The Einzbern Family's Problem

Mo Li nodded when he heard that. "All right, Lancelot, come out and spar with Sir Diarmuid. This is a battle of honor between knights. Take it outside—don't blow up my warehouse."

"At your command, my lord." Lancelot appeared and stepped in front of Diarmuid. "Come. We'll fight outside."

"Fine." Diarmuid had come specifically to seek a challenge, so naturally, he had no objections.

The two began fighting as soon as they reached the outside.

Compared to the tragic ending in the original story, Mo Li's intervention had truly helped Diarmuid immensely. The Lancer's eventual suicide had been nothing short of tragic.

But now, Diarmuid's wish for an honorable battle had been fulfilled. Kayneth and his wife had not come for the Holy Grail in the first place; they had only wanted victory to prove themselves.

After Mo Li resolved the issue between Kayneth and Sola, Kayneth no longer needed to force a victory. He had sought victory from the start only to prove himself to Sola, and now that there was no longer anything to prove, he naturally cared far less about the Holy Grail War.

Before long, Diarmuid was defeated. He was indeed powerful, but against Lancelot? Forget a sane Lancelot—even an irrational one might have been beyond his ability to defeat.

"One win, one loss, and two draws..." Diarmuid wore a helpless expression. "I can't exactly challenge that little girl, can I? She doesn't look like she can fight."

Leaning on his sword, Lancelot said, "She truly is unlike us. So what is your decision?"

Diarmuid said, "I will rest for one night, then face that King of Heroes with my full strength."

Lancelot said, "Good luck."

"Thank you. I'm leaving." Diarmuid departed.

Inside the warehouse.

Ritsuka Fujimaru looked at the pile of strange things. "Senpai, what are these pieces and materials?"

Aside from the lack of Craft Essences, the materials that had appeared in the FZ collaboration event were present here in double quantity. Half of them were resources Zouken Matou had prepared for the Holy Grail War.

Mo Li said, "Some were prepared by us, while the rest were bought from Kayneth. You'll need their help to resolve the problem. Mash, how do you strengthen Servants? There are Ember cards here. Use them so I can see."

"Huh? All right!" Mash had no objections. She walked over to the pile of Embers, set down her shield, then placed all the Embers sealed within cards into it and activated the enhancement.

The Embers turned into vast amounts of pure magical energy that Mash absorbed, flickering with a soft glow.

Before long, Mash said, "Senpai, I've already strengthened myself to the limit I can currently withstand."

"Mm, that's enough. Continue transferring the items." Mo Li nodded. He had already understood.

"Oh? You're challenging that King of Heroes tomorrow?" At the hotel, Kayneth heard his Servant's request.

Diarmuid said, "Yes, my lord. I have already challenged Lancelot. He was indeed extremely powerful, and I was defeated. The only suitable opponent left to challenge is that King of Heroes."

Kayneth said, "In consideration of your victory over Iskandar, get some proper rest and go. If you have a chance of winning, I'll use a Command Spell to strengthen you. If not, I'll summon you back."

"Thank you for your understanding, my lord!"

After the materials had been transferred, Mo Li and his group arrived at the Einzbern Family's castle.

Irisviel said to Mo Li worriedly, "Illya's safety is in your hands."

Mo Li said, "Mm. We came here to resolve the Lesser Grail issue within Illya in the first place. Medea, go see Illya."

"All right." Medea nodded, then headed toward Illya's room.

Mo Li looked at Kiritsugu Emiya. "Kiritsugu Emiya, you should be ready to resolve the problem with your wife as well, right? The Servants are still in the challenge stage, and it hasn't reached the point of a life-or-death struggle yet. But it won't be long."

With both hands in his pockets, Kiritsugu said somewhat wistfully, "Mm... Once Illya's problem is resolved, it'll naturally be Irisviel's turn. I just hope everything goes smoothly."

Kiritsugu did not know how long his wife and daughter would live after their problems were resolved. That was the biggest concern.

Mo Li was also helpless regarding Kiritsugu's family. Even if Kiritsugu could be saved, Irisviel and Illya might not necessarily have a good ending, considering they were Lesser Grails.

Artoria looked at Mash. "You've become stronger?"

"Huh? Yes!" Mash immediately replied.

Artoria said, "Then let's test it. Go to the courtyard and let's see how much stronger you've become."

"All right."

The group went to the courtyard, where Mash and Artoria clashed once more in the field.

Standing beside Mo Li, Kiritsugu said, "Do you think the Grail can restore their normal lifespans?"

Mo Li said, "It can. Something as simple as extending a lifespan is within the capabilities of the Third Magic Heaven's Feel. Their bodies are merely damaged; their souls have not become the Grail. So long as their bodies are restored to normal, it will be enough. That is much easier than your wish to bring peace to the world."

