Chapter 549

["Come, get into bed quickly. Let me Matsuwanko Matsuwanko Take off those cute slippers for you."]

["No need, I can do that kind of thing myself."]

[Under the other party's gaze of 'I'm going to watch you get into bed and close your eyes', Misaya Reiroukan could only helplessly force herself to sleep.]

[Strange to say, she had no sleepiness a moment ago, but now it suddenly pressed in.]

["Misaya."]

["What... is it..."]

["Thank you for tonight. Just sleep, don't worry."]

["Mm..."]

["Sleep peacefully. Rider, who has the ability to destroy my magical fortress, has signed a master-to-master alliance agreement with your father, and the hateful Saber won't intend to force an entry for now. You can sleep with peace of mind."]

[As he said this, Caster's hand was placed on the back of Misaya Reiroukan's neck.]

["This is a small spell to help you sleep well. So—have a good dream."]

["Mm..."]

[Misaya Reiroukan's consciousness completely sank into silence, but before it disappeared, a doubt arose in her heart.]

[Why would he use 'hateful' to describe Saber?]

Zabiko: "Hey, hey, something feels wrong."]

Rin Tohsaka: "I smell a familiar operation."]

Caules: "Could it be!"]

[At the same time, in the underground laboratory of the Reiroukan mansion.]

["...I see. Haha, I understand."]

[The head of the Reiroukan family laughed mockingly, his eyes extremely hollow.]

[This was a manifestation of extreme fear.]

[Just a moment ago, he finally understood one thing.]

[Genius—]

[Natural talent, that's exactly what that thing refers to, right.]

[Only now do I Matsuwanko Matsuwanko Take to heart what that man said in the past.]

[Manaka Sajyou, Saber's Master, a Seraph of the first rank.]

[The current head of the Sajyou family, and I, the current head of the Reiroukan family, are of the same generation, and both are mages with ancient bloodlines based in the same city, so naturally, we have had quite a lot of interaction. So I know that man is not someone who would make boring jokes, let alone humiliate himself or bluff.]

[Although we have had quite a lot of interaction—it was limited to the level of magic, far from the private friendship of ordinary people; in fact, we only talked a few times about the topic of researching magic. Even so, compared to other mages, it can be considered 'close'. Although from such a standard, those neighbors who hide their Jewel Jewel Mage identities and approach me might be even 'closer' than him.]

[In those few conversations, he did indeed say—]

[His own daughter, Manaka Sajyou, is a genius who has never appeared in the Sajyou lineage.]

[Manaka indeed possesses magical circuits passed down through the family bloodline, but he is not sure if that counts as the Sajyou family's magical circuits; and Ayaka, who was born a few years later, has the genuine Sajyou family magical circuits.]

[He said: Everything about her is an exception.]

[Not only magical circuits, learning speed, and magical adaptability, but even magic that neither his father nor the successive heads of the Sajyou family had ever touched, she could master with astonishing speed.]

Rin Tohsaka: "Good guy, is this a true genius?"]

Caules: "Magic that others need a long time to master, she can master casually?"]

Caster: "Interesting, even in the Age of Gods, this could be considered a genius."]

Touko Aozaki: "Heh, is this what they call being fed by God?"]

Shiki Ryougi: "You're not much better yourself."]

Touko Aozaki: "Heh, Shiki-chan, you only see my current brilliance, but you didn't see my hard work."]

[How could I have believed such words at the time? Even if it wasn't a joke, and not posturing, it should have been mixed with a lot of exaggeration. Perhaps Manaka Sajyou really belongs to the category of scholars or geniuses, but such a 'monster' absolutely cannot exist. It should just be that she gave birth to an heir with rare talent, just like my beloved daughter Misaya, who was born with better qualifications than me from the moment she was born.]

[At that time, I was actually stupid enough to think so.]

[I was truly too stupid!]

[Because, what that man said was not wrong at all.]

[That thing, that thing with a human appearance, is indeed—a 'genius'.]

[If not for that...]

["Hello, Uncle Reiroukan. Should I say nice to meet you?"]

["Exactly... when..."]

[Misaya—]

[The night she encountered Saber, she really didn't seem to see Manaka Sajyou, and I still remember how relieved I was at the time.]

[Ah, that's great. She didn't do anything to her at all. Those words at the time were indeed just to scare people.]

["Compared to attacking the Master herself, if he has a 'weakness' that lacks the ability to resist, attacking there should be more efficient. What do you think, Uncle? Am I wrong?"]

["For example, Misaya, what a cute child."]

["If you lost her—Uncle, you would be very painful, right?"]

[That's right. Yes, not wrong at all.]

[She was just playing tricks, so Misaya was fine.]

[Really nothing happened, not a single injury, and of course, no one took her life. That girl said those things just to restrain me.]

[No matter how much her father describes her as a genius, it is impossible to defeat the legendary alchemist Paracelsus, who manifested as Caster, that is, the perfect magic of von Hohenheim.]

[Right. I made such a judgment that night, and I felt relieved.]

[But why?]

[Misaya has always been heavily guarded by this magical fortress, how exactly did that daughter of the Sajyou family 'make a move'?]

["What am I? The number one Jewel Jewel Mage in the Far East? To be made like this by a little girl..."]

Caules: "She really wants to make a move on that girl! Aren't they friends?"]

Waver: "That was just King Arthur's judgment, she never acknowledged it."]

Kayneth: "Clearly having the strength to directly solve the Master and achieve victory, yet choosing to make a move on the Master's relatives, this is no longer just for victory!"]

Originally, he was sighing at Manaka Sajyou's talent, but now, he only had deep disgust for this princess-like girl.]

After all, Kayneth is the one who hates this kind of behavior that affects relatives the most.]

Kiritsugu Emiya: "That's right, even though it wasn't necessary, she still did it on purpose. She is no longer doing it for victory, just to satisfy her own bad taste."]

Kairi Sisigou: "Tch, making herself happy by watching others suffer?"]

Kairi Sisigou: "Sure enough, as guessed before, this girl's worldview was abnormal from the start."]

Rin Tohsaka: "Fortunately, this guy isn't in our world, I definitely don't want to face such a lunatic."]

Emiya Emiya Shirou Emiya: "How could it be..."]

He originally thought Manaka Sajyou was just ignorant of the world and would soon be normal under Arthur's guidance, but now it seems that is clearly not the case.]

Waver: "However, compared to Manaka Sajyou, what should be concerned now is that she is going to make a move on Misaya. I'm afraid..."]

[Back to Misaya Reiroukan's room.]

["Misaya..."]

[Caster quietly watched the sleeping girl, his eyes becoming extremely strange.]

[That is, this girl sleeping with her eyes closed.]

[That is, this girl loved by her father and mother.]

[That is, the girl he chose as a noble sacrifice.]

[For a moment, sadness floated onto his expression. But he did not disobey the order.]

[Because his betrayal was already a fact.]

["My master, I have already followed your instructions and connected with her more deeply."]

[Caster muttered: "Yes, please feel free. Any curse, as long as you want, can be cast from the outside at any time."]

["...No. The whole world is yours alone. As long as it is what you decide, it doesn't matter what I think."]

["My master, the girl of the root who descended to rule all things in the world. Even the ancient gods filled with true starlight cannot compare to your brilliance."]

["—Manaka Sajyou-sama."]

Waver: "Sigh, sure enough..."]

Rin Tohsaka: "I say, don't you Casters have any credibility at all!"]

Avicebron: "(Unable to refute)"]