Chapter 48 : Encounter

"...How is it?"

Medea shook her head in response to my question. It seemed she hadn't found any clues.

"There is still a small amount of magical power remaining, so I think a magician is involved..."

"I suppose so."

Even the latest electronic security techniques are nothing compared to magic, as the media has just demonstrated.

Of course, this was expected from the beginning, so in the end it's the same as not knowing anything at all. Damn.

"What are you going to do now?"

"…………I don't know."

There was no other answer.

I'm currently in Yukinoshita's apartment.

After setting traps around the school and preparing to engage the Masters who had been lured in, he opened his laptop and was instructing Medea on the operations necessary for the operation.

While checking the operation, they were checking the footage from each surveillance camera and discovered Yukinoshita being attacked by someone.

So I abandoned school and rushed over here, but as usual, I couldn't make it in time and the place was empty.

I can't go back to school. If I go now, there's a chance that I'll run into the Masters who are coming to attack us.

But to be honest, there's nothing else it can do.

After all, the magical power that Medea had saved up over the past two weeks had been used up almost entirely in fortifying the school. To be honest, I was at a loss as to what to do.

"...Hey, do you think this has something to do with the Holy Grail War?"

"I can't say for sure, but it's quite likely."

That's right.

"Then I guess we have no choice but to attack from there."

Since we have no clues, we have no choice but to act haphazardly.

"...What are you planning to do?"

When the media questions my tweet, I reply that it's no big deal.

"We have no choice but to talk to someone who might know something... For now, it's someone connected to the matter."

"Ahh, this is the worst!"

9 o'clock in the morning.

After taking a shower, I take out my wet hair and then throw the bath towel I've used into the washing machine in an angry tone.

"You're looking pretty rough, Rin."

「Isn't that obvious?!」

He answered roughly to Archer who spoke to him while still in his spirit form.

Last night, they launched a raid on the school where they thought Caster was hiding. However, the school was empty. However, there were a lot of traps set up, and they suffered a terrible experience.

What on earth are those nasty traps all about?! What kind of personality does someone have to have to come up with those kinds of schemes?!

None of them had any lethal power, but they exploited gaps in magical defenses. The Swamp of Order was especially troublesome, as it even rendered Saber powerless. ...Damn, even my underwear got soaked.

Knowing that he had been lured in despite intending to ambush her, he was cautious and took his time searching for the caster. But when he found out that it was a fake, he was so frustrated...!

I mean, why do we have to clean up the mess they set up!? We couldn't just ignore them, and it took until the morning!

"However, depending on how you look at it, you could also call it luck. If he had attacked me directly there, there's no guarantee that I would have won."

"...Well, yeah."

Archer's calm analysis helped him cool down a little.

The traps set up at the school were not life-threatening, but there were quite a few that at first glance seemed like they were just for fun.

But at the same time, there was nothing that had no effect on us at all, which meant that the enemy had a fairly accurate grasp of our military strength.

The fact that he had made such an invitation meant that he was confident of winning. In reality, if he had fought amongst all those countless traps, it would have been a tough fight.

But then that raises questions.

"...Why do you think he abandoned that school?"

"...Perhaps something unexpected happened to the enemy. That's why they had no choice but to let that place go. Otherwise, there's no explanation."

"That's what I thought..."

It takes a lot of magical power to set up those traps. At the very least, it's not the kind of power you would want to expend for just a decoy.

There's no way they thought traps alone would be enough, since there were no deadly ones.

The enemy's strategy was to either set a trap to stop him from moving and then finish him off with his own hands, or to gain an advantage in negotiations. And I think the latter is the most likely option.

But the enemy never appeared there.

Not only did this waste a lot of magical power, it also made us wary and exposed our presence to the other Masters who had been hiding and watching what was happening. There was nothing to my advantage.

So what is the situation that cannot be ignored even when weighed against such damage? To be honest, there is no answer. There is too little information.

