Cards of Fate/Grand Order: Chapter 10

Tohno Shiro maintained a smile as he sat before Irisviel, then slowly let it fade, saying calmly, "So, shall we begin exchanging information? Master of the Einzbern family."

"I will explain next," Mikaela stepped forward, looking at Tohno Shiro and stating calmly, "Before coming to Fuyuki City, we received intelligence that the Assassin had been eliminated."

"That's right," Tohno Shiro nodded, his expression composed, but inwardly, he could barely contain his amusement.

"But the Assassin hasn't been eliminated; instead, he's still active in the shadows. Tohno Family Head, you've been used as a pawn," Mikaela said with some anger.

"What?! This happened?!" Tohno Shiro also showed a look of 'surprise' for the first time, perfectly matching Mikaela's 'anger.'

PS: "Everyone, please give more recommendation tickets~ If you give me a thousand recommendation tickets today, I'll update ten chapters, okay? =.="

PS: "One hundred recommendation tickets, one chapter, just for today~~~~"

Chapter Twenty-Three: Acting

"That's right," Mikaela stated righteously, "That Assassin used your Servant to create the news of his supposed elimination! In reality, he planned to lurk in the shadows and assassinate my Master."

In truth, the Assassin hadn't done anything to Mikaela or Irisviel, but at this moment, they would smear mud if they could!

"According to the intelligence, that Servant seems to possess the characteristic of 'cloning,' so he sent one Servant to his death, likely intending to hide himself in the background and use the Assassin's concealment abilities to kill unsuspecting Masters."

"Although he hasn't made a move yet, if our Master is left unprotected while we fight enemy Servants, it would be very easy for the stealthy Assassin to kill them. That's why we called Tohno Family Head here today, for one purpose!"

Mikaela stared intently at Tohno Shiro, saying very seriously, "In the name of the Three Great Families, we want the Church! To investigate whether Kotomine Kirei has lost his Master qualifications."

"This..." Tohno Shiro hadn't expected Mikaela to be so ruthless! Using the name of the Three Great Families to force him to investigate whether Kotomine Kirei had lost his Master qualifications.

Did he have Master qualifications or not? Did Tohno Shiro not know?

He had heard Kotomine Kirei say earlier that he had temporarily masked the fluctuation of his Command Seals with magecraft, but if they were to inspect him right in front of them, he definitely wouldn't be able to hide it from the Einzbern family.

The Three Great Families had certain agreements; this was their Holy Grail War, and everyone else was just an outsider making up the numbers.

Whether it was the prodigy from the Clock Tower, Kotomine Kirei, Rider's Waver, or the unknown magus they hadn't investigated yet, they were all 'outsiders'!

If an 'outsider' had the possibility of obtaining the Holy Grail, then the Three Great Families must unite and temporarily form an alliance against the 'outsiders.'

This was a rule left by the previous generation. No matter what, Tohno Shiro had to choose to abide by it. If he didn't, it would bring shame to the Tohno family's reputation and also expose his cooperation with the Church.

Similarly... this was also part of Mikaela's plan.

"Does Tohno Family Head have any issues? Or perhaps... you have a very good personal relationship with the Church, so you're staging this?"

At this moment, Irisviel spoke, her gaze somewhat unfriendly as she stared at Tohno Shiro, saying seriously, "Although I trust your Tohno family, after all, we Three Great Families are united when facing outsiders. However, the Church is different."

The Mage's Association and the Church had never been on good terms. Although they had established harmonious relations with the Mage's Association in modern times, everyone knew how things were behind the scenes.

Similarly, the Einzbern family didn't have much affection for the Church, as the Church had once attempted to exterminate the Einzbern family. Fortunately, the Einzbern family was powerful at the time and didn't let them succeed.

Even so, the Einzbern family had always maintained an exclusionary stance towards the Church.

"Master, please don't doubt Mr. Tohno Shiro. If he truly had such intentions, he wouldn't have met with us," Mikaela advised the 'angry' Irisviel, then looked apologetically at Tohno Shiro and said, "All along, my Master felt that the Holy Grail War was a battle belonging to the Three Great Families, not outsiders. So after meeting with the Assassin's Master yesterday, my Master felt that the Church had already interfered in this Holy Grail War."

