-45- [ Knights of the Red Branch ]

"I say, kid, do you want to form a contract with me?"

When these words came from Caster's mouth and entered Rozen's ears, he was taken aback for a moment.

"A contract?"

Mash and Olga-Marie were equally surprised and astonished by the proposition.

Only Caster himself remained nonchalant.

"This Holy Grail War is just too abnormal. Not only have all the Servants become abnormal, but even the rules have changed. The defeated ones were revived, and even the Holy Grail fell into Saber's hands in advance. In theory, that guy shouldn't need to fight anymore."

After all, both Masters and Servants participate in the Holy Grail War to obtain the Holy Grail, a wish-granting device.

Now that Saber has already obtained the Holy Grail, there should be no need for him to instigate the Holy Grail War again.

This made Rozen feel a vague inkling.

(Perhaps, that Holy Grail is the source of all this.)

The abnormality in Fuyuki City, the appearance of the Singularity, is likely all because Saber obtained it prematurely.

Otherwise, the Holy Grail War wouldn't have turned out this way, and Chaldea's records would have mentioned this event.

(The order of events is reversed, and that's the fundamental reason for the formation of this Singularity.)

So, the question arises: how did Saber obtain the Holy Grail?

In the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City, the Holy Grail, as a prize, only descends when there is only one Master-Servant pair left.

The Holy Grail does not take shape, nor does it descend prematurely before the ritual known as the "Holy Grail War" has ended.

In other words, the Holy Grail in Saber's possession is not the one that is completed during this Holy Grail War's grand ritual.

(An Holy Grail of unknown origin ended up in Saber's hands, causing all of this.)

If that's the case, the second question arises: where did this Holy Grail come from?

Rozen felt he had grasped a clue leading to the truth.

In other words...

"Although I don't know where you came from as a Master, and why you summoned a Servant outside of the Holy Grail War, your objective must be the Holy Grail, right?"

As if seeing through Rozen's thoughts, Caster smiled.

"In that case, your goal aligns with mine."

Just as Caster said.

If all the anomalies are caused by the appearance of the outsider's Holy Grail, then Rozen must obtain that Holy Grail to eliminate the distortion of this era, restore the foundation of human history, correct the entire Singularity, and return humanity to normalcy.

However, the Holy Grail is currently in Saber's hands.

If Rozen wants to obtain the Holy Grail, he must inevitably face off against Saber.

Although Caster didn't actually know these things, he keenly sensed Rozen's next objective.

"My goal is also to defeat Saber," Caster said, "so how about joining forces with me? It shouldn't be a bad idea, right?"

Upon hearing this, Rozen hesitated, but Olga-Marie crossed her arms.

"I see. You want to use our strength to defeat Saber," Olga-Marie thought.

After all, Saber was a Servant who could even defeat Berserker, who possessed a Noble Phantasm.

With only Caster's power, facing Saber alone would be a futile endeavor.

Moreover, Saber was not alone.

"Those corrupted Servants are causing havoc in this city, and that guy Archer is allied with Saber," Caster revealed his thoughts.

"Taking on Saber alone is already difficult enough, not to mention dealing with that cunning guy too. It's really tough for me."

In this situation, Rozen's appearance was indeed Caster's last hope.

By forming a contract with Rozen, he would not only gain the magical energy provided by a Master to strengthen himself, but also gain the support of Mash, having enough manpower to challenge both Saber and Archer. This was Caster's reason for proposing the contract.

"Of course, it's just a temporary contract," Caster said.

As the name suggests, a temporary contract has a time limit and automatically dissolves once its purpose is achieved.

The contract between Rozen and Mash is a formal contract, one that even Mash herself cannot break. It can only be undone by removing the Command Spells representing the contract from Rozen's body or using a method that can annul the contract. Unless Chaldea's summoning system stops working or runs out of magical energy, this contract will remain effective.

Generally, the contracts between Masters and Servants are formal contracts, even including those between magicians and their familiars.

By the way, the familiars summoned by Rozen, due to the Miracle, are carved into his soul and belong to another category.

As long as Rozen's soul doesn't perish, they will always be at his disposal, obeying his orders without question, and will never truly die.

This goes beyond the scope of a regular contract, reaching a different level, something called an "Absolute Contract."

This is a unique contract method that belongs only to Rozen and cannot be duplicated or imitated.

Rozen can also form such absolute contracts independently.

Initially, Rozen wanted to form such a contract with Mash, to carve her into his soul.

//// A bit extreme don't you think ಠ⁠ω⁠ಠ ////

That way, even if Mash died, Rozen could summon her back and even send her through the gate to other worlds.

Of course, this kind of contract cannot be formed at any time and has its restrictions, but that's a story for another time.

In summary, Caster now only wants to form a temporary contract with Rozen and fight together until Saber is defeated.

"You don't have to worry about me betraying you. Even though it's a temporary contract, I can still be bounded by Command Spells. With this authority to give orders, my credibility should be much higher, right?"

Caster extended his hand towards Rozen, his eyes fixed on him.

"My goal is to end this abnormal Holy Grail War."

"Your goal is to retrieve the Holy Grail."

"Let's achieve our 'wishes' together in this Holy Grail War, shall we?"

Caster's face showed an expression of superiority.

Believe it or not, anyone would be attracted to this fearless expression of the hero.

Regarding this, Rozen had only one question.

"What is your true name?"

This was Rozen's final question.

Likewise, it was the most important secret of any Heroic Spirit.

But Caster revealed it.

"My name is Cú Chulainn, a member of the Irish 'Knights of the Red Branch.'"

The Servant who unveiled his true name grinned.

"Nice to meet you, Master."

Upon hearing this, Rozen smiled as well.

Then, Rozen reached out and shook the hand of the Servant in front of him.