Chapter 72: Emiya Kiritsugu Wakes from the Dream (Seeking Follows)

Snap!

Su Nian snapped his fingers, and Emiya Kiritsugu, who had been observing them from afar, was directly displaced in front of Su Nian, Artoria, and Irisviel.

"Kiritsugu?"

Irisviel looked quite surprised at the man she loved deeply, who had suddenly appeared here.

"Kiritsugu, are you alright?"

Irisviel held Emiya Kiritsugu tightly, who seemed to have not yet regained his senses; she could tell that Emiya Kiritsugu was in a very bad state right now.

Or rather, he was even a bit doubtful of life itself.

Just a moment ago, he had truly experienced the fear of death—a death that even accelerating Time Alter to its limit could not avoid.

That was a fear of death stemming from the very essence of life.

But his wish had not yet been realized; how could he die on the way?

"Irisviel, I'm fine."

Emiya Kiritsugu did not want to make Irisviel worry, so he only responded with a silent sentence and did not say anything more.

Afterwards, Emiya Kiritsugu shifted his gaze to the culprit who had transferred him here, Su Nian, who was watching the show from the side.

"Finished chatting? Don't want to chat for a while longer?"

Su Nian was stunned for a moment; he had intended to watch the emotional interaction between Emiya Kiritsugu and Irisviel.

And that was it?

"I don't know, what business does this King have with me?"

Emiya Kiritsugu asked neither humbly nor arrogantly; in his heart, all lives were equal, and there would be no such thing as him having to bow down just because Su Nian was King Arthur.

"Artoria has already become my Knight, so your contract relationship should also come to an end."

As he spoke, Su Nian tossed out a Rule Breaker he had previously purchased in Little Garden.

"How could my Knight stoop to serve under someone else?"

"Make your choice: will you choose to voluntarily dissolve the contract, or are you determined to set yourself against me?"

Su Nian looked at Emiya Kiritsugu with a smiling face; although he admitted that Emiya Kiritsugu might have been a character he was more familiar with in the past, he could even bring himself to strike hard against Saber.

Let alone Emiya Kiritsugu.

"If you dissolve it voluntarily, I can guarantee the safety of you, Irisviel, and Illya in this Holy Grail War."

Upon hearing the name Illya, a violent struggle arose within Emiya Kiritsugu's heart.

Illya's current weight was not even as much as the sniper rifle in his hand...

Scenes of the days spent with Illya gradually surfaced in his mind.

But after thinking of his dream—that as long as he obtained the Holy Grail, he could realize the ideal of world peace and make smiles bloom on the faces of everyone in the world.

Emiya Kiritsugu gradually firmed his resolve; there was absolutely no way he could give up his right to participate in the Holy Grail War.

He had staked his family, his ideals, and everything he had; he had no reason to give up.

"By the way, as an aside, this Holy Grail has actually long been corrupted; all the wishes you desire will be realized in the most malicious way possible."

A malicious smile appeared on the corner of Su Nian's mouth; he didn't know why this act of personally shattering someone else's dream brought him a trace of pleasure.

Though, this couldn't really be considered shattering someone else's dream; it could only be considered waking Emiya Kiritsugu up.

"I agree to dissolve the contract."

The moment he heard that the Holy Grail was corrupted, Emiya Kiritsugu said without the slightest hesitation.

After all, a powerhouse who could take his life at will had no need to deceive him, and furthermore, this was already the best outcome.

Continuing to entangle himself would only lead to a futile sacrifice.

He had originally come to pursue the Holy Grail to realize his wish for world peace, but now the Holy Grail was corrupted.

He could already imagine the way his wish would be realized.

His wish was for world peace, but it was absolutely not a peace where there was not a single life left in the world.

Since that was the case, it would be more comfortable to just have a wife, children, and a warm bed.

And there was absolutely no point for Su Nian to deceive him.

The near-cruel truth shattered his Fantasy; the so-called wish to realize world peace was, in the end, nothing more than a dream.

Now, it was time for the dream to wake up.

Of course, a more important point was that, under the near-absolute disparity in martial power, he could not see the slightest possibility of defeating Su Nian.

This King Arthur had already given him enough face.

Emiya Kiritsugu voluntarily dissolved his contract with Saber and took the Avalon scabbard out from Irisviel's body.

He handed it over to Artoria.

At this moment, Emiya Kiritsugu felt a sense of relief; without the heavy burden of his ideals, a trace of a smile even appeared on his face.

"Irisviel, I'm back."

He would not leave again, nor would he pursue those so-called ideals.

Emiya Kiritsugu did not say it, but Irisviel could tell that the Emiya Kiritsugu at this moment had decided to become a true husband and take on the responsibilities of a father.

"By the way, remember to bring Illya to Fuyuki City to play; Sakura is currently lacking playmates of her own age."

Su Nian turned his back, waved his hand, and led Aika and Artoria away.

He did not want to be fed a mouthful of public displays of affection by Emiya Kiritsugu and Irisviel.

"I didn't expect you to be quite kind-hearted."

Rider had long since left with her little Master, while Scathach was instead watching Su Nian's actions here with interest.

"That goes without saying; I am a kind-hearted person, I can't bear to see tragedies, so if I can save someone, I'll naturally do it while I'm at it."

Su Nian waved his hand casually and turned his head to look at Scathach.

"By the way, aren't you going to look for your Master?"

Scathach tapped her finger lightly against her lips, recalling the state of her Master, Kayneth.

"He is likely still studying the Runes I drew casually, and has no interest in managing me."

Kayneth had a clear sense of his own standing; although he was arrogant, he was not stupid, and he knew Scathach was absolutely someone he could not control, even with Command Spells.

Rather than displeasing a Divine Spirit-class Servant, it was better to take advantage of Scathach's good mood and fleece as much as he could.

Knowledge that was extremely precious to him was easily accessible to Scathach.

What Holy Grail War? Was it even one ten-thousandth as important as a brand-new, groundbreaking thesis of his?

He had even begun to neglect Sola.

And Waver, who was Waver? Did he even have such a student?

"Good grief, aren't you pretty much the same?"

Su Nian retorted, making it sound as if there was much difference between what Scathach was doing and what he was doing.

That was true; after all, although Kayneth was a standard magus, he was also one of the few among magi who possessed a bit of humanity.

"So you're just going to stick by my side and not leave?"

"What? You find this queen by your side to be a nuisance?"

Scathach asked back rather strangely; her appearance and figure were not lacking, were they?

"That's not it, it's just that what follows is a date between me and Aika, and I don't need a third wheel."

Su Nian had not forgotten the true purpose of his outing today; other matters were merely things he had done while he was at it.

"Sigh, I'm getting old, even my student finds me a nuisance."

Scathach sighed, then put away her long spear and, after a few leaps, vanished without a trace.

As for Artoria, Su Nian had let her go to the Matou Residence first.

(End of chapter)