"If they hadn't interfered, how could they confidently guarantee that the Assassin's Master had lost his qualifications, without even letting us check?!" Irisviel seemed very 'angry,' appearing to still be bothered by yesterday's events.

"Is that so?" Tohno Shiro fell into 'deep thought,' seemingly contemplating Irisviel's words, but inwardly he was already thinking it was bad. The Einzbern family's homunculus was pushing too hard.

Tohno Shiro had originally thought that coming here was just to discuss cooperation, but he hadn't expected the Einzbern family to be so assertive, directly stating they wanted to unite the Three Great Families to question the Church about whether they had intervened in this Holy Grail War.

If they had intervened... then the situation would become very delicate.

Because the Church had always maintained neutrality, stating they would not interfere in the Holy Grail War as long as it didn't interfere with ordinary people or involve the leakage of mysteries. If the Holy Grail War didn't violate these conditions, the Church wouldn't intervene.

If one were to assign them a role, they would be akin to cleanup crew members. If one of the Servants caused major problems, the Church would have the obligation to gather the other Servants and have them temporarily unite to hunt down that Servant.

However! If the Church dared to harbor a Master with a Servant, then their role would become very ambiguous.

Furthermore!!! Tohno Shiro had secretly cooperated with the Church, and no matter what, he didn't want the Church's 'fairness' to be questioned by others.

"Then, did you see the Assassin?" Tohno Shiro asked this question. There was no way to break the deadlock right now, so he could only change the subject.

"This..." Suddenly, Irisviel and Mikaela exchanged a glance, seemingly seeing 'difficulty' in each other's eyes.

"Hm?" Seeing the two suddenly fall silent, Tohno Shiro seemed to guess something and quickly pressed, "Could it be that you didn't see the Assassin?"

"We are very sorry about this," Mikaela lowered her head, her tone somewhat subtle, "Although we believe the Assassin hasn't been eliminated, we haven't actually captured him. This is also why we want to unite the Three Great Families to investigate the Assassin's Master."

"Because there's insufficient evidence, we can't openly provoke the Church either," Irisviel's 'anger' seemed to have disappeared as she sighed and looked at Tohno Shiro, saying, "We can only make deductions based on existing evidence, but there's no crucial evidence. That's why we invited Tohno Family Head today to see what you've discovered."

"Is that so?" Tohno Shiro felt a wave of relief inwardly. He was so scared, thinking they were determined to confront the Church head-on. He hadn't expected they wanted to unite with him and the Matou family before questioning the Church.

But it made sense. If they had any decisive evidence, they probably wouldn't have come to find him.

Thinking this, Tohno Shiro felt much more relaxed, regaining his elegant smile and saying, "This makes things a bit difficult. Without crucial evidence to prove the Assassin hasn't been eliminated, even if the Three Great Families unite, we can't force the Church to hand him over, as the Assassin's Master is also a member of the Church."

PS: "Are you guys demons? I owe eleven chapters all at once... I'll never set up recommendation ticket bounties again!"

Chapter Twenty-Four: Swearing on Family Honor

As if knowing that Irisviel didn't have the relevant evidence to cause trouble for the Church, Tohno Shiro appeared calm and composed, maintaining his elegant smile and conversing pleasantly with Irisviel.

Although he said a lot, he kept skirting the issue, insisting that real evidence was needed before they could cause trouble for the Church.

Irisviel seemed a bit 'angry,' thinking Tohno Shiro was too weak! The Church was harboring a Master, and they had already confronted them! That absolutely would have exposed them.

However, this time, Mikaela also stood beside Tohno Shiro, feeling his Master was acting too rashly. If they forcibly questioned the Church, what would happen after the Servants fought? Who would handle the aftermath?

Servant-versus-Servant combat was no simple fight.

Just last night, Mikaela's probing battle with Diarmuid showed a glimpse of the situation. Even though it was in an abandoned factory, the intense fighting between the two sides caused nearby residents to call the police.

They reported that a gang shootout had seemed to occur at the abandoned factory, with the gangs apparently carrying heavy weaponry! The explosions were incredibly loud.

Then, just as the police were preparing to intervene, the Church stepped in and declared that it was an explosion caused by a gas leak!

The residents pointed out that there were no gas pipes installed at the abandoned factory...

