Sakura Matou

***

Haruki sent Sakura off and returned to his room. Medea was back in her robe, leaning on the table near the window to stare out of the window. Did Sakura’s words hurt her? Under the facade of the villainous woman hell-bent on revenge, she still had a heart yearning for love, which she usually suppressed.

“Master, we are going to take control of Ryuudou Temple. It is a ley line and the place where the Greater Grail will materialize. I can build a temple to even the odds of the battle.”

The temple where Shirou’s bespectacled friend and Caster’s original master in the Fate series lived. Also, the place where the Greater Grail will be summoned after the Lesser Grail had the souls of at least six servants.

Her suggestion was good considering her battle potential, but one thing needed an immediate fix.

Haruki leaned on the study table and folded his arms on his chest. “Sheesh. I told you to consult me first when you scheme. Can you please do that?”

“But Master. I know what I’m—”

He put a finger on her lips to quiet her down. “Medea. I know far more about this war and you.”

She stopped, literally frozen to her spot. Haruki smiled at her shocked appearance. This was needed to make her think of him as an equal, not some random Master she could discard at her will. He had no desire to be treated as disposable trash or treat someone as one.

“...How do you know my true name?”

“As I said before, I just know. I’m cool with your strategy, but ask me about these things first. We’re both in this war together, remember?”

“I am sorry.”

A brief but sincere apology. He could live with that.

“Just trust me with these matters.”

She bobbed her head, her lips raising a bit under her hood.

“Before the temple, Medea, I want to summon another servant.”

Her smile froze again before a forced smile replaced her stiff expression. “Am I that hopeless that you want to dismiss me so soon?”

“Wait—no. Hear me out.”

Before the misunderstandings intensified, he explained about Sakura and her family. Zouken implanted the tainted fragment of the grail from the last war inside Sakura with the help of parasitic worms. Just the thought of worms wriggling inside someone chilled his spine, yet Sakura lived such a life for over a decade.

Her willpower was nothing to scoff at.

He also explained Zouken’s plans of using Sakura as a Lesser Grail which happened after he summoned the Assassin servant.

Medea stared at him, blue eyes filled with surprise. He just relayed the future of this war, so her shock was reasonable.

“Master, is that true? If so, how did you…”

“A goddess came to my dreams and told me everything.”

His favorite excuse for everything related to his reincarnation.

“...Which goddess? Did you see their appearance?”

He shook his head. “I couldn’t.”

Medea wouldn’t know even if he told her about Arch.

“It’s unfortunate,” Medea said, her voice twinged with remorse. She looked straight at me. “Master… what else do you know about this war?”

“The goddess prophesied the entire war. Originally, I wasn’t supposed to participate, so a lot will divert and create—”

“An alternate timeline.”

“Correct.”

“Master…” she said. “Tell me. What happened to me in the war? Did… I win?”

The tiny bit of hope in her eyes made him sigh. She died in every timeline, or rather she didn’t stand a chance from the start. Every Servant summoned in this war had high magic resistance. Her best attacks couldn’t defeat anyone.

Haruki lightly shook his head. “No.”

She closed her eyes before turning around, looking out of the window. This crushed her self-confidence and hopes.

Haruki patted her shoulder. “I told you so many times—we’ll win. Do my words sound that forgettable?”

Did he lack the charisma to earn her trust?

“Master, if we’re going to fight together… I need to know the spells in your arsenal.”

“Spells? I have none, as of now.”

“...”

“You can teach me. I’ve always been a fast learner.”

He would need to learn more close-quarter combat to help Medea. A tank for the magician, perhaps a dragon knight. That could be decided later as the combat strategy will depend on his second servant.

“I will try to teach you…” she said, looking away.

‘Yep. She has zero confidence in my ability.’

He decided to summon the servant first. He had no catalyst though. The catalyst determined what kind of servant will be summoned. Like how Mordred was summoned with a shard of the round table. What if he used his blood as a catalyst? He didn’t remember any assassin servants having a dragon attribute.

‘I could be wrong.’

“Do you know the summoning ritual?”

“Yes, I do,” she said and explained the summoning ritual specific to the Fuyuki Grail System. She had learned it through her previous master.

Haruki turned out to be half right. A catalyst was required if the summoner wanted to skip the chants. He still wanted to try his blood, so he had to skip the chants. Knowing the world he was in, the chants had high chances of being cringeworthy.

Medea created the summoning circle with her magic power. It took her less than a minute to create a blue intricate magic circle on the floor.

“Master, do you perhaps carry a catalyst? Or you wish to chant for the summoning ritual?”

“Take out Rule Breaker.”

“Master?”

“Just do it.”

“Okay.”

While looking confused, she pulled her Noble Phantasm from behind her back. The dagger reflected a prism light. It was bent in the middle with a large arc near its tip. It looked more like a decoration dagger than a weapon, which was true. It had almost zero capability as a weapon. Killing a human was stretching its limits.

Rule Breaker.

This Noble Phantasm could technically nullify any Magecraft or spell. Even a Servant Contract would be nullified if he stabbed a Master with it.

He stretched his hand. “Give.”

She stared at the dagger and his hand as though hesitating whether to trust him with her Noble Phantasm. She had no idea about his intention of drawing out his blood.

“Sorry, I was thinking about something,” she whispered and held out the dagger.

His lips lifted up, knowing he broke through her walls.

He took the dagger and slashed his palm. He kept looking ahead, putting on a poker face to try to bury the pain... which didn't come

He looked down. The dagger merely slipped on his flesh, not even slicing his skin.

‘Huh?’

“Pfffft.”

Medea broke into a fit of chuckles. She covered her mouth with her hand, but the wrinkles at the corner of her eyes gave her laughter away.

“Boy, you have thick skin… hahahaha…”

Even the typically silent Arch laughed her ass off at his blunder.

The day couldn’t get any weirder.