Clues to the Witch

As evening approached, Rin Tohsaka emerged from Jizi's room, yawning. Following the magical aura, she arrived at Jizi's Magecraft Workshop, easily unlocking the door. Pushing it open, she saw Jizi fiddling with an electronic device called a computer, the screen displaying the corridor of Homurahara High School.

What are you doing?

"Ah, you're awake," Jizi turned to Rin and smiled. "It's nothing. I just finished the housework and came over to organize the data sent back by the Surveillance Familiar."

Don't overexert yourself; you're still recovering from your injury...

"It's alright," Jizi stood up and did a somersault on the spot, "I feel full of energy now."

It's better to be careful.

"Worrying too much will cause wrinkles -- Archer also helped, so my workload isn't actually that heavy."

"Tch, that guy!"

Rin sat down in the chair on the other side of the table, reached for the few pages of paper in front of her— Jizi knew Rin's disastrous compatibility with electronic devices, so she would always make a text version of the information Rin organized on the computer specifically for Rin to read—she flipped through it, then said thoughtfully:

"The school and... Ryuudou Temple?"

"That's right. Judging from the traces left behind, they should be two different Servants. One can be confirmed as Magecraft, and the other has the ability to set up a barrier that absorbs life force. The rest is still unknown."

"The school alone has three servants, what a small world."

Rin sighed casually, then suddenly remembered that Kiko Emiya was a descendant of Assassin, and that both of them had formed bonds with her. The world seemed even more crowded for the three of them.

"Yeah, it's really small..." Jizi echoed, her expression suggesting she had the same thought as Rin.

Before disappearing, Assassin told Rin that if she wanted to know the truth about ten years ago, she could ask Jizi. However, Kiko's mental state had been extremely unstable before. Rin speculated that it might be a side effect of some kind of Magecraft that Assassin used to affect memories. Not knowing Jizi's current mental state, she didn't want to ask. Oh well, for now, they should focus on the Holy Grail War. They would have plenty of time to discuss this issue later.

"It's decided. Let's probe Caster tonight. We'll deal with the school tomorrow during the day."

"Okay, is there anything I need to prepare?"

"I'll bring some of the commonly used Cursed Object from ancient times. My opponent is Magecraft from the past, which will give me a chance to witness the spells of the legendary era."

"Understood, leave it to me."

Nominally, Jizi is Rin's assistant and apprentice, but in reality, her role is more like that of a housekeeper or secretary. Rin happens to be a carefree person who doesn't pay much attention to many trivial matters, which leads her to make inexplicable mistakes at crucial moments, just like her father. Jizi perfectly fills this gap in her knowledge, and since she's happy with it, Rin simply entrusts her with many miscellaneous tasks, such as preparations.

"Oh, right," Rin added to Jizi was busy running around, "next time—"

"I'll do it again next time." Before Rin could finish speaking, Jizi interrupted her, "Isn't it true that apprentices and assistants are meant to be used at will by Magecraft? I can't get involved in the Servant's battles, and my Magecraft skills are only Half-Baked. All I can do is take the hits."

"But--"

"No buts," Jizi interrupted again, "If Rin doesn't want me to do that, then please think more carefully before you act, and don't put yourself in a dangerous situation, otherwise..."

Jizi turned around and met Lin's gaze.

No matter how many times, I will always stand in front of you.

War, as the most brutal action that humankind can wage, has always been aimed at destroying and killing the enemy. Theoretically speaking, any means are permitted as long as they can harm the enemy and preserve oneself.

However, although the Holy Grail War is called a war, it is essentially a Magecraft ritual and is supervised by various Magecraft organizations. Therefore, a series of rules have been established, and if the rules are not followed, the supervisors will use their privileges to prioritize the removal of violators.

However, since the last Holy Grail War, the Holy Church, which was tasked with overseeing the war, has lost its neutrality. Other forces, for reasons unknown, have essentially lost all credibility with the Tohsaka Family. Even so, Rin Tohsaka had no intention of breaking the rules. But just one day into the war, the Magecraft entrenched at Ryuudou Temple openly extended his reach into the real world.

This was a blatant provocation to Tohsaka, who considered Fuyuki City his own territory and acted as its administrator.

"Hmph, that's really..."

Rin Tohsaka and her two companions, who originally planned to go to Ryuudou Temple, stumbled upon another dense stream of magical energy on the way. Following this stream in reverse, they discovered an office building surrounded by a barrier that was absorbing their life force. The staff inside had all been Potions and unconscious, and then their life force was extracted by the Caster.

