Type-Moon: Shinji Matou Also Wants to Be the Protagonist

It's those two again. Are they trying to turn the world upside down?

The aftermath of the hotel explosion a few days ago hasn't even been dealt with yet, and now this happens again?

Tokiomi Tohsaka's knuckles, gripping the jeweled cane, turned slightly white.

He stood on the terrace of the Tohsaka mansion, gazing at the lingering smog on the edge of the city.

"Qili."

He called out in a low voice, his voice filled with barely suppressed frustration.

From the shadows behind him, Kirei Kotomine appeared silently, a rare hint of seriousness appearing on his usually expressionless face:

"Master, it has been confirmed that the explosion occurred in an unfinished building, and there were no casualties."

Kirei Kotomine, holding the intelligence he had just received, reported to Tokiomi Tohsaka in a completely flat tone.

Hearing Kirei Kotomine's words, Tokiomi Tohsaka finally felt a little relieved, at least things hadn't gotten to the worst possible point.

Immediately afterwards, Tokiomi Tohsaka asked the most important question:

"Who did this?"

"Intelligence indicates that Kiritsugu Emiya's female assistant was in the vicinity at the time."

Then Kiritsugu Emiya should also be there; their combined goal is likely to assassinate Lancer's Master.

The explosion occurred shortly after the intelligence was gathered.

Although he did not name the culprit, Tokiomi Tohsaka had already decided who the murderer was.

All I can say is that Kiritsugu's reputation is too authoritative.

Taking a deep breath to suppress his anger, Tokiomi Tohsaka asked:

"Where is Archer?"

He has already gone to the scene.

Kirei Kotomine's tone remained calm, but his eyes, hidden in the shadows, revealed a hint of absent-mindedness.

At this moment, what surged in his heart was not blame for Emiya Kiritsugu or Kenneth, but an indescribable sense of emptiness.

Another destruction, another round of chaos, another misfortune.

He could only stand aside, taking notes and reporting, like a sophisticated machine.

Tokiomi Tohsaka failed to notice his disciple's unusual behavior and heard the sharp sirens of fire trucks coming from afar.

Tokiomi Tohsaka took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

"Let's go, let's go to the scene too!"

Several large-scale explosions occurred in succession in the city.

Unless he can unleash a spell to repair all the damage, and incidentally give a signal to everyone in the city.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to suppress it simply.

The most urgent task is to find someone to take responsibility for this incident.

If left to fester over time, who knows what kind of trouble it might cause.

Regardless of who did it, Tokiomi Tohsaka must be present at the scene to obtain evidence.

This way, when it comes to holding people accountable later, they can shift the blame, or at least reduce their own responsibility.

A series of figures flashed through Tokiomi's mind—the estimated value of the destroyed warehouse district, the collateral damage to surrounding buildings, possible compensation for casualties, hush money from the Magic Association, and most troublesome, the dual appeasement of the church and the government.

The Tohsaka family's wealth accumulated over hundreds of years is indeed substantial, but it is by no means inexhaustible.

He had already used a considerable portion of his family's assets for the recent dock explosion and hotel demolition.

Whenever he thinks about these things, Tokiomi Tohsaka feels his heart bleeding.

If this incident is classified as a magical disaster caused by the Tohsaka family's inadequate supervision.

That astronomical sum of compensation was enough to make the title "disciple of the Gemstone Master" a laughing stock in history.

"Kiri, inform the church that we suspect it was the work of an overseas magician organization."

As Tokiomi strode quickly toward the car, he gave the order in an unquestionable tone.

"Have them prepare a preliminary statement about 'aging gas pipelines,' but don't release it yet."

Kirei Kotomine nodded silently and put the intelligence file into the inner pocket of his black robe.

His gaze swept over Tokiomi's taut profile, where a crack appeared in the mask that always maintained elegance and composure.

A slight twitch at the corner of his eye, and his knuckles turning white from strain.

This almost desperate sense of urgency gave Kirei a strange feeling.

However, time was tight, and there was no time for him to savor it slowly.

Kirei Kotomine pushed the car's performance to its limits.

But by the time they arrived at the scene, it was too late.

The moment Berserker took away the Noble Phantasm, Artoria felt the incurable curse on her wounds disappear.

With a sufficient supply of magic, her injuries began to heal slowly.

Most importantly, her Noble Phantasm has been completely unlocked.

Diarmuid suffered serious injuries after being targeted by both Archer and Berserker.

Having lost two Noble Phantasms, Diarmuid, without any suitable weapons, could only grab steel bars from the ruins as weapons.

But how can steel bars compare to the renowned Holy Sword?

With the power of the Command Seals diminishing, Diarmuid, whose physical abilities were enhanced solely by the Command Seals, was completely powerless to retaliate.

It can only be said that Diarmuid, apart from his low mana cost, is not a particularly strong Servant.

Even with the enhancement of Command Seals, the potential wasn't raised much.

If Diarmuid had even one or two Noble Phantasms that could unleash energy blasts, he wouldn't have lost so badly.

When Tokiomi Tohsaka and Kirei Kotomine arrived, all they saw was a golden torrent of light shooting into the sky.

