Chapter 361: First Encounter with the Empress

"[The title of the world's oldest poisoner is not just for show, you know. This Empress is not someone you can order around.!]"

These were the words Assassin declared when Shirou summoned her.

Shirou smiled and his response from that time: "[No, no, I never intended to command you. I merely wish to engage in an equivalent exchange.]"

...

Hearing these familiar words, Semiramis lifted the blue-and-white porcelain cup in front of her and drank the fine liquor in one gulp. The warm, mellow liquid flowed down her throat, extending to her stomach, and after being broken down, surged straight to her head with her blood.

In her slight intoxication, the once-mighty Empress seemed to return to a few days ago when she had just descended into the present world.

The brilliance of mana gradually faded, and spirit particles emerged from the leyline, transforming the quantum state information into a physical form according to the records in the quantum fixation band.

As the graceful figure wrapped in a black dress appeared, Semiramis knew she had come to this world once again.

Before she could speak, an excited voice was heard.

"Pointed ears, dressed in this black gown, seductive body—should be Semiramis, no doubt. Great, the summoning was successful."

Though a bit noisy, the fact that the man could identify her based on her features meant this summoner wasn't too bad, so she decided not to hold it against him. The Empress, in a good mood, thought this way, but the man's next words shattered her good mood.

"Tsk tsk, no wonder that king went to such lengths to take you; you truly are beautiful."

To others, this might sound like a compliment or an unintentional remark, somewhat flippant but not a big deal. But to Semiramis, it was a violation of her greatest taboo.

Indeed, Semiramis became the Empress of Assyria because King Ninus was captivated by her beauty and took her into his palace. However, this process disregarded Semiramis's wishes. If fate could be rewritten, she would have preferred never to meet King Ninus, nor to enter the palace, even if it meant living an ordinary life without ever reaching the highest position.

Because of this, she disliked being judged by her appearance and would not allow anyone to mention this event that altered her destiny.

In life, those who violated this taboo were executed in various ways by her. Now, as a Heroic Spirit, she had gained new powers, enabling her to easily dominate or even kill others.

"Uh, why aren't you saying anything? Don't Servants usually have lines when they appear?" The rather handsome young man in front of her scratched his head, looking puzzled. "By the way, where is this fragrance coming from? Do Heroic Spirits use perfume?"

"Because you are about to die, and I have no habit of speaking to the dead. This is not perfume, but my poison!"

Semiramis spoke coldly. At this moment, she had no emotions left for her summoner; everything would end with the man's death.

However, losing a puppet (Master) would be somewhat troublesome. She would need to find another puppet quickly, one that was obedient. Ever since being taken by King Ninus, she had lost faith in humanity, a belief that remained unchanged through palace struggles and even after becoming Empress. To her, all humans must be obedient slaves at her disposal.

The young man wanted to say something but couldn't, as her poison had already penetrated his skin and spread throughout his body.

In a few more seconds, he would be dead from the poison. Semiramis was certain of this. This was the power she gained as a Heroic Spirit, also her Noble Phantasm. No human could withstand her poison.

Semiramis counted the seconds, waiting for the man to collapse.

One—The man's face turned ashen.

Two—The man began to clutch his throat.

Three—The man convulsed all over.

Four—The man stopped moving.

Five—The man, contrary to Semiramis's expectations, did not fall but remained standing, his complexion quickly returning to normal.

By the time Semiramis counted to six, the young man had started patting his chest and sighing.

"Oh my, the title of the world's most ancient poisoner is indeed well-deserved. Poisoning me at the slightest disagreement, and such a potent poison at that. Luckily, it's me; if it were someone else, they might have died."

"You—didn't get poisoned?" Semiramis couldn't help but frown.

"I did, of course. If I hadn't been poisoned, it wouldn't have been so uncomfortable. But unfortunately, the poison you used this time wasn't potent enough to kill me. Want to try again?"

This young man, dressed in a black clerical robe, was quite the oddity. He wasn't angry at being poisoned upon their first meeting and even invited her to try again.

"Try again? Fine." Semiramis snorted. The poison smell that hadn't completely dissipated suddenly intensified, even giving the air a strange hue.

However, this time, the young man showed no reaction at all, as if the poison didn't exist.

"I forgot to mention, once a poison is used on me, it no longer works. Remember to use a different one next time."

The Empress, her anger once again provoked by the young man, raised an eyebrow and was about to use another poison when the man continued, "Isn't it about time to stop? I didn't intend to offend you, and you poisoned me once. We're even now. If you poison me again, wouldn't that be a bit excessive? If you want to poison me again, you can. If one poison doesn't kill me, you agree to assist me once."

"Do you intend to command me in this manner?"

The Empress was at first stunned, then quickly felt a different kind of anger, mixed with a peculiar sensation.

How many years had it been since someone spoke to her like this? Ten years, twenty years?

"The title of the world's oldest poisoner is not just for show, you know. This Empress is not someone you can order around.!]"

"No, no, I never intended to command you. I merely wish to engage in an equivalent exchange."

The man smiled, not at all like a clergyman.

But undeniably, Semiramis was indeed intrigued. As the man said, it was truly a novel experience for the most ancient poisoner to poison the same person multiple times, and Semiramis had a special fondness for novel and interesting things.

"If you offend me like just now—"

The man interrupted, "—Feel free to act. Kill me if you can, consider me unlucky. If you can't, we'll call it even. That's also an equivalent exchange."

"You are truly a strange person."

"Thank you for the compliment. In a way, you are a strange person too."

This time, Semiramis wasn't angry. Only a strange person would be intrigued by such a peculiar proposal.

The man pressed on, "So, about the equivalent exchange?"

"I agree—Servant Assassin, true name Semiramis, pleased to work with you, interesting puppet (Master)!"