Waver, I Am Now Your Junior

There was really only one path left for Kayneth.

'I was careless.'

Although he had set up barriers and sensed Naoki's arrival, the feedback from the mana was so weak that Kayneth thought he could handle it and didn't need Lancer to return. Additionally, he saw Saber's appearance, so he didn't initially suspect the other party to be Saber's Master.

Moreover, this was the Holy Grail War, a war between Servants. Shouldn't the Masters be planning and directing the Servants from behind? Who would directly confront a Master and attack them?

But no matter what, he didn't need to make excuses now. He had indeed been tricked. If he wanted to survive, he only needed to sign the contract Naoki proposed. The contract was almost harmless to him. He only needed to pay a small price in the form of some basic Magecraft knowledge.

A deal that overwhelmingly favored him.

There was no reason to refuse.

"I didn't bring any parchment. Can you come to my workshop if possible?"

"Have your companion bring you here. You have a companion, right?" Naoki said with a smile. "If you think we'll harm you, you can also call Lancer back. Of course, for my own safety, I won't let Saber release you, at least not before the contract is signed."

"Fine."

"Then, for our mutual safety and to ensure the transaction goes smoothly, let's go inside. It's too easy to get shot in an open place like this. This Holy Grail War will be different."

Kiritsugu, the trash among Magus, Kayneth curled his lips: "Ordinary weapons and ammunition can't penetrate my Lunar Spiritual Water."

"But I'm scared."

After Naoki finished speaking, he immediately jumped back to the second floor through the hole in the ceiling, and Arthur followed with Kayneth.

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

A few minutes later, Lancer appeared in the warehouse. Seeing Kayneth with his hands and feet bound, Lancer's rare handsomeness twisted with anger: "Saber! I thought you were a noble knight, but I didn't expect you to commit such a despicable act by secretly attacking my Master!"

"Despicable? That's called tactics, Lancer." It wasn't Arthur who answered, but Naoki. "Just like burning the enemy's food and livestock to cut off their logistics during war, or raiding the enemy's camp at night, all of those are tactics that can be adopted to achieve victory. They're quite common in war, right, knight?"

"No need to waste time, Lancer." Kayneth interrupted Lancer, who was about to argue. "Didn't I ask you to bring Sola and the parchment?"

"Yes, because of the ambush, I asked the Lady to wait outside. – Please come in, Lady."

Lancer escorted a woman in from outside the warehouse. She had fiery red hair that seemed to blaze, yet she gave off the impression of being a cold, icy beauty.

She was none other than Kayneth's fiancée, another unfortunate soul in the Fourth Holy Grail War, Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri, the daughter of the Lord of the Clock Tower.

"Did you bring the parchment?"

"I have it, but please release Kayneth first." Sola took out the parchment and said.

Naoki smiled and said, "Saber, let him go."

"But Master..."

"It's either losing without shedding a drop of blood, or fighting to the death with us here. I think Lord El-Melloi understands the stakes."

After a moment of silence, Arthur removed the sword from Kayneth's neck and pushed Kayneth toward Lancer.

Immediately reciting a healing Magecraft on his slightly injured neck, Kayneth took the parchment from Sola and began writing down the three points Naoki had just proposed.

"Alright, just sign it. I've already signed it."

Soon, Kayneth handed the parchment filled with a long series of English words to Naoki.

After glancing at it, Naoki tossed the parchment to Arthur without hesitation: "The content of this parchment is way beyond the syllabus for an English learner like me who hasn't even passed the CET-4 exam. Saber, can you help me check it?"

"Master should study harder."

"I'm still in high school!"

After reading the contents of the parchment three times on Naoki's behalf, although the language was somewhat different from Old English, with the help of modern knowledge provided by the Holy Grail, Arthur confirmed the accuracy of the content and that Kayneth had not made any changes to it.

"No problem, Master."

"Alright then."

Taking a piece of broken iron and pricking his finger, Naoki wrote his name in blood on the parchment.

As soon as the last word fell, Naoki clearly felt something settle on him. This should be proof that the contract was effective.

Approaching Kayneth, Naoki smiled and extended his hand: "The contract has been made. I hope you can guide me during the Holy Grail War, teacher."

"Teacher?!"

Sola couldn't help but feel a little surprised.

"Kayneth, how did you...what kind of contract did you sign?"

"Not much, just teaching him some basic Magecraft knowledge in exchange for Saber becoming completely harmless to us during the Holy Grail War. Of course, we also can't attack him, which means we have a disguised competitor."

"Yes, in that case, I might have to call you Teacher's Wife."

"Hmm..."

Seeing Naoki's somewhat enthusiastic smile and eyes, Sola couldn't help but take a step or two back.

On the other hand, Arthur faced Lancer: "I'm sorry, Lancer, even though it was my Master's order, it was indeed unbecoming of me to stop this duel. I apologize to you."

"No need to apologize, Saber. Loyalty to one's Master is a knight's duty. If I were you, I might have done the same." Lancer smiled bitterly. "What a pity. I thought the first battle of the Holy Grail War would be a satisfying fight to the death. It seems I can only hope that my future opponents will be as strong as you, Saber."