Starting in Type-Moon by Adopting Sakura

Taking the book that Rowe handed him, Kariya Matou's pupils suddenly contracted, and then he revealed an expression of disbelief.

"The Caster class—if you choose to summon that guy, the choice is indeed impeccable. His talent and strength would never pale in comparison to any genius or hero. But I never expected that this thing could still survive after the Clock Tower's destruction..."

"...Rowe Crowley, Aleister Crowley? And... Crowley, heh, I see, I see... No wonder I could see something like this. So there's that kind of connection. No wonder your magecraft and alchemy are so peculiar—they came from his hand, didn't they?"

Kariya Matou examined the worn book in his hand carefully, muttering to himself.

Although he was extremely curious inside, because the original owner, Rowe, was right beside him, he didn't dare to flip through it privately. Instead, he savored the unique aura lingering on its surface.

Alchemy, summoning magecraft, and traces of various Western magecraft theories...

Though the title of this thing was already illegible, having lived so long, he could still identify its origin—it was the original manuscript of the "Book of the Law."

This thing, as far as he knew, had been ordered by the Clock Tower to be retrieved and destroyed many years ago.

The "Book of the Law"—this thing wasn't a single copy in the world of mystery, but many. However, the one that caused such a stir had to be traced back to a certain genius from several hundred years ago.

That man, whom the world of mystery called a heretic, proposed many heretical new concepts and theories.

He unceremoniously combined theology with magecraft, proposing new theories, using the miracles of the mind from an extremely tricky angle to manifest the magecraft of the past. This was a matter and method that was very hard to believe and understand.

This deviated from any foundation of modern magecraft or divine-era magecraft. Even now, no one knows how he managed it, and naturally, his actions earned him a dual pursuit from the Mage's Association and the Holy Church.

And this book was a grimoire written by that heretical man in Cairo, Egypt—its name was the "Book of the Law."

After completing this work, that mysterious man vanished from this world, and no one has ever seen him again to this day.

Some rumored he was secretly executed by the Holy Church's Burial Agency, others said he was taken into custody by the Department of Policies' Sealing Designation, and there were even rumors that he had reached the Root and his body had left this world...

In short, all sorts of speculations about that man emerged endlessly, and to this day, there's no proper answer.

But it cannot be denied that he was a bold and reckless man, a traitor who abandoned both the divine path and the magical path, yet he was also a free-spirited pioneer. Many of the theories he left behind have now been proven.

As for this thing appearing in Rowe's hands, Kariya Matou naturally found it somewhat hard to believe.

At the same time, he roughly figured out that Rowe's family and that madman were not simply sharing the same surname. Were they inheritors? Or descendants?

He began to ponder inwardly.

"Interesting. If we really can summon that most vicious man of the modern magecraft world, then winning this Holy Grail War might become much easier..."

With that, Kariya Matou gave an extremely high evaluation.

However, Rowe didn't say anything about it. He just tossed the Book of the Law into the summoning ritual in front of him, trying to use it to establish a connection with some Heroic Spirit.

As time ticked by, faint magical energy emanated from the summoning ritual array, but the figure of a Heroic Spirit never appeared, and the expected bond wasn't established as anticipated.

After a long wait, the originally flickering light completely faded.

"It failed..."

Looking at the extinguished summoning ritual array, both Rowe and Kariya Matou couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.

"So it really doesn't work..."

Watching the ritual array's light die out, Rowe lowered his arm and retrieved the Book of the Law from inside.

Although he had anticipated this before the summoning began, seeing the result with his own eyes still brought a sense of loss.

After all, if he could really summon that person, many of his subsequent troubles would be saved.

Trying to meet the author of the Book of the Law and seek his advice on the problems he faced was one of the important reasons he chose to participate in the Holy Grail War.

But since it had already failed, there was no need to be overly fixated on it.

A shortcut was certainly tempting, but forging his own path wasn't necessarily a bad thing either.

"So it really failed. No wonder—after all, that man isn't so easy to summon. Even now, the world of mystery finds it hard to define whether he's alive or dead."

Kariya Matou shook his head, not surprised by the result, then looked at Rowe beside him and spoke.

"I wonder if the head of the Crowley family has any other relics as summoning catalysts? If not, I can offer some help here."

"No need... I anticipated this result before we started. Fortunately, I prepared for emergencies and brought other relics from my teacher this time. They might not compare to the Book of the Law, but their quality isn't bad either."

As he spoke, Rowe pulled open his collar, took off the vermilion necklace hanging around his neck, and handed it to Kariya Matou.

"Since that's the case, I'll use this for the summoning—the broken fragment of the demonic spear, Gáe Bolg."

Chapter 18: The Book of the False Servant (1/2, Please Collect!)

"Oh? What's this..."

As Rowe reached out and tore off the vermilion fragment hanging around his neck, the magecraft used to bind his magical energy lost its effect, and the unique aura of a divine-era item spread through the room.

Sensing that peculiar aura from the distant divine era, even Kariya Matou couldn't help but cast a curious glance.

