[After settling on the plan to oppose the prophecy of the Two Dragons with Morgan, you no longer indulged in her tender embrace, but began preparations for the plan.]
[You learned from Morgan that she intended to meet Vortigern under the pretext of dealing with the Red Dragon together. As for how she would cooperate with that old fox Vortigern and what traps she laid, you naturally had no way of knowing.]
[However, you weren't idle either.]
[While thinking about how to complete Morgan's task, you also sent people to gather information about Artoria.]
[Based on your experience from the simulation, you knew that although King Arthur's army had already assembled and launched a rebellion against the Vile King by this time...]
[Saber had not yet returned to the army, but was still out gaining experience.]
[Right now, she was still walking the earth under the identity of Lily, in the form of the pure white Knight Princess who hadn't yet been completely 'educated' by Merlin.]
[Fortunately, hard work pays off. After inquiring for a long time, although you didn't get direct news about Artoria, you did get news about her foster brother, Kay.]
[According to scouts, after completing the basic affairs of King Arthur's army, Kay had resumed his travels. He was currently heading to a certain territory to deal with a beast that was harming the commoners, having heard news of a magical beast rampage.]
[You realized this was a rare opportunity.]
[After all, Kay was Artoria's foster brother and the knight who had accompanied her the longest. If you wanted to find Saber, finding him was a surefire bet.]
[Thus, after reporting to Morgan, you received permission to leave.]
[Perhaps because this plan was formulated by Morgan herself, neither of you acted too clingy or reluctant to part when facing separation again.]
[Before you left, Morgan gifted you a black lance.]
[Morgan said this lance was a Noble Phantasm she created using Magecraft and rituals to imitate the Holy Lance of the Storm, Rhongomyniad. It carried a curse placed by her, powerful enough to shatter the Sword in the Stone.]
[It is worth mentioning that although the lance was an imitation of the Holy Lance, it similarly possessed a certain degree of power representing the End of the World.]
[You couldn't help but marvel at Morgan's extremely powerful talent and strength in Magecraft.]
[Thus, you hesitated no longer. Carrying the pseudo-Holy Lance, you rode your horse toward the territory Kay and the others were heading to.]
[Perhaps because you were traveling alone and didn't dawdle on the journey, when you arrived at that town, Kay and his group were still on their way.]
[This made you breathe a slight sigh of relief.]
[What Morgan gave you was less a plan and more a task for you to complete.]
[She only gave the objective, not the process of how to achieve it. Exactly how to approach Artoria, and how to snap that King's Sword—all of this was up to Souya himself.]
[Therefore, arriving before them to scout the environment and gather useful information was necessary.]
[However, the moment you stepped into this town, you found that it exuded an eerie atmosphere everywhere.]
"What are you acting tough for, bro? You just have a few stinking coins, what's so great about that? Even if you're rich, can you have a happy family and life like mine?"
"That's hilarious. I'm rich, how could I not be happy? I eat meat and fish every day, can you?"
"My wife prepares sumptuous meals for me and takes care of me. Do you have that?"
"I never have to worry about anything. I just wave my hand and people come to suck up to me. What about you?"
"I treat people honestly, my character is noble, and people genuinely like me. And you? Besides, my ancestors were nobles!"
"So what? My family used to be a collateral branch of the royal bloodline!"
"Then let me ask you..."
"Then let me ask you..."
Souya watched the two men arguing not far away with a pained expression.
They were arguing until their faces were red, spit flying everywhere, their faces almost pressed against each other.
Yet, even at this point, they had no intention of coming to blows.
They just stood there, constantly trash-talking and comparing their strengths and advantages with each other.
This left Souya speechless.
In fact, it wasn't just these two men. Everyone Souya had met since entering this town was acting like this.
Fields were left unplowed, goods were left unsold. Everyone just stood on the streets or in corners, gathering in small groups to argue and compare themselves to others.
Even two little kids on the side of the street were shouting weird arguments like, "My mom is prettier than your mom!" and "Even if your mom is prettier, my dad slept with your mom!"
