Nobunaga was curious if they would be able to weaponize such research. They already had a good number of unused Command Seals from the previous Grail Wars they stole from the priest, but additional ones wouldn't be refused. Considering the power boost Berserker got from just one being activated and him acting along the lines of its command, Nobu saw it as an absolute win over their opponents. However, the boy abruptly shook his head.
"Sadly, no. The notes describe a complex magic system in its entirety. And while I can come to understand a little of it at a time, it wouldn't be anytime soon even if I was capable of using magecraft. And I highly doubt our ally or his brother would be much help considering their talent or lack thereof in the craft. He also didn't write anything that could be used against the Einzbern. Which is quite interesting…"
"Hoh?" Nobu sensed actual interest in Lelouch's tone. "Interesting, how?"
Lelouch thought about how to phrase it before continuing, drawing up his source material for Nobu to see over his shoulder. "Although he wrote a lot of things about the Einzbern head during the times of the first Grail War, he didn't write anything actually critical about their former head, a woman by the name of Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern." The mouthful of a name was oh so eloquently dictated by the boy without pause as he resumed. "Apparently, the two shared a common dream about creating a perfect world. One of the oldest diaries noted a younger's Zouken fascination akin to infatuation or romantic feelings for her."
"You've been reading up on someone's love story since holing up in here, Lulu?" Nobu couldn't help but tease as she pressed against him from behind. "That's quite adorable of you, little boy~~~!"
"It's just speculation," he sighed, pointedly ignoring her bust on the back of his head. "It's hard to say when he only wrote respectful praises for the person. Considering the number of people he'd mentioned prior to her, it was odd for one to be so positive compared to the overwhelming majority." Snapping the diary shut, he huffed. "But still, to learn that the monster who was grooming children to become his vessels in a worm pit once sought out a utopia for all humans… Hah… Quite the fateful end, turning into a villain instead of dying as a hero."
"Hm…" Nobu hummed at the unmentioned parallels but decided to redirect the topic instead. "So, if not the Command Seals or his origins, did you find anything else? He was there during the first, and you said he practically had a hand in designing the whole gig. He must have something useful."
Lulu paused in silence to look over a few notes. "There is one thing curious about the Grail system itself. As you know some parts of this war were left unmentioned to everyone outside three founding families, correct?"
Nobu snarled with mild irritation. "Yeah. The fact Servants are nothing more than glorified fuel for that cup."
"Still holding a grudge?" Lelouch said with a small smile as he looked up, inadvertently leaning against her bosom but meeting her gaze from below. "I thought taking out two of the three heads of the founding families would please you, my dear daimyo. Or, what is it? Is the blood of Tohsaka Tokiomi and Makiri Zouken not enough for you?"
"You know that I won't feel satisfied until all of them, and even the cup itself, is crushed under my foot, Lulu," doubling down on his attempts to tease her, she leaned in so that her eyes aligned with his. Both of them felt the other's breath on their foreheads. "For bringing this sham of a ritual to form, even the Einzberns must pay for their sins."
"Then, I shall have to serve them on a silver platter just for you, my dear." Her fellow Demon chuckled while he tickled the spot behind her ear. It wasn't lost on her that a simple tug from him would have their faces mashed together. It was then that she opted to break away from the contact first before popping the cork off the bottle she brought with her. "Oh, right. You also might be interested to learn another untold secret about this war."
With his back turned to her, Nobu managed to hide the flush of her cheeks behind the strong kick of sake. Despite calling them wimps and worthless, they had great taste in drinks. "Hm-hm? And what may that be?"
"Apparently, that which a Master and Servant pair seeks to attain is only one of two parts." The knowing smile on the boy's face told her the attempt to hide her shame was seen through.
"Quite the riddle there, Lulu. Mind keeping it simple for me?" Regardless, she pressed on, ignoring the smirk behind his eyes.
"Did you know that there is something called a Lesser Grail?" This indeed caught her attention and snapped her out of the shamed drinking. "And if there is a Lesser, there is also a Greater Grail. Two halves of the same whole."
"Wait, there are two Grails?!"
"Not in the way you'd think. The Lesser Grail functions more as the key to the Greater Grail. Its main purpose was to store the souls of the fallen Servants. In other words, the Lesser Grail is the device that allows the victor of the War to claim their prize from the Greater Grail."
That… changed things. From a strategic standpoint, it actually made their jobs of preventing a winner actually easier. So long as they kept the supposed winner away from the Lesser Grail, the War would never end and a conclusion will never be reached. Even if the other Servants were all killed off.
"But there's more." The boy caught her attention once more. "The Grail was advertised as an omnipotent wish-granting device that will do whatever its owner wants, but that's not the entire truth."
"Elaborate," Nobu asked with a serious tone. Both of them already knew that Servants were shafted by their true fate at victory's end, but it would appear to be all the cons. "Do masters fight for nothing then?"
