At night.
After Jeanne finished her bath, she sat in the room the Black Faction had arranged for her, brushing her long golden hair. Recalling the image of Haruka Kasugano's Command Spells from earlier that day, a look of worry unconsciously surfaced on her face.
"Those black Command Spells... what on earth are they?"
"I have an ominous feeling..."
"Eh?... Am I afraid?"
"Am I... afraid of misfortune befalling that boy? Is this my compassion speaking?"
"...I don't know."
"Is this my emotion?... Or is it your heart, Leticia?"
To maintain his act in front of Jeanne, Haruka Kasugano did not go to seek comfort from Fiore that night. Fiore was now the clan head and a high-profile target; going to her would likely lead to discovery, especially since Chiron was protecting her around the clock. Better safe than sorry.
Instead, Haruka Kasugano had Toole and Althea, who had already become his personal maids, attend to him. They both knelt on the ground, sharing the "lollipop." Haruka Kasugano sat on the edge of the bed, savoring their service.
"Phew... fantastic," Haruka Kasugano sighed.
Enjoyment aside, it was time to think about the next step. He had kept Jack the Ripper and Reika Rikudou out of the spotlight specifically to lay the groundwork for conquering Atalante. After all, Atalante's "darkening" happened precisely when she was dealing with Jack. By utilizing this point, he could easily get his hands on the Huntress.
If he remembered correctly, Atalante would head out alone to kill Jack simply because Shirou Kotomine sent her to monitor the Black Faction's movements. This meant she would definitely be on her own at some point—he just needed to set Jack on her path.
Another thing: in the original plot, Jack attacked the Black Faction castle once, prompting Jeanne and the others to decide to eliminate her first. That led to the famous date and shopping trip between Sieg and Jeanne...
He couldn't let such a good event go missing. Should he have Jack fake an attack? If so, while he was on a date with Jeanne, he'd also have to manage the conquest of Atalante. He was starting to feel a bit spread thin...
As he pondered, Toole and Althea unleashed a combination technique. Toole took the front with her mouth, while Althea used her tongue from behind. They opened their small, cherry-like mouths, repeating the motion rhythmically.
"Ah~! Amazing..."
Forget it, he'd figure it out after he woke up tomorrow.
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During the night, inside the Hanging Gardens, the Servants were arguing with Shirou Kotomine. The topic centered around Shirou imprisoning their Masters and seizing their Command Spells. However, with his exceptional eloquence, Shirou persuaded all the Red Faction Servants. Thus, the Red Faction was unified—at least in name.
After securing his internal defenses, Shirou Kotomine was ready to begin his grand wish. His Noble Phantasm was the manifestation of legends: his hands. His right arm possessed the equivalent of "Mind's Eye (True)," and his left possessed "Mind's Eye (Fake)." Because he was connected to all thaumaturgical foundations, he could execute magecraft that he previously only held as pure knowledge.
While a convenient Noble Phantasm, it was useless against a first-rate magus like Medea. However, the boon of being able to use all magecraft without mastery allowed him to fully control the Greater Grail. Therefore, even if the war between Red and Black hadn't reached its conclusion and only one Servant remained, Shirou had a way to make his wish early. This was why he didn't care about the outcome of the war—only about snatching the Grail.
---------
Thump!
Gordes was beyond furious, gritting his teeth in his room. "Giving homunculi freedom is simply preposterous..."
"Talking about saving humanity... they're all lunatics..."
"A fake Holy Grail... how could it possibly save humanity..."
He opened a drawer and pulled out a Caster Class Card. A mysterious figure had given this to him a year ago. Although the figure wore a black cloak, it was easy to see the characteristic golden twin-tails.
That's right—the Greater Grail held by Yggdmillennia had been gifted by this mysterious person. They claimed it was a Grail realized by using Displacement Magecraft to connect and communicate with the leylines of the Fuyuki Greater Grail.
Displacement Magecraft... what a joke. How could such low-level magecraft, which even elementary students wouldn't bother learning, replicate a Holy Grail? Gordes had never believed it. But Darnic had believed it implicitly. Perhaps he was so fixated on his failure in the Third Holy Grail War that he would believe even such an absurd tale.
Now that the Grail had been stolen, the defeat of the Yggdmillennia family was a foregone conclusion. Gordes contemplated whether to use this card to turn the tables.
He stayed up all night thinking, but eventually decided to give up on the idea. After all, he wasn't the clan head; the fate of the family shouldn't rest on his shoulders. Better to retire... and properly teach that brat Goredolf. He hoped the boy would grow up to be talented, fulfill the family's ambitions, and make Yggdmillennia the most brilliant magus family in the world.
Hahaha... As if. Unless it was the end of the world, that kid wouldn't achieve anything. No one knew the son better than the father. He just hoped the boy would grow up healthy.
So, Gordes took the Caster Class Card to Fiore's quarters and handed it over. Fiore, in turn, handed it to Haruka Kasugano.
"You say this card belonged to your uncle? That he got it from a mysterious person with golden twin-tails? And even the Grail was a gift from them?" Haruka Kasugano stared at the Caster Class Card, bewildered.
"Yes. Apparently, Uncle Darnic promised a lavish reward to obtain the Grail, but Uncle Gordes doesn't know what it was," Fiore nodded.
This is ridiculous... Back during the Fourth War, after the duel with Gilgamesh, a figure with golden twin-tails, snowy skin, and a sexy body had leaped out of Gilgamesh's "corpse." Haruka Kasugano remembered it vividly. He didn't expect it to appear again.
While absurd, it explained everything—especially the origin of the Yggdmillennia Grail. Displacement Magecraft... that was a technique only the Ainsworth family from the Prisma Illya world possessed. The worldviews shouldn't even match...
To think it actually existed here. What was their goal in pretending to be Gilgamesh and handing out counterfeit Grails? He couldn't wrap his head around it.
"I'll take this card for now. You head back; I'll handle this," Haruka Kasugano said.
"Okay," Fiore turned and left.
Looking at the card in his hand, Haruka Kasugano felt a headache coming on. Things were getting complicated.
-------
The next day.
Haruka Kasugano proceeded with his plan. First, he had Jack the Ripper attack the Black Faction castle. Early in the morning, the entire castle was shrouded in a toxic fog. Everyone went on high alert.
"What's going on?" Fiore looked out the window at the thick fog, confused.
Snip— In the next second, a lock of her hair was cut by Jack.
"Hahaha! This is so much fun~!" Jack giggled.
"Assassin? Why are you here?" Fiore was terrified and bolted. Since she didn't know Jack was one of Haruka Kasugano's, her flight was incredibly realistic.
"Don't run~!" Jack chased her all the way.