Sorry for the delay. As mentioned in my profile, I suddenly remembered that I have other stories beside RoF.
As always, I appreciate all the advice, info, and of course, supports!
10
"Alcohol beverages of this era have really exceeded my expectation..."
"... That's all you have to say after having me all night?!"
"In my right state of mind, I wouldn't have even thought of copulating with a female of different species."
"Different species my tails! You say that now, but you sure as hell didn't look uninterested as you took me like animals! What if the kids saw us, huh?!"
"It would be a necessary lesson for them if we still wish for the coming of Amakusa M6."
"Oh. That's right. They're just way too stiff! We need to show them some examples from time to time. Still, it was so embarrassing to do it in the open..."
"If it bothers you, why didn't you stop me?"
"W- Well, I was in heat! It was only natural, you know."
"That's a relief then."
"What?!"
"It seems like I did not force myself on you. So there's no harm done."
"B- But... What if I get pregnant, Bakarna?"
"That's impossible. As Servants, we are not truly living beings. There's also the fact that we're of different species."
"Would you just forget about it then? Are you gonna throw me away after using me once?!"
"Mistakes happen and we move on. We have responsibilities to our Masters."
"Mistake? Y- You're so cruel... You don't know what it feels like to be unwanted!"
If only she knew how wrong she was...
/
It was supposed to be a simple relaxing day. Their ordeal within the country had finally ended. Even though there was no satisfactory result, it was still quiet a relief that they didn't have to deal with the government's Servants Unit any longer. It was time to move on with their plan. And Shirou had intended to give the team a day off so they could get some respite.
Everything went smoothly at first. They woke up early, left the camp, found a nice hotel, have breakfast together - And that was when his horrible luck kicked in.
As soon as he finished his meal, their oh so sweet Irisviel suddenly grabbed his collar. That got them everyone's attention in the restaurant immediately. People watched in anticipation and started to whisper. But the not as sweet as usual girl didn't seem to care of the commotion she made as she dragged him away with a choking hold on his collar. Everyone they passed along the way gave him a sympathetic look. And in return, he just smiled sheepishly because he really had no clue about what kind of sin he committed lately to deserve this.
Perhaps she was still angry at him for being too hard on Sabrina? No. If she still was, she would have kicked him out of his own car the night before instead of snuggling close to him for warmth. So why?
The answer was still out of his reach even after he found himself being thrown into the room she shared with her Servant. The door was locked immediately as if to warn him about his impending doom. This was simply depressing. There on the floor, on his hands and knees, he could only wonder how far he had fallen from grace. He, the most formidable figure in the dark shadow of the Holy Church, had been reduced into this girl's... for the lack of a better word... bitch.
Curiously, the girl in question was kinda surprised to see his depressed withering form on the floor as if she didn't remember that she was the one responsible for his predicament.
"What are you doing there, sensei? Stand up. You look like a victim of domestic abuse."
"Is that pretty much what you did to me?"
"Nonsense. Stop playing victim. It's disturbing. The image of my perfect Shirou is now tainted because of you."
"Is it my fault that I share the same identity with your imaginary boyfriend?"
"You're just jealous."
This cheeky girl...
... was not wrong. Her words really made him feel like a cheap projection of his own painting. It was so pathetic. But it seemed like she didn't do it on purpose this time. He could see it as he got up, the troubled look in her glossy eyes.
"What's the matter, Irisviel?"
"There's something wrong between Caster and Lancer."
He stiffened immediately but it was unnoticeable.
"What do you mean? They seem fine to me."
"Really? If they are fine, when I suddenly dragged you out, Caster would have praised me for being so aggressive, and Lancer would have claimed that it was time for Amakusa M6's conception or something!"
"Oh well, you should be glad then. We don't have to hear Caster's embarrassing innuendos and Lancer's disturbing expectation any longer."
"But I love hearing them!"
They fell quiet for a moment. Shirou looked carefully at the girl's reddening face. He could almost see her inwardly berating herself for misspeaking. Yes, surely those were nothing but wrong choice of words. He just needed to hear it again.
