Somewhere, sometime.
"Hmm... so that Magus from the Clock Tower isn't in that crystal castle?"
In the dim room, the heavy scent of tulips filled the space like an ocean. A little fragrance might refresh the mind, but too much only became unpleasant. Just as a little water could bring joy while too much would drown a person. Amid the perilously rich, ocean-like fragrance, the girl's troubled voice rang out.
The cloyingly sweet scent, nauseating in its intensity, mingled with warm, humid vapor and made the air stagnant and oppressive. Even the girl's cute, coquettish voice could not bring a trace of life to the frozen space.
The black-clad Ninja, Hattori Hanzo, knelt before his Master. The lighting had already been poor, and his Master seemed to have used some sort of magecraft; even with a Servant's vision, he could see only her pale toes and the violet-colored nail polish on them.
Though he found the smell far too heavy, he offered no advice regarding his Master's excessively girlish interests.
Ninjas were tools. They only needed to kill as their lord's blade. As for their lord's hobbies, that was for samurai and senior retainers to advise upon. What, had anyone ever heard a blade reason with the person wielding it?
After speaking, the female Master let out an exaggerated sigh. She flung her limbs about theatrically like a stage actress, then muttered in a lowered voice, "Honestly, he's an old man, yet he's got himself a crystal castle. Does he think he's some young lady? Why not put on crystal high heels too? Seriously, what awful taste. Wouldn't it be nice if he turned to ashes the moment midnight passed? But well, thanks to that disgusting sissy, our plan was a huge success!"
The first half had been full of resentment toward Abner, but by the final sentence, her voice had become bright and delighted. The speed of her emotional shift was nothing short of astonishing.
"Yes. I am quite certain that at least three groups noticed my feeble combat ability."
The black-clad Ninja maintained his kneeling posture and deeply lowered his head.
Though he called himself feeble, a word that was clearly no praise, he showed not the slightest shame. It was as though this were only natural; his words were clear and confident.
A Ninja was a special operative born for infiltration and assassination. There was no honor in it.
But thinking carefully, would a Heroic Spirit skilled in infiltration truly fail so often?
The first time he had tried to assassinate Carl and Tsukahara Meiji, his killing intent had weakened the effect of Presence Concealment. That could not be helped.
But during the second attempt on Abner, why had Archer seen him? Why had Archer noticed him?
Even if the two possessed similar skills, there was no reason Archer should have been able to see through Assassin's A+ Presence Concealment.
Otherwise, the Assassin class would be far too pathetic.
Putting those two points together led to one conclusion.
The conclusion was simple...
Because...
The second assassination attempt had been deliberately made to fail, put on for others to see.
Assassin's Personal Skill, Mind's Eye (False), or rather, his sixth sense, was a perception of danger honed through years of infiltration and assassination. At Hattori Hanzo's level, he could sense not only the danger of being attacked, but even the danger of his concealment being seen through.
For someone like him, ignoring Archer's observation was strange in itself.
The only explanation was that he had deliberately allowed himself to be noticed, making the others believe Assassin was a weak Servant.
"Eh—only three groups! That's a little too few... I thought that old man could lure in super—super—super many Masters! How awful! So mean! Baka! Stupid! Seriously! Doesn't that mean I put on such a wonderful show for nothing? No audience? Art is solitary? No—way!!"
Though he could not see clearly in the darkness, and Hattori Hanzo had his head lowered, leaving his Master out of sight, he could tell from her words alone that she was surely making exaggerated gestures again, pouring out the almost obsessive feelings in her heart.
Just as Abner wanted to display Lancer's strength and make his enemies turn their attention toward him, Assassin wanted to use his battle with Lancer to highlight his own weakness.
The purpose, naturally, was—
To make others underestimate him and misjudge him in future battles.
In other words, to show weakness to the enemy and lure them into lowering their guard.
For that reason, Assassin's task tonight had been to fail at assassination: fight Lancer, then spread the impression that Assassin was insignificant. Abner's actions would surely draw the surveillance of many Masters. Whether through familiars or in person, those who witnessed Assassin's helpless fighting would regard him as weak. Once they tried to force him into a direct confrontation... that would be Assassin's moment to strike back.
The Ninja Hattori Hanzo was merely skilled at assassination and inclined toward assassination, but no intelligence suggested that he was poor at direct combat. In fact, the name Hattori Hanzo had been passed down through generations, and the second Hattori Hanzo—Hattori Hanzo Masanari—had been a fierce warrior who rode across battlefields as a samurai. He had been hailed as one of the Sixteen Divine Generals of Tokugawa. A man praised as a Divine General could not possibly have been too far from the title, even if there was some exaggeration to it.
With that in mind, Assassin's combat ability today had indeed been strange. Not only had his frontal combat strength been lacking, he had not even used the ninjutsu he excelled at. He had not even fully utilized the agility that the Assassin class prided itself on most.
It was practically as though he had been holding back.
And... today's battle had another special purpose. It would become Assassin's trump card.
"But where exactly is that old man's base? I have no idea where the teleportation magecraft inside leads... speaking of which, teleportation magecraft! Can that really be done? Well, whatever! Assassin~"
The girl breezily skipped over the question. Delight once again took command of her train of thought, and amid the thick perfume, she cheerfully called for her Servant.
"Yes, Master."
"Hey, next time, just bring me someone's head. I heard Oda Nobunaga used skulls as sake cups. Hey, hey, wouldn't using a human head as a wine cup be even better? Ah! Am I a genius? If he was the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven, then I'm... hmm... the Witch of the Seventh Heaven?! Ehehehe~"
Listening to his Master's nearly deranged words, Hattori Hanzo nodded, closed his mouth, and listened quietly. The floral scent in the air, nearly rotten in its sweetness, was like poison. Even with his sense of smell sealed, it seemed to seep in through his skin and leave his entire body uncomfortable.
Even the god of ninjas was serving a Master with such a personality for the first time.
But...
(A Ninja has only one duty. Obedience.)
"Yes. Next time, I will certainly give it my all. Whether it is Lancer, Rider, Berserker, or Saber, I will surely take their heads!"
"Hehe! Good, I'm looking forward to it! Oh, right, right! Remember, the cut at the throat has to be beautiful! Leave the trachea nice and long for me!"
His Master once again chattered on as she sank into her own disordered thoughts. Her crazed mind babbled bloody phrases without end. It seemed she would not be finishing anytime soon, Hattori Hanzo reflected.
Since it was all meaningless conversation, Hattori Hanzo selectively turned his thoughts toward another matter.
(Why... had I failed during the first assassination attempt on those two Masters?)
(Certainly, at the moment of attack, exposed killing intent weakens Presence Concealment. Even so, Presence Concealment should have been highly misleading to Masters.)
(Most importantly, thinking back on it now, that blond Magus had clearly begun preparing to deal with my attack before I made my move...)
(It was almost as if... he had noticed my position beforehand...)
(The first time, I had received no order to hold back... those two...)
Hattori Hanzo quietly glanced toward his Master. The beautiful girl with the purple ponytail was gesturing wildly as she spoke of her feelings, like an exceptionally graceful dancer.
(It seems Master has not realized it yet... compared with the other Masters... that blond Magus is the one we should be most wary of...)
(Never mind. Master is in high spirits right now, so I should investigate first. At the very least, I must locate their base and gather information on their Servant.)
Having decided that, the black Servant lowered his head again and quietly waited for his Master to finish venting.
Before you continue