In Emiya Kiritsugu's eyes, their threat level was even lower than Kayneth's!
Leaving them alone should not have caused any major problems, yet from Mikaela's description, the two of them were figures who required considerable attention.
This forced Emiya Kiritsugu to reevaluate that naive Waver, as well as the "idiot Servant" who called himself the King of Conquerors.
"Have you noticed that they're somewhat similar to us?" Maiya Hisau spoke up. She was an exceptionally calm woman, and likewise, an exceptionally intelligent one.
Otherwise, no matter how loyal someone was, if they were dim-witted, Emiya Kiritsugu would never have regarded her as his right-hand woman.
"Similar?" Emiya Kiritsugu frowned slightly, seemingly unable to see how they resembled him and his group.
But soon, Emiya Kiritsugu seemed to realize something. He placed Waver and the King of Conquerors' photographs beneath the one of Kotomine Kirei.
This was a threat assessment classification. During battle, Emiya Kiritsugu needed to distinguish which opponent was easiest to handle, which was easiest to kill, and which was easiest to deceive.
Intelligence was the foremost factor in winning a war.
Because he could not understand what Kotomine Kirei wanted to do at all, Emiya Kiritsugu had always given him the highest danger rating.
Now, because of one remark from Maiya Hisau, Emiya Kiritsugu suddenly understood. This seemingly accidental pair of innocents who had wandered into the Holy Grail War was actually hiding their depths incredibly well!
They could not find where they lived at all.
They had barely gathered any intelligence on them.
Yet what they showed everyone else constantly made people think of the word "idiot." Just as Mikaela had told him...
If that man named Waver was truly an innocent fool, how had he stolen the King of Conquerors' Holy Relic from Kayneth? Why had a down-and-out mage like him been able to evade Kayneth's pursuit?
Kayneth was, after all, a Lord of the Clock Tower. With a casual exertion of influence, he could have intercepted Waver.
Then why had he not done so? No! Perhaps he had already done exactly that, but someone had protected Waver!
What did that mean? Someone wanted Waver to obtain what he wanted in this Holy Grail War. Then what did that person want?
What was the most valuable thing in the Holy Grail War? Wasn't the answer obvious?
"I was careless." A trace of cold sweat appeared on Emiya Kiritsugu's forehead. He felt that he had truly grown rusty.
The other side's intentions appeared simple, but upon careful consideration, one could discover many terrifying implications.
Just as they had hidden the trump card called "Mikaela," the other side might have hidden Waver as their own "trump card" in the same manner.
For a moment, Emiya Kiritsugu wondered whether Kayneth was like Tohno Shiro!
Having his disciple act in the shadows while he himself acted openly?
PS: "I finished watching Joker tonight. My feelings are extremely complicated, and it moved me deeply. It was about forcing a mentally ill patient into madness."
A Formidable Enemy!
"Scheming and calculating. A formidable enemy."
Emiya Kiritsugu finally understood why the Einzbern family had still failed to win the Holy Grail War despite holding such an enormous advantage before.
*****, enemies like this!! They simply left people at a loss for words. Tohno Shiro had openly told everyone that he was "cheating."
Everyone knew it privately, but no one would say anything openly. In terms of methods, Tohno Shiro was still somewhat green. That Kayneth was the truly terrifying one.
"A Lord of the Clock Tower? As expected, he cannot be underestimated. If my deduction is correct, this man has probably had his sights set on the Holy Grail for a long time." Emiya Kiritsugu finally took out the cigarette in his pocket.
The hand holding the cigarette trembled slightly. Maiya Hisau did not stop Emiya Kiritsugu, because she herself was staring gravely at Kayneth's photograph.
The Kayneth in the photograph was full of confidence and arrogance. Every gesture displayed the bearing of a "Lord."
"Placing hidden pieces in advance? If that's truly the case, then this person's threat level is far higher than Kotomine Kirei's." Maiya Hisau proactively reached out and placed one of Kayneth's photographs above Kotomine Kirei's.
Based on their current deductions, Kayneth's threat level was even more frightening than Kotomine Kirei, whose actions could not be predicted.
A Lord of the Clock Tower was terrifying indeed! As expected, reputation was not without merit. If they regarded them as ordinary mage trash, then they would likely be the ones to lose in the end.
"Yes. Our previous plan will likely have to be temporarily canceled." Emiya Kiritsugu lit the cigarette and took a shallow drag, looking at Kayneth with considerable gravity. "This man cannot be dealt with by ordinary means."
"A bomb attack to destroy his Magic Workshop?"
Maiya Hisau naturally knew Emiya Kiritsugu's plan. Now that the Holy Grail War had begun, they were hiding in the shadows, so naturally they had to kill the other Masters like rats.
No matter what kind of Clock Tower prodigy he was, as long as they destroyed his Magic Workshop, Emiya Kiritsugu had never feared anyone in terms of actual combat ability!
But now, Emiya Kiritsugu hesitated. He was considering whether, if he destroyed the other side's Magic Workshop, the other side would fly into a rage and directly bring his "disciple" over to attack Mikaela.
