It Was a Gas Explosion

Matou Kariya would return to the Matou Family and serve as this generation's Master, following Rovey's orders. In return, Rovey would give him the possibility of killing the Old Worm who had destroyed his happiness, as well as the chance to face Tokiomi Tohsaka in a final showdown.

Although Matou Kariya knew that Rovey wanted to use him as a tool and a pawn...

So what?

A boy? No, he had long since become a man. A man who stood tall beneath the heavens. To hell with all that weakness from before. He would not shrink back again. This time, he would do what he had failed to do back then: save this abandoned girl, punch that damned scumbag flat, then grab him by the collar and demand an answer.

"You swore you would make Aoi happy! Where the hell did that promise go?!"

Kenneth fell silent.

Fionn mac Cumhaill could not help rubbing his forehead and sighing mournfully.

It hurts. It really hurts...

It clearly was not his story, yet his heart resonated with it all the same.

Meanwhile, Rider found this tragic tale utterly uninteresting. He ran over to Berserker and began recruiting him again, while Scáthach left without even looking back.

Weber looked at the Masters and Heroic Spirits, each doing their own thing, and could not help covering his face.

"Didn't you say we were in a hurry? How do you have the mood to sit here listening to a story?"

Unlike Fionn mac Cumhaill, although Kenneth had been affected by the emotions involved, he was somewhat confused as he listened...

By his standards, the man named Tohsaka had not really done anything wrong. Though being unable to produce two inheritances was his incompetence, there was nothing wrong with his choice.

Besides, that little girl who had been sent away was clearly his grandstudent—Sakura Tohsaka, whom Rovey had adopted. Being able to receive such a gifted little prodigy, Kenneth was actually somewhat grateful to him. Yet Matou Kariya's emotional outpouring was clearly heartfelt and entirely genuine.

That left him unsure how to persuade the man, considering that he himself was one of the beneficiaries.

From Matou Kariya's perspective, Tokiomi Tohsaka was undoubtedly a scumbag. He had stolen the love of the girl Matou Kariya loved, yet now he was hurting her like this and failing to give her happiness. It was unforgivable.

From Tokiomi Tohsaka's perspective, Sakura Tohsaka was a treasure of magecraft. He could not bear to see her talent buried. Doing everything in his power to set her upon the path of magecraft was what a father should do, and everything he did was for his daughter's happiness.

It was merely a clash of ideals between ordinary people and Magi. It was actually quite common.

Only...

This time, Kenneth firmly stood on Matou Kariya's side. After all, he was no longer alone. If someone stole the woman he loved and hurt her like that, he would definitely fight them to the death as well.

So although Matou Kariya seemed a little foolish, Kenneth still approved of his spirit of loving fiercely and hating fiercely for the sake of a woman.

Not to mention that Tokiomi Tohsaka had just joined forces with someone else to attack his workshop, while Matou Kariya was Tokiomi's enemy.

The enemy of an enemy was a friend. There was no need to choose at all.

Thus, Kenneth took Matou Kariya's hand and spoke with a solemn expression.

"Rest assured, Mr. Matou. As a man about to be married, I can understand your feelings and approve of your actions. And I have already seen Tokiomi Tohsaka's despicableness. If I do not vent this anger, I will not be able to swallow it. Since you are my student's helper, you are naturally my ally."

"So, I intend to rest and build up our strength for two days, then launch a punitive expedition against the Tohsaka Family on the third night to avenge what he did tonight! What do you say, Mr. Matou? Are you interested in joining us?"

"Of course. That is exactly what I want!"

Upon hearing Kenneth's invitation, Matou Kariya did not hesitate in the slightest. He grasped the hand Kenneth extended and spoke with utter sincerity.

If everything he had said before might have been false, then this sentence was absolutely true.

As long as there was a chance to hit Tokiomi Tohsaka or make his life difficult, Matou Kariya had to lend a hand.

Gas Explosion

—Just as sunlight pierced the darkness, dawn quietly streaked across the horizon.

Time flew by, passing swiftly. Before long, daylight had arrived.

Morning in Fuyuki City.

Morning morning morning—

After a lively and chaotic night, the television was now broadcasting an important report about last night's fire and explosion at the Hyatt Hotel.

"Good morning, citizens. This is the morning news brought to you by a Fuyuki City radio news reporter. At three o'clock this morning, a severe fire and explosion occurred at the Hyatt Hotel, the city's most luxurious four-star hotel, resulting in extremely serious casualties. According to the police and relevant experts, the cause of the explosion was a gas leak..."

A remote safehouse in Fuyuki City—no, it was not remote to Weber. After all, this was the home of the elderly couple he had always lodged with.

