Someone in Type-Moon, Starting with Adopting Sakura Chapter 40

"Heh, the head of the Tohsaka family's thick skin is even thicker than I imagined..."

Emiya Kiritsugu let out a cold laugh at Tokiomi Tohsaka's feigned sincerity. He then took another look at him before asking indifferently, "Let me ask again, Tohsaka family head, what is the reason for this alliance? If you want to cooperate, then answer me truthfully and share the information you possess. Can you do that?"

"Of course, as allies, there will be no concealment."

Tokiomi Tohsaka said with a smile, "I believe the Einzbern family has seen it too, right? The immense power possessed by those two Lancers. Without a doubt, they are the greatest threat in this Holy Grail War. They are the greatest enemies obstructing us, the Three Families."

"You must understand that the Holy Grail War is a miraculous ritual painstakingly constructed by the ancestors of the Tohsaka, Matou, and Einzbern families. Therefore, the Holy Grail rightfully belongs to one of the Three Families and should not be given to outsiders. That is why I hope the Einzbern family will cooperate with me, in consideration of our ancestors' bond. After we eliminate the outsiders, we can discuss sharing the Holy Grail."

Sharing the Holy Grail...

Looking at Tokiomi Tohsaka's sincere smile, Emiya Kiritsugu felt disgusted.

These magi were all dirty-minded, their words filled with nothing but deceit.

While the two Lancers were indeed a great threat, the Archer he summoned was an even greater one. The power displayed last night was enough to crush any Servant in this war.

He knew that Tokiomi Tohsaka's true intention was to ensure his Archer wasn't eliminated by Fionn or Scáthach, then join forces to deal with these two biggest threats, and only then would he slowly take care of the others.

If Scáthach and Fionn were to be eliminated, this guy would definitely turn his back on their alliance immediately and tear it apart without hesitation, eliminating him and Saber together.

"...Sharing the Holy Grail, heh, Tokiomi Tohsaka, do you really take me for a fool? Not to mention your Archer's combat power, just in terms of Servant numbers, you have two. And I only have Saber. Do you think this kind of cooperation is truly fair to me?"

"Also, if it's the shared ambition of the Three Families, why didn't you invite the Matou family as well? I suspect you've guessed that one of the Lancers likely belongs to the Matou family, right? Tokiomi Tohsaka."

Surprised by Tokiomi Tohsaka's thick skin, which was comparable to body armor, Emiya Kiritsugu had switched from calling him "Tohsaka family head" to directly addressing him as "Tokiomi Tohsaka."

"It is indeed regrettable... As you have seen, there are two Lancers in this Holy Grail War. Therefore, I deduce that there may be a participant who violated the rules and performed an illegal summoning. And if my guess is correct, it would be Caster, and the Matou family's Servant is likely Caster's Master."

"Despite being part of the Three Families, and even the family that designed the Command Seals and rules, they have resorted to such despicable means to achieve victory. Therefore, my Tohsaka family is ashamed to associate with them! And we believe that as fellow members of the Three Families, we should correct their mistakes and guide them back to the righteous path."

Even though his thoughts had been seen through and his hidden intentions exposed, Tokiomi Tohsaka showed no anger or loss of composure at this moment. Instead, he lamented the Matou family's depravity to Emiya Kiritsugu with great sorrow, as if he were deeply pained by their corruption.

"If you are concerned about our greater number of lives, then we can sign a contract. When only the three of us remain, Kirei Kotomine's Master qualifications will be revoked. We can sign a written agreement or have a supervisor from The Church witness it. What do you think?"

Having reached this point in the conversation, Tokiomi Tohsaka stopped pretending and directly proposed his terms to Emiya Kiritsugu to show his sincerity.

He knew very well that at this moment, with the initial defeat and King Arthur's inferior strength, the Einzbern family had no better option than to cooperate with him.

This could be considered an open stratagem.

And this cooperation was indeed a win-win situation, but his win was just a bit bigger.

"This..."

Emiya Kiritsugu could only sigh helplessly. After a long period of thought, he could only brace himself and accept this obvious stratagem.

"I agree, Tohsaka family head. Let us form an alliance. But I hope you will keep your promise."

"A wise decision, representative of the Einzbern. Rest assured, now that we are allies, the Tohsaka family will certainly keep its promise."

Seeing Emiya Kiritsugu agree, Tokiomi Tohsaka's eyes lit up. He nodded triumphantly, completely unaware of the trace of killing intent and coldness hidden in his eyes.

After all, in a different timeline, the Masters who dared to sign a contract with him had all met their demise...

If he could, Emiya Kiritsugu truly wanted to bury Tokiomi Tohsaka, this immense threat, right here. After all, when the other party entered his territory, it was like a gift-wrapped meal; it would be foolish not to take advantage of it.

