Chapter 3: Illegal Move

Koreyume didn't know happiness could come from such small yet thoughtful gestures. Today too, she woke up to the sound of her ringtone, but it didn't seem to be a struggle like before. Perhaps it was thanks to the warm towel someone dutifully put at the side of her bed, or the comfortable feeling of the fleece slippers at her feet, rather than the cold floor. The sight of her mother worn out slippers did darken her heart a little, but Lancer thoughtfulness were not at fault.

Nevertheless, it would be best if she bought a new pair soon. Lancer might wanted one also. Last night, when they headed back to her apartment after she summoned Lancer, the both of them was soaking wet by the heavy rain. Since it was unpleasant to do any kind of talking in that condition, they both decided it would be the best to postponed it to the next morning. Koreyume was thankful Lancer let her used the bath first. Even with the raincoat she was shivering. Her body had been feeling heavy ever since she woke up. The fatigue did not come from her usual morning troubles nor did she catch a cold from being drenched, but because of Lancer. To be completely honest, she felt like some one occupied half the nerves in her body. According to Lancer, she should get used to it and got back her normal strength in a day or two.

The light in the living room weren't on, but Lancer was there. She was drinking a cup of coffee while switching the channel on the television with disinterest. Seeing this, a certain thought crept into her mind. Would Lancer be interested in costume dramas, particularly those that had the time period when she was alive as a setting. Koreyume made a mental note regarding this idea. This would be a nice little payback for her insistence to stay in material form, despite the extra mana consumption.

Lancer noticed her immediately and turned off the tv. Koreyume wished she didn't do that. It had been a while since she had a serious talk with anyone in total silence without any sort of background noise. She tried to start with a light joke.

"I see you've learned how to use the water heater."

Lancer blushed lightly: "...Please forgive me for my blunder yesterday."

Yesterday night, before she got in the bath, Koreyume entrusted Lancer with making them some hot drink. Since Lancer claimed that being supplemented with knowledge about the current era was part of being summoned as a Servant, Koreyume carelessly taken her words at face value and trusted her. As it turned out, knowledge did not equal to experience. It was not until all the light in her apartment suddenly when off when she was enjoying her bath did Koreyume learned this fact. She did not know what exactly Lancer did with the heater, and the later refused to disclose it adamantly.

Similar to yesterday night, Lancer was drinking black coffee. Koreyume was happy seeing Lancer had developed a taste for it. Seeing Lancer was someone from the warring state period, she feared that Lancer would be driven to battle after battles, stopping at nothing until she reached the Grail. Someone like that would be hard to live with. Koreyume did not have a need for someone like that, she only wished for someone whose she could share small and simple moments of happiness with.

She sat down to the opposite of Lancer with a 'Good morning'. The latter answered in kind while pouring her a cup of coffee. Koreyume didn't have the habit of drinking coffee in the morning, but she had nothing against it either. Once again, she accepted her Servant's goodwill. It tasted good, albeit a little too bitter than what she used to. She didn't believe in putting feelings in cooking made them taste better, but there was indeed a distinct difference between the coffee Lancer poured her and the coffee she made yesterday for some reason.

She took a sip of the coffee, relaxing herself. Lancer stared at her silently, not saying anything. Koreyume understood. Lancer was waiting for her. Waiting for Koreyume's words as her Master.

"So, I'm guessing you found this when you were alive?"

Koreyume gestured to the Book of Dragon Slaying rolled up neatly on the table. She intended to put it back to her parent's gravestone last night, but Lancer advised against it. Although for completely different reasons, the book would be of no help to the both of them. Maybe Lancer didn't want it to be left in such a place. Seeing that she called Guiguzi 'teacher', it wasn't hard to make a guess why was she summoned using the book as a catalyst. Still, Koreyume wished to hear it directly from Lancer herself.

"Yes. Thanks to the knowledge left behind by teacher, a small girl like me could stand shoulder to shoulder to the famous generals whose strength know no equals."

