Or, why don’t you find another savior?

"It's great that you don't find this trip boring." Shiomi walked up to her, reached out and pulled the brim of her hood, hiding her face deeply in the shadows.

At this moment, the half-closed door of the chapel was pushed open, and a girl, also wearing a cloak and hiding her face under the hood, walked in timidly.

“Um…are you two the guests that Mr. Belsak mentioned?” The girl lowered her head, looking humble and shy.

"It's us." Xijian turned around and answered.

The girl seemed to nod and whispered, "...Mr. Belsac has arranged accommodation for you two...If it's convenient, please follow me."

Then, without waiting for Xijian and Jian to respond, he turned around and walked out.

Surprised at the secluded village's concern about outsiders, Shiomi and Ash couldn't help but smile at each other. He then took her hand and slowly followed the girl's footsteps.

Perhaps realizing that she was walking too fast, the girl slowed down and walked a little ahead of the two. Even if she turned around, her face, which was already covered by the hood, and even her mouth would be blocked.

"...Um, Mr. Belsac asked me to tell you two that if you want to stay in the village, you must abide by the rules here." The girl's tone was nervous and timid the whole time, and no one knew what she was afraid of.

Perhaps he was afraid of outsiders like Shiomi and Ash.

"Please speak." Jian answered.

"First, you must worship the statue of the Virgin Mary when you enter the village. You two have already done that." The girl nodded again and added nervously, "Second, don't go out at night. Third, don't go near the cemetery alone. Finally, even if you want to go to the cemetery, please don't visit alone, and don't go near the swamp near the cemetery."

The first one can be classified as folk customs, but the rest start to become like the rules of a horror story.

Neither of them asked why, but just gave the girl an affirmative answer.

The room the girl was talking about was a hunting lodge located outside the village. There was no other place in the village that could provide accommodation, so that was the only place that was empty.

As if forcing herself to complete the task, the girl sent the two men to the wooden cabin. Without even sitting down to say a few more words, she hurriedly bowed and said goodbye, then turned and left the hunting lodge.

Looking at the old bed and the musty bedding, Shiomi couldn't help but start to hesitate, wondering whether she should let Jian sleep in such a bad place.

"I say, Ash, why don't you just remain a spirit—" Shiomi tried to persuade her not to deliberately maintain her physical form.

Since the re-contract, she has never transformed into a spirit, and he also knows that Jian deliberately did not do so in order to try to ignore the fact that he came as a Servant.

But when he put down his luggage and turned around to ask, he saw Jian staring at the girl's back as she left.

"Is there anything that you are concerned about?" he stopped talking and asked.

After Jian closed the door, he took off his hood, revealing his face with a thoughtful expression.

"I don't know. Maybe it's because of the connection between this place and 'her' existence. I actually felt the aura of that guy from the girl just now."

"That guy?" Xi Jian raised his eyebrows.

"No, maybe it's my illusion." Jian lifted his cloak and sat down on the wooden bench, which was old but clean. "I didn't expect that there would be a girl with a similar vibe to that guy in this village."

"Because from the information I found, it seems that this gravekeeper village was built because of its connection with that person."

Xijian shook his head and said the name that he had not seen for nearly ten years:

"Altria Pendragon..."

Chapter 5: Hunter's Lodge

Although we set out from London in the morning, it still took about ten hours to travel all the way to the village of Blackmoor in the Welsh mountains.

By the time Shiomi had settled down in the hunter's cabin, it was already dusk.

After he lit the fireplace in the cabin, the damp and cold air in the room gradually became much lighter under the baking of the charcoal fire.

"There's only instant coffee here, and some sandwiches I made before I left." Shiomi handed Ash a cup of hot coffee. "I'll probably have to go outside the village to find food tomorrow, or go to the church to beg for food."

Compared to life in London or Fuyuki, life now in this remote mountain village is incredibly hard.

"Don't make that face. I have no intention of blaming or complaining." Jian quietly ate the sandwich in the box. "Days that are more difficult and hard than this are commonplace. I haven't lost my adaptability in this regard just because I have lived a pampered life."

"Eh? Is it that obvious?" Xijian touched his face.

"It's almost written on my face." Jian blew on the coffee and took a sip. "After all, we are not here for vacation, but for other things. You know it in your heart."

Xi Jian nodded and asked solemnly: "Is it really okay? Are you asking for trouble?"

