I, Kenneth, am going to get to the root of the problem today.

Page 12

At this point, Maris Billy also revealed an embarrassed expression. It was already shameful for a noble magician to beg for money everywhere, and now to place his hopes on a vague Holy Grail was truly against the tradition of magicians.

“No problem. I’m also very interested in Animusfia’s plans. I’ll accept your commission.”

Kenneth's inner thoughts: Interested, I'm extremely interested. Even if you find the contract, I'll blow up your spiritual calculation device the moment you see it.

"By the way, I remember that the head maid of the Animusfia family is an imaginary attribute, right? I took in a disciple who is also an imaginary attribute. Could you ask her to give my good-for-nothing disciple some pointers?"

P.S.: Trisha Filhod is the magician who boarded the Mystic Eyes Collection Train with the Director in the Second Case Files. She is the Director's attendant and teacher.

Recalling the rumors circulating recently, Marisbury also thought of the two little girls following Reines. Imaginary numbers are fictional elements outside the five elements, and they do need a guide to lead them. Marisbury, who felt indebted to Kenneth, had no reason to refuse and nodded in agreement to Kenneth's request.

“No problem. Trisha and Mary will come to the Clock Tower in a few days to take over my work. I will arrange for them to come a few times a week.”

"Thank you very much."

......

With the agreement reached, Maris Billy, busy making money, didn't stay long. After exchanging a few pleasantries with Kenneth about the clock tower, he hurriedly left the El-Melloi residence. As Kenneth walked back to the mansion after seeing Maris Billy off, he bumped into Aozaki Touko, who was leaning against the door frame.

"Boss, you must be very busy. I can forget about Lydel, but I didn't expect you to even be in contact with the reclusive Animusfia."

Since returning to London some time ago, Aozaki Touko has been staying at the El-Melloi house, tutoring the three little ones (who are rich). Under the watchful eye of this Grand Magician, Kenneth's plan to seize the family fortune is bound to be exposed. However, with the intention of teasing her childhood friend Ayumi, Aozaki Touko even acts as Kenneth's strategist. The two, who are like-minded, hit it off and started plotting against the ignorant rich woman.

"What do you think? I'm a big boss, making millions every minute. I'd almost steal cars just to support you."

Aozaki Touko and Kenneth can both be categorized as fun-loving people. As outliers among magicians, their relationship has progressed significantly in just over a year. They can make harmless jokes without any problem. However, even as friends, Aozaki Touko insists that she will not shortchange him on any amount of money.

"How's my doll doing? It's about time, isn't it? If it drags on any longer, you might as well just go to Fuyuki City and collect my corpse!"

Kenneth plopped down on the sofa, grabbed some snacks from the table, and started stuffing them into his mouth. Having completely adapted to his role as Director Ken, Kenneth let loose. No matter how much he pretended to be in public, Kenneth was completely relaxed at the El-Melloi house.

"Everything is ready. The Mystic Eyes and the puppets are starting to adapt. Why are you making it sound so serious? Is a Holy Grail War really that dangerous?"

Kenneth glanced at the disdainful Aozaki Touko with his deadpan eyes, and could only chuckle. What kind of place is Fuyuki City? It's the center of the universe, you know? Grand Master Shirou Emiya, the Servant Souichirou who can tear apart Servants with his bare hands, Fuyuki City, the world's peace... You think calling it Fuyuki City dangerous is any good?

Too lazy to explain anything to Aozaki Touko, Kenneth felt it was best to keep things related to his self-control to himself. He poured the pastry he had stuffed into his mouth down with black tea and then sprawled out on the sofa in a relaxed, reclining position.

"I must commend your discerning eye. Leaving aside that little girl from your El-Melloi family, Sakura Tohsaka and Fujino Asagami are both incredibly talented. They've practically emptied my coffers. Let me tell you, they've squandered all the good stuff I had lately. Your El-Melloi family is so wealthy and powerful, but I..."

Kenneth believed the three little girls were talented, but he absolutely didn't believe they could empty Aozaki Touko's pockets in just six months. Looking at Aozaki Touko, whose face practically screamed "Give me the money!", the numb Kenneth pulled out his checkbook and tossed it to her.

"Fill it out yourself, but don't go too far."

"Alright, I like people like you (money). If it weren't for the fact that you've almost gotten Lydia into bed, I would definitely give you my all."

Kenneth rolled his eyes at Aozaki Touko while picking up the checkbook that was being offered to him with both hands. Instantly, he put on a mask of pain. (Subway, old man, cell phone.jpg)

"Nine nines, you really know your limits! With the way you spend money, I wouldn't take it even if you paid me!"

