Staring at the seven prompt boxes floating in his vision, Alvin was utterly dumbfounded.
Normally, each Master in a Holy Grail War would aim to summon a different Servant.
After all, history was filled with countless powerful Heroic Spirits.
The White Dragon was just one among them... No matter how you looked at it, the odds of seven Masters simultaneously choosing the exact same person as their Servant were astronomically low.
Yet now...
Why has it turned out like this?!
If it were just one Master summoning him, Alvin would have guessed it was Tohsaka Rin.
If there were two... he would have thought perhaps Sajyou Manaka was one of them, after all, she was obsessed with him.
Although, during the last "return," Manaka hadn't followed Alvin back to the Clock Tower; meaning she had likely gone back to her own era.
But with her personality, she would definitely find every possible way to see him again... and the only obvious method was Heroic Spirit summoning.
But now...
'Seven Masters summoning the same person at the same time... How the hell am I supposed to choose?
Maybe I should just let these people hold a meeting first and discuss how to divide me up limb by limb?'
Alvin sighed inwardly, then raised a hand and opened the CG achievement tab on his personal interface as his gaze quickly locked onto the very bottom of the list.
There, in tiny text, a new line quietly appeared in his vision: [Shura Field Battle Divided Seven Ways]
"..."
Alvin's pupils contracted sharply, staring blankly at the CG achievement notification.
'Come on, bro... I was just joking earlier. You're actually giving me a "divided seven ways" CG achievement?'
Originally, when participating in the Holy Grail War, Alvin hadn't felt any worry at all.
After all, in the previous war, he had essentially been the final winner, so he had reasonable confidence in his own strength.
But now...
He was already starting to have second thoughts.
This CG achievement wouldn't actually end up giving him a real Bad End, would it?
But things had already reached this point; there was no backing out now...
With that thought in his mind, he hesitated for a moment, then steeled his resolve and pressed the "Accept Summoning" option.
A blinding white light flared intensely, swiftly engulfing Alvin's figure entirely. In the end, the young man's form completely vanished from the world of Avalon.
...
The air seemed to carry the faint scent of sandalwood, mingled with a pleasant, subtle fragrance of a young girl's body.
A slight winter chill lingered around him.
Vaguely, he could sense a pair of eyes watching him.
Alvin could even feel the other person's heartbeat gradually quickening.
"It... it actually worked?!"
Soon, a voice filled with overwhelming excitement and joy reached his ears.
Seven Masters summoning the same Servant at once... A one-in-seven chance.
Who exactly had drawn the White Dragon?
Alvin slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing that entered his vision was a refined, ethereal face.
Her long black hair was tied into twin tails that cascaded down.
Her school uniform outlined the girl's graceful, beautiful figure. Paired with those clear sapphire eyes, in the prime of her youthful years, she exuded a pure charm that ordinary girls could never match.
Beneath the uniform skirt were plump, slender legs wrapped in black thigh-high stockings that left faint indentations on her fair skin.
This girl... she looks kind of familiar...
Alvin gazed at the girl before him in slight confusion, while she stared back at him, her eyes sparkling brightly.
Her expression and excitement were exactly like someone who had just pulled a five-star character in a single draw.
"Rin...?"
The girl's figure slowly overlapped with the little girl from his memories. Alvin quickly realized something. "You're Rin?"
Hearing the young man's response, surprise filled Tohsaka Rin's eyes. "You still remember me?"
A joy she couldn't quite hide glimmered deep in her eyes.
The half-month she had spent in the royal palace of ancient Britain was something Tohsaka Rin still cherished whenever she recalled it.
For the girl, it was hard to imagine ever having memories as beautiful as those again.
That was why, just moments ago during the summoning, she had been so incredibly nervous.
What if she failed to summon the White Dragon?
What if the White Dragon she summoned didn't remember her...?
Worries like these had constantly swirled in her mind.
But thankfully, all those fears seemed to have been unnecessary.
He still remembered her, even everything that had happened back then.
And he didn't seem to have changed at all...
Rin quietly looked at the black-robed young man before her, a strange glint soon appearing in her eyes.
How exactly does a person remain completely unchanged in appearance after so many long years?
It seems the historical records were true... The White Dragon had drawn the sword from the stone in King Arthur's place, so his age was forever fixed at that of a youth.
Alvin, of course, had no idea Rin was thinking such rude thoughts.
His attention was quickly drawn to the black scrap of cloth in her hand.
"By the way, why didn't you use my actual relic for the summoning?"
Rin blinked, feeling confused for a moment. "I did use your relic."
As she spoke, she pulled out the black scrap and held it out toward him.
The piece of black cloth was covered in extremely intricate patterns, and it seemed to carry traces of the White Dragon's aura.
Alvin frowned. "This isn't mine... The aura on it is fabricated."
With the White Dragon's extraordinarily keen perception, he could tell the authenticity of anything that had once belonged to him at a glance.
Hearing such a definitive answer, Rin's eyes flickered.
She rested a hand against her snow-white chin and murmured, "You're saying... my relic was swapped?"
"But if that's the case, how was I able to summon you?"
It wasn't that she doubted Alvin's judgment; it was just that she had always kept the White Dragon's relic close to her body and rarely interacted with others... She was certain no one could have swapped it without her noticing.
"There was a 'connection' between you and me. Maybe that's why... plus a bit of luck."
Alvin thought for a moment, then smiled.
"Then my luck must be insane... Even with the relic swapped, I still managed to summon the White Dragon."
At that thought, Rin couldn't help but press her lips together in a soft laugh. "I wonder if the person who swapped it will be furious when they realize they couldn't summon you."