Lancer smiled nostalgically. Similar to Koreyume, she found the book and attempted to study it. Unlike her, however, Koreyume could feel that Lancer certainly did make the old man 'joyful'. She could see it with her eyes, Lancer was very strong.

"Just for reference, do you have any idea about the about the other books?"

Lancer cocked her head lightly with a 'hm'. It was a cute gesture, but the silver haired beauty managed to make it even look graceful. She put her cup down the table and began recounting with her hand.

"The Book of Dragon Slaying is currently with us. Aside from it, I have only personally saw one other in person. It was titled the Book of Divine Calculating. It recorded teacher's divination and fortune telling technique. Coupled with her natural talents, the owner had been able to made use of it to achive feats of terrifying degree. As for the other ones, I only knew some of them was about, while clueless about others. These are..."

Lancer continued to listed them one by one, each time raising one of her finger. Even though her knowledge about it was limited, it was much more than Koreyume hoped for when she asked that question randomly. Aside from the other two, there were five more. Koreyume couldn't help but think of the Holy Grail War. Was the number had some meaning and relations, or was it just the occult were universally in favor of the number seven.

The Book of Demon Subjugating. Knowledge of rituals, charms and artifacts.

The Book of Ancient Healing. Lancer didn't know the exact content, but it was easy enough to guess from the name.

The Book of Heaven Flowering. The record of science, physics, arts and crafts he discovered in his life.

The Book of Unrivaled Rampaging and an unknown book which Lancer had no information of. These came to a total of seven.

They fell in the hand of people from all walks of life. Some prospered thanks to having found it, other just let the knowledge wasted away. So in retrospective, it was the worst kind of catalyst she could had used to summon Guiguzi, as they were associated with countless others throughout the passage of history. On the other hand, since Servants were basically heroes of great power, even if it was any other person, they might still made for a satisfactory Servant. Lancer was the living proof.

"The owner of Divine Calculating even used all her power to try and find the last book once, but she never succeeded." Lancer concluded the topic. "Were you disappointed, Master?"

Koreyume frantically shook her head: "No, I could see you are very strong. And a nice person too."

Lancer didn't say anything, but stared at her with great interest. Koreyume took a deep breath. She had debated over this topic with herself when she gone to bed last night. In the end, she decided to tell the truth. Because Lancer was trustworthy, and a gentle person.

"I... can see. Ghosts, spirits and the likes. Not only their form, but also their thoughts and attachment. Anything about them." After a long pause, she added. "Even Servants'."

Lancer's eyes widened: "Mystic Eyes? I see, that's explained the location for the summoning."

Lancer made the assumptions that she was a necromancer. Naturally, seeing that it would be the most beneficial school of magecraft for someone with her eyes. In truth, Koreyume chosed the forensics department because she could practically achieved results effortlessly too, outside of written tests. But it was wrong.

"I have no knowledge of necromancy. I doubt I could even be considered a proper magus."

Yes. Koreyume used magus to referred to herself, simply because she didn't know the proper word for someone like her. She had no education in magecraft, nor a magic crest. Her family was a normal family in the first place, with no background in the occult. The only difference was that Koreyume was spiritually sensitive, thanks to her eyes.

She smiled: "To be honest, I feel more like an esper. ESP is something you were born with, while magecraft is something you learned."

Both were skills like any other, and took time and practices to achieved and maintained a level of excellence of course.

"I'm relief." Lancer's voice was soothing. She smiled when Koreyume looked at her questioningly. "I was afraid I might have to cross the line and reprimand you strongly if you were to strengthening me through necromancy."

Right. Koreyume forgot. Servant was a kind of spiritual being as well. As a results, while Lancer did consume human food, a Servant's food was souls and minds. Food might be an inappropriate term to described it, as they were neither essential for a Servant survival, nor their abilities diminished in anyways if they didn't consume any. But the more resources you had in a war the better. In fact, attacking others was an acceptable tactic in the Holy Grail War, as long as they were done in secret outside of the public eyes.

