That protagonist is trash; I could do better!

The transmutation circle unfolded from Shinji Matou's right hand and was embedded in the floor. It was infused with magical power, engraved with runes, and continued to expand and improve.

"Then I won't be polite." Irisviel smiled charmingly, took off her white knee-high boots and pounced on the bed, her black crystal stockings outlining her beautiful curves.

"What are you doing?" Shinji Matou turned to Irisviel and asked, puzzled.

Irisviel replied languidly, "Rest? The best way for an android to rest is to sleep. During sleep, my body will stop other functions and focus on restoring magic power, bringing my body to its peak condition."

Saber reprimanded her, displeased: "Irisviel, this behavior is far too rude to your master."

Irisviel was somewhat puzzled and asked Shinji Matou, "Is that so... Caster, what do you think?"

"I don't care."

"That's fine then. Saber, are you going to rest too? The pillows are so soft, and the blankets are so warm."

Saber looked away, seemingly unable to bear seeing her Master embarrass herself, and said stiffly, "Forget it, really. I hope you can be more self-aware as a Master."

"Master's self-awareness?"

"Yes."

“I have it.”

"Although Irisviel is the strongest Master, she lacks a sense of urgency!"

Irisviel laughed matter-of-factly, “Because you can’t do anything when you’re nervous, right, Caster?”

While still constructing the transmutation circle, Shinji Matou casually replied, "Although I can't do anything, I think Saber is right."

Irisviel's beautiful face flushed with embarrassment: "Even Caster said that..."

After drawing the transmutation circle, Shinji Matou nodded to Irisviel: "Then please step into this transmutation circle. Now we will begin analyzing your body structure."

Do I need to take off my clothes?

"The analysis process is carried out by my Mystic Eyes and the transmutation circle. No direct physical contact is required; just enter the range of the transmutation circle."

"Thank you for your help, Caster."

······

"According to Assassin's report, Saber seems to be acting together with Caster."

Hearing the report coming from the retro speakers, Tokiomi Tohsaka asked in astonishment, "How is that possible? The Matou family and the Einzbern family are the most fierce rivals in the Holy Grail War. They actually chose to cooperate."

"My teacher, please make a decision."

"Has it been confirmed that Berserker's Master is the serial kidnapper in Fuyuki City?"

"Yes."

Tokiomi Tohsaka listened to his disciple Kirei Kotomine's report through the retro speakers and fell into deep thought. This Holy Grail War was more intense than he had imagined. Tonight, the official start of the Holy Grail War, all the Servants had been confirmed.

Things are getting more and more complicated. He thought that summoning the King of Heroes Gilgamesh would surely lead to victory in the Holy Grail War, but Gilgamesh appeared as an Archer with the ability to act independently, making him difficult to control.

Performing the courtly etiquette between a ruler and his subject was meant to win Archer's favor, but their relationship was ruined by the commotion on the beach tonight.

"Is exposing one's invincible Noble Phantasm to all Servants a sign of composure or arrogance?"

Tokiomi Tohsaka muttered to himself, believing it to be the latter. In fact, the existence of a Servant of Rider's caliber severely shook Tokiomi Tohsaka's confidence in winning the Holy Grail War.

"Lancer, Caster, Rider, the strongest class Saber and the ultimate homunculus combination of the Einzbern family, this Holy Grail War is more intense than any previous one."

"The first Command Seal was used in a completely pointless way, resulting in the opposite of the intended outcome. To ensure victory, we must first secure the number of Command Seals. We only have two left, and continuing like this will put us at a disadvantage."

After much deliberation, Tokitomi Tohsaka made a decision and ordered the retro speaker: "Kirei, inform your father that I have something to discuss with him."

"Yes."

When you thought the female lead was just a purple-haired passerby!

The label of "harem" can still be placed on it.

Your purity is not high enough!

However, it's a tense time right now, so there won't be much romance, otherwise this chapter would have a completely different development.

Chapter Forty-Three: The Sheath and the Heart

Einzbern's artificial human technology belongs to the alchemical system, which is rather ancient. Since the creators left the Einzbern workshop, its technology has not truly improved. The control center, Golem Jubstacheit, continued to the eighth generation (Ahadeon) without any ability to innovate. Its essence is an artificial human device that exchanges the inability to improve itself for permanent operation. Nevertheless, the artificial human technology created by the Third Disciple is unparalleled in the magic world today.

Shinji Matou wants to investigate Irisviel's body and, if necessary, remove the Lesser Grail from her body.

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle~"

The transmutation circle emitted a faint blue light. Standing inside the transmutation circle, Irisviel frowned uncomfortably, enduring the strange sensation of external magic flowing into her body.

The transmutation circle connected to Shinji Matou's right eye, analyzing Irisviel's body and delving into the magical foundation that created her, where Shinji Matou saw something strange.

A beam of light

It was hazy and faint, yet it gave off a gentle warmth. When one realized what this warm light was, the concept was reshaped into a magnificent golden scabbard, decorated in the same style as Excalibur.

Avalon, the scabbard of Excalibur.

The scabbard is like Irisviel's heart; the magic within her flows into the scabbard and out the other end, forever maintaining her vitality as a homunculus.

"Mr. Caster, is it ready yet?" Irisviel asked shyly, blushing, inside the transmutation circle.

Shinji Matou's right eye gleamed with silver light as he stared at Irisviel's body. He quickly located another core, situated in the heart of Irisviel's body. The integration of all magic circuits, the complexity of its concept, and the perfection of its craftsmanship left Shinji Matou in awe. This was truly a miracle of magic.

