Roland walked along, his thoughts wandering. The familiarity born of his disciplined routine meant he could find his way to work with his eyes closed.
Today's outcome had been fairly satisfactory. Taking the risk of meeting Zouken Matou had been worthwhile. As Roland had expected, the twisted Old Worm preferred to remain a spectator on the sidelines unless he was out of options and forced into a desperate last stand. He did not mind offering a little help to stir up further complications and amuse himself.
Although he had become thoroughly corrupt, perhaps that was precisely why Zouken Matou was far more straightforward about simple exchanges of mutual benefit.
At first, Roland had hesitated over whether to try turning Zouken Matou into a Contract Spirit. After all, judging by his experiences, the chances of success were much higher than with Ryunosuke Uryu. If Roland made good use of Killer Queen's ability to kill an unsuspecting opponent on their first encounter, he stood a real chance of pulling it off.
But considering all the tricks Zouken Matou had used in the original story to demonstrate how a centipede could keep moving even after death, Roland abandoned the idea. Without the Greater Grail to lure him into appearing in person, Roland could not even be sure whether he had sent only a Worm Doppelganger, or hidden the worm that kept him alive somewhere far away.
Under those circumstances, the losses would outweigh the gains. Becoming Zouken Matou's enemy without any certainty of success was unlikely to be a pleasant experience. Besides, being forced to use Bites the Dust to reverse time by someone like him would be far too humiliating.
Fortunately, everything had gone fairly smoothly. Although his advantage of foreknowledge had diminished, the whereabouts of that Contract Spirit were becoming clearer.
Judging by the effects the Contract Spirit had caused, its host probably needed to possess magical energy at the very least, and was most likely connected to the Holy Grail.
Then who could be hosting that unknown Contract Spirit?
He had already investigated Fuyuki City once. He had found no trace of a Contract Spirit at the Matou Family, the Tohsaka Family, or Ryuudou Temple. With those targets ruled out, the remaining possibilities were undoubtedly much narrower.
The Greater Grail hidden in the underground Great Hollow, Darnic, who was participating in the Fourth Holy Grail War, and the Einzberns, who had not summoned Amakusa despite this being the Great Holy Grail War timeline.
Roland's expression darkened as he watched the nails on his hand begin growing naturally again.
Deep in the uninhabited mountains, the ancient castle sealed away by ice and snow enjoyed a rare day free of the blizzard.
Although the sky had not cleared, its faintly luminous, milky white hue, as though washed clean by snow, was still much brighter than the dim, hazy sky of a snowy day.
In this land without birds or green trees, even a change in the light was a rare and beautiful sight for its inhabitants.
Kiritsugu Emiya, however, had no desire to admire it. He sat quietly at his desk, studying the information his capable assistant had sent him.
"The Masters for the Holy Grail War have largely been confirmed."
After briefly scanning it, he began summarizing in the simplest terms he could.
"The Tohsaka Family is the same as ever. They always have an excellent mage to serve as their Master, making them a troublesome target. One point worth noting, though, is that he took in a disciple sent by the Holy Church a few years ago, then broke ties with him after the disciple also received Command Spells. That said, judging by his history, I consider him a more dangerous target than Tokiomi Tohsaka."
When he finished speaking, Kiritsugu Emiya received no response. He sighed helplessly and looked toward the hall's floor-to-ceiling windows.
A young woman who appeared to be in her twenties stood quietly before them.
With beauty as exquisite as a doll's, lustrous hair, fair skin, and magnificent ruby-red eyes, she looked like a spirit untouched by the mortal world.
Even a plain white gown, a difficult color to wear well, and the absence of any jewelry could not conceal her innate nobility.
The princess of the Einzberns. Even now, Kiritsugu Emiya felt that title suited her perfectly.
If only she could stop being so absentminded from time to time.
"Miss Irisviel? Are you listening?"
"I am. And I told you, Kiritsugu, just call me Irisviel. We're friends, aren't we?"
The white-clad spirit answered in an ethereal voice, but her gaze remained firmly fixed on the view beyond the windows.
"Is that so? Although I'm the real Master, you'll still have to draw fire in public. You should pay more attention."
Although they had spent some time together, Kiritsugu Emiya still considered them nothing more than partners, not friends. As for anything beyond that, it was merely a faint, unrealistic longing he had once harbored.
Ultimately, someone like him should never hope for happiness, especially now, when he had found his ultimate salvation and stood just one step away from it.
Kiritsugu Emiya shook his head, dismissed those unnecessary thoughts, and continued explaining the intelligence on the Masters.
"The Matou Family has forced someone who failed to inherit their legacy into the role of Master. We needn't concern ourselves with a half-baked amateur like that. That leaves the most troublesome one."
He moved the mouse lightly and narrowed his eyes at two photographs in the file. They had been taken more than sixty years apart, yet the subject's appearance had not changed at all.
"Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia. A participant in the Third Holy Grail War. Although he failed, he escaped intact. He attained Color Rank many years ago, and over the years since, he has produced numerous results in research concerning souls and single-handedly founded the Yggdmillennia family."
"The Third? Then how old is he now?"
"Nearly a hundred, I imagine. Since the last Holy Grail War ended, he has published several papers on souls at the Clock Tower, earning extremely high praise. Riding that wave, the Yggdmillennia family he founded began expanding aggressively, accepting almost any mage who had fallen on hard times."
"Although they aren't truly formidable yet, they're already a force that inspires wariness within the Clock Tower. In another two hundred years, Yggdmillennia might even become a great family on par with those of the Lords."
Hearing such startling news, Irisviel came back to her senses a little and turned to look at Kiritsugu Emiya.
"It shouldn't be that easy to expand in a place as hidebound as the Clock Tower, should it?"
"That's right." Kiritsugu Emiya's expression grew much more solemn. "That's what makes this man truly troublesome. Although his achievements in magecraft are outstanding, he's more of a politician. All he needs is an excuse, and he'll exploit it for all it's worth, twisting right and wrong to secure his own interests. Combined with his strength and methods, that has already allowed Yggdmillennia to devour several smaller families during its expansion."
At this point, Kiritsugu Emiya's gaze grew complicated. "Darnic may be a mage, but he understands human nature and all manner of underhanded methods very well. He calls himself a noble, yet has no principles whatsoever. He's a terrible match for me. I'd heard that he had withdrawn into researching a Mystic Code more than ten years ago and neglected much of his other work."
Pausing over that line of text, Kiritsugu Emiya tapped his fingers lightly against the desk, producing a low sound.
"Now it seems that was simply proof that Darnic had begun preparing for the Fourth Holy Grail War. He must have gained something extraordinary during the last one to be so obsessed. He already has a way to extend his life, yet he still intends to participate in person. Fortunately, he has an even bigger problem now."
"What do you mean?"
Irisviel tilted her head and looked at Kiritsugu Emiya in puzzlement.
"The Clock Tower's place in this war was originally reserved by the Lord of the El-Melloi Family."
"El-Melloi of the Department of Mineralogy?"
"Exactly." A faint smile appeared on Kiritsugu Emiya's face. "The El-Melloi Family wouldn't entangle itself with someone as troublesome as Darnic over a place in a Far Eastern Magecraft Competition. But apparently, that prodigy named Kayneth doesn't agree."
"I imagine he couldn't swallow the insult. He circumvented the Mage's Association's rules and bought an additional place outright. Presumably, he's preparing to settle who's better between him and Darnic."