"Berserker's name; what is it?"

"A good question" I sighed, scratching my head. "I have no way to definitively prove it, I suppose, but I suspect Berserker is none other than Shaka Zulu, given all I have seen, and his master's reaction to my implication that I knew. Can't technically guarantee it is, but I'm basically one hundred percent certain on it, and it's the same thing I told the other two I was with, so they're working off the same information."

"I see…"

Doesn't seem like he fully trusts my words. Not that I blame him; can always count on a dishonest man to be dishonest. Well, try as he might, he'll find no lies in this, so whatever.

"Now, as of last night, six masters have revealed themselves: your master, one from this Mage's Association thing, the three new founding families, as my compatriots have called themselves, and myself. The seventh unknown master; from the Catholic Church as well, or not?"

"…No" Christopher was the one to respond this time. "The Church has only one master in this war, and that is myself. In all likelihood, the Clock Tower has a second master somewhere in the city, unless another outsider was selected. That said, one outsider is already unusual, especially considering how… important… this Holy Grail War is to the Clock Tower."

…No lies from the priest, huh? Or none that I could discern, though that means he wasn't lying, in all likelihood. So, the Catholic Church really does only have the one master… A 3/2/1/1 split then, rather than a 3/2/2 or a 3/3/1 split. I wonder… just how many plans did I disrupt with my involvement? Kinda… exciting, thinking about it.

"Your servant" Rider resumed control. "What class are they, or do you truly have no idea?"

Well, you knew this question would come up, Nathan. Can't really bullshit out of this one.

"I do" I laughed slightly. "Know the class, I mean. Caster is who I managed to summon. Actually, who the grail gave to me might be more accurate to say; I'm fairly sure I messed up the ritual proper in more ways than I could care to count."

"Caster's master, then… leaving Assassin's master as the only unknown."

"So it would seem" I nodded. "Though I personally find Archer to be far more interesting than Assassin. Namely, that yellow shot that curved into you and knocked you off your mount. That clearly should have missed, but then it just redirected itself into you, square in the chest. What can you tell me about that yellow shot, and it's effects on you?"

"You saw that, then… I can say that it is a special shot of some kind, though in what way I cannot say. If it is a Noble Phantasm of some kind, I suspect it is likely not the projectile itself, but something more conceptual. However, from such a distance I would not have heard the name of it, and thus have no indication as to what it could be or who its owner is. As for its effects… well, as you saw, it redirects itself into the target, though the conditions for that to work I am unsure of. It also dispelled my trusted steed, and prevented me from summoning him again afterwards; sealed my mount away from me, effectively."

"That does sound more conceptual, I would agree."

"If Archer and his master wish to sit back and take pot shots, that is fine; won't achieve much in the end" Rider seemingly dismissed Archer's contributions to the battle. "Your servant, though, is a worry. The name of your servant; you must know it, surely. What is it?"

…The natural conclusion… Ah, right to the heart of things. If knowing the names of your opponent is as big a deal as they all make it out to be, it would only make sense. Now, do I lie about it…? …No; Rider won't buy it, and it will render any future conversation pointless, as it would only be lies and half-truths from both sides… Which leaves this as the only way forward, huh… Well, worth a shot…

"I do, but I won't say."

"…You won't answer the question then?"

"Not that, no" I confirmed to a rather serious looking Rider. "No disrespect, Saladin, hence I won't even try to bullshit you on that; not that you would fall for it, I'm sure. But, as unfit a master I may be, I have no intention of hindering Caster's pursuit of victory in this war."

"Yet, did you not say that winning the grail was of no priority to you?"

"I did. That remains true, even now. What I want from my being in this thing, though, is to witness all the beauty of it that I can. Knowing who Caster is… well, I believe that the heights of beauty that Caster can create will only be achieved while Caster remains unimpeded. Thus, if you want information on Caster, you will have to get it some other way."

"…Are you saying I cannot create beauty on the same level as Caster?"

