Kayneth, that henpecked (afraid-of-his-wife) guy—once Sola showed up and started speaking up for Diarmuid, his momentum immediately deflated by a huge margin.
"KING is a powerful Servant. I think that was the best time to deal with them," Kayneth replied to Sola weakly.
She isn't even his wife yet, and he's already this submissive. If they actually get married, the moment they disagree, wouldn't "Director Kayneth" just drop to his knees on a washboard? Heh, kneeling on a keyboard works too.
But this also reflects a problem from the side: Kayneth really does love Sola. Otherwise, with Kayneth's arrogant personality, forget a fiancee—especially one who can't inherit the family's Magic Crest because she isn't the eldest daughter—even if she were his wife and also the eldest daughter of some family, he still wouldn't give her face.
Not slapping you or verbally skewering you would already be generous. How could he turn so weak the moment Sola appears, like he's doing now.
But what Kayneth said really wasn't wrong—this was indeed a good time to kill Meruem, yes, assuming the two of them teaming up could actually pull it off. Kayneth's read on the situation really was excellent. But like the other Masters, he overlooked the feelings and personalities of the Servants under him.
The moment Sola came in, she kept belittling Kayneth, denying his approach, and implying that Diarmuid had already done his best.
Same line as always: if Kayneth didn't truly love Sola, he would've taught this rude person a lesson long ago. Just providing mana is enough to make someone as proud as Kayneth lower his head? Are you kidding me?
He even didn't dare raise his head to look straight at Sola once she appeared. If Kayneth had carefully observed Sola's eyes, he probably would've noticed the problem.
Ever since she came in, Sola's gaze never left Diarmuid for even a moment.
Anyone familiar with Diarmuid's legend would know: the source of Diarmuid's misfortune is the Witch's Beauty Mark, an ability that can charm any woman. This was the start of Diarmuid's renewed misfortune—and also the beginning of Kayneth's misfortune.
"Kayneth, compared with other Masters, you have many advantages—for example, I provide mana to LANCER, so you have enough energy to deal with the other Masters." Sola emphasized this point right in front of Kayneth, as if reminding him.
But what neither Sola nor Kayneth knew—more precisely, what became Kayneth's biggest blunder in entering the Holy Grail War—was exactly this.
Kayneth altered the original Servant contract. Kayneth still possessed the Command Spells and was still Diarmuid's MASTER, but mana was provided by Sola.
This was their biggest mistake. Kayneth took it way too much for granted. Sure, having Sola shoulder Diarmuid's mana costs let Kayneth save a large amount of mana. But do you think Kayneth could come up with this method and the Three Great Families couldn't? Tokiomi Tohsaka's magecraft attainment isn't low—do you think he can't do it? It's not that he can't, it's that he won't.
Kayneth never seriously studied this contract. A Servant's strength is closely tied to the Master's Magic Circuits—of course, fame comes first (imaginary heroic spirits excluded). Sola may be a daughter of the Sophia-Ri family, but as a non-eldest daughter, she can't inherit the family's Magic Crest. Sola's own Magic Circuits are decent, but among the many outstanding magi in the Holy Grail War, they're really nothing special.
Not to mention Kayneth—she can't even compare to Tokiomi. She's only a bit stronger than Ryuunosuke and Kariya, and between her and Waver it's honestly hard to say. Of course, this isn't mocking Tokiomi or being sarcastic—just stating facts. That's what produced Diarmuid's incomplete summoned form—he didn't even manifest the two demonic swords with his greatest fame. His parameters were frighteningly low; only his Agility was even somewhat presentable.
If Kayneth hadn't played these little tricks and had provided mana himself in a proper, straightforward way, Diarmuid's strength would at least have risen by another tier. At that point, while he still wouldn't be able to match Goldie, underestimating him might even get Goldie counter-killed.
So Kayneth's swap-the-contract move looked like he'd taken every advantage, but in reality he lost so badly it was ridiculous.
And Sola was still calling it an "advantage" here? If someone else who understood the rules heard that, they would've slapped her across the face.
Sola was extremely forceful in front of Kayneth, and in the end it sparked Diarmuid's displeasure.
"Please stop. If you continue, it will be an insult to my lord," Diarmuid said, making Sola and Kayneth both freeze.
"N-no, that's not what I meant…" Sola, who hadn't shown panic like this even in front of Kayneth, now showed a girlish, flustered demeanor. "I'm sorry. I went too far." Director Kayneth, why is your hat turning green?
That tone, that situation—rather than Kayneth's fiancee, Sola seemed far closer to Diarmuid.
The guest has become the host?!
Normally, in a magus's eyes, these Servants are no different from familiars, right? Maybe a bit higher-end—basically high-tier hired muscle. Under normal circumstances, would you care about a familiar's feelings? Hm?
Even if Kayneth was slow around Sola, at this moment he sensed something. Kayneth happened to lift his head and caught Sola's affectionate gaze fixed on Diarmuid.
Even an ordinary person couldn't take this—let alone an arrogant magus.
Suddenly, an inexplicable irritation rose in Kayneth's heart.
The Witch's Beauty Mark… could it be Sola…
For the first time, Kayneth wavered about his decision to let Sola be LANCER's mana supplier. Back then, he never should've had the idea of bringing his fiancee to this Holy Grail War just to show off!
Now look—he tried to steal a chicken and lost the rice.
If it really comes down to it, then…
Boom—the building suddenly jolted, interrupting Kayneth's thoughts.
"What's going on?" Not only Kayneth—Sola also panicked.
"It's nothing. Just a fire—someone did it on purpose, to drive off irrelevant people," Kayneth forced down the irritation in his heart and put back on that extremely confident look.
"I'll let the intruder see it—my perfect, flawless magecraft workshop, made out of this entire building, by me, Kayneth."
But have you heard of C4?
A certain great man once said that technology is the primary productive force.
A certain three-mouthed kid once said that explosions are art.
Less than thirty seconds after Director Kayneth confidently finished saying that, a massive bang came with a towering burst of firelight.
Instant explosion.
The building collapsed.
______
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