"Master, you're not hurt, are you?"
Mash held her shield up in a defensive stance with one hand while supporting Fujimaru Ritsuka with the other. "The situation around us... Wait, this is the presence of a Servant!"
"Hmm? What's going on?" Ritsuka was still a bit dizzy from the transition, but she perked up immediately upon hearing that.
After all, they had just landed. Who knew if the first Servant they encountered would be friend or foe? This was a sudden Singularity with a Foundation of Humanity Value of EX; heaven only knew what kind of things were inside.
The last North American Singularity was only A+.
But look at what appeared there? From the brothers Karna and Arjuna to a god-slayer like Scathach, and even those damn things like Demon God Pillars.
If A+ was already like that, Ritsuka didn't even dare to imagine what kind of monsters and demons an EX rank would hold!
"Mash, stay alert," Ritsuka ordered immediately.
On the other side, the Servant in the shadows also revealed her form.
"I say, you people..." Tohsaka Rin walked out from a small path with a dark expression. "Don't you know what the situation is? You actually dare to block our path here?"
"Are we still dealing with internal strife even at a time like this?"
She looked at the bewildered duo and spoke quickly, "Wait, that's not right. This look..."
Rin scanned Mash up and down. "It's definitely the aura of a Servant, though it's a bit strange. But of the Servants participating in this Holy Grail War, the only one we haven't seen is Assassin. Are you Assassin?"
"Who ever heard of an Assassin carrying a shield?"
"Wait a moment, Miss," Fujimaru Ritsuka understood by now. The other party likely mistook them for participants in the Holy Grail War.
"We actually..."
"Forget it, I won't pry into your secrets," Rin shook her head irritably before she could finish. "Since you're here and didn't immediately ambush us, you must also know how terrifying that person is."
"Are you here to seek an alliance?"
"Ah? Oh, right, yes," Ritsuka replied. Even though she had no idea what Rin was talking about, it didn't stop her from following along to gather information and clarify the situation.
"Indeed, that person is truly terrifying," Ritsuka said with a face full of reluctance. "The Holy Grail War... how could such a terrifying person appear?"
It had to be said that as a Master who had seen great storms, her emotional range was incredibly rich. Having encountered countless desperate situations, acting the part was essentially second nature to her.
"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?" Seeing Ritsuka's expression, Rin actually felt a bit of empathy. "Dammit, a Servant of that specification... can the Holy Grail War really summon something like that?"
Specification? Ritsuka and Mash exchanged a glance. Ritsuka then said, "Yeah, we just don't know the True Name. To be so terrifying... they should be quite famous in history, right?"
Hearing this, Rin gave them a strange look.
"History?" she asked suspiciously. "You think you can find her in history?"
"Uh, surely there should be some clues, more or less?" Ritsuka was completely stumped. What did she mean by 'can't find her in history'? If someone isn't in history, how can they become a Heroic Spirit?
This person is really suspicious... From the Servant who didn't look like an Assassin at all to her current words and actions, Rin silently observed the Ritsuka in front of her.
The latter didn't even dare to breathe under her gaze.
Did I say something wrong?
"No matter what clues you find, it's likely a waste of effort," Rin said after a moment of silence. "She doesn't come from history."
"Huh?" Ritsuka was baffled. Having only reached the North American Singularity, she didn't know many of these secrets yet.
"She comes from the future—a future we cannot reach," Rin sighed. "Trying to win through intelligence was a non-starter from the beginning."
"The future..." Ritsuka and Mash looked at each other. "Such a thing..."
"Unbelievable, right?" Rin shrugged. "If my own Servant hadn't told me that he also comes from the future, I actually wouldn't have believed it either."
"It's just that he and that person aren't from the same era, so he's completely unreliable in that regard."
"...Miss, can I ask a question?" Ritsuka spoke after two seconds of silence.
"It's fine, go ahead," Rin nodded generously.
"As far as I know, in a Holy Grail War, we should be enemies," Ritsuka looked into her eyes. "Why are you telling us so much?"
Is that person you mentioned truly so invincible?
"You really are a weird one," Rin's eye twitched. She hadn't intended to look too deeply into it, but the other girl wasn't even trying to hide it. "Last night, right here, she defeated my Archer and that fellow Emiya's Saber all by herself without even using a weapon."
"The reason we're alive isn't because we're strong, but because she looked down on us for being too weak. She told us to go connect with the other participants and challenge her once we've gathered everyone."
"Understand?"
"Another over-specification Servant?" Ritsuka gave a bitter laugh.
"Another?" Rin narrowed her eyes. "Say, what do you two think? Do you want to form an alliance with us?"
"Right now, excluding the Einzbern group, the relationship between everyone else is a matter of 'if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold'."
"...Do we have any other choice?" Ritsuka seized the opportunity and agreed.
"Then let's go. Come with me to meet the others," Rin said with a smile. "And we can discuss the battle plan while we're at it."
Without a doubt, this was a test. Even if the situation didn't allow for it, she wouldn't lower her guard against others—at most, she'd exclude a hopeless do-gooder like Emiya.
Besides, the person in front of her was just so suspicious.
"Alright," Ritsuka nodded and walked over with Mash.
Psh, testing or not, she was long used to it. Every mission started like this.
"Yo, you've actually got some guts," Rin said, looking at her with a bit more respect.
"Although you probably know, I should introduce myself," Rin reached out her hand. "Tohsaka Rin, Head of the Tohsaka Family, and the Manager of the Spiritual Land of Fuyuki City."
"Fuyuki City?!" Ritsuka and Mash spoke simultaneously.
For no other reason than the fact that this name was etched deeply into their minds. And looking closely... wasn't that Archer the same one they encountered in the burning Fuyuki?