"Come again?"
"Huh? I- I mean, I'm already too used to hearing them, you know... But that's not the point! Don't you find it strange that we haven't heard them bickering even once since we left the camp? Usually, Caster already screamed in frustration twice by the time we had breakfast."
"Maybe they're just tired since they spent the night -" He immediately shut his mouth.
Irisviel looked at him in suspicion as he tried to act oblivious all of a sudden. She frowned then before pushing him without warning. And as he fell back into the bed in surprise, she immediately straddled him. Her hand once again took hold of his collar.
"You know something."
"Er... Irisviel? Don't you find this position uncomfortable?" More like inappropriate!
"No. I'm comfortable alright. You're the one uncomfortable because you keep something from me."
"I wouldn't dare."
She pulled him closer until their faces nearly touched, and it satisfied her when he gulped nervously. But it wasn't enough to break his resolve. She needed to show a bit more dominance.
"You stupid lying priest. Tell me what it is!"
"It's better for you to not know..."
Okay. She honestly didn't plan to try her new trump card this soon, but it seemed like he just asked for this...
"Speak now or I'll kiss you."
"Alright alright!"
Well, that was effective... too effective in fact that she felt kinda offended that the idea of being kissed by her made him this panicked. In frustration, she quickly pushed him back down, glaring at him.
"So?"
"It's nothing really. They were just, you know... doing adult things last night."
"Speak clearly! I'm not a child!"
"By the God, Irisviel! They fucked each other all night long near the campfire!"
In an instant, the poor boy looked horrified at his choice of words. He could literally feel an additional digit had been added to his sins account. Not so different from him, the girl also couldn't believe that he had it in him to say such crude things. Perhaps she had really pushed him too far... And for some reason, it was right at this moment that she finally realized how compromising their position was. Her face instantly turned red, and it was soon followed by her palm once again meeting his cheek in a quick slap before she got off him frantically.
"Pervert!"
The pair returned to their table a few minutes later without creating any commotion this time. They only received some curious glances along the way, thanks to the angry red mark on the boy's left cheek. Surprisingly enough, none of the Servants made any comment about it.
Shirou immediately assessed the situation as they sat down. He knew Irisviel was right in her suspicion about the two, but he didn't think they should interfere. Of course, he didn't dare to say it outright to the girl. She was way too abusive lately. But if he tried to act oblivious again, he was sure she would throw him out to the street. So after thinking it thoroughly, he decided to speak up, not necessarily to address this issue, but to start a conversation that would at least make her take him seriously.
"I know this is supposed to be our day off, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to talk about -"
But this one did hurt. A dainty foot had moved swiftly under the table to give his shin a hard kick. And the one responsible for this smiled innocently at his grimacing face.
"There's no need to beat around the bush, sensei. Just say it already. We still have a serious issue to address, remember?"
"Ah, thank you for the reminder, Irisviel. But I just want to give a bit of heads up that we are going to attend this year grand auction in Italy."
"The one Sister Marian mentioned? When? Will we meet her again?!"
The girl was clearly excited at the prospect of meeting her new friend again. On one hand, it was a good thing because it made her foul mood disappeared for a bit. On the other hand, if he gave her a disappointing answer, the next kick to the shin would surely break his leg. Fortunately, he didn't have to disappoint her.
"Yes. The event is next week. And since Sister Marian's new working place is located in Rome, she should be able to help us."
That was just what she needed to hear. Squealing in delight, she turned toward her uncharacteristically quiet Servant.
"Isn't it great, Caster? You didn't get the chance to meet her before, but I'm sure you'll like her. We would have a great time together, the three of us!"
"Oh? I- I can't wait, Iris!"
Irisviel could see through Caster's false enthusiasm, and it dampened her excitement. It didn't escape Shirou's notice, and it worried him that the girl's foul mood would make a return. Thankfully, Lancer noticed his Master's anxiety, and decided to lend a bit of assistance by keeping the conversation going.
