A dimensional journey starting from the Dragon Clan

He only knew that in Stessa's time, since the beginning of the Second Holy Grail War, the old man Ahad had suffered the pain of more than one defeat. Therefore, for him, the anxiety in his heart when facing this third opportunity was extraordinary. Nine years ago, the old magician made the decision to welcome Emiya Kiritsugu, who was notorious as the "Magician Assassin" at that time, into the Einzbern family. He just took a fancy to Emiya Kiritsugu. His skills.

"The holy relic that people were looking for in Cornwall finally arrived this morning."

The old man Ahad was stroking his white beard, which was reminiscent of a frozen waterfall, while looking directly at Kiritsugu from the depths of his sunken eye sockets with a shrewd gaze that made it impossible to tell how old he was. Kiritsugu, who had lived in this ancient city for a long time, faced the clan leader face to face every time. As before, I still couldn't stand his gaze that made people feel the pressure of paranoia.

On the altar that the old patriarch gestured with his hand, there was a long black charcoal cabinet tied up in an exaggerated way.

"Using this thing as a medium, you can probably summon the strongest Servant as the 'Sword Heroic Spirit'. Kiritsugu, just think of this as the Einzbern family's greatest aid to you."

"I'm really ashamed of myself. Lord Patriarch."

Pretending to be expressionless and stiff, Kiritsugu lowered his head deeply.

The Einzbern family broke the tradition of introducing other blood from outside, and the Holy Grail didn't seem to have any objections. The Command Seal appeared on Emiya Kiritsugu's right hand three years ago. Soon he will bear the thousand-year wish of the Einzbern family to participate in the upcoming Fourth Holy Grail War.

The old patriarch turned his attention to Irisviel, who was also bowing her head in a respectful manner next to Kiritsugu.

"Irisviel, how is the condition of the equipment?"

"There's no problem, it functions normally even in Fuyuki."

Irisviel replied smoothly.

The wish machine "Cauldron of Omnipotence" itself only exists as a spirit and does not have a physical body, so in order for it to appear as a spirit in the physical form of the "Holy Grail", a "Holy Grail Vessel" must be prepared. Therefore, the battle between the seven Servants for the Holy Grail can also be called a seance ceremony.

The task of preparing artificial Holy Grail instruments has been held by the Einzbern family for generations since the beginning of the Holy Grail War. The task of preparing "instruments" for this Fourth Holy Grail War fell on Irisviel, so she had to rush to Fuyuki with Kiritsugu Sen, and she had to be on the battlefield.

Old man Ahad nodded solemnly, his eyes flashing with a mad intensity.

"This time we must... not leave a single person alive. Kill all six Servants. This time we must achieve the third magic 'Holy Grail of Heaven'!"

"As you command!"

Hearing the old patriarch's command, which contained a cursed and passionate passion, the magician and the artificial man, a couple burdened with the same fate, responded in unison.

But deep down in his heart, Kiritsugu disagreed with the old patriarch's obsession.

Achievements... The patriarch of Einzbern condensed all his emotions into this one word, which contained a thousand words. Having said that, Einzbern’s spirit is probably all that is left is this obsession with “achievement”.

The materialization of the soul is the great work of God. After a thousand years of searching for this magical skill that was forced to be lost... After a dizzying wandering, they have reversed their means and ends.

Just to get definite proof that the thousand-year pursuit was not in vain, just to verify the existence of something "certain", the Einzbern family desperately wanted to get the Holy Grail. But for them, what purpose the summoned Holy Grail is used for, this sense of purpose has long been out of the scope of consideration.

"It doesn't matter. Just follow your expectations and use my hands to achieve the Holy Grail that your family has been pursuing."

Emiya Kiritsugu also said this from the bottom of his heart with an enthusiasm that was not inferior to that of old man Ahad.

"But it's not limited to that. I want to use the Omnipotent Cauldron to fulfill my long-cherished wish..."

············

Kiritsugu and Irisviel returned to their rooms, opened the long cabinet entrusted to them by the clan leader, and were attracted by the contents inside.

