"Here on vacation, you two? Your hair color doesn't look Japanese at all."
Mydei said cheerfully.
"Um... yes, it's my first time in Japan, so I'm just a bit excited."
Irisviel was put on the spot by Mydei's question, feeling flustered yet unable to reveal her true purpose, so she simply nodded with some embarrassment.
However, being a poor liar, two faint blushes bloomed on her cheeks.
Even though she was a mature woman who'd borne a child, in that moment she resembled an innocent, inexperienced girl.
"Hello, miss." Little Sakura, standing to the side, looked up at Artoria and Irisviel with a well-behaved smile and greeted them.
"Well hello there, little one! Oh, you're adorable, just as cute as my Illya... Come here, let me give you a hug."
Seeing the sweet-faced Sakura, Irisviel felt a surge of maternal instinct and immediately wanted to snuggle the girl.
Sakura, for her part, wasn't shy. After a quick glance confirmed Mydei wasn't stopping her, she stepped forward and gently returned the hug.
It was at that precise moment Artoria's eyes widened, her pupils contracting as if she'd seen something horrifying.
"Iri!" She said, her voice tense.
Her body went rigid, muscles coiling.
"Hm? What's wrong?" Irisviel turned her head blankly, looking at Saber with confusion.
"No... It's nothing..." Seeing Irisviel's face, Artoria shook her head slightly.
Her gaze shifted to Mydei, her thoughts unreadable. "...We should be going. You only have this one day of free time, and we still have many places to see, don't we?"
Artoria said softly from beside her.
"Oh no! You're right... I really wish this day could be longer. Darn it, how can one day possibly be enough to see everything?" Irisviel's cheeks puffed out in a pout, her expression downcast.
"What a shame. I'd love to chat more, but our time is limited, so we must be on our way~" Irisviel gently patted Sakura's head, then nodded at Mydei before finally leaving with Artoria in tow.
"Take care, now." Mydei grinned, seeing them off with a smile.
"I really liked that big sister. She felt... like a mother..."
After the two had left, Sakura, watching their retreating figures, spoke up.
"Mhm, she is a mother, and a very kind person too. It's only natural you'd like her, Sakura."
Mydei gently patted Sakura's head. "Come on, let's look around some more. One outfit is hardly enough!"
"It's enough, really! Too many and I won't be able to wear them all..." Sakura quickly protested, not wanting Mydei to spend too much.
"And you can't just buy things for me! Big brother needs to get something too!" Sakura declared with serious conviction.
"...Alright, alright, since we're here, I'll pick something out for myself too..."
Unable to refuse her, Mydei nodded helplessly. He scanned the floor, but aside from women's and children's clothing, there was only one place selling men's wear: a suit shop not far from where they were.
Mydei wandered in casually, picked out a black suit with subtle blue pinstripes, and headed into the fitting room.
A short while later, he emerged.
The well-tailored suit perfectly accentuated his physique, his back straight, hinting clearly at the muscular contours beneath.
Paired with his golden-red hair and that faintly roguish face, he gave off the distinct vibe of a 'gangster in a suit'.
Honestly, with slightly broader shoulders, he could've cosplayed a Joestar without any sense of incongruity.
The staff member who saw him practically had stars in her eyes.
"Big brother, you look so handsome." Sakura was equally free with her praise.
"In that case, this one it is."
Mydei gave himself a once-over, decided it was acceptable, and nodded. He then went back into the fitting room to change into his original casual clothes.
He absolutely loathed shopping. For clothes, 'wearable' and 'presentable' were good enough.
No, more accurately, he hated the hassle of trying things on.
Mydei could never understand how women could spend hours trying on piles of clothes and walk away buying nothing. Even though he'd been turned into a girl several times himself, this particular behavior remained utterly baffling to him…
--+--
Meanwhile, elsewhere...
"What's wrong, Saber? Why the rush? I thought our schedule wasn't that tight?" As they walked, Irisviel looked at Artoria, perplexed.
She would've liked to stay longer, but the moment she saw the seriousness in Saber's eyes, she'd followed without question.
"That girl is a Master."
"...What?"
