"It suits you well."
"A suit... I am not accustomed to such attire..."
"If my Servant (tool) wears such trivial rags, it reflects poorly on my prestige as your Master (Owner)."
"Was the clothing they are wearing also your work, Master?"
Zod, having dressed Emiya Alter in the most expensive bespoke suit the tailor shop had to offer, nodded. Emiya Alter gestured toward the two women, who were wearing the same Spirit Dresses they had worn in Shinjuku 1999, but Zod simply shook his head.
"I intended to put them in formal women's suits, but they both insisted on those outfits. I tried threats and persuasion, but they wouldn't budge on this point. It's a pity, really."
"Bickering with your Servants over clothes is a bit unseemly..."
"Take it up with them if you have a problem."
"How troublesome..."
After leaving the tailor, Zod and his group visited a restaurant for a meal. While entering, a man bumped into Emiya Alter.
"Ugh... What the hell?"
"My apologies..."
"Watch where you're going, you darky!"
"As you wish..."
"Tsk! To hell with you! Ptui!"
The white man responded irritably, spitting on the ground and openly insulting Emiya Alter. However, Emiya Alter remained stoic.
"Heh... Emiya, you're just going to take that?"
Zod, his mood slightly soured, looked up at Emiya Alter and asked why he didn't retaliate. Emiya Alter spoke with surprising indifference, as if it were a trivial matter.
"I was treated far worse during my lifetime. Besides, I am not truly of that race, so it does not particularly matter..."
"No... it matters to *me*..."
"Why?"
"You are my subordinate (tool). To insult the subordinate is the same as insulting the master... I am a greedy man who cherishes his possessions to an obsessive degree."
In that instant, Zod's pupils distorted with a crimson glow.
"I love no one but myself, but I do bestow my favor. Those who reside within my fence... to treat what is mine carelessly is a direct challenge to me."
"Am I to understand then, that I have received the Master's favor?"
"You could say that. For now, you are my Servant. So long as you are obedient to my words and remain loyal."
"You have my thanks..."
Emiya Alter looked at Zod with a look of surprise. Soon after, Zod spotted the man walking into an alleyway and followed him. Thirty seconds later, Zod emerged from the alley with a nonchalant expression, leaving Emiya Alter looking bewildered.
"Did you do something?"
"I killed him... melted his head right off. As it turns out, he was a Master. The Master of Rider, specifically. He tried to summon Rider using his Command Spells, but I stopped him by popping his head and then I confiscated the spells."
Zod showed the back of his hand, revealing the Command Spells that had now increased to four strokes. Only then did Emiya believe him, though he could not hide his astonishment.
"Incredible... It is said a decent magus can defeat a low-tier Servant, but still..."
"I am a superhuman. Not as a metaphor, but quite literally."
"Were you... subjected to some kind of experiment?"
"I told you, didn't I? I was born through artificial insemination in a lab and used as a test subject since I was an infant..."
"That was a slip of the tongue. My apologies."
Emiya Alter apologized with an awkward expression, but Zod merely shrugged; he truly felt no emotional weight regarding the subject.
"So, how many Servants are left now?"
"Assuming a maximum of five, and using the process of elimination: Berserker is likely excluded due to high prana consumption. Rider is now eliminated. And since I am Archer, that leaves four. Saber, Lancer, Caster, and Assassin. I suspect that Assassin, Saber, and Lancer are almost certainly participating."
"Your reasoning?"
"Masters generally prefer the Three Knight classes or Assassin, who has low magical energy requirements. In a Subspecies Holy Grail War, Berserker is a waste of prana, and Caster—whose combat power is like wet paper in a direct confrontation—are the least favored classes."
"Makes sense. Then for now, we'll proceed under the assumption that Saber, Lancer, and Assassin are out there..."
"That seems wise. When the offer of an alliance from another faction arrives to take down Assassin, that is when we shall sweep the remaining camps. In these Subspecies wars, there are always Masters who try to collude with one another."
At Emiya Alter's words, Zod nodded and finally entered the restaurant, ordering an expensive course meal.
"This is quite pricey... Are you sure? Given Artoria's appetite, the cost might be..."
"Despite my appearance, I am the Demon King who rules New York's underworld. I have more money than I know what to do with. Besides, you know how insane New York prices are? This place is like a corner store to me."
"I'll just have something light. I cannot even taste, so there is no reason to indulge."
"A pity. The act of eating is such a beautiful thing."
Zod smirked as he watched Artoria munching through her food while sipping wine and talking to Emiya. Zod himself handled his knife and fork with such elegance and sophistication as he cut his steak that he looked like the young master of a noble house or a prince of a royal family.
With his child-sized formal suit and his strikingly handsome features, he exuded a natural air of nobility. The women in the restaurant fell into a trance watching him, and before long, Zod's graceful dining had become a spectacle for the room.
"You're quite popular."
"It always feels good when the lower beings look up to me. It's a thrill."
"......Hmph."
"What is it?"
"No... nothing. It is nothing..."
"How dull of you..."
Emiya Alter quietly warmed his mouth with hot soup, thinking to himself that he might have gotten mixed up with the wrong person. His Master was a wretched narcissist—a man with a severe superiority complex, consumed by his own elitism and self-love.
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