Chapter 537: Evade taxes, young man



Walking into the church door, Shirou Emiya stopped and turned to look at the blonde girl wearing a cloak and a hood at the door.

"...Why doesn't Saber come along?"

"Who knows." Toosaka Rin waved her hand and walked inside without stopping. "Since she said that she had been to this era, maybe she has some friendship with the fake priest here~"

"Let's go, Emiya-san." Tong Shen smiled and patted Emiya Shirou's shoulder, explaining, "If this is really the case, it will be of great benefit to you not to let them meet. Although Uncle Bu doesn't care, generally speaking, the identity of a Heroic Spirit should be hidden if possible!"

"……I see."

Emiya Shirou nodded and followed.

"By the way, does Tousaka-san know the priest here?"

"Of course, he was my father's student, and also my first guardian and second master after my father passed away..."

"So, the priest here is a magician?"

"Yes, he is a genuine fake priest~"

As they were talking, two men and one woman had already walked into the main hall.

In front of the baptismal font of the church, a tall figure closed the Bible in his hand, turned around calmly, and looked at the three boys and girls who walked in through the door.

Lu Bu and Deng Yougang were waiting at the door, looking at the man with interest.

He has medium-length brown hair, wearing a cassock made of Kevlar fiber material inside and a dark purple long windbreaker outside. He has a cross necklace on his chest, and there is a slight smile on his seemingly serious face.

"Rin, I repeatedly told you to come, but you ignored me. Now that you're in trouble, you remember me and even brought a few strange guests with you..."

Having said that, the brown-haired man paused and his eyes swept across Emiya Shirou and Tong Shen's faces.

"So, which one of you is the seventh person in this Holy Grail War?"

Tong Shen put his right hand on Shirou Emiya's shoulder and pushed him forward a step.

The brown-haired man's eyes moved slightly, and then the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and he looked at Tong Shen with a hint of joy in his eyes.

"So you are the eldest son of the Matou family, Matou Shinji, right?"

"Call me Tong Shen." Tong Shen said calmly, "The name Jian Tong will no longer exist from now on."

The brown-haired man chuckled, and said with a hint of emotion and joy in his tone: "He fled when he was young, returned when he was older, and single-handedly destroyed a famous magic family that had been passed down for hundreds of years... He is truly an extraordinary young man!"

Hearing the words of the brown-haired man, Emiya Shirou was slightly startled and couldn't help but cast his eyes towards the calm boy beside him.

At this moment, the brown-haired man suddenly turned his gaze to Emiya Shirou.

"My name is Kotomine Kirei. What about you, the seventh Master?"

"…Emiya Shirou."

Emiya Shirou came back to his senses and answered subconsciously.

"Emiya... Shirou."

Hearing the name Emiya, Kotomine Kirei couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth.

"Let me confirm, you are Saber's Master, right, Emiya Shirou?"

"Indeed, I did sign a contract with Saber." Emiya Shirou shook his head, "But I have no interest in this Master and Holy Grail War or anything like that. If Masters must be orthodox magicians like Tousaka and Tong, you'd better choose another Master!"

"Choose another one..."

The corners of Kotomine Kirei's mouth twitched slightly, and he couldn't help but look at Toosaka Rin in surprise.

Toosaka Rin crossed her arms and shrugged, "I told you, this is a more serious case than Shin."

"hehe!"

Kotomine Kirei chuckled, a hint of amusement in his tone: "I see, it does look very serious... Okay, I'll teach him. After all, this is the first time you've asked me for help, Rin~"

“…”

Toosaka Rin frowned slightly and moved her eyes somewhat awkwardly to the stone pillar next to her.

Kotomine Kirei chuckled and said, "Emiya Shirou, Master is not something you can transfer. The so-called Master is a test given by the Holy Grail. Now that you have obtained it, you cannot give up this identity. Before you truly win the Holy Grail, this pain cannot be relieved..."

Shirou Emiya frowned and said, "So I have to participate in this ridiculous war of seven people fighting each other?"

Kotomine Kirei shook his head: "Your understanding is too superficial. Everything in the Holy Grail War is to select those who are worthy of the Holy Grail. The so-called Seven-Man Fight is nothing more than a ritual to accomplish this goal."

"...The Holy Grail, could it really be the Holy Grail in the legend?"

"Yes, the Holy Grail that descended upon Fuyuki City is authentic. Just looking at the incredible existence of the Servant can prove it, and the authenticity of a Holy Grail that can achieve this level is meaningless in the common sense, because even if it is not the legendary original, the power it possesses is fully worthy of the name of the Holy Grail."

Kotomine Kirei said this as he walked towards Emiya Shirou and Tong Shen.

On the surface, he seemed to be talking to Shirou Emiya, but in fact, his peripheral vision was always keeping an eye on Tong Shen.