However, considering Saber's monstrous combat record and strength, and recalling the absolute shock of the golden Heroic Spirit, Emiya Kiritsugu reluctantly gave up on this potentially fatal idea and chose to cooperate with him.

Furthermore, upon learning that Tokiomi Tohsaka had an Assassin on his side, he had already begun to form a plan.

Currently, Irisviel was missing, abducted by someone unknown, and he hadn't received any information, making him anxious. Now, upon learning that the other party had an Assassin, a master of information gathering and stealth, Emiya Kiritsugu's hope was rekindled.

He wanted to inquire with Assassin about any information regarding Irisviel's whereabouts and find out exactly who had abducted his wife.

As for who the culprit was...

The suspicion on Tokiomi Tohsaka and Kirei Kotomine before him could now be cleared.

After all, if it were really them, they could have used Irisviel as a hostage for leverage, and there would be no need to seek an alliance so humbly.

So, who was the culprit who did such a thing...?

Emiya Kiritsugu continued to ponder. Last night, Kenneth was relentlessly pursuing him, and the two Lancers and Rider with their Masters were on the battlefield, leaving no time for the crime. The Assassin, who was now the prime suspect, had also been ruled out. So, it must be...

The Matou family?

Upon considering this possibility, Emiya Kiritsugu's expression gradually became solemn.

Regardless, they indeed needed to attack the Matou family to investigate.

"Alright, since you've agreed, there's no time to delay. Shall we strike together and eliminate one Lancer first? To avoid any further complications."

Tokiomi Tohsaka suddenly spoke.

He was now eager to clear away the threats.

"Hmm? Are you suggesting we attack the Matou family right now?"

Emiya Kiritsugu frowned. He felt Tokiomi Tohsaka was being too hasty.

All seven Servants were present, and even including the unappeared Caster, there might even be an eighth Servant. Acting rashly would inevitably draw the attention of the other Servants. Directly attacking the Matou family could easily lead to other Servants exploiting the situation. While the two Lancers posed the greatest threat, the other Servants were not to be underestimated.

"No, the Matou family is too deeply rooted here, with numerous defensive restrictions. Not to mention the potential Caster and Lancer, we cannot act too hastily."

Tokiomi Tohsaka shook his head and then proposed his suggestion: "So, let's first target the other Lancer, eliminate the lone Servant and Master, and then find a way to break through the Matou family."

"Therefore, I have already sent Assassin to gather information on the other Lancer. I believe they will have results soon."

"No need, I know where the other one is."

Emiya Kiritsugu suddenly said.

"Hm? That fast? Your intel gathering is even faster than Assassin's..."

Tokiomi Tohsaka's expression faltered. He suddenly felt that the Einzbern family was more dangerous than he had imagined.

"It's not that. It's just that the Master was too brazen."

Emiya Kiritsugu shook his head, then pulled out a photo from his pocket and tossed it directly into Tokiomi Tohsaka's hand, sharing his intelligence.

Tokiomi Tohsaka, who took the photo, couldn't help but slightly freeze when he saw the familiar building. He was too familiar with this building, and could even name the bustling commercial district at first glance.

"...Hyatt Hotel. Someone dares to show themselves so openly?"

"Tokiomi Tohsaka... just an arrogant fool."

After discussing their alliance and strategy, and once Tokiomi Tohsaka had left, Emiya Kiritsugu, seated in a chair, revealed a cold smile.

Artoria, standing beside him, could naturally see his true intentions and her expression became hesitant.

"Master, can we really trust this cooperation? And you seem..."

"There's no need to say more, Saber."

Cutting off Artoria's unfinished words, Emiya Kiritsugu shook his head, then put on his coat, ready to depart.

"The situation is urgent, and Illyasviel is missing. I don't have the mood or the time to discuss how to fight with you. You just need to follow my orders."

"Tokiomi Tohsaka wants to use me, it's true, but aren't I using him as well? Since he doesn't mind being my pawn, I won't refuse. With that guy's arrogant mindset, even if you're not as good as Archer, I'm confident I can eliminate him."

Without paying attention to Artoria's increasingly displeased expression, Emiya Kiritsugu calmly stated his intention to betray his ally.

Before Saber could argue with him, he had already loaded the Stinger RPG he had prepared, along with many high-explosive weapons, into the trunk of the car. To ensure no mistakes, he had even prepared multiple powerful timed bombs, C4, and other weapons.

"For now, cooperate with him honestly. I want to use Assassin's abilities to help me find Illyasviel's whereabouts."

Emiya Kiritsugu opened the car door, extinguished the cigarette in his hand, and said with a cold expression.

"When we break into the Matou Family's residence and find Illyasviel, that will be the time for Tokiomi Tohsaka to die."

