Why Don't You Find Another Savior

Then, having received a new task, Xi stopped in his tracks. The not-at-all-unfamiliar instructions had arrived, giving him a headache.

"What is it?"

"Regarding the Holy Grail, I want to change our approach." Xi looked seriously at Morgan in his arms.

After hearing his explanation, Morgan was slightly surprised, but she did not object. She merely nodded in agreement.

By the time the two returned to the embankment, Xi had already noticed another problem.

The dense fog Morgan had created showed no signs of dissipating. If they insisted on exposing her now, Morgan likely would not be able to keep up the disguise.

But seeing how much she was enjoying herself, Xi decided to enjoy it along with her.

After all, Morgan was not heavy, and holding such soft, cool fragrance in his arms... was still quite a bargain.

"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Xi, and Your Ladyship the Witch." Tokiomi thanked them both. "It is wonderful that the matter could be resolved so quickly."

That meant the reward for subjugating Caster would fall into Xi's hands.

But Tokiomi could do nothing about it. After all, he could not have anticipated things developing to this extent. He had never expected Caster to create such a situation.

Without Xi Jianxi's Servant responding in time, the sheer amount of work needed just to conceal the truth would have been enough to give Tokiomi a headache for quite some time.

"It was nothing. Since the Holy Church issued a summons, we simply responded according to the situation." Xi answered calmly. "Still, with this Holy Grail War having developed to this point, I imagine not only I, but Mr. Tokiomi, the Einzbern, and the Holy Church all failed to anticipate it."

As he spoke, he looked toward Irisviel.

As one of the only two participating families among the Three Founding Families of the Holy Grail War, after witnessing the battle against Caster, Irisviel had begun considering what Morgan had said earlier at the banquet.

Caster's defeated soul had just been recovered. This was the second one.

Although she was still standing there, Irisviel could already feel her bodily functions deteriorating further.

"I am deeply ashamed," Tokiomi admitted.

"So, what wisdom do you have to offer, Mr. Xi?" Irisviel asked.

Xi looked over the three people, including Waver. Counting himself, and Kirei, who had not shown himself in the shadows, the identities of the remaining Masters were already clear.

"I would not call it wisdom. It is simply that there is something extremely important regarding the Holy Grail War that must be discussed face-to-face with every Master and Servant." Xi said, "At noon tomorrow, our side will be at the Holy Church to explain the hidden problems in this Holy Grail War, and together decide its future course."

The unexpected topic left Tokiomi Tohsaka surprised.

Naturally, Tokiomi knew the truth behind the Holy Grail War.

If it was merely treated as an omnipotent wish-granting device, then defeating the other six Masters and Servants would count as the end.

But if it was to be used as a device to reach the Root, then the seventh Servant had to be killed.

That was why Tokiomi cared so deeply about the Command Spells, and had even conspired with the Holy Church to plan the operation against Caster.

Though because of Gilgamesh's lack of cooperation, the spoils had ultimately fallen into Xi Jianxi's hands.

"Do not be so tense, Magus who governs this land. We are not discussing its essence, but its hidden problems." Though Morgan lay in Xi's arms, she remained as imposing as ever.

Even if the others found the sight somewhat amusing.

Tokiomi immediately understood, and the weight on his heart eased somewhat.

"In that case, let us proceed as you say for now, Mr. Xi." Tokiomi voiced his agreement.

If there truly were hidden problems, then it was necessary to hear whether this was utter nonsense or genuinely true.

"No choice. We can only go and see." Waver crossed his arms and accepted the proposal as well.

Like Irisviel, he had heard what Morgan said at the banquet, so naturally he cared greatly about it now.

"The Einzbern will attend as well," Irisviel said.

Xi, who had already begun walking toward the roadside on the other side of the embankment, stopped and looked back. After giving Irisviel a meaningful glance, he drove away with Morgan.

Irisviel could not help but freeze at the meaning behind that look.

—If Saber's true Master did not come tomorrow, they would refuse to explain anything.

It seemed Kiritsugu would have to show himself. Otherwise, no matter how one looked at it, he would be excluded from the Holy Grail War going forward, and might even become the common enemy of the other factions.

