Their commission was suspicious.

Even under these circumstances, Kirei Kotomine did not have Assassin kill Kiritsugu Emiya, but instead had him kill the person who was interfering with the battle.

Just when even someone as resilient as Kiritsugu Emiya was beginning to despair, the Assassin who appeared behind Kirei Kotomine raised his club high after Kirei gave the order and then slammed it down on Kirei's head.

Even the strongest Master can generally not defeat the weakest Servant, and this principle also applies to the Master-Servant relationship.

Caught completely off guard and outnumbered, Kirei Kotomine collapsed to the ground, unable to get up.

"???" Even Kiritsugu Emiya, who was usually expressionless, was taken aback by this sudden turn of events and opened his mouth wide in astonishment.

Chapter 699 The Ship Problem? That's lame! Let's make a choice between worlds!

"Sigh, life is full of surprises. You never know whether a surprise or an accident will come first. Reality is different from fiction. Fiction needs logic, but reality doesn't."

Who could have imagined that Kirei Kotomine, who had the upper hand and was about to command his assassins to wreak havoc, would ultimately be taken down by a single blow from the assassin behind him?

He had just betrayed his teacher not long ago, but not long after, he was betrayed by his own follower.

If Kirei Kotomine were to wake up and understand the situation, he would probably feel a mix of emotions.

Indeed, who would be wary of a Servant who has been given the Six Paths Command Seal by themselves?

Unfortunately, the priority of puppeteers is much higher than that of Command Seals.

Chen Luo watched quietly as Kirei Kotomine was helped into the bar by an assassin.

Kirei Kotomine is still not awake; it's possible the assassin knocked on the door a bit too hard.

Following behind him was Kiritsugu Emiya, whose face was still filled with confusion.

Kiritsugu Emiya didn't quite understand why things had turned out this way.

They didn't understand why the assassins would obey Chen Luo's orders instead of their master's, and why they seemed so subservient to Chen Luo.

"Are you confused?" Chen Luo stood up and asked.

"Yes." Kiritsugu Emiya nodded.

Emiya Kiritsugu was truly perplexed.

How exactly did Chen Luo manage to do all this?

Kiritsugu Emiya discovered that whenever he thought he was about to uncover everything about Chen Luo, or even most of it, Chen Luo would always do something that surprised him.

"It's good that you're confused, I'm not telling you. Haha." Chen Luo said, hands on his hips.

Just kidding, you think I'll tell you just because you ask me to?

Wouldn't that make me, Chen Luo, lose face?

"..."

Kiritsugu Emiya wanted to say something, but he couldn't say anything.

"Oh, right, Merlin. I advise you to find somewhere to hide quickly, because Artoria will be brought to the bar by the other four assassins soon," Chen Luo reminded Merlin beside him.

"What? Why didn't you say so earlier!" Merlin was startled, then threw the antenna back to Chen Luo, looked around, and ran straight to the second floor of the bar.

Going back to the Matou house is pointless. The Matou house is only so big, and Artoria will find out sooner or later. On the contrary, if you hide on the second floor, Artoria probably won't come up.

Just after Merlin ran up to the second floor, Artoria stormed in.

"Chen Luo, what exactly happened?" Artoria walked in and asked Chen Luo with an angry expression.

Behind Artoria followed four assassins who appeared to have numerous battle marks and were also seriously injured.

In fact, the assassin who brought Kirei Kotomine in also had injuries. After all, even if six Command Seals were used, it was impossible for the remaining five assassins to be strong enough to face Saber Artoria unscathed.

This is especially true after Artoria and Chen Luo signed a contract, which amplified all of her abilities.

"What? What happened?"

"Why did these four assassins who had been blocking me for half a day suddenly stop and say they were your men? So the assassins are also your Servants? What about Kirei Kotomine? Is Kirei Kotomine also your subordinate?" Artoria asked aggressively.

"If that's the case, why did you send Kirei Kotomine and the assassins to attack Irisviel at Einzbern Castle? And why did you help me and Kiritsugu Emiya get to Einzbern Castle so quickly? Did you do all this just to torment us?"

Artoria's questions came one after another, and her speech became increasingly rapid, which showed that Artoria was in a bad mood or even very angry.

"Why are you asking so many questions all of a sudden?" Chen Luo stopped Artoria from asking questions for the time being, and then began to think while covering his head.

What did Artoria just ask?

"Oh, your questions, I'll answer them one by one. The four, or rather all, assassins you fought, except for the one Gilgamesh killed at the beginning, were not originally my men. It's just that I got annoyed by their constant surveillance, so I turned them into puppets and made them my underlings."