"If it's still in a week, what are we going to do in the meantime, Shirou?"
"Good question, Lancer. I'm going home, and you all are coming with me."
Suddenly, Irisviel perked up at the mention of home. Her excitement was building up again.
"We're going home? Oh good! I really miss my Shirou. It's been so long since I saw him..."
Shirou, the one in her presence, however, felt annoyed as usual at the mention of the girl's love interest that just so happened to be his own painting. And this time, he took satisfaction in the fact that he was about to disappoint her.
"You seem to be mistaken, Irisviel. You wouldn't see your Shirou anytime soon. We're not going back to Einzbern Castle. We're going to my home, my house."
"You have a home?!"
For some reason, it unnerved him to see her this surprised.
"Why does it surprise you?"
"To be fair, you really look like a homeless person, sensei. I thought you only sleep from church to church..."
"Well, you're wrong. I do have a home. What if I tell you that I live there with a wife and children too?"
That was such a careless statement, he admitted. But out of all the reactions he expected to see, he didn't anticipated this one at all. Her eyes became misty all of a sudden, and then a sniffle... For a reason he could not comprehend, she was about to cry. He looked around for help but was only met with a disapproving look from his Servant and a warning glare from her Servant.
Like a protective big sister, Caster gently pulled her Master closer to her.
"Don't listen to him, Iris! Do you really believe someone as pathetic as him could get himself a wife and children? Don't be silly, girl! For all we know, what he considers a house is just a bunch of cardboard boxes put together!"
Lancer looked about ready to give a counter argument to such a baseless assumption, and thus instigating their usual bickering. Surprisingly however, he decided not to at the last second for some reason. It was very unusual for him to back down from anything, but this time, he actually chose to drop the matter so they could return to the matter at hand.
"For what reason did you decide to return home, Shirou?"
"My house is near Rome. And it's not that far from where the auction is going to take place."
"You mean, you're really not homeless, sensei?"
Slowly and carefully, Shirou looked back at the girl, and gave her his most fake smile.
"Yes, Irisviel. As a matter of fact, I am not homeless. Happy?"
/
Did Shirou really have a house? If he really did have one, what kind of house would it be? Was it really just a bunch of cardboard boxes like Caster suspected? Or could it be that it was a real house?! And if he was really a stupid lying priest like Irisviel said, did he actually have a wife and children too?!
So many questions about Shirou and his house accompanied the group in their long journey to Italy. Along the way, the boy tried his best to silently endure the headache that came from hearing silly and bizarre assumptions about his poor home. The few times he couldn't help letting out some kind of sarcastic remarks, Irisviel tried to throw him out of the moving car. To make it worse, their Servants were still not on speaking terms somehow so there was no silly bickering to divert her attention from this subject.
He only sighed in relief as he finally parked his car in front of a small house located in the outskirt of a cheap residential district. It was evening so they could barely make out the details of the small two story building. Not that there was anything noteworthy about it. It looked just as boring as the owner. And the rich lady of their group sighed in disappointment as she got out of the car.
"I wouldn't be surprised if Akane is actually worth more than this..."
Her Servant immediately scowled at her. Such a comment was unnecessary.
"Don't be rude, young lady! At least it's not a bunch of cardboard boxes."
"Well, forgive me for expecting a bit of classiness from the residence of the one named Shirou Tokisada Amakusa."
If he didn't know any better, the Shirou in her presence would've thought that she intentionally tried to get at him. Thankfully, he knew her and this particular quirk of hers more than well enough already so he smiled at her, albeit with a grimace.
"Well, forgive me for disappointing you, Irisviel. This is not the classy residence of your imaginary boyfriend. This is the humble abode of Shirou Kotomine."
"Shirou who?"
"Eh? You haven't heard of my 'official' name before this?"
The girl shook her head, and it was just way too cute that his annoyance to her disappeared instantly. He chuckled lightly as he walked pass her but before he could get another step closer to the front door, a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Glancing back, he was met with his Servant's serious stare.