A Brief Respite

After settling the battle at Miyuen River and returning home, Xi remembered that the aftermath of the banquet in the courtyard had not been cleaned up. He had no choice but to hurriedly finish tidying the courtyard in the middle of the night.

Having worked up another sweat, he could only run to the bathroom for a second bath.

After coming out, Xi sat heavily on the sofa, his slightly damp hair hanging loose as he stared blankly at the ceiling.

I brought this on myself, he muttered inwardly.

If he had known it would turn out like this, why the hell had he bothered playing the gracious host? He should have let those kings drink cold wine on empty stomachs.

It was not as if Servants could get upset stomachs anyway.

Thinking of that, Xi sighed again.

What the hell had gotten into him, always finding more trouble for himself...

"You have worked hard. Lie down and get some proper rest."

Morgan's voice sounded beside him, and only then did he remember she had been sitting in the living room, watching him bustle about.

As she spoke, Morgan used irresistible force to pull him down. His head rested on her soft thighs, while a cool fragrance lingered beneath his nose, unexpectedly soothing him toward sleep.

"...Sigh..." Xi instinctively let out a weary breath.

After all, even with magical energy supporting him, he truly had not slept for two days and one night. Coupled with the alcohol he had drunk earlier, if he still did not feel sleepy, he would need to get his health checked.

Even worse, he had just remembered that he had driven drunk... Luckily, he had not encountered anyone, much less the police conducting roadside checks, that night.

The dense fog had already spread, covering the entirety of Fuyuki. Xi had driven especially slowly on his way back, and he had taken the opportunity to ask Morgan about the Greater Holy Grail's condition.

"Still, you really are impressive. You actually changed the weather and covered all of Fuyuki," Xi remarked unconsciously.

"Even you could do something of this level if you wished." Morgan spoke indifferently. "Besides, the fog has now completely slipped beyond my control and no longer possesses any magical properties. It should disperse by the latter half of the night."

"I wonder if the television will complain about it tomorrow morning. Something like unexplained abnormal weather, which might become one of Fuyuki's mysterious phenomena in the future." Xi laughed from the bottom of his heart.

Once his tense nerves relaxed, the aftereffects of drinking surged forth as well. His upper and lower eyelids began fighting each other.

Xi, who could be said to have barely touched alcohol in the past, did not know whether his tolerance was considered good.

"...Come to think of it, when Gilgamesh left, he abandoned an entire set of drinking vessels there." Xi half-closed his eyes and quietly complained to Morgan. "The wine was excellent, and the vessels were real gold... Judging by their quality, they were definitely from Uruk's Fifth Dynasty."

"Do you not intend to return them?"

"Finders keepers. I am not some saint without greed." Xi smiled casually.

Morgan smiled as well. "Then do not return them."

Then, as if stroking a pet resting on her lap, she ran her hand through Xi's soft hair. "Regarding Caster's Master, whom I executed before you came to meet me—"

"Mm? What about him?" Xi had assumed the outcome was already clear and had not given it further thought.

"When I found that Master, he was already under someone's control," Morgan continued. "Another Magus had interfered in secret. I did not investigate closely, but without a doubt, insects were used to invade his brain, silently influencing his capacity for thought."

At those words, Xi clearly felt Morgan's body become slightly stiff, like a fully drawn bow. An emotion almost too faint to notice passed through their physical contact.

Disgust, fear... or perhaps unease.

She is not used to dealing with insects? Xi thought.

So Xi reached out and took the hand Morgan was using to stroke his hair, holding it firmly and conveying warmth, along with the message: I am here.

That subtle tension gradually faded again, and her usual composure reclaimed control over her emotions.

"Was it Zouken Matou again?" Xi did not expose it, merely continuing the previous topic in silence.

"That is right."

Xi gained a rough lead. "As expected... The Matou Family's magecraft, unable to continue being passed down due to its incompatibility with this land, had no candidate capable of participating in this Holy Grail War. So he could only intervene personally and attempt to profit from the sidelines."

Though more precisely speaking, among the current generation of the Matou Family, there was still Kariya Matou, a descendant of suitable age who retained a slight aptitude for magecraft.

