Reines El-Melloi Archisorte—just from her name, it was clear she was an heir of the prestigious mage family, El-Melloi.
During the events of the Fate/Zero mission, Zuke had killed Kayneth, whose full name was Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald—Reines' uncle.
After Kayneth's death, the El-Melloi faction fell into internal chaos. External forces and internal members fought over its assets, leaving behind a mess that was eventually inherited by Reines.
Though Kayneth had died a humiliating death at Zuke's hands, the title of "El-Melloi" as a Lord still carried significant prestige within the Mage's Association. However, by now, the family's wealth had been almost entirely plundered, leaving behind only an empty shell and a mountain of debt.
Thus, Reines set her sights on Waver Velvet, who had also survived the Fourth Holy Grail War. She forcibly recruited him, pressuring him to temporarily assume the position of El-Melloi and help repay the debts.
Out of guilt toward his former mentor, Waver accepted this demand and thus began his journey of repaying the El-Melloi family's debts.
These events were recorded in The Case Files of Lord El-Melloi II, another work in the Type-Moon series, so Zuke was somewhat familiar with them.
Even so, the original story never mentioned Reines having any connection to the Fifth Holy Grail War.
"After hearing my accounts about you, she became extremely interested and believed that summoning you would guarantee victory in the Holy Grail War."
Waver, standing nearby, seemed to notice Zuke's confusion and explained with a bitter smile why Reines had joined the Fifth Holy Grail War.
"So she went to great lengths to obtain a catalyst and attempted to summon you... We just didn't expect it to actually work."
Meanwhile, Reines wore a proud expression. Though Waver's words carried a tone of complaint, she showed no intention of reflecting on her actions.
After all, she had successfully summoned Zuke—and based on Waver's descriptions, Zuke's power was overwhelmingly superior in the Holy Grail War.
With such a Servant, how could they possibly lose?
Thanks to Waver, who had personally experienced the previous war, Reines also knew that the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki was an opportunity to reach the Third Magic.
However, she wasn't particularly interested in achieving the Third Magic. Her primary goal in obtaining the Holy Grail was to resolve the El-Melloi family's financial crisis.
If the Grail was truly an omnipotent wish-granting device, then accomplishing something like this should be trivial, right?
"How exactly did you summon me? A catalyst? I only left a single feather for Sakura."
Zuke now understood Reines' motivations, but he was still puzzled about how she had managed to summon him.
Did she steal Sakura's feather?
After all, based on Waver's earlier words, it seemed he knew Sakura had a way to summon Zuke.
"It was Lord Rufleus' magical energy."
This time, the answer came not from Waver but from Reines' crisp voice.
As she spoke, she scrutinized Zuke with an appraising gaze, seemingly very satisfied with this Servant whom Waver had praised so highly.
"Ten years ago, you left a strange 'measure' inside Lord Rufleus' body, forcing him to abide by his agreement with you. In a way, he could be considered your subordinate."
"So we extracted Lord Rufleus' magical energy and used it as a catalyst for the summoning."
Waver took over the explanation, earning a slightly displeased glance from Reines—as if he had robbed her of an opportunity to build rapport with Zuke.
"We just never expected this reckless plan to actually succeed..."
Hearing this, Zuke glanced down at his feet—sure enough, there was a gemstone lying there.
In the Type-Moon universe, gemstones, like mercury, could serve as vessels for magical energy. It seemed they had extracted some of Rufleus' mana and stored it inside the gem.
Before concluding the Fate/Zero mission, Zuke had visited the Mage's Association and implanted the "Blackbird" curse into Lord Rufleus' mind.
This was to ensure that the Clock Tower Lord would protect Sakura from unfair treatment within the Association and, by extension, prevent the Tohsaka family from falling into decline.
He just never expected that move would inspire Reines to use Rufleus' mana as a "catalyst" to summon him.
"You didn't expect it to work, but I was confident from the start."
Hearing Waver's words, Reines wagged a finger, wearing a self-assured smile—her expression somewhat reminiscent of Rin Tohsaka.
Of course, compared to Rin, Reines' personality was far more haughty. After all, she had inherited the title of a Mage's Association Lord, making her far nobler in status.
She gazed at Zuke with a smile and said in a serious tone:
"Well then, Mr. Zuke, let's get along well from now on."
---
Though Reines, as his Master, knew Zuke's class was Berserker, she didn't refer to him by it like most Masters would.
For one, Zuke appeared fully rational—nothing like the typical image of a Berserker. Calling him "Berserker" just felt... off.
Secondly, when Waver had recounted Zuke's deeds to her, he had always used "Mr. Zuke," so Reines had grown accustomed to the title as well.
Considering that Zuke was her key to winning the Holy Grail War, Reines' attitude toward him was far more amiable than her usual haughty demeanor.
As for what her true haughtiness looked like...
"Alright, the summoning's done. You're dismissed."
Once she confirmed that the Servant contract with Zuke had been established, Reines turned to Waver with a dismissive expression.
The only reason she had brought Waver along was because, as a former participant in the Holy Grail War, he could advise her during the summoning ritual.
Now that the summoning was complete, Waver was no longer needed—he could go back to working off the El-Melloi family's debts.
"Yeah, yeah..."
Waver sighed, long accustomed to being treated like a workhorse by Reines.
As for Reines' safety...
Pfft.
If anything could threaten her with Zuke around, then the enemy Servants must be something beyond imagination.
To be continued…
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