Hearing Artoria's words, Irisviel's eyes widened in shock.
"I saw the Command Spells on the back of her hand. I couldn't have mistaken them." Artoria shook her head gently.
"I'm not doubting you, Saber. I trust you completely."
Irisviel quickly shook her head in explanation. "It's just hard to believe. A child so young... how could she be chosen as a Master?"
"Even if she comes from a magus family, the Grail wouldn't select a child like that. She likely hasn't even activated her Magic Circuits yet... And such a small body couldn't possibly supply the mana needed for a Servant to fight..."
Irisviel's face was a mask of confusion...
"Right. I'm puzzled by that as well. The Grail shouldn't choose someone like that..."
The two frowned, lost in thought, but no answer came to them.
"Ah, in that case, the young man from before... he must be the Servant, right?" Irisviel said, a beat late.
"Most likely."
Artoria nodded. "However, he must possess an inherent skill similar to Presence Concealment. I didn't detect any Servant aura from him... And, thinking back now, he probably had already figured out our identities... He just chose not to act."
"Eh? But he had plenty of chances to ambush and kill us, or at least seriously injure us, didn't he? Why didn't he? Afraid of exposing magecraft? But there weren't many people around. A simple hypnotic spell could have handled that..."
Irisviel rested her chin on her hand, puzzled.
"Perhaps he is a true warrior, one who scorns such underhanded tactics? If our positions were reversed, I wouldn't do such a thing either."
Irisviel agreed with her own assessment.
"Well, no use overthinking it. Let's not tell Kiritsugu about this for now..." Irisviel thought for a moment, then said hesitantly.
"I understand."
Having been together for so long, Irisviel knew exactly what kind of man her husband, Emiya Kiritsugu, was.
While he probably wouldn't sink so low as to target a child... if that golden-red haired Servant proved to be exceptionally powerful...
Irisviel couldn't say for sure what choice Kiritsugu might make...
It was precisely because she knew Kiritsugu's obsession that she suggested this.
Saber hadn't been with Kiritsugu for long, but she'd already gleaned some understanding of him.
She naturally agreed with Irisviel's proposal.
"That child is moving around alone with her Servant. She might be all by herself. If her Servant is defeated... let's take her in. If the Grail chose her, she must possess magus potential. The Einzbern family wouldn't refuse such a child."
As they walked, Irisviel suddenly added, as if the thought had just struck her.
This coincidentally aligned with Sakura's fate in a certain world line.
In one timeline, Tokiomi Tohsaka hadn't sent Sakura to the Matou family, but to the Einzberns instead, leading to a completely different destiny for her.
Of course, such a thing wouldn't happen in this world. Because Mydei would not lose.
As Nikador, the Heaven-Scourging Spear, he wouldn't flinch even before a fully realized Grand Servant, let alone the regular Servants summoned by the Grail for this Holy Grail War.
--+--
"Big brother, was there something unusual about those two sisters earlier?"
Walking down the street, now nearing their residence where the crowds had thinned, Sakura finally asked.
"Why do you say that?"
Mydei looked at Sakura, surprised.
Is this child's perception really that sharp?
"Didn't you notice, big brother? When you're around other people, you're usually very cold, like you don't want anything to do with them. But with those two ladies just now, you had this... interested look on your face."
"Was it that obvious?" Mydei touched his own cheek, speaking with some astonishment.
"Hehe." Sakura didn't elaborate, just giggled and nodded.
"The Holy Grail War happens at night, right? So you'll be going out then?"
Sakura looked at Mydei. "I won't say I want to go with you. I know I'm not strong. But I'll wait for you at home. I won't go anywhere!"
"Mhm. From what I know, among the seven Masters, there just happens to be a pervert who specifically targets cute children like you. He catches them and eats them! So, until I've dealt with him, you must never, ever go out alone at night, okay?"
"Mhm! Mhm!"
Hearing Mydei's words, Sakura nodded nervously.
Even though she had a feeling he was teasing her, like in those classic scary stories—'if you're not good, the bogeyman will get you at night'...
But Sakura had always been a very obedient child, so she hadn't heard many tales like that.
