Unlimited Ambition

"I'll go kill him right now—"

"Wait a minute, do you have a way to deal with Command Seals?" I asked.

"……no way."

Well, while Gilgamesh's abilities are far superior to those of ordinary Heroic Spirits, she still has little resistance to Command Seals. Furthermore, Gilgamesh's pride wouldn't allow her to resort to a sneak attack. So, it's quite difficult.

"Fortunately, the Holy Grail War is only halfway through," I advised. "Let's go back first. I'll let you know when I have a plan."

"……Um."

And so, I kissed Her Majesty the Queen one last time. Then, I saw her disappear in a flash of golden light.

There are plenty of ways to kill him. If an ordinary person like Tokiomi Tohsaka, with average intelligence, average magic level, average physical strength, and average everything else, wanted to kill him, it would be a piece of cake.

But ending this war so simply would be far too boring—look how many ambitious people, how many fools, how many madmen have gathered in this war—among the heroic spirits, there is an incomparably proud queen, an emperor with a childlike heart, a knight who wants to confirm the way of chivalry, a hopelessly stupid girl, an assassin who is like a shadow and leaves almost nothing behind, and a psychopathic black knight…

A traditional magician who wants to reach the source, a magic family willing to go to any lengths to prove themselves right, even recruiting a mad dog as a son-in-law, a young man who wants to prove his abilities, a man who wants to please his sweetheart, a lunatic who wants to save the world, and a poor guy who is ten years late and still hoping his ex-wife will change her mind.

This is such an interesting combination; it's never happened even in the previous Holy Grail Wars. For someone like me, who has been dormant for thousands of years and has hardly found any enjoyment, this couldn't be better.

So let's prolong this enjoyment a little longer. Although Jill might be angry if she knew—no, she definitely would be.

So... um...

I remembered.

That guy was quite inconspicuous in the Holy Grail War because his Servants weren't very effective; in fact, you could say he had already withdrawn from the Holy Grail War.

Kirei Kotomine.

That inherently wicked and emotionally devoid guy is still trying to find something that will interest him.

However, he has already tried almost all the so-called "good" aspects.

However, Kirei Kotomine, due to the constraints of his own moral values, dared not try it, which is the "evil" aspect of his character.

It seems Kirei Kotomine needs a guide—like the legendary serpent. That adorable serpent that swallowed the elixir of immortality and tempted Adam and Eve…

Hehe, hehehehe, heheheheheha ...

If there were a mirror in front of me right now, I would see that the look in my eyes is incredibly cold, like a sinister giant python.

Immediately afterwards, I jumped to another dimension and found myself in the church. I was slightly surprised to see all kinds of fine wines arranged in a wine cabinet that was taller than a person.

I never imagined there were so many good items. I really don't know where that guy found them.

I ruthlessly pried open the lock on the wine cabinet, then pulled out a bottle of red wine from some unknown vintage—the numbers confirmed it was over four hundred years old. I uncorked it and took a sniff; the aroma was surprisingly pleasant. This must be it.

After that, I lay down on the sofa, drinking red wine and waiting for the fish to bite. During this time, all of Kirei Kotomine's wine collection suffered; I took them out one by one, opened them, drank a little of each, and then abandoned them.

A short while later, Kirei Kotomine emerged from the Tohsaka residence. After speaking briefly with his father, he turned and went to his room.

Then I got a fright.

Why are you here?

Judging from Kirei Kotomine's tone, there wasn't much fear; on the contrary, there was some doubt.

"I heard there's an unlucky guy here who was banished from the Holy Grail War. So I wanted to come and see for myself, and maybe even give him a good laugh," I replied.

"Now that you've seen it, can we leave?"

Although he said that, Kirei Komine sat down on the sofa next to me.

After that, I downed the red wine in my glass in one gulp, then raised my glass to Kirei Kotomine, gesturing for him to refill it.

"...What do you take me for?!" Kirei Kotomine said, slightly displeased.

"Well, Father-san is quite the rigid person." I chuckled, then sat up, snapped my fingers, and the bottle moved on its own, pouring the wine into a glass. At the same time, a similar glass of wine appeared in front of Kirei Kotomine.

“I just took a quick look, and these bottles of wine don’t seem to have been opened at all. Father, why is that?”

"...I just collect them; I never intended to drink them," Kirei Kotomine replied.

"why?"

“…There’s no reason.” Kirei Kotomine said.