"No. They do get something out of it. Only the manner of accomplishing the wish itself isn't as what we were led to believe." He showed her Zouken's journals which contained the scheme. "The Grail itself isn't a wish-granting machine akin to a genie in a lamp. From what the younger Zouken defined in his journals, it grants its user a connection to a virtually unlimited supply of magical energy, the core of all magics, the Root."
Nobunaga paused as she carefully observed the book. There were two pictures of the Grail. The Lesser Grail looked like an actual cup. The Greater Grail, however, wasn't drawn. But there were numerous notes and drawings referring to something noted as the Third Magic. The longer she looked at the complex diagrams, the more furious Nobu became.
"So not only were we Servants lied to?! Any Master's wish is basically null and void, forfeited instead for… for this?!" It was good—no, a great thing Lelouch was her Master. Being upfront with the truth was a plus, but he was also an outsider. One she could absolutely rule out as an accomplice to those she now hated more than her traitorous kin.' We are Servants… incarnations of Heroes long past that have left their marks on the Throne of Heroes… But… we're just… expendable?! Just to be used and tossed aside for these worthless magi to get their hands of some fancy magic art lost to time?! And here I thought the intricacies of my incarnation was a mess…'
Teeth ground so hard, it could be heard in the silence of the room. Something made up of glass shattered just as the floor beneath her foot creaked under sudden strain. She was pissed.
'Those bastard magi…' such was her fury that the shut windows of the study seemed to groan under the immense pressure her aura emanated. 'How dare they?!'
To have manipulated her into the role of a sacrificial pawn, to force her into a scenario where she either fought and won nothing or fought and died for less, to have pulled the wool over her eyes with the promises of a wish… Despite having known half the truth before, Nobu was angry beyond words seeing the full story now.
"Nobu?"
Even though she was called the Demon King, she wasn't ever truly the real incarnation of Oda Nobunaga. But despite it, she still shared the original Demon King's values. She would never use her soldiers as pawns. Nobunaga sent them to fight. She as well would fight alongside them. All for a purpose. All for a noble goal. Back then, it was to unite their lands, to bring peace under her banner, even if their legs gave out and could carry them no more, until theirs and their enemy's blood flooded the rice fields, even if her relentless push would damn her to hell, she and her armies would fight on for that noble purpose.
And her armies fought. Damn well, they did. Not because her allies and subjects would do everything their lord daimyo ordered, no. But because they knew what they were fighting for. They believed in the same dream of conquest as she. For glory and honour, for loyalty and trust amongst comrades, many pledged to follow her, to see the dream through. She is Oda Nobunaga, the one who fought and killed and slaughtered many in the quest to unify her fractured Japan. Her armies were ready to do everything to achieve that dream.
'But worthless magi have the audacity to call upon heroes like myself from the Throne… all for the sake of an infinite mana supply? Is that supposed to be some sort of joke?' The desire for omnipotent power, merely more of what they already have. The greed in such a desire was not lost on Nobunaga. And though many would argue that she was just the same in her conquest, let it not be said that Nobu wouldn't cut down the ignorant for such assumptions. 'Unlike me, they have no honour, no purpose, no genuine unifying reason for anyone to give up their lives… They aren't even risking theirs, sending us in as sacrifices to the slaughter. They aren't any better than those annoying monks who hid behind their walls—No, at least those monks had a sense of values that made them human. Magi are nothing but a joke. Not giving a damn about those around them and just doing as they please, ruining the lives of others…'
The thought of such a cold-hearted outlook on life, wherein all were just a resource to be used for one's own ends, was cruel and cold, but one she came to accept during her path as a ruler in life. But… that didn't mean she embraced it wholeheartedly like the sham of seers who created the Grail system, to begin with.
She didn't know what might have happened if Lelouch wasn't her Master. Or maybe she did? She might've returned to the Throne the moment she found out the truth and was well aware her Master was just the same as the rest of them. A head would've been blown to smithereens despite any attempt to protest or appease her anger.
However, Nobunaga also doubted she would have been summoned by anyone else in his place. She and Lelouch were two of the same side of the coin. They shared a similar story, the same dream (if a bit different in scale) and their deaths were the results of their own decisions. And theirs were tales with purpose and self-sacrifice. To be made pawns in some farce… 'They'll pay… they'll burn in hell… I'll drag their souls into it myself if I have to—!'
"Nobu." His voice pulled her out of the rage and anger for a brief second. "Are you listening to me?"
She met his eyes. The deep violets crossed the crimson gaze, remaining as calm as they will ever be. Lelouch could feel her anger. She could sense his frustration. Neither of them needed to rely upon their connection to know. Just looking at the other's face was enough to tell what their partner's thoughts were on the matter.
But while Nobunaga was consumed with hatred for those who tried to use her to such an end, Lelouch was different. Calmer. With a gentle voice and a hand clasping her clenched own, he asked of her.
"Breathe. Breathe and relax, my daimyo." She did as her partner asked. But it wasn't enough. "Stay your anger for a moment, please—"
"Can I burn this city?"
"Eh?"