Under his deliberate guidance, Weber reconciled with his teacher Kenneth. That somewhat reckless, slightly arrogant junior had indeed grown considerably after going through so much, and gradually came to understand Kenneth. This time, he had even brought Rider, the King of Conquerors, into a powerful alliance with them.
Teacher Kenneth had changed even more. Not only had he not brought along that fiancée who constantly held him back, even his Servant had been replaced with Fionn mac Cumhaill, who possessed intelligence, strength, endurance, and versatility. Now that all of Emiya Kiritsugu's secrets had been revealed to him, coupled with the skyscraper demolition he had just experienced, his mindset had surely changed completely. He would probably be able to preserve his life in the coming Holy Grail War.
As for Matou Kariya...
Honestly, compared with trump cards like Fionn mac Cumhaill and Iskandar, Lancelot, whose legs went weak at the sight of Arthur, was at most an impromptu spare move. He could indeed serve some purpose, but he was far from crucial to Rovey's plans. The same went for Matou Zouken.
Under his guidance, these three forces that could not be underestimated had gradually gathered into a torrent. With only the slightest guidance, they could smash straight through their target.
However, this force could only be guided by him. It could not be entirely controlled.
The only reason they could stand together now was that they shared a common enemy and a temporary objective: the current public enemy number one of every Master, the Scapegoat of This World—Tokiomi Tohsaka.
They might be able to fight together with one heart now, but once they no longer had a common enemy, this gathered force would become an obstacle to him as well.
Setting Matou Kariya aside, Iskandar of the Rider team would never give up the Holy Grail for the sake of a mere temporary alliance. That King was the embodiment of conquest and violence. If he were left until the end, then even if Weber did not wish to oppose Rovey, that man would launch his own conquest regardless. A battle with him was therefore unavoidable. He would also become an obstacle in Rovey's plans and had to be eliminated early.
Teacher Kenneth, too, would refuse to lose to them due to his pride as a Lord and a teacher. He would go all out without holding back, and at that point, he would be an enemy as well.
"Whew..."
After considering the situations that might arise in the future, Rovey let out a quiet sigh.
Now that he thought about it, the El-Melloi Faction was truly full of loving teachers and filial students, friendly elder brothers and respectful younger brothers. They had practically turned stealing Sacred Relics to participate in the Holy Grail War and fighting among themselves into a classroom tradition.
If possible, Rovey did not particularly want to fight his own teacher and junior. It was not that he could not deal with them; it would simply make things far more troublesome.
But in order to achieve a certain goal in his plans, he was determined to claim the magical energy of Fuyuki City's Holy Grail. On that point, no one could yield.
So... was there a way to avoid fighting his classmates, avoid teacher and student killing each other, and still solve the problem?
The answer was: yes.
Thinking of a certain figure, an inadvertent smile appeared on Rovey's face.
With Assassin gone and Fuyuki City's entire intelligence network erased, he no longer needed to worry about being exposed.
That meant there were some things he could now do much more freely.
Though calling it easy was not quite right. He still needed someone to help draw the fire, and that person...
Tokiomi Tohsaka had stepped forward on his own.
There was no doubt that Tokiomi Tohsaka held the strongest trump card in this Holy Grail War: the King of Heroes, Archer Gilgamesh. Judging by Heroic Spirit strength alone, he was undoubtedly the strongest among the Servants summoned this time.
And this Master-Servant pair happened to be the perfect choice for resolving Rovey's current troubles...
Since Kenneth, Weber, and Matou Kariya intended to crusade against Tokiomi Tohsaka, they would inevitably clash with Gilgamesh.
The original plan had been four against one. With Scáthach added, as long as they prepared properly, even Gilgamesh would face certain death, while casualties on their side could be reduced to a minimum.
But what if he slightly reduced the strength at his disposal before acting, then fought? Wouldn't that improve the situation?
If Rider and Lancer faced the King of Heroes, the scales that had originally guaranteed victory would shift uncontrollably, and then the outcome would become entirely uncertain.
Or perhaps...
"Hey, hey, my Master. What bad thing are you thinking about? That expression doesn't look like one a good person should be making."
