(Attendance… plz…)
….
"What?!"
Waver couldn't believe it. He just couldn't process the Caster, no, the Servant sitting right in front of him.
Gojo simply picked up a knife and fork from his plate, cut a piece of his pancake, and ate it.
"Hmm, you got a hearing problem acting up at your age, huh?" Gojo asked. "Man, how cruel the world can be. Well, to repeat myself one more time, I said: do you want the Command Spell from the Church?"
Somewhat taken aback, Waver replied, "Well, of course! Who wouldn't? I mean, every other Master out there will be hunting the Caster, or probably you right now, since they all think you are the Caster."
Gojo smiled. "And that is very likely a good thing for you if you want that Command Spell. While the other Masters are busy hunting me down, assuming I'm the Caster, you actually know that I'm not. You can focus on hunting the real one. If anything, you're one step ahead of all the other Masters, with the exception of one."
Waver was a little confused. "Do you not want the Command Spell?" he asked, before catching himself. "Oh, wait..."
His confusion over why Gojo wouldn't want the spell quickly faded as he remembered the man was a Servant, not a Master. His Master was the little girl sitting right there.
If Waver had to analyze or observe her, he'd say the girl wasn't even normal. She was just eating, nothing else. Her eyes were somewhat hollow, completely empty. What exactly was she? If she was capable of providing enough magic to sustain her Servant, she was by no means a simple, frail, or weak girl. Yet, she hadn't said a single word. Even ordering her food had been done by her Servant.
And then there was the matter of Command Spells. One had to understand that a Command Spell was a massive advantage for a Master trying to win the Holy Grail War.
Having even one extra spell greatly boosted those chances, even if only by a few percent. It was also a critical safety measure for a Master to use against a Servant.
A Command Spell could force a Servant to do anything the Master wanted, and even if it went entirely against the Servant's wishes or their kind, that order would be completely absolute.
But that command cost a single Command Spell, which the Master loses forever.
It could greatly boost a Servant's attacks or abilities, teleport them from anywhere directly to their Master's location, or save them from the brink of death.
That was one of the very reasons Gojo quickly finish off Lancer the previous night.
Then, Waver caught the specific wording Gojo had used. They had an advantage in getting the Command Spell because others would be hunting a fake, while the real Caster would be out doing whatever he was doing. Knowing this, they were one step ahead. But what truly caught Waver was that phrase: with the exception of one.
Not even questioning why Gojo was offering him a Command Spell, Waver blurted out, "Does someone else also know you aren't a Caster?!"
Gojo took a napkin and gently wiped Sakura's face before she started eating again. "Probably," he said. "Or maybe not."
"What?!" Waver exclaimed, thoroughly confused.
Gojo went into a deep thinking mode to sum up everything he had right now and everything he knew.
He had deduced something, or maybe nothing at all. He didn't know exactly what was going on behind the Grail War or who was manipulating it.
And while there was no foolproof, hard evidence of manipulation, he was slightly certain there was some behind-the-scenes work happening here.
It all started with the Assassin. He had just been informed that Assassin died on the very first day or so.
Obviously, Gojo didn't do it himself, but he didn't see any reason for the other party to lie to him when he had already killed an Assassin the previous night.
Why would anyone make up a story that Assassin was already dead, and if he was really dead, how did Gojo kill him again?
Unless it was just meant to confuse him, or Rider's Master was actually working with the Assassin and causing unnecessary confusion.
If the Assassin really died on the first day, everyone would think they were out of the race. But Gojo killed one yesterday, and that Assassin had been very well observing the fight from the start, relaying every piece of information back… to his Master.
That meant Assassin was still alive, and one of his abilities had to be cloning or body doubles. His Master had perfectly utilized that ability to put on a showcase, marching a clone straight at Archer just to die, fully aware he was being watched by the other Masters.
So, in this hypothetical his Master created a scenario where his Servant dies, leaving him apparently without a Servant in the eyes of others, while the one who died was nothing but a body double of the real assassin.
That alone was enough to do it. Masters with high resources or caution would still keep an eye on a Master who was supposedly out of the way because they wanted his Command Spells.
While a Servant gets killed, the Command Spells don't disappear from the Master's body. Other Masters could very easily take those spells from someone who lost their Servant.
Here in this scenario comes the Church, a neutral party that oversees the Grail War, keeps it hidden from the outside world, and protects Masters who have lost their Servants and fear that others will kill them for their Command Spells or just on a whim.