"I see. What a pitiful fellow." I chuckled. "As an agent of the Holy Church, your salary should be quite high, but judging from your appearance, you don't seem to know how to enjoy life. What a pity."

“We don’t need that kind of thing,” Kirei Kotomine said.

"Oh? Why?"

"..."

"Still no reason?" I chuckled and then said, "Father Kirei Kotomine, as an opponent in the Holy Grail War, I looked at a little bit of information about you and found something very interesting."

"What is it?" Kirei Kotomine asked.

"You seem to have a lot of talent, and you can reach a very high level in every endeavor you undertake—but just when that endeavor is about to reach its peak, you discard it like trash. Just like your approach to magic in this Holy Grail War. You studied desperately. You even wanted to surpass your cheap master, Tokiomi Tohsaka, in the level of healing magic."

"That's true, so what?"

"You're completely uninterested in those things, aren't you?" I asked. "To go further—you seem uninterested in anything in the world. If that's the case, why did you even participate in the Holy Grail War?"

"I participated in this Holy Grail War to support my teacher, Tokiomi Tohsaka."

"No, no, no—the Holy Grail wouldn't give you a Command Seal for such a reason." I said with a light laugh, "Everyone who participates in the Holy Grail War is chosen by the Holy Grail because they have strong desires. And according to my observation, everyone who participates in this Holy Grail War has a very good idea in mind. Only you have no idea what you want to do."

"No, in fact, I myself don't know why the Holy Grail chose me," Kirei Kotomine answered honestly. "Because I really don't want anything."

"I don't want anything, I just follow my heart and enjoy myself," I said.

"What?! Do you want me, a servant of God, to pursue evil pleasures?"

"Why equate pleasure with evil in an instant? You can do it too—some kind-hearted people find pleasure in donating to disaster relief and helping children who have dropped out of school. Such pleasure can't possibly be evil, can it? Or is it, Kirei, that what you desire deep down is what we call 'evil'?"

……

Kirei Kotomine remained silent for a long time. Then, I patted him on the shoulder, said, "I'll come find you for a drink later," and left.

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Target of Public Criticism

At this point, half of the Servants in the Holy Grail War have perished. Diarmuid Ua Ua Duibhne (Lancer), Gilles de Rais (Magic), and Hassan Zabada (Assassin) have all fallen. Adding to this the legendary Knight King Astraea, four Servants have been absorbed by the Holy Grail. However, I have taken over the rank of the Sword Servant. This means that there are still four groups participating in the Holy Grail War.

Light Baldwin, the Heroic Spirit of the Sword. His Master is Kiritsugu Emiya, the Magician Assassin. He possesses extremely powerful abilities; he could defeat three other Heroic Spirits in a one-on-one battle.

Gilgamesh, the Heroic Spirit of the Bow, has Tokiomi Tohsaka, the head of the Tohsaka family, as his Master. His abilities are roughly at the pinnacle of ordinary Heroic Spirits. Excluding myself, he should be considered the strongest Heroic Spirit.

However, because of the "special relationship" between Her Majesty the Queen and me, Gilgamesh is already in a state of semi-rebellion.

In conclusion, there is nothing to worry about.

The cavalry hero Alexander Iskandar's Master is... uh, Waver Velvet. A third-rate mage. Although the Conqueror King's abilities are quite good, arguably S-rank, I know him inside and out. His army is indeed extremely powerful, but in my eyes, it's still somewhat lacking.

In conclusion, there is nothing to worry about.

The Berserker Heroic Spirit, whose Master is Kariya Matou, the second son of the Matou family. In the fleeting glimpse of the battle at the docks, his abilities were remarkably powerful. Despite being a Berserker, his techniques are exquisitely refined, both aesthetically pleasing and practical—top-tier martial arts. Furthermore, his ability to transform anything he touches into his Noble Phantasm is quite terrifying. It seems this guy's abilities surpass those of ordinary Heroic Spirits; an A-rank rating is definitely warranted. Moreover, the possibility of him possessing other abilities cannot be ruled out.

Well, this guy is the only one whose background I have absolutely no idea about. But judging from his fighting style, he's definitely not some nobody. Maybe we've crossed paths in the past.

The unknown is generally the most dangerous thing, and variables are always the most hated thing for those who have already taken control of the situation.

So, the biggest obstacle right now is that guy.

After that, I went to the Matou residence again and had a brief chat with Zouken Matou.

