"This is troublesome. He must have noticed something."
As soon as the church doors closed, Shirou Kotomine dropped the benevolent smile so typical of a clergyman.
"But Shirou, shouldn't you be able to see through that Servant's True Name directly?"
When Shirou Kotomine asked the red-haired boy for his True Name, the Assassin of "Red" had initially thought it was just an act meant to lower the other party's guard.
But after seeing his anxious reaction when he failed to get an answer, Assassin finally realized that Shirou Kotomine genuinely wanted to know the other party's True Name.
"My 'True Name Perception' Skill didn't work."
Shirou Kotomine frowned. "That Servant seems to have an ability that conceals his True Name. I can read his parameters, but anything beyond that is..."
Assassin said, "I believe uncertain factors should be eliminated as soon as possible. It is not too late to act now. Would sending someone to deal with him also be an option?"
"Let's not. It's too early to start a conflict."
Shirou Kotomine flatly rejected the black-clad woman's ruthless suggestion.
"He is not our ally, you know."
Thinking back on Shirou's attitude, Assassin was still indignant. "That man may say he belongs to neither side, but who knows what he is really thinking?"
Shirou Kotomine shook his head. "No. I think he was serious."
Although he had no definite proof, he believed the red-haired boy, Shirou, had not lied to him.
"If he says he will not compromise with others, then he will carry that through to the end... that is the kind of person he is."
"..."
Assassin gave her Master a meaningful look, her emotions seeming somewhat complicated.
Just then, Shirou Kotomine looked toward the empty space nearby.
"Please show yourself, Lancer of 'Red'."
The young Father murmured, and a man appeared in a corner of the church.
He had pure, flawless silver hair, a body that seemed one with his golden armor, and a cloak swaying like flames draped behind him.
His stance held no openings, dignified like a warrior who had reached the height of mastery, and his sharp gaze pierced Shirou Kotomine like an arrow.
"What business do you have with me, Father?"
"I would like to entrust an important mission to you. Please eliminate the Ruler of this Holy Grail War for me. If necessary, you may use your Noble Phantasm at your own discretion."
The Holy Grail War erupting on Romanian soil was a battle between "Black" and "Red," a seven-on-seven clash of monsters.
At that scale, the ritual could no longer be supervised by outside forces alone. Following its own logic, the Holy Grail would summon an extra Class to serve as judge: Ruler.
Just as the Assassin in a Holy Grail War was often the leader of the Church of Assassins, the Ruler Class was generally held by a noble Catholic saint.
They would not join either side, acting only to protect the very concept of the "Holy Grail War."
Eliminating a neutral Ruler was the sort of request that would normally raise suspicion. Yet Lancer simply said,
"Understood."
The silver-haired Lancer accepted it without the slightest resistance, speaking only that single word before vanishing from the church.
"As expected of the man called the 'Hero of Charity.' He accepted without even needing an explanation."
Assassin spoke with an alluring smile.
The Hero of Charity.
The one who bore that title was none other than Karna, the tragic hero recorded in the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata.
Born to the sun god Surya and the human woman Kunti, he had been given golden armor by his father as proof of their bond. A great hero from the moment of his birth.
Within the framework of the Holy Grail War, he could be called the highest standard a Servant could reach, the pinnacle of Heroic Spirits.
Shirou Kotomine nodded in agreement. "Yes, heroes come in all kinds. If it were Rider, he would never accept this mission. Even if threatened with a Command Spell, he is the sort of hero who would say, 'No means no,' and carry his convictions through to the very end."
The other trump card of the "Red" faction was Rider, a Servant Shirou Kotomine considered comparable even to Karna.
He was not a rebellious hero like Berserker, but he was certainly not a knight who served a king either.
If he was dissatisfied, he would openly ignore even a king's command. And the reason he had taken up his weapon again was to avenge a murdered friend.
The young Father believed that a hero with such a personality would never accept an order to join forces with Lancer and hunt down Ruler.
"Speaking of which, Assassin, how are 'they' doing?"
Shirou Kotomine changed the subject, asking about the ones hidden in the basement of this church.
