Summoning, King, and Holy Grail

The night of the eighth day saw Fuyuki City unusually lively due to the destruction of the Church.

A tense and curious atmosphere permeated the streets as people whispered amongst themselves, speculating on the truth behind the mysterious incident.

However, for Shiki, all of this was like smoke passing before his eyes, failing to pique his interest in the slightest.

After successfully dealing with Archer and obtaining that crucial Noble Phantasm, he had returned to the vast cavern within Mount Kurikara to rest.

It was quiet and dim here, with water droplets occasionally falling from the cave walls, making crisp sounds as if softly cheering for his victory.

No one could have imagined that Shiki was hiding here.

That night, Rider, having received the news, shuttled back and forth through the streets and alleys of Fuyuki City with Waver, leaving no corner unchecked, but still failing to find any trace of Shiki.

Instead, at the Tohsaka residence, they discovered Tokiomi Tohsaka's corpse, his cold body seeming to tell the tale of the Holy Grail War's brutality.

The night in Fuyuki City thus passed with a mix of alarm and relief, the darkness gradually dispelled by the dawn's first light.

The next morning.

Shiki finished his exercises as usual and was sitting at a stone table, enjoying a simple breakfast.

Just then, the Black Knight hurried over from outside, his footsteps rapid and his expression carrying a hint of unusualness. Shiki couldn't help but feel curious; he had never seen the Black Knight so flustered. Had something astonishing happened?

Putting down the food in his hands, Shiki asked with a puzzled look, "Mr. Lancelot, has something major happened?"

"Master."

The Black Knight approached Shiki, his tone laced with barely concealed surprise. "I just received a magic signal."

Shiki frowned slightly, feeling a bit perplexed.

It was just a magic signal; that didn't seem like anything to be overly concerned about.

The Black Knight, seeing his Master's confusion, quickly explained, "The signal itself is common, but this one is different. It's an exclusive signal of the Knights of the Round Table, a royal summons."

"A magic signal from the Knights of the Round Table? The Round... Table?" Shiki's eyes widened, and he looked at the Black Knight in shock. "No way, is Saber, the King of Knights, summoning you, Mr. Lancelot? Didn't they say you were expelled from the Knights during this Holy Grail War?"

"That's also what I find so puzzling, Master."

As the Black Knight spoke, he took out a small bird from his pocket and gently placed it on the simple dining table.

The little bird hopped its way to the dairy product in front of Shiki and began pecking at it.

"My milk... Oh well, it doesn't have much taste anyway. Drink it if you want."

Shiki smiled helplessly, not chasing the bird away. Instead, he carefully examined it, trying to find any clues from this ordinary familiar, but to no avail.

"So, what are your thoughts, Mr. Lancelot? Are you going?" Shiki looked up and asked the Black Knight.

"Master, I..."

The Black Knight hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping. He wasn't worried about Master refusing, but rather he had a strange intuition.

He felt as though Saber, the King of Knights, was saying she was summoning him, but in reality, it was more like she wanted to meet Master. This intuition had no basis, yet it lingered in his mind.

After a moment of hesitation, he spoke directly, "Master, since we were going to search for the Holy Grail today anyway, why don't we..."

Searching for the Holy Grail was an important step they had planned long ago.

Shiki wouldn't let the Lesser Grail keep dangling around Kiritsugu. He knew the dangers of this Holy Grail War.

If he fought hard and the Holy Grail descended, only for Kiritsugu to make a wish first, who knew what consequences would arise.

Although he was certain that if Kiritsugu tried to fulfill that unrealistic wish, the Counter Force would intervene, just like the Winter Saintess in the past, whose wish to grant eternal youth and immortality to all humanity through the Third Magic ultimately failed.

Shiki always felt that the failure of every Holy Grail War had the Counter Force secretly interfering behind the scenes.

Otherwise, how could an ordinary person represent the evil of humanity?

Representing himself, who was that? Did he agree?

Why was he being represented again?

He had never agreed to be represented like this.

But even with the Counter Force's intervention, who could guarantee that Kiritsugu's wish wouldn't affect Fuyuki City in some other way?

Like in the original timeline, causing a terrible fire in Fuyuki City.

Thinking of this, Shiki worried about unexpected situations; he absolutely could not let such a thing happen.

Therefore, before the Holy Grail descended, he had to gain control of the Lesser Grail, and this plan was set for the ninth day after dealing with Archer.

"Mr. Lancelot, then let's go and see what Saber, the King of Knights, is up to."

The Black Knight respectfully placed his hand over his chest and retreated, saying gratefully, "Thank you for your understanding, Master."

Since he had decided to meet the King of Knights, Shiki sped up his eating.

After finishing his meal, he began to tidy himself up seriously, trying to appear more presentable.

The Black Knight stood by, watching Master's actions, feeling a bit puzzled. Master was ordinary-looking, just a bit more pleasing to the eye. No matter how he dressed up, he wouldn't be as handsome as himself.

However, he didn't dare to voice these thoughts, only muttering a few things to himself.

