In the world of Type-Moon, it all begins with becoming Morgan's husband!

“Ian… she is also one of the Master’s Servants, and her class is Assassin.”

The man's face remained calm, but he already had many thoughts running through his mind.

it is as expected.

It was exactly as I had guessed.

It seems that the similarity of magical abilities can indeed be used as a basis for judging whether a Servant belongs to the same Master.

But then again——

If that's the case, then including Caster (magician) whom Jeanne Alter herself mentioned earlier, she controlled at least three Servants in this Singularity Holy Grail War.

This is the complete opposite of the requirement of "Holy Grail War - Magician - Servant" recorded in Ophelia's book.

Perhaps hearing a familiar voice, the woman Atalanta called Carmilla, after catching her breath for a while, spoke weakly:

"It is you……"

"Yes, it's me." The catgirl, now recognized, was flustered.

Although he never shows it outwardly, it's true whether he's talking to Ian or to Camilla in front of him.

The catgirls seem to be getting along very well—almost like friends.

Upon hearing the response, Camilla forced a smile and continued speaking haltingly.

"Atalanta... I was careless."

"Please... help me... tell my Master... that I... have been defeated."

"It should... be disappearing soon."

"Eh?!"

Upon hearing this, the catgirl immediately realized what had caused Camilla's current state—it was damage left over from the battle!

But she didn't have time to ask any more questions; she just kept comforting the woman in front of her.

"It's alright! I'll call the Master over right now!"

“No need…” Camilla stopped Atalanta. “I know my situation… I’m already lucky to have come back here and met you.”

"Don't say things like that!"

The considerate catgirl was so anxious she was about to cry.

but--

This cannot stop Camilla's dissipation.

She looked at Atalanta in front of her and used all her strength to utter her last words.

"Tell the Master... the other one is very powerful... be careful."

After saying these words, Camilla's body gradually faded away, eventually disappearing like a firefly.

Assassin is confirmed to be leaving the stage at this moment.

"..."

Atalanta watched all this and collapsed to the ground.

The pleasure I gained from being trained by men tonight has vanished, replaced by the pain of witnessing my companion's death.

The Holy Grail War now laid bare its cruelty before her.

"how so……"

The catgirl muttered these words, her head shaking from side to side.

Experiencing something like this for the first time, she seemed completely unable to accept it.

Seeing this, Ian gently hugged the catgirl.

He felt he shouldn't be saddened by Camilla's passing, but at that moment he couldn't control his body.

The Holy Grail War... it really is a cruel thing.

Let's rewind a little further.

In a forest about a hundred miles from the city of Jura.

The group, led by Joan of Arc, were sitting around a burning campfire.

Several fish were being roasted in the pale yellow flames.

This should have been a relaxed gathering, but at this moment it feels quite heavy.

because--

Several young girls witnessed too many cries of despair from France along their journey.

The city was burned down, and the buildings were destroyed.

The land, scorched black by the dragon's fury, emanates despair and silently sings a poem filled with tragedy.

"That other Joan of Arc is awful!" Mordred exclaimed, stamping her foot. "How can she just burn everything in her path?!"

"I wasn't this dramatic back then!"

"If this continues, she'll burn this whole place down!"

Mordred's complaints reflected the thoughts of everyone present.

Fujimaru Ritsuka continued, "Indeed... if this continues, everything will be burned to the ground."

"but--"

"Did you guys discover something?"

The half-baked Master's gaze swept over the other girls present.

"Although the city was burned to the ground... there wasn't even a single corpse left."

"It's as if everyone evacuated in advance."

"Eh?"

Upon hearing Fujimaru Ritsuka's words, Mashu also found some things in her own memories.

"Ritsuka, so in that case... we must have seen a lot of people fleeing along the way, right?"

"Could it be——"

"Were they not survivors, but rather people who escaped from the city beforehand?"

“I think that’s possible,” Fujimaru Ritsuka affirmed Mashu’s statement.

"After all, every time we encounter them... we'll soon run into cities that have been burned to the ground, won't we?"

“Yes, that must be it!” the pink-haired girl agreed.

The back-and-forth between the mediocre Master and the mediocre Servant eased the atmosphere a little.

But Mordred had an idea.

She grabbed the roasted fish from the campfire—a fish that Joan of Arc herself had caught in the river.

She took a bite, and then said:

"That--"

"If that's what you're saying, then someone must be helping them secretly, right? Otherwise, how could they always escape ahead of time?"

"But who would do such a thing?"

"No... I should say who would dare to do such a thing? You know, the other Joan of Arc could ride a dragon."

"If we organize a large group of people to escape like this, she'll be very angry, won't she?!"

"..."

Mordred's words once again plunged the atmosphere into silence.

Gradually, everyone's eyes turned to Joan of Arc.

After all, all the routes so far have been guided by the Master's Command Seals in her possession.

And these routes so perfectly showcased the devastation along the way.

There should be some unexpected information, right?

however--

At this moment, Joan of Arc had absolutely no idea what to expect.

Like them, she didn't know where the Command Seals would take her; she simply felt she should believe in this blessing from her dream.

The tragic scenes she witnessed along the way deeply distressed Joan of Arc—a kind-hearted woman who could not bear to see such things.

Therefore, facing the gaze of the crowd, the saintess was unable to give an accurate response.

And she had no intention of hiding this situation:

"I'm sorry, I'm not quite sure why things turned out this way."

"The destination guided by the cursed seal... I cannot control it either."

Joan of Arc's attitude was extremely sincere, and the other three were by no means people who would hold a grudge.

"So what exactly happened?"

Mordred hates situations where there's absolutely no clue as to the answer.

"No, there's no need to be in such a hurry..." Mashu whispered, trying to comfort the brat. "At least so far, no one else has been hurt, right?"

Realizing that Mash was trying to get on her good side, Mordred glanced at her and silently started eating her fish.

"Anyway, let's eat well and sleep well first!"

Fujimaru Ritsuka ended the topic cleanly and decisively.

"Otherwise, if you don't have the energy to deal with a real problem when it comes, that would be troublesome."

The girl's suggestion was unanimously agreed upon.

This temporary peace lasted until everyone fell asleep late at night.