"Huh!!?" Irisviel immediately let go of Merlín's arm as if shocked.
Feeling this, Merlín sighed: "Oh my, beautiful lady, I was hoping you'd hold on a bit longer!"
"Oh well, never mind!" Merlín turned to Artoria. "Long time no see... well, actually, it's nice to meet you, Arthur!"
"You... I see!" Artoria looked at Merlín, understanding. "That's why your presence felt so strange. You're Merlin from another world!" Artoria said.
"Yes, you can call me Merlín-chan!" Merlín puffed up happily.
It seemed Artoria wasn't planning to attack her, so Merlín was very pleased.
"How peculiar. I often wondered what that guy would be like as a woman, but I never thought I'd actually see it today!"
"I can only say, the world is full of wonders!" Artoria sighed deeply.
"So, what was I like in your world?" Artoria asked curiously.
"Arthur..." Merlín thought for a moment, then said: "Well, there's not much to say, really. Just like the role you play here!"
"I see..." Artoria looked a bit disappointed. She had wanted to ask if the other version of her had managed to sustain Britain.
But since Merlín said it was just like her, there wasn't much else to ask.
It was then that Irisviel finally reacted: "Eh, ehhh, you're saying this adorable child is actually the legendary Grand Caster Merlin?"
"W-Well..." Looking at Merlín, Irisviel's worldview felt slightly shattered.
'What on earth was going on in your Britain?'
'First, Artoria was a woman, and now the great wizard Merlin was also a woman, and such a cute girl at that?'
'With Merlín's looks, she could probably debut as an idol and have a ton of fans, right?'
Irisviel thought to herself.
She had to admit, she was absolutely right.
Magical Girl Merlín did have a wide appeal… even that man was captivated by her!
Of course, no one present knew who that 'man' was, nor did they want to discuss him.
After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Irisviel looked at Sora and Merlín: "You two are Servants, right?"
"Can you tell me what you intend to do by coming to Einzbern?"
"It's like this..." Sora began to explain. "I need a Master. My original Master was a villain, so I disposed of him!"
"I believe that as Saber's Master, Irisviel-sama is undoubtedly the best Master in this Holy Grail War. So, I wish to form a contract with you!"
"Huh!!?" Hearing Sora's words, Irisviel was dumbfounded.
'Who offers themselves up to be someone's Servant like this?'
However, Irisviel soon wouldn't be so surprised.
Because there was more than one such person.
After stating his own intention, Sora looked at Merlín beside him. "Miss Merlín is the same. We both wish to join forces with you!"
"We believe that by combining our three factions, the Holy Grail will surely be ours!"
Sora's words were full of confidence.
"That's true!" Artoria nodded beside him.
Sora was still an unknown quantity, but Merlín... Artoria was very clear about the abilities of Merlín, or rather, Merlin.
"Iri, agree to them!" Artoria looked at Irisviel. In her view, this was a must-agree situation!
The help from Sora and Merlín would be immense for them!
Of course, Irisviel understood that too.
But hearing Artoria's words, Irisviel hesitated: 'Kiritsugu said to wait for him to return!'
Irisviel conveyed this to Artoria with her eyes.
Artoria responded with her gaze: 'There's no time. There's no chance. Agree to it, we must agree now. If we don't, we won't stand a chance later!'
"Alright!" Under Artoria's urging, Irisviel reluctantly agreed to her condition.
"Then, let's form the contract!" Irisviel extended her hand. "What do you need me to do?"
"Nothing at all!" Merlín shook her head. "I'll handle it."
Then, taking Kirei's Command Spells, Merlín transferred them to Irisviel.
A sense of connection entered Sora's perception!
Through that connection, a continuous, surging tide of magical energy poured into his body!
"Oh, so this is what it feels like to be supplied magical energy by someone else?" Sora was quite surprised.
Kirei before couldn't really provide him much magical energy, but now with Irisviel, who was the Lesser Holy Grail, he would never lack magical energy again!
At the same time, after Sora contracted with Irisviel, Merlín also formed her contract.
"Wow, this is really amazing!" Feeling the magical energy flowing from Irisviel, Merlín also got excited.
"Excellent! This time, the Holy Grail is ours for the taking!"
"Rejoice! The largest faction in the Holy Grail War has been formed!" Merlín announced loudly.
"It's formed!" Irisviel chimed in happily.
Both were thrilled, and Merlín genuinely enjoyed spending time with Irisviel.
Thinking about this, Merlín shot Sora an approving glance.