The Card Servant of Type-Moon

In Emiya Kiritsugu's eyes, their threat level was even lower than Kayneth's!

If left alone, there shouldn't be any major problems, but according to Mikaela's description, these two were figures that required considerable attention.

This forced Emiya Kiritsugu to re-evaluate this naive and sweet Waver, and that "idiotic Servant" who called himself the King of Conquerors.

"Have you noticed, they're somewhat similar to us," Maiya Hisau spoke. She was a very calm woman, and also a very intelligent woman.

Otherwise, no matter how loyal someone was, if their brain didn't work, Emiya Kiritsugu wouldn't consider her his right-hand woman.

"Similar?" Emiya Kiritsugu frowned slightly, seemingly unsure how they were similar to himself and the others.

However, Emiya Kiritsugu soon seemed to understand something. He placed the photos of Waver and the King of Conquerors directly below the photo of Kotomine Kirei.

This was a dangerous threat classification. During combat, Emiya Kiritsugu needed to discern which opponent was easiest to deal with, which was easiest to kill, and which was easiest to deceive.

Intelligence was the primary factor in achieving victory in war.

Because he couldn't understand what Kotomine Kirei was trying to do at all, Emiya Kiritsugu had always given him the highest danger rating.

Now, because of Maiya Hisau's words, Emiya Kiritsugu suddenly understood that this seemingly accidental duo, who had stumbled into the Holy Grail War, was actually deeply hidden!

Their residence, they couldn't find it at all.

Their intelligence, they hadn't gathered much of it.

And what they showed to others, it couldn't help but make one think of the word 'idiot'. For example, Mikaela had told him...

If that guy named Waver was truly naive and sweet, why was he able to snatch the Holy Relic of the King of Conquerors from Kayneth? Why, as a down-on-his-luck Magus, did he have the ability to evade Kayneth's pursuit?

Kayneth was, after all, a Lord of the Clock Tower. With just a little effort, he could have intercepted Waver.

But why didn't he do so? No! Perhaps he had already done so, but someone had protected Waver!

What did this represent? Someone wanted Waver to obtain what he desired in this Holy Grail War. So, what did that person want?

In the Holy Grail War, what was the most precious thing? Wasn't the answer simple?

"I was careless," Emiya Kiritsugu felt a bead of cold sweat on his forehead. He felt like he had truly regressed.

Although the opponent's thinking seemed simple, if scrutinized carefully, one could discover many terrifying implications.

Just like how they hid the trump card 'Mikaela', the opponent might have hidden the 'trump card' Waver in the same way.

For a moment, Emiya Kiritsugu wondered if Kayneth was like Tohno Shiro!

Having his disciple act in secret while he acted openly?

PS: "Tonight, I finished watching 'Joker', and my heart is filled with complex emotions and much that moved me. How a mentally ill patient was driven to madness."

Chapter 50: A Great Enemy!

"Scheming is a great enemy."

Emiya Kiritsugu finally understood why the Einzbern family, despite having such a significant advantage, still couldn't win the Holy Grail War.

Such an enemy! It was truly hard to know what to say. Tohno Shiro had openly told everyone he was 'cheating'.

Although everyone knew it behind his back, they wouldn't say anything openly. In terms of methods, Tohno Shiro was still a bit too green. Kayneth was the truly terrifying one.

"A Lord of the Clock Tower? As expected, he can't be underestimated. If my deductions are correct, this person has likely been targeting the Holy Grail for a long time." Emiya Kiritsugu finally took out the cigarette from his pocket.

His hand, holding the cigarette, trembled slightly. Maiya Hisau didn't stop Emiya Kiritsugu, as she herself was looking at Kayneth's photo with great seriousness.

The Kayneth in the photo was full of confidence and arrogance. Every move he made displayed his 'Lord' demeanor.

"Setting up hidden pawns in advance? If that's the case, his danger level is far higher than Kotomine Kirei's." Maiya Hisau proactively reached out and placed a photo of Kayneth above Kotomine Kirei's.

Based on the current deductions, Kayneth's danger level was more terrifying than Kotomine Kirei, whose actions couldn't be predicted.

A Lord of the Clock Tower, truly terrifying! As expected, his reputation was not unfounded. If they treated them as ordinary Magus trash, they would likely be the ones to lose in the end.

"Ah, that's right. The previous plan will likely have to be temporarily canceled." Emiya Kiritsugu lit the cigarette, took a puff, and looked at Kayneth with a solemn expression. "This guy cannot be dealt with using ordinary means."

"An 'Unstable Bomb' to destroy his Magus workshop?"

Maiya Hisau naturally knew Emiya Kiritsugu's plan. Now that the Holy Grail War had begun, they were hiding in the shadows, naturally acting like mice to kill other Masters.

No matter what kind of Clock Tower genius he was, as long as his Magus workshop was destroyed, in terms of practical combat ability, Emiya Kiritsugu truly feared no one!

