A Chance Encounter with Kayneth / Something Like That Can Happen?!

After Tohno Shiro left, a golden light flashed. Gilgamesh, dressed in casual clothes, picked up the letter and read the handwriting with his red eyes. Then, a meaningful smile curled across his lips.

"Clownish tricks."

Gilgamesh tossed the letter onto the table. Watching Tohno Shiro's departing back, his smile did not fade as he said, "Still, if the clown's tricks can make that pretentious fellow reveal some genuine emotion, then perhaps it won't be so bad."

With that, Gilgamesh turned into golden particles and vanished from the room.

"Teacher, you said someone from the Einzbern family invited you to meet with them?" In the Holy Church's basement, Kotomine Kirei looked at the phonograph, visibly surprised.

That wasn't right. Hadn't that Servant invited him earlier? Why had they invited his teacher again the very next day?

"That's right. It seems the Clock Tower Lord has put considerable pressure on the Einzbern family. That homunculus apparently doesn't want things to continue like this, so she sent me a letter this morning, hoping to arrange a meeting."

As he spoke, Tohno Shiro could no longer suppress his smile. Sure enough, victory in this Holy Grail War could belong to none but him!!

Tohno Shiro did not care about the information the Einzbern family mentioned. What he cared about was the Einzbern family's attitude. Judging from previous Holy Grail Wars, the Einzbern family was utterly insane.

Their desire for the Holy Grail drove them to do anything! In the previous Holy Grail War, they had even summoned an **Avenger-class Servant!!

Fortunately, that **Avenger-class Servant had been far too weak and was easily slain by another Servant.

This intelligence had been given to Tohno Shiro by the previous Holy Grail War's overseer, who was also the overseer of this Holy Grail War—Risei Kotomine.

He had sternly warned Tohno Shiro to be cautious of the Einzbern family, because heaven knew what kind of Servant they might bring forth this time.

Yet now, the consistently domineering Einzbern family had actually yielded. On their second day in Fuyuki City, they had proactively contacted Tohno Shiro, hoping to hold an information-sharing meeting in the name of the Three Great Families.

How could Tohno Shiro possibly not be pleased?!

"A meeting? Teacher, why do you think they want to meet you?" Kotomine Kirei was puzzled. He felt his teacher did not seem to have anything worth exploiting.

"Probably because of Assassin."

Tohno Shiro was no fool. After reading the letter, he roughly understood why Einzbern wanted to speak with him today rather than immediately upon arriving yesterday, or even earlier.

That was because they had noticed the supposedly eliminated Assassin as soon as they arrived yesterday. Then, while preparing to return to their residence, they encountered the Clock Tower Lord's Servant.

After a battle, the Einzbern family's Servant realized she was no match for Lancer, so she used a "despicable" method to attack Lancer's Master and escape his assault.

"They probably want to use Assassin's situation as leverage to exchange information with me, perhaps even form an alliance." As Tohno Shiro spoke, he felt for the first time that taking Kotomine Kirei as his disciple had truly been an excellent choice!

"I see. They want to use the fact that Assassin has not been eliminated as bargaining material and form an alliance with you, Teacher. It is indeed a wise move. Gilgamesh revealed part of his strength earlier, so from their perspective, an alliance with you might allow them to use Gilgamesh to clear out the other powerful Servants... And if they encounter an enemy capable of rivaling Gilgamesh, then they can act from behind the scenes..."

Kotomine Kirei stopped there. Some things only needed to be understood in their hearts. Saying them aloud would make them less interesting.

"Exactly. It is a plan to set the tiger against the wolf. This idea was likely devised by the Einzbern family's Servant. She understands her own strengths and weaknesses well, so allying with us is a decision born of necessity." Tohno Shiro was pleased that Kotomine Kirei had thought so far ahead, while also praising the Einzbern family for summoning such a fine Servant.

"Then, Teacher, should I have Assassin protect you in secret?"

After hearing Tohno Shiro's words, Kotomine Kirei understood that his teacher would definitely be meeting the Einzbern family at noon today.

"No. I will have Gilgamesh accompany me, under the pretext of 'experiencing the lives of the common people.'"

"Understood."

With that, Kotomine Kirei had nothing further to say.

Still... Kotomine Kirei lightly clenched his fist, revealing that his heart was not entirely calm. He desperately wanted to know whether it would be the homunculus or Emiya Kiritsugu speaking with his teacher last night.

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A Chance Encounter with Kayneth

"Aila-chan, will this really be all right?"

At noon, Irisviel looked uneasily at Mikaela beside her. For today's operation, they had split into two groups. Emiya Kiritsugu and Maiya Hisau had gone to investigate the whereabouts of the other Masters.

Emiya Kiritsugu and Maiya Hisau had not formally appeared yet, so basically no one would pay attention to their side. Everyone would only be watching Mikaela and Irisviel.

Right now, Mikaela and Irisviel were sitting in an upscale café according to plan, quietly waiting for Tohno Shiro to arrive.

However...