At that moment, Kenneth had recovered after receiving treatment with Fionn mac Cumhaill's specially supplied Water of Life and resting for the night. He was eating the nearly inedible toast and eggs on the table, trying to restore his strength and energy as much as possible. Weber was the one responsible for cooking for him. Meanwhile, the television was reporting on the brutal battlefield caused by the melee among several Servants last night and Emiya Kiritsugu's bombardment.

After their base had been blown sky-high by Emiya Kiritsugu last night, it was thanks to Scáthach's Rune and Iskandar's Reality Marble that Kenneth's losses had not been maximized. They had preserved the crucial three-story structure containing three Mana Reactors from the explosion, then moved it to a safe location overnight.

As for the exact location...

Kenneth absolutely did not trust the Matou Family, so he could not go there.

And after having a hotel blown up once, Kenneth had no intention of staying in another hotel. So he condescended to follow Weber to a small private residence, intending to make do here for the time being.

At first, Weber had sternly refused. The Holy Grail War was too dangerous, and he did not want to drag that kind elderly couple into it.

But Kenneth had neatly resolved that concern for him. He casually wrote several checks with countless zeros, then added a Suggestion Magecraft spell. The elderly couple groggily came to believe they had won a grand prize for an all-expenses-paid overseas trip, boarded a plane overnight, and left only Weber behind to watch the house.

And so, this bizarre scene came to be.

"This toast, these eggs... They are simply too awful to eat."

Kenneth frowned at the slightly burnt toast and eggs on his plate. For someone who had lived in luxury since childhood, eating something like this was practically torture. Seeing Kenneth's expression, Weber—who could only make a simple breakfast and had no experience as a cook—felt his brow twitch wildly as he inwardly cried out in alarm.

Yet this time, Kenneth did not scold him as usual or dismiss his efforts outright. Instead, he endured the discomfort and forced the food down with water.

"Although it tastes utterly terrible, these are extraordinary times. It is not the time for me to keep being picky about food. In any case, you have worked hard, Weber. Come eat with me."

He wiped his mouth and called Weber over to sit down for breakfast.

"Huh?"

Hearing Kenneth's words, Weber's eyes widened slightly, and an incredulous expression appeared on his face.

It was hard to imagine that those words had come from Professor Kenneth's mouth. He secretly glanced at Kenneth.

"What is it? Do you still have something to do?"

Noticing Weber's strange gaze, Kenneth frowned. Just as he was about to say something, the reporter's broadcast on the television suddenly caught their attention.

"Although the official explanation is a gas leak, citizens living nearby last night claim they saw a missile-like flying object in Fuyuki City's sky and sparks from explosions on the walls of the Hyatt Hotel. Furthermore, some citizens even claimed to have seen a three-story building violate the laws of physics and hover directly in midair before disappearing... One such citizen even took several photographs."

The next moment, the host took several blurry photographs from her pocket, their images distorted because the photographer's hands had shaken.

"Professor Kenneth... That wouldn't be ours, would it...?"

Seeing the scenes in the photographs, Weber asked tremblingly.

Because the photographs did not just show a building floating in midair. They also showed a chariot plunging toward the ground while riding lightning.

There was no doubt that it was their handiwork from last night.

"Wow, I never expected my magnificent figure from last night to be seen again, photographed, and shown on television. Not bad... Though the pictures are a little blurry, that only highlights my kingly bearing all the more."

Iskandar stroked his chin, utterly unconcerned by Kenneth and Weber beside him, who were suffering headaches after learning that the commotion last night had caused a massive leak of Mystery.

Seeing this, Kenneth had already thoroughly cursed Tokiomi Tohsaka and Emiya Kiritsugu in his heart for causing trouble.

Without question, the flying object seen by pedestrians had been Emiya Kiritsugu's rapid-fire RPGs, while the lightning captured in the photographs had been Iskandar's Noble Phantasm—the Gordius Wheel.

It was all Tokiomi Tohsaka and Emiya Kiritsugu's fault. They had acted so recklessly, completely disregarding the Holy Grail War's rules of concealment for the sake of victory, and had directly blown up one of Fuyuki City's famous buildings.

Though it was a headache, it was not their responsibility to handle these matters. This was Fuyuki City, after all. The people who should be most troubled by such a huge mess were the Supervisor responsible for this place and Tokiomi Tohsaka.

See? The person responsible for cleaning up the scene had already arrived.

"To address this matter, our station has invited Father Kirei Kotomine of Fuyuki City Cathedral, who is also a geographer, chemist, and theologian, to answer our questions. Hello, Father Kotomine. Could you explain exactly what the floating building in the sky and the chariot within the lightning were?"