"Kirei Kotomine has nothing to do with me. Kirei Kotomine wants to go to Eindsbern Castle because he really wants to go."

"That's the situation. The reason I allowed the assassins to continue fighting you even after I gained control of them is mainly because of Kiritsugu Emiya." Chen Luo pointed to Kiritsugu Emiya.

"Emiya Kiritsugu, you fought with Kotomine Kirei for a while. Can you share your thoughts on Kotomine Kirei?"

“An opponent I least want to face, who seems to have no desires, but is actually impossible to be without desires,” Kiritsugu Emiya said after a moment’s hesitation.

“Since the other party was chosen as a Master in the Holy Grail War, it proves that the other party does indeed have a wish that they want to fulfill, but even they are unaware of it. Moreover, it is certain that the other party’s wish is definitely not a good one. Perhaps even the other party is unaware of their own terror, but now it seems that there are signs of awakening.” When Emiya Kiritsugu mentioned Kotomine Kirei, his voice was full of vigilance and wariness.

"That's a really thorough analysis," Chen Luo nodded in agreement.

Therefore, Kirei Kotomine and Kiritsugu Emiya are practically destined for each other.

It's impossible for an ordinary person to see through Kirei Kotomine so thoroughly. Yet Kiritsugu Emiya, based solely on the information he gathered about Kirei Kotomine and the brief time they spent fighting after their first meeting, managed to understand him quite well.

"So you let Kiritsugu Emiya and Kirei Kotomine fight just to get this information? Aren't you afraid that Irisviel and Illya will meet with misfortune?" Artoria asked.

"Huh? Are you an idiot? All five assassins around him are my men. Do you think Kirei Kotomine can defeat five assassins?"

“But Hisayu Maiya is injured,” Artoria said.

“Well, although I really want to say that it’s normal to get injured in battle, and the other party’s injury is really minor, well… never mind, since that’s the case, I’ll make some compensation. As compensation, I’ve already sent some medicine to Hisayuu Maiya, and she’ll be fully recovered in a little while. Also, I can allow Emiya Kiritsugu to ask one question, and I’ll answer it depending on the situation,” Chen Luo said.

"Think about this carefully," Chen Luo said, then looked at the others.

"You five go back first and recover from your injuries in the doll collection. Oh, and use this to reply." Chen Luo threw five small white balls, each about the size of a fingernail, at the five assassins.

"After you're done restoring, remember to download the Stealth Master skill and the Presence Reduction skill. Later, take a close look at any B-rank skills that have potential and that you need, and download them accordingly," Chen Luo continued.

The five assassins nodded and then vanished instantly.

Immediately afterwards, Chen Luo threw another white ball at Kirei Kotomine, who had been placed on the ground by the assassin. The moment the white ball touched Kirei Kotomine, it revealed its true form.

It was actually a tiny, condensed ball of thread.

After the thin line triggered the effect, it didn't take long for Kirei Kotomine, who had touched the thin line, to be wrapped up like a dumpling.

Furthermore, the rice dumpling was emitting a faint white light, proving that the "Breaking Out of the Cocoon and Becoming a Butterfly" ability had been activated.

Chen Luo's silk threads can serve as a carrier of energy of any nature; this is an explicit effect that was written into his ability to control from the very beginning.

Moreover, the combined use of silk threads and the ability to emerge from a cocoon as a butterfly is incredibly effective.

During this period of free time, Chen Luo kept making these small white balls made of silk thread and then threw them into the doll collection for the dolls to use.

Chen Luo had one of his assassins deliver this very item to Hisayu Maiya.

"I've decided what I want to ask," Kiritsugu Emiya suddenly said.

"Go ahead and ask. But let's make it clear first, don't ask how to save the world. And don't ask how to achieve world peace."

"..." Kiritsugu Emiya's mouth, which had just opened, closed instantly.

Emiya Kiritsugu suspected that Chen Luo knew what he wanted to ask, and that's why he shut his mouth beforehand.

This caused Artoria to glance at her sideways.

Artoria was surprised that Kiritsugu Emiya actually wanted to ask this question.

"Then is there really no way to achieve world peace?" Kiritsugu Emiya's voice was filled with an indescribable emotion as he lowered his head.

Yes, of course.

"Hmm?" Kiritsugu Emiya immediately looked up and stared intently at Chen Luo.

"How about I take you to see it?" Chen Luo suggested.

"If possible, please do so." Kiritsugu Emiya felt a little uneasy.

“Then… [You are now a puppet]” Chen Luo directly used the special skill attached to the five-star achievement on Emiya Kiritsugu.

