Reborn with Steve Stand

"You... also want to save your country?"

Hearing Fang Mo's words, Saber was clearly taken aback.

"What, you too?" Fang Mo, of course, knew what she was thinking, but he feigned surprise.

"I..."

Saber instinctively opened her mouth, wanting to say that her only wish was to return to the day she was chosen as king. But the next second, she realized that her Master was a novice. If she revealed her true identity now, it might be unwise. So, she changed her response, "Yes, I also want to save my fallen country."

"I see."

Fang Mo nodded slowly, his hands behind his back. "It seems you bear a cruel fate, just like me."

"I..."

Saber averted her gaze. "I simply cannot accept this outcome."

Fang Mo suddenly raised his hand, his voice becoming impassioned. "For the fate of my empire, I abandoned my dreams, sealed off my emotions, faced down devils, bore slander, and was even called a madman by many!"

"Everything I did was for the continuation of my empire, but in the end, it was all for nothing. My empire, my subordinates, my lover, my struggle... everything I had was reduced to ashes. How could I accept such an end? Damn it! How am I supposed to accept it!?"

"You..."

Saber was deeply shaken by these words.

She couldn't help but look up at the man before her. Every word he spoke seemed to resonate with her buried memories.

For a moment, her vision seemed to return to that hill of swords, where the sky was dim, and a light rain fell, reflecting the grim future of Britain. She stood there, knowing that all this misfortune stemmed from her own decisions.

In her mind, she could hear the words again: "King Arthur does not understand the hearts of people..."

Indeed, the identity of this petite, blonde girl was none other than the legendary King of Britain, the leader of the Knights of the Round Table—King Arthur, who had drawn the holy sword from the stone.

Of course, this was the Type-Moon universe.

So, some of her historical legends had been altered. For instance, her identity had shifted from that of a man to a young woman, but in the world of anime, such things were not uncommon. Even Fang Mo noted how fan interpretations of historical figures often transformed them into blonde girls.

Meanwhile, Fang Mo's speech continued.

"They even say I didn't understand the hearts of people!"

He pounded his chest with his left fist, filled with righteous indignation. "Ridiculous! If I didn't understand people, why did they rally behind me as the ruler of the empire? My only mistake was not wiping out those cowards! Traitors! Those who betrayed us from within! I should've fed them all to Stalin!"

"…"

Hearing the phrase "didn't understand the hearts of people," Saber trembled.

"?"

In stark contrast to Saber's reaction, Rin Tohsaka's face darkened completely at the mention of "Stalin." She could barely contain her exasperation at this point.

"Enough, Archer, stop talking."

Rin rubbed her temples, taking a deep breath.

To be honest, it was only now that she fully realized how persuasive the "Führer" was. In just a few short sentences, Saber's attitude toward him had noticeably changed. It was as they say, some people might not be highly educated, but when they speak, they strike a chord with others...

Clearly, Saber had been moved by Fang Mo's words. The two seemed to have found some kind of emotional resonance. If he kept going, Rin didn't know what might happen next.

Rin knew one thing for sure.

This man could not be allowed to continue building such connections.

Even though he was her Servant, Rin was wary of his oratory skills. His persuasive power was legendary, and if his words were to come true, she was starting to doubt whether she should even claim the Holy Grail.

If this man truly got another chance at power, the entire world order could change.

"…"

With that thought, Rin instinctively glanced at the Command Seals on her hand.

On the back of her hand, there were three circular markings—Command Seals, granted to Masters during the Holy Grail War. These one-time use items could forcefully summon a Servant to their side or make them follow orders, but using one would consume a seal, making them very precious.

As she stared at her Command Seals, Rin remembered some key details about the Holy Grail War from her notes.

One such detail was the nature of the Command Seals. The Grail, after victory, was granted to both the Master and the Servant. This meant that the Grail could fulfill either the Master's or the Servant's wish, so the two parties would have to negotiate over who would use it.

Therefore, most Masters would save at least two Command Seals, in case they needed to force their Servant into suicide to seize control of the Grail.

It sounded cruel.

But in the pursuit of a wish-granting Holy Grail, such brutal tactics made sense.

Rin suddenly recalled this fact and decided it was best to keep her Command Seals in reserve. While she didn't want to force Archer into a suicide command, she also couldn't allow him to fulfill his own wish.

If he truly succeeded in his wish, she feared she might wake up one day to find the world unified under his rule.

"Hmm?"

Fang Mo, noticing Rin's hesitation, asked curiously, "What are you thinking about?"

"Ah! Nothing..."

Startled, Rin quickly changed the subject. "I was thinking about the alliance. Emiya-kun probably still doesn't fully understand what's happening, right?"

"That's true, there's a lot I still don't get," Shirou admitted frankly. "Honestly, even after hearing your explanations, it's hard for me to accept. A Holy Grail that grants wishes? Servants summoned from history? All of this seems too fantastical to me..."

"Emiya-kun, aren't you also a magus?" Rin followed the shift in conversation smoothly. "If you didn't have magic circuits in your body, you wouldn't have been able to summon a Servant."

As she spoke, Rin glanced around at the now-damaged courtyard.

She crouched down and activated her magecraft, causing fragments of shattered glass to rise and reassemble like a puzzle. Soon, the broken glass window at the entrance was restored to its original state.

"I suppose so."