"I feel like Mr. Lancelot is thinking something very rude." Shiki seemed to sense the Black Knight's thoughts, turned his head, and said with a half-smile.

The Black Knight chuckled awkwardly and quickly covered up, "...Master, you're overthinking it."

Shiki didn't pay the Black Knight any mind. After getting ready, he looked in the mirror and felt good about his appearance.

It was just that eye patch, though. He felt it was a slight imperfection, something that seriously affected his looks.

But he also knew his looks were ordinary, so he stopped dwelling on it.

Speaking of which, it was a bit awkward. So far, Shiki had only caught a glimpse of Saber from a distance and hadn't seen her since.

Perfect. This time, he'd get a good look at the famous Saber, the King of Knights with the ahoge. No, he should probably call her the Ahoge Knight King.

Shiki took a deep breath and turned to the Black Knight. "Alright, let's go."

"As you command, Master."

The Black Knight straightened his posture and responded solemnly.

Traveling in broad daylight meant they couldn't fly, lest they attract unnecessary trouble.

From Ryūdō Temple to the Emiya Residence...

"By the way, Mr. Lancelot, do we know where Saber, the King of Knights, is?"

Fortunately, the Black Knight was already familiar with some of his Master's quirks. Without haste, he took out a small bird and released it.

The bird flapped its wings, circled in the sky a few times, and then flew off in one direction.

Seeing this, Shiki nodded, grateful that the little bird would lead the way.

They followed the bird, proceeding along the street.

The sunlight on his skin brought a touch of warmth. It was truly a fine day.

After a not-too-long walk, Shiki finally arrived in front of a Japanese-style residence.

He looked up. His first impression was that the house was large and exceptionally grand. Upon closer inspection, he couldn't help but marvel, thinking Kiritsugu was indeed quite wealthy.

However, when he saw there was no plaque at the entrance saying "Emiya Residence," he nodded inwardly, thinking that if there were, he could mock Kiritsugu Emiya for a lifetime.

Shiki walked forward and raised his hand to knock.

"Knock, knock, knock." The sound of knocking was particularly loud on the quiet street.

Soon, he felt a powerful presence appear behind the door.

With a creak, the door slowly opened, and a petite, blonde-haired, blue-eyed young woman dressed in men's clothing appeared before Shiki.

Shiki couldn't help but size her up. At first glance, he noticed she was very short, almost a head shorter than him. At second glance, the conspicuous ahoge had a strong presence. At third glance, his gaze involuntarily swept over her chest, and he inwardly scoffed, "Flat as a board, not worth it!"

But he quickly realized his thoughts were rather rude and hastily pushed the notion out of his mind.

Before Shiki could figure out how to greet this blonde European beauty, Saber spoke first.

"Welcome. Come in."

Saber's voice was clear and soft, yet carried an innate dignity.

And it was in Japanese, not English.

"Uh... excuse me for intruding."

Shiki followed Saber into the Japanese-style residence.

As soon as he entered the house, Shiki truly understood its scale.

The courtyard was spacious, with a winding stone path leading to the main house. The main house's architectural style was simple yet elegant, exuding an ancient charm.

This residence was far larger than the home in his counterpart's memories. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly, wondering how many assassination jobs Kiritsugu had taken to afford such a mansion.

Entering the main house, Shiki finally saw the core of the Lesser Grail – the artificial human named Irisviel, an Einzbern.

The moment he saw Irisviel, he froze.

The Irisviel before him looked almost identical to the Winter Saintess, practically the same, with only minor differences. Irisviel's eyes were gentler, and her bust was a bit larger.

As for the Saintess... well, she was the Saintess.

Irisviel sensed Shiki's gaze but felt no malice from him. On the contrary, she found the young man before her quite pleasant.

So, she smiled and greeted him, "Hello, Berserker's Master. I am Irisviel, Irisviel von Einzbern. As per the customs of this country, I look forward to working with you."

Early that morning, Irisviel had heard Saber say that something unexpected would happen today. She assumed meeting Berserker's Master was that event.

In her mind, Berserker, Lancelot, had already exceeded her expectations.

It would be good to communicate. She wasn't worried about her personal safety, feeling secure with Saber protecting her.

Shiki snapped back to attention. This Nordic elf-like woman was also speaking Japanese, albeit a bit convoluted, but he could understand it. He wanted to give Kiritsugu a thumbs-up, thinking, Well done! Saves Saber the trouble of translating.

He returned the greeting.

"Hello! Ms. Einzbern, I am Shiki, Hōraisan Shiki."

In the absence of anyone else, the Black Knight, in his spiritual form, quietly appeared. He bowed respectfully to Saber, the King of Knights, and then silently stood behind Shiki, no longer speaking.

At this moment, he existed solely as his Master's loyal knight.

After the tea was served, Saber sat upright opposite Shiki and dropped a bombshell, saying something that nearly made Shiki lose his composure.

"Young Shiki, I wish for you to take Irisviel away."