Thankfully, the chivalrous Lancer wanted nothing to do with it. In fact, she was even willing to reprimand Koreyume if she were to suggested such a thing. For the first time, she felt genuine grateful having summoned Lancer as her Servant.

"Don't belittle your abilities, Master. The owner of the Divine Calculating had similar eyes to yours, and she was the greatest person I met in life. I'd say with me as your Servant and you as my Master, our victory was already set in stone." Lancer mused, seemingly lost in her memories. "...Though her eyes seemed to be stronger. Not only was she able to see, but she could control the spirits also."

"...I can too." Koreyume kept her head down, stared at the floor. Her voice turned into a small whisper that even a person sitting beside her would fail to catch.

"...Master?"

But Lancer certainly heard it clearly, because she had gone dead silence. It was different, but at the same time her gaze remind Koreyume of the old man whom she had that random chat at the crowded cafeteria the other day. They were both non judgmental. Lancer put down the cup and leaned over the table to embrace her.

"Even when the world condemn you, I alone as your Servant will not." Lancer whispered into her ear. "There are no way someone like you, who can understand pain that others can't even see, is a bad person."

Was it Lancer true feeling, or was it just the words she thought Koreyume had wanted to hear the most? She had no way to confirm it. But she decided to believe in the Servant, no, the person she just met for a few hours, just as Lancer decided to believe in her. And Koreyume began to tell Lancer everything.

About the young girl who could see things other couldn't.

About how she did not feel anything even when she received the news of her parent passing. After all, they were right beside her the whole time.

About how her life got turned up side down when she realized it was her loneliness that trapped her parent's spirit, denying them the chance of reincarnation, heaven or hell. They were just following her around until their soul deteriorated into nothingness.

And finally, her wish for the Holy Grail.

Even after she had long gone silent, Lancer didn't loosen her embrace. It must be uncomfortable leaning over the table in that posture, but Lancer kept holding her tightly. The warmth of her Servant was comforting. Koreyume didn't know happiness could come from such small yet thoughtful gestures. But in this moment, it was certainly happiness that she felt.

The woman with the flaxen hair easily crushed the lock with her bare hand, her steel boots made clanking sound as she approached. She was wearing a red uniform, black skirt and a black overcoat strapped loosely on her shoulder. The young woman appeared to be hurt, seeing she had bandages on her right arm, but Dan knew better than to judge these beings by their appearance.

"Leo said capturing you would improve his mental condition."

Dan sat still. He couldn't hope to match the woman in both strength and speed. Now that he saw her up close rather than as words on Harwey's mind, he understood that she was strong. He made his preparations before he went to Japan of course, but fired the opening shot blindly before he knew what the opponent was capable of would put him and his partner into disadvantage.

"Is it worth the price of letting you brazenly attacking me in broad daylight?"

"To avoid others being hurted unnecessarily, I decided to come for you alone."

Should he say as expected of a Berserker. She ignored her Master order and preparations willingly and came for him. Even though they exchanged words, it was clear that none was getting through to the other. To Dan, the woman in front of him had truly been driven to insanity by the devotion to her cause. It made her unpredictable and dangerous. Harwey not using his Command Seal to stop her from coming alone made it even easier for him to dispose of her. Even though the war had not officially began, defeating Berserker here would mean that nothing could stood in his way of finishing Harwey off for good this time.

"Don't worry. I will treat you, so be nice and not give me extra work by trying to resist."

Dan pulled out a hand gun from his pocket and empty the magazine. The bullets headed towards Berserker's head, chest, stomach and knee. They all hit their mark, but Berserker didn't seem to be hurt. Naturally, hoping that mere gun would defeat her would be optimistic. That was just the opening shot to startled her, as well as warned the civilians who heard the shot to clear the vicinity. However, aside from Berserker, he heard no movements nor screams after the gunshots. It was strange, but he didn't have the luxury to care about that now. Berserker, unharmed by the bullets, reached out for Dan with inhuman speed.

"If you listened to me from the start, we wouldn't be in this situation."

