"News already?"
After returning home, asking his younger sister whether Hinako Akuta had come to attack with Rider, then eating, bathing, doing yoga, and putting on a face mask as usual, Matou Shinji had been ready to go to bed when those moles sent him a message.
They had found the road leading to the Great Cavern—more or less.
Matou Shinji stared at the face mask he had just tossed into the trash and fell into deep thought.
So, should he head out now?
"Sister-in-law, what should we do next?"
"You're not still thinking of attacking Caster's stronghold, are you?"
Xiang An lay in the courtyard, bored out of his mind as he asked Hinako Akuta.
"If Uncle's Master were in this situation, what would Uncle do?"
"What if you stopped treating this as a Holy Grail War? Remove the 'Holy Grail' from it and simply regard it as a war—what would you do then?"
Hinako Akuta sat beside him and glanced at Xiang An, who was swinging his legs.
"Sister-in-law, this isn't the same as war."
Xiang An curled his lips.
"If we compare factions to nations, then the three strongest powers at present are Sister-in-law and me, Shirou and Saber, and Illya and Berserker."
"Caster and Matou may not be powerful, but they seem to possess natural defenses, allowing them to advance or retreat freely."
"As for Lancer and Archer, they're nothing but rabble."
Xiang An waved his hand dismissively.
It was not that he looked down on Lancer and Archer that much, but the capabilities displayed by those two Servants in this Holy Grail War were visibly lacking.
"Sister-in-law and Shirou are on bad terms, but honestly, it won't necessarily lead to conflict. Still, both our sides share a common enemy: Berserker. Yet Saber and Caster are