Rin stopped stirring her spoon after a long time. Unhurriedly, with natural grace and elegance, she picked up her coffee cup and slowly savored the rich and distinctive flavor of the Blue Mountain coffee.
As the second most expensive coffee in the world, only coffee produced from the 6,000 hectares of land in Jamaica's Blue Mountains, at an altitude of 1,600 meters or more, can be called Blue Mountain coffee. This coffee possesses all the characteristics of a good coffee; not only is its flavor rich and mellow, but because the sweet, sour, and bitter notes of the coffee are perfectly balanced, it has no bitterness whatsoever, only a moderate and perfect acidity.
Because Japan has consistently invested in the Jamaican coffee industry, Blue Mountain coffee is largely controlled by Japan, and they have acquired priority purchasing rights. 90% of Blue Mountain coffee is bought by Japan. As a result, the rest of the world only gets 10% of Blue Mountain. Therefore, even in a small city like Fuyuki City, Japan, one can drink this world-renowned, authentic Blue Mountain coffee.
Rin didn't know when she started to develop a taste for this elegant flavor, typically associated with nobility. Perhaps the more she encountered it, the more she appreciated its quality.
Although Rin usually never paid attention to her own behavior or cared about elegance and nobility, there's a saying: three generations of wealth cannot cultivate a true noble. The Tohsaka Family, with a thousand-year legacy and the family motto of "always remain composed and maintain an elegant and noble demeanor," had long ingrained this aristocratic elegance and mannerisms into their bloodline.
At this moment, though she was only wearing a very ordinary bright red women's coat and simple dress, her posture as she sat alone by the window, savoring her coffee, exuded the aura and image of an absolutely perfect young lady.
Quietly enjoying her coffee, Rin watched the bustling street outside the window. This Holy Grail War coincided with Fuyuki's brief winter. At five o'clock, it was already nearing evening. Outside, the lights were brilliant: streetlights, vehicles, couples holding hands, warm families with parents pulling their children, a constant stream of people on the street, and various restaurants, shops, dance halls, bars, and nightclubs on both sides of the road were about to enter their peak business hours.
Although only separated by a pane of glass, Rin felt a world of difference. So close, yet an unbridgeable distance—this was the gap between those in the surface world and those in the hidden world.
"Hmm?!"
Rin, who was observing the pedestrians on the street, suddenly saw two unexpected people, and Lancelot immediately sent a strong mental fluctuation:
"My King!..."
A silver-haired girl with noble elegance in luxurious attire, and a delicate, handsome young man whose arm she held. Even at a party filled with movie stars, such a perfect combination might not be witnessed.
Images once only seen on screens were now vividly playing out on the streets of a Japanese city. Passersby often stopped in their tracks with just one glance.
Irisviel and Artoria!? After all the changes that happened yesterday, why were they still strolling outside?
Rin couldn't help but rest her cheek on her hand, looking with a puzzled expression at the princess and knight duo, who were attracting countless gazes on the street.
It must be said that in this Fourth Holy Grail War, Irisviel and Artoria were the most perfectly matched pair, from their temperament to their relationship. Two innocent and beautiful young women, a delicate and charming princess with a strong and valiant knight—they were simply a match made in heaven.
Unfortunately, Irisviel was not Saber's Master, but rather the wife of her Master. In her previous life, countless netizens had complained that Kiritsugu's dissatisfaction with Saber was precisely because she was too close to Irisviel.
Rin concentrated her thoughts for less than half a minute and then understood the key to Saber's current actions.
Undoubtedly, after everything that happened yesterday, Saber's very existence had been exposed. From the conversation with Jalter, it was clear that all their information, including Saber's true name and noble phantasm, had been revealed. There was no longer any point in hiding. The only secret remaining for their group was the existence of Saber's true Master, hidden in the shadows.
From the very beginning, Kiritsugu Emiya's plan was for Irisviel to impersonate Saber's Master to attract the attention of other teams, while he, in secret with Maiya Hisau, would assassinate the other Masters, even using other Masters to eliminate other Servants as well.