It left another dazzling mark in the sky above Fuyuki City.

Lancer Diarmuid, on the other hand, vanished into nothingness in the torrent of light.

With that, Lancer is gone!

"Ding-dong~"

Upon seeing the golden pillar of light shooting into the sky, Tokiomi Tohsaka dropped his cane with a crisp sound.

The Holy Grail War shouldn't be like this!

You should have carefully probed each other before taking action;

Patiently gather key information about the opponent's Servants and Masters;

Masters should follow the strategy of befriending distant states while attacking nearby ones, seeking temporary alliances amidst the complex situation.

Throughout the process, various dramatic little surprises should also be cleverly interspersed.

Examples include betrayal by allies, battles between arch-enemies, becoming friends after a fight, and burying the hatchet with a smile.

Instead of what we do now, where people openly and recklessly engage in violence in public all the time.

The Holy Grail War should be a secret ritual!

Chapter 65: A Major Change is Imminent, A Swift Strike is Needed

Shinji had no idea what kind of soul-searching question Tokiomi Tohsaka was asking.

However, Shinji knew that Tokiomi Tohsaka would soon feel even worse. He'd probably let out a happy howl.

Because, apart from Artoria's Noble Phantasm release, it is difficult to conceal.

Gilgamesh, riding in a flying boat, relentlessly unleashed a hail of bullets upon Lancelot, a truly formidable opponent.

Although the explosion occurred in the suburbs, Lancelot fled in the direction of the city's outskirts.

It's not nighttime when everyone is asleep, it's broad daylight.

So even though Gilgamesh only appeared in the city for a very short time, he was still photographed.

By now, quite a few video resources have already begun to circulate online.

Lancelot had already activated his Noble Phantasm, "Helmet that Conceals Infidelity".

This Noble Phantasm is an evolution of the forbidden love between the knight Lancelot and Queen Guinevere.

It was precisely because of the "infidelity" of this illicit relationship that this protective gear, capable of concealing all identity information, was created.

In the eyes of the world, Lancelot is now nothing more than a blurry black shadow, an unidentifiable chaotic existence.

Even if someone were lucky enough to capture a picture of him, they would be unable to extract any valuable information from it.

Faced with this situation, Shinji shrank back without hesitation.

He had no interest in getting involved as a witness or a concerned citizen at a time like this.

It's one thing for the participants in the Holy Grail War to fight fiercely, but it's quite another to get caught up in subsequent official investigations or media scrutiny.

Shinji knew all too well the rules of this world—mystery must be concealed.

This is an ironclad rule jointly upheld by the Magic Association and the Holy Church.

Once a magician's existence is brought to light, the subsequent purges and silencing operations will be ruthless.

Shinji doesn't need to worry about Lancelot. With his Noble Phantasm, "Helmet that Conceals Infidelity," Lancelot can also indirectly conceal his presence. If he's determined to escape, Gilgamesh won't find it so easy to catch him.

Tokiomi Tohsaka would not allow Gilgamesh to act so conspicuously for too long.

So Shinji secretly called Webber and asked Iskandar to come and pick him up, and the three of them quietly returned to the apartment.

Grandia, who stayed behind to protect Kariya Matou and Sakura, immediately came forward and took Shinji's coat.

The two patients are still unconscious and will likely need to remain in bed for some time to recover.

"That was close! That was close!"

Shinji plopped down on the sofa, took the water Greta handed him, and gulped down a large mouthful before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

Weber, who was standing to the side, took the drink, thanked Greta, and looked shaken.

"I mean, are you guys exaggerating?"

Iskandar, however, looked at the two of them with a puzzled expression.

Shinji put down his water glass, rubbed his temples, and looked at Iskandar with a hint of helplessness in his eyes.

"You're just a Servant, of course you're not worried. We still have to live after surviving the Holy Grail War. If we get caught up in it and are labeled as sinners who exposed mystical secrets by the Mage's Association and the Holy Church, we'll never have a good life again."

He paused, then added:

"And don't forget, the King of Heroes doesn't care about any of this. If he causes too much trouble and drags ordinary people into it, the Holy Grail War itself might be forcibly terminated. At that point, forget about making wishes; we'll all be punished."

Weber nodded repeatedly, his fingers unconsciously tracing the edge of the beverage can.

“Shinji is right. The Clock Tower has always been strict in punishing those who expose their secrets, and even monarchical families are not exempt.”

Iskandar scratched his head, and a hint of understanding finally appeared on his rugged face.

He looked down at his own muscular body, then looked up at the sky over Fuyuki City outside the window.

"I see... I had overlooked that humanity in this era has lost its tolerance for the mysterious."

Shinji didn't reply, but instead turned on the TV.

Television channels continued to broadcast news about the "unidentified flying object in Fuyuki City" and the "suburban explosion."

Shinji glanced at it a few times, then muted it and tossed it aside.

Most of the footage in those videos was blurry and distorted, with the golden flying boat appearing and disappearing among the clouds.

Only a general outline can be seen, but that's enough.

It was enough to give Tokiomi Tohsaka a headache, enough to make the church and association hold meetings overnight.

This was enough to prompt certain astute forces to begin sending investigators to Fuyuki City.