"It was a gas leak." Taking the microphone offered by the beautiful host, Kirei Kotomine calmly spoke. Then, while the host was clearly somewhat stunned, he directly took that stack of photographs from her.

"Cough, cough..."

The beautiful host had clearly been choked by Kirei Kotomine's answer. She stared at him in disbelief, not even knowing where to begin criticizing him internally.

Was he seriously spouting nonsense with such a straight face? What kind of gas leak could produce blue lightning and blast an entire floor into the sky for a whole street to see? Even if you wanted to fool people, you should at least come up with a believable excuse.

But Kirei Kotomine had no intention of caring about the host's feelings. He simply continued explaining, "According to the thorough investigation conducted by our personnel, the gas pipelines throughout the Hyatt Hotel suffered an extremely severe leak last night. The resulting explosion then caused large-scale gas leaks in the natural gas pipelines of nearby residences as well, resulting in hallucinations."

Are you serious?!

Damn! At that moment, the host's expression completely fell apart. What kind of absurd excuse was that? A chain reaction of large-scale gas leaks causing hallucinations?

Even the staff on site were speechless at Kirei Kotomine's explanation. Any normal person could tell that he was plainly making things up.

But as a beautiful woman and a professional host, she could not curse on air. She could only frown and calmly ask, "But, Father Kotomine, as far as I know, gas leaks do not cause halluci—"

Before the host could finish, Kirei Kotomine took out an official case report from his pocket—the one he had obtained by hypnotizing the police station overnight—and tossed it into her hands, finally shutting her up completely.

"This is professional proof. Floating buildings and lightning chariots are merely things from fairy tales. They were hallucinations. There was no terrorist attack. Everything was only a hallucination. Everyone must believe in science."

"And... citizens must not underestimate gas leaks. Every year, many, many people suffer hallucinations and die because of gas leaks, so everyone... must take precautions!!"

Listening to Kirei Kotomine's bizarre explanation on television, Weber and Kenneth's mouths both twitched.

So he meant they had been blown into the sky by a gas explosion last night, was that it?

The company responsible for installing gas lines in this city was truly unlucky. Once the compensation claims came in, it would go bankrupt on the spot.

"I remember that guy is supposed to be a Supervisor from The Church..."

Weber pointed at Kirei Kotomine on the television, who was still spouting nonsense, and felt even more speechless.

"Doesn't The Bible say that if the Lord's followers lie, they will fall into hell after death?"

"Yes. No god from any religion tolerates lying. Christianity's punishment does indeed seem to be going to hell..."

Kenneth shook his head. "But how many of those madmen from The Church truly believe in God? And how many are simply mentally unstable? With their way of doing things, going to hell was probably their destined fate long ago."

"Still... rather than discussing such trivial matters, we should continue resting and conserving our strength. Although our base was blown into the sky, thanks to that brat Rovey, I managed to preserve quite a few Mystic Codes. We can use them as capital for a counterattack."

Speaking of Rovey...

"Oh, right. Where did Rovey go? After last night ended, he and Scáthach both disappeared."

Weber could not help asking worriedly.

"...That brat?"

Kenneth shook his head. "He said this place could not accommodate him, and Scáthach did not like somewhere so noisy, so he went to find a safe place to stay. He said to call him if anything happened."

"Huh?"

Hearing Kenneth's explanation, Weber could not help staring blankly.

"Forget it, stop standing there in a daze. Eat quickly, then come help me."

"If we want to counterattack, we must make sufficient preparations."

Kenneth reminded him, then rose and entered the temporary workshop he had set up overnight.

Fuyuki City underground parking lot

"So... how long has it been since I made a proper formal appearance?"

Returning to this familiar underground base, Rovey sat back in his chair and asked the red-haired woman before him.

"Huh? What do you mean, how long since you made a proper appearance? What are you talking about? We have only been apart for a little over a day, haven't we?"

Aozaki Touko had just finished the preliminary analysis of the Lesser Grail and was gulping down beer. Hearing Rovey's baffling question, she asked in confusion. She was just about to say something else when another familiar voice suddenly rang out beside them.

"Master, I have returned."

A graceful purple figure pushed open the door. Scáthach had returned after concluding the battle over there.

"Mm, you have worked hard."

Seeing that it was Scáthach, Rovey nodded lightly.

He already roughly knew what had happened over there.

Whether it was Hundred-Faced Hassan's withdrawal, Scáthach sparing Artoria, or Matou Kariya joining them, all of it had happened beneath his watchful eye.

Although there had indeed been a few minor deviations, such as Saber—who had originally been scheduled to withdraw—still being alive, that was not really a problem for Rovey, who already held absolute initiative.