Roland did not ask Medea for her opinion. The best answer was that the other party still kept the contract.
Roland's silent trust made Medea smile sweetly again.
She is not a regular servant. She overlaps two legends, and her age is stuck in the time period where Medea as a girl ends and Medea as a witch begins. She does not belong to this era, but only to the Master in front of her.
"Congratulations, Roland."
Before Roland's eyes turned to him, Waver took the initiative to speak.
He looked at Roland with a resolute look in his eyes. "Thank you for letting Rider die on the glorious battlefield. If he had become a puppet swallowed by the black mud, the king would have complained to me. And I have no way of repaying you for saving the world."
After experiencing the death of the King of Conquerors and realizing that he was powerless in the face of the evils of this world, Waver seemed to have grown up in an instant, despite his still very immature face.
"So, in the days when Rider doesn't exist, if there is anything I can do for you, please tell me, and I will try my best to repay your kindness. However, please give me some time, I must return the Magic Crest of Teacher Kenneth."
When Waver decided to take back Kenneth's remaining Magic Crest
and accept this responsibility, he was destined to face many difficult setbacks.
"Really? That's perfect. What I need you to do is climb to a high position in the Clock Tower."
"Eh? I..."
Roland's decision made Wever, who had just looked resolute, shake his head in panic.
"My family is humble, and even if I try my best, I won't get anything..."
"You can be more confident. I believe Rider and Kenneth have also said this. You have talent, you just need a platform and opportunity to display it, such as becoming El-Melloi II."
Wever's eyes froze for a moment.
"Any questions?"
Roland tilted his head and asked.
"With such a broken Magic Crest, the disintegration of El-Melloi is foreseeable, right?"
Although neither the hotel nor Kenneth's magic furnace was blown up this time, the key problem was still not solved.
Magic Crest and successors are the core of a family.
The Magic Crest of the branch families all come from the main family. They share the mystery through interests and constantly integrated blood ties, but after the mystery that is the source is damaged, it becomes very difficult to continue to maintain it.
Either Kayneth or the Magic Crest must survive in order for El-Melloi to continue to exist.
A complete Magic Crest is nothing more than a replacement of a successor. If Kenneth is still alive, even if the magic furnace is blown up and he is in debt, it will be fine. The broken Magic Crest cannot cover up the brilliance of this genius. He can make up for it in the future. There are many people willing to make timely investments for his future.
But losing these two key factors means only one thing.
The past few hundred years of El-Melloi's history have been lost, and they have to start accumulating again. Even through tuning, it will take at least several decades to repair. After the repair is completed, how much history can be restored is still unknown.
In this case, they, as monarchs, are unworthy of the position and do not need other competitors who are eyeing them covetously. The many families of El-Melloi will take the initiative to fight each other and scatter like a flock of birds after dividing the family's inheritance.
"That's what I said," Waver sighed, "but in reality, there are politics and a lot of considerations. I don't know who will be the head of this family in the end, and how much profit I can get by bringing back the Magic Crest. These are all uncertain things."
"It doesn't matter. I have already decided. You will be the ruler of El-Melloi."
Roland said this in an unquestionable tone, as if the difficulties Waver mentioned were not worth mentioning.
"Besides, letting Kenneth's family name continue is exactly what you want, right?"
This sentence hit Wever's soft spot. Roland was right. Since he had decided to take responsibility, he was doomed to not escape.
In this situation, there was a guy who could even destroy all the evil in this world who was willing to offer his help, and he really couldn't find a reason to refuse.
The boy, whose edges had been smoothed out, bowed his head towards Roland, expressing his loyalty.
"Yes, Lord Roland."
The colors reflected in Roland's pupils seemed clear and indifferent. It would not be bad to hide an idle chess piece in the clock tower. It would also be a good opportunity to observe the direction of the world line. He did not believe that the restraining force would really hand over this world to him.
After Weber left, without waiting for Roland to call out, the goddess floating in the air took the initiative to come in front of him and stretched out her hand.
"Roland, you should pay me now. Otherwise, I won't be able to rest in peace even if I disappear because of the termination of the contract!"
Ishtar, who used the possession state to degrade herself, was already very special. Without having to fight, her energy consumption was much less than that of ordinary servants, so she could still maintain her present world, but she did not intend to delay any longer.
Ishtar looked at Roland with a vigilant look, fearing that this guy would openly say something shameless like "I didn't keep my promise."
If this is really the case...she would, she would secretly draw a thousand circles to curse this oath-breaking bastard!