"I didn't expect that I actually found this thing..."

Kiritsugu, who was usually calm, seemed to be very touched at this moment.

It's the scabbard.

Made of gold and decorated with dazzling blue enamel, this luxurious equipment is not so much a weapon as a treasure that shows the majesty of a nobleman like a crown and a wand. The engraving carved in the middle is a long-lost fairy script, proving that the scabbard is a work of art made by inhuman hands.

"...Why is there no flaw? Is this really an unearthed cultural relic from an era 1,500 years ago?"

"This itself is just a conceptual treasure. As a material thing, it will naturally fade away. Not to mention as a medium for summoning as a holy relic. This is a treasure in the field of magic."

Irisviel respectfully took out the golden scabbard from the lined box and held it in her hand.

"It is said that this scabbard can heal the owner's wounds and stop aging just by wearing it on the body... Of course, the premise is that its 'original owner' provides magic power."

"That is to say, as long as the summoned heroic spirit uses it, this thing itself can also be used as a 'Master's treasure'."

Kiritsugu was fascinated by the unique design and extraordinary beauty of the scabbard, but after a while, his thinking immediately switched to the pragmatic direction of using it as a "tool". Irisviel looked at Kiritsugu and smiled helplessly.

"If you put it this way, even Servants are like this. No matter how famous a hero is, as long as he is summoned as a Servant, he is just a tool to the Master... Guys who have unrealistic illusions about this will not be able to Victory in this battle.”

When he revealed his side not as a father and husband, but as a warrior, Emiya Kiritsugu's profile became extremely cold. In the past, before she understood her husband's heart, Irisviel was very afraid of seeing Kiritsugu like that.

"Only people like you are worthy of this scabbard - this is grandpa's judgment."

"Is that really the case?"

Kiritsugu looked clearly dissatisfied. If old man Ahad knew that his grandson-in-law and adopted son Kiritsugu had this reaction to the holy relic he had tried so hard to obtain, he would definitely be so angry that he could not speak.

"Are you dissatisfied with Grandpa's gift?"

Irisviel had no intention of accusing Kiritsugu of being rude, but just asked as if it was a bit amusing.

"How is that possible? He has done enough for us. There must be no other Master who can get such a trump card?!"

"If there is such a perfect holy relic, the heroic spirit summoned must be the one we want. But the contrast in personality between him and me as the Master is too great..."

Originally, regarding the summoning of a Servant, a large part of the nature of the summoned heroic spirit is determined by the spiritual temperament of the Master. If it is not a specific heroic spirit, in principle, the ones that are summoned are all heroic spirits similar to the summoner's spiritual temperament. However, the fate with the holy relic is the priority factor. The more precise the origin of the holy relic, the heroic spirit that appears will generally be locked to a specific person.

"...That means you are uneasy about the contract with the 'King of Riding Earth', right?"

"Of course. There are probably not many men like me who run counter to chivalry."

"Fighting openly is not my style. Especially when fighting to the death. If you attack, you should attack from behind or while the enemy is sleeping. You don't have to choose the time and place to destroy the enemy more efficiently... What do you think is noble? Will your Lord Knight accompany me in such a battle?"

Irisviel fell silent and stared carefully at the shiny scabbard.

Indeed, Kiritsugu is such a warrior. He will do whatever it takes to win. There is no need to try. He and the character of the original owner of this scabbard are absolutely incompatible.

"...But don't you think it's a pity? The owner of the 'Sword of Victory' is undoubtedly the most powerful ace in the Saber class."

Indeed.

Only this shining scabbard can match that supreme sword.

This must be a relic of King Arthur, the legendary king of knights who has been circulating since the ancient Middle Ages.

"That's true. 'Saber' is originally the highest level among the seven classes summoned by the Holy Grail. And if this Knight King occupies this position... I will be equivalent to getting an invincible Servant. But the key is how to use this effectively. The question of the strongest combat power. To be honest, from the perspective of ease of manipulation, 'Caster' and 'Assassin' are more in line with my personality."