The Masters of the Red faction, whose Command Spells and Servants had been taken from them.
"No need to worry, Master. Those people are sleeping as soundly as infants."
In response to his question, Assassin gave an alluring smile.
"Then I'm relieved. Please continue to 'take care' of them. Also, increase the familiars' surveillance. Not against Yggdmillennia, but..."
"But against that red-haired boy, yes? Honestly, and I still have to prepare the 'Fortress' too."
"I'm sorry for always leaving this sort of work to you alone. But we absolutely cannot lose this war. We must handle every uncertain factor properly..."
After Assassin entered Spirit Form, Shirou Kotomine was left alone in the church.
He leaned back against the chair and thought about the boy he had just encountered.
What a hard person to grasp.
Even though it had been their first meeting, those twilight-colored eyes had seemed to see through his past, his experiences, and his very essence.
That was something even the Hero of Charity, who could see through human lies, had failed to do!
Could that also be a Skill possessed by a Heroic Spirit?
Could he possibly have the legendary highest-ranked "Clairvoyance"?
If so.
He was far too dangerous.
After all, he could see through another person's schemes with a single glance.
Since Shirou Kotomine had no way to defend against that, it was extremely dangerous.
And then there was his combat ability... Shirou Kotomine believed it was likely enough to rival Lancer and Rider.
Judging by Servant Status Parameters alone, the red-haired boy was far beneath Lancer and Rider. In fact, he did not even qualify as an average Saber.
And yet...
Shirou Kotomine clenched his fist.
If possible, I truly would like him to become my strength.
With a Servant like that at his side, his tragic wish would surely move forward by leaps and bounds. But somehow, he felt that possibility was vanishingly small.
And so, the Father continued devising strategies for the day he would stand opposed to Shirou.
All to put his own ideals into practice.
To erase conflict from the world.
For the salvation of all humanity.
The saint who had cast aside hatred, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, continued to calculate and plan in that moment, all to realize his ideals.
…
…
After leaving the church, Shirou met up with Manaka Sajyou and told her everything he had seen and heard.
"Huh... so the Father of that church is someone even you care enough to be wary of, Saber. If I'd known, I would have gone in to meet him too."
Manaka Sajyou murmured as she tapped her chin with one finger.
"By the way, Manaka, did you buy the thing I asked for?"
"Mm, right here!"
Manaka pulled a book from her handbag.
While Shirou had gone to the church, he had asked Manaka to visit the only bookstore in Sighișoara.
According to Shirou, it was a reference book he needed for this Holy Grail War.
A biography with The Shining Path: The Legend of King Arthur written on the cover.
Shirou and Manaka went to a restaurant near the inn for a meal.
While they waited for their food, he opened the King Arthur biography with some excitement.
This was a world both similar to and different from Shirou's own.
The history of the Holy Grail War had diverged during the Third War, but who could guarantee that everything before then had been exactly the same?
Shirou decided to properly look into this world's Artoria.
In the fifth century AD, on the land of Britannia swept up in the currents of history, one young man rose to his feet.
His name was Arthur Pendragon.
He was the great King of Knights of human history, the man who would one day guide Britannia to peace, create the Round Table, and leave behind countless legendary achievements.
"The wording feels kind of overblown..."
Shirou frowned slightly. He did not like it.
This barely sounded like the legend of the King of Knights. It sounded more like an epic about some ancient Golden King.
To prove to the lords of Britannia that he was the rightful heir to the throne, King Arthur followed the Magus Merlin's advice and drew The Sword of Selection. That part of history is known to all.
However, what the public does not know is that Arthur did not originally wish to become king. He wished to become a knight serving a certain queen.
That queen was none other than Morgan, his sister, who would later become Arthur's lawful wife.
Shirou: "What the hell?"
Arthur was originally a foreigner who had drifted to Britannia. He was found by the Sage Merlin and brought back to court, becoming the adopted son of King Uther.
At the age of thirteen, Arthur fell in love with Morgan, King Uther's daughter.
"Hold on a second...!"
Shirou's face went pale. He flipped back to the cover of the book, and sure enough, it read The Shining Path: The Legend of King Arthur.
