As soon as we reached Rin's house, we immediately prepared for the summoning ritual, while llyasvie continued to sit on my shoulders.
I wanted to lift her off my shoulders, but she made a pitiful face, making it impossible for me to refuse.
Seriously, it would be better if my enemies didn't know about this weakness in the future...
"Everything is ready!" Rin said, approaching me.
I nodded to her.
"llyasvie, can you stay with Rin's sister for now?" I asked the girl, who continued to touch my hair.
Hearing my question, she paused and seemed to think...
"Okay, but only if Sister buys me ice cream." the girl said.
The little sly one...
So many years old, and she already knows how to get her way...
And of course...
"Okay, as soon as we're done, we'll go eat, and I'll buy you some ice cream." I replied.
"Yay!" she exclaimed.
I just rolled my eyes and lifted it off my shoulders, handing it to Rin, who took the girl from me, and I bet her ears turned red.
What was she thinking that made her so embarrassed...
"So, I just need to infuse magic into Avalon, and that's it?" I asked.
"Yes." Rin replied.
To be honest, I'm not sure what magic is. While my powers and abilities might seem like magic to most people, it's more like a cosmic force or something like that. So I'm not sure if I'll be able to use cosmic power as "magic" for summoning.
I touched Avalon and tried to invest a small portion of my power, as I wasn't sure Avalon could withstand even half my power.
And thankfully, my cosmic power, as a substitute for magic, worked, and the circle glowed. After a while, a silhouette began to appear in the center of the circle, but it quickly dissipated, revealing a green-eyed blonde holding her sword, point downwards, with both hands on the hilt.
Seeing me with Avalon in my hands, she said...
"I'm asking, are you my master?!" Her voice was filled with authority, and I truly felt like a king stood before me.
"Yes, I am your master." I said, noticing the command seals appearing on my hand. I felt quite strongly that it was connected to something... Most likely, it was the Hero's Throne, which meant I could try to sever the connection, effectively freeing it. Although I didn't know how its creator would react.
"Then, I will help you achieve victory and obtain the Grail!" she said.
"We will not participate in the war." I said.
In fact, there is no war as such. I mean, one servant is already dead, killed by me. Berserker is on our side for now, judging by how llyasvie has become attached to me, but I didn't mind. Next comes Artoria, who is my servant, and of course, me, who replaced some servant Rin could have summoned. In fact, there are still three servants left. And one of them was most likely the insect's servant, who would die today, just like his servant.
I saw Artoria frown and look at me seriously.
"Why?!" she asked imperiously, in one word. I only sighed.
"Because your wish won't come true." I replied.
"That can't be true. The Grail grants wishes, otherwise there wouldn't have been a war for it." she said.
I can understand her, after all. She's already fought in many wars for the Grail, and then I tell her it can't grant wishes...
Wait... llyasvie, to me, is like the Lesser Grail? But what does that mean in the world of Type-Moon? I don't know, but I really have a bad feeling she would probably die in the end...
I don't even want to think about it!
"Arturia, the grail you desire is no more." RIn said for me, still holding llyasvie in her arms.
Arturia looked at Rin, then back at me.
"Explain!" she demanded.
"The Grail was long ago defiled by all the world's evil. Yes, it can still grant wishes, but it won't be what you want, it'll be far more terrible. For example, do you want Britain to live and prosper without your participation?" I asked.
I knew her desires; she thought that if she returned and didn't draw Excalibur from the stone, Britain would continue to exist without her rule as king. But in reality, that's not true...
"Yes, you're right. If I hadn't picked up that sword, I'm sure Britain would still exist, not be destroyed. Then I wouldn't have had to kill my son, and she would still be alive..." she said after a pause.
Well, actually, they have a strange family dynamic. Artoria has a son, who is actually a girl, who calls Artoria "father."
This is one of those cases where gender and pronouns are difficult to understand. But considering the times we lived in, and how women were treated back then, who were only useful for spreading their legs and bearing children... It was understandable why both Mordred and Artoria pretended to be men.
"Arturia, you're mistaking a pipe dream for reality. You can't claim things will be better without you. Perhaps it's the other way around; perhaps Britain will fall apart faster without a fearless knight king at its head, one who will do anything to protect his country. Even if you changed your mind, you wouldn't be able to change people's minds, and as a result, Britain would be destroyed far faster than before."
"..." she didn't answer, but simply stood there, lost in thought.
"And about the Grail... As I said, it can grant a wish, but it will have dire consequences. For example, it will grant wishes that all people in Britain will lose their individuality, lose what makes them human, and become mindless slaves who can only follow orders. That's the wish you would make. After all, if all people become slaves who can't think for themselves, then Britain won't be destroyed, as you wanted." I added.
"But then what's the point of all this? Why are we being conscripted to fight a senseless war?" she asked.
"Because almost no one knows about it." I replied.
I saw Artcria's thoughtful expression widen again, a multitude of contradictions on her face...
"Sister! I want ice cream! You promised!" llyasvie interjected.
I turned to answer her, but...
*Gurgling*
We all turned toward the sound coming from Arteria, who was clutching her stomach, and it was clear she was embarrassed, judging by her blushing cheeks.
"Well then, let's go eat. Rin's paying for everything," I said, heading for the exit.
"What?!" I heard Rin scream, but I didn't stop.
"Evernight, stop! Damn it!" she screamed again, but I just smiled and kept walking.
But afterward, I'll have to lecture her about not swearing in front of the kids... Damn, this reminds me of my mother, who scolded my father for swearing in front of me. But that was a long time ago, when they stopped caring about me...