In the Holy Grail War, the most critical factor determining the outcome is the strength of the Servant. While other factors, like compatibility between Servants and the Master's abilities, play a role, generally, the stronger the summoned Servant, the higher the chance of victory.
—This is common knowledge among Magus.
This applied to Aoko as well. Though she'd grown close to an extraordinarily powerful junior—correction, young lover—over the past few years and understood that the Holy Grail War wasn't a setting where victory was guaranteed just by summoning a specific Servant, for personal reasons, she still wanted to summon a strong one.
Call it a bit of her selfishness.
So, to find a catalyst capable of summoning a powerful Servant, she rushed to London the moment she returned, asking Merry if there was any news about potent sacred relics. After getting the information, she dashed off without pause.
Now, on a beach in Western Europe.
*SPLASH!*
Soaked, Aoko emerged from the sea, shaking her wet hair, then put on her diving suit. Finding a rock on the shore to sit on, she examined the object in her hand.
It was a fragment, seemingly part of a handle, blood-red with strange vein-like patterns on its surface.
This was what Aoko found after diving deep into the ocean. It was said to be a fragment of the bones of an extinct sea creature. Though not a sacred relic, according to Merry, two powerful Servants had a fated connection to this fragment. Using it as a medium should summon one of them.
"The Son of Light from Celtic mythology, or the Queen of the Land of Shadows, huh…"
Muttering the two names Merry mentioned, Aoko sighed slightly. If her opponent was Naoki, she wasn't sure if Servants of this level would suffice. She knew his strength—a monster, day or night.
"Ah, whatever. There's not much time anyway; I can't find a better sacred relic. This'll do."
The Holy Grail War would begin in about a month. She needed to summon a Servant soon and use the remaining time to build rapport. Entering the battlefield without any synergy would be suicidal.
Glancing at the red mark on the back of her hand, Aoko stood and left the beach.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Garan no Dou.
"Shiki, you're not joining?"
Touko busy tinkering with a puppet, suddenly asked her former employee, who was leaning against the door, sipping coffee.
Shiki shook her head, her tone indifferent. "I'll be your assistant and tag along later. Besides, Servants or whatever—I can't summon them."
The primary requirement for summoning a Servant was being a Magus or having magic circuits. Though Shiki was connected to the Root, she lacked magic circuits, so she couldn't be a Master.
Thus, Shiki had no plans to participate as a Master.
Besides, she wasn't after the Holy Grail and wasn't interested in the "major event in Natsukawa Naoki's life" Merry mentioned. She was only going this time to slash the guy who'd vanished for five years.
The last time she fought him, she was easily defeated, and Shiki still remembered it. For five years, she'd been thinking of getting even.
"Instead of me, Touko, how's your preparation? That sacred relic you mentioned—found it yet?"
"Of course, it cost me a fortune—so can I crash at your place for dinner tonight? I'm broke."
"Sure."
This had become a habit between them. When Naoki and Gray were around, they could rein in Touko's tendency to recklessly buy sacred relics. But after they left for five years, no one could supervise her.
So, whenever Touko was out of money, she'd rely on the ultra-rich Shiki and mooch meals at her place.
"By the way, Touko, why are you joining?" Shiki asked again. "For the Holy Grail?"
"It's a chance to reach the Root; there's no reason not to fight for it, right? Plus, I'm a bit curious about what that succubus said." Touko took off her glasses, lit a cigarette, and took a drag. "Though nine and a half out of ten things she says are jokes, this involves my dear student. Merlin wouldn't joke about King Arthur, right?"
Shiki wanted to agree, but instinctively felt Touko was oversimplifying. That succubus probably didn't care about such things.
"So, you're helping Naoki?"
"No, just watching the show, checking on my student, and vying for the Holy Grail. Think of it as gaining experience. The Holy Grail War or whatever—it's worth experiencing once."
Fair enough.
After all, for the undying puppet before her, she could go anywhere.
Just then.
*KNOCK!* *KNOCK!*
A knock came at the door. Shiki left her spot, opened it, and found a blonde woman with an expressionless face and a blonde girl following her.
Shiki narrowed her eyes, set down her cup, and gripped the knife behind her. "Who?"
"Is this Miss Touko's residence? There's a package she needs to sign for."
"A package?"
"Oh, that's it—my sacred relic."
Touko stubbed out her cigarette, got up, and took the package from the blonde woman's hands.
"Thanks for the effort. It must've been hard finding this place."
"No trouble. Thanks to Naoki-sama's prior instructions, breaking the barrier wasn't difficult."
The blonde woman's words stunned them momentarily, then Touko couldn't help but laugh. "Quite a name… You know Naoki?"
"Yes, Touko-sama, Shiki-sama."
The blonde woman—Angelica Ainsworth—nodded and bowed respectfully to them. "Allow me to introduce myself, Master and Mistress. I am Angelica Ainsworth, Naoki-sama's personal puppet and maid."
Puppet?
Maid?
Touko and Shiki exchanged glances, both seeing a hint of shock in the other's eyes.
That guy, having quite the time in another world, huh? Making a puppet maid, no longer hiding his desires?
"So, Naoki's back in this world?" Shiki asked. "Where is he?"
"London—Besides delivering the sacred relic for Touko-sama, Naoki-sama also asked me to deliver a verbal message to both of you."
"A verbal message?"
"The girl with Angelica, Pandora, is a divine puppet from the Age of Gods, originating from a parallel world. She desperately wants to die, so I made a deal with her. My research data on her is included with the sacred relic; Touko-sensei can read it at your leisure."
"As per our agreement, after I finish studying her, I need to grant her death—this part I leave to Shiki. With the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, it should be possible, right?"
"Also, I heard from Merry that you're both joining the Holy Grail War. See you in Fuyuki City soon. I'll give you a surprise then."
—Such is the verbal message from Naoki-sama."
As Angelica finished speaking, Pandora, who had followed her, stepped forward and looked up into Shiki's eyes.
"Mystic Eyes of Death Perception—you're the one who can kill me?"
"Please, end my life."