It Was Him? No, Her!!

Kenneth simply did not know any of this. After all, in his own eyes, he was the one genius in the Magecraft World, and even surpassing Aozaki Touko was merely a matter of time.

His talent was in no way inferior to that of the Grand Puppet Master. Perhaps he had already surpassed that woman his teacher was always talking about!!

Still, he knew that empty boasting meant nothing but embarrassing himself. If he truly wanted to surpass her, he had to produce achievements that exceeded hers.

Yet even Kenneth had recently run into some troubles that annoyed him.

"Honestly... what a bunch of idiots."

"Do modern students have no grasp of the situation at all?"

Inside his office, Kenneth slapped the thesis in his hand, his expression somewhat grim.

This fellow called Waver Velvet truly had a death wish, daring to publish something like this in his class. Some of its arguments were indeed novel enough to interest even him, but far more of it was filled with arrogance and ignorance.

Where did he think this was? The mundane world outside? This was the Clock Tower, a place completely opposed to the mundane world, filled everywhere with factions and families.

Writing a thesis like this in a place like this was no different from returning to ancient times and shouting about overthrowing the emperor. It was asking for death.

Not to mention that he himself was one of the representatives of the Aristocratic Faction.

Though Kenneth, as a Lord, was proud at heart, he was not stupid. On the contrary, his position allowed him to see far more...

This world was not so beautiful. Some things absolutely could not be mentioned or done, which was why he had stopped that foolish act immediately.

"Forget it... afterward, seal his apartment, confiscate all the manuscripts, then drag him here and make him write a few self-criticisms. That should settle it. It hasn't spread very far anyway, and even if someone comes to question it later, with my ability, I can suppress the matter."

"In the end, it's nothing more than the delusion of a commoner student..."

Kenneth rubbed his forehead and let out a long breath.

To be honest, he had never considered himself a good person, nor was he gentle by nature. On the contrary, he knew that his excessive pride sometimes pushed his temperament to extremes, making him narrow-minded and causing his words to become overly sharp and cutting.

But even so, there were things he had to uphold.

He was a teacher. As a teacher, he had the obligation and duty to protect his students. So long as they did not cross his bottom line, he was actually quite conscientious.

Even if the other party was an idiot.

"I suddenly kind of miss that fellow Rovey."

Having been thoroughly angered by Waver, the calmer Kenneth became, the more he missed his model student.

Not long ago, that boy had said he had something to do and gone out, but he still had not returned. Kenneth could not help worrying about him.

With that brat's strength, he was not worried about his safety. He was only concerned that Rovey might miss an important date. This year was the ceremony for his promotion to Pride. If he missed it, Kenneth would give him a proper scolding.

A twenty-one-year-old Pride Magus... that brat really was outrageous. Still, he had only reached this point thanks to the guidance of a legendary mentor like himself.

Anyway, they would be family in the future. Once he absorbed Rovey's family and bloodline into the El-Melloi Faction, everything would be complete.

"Sigh..."

After thinking about it for a while, Kenneth shook his head and stopped dwelling on it. What concerned him more now was a rather special magecraft ritual—the Holy Grail War.

"Heh, it's probably nothing more than some academic research cooked up by country magi. I'll just treat it as another entry on my résumé."

Kenneth thought smugly.

He had never really taken the so-called Three Families seriously.

Of the Tohsaka, Matou, and Einzbern Families, only the last one was worth noting.

He had met Tokiomi Tohsaka, the current head of the Tohsaka Family, at an exchange gathering. The man had some skill, but compared to him, he fell far short. Even as a descendant of the Jewel Magician's disciple, without generations of accumulated foundations, he amounted to little.

As for the Matou Family, they originated from the magecraft genius Marich Zorgen. However, news of this generation's declining bloodline talent had spread everywhere, making them even less worth his attention. Thus, only the Einzbern Family, a mage family from Western Europe, was worthy of caution.

Yet he had not expected...

The Matou Family he had dismissed had an ancestor, Marich Zorgen, who was still alive and had already made preparations. Meanwhile, although Tokiomi Tohsaka's talent as a Magus was not outstanding, he understood the nature of the Holy Grail War very clearly. Those who determined victory had never been the Masters, but the Servants they summoned.

"Heroic Spirit Summoning... Servants? Heh, what an absurd idea. I'd like to see whether they can really summon..."

"Hmph, just in case. After all, this time it's their home ground. If I lose, I'll disgrace the dignity of a Lord, so it's best to make some preparations in advance..."

