Approaching noon, Rin finally returned to the Twin Mansion with Lancelot. As for overshooting the bus stop, she would never mention that.
"Jalter, you seem to have a big problem with Saber." Rin said, looking at Jalter lounging on the sofa.
"Actually, it's nothing much. It's just the jealousy of a mere remnant, a burnt leftover, who, despite being betrayed by everyone, still ascended peacefully, towards a Little Girl who has everything others dream of yet still cries everywhere."
"Burnt leftover? Is that how you define yourself?"
"It's not a definition but a fact. Didn't you see it with your own eyes? If it weren't for the charred remains of that idiot, I, as vengeance and hatred, would have no basis to descend."
"Is that so? Well, never mind. It's lunchtime. I'll go cook; you help me, Jalter."
Speaking of cooking, Rin had learned a fair bit by imitation when she worked at SHINOS, not professional but certainly skilled. Of course, the protagonist making a full Manchu-Han Imperial Feast from rotten cabbage leaves was impossible. Forget about protagonist skills like 'Cooking EX'; without complete dedication, study, and practice, wanting to cook well is a delusion.
Taking up the kitchen knife, the cutting board became a flurry of blades! It must be said that both Rin and Jalter were exceptionally gifted with knives. Their speed and precision in processing fish and other ingredients were impeccable.
"Msaber, do we have any activities tonight?" Jalter asked Rin, who was standing in front of the frying pan, searing steaks, her knife work on the vegetables not slowing in the slightest.
Cutting off a small piece of beef with a dinner knife and tasting its layers of flavor, Rin turned to grab a bottle of red wine and replied,
"Tonight, there will be a performance at my doorstep."
She then gripped the neck of the wine bottle, effortlessly pulled out the cork, and without looking, poured half the bottle of Lafite into the large frying pan. The five medium-rare brown steaks immediately took on a magnificent, jewel-like rose-red hue.
As for the wine's origin, Rin hadn't brought it from Tohno; she had unexpectedly discovered it in the Twin Mansion's underground wine cellar. It must be said that the Edelfelt family was truly wealthy; not only did they build two mansion villas for a Holy Grail War, but they also prepared a cellar full of various world-renowned wines. Rin mused that she probably wouldn't finish it all during the Holy Grail War, so she might as well use it for cooking.
The world's top red wine cascaded into the hot frying pan. The tannins in the red wine rapidly boiled, and a rich, intoxicating aroma of wine diffused into the air.
Jalter inhaled the air, which was filled with the intoxicating scent of wine, with satisfaction, then asked in confusion, "A show? What kind of performance?"
"A show for all Masters and Servants to see. I estimate that, besides me, even the most cunning hunters will be fooled for a while." Rin couldn't help but smile, recalling the highly deceptive farce in the original work/canon.
Her father indeed planned everything meticulously. One could say he was the most thoroughly prepared person in this Holy Grail War. Excluding outsiders, he didn't need to find Maguss skilled in combat like the Einzbern, nor did he suffer from the Matou Family's dwindling numbers. It's likely the Tohsaka Family's preparations for this war began as early as the previous generation, Rin's grandfather's generation.
He communicated with the Church priest supervising the war, formed an alliance, and even before the war began, he secured a Master to assist him. He used Assassin's unique ability to conceal him behind the scenes and produced a relic to summon the strongest Heroic Spirit. To say victory was in his grasp from the start would be no exaggeration.
However, the Tohsaka Family, being perfectionists, ironically had a common flaw: they overlooked details, made mistakes, and ultimately suffered complete defeat.
"Are we also going to watch the show?" Jalter asked, puzzled.
"No."
A low shout, like ice frozen for millennia in the depths of the Nine Netherworlds! Even Jalter couldn't help but feel a bone-chilling coldness all over her body. She looked back at Rin by the stove, her head lowered so her expression was hidden, but an indescribable, invisible chill seemed to freeze even the boiling oil.
"We're going bug hunting!"
—Night fell.
At three in the morning, the phrase 'all sounds are hushed' was not appropriate for Masters and Servants.
In the darkness of the night, the Heroic Spirits hiding in the shadows were constantly engaged in cautious reconnaissance and assassination activities.