Shirou, seeing this display, nodded. "But I'm nowhere near as skilled as you, Tohsaka-san. I couldn't perform that kind of magic."

"Huh?"

Rin was taken aback. "But fixing glass is basic magecraft."

"Basic or not, I don't really know," Shirou said, shaking his head. "Everything I know... I learned from my adoptive father."

"I see."

Rin nodded instinctively.

From her perspective, it seemed Shirou's adoptive father must have been a half-trained magus, teaching Shirou whatever bits of magic he knew without offering a formal, structured education.

"…"

Meanwhile, Fang Mo, who had been observing the whole exchange, remained silent but smiled to himself.

Shirou's adoptive father was no ordinary figure. He was a man who had once participated in the Fourth Holy Grail War, shot down a man like Kennedy… no, Kenneth, and even achieved ultimate victory. After summoning the Holy Grail, he realized its true nature and ordered his Servant to destroy it.

And that Servant was none other than the same Saber standing by his side now—Artoria Pendragon, the blonde king of Britain.

"So... are we forming an alliance?" Shirou finally asked again.

"Of course we're forming an alliance!"

Fang Mo immediately responded, pulling Saber over and draping an arm around her shoulder. He pulled out a chocolate wafer bar, offering it to her. "Here, brother, eat this. Let's conquer Europe together... and reclaim our destiny!"

"Th-thank you..."

Saber was momentarily stunned, but she instinctively accepted the offering.

"An alliance?" Rin frowned slightly.

To be honest, she had a somewhat favorable impression of Shirou Emiya. She had observed his behavior at school, and it left her with the impression that he was a decent person.

Subjectively, forming an alliance with him seemed like the right thing to do.

Otherwise, this novice magus would likely be torn apart by the experienced magi participating in the Holy Grail War, and she didn't want to see him lose his life.

However, from another perspective, there was no true concept of "allies" in the Holy Grail War. In the end, only one victor would remain, and only then would the Holy Grail appear. So, even if they formed an alliance, the two of them would eventually have to face each other.

Rin was clearly torn.

Should she form an alliance and then defeat him in the end? Her Archer was quite powerful, so if it came down to a duel, she should be able to win.

And then she could use the Command Seals to control Archer?

Thinking about this made Rin feel uneasy. Guilt seemed to creep up her spine at the thought of betrayal. The mere idea of it filled her with shame.

"What, you don't want to form an alliance?"

As Rin wrestled with her thoughts, Fang Mo noticed her hesitation. He, of course, wanted the alliance, as it promised endless amusement. So, he urged, "I think we should form the alliance, Rin. I have a feeling this Holy Grail War won't be easy."

"Won't be easy?"

Rin looked at him, confused. "Why?"

"That Li Yunlong guy." Fang Mo started spinning a tale. "He's tough, and he has some abilities that counter mine. If we form an alliance, we'll stand a better chance."

"Li Yunlong? Who's that?"

Rin was completely baffled by this name.

"The Servant who just appeared. I'm not sure which class he belongs to yet," Fang Mo continued his fabricated story. "Luckily, Saber was here, so their Master must've thought the situation was unfavorable and ordered him to retreat. Otherwise, it would've been a tough fight—I'm out of mana."

"I... I've never heard of that Servant," Rin frowned. She knew the enemy was strong, capable of summoning subordinates and excelling in close combat, with high magical resistance. She suspected he might be a Rider-class Servant but had no solid evidence. As for the enemy's identity, she was completely in the dark.

Of course, her confusion was understandable.

After all, there was no chance that someone like Li Yunlong would appear in the Holy Grail War.

Even if he had a historical basis, he had nothing to do with the current storyline. Frankly, it would be more reasonable for Qin Shi Huang to show up than Li Yunlong.

That self-proclaimed "Li Yunlong" Servant...

Was, in fact, just Fang Mo in disguise.

Yes, all of this was an elaborate ruse, with Fang Mo playing both roles. It was his way of pushing the story in a new direction. In the original plot, this was the moment where Lancer pursued Shirou, leading to Saber's summoning.

But since Lancer had been nearly blown to pieces by Fang Mo earlier, there was no way he could chase Shirou now. Fang Mo had to improvise to ensure Saber's summoning.

So, Fang Mo hid in the main house, pretending to be drained of mana, and then used his time-stopping ability to teleport outside. With his power to manipulate his appearance, he transformed into Li Yunlong and fired a light cannon to create the necessary chaos.

After blasting the door apart, he walked in and began his improvised performance.

As for the monk who had appeared earlier, that was just a villager from Fang Mo's Minecraft-like world. These creations followed his commands perfectly, so executing the scene was easy.

After all that, Saber was successfully summoned, so Fang Mo no longer needed his fake identity and used it as an excuse to retreat, returning to the main house via time-stop.

But even though he didn't need that identity anymore, Fang Mo saw no harm in using it to scare Rin a little.

"You've never heard of him?"

Fang Mo continued with his story, "This guy counters me in some ways... You know which war I'm famous for, right? Well, Li Yunlong, in some sense, ended that war."

"What?"

Rin's eyes widened in disbelief. "He ended the war?"

"How did you study history?" Fang Mo frowned in mock disapproval, lowering his voice. "Anyone with basic historical knowledge knows this—the turning point of World War II..."

"…was when Li Yunlong attacked Ping'an County."