However, Emiya Kiritsugu hesitated now. He was considering whether, if he destroyed the opponent's Magus workshop, the opponent would become enraged and directly bring his 'disciple' to hunt down Mikaela.

Although Mikaela had said that when he went all out, instantly killing two Servants was not a problem, once a trump card was exposed, others would definitely become wary. In this Holy Grail War, the strongest enemy was the Servant held by Tohno Shiro.

That Servant was an irregular Servant. Although the battle was only for an instant, Mikaela could clearly feel how powerful that Servant was, and that ordinary Servants could not contend with him.

If, because of his actions, the Lord of the Clock Tower became enraged, they would likely face even more danger. Not to mention exposing their own trump cards, it would also destroy all the backup plans Mikaela had made, instantly pushing them into the spotlight.

"If Kayneth and Waver truly have this kind of cooperative relationship, then I'm thinking, is he openly showing himself to attract all the enemy's firepower, allowing his disciple to watch from the side, while in another hidden location, he silently sets up a Magus workshop?"

With that thought, Emiya Kiritsugu silently extinguished his cigarette. Just as Mikaela had said, cigarettes could only temporarily alleviate his anxiety and tension. Although this brought him a period of peace, in the long run, it would be better to have a romp with the two beautiful women beside him, as they didn't mind anyway.

"If it's a Magus workshop that can resist Servants, then there are only a few places in the entire Fuyuki City that can achieve this. By systematically searching them, they could find Waver's hiding place."

At this moment, both Emiya Kiritsugu and Maiya Hisau had concluded that the relationship between Kayneth and Waver was almost the same as that between Tohno Shiro and Kotomine Kirei.

They had outwardly "broken up," but in reality, both sides had been secretly helping their teacher all along.

"However, don't celebrate too soon. I heard Kayneth brought several magical energy reactors. With those reactors, he could set up a magic workshop in any factory and gain enough power to confront a Servant head-on." Emiya Kiritsugu, despite being a magus killer, understood magic very well.

As a famous saying goes, your greatest enemy is often the one who understands you best.

"This is troublesome."

Maiya Hisau closed her eyes, at a loss for how to deal with such a slippery opponent.

The only way to defeat him was to confront him directly, but according to the intel, Kayneth had only made a brief appearance on the first day and spent most of his time in the hotel.

Even when he did go out, it was just for a coffee or a stroll, appearing completely unconcerned with the Holy Grail War.

"He's truly a formidable opponent." Emiya Kiritsugu felt a significant increase in pressure. He had initially believed Kotomine Kirei was his only rival in this Holy Grail War.

He hadn't expected Kayneth to emerge, someone whose schemes and depth of character could easily deceive if one wasn't careful.

Who would have thought that a Clock Tower Lord, who openly spoke of 'countryside magus battles,' would be orchestrating so many things behind the scenes?

He had them make the first move while his disciple remained hidden in the shadows. Both of them acted with remarkable restraint, like ordinary office workers clocking in and out.

They posed no apparent threat, their schemes far more sophisticated than Tohno Shiro's.

If not for Mikaela's "reminder," Emiya Kiritsugu might have already grabbed some explosives and blown up Kayneth's magic workshop without a second thought, stripping him of his advantage before dealing with the Clock Tower Lord later.

"...Get some rest early. We can't finalize the plan tonight; we need to rethink everything. We still have too little information," Maiya Hisau offered a sensible suggestion, putting away the map.

"Information, information. I thought our intelligence gathering for this Holy Grail War was thorough, but we've still been outmaneuvered."

PS: "Here's the third update. I've also made up for the chapter I owed yesterday. I'm reorganizing my thoughts and getting back to writing."

PS: "Please give me more recommendation tickets~ Even though the author's personal life is a mess, I'll keep going. Being single is fine."

Chapter 51: Wild Ideas

The next morning, Mikaela prepared a lavish breakfast for the three of them and poured black tea, placing it on the dining table.

"It seems Mr. Tohno Shiro is getting impatient today," Emiya Kiritsugu said, eating a sandwich and looking at a letter on the table with a faint, enigmatic smile.

"That's right. He can't wait any longer. After Caster left last night, he continued to carry out several more kidnappings."

Mikaela reported the intelligence calmly.

"You went out last night?" Emiya Kiritsugu looked at Mikaela with surprise. All three of them had been asleep last night, and no one had gone to gather information.

If he guessed correctly, Mikaela must have gone out on his own initiative to gather intel.

Mikaela nodded and calmly replied, "As a Servant, I don't need to sleep, so it's necessary for me to go out and observe everyone's actions."

"Then why didn't you do this before?" Emiya Kiritsugu's surprise stemmed from Mikaela's previous reluctance to interact with Servants.

He hadn't even wanted to see them. While it could be seen as caution, in a way, it could also be described as 'cowardice.'

The battle with Diarmuid had shown how unwilling he was to fight Servants; they had only exchanged a brief glance before he fled with Irisviel.

