How come the Ace of Cups isn't considered the Holy Grail?

This is the first time in ten years that he feels his daughter seems a little dim-witted.

Then, Misaya Reirōkan realized that Yūdō meant for her to look back.

Even her father is here, so Yuuto must have already confirmed that she is his Master before saying that she is his Master, so there is no possibility of mistaken identity.

Could it be that she, like her father, is a Master?

But where are her Command Seals?

Her father's Command Seal was on his left rib, so could her Command Seal also be on some part of her body?

Reiko Misaya subconsciously clenched her pajamas, but then quickly let go after suddenly remembering something.

No, no, we can put the Command Seals issue aside for now. The most important thing right now is to get Caster to release her father!

Since he claims to be her servant, he should obey her commands, right?

Having never encountered anything like this before, Reiryukan Misaya forced herself to speak despite her unease: "Caster, let go of my father."

Knowing he no longer needed to explain, Yudou waved his hand. The dark magician standing in the shadows waved his staff, releasing the magic array that bound the head of the Linglong Pavilion family.

Having regained control of his body, the head of the Linglong Pavilion subtly moved his body.

Fortunately, he wasn't in an odd position when he was immobilized, otherwise his muscles would definitely be sore now...

However, after verification from multiple perspectives, although it seems incredible, her daughter does indeed appear to have gained the status of a Master after his Command Seals disappeared, and even unconsciously summoned a Servant.

Misaya Reiryukan shared the same thoughts as her father. When she saw that Yuuto had indeed obeyed her orders and released the head of the Reiryukan family, she breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but feel a little excited.

Now that she has become a Master, does that mean she can also participate in this Holy Grail War and help her father?

"Ahem, I apologize, Your Excellency. I acted impulsively just now..." Having sorted out the situation, the head of the Linglong Pavilion tidied his slightly disheveled clothes and stood by the door, extending an invitation to You Du.

"However, my daughter's room isn't a suitable place to talk. How about we go downstairs?"

Yuuto, who had long wanted to leave this room, nodded, then summoned the black magician and followed the head of the Linglong Pavilion out.

"Mishaya, come to the living room after you've changed your clothes."

Before leaving, the head of the Linglongguan family made sure that Linglongguan Misaya changed her clothes and went to the living room as well.

Now that her daughter has taken her place as Master, she, as the Master, must also be present for this meeting.

This is not a Servant he summoned, nor is he the one who will cooperate with the other side in the Holy Grail War. Therefore, as a father, he cannot overstep his bounds and negotiate with the other side on behalf of his daughter.

"Okay, Father!"

Because she was still excited about being able to participate in the Holy Grail War, Misaya Reirōkan was full of energy even though she had just been woken up from her sleep.

As the door closed, the room became even darker.

Linglongguan Misaya got out of bed, wearing her rabbit slippers, and took out several sets of her usual clothes from the closet.

Although she still didn't understand how she summoned Yuwatari, it was really beneath the etiquette of the Reiryukan family that she was wearing pajamas for her first meeting with her servant!

She needs to change into a more appropriate outfit for the upcoming negotiations to make amends!

After looking at the clothes and dresses laid out on the bed, Misaya Reirōkan quickly made a decision and chose a dark-colored shirt and skirt to match.

"Wouldn't this make me look more mature?"

Reiko Misaya stood in front of the full-length mirror in her room, tugging at the red ribbon bow tied around her neck, making a final check.

Chapter 178 'First Meeting'

"Tea, please."

In the living room, after the head of the Linglong Pavilion led You Du to sit down, he took a teapot and brewed a pot of black tea for himself.

There were no servants in this mansion. After all, magic is something that needs to be kept secret from ordinary people, and hiring people who know nothing about it as servants would only make them feel constrained.

This was something his wife, Reiryukan Misaya's mother, usually did, so his movements were a little clumsy.

Yuuto could tell that he wasn't very skilled, but he didn't care. Anyway, he wasn't the kind of person who could tell the difference between good and bad tea. Back at Rin Tohsaka's house, he had just brewed black tea for himself using a tea bag and hadn't noticed anything wrong with it.

You Du picked up his teacup, took a sip, and looked at the man sitting across from him at the coffee table. The two of them sat there, neither of them making a move to speak.

