A self-enforcing contract.
For magi, this was an absolutely binding law—an extremely powerful technique that could even bind the soul.
If one agreed to the contract recorded on this scroll, violating it meant no one, not even a Heroic Spirit Servant, could escape the spell's effects. This was a terrifying contract fairly common among modern magi. Even the famous Clock Tower often followed such contracts for major matters.
Of course, this only took effect for signatories who signed their names.
After using blade-winged insects to unfold the contract and reading the text, Zouken Matou's focus was no longer on the contract itself.
Instead, it was on what the contract stated—that Kariya Matou had cooperated with Caster, and that Tokiomi Tohsaka already knew the truth about what the Matou family had done to Sakura Matou.
His sunken eye sockets dilated slightly. Even when Miss Illya casually eliminated over twenty blade-winged insects earlier, this bizarre old man hadn't shown such shock. But now the text on this self-enforcing contract truly surprised him—even felt unbelievable.
Tokiomi Tohsaka knew the truth about Sakura Matou's crest? How the hell was that possible?
Kariya Matou and Tokiomi Tohsaka were mortal enemies. Plus Kariya Matou had always held prejudice against magi, thinking all magi were crazy villains. Why would someone like that leak information about Crest Worms to Tokiomi Tohsaka?
And what did "purposes beyond Crest Worms" mean? Even Kariya Matou couldn't possibly know that!
"Who? Who learned my secret? What channels does Tokiomi Tohsaka have?"
"Crest Worms are one thing, but how could that boy Kariya possibly know my true purpose for keeping and modifying Sakura Matou?"
Zouken Matou's heart felt panicked. The more he read, the more alarmed and absurd it seemed.
He possessed a longevity technique—magic that turned him into something inhuman while mimicking human form.
His body was an aggregate of insects. Human functions operated through worms. His original flesh had perished long ago. When the current body decayed or wore out, he could consume others' flesh as replacements to "revive." As long as his core soul wasn't destroyed, he could continue living.
But this magic had limits. Though theoretically freed from genetic constraints—needing only one person's flesh to shape into any preferred form like clay—he remained bound by his soul's records. Thus Zouken couldn't create forms beyond his soul's memory.
This immortality method had shown substantial flaws two hundred years ago. Endless time eroded his soul. Even obtaining fresh flesh meant it began decaying the moment acquired, requiring periodic replacement. Later, bodies lasted increasingly shorter periods. Previously one replacement lasted over fifty years. Now he needed replacements every few months.
His core was a heart made from special magical materials, able to hide inside others' bodies. Normally it functioned completely as a partial organ acting as a heart. Only when the "body" outside was completely destroyed did consciousness begin. This was precisely why he modified Sakura Matou's body—preparing to send his core into Sakura Matou's body without rejection soon, essentially treating her as a mobile puppet.
This was also his greatest trump card for daring to face a Heroic Spirit Servant alone, his confidence for not fearing even if Kariya Matou rebelled. As long as his core didn't die, his body could revive anytime anywhere.
"Purpose? What purpose? I admit to the Crest Worms, but that's just training for Sakura Matou. Early magical study requires considerable trials and hardships—this is magi's default rule. Besides, what makes you assume I didn't give Sakura Matou the Matou family's magic crest? This is all baseless nonsense..."
"The point isn't whether I believe it, but whether Mr. Tokiomi Tohsaka believes it."
Seeing Zouken Matou's unhurried rebuttal, Miss Illya didn't get annoyed—just spread her small hands indifferently. She truly didn't know what purposes Zouken Matou had.
But she didn't need to know. She just needed to understand that Zouken Matou didn't want this matter exposed.
With Sakura Matou's talent, Crest Worms were completely unnecessary. Yet he'd used Crest Worms that devoured host magical energy and flesh, disguising them as magic crests to implant in Sakura Matou's body.
Not even paramecium would believe there wasn't something wrong with this. Moreover, the biggest reason Tokiomi Tohsaka was willing to transfer Sakura Matou to the Matou family—aside from Sealing Designation and magical calamity—was the Matou family's promise to give Sakura Matou a magic crest. Now the Matou family hadn't given it. This alone was enough to make Tokiomi Tohsaka somewhat dissatisfied.
"About the Crest Worms—who told Tokiomi Tohsaka? That boy Kariya naturally clashes with Tokiomi Tohsaka. He couldn't have proactively contacted Tokiomi Tohsaka to leak this." Zouken Matou's scrutinizing gaze swept over Miss Illya.
He deliberately changed the subject, not discussing any truth—just asking how Tokiomi Tohsaka learned about Crest Worms.
