Jiang You then witnessed an intense, high-stakes life point exchange. Midway through the duel, Beryl drew "Forbidden Experiment" and attempted to discard "Morgan" again to gain a token for activating "Corrupting Sorcery." Unfortunately, Fairy Tristan countered by destroying it with "Origin Bullet."
Beryl watched helplessly as his Life Points plummeted by 500, 500 at a time, until only 500 remained. He held only one unusable card in his hand: Corrupting Sorcery. Ending his turn meant certain death.
Just like the rules of a standard Duel, prolonged inaction was forbidden. Even if Beryl refused to end his turn, the death script would continue to tick down. Fairy Tristan watched the final seconds of the timer count down and bid farewell to the man she had once loved second-most.
"Just as you said, one day people grow tired of what they love. I've grown weary of you now. So, farewell forever, Beryl."
As the timer reached zero, Beryl's Life Points plummeted to zero. A hand emerged from the darkness and gripped his head.
In his final moment, he cried out the name of the person who mattered most to him: "Mash!"
Then, a radiant crystal rolled out from the darkness.
"Mash? Calling her so affectionately! No wonder this guy was so hostile to me. He was just trying to get to another woman!"
Hearing this, Fairy Tristan's fury intensified. Even if it was discarded trash, she wouldn't allow anyone else to touch it.
"I'll definitely find that Mash guy, cut off her limbs, and slowly hollow out her insides until she screams herself to death. Then I'll bury them both—one in the north and one in the south!"
Jiang You suddenly remembered that Mash was still frozen in cryosleep nearby. Her involvement had cast doubt on whether this cycle could ever be completed. He decided to seize an opportunity to thaw Mash out later. If Morgan remembered her, she would surely be overjoyed. As for how to close the loop, he'd leave that to the world to figure out on its own.
"Beryl's feelings were just unrequited. His love isn't something a sane mind could comprehend, so don't take your anger out on Mash."
Jiang You thought to himself, Mash is a seductress too. Even in Fae Britain, there are two heavy hitters who are madly in love with her—literally to the point of death. I wish I could get that kind of passive affection; then Soul Crystals would pour in from all directions.
"I don't care! Also, is this Beryl's Soul Crystal?"
Fairy Tristan picked up the medium-sized Soul Crystal, fiddling with it for a moment before pulling out her spiked hammer and slamming it down repeatedly, as if trying to vent her frustration. Unfortunately, despite its fragile appearance, the crystal was surprisingly durable, sending painful vibrations through her wrist with each strike.
"Of course it's his," Jiang You replied.
He glanced at his inventory. These crystals only increased Affection with specific characters; giving one to Shirou Emiya, for instance, would barely raise his Affection at all. Since he had plenty to spare, he added, "If you want it, you can have it."
"What's this thing even good for?" Fairy Tristan asked.
Rather than wanting the crystal, she yearned to destroy it, condemning Beryl to eternal damnation. She drew her harp bow and struck it viciously against the crystal, but to no avail.
Jiang You now understood why Fairy Tristan was looked down upon by the Queen's Knights for her spellcasting abilities. He wondered how much effort Morgan had invested in teaching her to cast even basic attack spells.
"Then stop taking your anger out on it," Jiang You said. "Soul Crystals are essentially highly concentrated blocks of magical power. If you don't know how to use it, just give it to Morgan. She'll love it."
"Would something like this really make Mother happy?" Fairy Tristan asked skeptically, but she withdrew her spiked hammer nonetheless.
"This Soul Crystal has remarkably potent magical power, but isn't one a bit too few? At the very least, we should gather ten to package them properly. Let's grab some people on the way and turn them into Soul Crystals. The fairy souls in the Royal City should be of excellent quality."
"You're truly something else."
Jiang You gave Fairy Tristan a thumbs-up, acknowledging her now firmly established pattern of thought—utterly reprehensible yet "possessing unparalleled brilliance."
"Of course. Becoming my Mother's magical power is their honor."
Fairy Tristan failed to detect Jiang You's sarcasm, instead puffing out her chest with pride.
Unable to restrain himself any longer, Jiang You delivered a swift punch to the crown of her head.
"Use your brain, just for once! These people are working for your Mother, and you're just going to rip out their souls? Are you worried Morgan's position on the throne is too secure or something?!"
As demonstrated by the incidents with the Fang Clan and the Wing Clan, fairies, despite their capricious nature, are still capable of loyalty and hatred. While Fairy Tristan undoubtedly rules Britain with absolute power, her subordinates still need people to carry out tasks. Morgan's workforce has dwindled to the point where she requires dozens of clones just to manage her daily duties.
By the way, Jiang You still couldn't understand why Morgan had so casually allowed Fairy Tristan to kill the Scribe in the conference room. How could the others possibly tolerate this without rebelling?
Fairy Tristan was about to snap back, but since it involved Morgan, she swallowed her retort.
"Then should we send this over?"
"Trust me, the value of this thing is far greater than you imagine."
Jiang You urged Fairy Tristan to deliver the item quickly, while he planned to return to the Fifth Holy Grail War timeline to buy some things. He didn't want to intrude on the mother-daughter reunion.
"Let's meet back at your manor later. I need to step out."
"Go, go. Don't get in this lady's way."
Fairy Tristan agreed to Jiang You's suggestion, relishing the solitude. Every time she tried to do something, Jiang You would make some comment. If not for Morgan's attitude, she would have killed him long ago.
"And remember this: if Mother isn't satisfied, I'll make you pay dearly!"
Then, Fairy Tristan watched Jiang You vanish before her eyes, without any warning, not even a ripple of magical power.
Jiang You first traveled to the Fifth Holy Grail War timeline. He remembered he needed to get some high heels for Fairy Tristan. Modern craftsmanship was far more refined and unique than the fairies' handiwork, but the materials were too ordinary and hadn't been enchanted. He wondered if Fairy Tristan would be pleased.
Having little knowledge of high heels, Jiang You went straight to the most luxurious shoe store and bought almost every different style they had. Since he was spending Atrum's money, he didn't feel any remorse, especially since Atrum himself didn't mind.
When Medea saw Jiang You arrive with a truckload of high heels for enchantment, she felt like she was nothing more than a convenient enchantment workbench in his eyes.
When will Jiang You finally find a new Caster? Medea sighed, gazing skyward in exasperation.