He heard his Servant voice, who hadn't leave his side ever since Berserker entered the room in his mind. What he said was true, but too late for that now.

"It can't be help. I was hoping at least Harwey would act on his nobility and respect the rule of the war. So me what you are capable of, Saber."

Saber materialized in front of him. The youth with flaming red hair thrusted his sword forward the enemy's throat. Saber's weapon was a single bladed sword more suited for slashing attack, but since they were in closed space, he chose a thrust. This time, Berserker could not afford to take the attack head on. She retreated her hand and caught the blade. Saber tensed his muscle, but even so, the force behind his thrust had been stopped by Berserker's sheer strength.

Blood dripped down from Berserker hand, yet she showed no sign of pain.

"Master, keep your distance." Saber ordered him. Dan also understood that even if he were to join the battle, he couldn't help out Saber in anyway.

Saber, however, couldn't just simply walk away. Rather, he could if he was willing to let go of his weapon, but with Berserker stood in front of him, that was out of the question. Saber twisted his body, tried to slashed sideway and cut Berserker's hand off. Seeing this, she let go of the sword abruptly. Using the momentum, Saber spun around and attacked Berserker with a horizontal slash again.

Berserker couldn't stop the attack this time. She jumped backward to outside of Saber's range and drew her gun. Using her left hand to support it, she fired back. Saber blocked the bullets with his sword. Berserker was true to her words about keeping the casualty as low as possible. It would be quicker for her to aim for Dan, but she targeted all her shot at Saber. While he was thankful for that, he was not about to go easy on her. Now that there had been some distance between them, he called for Saber to relocate to a more advantageous battlefield.

Saber grabbed his hand, and they jumped out the window. While Saber took care of the jump, Dan took out a black object and threw it at Berserker's feet. The hand grenade exploded. This should delay Berserker somewhat. Saber expressed his distaste, but he didn't say anything. They stopped at a large rooftop. Now that Dan had a view from above, he could see the empty streets. Aside from them, there were not a single person around. He suspected the same thing. Someone errected a barrier to keep the fight between Saber and Berserker secret.

The sequence of events took less than ten seconds in real time, yet Berserker had already caught up. In Dan's experience, those who mastered the use of their own body to fight were the hardest to deal with. Berserker lacked the refined techniques of the martial arts masters he met, but she more than made up for it with her strength and speed. Since she was not constrained by any particular weapon, she was free to use her body to fight as she wish.

Berserker jumped. She didn't even need to run for any momentum. That single motion allowed her to be three meters above Saber, her hand crashing down to crush his head. The strike was not something a human could ever hope to withstand. No, even Saber could not take that strike unharmed. But instead of dodging, Saber chose to counterattack. The sword moved to slash at Berserker's neck.

Thanks to his weapon, Saber had an advantage in range. In the air, there was no way for Berserker to change her course nor support her footing. She had no choice but to once again catch the blade. Still holding the blade, her iron heel came down for Saber's head again. He couldn't evade it completely and the hit ended up sunk deeply into his right shoulder. Using Saber as footing, Berserker spun backwards and landed away from him. Both Servant had been wounded in that short exchange, but Berserker could still fight without her hand, while the damage to his shoulder might hinder Saber ability to swing his sword.

But Saber once again pressed his attack instead of retreating. Disregard the pain in his shoulder, he charged at Berserker landing spot. Even before she touched the ground, Saber already launched three thrusts aimed at her head, throat and feet. Berserker was caught off guard this time, as she was slow to react. She stumbled back two steps, guarding her head with both her hand. This time, the blade wasn't caught and pierced her right hand beautifully.

His attacks succeeded, Saber retreated. The distance between them was now around two meters. In this range, Saber could attack Berserker while she needed to close in if she wished to continue her assault. The tide of battle had returned to Saber's favor.

"Isn't this enough, Berserker? Return to your Master and we will settle this when the war begin in earnest."

