If it were anything else, Medusa might not care, but if you mentioned saving Sakura Matou, she would definitely be interested.
"As one of the Three Founding Families that constructed the Greater Grail system, the Matou family's centuries of foundation won't be so easily shaken."
"So that's a yes. I'll go deal with Shinji Matou first, then head back to study and scout out some intel on the Matou family."
Zenith waved his hand, signaling Souichiro Kuzuki to go find Shinji with him. This guy wasn't a proper Master anyway; taking him out wouldn't affect Medusa at all, since the one who truly held the Command Spells was Sakura.
Medusa's willingness to ally was most obvious in how the Blood Fort Andromeda's "absorption" efficiency on everyone in the school dropped to its absolute lowest point.
Servants couldn't blatantly defy their Master's will, so Medusa couldn't just turn off the Bounded Field right now. However, compromising by running the Bounded Field at minimum power was doable.
"Speaking of which, why did you choose to attack me the moment we met? I don't think I ever provoked you."
Souichiro Kuzuki stopped in his tracks, looking at Zenith speechlessly. A Holy Grail War participant who immediately outed his own identity, waltzed into his territory, and called him out by name to team up—anyone would find that suspicious.
Seemingly reading Kuzuki's mind, Zenith also stopped. "Alright, that one's on me."
As everyone knows, it might take a student some time to find a teacher in a school, but a teacher finding a student is almost too easy.
"Will Shinji Matou of Class 2-C please come to the principal's office. Will Shinji Matou of Class 2-C please come to the principal's office."
The school's PA system broadcasted the message on a loop. The principal had been physically hypnotized by Souichiro Kuzuki and tossed onto the sofa. Now, all they had to do was wait for that scumbag Shinji Matou to walk right into their trap.
"Knock, knock, knock."
Shinji Matou. Brown school uniform, blue hair, and an arrogance that couldn't be hidden no matter how hard he tried. It was like a higher lifeform looking down on lower lifeforms; after gaining a certain amount of magecraft ability, his ego was twisting and inflating wildly.
"Mr. Kuzuki, and... Zenith? That entrepreneur?"
"Nice to finally meet you, the infamous Shinji Matou. You know, just thinking about what's going to happen next makes me incredibly excited."
Shinji still hadn't grasped the current situation. "Is Mr. Zenith interested in my talents? If there's anything I can help with, I'd be more than happy to offer my services."
Driven by vanity, Shinji was undoubtedly jealous of Zenith, who had made such a high-profile appearance in Fuyuki City and become the talk of the town.
In his eyes, this guy was clearly just an ordinary person. What right did he have to attract more attention than a magus like himself?
"Your talents?"
Zenith raised an eyebrow. "You mean abusing large-scale magecraft and nearly killing all the students and teachers in the school? Or do you mean kicking away a teacher who was struggling to call an ambulance? Or perhaps your years of violence and abuse toward Sakura?"
The Hand materialized, shutting the door and blocking the office entrance to prevent anyone from coming in or out.
"A person with no talent for magecraft. A person whose heart is completely twisted by an inferiority complex. A person who uses despising others as a means of survival. An absolute, utter piece of trash."
Speaking as he walked right up to Shinji, he delivered a heavy punch! Zenith's physical stats were undoubtedly monster-tier right now. A single punch instantly shattered Shinji's nasal bone, sending him sliding across the floor.
"That punch was for Sakura. I'm guessing you don't have a problem with that? Of course you don't."
"You actually dared to... hit me in the face?!"
Shinji had no talent for magecraft, but thanks to the Book of the False Attendant, he could use Sakura's mana to a certain extent, which meant he could see The Hand.
Struggling to his feet, he reached out and unleashed his magecraft. Three glowing, blade-like energy projectiles shot forward, only for Zenith to casually swat them away.
"Are you going to torture him to death?"
Souichiro Kuzuki spoke indifferently. "If it were out of hatred and anger, it might be understandable. But Sakura Matou doesn't seem to have any connection to you... Is it sympathy? Torturing someone completely unrelated to you to death based on sympathy?"
Zenith, who had been preparing to properly vent his frustrations, paused his movements. "Kuzuki, do you know that you can be a real buzzkill sometimes?"
A Netherite Sword appeared in his hand, and with a clean pommel strike, he instantly knocked Shinji out cold. "I'm going to find Sakura. Do you need anything else?"
Souichiro Kuzuki turned and walked away. The two of them tacitly ignored their previous talk about settling the score. They didn't actually have any reason to fight, and right now, Kuzuki wanted to find out what wish Caster wanted to make.
As Rider's true Master, Sakura Matou knew far more intel than Shinji. At the very least, she wouldn't foolishly believe that Zenith was truly just an entrepreneur.
The news of Zenith taking on two opponents at once and single-handedly overpowering the Heroic Spirits Archer and Lancer had already spread. Only a guy like Shinji, who was treated like thin air at home, would be completely oblivious.
"Mr. Zenith... Uncle Zenith, is Shirou hurt? This is the first time I've seen him take a day off, and there was no one home when I went to his house this morning."
Look at that, this was Shirou's bizarre luck with women. Leaving Saber by his side was starting to make Zenith a little worried. However, he wondered how Sakura would react once she found out he had forcefully matchmade Shirou Emiya and Rin Tohsaka on the spot.
*She wouldn't just snap and turn dark, would she?*
In certain timelines, Sakura turned dark because the mana inside her body grew stronger and stronger while her own consciousness weakened, and furthermore, she accidentally killed her brother, Shinji Matou. A combination of multiple factors led to that tragedy.
"Shirou is doing special training at my place. As for being hurt, he probably isn't... I think." Zenith shifted his gaze slightly. He was definitely getting hurt; the first step to learning how to fight was getting beaten up. Right now, he was probably getting thrashed mercilessly by Saber and Archer.
Seeing the worried look in Sakura's eyes, Zenith said, "How about this: after school, you and Rider can come over to my place to check on him. Rin is there too, and I'm sure you two sisters have a lot of private things to talk about."
Sakura was a child adopted into the Matou family from the Tohsaka family; fundamentally, Sakura and Rin were biological sisters. It was just a twist of fate that caused Sakura to slowly slide into an unfathomable hell, something no one could have predicted.
Sakura naturally agreed. It was just staying over where Shirou was; it wasn't like she hadn't stayed with him before. It was just... "Uncle Zenith, I've been meaning to ask since the beginning... um, why are you carrying..."
"Oh, you mean this?" Zenith interrupted Sakura, not letting her say the word 'brother'—this scumbag didn't deserve it. "It's just some trash waiting to be disposed of. I'm planning to take it back and use it as a punching bag. Do you want to give it a try?"
Sakura blinked. Even though this was their first time meeting, Shirou's uncle was quite a humorous person.
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