Magician in Type-Moon

Page 422

Melvin paused for a moment, looked up at Matou Ike, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. "For what?" he asked, his voice tinged with doubt.

Matou Ike continued calmly, "What you can get at the Fim ship banquet has nothing to do with you, does it?"

Melvin's gaze faltered slightly, and he did not answer immediately, seemingly pondering the meaning behind Matouchi's words.

“The winner of the banquet can ask Van Fem for whatever he desires,” Matouchi continued, his tone gradually becoming calmer.

“However, I can’t think of anything you want. You could have done it with money a long time ago. Judging from your current appearance, you don’t seem like other magicians who crave the kind of spells and costumes that Van Fim has hidden.”

His words cut straight to Melvin's heart, as if trying to uncover his hidden true motives.

Melvin paused for a moment, a slight smile playing on his lips, seemingly unfazed by the situation. He said softly, "You're right, I really am not interested in that kind of thing."

Matou Ike leaned slightly forward, continuing to observe Melvin with a seemingly nonchalant attitude: "So, who exactly are you betting for?"

Melvin then smiled coldly:

“As I mentioned before, I am now the apprentice of Kiz, the magician of the Wandering Sea. My victory is Kiz's victory. Therefore, it is necessary to defeat you with all my might.”

Matou Ike raised an eyebrow slightly, then asked softly, "Is that so? But Kiz is already dead, so what's the point of your actions?"

Upon hearing this, Melvin's eyes flashed with a cold light, and he then narrowed one eye slightly, seemingly scrutinizing Matou Ike's reaction:

"That's hard to say. Even if you're not a magician, there are ways to send messages. Maybe after I beat you, Kiz's last words will come out. That way, I'll know what I need to take from you."

Matou Ike maintained her usual composure, seemingly unaffected by Melvin's words.

Melvin continued speaking eloquently, his tone filled with a certain persistence and unwavering conviction:

"Moreover, for a magician, the master-disciple relationship is absolute. If I am required to win, then I must win. This is the essence of a magician, and there should be no question about it, right?"

Before he could finish speaking, Melvin's gaze swept over Isilid beside him, and he immediately turned the conversation to him: "What do you think, Mr. Isilid?"

Isilid smiled slightly, waved his hand in feigned surprise, shrugged, and responded easily:

"Oh dear, as a mere branch leader, I am deeply moved by the conversation between the wandering sea disciple and Mr. Matou. I wish I could listen to it forever."

His tone was relaxed, yet it carried a profound meaning.

This gentleman hasn't joined the battle for the gold coins yet, but the number of chips he has is steadily increasing.

His technique was truly masterful; he was indeed worthy of being the head of the Monaco branch of the Clock Tower.

It seems that, regardless of whether he attended Fim's ship banquet or not, he was probably a regular at the casino.

“Mr. Isilid, you are too modest to call yourself a mere branch manager. The Morgan Fars family, to which you belong, is the second oldest family in Monaco, second only to the Escaldes family, which is jokingly referred to as having a backward history.”

Melvin will then explain his family background.

Matou Ike tilted his head slightly, a hint of interest flashing in his eyes.

Upon hearing this, Isilid couldn't help but sigh dramatically, then spread his hands in feigned helplessness: "It's a great pity that the Morgan Fars family can't laugh at the Escaldes family either."

He paused, his tone becoming more relaxed and self-deprecating:

"After all, our ancestors were travelers from who-knows-where. Although they multiplied in Monaco, they did not pass down any secret techniques. Even disregarding that, our family's magic crest is nothing more than a mortal object painstakingly created starting from the second generation."

Isilid continued, "And, to some extent, we also tidied up the surrounding land and, together with Mr. Van Fim, became the managers of Monaco. As for other things... well, there's nothing to brag about."

In the world of magic, a "manager" refers to someone who holds power over the land's spiritual veins.

They are not necessarily the same as the right holders in real estate, but it is said that when performing large-scale magic using local spiritual veins, the situation will be very different depending on whether or not a manager is involved.

The head of the Monaco branch of the Clock Tower and the administrator of Monaco.

It seems that despite his somewhat frivolous behavior, Isilid is still a formidable figure.

The betting continued even during the conversation.

The dealer, on the other hand, dealt the cards with an expression that showed he was completely unconcerned about the conversation.

Even in a typical chip-based game, tens of thousands of euros can be exchanged in a single match.

Having confirmed the cards he had received, Matou Ike spoke:

"Append."

After two cards, another addition is made.

Melvin also made an additional contribution.

For a period of time afterward, they were on guard against each other, engaging in a back-and-forth struggle.

Perhaps the fact that there were only three participants led to this situation. No one could easily stand out, yet no one was completely defeated; they engaged in a series of simple offensive and defensive battles.

Originally, in casinos, the winner is determined by the winner between the customer and the house.

In fact, as long as greed is not used, there is no struggle between the guests.

Gold coins and chips only circulate between the player and the dealer. From a macro perspective, the majority of the game's duration is a battle between the dealer and the player.

However, nowadays, the presence of the host of the boat banquet is unusually faint.

It was as if she were a shaman or something similar, witnessing the ritual.

"Double down the bet."

Melvin tapped the table, requesting a play.