Mikaela discreetly glanced at Kayneth, who was elegantly drinking coffee nearby, and felt helpless. Why was he here too?

"It's fine. It's daytime; night hasn't fallen yet." Mikaela told Irisviel not to panic, because Kayneth was unlike Emiya Kiritsugu, the sort who would kill at the slightest disagreement.

He was a very civilized man. Since he had come to participate in this rural magus war, then as a Clock Tower Lord, he naturally had to display proper decorum. Kayneth would definitely not attack others in broad daylight.

"As a homunculus of the Einzbern family, don't you even know how to greet someone?"

Kayneth snapped his fingers, and an invisible Magic Barrier spread through the area, driving away the ordinary people around them.

"My Lord."

Seeing Kayneth activate the Magic Barrier, Diarmuid, who had fought Mikaela last night, canceled his spiritual form and appeared beside Kayneth. He stared at Mikaela with clear hostility.

Mikaela stepped forward and calmly said to Kayneth, who was savoring his coffee, "My apologies. My Master is somewhat afraid of strangers. But as a Clock Tower Lord and the current head of the Archibald family, I trust you will not take offense at such matters."

"Oh? It seems you have investigated me quite thoroughly." Kayneth set down his coffee. He was not particularly surprised that the other side knew his information. Looking calmly at Mikaela, he said indifferently, "Naturally. As head of the Archibald family, I will not take issue with a 'tool's' attitude."

In Kayneth's eyes, while the Einzbern family was formidable, Irisviel was merely a homunculus, a tool brought here to take part in the Holy Grail War.

Tools would never belong on the stage, so Kayneth had no need to care about Irisviel's attitude.

"However, your actions last night displeased me." Kayneth looked at Mikaela, his voice devoid of emotion. "You actually dared to ambush me. That alone is enough to make you deserve death ten thousand times over."

"Even ants cling to life. To escape your and your Servant's attacks successfully, I had no choice but to use such a measure." Mikaela remained utterly calm, without the slightest emotional fluctuation. "My Master is no match for you, and I am no match for Diarmuid. Therefore, fleeing was the best option."

At that moment, Mikaela was spinning a complete fabrication. Emiya Kiritsugu fighting Kayneth...

As long as it went as it had in the original story, with Kayneth dueling Emiya Kiritsugu one-on-one rather than fighting inside some Magic Workshop, the outcome would be obvious from the very beginning.

If not for avoiding exposing his strength too early, Mikaela was confident he could instantly kill Diarmuid and send him back to the Hall of Heroes.

"Heh heh heh, what an amusing joke." Kayneth wore a mocking smile. Yet despite that smile, he picked up his coffee again. The smile gradually faded as he arrogantly said, "The joke is indeed amusing, but why state something so obvious?"

That was right. Kayneth was just that arrogant. In his eyes, everything Mikaela had said was only natural!

What right did a mere homunculus have to become his opponent?

Moreover, the maid-clad girl before him had been thoroughly suppressed by Diarmuid last night. Though Kayneth sensed that she still had some hidden trump card she had not revealed.

But was Diarmuid any different? He had only used one Noble Phantasm. Before he could even use his second, she had fled in panic.

"Eh?!" Irisviel had not expected Kayneth to be so arrogant and conceited...

If she had not overheard Emiya Kiritsugu and Mikaela discussing how to kill the other Masters faster last night, Irisviel might have considered Kayneth the strongest opponent in this Holy Grail War.

"Still, even a genius like you likely needs a little assistance from the Einzbern family." Mikaela naturally knew Kayneth's temperament. Though he appeared exceedingly arrogant, his intelligence was terrifyingly high for someone called a genius.

This was evident from a certain Second's "memoirs," which showed just how clever Kayneth truly was.

"Correct. I am very interested in the information you possess." Kayneth nodded. He enjoyed speaking with intelligent people. Although this meeting was an accident, as the head of the Archibald family, he had encountered "accidents" more than once.

No matter what kind of accident it had been, he had overcome it. This time would be no different.

"It concerns Assassin, doesn't it?" Mikaela said.

"Correct. Why did you say that the eliminated Assassin is observing us in secret? Have you found any evidence?"

Kayneth nodded. He was somewhat satisfied with Mikaela's manner of speaking. Her words were direct and precise, unlike those noble magi who forced him to rely on his sharp mind to infer their meanings.

"Yes. I trust you have noticed it as well—the faint sensation of being watched that always lingers around us." Mikaela spoke utter nonsense with a straight face. He had not sensed anyone watching him.

Assassin's hiding ability was indeed extremely powerful! He had only discovered Assassin's presence by "knowing" Assassin had not died, then constantly observing his surroundings.

"At first, my Master did not notice Assassin. Even I only sensed that someone was watching me, so I investigated the places around me where someone could hide and entered spiritual form to observe the surroundings. That was how I discovered Assassin."

After laying out "everything," Mikaela immediately fell silent, indicating that there was no further information.

