[T/N: Mass update: 2/5]
"The winter forest, when there's no snow, always feels a bit spooky."
Caster rolled her eyes as she followed Roland, who was leading the way.
"Trust me, Master, you are far scarier than this forest."
"Am I really?" Roland sounded a little surprised. "Compared to those magi, what I've done is nothing, right?"
Compared to the original timeline, Fuyuki City was surprisingly peaceful under Roland's control. While there had been a few so-called gas explosions, there were no casualties.
"Ordinary magi might be frightening to normal people, but they follow rules. They have structure, patterns, things you can at least predict. You… you're different."
Caster didn't elaborate further. Even with the close relationship she shared with Roland, she still couldn't fully comprehend him.
"Maybe it's just a matter of perspective," Roland replied with a faint smile, his gaze growing deeper. "Some truths are better left unknown. But once you learn them, you can't turn away, you have to act. There may be setbacks, but compared to what would've happened originally in this world, humanity should be grateful to me."
He let the topic drop, shifting to something else entirely.
"Come to think of it… the Einzberns possess a ceremonial treasure called the Rhein Gold, don't they?"
"That cursed artifact? Inexhaustible gold… that's already on the level of a legendary Noble Phantasm."
"Sounds thrilling. After this Holy Grail War ends, I'll take it."
"A curse of that magnitude wouldn't work on you, true. But… are you truly so greedy for wealth?"
Medea tilted her head slightly, clearly puzzled. She was a princess of the Age of Gods, a magus of the highest caliber, a Master in skin of a Servant and a goddess, modern materialism was alien to her.
"Or is it that your shadow legions aren't efficient enough at gathering wealth to keep your promise to that little girl?"
"It's not that they're inefficient," Roland replied with a small smile tugging at his lips.
His shadow legion had already amassed immense amounts of ownerless fortune for him. To Roland, money was just numbers now.
Still, he had no intention of breaking his promise to Rin. For a being like Ishtar, paying a price in wealth wasn't an issue.
Offering a single jar of gems to enlist the goddess of Venus had been nothing. Tens of thousands of times that amount, though, that was excessive. Yet if Ishtar truly brought the talisman, Roland intended to honor his word.
Of course, if the remaining talismans were counterfeit, that would be another story. But at the very least, the jar of gems was real. The question was: how much of it would remain by the time it reached Rin Tohsaka?
Given Ishtar's notorious unreliability, Rin would probably receive only the jar of gems in the end. Theoretically, that wasn't a loss… but Kotomine Kirei's phone call had changed everything.
Now that Roland was the Tohsaka family's largest creditor, even if Rin sincerely worked for him, paying off that debt with a single jar of jewels would be laughable.
"They're coming."
Caster suddenly halted.
The forest concealing the Einzbern castle was shrouded by a powerful barrier. They could've infiltrated quietly, but Roland didn't bother, he treated the Einzbern domain like his own home, striding in openly.
Sure enough, beneath the pale moonlight ahead, a figure appeared, pure white like a pearl, as immaculate as freshly fallen snow.
"Irisviel, my dear wife. Long time no see. Where's Illya?"
Roland smiled, his tone almost teasing.
"What do you intend by trespassing into the sacred domain of the Einzbern, Master of Caster?"
Irisviel ignored his greeting, her expression dark and resolute.
"I just came to see my daughter. She's in the castle behind you, I can sense her."
Roland's voice remained light as he stepped toward her, unhurried.
"I won't let you see her!"
Irisviel clenched her fists, suppressing the violent pounding of her heart and the heat flooding her body at his approach, an unwelcome, inexplicable longing.
She turned her face away so he wouldn't see her flushed, conflicted expression. Fortunately, the knight in azure armor had already stepped forward, positioning himself between her and Roland.
"If you retreat now, I won't strike. But if you insist… this time will not end like before. You won't stop me with just Caster."
"Tsk. How arrogant."
Medea scowled from behind Roland. With a single incantation, her High-Speed Divine Words wove complex magic circles, spells that would've taken ten magi to prepare.
Blinding violet light flared as the arrays ignited, casting the silent forest into a spectral glow.
Despite her disdainful tone, Medea knew the truth, Saber's magic resistance was formidable. Defeating him without positional advantage would be difficult, even for her.
"Don't be so hostile, Saber." Roland grinned, clapping his hands lightly. "I've gone through a lot of trouble preparing for tonight's reunion. I even brought you a wonderful gift."
He continued his leisurely approach, utterly unfazed by the killing intent thickening in the air.
"I've been looking forward to this moment for a long time."
Faced with such brazen provocation, even the ever-composed Knight King could endure no longer.
With a deep crack of soil beneath his boots, Saber's body blurred into a silver-white streak, a meteor lancing straight for Roland.
At that exact instant, Caster's magic cannons roared to life, streaking toward Saber in a storm of violet fire. He didn't even glance at them.
A quick assessment confirmed the count, several volleys, nothing more. With the Red Dragon Heart pulsing at his core, the dragon factor surged through Saber's frame, flooding his limbs with colossal mana. The sheer pressure warped the air, a raging tempest shattering the incoming blasts.
Caster's spells barely slowed him.
But Saber felt no satisfaction, no relief because through the storm of magic, Roland still looked utterly calm, almost amused.
Every instinct in Saber screamed, warning of danger.
He aborted his charge, boots gouging deep furrows in the earth.
Roland chuckled softly, not bothering to conceal his next move.
"Berserker."
Dark mist erupted like a living shadow, condensing into a towering beast, a mad titan roaring with primal fury. Without a word of command, it thundered forward, shaking the forest as it lunged at Saber.
"Arthur—!"