To become a king and a magician

"Well, we've finally managed to get out here, I wonder if Natsukawa and the others have arrived yet—I think the Holy Grail War starts tonight? Well then, let's find a place to stay before then, Souji."

"Yes, Arcueid."

16. Fuyuki City: Tired. Let's destroy it, quickly.

Although the Holy Grail War is a magical ritual performed by mages, in order to ensure that the Holy Grail War does not affect the surface society, the Church sends overseers to supervise the process of each Holy Grail War and does its best to cover up the impact left by the battles between Servants.

In Fuyuki City, the Fuyuki Church is naturally in charge of this matter.

Ten years ago, it was Kotomine Risei who was in charge, and now, the person in charge is naturally his son, Kotomine Kirei—that should be the case, but in reality, the person in charge of this Holy Grail War is not him, but someone who was parachuted in from the Church headquarters, with Kotomine Kirei serving as his assistant.

"Assassin has been confirmed to have appeared, Ms. Lillian."

Ten years have passed, and he has matured considerably, but Kirei Kotomine, whose true nature has not been awakened and who still appears wooden, said this to the woman in front of him.

Lillian – the overseer directly dispatched by the Church to supervise this Holy Grail War.

This was Kirei Kotomine's perception of the person before him, but he was actually somewhat puzzled... Was her slightly revealing attire, by church standards, really that of a nun? Even if she herself said it was a uniform worn to exorcise demons.

Would the church allow such indecent attire?

In fact, of course not. Even if there were exceptions, they wouldn't happen to Lillian. After all, Lillian—or rather, Meryl—wasn't actually a member of the Church. She just wanted to see how much fun this Holy Grail War would bring, so she used illusion magic to disguise herself as a member of the Church.

Taking the report from Kirei Kotomine, Merry smiled and flipped through it twice: "So that's how it is... I see. So this is the Assassin, the genius swordsman of the Bakumatsu period, the captain of the first division of the Shinsengumi, Okita Souji. Compared to the previous ones, this one is not so worrying."

Ms. Lillian is very familiar with the identities of all the Servants. She can recognize the real names of all the Servants confirmed in this Holy Grail War at a glance. This is another thing that Kirei Kotomine has learned in the past few days. According to him, he used to work in the field of history and is quite familiar with the heroes.

It seemed like a flawed explanation, but under the influence of illusion, Kirei Kotomine did not doubt it.

"So, there are now five confirmed Servants: Saber Arthur, Archer Gilgamesh, Lancer Scáthach, Assassin Okita Souji, and Caster the Magician."

After listing all the Servants that had appeared, even Merry couldn't help but gasp. Apart from Okita Souji, the other four were all top-tier Servants. In other Holy Grail Wars, their summoning would be equivalent to victory. She never expected them to be gathered together now.

Especially Caster.

(Why would that Magic King answer the summons? Having a Grand Servant participate in the Holy Grail War... that's practically cheating! What's the point of fighting like this?!)

As a candidate for Grand Magician, Merry was well aware of the power of that Magic King. Even when he appeared in the world as a Servant, his power was absolutely extraordinary. Fortunately, the other Servants competing against him this time were also monsters, otherwise this Holy Grail War would probably have ended in an instant.

Even so, defeating that Magic King is theoretically quite difficult; any one of the seventy-two Demon Gods would require multiple Servants to defeat.

(Making the Magic King the target of all Servants, evolving into a scenario where six Servants fight together against a super demon king—that doesn't seem feasible.)

Ultimately, it's impossible to get those arrogant Servants to join forces unless a devastating event occurs that could cause the Earth to explode. But the only potential bomb in this Holy Grail War is now almost a dud.

(Ultimately, does it all depend on the king's performance? To fight the Magic King with all his might just to get someone to marry him... Hmm! That doesn't seem so bad! It's like a hero defeating a dragon and rescuing a princess!)

Of course, Meryl doesn't consider herself a princess; if she had to be called one, she'd say she's an elf or a magician who guides heroes.

"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Kotomine. There are two Servants left. If you find them, please let me know immediately."

"Understood, then I'll go first—"

Jingle Bell!

Before Kirei Kotomine could finish speaking, his cell phone rang in his pocket. The church was not like the association; it was not opposed to modern technology, unlike the clock tower which didn't even have a telephone line.

After taking out his phone and answering the call, Kirei Kotomine hung up and said to Merry, "Ms. Lillin, just now, the people near the station confirmed another Servant and his Master, along with a companion. Here are the photos."

Kirei Kotomine handed his phone to Merry, which showed photos of Touko Aozaki and Ryougi Shiki, who had just come out of the station.

"Hmm, now everyone except Morgan is here."

Thinking this, Mary looked at the silver-haired man who was also near the two people in the photo, and then immediately fell silent.

"Ms. Lillian?"

“Mr. Kotomine... this is just a suggestion. I think it would be better if we told the citizens to leave Fuyuki City first.”

"Why is that? Is there anything special about this rider?"

Melie sighed: "I wonder if you've read Homer's epics? If I remember correctly, this male servant is one of the heroes recorded in them, and he is also mentioned in the Iliad and the Odyssey, leaving a strong mark on the hero."

Heroes mentioned in both the Iliad and the Odyssey?

Wouldn't that be—

"Odysseus, the strategist who devised the ingenious Trojan Horse."

(What kind of nuclear-level Servants have arrived?! You all acted so nonchalant back then, but now it seems like everyone's going all out! Can't you be like Arcueid and give me some peace of mind?!)

Mary could already imagine what kind of epic battle it would be after the war started, and she now deeply regretted disguising herself as a church member—how was she going to clean up this mess!

