Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

"Don't you know that your reputation is utterly ruined in the magic clan circles of Fuyuki City? The patriarch has said that you absolutely cannot be allowed in!"

"..."

At this moment, it was Samael's turn to remain silent. It was easy to guess that those who had ruined his reputation were mostly Sajō Mitsuki and Tohsaka Tokiomi, two renowned magic families in Fuyuki City.

Who told him to seduce three of the five daughters from the two families, and the other two still have close ties with him? They might suffer a terrible fate one day.

Don't underestimate the anger of an elderly father.

The content might portray him as some kind of lewd demon, a scoundrel who knocks on widows' doors at night, harasses young girls, young women, mature women, and even bullies centenarians, and even slaps passing dogs.

It's no wonder that Cú Chulainn, upon hearing him mention the Linglongguan family, reacted as if facing a formidable enemy, baring his teeth at him like he'd encountered a pervert who had broken in.

Well, thinking about it, it seems like he's done all of these things...

Samael was speechless for a moment, and then deeply repented for his sinful life that had lasted for a thousand years.

A brief repentance... for two seconds?

After silently making the sign of the cross on his chest, the ancient snake composed himself, looked up dejectedly, and hummed softly, trying to vindicate himself.

"I just wanted to ask if you're comfortable living at the Reiko House and in Fuyuki City."

"Really?"

Cú Chulainn looked on with suspicion, scrutinizing her.

Samael rolled his eyes and groaned weakly.

"What, as an elder, can't you even care about your own life?"

"It's alright. I have money, little trouble, and it's peaceful. When I have free time, I can go fishing, diving, or hiking, depending on my mood. It's a pretty pleasant life."

However, upon hearing this seemingly frivolous mutter, the arrogant Irish Child of Light not only remained unperturbed but also calmly acknowledged the person's self-proclaimed title of "elder," softening his tone and responding casually.

In a sense, Samael is indeed an elder of this Irish Son of Light.

Because, in the Land of Shadows, he is the legendary, mysterious husband of that warrior queen.

As Scáthach's disciple, Cú Chulainn should respectfully address him as his grandmaster in terms of seniority.

Of course, it wasn't just a simple title that could keep Cú Chulainn in line.

Most importantly, fists!

Over the past six or seven years, he has subdued this unruly dog ​​to the point that it had no choice but to accept the marriage with a heavy heart.

There's nothing we can do; the difference in strength is undeniable.

Let alone the Irish Son of Light, even his father, the sun god Rug, would have to kneel before him.

That bastard, that really hurt when he hits me...

Cú Chulainn shook his head, banishing the horrific memories of being brutally tortured from his mind, then glanced at the "elder" beside him and gave a disgruntled snort.

"Speaking of which, I should thank you for being able to get back from that godforsaken place, the Throne of Heroes."

"No need for that, each to take what they need."

Samael waved his hand and smiled, not taking it to heart.

Indeed, in order to clean up the mess left by his good daughter and to resolve the feud between the Ainsworth, Reirōkan, and Ise families, after the Fourth Holy Grail War, he purified Cú Chulainn and Ramses II, who were corrupted by the black mud, and granted them the privilege of being reborn in the flesh and remaining in the human world, which can be considered a kind of compensation.

Upon learning that the Age of Gods was gradually returning, and that his beloved wife Nefertari and the remaining subjects had survived the cataclysmic crisis of the Covenant War by boarding the Sun Ship and would one day rise from the Sea of ​​Stars, Ramses II lost all desire to fight. He simply followed the Ise family to Tokyo to live a carefree life, waiting for the day of reunion.

Recently, I heard that he gets along very well with a boy from the Ise family named Sanxingji.

He seemed to see the shadow of his old friend Moses in this child.

Unfortunately, this was a child born into misfortune, lacking limbs and internal organs. Several major organs had almost completely lost their function, making even survival a struggle.

It is conceivable that they need to be connected to various mechanical devices with pipelines in order to barely maintain their lives.

