"What... does that mean?"
Shirou Emiya had a vague feeling that he was about to hear something bad.
"This has to do with the underlying workings of the Holy Grail War."
A familiar voice came from beside the door.
"Shinji...? You were here?"
Shirou Emiya greeted Matou Shinji with a bewildered look.
"There were some things I was curious about, so I came on my own. Illya and the ancestor have already gone back."
"Before coming here, I spoke with Sister Jie. I more or less know what happened."
He walked into the room, poked his head outside to check the hallway, then pulled back in after confirming no one was there and shut the door.
"Shirou, I should have told you before about how the three families worked together to construct the Grail system and the Greater Grail."
Sitting at the side of the table, Matou Shinji tapped on it.
"Mr. Anno, may I be the one to tell Shirou about this?"
"You tell him."
Anno nodded, showing no objection.
"As one of the descendants of the three families that built the Grail system, you have the most right to tell Shirou all of this. And you are also the most qualified to bring it all to an end."
"...Yeah."
After a moment of silence, Shinji gave a helpless smile and sighed softly.
What Anno said was true.
He had the right to tell everyone everything, and he was qualified to put an end to it all—or rather, he had the responsibility to put an end to it.
"The system constructed by the three families is collectively called the [Greater Grail]. The Greater Grail draws magical energy from Fuyuki City's Leyline, accumulating power for the Grail's eventual manifestation."
"But that is only the internal side of it."
Shinji looked