They were all waiting for Reirōkan Misaya, a key figure, to arrive.

A moment later, the sound of slippers clicking on the wooden floor came from the hallway outside, followed by a knock on the living room door.

dong dong dong-

"Father, I'm here."

The heavy door was pushed open, and Reiryukan Misaya, dressed in a black shirt and a dark blue suspender dress with a red ribbon bow at the neckline, walked in with a nervous frown.

"Well, sit down."

"Yes."

After nodding to Yuuto in greeting, Reirōkan Misaya glanced at the two people sitting opposite her, walked to the sofa in the middle of the coffee table, gathered her skirt, and sat down.

There was no tea in front of her because children are prone to having trouble sleeping at night if they drink tea.

"Now that my daughter has arrived, may I address this gentleman, um... Caster? Is that alright?"

Since Yu Du did not reveal his real name, the head of the Linglong Pavilion simply addressed him by his class. Seeing that Yu Du did not mind, he adjusted his glasses and continued.

"Do you know why my daughter was suddenly chosen as the Master of the Holy Grail War?"

He didn't rush to ask Yuwatari's real name or Noble Phantasm, since the fewer people who knew this important information, the better. Ideally, only Reirōkan Misaya, as the Master, should know it.

Upon hearing this, Misaya from the Reirōkan immediately looked at Yūtō, as she was also very curious about these matters.

"Hmm... I'm not entirely sure why your daughter was chosen to be your Master, but I do have a guess, but before that..."

You Du looked thoughtfully at the head of the Linglong Pavilion sitting opposite him and said.

"Your daughter just mentioned that you also have Command Seals, so you must also be a Master, right?"

The head of the Linglong Pavilion nodded: "Yes, before today, I was indeed one of the Masters who participated in this Holy Grail War."

Important note: This happened before today.

"You mean before today?" Yu Du became interested. He had just realized that when he looked at the fragments of Azure Silver before, he didn't remember having a Master as young as Misaya Reirōkan. There was definitely something wrong!

Even Misaya Reirōkan could tell that there seemed to be a problem with her father's Master status.

"Actually, when I checked my Command Seals tonight, I found that all of them had disappeared." The head of the Linglongguan family truthfully recounted the strange events that had occurred that day.

Before Misaya Reirōdō could scream in fright, Yūtarō raised an eyebrow and asked curiously, "Disappeared? Did it slowly disappear while you were watching?"

"No, I don't know when it disappeared. When I saw it, all that was left where the Command Seal used to be was a scar-like mark..."

"Is that so?" Yuuto rubbed his chin, appearing calm on the surface, but inwardly he was constantly complaining.

The system did a really bad job; how could it just steal someone else's Master status?

"Hmm... I'm not entirely sure of the specific reason, but I have a guess, though I'm not sure if it's correct..." Yuwatari, who decided to patch up this behavior of the system, decided to start talking nonsense.

"Just like when you summon a Servant, if you don't use a relic, the summon will be based on the compatibility with the Master. Your situation is probably the opposite."

"On the contrary..."

Upon hearing You Du's conjecture, the head of the Linglong Pavilion paused for a moment, and his expression turned strange.

"You mean that because you were summoning Caster, the Holy Grail revoked my Master status and chose Misaya, who is more compatible with you?"

It sounds like he's been rejected by the Holy Grail... Is that just my imagination?

But does the Holy Grail actually have its own consciousness?

Although he knew that the selection of Masters was determined by the Holy Grail, the head of the Linglongguan family thought that this meant that there was some kind of screening mechanism set in advance in the Holy Grail. How could it really 'choose' on its own?

If someone else had told him this, he might not have believed it, but You Du was different.

In his view, although it was only a very simple exchange (referring to his defeat in one move), it was enough to show how powerful Yuto's skills in magic were.

A single summoned familiar could easily defeat him, not to mention the Caster class...

He now suspects that Yudo might be one of the great magicians of the Age of Gods!

"But the Holy Grail War hasn't even started yet, so why would she perform the Heroic Spirit summoning ritual ahead of time?"

The head of the Linglong Pavilion asked in confusion.

Even if the Holy Grail War ritual were performed before it began, it shouldn't be possible to successfully summon a Servant, right?

Otherwise, wouldn't every Master start summoning Servants the moment they get a Relic?