The cool female voice carried a trace of amusement.
Leaning against the chair opposite him, the beautiful purple-haired, red-eyed woman Scáthach watched him with a smile, her face full of teasing.
Even Aozaki Touko could not help laughing upon seeing Rovey's expression, and she remarked, "What is with that expression...? You look like you're about to do something terrible, Junior Rovey. Your thoughts seem rather dangerous."
"Ah, really? It's just that..."
Rovey touched his face, then restrained his smile. Closing one eye, he spoke calmly.
"I've figured out what to do next, so I'm a little happy."
"Tsk, tsk, happy? It looks more like pleasure to me. I don't really understand what you're thinking, but I have a feeling you aren't planning anything good."
Aozaki Touko clicked her tongue, inwardly feeling sympathy for a certain Lemon Head.
"Just looking at that expression tells me your teacher is about to suffer."
"Is that so?"
"Of course. You look just like some big villain from a television drama."
"...I see. Forget it, then."
At that, Rovey shook his head slightly. He did not care too much about it and instead asked the Aoko before him, "Aoko, how is your research on the Lesser Grail progressing?"
"There has been some progress. Through hands-on research into that Lesser Grail, I have roughly come to understand the secrets within it."
At the mention of the Lesser Grail, a smile appeared on Aozaki Touko's face. She answered with some excitement, "I never expected it to be just as you said. Something as weighty as the Third Magic was actually hidden within this Holy Grail War. No wonder Emiya Kiritsugu was so confident about realizing his so-called salvation of all humanity."
What one could not seek had now come within reach. Though she could absolutely never control the Third Magic, personally coming into contact with it was, for Aozaki Touko, a way to make up for past regrets.
Seeing her gradually begin to let go, Rovey was sincerely happy for her.
She was almost out of it...
"Then do your best. Time is limited; you only have the duration of the Holy Grail War. How far you can take your research into soul materialization will depend on your own abilities."
After learning of Aozaki Touko's research progress, Rovey nodded and repeatedly reminded her that she must not forcibly dismantle the Lesser Grail. She had to conduct her research while ensuring Irisviel remained intact.
Having learned that time was pressing, Aozaki Touko no longer felt like chatting with Rovey. She immediately returned to her room to continue researching the magic she had been longing for.
Scáthach, meanwhile, seemed somewhat strange.
"What is it? Is there something on my face?"
Seeing Scáthach leaning in her chair with an apparently idle expression while staring at him, Rovey thoughtfully asked.
"Nothing. It is simply that remaining here without a battle for a while is far too dull. One of you is analyzing the Lesser Grail, the other is drawing from the Greater Grail, while I seem to have nothing to do."
Scáthach pointed behind Rovey, toward the massive clump of magical energy hovering above the ritual array. It had just been drawn from the Leyline and the Greater Grail, and was an important material Rovey would use to create a false Holy Grail.
"Since you have nothing to do, why not help me stabilize the ritual?"
Hearing Scáthach say she had nothing to do, Rovey frowned slightly.
After all, if he had the guidance of this queen of magecraft, the progress of completing his Legendary Craft Essence could speed up considerably.
"No. I have already given you the necessary runes and magecraft. Whether you can complete it from here on is your own responsibility. This is my test for you. If you cannot even finish this independently, then fulfilling that wish of mine would be out of the question, would it not?"
Scáthach narrowed her eyes and questioned Rovey in return.
"That is true, but I think you have mixed in a desire to slack off."
Rovey shook his head, though he did not argue.
"Anyway, what do you want to do?"
"Give me money. Staying here with all of you is so boring. There should not be any more battles now anyway, so I want to go out and look around."
The purple-haired beauty blinked, then extended her fair hand and stated her thoughts with complete bluntness.
This scene made Rovey think of a certain Puppet Master currently studying diligently in her room.
Had she been influenced after spending too much time together?
Rovey sighed. "As long as you do not cause trouble, do as you please..."
The battle situation had more or less taken shape anyway. Artoria, who had suffered two major losses and been heavily wounded, could no longer fight. Only Gilgamesh remained as an enemy. So even if he let Scáthach go out, there would be no problem.