Saber decided it on his own. Dan wanted to voice his objection, but for some reason his words didn't come out. No, he knew the reason. The soldier in him wanted to end the business with Harwey as swiftly as possible, while the knight in him also wanted to fight in the war with Saber in a manner they could both be proud of. Maybe Saber noticed it too, so he said it for Dan, impertinent of a Servant as it might seem.

At first, Berserker didn't react, as if considering the offer. But looking at her eyes, Dan knew. Her fervor for battle had became even stronger. Realizing this, Saber clicked his tongue. Dan felt a change in the air. He was not a magus, but even he could felt it. Something in the air was being drawn towards Berserker. She just stood still, but the feeling of danger she gave off far surpassed when she was rampaging against Saber a moment ago.

Saber shouted: "She's about to use her Noble Phantasm. Move to a safe place, Master. I shall meet her challenge."

Then, just as sudden as it began, the oppressive feeling around Berserker disappeared as she relaxed. She slowly approached Saber while the later remained on guard.

"What might you be doing?"

"...Treatment." Berserker took out bandages and medicines from a backpack behind her back. It was concealed by the large overcoat so Dan missed it until now. It was until this moment that Dan remembered her true name he read in the book of Harwey's mind. He never expected someone with her reputation could fight in that manner, nor there was something to be exploited, so he temporarily put it out of his mind.

Saber was also clearly flustered by Berserker's respond: "I am a Servant. I don't need treatment. Beside, if it bother you that much, then don't hurt me in the first place."

"Because you resisted."

Saber kept backing down and Berserker kept advancing. Soon he ran out of space to retreat to unless he jumped down from the roof and left Dan alone with Berserker. Saber looked at Dan with troubled eyes. Dan was surprised too. This might be the first time ever since they met that Saber acted his appearance of a youth.

"It's fine. Just play along with her for now."

Saber opened his mouth to protest, but it quickly changed to a scream as Berserker pushed him down to the ground and applied the bandages to his shoulder: "I shall remember how you betrayed me today, Master. I hate you."

Dan just smiled wryly at Saber, the tension between the three of them moment ago disappeared completely. In the mean time, he directed a question at Berserker.

"You are retreating then?"

"Leo woke up." Berserker said nonchalantly. "It would be bad for his health if I'm not by his side any longer."

Finished her treatment, Berserker moved away from Saber, allowing him to stood up and looked at Dan begrudgingly.

"Shall we pursue her, Master?" Saber asked him, but Dan shook his head. He already knew the location of Harwey's base and thus there was no need to follow her without any preparation.

The short skirmish ended with no clear victor. Even before the war began, sparks of conflict had started to ignited.

Shinjuku was a land full of wonders capable of making people fell in love. Yuzuru was not an exception. The bustling noise never once stopped throughout days and nights, the traffic jam that was certain to occur twice a day at morning and dusk like clockwork. The air was filled with the smell of polutions as well as countless small speck of dusts that could be seen by the naked eye. It made the 'smoking zone' at every outdoor cafe seemed useless, as he was certain people would rather inhaling the smoke than the air outside. Coupled with the astronomical cost of living and it became a gem in the middle of the capital, beloved to the point it could driven people living here to suicide.

It would be a waste to enjoy the early morning of such a place with the breakfast at the hotel, so Yuzuru went out of his way to find a stray hot dog stand on the street. Three hundred yen a piece. Stood behind the counter were the owner who, at a glance, ignored all sanitation standard required to operate in the food industry. Frankfurt sausages were made from unidentified pork of uncertificated origins, breads were made from also uncertificated origins, smeared with mustard and sauce fast approaching their expiration date.

Stuffing these hotdogs into your mouth, that was the fruits of labor of the populace itself you were eating and that was the taste of life. Or at least that what Yuzuru expected Caster would react. Otherwise these were just a massive waste of time.

Yuzuru thought about Caster, who was still fast asleep when he went out. The raven haired teenage girl on the bed appeared even smaller than the form she used to answer his summoning. If an unsuspecting third party were to see the sight of her sleeping on the same bed as him, it would definitely became the scene of a crime involving minor.

...