"What is it, Lancer?"
"Someone is in there."
It was true. The simple fact that the lights in the house were on should give it away really. But Shirou wasn't bothered at all because there was only one other person beside him who could gain access to his residence. Too bad for him though, a certain girl was absolutely bothered by this. Her hand quickly took hold of his abused collar as she gave him a death glare.
"I swear, if it's your wife..."
Suddenly, the sound of rapid footsteps echoed form within the small house before the front door was thrown open. A somewhat burly elderly man stepped out of it with a huge grin on his face.
"Shirou-kun! Okaeri! I thought you're still in Middle East."
"Tadaima, otousan."
"Oh. You bring friends home this time? Come on in. Come on in. I was just about to prepare dinner!"
They all eagerly followed the old Kotomine inside, except for one girl.
Irisviel walked in slowly after the rest had disappeared into the house. In her mind, she still tried to take in the fact that she might as well just met her future father in law. Unfortunately, it seemed like she didn't make a good first impression of herself, threatening Shirou and all. She was aware of her tendency to be a bit abusive lately, but she just couldn't help it. It just frustrated her greatly that someone as smart as him could be so dense.
Inside, after some brief introductions, everyone gathered in the kitchen as they waited for dinner to be prepared. The father paid little to no mind that two of the guest were Servants. He chatted happily about all sort of things as he cooked. And as it turned out, the two Kotomines didn't live together. He only stayed at his foster son's house each time he had to visit Vatican.
The dinner was ready soon later. And aside from the suspicious tension between the two Servants, it was such a merry occasion. The dishes were not familiar to Irisviel, but she enjoyed them all, and made sure to show her approval.
"This is so good, Mister Risei! You're truly an amazing cook."
"Oh! Thank you, Lady Irisviel! But trust me, you would not give me such compliment once you taste Shirou-kun's cooking!"
The girl looked surprised for a moment before looking at the boy sitting across from her with a scowl.
"How come you've never cooked for me, sensei?"
"Well, there were already plenty of good cooks in your castle so why should I bother to cook specially for you?"
Wrong answer. He soon held back a grimace as he felt an empowered kick to the shin. No one knew his misfortune, but his foster father at least noticed that his answer was far from satisfactory to the young lady, and decided to help making her understand.
"Don't let it get to you, Lady Irisviel. I only know about Shirou-kun's cooking only because I occasionally stayed here for business. To my knowledge, he has only ever cooked for Lady Lumina, but it was a long time ago."
Unbeknownst to the caring father, instead of helping, he might as well just sent his poor son to an early grave with that bit of information...
Shirou went pale. There was an audible crack. A satisfied smirk graced Irisviel's lips. A moment later, he quietly excused himself before limping away from the dining table, leaving the kitchen. It seemed like his leg had finally broken...
Risei watched this strange happening with concern. There was a lot of question in his mind about the nature of his boy and this girl's relationship. His memory of the Third Holy Grail War was still clear enough for him to easily notice the uncanny resemblance between this Einzbern lady and the one before her. It was not his place to pry, but he supposed there was no harm for an elderly like him to be a bit curious.
"Please pardon me if I may be too blunt, Lady Irisviel. You see, I just couldn't help but notice that you seem to be very close with Shirou-kun..."
The girl blushed immediately. She opened her mouth a few times only to close it again abruptly in embarrassment. After a few minutes of awkward silence, her Servant decided that it was enough. This silly Master of hers could be so helpless sometimes so it was Caster's responsibility to speak up for her.
"Iris is hopelessly in love with him!"
"Caster!?"
"What? If you don't want to admit it to your Shirou for some silly reasons, we could at least tell his father. Who knows, maybe ojisan can help. Right, ojisan?"
Said father didn't know what to say. To be honest, he was really happy that his foster son was given a chance to feel love again. But he was afraid that the boy would simply refuse to take this chance. And there was nothing he could do about it. Despite their legal status as family, he had already accepted long ago that he could never truly reach out to the living Heroic Spirit. It saddened him greatly.
