Chapter 20: Why Always Me
Riya woke up that morning looking like a living corpse. Dark circles hung under his eyes, heavy and depressing, thanks to the wonderful "activity" that Sieg and Astolfo were having all night long in the next room.
The walls weren't thick enough to block the noise, and neither were Riya's ears deaf enough to ignore it.
Speak of the devils—Sieg and Astolfo stepped out of their room holding hands, big dumb smiles plastered all over their faces, looking like they were floating on a cloud.
At first, Riya honestly didn't have a problem with their relationship. Good for them. Really.
But now? After he had to spend half the night running his soul out trying to catch up with Atalanta in that stupid race challenge, while these two were having the "fun" of their lives?
Yeah, he was a little jealous. Just a little.
But no time to mope. They had a rescue mission to do. Just great.
The target was Caules and Fiore, the last surviving Black Faction masters.
They had fled all the way to Sighisoara—the same cursed town where the Red Faction massacre happened.
The reason they hadn't kept running?
Simple: Sighisoara was surrounded by a powerful detection field. The moment they stepped outside the city, the Red Faction would sniff them out and send servants to finish the job.
Out of options, they decided to surrender to the Clock Tower and hand over critical information about Shirou Kotomine.
Rescue them, get the info, throw them on a plane to London, and make them someone else's problem.
That was the plan. Riya's kind of plan.
The moment Riya's group entered Sighisoara, the detection field flared red—literally.
From peaceful blue... to blood red.
Definitely a good sign.
Meanwhile, Caules struggled to carry his wheelchair-bound sister Fiore toward the rendezvous point, hurrying like crazy after seeing the field change color.
When they finally arrived, they found an unexpected sight:
Riya, the fake Ruler (who looked done with life) Muramasa, looking cool and stoic Sieg, who somehow wasn't dead Astolfo, waving like a lunatic
...Yep. A lot had changed since yesterday.
Caules wanted to just toss Fiore into Riya's arms and run, but Riya had other plans.
He wanted to spring a trap.
The Red Faction would definitely send one or two servants to "clean up the problem."
And waiting for them?
Muramasa, ready to slice.
Sieg, with Siegfried's power waiting in reserve.
Astolfo, cheerful but armed.
And Riya himself, now rocking multiple female servant powers, ready to throw down.
This time, they had the advantage.
While waiting, Riya demanded to know what crucial intel Caules had about Shirou.
Caules explained: after digging into old Holy Grail War records, he learned that Shirou wasn't just a master—
Shirou Kotomine was originally summoned as a Ruler-class servant 60 years ago.
A servant pretending to be a master.
No wonder Jeanne's Revelation skill pointed Riya toward him.
Everything clicked into place.
Riya sighed.
His job just kept getting more and more complicated.
Before the conversation could go further, a green spark exploded in the air—
Achilles came flying in on his chariot, dragging a violently seasick Shakespeare behind him.
Achilles immediately figured out the trap and, instead of getting mad, grinned with pure excitement.
He didn't care about strategy. He just wanted a real fight.
Shakespeare, on the other hand, looked like he was about to puke his soul out.
Fighting? No thanks. He would rather write plays.
The trap was simple:
Riya and Astolfo would handle the weaker servant (Shakespeare, lol).
Muramasa would go all out against Achilles.
Sieg was reserved for the final battle.
Riya had tried to give Sieg a command spell the night before, but it mysteriously didn't work.
Was it because of Siegfried's heart?
Was it because Riya wasn't a real Ruler?
Who knows. Riya didn't—and that just made his headache worse.
Did he mention last night sucked?
The battles began.
Muramasa versus Achilles turned into an absolute clash of legends—sword against spear, steel against speed.
Meanwhile, Riya and Astolfo...well...
It wasn't a battle.
It was bullying.
Poor Shakespeare could barely defend himself.
He had no offensive power, no defense, and his Noble Phantasm (which could only affect one person) was useless when he was fighting two opponents.
It was like taking candy from a hyperactive, weird baby.
At one point, Shakespeare even tried to throw a book at Astolfo in desperation.
The battle ended not by sword, not by spear, but by a stray lance from Muramasa and Achilles' fight piercing Shakespeare through the chest.
Oops.
...
...
...
...
...
"Ahahahahaha!!!"Riya and Astolfo laughed so hard they had to lean against each other for support.
Meanwhile, Muramasa and Achilles continued their intense duel.
Just as the two heroes were about to unleash their Noble Phantasms for a climactic final clash—
Achilles was suddenly teleported away.
Back to Red Faction headquarters.
Muramasa clicked his tongue.
"Tch. Shirou, you coward. You'll pay for interrupting my match."
Still, Riya considered it a win.
They'd gotten rid of Shakespeare and Achilles (temporarily).
Good enough for today.
After that, Riya shoved Caules and Fiore onto the first plane out of Romania, dumping them squarely into the Clock Tower's lap.
Problem solved.
Well...almost.
There was still one massive problem left.
It was noon now, and before night fell, Riya needed to figure out how the hell he was going to beat Atalanta in a race.
Why?
Why did all the hard things always fall on him?