The Shopkeeper's Daughter / Looking for Trouble...

Shopkeeper's Daughter

After getting off wherever they happened to be, Irisviel and Mikaela began strolling through town. In reality, only Irisviel was in the mood to shop, while Mikaela vigilantly watched their surroundings.

However, to deal with men who deliberately came over to hit on them, Mikaela dispelled his spirit form in an unpopulated spot and came to Irisviel's side wearing an ordinary maid outfit.

"No!"

Seeing Irisviel eagerly wanting to visit a clothing store, Mikaela flatly refused. He absolutely would not go!

What a joke. The trauma of his mother making him change through more than fifty outfits in a row was still fresh in his mind. At a glance, he could tell exactly why Irisviel wanted to take him there!

No matter what she said, he would not go!

"Eh?! Why?!" Irisviel, who looked like an elegant noblewoman, wore an utterly disappointed expression like a little girl who had failed to receive a gift.

"There's no reason. We agreed to go to a cafe." Mikaela shook his head. He did not want to "change clothes" again. Back when he had accompanied his mother while changing outfits, they had been absolutely safe. No one could threaten them.

Even if something had happened, he had possessed more than enough strength to protect his mother.

Things were different here. Mikaela did not think he could accurately detect Assassin while "changing clothes." If the enemy attacked and killed Irisviel, he might be forced to become "Artoria" and use her mana to activate the Noble Phantasm Avalon.

That would bring Irisviel back to life, but it would likely expose his abilities.

"Fine." Seeing how cautious Mikaela was, Irisviel seemed to think of something and smiled instead. "Aila-chan, you really are like Kiritsugu. When you're serious, you're especially serious."

"No, this isn't seriousness. It's for survival... I have to win this war." Standing beside Irisviel, Mikaela's eyes flashed with determination.

He had already died in another world and had only been summoned here through a twist of fate. He was no hero, merely an ordinary undead.

An undead could survive temporarily through coincidence, but he could not continue existing forever in the unknown Hall of Heroes like Heroic Spirits could.

So no matter what, this Holy Grail War was an opportunity for Mikaela! It was also a gamble! If he won, he could live on. If he lost... then no matter what, he had to survive until the end! As long as he survived until the end, there was hope.

"Survival..." Irisviel naturally knew Mikaela's background. He had originally been a fifteen-year-old boy, but after encountering a powerful enemy, he had died from exhaustion while protecting the person most precious to him.

Now, he was not some lofty Heroic Spirit. He was an undead who had flown here from an unknown world. His wish in joining this Holy Grail War was to obtain a new body and find a way back home.

Home.

If Mikaela's wish had to be summed up, it was only those two words. He wanted to return to that world, because everyone he cared about was there.

"Hm?" Mikaela suddenly stopped walking and looked in a certain direction, his eyes flashing with an inexplicable light.

"What's wrong, Aila-chan?" Irisviel noticed that Mikaela had stopped. Following his gaze, she found a modestly sized Maid Cafe over there.

"Let's go have a cup of coffee there."

It seemed to be the first time Mikaela had proactively asked Irisviel to go somewhere for coffee.

"Huh? That's not really a cafe, is it..." Irisviel seemed conflicted. If possible, she wanted to visit a more authentic cafe rather than a Maid Cafe.

"Please." Mikaela lowered his voice and asked Irisviel a second time to take a look at the Maid Cafe.

"Mm... all right."

Since Mikaela had put it that way, Irisviel could find no reason to refuse. She nodded and led Mikaela toward the Maid Cafe.

"Welcome home, Master."

The moment they entered, the two maids at the entrance greeted Irisviel and Mikaela with sweet smiles. However, their expressions soon stiffened when they noticed Mikaela wearing a maid outfit as well.

Here to wreck the place?

For an instant, those three words flashed through both maids' minds. Wearing a maid outfit to a Maid Cafe?! No matter how they looked at it, that was clearly picking a fight.

"Eh? Master?" Irisviel was visibly surprised. Although her own household had maids who served them, she had never imagined there were people like that outside as well.

Soon, the maid responsible for greeting customers came over. She gave Irisviel and Mikaela a suspicious look, but when she saw the expensive clothes Irisviel wore, she immediately decided that Irisviel had to be the young lady of some prominent family!

A young lady like that bringing a maid along with her was perfectly normal! As for why they had come to a Maid Cafe...

They were obviously here to experience ordinary life!

After imagining all that, the maid welcoming them gave an even sweeter smile and led the two of them to an empty table.

Perhaps noticing Irisviel's nervousness, the maid smiled warmly. "Hi, Master. Is this your first time here?"

"Mhm, mhm." Irisviel nodded. She glanced to the side and saw Mikaela looking around with deep nostalgia, as though he had once worked here.

"Then..."

The maid began chatting warmly with Irisviel, and the two seemed to be having a pleasant conversation. In the end, Irisviel ordered several desserts and two cups of coffee. The maid left for the moment, thoroughly satisfied.

