[FMMISM] Chapter 59: Ragna's Speechlessness

Everything had already ended by the time Irisviel and Artoria finally arrived at the scene where Ragna was beating up Kiritsugu.

At this moment, the winter frost and moonlight had draped the forest in a layer of tranquility and mystery, and the wind had suddenly ceased at some point.

Only the victorious Caster group remained on the battlefield, which was now covered in devastation.

Ragna was lounging with his legs crossed on a broken, sturdy tree trunk, one hand wrapped around the waist of the witch sitting beside him.

Clearly, this was their way of showing Irisviel and Artoria that Ragna was actually the true Master.

Morgan, who was now in the victorious group, must have been in a pretty good mood. After all, the fairy queen held in the boy's arms looked even more dazzling and charming than before.

With calm blue eyes, Morgan first gazed at Ragna's face with affection, then glanced sideways at her sister as if examining an object.

"Yo, Irisviel, Lancer. You two finally made it."

Upon Irisviel and Artoria's arrival, Ragna greeted them triumphantly, holding a cigarette between his fingers.

The cigarette, named 'Smoke Dragon', was just like the two women who had arrived—a trophy Ragna had won after defeating Kiritsugu.

"Huff..."

Under the moonlight, Ragna enjoyed the lingering joy of victory, seated with a beautiful woman and puffing on his cigarette.

"I think you should understand that from now on, I'm the master of your castle. Please take care of me from now on?"

Ragna raised his right hand, revealing a crimson tattoo on the back, symbolizing Lancer Artoria's ownership.

"Ahh..."

Realizing that her husband's Command Spells had been taken, Irisviel's legs went weak, and she collapsed onto the ground.

After a long while, she asked in a hoarse voice.

"Where's Kiritsugu?"

"Since he begged me so nicely, I let him go for your sake." Ragna replied calmly.

"...You didn't kill him?"

"Of course not, I wouldn’t do anything to make you sad. As long as he behaves from now on and doesn’t show up in front of you again, I won’t harm him." Ragna explained, then sneered inwardly. 'Of course, it’s only if he behaves.'

"..."

Upon learning that her husband was still alive, Irisviel finally steadied her breathing and looked up.

"Can I trust you? As long as I obey you, will you let him go?"

Ragna nodded.

"You can certainly trust me on this. I would never lie to you, Iri."

Blowing out a smoke ring, Ragna answered coldly but with sincerity.

"..."

With that, the forest returned to silence.

After a few seconds, Irisviel silently got up from the ground and began to speak calmly.

"Emiya Kiritsugu abandoned his role as Master and fled from Fuyuki. Hence, the Einzbern family acknowledged its defeat in the Fourth Holy Grail War."

After declaring that, Irisviel looked at the boy, who was once her enemy and now completely controlling her life, with sorrow in her eyes.

In her crimson pupils, only the numbness of accepting reality remained.

"Caster's Master."

In the dark forest, a pair of noble and bright emerald eyes were fixed on Ragna.

Ragna shifted his gaze from Irisviel to Artoria, who had been standing silently and finally spoke up.

Even with a collar on, a lion was still a lion and a red dragon was still a red dragon. Despite her predicament, Artoria's expression remained serene and composed.

"Lancer, do you have any complaints? If you want to criticize me with your so-called chivalry, there's no need. I didn't use any underhanded tactics in tonight's battle. Speaking of underhanded tactics, that should be your previous Master, right?"

Ragna spoke with a sarcastic tone.

"Putting a woman out front, having his own wife risk herself by pretending to be a Master while he hides in the forest to snipe at the enemy from afar... How manly, truly a man among men... Well, that's Emiya Kiritsugu for you."

"…"

No one could refute the boy's malicious words.

Even Irisviel turned her face away in distress and disappointment.

Tonight was the first time she witnessed her husband's battle, and it was indeed very different from what she had imagined.

Kiritsugu's methods were quite despicable, yet he still ended up in defeat.

On the other hand, Ragna, who should have had a better strategy and upper hand in this battle, chose the most difficult path by using himself as bait, enduring sneak attacks to lure out the enemy hiding in the shadows.

From the perspective of chivalry, Ragna's way of doing things was undoubtedly chivalrous.

Even Artoria couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for him.

She wondered, if it were this boy, could he have done better than that man?

"…"

After meeting Ragna's gaze, Artoria's shoulders trembled slightly.

'I see... that's how it is...'

She had thought Ragna was just a frivolous scumbag, but the reality seemed different. His choice of such a reckless fighting style tonight must have been to make her truly convinced.

Perhaps her judgment of his character had been somewhat hasty.

"I understand now."

Artoria's elegant face remained calm as she made her choice.

From the beginning, she had never regarded Kiritsugu as her Master. Even if she wanted to communicate with him, he had never spoken a single word to her.

Furthermore, now that Irisviel, whom she had vowed to protect in this era, had chosen to ally with the Caster group, there was only one answer!

"Caster's Master, I have decided to respond to your Command Spells and acknowledge your status as my Master."

Ragna: "...Huh?"

Morgan: "...Huh?"

Upon hearing the knightly oath presented by Artoria, the two members of the Caster group not only didn't feel happy but showed quite a perplexed expression.

Ragna and Morgan quickly exchanged glances.

[Wait a minute... Master, give me a moment!]

Talking telepathically, Morgan furrowed her brows and puffed out her cheeks.

[This isn't what you promised earlier!]

[How the heck could I know?! Why is this woman not following the script?] Ragna's eyebrow twitched.

[Master, how did you just assure me? You said Arthur would never accept you as her Master and would use her Magic Resistance to resist the Command Spells. By then, you would turn her over to me and let me use my magecraft to corrupt her.] Morgan pressed.

It made sense for her to say that.

Morgan still remembered clearly what Ragna had said to her three minutes ago.

"Caster, you can take Lancer. Feel free to go all out and teach the noble King of Knights to fit our needs."

With such confidence, Ragna had spoken to Morgan like that at the time.

Unfortunately, not only did Artoria not resist, but she also surrendered outright. Needless to say, her quick surrender left Ragna and Morgan speechless.

Especially Ragna, who was the most baffled by this situation.

Logically, given that he had forcefully kissed Irisviel, snatched Kiritsugu's Command Spells, and even taken up his wife, Artoria should be very hostile toward him.

Yet, why was she looking at him with such warm and understanding eyes?

What Ragna didn’t know was that, while he might have been following his true desires by messing with Kiritsugu for fun, Artoria saw his actions as an act of courage and integrity.

Moreover, in her eyes, such a person was better suited to genuinely protect Irisviel than her former master, Kiritsugu.