A Nascent Kaleidoscope.

Chapter 167: Chapter 160

Mordred POV

I don't understand it.

Why?

Whywhywhywhywhy!?

...

Why does Father look so happy?

I wanted to crush this strange device, this little contraption that showed these ridiculous images. Yet.....I was unable to stop myself from burning every single image into my memory. Why do all of these show Father's smile when I was never able to receive one?

I almost choked when the next image appeared.

How?

It showed Father and this...Magus....kissing!?

WHAT!?

No, I don't believe it!

Never, this could never be true! I'll kill this fucker for trying to deceive me with this bullshit! Even if Father wished to find a suitable Queen, this bastard is far from worthy! Which he definitely isn't because Father is perfect and wouldn't ever deem this idiot worth his time.

Hmph.

{Saber, you okay?} Master's voice rang in my ears through our link.

{I'm fine.}

{If you –}

{I SAID I'M FINE.}

{Alright, then I'm going to start the negotiations for our alliance.}

{Whatever.} I ignored him as I kept going through all the pictures on this strange thing.

Other people had started appearing. A woman, a Magus most likely. She had black hair in twintails. Father looked like he got along with her well. Good, Father already has a new retinue. I would expect nothing less from him.

A non-human woman with blue skin. An old man who also looks like a Magus and gives me the strangest feeling of Déjà Vu.

It was almost as if I was looking at that flowery bastard.

Another woman with blonde hair and blue robes who looked important. I would also remember their faces so I could find Father after I win this war. When I finally get my wish and pull forth Caliburn and earn my birthright, I can show Father how worthy I am.

Then he'll know how wrong he was.

I couldn't help gut growl as most of these images were filled with that bastard mage's face. I had to resist the urge to hit him in his very punchable face.

"Pretty fancy tech you got there." I looked up as Master eyed the device in my hand, I also took a second look at it. I didn't really give a shit about things like this, but Master thought it was important or something.

"Time And Space." The bastard replied with cheeky smile that I wanted to slap off his face.

"Huh.....so how long until...?"

"Eh, give it twenty years at most." The bastard shrugged.

"Got any investment advice?" Master chuckled.

I didn't know what they were talking about, but Master was no fool. The fact that he was able to summon me proved it. This kind of crap was never my strong suit...even Mother gave up on trying to teach me it, which is an achievement in of itself now that I think about it. Mother was not one to...relent.

It doesn't matter. Even Father had subordinates that handle all that bothersome stuff. If it ever became an issue I would just need to find someone like Agravain. Even when running the kingdom, he always found time to help me when I was troubled by something, though we rarely spoke.

"I can add a list of stuff after we settle our business." The Bastard's voice grated on my ears again.

"So, what do you want?" Master asked. "I won't sign my life away, but I'm willing to work together."

"I don't have a wish, I'm planning on taking the Grail itself."

"What did you just say?" I snapped my head towards that arrogant lout.

"Would you just calm down and listen?" He sighed. "I swear, you're exactly like Artoria described."

"F-father spoke about me?" Not that I care. I know how great I am, I don't need anyone to sing my praises, especially not him. ".....what did he say?"

"Arrogant, Rash, Headstrong...." He started listing off.

Hmph, I didn't care anyways.

"But above all, a good knight."

"O-of course." I turned away to ignore his stupid smile. "I'm the greatest knight, that much is obvious." Stupid Magus, saying shit like that. Why's there a need to say something so obvious?

"Just a child." That bastard's servant laughed at me.

"The fuck you just say? I couldn't hear over the sound of your cow udders slapping together." I sneered at the other Servant.

"A little girl who doesn't know the charms of a real woman" she pushed up her breasts and I saw that bastard Magus sneak a glance.

"Hey you bastard!" I ignored the cow, grabbing my sword and held the tip towards the stupid Magus. "Don't you dare look at other women. If I ever find out you cheated on Father, I'll castrate you myself." How dare he even look at another when Father chose him?

"Is it a bad time to say I have a Harem?"

My eyes widened as I stared at the foppish asshole. "IS MY FATHER NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU?" How dare this lowly scum!

"Saber." Master spoke up, drawing my attention. "Deal with personal stuff later."

I let out a grunt but obliged. It was unbecoming of a knight to go against the word of the one they swore themselves to, even if it was temporary. Atleast I wouldn't have to find another place to bury the body when I'm finished. "Fine, but I still want to explanation on the grail." I scowled.

"That's a valid point. Saber agreed to the contract with me based on the promise of a wish, I can't agree to this alliance if that's denied."

