Chapter 51

"Master?"

Shirou sat there in a daze, staring at her lovely visage. Being saved so suddenly left him in a shock, unable to register what was going on.

Seeing him unable to respond properly as he clutched the newly minted Command Seals on his hand, she decided that now probably wasn't the time to talk with him, and turned around to face the limping Llamrei and Lancer.

Shirou ran to the gaping hole, leaning on the crumbling edges to spectate the fight between the two.

Lancers' formerly overwhelmingly dreadful presence was now diminished with Llamrei's crippled leg, the entire balance tilted as both rider and horse leaned subtly to the right.

In contrast, Saber stood on the field calmly, her stance showing no openings as she stared at the mounted knight evenly, her green eyes clear and determined. The blade, if it was a blade, rested in her arms lightly, her grip firm but not tight, legs spaced evenly apart.

The night wind rustled through the grass.

"KRK"

The snap of the reins spurred on Llamrei, the charge formidable even with his right leg slowing him with every step he took. The lance didn't spin, remaining still with the red spikes protruding out of it. The two of them shot forwards to Saber, her blade poised to retaliate.

When the lance was barely a meter away from her, she hopped to the left, her blade held straight horizontally in front of her to slash through Llamrei and his rider.

*SHAAA*

Streams of red mana from Llamrei's legs sent him flying into the sky, Lancer's spear slamming into the ground to stop them and push them off the ground as well. Sabers invisible sword barely cut through Llamrei's breastplate and right leg before they both flew into the air, Lancer creating a massive blast with Mana Burst to escape.

Saber kept a tense grip on her sword for a few more seconds, jumping on the roof of the residence to scan the area where Lancer should have landed in, and after spotting no further signs of the other Servant, she returned to Shirou, still staring at her in awe.

"To think I would be summoned like that…" The thought flashed through her mind, but she quickly snuffed it out in favor of more pressing matters.

"Master, may I ask that you open your supply of mana? I cannot fight at my full strength unless you do so."

Emiya stared at her for another moment, before finally snapping back to reality.

"Master? Eh? What are you talking about?"

"We made the contract didn't we? So that makes you my Master."

Saber was unfazed by her Master's confusion, but the fact remained that she was running on fumes. Perhaps she could-

"Intruders!"

A presence appeared on her mental radar. Leaping into the air, she gripped her sword with both hands as she prepared to meet her new opponent.

"What do you mean!?"

Shirou yelled at her back, before following her to the door of his residence.

Outside the doors of the Emiya residence, a man faced Saber, both arms raised in the air, his face betraying no emotion even with the invisible blade placed on his neck.

"Who are you?"

Saber kept her sword on his neck as she questioned him, sensing the presence of a regular human being from him. The most notable thing about him was the way he carried himself, a completely natural state that could only be the product of lengthy training and ironclad discipline. With how close they were, she could observe how he breathed, and it was the peak of how a human should breath. Yet, no human should be able to face her, no matter how strong they were.

"I was sent here by Caster."

Saber pressed the blade closer to his neck, a bead of red liquid appearing from the smallest of cuts near his jugular, the ball slowly gliding across the skin on his neck before reaching the collar of his shirt and being absorbed by the white fabric, diffusing into a tiny red dot.

"I have no intention of harming your Master. Instead, I have come to propose for an alliance between us."

Saber stared at him for one long moment, gauging his body language and facial expression. His face remained bland, a perfect poker face, while his body didn't tremble for even a little bit, no signs of sweat or shifting any body parts. Yet he wasn't completely still either, his chest rising and falling slightly with each breath, his body relaxed and limber.

By this point, an out of breath Shirou appeared at the doorway, seeing the two of them in a standoff on the road in front of his house.

"Souichirou-sensei?"

He gazed at his teacher in shock, then noticed Saber holding her weapon to his neck.

"Saber, lower your sword. He's my sensei, not an enemy."

Saber nodded and lowered her sword, her personal judgement of him coming to the same conclusion. It would indeed be beneficial to them if they managed to secure an alliance in the early stages of the war.

"Souichirou-sensei, please come inside."

Inviting him into his house, Shirou opened the door for him as the man walked through, Saber following closely behind him in case he tried to start something. Walking silently across the floor, they entered the wrecked living room, the chilly air circulating through the broken walls as Shirou prepared some tea for him by reflex.

Saber stood in the corner, watching Kuzuki intently with her unsheathed sword.

Emiya poured a cup for Kuzuki, the green liquid trickling out of the teapot into the porcelain cups as steam floated into the air from the hot tea, a pleasant aroma entering the room. He also automatically poured a cup for Saber, then sat down on the mats opposite Kuzuki, avoiding the squashed fruits on the floor.

The situation was somewhat surreal for Shirou after just being killed, revived, almost killed again and then having a foreign beauty dressed in armor call him Master who then proceeded to save his life. At this point, his body acted to give him some semblance of normality, hence the tea set on the floor near the holes in the floor that Lancer had made. Kuzuki made no mention of the debris and holes around the area, keeping his focus on Emiya all the while, although Saber had noticed him taking in the entire residence when they first entered.

"Sensei, do you know about magecraft?"

Honestly, he would never have known that Kuzuki was the type to dabble in magecraft. He had only ever seen him as a dead serious teacher who was very strict and generally taught classes in the most efficient manner possible, which also somehow worked very well for the students as well. Once, there had been a minor typo, just a misspelled word, in a single question for the exams, with almost no actual impact on the students performance. But he had still shown up at the classroom to announce that they were retrieving the exam papers and rescheduling the exam. He was just that diligent and serious. If there was a carrot and stick approach among the teachers in Homuhara Academy, he was the stick.

"Yes, I do. Emiya-san, I've come here to propose an alliance between me, the Master of Caster, and you, the final Master to join the war."

Shirou stared at him, before asking.

"What do you mean when you say I'm a Master."

Kuzuki silently digested the question, then realized that Shirou was probably clueless like he had been when Caster had first formed the contract with him. Searching his memory, he decided to ask him a question to gain a rough understanding of how much he knew.

"Have you heard of the Holy Grail War?"

When Emiya shook his head, Kuzuki knew he was in for a long night.