The girl in front of him was beautiful, in a sense. Her green eyes were a good match for her silky golden hair. A crown resting on the top of her head, yet it didn't give the dignified image of a queen, but rather a pompous cosplayer. She was wearing a sleeve shirt which showed off her bare shoulder. The front of her long skirt was cut short to reveal the black stockings, while the back remained unchanged and was made to look like the lower part of a cape. All crimson in color. That type of look was crazy popular to a certain demographic. But more importantly, the way she dressed herself and the name Lewis Carroll reminded him of a certain red queen in that famous book.

"Um... Please say something, Master. It's pretty embarrassing to be in this pose with no respond you know." Still looking down on him with her hand on her hips, Caster continued to spout more unreasonable things.

"I'm sorry. Since I'm not that good with history, I mistook you for a certain writer of the same name." Yuzuru said flatly. Even he could tell his voice was the voice of a man grasping at straws.

"You are not mistaken." Caster replied and destroyed his last ray of hope.

"I saw Lewis Carroll picture in literature class once. I'm sure that he looks nothing like you."

"You must mean Charles." The corner of Caster's mouth perked up lightly, but her eyes harbored a small hint of sadness. "I was his... co writer, so to speak. It was hard for a ten years old girl to have her delusions published at the time."

Yuzuru instinctively felt that if he continued this conversation, he probably couldn't have a serious look at history channel anymore for the rest of his life. But he gave in to his curiousity. A ten years old girl who was rumored to be the model for the main character of the same name in the piece that widely considered Lewis Carroll's magnum opus.

"You are Alice Liddell."

At his words, Caster's body started to glow. At first it was her hair. The long golden hair lost its luster and changed into shoulder length raven colored strands. The green pupils turned black, and her extravagant clothing was replaced with a simple blue and white dress. A complete transformation.

"It'll be much appreciated if you use my true name sparingly. The same goes for my pen name of course."

A Servant with their identity known to the enemy risks having their weakness taken advantages of. Yuzuru also agreed with this, although he wasn't sure exactly how would the enemy took advantage of Caster's identity. Combat prowess aside, the fact that she was not a hero might be a blessing in disguise.

"Caster it is then." Yuzuru also understood that there were more important things at hand than Caster true identity and her involvement with the persona of 'Lewis Carroll'. "You can do more than write a stern letter to our enemies right?"

"...Rude." Caster stomped her foot. Despite her attitude however, Caster seemed unusually excited. "I'll have you know that I'm a perfectly capable Caster."

...

As expected, Caster had already woken up when he returned. What he didn't expect was that her eyes were glued to the screen, watching the pay per view programs on television. If this room weren't the scene of a crime before, it was one now for sure. Caster was so focus on the screen that she didn't notice him approached her. Looking at the girl now, somehow he doubted those claims she made last night.

"What are you doing?"

Caster body jerked and she let out a small scream. She protested to him loudly: "Don't startled me like that, Master."

"Then don't get so absorbed watching adult program."

"You weren't here when I woke up. So I took the chance to find some new inspirations for my next work. Yes."

Yuzuru initially thought she was at the level of naively blaming the program came on by chance when she fiddled with the remote and pretend to be bad with technology. But she got some surprisingly solid defense. At least she would, if she weren't blushing crimson while breathing heavily.

"Well. Since it's for your work, it can't be help."

"...Yes. Yes. You are exactly right, Master." Caster seemed to have regained her composure. But he didn't give her the chance to breath a sigh of relief.

"But I never know Lewis Carroll looks for these sort of things for inspirations. Let's have a discussion over the meaning behind Alice's adventure down the rabbit hole sometime."

Caster was visibly shaken. Her head held down, she muttered: "...Let's not."

Looking at Caster acting like a frightened rabbit, Yuzuru interest deepened. Come to think of it, he called Johann description of his hobby 'childish', but that might be quite apt. He pressed her further, glee with delight over finding a new toy.

"But still, I'd expect you to be interested in erotica where you can use your rich imagination than something this low level."

