"Adjudicator? Sorry, I've never heard of such a rank in the Holy Grail War. The Church has always been responsible for adjudication in the past."
After listening to Jeanne d'Arc's words, Kotomine Kirei was filled with doubt.
"The Holy Grail War involves holy relics, so Church supervision is inevitable. And in every Holy Grail War, there have only ever been seven classes. I've never heard of a Ruler class before."
Jeanne replied calmly, "Due to an anomaly in this Holy Grail War, a new class—Foreigner—has appeared. The Holy Grail has judged that the outcome of this war may lead to an unknown event of special significance, so I have manifested as the Ruler class.
Furthermore, a Servant returned to the war before it had officially begun. As the adjudicator, I must summon all Masters and Servants to announce the new rules of the Holy Grail War, so that the war may proceed with a defined outcome."
"A Servant has already died?"
Kotomine Kirei's expression froze at her words. The seventh Master had yet to appear; the war should not have started. He hadn't expected such an impatient Servant to already be active.
"So, as the arbiter of the Holy Grail War, what do you plan to do about these changes? What authority do you possess?"
Jeanne remained calm as she answered, "It is the Ruler's duty to reshape the Holy Grail War, set the rules, and supervise its progression. One Master still has yet to appear. Once all Masters are present, I ask that you call them together so I may officially declare the rules of this Holy Grail War."
"Is that so?"
Kirei closed the Bible in his hands, his mind racing. If all Masters and Servants were summoned, his secret identity could be exposed.
On the surface, Kotomine Kirei was the Church's overseer—but in secret, he was also the Master of two Servants: Gilgamesh, who retained his physical form from the previous war, and the recently summoned spearman, Cu Chulainn.
If Jeanne were allowed to act as arbiter of the Holy Grail War, many of Kirei's plans would fall apart. He would no longer be able to manipulate events under the guise of Church authority.
Unless… he killed Jeanne here and now.
The thought flickered across his mind. But in the next instant, Jeanne's serene blue eyes met his, as if sensing his intent, and the idea quickly withered. It was simply unrealistic.
After weighing the pros and cons, Kirei made a decision. He would abandon his ambitions for this altered Holy Grail War—for now.
"Very well. As you said, once the seventh Master appears, I'll call the others together and announce your presence. However, you must understand: under normal circumstances, Servants rarely come to the Church. Whether they choose to appear or not depends entirely on their own will."
Kirei paused, then addressed Jeanne again:
"You're not in spiritual form now, are you? Would you like me to arrange accommodations for you, Judge?"
Jeanne shook her head. "There's no need. I'll find a place on my own. But once the final Master and Servant appear, I hope you'll notify me immediately."
Although Jeanne couldn't dematerialize into spirit form, she could still stay at a hotel or inn. With some money on her, surviving in Fuyuki City wouldn't be an issue. The Holy Grail War was short-lived, and Servants rarely stayed in hiding for long.
Kirei nodded. "Understood. So be it, arbiter."
With that, he turned and walked back into the church. He needed to revise his plans before the last Master summoned their Servant.
And also… find out who had died first.
It was shockingly unfortunate that a Servant had perished just days after the summoning ceremony.
"The magic gem… what a creative invention. A true ' gold' innovation for magi."
After retrieving the Tohsaka family's magic tome, Kain focused his attention on studying the secrets of the magic gem. It would allow him to quickly restore his strength.
Magic gems are unique in their ability to accumulate magical energy. The Tohsaka family can use these gems to perform magecraft, effectively treating them as infinite magic reservoirs.
"You can spread this method, but there's no need to disclose the flow and transformation of the magic energy afterward. If you reveal everything, it would be equivalent to exposing the Tohsaka family's secret arts."
Kain thought to himself.
Sharing the method of storing magic power in gemstones wasn't a big deal. Even if other magi learned it, they wouldn't necessarily know how to use it properly.