"Aila-chan, have you been here before?" After the maid left, Irisviel looked at Mikaela with curiosity over the emotional reaction he had shown earlier.

Ever since Mikaela had been summoned, he had maintained a capable, aloof demeanor. No matter what troublesome matter arose, it was never truly troublesome in his eyes, only a small problem that could easily be solved.

During their few days together, Emiya Kiritsugu had also given this Servant a high evaluation. It was not merely because of Mikaela's combat strength, but because the two of them could coordinate with one another.

"Yes. When I was at my wit's end, I came to a Maid Cafe. Because I was too young at the time, and also male, the shopkeeper of the Maid Cafe should not have agreed to let me work here."

"But she still took me in. And here, I met a good friend."

"Eh? What was that friend's name?" Irisviel was curious about the name of that good friend.

"Uh..." Mikaela fell into brief thought. After pondering for a moment, he said somewhat awkwardly, "I seem to have forgotten. But I know she was the shopkeeper's daughter, so basically... I called her... Shopkeeper's Daughter."

Picking a Fight

After finishing their coffee and desserts, Mikaela and Irisviel left the Maid Cafe. It had merely been a small interlude.

After that, Mikaela accompanied Irisviel around many, many places, allowing Irisviel, who had always stayed in Einzbern Castle, to see all sorts of interesting things, such as local snacks and unusual clothing.

Before they knew it, night had fallen. By then, Mikaela was ready to return with Irisviel.

"Ring, ring, ring."

Suddenly, a call came in. Irisviel was briefly startled, while Mikaela narrowed his eyes.

"Hello? Kiritsugu?" Irisviel answered the phone, apparently surprised that Emiya Kiritsugu would call at this time.

"Give the phone to him." The first thing Emiya Kiritsugu said after calling was to have Irisviel hand the phone to Mikaela, because he had something to discuss with him.

"Oh, all right. I understand."

Irisviel nodded and handed the phone to Mikaela.

"If this is about sharing intelligence, we can discuss it after we return." The moment Mikaela took the phone, before Emiya Kiritsugu could speak, he shut him down with a single sentence. He did not want to reveal his strength and trump cards too early.

Although Emiya Kiritsugu was cautious by nature, he would inevitably test Mikaela's capabilities.

Moreover, Mikaela knew very well that in his ordinary state, he could at most fight Servants on Assassin's level. If he wanted to battle the others from the Fourth Holy Grail War...

Then he had to use his "transformation" ability. Otherwise, he truly could not defeat those legendary heroes.

"No. I want to confirm something."

On the other end of the line, Emiya Kiritsugu calmly said, "You told me earlier that Assassin was secretly watching you, correct?"

"That's right. It was Assassin." Mikaela did not know what Emiya Kiritsugu was planning. After hesitating briefly, he said calmly, "Although he did not attack, I can confirm it was Assassin. I already told you that at noon."

"Assassin's Master is currently seeking the Holy Church's protection on the grounds that Assassin has 'died' and he can no longer participate in the Holy Grail War." Emiya Kiritsugu's tone remained calm. "So I need you to do something."

"...What?" Mikaela roughly guessed what Emiya Kiritsugu wanted, but he did not say it aloud. Instead, he waited for Emiya Kiritsugu to speak.

"Go to the Holy Church and test Assassin's Master. If possible, make him reveal that Assassin has not died."

Emiya Kiritsugu lit a cigarette. Taking a drag, he said seriously, "That way, the secret dealings between the Holy Church and Tohno Shiro will probably be exposed."

"You want to muddy the waters?" Mikaela understood what Emiya Kiritsugu meant.

After learning that Assassin had not died, Emiya Kiritsugu had likely concluded that Assassin's earlier "death" had only been meant to conceal Assassin in the shadows, allowing him to gather intelligence more effectively and kill Masters who believed Assassin was "dead."

"This mission does not seem to offer any benefits even if it succeeds." Mikaela analyzed the situation coolly. "Even if we muddy the waters, our side will probably be exposed even more. Master, you know my 'abilities' very well."

"I have to be like a venomous snake. Either remain motionless in the grass, or strike swiftly and land a fatal blow! Without a reasonable explanation, I will not agree to fight."

Muddying the waters was a good idea, but Emiya Kiritsugu seemed not to have considered that if Mikaela made a move, the other Masters observing the Holy Church would definitely notice something strange about him.

What a joke. This was not the Fifth Holy Grail War! The Masters from that war might not have noticed what was unusual about him, but every Master in this war was exceptionally capable.

Aside from Ryunosuke and Matou Kariya, who among the others was not an old fox? Tohno Shiro might take the blame every day, but he was still a qualified mage, and his knowledge certainly would not be inferior to anyone else's.

Not to mention the genius master and apprentice pair, Kayneth and Waver. If they saw him fighting other Servants, they would definitely become wary.

"Sometimes, exposing something is better than exposing nothing at all." Emiya Kiritsugu understood Mikaela's thoughts and knew how fixated he was on victory. He calmly said, "You have already seen Assassin. Going to the Holy Church tonight to make trouble is perfectly reasonable."