In response, Rowe didn't deliberately hide it. After all, they would be cooperating in the Holy Grail War later, so each other's Servant's true names would naturally be known.

So he simply handed over the spare relic he had taken from his teacher's mansion before leaving.

"Huh? It really is the aura of the divine era—a fragment of a demonic spear's Noble Phantasm... That's quite something. You Clock Tower nobles really have quite a collection. First the Book of the Law, and now a divine-era Noble Phantasm fragment."

"The vermilion demonic spear, and the runes... Then the Servant to be summoned should be Ireland's Child of Light, Cú Chulainn, right? If it's the most suitable Lancer class, this one is indeed an impeccable Servant. But as Caster, it would be a bit of a waste. Still, I've heard the story of Cú Chulainn learning runes and his magical prowess rivaling a great druid, so this thing is indeed an impeccable relic."

Kariya Matou picked it up and examined it carefully. Although he couldn't understand the runes engraved on it, with his experience, recognizing its origin wasn't difficult.

Although he regretted not summoning Cú Chulainn as Lancer, he didn't try to dissuade Rovey either.

Even if the Servant summoned was more powerful, giving them an advantage, in this collaboration the two of them weren't truly wholehearted—each harbored their own intentions.

Without a doubt, if the opportunity arose, once all other opponents were eliminated, the two of them would certainly have a fierce battle over the ownership of the Holy Grail.

So when he saw Rovey summon Caster, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Even though Cú Chulainn did have some compatibility with the Caster Class, compared to his most proficient Lancer Class, the threat posed by this Caster was undoubtedly much smaller.

With his own preparations, plus the doubly-rampaging Berserker Lancelot, he could definitely defeat him.

Clearly, Matou Zouken had no knowledge of Lancer's unique curse—the tragedy of Luck E, and the tale of the spinning, thrusting blue lancer.

"Lancelot and Cú Chulainn—both Servants are impeccable... So our Heroic Spirit choices are settled. Next are the remaining preparations. As for tactics..."

Paying no mind to the little schemes Matou Zouken was hiding, Rovey narrowed his eyes and continued.

"Not long ago, you told me the girl Matou Kariya wants to protect is Sakura Tohsaka. That means the one who stole her away from him back then was..."

"Tokiomi Tohsaka."

Matou Zouken spoke up.

"Mm, so it's the Tohsaka Patriarch after all... That really is a twisted fate."

Hearing this, Rovey put on a look of deep agreement and smiled.

"Compared to an outsider like me, you, Zouken Matou, surely have far more knowledge about the Three Families. So what do you think of Tokiomi Tohsaka as a person?"

Rovey continued asking. Of course he knew Tokiomi Tohsaka, and he was well aware that the family's hereditary magecraft was Jewel Magecraft, with the man himself especially skilled in fire-attribute magic.

But he didn't say that. After all, he was just an outsider Magus—there was no reason for him to be so familiar with the Tohsaka family's intelligence. So he had to guide things along and let this Old Worm take the initiative.

Besides, the information he knew came only from fragmented memories of past media—films and shows. With limited time, the magecraft displayed was probably just each person's main specialty. The more intricate, complex details hadn't been fully explained.

Before the battle began, asking Matou Zouken, who was especially familiar with Tokiomi Tohsaka, and then fine-tuning the plan based on that intelligence, was a very good idea.

"Tokiomi Tohsaka... Hah, he's nothing but a thoroughgoing Magus, and lacking in talent to boot. The only thing worth praising is his obsession with the path of magecraft."

"That man strictly adheres to the rules and norms between Magi, and is especially fixated on the inheritance of magecraft and the pursuit of the Root. That's why he sent his descendants to other families for adoption."

As he spoke, Matou Zouken shook his head, a hint of disdain surfacing in his eyes.

To be honest, he really looked down on that fool Tokiomi Tohsaka, and felt sorry for Nagato Tohsaka's descendants. But when he thought back that his own descendant, Matou Kariya, had been outdone by that goateed brat, his expression grew even darker. That was one of the reasons he always looked down on Matou Kariya and often called him a waste.

As for his other descendant, Tsuruno Matou... that one was even more useless—his talent didn't even match a second-generation Magus from another family. Matou Zouken had never even considered training him.

'So that's how it is... Just the Tokiomi Tohsaka I remember.'

Hearing this good news, Rovey nodded slightly.

"Then Tokiomi Tohsaka will be easy to handle. But his Servant might be more troublesome."

"Indeed. If it were just Tokiomi Tohsaka alone, he wouldn't amount to much. But this Holy Grail War is a battle between Masters and Servants together."

Matou Zouken narrowed his eyes and made a proposal.

"However, I happen to have a plan right here."

"Let's hear it."

"I plan to have that fool Matou Kariya pose as Berserker's Master, fighting on the surface in my place, while I hide in the shadows and act opportunistically. After all, that worthless descendant of mine should be eager to take this chance to settle things with Tokiomi Tohsaka, shouldn't he?"

As he finished, a cruel smile spread across Matou Zouken's face.

