The Einzbern Castle was an ancient castle sealed by ice and snow, located deep in a desolate mountain.
Today, it was liberated from the snow for the first time in a long while.
Although the sky wasn’t clear, the milky-white sky was much brighter than a snowy day.
Inside the castle, a pair of emerald eyes watched the figures of a father and daughter playing at the forest entrance.
The stately female figure standing by the window possessed a sacred aura, detached from the mundane world.
Her soft, alluring golden hair was elegantly coiled at the back of her head, and beneath her bangs, her exquisitely beautiful face, which could make one feel disoriented, often wore a solemn expression.
A pale knight’s attire enveloped her tall and voluptuous body, yet it couldn’t conceal the fair skin revealed by her prominent chest and rounded thighs.
Though the young girl had a voluptuous figure, she possessed a sense of lightness.
Her limbs were well-proportioned, and her breathing was steady.
More than a woman, her first impression was that of a Martial Artist.
It was as if the young girl merely stood there, and the room was filled with a clear and crisp Qi.
“What are you looking at, Lancer?”
A female voice came from behind.
The young girl by the window, referred to as Lancer, turned around.
“Your daughter and Master are playing in the forest outside.”
Lancer showed a slightly furrowed, stiff expression, but it didn’t detract from the young girl’s beauty at all.
Gazing at Lancer’s beautiful profile and perfect curves, even Irisviel, the Einzbern princess, who was designed as a perfect creation, felt herself inferior.
How could one believe that this beauty and maternity belonged to the victorious Arthur, who led the Knights of the Round Table?
But the truth was so.
Lancer was Artoria Pendragon, the Knight King of the Holy Spear, summoned by Emiya Kiritsugu, the Einzbern’s acting Master, using the scabbard of Excalibur.
As for why Lancer was summoned instead of the superior Saber class?
Initially, they thought the Saber class had been claimed by another Master, but the truth seemed to be otherwise.
Irisviel stood beside her, looking out the window.
In the snowy plain, her husband let their silver-haired daughter ride on his shoulders, and the two, smiling, ran deeper into the forest.
“Kiritsugu’s side, did it surprise you?”
Even from such a distance, the loud laughter of the father and daughter could be heard, overflowing with joy.
Indeed, it was a loving father and devoted child.
“I had thought Wei Gong Qieshi was a colder man.”
Irisviel was very perplexed by Lancer’s words and said with a wry smile.
“It’s understandable that you would think that.”
Since being summoned, Kiritsugu, as the Master, had never spoken to Lancer once.
He treated his Servant as merely a subordinate or a tool, refusing to converse, remaining silent to questions, and even avoiding eye contact.
Kiritsugu had always rejected the Heroic Spirit he summoned.
Although Lancer didn’t directly show it, she must have been very dissatisfied with Kiritsugu’s dismissive attitude.
For her, it was only natural to feel a huge disconnect when comparing Kiritsugu’s usual attitude towards her with the man now playing with his beloved daughter.
“It seems I have not gained his trust or welcome.”
Despite voicing her dissatisfaction, Lancer’s stunning face remained an unchanging poker face.
Looking at her, the silver-haired young girl couldn’t help but laugh.
“Irisviel, there’s nothing funny about this.”
“…Sorry. I was wondering if you were still bothered by what happened when you were summoned.”
“A little. You two were overly surprised.”
Earlier, when she appeared from the shimmering summoning circle, Kiritsugu and Irisviel were both dumbfounded.
“I did indeed pretend to be a man, and it was my intention for that lie to be passed down through history… But to doubt that I am genuine, frankly, is quite unpleasant.”
“Even if you say that, there’s nothing we can do…” Irisviel said with a wry smile.
“Firstly, the gender is different, and then you said that this current form is stronger than your immature self. Surely, when it comes to Arthur, Excalibur is more famous, isn’t it?”
Lancer calmly stated, “Regarding this, there is actually a reason. Irisviel, I explained it to you before, didn’t I?”
In this world, after Artoria unified Britain, she changed her main weapon from the Holy Sword to the Holy Spear, Holy Lance Rhongominiad. This story is hosted at g.com.
No longer affected by the growth stagnation caused by the Holy Sword, her physical age grew to a stage befitting a King.
Since then, two spiritual foundations of Artoria remained in the Heroic Spirit Seat—
Arthur of the Holy Sword and Arthur of the Holy Spear.
Compared to the Holy Sword Arthur, who protected Britain’s Red Dragon, the Holy Spear Arthur was a being more inclined towards a deity.
Saber and Lancer had no difference in their spiritual structure, but they had strongly different emphases.
The Holy Spear Knight King before them had no urgent wish to save her homeland or anything of the sort.
Compared to Saber’s King aspect, Lancer focused more on the Knight aspect.
—Upholding good, combating evil.
For this, she held the [Boundary].
After abandoning even more human emotions than in the past, the King of the Holy Spear became a being akin to a deity.
Artoria Lancer.
The ascetic mental characteristic she possessed was very similar to Emiya Kiritsugu, who dedicated his life to the cause of justice.
Therefore, Kiritsugu’s aversion to her might precisely stem from the factor of like repelling like.
“…”
After a long silence, Artoria suddenly spoke.
“I am very grateful to you, Irisviel. If there hadn’t been a woman like you, I would probably have lost this Holy Grail War without a fight.”
Just as the Magician Killer couldn’t tolerate her, the Holy Spear Knight also couldn’t get along well with her Master.
“Mm, mm!”
Irisviel hugged Lancer’s waist from behind and said with a smile.
“It’s mutual, Artoria. Let’s work hard together; we must fulfill your mission this time!”
Mission.
As soon as she uttered this word, Irisviel recalled the Holy Spear Knight King’s manifestation in the summoning circle.
The words she spoke—
“Lancer, I have come in response to your summons. I have no wish to make to the Holy Grail; I am here to eradicate the evil beast, the culprit that should not exist in this world.”