"I see..." Kiritsugu nodded and said nothing further.

Irisviel then asked, "Can we really regain normal lifespans?"

"Well, of course you can. The reason you and Illya cannot live long is because you became Lesser Grails. The Einzbern Family's homunculi have lifespans far beyond those of humans; they were designed from the very beginning to pursue immortality. As long as something like the Lesser Grail no longer affects you, you can live for a very long time."

Mo Li paused, then glanced at Kiritsugu. "You should be able to outlive Kiritsugu Emiya, in fact. The Holy Grail War normally occurs once every sixty years. Even accounting for unforeseen circumstances, you should be guaranteed to live at least seventy years. After all, you were Lesser Grails designed for the Holy Grail War, so you mother and daughter must have particularly long lifespans among humans. Under normal circumstances, you would never die young."

Even if Kiritsugu had not been affected by All the World's Evil, he probably would not have lived very long.

Mo Li actually had other methods available, such as asking Touko Aozaki to make puppet bodies, or simply buying them from the Mage's Association.

If all else failed, he could get Kiritsugu a puppet body too?

After hearing Mo Li's explanation, Irisviel nodded in understanding.

Mo Li said, "Kiritsugu Emiya, your physical condition probably isn't very good either, is it? If you want to grow old with your wife and daughter, you should at least consider your own body as well. I already told you—the limitation on a Grail wish is the amount of magical energy available, not who makes the wish."

"My body...?" Kiritsugu Emiya froze for a moment. Avalon was currently within him; while it could not fully repair his body, it had still benefited him greatly.

Suddenly, Mo Li's phone rang. He took it out and glanced at it. It was the old head of the Einzbern Family, so he answered and put it on speaker. "What is it, Yubstach? After the Holy Grail War ends, Kiritsugu Emiya and the others will bring the evidence to the Einzbern Family."

The people beside him turned to look at Mo Li. Kiritsugu Emiya did not understand why the old family head was calling Mo Li at this time.

The old family head, Yubstach, said, "From the very beginning, you were not Matou Zouken, nor were you our ancient ally himself, correct?"

Mo Li did not hide it in the slightest. "That's right. From the very beginning, I was not him. Strictly speaking, I am merely a Huaxia person who inherited the entire legacy of the Matou Family."

This matter was fundamentally unimportant. In the face of interests, what did it matter if he was not? So long as Mo Li continued to uphold the ancient covenant and seek benefits for the Three Great Families, then he was the ally himself.

Yubstach laughed. "Heh, a Huaxia person? No wonder you opposed the country over there and informed us of such important information. As long as you continue to honor the covenant, you are the new generation of the Three Great Families. I am very glad to have an ally like you. If it were that fellow Matou Zouken, he would never care about something this important."

Mo Li asked, "Mm, then what did you want from me, Yubstach?"

Yubstach asked, "There is something I wish to know, Mr. Mo Li. Do you know what my Einzbern Family is truly pursuing?"

Mo Li said, "The Third Magic wielder. That is why you are so desperate to complete the Third Magic Heaven's Feel and recreate that person's miracle. The most convenient and quickest method is the same as that of the Matou Family and the Tohsaka Estate: directly enter the Root and attempt to connect with it. Whether it is finding the Third Magic wielder or using the Third Magic, both would become effortless. Whether you inherit the Third Magic wielder's legacy, find that person, or simply complete the Third Magic Heaven's Feel, any of those would do. That is what your Einzbern Family pursues."

Yubstach said, "...I never expected you to know the Einzbern Family so well."

Mo Li said, "Because of certain matters, I know rather more than most."

Yubstach said, "Then this will be easy. Do you know that the Einzbern Family has a tremendous problem?"

Mo Li said, "A tremendous problem? Let me think... Ah, I have it. You mean that if the Einzbern Family loses the Fifth Holy Grail War as well, it will abandon the Holy Grail, shut down every member, and perish as a family, correct?"

The moment those words were spoken, not only Yubstach on the other end, but also the spectators beside him—even Irisviel—were stunned.

Yubstach did not know how Mo Li had learned the Einzbern Family's greatest secret. Irisviel had never imagined that her family had such a terrifying problem. Ritsuka Fujimaru was simply dumbfounded. He had never imagined there could be a family that existed specifically for the Holy Grail War, one that would be wiped out if it failed to achieve victory. What kind of absurd situation was that?

After the Fifth Holy Grail War, the Einzbern Family would give up. Without a victory, that was the inevitable outcome. Moreover, because all of the Three Great Families had become useless, and Matou Zouken himself had the ability to start anew and create a Holy Grail, there was no need to concern himself with the original Greater Grail system.

As a result, not long after the Fifth Holy Grail War, Fuyuki's Greater Grail was dismantled.