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IBHJ Chapter 588
🕑 Added 2023-11-24 01:18:44 +0000 UTCShirou's brows furrowed as he stared at Kiara Sessyoin, surrounded by cultists loudly proclaiming her their Lady Savior. Undoubtedly, being called "Lady Founder" and "Lady Savior" by these cultists meant she was the Master of Red Caster, François Prelati.
Had Kiara been with the Red Faction from the start? Shirou's frown deepened as he walked over, using the terror of black mud to disperse the cultists.
Kiara breathed a sigh of relief, smiling at him. "I really must thank you, Mr. Assassin."
"I have some questions, Miss Sessyoin," he said tightly, gaze fixed on her. "You're Red Caster's Master, right?"
Hearing this, Mash, who was standing to the side, looked at Kiara in surprise, a glint of wariness in her eyes. As Shirou's Master, seeing his reliability, she naturally believed him right away.
Kiara, however, looked at him strangely. "Excuse me, but what are this 'Red Caster' and 'Master' you’re speaking of?"
"Don't pretend you don't know. Earlier, when Adam asked why you were being pursued by Heroic Spirits, you answered 'I don't know' instead of asking what Heroic Spirits were first. So you do know what Heroic Spirits are, right?" he stared intensely at her, growing cautious.
Perhaps it was due to having been a king before, but he was very sensitive to information and would not forget what he had learned. When Adam had asked Kiara why she was being chased by Heroic Spirits, she had answered "I don't know" instead of asking what Heroic Spirits were.
This itself was suspicious.
Because it showed that she was intimately familiar with the concept of Heroic Spirits and needed no explanation.
"That's because my father told me about them before. He said Heroic Spirits are miracles born from people's hopes. But he never told me anything about Red Caster or Masters."
She looked at Shirou's wary expression and Mash's slight wariness, hurt flashing through her eyes. "Um...Mr. Assassin, did I do something wrong to make you and Mash dislike me?"
Seeing Kiara's hesitant expression, he frowned.
In truth, when he had guessed Kiara might be Red Caster's Master, a terrifying possibility occurred to him.
What if, from the very beginning, Kiara had lied about everything—what if her existence here was that of Beast III?
And Red Lancer Karna was already fully taken over. Before that, he had given Shirou the message to protect Kiara...Was it possible Kiara had been Beast III all along, truly was Red Caster's Master, and upon Shirou leaving Trifas, joined the Red Faction and took control of the Red Servants, including Karna?
With Beast III Kiara's abilities, fully controlling even someone like Karna would not be difficult. Beast III's existence was the "Third Heretical Pleasure Heaven of Deeply Grateful Existence"—extremely close to that of an enlightened being.
Had the message from Karna actually been coerced misinformation under duress?
Indeed it was possible, but illogical.
With Beast III's power, she could have crushed them easily on the spot already, so why bother staging this infiltration act?
Shirou's frown deepened. He was truly wary of Kiara now. No one would be at ease or let their guard down around an existence that could threaten their life.
He now had two choices:
One, believe in Karna's strength of will, that he had withstood the unknown existence's control to pass on information to protect Kiara.
Two, take direct action against Kiara—if she was Beast III, she would definitely not wait to be killed.
He had a feeling that his decision here might determine the direction of how things ended up. He had often gotten this feeling before when he had ruled as king in Camelot as well.
After hesitating, he ultimately chose to believe in Karna. Of course, the main reason was that even as Eternal King, he could not face an existence like Beast alone. Attacking outright if this Kiara was Beast III would be disadvantageous.
Considering everything, he chose to believe in Karna. His tightened brows relaxed as he said, "You misunderstood, Miss Sessyoin. I don't dislike you. I simply mistook you for someone else."
"Mistook me?" she looked at him strangely.
"Yes," he nodded. "I’ve seen someone very similar to you before—she was a bad person. Seeing you, I tensed up subconsciously. Those people earlier must have mistaken you for the same reason. Please excuse that."
Kiara smiled. "It’s alright, Mr. Assassin. My father said to expect such mistakes when traveling. I forgive you."
"Thank you for understanding."
Kiara smiled, a pure spring sunlight after winter's passing.
...
Mordred was somewhat concerned about what was happening with the Red Faction.
Or rather, ever since first encountering Kotomine Shirou, she had been very wary and suspicious of the Red Faction.
