"So, even knowing everything, she is still unwilling to accept me."
Standing on the church steps, Souya looked helplessly at Mordred, who was hurriedly pulling Sisigou along as if trying to flee from something.
How should he put it. It was his first time being a father, and he did not have any experience. But it seemed his daughter was not acknowledging him.
Thinking about it carefully, it actually made him feel melancholic.
"If you need, I can make some time for you two, father and daughter, to have a chat."
As if hearing the emotions contained in Souya's tone, Morgan, whose mood was currently very joyful, spoke by his ear in a joking tone.
Not long ago, Souya successfully completed the return of the Heroic Spirit Lamorak, relying on Morgan as a medium.
No matter how unbelievable Mordred found it, upon seeing Souya's perfect fusion with the Heroic Spirit, and seeing him summon that Holy Lance right in front of her, she had to admit that this modern young priest was Lamorak, her idol since childhood.
But admitting it was one thing; accepting it was another.
Because she had previously spouted nonsense and attacked Souya, she truly did not know how to interact with him.
Furthermore, Morgan told her right in front of Souya that she indeed incorporated Lamorak's factors when creating her. This made Mordred even more unable to face her nominal father.
After thinking for a long time, she decided to use the simplest method to solve this problem. Escaping.
After hastily saying goodbye to Morgan, Mordred lost all desire to express her feelings to her. She grabbed Sisigou—who had just picked up the tea Semiramis brewed and had not even taken a sip—and hurriedly left.
Facing Amakusa's attempt to make them stay, she only left behind a sentence saying they were going to act independently.
Thus, under Semiramis's hateful gaze, this unexpected family drama came to a hasty conclusion.
Regarding this, Souya could only say it was hard to explain in a few words.
"Never mind, Morgan. Let us wait until she and I are both ready. Dealing with it now would be too awkward."
Hearing Morgan's words, a wry smile surfaced on Souya's lips.
Expecting someone with the mindset of a youth to accept that they suddenly had a daughter... this kind of thing had to be taken slowly.
"Hehe."
To this, Morgan said nothing. She merely smiled joyfully.
Indeed, no mother would fail to smile upon seeing her husband experiencing a headache over not knowing how to communicate with their child.
Even though Morgan herself did not know how to communicate either.
"Ahem."
Right at this moment, a somewhat ill-timed cough interrupted the conversation between the couple.
"Um, regarding tonight's plan, do you have any arrangements, Souya?"
Feeling the gazes of the two fall upon him simultaneously, Amakusa rubbed his nose awkwardly.
He did not want to be a third wheel and interrupt them. But if he did not say something soon, Semiramis behind him was going to tear his clothes to shreds.
Fortunately, Souya realized that it was already dark. Barring any accidents, the plot involving Sieg was about to begin. Since he had recovered his power, he could absolutely not let Siegfried be fooled by Astolfo into throwing his life away again.
And there was also Jeanne.
Thinking of this, Souya did not hesitate anymore and addressed Amakusa.
"If I am not mistaken, the Red Faction's Servants should launch their first round of probing attacks against the Black Faction tonight, right? As a Master capable of fighting Servants, I must go take a look no matter what."
At this point, Souya seemed to remember something and asked Amakusa.
"By the way, Amakusa, is there any work that our Caster team needs to help with?"
Souya only remembered after speaking that his team was the Caster team. Although no rules stated Casters could not fight on the front lines, in this type of battlefield scenario, he and Morgan should actually be responsible for base defense, battlefield analysis, and setting up great magecraft.
Before Amakusa could say anything, Semiramis behind him spoke with an arrogant tone.
"With me, Semiramis, here, that is naturally unnecessary. As the builder and founder of many magnificent architectures, I am of course responsible for the battlefield work."
Hearing this, Amakusa nodded despite feeling a bit helpless, and replied.
"She is right. You can leave the battlefield preparation work to us. You two go do what you want to do. By the way, help me keep an eye on the Servants who are acting without Master restraints, to prevent them from suffering losses due to carelessness."
Regarding Semiramis's words, Morgan—who usually found her displeasing because of their similar attributes—did not object this time. Her beautiful azure eyes were filled with indifference.
"That could not be better."
Hearing this, Souya smiled gently and prepared to take Morgan to the battlefield of Trifas.
But before that, he had one more thing to do. He had to pick up Kriemhild, the tsundere princess who had been staying in Sighisoara for a long time.
Siegfried and Kriemhild. Expecting them to encounter each other proactively would simply take too long.
Since tonight was the final opportunity, he naturally had to go call Kriemhild.
With this thought, he and Morgan gradually disappeared from Amakusa and Semiramis's sight.
As night fell, on the other side, Atalante was currently standing on a tree branch in the forest. She was waiting for familiars to transmit the news of their arrival back to the Black Faction, while chatting with Achilles, who had followed her and was standing under the tree.
As for the topic, it naturally drifted back to the hero named Orpheus.
"So, Atalante, why did you call Caster's Master Orpheus when you saw him? Do they look alike?"
Achilles leaned against the tree trunk, asking Atalante above him.
"I have told you many times, Achilles. Do not call me that."
Atalante habitually corrected Achilles's address. Then, facing his subsequent question, she fell silent.
"Actually, it is not just that they look alike. My feeling tells me that, whether looking at their aura or appearance, they are the same person."
"The same person?"
Hearing this, Achilles raised an eyebrow.
"You did not sense it wrong, did you, Atalante? Everyone is different. How could the auras of two people spanning the Age of Gods be the same?"
"That is impossible!"
Before Achilles could finish speaking, Atalante impatiently interrupted him.
"As a hunter, my perception and tracking will not make mistakes!"
Atalante's originally calm mood became somewhat irritable.
"Although my Noble Phantasm did not activate, the power from the stars tells me my intuition is not wrong!"
"That priest named Kotomine Souya is absolutely Orpheus! It must be because of some reasons that he is currently incomplete, or has lost his memories!"
At this point, Atalante's eyes were slightly reddened.
This strong Hunter had firmly believed she had not mistaken him since the moment she saw Souya.
But no matter how she explained it to herself, everyone around her denied her intuition. Even when she sought out the hero Karna, he denied the possibility that Souya was Orpheus.
This feeling of being seemingly abandoned by the world, being the only one holding onto and remembering a world with him, was truly unbearable.
This was also the reason why she—who usually rejected and loathed men other than Orpheus—agreed to let Achilles approach her.
If Achilles had not been constantly chatting with her and helping relieve her anxiety, she truly would not have been able to resist using that Noble Phantasm, using Mad Enhancement to escape all of this.
Listening to Atalante's words and sensing the hint of breakdown hidden in her tone, Achilles sighed.
For this woman, that person named Orpheus was truly important.
Thinking this, Achilles suddenly sensed something.
His gaze snapped toward the depths of the forest.
At the same time, Atalante also recovered her senses. Her ears perked up, and her emerald eyes looked in the same direction as Achilles.
"They have found us."