Shinji rolled his eyes at Rin, then propped up his chin and began to analyze the situation. "Well, it was indeed a little unexpected that the Holy Grail chose someone like me, who doesn't even have Mage Circuits. But the latter half of what you said was right. Once the other candidates summon their Servants, the Command Spells on my hand will naturally disappear."
"The latter half?" Rin sensed that something was off. "Wait, are you saying the first half of what I said was wrong?"
"Are you an idiot?" Shinji looked at Rin with utter disdain. "You actually believed that nonsense about the Holy Grail choosing Masters completely at random?"
"Wait, that was written in the journal Father left behind—"
"Then your father was an idiot too."
"You bastard!" Rin, the devoted daughter that she was, shot to her feet.
But Shinji paid her no mind and continued explaining. "Listen up, Tohsaka. I don't know why the Tohsaka Family, once one of the Three Great Families, doesn't even understand something this basic, but remember this: the Holy Grail does not choose Masters at random."
"Huh? It doesn't?" Rin blinked in surprise.
"Right. The Holy Grail has rules and priorities when choosing Master candidates. Those who have a strong wish for it to grant, including subconscious wishes, are given extremely high priority. Those without any wish for it to grant are given very low priority, no matter how skilled they are as magi. Also, you should know that the Three Great Families who created the Holy Grail System themselves have very high priority. Those two conditions combined may be why someone like me, who isn't even a magus, was selected by the Holy Grail as a candidate this time."
"I see..." Rin nodded, but then she caught the implication in