The more people who learned it, the more magic gems would be produced. When that time came, Kain could buy them in bulk—or set a buying price high enough to attract struggling magi to work for him as magic laborers.
"The Matou family's wealth needs to be handled. Sell off all their properties and use the funds to buy magic gems."
Once Kain won the Holy Grail, he planned to present a mountain of gold to Sakura. By then, he would be like a god in this world.
"Genichi is basically equivalent to six Infinity Stones and can copy my data. It must have recorded the coordinates of the Marvel world. I should test that later."
What exactly he wanted to test was still uncertain, but he had a few theories.
Afterward, Kain began organizing the information on magic gems. There should be a dedicated website connected to the Mage's Association. Once the data was sorted, he started searching online.
Kain didn't have the time to study everything in depth, but after acquiring the power of the Thunder Fruit, he'd had the Red Queen upload a vast amount of knowledge into his mind—hacking included.
If only he had arrived here in his physical body, he could have brought the Red Queen directly and avoided doing this work himself.
Eventually, Kain found a communication hub for the Mage's Association. It didn't seem official—more like an online hangout created by a private mage—and required access credentials.
"Even if it's a private site, its traffic is pretty high. The people using it probably aren't from traditional mage families."
Kain posted a guide on how to store magical energy in gemstones. Tomorrow, he planned to follow up with a post offering to buy magic gems at a high price.
With the Matou family's wealth, he could easily buy thousands of gems. If their fixed assets were sold off, that number would double.
Kain also contacted the family's lawyer and instructed him to liquidate all of the Matou estate's assets. If it turned out that magic gems were hard to find, he was ready to increase the purchase price.
Dusk.
Kain sensed Rider and Matou Sakura returning, so he projected an apparition to the gate. As soon as he arrived, he saw Rider supporting Sakura.
"Just as you suspected—there's a problem with the Master. It seems there's been an accident with her magic circuits. Do you have any solutions?"
After helping Sakura lie down on the sofa, Rider explained her condition to Kain.
"There's not much I can do. This is entirely Matou Zouken's doing. After Archer's death, the Holy Grail fragment inside Sakura absorbed him. Now, that fragment has been activated, and it's affecting her."
Kain scanned Sakura's body with his perception. The aura of "All the World's Evil" was slowly starting to surface. As more Servants died, its influence on Sakura only deepened.
Letting her wander the streets and kill at night would cause major trouble—but Kain had yet to find the materials needed to create Zero Tails.
"What a troublesome guy... Matou Zouken was a fool. He toyed with powers he didn't understand. Did he really think his creation was on the same level as the Einzberns'?"
Kain sighed.
Rider said, "Sakura is our Master. Please save her."
"Oh? It's only been two days, and you've already acknowledged her as your Master?" Kain teased. "The fallen goddess Medusa is so sentimental. Why—did you see a reflection of your former self in Matou Sakura?"
Rider didn't respond to the jab. Instead, she silently turned her gaze back to Sakura, who lay quietly on the sofa.
"I can save her," Kain continued, "but I won't do it alone. If you don't cooperate, there's nothing I can do."
"I understand. I'll help you—as long as Sakura doesn't give me a direct order."
"It's a deal. A goddess shouldn't lie, so I'll trust your word."
Kain agreed without hesitation. He placed his hand on Sakura's abdomen and began channeling magic. Slowly, he arranged two layered sealing spells—positive and negative—across her body. These seals were designed to contain and store the malevolent energy overflowing from the Holy Grail fragment inside her.
He also placed a secondary connection seal on himself. If Sakura's seals overflowed, the excess malicious energy would be redirected into his body.
The sealing ritual lasted a full half-hour. Kain wasn't just sealing the Lesser Grail; he also had to create a dimensional space for storage and a transmission channel to redirect the energy—all tedious but necessary tasks.
Still, this malevolent energy wasn't entirely useless. Kain intended to experiment with it—perhaps for black magic, curses, or other dark arts. In that regard, pure malice was a valuable ingredient.
