Card Servant of Type-Moon

Gilgamesh dissolved into golden particles, vanishing from the sofa. He had no interest in talking to Tohno Shiro any longer.

"Hmph."

After Gilgamesh left, Touya Tohno straightened his back, secretly letting out a sigh of relief. He truly couldn't fathom the King of Heroes' temper, but the latter's sudden departure did put him somewhat at ease.

"'Watching the show'?" Touya Tohno looked at the intelligence report that had just been printed out, falling into deep thought. The most critical issue right now was likely Caster.

Fuyuki City was in a state of panic. If this continued, he would probably be questioned as well.

"I must resolve this within three days. However, that Caster seems to have its sights set on the Einzbern family's Saber. Should I use that to my advantage?" Touya Tohno sat in his chair, tapping his fingers on the table, his eyes slowly closing.

He seemed to be contemplating whether he should go and have another conversation with the Einzbern family, perhaps forming a temporary alliance to deal with Caster.

However, the thought of the Einzbern family's homunculus and their hostility towards the Church gave Touya Tohno a headache. He hoped this conversation wouldn't touch upon that issue.

PS: "Still owe 19 more chapters."

Chapter 47: Purchased Technology

"Did you use that state?"

In the Einzbern castle, Emiya Kiritsugu looked at Mikaela, who had just returned, and said calmly, "The consumption doesn't seem to be particularly large. Although my magic was drained significantly for a moment, it didn't affect my normal actions."

"It was indeed just a moment, and it didn't take long." Mikaela sat on the sofa, looking at Maiya Hisau, who was standing beside Emiya Kiritsugu, and asked curiously, "Where is Irisviel?"

"She's already asleep. It's quite late now." Emiya Kiritsugu glanced at his watch and said plainly, "It's almost midnight. If I were to follow my usual schedule, I should be asleep by now."

"Before you sleep, remember to drink warm milk and do some light stretching," Maiya Hisau said very calmly. To ensure victory in this Holy Grail War, she was very strict about Emiya Kiritsugu's physical condition.

If Irisviel was the woman who could make Emiya Kiritsugu completely relax, then Maiya Hisau was the woman who kept Emiya Kiritsugu in peak warrior condition.

"Mhm," Emiya Kiritsugu responded briefly and looked at Mikaela. "So, can you use that state smoothly?"

"Do you want me to try?" Mikaela looked at the composed Emiya Kiritsugu and asked calmly, "You only used it for a few seconds. How much magic did you consume in total?"

"Not much. If it consumes at that rate, it would be enough for you to fight for about three minutes," Emiya Kiritsugu clearly remembered the feeling of his magic being suddenly drained.

"Three minutes is too short. If I were to use a Noble Phantasm, you might be drained in an instant."

Mikaela frowned slightly. Emiya Kiritsugu himself was indeed very good, and an excellent Master at that. But an excellent Master, in Mikaela's opinion, was someone who could heal, fight, and had intelligence.

What Mikaela envisioned as a Master was someone like Illya, Kayneth, or Sajyou Manaka, who had an endless supply of mana. If they could unleash their full power, it wouldn't matter if Gilgamesh was there.

Even if the Golden Trio attacked together, Mikaela could defeat them with their own wisdom and strength.

What? How would they defeat them? By transforming into King Hassan and charging in, finishing the Holy Grail War in one night! After all, with one strike, by the time they reacted, their heads would already be on the ground.

In the sixth chapter of FGO, Ramesses II was beheaded multiple times by King Hassan, but he escaped because he couldn't die in the temple.

Without the temple or any other strange buffs, Mikaela was confident that before they could even react, they would transform into King Hassan, ring the bell, and let them experience what a Grand Assassin was.

"An instant?" Emiya Kiritsugu felt the urge to smoke again. He wouldn't be like those foolish, ignorant children who insisted, "How will we know if we don't try!"

On the contrary, he felt that Mikaela's words had some merit. Although he could disregard the magic consumption just now, if a "Noble Phantasm" were to be used, who knew how much magic it would consume.

