Chapter 55 Three Conditions
The aftermath. Not that kind of aftermath, but the aftermath nonetheless.
Resting his hand against his forehead, Shirou began to wonder in confusion: exactly when had he started getting used to this operation?
Theoretically, the act of "venting" didn't require giving blood to Shirou. At least, it didn't in the beginning. But starting from a few times ago, because Shirou's mana reserves were low at the time, Sakura began doing it this way.
It went from firm opposition, to feeling that it wasn't right, to finally just thinking, it'll be fine as long as it ends quickly.
Wait... had he been boiled like a frog in lukewarm water? A chill spontaneously rose from his spine.
"Senpai, what's wrong?"
But the moment he heard those sweet, happy calls of "Senpai" from behind him, the chill was stifled back down.
Sakura looked at him while tidying her disheveled hair. The marks on her finger had long since been healed by her own healing magecraft; Sakura currently looked very refreshed, her below-the-knee dress fluttering lightly. She considerately drew back the curtains and gave an angelic smile.
Incidentally, Shirou had no recollection of closing the curtains himself just now. How strange.
"Ah, no, it's nothing. I wasn't thinking about anything weird."
Sakura thought for a moment and said, "I would be very happy if Senpai did think about weird things."
Guh.
Even though he understood that her "weird things" weren't the "weird things" Shirou was thinking about, Miss Sakura successfully made Shirou instantly recall every memory he wished to forget. A very painful "straight ball" pitch that made his memory restoration techniques highly effective.
"Speaking of which, has Senpai thought about how to deal with Alcides?"
Having thought about something during that interval, Sakura suddenly spoke up. She gradually walked toward the door and reached for the handle.
"......I certainly have."
Before Shirou could even open his mouth to answer, Sakura beat him to the punch with the answer. She didn't need Shirou to tell her personally; she could read his thoughts quite easily. Sakura's slender fingers hovered a few centimeters away from the doorknob.
Sakura suddenly spoke:
"That Dead Apostle said, 'I am an existence capable of dominating this Holy Grail War'."
Her back was to Shirou. Sounds of playfulness came from behind the door. In this setting, they seemed very close, yet also very far away.
"I will figure something out regarding Alcides on Senpai's behalf," Sakura said.
"Sakura?"
"Give me one day, please."
Before Shirou could call out to stop her, she had left the room.
Within the "claw marks," a certain accumulation from the Fifth War welled up.
That shouldn't be possible. This fake Holy Grail War and the previous one couldn't possibly involve the same Grail, and Sakura was the Lesser Grail specifically for the Fifth Holy Grail War.
According to the testimony of a still-panting Sakura after a previous session, she held the highest level of authority in the Fifth Holy Grail War; as the Gate of the Grail, Heroic Spirits could not resist her, as she represented the Holy Grail War system itself.
But that was subject to three prerequisite conditions:
Sakura is the Lesser Grail of that specific Holy Grail War; Sakura is connected to the Grail, becoming the Gate; The most heinous offensive power known as Angra Mainyu still exists within the Grail.
Conversely, if Sakura were to have the status of "Servant Killer" in this Holy Grail War, she would also need to satisfy three conditions:
The Grail of the fake Holy Grail War is made from the Fuyuki Grail; Sakura still retains certain permissions after no longer being in contact with the Grail; The absolute forbidden taboo: driving Angra Mainyu once again.
If two conditions were met, Sakura would be able to ignore a Servant's Magic Resistance and perhaps partially resist a Servant's Noble Phantasm.
If the third condition were met on top of that, Sakura would once again manifest as the nemesis of all Servants.
The problem was, it couldn't be such a coincidence that two of those conditions had already been simultaneously realized, right? And no one would allow her to satisfy all three at once.
Perhaps, the moment she entered that state, she could simply sweep through the Heroic Spirits of the Snowfield Holy Grail War and easily have the entire field declare her the winner. However, Shirou would not allow her to become like that.
He would rather the Servants and Masters—who were busy fighting their own battles—never have the chance in their lives to realize that the girl from the Emiya household could strangle them all at once. Shirou stood firmly on the position that Sakura should preferably never be involved with the Holy Grail again.
But in truth, Shirou knew such thinking was wishful.
Even leaving aside the checklist for the "Servant Killer" conditions, Sakura had indeed coexisted with "Angra Mainyu." Theoretically, she should still independently retain the possibility of absorbing the "Mud of Angra Mainyu (Black Mud)."
Even without the first two conditions, she could absorb and house the Black Mud. Sakura likely already had this premonition, which is why she said what she did.
Why had Shirou never even considered that Sakura could handle the Black Mud?
The reason probably wasn't that he had thought about it and rejected it, but that he fundamentally avoided connecting the solution with Sakura. By doing so, Shirou wouldn't even think about letting Sakura get involved. However... Sakura realized it herself and even proposed it.
In a sense entirely different from before, Shirou fell silent for tens of minutes. Afterward, he felt nothing but sweat trickling down his forehead.
It seemed Sakura didn't want Shirou to press her on this matter today; otherwise, she wouldn't have said "Give me one day" and then run off. In that case, Shirou was willing to trust her and give her time.
However, just as Sakura said, this can only last until tomorrow at the latest.
Shirou could not let her put herself in danger. If what Sakura proposed was an unreliable method, Shirou would be the first to stop her. Even though the girl radiated an aura of being a devoted helper, there was no need for her to overthink things for the sake of Shirou's goals. No one would blame her if she just left it alone.
Perhaps to cool down his own head—which was actually the one overthinking—Shirou picked up his phone and fiddled with it aimlessly. He then found a new email forwarded by Saber. It was a transcription of an email from Ayaka.
From Ayaka:
We did indeed meet the Forest Heroic Spirit. Richard says the other person seems to be called Enkidu. He is very powerful and can manifest all sorts of weaponry from the earth. Because he said he wanted to test our strength, Saber ended up fighting that person. I
couldn't understand the battle, but Saber was very happy and said he is "triply" grateful to Mr. Shirou for giving him the Noble Phantasms.
We successfully formed an alliance with this Lancer.
Miss Artos, please convey Saber's words to him for me. Thank you!
After seeing this email, Shirou finally calmed down a bit.
Saber and the others were also making steady progress. Startling events were happening in places Shirou wasn't aware of. It was truly enviable not to have to think about how to dismantle the time bomb that was Alcides.
Everyone is blind to certain things that only others can see.
Shirou couldn't see Sakura's field of vision, and the people of Snowfield couldn't see the remnants of world-threatening karma that Shirou saw.
The end brought by the Black Mud must be stopped in time. If others cannot take action, then an ordinary person who wants to be an Ally of Justice will proactively take on the responsibility.
—And this is built on the premise of refusing to let Sakura become a sacrifice.
Heroes have a time limit; it's hard to call oneself a hero after growing up. However, even if one doesn't call oneself a hero, it doesn't hinder the pursuit of others' happiness. Even if one doesn't call oneself a hero, Shirou does not agree with sacrificing a companion's happiness to pursue the happiness of the masses.
Just as Shirou was thinking about picking a time to meet Richard and the others again for a chat, a knock sounded at the door once more.
This time, the knock was very steady, yet not stiff. After four knocks, she slowly pushed the door open, ensuring the person inside had ample time to react.
This style of knocking was most likely Rider.
Shirou turned to look and indeed saw the tall woman with long, enchanting purple hair blinking her bewitching eyes. "May I come in, Shirou?"
'You've actually already come in, Rider.'
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