Kenneth tore the handed-over check to shreds and rounded it down to the nearest hundredth. Despite Kenneth's blatant swindling, Aozaki Touko maintained her shrewd expression, thinking, "Why not take free money?" She was already smitten the moment Kenneth pulled out his checkbook.

"I've got my eye on an antique, I'm quite interested, but I'm short on cash. You know how I am, boss."

"Yes, yes, I understand. You eat all three meals a day here, and your monthly salary is gone in three days. You're now a legendary woman of extravagance in London. I'm so grateful to you!! Please try to come to El-Melloi's properties as often as possible in the future, so I can lose less money."

Quickly accepting the check Kenneth tossed her, Aozaki Touko performed a lightning-fast outfit change for Kenneth before heading off to enjoy the big boss's hard-earned money. Fortunately, Aozaki Touko concealed her face during her stay in London; otherwise, those families who had designs on Aozaki Touko would have definitely worn down El-Melloi's doorstep.

-------------------------------------

"In the world of magic, it's a generally accepted truth that wealth comes from underground sources, with gold and jewels as real-world examples, so..."

In El-Melloi's classroom, Kenneth lectured at his heart's content while the students below diligently took notes. As an excellent male lecturer, adhering to the principle of "if you can't fool someone, then fool them to death," Kenneth directly joined the ranks of lecturers whom the Clock Tower most wanted to have its babies with. After routinely looking down on Webber, Kenneth, with a look of great satisfaction on his face, returned to his office.

'Coo coo coo—!! (Makes the author's sound)'

Picking up the letter delivered by the pigeon, and seeing Lydia's arrogant yet blatant invitation, Kenneth's lips curled into a smug smile.

"A concert? Are you going?"

Looking at the VIP ticket in his hand, Kenneth picked up the phone and contacted his go-to assistant, Roy.

"Get me a ticket to Lord Acherlot's concert, a regular seat, and don't use El-Melloi's connections."

After hanging up the phone, Kenneth was determined to latch onto Lydia, this rich woman, for the sake of his future life as a kept man.

Chapter Thirty: Preparations Before the Fourth War

Oh! Oh! Oh!

Lydia!! Lydia!!

Witch, take me away!! How can I live without you!!

……

At Lydia's concert, amidst the deafening cheers, Kenneth inexplicably had the illusion of being at a voice actress's concert. Although Lydia played a comedic, persecuted role in the original work, to be honest, aside from her slightly less-than-ideal figure, Lydia was absolutely outstanding in every other aspect. Under the multiple filters of money and physical attributes, Kenneth could only say one thing:

"This woman is so sweet!"

As the concert drew to a close, Lydia, who had been hoping to catch a glimpse of the performer in her reserved spot, was filled with resentment as she realized no one was there.

"You promised you'd come, you liar! Coward! You third-rate magician!!"

"How dare you stand me up! I'll make you regret missing my performance!!"

After a short break, Lydia returned to the center of the stage.

"The concert is about to end, and the next two songs are two of my favorite new songs. You guys better be grateful!!"

"Oh!!! Lydia, Lydia, please, please emphasize your words..."

"Witch, please step on me..."

"Swear at me, please swear at me just one more time..."

A bewildered Kenneth: You guys are really awesome.

As the tight rhythm began, Kenneth found a sense of returning to his past life under Lydell's singing. Opening his eyes and looking at Lydell singing and dancing on stage without rap, Kenneth decided that once he got to live off Lydell, he would definitely make Lydell perform a song live before the game.

......

"That guy, how dare he stand me up! I invited him so much, and he dared to betray my kindness!"

"Ah!! You bastard! If you don't explain yourself clearly, I will never let you get away with this!"

'Knock knock knock.'

Just as Lydelle activated her Barbarian King ultimate ability, a familiar knocking sound rang out. Glancing at the pigeon that had come to deliver the message, Lydelle's eyebrows twitched, and as she flicked her ponytail behind her ear, she turned gracefully away from the window.

'Knock knock knock... knock knock knock... knock knock...'

Noticing the knocking stop, Lydia's ears twitched, and she secretly glanced out the window. The empty window made Lydia completely lose her composure.

"Couldn't you have just held on a little longer?! Maybe I would have forgiven you? A guy like you will never find a girlfriend!!"

"Ah!! You mere third-rate magician, how dare you mock me like this!!"

Staring at Lydia, who was giving up in front of the open window, the pigeon that had already flown around into the room tilted its head at a 90-degree angle, firmly recording Lydia's exasperated appearance.