"I'm saying no one can create beauty on the same level as Caster. While I do wish to see all the beauty I can, I still do have finite time to do so, as unknown as the clock may be. Thus, I must still prioritize the beauty which I wish to witness, and knowing who Caster is, well… my priority right now is preserving the probability of Caster achieving the heights of beauty."

Was I offending Rider? Probably; I mean, if I were someone like Saladin, I wouldn't… appreciate… hearing this from some random nobody either. Yet, it was true. Rider valued civility, which seemed to include honesty. I was basically banking on my being civil here for this to not turn really, really bad.

"…Caster clearly has your respect" Rider grumbled. "Odd, then, that Caster never seems to be around you."

"I highly doubt Caster has any respect for someone like me" I laughed slightly. "After all, Caster was very unimpressed with my non-existent magical capabilities. However, Caster needs not like, or even respect, me, for me to like and respect Caster. To me, respect isn't a two-way street, where both must respect the other for respect to exist at all. Caster does whatever Caster wishes, I come by occasionally to see what beauty Caster has created, and I am fine with that arrangement; certainly don't feel like a master, anyways: I have no desire to order someone like Caster around."

"The care you take in dancing around revealing anything of worth about Caster to his opposition is laudable, annoying as it is currently. I can't help but notice that you always refer to Caster as Caster; not hinting at so much as even his gender."

"So, you did pick up on that" I grinned. "Yes, well, knowing the class of a servant doesn't seem to help narrow down a list of names by any relevant margin. Simply put, too many people can qualify for any one class. However, even something as seemingly insignificant as gender can come to play a major role in solving the puzzle that is the identity of a Heroic Spirit. I'll take no chances, as inconvenient as it may be to form proper sentences speaking in such a manner."

Rider remained quite for some time after that. Just… staring at me. Or was it through me, now? Probably ticked him off in a number of ways, if not having just outright offended him. Wasn't even trying to this time, but alas, this was war. We were all playing to win, myself included. Can't be friends with everyone, and I had no reason to expect Rider would just give Caster and myself the win, should it come to us at the final two. Thus, I won't sabotage myself or Caster.

…To say nothing of the fact that I have no idea if Caster would try to kill me if I did reveal anything of any significant note about him to his opposition…

"If you wish to end it here, I understand" I continued, to break the building silence. "After all, it is I who is refusing to answer your question."

"…No, it was a foolish question to ask on my part" Rider dismissed. "It is only natural you would refuse to answer such an important question, considering your desire to compete in this war, even if the grail itself is not your ultimate goal. That, and I believe that I have asked far more than a single question, to which you have answered them all truthfully. I believe it is your turn, then, master of Caster."

"I only answered your questions on why I refused to answer your true question. Doesn't seem right to count them as your question."

"Your concern is appreciated, but it is not necessary."

"Please, I insist" I smiled. "I would hate to leave this with the feeling of having cheated you out of a question, especially after going through all this effort to be civil."

…It was hard to tell, but I felt as though I saw the faintest trace of a smile dance across Rider's face, if only for the briefest of moments. That being said, he went back to being serious so quickly, it could very well have just been my eyes playing tricks on me; not like I was focusing my attention on Saladin smiling or not, of all things, here.

"Very well then. If questions about Caster himself are out of the question, then your missing command spell; that was used for what purpose?"

Missing command spe- Ah, fuck… forgot to wear gloves… Knew I would forget something when I left my place; always do, one way or another… Just didn't even cross my mind this morning. What a stupid blunder…

"It provided the magical energy for Caster's Noble Phantasm. Won't tell you anything about the Noble Phantasm, but with me unable to supply Caster with magical energy myself, the command spell was used as a substitute."