He could sustain the normal consumption, but in a real fight... he wouldn't be able to support that much magic on his own.

After thinking for a moment, Emiya Kiritsugu looked at the calm Mikaela and said, "I want Illya to be your Master. How about it?"

"..." Mikaela remained silent, calmly looking at Emiya Kiritsugu. "Are you sure? If I have any ulterior motives, you will die."

Entrusting his Servant to his wife seemed like no problem, but Mikaela, who knew Emiya Kiritsugu's background well, knew that this man couldn't completely trust a Servant.

"There is only one causal link between a Master and a Servant. If the mana supply and Command Seal authority are separated, then Illya, in a sense, is also your Master, while I retain the Command Seal authority. If you do anything out of line, I will use the Command Seals to control you."

Emiya Kiritsugu said very calmly. He naturally wouldn't completely trust Mikaela. Although they had been together for some time, and Mikaela's character was trustworthy.

But trust was trust, and Emiya Kiritsugu wouldn't bet everything on Mikaela. If the latter had any rebellious thoughts, Illya alone would probably not be able to suppress this 'mature' youth.

"Can you do that?" Mikaela felt a sense of familiarity hearing this 'principle.' Wasn't this something Kayneth researched?!

"I can't, but someone else did, and this technology was purchased by the Einzbern family at a great price." Emiya Kiritsugu revealed a slight smile. "Before this Holy Grail War began, the Einzbern family paid a heavy price to acquire many magical techniques that were beneficial to me. This is just one of them."

"Oh..."

Mikaela narrowed his eyes slightly. This was somewhat surprising, but upon further thought, it didn't seem like a big deal.

From the Clock Tower's perspective, the Holy Grail War was merely a magical battle held in the countryside. The so-called attainment of the Root was just a pretense. Did he just say he could enter the Root and he could enter the Root!? What a joke!

If one could easily enter the Root by fighting in a Holy Grail War, then there wouldn't be only a few Magicians in this world.

Other Magicians wouldn't pursue the existence of the Root with such inhuman dedication.

"Then, why didn't you have the lady link with me earlier?" Mikaela asked, somewhat confused. He didn't understand why, if they had this technology, they didn't have Irisviel link with him sooner.

Irisviel providing mana was almost like an overpowered cheat. Because later, after she absorbed the souls of five Servants, she would link with the Greater Grail. Then, the Greater Grail's accumulated mana over the years would flow into Mikaela's body through Irisviel's "small Grail," providing him with an unimaginable amount of magical power.

Of course, these were all later developments. In terms of raw mana, Irisviel now was definitely higher than Emiya Kiritsugu. But why didn't they do this from the start?

"We had no way of knowing how much magic you would consume. If it's truly as you described, and using a Noble Phantasm would drain me dry, then I have Command Seals that can temporarily provide a large amount of 'magic,' but Illya cannot."

Emiya Kiritsugu slowly revealed the answer. If Irisviel were to 'die' from insufficient mana right at the beginning, the situation would be quite dire.

PS: "The author is having some personal issues, so... I apologize. Only one chapter today."

Chapter 48: Conversation

Magic is finite. Both Emiya Kiritsugu and Irisviel have limited magic, and while the Greater Grail possesses a vast amount, it cannot be depleted indefinitely.

Sitting on the rooftop, Mikaela gazed at the bright moon, lost in thought. After winning this Holy Grail War, how would he return to his original home?

Would he need to break through the world barrier with a massive amount of magic? That seemed unlikely. Breaking through the world barrier might lead him to the outside of the world, a place swarming with monsters. Could he truly survive there with his current strength?

However, Mikaela soon shook his head slowly. There was no need to overthink things at this stage. He would figure out another way once he held the Holy Grail in his hands.

"Are you feeling lost?"

Maiya Hisau appeared silently beside Mikaela. As a woman assisting Emiya Kiritsugu, she naturally had to maintain her 'perfect' state in all aspects, from her physique to everything else.

She came to Mikaela's side, having obviously sensed his inner turmoil, and wanted to see if she could help.

