BCloud
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MMMS 18
🕑 Added 2025-04-10 00:25:45 +0000 UTC"Ugh, my shoulders are killing me."
"Aoko, could you try to behave yourself?" Ryuuto looked at her with disapproval from across the table.
After several bottles of alcohol, the magician lady had rested her chest on the table, apparently to relieve some weight.
Morgan made a disapproving sound at the display, while Ryuuto, having seen this routine many times before, barely reacted.
Two hours had passed, and it was now 5:30 in the evening.
The izakaya had filled up with the after-work crowd and was now packed.
The three of them had long since finished their sake and moved on to beer. Empty bottles lined their table, and a pot of thick soup bubbled away in the center.
"Since we're already here, we might as well have dinner too," Aoko had decided what would happen to his wallet just ten minutes earlier.
"To be honest, I had originally planned to enter the Holy Grail War myself," she said, resting her cheek on her hand while lazily stirring the hot pot with her chopsticks.
It was clear she envied the fact that Ryuuto was participating in the Holy Grail War with someone as cute as Caster.
Sitting across from Aoko, Morgan presented a completely different image. True to her status as a British princess, she took small, delicate bites of food with perfect elegance.
"Did you know that even Kayneth, that genius from the Department of Mineralogy, is taking part in this Holy Grail War? The Clock Tower has never sent someone so important to the Far East before. When someone stole the relic he had prepared, it caused quite a scandal throughout the Clock Tower. Ryuuto, are you even listening?"
He nodded while quickly stuffing fried chicken into his mouth. "Yeah, I heard about that. Kayneth's relic was stolen by one of his students, right?"
"Hmm... You know such inside information even though you're not from the Clock Tower. I've been wondering for a while now—do you actually have Clairvoyance?" She thought back to when they first met with her friend.
Just like today, he had somehow known both Aoko and Alice's identities and intentions before they'd said a word.
"Not this again. I've already told you that I really do have Clairvoyance."
"Yeah, right... I don't believe you. Every time I've followed your horse racing tips, I've ended up broke." Aoko frowned, holding her chopsticks while deep in thought.
Even though she claimed not to believe him, she truly felt this young man could see right through everything.
His calm gaze wasn't particularly intrusive, yet Aoko often felt completely exposed around him, as if he could freely examine both her body and her innermost thoughts.
With Ryuuto, she had nowhere to hide; he seemed to know everything about her.
Even Alice, who never trusted anyone she couldn't completely understand, made a special exception for the mysterious Ryuuto.
Feeling slightly irritated, she suddenly asked, "Hey Ryuuto, let me test you. Do you know what replacement relic Kayneth found after his was stolen?"
"Are you saying you know what it is?"
She raised her eyebrows with a smug look. "Of course I do."
"Morgan, remind me never to tell Aoko anything important. I wouldn't share a secret with her even if my life depended on it." He sighed. This woman was ready to reveal someone else's secret relic right here at the dinner table!
"Don't be like that. For someone as perfectionist as Lord of the Department of Mineralogy, it hardly matters if his enemies know his plans in advance."
Besides, Kayneth's replacement relic was the type that couldn't be countered even if someone knew about it beforehand.
Ryuuto picked up a meatball from the hot pot and placed it in his bowl. "The relic Kayneth found as a replacement is for summoning Diarmuid, the warrior from the Fianna Knights. Right?"
"Huh?" Aoko blinked in surprise. Despite Ryuuto's confident expression, his answer was completely wrong.
"Aoko, don't underestimate my connections in London. I've already come up with a plan to deal with Kayneth. I mean, how could some bookworm who never leaves his lab possibly be a match for—"
"Master, it seems your guess is incorrect." Morgan interrupted him without looking up from her small dish where she was mixing wasabi with her chopsticks.
"Wait... really?"
Aoko shook her head and gave him a teasing smile. "Well, that's a surprise. So even Ryuuto can be wrong sometimes. Has your Clairvoyance finally started failing at things outside of gambling?"
"..."
Nom. He quietly put a piece of chicken wing in his mouth.
Kayneth's Servant isn't Diarmuid?
That was unexpected, but still somewhat reasonable.
He didn't appear too worried as he asked, "So what relic did Kayneth actually get?"
"A fragment of the Round Table."
When Aoko said those words, a sudden silence fell over them.
"The Department of Evocation provided a piece of the Round Table. With that, they can summon either King Arthur or one of the Knights of the Round Table. Although they initially considered the Celtic hero Diarmuid's relic too, Kayneth ultimately went with the Knights of the Round Table option, which has more variables. Wait... what's wrong? Why are you both making such strange faces?"
Even the typically oblivious wielder of the Fifth Magic noticed something was off as she looked across the table at the subtle but distinct change in both Ryuuto and Morgan's expressions.
Knights of the Round Table... Ryuuto narrowed his eyes slightly. So this Holy Grail War might turn into a British civil war. With Kayneth's Servant being different, other Masters might have different Servants too.
The first person affected would likely be Ryuunosuke Uryuu, who was supposed to be the Master of Caster. Since Ryuuto had summoned Caster Morgan, Ryuunosuke probably wouldn't end up with Gilles de Rais now. Not that it mattered—Ryuuto had already decided that when he returned to Fuyuki, the first person he would eliminate would be Ryuunosuke.
"Aoko, this information is really helpful," he smiled. "This definitely improves my chances of winning the Holy Grail War."
"Did it really help that much? All you know now is that your opponent has a Knight of the Round Table," Aoko said with a slightly proud expression as she swayed in her seat.
"Yes, and honestly, that's pretty valuable information." He glanced at Morgan sitting beside him—since his Servant was the mother of half the Knights of the Round Table, he had plenty of strategies at his disposal.
"Well then, Aoko. Let's keep drinking." He raised his glass toward her.
"...Sure, why not."
Just as they were about to toast, Morgan, who had been quietly eating and drinking the whole time, suddenly raised her glass as well.
"To victory in the Holy Grail War. Kanpai!"
