"Yahho, good morning, Issei-kun."
"...Morning, Miss Guinaifen."
With a single blink, the next day had already arrived. After braving the cold wind at the mountain gate all night, the first living being Guinevere saw was Issei Ryudou.
Seventeen years old, one meter seventy tall, black hair, glasses. He was the son of the Ryudou Temple's chief priest, the student council president of Fuyuki City's sole high school, Homurahara Academy, and also a good friend and classmate of Shirou Emiya.
The reason they were greeting each other, of course, was that Guinevere had already met with Issei Ryudou and the chief priest once after being summoned.
A long time ago, Kuzuki, Medea's Master, had defected from a certain assassin organization. Upon arriving in Fuyuki City, he won the admiration of the temple's chief priest.
Because of this, Kuzuki had always resided at Ryudou Temple, and in the days that followed, he was regarded as an older brother by Issei Ryudou.
Therefore, he had always been disgusted by his older brother suddenly having a gloomy fiancée.
As for his friend who had come to find the fiancée, and was expected to be the maid of honor at the wedding, Issei Ryudou also had no intention of giving her a friendly face.
However, seeing Guinevere's smiling face once again, and hearing her energetic greeting, the temple-bred boy who had never fallen in love still had his heart skip a beat. He could no longer maintain the foul expression he made when facing Medea.
As for why she was called Guinaifen, that was because Guinevere had introduced herself as such.
A nickname? No, this was her True Name, her original name, and also one of the translated names for Guinevere.
Besides, if she were called Guinaifen in formal Chinese, some fools wouldn't be able to connect her with Guinevere right away, would they?
And that wasn't all. After a night had passed, Guinevere's figure had changed. Relying on the [ Blessing of the First Hassan ], she had completely reverted to her teenage appearance. Her hair was even dyed orange, and her clothing had changed to the simple modern attire she preferred: jeans and a T-shirt hoodie.
"Yo, Issei, heading to school so early?"
"Guina... Tsk, Miss Gui, today is Monday."
For Issei Ryudou, pronouncing Guinaifen in Chinese was still too difficult. He simply decided to call her Gui, and in his heart, he actually preferred this shorter name.
So, after Guinevere smiled in agreement with the name, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief. After a deliberately natural nod, he left the mountain gate.
As for Guinevere waiting at the mountain gate so early, he subconsciously assumed she had simply arrived early.
This was the suggestion of Medea's Magecraft, and also the [ Femme Fatale ] of Guinevere that had cast a Charm on Issei Ryudou, lowering his intelligence.
Just a few minutes later, as Issei Ryudou finished descending the Temple Gate steps, Kuzuki emerged from the temple's residential area. Despite having his Mana drained all night, his stride remained steady and his expression as impassive as ever.
"What's wrong? Your wife isn't coming out to see you off to work? Not even to wish you a safe journey?"
"She isn't from the Far East. She doesn't need to follow all these customs."
"But since she's become your wife, given her devotion to you, wouldn't she be willing to learn these customs for your sake? And aren't you planning to have her change her surname to yours?"
"Is that possible? To register our marriage with her?"
"Getting a marriage certificate would be a bit troublesome. But with your connections, it shouldn't be too difficult for her to obtain a foreign ID, right?"
A former assassin, a resident of Ryudou Temple, and a teacher at Homurahara Academy—yet at this moment, Kuzuki was simply Medea's husband.
Facing the only woman who had ever brought him solace in this life, Kuzuki was clearly prepared to take responsibility and walk beside her for as long as possible.
"Assassin, you're right. I can get her a foreign ID. But the timing, the Holy Grail War..."
"I know my words might not carry much weight with you, but since you were brought together by her summoning, and I happen to find you two agreeable, I can promise you this: you will both live to see your wedding day."
Guinevere's words fell, and a flicker of emotion stirred in Kuzuki's lifeless eyes. He nodded and glanced up at the back courtyard.
Last night, Medea had been too exhausted from Mana Replenishment. When she tried to get up, Kuzuki had gently pressed her back down, his silent gaze urging her to sleep a little longer.
"Assassin, I'll have them prioritize this."
As Kuzuki spoke, he turned to step past Guinevere and into the Temple Gate, but her preceding words had already made her frown.
"How long do you think I can protect you?" she asked. "Do you think you'll last much longer?"
"I don't know how harsh this so-called Holy Grail War is," Kuzuki replied, "but I can sense Caster's anxiety, and I know how powerful the Reinforcement Magecraft he cast on my body is. With Caster's Reinforcement, my fists are at least ten times heavier than usual."
It was only Guinevere's casual comment about getting a marriage certificate that had made him pause to speak further. After all, Kuzuki was not as stern and taciturn as he seemed; otherwise, he never would have been fit to be a teacher.
"Assassin, I am an ordinary person," he continued, "and I have no Command Spells to mark my status. Some Masters might not even notice my presence. Until then, I will do my best to gather information and find the three Knights most suitable for you and Caster to Charm."
"Before that, I will formally entrust Caster's safety to you as repayment for the promise you just made."
After saying that, Kuzuki glanced at his watch. Realizing he was likely to be late for work, he hurried his pace down the mountain.
Watching his back, Guinevere knew he had taken her promise seriously; his last words were simply using trust to reciprocate her commitment.
"What a pain. If Old Worm decided to strike Kuzuki now, I would have no way to counter it. But I can't either keep him from going out. If we just sit and wait, we'd truly be lambs to the slaughter."
Just as Kuzuki wanted to 'disappear' to gather information, Guinevere's greatest desire was still to understand the specific situation in this era.
The Holy Grail had given her the common knowledge of this age, and her previous life as an ordinary person had granted her a form of [ Future Sight ]. But she still needed to confirm the actual circumstances to see how reliable her [ Future Sight ] truly was.
"Sigh!"
Guinevere let out a sigh. When she looked at the temple, Medea in her loungewear stepped out gracefully from inside.
She and Kuzuki had not lowered their voices during their chat. Only Kuzuki, who knew absolutely nothing about magecraft, would have thought Medea hadn't heard them.
"Hey, even if my teasing about getting Kuzuki to register your marriage with you wasn't to your liking, you don't need to pull out that strangely shaped dagger, do you?"
"This is Rule Breaker. It can sever your bond with the Temple Gate. Assassin, I hope your promise just now was true, and I also believe you might truly have the strength to fulfill it."
"Last night, you forced away that decaying magus just by sitting on the Temple Gate, didn't you?"
Being a magus herself, Medea finally understood that Old Worm from last night was no ordinary person, and her perception of Guinevere's strength was instantly updated.
"Go on, go do what you want. But I cannot provide you with enough mana supply. If an external enemy attacks, I will use the Command Spell without hesitation."
"And... you seem to be very clear about the rules for newlyweds in this country. Could you teach me?"
As she said this last sentence, the tips of Medea's pointed ears were completely red.
And it seemed that after learning Kuzuki was going to register the marriage with her, the Holy Grail was no longer Medea's primary pursuit. Instead, she would first strive to get Kuzuki ready to register the marriage with her.
Looking at her like this, the thought that this might be the right judgment resonated in her heart. After Medea severed her bond with the Temple Gate, Guinevere nodded with a face full of smiles.
She was more eager to see this couple successfully hold their wedding.