"call--"

The sound of whistling wind suddenly came, and Kotomine Kirei felt a slight pain on his cheek, and a pitch-black Fang Tian Huaji stopped in front of him.

Kotomine Kirei stopped, his brows twitched slightly, and he looked at Tong Shen and the tall and mighty heroic spirit behind him with some confusion.

"Take one more step forward and I will kill you!"

Lu Bu looked down at Kotomine Kirei from above and spoke in a calm tone.

Kotomine Kirei raised his eyebrows, feeling the extreme sense of crisis coming from Lu Bu, and couldn't help but smile and said: "General Lu, did you misunderstand something?"

"I never mistake hostility."

Lu Bu's light words spread in the church, and everyone in the church was stunned.

A hint of realization flashed in Kotomine Kirei's eyes.

...So the problem lies in this link?

A warrior's intuition is such a troublesome thing!

Generally speaking, if a conversation gets to this point, it's basically over. However, Kotomine Kirei is Kotomine Kirei after all, an old tax evader. Even if his little tricks are exposed in front of him, he still faces everyone's gaze with a normal expression.

Tong Shen trusted Lu Bu's words very much, and immediately looked at Kotomine Kirei with a cold gaze.

The two looked at each other silently for a few seconds, then Kotomine Kirei chuckled, raised his hands and took a step back.

"Okay, okay, since General Lu thinks I'm a threat, I'll stand here and talk..."

After saying this, Kotomine Kirei actually began to talk about the rules of the Holy Grail War with a normal expression.

In the empty church, Kotomine Kirei's calm words echoed, and occasionally the voices of Tong Shen and Emiya Shirou could be heard, the difference being that the former would mostly only ask some relatively in-depth questions, while the latter would try to argue with Kotomine Kirei with a naive attitude.

Facing these two young Masters with very different personalities, Kotomine Kirei felt extremely happy.

Especially Shirou Emiya, the adopted son of an old friend, who is such an innocent and righteous boy.

Even though he had said this, the boy was still trying to give up his identity as a Master.

But it doesn't matter, Kotomine Kirei knows how to deal with such people.

Facing Emiya Shirou's gaze, Kotomine Kirei revealed a delighted smile, and softly raised the possibility that 'if an evil person obtains the Holy Grail, his evil wishes will come true', and told them the truth about the fire in Shinto ten years ago.

After learning that the disaster ten years ago was actually the aftermath of the Holy Grail War, Shirou Emiya was immediately shaken.

Although he has no desire for the Holy Grail, if the Holy Grail is obtained by an evil person and causes a disaster like the one that happened ten years ago, this is something that Shirou Emiya, who became an orphan because of the disaster and was adopted by his adoptive father, does not want to see.

"Have fun, young man."

Kotomine Kirei stood in front of the church door, looking at the three people who were leaving, especially Emiya Shirou's back, with the corners of his mouth curled up.

"Even if you don't want to admit it, for the righteous companions, the evil that needs to be defeated is an indispensable existence. Only when the evil is clearly seen can your wish be truly realized..."

“…”

Shirou Emiya frowned and turned to walk towards the street outside the church.

Toosaka Rin was slightly ahead of him, and Hong A's figure jumped down from the top of the church and landed lightly beside her.

Tong Shenze and Lu Bu walked in front, glanced at Tosaka Rin and Emiya Shirou behind them, and asked softly: "Uncle Bu, are you sure that Kotomine Kirei is hostile to me?"

Lu Bu nodded and said, "Of course."

Tong Shen frowned and said, "Then he should have already set his sights on us."

At this point, Tong Shen showed a hint of hesitation on his face.

But soon, Tong Shen's face hardened, as if he had made a decision, and he lowered his voice and said, "Uncle Bu, don't ask me where I got the information from. Anyway, that fake priest is very likely Lancer's master!"

"You defeated Lancer, and he has taken an interest in you. He probably wants to kill us in advance, or take control of you from me."

"So that's how it is!" Lu Bu snorted coldly, "I will go back and take his head!"

“Wait!” Tong Shen hurriedly stopped Lu Bu and whispered, “Uncle Bu, this guy has a powerful helper by his side. He is a heroic spirit who descended as an Archer in the last Holy Grail War. He stayed in this world for some reason and did not leave with the end of the Holy Grail War…”

"As an Archer, that guy's attack range is very large. From what I know about you, Uncle Bu, you may be able to defeat him, but it should be difficult to save my life while defeating him."

"So, it's better to take a long-term view!"

Hearing Tong Shen's tactful and flattering words, Lu Bu's expression eased slightly.

"There is also this matter..."

"Well, let's just spare his life for now!"

"But the black guy in front should be able to attack at will, right?"

As he spoke, Lu Bu stared straight ahead and slowly raised his right hand. Black and red air streams rushed out and gathered into a pitch-black Fang Tian Huaji in his palm.


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