"So, this is the rat you caught?"
"Yes... He was loitering around our business premises, acting suspiciously. So, I brought him in."
Zod gazed down with terminal indifference at the man trembling before him. Artoria Alter, who had secured the captive, promptly shared a detail meant to pique his interest.
"He turns out to be a Magus..."
"Heh... A Magus, is it?"
The term 'Magus' seemed to strike a chord. Zod uncrossed his legs and leaned forward, his eyes locking onto the man.
"I have a few questions for you. I suggest you answer honestly. If I detect a lie, or even an unsatisfactory response..."
*Bzzzzzt...*
He primed the Heat Vision within his eyes, an unspoken threat that demanded absolute sincerity. The man nodded frantically, his head a blur of terror.
After letting the man spill everything he knew, Zod ended his life with a single precise beam of Heat Vision through the skull. He sank into thought. The man had been a Master preparing for a 'Subspecies Holy Grail War'—a conflict waged with a Grail fashioned as an offshoot of the Greater Grail of Fuyuki City. This particular ritual was to take place in a small town called Springfield.
Apparently, the Magus had run out of travel funds and had been scouting Zod's establishment—a casino—with the intent to steal, which led to his capture by Artoria Alter.
"A Holy Grail War... Even if it's just a subspecies, it must be something significant, right?"
"In the end, it is nothing more than a high-grade magical energy battery," Artoria replied, her voice pouring cold water over Zod's mounting interest. "Even if you harvested all seven Spiritual Foundations of the Servants, it is a cup with just enough Prana to perhaps grant a wish—if you are lucky."
Despite her dismissal, the concept of a Holy Grail remained a magnetic Mystery.
"I want it..."
"Then why not just go take it? That 'Grail' thing."
Jeanne Alter, who had been playing Jenga by herself, let out a frustrated sigh as the wooden tower collapsed. She looked at Zod as if he were worrying over a trifle.
"You have us. What are you worried about? If things don't go smoothly, we'll just seize it by force!"
"Haven't you said before that Servants are existences far superior to humans?"
"Listen, Zod... have you forgotten that you're a superhuman yourself?"
She looked at him with sheer exasperation. Zod merely shrugged, prompting Jeanne Alter to roll her eyes in disbelief.
"In any case, a Subspecies Holy Grail has a low 'cost.' It can only summon mediocre Servants," Artoria added. "While the Greater Grail of Fuyuki has the capacity to summon first-rate Heroic Spirits, a degraded Grail made as a subspecies will likely only produce Wraiths, Phantasmal Spirits, or Nameless Heroic Spirits... At best, you might see an Assassin-class whose name carries some weight despite the low cost."
"You seem quite knowledgeable."
"Even before being summoned in this inverted state, I have a history of being called to various Holy Grail Wars as a Heroic Spirit. I am not a Servant for show."
At Artoria Alter's words, Zod fell into a brief silence. He then reached for his desk phone and buzzed his secretary.
"Call Joe."
He summoned Joe, a high-ranking executive of his organization, 'Homeland,' and one of his closest confidants.
.
.
.
"Hmm... Is this it? Springfield?"
"It's quite a quiet town."
"It's the perfect place for a Holy Grail War to break out."
Zod, Artoria, and Jeanne arrived in Springfield via plane and car. Fiddling with the solid gold cufflinks on his high-end dress shirt, Zod surveyed the area with his X-ray vision. It was an unremarkable little city.
Even the armaments of the local populace were mediocre at best.
"The most expensive hotel here looks like a dilapidated motel. That tells you everything you need to know about the local standard..."
Even in the 'city center,' the premier hotel was comparable to a cheap motel in New York. The poverty of the location was self-evident.
"Ugh... do we seriously have to stay here?"
"Still, it is better than some cut-rate inn, is it not?"
Jeanne Alter looked disgusted, while Artoria was more pragmatic, considering it a step up from the lower-tier boarding houses she had experienced. Zod, standing between them, gave each of their backsides a firm, playful pat and urged them to head inside. The two women flinched, their faces flushing slightly.
"You... your hands are getting bolder by the day."
"E-eek... T-that's too lewd!"
Zod responded to their protests with a smirk, giving their buttocks a firm squeeze. Their faces turned beet-red, but neither of them pulled away.
"You both have such soft asses... Shall we save the rest for the bedroom? Heh..."
Under Zod's predatory smile, the two women, now redder than tomatoes, managed a weak nod. They took his hands and followed him into the hotel.
.
.
.
Midnight. A time of stillness and eerie atmosphere. A veil of darkness lay over the sky, with only the moonlight piercing the gloom. In a rural town like this, most shops closed and people retired to sleep by 10 PM.
In a deserted park on the edge of the town, the young boy with blond hair and blue eyes used his Heat Vision to etch a summoning circle. Under the watchful eyes of the two women, he began the incantation. On the back of his hand, two additional strokes of a Command Spell began to manifest. Soon, from a light that felt thick and murky, a man stepped forth—his skin as black as charcoal, his hair a white, short crop. He was an exotic, Asian-featured man...
"Are you the Master? What a bizarre face you have. Well, no matter. Though I may look like this, I am an Archer. Use me as you see fit."
The man, wielding twin pistols and claiming the class of Archer, looked at Zod, who possessed the Command Spells for the Holy Grail War, and then at the two women who clearly transcended humanity. He let out a dry chuckle.
"Hah... It seems I've been summoned by a rather absurd Master..."
"That's how it is. I look forward to working with you, Archer."
"You are the employer... As long as there is compensation, I will place my trust in you."
"Well, I prefer those who listen well... How about you?"
"It matters not... as long as you don't make me do anything too strange. At the very least, I hope you won't assign me to cleaning up corpses..."
"Then we have a deal."
Zod extended his hand toward Archer. Archer took it, sealing the contract with a handshake.