Cards of Fate Chapter 8

"It's quite good." Kotomine Kirei seemed to recall his father's evaluation of Mikaela, and he said without reservation, "My father judged that Servant as someone with a good way with words and extremely quick reactions. Her intuition also seems very sharp; it's as if she's already discovered what we've been hiding."

"Oh? Is that so? But if it's just relying on words, then victory in this Holy Grail War will surely be mine." Tohno Shiro's voice was filled with confidence.

He had no idea how he would lose! With such a good disciple assisting him, and arguably the strongest Servant in this Holy Grail War!

"Yes, Teacher." Kotomine Kirei agreed.

Chapter 18 A Truly Excellent Suggestion

Tonight's battle had clearly come to a temporary close. Although the fight had drawn considerable attention, Mikaela couldn't have cared less.

He had already done everything he needed to do to perfection, whether it was hiding his combat strength or revealing some trivial information.

Mikaela and Irisviel arrived at the Einzbern family's stronghold in Fuyuki City. Emiya Kiritsugu and his assistant, Maiya Hisau, had already been waiting for a long time.

"You performed very well tonight."

As the two walked into the conference room, Emiya Kiritsugu first complimented Mikaela, then pointed to the hamburgers on the table and said plainly, "This is dinner. Do you want some?"

"No need. Rather than hamburgers, I believe you need to eat healthily and nutritiously." Mikaela didn't even look at the hamburgers, tossing one into the trash. He looked calmly at Emiya Kiritsugu and said, "I should have told you that in any war, your body is your capital."

"That's right," Maiya Hisau agreed.

"Kiritsugu, don't eat that stuff." Irisviel also began to scold Emiya Kiritsugu, wondering why he was eating such junk food as soon as they arrived in the city. Was it just because it was convenient?

Emiya Kiritsugu's expression seemed to twitch slightly, but he didn't retort, as he himself knew that hamburgers weren't really good for one's health.

It was just that they were high in calories, tasted good, and were convenient to buy, which was why Emiya Kiritsugu had chosen hamburgers for his meal.

"Shall we analyze the current intelligence?" Mikaela stood behind Irisviel, looking at Emiya Kiritsugu and said calmly, "During tonight's battle, I clearly felt several gazes. If nothing unexpected happens, my 'combat power' has already been discovered by the various families."

"Mm." Emiya Kiritsugu seemed about to light a cigarette, but under the gaze of Irisviel and Maiya Hisau, he threw the unlit cigarette into the trash. He looked calmly at Mikaela and said, "If you only display this level of combat power, then 'you' are not much of a threat."

"That's right," Mikaela nodded. The combat power he had displayed so far, not counting the Assassin, was probably the weakest among the Riders in the eyes of others.

"If the heroes let their guard down simply because of this, then the Holy Grail War will be much easier to win."

Emiya Kiritsugu didn't believe that the information Mikaela had revealed so far was enough to make those Servants lower their guard. After all, anyone with eyes could see that Mikaela still had a trump card hidden.

"For the first battle, you can't reveal everything at once. What if you reveal the 'second Noble Phantasm'?"

Mikaela crushed a card, and a large Japanese sword appeared in his hand. He calmly looked at Emiya Kiritsugu and said, "If I do that, they'll probably think I'm at my wit's end. If I don't unleash my true strength, I won't be able to win this battle."

"You must face a 'powerful' enemy before you can reveal your 'second Noble Phantasm'."

When it came to 'deception,' Emiya Kiritsugu was naturally very experienced. He looked at Mikaela calmly and said, "If you were to bring out your 'second Noble Phantasm' right away, they would definitely suspect that your strength is more than that."

"Only when facing a 'strong enemy' can you unleash your 'true' power, and then narrowly defeat them, while appearing to be heavily injured yourself."

At this point, Emiya Kiritsugu and Mikaela shared a knowing smile. They both knew what the other was thinking, but they also knew that such 'teammates' were good teammates.

Emiya Kiritsugu needed Mikaela's strength and restraint.

Mikaela, on the other hand, needed Emiya Kiritsugu's spirit of sacrificing the individual for the greater good.

"However, your intelligence is indeed accurate." After discussing Mikaela's problem, Emiya Kiritsugu glanced at Maiya Hisau, signaling her to speak.

Maiya Hisau was Emiya Kiritsugu's right-hand woman. With a single look from him, she knew what needed to be done. She looked at Mikaela and Irisviel and said quite seriously, "When we were preparing to kill Lancer's Master, we discovered the Assassin."

"He was like a viper. If we hadn't scouted the vantage point overlooking the abandoned factory beforehand, we probably wouldn't have found him."

Servants were terrifying. Even a single clone of the Assassin gave Maiya Hisau a strong sense of crisis, like an unarmed human encountering a leopard in the wild.

Having experienced battles of life and death, Maiya Hisau knew very well that the Assassin possessed the power to kill her easily. However, the Assassin's attention was focused on the battle between Mikaela and Lancer, and he wasn't paying attention to their situation.

Otherwise, the situation would have become extremely dire.