"It's actually quite fun." Jian said naturally, "Life in this era is too easy, so I need a little excitement to make my husband realize that his wife is not an ordinary person."

"I haven't forgotten about this at all, okay?" Xijian shook his head.

Ash nodded with a smile, and then talked about something else, "According to the Magic Association, the ceremony of the Fifth Holy Grail War is expected to be restarted in at least half a year, and at most a year, right?"

"Yes. But since I killed Kenneth in the Holy Grail War last time, the Magic Association was still quite shaken." Shiomi sat up straight, one hand leaning on the table next to him, "Originally, the Clock Tower deliberately concealed the situation of the Holy Grail War. Most magicians only knew that it was a magic competition ceremony held in a remote countryside in the Far East, and the remaining few knew that it was related to the omnipotent wish-making machine-"

As the former Lord of El-Melloi, Kayneth naturally knew that the thing was a wishing machine.

Before the Fourth Holy Grail War began, relevant information was also included in the library of the Clock Tower, but only by actively checking it could one obtain more specific information.

Kenneth participated in the Holy Grail War knowing the truth, but not completely, and died in the war.

This incident caused quite a stir in the Magic Association, and the situation regarding the Holy Grail War was further verified.

"I have to say that the death of Kenneth El-Melloi Archibald was not a bad thing for the Clock Tower. They were able to re-evaluate the value of the Holy Grail War and expand the number of participants recommended by the Magic Association from one to two." Shiomi shrugged. "For the Fifth Holy Grail War, the Magic Association will send two magicians to participate."

"Like a moth to a flame." Morgan shook his head.

One more spot doesn't bring anything. Instead, it makes the spots more expensive. Most of the Clock Tower magicians who can compete are from magic families or nouveau riche.

"Who knows." Shiomi also smiled. He had already made up his mind that he would wait until the end of the Fifth Holy Grail War before taking Ash and the two children back to Fuyuki.

Anyway, Sakura didn't learn anything really useful in the Magic Association. She completely inherited the magic system from Ash and has already achieved some success.

If it weren't for hiding her true level of magic, Sakura would have been promoted to the Pride rank like Shiomi by now.

——Of course, Sakura, like Shiomi, has a much higher level of magic ability than this.

But even so, she is a genius in the Clock Tower who keeps a low profile.

She is much more outstanding than her sister Toosaka Rin in every aspect.

"Also, I heard from Lanis that the ruler of the astronomy department, Malisbili Animusphia, has already got one of the spots." Shiomi showed a look of recollection, "I wonder who will get the remaining spot."

He knew that El-Melloi II was planning to participate in the Fifth Holy Grail War, but Lanis was obviously unwilling to go that far, so she tried her best to find a way to keep El-Melloi II in the Clock Tower.

After all, Kenneth borrowed money to purchase the magic furnace to participate in the Holy Grail War, but his death in battle was limited to the loss to the El-Melloi faction. The magic seal was inherited by Lanis, and the small amount of debt has been basically paid off in nine years.

Moreover, after the Second invited Shiomi to become Lannis's tutor four years ago, he only needed to find a way to arrange the follow-up that would consolidate the throne of El-Melloi and then he could withdraw smoothly.

"Let's not talk about that for now. I have some bad news. I might need to remind you." After hesitating for a long time, Ash said to Xi Jian, "Even if this matter is just a hint at the moment."

Xi Jian was stunned, "What's the matter?"

"Sakura, seems to be planning to participate in the Fifth Holy Grail War." Ash said calmly, dropping a bomb into Shiomi's head.

"What?" He was a little unresponsive.

But there is no need for Jian to repeat it a second time.

In the ceremony of the Holy Grail War, apart from the initial three families, who will be selected as long as they are willing to participate, there are still two vacancies left, including the two places obtained by the Magic Association this time.

Generally speaking, only magicians with a strong desire to participate will be selected by the Holy Grail system and given the Command Spell, which requires the magician to go to Fuyuki in person.

——A typical example is El-Melloi II, the former Waver Velvet.

Holding a holy relic will increase your chances of being chosen.

The magicians of the Clock Tower could of course go there on their own, but that would inevitably bring about many other political troubles, so it was basically ruled out as the preferred method.

If Sakura returned to Fuyuki, her top-notch magic skills and willingness to participate alone would be enough for her to be selected.

Shiomi covered her mouth and fell into deep thought.

