Fuyuki City, Enzouzan.
As everyone knew, the Holy Grail War was conducted "in secret."
Yet at two in the afternoon, along the winding mountain road, teams of cat fairies in hard hats and work uniforms marched brazenly down the roadside, carrying stepladders, toolboxes, and other construction supplies while chanting amusing work songs.
Whenever they reached a designated spot, the cats stopped and set to work with a clatter, expertly putting up roadwork signs, installing barriers, repainting the course, and hanging banners.
Pedestrians and vehicles were still passing along the road.
Strangely, however, they turned a blind eye to this bizarre spectacle, as though it were perfectly ordinary. They calmly continued walking and driving, following the directions of the feline traffic marshals waving their arms and flags, leaving the course to make room for the upcoming Holy Grail race.
At the starting line of the Mountain Roads course, the mountainside stands were already packed with cats, their chattering arguments never letting up.
The heroic spirits and Masters had also arrived early.
Dressed in a sizzling red racing suit and sunglasses, Rin Tohsaka glanced at the vehicles leaving the Mountain Roads in orderly fashion, then sidled up to Samael, poked the ancient serpent in the ribs, and asked curiously.
"Hey, did you cast mass suggestion on all of them? How did you manage it over such a huge area?"
The human mind was a strange and varied thing, and everyone's willpower differed. Giving similar instructions simultaneously to pedestrians scattered across the entire Mountain Roads would have been absurdly difficult.
Watching the racecourse approach completion according to plan, Samael gave a mysterious smile, his gaze lingering meaningfully on a certain spot.
"Strictly speaking, it isn't mental suggestion. We're adding new common sense to their minds..."
Following Samael's gaze, Rin Tohsaka took a few