Crossover Anime: A Dimensional Journey Starting with Frilian

“That’s true…” Rider chuckled softly, “Then next time we meet, we’ll be complete enemies.”

"You can only be an enemy now. Look at how badly you've damaged my Saber!"

"Haha, Saber has finally reaped the rewards of her hard work and met you, her Master."

"I think so."

Chapter 313 It's Not Your Fault

After the party ended, Shichen and Saber didn't linger and left first.

Rider and Archer could no longer stay together and went their separate ways.

Despite being the Holy Grail War, and despite being adversaries, no battle actually broke out in the end.

Assassin is indeed dead.

Including Assassin, three Servants have died: Lancer, who died at the very beginning, and Caster, who deserved to die.

Of the seven factions, two have indeed withdrawn, since Master also died along with them.

Although Assassin is dead, his Master may still pose a threat, and he might be able to gain a new Servant at any time.

Shichen didn't care. Even if that guy got a new Servant, he was just usurping someone else's. He wouldn't have more enemies.

After all, if the original Master hadn't died, how could the Servant have been usurped?

Moreover, he wasn't afraid of any Servant, but he was more worried about Saber's situation.

"Saber, are you alright?" Shichen asked with concern, looking at Saber who seemed preoccupied since leaving the garden.

"..." Saber remained silent and did not respond, as if she had not heard the time.

At this moment, Shi Chen was holding her hand, but she didn't react at all.

Saber's hands are small and delicate, without any calluses from long battles or wielding a sword.

However, Shichen has no intention of playing with it right now.

“Saber,” Shichen raised his voice.

"Huh? Time? What's wrong?" Saber finally realized.

"...Are you okay?"

“I…” Saber opened her mouth but couldn’t speak. She knew what Shichen was asking, but she didn’t know how to answer.

"look at me."

Shichen stopped, let go of her hand, grasped her thin shoulders, and made her face him.

"Time..."

"Saber, you are now my Servant, and I am your Master. You belong only to me now. Tell me what you are thinking," Shichen commanded.

“...I don’t belong to you,” Saber retorted softly.

“Aren’t Servants supposed to belong to the Master?” Shichen smiled.

"We're just business partners..."

"What? After all this time, we're still just business partners?" Shi Chen was a little hurt.

"Well... at most, we're friends."

"only friends?"

"What do you think the relationship is?"

"How are your family members?" Shi Chen asked without hesitation.

"family......"

Saber murmured the word, its meaning coming to mind.

It seems she has never experienced what it means to have family.

“Yes, I, Alice, Frilian, and Ilya are all your family,” Shichen said with a smile.

“Family…” Saber was a little lost in thought.

"It is fate that we met. We were able to meet through the Holy Grail War, so why not cherish this fate? The Holy Grail War is not everything." Shichen raised his right hand and stroked her delicate and smooth face.

“But I… have a wish I want to fulfill…” Saber met the eyes of the person she was born with.

“I know that every Master and Servant has desires they want to fulfill, but that’s not what we’re talking about right now.”

"What's the meaning?"

"Before we win the Holy Grail War, can't we just enjoy the process? Experience the beauty of this era, see how different this era is... Wishes are just the end of the journey."

"A journey... Is that what you think of it, Tokicho?" Saber was a little surprised; she had never considered the Holy Grail War as a journey.

"Yes."

Shi Chen smiled and nodded: "It's so wonderful to meet you. If possible, I don't want to be disturbed by other things. I want to spend this journey with you."

“Time…” Saber’s eyes gleamed as she stared at him, lost in thought.

"So, what are you thinking about? Tell me, I want to think about it with you."

"I...I know."

Saber nodded as if making a decision, and then said, "Actually, I'm still thinking about what Rider said."

"Knew it."

Shi Chen shook his head, released her shoulder, took her hand again, held it tightly, and continued walking.

Saber realized that the two were holding hands. She looked down at their clasped hands, their fingers still intertwined.

She tried to move slightly but found she couldn't break free. She looked up at Shichen, who seemed completely oblivious, which made her want to laugh.

Fine, let him hold the hand.

For some reason, she doesn't resist being led by Shichen like this at all now; perhaps she really needs someone to accompany her.

This person was indeed none other than the one who accompanied her here, stayed with her all the way, accompanied her back, and protected her.

“Actually, you don’t need to care about what Rider says at all,” Shichen said.

"why?"

Shi Chen turned his head to look at her and explained with a smile, "It's a very simple principle. Everyone is independent, and everyone's thoughts are different. That's what makes people so interesting. Although Rider is a king just like you, he is him and you are you. The paths you two want to take as kings are naturally different."

“But… he was right to leave, and I was wrong to leave…” Saber lowered her head.

"Why do you think so?"

"You saw it too, didn't you? His people, his warriors, even if their souls are scattered, even if they become heroic spirits, they still follow him, and I..."

"And then?" Shi Chen continued to ask.

“Huh?” Saber looked at him, not understanding what he meant.

“Rider’s departure might not have been the right one, otherwise he wouldn’t have been destroyed as well.” Shi Chen shook his head in denial.

“But as a king… his way of being a king must be right,” Saber suddenly retorted.

"Saber, why do you agree with him so much?" Shichen couldn't help but ask when he saw how agitated she was.

"Because...my subordinates told me that I..."

"You say you don't understand people's hearts?" Shi Chen interjected.

"how do you know?"

"Sigh, so that's all you care about," Shi Chen said helplessly.

"I......"

How could Saber not care about this sentence? It was this sentence that led to the kingdom's destruction.

"How could you not understand people's hearts?" Shi Chen sighed, placing his other hand on her head and gently rubbing it.

The tuft of hair was tucked between his fingers, dangling back and forth.

Shi Chen remembered that this ahoge (cowlick) was the king's honor, and no one was allowed to touch it, but he had touched it several times already.

"Maybe... I really don't understand people's hearts." Saber said sadly.

"Idiot." Shi Chen flicked her forehead hard.

"It hurts..." Saber frowned.

"How could you possibly not understand people's hearts!" Shi Chen asserted.

Saber simply kept in mind her oath and the idea that "a king cannot rule with a heart full of kindness and indecisiveness," so she never showed any sadness when she sat on the throne.

Saber always remembered that no one was better at governing than the king, so she handled affairs without error and punished enemies without bias. She was like a scale with precision down to several decimal places, calculating the balance of gains and losses.

As a result, her knights began to fear the king's ruthless decisions.

Perhaps it was the bias of the timing, but he felt that Saber was not wrong to keep her oath. She had never seen the king's rule and could not rely on anyone. It was her subordinates who did not understand him, could not even share the burden, and in the end, they only caused trouble, leading to the destruction of the civil war.

The world-renowned Knights of the Round Table are nothing to Hour.

"Then why did Tristan say that?" Saber couldn't help but ask.

Tristan, one of the Knights of the Round Table, is the one who said the famous line, "The king does not understand people's hearts."

"I don't care why he said that," Shi Chen said, pouting in annoyance.

"Huh?" Saber stared blankly at the time.

"Saber, have you ever considered that it was because he didn't understand you that he said you didn't understand people's hearts?"

"what?"

"They don't even know your situation, how could they possibly understand your decisions?"

"But the king doesn't need his subordinates to understand..."

"Really? They don't know you, so how can they trust you more?"

"It is enough for me to be king."