"Well, no matter how many Servants die from now on, Matou Sakura will never fall into that state again. She'll remain safe until the end of the Holy Grail War."
Kain then turned to Rider. "From now on, you don't have to stick to Sakura like glue. I'll place an early-warning spell on her. If she's ever in danger, I'll intervene. In the meantime, I want you to run errands and collect materials for me."
There were many magi in this world, and many rare components could be used to craft Zero Tails or deadly magical tools. Kain didn't yet know what could serve as substitutes, but if he gathered enough materials, something suitable was bound to emerge.
"As for your presence in this world," he added, "I'll use Matou Tsuruno's identity to assign you as an assistant. It'll give you cover."
With that, Kain dismissed Rider, though he knew the task he'd given her wouldn't be easy. Only Servants and trained magi could discern the true nature of some materials, which meant only he and Rider could reliably handle this mission.
"I understand."
Though Rider didn't want to leave Fuyuki City—or Sakura's side—she had given her word. Breaking it would be beneath her, goddess or not. Medusa might have fallen, but she still carried pride. And besides, Kain's arguments had left little room for refusal.
"By the way," Rider added, "I noticed something unusual at Huiqun Academy today. Someone cast an enchantment there, but after sensing my presence, they withdrew."
"Is that so? Then investigate Huiqun Academy tonight. Let me know if you find any enemies."
Just as he finished speaking, Kain suddenly felt a pair of eyes on him—eyes that shouldn't have been there. He turned and found Rider standing a step closer, her expression frosty.
"I am Rider, not Assassin," she said coolly.
Her tone was cold, but a trace of annoyance lingered beneath it.
Kain laughed awkwardly and raised his hands in surrender. "I know, I know. But you're the one who discovered the clue, and your strength guarantees safety. Even if you're a Rider, once your restrictions are lifted, there aren't many who could match you—probably top three among cavalry classes."
No one was immune to flattery—especially when it was true. And with Sakura's safety as the excuse, Rider took a deep breath... and reluctantly agreed.
Still, she really wanted to remove her blindfold just to glare at Kain for a few minutes.
As a fellow Servant, it seemed like Rider was doing all the dirty work while that guy just sat back and gave orders.
She glanced at Matou Sakura, who was gradually recovering, then quietly left the Matou residence and headed toward Huiqun Academy.
If there really were Servants moving around at Huiqun Academy, Kain wouldn't mind eliminating another one. The sooner the Holy Grail War ended, the better. Among the participants, aside from the Mad Warrior and Gilgamesh, the rest of the Servants would be relatively easy to deal with.
King Arthur probably hasn't been summoned yet...
Kain recalled that Shirou Emiya summoned King Arthur because of magical traces present at the academy. Was it going to happen tonight?
Still, King Arthur wasn't much of a threat. Shirou Emiya was a half-baked mage who couldn't offer much support to his Servant.
After planning out his next steps, Kain went upstairs to continue reading the magic book. Before leaving, he gently placed a blanket over Matou Sakura—just in case Rider returned and accused him of neglecting her Master.
"So, the seventh Master has finally appeared. But the one who lost her Servant was Rin? It seems she's forgotten everything I taught her."
Kotomine Kirei learned of the events that occurred the previous night through the Lancer, Cú Chulainn. Apparently, quite a bit had unfolded at Huiqun Academy.
Rin's battle had spiraled out of control and dragged others in. Although Cú Chulainn was slightly injured, he survived without issue. Emiya Shirou, however, wasn't so fortunate. He had nearly been killed by Lancer and was chased all the way back to his home—only surviving thanks to the last-minute summoning of Saber.
"It seems all the Masters have now revealed themselves. I can gather them all according to the saint's request."
Kirei quietly reflected, confident that he had now accounted for all the Masters. The only thing left to do was to notify them at the appropriate time.
He couldn't help but feel a rising anticipation. This changed Holy Grail War might offer him far more entertainment than expected.
…
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