Caster back shivered and she curled up even more, but he didn't miss the moment her ears perked up. She took the bait.

"By the way, I used to collect a large number of erotica as a joke present for someone who love books collection. Most of them are limited edition from renowed authors in the field."

Caster slowly turned to face him. Her calm and composure visage had been close to collapsing, the blood flowed to her face as she bit her lower lip lightly. In that one instant looking at her shyness and embarrassment, Yuzuru forgot to breath.

"Want to see?"

But it was truly just an instant. He once again held the initiative of the conversation tightly. But at the moment, even he hadn't truly realize the importance information beneath these words.

"...I want to see."

Caster surrendered to the whisper of his guidance into the darkness, spoke the words she considered the lowest point of her life: "I want to see those erotica."

Yuzuru laughed out loud, meeting Caster's glare head on and said flatly: "But I refuse."

That was his fatal mistake. Corner the other person using baits to heighten their interest, then mercilessly smashed those delusions away was a typical tactic. The problem was that the other party was mainly normal humans and even espers and magicians were nothing he couldn't deal with. Smooth sailing over the years had dulled his sense of danger.

Until the moment the enraged Caster pounced on him. Yuzuru was fully reminded of Johann's warning. Servants were beings far surpassed humans. Even if said Servant looked like a weak teenage girl and belonged to a class that had little to do with physical prowess. Even at E rank, Caster's strength proof to be more than enough to overwhelmed him. It's a pity he remembered that fact too late.

That was the only thought flashed through his mind when he saw Caster charged at him with tearful eyes. Yuzuru forgot to control his volume for a moment and screamed for his dear life.

"I know I know I know! I'll let you see them! I'll let you see so stop choking me! Are you trying to kill your Master. I'll use a Command Spell if you don't stop."

"The worst. You are the worst worst worst."

Caster who seemingly turned into Berserker was jerking his neck back and forth with her iron grip. Yuzuru mustered the strength from his whole body but he could neither get her to loosen her hand nor moved away from his body. Before barbaric force, words and schemes all became useless. He thought he understood the meaning of these things when he became a criminal, but now he was once again experienced them with his body.

Of course, he couldn't really wasted a Command Spell here nor use force against his own Servant. Actually, it would be more precise to say that he had nothing effective to use against his Servant. So Yuzuru resorted to how he dealt with his sister when she threw a tantrum. He reached out his hands for Caster's cheeks and pulled them. If he weren't being choked, he would totally laughed at the shape of her face right now.

His satisfaction left as quickly as it came, as he realized once again it was the wrong move. Caster clearly wasn't thinking straight. There was only one thought on her mind, getting back at him. And she did that by follow the saying 'an eye for an eye'. Ignored Yuzuru who was playing with her cheeks, she stopped choking him and went for his cheeks. Judging by her strength, she might actually be able to rip them off.

"What do you think you're doing, you perverted literature girl." Since physical restraints weren't effective, he once again went for mental attacks.

"Shut up shut up shut up."

Assassin was prepared to shoot down the unwanted guest, but his Master stopped him. The man had a strange blank black card in his hand, his eyes darted all over the place, as if he himself wasn't sure what he was supposed to be looking for. Come to think of it, even though this place was acting as their base, his Master only set up the most basic of boundary field, having no use beside notified them of intruders.

His Master, however, wasn't surprised by the sudden visitor and invited him inside. With a clap of her hand, the light from unknown sources filled the hall. It gave off a warmth and gentle feeling, and of course just was a simple illusion to trick the other man.

"How can my humble self be of help, honored customer?" His Master said in a tone Assassin had never heard before while curtsied lightly. The woman whom he thought could only acted like a dignified ruler was treating the normal man in front of her with utmost respect.

"This..." The old man presented the card in his hand. "I'm not sure, but this led me here."

"Please do not hesitate to state your desire, professor Akihisa." Her voice was not loud, but the man appeared visibly shaken. It was not because she knew his name either. It was the whispers of the devil, leading those who heard it plunged to the abyss of temptation.