It was as if the entire town had fallen into a strange state called 'Comparison'.
People just argued and compared themselves to each other non-stop, but no matter how fiercely they argued, they never got physical, which seemed incredibly bizarre.
"Then why am I completely fine?"
Souya rubbed his chin, pondering this question.
"Is it because of 'Protection of the Lake'?"
For some reason, Souya felt that this phenomenon and the word 'comparison' reminded him of something, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it at the moment.
He frowned slightly, walking down the town's streets while observing the state of the other people around him.
Gradually, he noticed that these people weren't constantly arguing and comparing. Sometimes, when they got tired or thirsty from arguing, they would go rest and drink water. Once they were rested, they would run back out and start trash-talking again.
Souya inexplicably felt that these guys were acting awfully like his netizen friends from the 21st century...
Harboring these strange thoughts, Souya finally reached the center of the town, where he finally understood the source of the town's bizarre state, and what it was that he hadn't been able to recall.
It was a small, strangely shaped animal with fluffy, snow-white fur, ears like a rabbit, but a tail like a squirrel.
Currently, this little guy was lying on the large tree in the center of the town, licking its small paws with its soft pink tongue. Its eyes occasionally glanced at the arguing people with a hint of disdain and amusement.
"So it was this little guy."
The moment Souya saw that small, white-furred animal, he suddenly understood why the people around him had fallen into this strange state of comparison.
Because this was the Fourth Beast, possessing the principle of 'Comparison'—the Fourth Beast that is always stronger than you and can never be defeated.
Of course, compared to those future titles and its current name in Britain, Cath Palug the Monster Cat, Souya, an old Master of Chaldea, preferred to call it 'Fou'.
"If it's Fou, then the issue with these people will be easy to solve."
Thinking of this, Souya breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Although Fou was an immature Beast and wouldn't specifically care about human lives, generally speaking, it still loved humanity.
Because 'comparison' is an emotion only humans possess, and as the Beast of Comparison, Fou fed on the competitiveness and desires of humans, so under normal circumstances, it wouldn't harm humans.
Of course, the Primate Murder from Tsukihime was a different story.
Presumably, Fou had specifically come to the town to harass the residents here because it needed to eat.
A guy's gotta eat, after all.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit Souya's mind. He had been struggling with how to snap Saber's Sword in the Stone, but upon thinking of Fou's abilities, he suddenly had an idea.
Thinking of this, Souya's face instantly broke into a friendly smile as he walked toward Fou in the tree.
"Hello there, Fou~"
"Fou?"
Hearing someone seemingly calling it, the still-Monster-Cat Fou froze for a moment, instinctively looking around.
It then noticed Souya, smiling like a doting auntie, looking at it in the tree.
Is this guy calling me?
What kind of name is that? Why is he smiling so creepily?
Looking at Souya, who was clad in armor but visibly carrying no weapons, Fou was a bit confused.
Yet for some reason, the moment it saw this guy, it suddenly felt an inexplicable urge to approach him.
And in fact, Fou unconsciously did just that.
Seeing this little guy leap gracefully down from the tree, the smile on Souya's face grew even wider.
He had absolutely no resistance to this adorable creature that looked like a cross between a kitten and a puppy.
Harboring these thoughts, Souya slowly crouched down and reached out his hand toward the little Fou, who was standing in front of him, looking at him with some wariness.
"Fou, Fou, kya!"
Seeing that a mere human dared to reach out to it, Fou, suddenly realizing it had run down, became a little annoyed.
It took a step back, lowered its body slightly, and let out a low, cute sound carrying a hint of a threat.
Seeing this, Souya only made his tone even gentler, softly coaxing:
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. I won't hurt you."
Seemingly understanding Souya's words, Fou looked up into Souya's eyes.
Seeing that those clear blue eyes held no malice, only joy, Fou slightly relaxed its tense body.
Then, under Souya's watchful gaze, it cautiously brought its head forward and sniffed his hand.