After all, Shinji Matou is just a mortal.
Time travel, living two lives, guidance from famous teachers, magic tricks - these can make him extraordinary, but they cannot make him the kind of person who is well-rounded and good at dealing with people. Perhaps he just doesn't have such talent in his bones.
Fortunately, Shinji has a strength—he is brave enough to admit his mistakes and correct them as soon as he knows them.
Loreleija made it clear, and he didn't want to save face, so he immediately lowered his head.
"I was wrong. I will give you an explanation when this is over. You can punish me or punish me as you like. But you really can't stay in such a dangerous place now. Please go back."
However, this sincere statement still resulted in -
"Still no."
"Loreleija!"
Seeing that Shinji was a little anxious, Lorelaia's eyes flashed with complexity, and she said while biting her lip.
"Shinji, have you forgotten what I just said? It's too late. Do you think I will be willing to go back after seeing this?"
Modern magicians who have never seen a Servant in person will never understand how powerful a Servant is. The same was true of Loreleija in the past. Even though she knew from Kenneth and Weber that Servants were powerful, she didn't take it too seriously. Until Faker appeared and suppressed her with his dual identities as a magician and warrior of the Age of Gods.
From that moment on, she truly equated Servants with the ancestral-level Dead Apostles. After seeing top-level Servants like Iskandar and Altira, this idea became even more unbreakable. The idea of using the power of Servants to defeat the Dead Apostles was not false, and it had not changed, but after actually seeing the war between Servants, she had a new idea.
What on earth could such a being fight for? It had nothing to do with greed, just pure curiosity and the duty of the Lord of the Law and Politics Department - the management of mysteries.
"I never understood why you were so outstanding but didn't want to step into the limelight, and why you didn't want your hometown to be noticed. Now I finally understand. It's because of the Holy Grail War or something behind this ritual. If it weren't for the exposure of the "Night of Wallachia", you might not want me to send people here."
"... "
Shinji was speechless again. Lorelaya was right. There was nothing wrong with what she said. Magicians are not stupid. They can see a lot of things with just a little clue. Lorelaya is the best in this respect.
After the silence, there was a sigh.
"Legal Affairs Department, Legal Affairs Department... I still say the same thing, I don't want you to get involved in this matter. When the Holy Grail War is over, I will give you an explanation. As long as you want to know, I can tell you the whole story, whether it is technology or other aspects. I will not hide anything."
This was Shinji's biggest concession. He didn't trust Lorelaia before, but after all these years together, he believed in her, wholeheartedly. As long as the Greater Holy Grail could be successfully purified, as long as she was willing to go back, why not give it to her as a gift
Lorelaia understood this intention, but understanding did not mean she was willing to accept it.
"I still say the same thing, it's too late."
"You think I'm lying to you?" Shinji said expressionlessly. He was already furious because of Roa's escape, and now that Lorelea was holding him back, he couldn't suppress his anger any more.
Lorelaia shook her head: "Of course not, since you made such a promise, you won't lie to me."
"Why then? You know how dangerous the Holy Grail War is. Moreover, the scale of this war is twice as large. Even if you—"
"Even if it's me, so what?" Lorelei raised her eyebrows in displeasure. "It's true that the Holy Grail War is quite dangerous, but I'm not El-Melloi. Aren't you underestimating me a little too much?"
Shinji's eyes narrowed as well: "This is not a question of whether to underestimate or not."
"What's the problem?"
"You two, can I—"
Waver, who was standing nearby, opened his mouth and was about to say something to ease the atmosphere, but was hit by the two men's simultaneous response.
"—Don't say anything yet, this is a problem between us."
The number one teacher in the Clock Tower sighed helplessly. There was no hope now, these two idiots.
Trust? Don't trust
Dangerous? Not dangerous
These are just appearances, not the root cause. The real root cause is the personalities of the two people.
These two extremely outstanding young people both have strong personalities, and will consciously or unconsciously take the lead when they get along. Previously, in the clock tower, because of the affection between the boy and the girl, and because of the help of myself, Kenneth, Sora and others to mediate, the conflict was not caused.
But now, when something happened that one side could not give in, the conflict was completely intensified. Weber also anticipated what would happen next.
"Matou Shinji, you are too self-righteous. Do you think you are invincible just because you have a Noble Phantasm?"
"I don't think so. On the contrary, you, after inheriting the origin mark of Barthelmero, do seem to look down on everyone."
"There are only a few people who can catch Barthelmero's eye."
"Then I—"
"What do you think?"
"Heh heh."
"hehe?"
Eye contact and sneer confrontation.
"Come to think of it, we haven't had a serious fight since you inherited the Origin Seal."
"Because I don't want to take advantage of you with the Origin Seal."
"You took advantage of me? It was obviously me who was afraid of not being able to control my power and accidentally hurting you."
"Oh? How about we try it now? Who will hurt whom? - Any means can be used, a battle without restrictions."
"Okay, but I have one condition - if you lose, you have to go back to London."
"Okay, I have one condition - if I lose, you will just follow my lead this time."
"It's a deal!"
"It's a deal!"
For two equally strong people, the conflict will only be resolved when one of them overwhelms the other.
For strong men like Shinji and Loreleija who are at the top of the world, the easiest way is to fight and let strength speak for itself. The one with the bigger fist is the truth.
The two people, who were less than half a meter apart, stretched out their hands at the same time and clapped their hands as an oath.
The moment their palms separated, Shinji twisted his wrist and punched directly. Then, his left hand and right foot followed suit, imitating Roa's surprise attack.
The upward curve of his lips clearly revealed his attitude—it was you who said there were no restrictions, so any means could be used.
Lorelaia had never thought that Shinji would be so shameless. She was a beat slower, which resulted in her losing the chance to attack. She could only grit her teeth and passively defend. After being hit several times in a row, she used the recoil to pull back.
The moment you stand firm is the beginning of the counterattack.
Sink the horse, lunge, and punch!
Barthelmero is a perfectionist with obsessive compulsive disorder, and Loreleija is no exception. The Queen of the Clock Tower has no weaknesses, and she will find her way back wherever she is tricked.
If you want hand-to-hand combat, then hand-to-hand combat. If you want close combat, then close combat.
With just one punch, Shinji was bent to his knees.
It was like a pilgrimage to the queen.
PS: Reminder, please note that the 144th chapter has been revised. Please re-cache and read it again before reading this chapter.