Gas explosion? No, it's a fat man and a boy!

(Ah... my stomach is starting to hurt. I'll have His Majesty the King massage it when I get back...)

————————————————————————————————————

Meanwhile, at London's airport.

Dragging his suitcase along the boarding route, Morgan looked at the figure beside him: "I must be the last one to arrive. It really took me a lot of effort to summon you—how do you feel about descending in a class that is completely out of place with you?"

"Under normal circumstances, its combat power would be somewhat insufficient, and suppressing berserk mode requires considerable strength."

"There's nothing we can do but leave you with the Berserker class—are you looking forward to it? A reunion with that child after ten years."

“If it weren’t for this attitude, I would be even more looking forward to it.”

The swordsman, whose radiance had dimmed somewhat, replied with a wry smile.

Morgan smiled slightly: "I'm still very curious about how that child will react when he sees you like this. Alright, it's time, let's go."

"【Berserker (Arthur)】"

17. Fuyuki City is really small.

The top floor of the Fuyuki Grand Hotel, the location Kenneth chose ten years ago.

It has now become Natsukawa Tiger's stronghold.

"—In conclusion, the difficulty of this Holy Grail War has skyrocketed to Hell level, Your Majesty. You'd better do your best."

Lying on Xia Chuanhu's lap, Mei Li said this while rubbing against his stomach.

Listening to the various Servants she mentioned, Natsukawa Torama frowned in slight distress: "Gilgamesh, Scáthach, Odysseus, King Solomon, Okita Souji... they are almost all formidable opponents."

"Indeed, although I don't know much about Okita Souji, the others are undoubtedly formidable opponents who require our full effort."

Artoria also had a serious expression on her face.

"If my master hadn't returned my scabbard, I would probably have been in a tough fight against any of them, and even with the scabbard, victory would have been very difficult."

Although Artoria is confident that she will not lose to anyone, when faced with such a formidable enemy lineup, even the most confident person must act according to the actual situation.

Rubbing Merry's belly, Natsukawa Torama asked, "What about Berserker? If that's the case, its Master should be Morgan, right? Any news?"

"No, Morgan probably used some covert methods. Her familiar in England did catch her boarding the plane, but only her. There was no reaction from any of the Servants. Hmm, that's enough. My stomach feels much better."

As she sat up from Natsukawa Tora's lap, Meryl rubbed her stomach and said, "Sigh, I should have known better than to use this identity. Neither Aoko nor Orange is giving me any peace of mind. It's going to be a real hassle to clean up this mess."

“I can help you with my imagination materialization, but if Arcueid is also an opponent, I’m not sure if she’ll let me borrow her power,” Natsukawa Torama laughed. “Well, let’s not talk about that now. It’s getting late, let’s go have dinner first—Saber, you must be hungry too?”

"No, Servants don't need to eat. I'll just wait here—"

Guh~~~~~

A rather embarrassing sound made Artoria blush and lower her head. It was true that she said no, but her body said no.

"Alright, I don't know what our tastes are yet. I remember seeing a buffet restaurant when we came here before, let's go there tonight."

"buffet!"

Artoria's ahoge (cowlick) stood up immediately, and her eyes flickered slightly.

"Then the three of us can go together. As for Xiao Mo and the others... I don't think I need to worry about them. Ling Yi and Gray are there."

Because there were a relatively large number of people on this side, and considering tactical factors, apart from Artoria, Mordred, Atalanta, Gray, and Sajou Rei did not travel with them. Instead, they settled elsewhere in Fuyuki City, forming an ambush force.

As for how effective it will be, we'll see when the time comes.

————————————————————————————

"Uh......"

"cut......"

Inside a shopping mall in Xindu, at the entrance of a buffet restaurant.

Aozaki Aoko looked at Aozaki Touko in front of her.

Aozaki Touko looked at Aozaki Aoko in front of her.

The two of them, quite in sync, both let out a cold snort.

Even after what happened in Misaki City, and despite some contact over the years, the sisters' relationship wasn't much better. Especially in this Holy Grail War, where they were competitors, there was no need to hide their resentment.

(Be careful, Master.)

Beside Aozaki Touko, the spirit-like Odysseus spoke up.

(I can sense the aura of the Servant; it was released intentionally by the other party, and it is quite sharp and powerful, probably one of the Three Knights.)

One of the Three Knights.

Aozaki Touko sneered, "Looks like you've summoned a decent Servant, Aoko. Are you going all out to win this time?"

“After all, this concerns our junior, so we can’t be careless. Touko, you’re the one who didn’t expect to bring Shiki as an assistant. I thought you would go to Beo.” Aozaki Aoko looked at Ryougi Shiki behind her. “Shiki… doesn’t seem to be a Master.”

"I'm not a magician, but I've already confirmed that I can spar with Servants."

Odysseus was summoned four days ago, and immediately after he appeared, Ryougi Shiki fought him. Without using the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception and without Odysseus using any Noble Phantasms, their physical combat skills were evenly matched.

This is beyond the realm of common sense, considering the power of humankind.

(Hmm... that little girl... I see. With those eyes, she's definitely a formidable opponent to be wary of, Master.)

Scáthach, who was also in spirit form, commented on Ryougi Shiki with great interest. She could naturally tell from Ryougi Shiki's words that she was connected to the Root, and even Scáthach in the Age of Gods had never seen a similar individual.

With those demonic eyes added to the mix, I might actually get killed if I'm not careful.

(Is the Mystic Eyes of Shiki the death you feel so close to? Lancer)

(Maybe, I'd like to try and spar with her if I have the chance, but now's not the time.)