I had no choice but to interrupt my thoughts and just as I finished changing my clothes,

Ding dong

An electronic sound that is rarely heard normally rings out.

It was nothing special, just a normal chime. However...

"At this time...?"

I'm a student living alone. I don't think that anyone from my neighborhood would be around at this time on a weekday. Of course, it's possible that they don't know about my situation...

"Archer"

He called out to Archer, who had already gone to check on the entrance.

"...An unexpected visitor."

"Who's that?"

"It's Caster."

"Huh?!"

I head to the front door while trying to keep quiet and look through the peephole to see what's on the other side.

"Whoa, you're not serious..."

There he sees the girl he saw at the arcade before, and the man with the dead eye who was walking home with her. He guesses they are Caster and Master.

『What should we do?』

"Whatever you say to me..."

Ignoring him would not be an option. If the opponent was a Caster Servant, it would not be strange for him to be observing the state of the room through the barrier.

They would fight if necessary, but the chances of that happening were low. The fact that they went to the trouble of ringing the bell was a clear indication that they had no intention of fighting.

(But still, it's a tough opponent...)

If my prediction was correct, Caster's true identity was the traitorous witch. I had to be wary of a sneak attack. It would be better to just launch a preemptive attack and defeat her before she could do anything, but...

"May I ask who's calling?"

I decided to wait and see what the other party's response would be over the intercom. Of course, I'd keep Archer on his guard.

"You're Archer's Master, aren't you?"

It came out of nowhere!?

"...I don't understand what you mean."

"I'm Caster's Master. There's something I'd like to ask you about the Holy Grail War."

S-straightforward...!

He called out to Archer via telepathy from the rooftop, who was supposed to be taking aim.

(What do you think?)

(...It doesn't seem like he's been tampering with anything. There's also what happened last night. Maybe he's really in a desperate situation.)

…I said, "What I want to ask." Not "What I want to ask."

When negotiating, you should make unreasonable demands at the beginning and then gradually lower the hurdles. Doing the opposite is the worst possible thing to do.

Let's rule out the possibility that this man doesn't know the basics. If he was that incompetent, he would have left the negotiations to Caster from the start.

In other words, he must have come here because he really wanted to ask a question.

"...I'll open the door for you. Don't do anything strange."

"So, what do you want to ask?"

He sat on the sofa in the reception room and stared warily at his partner.

The man sitting opposite him, who introduced himself as Hikigaya, had eyes that made him seem undead, but his complexion was good and he didn't exude the vibrations typical of immortals. I had suspected he was a vampire, but it seems that's just his face.

"Last night, someone I knew went missing. He was a civilian. Given the circumstances, it's highly likely that he was caught up in the Holy Grail War. Do you know anything?"

Hikigaya stated succinctly without stepping forward.

...It all makes sense. If ordinary people are really being dragged into this, then as the administrator of Fuyuki, I can't just ignore it.

But there's no reason to believe it. There's no guarantee that it's not some kind of bait. But that's before we even get to the point.

"Unfortunately, I don't know anything. Please look elsewhere."

I gave him the cold shoulder. In truth, I don't know anything about it. I'll have to get Kirei to look into it later.

Hikigaya continued to press on.

"Anything goes, do you have any idea? The magician who is thought to have made contact with him even went to his apartment. It's not like he was using it to replenish his magical powers by chance."

"...I'm sorry, but I really don't know anything. I'm sorry."

"I see... I'll listen, but will you help me...?"

"No. I have a good idea of the identity of your Servant. I have no intention of risking being stabbed in the back. In return, I promise I will not lay a hand on you unless you make a move. I will convey this to my allies as well."

"Thank you, but was it a good idea? I told you about the alliance."

"You've probably already looked into it, haven't you?"

"Yeah. Can I borrow your notepad and pen?"

"……please"

As he watches Hikigaya tear up the memo paper on the table, he sends a telepathic message to Archer.