But none of that mattered. Under the influence of suggestion magic, the residents all believed it was an explosion caused by a gas leak.

"Sigh, forget it. Once Aila-chan finds out Assassin's identity, we'll expose the Church together." At the end of her sentence, Irisviel sighed, finally agreeing to Tohno Shiro's proposal.

"Mhm." Tohno Shiro nodded, clearly satisfied with Irisviel's decision. He felt they had discussed everything necessary and picked up his magic staff, preparing to leave the cafe.

"Wait." Suddenly, Irisviel called out to Tohno Shiro.

"Is there something else, Master of the Einzbern family?" Tohno Shiro's voice was still elegant, but his fingers had already landed on his magic staff.

Even though it was daytime, he didn't think Irisviel would be foolish enough to attack him here. But caution was paramount. If she truly attacked, he would have to use a Command Seal immediately to summon Gilgamesh.

The reason was simple: only a Servant could deal with a Servant. While the aftermath would be troublesome, if he died, everything would be over.

Living meant hope! Tohno Shiro understood this principle very well.

"You don't need to worry so much. I'm just giving you a piece of free information." Irisviel smiled at Tohno Shiro. "I heard your wife gave birth to two daughters with exceptional talent. Is that correct?"

"Mhm." Tohno Shiro nodded. There was no need to hide such information; anyone who cared to investigate would know his wife had given birth to two highly talented daughters.

"You gave one of your daughters to the Matou family, didn't you?" Irisviel picked up her unfinished coffee from the table and asked nonchalantly, "Is Old Man Matou doing well?"

Old Man Matou here referred to Matou Zouken. On the surface, he was the former head of the Matou family. However, due to a lack of successors, his only talented child, Matou Kariya, rejected becoming the next head due to his incompatibility with their family's magic and decisively left the Matou family.

Perhaps because of this, Matou Zouken was greatly disappointed when he discovered his grandson, Matou Shinji, lacked the minimum requirement for a magus: magic circuits. He had no choice but to seek out Tohno Shiro for a child with magical talent to adopt into the Matou family.

If Tohno Shiro agreed, this child would be raised as the heir to the Matou family.

That person was Matou Sakura.

"Not very well. According to him, he has less than five years left to live. The only reason he's holding on now is that the entire family's legacy rests on his shoulders. He cannot die like this, or how could he face the ancestors of the Matou family?"

Tohno Shiro was boasting a little. As one of the Three Great Families, the Matou family had left a significant mark in his ancestor Tohno Nagato's notes, detailing how glorious the Matou family once was. Their first patriarch, Makiri Zolgen, was a genius among geniuses.

The Command Seals they now used to control Servants were developed by Makiri Zolgen.

"Is that so?" Irisviel didn't say much more, but sighed, "It's a shame the Matou family, once so glorious, has become so sordid."

"Hm?"

Tohno Shiro looked at Irisviel, confused. He didn't understand why she would say the Matou family had changed.

"What makes you say that?" Tohno Shiro was curious. He didn't understand why Irisviel would say such a thing.

"You don't know yet? The Matou family's magic has regressed. From the original Butterfly Magic, it has degenerated into Bug Magic." Irisviel 'casually' revealed information about the Matou family. In reality, this was classified intelligence from the Einzbern family.

Strictly speaking, it shouldn't be casually revealed to Tohno Shiro, as such information could incur the Matou family's wrath.

The degeneration from Butterfly to Bug Magic was a perpetual pain for any magical family.

Therefore, to avoid meaningless conflict, the Einzbern family would not disclose information about the Matou family. However, Mikaela and Emiya Kiritsugu both felt this was valuable intelligence, and telling Tohno Shiro might yield unexpected results.

"!!!!"

Tohno Shiro's pupils contracted. He stood up abruptly, his voice becoming stern. "Artificial human of the Einzbern family, are you joking?! Degenerated?! From Butterfly Magic to Bug Magic?!"

"Hm? Tohno Family Head, you didn't know?" Irisviel looked at Tohno Shiro with apparent surprise, as if this information held no need for secrecy.

"My apologies."

Tohno Shiro seemed to realize his attitude was inappropriate. He took a deep breath, composed himself, and sat back down, staring at Irisviel. "Are you not lying? Master of the Einzbern family."

