"What… did you say?"
"You're telling me the three of them started fighting in their room?"
Inside the Fuyuki Church, Kirei Kotomine frowned as he monitored the other Masters through the shared vision of Hundred-Faced Hassan's clones.
"Yes."
"At first they were talking about something, but after a moment of sudden silence, they started fighting. Even though they tried to keep their voices down, it still didn't escape my ears."
The female-bodied Hundred-Faced Hassan knelt on one knee before Kirei Kotomine , dutifully delivering her report.
Because of the limits of human concentration, Kirei could not maintain the kind of 24-hour continuous vision-sharing with Hassan that he had used earlier while observing the battles.
If he tried that, the enemy wouldn't need to defeat him—his own mind would collapse first.
So at night he allowed Hundred-Faced Hassan to carry out surveillance independently.
Only when something unusual happened with the other Masters and Servants would she report back.
But this…
Kirei Kotomine pondered for a moment before suddenly bursting into laughter.
"Hahahahaha… King of Knights—Artoria Pendragon. Irisviel von Einzbern. Kiritsugu Emiya."
"How interesting… truly interesting."
A delighted smile spread across his face. Ever since the King of Knights had appeared, he found himself unexpectedly experiencing a strange sense of pleasure.
And added to that was someone he had long been interested in—
The Magus Killer, Kiritsugu Emiya.
Participating in this Holy Grail War had truly been the correct choice.
Kirei thought to himself. The emptiness within his heart was gradually being filled with this twisted sense of joy—and he wanted to continue savoring it.
No matter the cost.
"Master, Caster has been spotted near the hotel where Saber is staying!" Hundred-Faced Hassan suddenly reported.
"Oh?"
"I didn't expect following Saber would lead to such an unexpected bonus."
Kirei Kotomine immediately synchronized his sight with the Hassan clone monitoring Leon's group from afar.
A lecherous old man with a black beard and eyes bulging like brass bells instantly came into view.
—
"Hiss—"
Leaning against the headboard, Leon narrowed his eyes, forcing himself not to let out an embarrassing groan.
Squelch. Squelch. Squelch.
The muffled sound of pressure and friction echoed faintly in the room.
But at that moment—
A hysterical laugh suddenly rang out from outside the hotel.
"Kekekekeke!"
"I have come to welcome you, Saintess!"
"?!"
Leon, Artoria, and Irisviel, each busy preparing for the battle that might come tomorrow, all froze at the same time.
Leon swept outward with Observation Haki, instantly grasping what had happened.
He stood up angrily.
"Hm?"
Artoria—still slightly dazed and sitting on the bed—was pulled forward by inertia when Leon suddenly stood up. The next moment a force dragged her backward toward the edge of the bed.
Fortunately, Irisviel quickly reached out and steadied her.
Whoosh—
Leon, previously wearing nothing but the "Emperor's New Clothes," instantly switched into his Vibranium-woven King Arthur armor. With the Holy Sword in hand, his gaze pierced through the floor and balcony as if seeing straight through them.
He glared furiously toward the hotel's main entrance on the first floor.
"Caster!"
The hunched figure in a wide mage's robe—his eyes grotesquely wide—was none other than the infamous black sorcerer from European history, one of the real-life inspirations behind the villain Bluebeard from Western fairy tales.
In life, he had followed Saint Joan of Arc, worshipping her with the fervor of a fanatic.
But after Joan's death, he lost his way completely, descending into madness and corruption.
Thus he appeared now in this twisted form—
Summoned as a Caster-class Servant by a deranged young man named Ryuunosuke Uryuu.
"An enemy?!"
Artoria immediately snapped back to full alertness.
Still wearing the same cool nightdress as Irisviel, she and Irisviel were both swept up by Leon—one under each arm. With a single step, he leapt from the balcony and landed in front of the hotel's main entrance.
"Ah—ah—my Saint Joan, to meet you again here… I am deeply moved! Truly moved! TT"
"Your heroic figure—I have already witnessed it clearly through this crystal ball!"
Upon seeing the blonde girl who looked exactly like his saint, the black-bearded madman laughed and cried at the same time like a lunatic.
In his hand he held a crystal ball about twenty-five centimeters in diameter.
Inside it played scenes from Leon's earlier battles against Diarmuid and Gilgamesh, though the perspective was mostly focused on Artoria.
"Leon…"
Irisviel anxiously glanced around the surrounding streets.
Although they had deliberately chosen a hotel with fewer people, it wasn't completely empty. If passersby saw this, or if the hotel guests were awakened—
The rule that the Holy Grail War must remain secret would be broken.
"No need to worry, my lady."
"In order not to disturb the arrival of Saint Joan, I already used magecraft to put the nearby residents into a deep sleep before coming here."
"After all, my Master doesn't want to attract attention either—kekekekeke!"
"Saint Joan?"
Artoria licked her slightly pale lips and frowned in confusion.
"Caster, the person you're looking for is not here. You've made a mistake."
"No—no—no!"
"There is absolutely no way I could mistake you!"
"Ahhh—this dazzling golden hair! This slender figure! This beautiful face!"
"There is no doubt about it…"
"You are the Saint Joan I followed!"
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