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

Looks like I'm really going to be defeated here today!

Cú Chulainn tried to force a smile, but unfortunately, his frozen face was not strong enough to support such a complex movement.

"What's wrong? If you're not going to join the attack, I'll continue the assault!"

Despite no longer being able to feel his frozen limbs, Cú Chulainn still pointed his magic spear, which he either gripped tightly or was simply stuck to his hand, at the motionless Acid Water opposite him, and challenged him to a duel.

He could accept death, but he would rather die in battle than freeze to death in the low temperatures.

Just as he was trying to move his numb legs to rush toward the acid water, he saw the acid water on the other side point at him.

"Huh? What happened to me?"

Since Acid Water hadn't attacked him when he first emerged from the ice, Cú Chulainn didn't think the other was trying to distract him and simply looked down at his own body.

His body was gradually becoming ethereal because it was completely frozen, so he was completely unaware that his body was disappearing.

No wonder, I was wondering why I couldn't feel my legs even after moving around for so long.

The thought flashed through Cú Chulainn's mind first, and then, realizing that he was being summoned there by his Master using a Command Spell, he instinctively shouted.

"Lie——"

Cú Chulainn disappeared.

Yu Du emerged from the shadows, his face full of confusion as he looked at the spot where Cú Chulainn had disappeared.

"He was... called away by Father Mapo?"

why?

Could it be that Kirei Kotomine is also watching Cú Chulainn's battle?

Is he really that kind?

"But before Cu Chulainn unleashed his Noble Phantasm, he seemed to say that Kirei Kotomine allowed him to fight without restraint?"

Reflecting on the information Cu Chulainn revealed during the battle, Yuuto recalled the acid water, transformed into a spirit, and headed towards the hospital.

Is he going to kidnap Ilya right now?

……

The suburbs of Fuyuki.

After getting off the car and walking for a kilometer along the mixed forest, Kirei Kotomine stopped just before entering the sea of ​​trees.

At the heart of this sea of ​​trees lies the Einzbern family's castle.

As a participant in the previous Holy Grail War, he naturally knew about this.

He even went to that castle to kidnap Irisviel, the little Grail of that year, so he was quite familiar with the place.

Now, after ten years, he has returned here, with the same purpose as ten years ago: to steal the Einzbern family's Lesser Grail.

However, Kirei Kotomine knew very well that this forest was covered with the Einzbern family's barrier, and anyone entering or leaving would be monitored, so it was impossible to carry out a secret operation; the only option was to launch a frontal assault.

However, this Lesser Grail is still a participant in the Holy Grail War, and if the summoned Servant is not restrained by someone, his operation is destined to fail.

The original plan was for Gilgamesh to deal with the enemy's Servants and bring back the Lesser Grail, but unfortunately, the King of Heroes seemed uninterested in this matter, so he had to settle for second best and have Cú Chulainn hold off the Lesser Grail's Servants.

This is why, at noon, he casually issued the order for Cú Chulainn to fight anyone he wanted.

So, if we take advantage of Cú Chulainn's current boredom due to the lack of opponents to fight, and call him over, even if he knows that he is being used as bait, he will probably be happy to go and fight the Servant of the Lesser Grail, right?

A perfect plan!

"By command of the Command Spell, Lancer, come to my side."

With a blank expression, Kirei Kotomine revealed the three red markings on his left wrist and summoned Cú Chulainn without a second thought, using a precious Command Seal.

As the Command Spell took effect, Cú Chulainn's body gradually solidified before him.

But when he saw the other person's abnormal skin color and those eyes glaring at him angrily, Kirei Kotomine fell silent.

He might, perhaps, maybe... have pulled Cú Chulainn, who was fighting other Servants, over?

But didn't Cú Chulainn say he searched for two days and still couldn't find any other Servants?

Why now of all times...

Kirei Kotomine recalled the incident in the previous Holy Grail War when Tokiomi Tohsaka used a Command Spell to recall Gilgamesh from the battle.

