[color=gold]"Psychic too, or good at reading people? Never was much of one for putting up a false front, I suppose."[/color] Ansgar rested his hands on his umbrella while letting her speak to her fill, considering her rather blunt and forward approach to the explanation and response to his skepticism as rather refreshing really. He could appreciate the lack of round about games and cloak and dagger that seemed to plague interactions with his peers, when they came up. Though he was certainly taken aback, figuratively, when she quite literally tore her heart out of her own chest and held it out for him to see, an eyebrow raised in surprise at the fact she was currently holding her heart out. A younger him would have freaked out, but he kept his composure for now. Freaking out could be done in his own privacy. [color=gold]"I suppose that brings a whole new meaning to getting to the heart of the matter, eh?"[/color]

[color=gold]"While I cannot say I have ever heard of a 'Life Fiber' before, I must admit it sounds quite potent indeed. Considering their apparent strength if attempted removal of the heart is hardly an inconvenience, coupled with the strengthening of becoming a Servant..."[/color] He had this curiously thoughtful look on his face, one that would quickly be known as one that resided whenever he was in deep thought, planning and considering what he knew so far as she continued on speaking about her Noble Phantasm being little more than a massive spike in power, if the turn of phrase 'little more' could be fairly applied to that sort of thing. The downsides of mana drain and potential loss of control were noted, the former he could plan for, the latter a consequence of dealing with a Berserker class Servant. [color=gold]"Your willingness to cooperate in the face of discomfort is certainly a pleasant surprise and appreciated all the same. Needs must when the devil drives, but we shall hope he does not drive too hard, yes?"[/color] He would be saving her Noble Phantasm as an ace in the hole, especially if pulling her out of it would take a Command Seal, something he only had a very finite supply of and could not afford to be spending willy nilly. They both had a reason to be here, wishes to see fulfilled, and cooperating would see that done as smoothly as a Grail War would allow.

[color=gold]"Rest assured though, Ms. Matoi, I much prefer an up front list of need to knows over unnecessary surprises. I'm afraid that I am hardly anywhere close to as interesting though, rather mundane when it comes to Masters really, if you look at the history of Grail Wars."[/color] He chuckled, and whether he was deliberately underselling himself or just joking at his rather tame appearance compared to the other two he had spotted coming in remained to be seen. For a Berserker from a time or place he had absolutely zero clue about, she was a rather refreshing amount of bluntness. Whether that meant she was exceptionally good at keeping the skeletons chained in the closet, or there was little else to see, he could not discern, but he would keep an eye on such things just in case. [color=gold]"I must confess my confusion was not just at the classification you bore, but the fact you were not drawn from History. Leave it to the Grail to throw a wrench in the plans of its participants."[/color]