VALRRR
patreon
[FMMISM] Chapter 66: Kayneth's Suspicion
🕑 Added 2024-07-29 01:09:22 +0000 UTCNightfall.
On the top floor of the hotel where the Saber group was staying.
Kayneth lightly tapped his temple with his fingers, which had a slight headache from irritation, and let out an impatient sigh.
"Saber, come out."
"Yes, Master."
As soon as the order was spoken, an imposing knight appeared before Kayneth.
"You've worked hard these past few days. Whether it was fighting Lancer or Rider, you've shown me the strength of the legendary Knight of the Sun."
Recently, Kayneth had issued a challenge to his unworthy student, Waver.
The time was the afternoon three days ago, and the place was the undeveloped wilderness east of Shinto.
Anyone with a bit of tactical thinking would never choose to fight Gawain during the day, but Iskandar was clearly not such a person. Excited by the challenge, he brought Waver along and happily accepted it.
In this battle, Gawain demonstrated strength fitting for his title as the 'Knight of the Sun', completely overwhelming the over-spec Servant, Iskandar.
During the clash of their Noble Phantasms, a single blow from Excalibur Galatine shattered Iskandar's Gordius Wheel.
Although Iskandar managed to escape in the end, Kayneth was quite satisfied with the result of having taught his unworthy student a lesson.
"You flatter me, Master."
Gawain responded with a calm demeanor.
When one looked at him, there was neither pride nor joy; his rigorous and humble posture was truly that of a bona fide knight.
However, in Kayneth's eyes, this was definitely not Gawain's true nature but rather a facade he put up to conceal something.
"Hmm, very well." Kayneth nodded.
At first, he had a troubled expression, but after a moment, his face tightened and he asked with a shift in his tone.
"Next, you must answer my question truthfully… Saber, where did you go this afternoon?"
"Sorry, I don't quite understand…" Gawain looked puzzled at his Master's somewhat harsh questioning. "What do you mean, Master?"
"Saber, this afternoon while I was preparing my Mystic Code in the workshop, you weren't around the hotel, right?"
"Yes."
"So, where did you and Sola go?"
"Master, this afternoon, I was asked by your fiancee, Lady Sola, to act as her bodyguard in Fuyuki."
Upon hearing that, a dangerous glint flashed in Kayneth's eyes but quickly returned to his refined British gentleman demeanor.
"Why didn't you inform me of this?"
Gawain was momentarily taken aback before quickly replying, "Uh, Lady Sola said she had informed you in advance and mentioned that you were engaged in very important work in the workshop and should not be disturbed…"
"I did not receive any such notice." Kayneth narrowed his eyes.
"Well, perhaps there was a misunderstanding? Lady Sola said she…"
"Are you implying that Sola deceived me!"
Kayneth's emotions suddenly flared, his angry voice overpowering Gawain's voice.
"Absolutely not. I was just wondering if there might have been a problem in your communication."
Even when reprimanded by Kayneth, Gawain did not show any anger or embarrassment. He simply kept his head lowered and replied with a serious expression.
"Problems with communication, huh..."
Kayneth sneered with a contemptuous tone, not commenting on Gawain's reply.
Indeed, from Gawain's behavior, it was hard to imagine that he was lying. Even so, the relationship between him and Sola still made Kayneth feel extremely uneasy.
After all, this knight was once tempted by a married woman in legend.
Gawain was undoubtedly a handsome man, as dazzling as the sun, and the very epitome of the terms 'prince charming' and 'knight in shining armor'.
In the knightly literature classic 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight', Kayneth remembered that the Green Knight's wife had made advances toward Gawain several times, but he had refused them all.
Nonetheless, even someone as noble as Gawain still concealed the fact that he accepted gifts from a married woman.
Kayneth had once subtly questioned Gawain about whether he, having been given a second chance at life, would accept romantic advances from women.
At that time, Gawain's answer was, "Though I was married in life, it is now a thing of the past since becoming a Servant."
Such an ambiguous answer only deepened Kayneth's anxiety and suspicion toward Gawain.
"…I am truly sorry, Master."
Noting that Kayneth was still angry, Gawain bowed his head deeply and apologized in a serious tone.
"I swear on my honor as a knight that such instances of dishonesty will not occur again."
"There's no need for you to swear anything to me! That's only natural!" Kayneth raised his voice, his face showing anger. "You swore to bring the Holy Grail to me, Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald! Now you can't even manage the basics and are hiding things from me! What is wrong with you?!"
"The one who's wrong is you, Lord El-Melloi."
Suddenly, the voice of Kayneth's fiancee, Sola, filled the room.
"Stop shouting, Kayneth. This afternoon's incident was a misunderstanding."
Sola entered the room and glared at her fiancé with a reprimanding gaze.
"I did indeed use a familiar to contact you and mentioned that I would be going to Miyama, but there seems to be some issue with the message relay. So, are you saying it's my fault?"
"Sola, that's not what I meant..." Kayneth replied, his face darkened.
Given his character, if it were someone else, he would have erupted in rage by now.
However, in Kayneth's heart, Sola was undoubtedly special.
Not only because she was the daughter of his mentor but also because, from their first meeting, his heart had already been captured by her.
Despite this, Sola showed no mercy, still speaking loudly and relentlessly.
“Kayneth, why are you sweating over such trivial matters?”
"I'm just a bit worried…" Kayneth replied in a hoarse voice.
"Saber has been fighting non-stop for you, yet you totally distrust him and think he’s hiding something. El-Melloi, your qualities as a man are pretty disappointing."
"..."
Hearing his own fiancee mock him, Kayneth’s face darkened even more, and his eyebrow twitched.
"Lady Sola, please stop here." Gawain interrupted. "If you continue to insult my Master, I, as his knight, cannot overlook it."
"No, I didn't mean it like that... Sorry, I went too far!"
Until just now, Sola had been as dignified and dominant as a queen, but upon hearing Gawain's words, she immediately lowered her eyes and apologized, as if she were a little girl embarrassed that her secret had been discovered by her crush.
"…"
Kayneth watched this scene, feeling increasingly uncomfortable.
Indeed, he wasn't wrong.
His fiancee's gaze toward his Servant clearly held a passion he had never seen before.
While Kayneth was deep in thought, Sola spoke again.
"By the way, El-Melloi. Someone contacted the familiar and said they want to visit... they're Saber's guests."
""Huh?""
Gawain and Kayneth both showed strange expressions.
Seeing them like this, Sola's expression also became quite strange.
"Um… they claim to be Saber's parents."