"What's wrong, Saber?"
Manaka Sajyou tilted her head in confusion.
Shirou swallowed. Did Manaka accidentally buy some bizarre version of the King Arthur legend?
Driven by curiosity, he turned to the next page.
Even their relationship as siblings could not stop Arthur and Morgan. They loved each other like dry kindling catching fire, spending every day inseparable.
Naturally, King Uther could not have failed to notice. He decided to tear the pair apart.
After Morgan came of age, he sent his daughter away to distant Orkney under the pretext of a political marriage.
At the northernmost reaches of Britannia, Morgan became the queen consort of King Lot.
But how could King Arthur, the greatest king in our history, possibly tolerate his beloved sister becoming another man's wife?
On the night of the wedding, Arthur stormed the royal palace of Orkney alone, defeated everyone who stood in his way, and successfully brought Morgan back.
Together with Morgan, he returned before King Uther, forced Uther to abdicate, and took control of Britannia's throne.
After that, Morgan ascended as Queen of Britannia, while Arthur set out with Merlin on a pilgrimage to temper himself.
Then, three years later.
When the island was plunged into a black despair known as the Usurper King Vortigern, King Arthur returned and defeated the invincible White Dragon.
As the Savior of Britannia, Arthur's prestige reached its peak, and he and Morgan were joined together with everyone's blessing.
Aside from his beloved wife Morgan, Arthur also had a concubine: Guinevere, the woman who presented the Round Table to the king.
It is said that Morgan and Guinevere got along extremely well, supporting Arthur together from behind the scenes.
Each of them bore Arthur a daughter, the two we would later come to know as "Mordred" and "Artoria."
In truth, aside from his two wives, Arthur also had a lover few people knew about: his Professor, Merlin!
That's right. Merlin's true identity was actually female.
When Arthur was still young, he fell in love with his Professor at first sight.
While Morgan and Guinevere were pregnant, Arthur, whose energy far exceeded that of ordinary men, had nowhere to vent it. The longing and fantasies he had felt for his Professor in his youth resurfaced once more.
One night, he slipped into his Professor's room and, ignoring her resistance, forcibly took Merlin...
This is one of the few stains on the life of the great King of Knights.
But do not blame him too much. After all, Merlin is simply that charming a woman. Hehe☆
What the hell kind of history is this?!
Damn it, who wrote this book?
Author: Mari... who the hell are you? Get out here!
Shirou's scalp tingled as he asked, "Hey, Manaka."
"What is it?"
Manaka was holding her glass with both hands, sipping juice through a straw.
"Did you read what's in here?"
"Mm, I read it while I was waiting for Saber."
"?"
Shirou was stunned. You read something this insane and have no reaction at all?
Seeing the red-haired boy stare at her in disbelief, a faint blush slowly rose across the girl's fair cheeks.
Manaka Sajyou looked away and whispered, "I-I don't mind Saber's past..."
Oh no! She took everything in this book as true!
Shirou helplessly covered his forehead.
During the meal, he skimmed through the later sections as well.
The records that followed were even more explosive.
Several years later, the Roman Empire invaded Britannia, and the "Sword Emperor" Lucius personally led his army across the sea. With a single flash of the King's Holy Sword, Arthur effortlessly forced back a million Roman soldiers.
To save the island, Arthur devised a plan to capture the "Grand Dragon" Albion, and ultimately succeeded in slaying the mightiest dragon.
In the king's later years, he defeated and sealed the crimson calamity that descended from the moon, the King of the Moon known as "Crimson Moon Brunestud."
Shirou no longer had the energy to even comment.
How was this The Legend of King Arthur? This was clearly an overpowered wish-fulfillment novel.
No matter how much Shirou admired Artoria, he did not believe she could have done the things described in this book.
And the author had clearly run out of ideas toward the end, because they simply threw in a half-hearted ending: "Arthur and Morgan mysteriously disappeared, and people believed they had gone to Avalon."
"...Phew."
Shirou let out a long breath.
What a worthless trash book... It had absolutely no reference value.
Well, still...
Shirou thought with a little envy that if someone could really live a life like that, it would not be so bad.