For Assassin, Kirei Kotomine's Servant, tonight's infiltration mission was simply too easy. Because he wasn't infiltrating the Matou Family's residence, his sworn enemy. Instead, he was infiltrating the Tohsaka Residence, the home of Tohsaka Tokiomi, who until yesterday was his Master Kirei's ally.
Assassin, of course, knew that Kirei and Tokiomi had secretly formed an alliance behind the backs of the other Masters. And to protect the secret agreement between the Masters, Assassin had served as a guard in the Tohsaka Residence many times. So he had long investigated the layout and density of the bounded fields there, and naturally, he knew all its blind spots.
As Assassin skillfully dodged the intricate bounded field scans with various humanly impossible high-difficulty movements, he secretly mocked Tohsaka Tokiomi's laughable fate.
It had been less than an hour since Kirei Kotomine ordered Assassin to kill Tokiomi. Although he couldn't be sure what had caused his Master to harbor killing intent, it was probably due to the summoning of a Servant a few days ago.
"There's no need to be overly cautious. Even if you have to confront Archer directly, there's nothing to worry about. You must quickly eliminate Tohsaka Tokiomi."
These were the Master's instructions. Even Assassin, with the lowest combat ability, didn't need to fear confronting him, which indicated that the Archer summoned by Tohsaka Tokiomi must be very disappointing.
As he was thinking, Assassin had already reached the final barrier. There were no blind spots in the bounded field here. To pass through, he had to physically destroy the bounded field to dispel it before he could proceed.
A slender figure wearing a skull mask began to materialize under many gazes. At this point, he noticed a difference from the Tohsaka's other bounded fields; many "gazes" were cast from distant places. These were probably the familiars of other Masters monitoring the residence from outside the bounded field.
However, as long as Tokiomi didn't discover him, these peeping fellows could be ignored. As competitors also aiming for the Holy Grail, they had no reason to inform Tohsaka Tokiomi that Assassin had infiltrated.
Regarding this kind of internecine struggle among competitors, everyone would adopt a bystander's attitude.
Assassin chuckled to himself as he reached out his hand towards the sealing point of the outermost bounded field.
The instant his hand extended, a gleaming golden spear, like lightning, shot down from directly above him! It pierced through the back of his hand, pinning it to the ground.
...What!?
Assassin, deeply surprised by the sudden strike of the dazzling spear, raised his head with an incredulous expression, searching for the person who threw the spear.
No, there was no need to search at all.
On the roof of the Tohsaka Residence, an exceptionally magnificent golden figure stood! It was a brilliant, god-like majesty that could even dim the myriad stars and the moon!
Assassin no longer felt the anger of being injured or the pain of the wound; all he felt now was fear of that overwhelming sense of majesty.
"You crawling ant. Who gave you permission to raise your head?"
The golden figure, with his burning red eyes, looked down at Assassin, who was sprawled on the ground, and questioned him with a disdainful tone.
"Ants should act like ants. Just lie on the ground, lower your head, and die."
Then, around the golden figure, countless shimmering golden ripples appeared. From them emerged swords, spears, and countless types of weapons, each unique, yet every single one was a treasure-like weapon with splendid decorations. And the tips of all these weapons were pointed towards Assassin.
Unbeatable!
Assassin didn't even have to think; his intuition told him that the person before him was unbeatable.
Fighting such a guy was foolish in itself; I cannot defeat him.
Could it be... that guy wasn't someone to be afraid of?
Recalling his Master's words, Assassin finally understood that Kirei's statement was not wrong at all.
In front of such an overwhelmingly powerful enemy, there was no room for even fear, no room to even feel fear!
All he could feel was despair.
Accompanied by the sound of the air being sliced, countless noble phantasm blades, shining with various lights, shot towards Assassin.
Assassin could feel those gazes. The gazes of the familiars watching him from outside the bounded field; the other Masters must have seen it too—the first loser of the Fourth Holy Grail War, a Servant defeated without even making a single move!
In the last moment of his life, Assassin finally understood. The true purpose of his Master, Kirei Kotomine, and his ally, Tohsaka Tokiomi!
It was the chicken killed to warn the monkeys...
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