"Shirou-kun is such a good boy. He always respects me, even before I became his foster father, even though he doesn't have any reason to. In fact, it should be the other way around. Despite all the controversy surrounding his tragic tale, he has always been a true hero to me. For someone like him to regard me as father is really the greatest honor in my life. I couldn't possibly ask more from him so please forgive me."
The guests looked at him silently for a moment. They seemed to understand, well except for a certain female Servant who couldn't take no for an answer.
"But ojisan! You don't understand! That stupid son of yours might not be as bad as he looks, but he's way too dense! I can't count the number of times he has hurt Iris' feelings with his cluelessness! It also doesn't help that this stubborn girl insists to keep it a secret from him!"
She was too loud, loud enough for Lancer to temporarily set aside the fact that they were not on speaking terms.
"It would be a secret no longer if you keep shouting unnecessarily, Caster."
Here it comes.
Irisviel waited in anticipation and of course excitement for the classic bickering between the two Servants to finally start again. Seriously, she missed it so much! If they were lucky, they'd get to hear Caster's frustrated scream too at the end of it. To her disappointment, however, her Servant only stared at Lancer bitterly for a moment before looking away. And it worried her.
A terribly awkward silence ensued. The old Kotomine didn't know what to do. He was just too old for this. So it was such a relief to him when his son returned, no longer limping thankfully.
"Shirou-kun, you left so abruptly. Is your leg okay?"
"It's fine now. But I swear, it felt like my shin has been kicked by a horse."
Wrong choice of words. Definitely. An eating knife suddenly flew past his face before it embedded in the wall behind him. The young lady who just lost her knife looked at him innocently.
"Oh! That sounds awful. What kind of horse was it, sensei?"
"The kind I'd love to ride."
"... Come again?"
"I mean, the most beautiful kind."
Watching this pleasant exchange between the pair silently, the father felt a shiver ran down his spine. He had put two and two together, and finally understood what had actually happened. To say that he was surprised would be an understatement. He knew well enough how terrifying his foster son actually was. No one, not even Risei's own vicious son dared to mess with him. So to see this dainty young lady challenged him in such a manner was really shocking... He really should divert their attention elsewhere before he got a heart attack.
"Ah, Shirou-kun? I figure our guest would be tired after the long travel. Perhaps it's time to talk about sleeping arrangement? I also want to make sure that favorite couch of mine in the living room is still reserved for me, you know."
"Of course, otousan. So the spare room is for Lancer. Caster and Irisviel can stay in my room since it's larger."
No one seemed to have a problem with that, except for a certain lady...
"Y- Your room, sensei? You invite both me and Caster to your room?!"
"Sure thing. The bed is not that good, definitely not good enough for a lady like you, but it's big enough to accommodate two girls at least. If it's really unacceptable to you though, I'm sure there's something I can do to please you."
Wrong answer?
Silently, the lady in question stood up before grabbing the chair she had been sitting on. Then without warning, she jumped over the table, and rushed toward him with every intention to smash his head with the wooden chair. He evaded easily enough, but she didn't seem to be the least bit deterred as she chased him to the living room. This time, she couldn't stay silent any longer.
"Go die, you dirty priest!"
It was just a silly misunderstanding, the others realized this quickly enough, but they didn't dare to interfere. And in Caster's case, she was in fact proud of her Master for not holding back her hurt and and frustration anymore.
"Go Iris! Kill him already so his heartless Servant would die too! Men are stupid! He's poor, anyway."
The mentioned heartless Servant frowned slightly at that, but he supposed it wouldn't help his Master's predicament if he responded to Caster's taunt. Not that he could offer any help to begin with. He could only close his eyes as the chair once again missed the boy and hit a small cabinet instead.
There was a sound of glass shattering. The livid girl paused as she noticed that she had accidentally knocked off a framed photo from the top of the cabinet. It was now on the floor with glass shards around it. She suddenly felt sorry, and decided to pick it up. Her chair was left forgotten momentarily. Then her anger disappeared in an instant as she took a look at the old photo.
