"So... What do you have that makes me trust you enough to cooperate with you?"
All four of them walked down the hallway. Both Servants had already returned to Spiritual form, so only the two Masters were talking.
"Not much, but I definitely have resources. If you team up with me to raid the Singularity."
"You mean we split the rewards fifty-fifty?"
"Yep. Not bad, right?"
'Hell no. What if the rewards from the Singularity are small? Then what? You'll just take everything?' Robert thought, staring hard at Mavus.
Unfortunately for Robert, his suspicion was correct. The rewards from the Singularity were guaranteed, but they weren't plentiful. It was entirely possible that only one item would drop, and it might not even be particularly rare.
'I need to think this through carefully before agreeing. This kid doesn't look like a good person at all. What if he stabs me in the back and steals everything? That's pretty damn likely!' Robert thought.
Just look at those narrowed eyes and that pretty-boy face! Super suspicious!
If he had silver hair, a skinny build, and feelings for his childhood friend with big orange hair and huge breasts, Robert might have trusted him a little but not much.
'This guy looks like the type who fights for justice and is extremely stubborn. To take advantage of him, I'd have to act like an innocent good guy. Too bad I'm not good at that. Just looking at his face, it's obvious he doesn't trust me at all,' Mavus thought as well, observing Robert through his narrowed eyes.
'What should I do?' both of them thought at the same time.
'Master, I'm hungry...' Saber's voice echoed in Robert's head.
'Wait a bit. I'll take you to the cafeteria soon... Hold on.'
Robert turned to look at Mavus, making him raise an eyebrow.
"What?"
"Kid, can you buy food for me? Big Smoke order, please."
"...You want me to blow all my money on that mountain of burgers?" Mavus looked stunned.
What the hell does this guy want?! The money I scammed from girls I dated with isn't even enough to buy that Big Smoke order!
"If you want me to cooperate, you have to show some sincerity, right? You threatened my life earlier and I still haven't said anything," Robert replied calmly.
'This guy… Fine. I really don't know how to deal with him anyway.'
"You'd better cooperate properly with me, got it? Or don't blame me for being ruthless!" Mavus pointed at Robert, then headed down to the cafeteria.
'Wait, does the school cafeteria even sell that kind of unhealthy junk? Has no one here had a heart attack yet?'
'I thought you knew? You ordered Big Smoke like you knew exactly what it was,' Saber said.
"Whatever..." Robert sighed, took out a pack of cigarettes, and was about to light one.
Snap!
"..." Robert looked up and saw Saber had materialized in her physical form, snatched the cigarette pack from him, and flicked open his lighter.
"I thought you said you wouldn't smoke?"
"When did I say that?"
"Yesterday, when you were talking to Lancer."
"Well… I don't want to share?"
"Oh, good. Then you don't need to share next time either — especially while I'm here." Saber used both hands to crush the entire pack and lit the lighter, burning it.
"..." Robert stared at the flattened, charred pack falling to the floor. He felt like crying, but no tears came.
That stuff was cheap, but it was still his money...
"Haizz..." He sighed and looked out the window.
Coincidentally, the last police car had finally arrived — extremely late.
Right after, two people stepped out of the vehicle.
They were acquaintances: Ken and... one of Ken's colleagues. Robert had seen him a few times but never asked for his name.
Why are these two here at this exact moment? At least that Caster guy and Donan John already left...
...I hope.
BOOM!!
Are you fucking kidding me?!
"I haven't even eaten yet..."
"Damn it, Ken!!" Robert immediately jumped out the window, startling Saber.
"MASTER?! What are you doing?!"
Robert landed safely on the ground with a roll, completely unharmed.
"Wow, nice landing."
"I didn't get assigned to the police arrest team for nothing, you know?" Robert wiggled his eyebrows at Saber.
He then ran toward the two officers, feeling a familiar presence.
"Wait, that explosion... Could it be?!"
Suddenly, a pair of scissors flew at supersonic speed straight toward Robert's head.
Clang!
Of course, Saber blocked it. She was a Servant, after all.
"Master, let me go first next time."
"...My bad."
Saber glared at the attacker. The person was instantly recognizable.
"Oya? OYA OYA OYA OYA?! You blocked it!!"
"Ugh, it's him again. What does he want this—" Robert complained, but before he could finish, he saw a horrifying sight.
Caster, the mad clown — now looked even more grotesque than usual. He was wearing a backpack shaped like a person that had been crudely stitched together with bizarre parts.
"That's..." Robert broke into a cold sweat as he recognized what it was.
"Master... Let me tell you a slightly harsh truth," Saber said, her expression unchanged as she looked at the scene.
"Master can treat a Servant as nothing more than a tool. There are many reasons for this. It could be because the Master lacks morals… Or because the Servant shouldn't get too close. A Servant can betray their Master if they wish. Command Seals may guarantee safety, but they are never 100% foolproof."
For example, that muscle-headed Berserker. Even with all three Command Seals, he couldn't be stopped. He would just hug you with his extremely manly body and then explode.
"Whether you want to or not, keeping some distance from your Servant is never wrong. I'm grateful that you treat me well, but I also hope you stay cautious around me. It costs nothing to be careful," Saber said calmly.
"That's right, dear little Mester of Seiba~ You should listen to her~" Caster added, then pulled something out from beside him.
Robert's eyes widened.
"Besides, I have free bomb materials right here!!" Caster grabbed the hair of the police officer standing next to Ken.
"HELP!!! SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!" The man screamed in terror.
"You bastard! Let him go—"
Rip!
A toy centipede tore open the officer's stomach. He screamed and vomited blood nonstop.
Then his entire body was ripped in half like a sheet of paper, and the toy centipede burst out from inside.
"Eyes, sides, knees, spine. Complete. Ticktock Bomb!"
Caster activated his Noble Phantasm!
The centipede, nourished by the police officer's life force, crawled toward Robert at terrifying speed.
"Don't even think about it!" Saber charged forward like a tank and smashed into the centipede bomb.
Of course, one of the many bombs exploded, and Saber took the blast head-on.
"SABER!"
"I'm fine, Master..." She brushed the smoke away with her hand. Her armor was only slightly scratched.
It had some effect, but not much.
"Seiba~ I want to see how many explosions that beautiful jade body of yours can take? Ahahaha!"
A swarm of toy spider bombs appeared from every direction.
"You made this many in such a short time?!" Robert broke into another cold sweat.
"Now, let's perform a little play together!!" Caster laughed maniacally, his mouth stretching ear to ear, as the spiders all charged at once.
And Saber stood there, her expression deadly serious.