"So, what are you really thinking? Do you really want to fight me to the death with an inferior product like Matou Kariya in this Holy Grail War?"

In the dimly lit basement, Zouken Matou and I sat facing each other. The only light in the entire basement was from a single burning candle, its flickering flames illuminating Zouken Matou's aged and repulsive face.

"How could that be?" Zouken Matou exaggeratedly feigned fear: "Just like Your Highness said, Kariya Matou is nothing but a crudely made, inferior product. Someone of Your Highness's stature shouldn't be afraid of such a thing, right?"

"Hmph... Answer my question."

Hearing Zouken Matou's evasive words, I snorted and unleashed a thousandth of my god-like aura in an instant. This caused the vampire-like monster to break out in a cold sweat...

"To be honest, I really hope that unfilial son can give me a surprise. If he can really bring the Holy Grail back, that would be even better," Zouken Matou said. "But think about it, if I could see this guy put in extreme effort and then achieve nothing, his face at that time would probably be quite a bit of fun."

Looking at the guy's excited expression, I knew he was probably telling the truth.

What a twisted madman.

I sighed inwardly, genuinely unable to care about the messy affairs of Matou Kariya and Tohsaka Tokiomi. They're enemies anyway, so I'll just defeat them all.

However, it is indeed quite interesting to shut down a neurotic guy who wants to save someone and have his dreams shattered.

"But Sakura has already been taken away by me, hasn't she? Doesn't Matou Kariya have any reaction to this?" I suddenly thought of this question and asked it.

"Hehehehe..." Zouken Matou laughed maliciously, "I slightly altered his memories. I made him believe that Sakura is still here. That's it. So, if this guy really gets the Holy Grail back, I really don't have any bargaining chips to trade with him."

Zouken Matou seemed to imagine his so-called "son" having fought arduously to win the Holy Grail War. With his last vestiges of life, Zouken crawled to his side, demanding that he fulfill his promise. Then, he would clearly tell him—that Sakura Matou was already long gone.

At that time, that guy must have looked really good.

Even I'm starting to look forward to it a little.

A smirk played on my lips as I said, “Still as awful as ever, Zouken Matou.”

"Not at all, Your Highness flatters me."

Well, this guy actually took that as a compliment.

I rolled my eyes, finally understanding Zouken Matou's mindset: victory is gratifying, defeat is insignificant. He'd just treat it as a show. After all, he suffered no loss.

"Now I can rest assured." Immediately afterwards, I jumped back to the Einzbern family mansion in another dimension.

The Einzbern family mansion has been completely restored. There's not a trace of damage left—it's as if it were made of paper—such complete restoration magic is merely the most basic of the basics for gods. But for a magician, it's a miracle among miracles. Emiya Kiritsugu, being a magician himself, naturally knew the difficulty of such a feat. His confidence in his victory grew even stronger.

Originally, this guy wanted to find a new place to hide since his hiding place had been discovered. However, I rolled my eyes and told him directly that it was completely unnecessary. Because: with me stationed there, even a thatched hut can become an eternal fortress.

Moreover, this level of housing is among the best even in the entire Fuyuki City. Why should I leave this mansion unoccupied? Am I supposed to live in a slum? Pshaw, that's underestimating God.

After my sarcastic and persuasive words, Kiritsugu Emiya reluctantly stayed. Moreover, as the Holy Grail War progressed rapidly, his wife Irisviel's health began to deteriorate. As a homunculus and the vessel for the Holy Grail, after absorbing the power of three Heroic Spirits, the Grail within her had begun to activate—in fact, if Kiritsugu hadn't sealed a portion of the Excalibur's scabbard into her body earlier, she would have long since lost her human form.

"This is the last period of time for you two as a couple. Cherish it."

Perhaps this is the real reason why Kiritsugu Emiya ultimately decided not to move out.

During this period, Kiritsugu Emiya spent roughly the same amount of time with his wife as he went out scouting. I was busy cultivating a relationship with Father Kirei Kotomine. Yuki was taking care of the child and, quite irresponsibly, introducing Sakura Matou to magic. The only one truly focused on the Holy Grail War was probably Maiya Hisau. This girl, a former South American child soldier, was indeed a competent warrior. But that was all. If anything went wrong, she'd most likely be dead.

"So, Miss, why are you working so hard?" I couldn't stand it anymore, and asked Hisayu Maiya, "Can't you relax a little and take a break?"

"……unnecessary."