"Big brother, you have to come back safely, okay?" Sakura couldn't help adding, her voice laced with worry.
"Don't you worry, Sakura. I'm the strong... I'm plenty powerful!" Mydei puffed out his chest, instinctively starting to point a thumb at himself and declare he was 'the strongest'.
But, a sudden surge of self-preservation made him halt the gesture mid-motion and change his words at the last second.
Even though he didn't think anyone in this Grail War could touch him, flags were utterly unreasonable things.
The moment he said it, the world might conjure some bizarre anomaly causing him to be instantly and spectacularly defeated.
Vegeta was always confident before a fight too, and then he'd go from 'Super Vegeta' to 'Super Getting-his-butt-kicked Vegeta'.
As for claiming to be 'the strongest'? That was even worse.
Those who called themselves the strongest from the get-go never ended well.
Whether it was the constantly-jobbing Ryuki from the Kamen Rider series, or that kit-kat guy from not long ago, it was always the same.
Who knows, maybe mid-fight a spatial rift would tear open somewhere and slice him in half...
Although, with his constitution, even being bisected wouldn't kill him... but it was still a terrifying thought.
--+--
The daytime passed swiftly. Over the past two days, the Masters of the Holy Grail War had been trickling into Fuyuki City.
And Tokiomi Tohsaka, capitalizing on Mydei's actions the previous night, had spread the news of Assassin's death.
Originally, according to Tokiomi's plan, Gilgamesh was supposed to handle this, but with Mydei's unexpected intrusion, the plan had to be adjusted.
Still, the end result was the same: Kirei Kotomine now operated from the shadows, gathering intelligence for Tokiomi.
Of course, Tokiomi wasn't worried about Mydei exposing them.
In his understanding, it didn't matter if Mydei knew he and Kirei were allied. Assassin was genuinely dead. That was what counted.
--+--
Daylight faded quickly.
Night fell, a dark curtain draping over the sky.
After lulling Sakura to sleep, Mydei sensed the aura emanating from the city center.
It was a presence released by another Servant.
Clearly, an invitation—a call for the participants of this Holy Grail War to gather for an initial skirmish!
Mydei saw no reason to decline. A glow enveloped him, and the clothes he wore dissolved away, replaced by his bare, powerfully built torso adorned with crimson markings.
--+--
Elsewhere, Irisviel and Artoria, strolling by the seaside, also felt the released presence and immediately moved toward its source.
By the time Mydei arrived, Saber and Lancer had already exchanged several blows.
Furthermore, due to a moment of carelessness from Saber, who failed to discern the hidden nature of her opponent's Noble Phantasm, her thumb had been grazed by its blade during the fight.
For a Servant, concealing their identity was crucial, which was why Saber used wind magic to shroud her Excalibur.
After all, its golden blade was far too famous; anyone with a passing knowledge of mythology could identify her.
The same held true for Lancer.
As Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, the peerless chief warrior of the Fianna in Irish mythology, once his true name was known, the abilities of his twin spears would be revealed.
It was precisely because Saber didn't know Diarmuid's identity that she fell for his feint and had her thumb injured.
For a swordsman, especially one wielding a two-handed sword, an injured thumb that couldn't be healed with magic meant her combat prowess had dropped significantly.
The situation had grown tense.
And it was at this critical juncture that Mydei descended from the sky, interrupting their duel.
"Well now, looks like I've arrived at an inopportune moment."
Surveying the battlefield, Mydei raised an eyebrow, a roguish smile playing on his lips.
Since everyone present was an enemy, he saw no need for pretense.
He let his wild, domineering essence show freely.
"Indeed, it is. Interrupting a duel between knights is poor form."
Seeing this, Diarmuid also withdrew his stance. With another player on the field, he could no longer focus entirely on Saber.
Even with his successful ploy injuring her, Diarmuid couldn't claim an easy victory.
"It's you..." Saber frowned slightly as well.
"Yep, it's me. So... how about you two pause your little duel and focus on kicking the interloper out first? Of course, that's assuming the two of you combined can actually take me."
As he spoke, Mydei clenched his fists, his expression eager.
Time to stretch my legs.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.