"Boom!"
The enormous explosion battered the eardrums of everyone present. The blast wave overturned cars parked along the street, and Kiritsugu Emiya, who had not yet gotten far away, was naturally caught in the shockwave as well. Fortunately, his body had been honed by years on battlefields filled with gunfire, allowing him to quickly regain his balance and minimize the damage caused by the impact.
What happened? The amount of explosives had clearly been calculated with precision. It should have caused a controlled demolition that destroyed only the reinforced concrete of the building's exterior walls. Even the sound of the explosion should not have carried beyond the hotel.
But reality was that, amid the thunderous blast, the towering shockwave, and sparks that swept through everything, the Hyatt Hotel had naturally been reduced to rubble. Even the asphalt on the road had been torn up, let alone the police behind the cordon and the guests who had not managed to escape far enough.
Someone had seen through his plan and used it against him. That was the only possibility, yet also the least likely one. Aside from Maiya, no one knew the plan... Wait. No one? Then what about beings that were not human? The elusive, furtive Assassin, or the even more mysterious and sinister Caster? There was no way to tell right now. He could only analyze it later based on the intelligence he gathered. First, he needed to contact Maiya, confirm whether the primary objective had been achieved, and then withdraw.
"Maiya, how are things over there?"
"There was no movement all the way up to the thirty-second floor. It seems Kayneth did not escape from the hotel." A deep, cold male voice came through the radio.
"Who are you? Where's Maiya?"
"That woman escaped under the cover of a smoke grenade. So you had formed an alliance with Caster, Kiritsugu Emiya. No wonder he would commit such an act while completely disregarding the agreement between Magi. Once one connects it to what you have done, it no longer seems strange."
"What?"
The other party cut off the transmission unilaterally. Although he had learned that Maiya was safe for the moment and that this extraordinary explosion had been caused by Caster, Kiritsugu Emiya was still utterly confused—who was the other party, and what sort of agreement did he have with Caster?
Unable to make sense of it no matter how hard he thought, Kiritsugu Emiya met up with Maiya at their prearranged rendezvous point dozens of minutes later, then returned to Einzbern Castle in confusion.
On the thirty-eighth floor of the Fuyuki Central Building, which was nothing but an empty shell, Kirei Kotomine stood upon the steel observation deck and watched the chaotic scene below, filled with ambulances, injured people, and police officers.
Caster's brazen breach of their agreement after his side had fulfilled its terms, exposing Assassin's existence to every participant, now had an explanation. He must have had another agreement with Kiritsugu Emiya behind the scenes. Otherwise, how could one explain him demanding that the Holy Church place explosives in the Hyatt Hotel, only for Kiritsugu Emiya to blow up the building immediately afterward? As expected, anything involving Kiritsugu Emiya would inevitably become... Could this be the interesting thing that Archer had mentioned?
What could I possibly gain from this Holy Grail War? For some reason, an emotion he could not understand had arisen within him. Among people with normal emotional sensibilities, this emotion was usually called anticipation.
Author's Note
Do you know what tactic schools use to keep students from running around and causing trouble during vacation?
Lots and lots of homework!
That was a relatively low-level tactic, though. After all, some masters could finish copying ten thousand words by hand during the first two classes in the morning.
"We'll have exams when you come back from vacation!"
You got it... Because of the exams, I probably will not be able to finish the promised eighteen thousand words this week... Sorry, this is probably all I can manage.
A sincere thank-you to the sixty-four readers who have bookmarked this story so far.
Let me talk about the update schedule again. Unless something unexpected happens, it will be eighteen thousand words per week, released on Friday or Saturday. Because of school, those are the only times I can get out and spend some time at an internet café... There may be extra updates under special circumstances, such as the three-day Qingming Festival holiday.
Because of that, as for managing and replying in the review section... I reply to what I can see through the mobile app. As for what I cannot see... thank you here for dropping by and letting me know I am not alone.
When I decided on this update pace, I never expected this book to achieve particularly good results. If it can make you smile after you finish reading it, that is enough. I do not dare hope for recommendations or anything like that. Of course, they would be great if I got them, but I would not have the nerve to ask if I did not.
That is all for this week. See you next week.