"Ah, wait, I want to go too." The Herrscher of Knowledge instantly knew what Chen Luo wanted to do, so she immediately grabbed Chen Luo's arm and wouldn't let go.

"Can we turn back? I'm doing something important right now," Chen Luo said.

"Alright then..." Although the Herrscher of Knowledge can be a bit of a rascal at times, she is still very considerate.

Immediately after the Herrscher of Knowledge released Chen Luo, Chen Luo vanished, along with Kiritsugu Emiya.

Kiritsugu Emiya's vision blurred for a moment, but he quickly regained his senses and looked around at where he was.

A street whose origins are unclear, yet the level of technology here seems to be advanced.

"Come on, I'll take you to see it. Although the population is small, it has truly achieved a peaceful world."

……

About 10 minutes later, Chen Luo returned to the bar with Emiya Kiritsugu.

"So? Is it as I said, a peaceful world despite the small number of people?" Chen Luo asked Emiya Kiritsugu.

"Kiritsugu." Before Kiritsugu could answer Chen Luo's question, Irisviel moved closer to him and began checking his condition.

They breathed a sigh of relief after discovering that the other person was not injured.

Irisviel was brought back by Artoria during the time Chen Luo was missing.

"Don't worry, I'm fine." Kiritsugu Emiya nodded to Alice and then looked at Chen Luo.

“But according to you, your world is full of dolls,” Kiritsugu Emiya said.

"But tell me, is there any peace or no peace?"

"Peace. But..."

"Then there's no difference, isn't that the ideal world? Everyone has a house to live in, everyone has land to cultivate, everyone does their job, and no one picks up lost items on the road. The key is war, no killing... That's the world peace you want."

“Even if I need to find someone to help me fight, I won’t ask these ordinary people, so they can live peacefully in this happy world,” Chen Luo said.

“But it’s just a puppet after all.” Kiritsugu Emiya shook his head.

"Then do you believe that if the Holy Grail really exists and fulfills your wish for world peace, then everyone in the world is not even as good as these puppets. They would become emotionless beings merely wearing a human coat."

"On the contrary, these puppets that I have never called upon have their own personalities, their own hobbies, their own interests, their own anger and dreams, and they are constantly striving for them."

"While some clandestine practices might emerge as the number of people spreads across the globe, they won't be anything too serious. Perhaps they'll only be a few times, or even ten times, worse than gossiping about others in secret. For example... casting spells?"

"The world peace you desire is merely an outcome, but have you considered how to achieve it? The Holy Grail's wishes are not infinite, but finite. The best way to use it is to wish for something that can be achieved using infinite human power, such as a large amount of money." Chen Luo explained the concept of the Holy Grail to Kiritsugu Emiya once again.

"...You said that this planet was prepared for the people of another planet that was about to be destroyed, right?" Kiritsugu Emiya suddenly said.

"Yes. Just like the choice you made before. If you were presented with two worlds, one a ravaged, bizarre world on the verge of destruction, and the other a thriving world that responds well to disasters. And the former world was meant to be destroyed so that the latter could be born. What would you choose?"

“This… I will follow the course of history.” Kiritsugu Emiya was deeply shaken.

Because now we are faced with two different worlds.

That's the weight of an entire civilization.

"I didn't choose either of them. Instead, I chose to relocate all the humans from the previous civilization to the world I created. Of course, this was only possible after exhausting all my capabilities, which is why I had this choice."

“I can’t say your choice was wrong. But if someone asked me whether to abandon a ship with 300 people or a ship with 200 people, I would smash the head of the person who asked the question.”

This problem was an extreme situation deliberately set up by Angolan Manuel.

In this extreme case, there is no right or wrong.

That's why Chen Luo said he would smash Angolan Mainyu's dog head.

"I'm telling you this so that you can see that focusing solely on absolute numbers and discussing which group to save isn't always the right approach."

Of course, sometimes it's not necessarily wrong.

“I do admire your immense, albeit thankless, contribution to saving two civilizations, but you didn’t offer a third way at the time,” Kiritsugu Emiya said.

"Alright, I'll give you another choice. Now here's the problem. If the Holy Grail really can be used, and it can truly fulfill the wish for world peace, but I also need the Holy Grail to save two other civilizations, then what is your choice?"

"Will you use the Holy Grail to save your world, or will you give me the Holy Grail so I can save the other two worlds? This time, there are truly only these two choices, and no third option," Chen Luo asked Emiya Kiritsugu again.

“I choose…” Emiya Kiritsugu suddenly fell into a long silence.