"Oh?"

Hearing this, Rovey raised an eyebrow, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth. After a moment's thought, he spoke again.

"That is indeed a good method. Matou Kariya controls Berserker in the open, while you can move freely, hiding your identity in the shadows. That might just catch the other Masters off guard."

"Yes. With your Caster and Matou Kariya's Berserker drawing fire, the success rate of this plan is quite high."

"That said, Zouken Matou, how will the disguise work? Though the Matou Family's Magi have indeed declined this generation, and having Matou Kariya participate is a decent choice, Tokiomi Tohsaka and the other competing Magi won't be so easily fooled. If they see through the ruse, it will only put them on alert."

Rovey deliberately reminded him, baiting Matou Zouken into action.

"Oh... Don't worry about that. I was already planning to have Matou Kariya control Berserker in battle for me. As one of the original founders of the Holy Grail system, the Matou Family naturally has methods unknown to others."

As he spoke, Matou Zouken reached out his hand, rummaged through the bookshelf, and placed a prepared book-type Mystic Code in front of Rovey.

"This is called the Scroll of False Allegiance. A Mystic Code I specially crafted long ago, designed for disguise. It only requires the consumption of one Command Seal to complete. It can temporarily transfer Command Seals and control rights. So if Matou Kariya takes this, it will definitely fool the other participants. After all, I've already set up a failsafe on that brat, and with Sakura Tohsaka still in your hands, he absolutely won't betray us."

"Transferring two Command Seals, then having the brat use them both to fake Berserker's defeat, while I reclaim control on my end—that's also a decent tactic."

Matou Zouken rubbed his chin, thinking seriously.

As one of the three original founders of the Holy Grail ritual, his experience and knowledge were beyond compare.

In a short time, he had already devised a feasible plan with a decent success rate, which made Rovey look at him with a bit more respect.

Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern...

No wonder he had been a close friend of Paracelsus von Hohenheim—once a brilliant genius himself. Even if his soul had grown old, he truly couldn't be underestimated...

Chapter 19: Kayneth El-Mello Archibald (2/2)

Time: Not long ago.

Location: London, Clock Tower.

That day, a young man who had just finished dinner with his fiancée returned to his office.

His name was Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald.

The current Lord El-Melloi, a renowned prodigy of the Clock Tower, and—following the Grand Puppet Master, Aozaki Touko—a magus hailed as having the potential to attain the Grand rank in the future.

He currently served as the Head of the Mineralogy Department (Kishua), Director of the Spiritual Evocation Department, a lecturer at the Clock Tower, and a Color-Rank Magus.

At just over twenty years old, he had already ascended to the position of Lord, reaching the pinnacle of his career in both intellect and status. As a member of the Clock Tower's aristocratic upper three families, he commanded the El-Melloi Faction while also backed by the two great noble houses of Yulifis and Barthomeloi. His star was at its zenith, young and accomplished.

Even many of the Clock Tower's elder magi did not deny that he would one day attain the Grand rank. They also looked forward to seeing whether Kayneth, this young prodigy of magecraft, could bring them the same kind of unexpected surprises as Aozaki Touko.

Having nearly reached the peak of his life and basking in the admiration of others, Kayneth was in the prime of his pride.

Especially since he had recently succeeded in proposing to his mentor, the Lord of the Spiritual Evocation Department, Yulifis, and would soon marry his daughter, Sola-Ui, to cement an alliance within the aristocracy. This would allow his faction to seize more core power within the Clock Tower, and soon he would become the center of it all.

At least, that was what he firmly believed.

After all, he had developed his own universal Mystic Code at a young age, mastered the vast theories of the Mineralogy Department, and was particularly skilled in spiritual evocation magic—making him the proud disciple of Lord Yulifis.

To that old Lord, who had one foot in the grave and clung to life through his own magecraft and mysteries like a zombie forcibly tethered to this world, Kayneth was indeed a fine talent.

In the eyes of outsiders, the old man was a despicable and harsh figure, still wallowing in the glory of the aristocracy. But those who knew him understood that his harshness was reserved only for students of lowborn blood. For true geniuses born of noble lineage, he spared no effort in teaching and nurturing them. Kayneth was exactly that kind of person.

It was precisely because he valued Kayneth's bloodline and talent that, in his own precarious twilight years, he had taken on a disciple—so that after his departure, Kayneth could continue to serve as a pillar of the aristocracy, helping Barthomeloi stand against the mediocre fools of democracy and the fence-sitting neutrals.

Kayneth had accepted this charge with great solemnity and was now set to marry his mentor's daughter.

What Kayneth did not know, however, was that his teacher Yulifis was also trying to extend his own life. To that end, he had secretly contacted Aozaki Touko, who was under a Sealing Designation, seeking some special method.

In his eyes, Aozaki Touko, descended from the bloodline of the Fifth Magic, was undoubtedly a member of the magical aristocracy, and her abilities were beyond reproach—so naturally, he did not reject her. And a large part of his expectations for Kayneth was that he might one day replicate Touko's brilliance.