Though he looked down on them, Kenneth was not overly careless.

He had only recently become a Lord and lacked accomplishments, which was why he had joined this rural magecraft ritual.

He now represented the face of the Clock Tower, so he absolutely could not lose to those country bumpkins he despised!!

"As for a Sacred Relic, I remember there's a decent Noble Phantasm fragment at home. And the London Museum has agreed to lend out the Fragment of the Conqueror's Cloak... That should be enough."

Was It Him? No, It Was Her!!

After that night passed, Tokiomi Tohsaka and the church of Fuyuki City detected the traces of magical power left behind by Rovey's battle with Matou Zouken, so they specifically sent people to inquire about the situation. To conceal the fact that the two had been plotting together, Matou Zouken naturally would not expose Rovey's existence.

His explanation was that a familiar had gone out of control during magecraft research, but it had already been dealt with.

Though this explanation was difficult for Tokiomi Tohsaka and Risei Kotomine to accept, the explosion had occurred on Matou Family territory. They had no reason to barge in and forcibly search a mage family. Moreover, the disturbance had not affected the balance between the Magecraft World and the mundane world, so the two chose to ignore it and hastily closed the case by claiming that an aging gas pipeline at the Matou Family residence had exploded.

After this news was released, many residents of Fuyuki City broke out in cold sweats and began checking their own gas lines.

"Is it mostly prepared? Your Magic Crest?"

As Rovey sat alone on a chair inside an underground warehouse, a familiar voice suddenly reached his ears.

He turned around and saw a red-haired woman in a trench coat enter his sight.

...Aozaki Touko.

Seeing her again after so long, a smile could not help appearing on Rovey's face.

"It's Senior Touko. It's been a long time."

He spoke calmly. "Is my commission complete?"

"Of course. Who do you think I am? A family established by homunculi is nowhere near enough to stop me."

Seeing Rovey again, Aozaki Touko was in an excellent mood. She had completed the commission and, along the way, abducted several Einzbern Family homunculi to use as experimental materials.

After arriving at the place she had arranged with Rovey, she unceremoniously plopped down beside him, pulled out a can of beer she had just bought from inside her clothes, and took a hearty swig.

"This feels great! Sure enough, nothing beats downing an ice-cold beer when you're in a good mood!"

"...Shouldn't people drink when they're in a bad mood?"

"Heh, who taught you that crooked nonsense, Junior Crowley?"

In response to Rovey's question, Aozaki Touko rose onto her tiptoes and said indifferently, "Drinking when you're unhappy can numb you and make you forget your troubles for a while. And when you're happy, drinking lets you immerse yourself in that happiness even more. So alcohol... really is a wonderful thing."

She raised the beer in her hand and muttered to herself.

"That's only because you like the taste of alcohol..."

Rovey gently shook his head. "Though The Bible does indeed say that wine is the blood of God."

"Anyway, let's get to the point. Judging from the situation, I should already know the answer, but I'll ask anyway. Senior Touko, did your trip go smoothly? Was the information I provided useful?"

"That's right, the information you gave me was incredibly accurate."

At Rovey's question, Aozaki Touko, seated in her chair, immediately laughed.

"Those magi from the Einzbern Family were nothing special, but that fellow Emiya Kiritsugu was truly troublesome. And he had such a method hidden away... no wonder people call him the Magus Killer."

"His Origin of Severing and Binding, special bullets made from his own powdered bones, visually represented as special 7.62 mm Sniper Rifle rounds. His Mystic Code is a modified firearm based on a single-shot handgun used for hunting and competitions. Once it hits a Magus..."

At that thought, even Aozaki Touko shuddered. No Magus who heard about such a thing could possibly fail to fear it.

With a single shot, so long as they instinctively dared to use magecraft to escape or heal themselves, the outcome would be indescribably miserable.

No wonder he had built such a fearsome reputation in the world of mystery. He truly had something to back it up.

Aozaki Touko raised an eyebrow. When she had learned of Emiya Kiritsugu's Origin and bullets, she had been startled as well. At the same time, she was deeply grateful to this junior of hers. Not only had he not set her up, he had even generously shared this information with her.

In the world of mystery, there were quite a few people who hated Emiya Kiritsugu. Many magi were already impatient to capture and kill him for revenge.

So the value of this information alone... might far surpass the five million Rovey had given her in an emergency.

