation and quickly swept through the insect swarm. Tōsaka Tokiomi could foresee the next scene. In the dancing flames, insect corpses continued to scatter. After all the familiars were killed, Matou Kariya could only urge the last swarm of insects to fight to the death. At this time, he was giving him the final punishment.

  However, the development of the matter was completely beyond Tōsaka Tokiomi's expectations. Instead of being burned to death by the flames, the flying swarm of insects absorbed them. Like a swarm of locusts passing through a land, they devoured all the flames he released. Their bodies glowed with a scorching light and they rushed towards him fearlessly!

  Such a scene could not help but make Tohsaka Tokiomi horrified. This was against the common sense of magic. It was not difficult for the Matou family to make a bug with fire-resistant properties, but to make a bug that treated flames as nothing was two completely different matters.

  What's more, the swarm of insects in front of him were not only not afraid of fire, but the fire he released was like food to them.

  It was too weird!

  Tōsaka Tokiomi had just launched a new defensive formation, but the swarm of insects did not bite him. Instead, they lay on top of the defensive formation, their bodies continued to expand, and finally turned into gorgeous flames!

  This scene made Tōsaka Tokiomi no longer care about being elegant. He quickly rolled on the ground, threw out the gems infused with magic power, formed a barrier, and narrowly blocked the attack.

  "Are you really Matou Kariya?"

  Tōsaka Tokiomi's tone became serious, and he spoke with some disbelief.

  The figure wrapped in the black robe answered with his actions. He casually threw off the black robe used to cover himself, and completely revealed his skin made of emerald green scales, strange claws, and hideous and terrifying face to the shocked Tōsaka Tokiomi, and issued an intimate greeting.

  "Hey, Tokiomi, I'm back from hell."