Mikaela understood Emiya Kiritsugu's surprise. He said calmly, "Before, I didn't know how strong the Servants were, so I could avoid fighting. Now that I have a clearer understanding of my own strength, I naturally need to take the initiative to increase our chances of victory."

"Is that so?" Emiya Kiritsugu didn't say anything further after hearing this. Upon reflection, it was quite reasonable.

A normal person would undoubtedly be terrified upon learning they had to fight legendary heroes.

Although Mikaela wasn't overtly fearful, his actions had been conservative.

However, after two battles, he had gained a grasp of his own strength and that of the Servants, naturally reducing his fear of them.

Fear was inevitable. Even though Emiya Kiritsugu appeared calm, deep down, he shared Mikaela's fear of failing this Holy Grail War, which would mean the loss of his ideals and his family.

But fear or not, one had to stand up and keep moving forward. The best way to overcome fear was to face it.

Both Mikaela and Emiya Kiritsugu had achieved this. Despite their fear of failure, they continued to strive, unwilling to accept the worst possible outcome.

"Today, we're going to negotiate with Tohno Shiro," Mikaela said, sitting in his chair and looking at the letter in Emiya Kiritsugu's hand. "After the last negotiation, he probably thinks we're easy targets. However, out of consideration for the 'Magus' facade, he should treat us politely."

"Heh, facade." Emiya Kiritsugu scoffed. He knew the situation of those 'Magi' all too well. An enemy like Tohno Shiro was the easiest to deal with.

Why? Because the man was far too concerned with his reputation. Tohno Shiro had spent his life struggling, silently enduring hardships and transforming them into pride, composure, and elegance.

Although on the surface, Tohno Shiro wouldn't look down on the Einzbern family, as they were one of the 'Three Great Families' and allies against external enemies!

Even if this ally's strength in the Holy Grail War was somewhat lacking, as the saying goes, an ally with insufficient strength is a good ally.

Tohno Shiro's proactive invitation for Irisviel and Mikaela to meet had its own ulterior motives, which Emiya Kiritsugu and Mikaela were well aware of.

However, Tohno Shiro was not a high-risk individual at the moment; rather, he held significant potential for exploitation.

"However, the Caster situation really needs to be resolved soon. Playing coy won't work anymore. We need to find a way to instigate a conflict between Tohno Shiro and Kayneth," Emiya Kiritsugu said, drinking soy milk, and gave Maiya Hisau a look.

Without a word, she put down her sandwich and took out last night's map, placing it on the table.

"..." Mikaela frowned slightly but said nothing more.

In his eyes, eating was eating, and plans could wait until after the meal. However, seeing Emiya Kiritsugu's 'impatient' demeanor, he kept quiet.

"Saber, you mentioned yesterday that we needed to be wary of this person and his Servant, right?"

After opening the map, Emiya Kiritsugu pointed to photos of Waver Velvet and the King of Conquerors and asked Mikaela calmly, "When Maiya and I were talking yesterday, I felt that Kayneth was quite something."

"Quite something?" Mikaela was puzzled. He knew Kayneth was something; after all, he had removed the negative 'fiancée' buff.

In a way, the opponent could be considered the 'invincible' Master in this Holy Grail War.

"That's right, not simple," Emiya Kiritsugu nodded, relaying the results of his and Maiya Hisau's discussion from last night to Mikaela.

After listening, Mikaela appeared outwardly calm, nodding repeatedly. Inwardly, however, he sighed. If he hadn't already read the script, he probably would have truly believed Emiya Kiritsugu's words.

If Kayneth truly cared about the Holy Grail War, would he even need to stay in a hotel? He could just buy a derelict factory, set up a mana furnace, and deploy a magic barrier.

The bombs Emiya Kiritsugu bought wouldn't even be able to penetrate his magic workshop.

Cooperating with Waver? Waver at this time wasn't the future overworked genius he would become. While intelligent, he didn't have enough capability to be valued by Kayneth.

"So, you think that when my wife and I speak with Tohno Shiro today, we should intentionally or unintentionally bring up an alliance, and also mention Kayneth and Waver?" Mikaela's tone was calm, but his words revealed a hint of exhaustion.

This plan was good, but for some reason, Mikaela felt speechless. Was Emiya Kiritsugu a bit too obsessed?

They had only slightly mentioned that Waver and his Servant were not simple, and the other party's imagination had immediately run wild, thinking that Kayneth and Waver had colluded, preparing to take down the Holy Grail War victory together as master and disciple.

"That's right," Emiya Kiritsugu nodded.

"Alright then..."

With the conversation having reached this point, what else could Mikaela say? Explain to Emiya Kiritsugu that their relationship wasn't as close as he imagined?

My wife~.jpg

Even a Demon King Needs to Share Affection

Synopsis

Many years later, facing endless blooming cherry blossoms, facing the dazzling city lights, facing the cheers of countless citizens,

Seated upon his throne, the white-haired, red-eyed Demon King once again recalled,

That distant afternoon when he confessed to the girl he loved in his youth...