Thinking of that, Aozaki Touko looked at Rovey with considerably more goodwill.

In the world of magi, companions who could be honest with one another were rare.

Even though her circumstances differed from those of other magi, and even being hit would not kill her, she would still have to expend another body...

And those things were expensive.

"Come to think of it, you seem to know that desperado Emiya Kiritsugu quite well..."

After finishing her beer and letting out an utterly unladylike burp, Aozaki Touko lit herself a cigarette. "I've heard of him too. He seems to be a lunatic who would throw away his life for money. How did you get involved with him?"

"Well... that's a secret."

Rovey shook his head.

"But I can tell you this: Emiya Kiritsugu is far from as simple as he appears. He's actually a companion of justice seeking salvation."

As he spoke, Rovey took the file bag Aozaki Touko handed him, removed the documents inside, and examined them carefully.

"Mm... mm, I see, I see... The Einzbern Family really does love stirring things up, just as always."

"Hm? Are you joking?" Aozaki Touko said, seemingly unable to believe him.

"What do you think his purpose in entering the Holy Grail War is?"

Rovey continued, "The power of one person alone is too insignificant to save the world, so he placed his hopes in the legendary Holy Grail, an all-purpose wish-granting machine said to rival miracles. He's quite admirable."

Rovey understood Emiya Kiritsugu very well.

If one had to put it plainly, there was nothing wrong with his wish itself. The cause of the tragedy was actually the corrupted Holy Grail.

From Rovey's perspective, he could only call Emiya Kiritsugu stubborn, not foolish.

If there truly were a trolley problem, with three hundred people on one track and two hundred on the other, and you lacked the power to stop it from reaching either side, then neither choice would lead to a good outcome.

Other than turning around and running away, or throwing yourself in front of the trolley, there was no correct answer at all.

So this kind of thing was obviously designed to torment people. If you seriously tried to debate and analyze it in depth with him, then you had already lost.

"Well, I more or less understand the situation now. Then it's time for me to make some preparations too."

Rovey closed the documents in his hand and stood up.

"Senior Touko, Fuyuki City will become chaotic before long. If you don't want to invite too much trouble, it would be best to leave first."

Just as he was about to leave, Aozaki Touko called out to him from behind.

"Hey, is that Holy Grail really as miraculous as the rumors say? Is it an all-purpose wish-granting machine? Can it fulfill any wish?"

Aozaki Touko crushed out the cigarette in her mouth and asked seriously.

"Mm... If it's a wish on the level of reaching The Root, then with sufficient magical power and sacrifices, it can indeed be achieved."

Rovey smiled, seeming to guess what Aozaki Touko was thinking. "Reaching The Root does not mean you can return from it. Nor is magic something that can be created and comprehended so easily. Besides, some things are better left behind. And don't enter the war over some overly mundane desire and become my enemy..."

"If you're truly short on money, I can support you. Though you do spend rather freely, I can still afford to keep one person like you."

"Hoh... You really do know everything, don't you?" Aozaki Touko raised an eyebrow, then sighed helplessly.

That was right. She had just become interested in the Holy Grail War Rovey had described.

After all, everyone had regrets and wishes they wanted fulfilled. When they heard that an all-purpose wish-granting machine was right before their eyes, it was difficult for anyone not to be tempted. Naturally, Aozaki Touko was no exception.

But Rovey had also reminded her in time that this miracle was not omnipotent.

Using it against her sister would not be so simple.

And as Aoko's friend, Rovey did not want to become her enemy. He also truly wanted to see her let go of certain things from the past, continue walking her own path, live more freely, and remain that woman like the wind.

But whether she could ultimately come to terms with it was not something Rovey could decide.

What he needed to deal with now was the information he had just received from Aozaki Touko—regarding the Servant summoned by the Einzbern Family in the Third Holy Grail War—

Avenger

When he learned that the Servant summoned in the Third Holy Grail War was Avenger, Angra Mainyu, rather than Ruler, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, he could confirm that this truly was the Fourth Holy Grail War World Line he remembered, rather than the later World Line where the Red and Black factions fought in chaos and the Holy Grail was stolen by Fionn mac Cumhaill in advance.

And that answer made him feel even wiser about choosing to summon Caster.

Since Avenger, Angra Mainyu, had been summoned, then the Holy Grail was inevitably the one corrupted by All the World's Evil—the black grail that twisted wishes, and the true culprit behind the great fire of Fuyuki City.