As his words fell, he stopped talking to Artoria in front of him.

He got into the car, stepped on the accelerator, and drove off into the distance.

Leaving Artoria still stunned on the spot, watching his receding figure, she murmured.

"Is doing this... really the right thing to do?"

In just one day, her once firm heart had fallen into confusion.

Chapter 48: A Bunch of Old Foxes (5K5 words)

Rumble—!!

The violent explosions were incessant, and the intense shaking caused the entire room to tremble.

"They're finally here? I've been waiting for this..."

Facing the crumbling building, Rovey sat on the sofa in the workshop, pacifying Sakura Tohsaka, whom he had just forcefully put to sleep with magic. He observed the situation outside through a mirror on the table. Debris was falling all around the room.

Compared to the terrified and nervous Weber beside him, and Kenneth, who was enraged to hear that his magic workshop was being shelled, Rovey's emotions were significantly calmer.

Scáthach, standing beside him, smiled, her hands flipping as two crimson magic spears appeared in her palms. Rune symbols continuously rose around her under her control, and she had already entered a full combat readiness state.

The entire building was still shaking violently. Facing the intense artillery fire constantly approaching from afar, and the surrounding timed explosions, even Kenneth, who was quite confident in his workshop, was in a panic.

He inwardly cried, "Unlucky, unlucky, unlucky..."

This time, he had truly miscalculated.

Even though he didn't mind speculating with the utmost malice about the baseness of those scoundrels, he still found that he had been too naive when he actually engaged them.

These scoundrels completely disregarded the rules of magical concealment, and their tactics were simply those of thugs, no, terrorists.

He thought that Origin Bullets were the limit of their capabilities, but Kenneth never dreamed that those guys would even bring out large-scale destructive thermal weapons like timed bombs and RPGs, and use them on him, catching him completely off guard.

His meticulously arranged workshop was now rendered useless under such dishonorable attacks.

Not only could they not enter the workshop, but the enemy even wanted to bypass the process of fighting him and crush him directly with the collapsing building.

"Emiya Kiritsugu, you damn bastard! I won't let you go!!"

Rage had clouded his mind. Despite his inner reluctance, Kenneth knew he had no choice but to abandon his magic workshop, along with its countless precious Noble Phantasms and three top-tier magic cores.

Although the items within were worth nearly a billion pounds, Kenneth understood that as long as he was alive, he could earn money again. If he lost his life, then nothing would remain. He knew what was more important.

Thus, in this critical moment, Kenneth hurriedly reached out to Sakura Tohsaka, who was beside Rovey, wanting to use the Moon Spirit Core to protect her. He then urgently shouted to Weber and Rovey.

"You two idiots, why are you still squatting over there spacing out?! Hurry up and go!"

"Rider, hurry and take us away!!"

Weber also shouted urgently.

However, Iskandar merely picked at his ear nearby, seemingly unfazed by Kenneth's shouts and Weber's commands.

This made them even more anxious, thinking Iskandar was up to some new trick at a time like this.

The situation was dire, and Weber decided not to argue with him any further, raising his hand to use a Command Seal to forcibly take everyone away.

But the next moment, Rovey's voice stopped them.

"Wait a moment, Weber, and Teacher Kenneth. The situation isn't that bad. Calm down."

"Rovey? What are you still doing at a time like this?!"

Seeing Rovey's calm demeanor, Kenneth roared.

The situation was critical, how could he still be so calm? If they didn't run now, it would truly be too late!

In response, Iskandar answered Rovey's question in the next moment.

"What's the rush, Lemon Head? Isn't this your workshop? Just use your magic to investigate. It hasn't collapsed yet, has it?"

"I don't know the reason, but this kid seems to have foreseen this situation long ago. So, the few floors we're on have been modified by that Queen of the Land of Shadows, and it seems they've been isolated from the other floors, existing in a state of stillness and suspension. That's why we won't fall for now."

As he spoke, Iskandar deliberately pulled open the curtains to add a bit of credibility.

Amidst the dust kicked up by the collapsing building, hundreds of dense purple runes covered the walls, reinforcing the exterior of the three floors they occupied and making their structure independent. As a result, even though they were in the swaying skyscraper, it hadn't been significantly affected.

It was precisely because he knew this that he hadn't panicked just now.

This was because Iskandar understood that, plus they had a strategist here who had clearly predicted this situation and prepared countermeasures.

Since that was the case, he didn't need to go out of his way, and might even mess up the plan.

"You... predicted this situation beforehand?"

Seeing the situation outside, Kenneth's expression faltered, and he looked at the still composed Rovey with surprise.

"Well, not exactly. I was just covering my bases against Emiya Kiritsugu. After all, from our encounter last night, I could tell he wasn't the type to conduct a magic ritual fairly."