Chapter 37: Zod and the 5th Holy Grail War (4)

"Hmm... This is a bit of a predicament."

"To think that someone like you would be a Master in this Holy Grail War..."

Zod currently found himself in a truly awkward situation. To explain how he got here, one must look back a few minutes.

On the way back to the hotel with Altria and Mata Hari, who were both satisfied after a hearty meal... Altria, a Pseudo-Divine Spirit and the King of Storms, naturally detected a magical Bounded Field surrounding Homurahara Academy. Her curiosity piqued, Zod ordered the two to spiritize before entering the campus. It was there that he encountered him.

A man with tanned skin, white hair, and draped in a red Shroud of Magdalene—the Archer of this war.

"A child?"

"Hmm... Are you a Servant?"

Seeing the man's bewildered expression, Zod deduced that he was a Servant, and his intuition hit the mark.

The man, realizing his identity as a Servant had been seen through, furrowed his brow. He Traced and Projected the black and white paired swords, Kanshou and Bakuya, into his hands.

"Are you a Master?"

"Ho... So you wish to test me?"

Zod looked at the man with a faint, predatory smile.

"Wait, Archer!"

Stopping the man was Rin Tohsaka, the same girl Zod had given an autograph to that very morning.

"What are you doing to a civilian...? Mr. Zod?"

"Oh? Ms. Tohsaka, are you this Servant's Master?"

"I am Rin Tohsaka... But wait, don't tell me you're a Master too, Mr. Zod?"

"Indeed. I have become the Master of Lancer."

"Surely not for the sake of the Holy Grail..."

"Does one need any other reason?"

Rin couldn't hide her utter bewilderment at the fact that Zod was a participant in this Holy Grail War.

After all, Zod was the leader of 'The League' that had annihilated the terrorist organization Al-Qaera, and a cabinet-level official of the United States of America.

"Is he really that formidable a Master?"

To Archer's eyes, he didn't seem like much; his outward appearance was merely that of a young boy in his early teens.

"Yes... because he's an esper..."

"An esper? Master, I don't mean to be rude... but have you been reading too many comic books?"

"Do you want me to hit you?"

Rin bristled at Archer's veiled sarcasm, but she soon let out a sigh and asked Zod the fundamental question of why he had entered her school.

"I sensed the remnants of magecraft being processed, so I came to investigate. Is this Bounded Field your work, Ms. Tohsaka?"

"No... I didn't do this. I assumed it was you, Mr. Zod."

"I am an esper, not a magus."

At Zod’s firm response, Rin scratched her head and sighed again. Since the Bounded Field needed to be dismantled, she suggested a temporary truce.

"I don't mind, but your Servant seems to have many complaints."

Rin scolded Archer, who was still eyeing Zod with suspicion. Archer retorted that this was a Holy Grail War, and if one couldn't even trust their own kin, why should she trust a complete stranger? He began lecturing her on the dangers of letdown vigilance.

"Archer, was it? Your loyalty and concern for your Master are quite admirable. I wish my Lancer would learn a thing or two from you."

"If you have a Lancer... is he on standby?"

"No, she's spiritized. Lancer?"

Zod called out to the spiritized Altria. As she manifest into physical form, Archer was momentarily struck by a wave of confusion.

'Lancer... isn't Cu Chulainn?'

Archer—one of the many future possibilities of Shirou Emiya—had been summoned to countless Holy Grail Wars. Through those experiences and memories of his past life, the list of Servants participating in any given war was usually fixed in his mind. He was confused to see a Lancer who wasn't Cu Chulainn, and then utterly shocked to realize who it actually was: the blackened version of Artoria Lancer, whom he had seen when he was summoned to Chaldea during the Grand Order—the King of Storms, Artoria Lancer Alter.

'I should have realized something was wrong the moment I saw that her Master wasn't that fake priest...'

Archer found it strange that Zod was her Master, but he forced himself to accept it, chalking it up to this being a different world of possibility.

While irregular Servants did appear occasionally, the summoning of an 'Alter'—an existence from a possibility that shouldn't exist in a regular Holy Grail War—was unprecedented. Still, Archer nodded to himself, rationalizing that such a world-line might exist somewhere.

"Wh-What is this?! Who is this indecent Servant?!"

Rin's face turned beet red as she looked at Altria Alter’s physique. She pointed a finger and shouted, specifically zeroing in on the woman's chest.

"I mean, really! What is with that indecent body?! There was a Servant like this? Who on earth are you?!"

"Sigh..."

Archer watched Rin huff and puff with a flushed face. Knowing her deep-seated complex regarding her own slender figure, he knew that a woman of the Altria-type (with such explosive curves) was basically a landmine for her.

"Ms. Tohsaka, you are already quite lovely and beautiful as you are. There's no need for such outbursts."

"Wh-Wha?!"

"You have your own unique charm. Your bold and spirited nature is a type of cuteness that is very much in demand. So, do not trouble yourself. You are cute."

"Uugh... (///////////)"

As Rin blushed furiously at Zod’s words, a faint, satisfied smile played on her lips. Seeing this, Archer could only lament how quickly his Master had become a pushover.

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