With Mordred's experience, she could tell at a glance that most of the Red Faction's Servants were being controlled by that heretic - Father Kotomine.
And from the moment they met, Kotomine had invited her Master to a private meeting - the Red Faction's Masters were probably mostly under Kotomine's control as well, right?
No.
It wasn't just probable.
It was definite.
She was quite certain of this.
Contrary to her childish appearance and girlish voice, Mordred had abundant experience and mature, steady thinking.
A person's maturity was not defined by appearance or age, but by their thinking and life experience. Without mature thinking and rich life experience, one would still be like an overgrown baby regardless of physical age.
Mordred was different. When she died, she was preserved at that young age in the Throne.
Most girls her age would still be coquetting with their parents, or dressing up and dreaming about prince charmings.
But she was different. She had endured hardships far greater than most people would face in their lifetimes.
Hardship builds character.
Experience brings wisdom.
She already had her own mature worldview, theoretical frameworks, behavioral patterns, and interpersonal style. With all that, it was difficult to simply define her as a young girl.
Indeed, though one could sense her childishness when interacting with her, one wouldn't feel her youth.
Of course, that was under normal circumstances - on that point, Saber would definitely disagree.
But because of this, there was nothing left that anyone could teach her. Anything she wanted to learn now, she could only learn herself.
From the start, Mordred had explicitly told Sisigou not to interact with Kotomine, because she was quite sure Kotomine would be the mastermind behind this War.
It wasn't just a hunch, but deduction based on mature thinking.
And the basis for that deduction was that she was very certain Kotomine was a villain!
Thought itself was not a crime, but putting dangerous ideas into action would be wrong.
The salvation of all mankind - what a laughably familiar wish! Mordred ridiculed such ideology because it did not exist in reality. As long humans lived and remained human, as long resources remained limited, time remained finite - such a wish could never come true.
Yet it represented people's most sincere hopes for a better world, which was why it seemed wonderful. It was why the holy child was accepted, why the church spread its faith, why Mordred herself used it to overturn her enemies.
Indeed, the reason she ridiculed Kotomine was because over 1500 years ago, she had already taken advantage of that ideology to bring down the Eternal Kingdom.
A righteous banner, a resounding slogan—these would draw all hearts. Turning a cause with no justice into something righteous, such was the essence of it all.
Mordred understood this deeply. Her comprehension surpassed anyone because she completely understood and assimilated the wisdom of kings. She could clearly see through many matters with but a glance.
That was why none could treat her as a little girl. Yet she could never see through matters related to herself—perhaps that was why she couldn't interact normally with Shirou, why she'd act particularly selfish before Saber.
Mordred decided to investigate the Red Faction. Without needing reminders, she clearly knew the danger. Though that was for others.
For Mordred, this was no difficult matter. She had long switched the Grail to its [Polar Star] state.
In that state, no one could perceive her.
It was a bug-level ability.
Naturally, using that ability to scout for intel was the optimal choice.
Of course, Mordred wasn't doing this because she cared about Shirou's considerations, but for herself. His offer to give her the Grail made her extremely annoyed.
What she wanted, she would take with her own hands.
Giving...
What was that supposed to mean?
She had experienced the most terrifying and hated things life could offer. Yet now he said he would give it to her?
She didn't feel he owed her anything, nor she him. True, she had brought down his kingdom herself, but also took the blame, preserved their names, allowed it to rebuild.
If one insisted, perhaps what she regretted the most was the broken, despairing tear-stained face of her mom as she dealt the finishing blow.
That was why she had been summoned by the Grail after all.
Yet under such circumstances, Shirou had actually said he would give her the Holy Grail...
Damn it all! Was that pity or sympathy?!
It was too much.
It was looking down on her too much!
She was extremely angry over this.
Because she did not need anyone’s pity or sympathy at all. What she wanted, she would naturally take with her own hands. If her desired things ended up given to her through others’ charity, that would be too disgusting.
Especially if it was from that man.
She clenched the Grail tightly.
She tunneled into the Church’s underground levels.
Entering the deepest area, there was a soft “pop” as if her body passed through a membrane.
Mordred couldn't help but frown.
She was quite certain she had just crossed through a Bounded Field.
And it felt like a Reality Marble!
And a Reality Marble...
Had definitely not been present when she first came to the Church!
“Looks like something really did happen.” she stroked her chin thoughtfully, preparing to explore further.
Comments
JeanMartin Freites
Now let's see what that something is.