-------------------------------------

The next day, after finishing his work, Kenneth sat expressionlessly in the Clock Tower's meeting room. Although Kenneth came from a poor family, he was still a member of the Clock Tower's elite class. However, Kenneth really couldn't stand these infighting bastards. Not long after the last meeting, these old foxes started arguing again over the distribution of profits.

"With your limited perspective, it's no wonder you wouldn't react at all if the world were on fire."

With the Fourth Holy Grail War imminent, Kenneth had no interest in arguing with these old fogies. He simply cleared his mind and kept saying "yes, yes, yes" to Lorelia's vote.

"Finally, regarding the expansion of the archaeology discipline, does anyone here have any objections?"

Looking around and seeing that none of the attending monarchs and their agents had uttered a word, Lorelia, as the monarch in charge of the clock tower's operation, directly approved the issue raised by the archaeology department.

"Archaeology, Karmagrive Meastia Drucker? Old fox."

Archaeology, known to those unfamiliar with it as the weakest discipline in the Clock Tower, is a representative of the neutral faction. However, as a man who has read the script, Kenneth doesn't believe the other party's nonsense. In the original book, Lord Kenneth died in battle, and while other families were sharpening their knives at El-Melloi, the one who ate the most was Lord Meastia.

Despite posing as a neutral party, Meastia navigates between the aristocratic and democratic factions, managing to profit immensely without getting involved in their conflicts. She has successfully navigated the field of archaeology to her fullest extent. In the Second Chronicles, Meastia even directly usurped the position of Lord of the El-Melloi Minerals during the clash between the aristocratic and democratic factions.

After ousting El-Melloi to the Modern Magic Department, which previously lacked a monarch, Meastia firmly secured her position as monarch of the Mineral Department, becoming the only monarch in the Clock Tower to manage two disciplines. It's worth noting that this had never happened in the Clock Tower before; even the powerful Bartholomew controlled the Zoology Department by using Gaius as a puppet.

Staring at the smiling man in front of him, Kenneth mentally sentenced him to death. Now that Kenneth had taken over Director Ken's business, it would be too much to ask for him to break the bowl while eating.

"Once I finish what I'm doing, Meastia, you can just wash your neck and wait to die!"

After the meeting ended and Kenneth exchanged pleasantries with his father-in-law, he returned to the El-Melloi family. According to news from Fuyuki City, a strong magical energy fluctuation had occurred in the ley lines where the Tohsaka family was located. Kenneth knew perfectly well what the reason for the magical energy fluctuation was.

"Just like in the original story, as one of the three starter families, they're being summoned ahead of schedule? It seems like Artoria has also appeared in the world."

"Tch, GM can still lose in a fight? What a disgrace!"

Now that things have come to this, Kenneth, unable to use any backdoors, can only utter helpless curses. Under the influence of the cosmic consciousness, Waver is still immersed in the library writing papers, and the Conqueror's Cloak is like a satellite flying in the sky in FGO that hasn't landed yet. Even though Kenneth has obtained Karna's relic, without the backdoor of the Holy Grail system, just like a person who can't write advanced mathematics when forced to, Kenneth has no way to summon it in advance.

"Forget it, since the three starters have already made their move, I should get ready too."

Pick up the phone and tell Roy to cancel all his upcoming appointments. Kenneth then pushes open the door and drags out Aozaki Touko, who has been living a leisurely life.

"You want to have the Magic Mark implanted?"

“That’s right. According to my investigation, that Kiritsugu Emiya has a Mystic Code called Origin Bullet, which is why he can become a magician killer.”

"The Origin Missile?"

Seeing that Aozaki Touko didn't quite understand, Kenneth patiently explained:

"Kiritsugu Emiya's origin is about cutting and combining. The Origin Bullet is a bullet made from his ribs. When a magician performing magic is hit by this bullet, all the magic circuits in his body will be cut off and then randomly reassembled. An individual's body can be replaced, but the magic crest, which is an external organ, can be completely destroyed by this bullet."

"Hiss, so this is why you ordered a doll from me? I never expected that magician assassin would have such methods."

After mentally analyzing Kenneth's intelligence, Aozaki Touko realized how terrifying Emiya Kiritsugu was. A Magic Crest is the core of a family. In the world of magic, even if a family's bloodline is severed, as long as the Magic Crest can be passed down, the family has not disappeared. Emiya Kiritsugu's Origin Bullet can be said to be able to directly sever the efforts of a family for generations to come to a certain extent.