"Archer, you go down from the top floor, and Jizi and I will go up from the first floor. Let's clear out this building first, and then call the police to handle it."

"We should only be able to find a few Familiar. Judging from the videos transmitted back by the Surveillance Familiar, they basically haven't left Ryuudou Temple."

"Like an old spider huddled in a corner, constantly weaving its web, it's truly nauseating."

After making a few casual complaints, Rin led Jizi through the main entrance. The electronic alarm at the door was obviously useless to them, and Rin was confident that she could detect the Magecraft trap in advance with her Mystic Eyes of Replication.

Jizi, carrying a bundle containing Cursed Object on her back and holding Bokken she'd gotten from Taiga Fujimura in her right hand—which, after being enhanced by Rin's Magecraft, had become as tough as a hundred-times-forged sword—guarded Rin's side warily. Her cautious demeanor left Rin somewhat exasperated.

"Don't be so nervous."

"Just normal precautions."

"You've felt it too, haven't you? The magical power here makes it impossible for any powerful enemy to emerge."

"Perhaps your opponent is using this idea of yours to set a trap."

"And there's even less to worry about Magecraft traps, I have the Mystic Eyes of Replication-- "

"Perhaps the other side happens to have a way to counter it."

Jizi's attitude seemed a bit unreasonable, and Rin had a blind trust in what Jizi gave her. She was about to refute her, but then she thought that Jizi was worried about her, so she sighed and tacitly agreed to her behavior.

The two searched every room in the building, cleaning up any traces of Magecraft they found. When they reached about the fifteenth or sixteenth floor, they were both quite tired, so they sat down to rest for a while at the stairwell exit.

Aside from their formulaic exchange when dealing with Caster Magecraft, the two had remained mostly silent throughout the journey. Normally, even without communication, there was no awkwardness between them; rather, there was a unique unspoken understanding. However, since the events of last night, this understanding seems to have been replaced by something else.

"..."

"..."

She had initially decided to ignore the many mysteries left behind by [assassin], but the more she tried to avoid thinking about it, the more troubled she became. Now, when Rin calmed down, her mind was filled with thoughts of the Fourth Holy Grail War —she had received too little information from her father, and aside from almost being captured by Bluebeard, she had only interacted with [Jizi] at the end, so her involvement was zero and she naturally couldn't know anything.

According to some rumors revealed last night, the victor ten years ago was not Kirei Kotomine, whom I had always believed, but Kiritsugu Emiya. But why did he destroy the Holy Grail? There must be a profound reason behind this, and it may even be related to a huge secret.

"Jizi-- "

"I have no idea."

Jizi once again preemptively answered the question that Rin Tohsaka had not yet finished asking.

"But [assassin] said--"

"She did try to implant some memories into me, but I strongly refused."

"Rin, this is what you really want to know, isn't it?" This Jizi, before Rin could ask "why," Kiko continued:

"But I'm sorry, I... I don't know... or rather, I dare not know—those memories, those experiences, and so on. Isn't a person made up of these unique aspects of their being? If, if other memories are mixed into 'Kiko Emiya's' memories, then is 'Kiko Emiya' still herself?"

Jizi's voice sounded trembling, which made Lin feel an urge to hug her and comfort her.

"I don't know how long I can keep refusing—I know those things, whether memories or anything else, are incredibly important, related to so many things, but I'm afraid— 'Kiko Emiya' is just an insignificant existence compared to Heroic Spirit and the Holy Grail, but she's my everything! I just want to continue being myself..."

"..."

"I'm sorry, Rin—I'll accept it, but for now, could I be 'Kiko Emiya' a little longer?"

Rin reached out and brushed her hand across Jizi's eye, wiping away the few tears that had just flowed from her eyes due to her emotional state.

"It's alright, you--"

Duang!

A loud crash interrupted Rin's words—she realized she seemed to be constantly interrupted today—as the ceiling in front of them collapsed, a huge white object fell down, judging from the magical power it emitted, it should be a combat-type Familiar.

"Jizi!"

"Everything is ready!"

Just moments ago, Jizi had been teary-eyed, but in an instant, she transformed, gripping Bokken and protecting Rin, who in turn gathered the magic power of the Yin Qi Bullet in her hand.

"Let's take these guys down first!"

"No problem."