There was Shirou wearing a casual outfit. It was clearly his past self because his skin had not yet become tanned. He already had his 'blessed' hair though so it had not been that far in the past. In his arms was an adorable brown-haired little girl no older than seven. They appeared to be in the zoo, seeing that there were a few deer behind them. But most importantly, they looked so happy...
Irisviel couldn't help but smile fondly as she recognized who this little glasses girl was.
"Sabrina... You really love her, don't you, sensei? You still do. What a silly brother."
"Well, she's always a Chibi Saber to me."
He smiled fondly too, but all the while, tried to use this opportunity to make an escape as discreetly as possible. Too bad for him though, his attempt to save his hide didn't go unnoticed by the girl. Her anger returned as fast as it disappeared.
/
At last.
He could finally relax. He had never thought he would ever feel the need to express such a thing in the safety of his own home, but he just did. The constant threat to his life had been temporarily suspended with the one responsible for it finally retired for the night. It was by no mean an easy task to convince the girl that he had no ulterior motive by 'inviting' her to his room. But perhaps it was his own fault for not mentioning beforehand that he would sleep in the living room along with his father. Still, it was rather overkill that he nearly got himself killed with a chair just for such a small mistake.
Where had he gone wrong?
It all started with that nasty slap to the face she gave him during their confrontation with Sabrina. Admittedly, he deserved it at that time. But from that point, it seemed like being abusive to him had become a new habit to her. Or perhaps it was the case of her dormant violent nature finally awakened... Either way, it was definitely a bad news for his health.
He shuddered. And it didn't go unnoticed by his foster father who had been patiently watching him spacing out for the last few minutes.
"Shirou-kun? It's your turn..."
Ah, of course. Then almost instinctively, he moved his red bishop to eliminate a black rook.
Yes, there in the cozy living room, they were playing chess. It was like a tradition for the two of them to play this game until late at night each time one visited the other. Of course, the first rule was to ban the former Ruler-class Servant's Revelation skill. Not that it would matter much. The son still always won every game easily enough despite the even playing field. That had never stopped the high spirited father from trying, though.
For Risei, what mattered the most was he got the chance to bond with his foster son since the boy usually opened up more as they enjoyed their games. This time hopefully would not be different because he was honestly concerned about what Shirou had been up to.
"If you don't mind me asking, Shirou-kun, what made you decide to reestablish contact with the Einzberns after so long?"
"It's nothing to worry about, otousan. I've enjoyed my second life more than enough, thanks to you. But after so long, you could say I become bored. So when Jubstacheit-dono contacted me that they needed my aid to recover the missing Grail, I just thought... why not?"
Oh well... That was more than clear enough answer. And as usual, Shirou looked completely honest, but Risei knew that you couldn't be so sure when dealing with this boy. Nevertheless, he knew better than to question him. There were another matter that piqued his curiosity anyhow.
"Ah, I see. I thought it was because of Lady Irisviel..."
"Well, I agreed mostly because of her. She plays a major part in the search, considering her ability to sense the presence of a Greater Grail."
"Really? Interesting. But I actually thought that she just reminds you of her so... you know..."
"She does remind me of her. I will not deny it. I always see her in Irisviel every time I look at her."
The admission said enough.
Risei had known that Shirou loved his Master with all of his being from the few times he met the pair in the third war. It was such a tragic love story. But he honestly thought the boy had moved on after so long. Now he was afraid that his son was playing a game without knowing how serious the risk actually was. Still, there was one thing he had to confirm first before he drew any conclusions.
"Does she know this? I mean, her resemblance with the one before her..."
"No. And it should stay that way. I will not let her think that she's just a shadow of a ghost. I also have no intention to get any closer to her than I already am."
This would not end well. Risei knew that Shirou had a good intention, but keeping the truth could potentially result in an even higher risk. He had to open his son's eyes before it's too late.
"But Shirou-kun... She seems really fond of you."
"... She just broke my leg, and tried to kill me."