"I kind of want to see their face."
"You're still as mischievously spiteful as ever."
Alvin said helplessly as Rin glared at him, almost blurting out, "It's just a tiny bit of revenge; that doesn't count as spiteful, does it?"
But the moment the words left her mouth, she immediately clapped a hand over it, then whispered, "Sorry..."
At school, Tohsaka Rin was the "model student" in the eyes of teachers and classmates, the "someone else's child" that parents always mentioned.
But in reality, very few people truly understood her personality.
She was simply too good at pretending... Even Rin herself hadn't expected to "lose composure" like this in front of someone she hadn't seen in ten years.
"There's nothing to apologize for. If anything, this is better... If you were always meek and obedient, I'd actually have a headache."
Alvin laughed.
"I-I'm not meek and obedient; it's just that earlier I instinctively..."
Her mind was like a tangled mess as Tohsaka Rin stammered for a long while, unable to squeeze out a single coherent sentence.
Before she could finish, Alvin spoke again in that gentle tone. "Then just act however feels natural to you."
"I prefer your real reactions over polite formality... just like when you were little."
"Wh—"
Hearing that warm, boy-next-door voice, Rin shyly lowered her head and a faint blush unconsciously spread across her refined, innocent face.
But she quickly realized what she was doing, cleared her throat, and straightened up.
"While no one's home, let's talk business first."
"About the Masters in this Holy Grail War..."
With that, Rin immediately shared all the intelligence she currently had.
The confirmed participants in this Holy Grail War actually only amounted to three sides.
The Tohsaka family, the Matou family, and the Einzbern family.
The representatives from the first two were none other than the sisters Tohsaka Rin and Matou Sakura.
As for the Einzbern family, it was reportedly the Master from the previous Holy Grail War... Irisviel.
It was only "reportedly" because after the last war ended, the Einzbern family had gone into complete seclusion.
Outsiders couldn't obtain any information about them.
Upon hearing the last part, Alvin fell into thought. "So... you and Sakura are in a 'cooperative' relationship?"
Rin gave a soft "mm." "The Matou family seems to have prepared a special relic for Sakura too, but she doesn't seem very satisfied with it..."
As she finished, she glanced at Alvin with a complicated look.
"...Sakura really wants to see you."
Over these ten years, Sakura's desire to meet Alvin hadn't diminished at all; if anything, it had grown stronger day by day.
And recently, seeing how often her little sister seemed distracted and lost in thought, Rin had noticed it too.
That was why, the moment she successfully summoned the White Dragon, her thoughts had immediately turned to her sister.
"Sakura, huh..."
Alvin couldn't help recalling that soft, fragile girl loli and smiled. "Do you two still live together?"
Rin nodded lightly, then shook her head. "Matou Kariya's health has been really poor these past two years, so he's been raising her to become the future head of the Matou family.
Most of the time she's at the Matou house, though she comes back here for a day or two occasionally."
Matou Kariya... So his body is finally reaching its limit? Alvin pondered.
Back then, to participate in the Fourth Holy Grail War, Kariya had undergone partial modification with crest worms.
Though he withdrew early, the irreversible damage remained.
To have held on with that broken body for so long... it must have been so he could watch Sakura grow up healthy.
Alvin smiled. "Then let's wait for Sakura to come back..."
His tone suddenly shifted as he looked the girl over curiously. "By the way, why didn't you go to school today? It doesn't seem like a holiday..."
Rin's expression froze.
Recalling the embarrassing scene from earlier, she quickly cleared her throat and stiffly changed the subject. "That's a long story... Oh, right! The Holy Grail War officially starts tomorrow night. Do you have any plans?"
Alvin could tell at a glance that the girl was changing the subject, but he didn't call her out on it and merely shrugged. "You're the Master, so I'll follow your lead... But I think we should at least try to confirm the identities of the other Masters and their Servants first."
The main reason was that he was also extremely curious who, besides Tohsaka Rin, had been trying to summon him earlier.
Rin gave a thoughtful "mm" and said, "Then let's wait for Sakura to come back first."
Ring ring ring...
Ring ring ring...
At that moment, the telephone in the hall suddenly rang, instantly shattering the atmosphere of their conversation.
The two looked at each other before Rin quickly stood and walked to the hall, picking up the receiver.
Alvin moved closer and listened quietly.
Right then, a voice trembling with tears and helplessness came through the line, reaching both their ears.
"Sister... save, save me!"
Boom!
Like a thunderbolt from the blue, Rin's pupils dilated sharply and she urgently cried, "Sakura, what happened?!"
But after saying those words, Matou Sakura hung up.
All that remained was the "beep beep beep" of the dial tone echoing in their ears.
Rin's expression shifted rapidly.
She immediately hung up and headed straight for the front door.
"Wait a second... That call might be suspicious. Shouldn't we verify it first?"
Alvin called out to stop her.
"I could never mistake Sakura's voice... That was definitely her. I have to go check; maybe something happened at school."
Rin turned to glance at Alvin, then hurriedly pushed open the door.
In that instant, a fierce gust of wind and snow surged into the room.
The biting cold made the girl instinctively hug her arms, her delicate body shivering.
In previous years, winter had never brought snow this heavy, yet this year's snowfall was unimaginably intense.
Even so, she rushed out into it without hesitation.
Alvin watched silently as the girl rushed out in a hurry, and soon shook his head helplessly.
Although he had a feeling that something was amiss... it's impossible to just leave Rin Tohsaka alone.
Thinking of this, Alvin silently followed her out of the house.