Chapter 40
Rin finished several packs of bread before finally refusing the rest as she realized Berserker wouldn't stop giving more from the seemingly inexhaustible mountain of snacks on the table. At that point, her lips were smeared with paste of different kinds, and white flecks of cream mixed in as well. All she needed was a drink after eating so much, her throat feeling slightly dry and irritated.
Excusing herself, she walked to the kitchen where Archer currently was, the Servant sorting out the food supplies and checking what they had in the pantry.
What do you think they're here for?
Besides getting a drink, it was also a good chance to get Archer's opinion through their connection as Servant and Master. After all, it was silent and impossible to eavesdrop on unless someone with immense knowledge and intimate experience with the Grail system tried.
Archer continued rummaging in the cupboards, but he already prepared an answer ahead of time, anticipating that she would come to ask him this question.
They may be our opponents in this Holy Grail War, but so were the Clock Tower magi before they proved otherwise. With Ruler and Avenger summoned in this War, as well as the mystery of the identities and appearances of the other Servant, it may be wise to collaborate with other allies and unravel the true cause behind these problems before we proceed with the War normally. At the very least, a temporary ceasefire could be negotiated first to investigate the Grail.
Archer's advice was also based on what he knew of the Grail and Illya, so it was more trustworthy than Rin could have known. From what he'd seen of this Illya, he doubted she would turn on them, unless she was given a concrete reason, and a very good one at that. The Clock Tower mages were led by El-Melloi, and while he didn't remember that much of his dealings with the man as Emiya Shirou, he knew that magus was a man of his word. Forging an alliance with the two would benefit Rin, and might help her weather the coming storm too. With a War this strange, he knew something big was going to happen, sooner or later. His experiences as a Counter Guardian and his own intuition only further reinforced this notion.
Rin silently digested his reply, then nodded briefly before she downed her drink, washing it herself before going out to speak with Illya and Flat, with El-Melloi coming down the stairs at the same time to join them.
They sat at the rectangular dining table next to the living room, with El-Melloi sitting at the head of the table, Berserker sitting on the left next to him, and Illya beside her Servant. On the right, Archer and Rin sat on the wooden chairs, while Flat stood behind his mentor, leaning on the wall and watching the proceedings.
Rin started off first, opening her mouth to ask the professor.
"Lord El-Melloi II, what happened while I was away? Did the base get attacked by enemy Masters? Or was it something else?"
Illya leaned in to listen as well, interested in how the base got wiped out so absolutely in broad daylight, with nobody seeing what happened in the neighbourhood. Rin flicked her eyes to Illya out of the corner of her eyes, but she decided to leave the Einzbern Master for later, focusing on El-Melloi's explanation first.
"We went to check on Kairi's whereabouts…"
He relayed his account of what happened after Rin left, from him going with Gray and Flat to the forest, until he found traces of Kairi's struggle, and then heading back to the mansion and finding it in shambles. He then proceeded to tell them what the others had experienced, or what little they managed to tell him before they fell asleep out of exhaustion. Org and Caules were both resting from their wounds after talking with El-Melloi, their wounds preventing them from telling El-Melloi everything. Still, he managed to get the gist of what had happened from them.
"That's not possible. Why would Ruler attack us? We haven't broken any of her rules at all."
Rin spoke up upon hearing the identity of their attacker, her disbelief written all over her face at that particular piece of information. Illya too narrowed her eyes, wondering if the information was trustworthy.
"They were personally beaten up by Ruler, and I checked them to make sure they weren't under the influence of any magecraft."
He left Ayaka's condition unsaid, but he would tell them eventually in due time.
After assuaging their suspicions, he continued, telling them of how Ayaka had dealt with Ruler and the strange behaviour that the Servant of the Grail had exhibited. At this point, all of them seated at the table were pretty sure that Ruler was controlled by someone, if the mages testimony was to be believed.
"That's all I have to offer. After that, the rest of what happened should be clearer to Illya and her Servant."
Berserker spoke up then, recounting her battle with the other Servants, extracting Gray and Avenger, and finally losing Avenger to Lancer's sudden attack.
"So the Master of Lancer could have summoned Avenger."
El-Melloi nodded.
"He is certainly a possible culprit, but it could also be someone else. It would be difficult to summon and maintain two Servants at the same time, considering the barriers in energy consumption and the system denying access to double summons, barring special circumstances."
After that, Rin talked about her encounter with Lancer, and with that they could now roughly construct a picture of what had happened today.
Illya was slightly miffed that the Clock Tower magi had sent people to spy on her, but she supposed it was only reasonable to keep an eye on one's enemies. Rather, she was more concerned about what the Clock Tower magi and Tohsaka family could do to help her investigate the Grail. While she did have a connection to it with her status as the Lesser Grail, it wasn't like she could completely analyse the system through it. All she would know was when the Servants died and filled the Lesser Grail with energy. To undertake a more complete look at the system, she would have to head to the Greater Grail itself.
"I'm sure we're all in agreement that something is off with this Holy Grail War, considering what has been happening recently, and the irregular status of all our Servants. Therefore, I propose a truce between the three of us, to investigate what has been going on in the system of the Holy Grail. We may try to include other Masters later on, but for now the three of us are the only ones here."
The Lord's words were met with silence, before Rin nodded to show her approval. She was already allied with them before this, and considering how things had gone south for them, she more than determined their agreement through. After all, it was suspicious that the group which had no desire in winning the Grail, and was only taking part to investigate the system was so brazenly attacked in broad daylight, and to such a severe degree. She also had her responsibility as the Second Owner of the land to make sure things didn't escalate further than they already had. If magecraft was revealed to society due to some malfunction in the Grail, she would shame the name of her family and herself, not to mention become a failure of a Second Owner. The gems they offered were simply a nice bonus. Really.
Illya hesitated, but Berserker mentally nudged her.
They're trustworthy.
Why?
My instincts.
Illya couldn't resist rolling her eyes, but she decided to trust her Servant. She hadn't let her down before. And her instincts were sharp.
"We will also cooperate with you, but only until we find out what's causing the problems. After that, we'll see what happens."
Her noncommittal response of what would happen after the investigation was slightly concerning, but at least she was willing to hold a truce for now. El-Melloi nodded, then held out a piece of paper.
"I've prepared a geis for us. Take your time to read it."
Illya took the piece of paper and stared at it. Frowning, she stared at the last sentence in the terms of the geis scroll. Rin had a similar expression on her face, since she couldn't recall El-Melloi or any of the other magi mentioning something about this before.
"I have a good reason for the last term in the contract, but I understand that you two may be wary about signing the geis because of it. If that's the case, we can hold back on it for now."
Surprisingly, he withdrew the scroll quite easily, simply settling on a verbal agreement between the three factions.
"A truce will be called between the three of us until the investigation of the Grail is complete. Will that be fine with both of you."
"It's fine with me."
"I don't mind it either, but don't expect help from me if you guys get attacked again."
Illya and Rin both gave their consent, and so the three temporarily arrived at an alliance in order to solve the mystery of the current Grail War.