At this time - which was extremely inconsistent with the luxurious flame tree-style interior decoration, a thin electronic sound inserted into the conversation between the two.

"Ah, finally here."

On the heavy ebony work machine, a portable laptop computer is placed casually, just like a sewing machine on the operating table. The wizarding family with a long history has never found its convenience in science and technology, and the Einzbern family is no exception. This small electronic device, which seemed strange to Irisviel, was a personal item that Kiritsugu brought to the city. There are very few magicians who have no objection to the use of this kind of machine, and Kiritsugu is one of them. When he asked for telephone lines and generators to be installed in the city, the old patriarch was given a slap in the face.

"...Then, what exactly is it?"

"A report from the guy who sneaked into the London Clock Tower. I asked him to investigate the situation of the Master who participated in this Holy Grail War."

Kiritsugu sat in front of the machine and began to operate the keyboard with skillful techniques. A new email was displayed on the LCD screen. It was a new technology called "Internet" that had recently begun to spread in cities. Irisviel had already heard Kiritsugu explain this. However, she could not understand even 10% of her husband's patient explanation.

"...Oh, there are only four people who have figured it out right now.

In the case of the Tosaka family, of course it is Tokiomi Tokiomi, the contemporary clan member. A tricky guy who is good at using the 'fire' gem magic.

It seems that the Matou family forced the laggard who did not inherit the position of patriarch to become the master, which is really nonsense...but the old guy in that family is also trying his best to get the Holy Grail.

Among the foreign magicians, the first is Kayneth, a first-level lecturer from the Clock Tower.\\nElmeloi.\\nArchipolud.

Ah, I do know what this guy said. An expert with dual attributes of 'wind' and 'water', proficient in séance, summoning, and alchemy. He is a famous magician in the present society. This is really troublesome.

There was also a person sent by the Holy Church... Kotomine Kirei. He was originally the agent of the 'Eighth Secret Society' and the son of Father Kotomine Rimasa, who was responsible for the supervision. Three years ago, he was sent to Tosaka Tokiomi to learn magic. Later, he broke with his teacher because he was also given a Command Seal. Humph, he is really a guy full of gunpowder. "

Kiritsugu scrolled the screen while browsing the detailed investigation contents. Seeing her husband like this, Irisviel was bored. Suddenly, he realized that Kiritsugu, who had been looking at the screen for some time, had a serious expression. A stern look on his face.

"……What's wrong?"

"This is Father Kotomine's son. Even his experience has been washed away——"

Irisviel stood behind Kiritsugu and looked at the LCD screen, following the direction of his finger. It was hard for Irisviel to read the text on the non-paper screen, but she couldn't complain about it when she looked at her husband's serious expression.

"...Kotomine Kirei. Born in 1967, he has been on pilgrimage to the Holy Land with his father Risei since he was a child. In 1981, he graduated from San Ignazio Seminary in Manlesa... He skipped two grades. And he was the president of the student union, so he seemed like a big shot."

Kiritsugu nodded displeasedly.

"With his momentum, he could have reached the position of Cardinal, but he gave up the opportunity to stand out and switched to the Holy Church. There are many other options, so why did he choose to rely on the internal organization of the church?"

"Maybe it's because of his father's influence? Kotomine Rimasa also belongs to the Holy Church."

"If this is the case, the goal of recovering the holy relics should have been the same as his father's from the very beginning. It is true that Kirei ended up in the same department as his father, but before that, he was transferred three times and was once appointed as an 'acting agent' Man'. He was only a teenager at the time. You can't do this job without a certain amount of perseverance."

It was the bloodiest department of the Holy Church, and was known as the Shura Nest responsible for combating heretics. Being able to obtain the title of "agent" means that he is a first-level killer, which means that he has passed the cruel training as a human weapon.

"Perhaps he is a fanatical believer. The younger he is, the more pure he is. There is such a thing as fanatical love for faith that exceeds a certain limit."

After hearing Irisviel's opinion, Kiritsugu still shook his head.

"That's not the case... If that's the case, this guy's current situation in the past three years cannot be explained." ()