Yes, after thinking carefully about Roland's current strength and comparing it, even someone as proud as Ishtar had to admit that the gap between them was a little too big.
"Oh..."
Roland chuckled, his eyes becoming playful. He clapped his hands and asked the Shadowkhan to take out the jar of dazzling gems again.
"My gem!"
Ishtar, who was already penniless, rushed towards the little cutie who was radiating brilliance in the sun like a hungry tiger, and then was held down on the forehead by a ruthless hand.
"Wait a minute, before we settle the bill, let's calculate the amount I should pay you."
"That's so troublesome…"
Ishtar stretched out her hand unwillingly, but she was unable to overcome Roland's power, so she had no choice but to agree to this.
"Don't worry, Ishtar. Since this guy is willing to pay, even though he took back the talisman himself, everyone has seen how the mountain was pierced. He can't deny his debt for the jar of gems."
Tohaka Rin said calmly, staring at Roland closely.
"I shall give you the jar of gems I promised you, but before that, let's count my losses, Ishtar, and Rin-chan. I remember my original request was to 'break through the mountains of Enzou-san', not to ask you to smash everything on this mountain, right?"
"Ugh—!"
Tohsaka Rin had a dazed expression. Although she was still very young, her mind was still very sharp. Apart from its own value, it seemed that Mount Enzou only had one relatively valuable building.
"Could it be that you took Ryuudou Temple..."
"The day before yesterday, I bought Ryuudou Temple."
Roland's ruthless words completely ended Tohsaka Rin's fantasy, and she even forgot Roland's terrifying appearance before.
"Why did you buy a temple? It's of no use to you!"
"I had no choice but to buy it because I couldn't find a place to spend the money."
"You bastard!"
Looking at Roland who looked indifferent, Tohsaka Rin finally gritted her teeth and stomped her feet to acknowledge the debt. After all, she had done this impulsively because she was emotional, and she really couldn't deny it.
"I admit it, but even if you want to rebuild a temple, you shouldn't use up all the gems. Just deduct it from what I deserve."
Ishtar gritted her teeth and accepted the debt. Although it was Rin's request at the time, she was also too impulsive and used too much force. As a goddess, she naturally couldn't let Rin, who was still a child, pay the debt.
"Ishtar..."
Seeing such a righteous goddess of Venus, Tohsaka Rin was immediately moved.
"Humph, the money I left behind after I disappeared was used to build the shrine anyway."
Ishtar didn't care about the matter. She also had her own little calculations. Although she lost a fortune, she could keep Tohsaka Rin's share. Given the relationship between them, she would definitely help her build the shrine and maybe even worship it for a long time.
But Roland's next words made Ishtar feel like she was falling into an icy cave.
"Of course I won't deduct all the credits. Since you two want to be counted separately, then it's your turn, Tohsaka Rin."
"I don't owe you any money!"
"Of course you didn't. The one who owed me money was your father, Tohsaka Tokiomi. Of course, after his death, the debt belonged to the Tohsaka family. However, you are a minor after all. As long as you are willing to give up your inheritance rights to the Tohsaka family, you don't have to pay the debt."
Tohsaka Rin's breathing hitched.
"You wish! I must inherit Tohsaka. Tell me exactly how much I owe you!"
"The working capital of an entire magic furnace."
"Gu——"
There was a strange sound in Tohsaka Rin's throat. She had heard of the price of a magic furnace even though she was just a beginner in magecraft.
The so-called astronomical figure is the best reference to it. In modern times, a magician who possesses it is like a servant who possesses a magic core, inherently superior to others. At best, the Tohsaka family, a middle-class family, cannot even officially own it.
How could her father be so demented?
...No, it's really possible. The exaggerated strength of that golden pickup must be supported by the master, and the magic furnace is also very valuable. If it is sold quickly, the loss will not be much.
Tohsaka Rin pondered for a while and felt a growing bitterness in her mouth.
But these are all ideal scenarios. The magic furnace has now become part of the ruins of the Tohsaka family.
"The real estate that the Tohsaka family mortgaged to me is far from enough, but considering that you still have the spiritual land, I believe you can still pay it back if you manage it diligently for a dozen years. However, you can only use these gems to pay off the principal and interest of the first repayment this year."
Tohsaka Rin looked as if her neck was being strangled, her face full of disbelief, but in the end, she sighed helplessly, and the twin ponytails on her head drooped down.
"If you think about it this way... considering that our cooperation is quite pleasant, I don't want the change."