"Boring. Let's go, Lancer. Since we have already sampled the refreshments, it is time to return." After hearing everything, Kayneth did not even offer a word of thanks. He simply stood up, called to Diarmuid, and left.

The Magic Barrier that had driven away the surrounding crowd also dissipated.

There's Something Like That?!

A few minutes after Kayneth left, some more customers took seats around Mikaela and Irisviel.

"Honestly, Aila-chan... you are really incredible at talking." Watching Mikaela lie without changing expression, Irisviel unexpectedly felt a little admiration.

"Incredible at talking?" Mikaela shook his head. He did not feel much about it. He had merely described a "fantasy."

For example, why did most Servants not take someone like Assassin seriously? Because... their sixth sense for sensing life-threatening danger was extremely strong.

Once Assassin launched an attack, those heroes would instinctively defend themselves. If Assassin's ambush failed, he would expose himself to the heroes and have to fight those powerful heroes head-on.

Most heroes had dominated battlefields. The number of powerful enemies who had died by their hands was beyond count. Assassins capable of facing such "heroes" head-on were exceedingly rare.

So apart from gathering intelligence and assassinating Masters, Assassin was... basically useless.

Of course, that was how most people thought. Mikaela had merely spoken according to their "hearts." He personally did not believe Assassin existed only to gather intelligence and assassinate Masters.

After all... there was that old man who loved wandering around, the empress who knew a little magecraft, the sunglasses-wearing old man who loved boxing, the "Saber" from outer space, the oni who loved drinking, and so on...

If those Assassins were summoned, it was hard to say who would beat whom.

"But why was Kayneth here?" Seeing Mikaela did not want to answer, Irisviel did not press the matter further. When she had just seen Kayneth, she had been terrified.

After all, they had fought last night. If he had started fighting in public at the slightest disagreement...

Then the assassination plan her husband and Aila-chan had formulated would likely have fallen apart.

"He merely came for coffee and pastries. His purpose differs from ours." Mikaela picked up the black coffee on the table, took a small sip, and calmly said, "This is one of Fuyuki City's more famous cafés. People who 'consider themselves' nobles often come here."

"Kiritsugu and I chose this location to make Tohno Shiro think that we Einzbern had put in some effort to find such an excellent café."

"However, Kayneth's appearance was an unexpected development. Still, that is fine. At the very least, both sides have had some interaction. Next time we meet, we can propose cooperation with the great head of the Archibald family. Once we successfully form an alliance, I will wait until he lets down his guard and..."

As he spoke, a cold gleam flashed through Mikaela's eyes, leaving Irisviel unsure what to say.

They had only been in Fuyuki City for two days, yet Mikaela had already proposed "cooperation" to three Holy Grail War participants.

Yesterday, it had been Kotomine Kirei.

Today, it had been Kayneth.

Next would be Tohno Shiro!

And the purpose of cooperating with them was to kill them. Irisviel felt dizzy. She felt that Aila-chan had the wrong class. He should not be a "Saber"; he should be an Assassin.

"Irisviel, do you believe that when Tohno Shiro arrives later, he will praise our choice of location too?" Seeing Irisviel's dazed expression, Mikaela did not continue speaking.

This lady was still kind at heart. There were some things he should not say too much about. Discussing them with Emiya Kiritsugu would be enough.

"This..."

Irisviel did not know how to answer. She could only smile, indicating that she agreed with Mikaela.

More than ten minutes later, a man in a red suit approached. His expression was stern, and his entire body radiated the aura of a social elite. He spotted Mikaela and Irisviel at once, gave them an impeccable smile, and nodded to both of them.

Then he snapped his fingers. A gemstone shattered in his hand, and a Magic Barrier that drove away ordinary people was once again set up nearby.

"To find such an excellent café, I truly must say that you are worthy of being the Einzbern family's Master. Even in choosing a place to talk, your taste is so pleasantly refined." Tohno Shiro held a cane set with a ruby. Every movement he made was elegant, like a classical Western nobleman.

"You flatter me, head of the Tohsaka family." Irisviel's smile was somewhat stiff.

Aila-chan had been right. The moment Tohno Shiro arrived, he praised their choice of location.

After seeing Irisviel, Tohno Shiro looked around. When he found that everyone else had already left under "Suggestion Magic," confusion flashed through his eyes.

Emiya Kiritsugu had not come? That filthy magus killer.

Though puzzled, Tohno Shiro would not say it openly. Instead, he shifted the topic to Mikaela.

"This is your Servant?"

Irisviel nodded and looked at Tohno Shiro. "This is my Servant."

"Is that so?" Tohno Shiro turned his gaze to Mikaela. Through his Master abilities, he saw Mikaela's status parameters, and could not help smiling in delight.

In Tohno Shiro's eyes, Mikaela's parameters were far too weak!!! Just as his disciple had said, aside from her strong ability to negotiate, she was no match for ordinary Servants in any other regard.

No wonder she had hurriedly fled after exchanging only a few blows with Lancer last night!

Though delighted inside, Tohno Shiro would not openly reveal his happiness.