"Not uncommon for command spells to be consumed on the activation of Noble Phantasms" Christopher noted. "In your case though, I am surprised that only the one was required. It would imply that either the Noble Phantasm itself is very weak, or Caster is very gifted magically, all things considered. …To say nothing on why you would have already used Caster's Noble Phantasm already…"

"Think what you will about that information" I laughed. "Now, Rider, I know you're Saladin. Those assassins under your command, then, are clearly the famous men of the mountains. How does that all work though? Like, how do you summon them, and who can you summon from that group?"

"Oh, so you won't reveal anything about Caster, but you would ask from me my abilities?"

"Well, I mean, I already know who you are, and who those assassins are, more or less. So do my compatriots. Revealing how that all works in detail doesn't really change anything here. Though, if you're worried about me telling the other masters about anything you say here, you don't need to. I'm not dumb; I know an alliance only last so long in something like this, regardless of who it is, Caster and I will have to take someone down at the end of this in order to win. I am only telling those two what I need to so they keep me around and I can ask them other questions, and none of this here would qualify as things they need to know. They're as much my enemy as yours, Rider, even if I am standing beside them for now. Much like you and the Hashashins did, really. This question is really just me being curious as to how all you Heroic Spirits work and stuff."

"Should you not be asking Caster those types of questions, then?"

"I do. Some of them. But Caster tires of my questions fairly quickly, it would seem. That, and Caster really can't answer this particular question."

"…A good point. Very well then" Rider nodded, sticking out his hand to the side.

In it, something began to manifest itself. A long parchment, with writing in an unknown script.

"A copy of the agreement between myself and an assassin named Sinan" Rider explained. "It is one of my Noble Phantasms, and it grants me the right to call upon the aide of the assassins. Of course, considering we were also at odds, and only set aside our issues to deal with the Templars, there are quite a few limitations to the aide they send me. Specifically, I can't call upon any of the assassins of note. Most of them would probably be Heroic Spirits in their own right, of course, so that should perhaps be expected. Regardless, I can only call upon their rookie members, so to speak. Good for scouts, but lacking the power to directly take on servants, and even some magi without a numbers advantage. I am also limited to a maximum of thirty of them at a time. Sinan didn't want me to have too many of his number, in case I managed to sway them over or learn their secrets and techniques. However, more eyes out on the battlefield is never a bad thing, and they are very good eyes. I suppose the greatest benefit though is that, for a Noble Phantasm, the costs to maintain their presence in the world is actually very low. Maintaining the maximum number while I'm not directly in combat is rather easy, especially with my master as support. It is also a Noble Phantasm that can be used without the need to say its true name before use, so calling on extra help in a pinch, if required, has far less risk of revealing my identity to my opponents than the use of other Noble Phantasms. Not that it seems to matter in this case."

With that, Rider dispelled the parchment, and it disappeared in a trail of blue particles of magical energy.

"…Reveal a bit too much there, Rider" Christopher grumbled, "don't you think?"

"I would disagree, master. Caster's master is being honest in that his question was only to satisfy his own curiosity. Him knowing its finer points changes nothing in our eventual clash at the end of this war, as he already knows who I am and how the assassins are."

"And should he tell others, such as his current allies?"

"Again, it would make no difference. The important things, they already know. As you should have seen yourself, the assassins are unable to deal with other servants like Lancer, and you know I refuse to have them attack other masters who do not interfere with my fight against said master's servant. Knowing that I have eyes all over the city does them no good; Saber and Lancer are not servants who can just sit back and wait the war out. Not with servants like Archer, Assassin and, presumably, Caster in this war."

"Nor are their masters the type to just sit back and do nothing, even if it is the best course of action" I added. "Especially Lancer's master."

"You mean the girl? Yes… I suppose she was rather… spirited, in her own, heretical way…"

There was a moment of silence before Rider spoke up again.

"I admit, master of Caster, you surprise me. After our past exchanges, I had truly thought this level of civility beyond you."

"Heh, it's not so much a question of can or can't, as it is will or won't, when it comes to what I do" I smirked. "I can play any part, really, so long as I wish to do so."