"Is your family's legacy really worth giving up everything just to hand it over to Lord El-Melloi?" Tia asked as they made their way to find Kayneth.
As mentioned before, Tia had already memorized the whole layout of Fuyuki City, so she had a good idea of Kayneth's current hideout.
Tia knew Kayneth should be staying at an abandoned factory on the outskirts. But since there were several such factories, and the anime's description wasn't clear enough, she wasn't sure which one. So, she decided to head for the closest one first.
"Our family fell long ago. From now on, we'll just be ordinary merchants. We won't be involved in magecraft anymore, and we can't even if we want to. My brother and I don't even have magic circuits. Keeping those things is pointless. It's better to give them to someone else in exchange for what I want most right now," Matou Kariya explained.
"Alright," Tia nodded, not asking further.
Soon, Tia and Kariya reached the outskirts, where a deserted factory stood not far away.
At that moment, Diarmuid suddenly appeared before them.
"I told you before—if we meet again, we'll be enemies. Berserker Lancelot's Master, should I take this as you coming to start a fight?" Diarmuid said.
"The King of Conquerors also said, 'That monster summoner Gilles de Rais hasn't been dealt with yet. Our war hasn't reached the point where we should fight each other again,'" Tia answered him with Alexander the Great's words.
As it turned out, luck was on their side—they found the right place on the first try.
"Then what are you here for?" Diarmuid asked sternly.
"He wants to speak with your Master," Tia said, pointing at Kariya. "You know what happened to Matou Sakura last night. He's always been protecting her. Since your Master intends to take her away, he also wants to go along. To show his sincerity, he brought the secrets of the Matou family, one of the Three Great Families of the Holy Grail War."
Hearing this, Diarmuid looked surprised. Then he turned to Kariya and spoke politely, "If that's the case, please come with me. But, I must ask the Knight of the Lake to show himself. It's not that I doubt the honor of the famous Knight of the Lake, but in the Holy Grail War, caution is necessary."
Tia nodded in understanding. "Come out, Lancelot."
At once, the black-armored Lancelot appeared behind Tia, holding his black, indestructible sword of the lake. In addition, strapped to his back were two more swords and a spear—the demon-slaying fire blade, the anti-demon short sword, and the anti-demon spear, all crafted by Tia the previous night.
Those three weapons had already become Lancelot's Noble Phantasms, and with Tia's origin enhancing them, they could each be released with their true names. Their power was much weaker than the originals, of course, far below the treasures Gilgamesh threw out, but they worked.
Seeing Lancelot like this, Diarmuid felt a little puzzled. But remembering how he had personally witnessed Lancelot in his black Berserker form catch Gilgamesh's treasures with his bare hands and turn them into his own, he accepted it. Perhaps Lancelot had obtained these Noble Phantasms from elsewhere.
"The Knight of the Lake truly is remarkable. Even in madness, he holds onto reason," Diarmuid said. "Still, I do hope to one day fight the Knight of the Lake in his Saber form like last night."
"One day… there will… be a chance…" Lancelot replied briefly.
In truth, the only reason Lancelot could remain sane at all was because Tia was his Master.
"I look forward to it," Diarmuid nodded, then led the way forward.
Not long after, Diarmuid brought Tia and Kariya to Kayneth.
At this time, Kayneth had not yet fought Emiya Kiritsugu, so he hadn't been crippled by Origin Bullets. With Sakura obtained the night before, he was still as arrogant as ever.
"People of the Matou family, and… the Master of the Knight of the Lake. Lancer has already told me your purpose. I need to see whether the so-called secrets of the Matou family are truly worth me taking in an unrelated ordinary man into my household," Kayneth said, standing tall and tapping his temple to show he had already spoken with Diarmuid mentally.
What he said wasn't wrong, but his tone was unpleasant.
Tia already felt like turning around and leaving. She didn't want to stay any longer.
But Kariya reached into his backpack and pulled out several books.
"Our Matou family's magic crest was completely lost when that old worm died. But as one of the Three Great Families of the Holy Grail War, our family was the one that made the Command Seals. That's our Matou secret. All the methods of making Command Seals are written in these books. Even though the crest itself is gone, the research on it and the theory stored inside still remain," said Matou Kariya.
When Kayneth heard Kariya's words, his expression changed several times before finally calming down.
"Hmm, very good. In that case, I'll take these books. But my family doesn't keep freeloaders. If you insist on coming with me, then study your family's research on the magic crest properly. As for magic circuits, I can have someone transplant a few into you," Kayneth said. His tone was still arrogant, but the words themselves left Kariya stunned.
"Huh? R-really?" Kariya couldn't believe his ears. Did he actually have a chance to inherit his family's crest and become a true magus?
"Of course! I, Lord El-Melloi, would never deceive you!" Kayneth's expression shifted into a smile. He glanced at Sola, who understood at once and took the books on Command Seals from Kariya.
Kayneth casually pulled out one book from her arms, flipped through a few pages, and was instantly absorbed.
There was no doubt—these books were the real deal, full of detailed research on Command Seals.
"Ahem!" Kayneth cleared his throat, forcing himself to put the book down. "Sola, make sure these are kept safe."
"Got it," Sola nodded.
Sola was Kayneth's fiancée. Using his genius, Kayneth had modified the Command Seals so that holding the seals and supplying mana to a Servant could be split between two people. He himself carried the Command Seals, while the mana supply was Sola's duty.
What Kayneth didn't know was that Sola had already fallen for Diarmuid—just like the women who loved him in history.
(End of The Chapter)