Therefore, according to the Dark Council's intelligence, it seems that Ra-2 is preparing to lead the Ise family's forces to Egypt to dig up his own family graves and unearth the legendary Book of the Dead and the Book of the Sun, which are said to be the culmination of Egyptian magic, in order to heal the child.

Samael didn't seem to care much about these things.

Anyway, Rabbi II is just digging up his own grave, so the Egyptian government has no say in the matter. Since he hasn't crossed the line, let them do whatever they want.

Meanwhile, Cú Chulainn, after his recovery, did not choose to return to his homeland. Instead, he remained in Fuyuki City, where he was kept by the Reiko family and became a frequently seen street hustler, spending his days eating and waiting to die.

Similarly, Samael turned a blind eye to this, tacitly allowing Cú Chulainn to stay in Fuyuki City and live a carefree life, while also occasionally indulging in the hobby of "walking the dog."

Faced with the inhumane persecution of a certain scoundrel, Wang Jiang resisted several times to no avail, and then simply lay down and started to lay flat.

However, after a while, the two of them became somewhat familiar with each other and could be considered as close friends who could get along.

A warm breeze blew and the sun shone brightly. A snake and a dog squatted on the bank, enjoying a leisurely time fishing.

Bored out of his mind, Cú Chulainn glanced at the legendary mysterious "master" beside him. His eyes lit up, and his gossip-loving fire blazed in his chest. He poked the ancient serpent's ribs, then leaned in with a sly grin and asked curiously.

"Hey, Samael, how did you manage to get rid of that old woman? Getting into her bed won't be that easy."

Upon hearing this, Samael turned to look at Cú Chulainn beside him, his eyes filled with respect, and spoke softly.

"You just said 'old woman,' right?"

"what?"

Cú Chulainn was slightly taken aback, his mind momentarily confused.

At that moment, the ancient serpent patted the Irish Child of Light on the shoulder with a sorrowful expression, and handed him the Sagittarius Golden Bow that it had conjured in its palm.

"Here, take this bow, it's for self-defense..."

"what?"

Just as Cú Chulainn was filled with confusion, before he could even speak, a sharp whooshing sound descended from the sky.

"puff!"

"Ouch~~!"

At that moment, the ancient snake took a step back and fled a thousand meters away, raising its hands to cover its eyes, seemingly unable to bear looking at the bloody scene.

A pair of snake-like vertical pupils blinking through the fingers revealed someone's perverse pleasure in watching a spectacle, and the twitching lips and teeth couldn't help but gasp and mutter to themselves.

awful! It's too awful!

On the field, the once valiant and skilled Irish Child of Light slid dozens of meters to his knees under the sudden and fierce impact from behind, his entire head plunging into the silt on the riverbank. His ponytail, which had spread out on the pebbles, swayed like water plants with the waves.

Then the rest of his body was in an ungraceful posture, half-kneeling and half-bowing.

The most gruesome sight was that his raised right buttock had been pierced through by a scarlet spear that seemed to have flown from nowhere, leaving scattered specks of blood around him. His trembling, outstretched right index finger had left a shocking bloodstain on the ground.

Wang-chan, don't stop!

Samael, who had been crouching behind the grove of trees to avoid an unfortunate disaster, raised his fist in encouragement from afar, his face filled with sorrow as he cheered on the bloodied dog lying on the ground.

Finally, after a long period of trembling, the poor blue spearman pulled his head out of the mud, looked back at the familiar scarlet magic spear, and immediately felt as if he had lost his parents.

Is she there?

"uh-huh……"

Samael, standing in the distance, pointed to a gray halo spreading across the sky and shrugged helplessly.

Cú Chulainn sensed the gray halo and the eerie gaze from the void that felt like thorns on his back, and his face showed a look of wanting to cry but having no tears.

"Then why didn't you tell me earlier!"

"How was I supposed to know you were going to talk about her behind her back...?"

Samael instinctively opened his mouth, but fortunately, he was more vigilant than Cú Chulainn and managed to shut up just before he was about to say something wrong, swallowing the rest of his muttered words.

