Kariya Matou died after all. He passed away after hearing Guinevere declare she would send Sakura to the Clock Tower.
With his death, Lancelot also faded from the world.
As a Caster, Guinevere could have kept Lancelot as her own Servant.
But he was Lancelot. Not only would Guinevere have found it awkward, but the current King of Knights would have been displeased as well.
"Sakura, you must take good care of yourself when you get to the Clock Tower."
The next day, the sun shone brightly. The explosion at the Fuyuki Hotel was officially ruled a gas leak, while the battle between the King of Heroes and Lancelot was dismissed as a mirage.
Since it was 1990 and the internet was not yet widespread, public skepticism was confined to Fuyuki City and failed to cause any significant stir.
However, people are naturally inclined to avoid danger. Faced with such a perfunctory official explanation, the clever residents of Fuyuki chose to pack up their families and leave town for a "vacation."
Near the highway leading out of Fuyuki City, a continuous stream of vehicles flowed outward, while only a few scattered cars headed into the city.
Several of these cars were parked in front of Guinevere and Sakura.
Reines El-Melloi Archisorte—Kayneth's niece and adopted sister—stood there. At six years old, she was the same age as Sakura.
Since Sakura was to be adopted by the El-Melloi Faction, Reines had been brought along to grow up alongside her.
Besides Reines, many other mages had arrived at Kayneth's summons, including some Guinevere had known in her past life.
"Barthomeloi, you're still alive? What, are you still in charge?"
The man before her stood ramrod straight in a suit and tie, looking even younger than he had fifteen hundred years ago. He was the first to forge a partnership with Guinevere, representing the mages in signing the agreement to jointly develop the Albion Spirit Tomb.
"Queen, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be involved at all. The Barthomeloi Family Head has long been that young girl, Lorelei. As for why I'm still alive? It's simply because I don't wish to die yet.
"If you had truly wanted to live, Queen, you would never have lacked the means to extend your life back then."
As he spoke, the old geezer pretending to be young paused, his smile vanishing. After casting a soundproofing magecraft, he continued:
"Queen, do you wish to continue playing games in this Holy Grail War, or will you choose resurrection and return to Great Britain?
"All this time, we have carefully preserved the profits due to the Pendragon bloodline. Only recently did we distribute a small portion to a young girl named Gray.
"Her family line has guarded your tomb for generations, and she now wields the Holy Lance Rhongomyniad."
Amidst the passing traffic, Reines led Sakura to the back seat of a car. While Sakura would be adopted by the El-Melloi family, she was, in truth, entrusted to the Clock Tower by Guinevere. At the Clock Tower, her name would be Sakura Pendragon.
Anyone who harmed her would make an enemy not only of Guinevere and the remnants of Camelot but also of a significant portion of the Clock Tower itself.
The Clock Tower would also handle the issues Guinevere currently had no time to address for Sakura, ensuring the illusory worms within her heart were completely eradicated.
"Gray? The Holy Lance? I have no time to worry about such things now, but I'll remember it.
"As for whether I'll be resurrected..."
"Barthomeloi, I will resurrect myself when the time is right. For now, I will continue to participate in the Holy Grail War. There is something I must stop Lia from doing."
Barthomeloi listened and nodded. He still had much to say, but if he started, seven days wouldn't be enough to finish.
Having received Guinevere's definitive answer, he continued with a serious expression:
"Queen, because of your presence, the Holy Church has dispatched agents to Fuyuki. However, with us here, they won't dare to act openly against you. Still, that old bastard who gave you the Holy Grail back then is still alive. He remembers that humiliation well, and there's no telling if he'll truly do nothing."
"I expected as much."
Guinevere had known from the start that this Holy Grail War would be troublesome. She could easily imagine her presence drawing extra attention from both the Clock Tower and the Holy Church.
"Do you know who exactly the Holy Church has sent?"
At the highway exit leading out of the city, Guinevere continued her conversation with the Barthomeloi Family Head she had known in life.
Not far away, Tokiomi Tohsaka secretly watched Sakura, a rare smile gracing his lips.
He knew Sakura would have a future in magecraft infinitely better than what the Matou House could offer.
He accepted this debt to Guinevere, though he didn't know when he would ever be able to repay it.
After Berserker withdrew, the King of Heroes' seriousness eased slightly. Yet he had already resolved to claim victory and then bestow the Holy Grail upon Tohsaka.
But...
"Tohsaka, simply obey me, and I shall grant you victory."
The roles of master and servant have been reversed, Tokiomi Tohsaka thought bitterly, yet he couldn't suppress the surge of joy in his heart.
From his perspective, the path to the Holy Grail was different from what he had imagined, but this altered path was a wide, straight road leading directly to it.
He still believed the King of Heroes was his strongest card.
He watched in silence as the other Mages departed with Sakura, and Guinevere drove her car back toward the city.
Soon after, on the other side of the city, at the Fuyuki Church, the Kotomine father and son received a special envoy from the Church Headquarters.
Ciel. Just Ciel. She appeared to be about fifteen, dressed in an unfamiliar school uniform and wearing black-framed glasses, looking like an ordinary upperclassman.
Yet, at her young age, she was already the Seventh Member of the Holy Church's Burial Agency, known by the alias "Bow."
Her mission here was exactly as the Barthomeloi family had learned: to ensure Guinevere's withdrawal from the modern era.
However, she was merely an advance observer, an extra supervisor. She would only intervene after the Holy Grail War concluded, and only if Guinevere had not yet withdrawn by then.
The Holy Grail War was a crucial project for the Holy Church as well, for its ultimate creation was the Holy Grail itself.
"I never expected the Burial Agency to send you," Kirei Kotomine said to Ciel beneath the statue of the Lord in the Fuyuki Church. "I thought Cardinal Noy would come himself. He's held a grudge against Queen Guinevere for fifteen hundred years."
"The Old Man of the Jewels sought him out for another chat."
After their formal introductions, they found they had nothing more to say to each other.
But a moment later, Ciel's gaze shifted to a patch of shadow, where she spotted Assassin, who should have been perfectly concealed.
"The briefing I received before coming said your Servant had already been eliminated and that you had requested sanctuary from the Church.
"So, did you have your father abuse his authority to help you cheat?
"Kirei Kotomine, I despise you. The man described in your file is utterly heartless. As a father, you actually approved the Church's plan for your own daughter."
In the Cathedral, Kirei Kotomine remained silent, his heart utterly unmoved.
"To sacrifice herself for the Lord is Caren's honor."
"Tch..."
A click of the tongue cut the conversation short once more.
Risei Kotomine—the administrator of this church, the supervisor of this Holy Grail War, and Kirei Kotomine's father—knew what he should say. But he had already been branded as corrupt and biased.
Before he could speak, Ciel continued:
"Kirei Kotomine, take your Servant and your spoils of war, and get out of my sight immediately. Since you are still a participant in the War, you have no right to remain in the Holy Church. I look forward to you either killing my target or dying a miserable death in this Holy Grail War."
Hearing this, Kirei's expression remained unchanged. Yet, he truly did retrieve the still-living Maiya Hisau from the basement and left with Assassin.
Ciel's words had less impact on him than the shock of Kiritsugu Emiya abandoning Maiya.
What shocked him even more was that after more than ten hours of torture, he hadn't managed to extract a single word from Maiya's lips.
As an Agent of the Church, he was certainly not lacking in methods for dealing with heretics.