"This is... the Lesser Grail, the culmination of over a thousand years of work at the Einzbern Factory. It's truly amazing." Shinji Matou murmured to himself, observing for a while before severing the connection between his right eye and the transmutation circle.

Beside her, Saber asked anxiously, "How is it?"

Irisviel is the Lesser Grail, and she is very worried that the corrupted Grail system will affect Irisviel herself.

Shinji Matou shook his head: "Theoretically, neither the scabbard nor the Lesser Grail can be removed. Both of these things form the foundation of Irisviel's body, and removing either of them could affect Irisviel's bodily functions."

Irisviel's expression tightened, and she said firmly, "I have already made up my mind that as the Servants leave the stage, my human side will slowly disappear, and the functions of the Lesser Grail will be restored. By then, it may be too late to stop it."

"I haven't finished speaking yet."

Saber said unhappily, "Caster, you always like to keep people in suspense when you speak. You just blurted out something so important all at once!"

"Although we can't retrieve the Lesser Grail, there's no need to worry too much. I understand why Irisviel is the strongest Master. All of Irisviel's android functions are created based on the concept of Avalon. Because of this connection, Irisviel's relationship with Avalon is closer than ever before. As long as magical energy is provided, Irisviel's body will be affected by Avalon's abilities."

Saber frowned in thought: "Caster, please explain it in simple terms."

"Saber, after you pulled the sword out of the stone, did your body stop growing and remain forever at the age of 15?"

"Yes."

"The same goes for Irisviel. She is united with Avalon in her current form, which means that Avalon will forever maintain Irisviel's body in the state it was in when she was created. This is also the reason why Irisviel became a Master. The revival of the Lesser Grail's functions will not affect Irisviel's functions as a Master. Do you understand?"

"learn."

Shinji Matou stood up, opened the window of the room, and a black crow with glossy feathers landed on Shinji Matou's shoulder, then flew away a moment later.

It is one of Shinji Matou's known familiars, responsible for monitoring the entire city of Fuyuki.

Irisviel sat on the bed and saw Shinji Matou talking to his familiar. She tilted her head and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

"A notice from the overseer of the Holy Church: all Masters must gather at the Fuyuki City Church at 9:00 AM tomorrow. If you cannot attend in person, you must send a familiar."

Irisviel was surprised: "The Overseer has summoned all the Masters; something serious must have happened. Has the Church also discovered the Holy Grail's anomaly...?"

Shinji Matou shook his head: "That's possible, but I think a more reasonable answer is Berserker."

Irisviel was so shocked by the fact that the Holy Grail had been corrupted that she almost forgot about being attacked by Berserker, since the two were on completely different levels of influence.

Irisviel suddenly realized: "That's right, Berserker's Master is not a regular mage, and he does not abide by the rules of the Holy Grail War. He also acted recklessly when attacking us. Such sources of chaos are usually the first targets to be eliminated."

Shinji Matou nodded and turned to leave the room: "Irisviel, we'll split up before tomorrow morning. It's too early to consider dismantling the Holy Grail. We must control the number of Servants who leave the field. The Holy Grail only needs to gather the souls of five more Servants to activate, so our priority is to eliminate Archer and Berserker. We can't let the outside world know that we've joined forces, nor can we let them know our purpose."

"I see."

Shinji Matou left the room, bowing respectfully: "You two must be tired today. Please rest now to prepare for tomorrow. My apologies."

Irisviel asked curiously, "Caster, aren't you staying?"

"?"

Irisviel smiled and patted the soft bed next to her: "This is your room, right? Let's sleep together."

"Irisviel!" Saber quickly shouted to stop her.

Irisviel said indifferently, "What does it matter? Caster is just a child."

Indeed, Shinji Matou was just a child, with a handsome and cute appearance that made it easy for people to lower their guard.

Shinji Matou politely declined, saying, "No need, I still need to prepare for the magic ritual."

"Oh, I see. That's a real pity."

Shinji Matou closed the door, and Saber asked her Master with some doubt, "Irisviel, you don't really think of Caster as a child, do you?"

"He's just a child."

"Caster is either a follower or a magician."

"But what does all this have to do with him being a child?"

Saber, looking defeated, said helplessly, "No, it's nothing."

Now, she fully realizes the fact that her Master is even more eccentric than she is.

Shinji Matou wasn't surprised at all. Irisviel had only been created for a short time and hadn't been taught common sense by Kiritsugu Emiya, so she didn't have a complete understanding of common sense.

Artificial humans cannot adapt to the complexity of human beings, which is why the Einzbern factory has always been in a state of self-isolation.

Sensitive words are really annoying.

The words "da" in "da holy grail" are all sensitive words. It's inexplicable. I've been searching for a long time and deleting them repeatedly.

Chapter Forty-Four: The Hunt

At the Fuyuki City Church, an elderly man dressed as a clergyman surveyed the empty church with his hands behind his back.

He is Kirei Kotomine's father, Risei Kotomine, and the supervisor of the Fourth Holy Grail War.

Kotomine Risei solemnly said, "Thank you all for coming from afar. You must be tired."

"The Holy Grail War is currently facing a crisis. It has been confirmed that the serial kidnappers in Fuyuki City who caused the recent riots are Berserker's Master, and he also used the power of Servants to massacre innocent civilians last night."