"Caster, it's over. Let's go."
Ignoring Irisviel, who remained where she was, Roland headed toward the alley.
"Huh? Aren't you going to take her Command Spells?"
Medea, who was still facing off against Saber, turned back in confusion. When she saw Irisviel, her pupils contracted, and a teasing expression crossed her face.
"I see. It looks like there's really no need for me to bother."
"Irisviel!" Forgetting about Roland as he calmly walked away, Saber rushed straight to Irisviel's side.
"Oh, right." Halfway there, Roland turned toward Irisviel as though he had remembered something.
"I didn't see any homunculus maids or your luggage. They must have gone ahead to the castle outside the city with Illya. Remember to say hello to her for me. Tell her I need a little more time before I can take her away."
At the mention of Illya's name, Irisviel's eyes filled with complicated emotions. The dazed look vanished from her face, and she clenched her fists as she stared at Roland.
"That child doesn't belong to anyone. She's free!"
"That's not for you to decide. After all, the Einzberns haven't finished paying what they owe me. Did you think offering yourself would be enough to appease me?"
He shrugged and enunciated each word with mocking precision. "Isn't that right, my dear madam?"
The way he addressed her made Saber glare at Roland. Yet Irisviel, who had seemed so resolute a moment before, fell into an eerie silence at his words.
She placed a hand over her chest, lowered her head, and said nothing.
"Let's go, Caster."
Medea's curious gaze flicked between Roland and Irisviel. Only when he called her did she respond and obediently follow him.
Saber was about to give chase, but Irisviel stopped her.
"Let them go, Saber."
Pressing her lips together, she watched Roland gradually disappear into the shadows and said, "After all, he's... Illya's father."
"Master? Who is that child named Illya to you?"
"Hmm, how should I put this?" Roland felt rather helpless at the question. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, who could have imagined the Einzberns would pull something like this on him?
"She's... a daughter I've never met, I suppose."
Medea blinked and did not press him any further.
"Now even the Lesser Grail is in your hands, though your methods were a little rough."
Medea followed behind Roland as they chatted casually. "I'm not particularly well versed in homunculi, but that Lesser Grail is a specialized model created based on your power, isn't she, Master?"
"Yes. Today really has been full of surprises. Come to think of it, I have Illya's birth to thank for this too."
Thinking back on the day's events, Roland couldn't help chuckling.
The entire Einzbern Family existed to restore the Third Magic. The Third Magician was the master engraved into their genes.
During the previous Holy Grail War, when Shendu's Contract Spirit possessed Ahad, the homunculus had not suffered a mental breakdown. But the master in his mind had been silently replaced.
His obsession had not changed. Rather, he now believed that the person who could bring about salvation and become the Third Magician was the one who possessed Shendu's soul.
He believed this so stubbornly that he disregarded everything else. Using Einzbern technology, he took advantage of his possession to obtain remnants of fire demonic qi.
Ordinary people had no way to properly harness demonic qi. But drawing on the legacy left to the family by the Third Magician's former disciples, he still came up with a shortcut.
He created clones modeled after the former Winter Saint to assist in his master's return.
Irisviel herself probably hadn't even realized that obedience to the Fire Demon's commands had been written into her fundamental programming.
Thus, after discovering this, Roland easily corrupted Irisviel with demonic qi and obtained the highest level of authority over her.
"Besides, what's mine will always be mine."
Roland spoke nonchalantly. The fire demonic qi he had given Irisviel was both a symbol of ownership and a safeguard to keep her under his control.
With that, the right to make a wish was firmly in his hands. All that remained was to hurry up and send the Servants to their deaths.
"Still, it looks like they'll fight up a storm even if I do nothing, won't they? In this Holy Grail War, compared to the conflict between the Servants, the Masters seem to harbor an absolute intent to kill one another."
Roland stretched as he spoke casually.
"But it doesn't matter. Even if this war's Archer is still that King of Heroes, I've already got a trump card to deal with him."
"That King Arthur? She looks very upright. I doubt she'll readily obey you, Master."
"Who cares? Who would want the obedience of a male King Arthur anyway! All I need is to be able to use that Holy Sword of the Planet. Irisviel will understand that herself without me having to remind her."
After Roland's figure disappeared completely, the temporary barrier lingered for a while before finally breaking apart without Caster's mana supply.
Throughout that time, Irisviel stared silently ahead. If not for the faint sound of her breathing, she would have looked like an exquisite doll.
"Irisviel?"
Hearing Saber's call, Irisviel forced a smile.
"Sorry, I got a little distracted."
"Shall we return to Einzbern Castle?"
Saber passed over what had happened earlier. Although protecting a woman's honor was important to a knight, once Roland left and she had time to reflect, she roughly understood that there was more to the matter.
"No need. Our first battle is tonight. Whatever happens, I must free that child from this Holy Grail War."
Irisviel rubbed her brow and unconsciously stroked her lower abdomen. Although her homunculus self-diagnostics detected nothing unusual, the burning sensation of those markings on her skin remained as strong as ever.
On the thirty-second floor, the top floor of the Fuyuki City Hyatt Hotel, Waver stood at the window and gazed down. Before arriving, he had heard that the central tower planned for later construction would be even taller, but for Waver, who had never experienced anything like this, the view was already novel enough.
He unconsciously sighed and turned toward Kayneth, who was sitting on a leather sofa. If he hadn't benefited from the man's status, he would probably never have enjoyed such luxury in his entire life.
"Stop standing there in a daze. How is the barrier functioning?"
Kayneth glanced at Waver. "It's merely a provincial hotel putting on a luxurious facade and pretending to be refined. You're my student. Don't embarrass me."
"Yes, Professor Kayneth. The barrier is functioning properly, and the Mana Furnaces are operating normally." After spending some time with him, Waver had realized that the man wasn't deliberately targeting him; it was simply his personality. He could now take Kayneth's occasional cutting remarks quite calmly.
Having all the odd jobs dumped on him was still irritating, of course. But merely assisting in the construction of such an impressive magecraft workshop had taught Waver a great deal, so he could hardly complain.
After all, magecraft workshops were private matters. The more advanced they were, the less likely a mage of Waver's level was to ever gain access to them. In that respect, he was still very grateful to Kayneth.
"Hey, tell me, is this mana workshop thing really that impressive? You've been busy with it all day."
On the other side of the room, a huge, rugged-featured man sat cross-legged on the floor, intently watching the television in front of him. Hearing their conversation, he casually asked the question.
"Hmph. Is that the extent of the legendary King of Conquerors' knowledge?"
Kayneth snorted and said with some pride, "Twenty-four floors of this thirty-two-story building are covered by barriers. There are no fewer than three Mana Furnaces, and I've even subjected the sewers to Otherworld Transformation. Even a Servant shouldn't expect to break in easily."
Listening to Kayneth's proud declaration, Waver looked out the window at the dizzying height. The corner of his mouth twitched as he raised a question born of his own simple understanding.
"But, Professor Kayneth, what if the other Masters don't attack the magecraft workshop at all and just blow up the entire building? What would we do then?"
Please vote!!!
Here's an extra update! I'll keep things more subtle from now on, so I don't get locked out and have to revise it again. When I have time, I'll just write the explicit version and post it in the group.
Group number: 569137393