His emotions showed a rare fluctuation.

Is this a curse from you?

teacher……

Chapter Forty: Someone will pave the way for us!

Sakura Matou has been discharged from the hospital.

Yuuto, who had just left the Matou family, arrived at the hospital and saw the two sisters going through the discharge procedures.

After all, Matou Sakura herself wasn't seriously injured; she only fainted due to some mental stress, and one night in the hospital was enough.

After transforming into a spirit, Yuto followed at a distance behind the two sisters who were walking silently forward, lost in thought.

Although the battle between Cú Chulainn and Absolute Zero was brief, it still caused some damage to the Matou family's garden.

If Kiri Sakura goes back and sees that scene that looks like it has been plowed by something, won't she faint from the shock again?

In fact, Rin Tohsaka wanted Sakura Matou to stay with her until the Holy Grail War ended. Unfortunately, Rin, who had finally overcome her pride, was politely rejected by Sakura as soon as she extended the invitation.

The three of them remained silent as they made their way to the front of the Matou family's house.

Seeing the messy courtyard through the iron gate, the already silent atmosphere between Rin Tohsaka and Sakura Matou became even quieter.

However, Yuuto felt it was alright, at least Matou Sakura didn't faint again because of it.

Although Rin Tohsaka didn't know why, she couldn't help but think that Yuwatari, who had been following them at a distance after becoming a spirit, was responsible for the situation.

The courtyard was perfectly fine when they left yesterday, how come it's become like this after only one day?

Considering the sudden increase in her magic power not long ago, Rin Tohsaka reasonably suspected that Yuuto had done something here.

Did he encounter enemies here?

Why would someone come to the Matou residence, which is now deserted...? Is it a Servant or Master from another group coming to investigate?

"Then I'll head home now. Thank you for taking me to the hospital, Tohsaka-senpai..."

Finally, it was Matou Sakura who broke the heavy atmosphere by opening the door and politely bidding farewell to the pensive Rin Tohsaka.

Rin Tohsaka, still lost in thought, suddenly snapped back to reality: "Oh! Um, get some rest, Sakura. The Holy Grail War isn't over yet, so don't go out unnecessarily these next few days..."

She stood there awkwardly for a while, but in the end, all she could manage was to say "get some rest." She couldn't utter a single word of the words she wanted to say to her sister.

Tsk tsk tsk, you can't even say a few words of concern. I think you're completely finished with your sister...

Yuuto, who was watching the show in his spirit form, shook his head inwardly, feeling somewhat annoyed by Rin Tohsaka's reaction.

Sakura Matou didn't react to Rin Tohsaka's words; she simply bowed politely and then walked through the Matou family's gate.

After Matou Sakura had turned and walked some distance away, Tohsaka Rin suddenly seemed to have made up her mind and shouted at Matou Sakura's departing figure.

"Don't worry! I'll make sure you get back to your normal life soon, Sakura!"

Sakura Matou walked into the mansion, but Yuuto saw her stop and turn around to look at Rin Tohsaka when she heard Rin Tohsaka's voice.

Bang.

The mansion gates closed, and Rin Tohsaka left with Yuuto after a while.

"...Let's go, Archer. There's not much time left in the Holy Grail War."

As if trying to conceal something, Rin Tohsaka walked hurriedly while discussing their next objective with Yuuto.

"Caster, Assassin, and Rider have all been confirmed to be gone. The remaining Servants are Saber, Lancer, and Berserker. Who do you think we should start with?"

Although Yuuto noticed Rin Tohsaka's flushed face, he sensed that she seemed to be feeling a little ashamed of what he had just said and was trying to distract herself, but he kindly refrained from pointing it out.

"In that case, I think we should start with the Lesser Grail!"

However, Rin Tohsaka was completely confused when she heard his answer.

She had heard Yuuto mention the concept of the Lesser Grail, but didn't he say yesterday that Sakura, who has a fragment of the Grail in her body, is the Lesser Grail?

