In the early hours of the winter night, the cold permeated the entire forest's earth, trees, and beasts. Thick fog obscured vision, bringing a damp chill that made it impossible to see what lay ahead or beneath one's feet, or what might appear.
In a winter forest, even beasts fall into slumber. The night serves as camouflage for criminals and specters, and the darkness breeds bloody and sinister fangs.
There were no beasts here, and even less should there be any human presence.
Beneath the dense fog in the woods, two shadows, not belonging to this city or this forest, were moving: the witch returning to the Twin Mansion at midnight and the Black Knight guarding her.
If Rin, who was currently walking back to the Twin Mansion, could say one thing to Gilgamesh at that moment, it would be this:
"I respect you as a rival, and you want to flirt with me?!"
Rin was not one of those emotionally clueless, dumbfounded protagonists from anime. On the contrary, her extensive knowledge from her past life's memories, combined with the meticulous thoughts of a girl in this life, made her sensitive to emotions. She could easily discern the unusual meaning behind Gilgamesh's words.
Whether it had reached the level of love, she didn't know, but it had definitely reached the point of piquing his interest. In any case, for Rin, a 'yuri' who liked girls, it was absolutely not a good thing. However, from a strategic perspective of this Holy Grail War… it didn't seem like a bad thing either.
Forget it. Anyway, whether you like me or not doesn't matter. Whether you like me or not, I'll still cut you down, it makes no difference. Although Gilgamesh's original target should have been Saber, why he suddenly changed his target to herself was irrelevant, as nothing could fundamentally happen anyway.
Rin, calm and composed, didn't pay much attention to Gilgamesh's ambiguous behavior. At most, she felt a chill, much like a heterosexual man being confessed to by a gay man. As a staunch yuri, Rin felt the same way.
Smelly men are indeed the most disgusting! Just thinking about being looked at by such a creature with lust-filled eyes, while he unbuttons his shirt and approaches her with ill intent… "Ahhh—!!!"
Unconsciously, she imagined something unimaginable, and Rin instantly broke out in goosebumps! Her small face turned pale green, and she leaned against a nearby tree trunk, retching.
Indeed… no matter how much my mindset changes, when it comes to sexual orientation, I still maintain zero tolerance for males. Good, this is very good!
Lancelot watched in bewilderment as his Master suddenly shrieked in fear, then leaned against a tree trunk and retched. After retching, she even clenched her fist excitedly, as if very happy.
Passing through the dark and dense night forest, they soon saw the Twin Mansion nestled within it. It was already past midnight, but the magnificent mansion was still brightly lit.
"I'm home."
"Welcome home."
Rin, who left early and returned late, was almost like a busy office worker. Unfortunately, Jalter was not a full-time devoted wife, but merely a beginner fujoshi who had just entered the world of otaku.
However, tonight, Jalter did not casually give Rin benefits as she had last night. Instead, she was sitting on the sofa in her uniquely designed, sexy black spirit attire, as if silently waiting for Rin's summons, ready to rush to the battlefield at any moment.
"Gil, what did he do tonight?"
Jalter asked Rin, looking down at the inner hall table with dampened spirits.
Rin sat calmly on the sofa opposite Jalter, her face expressionless, sinking into the soft cushions. After a few seconds of silent contemplation, she answered Jalter's question:
"Since last night, 38 children have been killed. Tonight, he attacked Einzbern and caused a ruckus, toying with Saber using the lives of 13 children. Finally, Berserker couldn't stand it and intervened, but didn't land a critical hit, and he escaped."
Jalter lowered her head in silence, her pale hair obscuring her eyes so Rin couldn't see her expression. After a moment, she spoke.
"Is that so? Gil should have had enough fun… Master, you intentionally let Gil escape, didn't you?"
Rin nodded without denying it, saying:
"If Berserker and I had gone all out, we could indeed have killed him. But I had no reason to take that unnecessary risk to do so. Besides, you said you wanted to bury him with your own hands."
Then Rin smiled.
"What's more, I still owe him a big favor."
"A favor?"
Jalter looked up in surprise, her face full of confusion as she stared at Tohsaka Rin. How could Gilles de Rais owe Tohsaka Rin a favor? The two had never even met.
"He gave birth to you; because of him, you were able to come to my side, Jalter. I cannot ignore this favor. Letting him go and leaving his death for you to end is something I can accept."
Jalter couldn't help but be drawn by this reason, lowering her head with a faint smile, then said:
"Tomorrow, let it be tomorrow, Master. I will send Gilles to his burial! Killing more innocents will not provoke God's wrath, and it has no meaning for my revenge. There's no need to continue performing on stage like a clown..."
Her best friend in her original memory, who had given birth to and created her existence, even held a father-like affection for her, yet their final meeting would only be for her to send him to his grave.
"Let my flames burn away all of Gilles's anger and resentment, and then, may he ascend peacefully... As for avenging God, I alone am enough! Gilles's wish has already been fulfilled..."
Just as Tohsaka Rin was about to say something more, a string named 'vigilance' in her mind was suddenly plucked. Just like the Einzbern Forest Castle tactic, Tohsaka Rin had already set up a magic early warning system in the small courtyard of the Twin Mansion.
Someone actively attacking was completely within expectations, but the image of the person who came, when the early warning system fed it back into Tohsaka Rin's mind, truly surprised her.
Kirei Kotomine?!
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