"Could be him, could be someone else who told Tokiomi Tohsaka. I'm not clear on this point. But in Caster's name, I can guarantee everything written on this self-enforcing contract is true. If Mr. Zouken Matou doesn't believe me, I've already signed the contract with you on the spot. After all, even in the Age of Gods, this kind of contract is very difficult to violate."
"..."
Zouken Matou fell silent, just accepting a pen from the insect swarm and signing his name.
Then casually tossed the self-enforcing contract back to her.
From his experience reading countless people, Miss Illya truly wasn't lying.
Especially when mentioning Tokiomi Tohsaka knowing about Sakura Matou's situation—her tone couldn't be more genuine.
But to be safe, he wanted to test a bit more. For Age of Gods magi, he wasn't sure how difficult breaking self-enforcing contracts was.
But it couldn't possibly be broken on the spot. He just needed to know if Miss Illya dared sign, and whether she'd be bound by the self-enforcing contract the moment she signed.
Swish swish swish.
Miss Illya, seemingly anticipating this, casually produced a pen and wrote her name on the self-enforcing contract.
"Medea? That's your True Name? You're that legendary Witch of Betrayal?"
Seeing the True Name signed on the self-enforcing contract, Zouken Matou frowned.
Medea—Princess of Colchis in Greek mythology. Her father was King Aeëtes of Colchis. She herself was a powerful sorceress who learned magic from the goddess Hecate.
Legend told that when Jason visited her land, Medea was struck by Cupid's arrow and fell hopelessly in love with him. She successfully helped Jason obtain the Golden Fleece. Medea ultimately married Jason and returned to Greece with him.
Returning home, Colchis's fleet also pursued. To stop the pursuers, Medea cruelly murdered her own brother, dismembering his body and throwing it into the sea, successfully halting Colchis's fleet pursuit.
In Greece, to avenge her husband, Medea lied to the princesses of Iolcus Kingdom, claiming she could help restore their father's youth.
To prove herself, she killed an old sheep, threw it in a magic pot to boil, and out jumped a lively young lamb.
Seeing this, the princesses all deeply believed in Medea's powers. They persuaded old King Pelias to bathe in Medea's great magic pot to restore his youth. Thus the princesses unknowingly cooperated with Medea to kill their father Pelias. Pelias was scalded to death in the magic pot, leaving the throne to Jason.
However, the Greeks were very dissatisfied with their actions, so Jason and Medea had to flee to Corinth.
In Corinth, Medea became pregnant. Jason became infatuated with the beautiful Theban princess Glauce. To marry his new love, Jason cruelly abandoned his wedded wife Medea. This devastated Medea and began a series of revenge actions—first cursing Jason's new bride to death, then disfiguring and crippling him. Finally she killed her two children with Jason, leaving Jason to grow old alone amid people's mockery.
Afterward, Medea wandered long bearing the title "Witch of Betrayal," ultimately dying in a foreign land longing for her homeland.
"Please don't misunderstand. That later Witch of Betrayal has little to do with me. The period I was summoned from is the age when I just began studying magic with my teacher Hecate."
Seemingly displeased with the title Witch of Betrayal, Miss Illya's tone held some displeasure.
"I swear in Caster's name—this is my True Name, and my sincerity with my Master. So Mr. Zouken Matou needn't continue testing me. If I truly had malice, I could simply ally with Kariya Matou and attack the Matou family. You should be able to consider this point."
Bullshit! Your betrayal in allying with Kariya Matou is totally the Witch of Betrayal behavior!
Seeing Miss Illya swear by her honor again, Zouken Matou didn't voice his internal mockery—just smiled without warmth like a kindly old man and nodded...
He didn't fully believe Miss Illya's words, but could basically confirm seventy to eighty percent was genuine intelligence.
The most certain news was that Tokiomi Tohsaka already knew about Crest Worms and certain truths.
"Hehe, since Miss Caster has guaranteed this much, then I too guarantee in Zouken Matou's name—if what the self-enforcing contract states is true, I will definitely provide you and your Master appropriate compensation. Otherwise, I, Zouken Matou, will surely suffer a fate worse than death."
His oath was also serious, though whether Zouken Matou was his true name probably only he knew.
But Miss Illya didn't care if he was serious. She just needed to know Zouken Matou believed it. After all, she hadn't even exposed her own class.
"I just don't know—what do you and your Master intend by specially coming to inform me of this?"
"I'm also just following orders—my Master's command. I personally actually prefer allying with Mr. Kariya Matou. But my Master believes someone like Kariya Matou is just magus society scum. Allying with such a person would damage our pride."
Arrogant, conceited, contemptuous of unorthodox magi.
Probably didn't even care about the Holy Grail War's outcome, treating it as a win-or-lose-doesn't-matter magical exchange.