(Archer)

(I know)

If you do anything strange, they will attack immediately.

Hikigaya quickly wrote down a string of numbers on the memo paper.

There was no sign of any particular sorcery being used. Archer hadn't warned Caster that he had done anything either. Maybe he was being too cautious.

Hikigaya slid the notepad over to me, and I picked it up.

"……this is?"

"It's my cell phone number."

"I thought I told you I wouldn't cooperate?"

"Whenever you feel like it. Let me know if you find out anything."

Hikigaya said as he stood up. He called out to her as she turned to leave.

"Hey, why didn't you suspect me?"

"You fell into my trap yesterday."

"...I see. I hope nothing bad happens to your friend. I'll contact the supervisor myself."

I had intended to end the conversation there, but Hikigaya looked my way and his eyes widened.

"A supervisor? Is there such a person?"

"What? You didn't know?"

"I don't know. We're just ordinary people who got caught up in this by chance."

"Really?...Do you know the church? If you ever wish to withdraw from the Holy Grail War, go there. They should be able to protect you."

"I didn't know there was such an option... Damn, what a waste of time."

Hikigaya grumbled as he left for good.

After making sure the two had left the house, I called out to Archer.

"...Archer, check the house just to be sure."

"I didn't mean to give those two a chance to do anything. Besides, aren't you better at that sort of thing than I am?"

"So just to be safe, I'll check it out, of course."

"You seem to be on high alert. I don't think that either Master or Servant have much power."

"That's why. That Hikigaya guy was, no matter how you look at it, just a normal human. Despite that, he was the one who took the lead. He was probably the one who designed the trap at the school as well. That means his intelligence isn't at a level where he could defeat both us and Saber at the same time. We can't help but be wary of him."

"I agree. If the enemy is merely strong then it's easy to defeat them, but when it comes to an enemy who has the humility to admit their own powerlessness and the intelligence to overturn that, no matter how far apart they are, you can't rest easy. However, Rin, if we're talking about the abilities of a master then I'm not inferior to you."

"Huh...? Wh, what's this all of a sudden?"

"Well, I just thought I'd hit the jackpot after all."

"H-hmph! Praising me won't get me anywhere!"

"I'm in trouble..."

Even though he was told to look elsewhere, he had nowhere to go, so he went to Tohsaka Rin, knowing the risks. It's not that he didn't get anything, but the results were far from satisfactory.

"What are you going to do now?"

"First we need to find Yukinoshita. The rest will come after that."

Answer the media's questions succinctly. The media doesn't answer anything in particular.

I asked the media instead.

"What about you? Do you have any idea?"

"...I have selected a few sacred places that could serve as bases. I think it's unlikely that another Master has them under his control."

"I see... then let's try and find out."

"The church you mentioned earlier is also one of the sacred places. Is it alright if we don't go there?"

"If Tohsaka says she'll contact you, we can just put it off."

"...I was asking if Hachiman-sama does not need to seek protection."

"Ah?... That's right. Either way, we need to find Yukinoshita first. We'll think about it after that."

While I was wandering aimlessly in search of clues, I ended up in the direction of the new capital.

It's just before noon now, and the number of people passing by has increased. Thinking about it, I haven't had anything to eat since yesterday evening. It's a little early, but I'll have lunch.

As I was looking around looking for a suitable store, I was suddenly tapped on the shoulder.

"Excuse me. Have you seen this girl?"

Suddenly, I turned around and was shown a photo.

"It seems he's been missing since last night. Could you please help us search for him...?"

The man holding the photo looked confused when he saw my face.

Hey, hey, give me a break... why are you in a place like this...

"What...wait, my head...what is this...?"

The man crouches down and holds his head.

I picked up the photo he had dropped and sighed.

The girl in the photo was someone I knew well. The very person I was looking for, the head of our service club.

And this guy who called out to me...

"Hiki... Tani...?"

It was Hayama Hayato, the handsome, popular man that Sobu School was proud of.