"Unfortunately, Rider."
Roy smiled faintly and shook his head.
Taigong Wang was dumbfounded.
Wait, what?
He had just declared himself willing to be Roy's vanguard—so why was it "unfortunate"?
In his entire life, Taigong Wang had only ever said such words once, millennia ago, to the King of Zhou!
And now, the second time he'd ever made such an offer, he was being rejected?
Roy was secretly pleased.
Hah, serves you right for that dramatic pause earlier!
"Rider, I truly appreciate your willingness to help me, but what I expect from you isn't protection."
Roy smiled and explained his thoughts.
"I want you to remain hidden, not to stand in the open. Be my final trump card."
"On the surface, Saber will act as my Servant, while you manipulate events from the shadows."
"I see!"
Taigong Wang let out a sigh of relief.
Close call! So the Master isn't rejecting me after all. That would've been embarrassing!
"Then I shall reveal myself only at the critical moment to secure victory—or when you're in danger!"
"No. Even if I'm in danger, don't appear."
Roy shook his head again, his expression unchanging.
"Not even if my life is at stake. Even if I die, Rider, I don't want you to intervene. The only time you should reveal yourself is when it guarantees my victory in the Holy Grail War. If I die midway, I want you to inherit my will and convey my wish."
"Even without a Master, you should still be able to survive, right?"
This time, even Rider was left speechless.
He was only permitted to appear at the decisive moment to secure victory—no matter what happened before then, even if Roy died, he was forbidden from intervening.
There was only one reason for Roy to arrange things this way: to eliminate all obstacles and ensure final victory.
To that end, he was willing to stake his life.
No—he was willing to sacrifice it without hesitation.
A man who would gamble his life for such a distant ideal was a rarity even in Taigong Wang's millennia of experience.
In him, Taigong Wang could see a radiance rivaling that of ancient heroes.
"I understand. If this is your wish as my Master, then I shall act accordingly!"
In the end, Taigong Wang nodded.
If Roy survived, he would undoubtedly become someone who could reshape the world.
As he marveled at this thought, Taigong Wang sent a mental message to the Primordial Celestial Venerable:
Sorry, Master, but I'd like to retract that oath I just made. Let me revise and resubmit it—mind approving the new version?
Primordial Celestial Venerable: →_→
Having achieved an outcome far beyond his expectations, Taigong Wang was delighted.
After discussing tactics with Roy for a while longer, he vanished into spirit form.
Roy remained alone on the engawa, holding a now-cold cup of water.
Rider had been successfully won over.
"With this, once the Holy Grail War begins, my battle will finally be on track."
Roy set down the cup, suddenly craving a drink.
He stood and headed for the kitchen, where a rune-powered fridge held a stash of alcohol.
"Wait a minute… did I forget something?"
He patted his head, sensing something amiss.
He'd talked to Touko, settled things with Taigong Wang, and didn't need to worry about Utaha or Hayasaka. So the only one left was—
"Oh crap—Saber!"
"Maaaster~~! You finally remembered me, waaah!"
A heart-wrenching sob echoed in his mind.
Okita's resentful whining, like a neglected wife, sent shivers down his spine.
"Sorry, sorry!"
Roy broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly comforted her mentally.
"I definitely didn't forget you! I've just been busy lately! See, I'm thinking of you now—I mean, I'm planning to have a proper talk with you!"
Now that he thought about it, he hadn't spoken a single word to Okita in five or six days.
As a Servant, she had no one to rely on but him—and he'd ordered her not to materialize until the Holy Grail War began. Yet he'd left her completely unattended all this time, not even exchanging a word with her, even forgetting her existence!
Wow, even I think that's awful.
What a scumbag move!
"R-Really? So when you summoned Rider, it wasn't because you thought I was useless?"
Okita sniffled, her voice trembling.
Roy could practically see her pouting, her lips quivering like a teakettle about to boil over.
"Not at all! This was always the plan!"
"So… from the start, Master thought Okita was completely useless?"
"Why would you think that?"
Roy's heart skipped a beat.
"Because Master always intended for Rider to be the main force, right?"
Ah.
That's… one way to interpret it.
And not entirely wrong, either.
"But Master told me before that you didn't care about my combat ability—that what mattered most was our compatibility, right?"
Roy stiffened.
"Was that just because you never expected anything from me in the first place, putting all your hopes on Rider instead?"
Cold sweat dripped down Roy's back.
"In other words… Master already had a relic prepared to summon a powerful Heroic Spirit, and summoning me based on compatibility just meant anyone would've worked? Even though I was the first one here!"
Oh no!
She's figured it out!
Roy had indeed never expected much from Okita's combat skills. His whole "compatibility" spiel had just been a ploy to make her work harder.
Dammit, why is Okita so sharp all of a sudden?!
"Saber, materialize!"
"Y-Yes… sniff…"
Golden spirit particles gathered, and soon, Okita Souji stood before Roy in her haori.
Her lips trembled, her eyes glistened with unshed tears, and her whole demeanor screamed wronged.
"Saber, remember this: I summoned you based on compatibility because you're my one and only!"
Roy gripped Okita's shoulders, staring into her eyes with unwavering determination.
"It's not about 'anyone would do.' It had to be you. Only you can help me. Combat might not be your forte, but I absolutely need you. The battles ahead require your presence—without you, victory is impossible. Do you understand?"
"R-Really?"
Okita blinked, a flicker of hope appearing on her face.
"Of course! Think about it—why did I summon you and no one else? Because it had to be you!"
Roy gazed at her with all the sincerity he could muster, even blinking extra hard to convey his earnestness.
"Master needs me and only me?! S-Stop saying such embarrassing things~!"
Okita's face turned bright red, like a boiled crab.
…Whatever.
As long as her mood stabilized and she gave her all for him, that was enough.
Roy sighed inwardly. Thank goodness Okita is so naive and easy to handle!
From the shadows, Taigong Wang watched everything unfold.
He fell deep into thought.
…Did I just get scammed by my own Master?
***
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