Chapter 145: Exchange of Fire

"Still, what on earth are these people? The last time we crossed paths, that guy's attack style was bizarre enough, and what on earth was going on with the sniper that appeared when the target tried to escape? Why are there technological weapons capable of threatening even Heroic Spirits?" Taking advantage of the enemy's absence, a bored Rin questioned Lancer.

"Suh-who knows? Though one thing is certain, this bunch are all a bunch of oddballs." Whether it was that guy who was obviously even more second-hand-embarrassing than himself, or the bespectacled otaku he saw yesterday, or that weird Fuhrer-obsessed maniac, they were all a bunch of oddballs anyway. Furthermore, the four other fellows he hadn't seen yet had already been mentally tagged as oddballs by Lancer.

"I don't know about the others, but I only know that the guy in front of me, I will definitely..." Halfway through his sentence, his entire figure vanished from Rin's side.

"..." Rin, who had been about to scream, instantly clutched her hand over her mouth. Although she might not be able to fully control Lancer in terms of command, she could still perceive whether he had assumed spirit form. In other words, Lancer had truly concealed himself rather than simply shifting into a spirit body.

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"Is this the place? The legendary location of the Tiger Dojo?" Although he had nearly been cornered by people last time, he didn't consider himself defeated; it was merely because he had been overly nervous upon catching sight of the legendary Saber—he comforted himself this way. Arrogant though he was, the fact that he had survived this far meant he wasn't a fool, and he still retained confidence in his own strength. As for his previous blunder, he simply blamed it on the Assassin who had launched a sneak attack on him. In his view, he would never lose to anyone in a head-on fight, and even if he couldn't win, running away would pose no problem at all.

"..." For some reason, although his perception told him there were no other living beings in the immediate vicinity, he still felt a faint, lingering unease.

"..."

As a transmigrator who had survived until now, he undoubtedly trusted his intuition more than any instrument. Decisively donning his suit of armor, he shouted out loud, "Who is it! Show yourself!"

"..." Lancer said nothing, merely shaking his head at Rin. He trusted his own stealth capabilities just as much; he understood better than anyone what kind of person could find him, and clearly, the fellow shouting and hollering outside right now did not belong to that category.

"Use your phone to message Sakura and have Caster hurry over."

Just as Rin was feeling nervous, Lancer's voice suddenly resonated directly within her mind.

"Ah..." Just as she was about to vocalize her surprise, Lancer covered her mouth, a look of "just as I expected" plastered across his face.

"Baka! I thought you couldn't do that! Why do you always ignore me whenever I try to notify you normally?!" It wasn't that Rin didn't know Heroic Spirits could communicate purely through telepathy, but every time she wanted to save trouble and called out to Lancer, the fellow would consistently ignore her, leading her to classify Lancer as a peculiar sort of Heroic Spirit—after all, this wasn't the first precedent.

"Who would want to waste precious energy helping you do those kinds of things? Besides, being a Heroic Spirit fundamentally makes one merely a pawn in the Holy Grail War. Did you actually think Heroic Spirits are here to take on odd jobs?" Lancer retorted without a moment's hesitation. Though he phrased it so eloquently, Lancer's true reason was—it was troublesome.

"Hmph! Suppose you have a point!" After replying with these words in her mind, Rin turned her head away and put on an expression of ignoring Lancer.

Once she turned her head away, she fell silent as well. Although after her father's death, Uncle Kariya had stepped in to fill the vacancy and had even done a better job than the original, sometimes she still felt a sliver of loneliness. That was why she had chosen to stay at the Tohsaka residence instead of moving away with Sakura, until—

Thinking of the actions and deeds of a certain unprincipled Heroic Spirit, she truly didn't know what to say, yet it somehow evoked a different kind of warmth within her. At that moment, a hand gently rested upon her head.

"What a twisted little brat, to be honest. I just thought it was troublesome." Seeing Rin turned away, Lancer revealed a faint smile. When he first arrived here, he had been entirely preoccupied with Sakura's affairs and completely forgotten there was another loli around. "I wonder if it's too late to farm some affinity now?" A stray thought flashed through his mind.

"Tch! You unprincipled Heroic Spirit!" Rin could also sense the other's intention to comfort her. "Such a clumsy fellow, though." Of course, that final sentence was kept unspoken, preventing Lancer from hearing it.

"Still, it looks like if I don't go out there, the target is likely to leave. I'll go stall him. Remember to use a Command Spell at any time so that I can protect you better." Reminding her once more in his mind, Lancer drew two long swords and silently slipped away along the shadows.

"Seems like no one is here, but just to be safe..." Although he disliked admitting his failure, compared to his life, failure was truly a minor issue. Besides, aside from himself, there was no one else present on the scene...

"Swish!" Suddenly, before any sound reached his ears, the sensation of a blade being unsheathed echoed straight within his mind.

"Not good!" Even though he was still wearing armor, they were not in combat conditions after all, so the defense rating of the armor wasn't particularly high. The moment he sensed he was under attack, he instantly poured more power into the armor. At that very instant, his ears finally caught up, and a violent screech of grating metal burst forth.

"Hey now! Are all the Heroic Spirits of the Fifth Holy Grail War adept at drawing swords?" Seeing that white-clothed samurai-style fellow from last time appear once more, the fanatic couldn't help but complain aloud, unable to hold back his words even though the opponent had no idea what he was talking about.

"I happen to be quite a famous swordsman, you see. Neither Sasaki, nor Miyamoto Musashi, nor even Yagyu Jubei." Having failed his initial strike, Lancer knew he had lost the chance for a one-hit kill, which meant reverting to the original plan. Although this had been within expectations, he still couldn't help feeling a trace of disappointment.

"Looks like you're not just any ordinary Heroic Spirit. Are you a transmigrator like us?" The fanatic said after his opponent withdrew his blade and stepped back. Though his temper could occasionally be volatile, he would never overlook matters concerning his own precious life, such as determining the identity of his current opponent.

"That's right. I'm your senior, you see~ Though I arrived a bit earlier—all the way back when King Arthur was still just an ordinary person." Lancer had already issued a death sentence in his heart for the fellow before him. Saying this was merely a form of misinformation, intended to make the opponent make incorrect decisions based on faulty intelligence during the ensuing battle.