In other words... She and Mash exchanged a look.
"Hey, what's with those expressions?" Rin was starting to regret recruiting them. Why were they so sensitive to the location of Fuyuki City? They looked shocked.
Did you guys get lost on your way here or something?
Suspicious, too suspicious!
But it didn't matter. Once she brought them back, heh, she had Saber as her vanguard and Archer as backup. Would she really fear an unknown person?
Even if something really went wrong, Miss Firefly's house was right next door. If anything happened, she would naturally make a move!
Rin's mental calculator was clicking away.
"Sorry, Miss Tohsaka Rin," Ritsuka quickly reached out and shook her hand. "I'm Fujimaru Ritsuka, and this is Mash."
"..." The suspicious points were increasing.
Rin looked at the Chaldea duo and was left speechless.
If you're going to fake it... why not make it look a bit more convincing? Who just voluntarily reveals their Servant's name to a stranger?
Though the name Mash... well, it didn't seem particularly famous.
"Fine, let's go." Rin didn't feel like talking anymore. Anyway, they were unstable factors. It was better to bring them back to the base and question them slowly. Letting them wander outside would only add extra variables.
Ritsuka wasn't actually being careless; it was intentional.
She knew she had taken someone else's spot and would be exposed sooner or later. Instead of acting perfectly and being suspected later, it was better to leave holes and let them guess for themselves.
Besides, she didn't intend to hide it for long; she just wanted to gather more intelligence first.
Once she found an opportunity to clarify the situation and identify the factions, she would naturally reveal her hand.
Thus, both sides with their own hidden agendas set off toward the Emiya Residence.
"We're here. This is our base," Rin knocked on the door and turned to Ritsuka. "This is Emiya-kun's home. He's a decent guy; you can stay here safely."
"Then sorry for the trou—" Before Ritsuka could finish, a purple-haired figure opened the door.
"Tohsaka... Senior?" Sakura looked at Rin, hesitating. What was going on? It was almost midnight; why would her sister come to her senior's house?
And with two other girls?
"Sakura?" Rin turned back in disbelief and saw the person she had been so worried about. "Why are you here?"
"Uh..." Matou Sakura looked a bit embarrassed. "Well..."
"Miss Firefly said," Emiya Shirou poked his head out from behind her and said helplessly, "that it makes no difference where Sakura is anyway, and she didn't feel like feeding an extra mouth, so she let me bring Sakura back..."
To be honest, Shirou had been stunned when he heard that. Wait, isn't she a hostage? Who kidnaps a hostage and then just lets them go home?
But thinking of the opponent's strength... he could somewhat understand.
"That's great, Sakura," Rin stepped forward and grabbed Sakura's hand. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine," Sakura lowered her head shyly. "Sister Firefly... is actually very good to me."
"Sister?!" Rin's entire world felt off as she asked loudly.
"Yes, I've always called her that," Matou Sakura blinked and said.
Shirou, behind her, wanted to say something, but looking at the girl in front of him, he ultimately didn't expose her.
"Uh, I see..." The smile on Rin's face was a bit strained. "So that's how it is... Haha... It's fine... I'm fine..."
No, you're clearly NOT fine! The Ritsuka and Mash behind her exchanged a look, but since they weren't familiar yet, they didn't voice their thoughts.
"By the way, who are these two?" Shirou looked at the two girls behind her.
"This is a Master and Servant I met on the way. I brought them back for an alliance," Rin winked at him.
"Oh, okay. Then please, come in," Shirou quickly ushered them inside.
After mutual introductions, the group sat down in the living room.
"By the way, Saber... she learned some incredible information today," Shirou looked at Rin.
"What information?" the latter asked curiously.
"Miss Firefly's origin, or rather, her story," Shirou replied.
"Wait, how did she find that out?" Rin was shocked.
"The person told her voluntarily, of course," Shirou shook his head with a bitter laugh. "Miss Firefly doesn't care about that at all."
"That sounds like her style," Rin's eye twitched, unable to comment further.
"Um..." Fujimaru Ritsuka raised her hand. "Is that Miss Firefly the 'terrifying opponent' Miss Tohsaka mentioned?"
"Yeah," Rin nodded.
"Then what is this lady's relationship with her?" Ritsuka looked at Matou Sakura, recalling they were just talking about her being released.
"Hostage," Rin said helplessly. "At least, that's how she threatened us."
"But..." Ritsuka hesitated.
"Don't ask, I can't understand it either," Rin spread her hands and then looked at Shirou. "Where's Saber?"
"Oh, she was resting just now. She should be up by—"
Before he could finish, the living room door opened. Artoria walked in, but before she could speak, her gaze was locked onto a large black shield.
"Eh, isn't this..." Mash and Ritsuka trembled for a moment when they saw her. Memories of confronting her in the Great Hollow of Singularity F flooded back.
Back then, they thought they had held her off, but after experiencing so much, Ritsuka understood just how much water that night's Saber had held...
"This shield..." Artoria stepped forward and touched Mash's Great Shield. "What is your name?"
"My name is Mash!" For some reason, Mash felt incredibly nervous seeing her.
"Mash?" Artoria scanned her and looked slightly disappointed.
It's not Sir Galahad, but this aura...
"Wait, Saber, do you know each other?" Rin frowned.
"It's not so much that I know her, as I know this shield," Saber looked at Shirou. "Master, since we have formed an alliance, may I speak my True Name?"
"Oh, of course," Shirou didn't mind at all.
"Mm. My name is Artoria Pendragon, King of Camelot," she spoke softly. "In this era, you generally refer to me as King Arthur."
"This shield... is the Round Table upon which my knights swore their oaths."