"Mhm," Mikaela nodded. He looked at the bright moon in the sky and sighed, "I don't know if I can win this Holy Grail War. I've made many preparations, but those guys are all difficult opponents."

Even though he had laid many contingency plans, if one failed, there was another! Even if all his plans failed, Mikaela always had a way to instigate conflict between the two families.

For example, Kayneth versus Waver, or Tohno Shiro versus Matou Kariya. A battle between them was inevitable. He would be like Assassin, sitting back and watching the tigers fight.

However, the prerequisite for this was to deal with Caster. Once Caster was eliminated, things would become much simpler.

But Mikaela still felt uneasy, as if he were being targeted by many people. This feeling made him quite agitated, as he preferred to keep a low profile.

In this Holy Grail War, the more high-profile someone was, the faster they died. He understood this principle clearly, which was why he never appeared as the protagonist, openly challenging others. Instead, he appeared on the battlefield as a secondary or tertiary presence.

Logically, he shouldn't be targeted by anyone. Even Gilgamesh, the arrogant King of Heroes, why would he care about a mere Servant like him?

Mikaela didn't consider himself a great hero, nor did he possess any shining qualities that would warrant attention. He was just an ordinary human, albeit one with some special abilities, but those abilities were borrowed.

Compared to the Heroic Spirits who had forged countless reputations, earned innumerable honors, and defeated many enemies, he was nothing special.

So, Mikaela was quite agitated now. Who was targeting him? Could it be, as Emiya Kiritsugu suggested, that Caster was after him? But even if he only carried a trace of 'Abigail's' aura, the other party shouldn't be showing such an expression.

Where did things go wrong? Was there a step he overlooked?

Crack.

Distressed, Mikaela crushed the card without a word, transforming back into Victorious, and began to re-examine his problems, puffing on his pipe to force himself to calm down.

"You're very agitated right now," Maiya Hisau said, watching Mikaela squatting on the rooftop, sounding somewhat surprised. "You care more about winning this Holy Grail War than Kiritsugu does."

"He should care more than I do," Mikaela said, putting down his pipe as he looked at Maiya Hisau, who had come to talk to him. He spoke calmly, "He's bet everything he has on pursuing his dream. Just that alone makes him far superior to me."

"No, you care more than he does." Having been by Emiya Kiritsugu's side, Maiya Hisau had witnessed countless people. Moreover... having grown up in a war environment, she possessed a very strong intuition.

That intuition told her that Mikaela's obsession with winning the Holy Grail War was slightly stronger than Emiya Kiritsugu's.

"..." Mikaela fell silent. His emerald green eyes looked at the 'cold' Ms. Hisau. Her expression was as indifferent as ever, as if she didn't care that she was being watched by a Servant who could easily take her life.

"My life is only one."

Mikaela sighed. After being summoned by Emiya Kiritsugu, he had already told him why he would wholeheartedly assist him in winning this Holy Grail War.

However, now that Maiya Hisau seemed intent on 'enlightening' him, he might as well explain why he was so frantic over a 'minor issue.'

"Someone must have told you this: people die when they are killed," Mikaela said calmly, puffing on his pipe and looking at Maiya Hisau. "Human life is very fragile. Even so-called great heroes will die easily if their hearts are pierced."

"In my previous life, or rather... in another world, I exhausted all my energy to deal with a powerful enemy and unleashed my Noble Phantasm. I don't know what the final outcome was, but I probably died from exhaustion of energy at that time."

Mikaela paused for a moment, then looked at Maiya Hisau. "If I were to put it in terms of this world, it would probably be like completely depleting my magic, using my life force as collateral."

"Although I don't know how much life force I overdrafted back then, since I'm here now, my body back then has probably already turned into a dried corpse or an old man."

Mikaela let out a rather sarcastic laugh, seeming to think he had been too reckless back then.

"So... you're participating in the Holy Grail War to return to your original world?" Maiya Hisau asked.