"No wonder that man is called the Magician Killer because of this magical attire."

Muttering to herself, Aozaki Touko also expressed her understanding of Kenneth's caution.

Chapter Thirty-One: Kenneth the Real Man

Kenneth isn't a gambler. For a magician of Kenneth's caliber, the Magic Crest is merely icing on the cake. Losing the Magic Crest for a slight increase in combat power would be a huge loss.

Furthermore, aside from Kenneth and Tokiomi Tohsaka, no one in the Holy Grail War adhered to the Master-to-Master principle. Faced with Servants, who are so powerful that they overwhelm modern mystical beings, Magic Crests are truly useless. Kenneth isn't Kenneth either, so there's no need for him to bring his ancestors into the fight. Rather than dragging El-Melloi's future to dance on the edge of a knife, Kenneth would be better off giving Kiritsugu a performance of "the times have changed."

"Since you've made up your mind, then let's do it this way. By the way, do you want to keep the magic crest or have it transplanted?"

"Transplant it directly to Reines. I have enough time to recover. By the way, I designed a magic spell for the Holy Grail Servant system. Can you help me see if you can improve it? Ideally, it would allow me to summon it against the rules."

What Kenneth was referring to was the improvement made by Director Ken in the original work, which was a magic that separated the Master's magic supply system from the Command Seals system. In the original work, in order to increase combat power, Director Ken handed over the magic supply of the brush to Sora and the magic core, while he himself was responsible for the Command Seals. Now, Kenneth's idea is to use his original body and magic core to supply magic, and control the Servant as a puppet, so as to achieve the illegal operation of controlling two Servants by himself.

Aozaki Touko picked up the documents Kenneth handed her, glanced at them briefly, and then put them aside.

“I will examine the items. I will transplant the magic crest into you first. The magic crest is a magician's simulated organ. You are fine, you will be alright after a few days of rest, but that little girl will need a long time to adapt.”

"That's settled then. Is there anything you need to prepare?"

Raising an eyebrow, Aozaki Touko gave a "bring the boat over" look, realizing that this was a piece of cake for her. Kenneth didn't linger and led Touko into the magic workshop. Shortly after, the bewitched Reines also swayed in.

"I don't have time to explain anything to her, and the transplant process is very painful, so this is more convenient."

Nodding in understanding, Kenneth removed his gloves and revealed the magic crest passed down through nine generations of the El-Melloi lineage to Aozaki Touko.

"Is this the El-Melloi family's magic crest? As expected of a monarch who has inherited it for nine generations, even a small piece of this quality could crush most magic families."

After placing Reines on the control panel, Aozaki Touko carefully examined the Origin Mark on the back of Kenneth's hand.

"Hey boss, aren't you afraid I might tamper with the transplant?"

"Tch, I think the chances of you cheating me out of my money are much higher than the magic mark."

"So this is how the big boss sees me? I thought you'd say you trust me. I'm so heartbroken, sob sob~~"

Kenneth rolled his eyes and pursed his lips at Aozaki Touko's fake crying. He wasn't exactly a gentle type. Talk about trust, adults talk about interests. Putting aside their relationship, Aozaki Touko would never mess around with the salary he offered. Everyone can tell the difference between a full meal and a regular meal.

Realizing her fake crying was ineffective, Aozaki Touko performed a lightning-fast change of expression for Kenneth. Magic flashed in her hand, and in the blink of an eye, a blade formed from magic sliced ​​into the back of Kenneth's hand.

"hiss!!!"

Aozaki Touko's blow nearly made Kenneth choke. Enduring the excruciating pain that seemed to penetrate to the bone, Kenneth gritted his teeth and said:

"Couldn't you have reminded me? And why wasn't I given anesthesia?"

"I forgot, I'll just have to endure it. It's already started, there's no stopping it."

"hiss--!!"

With another slash, Kenneth finally understood that Aozaki Touko was doing this on purpose. Taking a deep breath and displaying his masculine prowess, Kenneth vowed to show Aozaki Touko what a real man is. Then, sensing the thoughts of a certain real man, Aozaki Touko, who was well-versed in physiology, made the determined Kenneth scream his lungs out.

For four hours, a full four hours, under Aozaki Touko's deliberate control, Kenneth teetered on the edge of dizziness and slump for four hours. When the stripping work was finished, Kenneth, staggering and pale, returned to his office chair in the study, looking utterly exhausted.

"Just you wait, when I get back from the Fourth Holy Grail War, I'll make sure you scream even louder than me, Orange!!"