Chapter 230: Lion Knight Ahoge, Attack!
Chapter 230: Lion Knight Ahoge, Attack!
Chapter 230: Lion Knight Ahoge, Attack!
"Why are you chasing after me?!"
Upon hearing the familiar voice, Bai Song executed a lightning-fast head turn. And I mean truly lightning-fast.
Bai Song managed to complete the whole head-turning movement in just three "frames" of time. There were three distinct moments: no movement, halfway through the turn, and completion of the turnthese three frames.
No matter how high the camera's frame rate was, it would only capture these three frames; it couldn't capture any more. It was like watching a slow-motion film, where no matter how slow you played it, you'd still only have those individual frames stitched together. For instance, if a movie had 24 frames per second, no matter how much you slowed it down, you'd still only have 24 frames in that one second; there would be no more.
Bai Song's situation just now was quite similar, if not exactly the same. Regardless, after completing the lightning-fast head turn, Bai Song immediately directed his gaze toward the source of the voice. And sure enough, it was none other than the autonomous humanoid Fou known as Merlin. To be precise, it was a white convertible carrying Merlin, and the driver wasn't Merlin but a silver-haired, red-eyed woman. Considering this event occurred in the fourth Holy Grail War timelinewell, let's say the fourth HGW timeline.
This woman was most likely Kiritsugu's wife, Irisviel. Here's a joke: the first time Bai Song encountered Merlin and Irisviel, he thought Merlin was the protagonist and that Irisviel was the Servant. It's not Bai Song's face blindness to blame; it's mainly due to the initial assumption that Kiritsugu's team had Saber as their Servant. Plus, in the world of anime, appearances aren't always consistent with reality.
At that time, Merlin wasn't wearing his Servant attire. It's akin to an actor in a live-action movie taking off their costumeyou'd never recognize them. So, with Irisviel's identity, considering she wasn't standing beside the black-haired Kiritsugu nor the blond-haired Saber, Bai Song didn't initially think of her as Irisviel. Instead, he speculated subjectively and assumed Merlin was the Master because of his somewhat... carefree demeanor.
As for Irisviel, her demeanor was completely differentshe exuded stability, aligning with the legendary identity of a Servant. And so, a wonderful misunderstanding was born. It wasn't until a couple of days ago, when Gudako launched a surprise attack on Bai Song's home, that Bai Song encountered Merlin once again.
And this time, Merlin was wearing his Servant attire. At that moment, Bai Song finally realized he might have guessed the wrong identity. Thankfully, he hadn't directly confronted Merlin prior to this realization.
Imagine this scenario: just before facing off against your enemy at the peak of the Forbidden City, you're dead serious and point your weapon at the bystanders, convinced that they're your foes. Even thinking about this scene, Bai Song could feel his face turning red enough to heat a three-bedroom apartment with just his toes.
Nonetheless, whatever happened in the past was in the past. Bai Song definitely wouldn't let slip the fact that he mistook someone's identity. Regardless, upon seeing that Merlin appeared behind him, Bai Song's heart was undeniably thrilled. After all, it meant he wasn't being targeted by the organizers, causing him to end up in super hot places twice in a row. Moreover, due to the group stage, encountering players from other groups indicated that he was finally back on the main track! And even after being delayed by the Sphinx for so long, he hadn't fallen behind one bit; in fact, he was even ahead of Merlin! What does it mean to be an international racing king? Well, that's exactly what Bai Song was!
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"Bzzz~~~!!!"
"Bzzz~~~!!!"
Following Merlin's enthusiastic shouts, two soft hums of the teleportation gates resonated. The next moment, a resolute-looking golden-haired girl knight, riding an imposing steed resembling a lion, emerged from the teleportation gate. This golden-haired girl knight was the designated Saber of this Holy Grail War.
Unfortunately, if you told her that the lion beneath her was quite majestic, she might just glare at you.
In her right hand, she held high a "sword" that radiated a golden glow, with a blade that was barely a foot long. Paired with her intense gaze fixed on Merlin, a gaze that seemed capable of killing, it was quite evident that she intended to use this broken sword to slay Merlin, who was currently in front of her.
"Why am I chasing you? What an interesting joke, Merlin." Artoria clenched her lips, her expression dark, and shouted, "Why am I chasing you? Don't you have a clue in your heart?"
Upon hearing this, Merlin, in front of her, once again shrank his body toward the driver's seat. He was now somewhat flustered. At the same time, he felt a touch of impropriety being pursued by his own student. Should he confess or not? It felt oddly stimulating. Of course, if he had a choice, Merlin really wouldn't want this kind of excitement. He just wanted to relax normally and enjoy the show while munching on some melon seeds. Instead of personally entering the fray and becoming the target of others' entertainment.
The mere thought that if Artoria caught up to him, she would give him that mischievous grin, caused Merlin's neck to involuntarily shrink. Subsequently, Merlin turned his pleading gaze to Irisviel who was sitting beside him.
"Lady, my life and well-being are in your hands. You must shake off Saber!"
"Rest assured, I'm driving. You can trust me!" Irisviel responded, raising her thumb in reassurance with an air of pride.
Merlin visibly relaxed and reciprocated by giving Irisviel a thumbs-up. "With you saying that, I can be at ease..."
Before Merlin could finish, Irisviel added in a caring tone, seemingly to further put Merlin's mind at ease. "Although this is my first time really holding a steering wheel, I've been playing racing games for years. So, I'm driving, you can trust me!"
Hearing Irisviel's words, the heart that Merlin had just managed to calm down, started racing again.
"Your first time driving?"
"Yes, that's right."
"But don't worry, I'm the best driver in the Einzbern family!"
After hearing Irisviel's confident response, Merlin, who was huddled in the passenger seat, fell into contemplation.
'Have I... gotten into a thief's car?'
Regardless of Merlin's thoughts, one thing was certain: if he jumped out of the car right now due to a lack of confidence in Irisviel's driving skills, he might end up dead even faster. On the other hand, staying put could be a slow and agonizing demise.
Realizing he was caught between a wolf and a tiger, the word "danger" gradually formed above Merlin's head.