He didn't want Sakura to get involved in a fight where she was sure to die, but he also didn't want to force her against her wishes.

The child grew up in a free-spirited way. He looked obedient, but in fact he was very opinionated.

"If you really don't want to, you can let me persuade her to give up for you." asked Jian.

"...I'll discuss this matter after I get back." Xi Jian sighed, "For now, I have to deal with the current situation..."

At this time, there was a knock on the door of the room. Xi Jian subconsciously said "Come in". The girl who had led the way for the two of them earlier pushed open the door carefully.

"I'm sorry to bother you two, Mr. Belsac asked me to bring some..."

When the girl saw Jian's face while speaking, the things in her hands fell to the ground with a crash.

Chapter 6 Grey

"Come on, relax with something hot."

Shiomi took out a spare cup from her bag and poured a cup of coffee for the girl.

The girl's name is Gray, and she is one of the residents of this village.

But she is so much more than that.

Because of her gaffe when she entered the room, Gray hurriedly helped to pack up her things and put them in a corner of the room. Only then did Shiomi ask her to sit down and have a cup of coffee and rest for a while before leaving.

After introducing herself, Gray took the coffee handed to her by Shiomi, and kept her head down, constantly stealing glances at Ash.

The reason is simple. Now that Gray has put down her hood, her face is exactly the same as that of Ash.

As a result, Xi Jian's mind was full of troubles. As a result, he also had some wonderful ideas when he was young. Unfortunately, he was silenced by Jian's electric current magic before he could express them.

But to be more precise, Gray's appearance is not similar to Ash, but exactly the same as Altria Pendragon.

"Is this what you really look like?" Jian asked.

Gray was startled as if someone had caught her peeking, and she almost spilled the coffee in her hand.

"No, no... It became like this about nine years ago." Gray looked very sad when she talked about this. "One day in winter, my face suddenly began to change, and finally fixed into its current appearance."

Nine years ago in the winter of 1994, during the Fourth Holy Grail War.

As a result, it was no surprise that Gray's face became exactly like Altria's.

"Let me check you out for a moment."

Ash became interested. She handed the coffee cup to Shiomi, walked to Gray's side, raised her fingertips and placed them on Gray's forehead.

"Huh?" Gray was confused.

She was very confused now. She didn't expect to meet a stranger in the village who looked almost the same as herself.

When the female guest in front of her came to the village, she was also wearing a cloak and covering her face with a hood.

Dressed similarly to Gray, the girl instinctively felt a sense of closeness when she saw Ash's face.

Did this woman have the same experience as me?

The light in the ash palm lit up, and Gray, who was surrounded by the light, did not feel anything, so she waited quietly.

She heard from Belsak that they were magicians from outside and might be able to remove the "curse" on her.

“I see…” Jian put his hands away, and the light gradually disappeared. “In order to be able to control the Holy Spear, he has been continuously cultivating qualified offspring.”

"Holy Lance?" Xijian was stunned. "Are you talking about Rhongomyniad?"

According to legend, the Holy Lance Longomyniad is one of King Arthur's treasures.

Jian said that the essence of that thing is a tower used to connect the inside and outside of the world.

And the "Tower" in her own four major types of magic is the result of learning the Holy Spear as a magic.

"Hehehe! You're lucky, Gray."

Then, a somewhat unpleasant and slightly sharp voice sounded, echoing in the hunter's cabin.

"Hmm?" Xijian raised his eyebrows.

Gray's expression was extremely awkward. She fumbled under her cloak for a few times and took out a cylindrical cage that looked like a lantern. In the cage was a cube-shaped magic gift. The side facing the two of them had a structure similar to eyes and a mouth.

At this moment, Li Suit's eyes were staring straight at Jian.

"No, didn't I tell you to keep quiet, Yade... Really..." Gray looked very embarrassed, but her tone was as if she was complaining to a close friend about not keeping an agreement.

Ad? Is it the abbreviation of the Holy Lance's name? Shiomi thought to herself.

The moment Gray finished complaining, she realized something was wrong. Originally, she was the only one in the village who could hear Yade's voice, but she subconsciously thought that everyone present could hear it.

Was it because of Mr. Shiomi's reaction? Or was it because the woman in front of him looked like him, similar to the king?

"Oh? That's an interesting design."

Jian naturally took the cage from Gray's hand, lifted Yade up, and kept his eyes level with those eyes.