But at this moment, Cú Chulainn, who was alone bearing the pressure of the void, couldn't help but grin and gasp, raising his voice with a gloating expression.

"You just said 'old,' right?"

"..."

Samael's smile froze instantly. He silently gave the middle finger to the bastard friend who had dragged him down, then turned and ran in one swift motion, pursued by dozens of automatically guided runes.

Chapter Four: The Legendary Senji Muramasa

The dog started the conversation, and I just chimed in. What's it to me?

Wife? Queen?

Forever seventeen, no! Forever a sixteen-year-old purple-haired beauty! Is that alright?

My sincerity towards you, Master, is as clear as heaven and earth! As evident as the sun and moon!

In the alley, Samael, who had been hit by several runes, covered his head and scurried away, dodging the homing missiles behind him, while fawningly chanting and swearing his sincerity to the queen.

"boom!"

However, due to his distraction, the ancient snake was caught off guard and, as it leaped into a dark alley, it bumped head-on into a figure walking towards it.

"Sir, I'm so sorry, I was walking carelessly. Are you alright?"

After a brief, dull impact, the innocent victim, who had fallen to the ground, quickly got up and took the blame upon himself.

He rushed up and inquired about Samael's condition.

"Uh, it's, it's alright."

Samael, who had just recovered ninety percent of his impact and was feigning a fall like a soccer player, leaning back in an attempt to evade responsibility, was hastily helped up by the seemingly foolish boy in front of him. He stood there dumbfounded, staring ahead with a strange look in his eyes, and muttered to himself.

Why, it's him?

The boy who took the initiative to take responsibility had striking red short hair, a gentle face with a resolute look, and was a typical sunny young man. His brown eyes were filled with sincere unease and guilt. After helping Samael up, he couldn't help but ask questions.

Should I take you to the hospital to get checked out?

"No need, thank you, I'm fine."

Samael smiled and politely declined the boy's offer, then his eyes flashed and he asked a question.

"By the way, young man, I still don't know your name."

Upon learning that the man opposite him was unharmed, the red-haired boy breathed a sigh of relief, a gentle smile spreading across his face as he frankly introduced himself.

"Shirou, you can just call me Shirou."

"Hmm, a very nice name."

As the perpetrator, Samael took the initiative to extend his hand and shake hands with the victim opposite him, exchanging polite greetings. Then his gaze fell on the black shoulder bag slung over the boy's back and the brown trench coat that seemed to be stained with water, and he was slightly surprised.

"Are you... traveling? From Ise?"

"How do you know?"

The red-haired boy was quite surprised to hear this.

Samael pointed to the boy's standard backpacker gear, then glanced at the damp patches on his collar and added with a smile.

"Fuyuki City has been sunny lately. I checked the weather forecast last night, and it seems like it will only rain in the Ise area."

"You guessed perfectly!"

The red-haired youth couldn't help but admire the man's keen insight, and then nodded, answering truthfully.

"To be honest, I took advantage of the holiday to go back to my hometown where I lived as a child and wander around."

"You used to live in Fuyuki City?"

"Yes, seven or eight years ago, our family originally planned to settle here."

Shirou nodded in response, making no attempt to hide it, and a hint of regret flickered in his eyes as he reminisced.

"However, it seems that there was some trouble in Fuyuki City at that time. My parents were worried that it would not be safe for us to stay here, so the whole family moved back."

Is that so?

Samael seemed to be deep in thought, muttering to himself.

I never expected that the commotion caused by the Fourth Holy Grail War would cause this family to run away. No wonder I couldn't find them even after several trips to Fuyuki City.

"Om..."

Just as the ancient serpent was pondering, a faint buzzing sound came from the red-haired youth's waist, prompting him to look down and ask in confusion.

"This is……"

"Oh, the protective gear I prepared before going out, would you like to take a look?"

The red-haired youth casually untied a wakizashi (a type of Japanese dagger-axe) from his waist, with a blade about forty or fifty centimeters long, a red leather scabbard, and a black rope hilt, and handed it to the man in front of him without any suspicion.