"Right... But surely it was only because of some misunderstandings and jealousy. It is understandable for someone so young to be a bit immature."
"Don't let her silliness fool you, otousan. It's true that she's infatuated badly with a grand image she has of Shirou Amakusa. But her possessiveness of this Shirou Kotomine is only because he is her stupid sensei. Nothing more."
This was just hopeless. The old father sighed helplessly. Perhaps Caster was right earlier when she claimed that his boy was so dense after all. He was really tempted to just say it outright how wrong Shirou was, but he had no right to give away Irisviel's secret. So all he could do was hope that the young lady would eventually find the courage to tell the boy herself, again before it's too late.
The game continued again in silence. It was obvious that both Kotomines had their minds mostly elsewhere. The father more so was still unsettled by the son's recent decisions. And ultimately, he couldn't help but worry about one thing in particular.
"The next Holy Grail War is all but confirmed then. Surely, it's only a matter of time before the Grail is finally discovered now that you've taken this matter into your own hands."
"So it seems."
"With you having summoned a great Servant already, is it safe to assume that you intend to participate, Shirou-kun?"
"It is."
Of course. Risei sighed sadly. It was foolish for him to wish otherwise, but still...
"You know, as a father I couldn't help but worry. Deep down, I always wish that you could move on and have a happy life, a life with no regret..."
"And I thank you for that, otousan. I wish I could say that I've tried. I wouldn't lie to you anymore, however. I still wish for a closure. My second chance of life began through a Holy Grail War so it's only proper that it would also end through one."
"But Shirou-kun. It's different now, don't you think? God has given her back to you in a sense. It is fate. So would you please -"
"Checkmate."
Indeed. The same red bishop from earlier was ready to end the black king that really had no hope left. The game ended. So did their talk about this matter. Risei could do nothing but oblige because he could see well enough that it was Shirou's gentle warning to not question him any further.
/
Ominous winds blew through the city of Trifas, Transylvania. It was as if the people were being warned of the bleak fate that would befall them. In spite of that, the iconic large castle upon a small hill of the area still stood strong. And deep within this Fortress of Millennia, a Grand Magus paid no mind to the whispers of fate as he focused all of his attention on the magnificent form of a miraculous artifact before him.
The original Greater Grail.
It was frustrating that even after decades, he was still unable to fully attune this Grail with Trifas leylines despite the vast knowledge he had on magecrafts. If he could help it, he would dedicate all of his waking hours for this. Alas, he still had to maintain an amiable relationship with the Mage's Association if he didn't want to put this lifelong ambition of his at risk.
It didn't help that his misstep in letting out information regarding the Grail Wars ritual had resulted in the dawn of an era where Servants were being used as weapons. So to protect his ambition from any further risks, it was most necessary to summon formidable Servants of his own much earlier than planned. At the very least, he had made the right choice because those two Servants even ended up to be more than worthy of his respect.
One of them, the Lancer-class who had been referred as lord by his own Master entered the chamber just then. His aura of sovereignty engulfed the place.
"Darnic. It has come to my attention that there are reports of great battles between Servants in the German land recently."
The Magus turned around at that before giving the Servant a respectful bow.
"Ah. Those battles were between the Germany government's Servants Unit and a group sent by the Einzberns to search for their missing Grail. There is no need to worry, however, my lord. I've already prepared a pawn that would lure them to their early demise."
"Good. I trust your judgment, but to make sure, send Caster as well to supervise."
"As you wish, my lord."
Shirou's red and black chess pieces here are small tributes to Fate/Apocrypha's Red and Black Factions.
This chapter marks the start of a new sub-arc with Darnic finally made an appearance. Shirou would be a scary schemer again, though he wouldn't be that much scary anymore perhaps, considering that he had become Iri's bitch...
Now I want to apologize to everyone who wishes to see Karna/Tamamo's usual bickering. I'm afraid we would not see any more of it for a while, seeing that they are not on speaking terms. It's just necessary for the development of their relationship.