This is a move that doubles the bet amount at the cost of limiting the number of additional cards that can be played to one. This time, Melvin bet 40 coins.

After taking the card from the green mat, he faced Matou Ike and spoke again.

"By the way, you should have already noticed this, right?"

"Notice anything?"

"Of course it's the cause of Kiz's death. I think if it were you, you wouldn't have forgotten, would you?"

"Answer with your name," Matouchi said.

"It's Emiya Kiritsugu, isn't it?"

"Yes, that's right. That magician assassin who once caused a sensation in the magic world. It is said that his bullets would not leave scars, but would force a magician's magic circuits to break down."

Melvin seemed to have noticed the expression on Matou Ike's face when he first saw the corpse.

At the same time, the dealer also turned over their hand.

The Queen of Diamonds and the 4 of Clubs. The dealer must continue until a total of 17 points is reached, so an extra card is drawn.

This time it's the King of Diamonds, totaling 24 points, and the dealer loses.

Matou Ike, Melvin, and Isilid all considered it a victory.

Melvin won 80 gold coins in one go by doubling down his bet.

Melvin calmly gathered the gold coins in front of him, his eyes slightly narrowed, like a silver fox lurking in the snow.

"As someone who fought against Kiritsugu Emiya back then, you must have analyzed his intelligence. So... do you know what his motives are?"

Chapter 466 Good and Evil

"Hmm?" Matou Ike frowned slightly, his gaze fixed on Melvin, clearly taken aback by Melvin's words.

Melvin didn't rush to explain, but simply began to speak casually:

"Back then, in preparation for the Holy Grail War, you investigated the Fourth Holy Grail War, which he participated in, in great detail, right? In that case, you should know about the motives behind that Magician Killer's participation in the Holy Grail War. The cause of Kiz's death in this incident is the same as the method used by that Magician Killer, so the reason might be related to it."

The silver-haired youth spoke calmly, yet every word carried profound meaning. A sharp edge shone through his words, as if he were offering Matou Ike a possible clue.

However, his words were quite convoluted, even somewhat far-fetched, as if he were using some clever reasoning to connect two seemingly unrelated things.

Matou Ike did not respond immediately; he remained silent for a while, seemingly deep in thought.

Matou Ike shook his head slightly, his expression complicated: "Him?"

He paused, seemingly reluctant to continue talking about the man.

Finally, he said softly, "...Perhaps he did it for justice."

Hearing this, Isilid couldn't help but laugh. He patted his jacket and retorted in a relaxed tone, "Hey, what's this? Did you come up with a super brilliant idea to attract attention?"

Matou Ike didn't rush to respond, but instead looked down at the chips in front of him.

"In this situation, justice is the order maintained by the majority. In short, it means forcibly entrusting the tasks that are performed by government agencies to one person."

Of course, from the perspective of modern society, government actions and individual behavior are vastly different, but this is not necessarily true for magicians.

Melvin gave an even deeper smile, as if he fully agreed with Matou Ike's explanation:

"After all, we are superhumans in a sense." His tone carried a kind of detached confidence.

"No matter how much the mystique fades, it cannot change the fact that we are superhuman beings, far beyond ordinary people. With great power comes great responsibility... just like this line from a famous comic. It is perfectly normal for magicians or magicians to have the same ideas. Perhaps to others, it is a kind of rare trouble."

“I see, I see.” Isilid nodded, seemingly understanding Matou Ike’s explanation. “You mean, the Magician Killer categorized us magicians as evil, so he carried out an extermination campaign? That’s a rare idea. I remember he was also a criminal who carried out indiscriminate terrorist attacks and even shot down a passenger plane, right?”

Matou Ike's expression remained calm, and his tone showed no fluctuation: "It's a matter of risk and reward."

He continued, speaking slowly and clearly:

"Kiritsugu Emiya completed the mission with extraordinary speed. Considering the preparation period and the time for formulating the plan, he must have been advancing multiple plans simultaneously, making decisions almost at the same time. The timing of entering those dangerous and conflict zones also coincided with the period when the conflicts were most intense. It would be unreasonable to do this simply for the reward. Because no matter how high the reward is, if you put yourself in danger, then the deal is not valid."

He paused for a moment, his gaze becoming somewhat profound. "However, in a sense, Kiritsugu Emiya was a fanatic walking the path of a magician killer."

Melvin placed the coins into the betting area while asking:

"Are you saying that my master, Kiz, was evil, which is why he was killed?"

"That remains to be seen. Besides, based on Kiritsugu Emiya's ideology, I should also be one of those who need to be eliminated." Matou Ike shook his head.

"Wow, it's just like a Zen meditation Q&A session."

Isilid chuckled, his tone clearly provocative.

He casually placed his gold coins into the betting area, the crisp sound of metal scraping against metal echoing, as if every action was a constant reminder of the tense atmosphere of the game.

At this moment, the onlookers sensed a change in the atmosphere, as if the entire simulated gambling ceremony was gradually approaching the next stage, and the gambling process was gradually accelerating.

"No more bets."

The dealer's mechanical voice announced the end of the betting phase and the start of the next round.

Matou Ike leaned slightly forward, his gaze passing through the chips on the table and landing directly on Melvin.

His gaze was cold and deep, as if he were observing a dangerous prey, causing Melvin to raise an eyebrow slightly.