Under the current circumstances, even if Scáthach went shopping through every mall in Fuyuki City, no one would bother her.
"Remember, you absolutely must not make too big a commotion. Do you understand?"
Rovey emphasized it again.
"No problem, no problem."
Taking the black card containing seven million pounds, Scáthach's eyes lit up slightly, and a captivating smile appeared on her face.
Back in the Land of Shadows, there had been nothing but shadows and corpses. She had nearly been bored to death. Now, she could finally come out and get some fresh air...
Though she was happy to fight heroes from different eras and to have met a compatible Master like Rovey, Scáthach did not want to remain in this pitch-black underground parking garage until the war ended.
To her, this era still had many fine things worth experiencing firsthand.
"Go on, but be careful. If anything unexpected happens, just start fighting. After all, magical energy is the one thing we lack least right now."
Rovey sighed, then glanced at the enormous mass of magical energy behind him, which the ritual was already compressing and shaping as much as possible.
"Don't worry. I'll be careful."
Scáthach merely shrugged.
She was still very confident in her own strength. There were quite a few Servants in the entire Holy Grail War who could contend with her, but the only one who could truly guarantee victory over her was that golden king.
But defeating her did not mean he could keep her. If Scáthach wanted to escape, even Gilgamesh would have no way to stop her. The queen of the Land of Shadows could come and go freely within this city.
With those words, Scáthach turned and vanished. As she left, she did not forget to take Sakura Tohsaka with her. Since everyone was busy with their own matters and no one was looking after the girl, Scáthach intended to take her out for a stroll as well.
In the Land of Shadows, all her disciples had been problem children. It was her first time seeing a child as well-behaved as Sakura, and she found the girl fresh and interesting, so she took her out to play.
"Be careful on the way... Hmm?"
Watching her departing back, Rovey sighed helplessly, then turned around to continue refining the Mystic Code in his plans. Suddenly, his hand trembled...
It was as though he had sensed that something was wrong.
"Hmph."
Rovey raised a finger and snorted as he grabbed toward the air. An Alchemy Array lit up on his arm, and magical energy representing the four basic elements—water, fire, earth, and wind—struck toward a certain source of magical energy. A pale pink flower petal was tightly caught in his palm.
"Merlin... That guy again."
Looking at the pale pink petal in his hand, which carried a drifting fragrance, Rovey frowned and fell into thought.
This was already the second time Merlin had tried to guide him into sleep and invade his dreams...
Not only that, because of that old pervert, they had let Artoria—who should have certainly died—escape. And now he had come looking for Rovey again...
What exactly was that guy trying to do?
Should he meet him?
Clenching the pale pink petal in his hand, Rovey's furrowed brows slowly relaxed as he considered it with a serious expression.
Meanwhile, in Avalon.
"Huh? Why did it fail again? And it was directly dispelled without any resistance... What exactly is going on?"
The white-haired online scammer who had failed twice was clearly beginning to lose his composure.
Only after examining it carefully did Merlin discover the trick behind it.
That brat! He had actually added several more layers of mental defenses, and even linked his magical energy supply to the false Holy Grail he had just refined. In all these years, it was the first time Merlin had encountered such a tough nut to crack.
The soul strength of a Foreigner combined with an alchemy array that supplied unlimited magical energy...
Breaking through from the front was nearly impossible. He had to think of another method.
After thinking carefully for a moment, Merlin seemed to have thought of something. His eyes lit up slightly.
"Right. If I use that thing as a medium, perhaps I can..."
Pleasurable Happiness
—That voice which pierced deeply into my heart was like cheering that never ceased.
Tohsaka Residence
A lazy golden figure reclined against a soft sofa. Gilgamesh leisurely sampled the expensive red wine carefully collected by Tokiomi Tohsaka while his scarlet eyes looked toward the tired-looking young priest before him. A playful smile curved across his lips as he slowly spoke, like a venomous snake extending its tongue.
"Now then, Kirei, what exactly do you think of what happened this time?"
"Hm?"
Before you continue