"I..." The old man, Akihisa said in a trembling voice. "I want, a future."

His Master reached out for the other end of the blank card, smiling gently. It seemed like Akihisa instinctively understood. He needed to give away something of equal value.

"In exchange for my soul."

"In exchange for your soul, the contract shall give you a future."

As his Master finished her sentence, golden words began dancing on the previously blank card. It was the name of the old man and his Master. Like a puppet, the light in the old man eyes turned off and he walked away to the door. Quietly looking at the back of the man, his Master put the newly formed contract in her card holder.

"Isn't it quicker to just kill him?"

"Just as human changed, so can souls. The beauty of a soul polished by it struggles through life far outweights others."

With a smile that like a bell, his Master added: "There are no way I let you eat some stray souls picked up indiscriminately."

Assassin had no other choice but to agree with her. He had been strengthened considerably ever since he was summoned. Since they went for quality over quantity, there were no need for any big scale attack, thus drawing no unwanted attention to themselves.

His Master clapped her hands together again, and the illusion was dispelled as the hall once again returned to its cold and dark reality.

The first time Caster came face to face with Yatogami Tohka, she thought her Master's sister was a very cold person. After all, even though it legally belonged to their family, her Master still had to goes through all the documents and contracts in order to be able to rent the house. From a glance she could tell that this house was treated with care, and even though according to her Master it had been vacant for a long time, it was cleaned and aired regularly. But even so, these precautions towards a member of the family seemed excessive.

However, Caster felt suspicious when the sound of a song played in the room. Instinctively, both her Master and his sister reached for their phone. The difference was that only one of them was ringing. Her Master smiled wryly and muttered a sorry as he left the room, leaving both of them with confused expression.

Why would her Master's sister took out her phone. Naturally, she thought the call was hers. While it was bad to come to conclusion through a single incident, Caster couldn't help but wondered would family member with similar taste treated each other like this. This made Caster slightly displeased. As if noticed her mood, she bowed to Caster apologetically.

"Caster ...san, wasn't it. What is your relation with Nii-san again?"

These inquiries were expected and Caster had went over it with her Master before they came here: "Just as he said, we are colleagues doing business together, Yatogami-dono."

"Just Tohka is fine." She smiled warmly, not a trace of the frosty expression she had with her brother remained. She might be surprisingly easy to talk to.

"I know this is might be out of place for me, but you should know about him..."

"Enough, Tohka-dono." Caster couldn't help but interrupted her. "I know you're speaking out of your good intentions, but the matter concerning me and Yuzuru-dono are for us to decide, are they not."

Even Caster herself was surprised with how much force she put into her tone. Tohka looked like she wanted to say something else, but couldn't find the right words.

Caster sighed and stood up: "I'm sorry for my manner. As an apologies, please accept this. I heard that these things apparently bring good luck."

Caster shoved a piece of wooden sculpture into Tohka's hand. The truth was that it was something belonged to her Master, but he tasked her with giving it to his sister when she had the chance. Leaving the stunned Tohka and the uncomfortable silence behind her, Caster headed toward the door. His sister had been nothing but polite to her, but for some reason Caster found herself preferred her Master's joking tone.

...

She found him quickly. Her Master was watching something on his phone. She wanted to get him back for earlier this morning, but due to the height difference between them, she couldn't peek from behind his back secretly. She moved to his side. He noticed it and titled the phone, giving her an easier time to look. She liked these kind of small gestures. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for the content. The scene in front of her was someone getting their leg destroyed by a gun.

"What bad taste."

"The guy who got shot is the bad guy you know." Her Master answered while typing a reply on his phone.

"Even so, the guy who sent you this and the you who was watching it surely has bad taste."

"Don't be like that, I have something else you would like."

He showed her a different message. It came from someone named 'Johann'. Several others must had received the same message too. Six others, to be exact.

'The last Servant, Archer had just been summoned. The Holy Grail War had officially begun.'

Authors Note: Isn't this story full of people sitting around talking? I'm so sorry.

See you next chapter.