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Chapter 14 - Chapter 14: Waiting for Sunset / Gilgamesh's New Toy

Chapter 14: Waiting for Sunset / Gilgamesh's New Toy

The Einzbern Castle.

Lin Jiuan sat in the full bathtub, his brow furrowed tightly. Though he had bathed upon arriving, he was soaking again after returning. Solitude was conducive to thinking.

"Fujimaru Ritsuka not showing up is good news."

Tonight's battle had started with a roar and ended with a whimper, just like in the original work. Berserker Lancelot hadn't appeared, but that was understandable. Due to his interference, Sakura hadn't gone to the Matous, and Kariya Matou had no reason to go back and be eaten by worms. This changed the outcome from Lancelot disrupting the fight to Gilgamesh taking on three opponents at once. In the end, Tokiomi had foolishly used a Command Spell to forcibly recall Gilgamesh, ending the night's events.

But what bothered Lin Jiuan was the way Gilgamesh had looked at him. In the words of an overbearing CEO novel, it was thirty percent amusement, thirty percent ridicule, thirty percent disdain, and ten percent malice—a perfect pie chart of condescension.

"She definitely saw through me." Lin Jiuan wasn't too surprised by this. After all, during the Fuyuki Singularity in the original story, Ozymandias had seen the mud in the Greater Grail at a glance. As another one of the "Golden Trio," and in some ways even more terrifying than Ozymandias, it made sense that Gilgamesh could see through him too. But...

"What does this woman want?"

Lin Jiuan didn't know whether to feel fortunate or helpless that the Servant who saw through him was Gilgamesh. If it had been Proto-Arthur, or the other two of the Golden Trio, their first reaction upon seeing this little mud-ball of innate evil would have been to unleash their strongest attack. But with Gilgamesh... there was at least room for negotiation.

"Forget it. I'm too weak right now. I'll just have to take it one step at a time."

Tap, tap.

Just then, there was a knock on the bathroom door, followed by Irisviel's voice. "Jiuan, may I come in?"

"Please do."

The door was pushed open carefully. Seeing him sitting in the tub, Irisviel quickened her pace and came to its side. "Jiuan, about what happened..."

"Let's go out and play later."

"Eh?" Irisviel was taken aback.

"Let's go play in Fuyuki City. What do you think?"

"Okay!" Irisviel's eyes lit up, but then she puffed out her cheeks like a pouting child and pinched Lin Jiuan's doll-like face. "You naughty boy, you can't change the subject. I was asking about you."

"Ah, don't pinch, don't pinch! It'll make me ugly."

"Eh?! Really?" Irisviel was so frightened she immediately let go and hastily rubbed the spot she had just pinched. "Sorry, sorry, Jiuan, I didn't mean to."

This fool actually believed me? Seeing Irisviel's adorable foolishness, Lin Jiuan found it amusing and gained more confidence in his future plans.

"Mrs. Irisviel, let's just enjoy our freedom today, happily and freely, okay?" Lin Jiuan suddenly grabbed her hand from his face and looked into her red eyes, which were so clear they held no impurities. Only she, who had been confined to the Einzbern castle her entire life, could have such clear eyes.

The sudden movement made Irisviel subconsciously meet his exceptionally serious gaze, and for some reason, she felt shy. Her fair cheeks flushed slightly, and her eyes darted downward.

Freedom?

Irisviel's heart was moved. Last night, she had wanted to explore the city before the Holy Grail War began, but she had run into Lin Jiuan shortly after arriving. She really wanted to go out and play. But just as the word 'yes' was on her lips, she felt a gaze on her. She turned and saw Artoria at the door, staring. From the serious expression on her face, Irisviel could almost hear her questioning voice, three octaves higher, "Master?"

"But, your situation..."

"When the sun sets, I will tell Mrs. Irisviel everything."

"When the sun sets?" A ray of light suddenly shone in from the window. Irisviel looked. Through the bathroom window, she could see a panoramic view of Fuyuki City. Dawn was breaking, the sun rising from the horizon, its gentle glow dispelling the darkness and cold, blanketing the seemingly sleeping city. Everything was so beautiful.

"It's a promise!"

"It's a promise!"

"So, pinky swear!"

Lin Jiuan: "?"

Looking at Irisviel, who was seriously holding out her pinky, Lin Jiuan was completely baffled. Are you a child?

The Tohsaka Residence.

Tokiomi was contemplating the gains and losses from last night's battle when his study door was suddenly thrown open.

"Tokiomi!"

His body instantly tensed to the extreme, a myriad of thoughts flashing through his mind. Who is it? He had long since turned the mansion into a magic workshop. Even a Heroic Spirit couldn't just break in. The various warning systems were such that not even Assassin could enter undetected, and besides, this war's Assassin was his man. And it was daytime! What madman would start a battle in broad daylight, unafraid of retribution from the Mage's Association and the Holy Church?

But when his gaze fell upon the intruder, his many suspicions and his shock vanished, replaced by anger.

"Aoi?!"

The intruder was his wife, whom he had already sent to the safe house. At this moment, even Tokiomi, who had always prided himself on being an elegant nobleman who never showed his emotions, couldn't help but feel enraged. His voice rose a few degrees, and grew several degrees colder. "What are you doing?"

"J-Jiuan... he's gone."

Normally, faced with Tokiomi's anger, Aoi would have timidly lowered her head, not daring to speak. But now, she seemed completely oblivious to his fury, her face filled with the panic and terror of a mother whose beloved child had disappeared. "I went to his room this morning and he wasn't there. I've looked all over the house, but I can't find him..."

"Enough!" Tokiomi could no longer suppress his anger. The recent frustrations—failing to send Sakura to the Matous, the potential negative consequences of forcibly recalling Archer with a Command Spell last night—all the pent-up emotions reached their peak and exploded.

"Would you be like this if Rin went missing? Would you be like this if Sakura went missing?" he roared. "Aoi, have you lost your mind? Or did that monster feed you some kind of potion?!"

Seeing her furious husband, Aoi seemed to snap back into her usual role. The panic on her face was replaced by timidity. But hearing the word Tokiomi used, she seemed to grasp a lifeline. "M-Monster?"

"Last night, he should have died. His heart was pierced, he was sunk in the river. But he appeared, completely unharmed, beside the Einzbern Master and Servant, and participated in the Holy Grail War," Tokiomi said, trying his best not to lose his noble elegance. His voice was heavy. "He is not human!"

"You killed him?!" Aoi looked at her husband in disbelief, reaching out to grab his arm. "Why? Why did you kill him?"

"Enough!" Tokiomi forcefully shook his arm, throwing his wife to the ground. "You've truly gone mad!"

He took a deep breath, trying to quell his rage. He was tempted to use magecraft to cleanse her soul, to see what that monster had done to turn his once gentle, obedient wife into this. Or perhaps just imprison or even eliminate this madwoman. But that would create problems with Rin and Sakura, and he had no time to waste. He could be indifferent to his wife's life, but not his daughters'!

"I don't have time to waste on you now. Go back and take care of Rin and Sakura. We will discuss everything after the Holy Grail War."

Aoi's mouth opened, but seeing the icy coldness in her husband's expression, she seemed to understand that further words were pointless. She gave a miserable laugh, scrambled to her feet, lowered her head, and turned to leave the room.

As she walked out like a soulless puppet, a woman's soft laugh suddenly sounded.

"Interesting."

Aoi looked up and saw a woman with golden hair and red eyes, beautiful down to every last strand of hair. She was leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed, looking at Aoi as if she were an interesting toy.

"Care to chat?"

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