Of course, it isn't an absolute rule that a defeated Master has to come under Church protection.
A Master can decide not to, but that just means painting a target on their back and implies they want to die.
A Master with Command Spells but no Servant could always contract a leftover Servant if another Master dies, rejoining the Grail War.
But if not, the Master goes to the Church for protection, and the Church keeps them safe until the war is over.
So, if Assassin died on the first day, cautious and other Masters wanting Command Spells probably kept an eye on his Master. But if that party goes under Church protection, no Master or Servant can attack them unless they want to become enemies of the Church and be hunted down.
Since Assassin is actually alive, it means his Master, with most likely a 10 to 15 percent probability, put on a show.
To sell that show, he even went under Church protection to convince the other Masters he was completely out.
But as Gojo's encounter yesterday proved, Assassin's Master is still operating.
And then, the Church calls a meeting of the Masters, demanding a cease of all battles and hostilities so they can hunt down a Master who is misusing their power on the general public and putting the Grail War in danger.
But if they wanted to remove this Master and servant faster, why didn't they reveal the original Caster and his Master's name and appearance? If they didn't know about it, they wouldn't have known about Caster and his Master's selfish works in the first place.
So what was the reason to keep the identity of the Master and Servant hidden while they put the public and the war at risk?
They know that everyone thinks the Caster from the previous night is me... hmm damn.
A slight chuckle escaped Gojo's lips, turning into a small laugh. "Hahaha, damn those Church bastards."
Waver didn't understand what he was saying or for what reason he was cursing the Church at a time like this.
Iskandar spoke up. "What is with you laughing alone? Did you think of something fun? Or have you decided to come under my banner?"
Gojo took another bite from his pancake, chewed it, and said, "Nothing, I was just thinking and going through some scenarios. Though what I came upon very likely has an under 20% probability of me being right on it. It could just be very coincidental and circumstantial. So, I'm just taking it with a grain of sugar at this time."
Most of what he said went straight over Rider's head.
"I'm not joining or going under your banner," Gojo continued. "Just as I said previously, we can come to a term of alliance with a few changes on the terms and conditions."
Gojo then turned to Waver. "I can help you get the Command Spell that the Church is offering. For now, you can think of being two steps ahead of the other Masters... at least for now."
Waver couldn't understand what Gojo was saying. Did he just like to talk in this cryptic manner for the sake of fun?
"What do you mean by two steps ahead?" Waver asked, somewhat agitated and serious.
"While I can understand we have somewhat of an advantage at least in knowing that you aren't Caster, that's all... I mean, we don't even know where the real Caster is."
Waver was asking questions so casually, like he seriously forgot he was in front of a future enemy servant.
"How pushy, boy," Gojo said. "Take a chill pill. And eat something. Just so you know, my Master doesn't like it when someone talks to me rudely or doesn't respect me."
Waver flinched. He had, for one second, forgotten he was still dealing with an enemy servant, even if it was a ceasefire for now. Waver looked at Sakura, who was eating like this talk didn't concern her at all, and then back at Gojo.
"Haaah, relax, don't be so serious, kid," Gojo said. "I was just coming to that point."
Gojo then raised two fingers. "First being: you know I'm not the Caster, while everyone else thinks I am. So you have the advantage of time on your side to focus on the real Caster, and not a fake like me."
He then dropped one finger. "Second being: I'm helping you…"
Gojo paused. "Wait, there is another one, though it's not related to Caster or the Command Spell, but the Grail War overall. It is somewhat of an advantage over the other Masters. Third being: you know that the Assassin servant is still alive and around."
Gojo leaned in slightly. "And lastly, this is not an advantage, but just my theory, or more like a little bit of a stretch with all the little information I have... so a guess overall. Assassin's Master has been in an alliance with someone else from the very starting... or way before this grail war… or maybe the Church itself."
Waver gulped. He didn't know how Gojo had come to that conclusion or if there were still things he was hiding.
He still couldn't believe the part about the Church; it was a bit of a stretch to even think that, as the Church is a neutral party.
But for Gojo to share this information with them and offer to help get an extra Command Spell meant he wanted something from him, too.
"And what is it that you gain or want from giving me, your enemy, a Command Spell?" Waver asked. "And this information."
Gojo smiled as he said, "Heheheh, I was coming to that part, actually. There is just one thing…"
….
A/N: Finally a new chapter. Hahaha. All the things that gojo come up with or thought of is only surface type info, and very well be connected even by other master or servant if given enough thoughts and info like gojo have.
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