Good. My Master has honor at least. I hate dealing with people most of the time, just a selfish lot – humans are just disappointing. If there's one thing I hate the most, it's humans who forget their debts when it's convenient for them.

"I need to know your wish before I can claim anything."

I looked him over, I still couldn't understand what Father saw in him. He looked frail, weak, and timid. "My wish is to pull the Sword from the Stone and prove my Kingship."

"Oh."

"What!?" I snapped at him. "Got a problem with my wish?"

"On the contrary, actually." He gave a thumbs. "That's a good wish, I approve."

"Fuck you, I don't need your approval." I snorted. Why would I care what anyone else thinks? I'm doing this for me.

.....would father approve?

Why am I even thing like that? It doesn't matter, I'll do it anyways and prove father wrong.

"Well, I have two thoughts. First, I know where Caliburn is, and I could get it for you." The annoying Magus spoke, but his words drew my attention.

"Impossible, the sword was shattered. Even if some fool reforged it, the blade would never be the same." I scowled at the thought. Maybe only that flowery asshole could properly put the sword back together, but he rarely did anything useful.

"Well, the Caliburn in this world, maybe." He smirked. It was the same smirk as the flowery asshole when he knew things others didn't. "Or I could possibly send you back in time to before Artoria pulled it so you could have a go."

I rolled my eyes at his bravado. "Not even Merlin or my Mother couldn't achieve something like that. And you, a Magus in this era think they can time travel?" I was not a Magus, nor did I have the inclination to consider it, but I picked up a few things being around Mother for longer than I liked. "Stupid. Do you think you're a –"

"Magician?" He interrupted me. "I never did introduce myself. Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, Grandson to Zelretch, and master of the Second True Magic."

"Him, a Magician?" The Grail gave my knowledge on the difference between Magic and Magecraft, filling in some gaps that Mother never cared to tell me. I knew what a Magician was, and what the Second True Magic was as well. The specifics were annoying and I didn't care to think about it, but..... "You're still not good enough for Father."

"I'll get you to call me Daddy someday."

"I'll kill myself before that happens." I glared.

"I think we're getting off topic." Master interjected. "Saber, are these terms okay with you?"

I didn't really care where Caliburn was, nor which one it was. As long as it was Caliburn, and it still worked, that was fine with me. And as a bonus, maybe I actually can time travel, go back, get the sword, and kick Merlin in the balls.

"Fine." I accepted. "You better not be lying to me." I narrowed my eyes, sword gripped tight. "And we're going to have a talk later." This bastard was going to tell me everything, even if I had to beat it out of him.

***

Wilhelm POV

It was easy enough to get Mordred to agree. Still having trouble getting a proper read on her though. Admittedly, Artoria had not spoke much of Mordred, but she was described almost perfectly. She's kind of cute as well, I wanted to keep teasing her. I also wanted to sit down with Mordred and talk to her, maybe get to know her better if Artoria expressed interest in building something with her wayward knight and child.

"So, what I want is a simple alliance with help for my goals. I'm going to steal the Grail, and would like your help. Before we begin, what do you want?" I asked Kairi.

"To steal the Grail from the Yggdmillennia family, while the Red Faction also has a vested interest in attaining it." He reiterated, giving me a look.

"Yes, yes. It's dangerous and going to be difficult, just shoot me a price. I have rare materials, money, or other things. Want some spells? You're a necromancer, I do have some stuff you've probably never seen about Necromancy before." Since Meridia was my woman, I would respect her wishes and not meddle with the craft. But that didn't mean I was without the knowledge or resources regarding it.

"Tempting." He nodded. "How are you with curses?" He asked.

"Oh right. The curse on your bloodline, or was it your family? I only vaguely know the details, to be honest. But I have confidence in my ability remove it regardless." I tapped my chin, trying to think of any scenario where I couldn't help him. "Even if I couldn't do anything about it myself, I know people who could without a doubt."

"I can accept that." He was quick to believe my words, which caught me by surprise.

"You're being awfully trusting." I eyed him suspiciously. "I haven't even heard you mention a 'geass' since we started talking. That should have been the first words out of your mouth as a proper Magus."

He didn't immediately respond. He took out another cigarette, putting it in his mouth. He didn't light it, leading me to believe it was more of a physical tick than anything. "More of a spellcaster these days." He chuckled. "But in any other situation, I'd have taken out one of a handful of Geass scrolls I already had prepared. But to a Magician, would that even mean anything? You said you could solve my Curse issue without much hassle, would a Geass really bind you?"