"I swear upon my family's name." Irisviel extended a hand, pledging the honor of the Einzbern family as a guarantee.

PS: "Please stop voting for recommendations!!! I'm already nineteen chapters behind, and I don't want to write anymore. I'm so tired."

Chapter Twenty-Five: Struggle

After receiving Irisviel's guarantee, Tohno Shiro maintained his elegant demeanor and left the cafe.

"He has quite a bit of self-control," Mikaela said, a slight smile playing on her lips as she watched Tohno Shiro leave. "Although it wasn't obvious on the surface, he didn't deactivate the magic barrier before leaving."

"His mind is already in turmoil." Irisviel casually dispelled the magic barrier. Although it would have deactivated on its own if left alone, she removed it proactively for the sake of the cafe's business.

This kind of magic barrier, used to ward off ordinary people, was a fundamental skill for all mages. To prevent the leakage of mystery, most mages would instinctively erect such barriers when engaging in combat.

"Did the plan succeed?" Irisviel looked at Mikaela. She had acted like an actress just now, cooperating with Mikaela. While she had spoken most of the words, the script was entirely written by Mikaela. If anything unexpected had happened, Mikaela would have intervened, and she would have engaged in conversation with Tohno Shiro.

But she never expected Tohno Shiro to sit obediently at the table as predicted, listening to Irisviel's words. Apart from one moment of 'losing composure,' everything unfolded exactly as Mikaela had foreseen.

"No, not yet. Plans are never perfect," Mikaela said calmly, casually conjuring a pipe and putting it in his mouth. "Seventy percent of success comes from heaven, thirty from man. We can only hope he goes to the Matou family and clashes with that Old Man Matou. Then we can strike and take them both down."

"Magus families are heartless," Irisviel said, looking at Mikaela with concern. She sighed, "Perhaps in your world, family is always trustworthy. But magus families can be far crueler than you imagine."

"..." Mikaela didn't say anything more. He took the pipe out of his mouth. He couldn't transform into Victorious to think through the details while out in the open. He could only rely on this pipe to help him 'calm down.'

After all, he couldn't be entirely sure that Tohno Shiro would act according to his plan.

In a previous life, Mikaela had heard that Tohno Shiro was completely unaware of Matou Sakura's situation. According to the ideas of certain writers, if Tohno Shiro had known, he might have stormed the Matou residence and taken Matou Sakura back.

Now, Mikaela could only bet on that possibility. Of course, if Tohno Shiro chickened out, Mikaela wouldn't lose anything. At worst, he could find the Assassin, capture a clone, and force Tohno Shiro to confront the Church. He would also spread rumors that the Church was secretly harboring a Master with a Servant.

This would draw the attention of other Masters to Tohno Shiro, who would be heading to the Church. While Tohno Shiro was negotiating with the Church supervisor, Mikaela would sneak into the Church and kill Kotomine Kirei!

"Double insurance, just in case," Mikaela put down the pipe. He had already thought of countless methods for victory in this war.

"It's so reliable to have a Servant like you," Irisviel said with a pure, innocent smile. Despite her well-developed figure, she was still a 9-year-old child.

That's right, Irisviel was an artificial human whose body grew rapidly. Although she looked like a woman in her twenties, she was actually only 9 years old.

"Reliable? No... Irisviel, I'm not reliable at all." Mikaela shook his head. He didn't think of himself as a reliable person.

All of this was simply for victory, for the sake of 'surviving.' For that, he could ignore all tragedies, even if he knew this Holy Grail War would have no ultimate outcome, he would still strive for victory.

"No, Aila-chan is already very reliable. Your wisdom and your abilities are precious treasures," Irisviel smiled gently. She gently held Mikaela's small hand and whispered, "If we weren't holding you back, you could probably display your full strength."

Within the Holy Grail War, most of the magic for a Servant's manifestation was provided by the Greater Grail. The Master merely provided a link. However, the consumption of magic during combat and daily life was directly borne by the Master.

But Mikaela was an anomaly. He could freely transform into powerful heroes, even Tohno Shiro's trump card, Gilgamesh!

Mikaela could also transform into him and even use his power against him.

However, it was a pity that the energy consumed by transformation, combined with the energy consumed by manifesting a Noble Phantasm, would be enough to drain Emiya Kiritsugu dry.