But Kariya had long ago left the Matou Family because he despised magecraft.

Before the Holy Grail War officially began, Kariya had only just ended his brief stay in Fuyuki and left the country once again to gather material during his travels.

At this rate, the Matou Family's magecraft would surely end here, and the Matou line's magical inheritance would vanish with it.

As a Magus, Zouken would naturally be unwilling to accept that.

"That appears to be the case." Morgan had also learned of the Matou Family's situation from Xi.

They had no successor, while the family head himself was clinging to life through magecraft.

There was no doubt the Matou Family could not endure until the next Holy Grail War sixty years later, so it was only natural that Zouken Matou could no longer sit still.

However, perhaps Morgan's warning before the Greater Holy Grail at Ryuudou Temple had been highly effective, because Zouken Matou had made sufficient preparations. While Morgan could easily sever the old man's control over Ryunosuke Uryu, she could not trace the path of the magical control back and curse him to death.

This semi-automatic method of control allowed Ryunosuke Uryu to believe it was his own will, without even Caster noticing. At the same time, once it was discovered, the connection through the magical energy circuit would be cut.

In other words, Zouken Matou had truly been guarding against an Age of Gods Magus like Morgan, one who stood above modern Magi.

"Also, when I executed him, I confirmed that Caster's Master had exhausted all of his Command Spells." Morgan added, "That is why the Sea Monster could act on such a scale: it received magical energy support from the Command Spells."

"He really knows how to cause trouble for us." Xi said, "Now that the Caster faction has been defeated, among the remaining factions..."

As he spoke, Xi considered the other Masters.

After eliminating the possibilities one by one, only Waver Velvet remained.

That Magus, who was even a little younger than Xi, had indeed shown some notable qualities in handling problems. But in the end, his abilities as a Magus were actually quite poor.

In a one-on-one encounter with Zouken Matou, he would likely become the old man's meal.

"Rider's Master." Morgan had reached the same answer. "But the King of Conquerors is unlike other Servants. He will not be so easy to exploit."

"Who knows? The information I have on Zouken Matou is actually very limited. Though both are magical families living in Fuyuki, the Matou are far more discreet than the Tohsaka." Xi thought for a moment. "It seems that no matter how tomorrow's gathering goes, we must warn Rider and his Master."

If things were still as they had been before, Xi would not have cared how the various sides fought one another from here on.

But if the Holy Grail War were allowed to continue and other Servants withdrew, further accumulating the Servant souls required by the Greater Holy Grail, it would seriously undermine Xi's current new plan.

"If possible, keep the number of eliminated Servants below four," Morgan said.

Xi, meanwhile, began to feel his senses drifting away.

Already exhausted, thinking about the Holy Grail War here unexpectedly consumed a great deal of mental energy, and sleepiness came even faster than usual.

"...That makes it sound like we cannot lose." Xi spoke with a quiet laugh.

Morgan fell silent for a while. Xi thought she did not wish to answer and let his consciousness be completely swallowed by drowsiness.

"If we fight separately, we will lose. But if we join forces, we have always been invincible."

Only after she said it did she realize Xi had already fallen asleep.

Listening to his peaceful breathing, Morgan smiled silently.

Departure

He had a dream.

The witch tirelessly studied knowledge, while the young man who called himself a sage taught her everything he knew.

Magecraft, martial arts, strategy, the art of rulership... The sage withheld nothing and answered every question.

He had a dream.

The witch measured the island surrounded by the sea with her own feet. Travel, hardship, salvation—at her side stood the sage, never half a step behind, his figure unchanged for a thousand years.

He had a dream...

Yet he dreamed of something shattering. The witch had vanished without a trace, and the sage disappeared from the world.

All that remained were a queen and a tyrant, along with a war whose end could not be seen.

When Xi opened his eyes, he found himself lying in bed.

His sleeping posture was simply too terrible. He looked as if he had been possessed by an evil spirit, sprawled in the blankets like a gecko, with the sheets wrinkled beyond recognition.

Through the messy bangs before his eyes, Xi saw the alarm clock by the bed. There was a little over half an hour left until noon.

I really slept for a long time.