"No." I admitted. I had several was I could get around it. And if I wanted to, I could just go to Meridia and have her remove it. I doubt it could stand up to the power of a Goddess like that. "What's the plan then, play to my pride?"

He shrugged. "Better than a powerless piece of paper. I would think you'd at least care about the Schweinorg name being dragged through the mud."

"You....are a smart man." I praised. "I'll be sure to drop your name to my Grandfather incase he ever has any jobs."

"I can't tell if that's a punishment or a reward."

"Yes."

Kairi chuckled. "Well, an in with the Wizard Marshall couldn't hurt me at this point I guess. So, Curse taken care of. Can we talk about money?"

"Four times your payment for accepting this job initially."

He whistled in surprise. "Done. And if possible, can I get some protection for my family? Some vultures have been circling ever since it's been made public that I was going to be the last generation."

The lackadaisical way he said it...I don't know if he was being sincere about his desire or not.

"I'll make sure the pests are taken care of." Wouldn't be too hard. Zelretch mentioning a casual word would have them running for the hills.

"I'll accept this deal and formally the Alliance." Kaira declared. "So, what's the plan?"

***

Non-canon Omake – The Secrets of Shishou's training, Part 1.

"Well, this is fucking deplorable." I looked around at the wasted city of Fuyuki. "So this is a Singularity."

"Yeah....it's pretty scary." The other Master, Ritsuka Fujimaru stood beside me.

"Senpai." Mashu the Demi-Servant spoke softly. "We'll get through this together!"

"Right, Mashu." Ritsuka smiled brightly, only for a white furball to jump on his shoulder.

"Fou Fou." He squeaked out.

"You too, Fou." He laughed.

"And how the hell are we supposed to get through this!? We only have one Servant, and she doesn't even know the name of her Noble Phantasm" The last member of our little group spat out The Director of Chaldea, Olga Marie Animusphere.

"Well, not quite without any Servants." I looked to the side. "How about you come out, you damn mutt."

"Oh?" A man walked out from the shadows, long blue hair and robes, carrying a wooden staff. "That was a pretty specific insult there."

"Hmm, it's almost like I know who you are." I grinned.

He laughed. "Seriously? I didn't think I was famous enough to be recognized at first glance." He shrugged. "And what makes you think I'm not your enemy?"

"Please, like you could hide your bloodlust when facing someone in a fight."

He burst out laughing. "You really know who I am. Alright, I'm curious, how?"

"Same Teacher." I said bluntly.

He almost choked as the words reached him. "A-are you fucking with me?"

"Nope."

"Shit."

"Yeah."

"Huh, I guess that makes us....brothers or something." He scratched his head. "Well, guess I'll introduce myself proper. Cu Chulainn, Caster Servant."

"What the hell is going on!" Olga screamed.

"Got a new servant." I shot her a thumbs up.

She let out a sigh, rubbing her temples. "Okay, okay. This is good. Now we just have to form a contract with Caster, and we have two servants." She bit her thumb. "But this idiot has no idea what he's doing." She huffed, looking at Ritsuka.

"Ah....sorry." He apologized.

"Don't apologize, be better!" Olga shouted.

"Director." I put a hand on her shoulder. "Let me handle this. Between me and Cu over there, we can get Ritsuka up to fighting shape in no time."

"What nonsense are you speaking!? We're in the middle of a singularity, what could you possible do?"

"Oi, brat, you think about doing....the thing?" Cu looked at me.

"Yeah, with your help, I think we can pull it off." I nodded towards him.

"I've never done it before." He scratched his head.

"Yeah, but we both experienced it with 'Her'."

"Experiencing it and doing it are two different things." The corners of his lips curled up. "But shit if this aint something I wanted to do for awhile." He laughed. "What the hell, I'm in."

"What are you two talking about!?" Olga shouted in frustration.

Me and Cu shared a look.

"Training montage." We said at the same time.

***

So something people need to remember. Mordred is only like 10 years old or something like that. Her growth was accelerated by Morgan, so she isn't exactly the most -- I don't want to say unstable -- but she definitely has a weird thought process. She doesn't know how to parse her feelings towards Artoria.

On a side note, I didn't expect to be able to get something out today. Work is really fucking bad right now. I worked 12 hours and expect to do the same the next few days, so I'm just going to say not to expect a chapter tomorrow or Wednesday.

Anyways, if you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my pat.reon.com/astoryforone

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