Under the current circumstances, this operational plan had transformed from being the most feasible to an unavoidable situation. Even Saber had no grounds to object further. Knowing the situation was unfavorable yet stubbornly proceeding was not the valor of a knight, but foolish recklessness.
Looking at the dazzling and beautiful combination of beauties walking along the window sill not far away, Rin immediately developed a huge interest.
Artoria, the ancestral Saber who is the source of all Saber series, is undoubtedly the most popular female protagonist of the Type-Moon series, having been extremely popular for a decade since her debut and still highly sought after. Moreover, Artoria is undoubtedly the first love of all Fate fans. Rin entered the 2d world (anime/manga world) through Fate/Zero, and it was the stunning and shocking sight of Artoria that made him fall in love with the 2d world (anime/manga world). Only then did he fall in love with Rin in other series.
It can be said that the relationship between Rin and Artoria in Rin's heart in his previous life was like that between a beloved wife and a first love. Undoubtedly, the beloved wife was the most cherished, but the sweet and innocent memories of first love were unforgettable, irreplaceable, and undeniable in his heart.
Of course, this emotion could not be perfectly transplanted to Rin; after all, Rin and Rin are not the same person. Rin only possesses a part of Rin's memories. Besides, Rin at this moment is a bona fide goddess, while Rin, no matter how you explain it, cannot escape the fact that he was a shut-in otaku.
However, this emotional memory from his previous life aroused great interest in them. The most popular female protagonist of the Nasuverse, and the foundation of the Holy Grail in the Fourth Holy Grail War, the mother of Illya, the lesser grail in the Fifth Holy Grail War, Irisviel von Einzbern.
Since it's interesting, I might as well follow them and strike up a conversation.
Do what you want to do; act on impulse. This is the guideline I set for myself after last night: do whatever you want, no matter what effects or consequences, as long as you have absolute power to suppress everything, there will be no problem at all!
The winter sun finally set completely. The streets were draped in another color by the night. When Irisviel saw the colorful neon lights constantly flashing, she was captivated.
There are countless cities in the world whose nightscapes far surpass Fuyuki City, but for Irisviel, everything she saw with her own eyes was the most beautiful and precious treasure.
"It's so beautiful… So, as long as there are many people, the night becomes this beautiful…"
Irisviel couldn't help but murmur excitedly to herself, while Saber nodded speechlessly.
For her, this scenery, so far removed from the era she once lived in, also brought her a considerable amount of emotion.
But there was always a string tightly strung in her mind, diligently and seriously releasing her spiritual perception to explore all suspicious auras around her. This was enemy territory, and that fact had never changed, especially after the encounter yesterday. Saber was currently maintaining a constant state of readiness for battle.
Saber's enemy-detection ability was not outstanding, and depending on the situation, a wandering Saber might even be discovered first by an enemy Servant. Although enemies mostly would not directly attack crowds, perhaps they would seize an opportunity to launch a surprise attack on her.
If it were yesterday, she could still confidently and calmly accompany Irisviel, letting her breathe the air of freedom. At that time, she had an unwavering faith in her sword.
She was one of the strongest classes chosen by the Holy Grail, a Heroic Spirit of the Sword class. In close combat, no one could surpass her. She believed that no matter what situation a battle unfolded in, she could handle it with ease.
Therefore, Artoria had even thought that being ambushed would be most advantageous. As long as she openly blocked the attack and then found an opportunity to counterattack, that would be it. She would let all foolish opponents who underestimated her know what a true swordsman was.
However, an unexpected encounter with Jalter completely gave Artoria a rude awakening; the so-called strongest Servant: Saber was simply a joke.
Even if the Saber class could preserve a Servant's strength to the greatest extent, the inherent strength of the Servant itself was not something the class could compensate for.
At this moment, Artoria only felt unable to hold her head high in front of her incompatible Master, and had no standing to object to continuing with the tactics he had devised, executing them reluctantly.
Compared to Irisviel, who was still enthusiastically enjoying the night view of Fuyuki beside her, Saber dared not relax for a moment.
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