"Did you take pictures?" Mikaela suddenly asked, which made both Emiya Kiritsugu and Maiya Hisau freeze. Even Irisviel was wondering why they would 'take pictures.'

"If it's just for evidence, then there's no need to take pictures. Because as long as he insists that the Assassin has been eliminated, then unless we capture a live Assassin, this 'evidence' won't be of much use," Emiya Kiritsugu shook his head. Although he was momentarily stunned, he quickly understood what Mikaela was thinking.

Undoubtedly, it was to take a picture of the Assassin and hand it over to the Church, to show that old priest that this was what he meant by 'eliminated.'

"No, it's not to show him, but to show Tohno Shiro."

Mikaela said calmly, "The Servant in Tohno Shiro's hands is definitely the strongest existence in this Holy Grail War. We'll use the information about the Assassin as bait to lure him out, and then..."

"Oh?"

Emiya Kiritsugu's eyes lit up. He hadn't thought of using such an information gap to kill other Masters participating in the Holy Grail War.

That's right, the Servant who killed the Assassin was Tohno Shiro's Archer.

If they pretended not to know about the dealings between Tohno Shiro and the Church, and secretly invited him out, then he would have no reason to refuse.

Because Emiya Kiritsugu knew very well that apart from yearning for the 'Root,' the second thing magicians valued was face and etiquette. According to the intelligence he had obtained, Tohno Shiro perfectly fit the description of an 'idiotic magician.'

"What a... excellent suggestion."

My wife~.jpg

Chapter 19 Will He Fall for It?

After sharing the intelligence, Mikaela went out to buy some fresh vegetables and meat, and then made a rather sumptuous dinner for Emiya Kiritsugu and the others.

"Is it Chinese food today?" Emiya Kiritsugu looked at the dishes on the table, his expression somewhat surprised.

"Yes."

Mikaela served the last dish, watching Emiya Kiritsugu's surprised expression and calmly stating, "While I can make Western food, changing things up sometimes can easily increase enjoyment."

"Oh!! Everything looks delicious," Irisviel's eyes sparkled, clearly impatient.

"Airi, can you use chopsticks?" Emiya Kiritsugu suddenly thought of something and asked Irisviel.

"Hmph hmph hmph! I am an artificial human of the Einzbern family, so I've naturally learned common knowledge. Chinese chopsticks are naturally a skill I must master." Irisviel, as if showing off, picked up the chopsticks Mikaela handed her.

"That's good," Emiya Kiritsugu seemed relieved. He hadn't forgotten his own awkwardness the first time he tried to use chopsticks.

"..." Maiya Hisau remained silent, because she couldn't use chopsticks.

"Here, a spoon."

Mikaela walked over to Maiya Hisau, unconcerned that she was Emiya Kiritsugu's 'lover', and handed her a silver spoon.

"No, I've already eaten." Maiya Hisau refused. Before Mikaela and Irisviel arrived, she and Emiya Kiritsugu had already eaten a hamburger.

"Just drink the soup. The dishes can be for the Lady and the Master."

Mikaela forcibly handed the spoon to Maiya Hisau. Even the most trash-tier Servant's strength was about ten times that of an ordinary person. Maiya Hisau couldn't resist as he placed the spoon in her hand.

"Sit down and eat, Aira-chan too. You've worked hard all day, let's all sit down and eat," Irisviel also invited Maiya Hisau to sit down and eat, and at the same time, called Mikaela to sit beside her.

"Yes."

Mikaela didn't object. Although he was a Servant and didn't need to eat, since Irisviel had invited him, he wouldn't be pretentious.

Maiya Hisau glanced at Emiya Kiritsugu, unsure of what she should do. The Lady had spoken... should she sit or not?

"Let's eat."

Seeing Maiya Hisau's slightly troubled gaze, Emiya Kiritsugu seemed to want to laugh but held back.

He hadn't expected that Maiya Hisau, who had always given him a sense of security, would show such an expression now. It seemed she wasn't good at dealing with Airi.

"Understood." Seeing Emiya Kiritsugu give the order, Maiya Hisau could only obey unconditionally. She held the spoon, seemingly contemplating how to 'eat the dishes' with it.

"Here, Maiya, I'll help you." The warm-hearted Irisviel immediately noticed Maiya Hisau's awkwardness. She quickly stood up, picked up a nearby bowl, and served Maiya Hisau a bowl of chicken soup.

"Mmm..."

Maiya Hisau looked at Irisviel's sincere expression. She hadn't expected that she, who was merely a tool, would receive concern from the Lady. She slowly reached out and took the chicken soup, her expression calm. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. When I'm not by Kiritsugu's side, I'm counting on you to protect him," Irisviel said with a sun-like smile.

For a moment, Mikaela looked at Emiya Kiritsugu with 'disdain'.

"..." Emiya Kiritsugu drank the chicken soup, pretending not to see Mikaela's gaze. In reality, he knew exactly what Mikaela was 'disdainful' about.

After the meal, the four rested. Mikaela began to clear the bowls, chopsticks, and plates.

"Shall we invite Tohno Shiro out? That guy is not easy to deal with." Walking outside, Emiya Kiritsugu lit a cigarette, looking at the bright moon in the sky, lost in thought for a moment.

