"Thou art the one bound by the three Grand Words of Heaven!"
"From the Wheel of Restraint, Guardian of the Scales—"
With that steady, by-the-book chant, on the outskirts of Bucharest, capital of Romania, in a desolate graveyard, Kairi Shishigou—dressed in a black jacket—summoned forth the key to open the Greater Grail.
The next instant, brilliant radiance burst out. As the pure-white curtain of light gradually dispersed, what appeared before Kairi was a knight clad in silver armor, helm enclosing the entire head.
"I ask thee—"
"Are you my Master?"
Though phrased as a question, the resolute words carried an unshakable will, more a statement of fact than anything else.
If he dared say no, he'd probably be hacked into pieces by that gleaming silver sword, right?
Thinking that, Kairi gave a wry smile and pulled himself to his feet.
"Yeah, I'm your Master. Name's Kairi Shishigou. Looking forward to working with you, Saber."
Clang—! At his words, the enclosing helm suddenly shattered—or rather, the intricate mechanisms folded back, the fragments retracting neatly into the armor.
"Servant, Saber—answering your summons! I am one of the Knights of the Round Table, the sole true heir of King Arthur—Mordred."
"Eh?" Kairi blinked in disbelief. Sure, he'd used a Holy Relic from one of the Lords of the Department of Summoning to call forth a Knight of the Round, but never in his wildest dreams did he expect Mordred.
Among the Round Table, aside from powerhouses like Lancelot and Gawain, Mordred was top-tier combat strength as well. But her 'glorious title' as the Betrayer Knight… even Kairi felt a twinge of dread.
And more importantly—
"People of England, are you all out of your minds…? Mordred's a girl?!"
Kairi muttered dumbly—only for a flash of cold steel to press right against his throat.
"What was that you just said? I didn't quite catch it." The newly summoned girl, Mordred, enacted betrayal right from the very moment of her appearance.
Staring at his Master drenched in cold sweat, Mordred roared furiously.
"Don't you dare call me a woman! Got it?!"
"Y-Yes! I got it!" The burly-looking Kairi folded instantly. Even a necromancer who'd crawled through mud and blood on countless battlefields couldn't help but quake in fear.
After all, no matter how powerful a magus was, when faced with the killing intent of a Heroic Spirit—and a blade resting against his neck—instinct alone would force surrender.
And Kairi, for all his rough edges, was still just a magus. To a Heroic Spirit, he was nothing more than a bug. Harmless, weak, insignificant.
"That's better." Mordred sheathed her blade, shaking her head at the sight of him. "Looking at your getup, I figured you were a kindred spirit. Didn't expect you to be this clueless with words…"
"Who the hell could keep up with your logic…? Is that why King Arthur refused to name you heir?" Kairi sighed in exasperation, finally able to breathe again. "Well, I'm sure a Heroic Spirit doesn't like this environment. How about we head to my workshop?"
"Oh? At least you're self-aware. Summoning a Servant in a dump like this? Disgusting." Mordred sneered, her tone dripping with contempt. "What, did you grow up in graveyards or something, necromancer?"
"Not exactly, but close enough. I grew up on battlefields." With that, Kairi started toward the cemetery's center.
"Hey! Why the hell are you heading deeper in? Weren't we going to your workshop?" Mordred frowned, but Kairi just chuckled.
"My workshop's there. The underground crypt beneath this graveyard. The leyline down there is excellent—and the comfort level isn't bad either."
"Comfort? Don't tell me spending too much time with corpses has twisted you into some kind of freak!"
◇◇◇
Leaving aside that bickering pair of Master and Servant, Rhodes was still immersed in his studies of modern technology.
In front of him stood a Leopard 2 main battle tank—this oversized toy built by Krauss-Maffei, banned in pretty much every country… barring certain African warlords, of course.
At present, the tank had been dismantled. Runes were carved into its armor plates, and its reactive armor had been swapped for enchanted explosives—reducing structural damage while improving overall defense.
The most eye-catching feature, though, was the massive gun barrel.
It was no longer the thick, hardened steel cannon it once was. After Rhodes's bizarre modifications, the barrel had been replaced by a pair of magnetic rails.
Through magical enhancement, those rails now functioned as a rapid-fire railgun, its destructive power rivaling even the Sherman M1.
Granted, he couldn't quite boast something ridiculous like: "Fifty-six tons, three hundred and fifty rounds per minute, armor-piercing, explosive, incendiary—all in one, a true champion among war machines!" But a firing rate of one hundred sixty rounds per minute, combined with enchanted shells, was enough to reduce even the sturdiest fortress to rubble under railgun fire.
Still, it wasn't something he could use in the Holy Grail War—at least not for now. Until Black Assassin unleashed a tide of Dragon Tooth Warriors, this kind of large-scale weapon would just gather dust in storage.
"Whew… all done." Rhodes grinned at the enchanted railgun, amusement flickering across his face. "Who says a railgun has to stay mounted on a tank? I could always…"
"Brother, I'm coming in!"
With a sudden clatter of the door, a golden-haired boy bounced inside, hopping around as his eyes darted about—eager to snoop on Rhodes's latest experiments.
"Tch… Roche, huh. Been a while."
Wearing his usual elegant smile, Rhodes casually waved his hand. Invisible mana swept through the room, erasing precious reagents and experiments from sight. In the blink of an eye, they'd vanished before Roche's curious eyes.
"Huh? What kind of magecraft was that? Teach me, brother!" Roche said with feigned innocence, though his eyes sparkled with greedy curiosity. Rhodes, however, only chuckled mockingly.
"Of course not… my foolish little brother."