Hearing Miss Illya's troubled scratching of her head, Zouken Matou began profiling her Master mentally, wondering if some great magical family heir had mixed into this Holy Grail War's participants.
"As for the purpose—one part is wanting you to help us deal with Kariya Matou, eliminate this competitor. After all, in my Master's view, the Matou family's desire for the Grail this Holy Grail War isn't very high. Even sending Kariya Matou, this magus society scum—was that wanting him to die?"
"Hehe, that's not wrong. Compared to the Grail, I'd rather see him dead..."
"Also another part of the reason—you probably guessed. Last night's port dock battle, that Tohsaka family Servant's arrogance angered my Master. Even though he's already dead, it's hard to calm my Master's dissatisfaction. But bound by Holy Grail War rules, we can't trouble the already-eliminated Tohsaka family. So we could only come to you, Mr. Zouken Matou, hoping you can help my foolish Master vent."
"Haha, young people's tempers..."
"The third reason is more personal—both my Master and I truly admire Mr. Zouken Matou. Developing Crest Worm magical creatures is enough to earn you a seat at the Clock Tower. If possible, neither of us wants you caught off-guard by Tokiomi Tohsaka. You can understand it as recognition of you."
"..."
With these final words, watching Miss Illya's sincere, serious ruby eyes, Zouken Matou couldn't help freezing for a moment.
Admiration?
Recognition?
Since that distant figure faded from memory, how many years had it been since anyone said these words to him?
He created Crest Worms, he clung desperately to life. Even his descendants—the brothers Kariya and Tsuruno Matou—despised him, wished he'd die sooner.
Because he knew very well his magic was disgusting. Even in many magi's eyes, it violated humanity somewhat. So he didn't much care about others' disgust.
But now? Someone actually said they admired and recognized his magic? Recognition from a magus who achieved great deeds in the Age of Gods?
Earlier he could think Miss Illya was being polite. But now she was clearly serious. She genuinely thought his Crest Worms were excellent creations.
This caught him off-guard. Especially with that silver hair and exquisite appearance, this genuine recognition from admiration was something he'd never experienced in hundreds of years. As if old friends were all gone, lonely for a lifetime, finally having someone like-minded to share inner troubles with.
This moment, it seemed unimportant that Tokiomi Tohsaka discovered the truth or Kariya Matou betrayed him. He even somewhat wanted to welcome Miss Illya into the guest room to discuss magic's mysteries.
"Heh, hehehe, hahahaha..." After freezing a moment, Zouken Matou suddenly laughed—truly like a kindly old man. Even the surrounding insects retreated.
Never expected the one who could understand him wasn't his blood kin, but rather an Age of Gods magus who established great achievements.
"What's wrong, Mr. Zouken Matou?"
"Nothing. Just suddenly remembered an old friend—an old friend I can barely recall."
If she were still alive seeing me like this, she'd probably be quite disgusted.
Zouken Matou's eyes flashed with an old man's loneliness. Perhaps he really was old, to feel joy from a stranger's initial meeting recognition. Even if the other party was a magus who could enter the Throne of Heroes, a magus more formidable than him.
"Clinging to life... In my era, only I still cling to life..."
"Living has never been wrong. In this world, there's no greater justice than being alive. This is biological instinct, what my Master and I have always firmly believed in. Because only by living is there possibility. After death, everything is empty talk. Mr. Zouken Matou needn't feel touched. Your living proves you are correct."
Living is correct.
No matter how difficult, I must live—live happily. As long as I can live, then no matter what dreams or wishes, at least there's still some possibility.
This was the truth Miss Illya firmly believed. Though not quite understanding why Zouken Matou called living "clinging to life," for her goal she still politely consoled him.
After all, according to Church records, he was at least eighty. If he suddenly wanted to talk about the past and waste time, God knows how long he could talk.
"In this world... there's no greater justice than living?"
"There is, but to execute justice—you can only continue by living, right?"
Zouken Matou fell silent again. He discovered the little girl before him seemed highly aligned with his thinking, truly like a kindred spirit.
More compatible than that nearly-forgotten Winter Saint from his memories.
Or rather, the Winter Saint was his youthful recognizer.
While the pure snow spirit before him was his recognizer now that he'd grown old.
"I'll watch out for Tokiomi Tohsaka and Kariya Matou's sides." After several seconds' silence, Zouken Matou sighed, then looked seriously at Miss Illya with strange eyes, as if suddenly thinking of something.
If cooperating with this Age of Gods magus, perhaps he could research longevity methods besides winning the Holy Grail War.
"I also greatly admire your knowledge and values. You have my old friend's shadow."
"Caster, how about becoming my Servant?"