"If the Holy Church stubbornly refuses to admit it, and you force Assassin out, then no matter what, you should fight symbolically. But do not fight to the death. Revealing only a little will be enough to make the others look down on you."

At this point, Emiya Kiritsugu did not need to say anything more.

The reasoning was simple. If he remained hidden the entire time, he would easily become the focus of everyone's attention. It would be better to take the initiative and let the others see just how weak the Saber of this war was!

"Phew." Mikaela took a deep breath. He felt that Emiya Kiritsugu had a point. Perhaps he had been thinking too ideally. Continuing to hide forever was clearly impossible.

The others would likely focus on what kind of person Saber was, since it was the strongest class! Although there was supposedly no ranking between the seven classes, in theory, Servants of the Saber class possessed much higher parameters than other Servants.

If he kept hiding, someone might truly fix their sights on him.

"I understand. I was being too idealistic." Mikaela apologized. He felt that he had been too idealistic, thinking he could simply hide until the event ended.

If he were Assassin, perhaps no one would take him seriously. But his class was Saber!!

No one would ever underestimate that class, apart from certain overly confident heroes.

"Should we bring Madam along?" Mikaela asked next. If they were going to cause trouble, then Servant and Master should naturally show up together.

"Yes."

Emiya Kiritsugu responded and hung up. He had preparations to make on his end as well.

Breaking the Rules?

"Hm?" On the way to the Holy Church, Mikaela looked in a certain direction. It was already late at night, and the Holy Grail War was a war carried out in darkness.

Servants could not fight during the day. They could only fight at night, and they could not battle in crowded places.

Now, an aura that only a Servant could emit was coming from afar. In other words... someone was inviting the Servants to go over there and fight.

"An enemy Servant?" Seemingly noticing Mikaela's unusual behavior, Irisviel also understood that someone was deliberately releasing his aura to lure Servants into battle.

"Yes, but we do not need to pay attention to it." Mikaela nodded, calculating silently. If nothing unexpected happened, then the person releasing that aura tonight was Kayneth's Servant.

The legendary Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, who possessed two spears.

Among Mikaela's planned enemies, this Servant, who possessed skills and martial strength comparable to Lancelot's, was also one of the powerful opponents he would have to face next.

As they were about to reach the Holy Church, Irisviel patted her ample chest and confidently said to Mikaela, "We're almost at the Holy Church, Aila-chan. Stay hidden by my side, and I'll negotiate with them."

"Understood." Mikaela nodded. As a Servant, all he needed to do was protect Irisviel. If fighting was unnecessary...

Mikaela did not want to deliberately expose his strength, because that would be meaningless. Picking a fight too deliberately would easily make people think he was "intentionally revealing himself."

The taxi arrived at the entrance of the Holy Church. Many familiars had already noticed Irisviel and Mikaela. Although the Holy Church was neutral territory, because of Assassin's sudden death earlier, Kotomine Kirei had seemingly rehearsed it all and swiftly arrived at the Holy Church to seek its protection.

Everything had happened too quickly, causing many people to fix their attention on the Holy Church. However, this was neutral territory, and no one wanted to interfere directly. At most, they had sent familiars to monitor the place.

"Let's go." Since he was in spirit form, Mikaela had noticed the surrounding familiars as well.

The instant the other familiars saw Mikaela, they immediately fled. Only one familiar remained where it was, seemingly unafraid of him.

Of course... it had no need to be afraid, because it belonged to Emiya Kiritsugu.

"Hi~"

Irisviel nodded, then her expression turned serious. She no longer appeared as innocent and carefree as she had during the day. Instead, she carried the bearing of the head of a household as she entered the Holy Church with Mikaela.

"What a rare guest. I never expected the Master of the Einzbern family to visit the Holy Church on the very first night after arriving."

The doors opened, and an elderly priest with a sturdy physique emerged. He looked at Irisviel with a benevolent smile, a trace of surprise flashing through his eyes.

According to the intelligence gathered earlier, should she not have gone to meet Emiya Kiritsugu first? Why had she come here? Could it be... that she had discovered his dealings with the Tohsaka family?

Or had she discovered the information about Assassin faking his death?

All kinds of doubts appeared in Risei Kotomine's mind, but he did not reveal any of them. On the surface, he merely seemed puzzled as to why a participant in the Holy Grail War had made the Holy Church her first stop.

"You flatter me, Father of the Holy Church." One did not strike a smiling face, so Irisviel also gave a slight bow to show that she bore no hostility toward the Holy Church.

However, Irisviel quickly went on the offensive.

"I came today to confirm something." Irisviel carried no "friendly" aura as she stared at Risei Kotomine and asked, "On the way here, I received information saying that Assassin had already been eliminated last night, before we arrived."

"..." Risei Kotomine kept his benevolent smile and continued, "That is correct. Assassin was eliminated last night. After losing Assassin, that Master accepted the Holy Church's protection and has already gone to sleep."