Although Mikaela had said that if he went all out, instantly killing two Servants would be no trouble at all, once their trump card was exposed, everyone else would surely become wary. In this Holy Grail War, the strongest enemy was the Servant in Tohno Shiro's hands.
That opponent was an exceptional Servant. Though their battle had lasted only an instant, Mikaela could clearly sense that the opponent's strength was not something an ordinary Servant could contend with.
If one action of his truly made that Lord of the Clock Tower fly into a rage, they would likely face even more danger. Not only would they expose their own trump card.
They would also destroy all the preparations Mikaela had made earlier, instantly pushing themselves into the eye of the storm.
"If Kayneth and Waver truly have this sort of cooperative relationship, then I'm wondering whether his openly stepping forward is meant to draw all of the enemy's fire, allowing his disciple to observe from the sidelines while quietly establishing a Magic Workshop elsewhere in some hidden location?"
Thinking this, Emiya Kiritsugu silently stubbed out his cigarette. Just as Mikaela had said, cigarettes could only temporarily ease his anxiety and tension. Though they could bring him peace for a while, in the long run...
He would be better off having a round with the two beautiful women beside him. Neither of them minded, anyway.
"If he is establishing a Magic Workshop capable of resisting Servants, then there are only a few locations in all of Fuyuki City where that could be done. If we investigate them one by one, we can find Waver's hiding place."
At present, both Emiya Kiritsugu and Maiya Hisau had concluded that Kayneth and Waver's relationship was roughly the same as that between Tohno Shiro and Kotomine Kirei.
They had "fallen out" on the surface, while in reality, both sides continued helping their teacher in the darkness.
"However, don't celebrate too early. I heard Kayneth brought several mana furnaces. With mana furnaces, he could casually find a factory and establish a Magic Workshop there, giving him enough power to confront Servants head-on." Although Emiya Kiritsugu was a mage killer, he also understood magecraft very well.
As a certain famous person had said, the one who understood you best was not a friend, but an enemy.
"This is troublesome."
Maiya Hisau closed her eyes. She had no solution either. How were they supposed to deal with such a shameless opponent?
Only by making him personally come out could they defeat him, but according to the intelligence, aside from showing his face on the first day, Kayneth spent most of his time in the hotel.
Even when he went out, it was only to have coffee or take a walk. He looked exceedingly leisurely, as though he did not take the Holy Grail War seriously at all.
"He truly is an opponent we cannot ignore." Emiya Kiritsugu felt the pressure on him suddenly increase greatly. He had originally thought that Kotomine Kirei was his only opponent in this Holy Grail War.
He had not expected another Kayneth to appear. If one did not think carefully about the other side's scheming and hidden depths, it would be easy to be deceived by what he displayed.
Who would have thought that a Lord of the Clock Tower who kept talking about "country mage battles" had planned so many things in secret?
First, he let himself serve as the obvious target, while allowing his disciple to hide in the darkness. The two acted with extreme blandness, practically like ordinary office workers, clocking in for work and then clocking out to go home.
They seemed to pose no threat whatsoever. His schemes were countless times more brilliant than Tohno Shiro's.
If Mikaela had not "reminded" him, Emiya Kiritsugu might really have picked up a bomb and, without another word, blown up Kayneth's Magic Workshop first, stripping him of his advantage before slowly killing that Lord of the Clock Tower.
"...Get some rest early. We can't settle the plan for now. We must deliberate carefully; we still have far too little intelligence." Maiya Hisau gave a fair response and put away the map.
"Intelligence, intelligence. I thought our intelligence gathering for this Holy Grail War had already been thorough, but I never expected someone would still get the better of us."
PS: "The third update is here. I've also made up for the update I owed yesterday. I'll sort out my mindset and start writing again."
PS: "Please give me more recommendation votes, everyone~ Although the author's love life is going badly, I'll still keep working hard. Being single is pretty good."
Letting the Imagination Run Wild
Early the next morning, Mikaela prepared a lavish breakfast for the three of them, brewed black tea, and set it on the dining table.
"It seems that Mr. Tohno Shiro is getting a little impatient today." Emiya Kiritsugu ate a sandwich as he looked at the letter on the table, an inexplicable smile appearing at the corner of his lips.
"That's right. He is getting impatient. After Caster left last night, there were several more kidnapping attempts."
Mikaela reported the intelligence with complete calm.
"You went out last night?" Emiya Kiritsugu looked at Mikaela in surprise. The three of them had all been asleep last night, and no one had gone out to gather intelligence.
If he had guessed correctly, Mikaela must have gone out on his own to gather information.
Mikaela nodded and said calmly, "As a Servant, I do not need sleep at all. Therefore, going out to observe the movements of every side is also necessary."
"Then why didn't you do that before?" Emiya Kiritsugu was surprised because Mikaela had previously refused to come into contact with Servants no matter what.
He had not even wanted to see them. Though it could be called cautious, in a sense, it could also be called "cowardly."
His battle with Diarmuid made it clear just how unwilling he had been to fight Servants. They had only exchanged a brief encounter before he took Irisviel and left.