Although Mikaela and Emiya Kiritsugu had outwardly called Tohno Shiro an idiot, plans were always just plans, and implementing them would surely bring a host of troubles.

"We must find a reason he can't refuse to leave his mansion, which is covered in magical barriers."

Maiya Hisau leaned against the wall, looking at Emiya Kiritsugu's somewhat weathered face, and slowly said, "But just the information about the Assassin is only enough to confirm that we can lure him out for a conversation. If we want to kill him completely, we must set up conditions that are very advantageous to us."

"That's right." Emiya Kiritsugu smoked, lost in thought. Currently, there were three Masters.

One was Kotomine Kirei, whose location was confirmed. Another was Kayneth, staying in a high-class hotel. The last was Tohno Shiro, residing in his own mansion.

Logic told Emiya Kiritsugu to prioritize assassinating Kotomine Kirei. Once he was dead, the Assassin would truly 'retreat'.

But reality told Emiya Kiritsugu that if he prioritized assassinating Kotomine Kirei, he might be surrounded by others.

This was a war. Even if intelligent people knew the Assassin hadn't retreated, if someone preemptively killed Kotomine Kirei, the Church would absolutely not let it go. They would surely use their 'neutral' status to have other Servants unite and attack Emiya Kiritsugu.

That supervisor, who had a child late in life, cherished his son dearly. Therefore, Kotomine Kirei could not be killed unless absolutely necessary, unless their side presented conclusive evidence.

Or unless Kotomine Kirei himself was foolish enough to leave the Church's protection and venture outside.

"So, for now, we can only pretend to know nothing and communicate with Tohno Shiro?" Emiya Kiritsugu extinguished his cigarette, seemingly dissatisfied with the current situation.

"No, I have a way to lure Tohno Shiro out." At this moment, Mikaela walked over, having apparently finished washing the dishes.

"Oh? What way?"

Emiya Kiritsugu looked at Mikaela with some curiosity, not understanding what method he had thought of.

"According to the intelligence, Tohno Shiro has two daughters, both with extraordinary talent in magic," Mikaela said slowly. "However, since the Crests of magical families are generally passed down to only one heir, the elder daughter, Rin Tohsaka, became the heir of the Tohsaka family. The other was adopted by the Matou family."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Emiya Kiritsugu was a little confused, not understanding Mikaela's plan.

"Do you remember the magic of the Matou family from five hundred years ago?" Mikaela asked Emiya Kiritsugu calmly.

"It seems to be Butterfly Magic, but the Matou family's magic has declined now, changing from Butterfly Magic to Bug Magic." Using the Einzbern intelligence network, Emiya Kiritsugu had thoroughly investigated everyone participating in this Holy Grail War, including the Matou family, one of the Three Great Families.

"That's right... However, Tohno Shiro doesn't seem to know this."

Mikaela narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Therefore, as fellow members of the Three Great Families, we should proactively propose cooperation and also intentionally or unintentionally leak the information about 'Bug Magic' to Tohno Shiro."

"Even if he knows, what then?" Emiya Kiritsugu felt that mages were cold-blooded and heartless beings. How could Tohno Shiro actively seek trouble with the Matou family for his own daughter?

Moreover, he was the one who had given his daughter away.

"He is a father."

"A Likely Ultraman"

Synopsis: Ultramen are not gods, and there are many things they cannot change or undo.

Therefore, this is destined to be just a story of a less-than-brilliant hero growing up, getting stronger, and then defeating evil one by one.

In short, it's probably a story about an Ultraman.

PS: The initial world has an original worldview, and later it will connect to the Ultraman worldview.

(This story is purely fictional; any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental—Hideki Go.JPG)

Chapter 20: Preparing for a Meeting

The next morning, Tohno Shiro, having just finished breakfast, sat on the sofa and pondered over the "mail" delivered that morning.

This letter was ghostwritten by Mikaela, but nominally it was "sent" by the Einzbern family, one of the Three Great Families.

It was a "friendly" exchange letter, essentially stating that outsiders had appeared in the Holy Grail War that originally belonged to their Three Great Families, and among them was even a Lord from the Clock Tower. Clearly, things had exceeded their expectations, so it was necessary for both sides to meet and share intelligence.

"..."

Tohno Shiro fell into thought as he read the letter. He could feel the sincerity in the handwriting. It seemed that after fighting the Servant of the Clock Tower Lord last night, the Einzbern family must have encountered some pressure, which was why they wanted to share information with him.

"As expected, Kirei was right. The Servant summoned by the Einzbern family likely has excellent negotiation skills, but... their martial prowess seems a bit lacking." Tohno Shiro smiled elegantly, clearly welcoming the arrival of this letter.

The letter mentioned that they hoped to meet Tohno Shiro at a coffee shop that noon, and the Einzbern family would provide him with some very rare intelligence.

However, it was still early, and Tohno Shiro had no intention of rushing to the meeting. While he welcomed the letter, he wasn't foolish enough to form an alliance without any precautions.

"I should share this rare intelligence with Kirei."

Tohno Shiro casually placed the letter aside, then picked up his magic staff and walked into the basement.