Roland took out two gems from the jar and placed them in Tohsaka Rin's palms.
"Here, one is for you and one is for Ishtar. Now my reward is paid."
"At least I didn't pay for it..."
Tohsaka Rin held the gem in her hand with tears in her eyes and began to find reasons to comfort her young heart.
"Yeah... No, we've already paid a lot!"
Ishtar also let out a long sigh, and then suddenly realized what was happening.
"No, I got the gem from Roland last time... Stupid goddess, you didn't forget it, did you?"
Tohsaka Rin looked confused, not knowing what Ishtar was talking about.
Ishtar's voice also had a hint of guilt, and she spoke a little embarrassedly.
"Who is the idiot? I didn't say that. I was talking about your own savings! Because you asked me if the gem reserve was sufficient, I threw in the gems you have saved since you were a child... Rin, what's wrong with you... Rin!"
"Ugh! You stupid goddess!"
Toosaka Rin couldn't bear it any longer. She wiped the tears from her eyes and fled from this place of trouble in her little leather shoes.
"Remember to pay it back next year, Rin."
Roland waved at her back and considerately delivered the final blow.
Hearing this, Toosaka Rin ran even faster, and even let Ishtar possess her, riding away on the horse Anna.
"Lord Roland."
After all the irrelevant people present had left, Kotomine Kirei, whose eyes had been shining the whole time, finally spoke.
"I seem to have a vague idea of the ceremony."
"Don't be anxious, Kirei. Once my secret language is completed, it will be time to Heaven Ascension. You have plenty of time. Now, instead of focusing on the illusory ceremony, you should focus on yourself."
"The church has been quite busy recently. I'm afraid a disaster of this magnitude cannot be covered up as a simple gas explosion."
Kotomine Kirei also sighed and felt a headache.
Because of the talisman, the evil of this world was leaked in advance before the Holy Grail officially appeared. The old capital and the new capital were both affected to varying degrees. It was ironic that the old capital was the first to suffer from the disaster, but because of Roland's subsequent Devouring Beasts VI, a lot of the black mud that was still raging was taken back, while the fire was still spreading in the new capital.
"That's not what I'm talking about, Kirei. You must be feeling very satisfied now, because you have released your nature and witnessed my ascension. However, from the time you released your nature until you ascended to heaven, how will you handle this sense of distance?"
Roland cast an inquiring look towards Kotomine Kirei.
Until the end, Kotomine Kirei was unable to give an answer. After accepting Roland's consolation, he set out on the journey home alone.
To say that he was going home was actually just wandering around the disaster site. The winds of curses and resentment were spreading everywhere, spreading the flames of death.
Kotomine Kirei stood in the dangerous fire scene, quietly admiring the scene. For others, this sight might be disgusting, but for him, it was like the supreme enjoyment that could only appear in dreams.
"Bliss..."
He couldn't help but sigh as he walked past the scattered corpses one after another.
Suddenly, he saw a child struggling under the rubble. He was about to sit back and watch his struggle and appreciate the joy in it, but Roland's last advice to him was still ringing in his ears.
"Kirei, if you can't understand, then think about this question. Humans are complex creatures that are a combination of innate and acquired qualities. In the past, you felt desperate because you had a conscience. This conscience conflicted with your nature, so you were confused and resisted."
"That is why, when you accept your nature and become a complete human being, you will pursue the paradise above your destiny. You are not a monster shaped by your simple nature, but a confused traveler. As long as you have the pursuit of higher happiness in your heart, that self-satisfaction is what can truly bring you salvation."
"So you can be joyful, but in the end, my dear friend, you still have to walk the thorny path called restraint."
Kotomine Kirei stared blankly at the red lotus hell, but his feet moved involuntarily, like a wailing ghost wandering in hell.
Pleasure and anguish entangled him together, one strangled his throat, the other pushed his shoulders.
But in the end, he still rushed over, suppressing the smile on his face while enduring the torment in his heart. With an expression that didn't know whether he was crying or laughing, he held back his tears, held the hand that the red-haired child stretched out, and pulled him out of this red hell.
The red-haired child would never forget the expression on the priest's face, the trembling, the uneasiness, the desperate smile and the twisted tears flowing out together. He clenched his hands and murmured subconsciously, like a believer who had completed his mission.
He looked so happy.
It was as if it was not he who was saved, but him. Although his consciousness was about to disappear, the red-haired child was so moved that he firmly memorized the face of the priest in his heart, just like a dying person grabbing a life-saving straw.
He had the motivation to live.
——I want to be like this priest.