Kotomine Kirei stood in the pure white. He looked around blankly and saw no one except himself.
【Is this the Lord’s paradise?】
As a believer, this was the first thought that came to his mind, but he quickly dismissed it. How could a sinner like him go to heaven? It was very possible to go to hell.
Although he is not sure where this place is, the only thing Kirei Kotomine can be sure of is that he has been killed by Emiya Kiritsugu, which means that people will come here after death?
He walked forward in a daze, not knowing how far he had gone or how much time had passed. Everything he could see was pure white, without any change.
Kotomine Kirei just walked like this and didn't care about it until he saw a blurry black spot in the distance.
He doesn’t know how long it took, but the black spots became clearer and clearer, and the pure white surroundings were gradually dyed with color. Unknowingly, he found himself walking on the bustling streets of the city, and the pedestrians around him were interfering with him.
Passing each other, everyone is busy doing their own thing.
Kotomine Kirei stretched out his hand, and his arm passed through the body of the passerby, like a shattered shadow, without any hindrance at all, and the passerby did not feel anything.
He retracted his hand and just followed the flow of people across the street, like a ghost sealed in time, but he didn't care about it because his destination was not here.
Arriving at the opposite side of the street, Kotomine Kirei stopped. This was a Chinese restaurant. Although he didn't know why, he instinctively felt that something was calling him.
After a slight hesitation, he stepped forward and opened the door.
"welcome."
Along with the ringing of the wind chimes, the man's lazy voice sounded. Kotomine Kirei looked at the man in chef's clothes. When he saw his face clearly, his pupils subconsciously shrank.
He had read the information about the man in front of him in the church's confidential information. That was before he learned that he had announced his participation in the Holy Grail War. Every agent should have read that information.
"The twentieth ancestor of the Dead Apostles [The Fool], Mikael Stefan Animsfia, why are you here?"
Kotomine Kirei asked in a low voice, subconsciously wanting to take out the weapon he carried, but unexpectedly it came up empty.
It doesn't matter if he doesn't have a black key. He is also very confident in his melee ability.
"Ah, this is really a strange question. It should be why you are here."
Mikael waved his hand, not paying attention to Kirei Kotomine's hostility at all. It would be strange if the agent showed no hostility when he saw the Dead Apostles. In the church's brainwashing propaganda, the Death Apostles had already done all kinds of evil.
Of course, it is not ruled out that some Dead Apostles are indeed like this.
"I'm here, isn't it because I died?"
Although he saw that Mikael had no intention of attacking him, Kotomine Kirei still did not relax his vigilance and continued to ask.
"So where exactly is this place?"
"Is this question important?"
Faced with Mikael's rhetorical question, Kotomine Kirei fell silent. Does it really matter where this place is?
"Okay, let's not talk about these non-nutritive issues. As our first customer, Mr. Kotomine Kirei, are you interested in trying our signature dishes?"
"chef's special?"
Kotomine Kirei was a little confused. Although he didn't know what the situation was now, he must be inseparable from the Mikael in front of him. He just needed to show off his tactics.
“It’s the authentic Mapo Tofu.”
A plate of steaming, bright-colored mapo tofu suddenly appeared in Mikael's hand. Smelling the permeating aroma, Kotomine Kirei immediately became interested.
I don't know when, he became crazy obsessed with this dish from the East. Although he didn't start to taste it, he was already swallowing saliva subconsciously. There is no doubt that the plate of Mapo Tofu in front of him will definitely make a difference to him.
experience.
"Then, I'll start."
He piously picked up a piece of Mapo Tofu, carefully put it in his mouth and tasted it, like a pilgrim saint, and then...
Then there was nothing more. Kotomine Kirei felt the indescribable deliciousness in his mouth. This was the authentic Mapo Tofu he had been searching for. He touched his face with his hand, and his fingertips were moist.
.
【Are you crying?】
"Since I was moved to tears by Mapo Tofu, it seems that my cooking skills are pretty good."
Mikael looked at Kotomine Kirei's performance and nodded, as if he was not very surprised by the result.
“Why do I taste bitterness in Mapo Tofu?”
Kotomine Kirei looked at the mapo tofu on the plate in confusion, and then ate another piece, tasting it carefully. It was obviously spicy, but the bitterness was what made him cry.
"Because that touch of bitterness is your life, Kotomine Kirei. People who don't understand love will naturally not know what happiness is. This is the world's love for you."
"this is Love?"
"Yes, because love is the greatest curse."
Mikael's voice lingered in Kotomine Kirei's ears. Even if he didn't want to hear these words, these words appeared directly in his mind, and he had to listen.
"Actually, I like you very much, Kirei."
Unknowingly, Mikael did the same thing as Gilgamesh, which was to brainwash Kotomine Kirei and help him get out of his confusion.
Gilgamesh did it for pleasure, and he was no exception. In his opinion, the duel between Kotomine Kirei and Emiya Kiritsugu was too boring, and they could not be called evenly matched opponents. What he cared about, besides
Apart from fairness, there is only fairness.
Kotomine Kirei tasted Mapo tofu in silence, without commenting on what Mikael said.
"Do you think you are defective?"
"Am I not flawed?"
Kotomine Kirei stopped and looked into Mikael's eyes.
"Of course you are flawed, but so what. The essence of human beings is flawed creatures. If humans become perfect, then humans will no longer be human."
"Are humans... all flawed?"
Kotomine Kirei frowned slightly, chewing on Mikael's words. He wanted to refute, but couldn't find a reason to refute.
"So don't feel ashamed because of your shortcomings. Everyone is valuable, even those who are like garbage."
A pile of coins suddenly appeared in Mikael's hand. He opened his palm and showed these coins to Kotomine Kirei.
"Here to me, everyone is one of the coins, but some are of higher value, like gold coins, silver coins, and some are of lower value, like game coins and commemorative coins, but even commemorative coins
You can’t completely deny its value, right?”
"But then again, it is normal for coins with high value to be favored more. Kirei, you are a coin with high value in my heart."