Now that all the Holy Grail fragments have been removed from Sakura's body, how come there's still a Lesser Holy Grail?

Who is that Lesser Holy Grail?!

"Hmm... Master, do you remember the Berserker and his Master that I encountered before?"

Instead of answering Rin Tohsaka's question, Yuuto turned to ask her instead.

"Berserker...you mean that black giant with multiple lives? And his Master is that white-haired little girl?"

Rin Tohsaka tried to recall her memories from a few days ago based on the keywords given by Yuuto, and made a deduction.

"White hair... Could that little girl be an artificial human from the Einzbern family?"

"Pretty much. In short, she is the Lesser Grail of this Holy Grail War. I knew this the moment I saw her!"

Yuuto nodded in affirmation of Rin Tohsaka's conjecture, and without changing his expression, he patted himself on the back.

However, it seems that there is some truth to that statement. He did know that Ilya was the Lesser Grail the moment he saw her, or even before he saw her, so it cannot be considered as him patting himself on the back.

"Is that so... I remember the Einzbern family's castle is in the forest outside Fuyuki..."

After learning that Illya was a homunculus from the Einzbern family, Rin Tohsaka recalled the location of that castle.

She had researched matters related to the three starter families long before participating in the Holy Grail War, so she naturally knew the location of the Einzbern castle.

However, that forest shouldn't be so easy to breach; it's probably filled with countless barriers and magical traps...

Rin Tohsaka voiced her concerns, but Yuuto simply shook his head. Thinking of Cú Chulainn, who had been summoned away by Kirei Kotomine using a Command Spell, he smiled and said to Rin Tohsaka.

"Don't worry about that, someone will clear the way for us."

……

night.

Kirei Kotomine once again stood outside the forest where Einzbern Castle was located.

Because of Cú Chulainn's unexpected injury, he slightly delayed the operation to allow Cú Chulainn time to recover.

Although injuries of that severity could be quickly healed with a Command Spell, Cú Chulainn himself seemed furious that he had used a Command Spell to recall him from the battle, and was therefore extremely resistant to having him use a Command Spell to speed up the recovery.

Now, carrying Cú Chulainn who had already become a spirit, Kirei Kotomine stepped into the forest before him without any attempt to conceal himself, and naturally triggered the forest's barrier.

hum-

"Has someone broken in?"

Inside the Einzbern castle, Ilya, feeling the barrier being activated, got out of bed in her pajamas and frowned as she watched Kirei Kotomine walking confidently through the forest in the scene.

"These clothes...are they from the Holy Church?"

Chapter 41 needs no explanation!

click-

The decaying leaves in the forest crunched crisply underfoot as I trod on the dark, damp earth that never saw any sunlight, even on nighttime.

Kirei Kotomine walked leisurely through the forest for a while, until Cú Chulainn, who was following beside him, was getting a little impatient, and he finally stopped.

She wore a purple top, her youthful body wrapped in a white skirt, her long silver hair cascading down her back, and her crimson pupils reflecting the image of Kirei Kotomine.

Two pairs of white stork knights appeared before him, accompanied by Ilya, their voices faint due to the emptiness in their stomachs.

"People from the Holy Church? Trespassing on the Einzbern family's territory without a valid reason—even members of the Holy Church will pay the price!"

The little girl's clear voice subtly conveyed a threat to Kirei Kotomine as she turned her gaze to the indistinct figure beside him.

"And... I didn't expect that the overseer of the Holy Church would also be one of the participants in this Holy Grail War? This is a serious violation of the rules. Do you have any explanation for that?"

"explain?"

"That kind of thing is no longer needed."

Kirei Kotomine maintained a faint smile, standing confidently with his hands outstretched in front of Illya.

As mentioned before, the fact that Kirei Kotomine dared to barge into the forest so openly without any attempt at concealment, even knowing that the forest was surrounded by surveillance barriers, already demonstrated his stance and attitude.

Faced with Ilya's questioning, he chose to pull out six black keys from his body and throw them at Ilya's face.