"This is a war, a war I absolutely cannot lose. I told Emiya Kiritsugu that I'm just an ordinary person. My abilities might seem powerful, but if they were used by an ordinary person's body, they would at most be the peak of an ordinary person. While I can ignore some Servants, I cannot truly fight against Servants with real power."

"Magic has elevated my strength."

Mikaela closed his eyes. He could already feel a more potent magic than Emiya Kiritsugu's flowing into his body – the magic belonging to Irisviel.

"Similarly, this strength has made me realize something very simple: I don't know if I'll be able to participate in the Holy Grail War again."

"If I can't participate... then if I'm eliminated in this Holy Grail War, it will be a true elimination."

PS: "Three chapters tonight! Just woke up."

Chapter 49: Careless Mistake

After transferring the magic supply line to the sleeping Irisviel, Emiya Kiritsugu nodded slightly. Everything was now in order.

"Still not resting?" Maiya Hisau slowly opened the door and walked in. Judging by her movements, she seemed to think Emiya Kiritsugu and Irisviel were already asleep.

"Maiya, I'm about to sleep, but there are just a few more things to confirm." Emiya Kiritsugu got out of bed and reached for his clothes, but Maiya Hisau stopped him.

"Hm?" Emiya Kiritsugu looked at Maiya Hisau, puzzled.

"That Servant already said it. You want this, right?" Maiya Hisau took out a map. This was something they had prepared earlier at the hotel, detailing the information on other Masters and Servants, as well as the known residences of Masters.

"This is truly..."

A forced smile appeared on Emiya Kiritsugu's cold and serious face, as if he didn't know what to say. He looked at Maiya Hisau and said, "For him to become my Servant, in a sense, he's truly an ace in the hole."

"Even an ace needs caution. He might hurt you." Maiya Hisau, like an emotionless robot, continued to speak ill of Mikaela, even though she knew Servants had extremely keen senses.

"I know that. We both know it."

Emiya Kiritsugu opened the map, gazing at the pre-marked locations. His hand instinctively reached for his pocket, as if to pull out a pack of cigarettes.

However, a hand stopped him. Emiya Kiritsugu looked at the owner of the hand, seemed to understand something, and withdrew his own hand, shaking his head with a hint of helplessness.

"…The lady is still asleep, please restrain yourself." Maiya Hisau slowly retracted her hand. She glanced at Irisviel, who was in a deep slumber on the bed.

Irisviel appeared to be having a sweet dream, her face adorned with a gentle smile that could melt anyone's heart.

"Then let's get straight to the point." Emiya Kiritsugu cut to the chase. He opened the map and, under the moonlight, began to explain their next moves.

Although they had discussed it before, after communicating with Mikaela, Emiya Kiritsugu felt they needed to plan several steps ahead. Otherwise, if something unexpected happened, they would easily be caught off guard.

"Yes."

Maiya Hisau stood beside Emiya Kiritsugu, looking at the map on the table, indicating she was listening.

"We currently know the whereabouts of four enemy Masters." Emiya Kiritsugu said calmly, looking at the marked locations. "Tohno Shiro, Kotomine Kirei, Kayneth, and Matou Kariya."

"According to Saber, the Master we need to find the fastest is that 'unexpected intruder' named Waver." Emiya Kiritsugu casually took out photos of Waver Velvet and the King of Conquerors and placed them in a corner of the map.

"He must have his reasons."

Looking at the photo of Waver Velvet, whose face was etched with 'weakness,' Maiya Hisau stated that Mikaela surely had her reasons for targeting the seemingly harmless young man.

"That's right." Emiya Kiritsugu nodded. He also felt that Saber's intense focus on Waver must have a reason. After tonight's subjugation battle, Saber must have felt that some of her hidden secrets had been discovered by that young man.

"If Saber hadn't reminded me, I would have almost forgotten about this guy." Emiya Kiritsugu picked up the photo of the King of Conquerors and gazed at the red-haired strongman, falling into thought for a moment.

Honestly speaking, someone who revealed their true name as soon as they appeared, and his Master, a naive individual who participated in the Holy Grail War out of 'a moment of impulse'…

From any angle, they were figures to be overlooked.