"Irisviel."
"Hmm?"
Rin looked down slightly at the calm sea and said to Irisviel beside her:
"Please tell your husband that if a person believes he doesn't deserve happiness, and is pained by feeling happy, such a person cannot give happiness to others, let alone save anyone. Unrequited favors cannot be given to anyone."
Irisviel was startled and looked at Rin in surprise. She hadn't told Rin about Kiritsugu's dream, but Rin's words seemed to know it.
Just as Irisviel was about to say something to Rin, Saber suddenly grabbed Irisviel's arms and pulled her closer. Because of this action, Irisviel's calm gaze met Saber's instantly, and she immediately realized something. She smiled apologetically at Rin, then walked with Saber to a slightly more distant spot.
Rin smiled and nodded in understanding. At this moment, Lancelot also sent a message.
"Is it an enemy Servant?"
"Yes, Master."
Indeed, in the shadow about a hundred meters away horizontally, even Rin, as a Master, could sense it; the enemy was provocatively exposing his aura. And knowing that his aura had been sensed by Saber, the opponent did not approach but was gradually moving away.
"It seems he wants to lure us over," Saber said in a low voice to Irisviel.
"Hmm, how very chivalrous. Does he want us to choose the battlefield?"
Irisviel's voice was still calm. And this calmness was proof of her complete trust in Saber. Saber, in turn, secretly congratulated herself again that her partner was Irisviel and not Kiritsugu Emiya.
"It seems the opponent's idea is the same as ours, wanting to lure us into attacking first. Saber, it seems the opponent is also like you, a Servant who likes to confront head-on."
"Hmm, it seems to be either Lancer or Rider. It's not in vain that I'm his opponent."
Saber nodded and muttered to herself, while Irisviel gave her a bold smile in return.
"Then give him a good welcome."
"As you wish."
Irisviel believed in Saber's strength. She hoped this enemy would be far weaker than Saber, and then be easily defeated by her proud Servant. Irisviel looked forward to such a battle.
"But it's a pity, we have to part with Rin."
"Hmm, although it still feels a bit strange, Rin is really a good friend."
Then Irisviel, with a face full of apologies, said to Rin, who was waiting for them on the shore:
"I'm sorry, Rin. Although it's a bit sudden, we have to leave first for some personal reasons. I'm truly sorry, I was the one who asked you to bring us here, and now..."
"It's alright, Irisviel," Rin replied with a smile:
"I'm also very happy this afternoon to have met two new friends. Although it's only a brief encounter, I acknowledge our short friendship. While I don't know what the situation will be when we meet again, at least we are friends now, aren't we?"
"Mm," Irisviel nodded gratefully, "That's right, at least we are friends now. Goodbye, Rin, I look forward to our next meeting."
"Goodbye, I feel our next meeting isn't far off."
"I hope so, may your words come true. Let's go, Saber."
Irisviel and Saber quickly left together towards Fuyuki Port, so eager that Irisviel even forgot to mind her address for Saber.
Rin watched their retreating figures, muttering to herself: "It won't be long, we'll meet again soon, but our respective positions will be..."
At this moment, Lancelot appeared beside Rin, materializing. The black knight was inconspicuous against the dark night, his wide cape fluttering like a dark cloud in the sea breeze.
Lancelot's mental link conveyed: "Master, what should we do? Should we follow them?"
"Hmm, no matter what, it's the first battle of the Fourth Holy Grail War's official opening. We absolutely cannot miss it. Many Masters and Servants will surely appear then. If we don't show up, we'll become a target. Moreover, our style is direct combat, so there's no need to deliberately hide anything."
"Understood, Master."
"Let's go, Berserker, it's time to rush to the battlefield."
"I will not fail!"
"Mm."
Compared to Saber, who had to consider Irisviel's stamina and could only run at a normal human's speed, Rin and Berserker had no such worries. Lancelot returned to spirit form again, Rin activated her full-body reinforcement magic, and with a push from her feet, it was as if a bomb had exploded on the beach!
Rin shot like an arrow towards Fuyuki Port. She didn't cross the Weiyuan River Bridge as Saber would have had to do to accommodate Irisviel, but instead used buoyancy magic to stride across the water at the river-sea junction, arriving at the battlefield of the first Holy Grail War, Fuyuki Port, one step ahead of Saber.
In places like Fuyuki Port, it becomes almost deserted at night. The dim streetlights illuminate the roads, making the scene appear even emptier. Unmanned cranes are neatly lined up by the sea, looking like giant dinosaur fossils, which makes one feel a bit uneasy. Large containers are neatly arranged, forming pathways that perfectly block the line of sight.
This place is perfectly suited for a duel between Servants.
Rin and Lancelot possessed Concealment of Presence abilities comparable to Assassin's. Coupled with the opponent's blatant aura, which was very easy to find, Rin and Lancelot silently arrived on top of the container alley where the provocatively challenging Servant was located. Rin then set up invisibility and aura-concealing barriers around herself. Rin prepared to observe the situation first.
Directly below Rin was a man with long hair tied back, whose facial features could be seen from above and to the side to be well-defined.
His weapons were quite striking: a long spear held in his right hand and resting on his shoulder, and a shorter spear in his left hand, about one-third the length of the other. He was the Servant known as Lancer.
The Lancer of the Fourth Holy Grail War, the Heroic Spirit of the Spear: Diarmuid Ua Duibhne.
Speaking of which, there's quite a history between Diarmuid and Rin's Servant. In myths and legends, the story of Diarmuid and Princess Grainne eloping for love is the origin of Lancelot and Guinevere's tale. As a result, Lancelot inherently feels a sense of difficulty when facing Diarmuid. Moreover, his Red Rose for Exorcising Demons is quite effective against Lancelot's A Knight Does Not Die Empty-Handed.
Of course, it's not that Lancelot can't defeat Diarmuid; with Lancelot's current strength, defeating one Diarmuid is easy. Besides, he doesn't need Rin to deal with him at all. Who told him he had E-rank luck? After a period, Saber and Irisviel, who were responding to the challenge, arrived late. Saber and Irisviel walked grandly down the wide, four-lane path like duelists bravely accepting a challenge, while Lancer boldly stood in the middle of the road.
Rin now felt an urge to whistle, subtly excited. The actors for the first battle of the Holy Grail War's official opening were all here!
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