Mikaela clearly understood what Emiya Kiritsugu was surprised about. He replied evenly, "Previously, I did not know how strong the Servants were, so if I could avoid fighting, I avoided it. Now that I have a rough understanding of my own strength, naturally I must take the initiative to increase our chances of victory."
"Is that so?" After hearing this, Emiya Kiritsugu said nothing more. Thinking about it carefully, it was quite reasonable.
When an ordinary person learned that he had to fight legendary heroes, he would certainly feel extremely nervous inside.
Although Mikaela did not feel much fear, his actions had still been conservative.
But after two battles, he had gained an understanding of both himself and the Servants. Naturally, his fear of Servants had lessened significantly.
Fear was unavoidable. Even though Emiya Kiritsugu appeared very calm, deep down he was the same as Mikaela. He feared that if they failed in this Holy Grail War, his ideals and his family would all be gone forever.
But fear was fear. People still had to stand up and keep moving forward. The best way to eliminate fear was to face it.
Mikaela and Emiya Kiritsugu had both achieved that. Though they feared failure, the two of them continued striving onward, unwilling to welcome the worst possible outcome.
"Today, we are going to negotiate with Tohno Shiro." Mikaela sat in his chair and looked at the letter in Emiya Kiritsugu's hand. "After the last negotiation, he probably believes we are easy targets. But for the sake of a 'mage's' dignity, he should treat us courteously."
"Heh, dignity." Emiya Kiritsugu smiled disdainfully. He naturally understood the nature of those "mages." Enemies like Tohno Shiro were the easiest to deal with.
There was no other reason. The other side simply cared too much about appearances. Tohno Shiro had spent half his life struggling through hardship, silently licking clean every bitterness along the way and transforming all that former hardship into self-respect, composure, and elegance.
On the surface, Tohno Shiro would not look down on the Einzbern family, because they were one of the "Three Great Families." When facing outsiders, they were allies!
Though this ally was somewhat lacking in strength during the Holy Grail War, as the saying went, an ally lacking in strength was a good ally.
Tohno Shiro had taken the initiative to invite Irisviel and Mikaela over, so he naturally had his own little calculations. Emiya Kiritsugu and Mikaela both knew that well.
But right now, Tohno Shiro was not a highly dangerous figure. On the contrary, he possessed tremendous value they could exploit.
"However, Caster's situation truly needs to be resolved quickly. Fishing in troubled waters will no longer work. We need to find a way to provoke a battle between Tohno Shiro and Kayneth." Emiya Kiritsugu drank soy milk and gave Maiya Hisau a look.
Without another word, she put down her sandwich, took out last night's map, and laid it on the dining table.
"..." Mikaela frowned slightly but said nothing.
In his eyes, eating was for eating. Plans could wait until after breakfast. But seeing Emiya Kiritsugu's "anxious" expression, he kept his mouth shut.
"Saber, you said yesterday that we need to watch this man and his Servant, right?"
After opening the map, Emiya Kiritsugu pointed at the photographs of Waver Velvet and the King of Conquerors, looking at Mikaela evenly. "When Maiya and I spoke yesterday, we felt that Kayneth was not so simple."
"Not so simple?" Mikaela was somewhat puzzled. He knew Kayneth was not simple. The man had removed the negative debuff called "fiancée."
In a sense, he could be considered the "invincible" Master of this Holy Grail War.
"That's right, not simple." Emiya Kiritsugu nodded and explained the conclusions he and Maiya Hisau had reached last night to Mikaela.
After listening, Mikaela remained outwardly calm and nodded repeatedly, while inwardly he sighed. If he had not seen the script, he might really have believed Emiya Kiritsugu's nonsense.
If Kayneth truly cared about the Holy Grail War, would he still be staying in a hotel? He would have directly bought an abandoned factory, set up a mana furnace, and deployed a Magic Barrier.
The bombs Emiya Kiritsugu bought would not even be able to blast through his Magic Workshop.
Cooperating with Waver? At this point, Waver was not yet the future overworked man!! Though he possessed wisdom, he had nowhere near enough ability for Kayneth to value him.
"So, you think that when the madam and I talk with Tohno Shiro today, we should casually mention an alliance, as well as Kayneth and Waver?" Mikaela's tone remained calm, but there was a trace of exhaustion in his words.
The plan was good, but for some reason, Mikaela found it rather speechless. Had Emiya Kiritsugu become a little obsessed?
They had merely mentioned that Waver and his Servant were not simple, yet he had immediately let his imagination run wild and decided that Kayneth and Waver had colluded, intending for master and disciple to seize victory in this Holy Grail War together.
"That's right." Emiya Kiritsugu nodded.
"Fine..."
Now that things had reached this point, what else could Mikaela say? Should he explain to Emiya Kiritsugu that their relationship was not as good as he imagined?
My wife~.jpg
"Even the Demon King Needs Some Sugar"
Synopsis
Many years later, faced with endless blooming cherry blossoms, faced with a brightly lit city, faced with the cheers and cries of countless citizens,
The white-haired, red-eyed Demon King seated upon the throne once again recalled
That distant afternoon when, as a young man, he confessed to the girl he loved...
Before you continue