Especially for Servants of the Caster class, the earlier they are summoned, the greater their advantage. With just a little time, even preparing some incredible magic spells is not a problem at all!

"Well... regarding this, in theory, once someone is chosen as a Master, it is possible to summon the Servant in advance."

Considering that this was the first Holy Grail War in this world, Yuuto, a veteran who had participated in many Holy Grail Wars, began to explain things to the newbies.

"However, that would mean the Master would have to provide all the magical energy needed for the Servants' activities before the Holy Grail War even begins. Besides—"

At this point, Yuto paused for a moment before smiling and slowly speaking under the watchful eyes of Reiryukan Misaya and her father.

"Now that you've lost your Command Seals, how can you be sure the Holy Grail War hasn't started yet?"

……

"I am Saber, a knight." The blond youth stood on the summoning circle drawn in blood and asked the blond girl in front of him.

"Tell me, are you my Master?"

"Yes, my name is Aika Sajou."

The blonde girl gently lifted the light blue dress she had personally chosen that morning and gave a slight curtsy.

A sweet and serene smile appeared on her face, and beneath her empty, azure eyes, dark mud churned incessantly.

“Nice to meet you, Saber~”

Chapter 179 Please give me your guidance

Sajō Aika is a genius, not in the sense that she is exceptionally talented, but because she was born at a level that most people could only dream of but never reach.

Connected to the root cause.

Countless magicians spend their entire lives pursuing only a glimpse of the source, but she was directly connected to the source from birth. What others dream of is within her reach.

It is precisely because she is connected to the root that Aika Sajou is almost omniscient and omnipotent.

In just a few years, one can master one's own magic system, a system that would take an ordinary magician a lifetime to complete, and even learn several other magic systems in the process.

Everything was taken for granted in her eyes, and the future was like a script written on her screen, which she could look at whenever she wanted.

'Expectation' and 'surprise' were completely absent from her life; she was like a living, emotionless 'ghost'.

Therefore, in order to avoid making life too boring, she chooses not to foresee her future.

Even so, despite being almost omniscient and omnipotent, she still couldn't have ordinary emotions like others, and her life was as dull and tasteless as a blank sheet of paper.

Even participating in this Holy Grail War, to compete with six other magicians for the Holy Grail containing the Beast's egg, was merely to fulfill his duty as the heir of a magic family.

However... perhaps it was just a passing whim?

When she foresaw that she would fall in love with the summoned Servant, Ayaka Sajou did not stop, but chose to continue to foresee the future.

Then she saw the silver knight, a swordsman who was different from the one she had imagined—a strong physique and sharper eyes—who resembled a prince on a white horse.

As predicted, Ayaka Sajou fell in love, but at the same time, she saw herself being pierced through the back by that gleaming golden sword, but...

She still loves the prince so much!

Having witnessed her own future with Saber through a vision of the future, and facing the prospect of losing the Azure Silver Swordsman, Ayaka Sajou had an idea.

That's right. Since the prince doesn't accept her method of using the souls of those girls to replace the prince's soul to awaken the beast, destroy the quantum record fixed belt, and undermine the foundation of human reason in order to reproduce Britain's practices, then why doesn't she just do it secretly?

As long as everything is prepared before the prince is summoned, then all that's needed afterward is to simply throw in the souls of other Heroic Spirits, just like in a normal Holy Grail War!

That way, the prince won't find out, they won't be separated, and the prince's wish can be fulfilled!

As for her equally troublesome father and her foolish sister, Aika Sajou did not choose to eliminate them directly even though she foresaw what they would do in the future. Instead, she used suggestive magic to send them out of Tokyo and told them not to return until the Holy Grail War was over.

After all, elders and flower girls are needed at a wedding ceremony, aren't they?

But she didn't want her own prince to be seen or touched by her sister, nor did she want any interaction between the two of them.

Therefore, after spending some time collecting enough young girls' souls to put into the Holy Grail, and having everything prepared,

Unable to suppress her longing to see Saber as soon as possible, Ayaka Sajou summoned Saber using her scabbard ahead of schedule, thus beginning the Holy Grail War.

Looking at the blond youth standing in front of her, who looked exactly like the future she had envisioned, Ayaka Sajou smiled happily, while her thoughts began to wander.