[You decide to tell the Tohsaka sisters everything you witnessed tonight.]
[You know they are now on the same side.]
[Although your and Archer's combination might not be very strong, at least the fact that there will be no more betrayal is quite good.]
[However—]
[Something feels slightly off.]
Inside Fujimura Taiga's residence.
Ian, Tohsaka Sakura, and Tohsaka Rin were all sleeping in the same futon. Normally, this would be the best time to exchange information. However—Ian glanced at Tohsaka Rin on his left, then at Tohsaka Sakura on his right, and asked with some embarrassment:
"Master."
"Isn't this... a bit improper right now?"
"Improper?" Tohsaka Sakura leaned against Ian's chest. "Why improper?"
"Because—" Ian glanced inside the futon, his expression quite complex. "The position of your hands... is a little problematic."
More specifically, it was on his private parts. Of course, for Ian, it didn't matter if his Master, Tohsaka Sakura, did this. Under the Command Spell, he could feel her intentions and naturally had no objection to the action. But the key was... Tohsaka Rin's hand had also joined in. This situation was a bit delicate. The man had no romantic feelings for her; it was more of a beyond-friendship connection formed due to their shared prana replenishment earlier.
Hearing Ian's words, Tohsaka Rin felt a little embarrassed. She knew her actions weren't very dignified. But—feeling what was in her hand, Tohsaka Rin genuinely didn't want to let go for a moment. This wasn't lust; it was simply a desire for comfort—touching it gave her a strange sense of security.
Facing her Servant's confusion, Tohsaka Sakura lifted her head and gently left a kiss that drew out a string of saliva on the lips her sister had just kissed.
"Mr. Ian, I know what you're worried about. But the situation is a bit special—please temporarily disregard that command tonight."
"..." Ian nodded. "I understand."
"Command?" Tohsaka Rin felt like she had heard something important. "What command?"
"Nothing." Tohsaka Sakura quickly changed the subject. "Sister, let's hurry and ask Mr. Ian about tonight's situation."
"..." Sensing her sister's reluctance to discuss the matter, Tohsaka Rin didn't press further. After all, they had just established such a friendly relationship; she couldn't risk destroying it now.
"I understand."
"..."
[Tohsaka Sakura and Tohsaka Rin reached a consensus—they wanted to understand what happened tonight.]
[You didn't prevaricate.]
[You told them everything that remained in your memory, piece by piece.]
"This..." After learning the situation from Ian, Tohsaka Sakura seemed a little surprised. "Mr. Ian, you mean... tonight was Rider and Lancer fighting?"
"That's right," Ian nodded. "To be precise, Lancer feigned retreat, luring Rider to this vicinity to launch an attack."
"Wait a moment!" Tohsaka Rin stopped Ian. "In that case—your wound... was actually caused by Lancer?"
"Eh?" Tohsaka Sakura heard an unexpected analysis—she had thought it was Vivian's doing until now. "Mr. Ian, is that true?"
"You could say yes, and you could say no," the man replied.
"What does that mean?" Tohsaka Sakura was a little confused; she found that things seemed far more complex than what she had witnessed.
"Actually—" Ian's tone became a little more serious. "I believe there were two Lancers operating together."
"How is that possible?" Tohsaka Rin immediately retorted. "In the Holy Grail War, only one Servant of the same class can be summoned, right?"
"Rin, you misunderstood me," Ian continued to explain. "I don't mean that two Lancers were summoned—rather, the Master of Lancer himself possesses combat strength comparable to a Lancer. Otherwise..." The man covered his shoulder, the spot that had just been pierced. "It would be absolutely impossible to cause this level of damage, wouldn't it?"
Servants are by no means fragile beings. An attack capable of damaging a Servant is already a concept beyond imagination.
"..." Tohsaka Rin dared not deny this possibility. After all, she had just participated in the entire prana replenishment process and knew how much prana was needed to mend the damage Ian had sustained.
"Ian, what you said might be true. But if so... wouldn't the magus who summoned Lancer actually have Servant-level combat power? Is that truly possible?"
"Well, you didn't expect Vivian to participate in the Holy Grail War either, did you?" Ian explained patiently. "Many things cannot be measured by common sense."
"..." The man's example left Tohsaka Rin momentarily speechless. But he didn't continue to dwell on that—it wasn't important at this moment.
"Actually, regarding Lancer's Master, I think I already have someone in mind who fits the description."
"Who?" Tohsaka Rin immediately asked.
"Reilongkan Misaya," Ian replied. "I believe you both know her spear skills—and she indeed expressed a desire to participate in the Holy Grail War. This would also explain why no one has been able to defeat her over the past ten years. This is combat power comparable to a Lancer; an ordinary person would naturally be no match. If I'm not mistaken... we won't see her after school starts in a few days."
"..."
"..."
Another hidden truth was revealed. Tohsaka Rin was a little surprised, while Tohsaka Sakura was much calmer. After all, she had already confirmed this with Ian once before. However, the mention of Misaya made Tohsaka Sakura recall the school rumors, which in turn reminded her of the two Command Spells she had cast on Ian. She immediately brought up another topic.
"Then—let's confirm the situation further. I summoned Saber, which is Mr. Ian. Sister is Archer. Teacher Misaya is Lancer. Teacher Vivian... is Rider."
As she spoke the last name, Tohsaka Sakura paused, then asked the lingering question in her heart. "In that case—Mr. Ian, why did you shield Teacher Vivian from Teacher Misaya's attack then?"
"..."
[This is an absolutely unavoidable question.]
[Although you know it will likely upset Tohsaka Sakura, you still decide to be completely honest.]
[And as if fated, you were just before this temporarily freed from the Command Spell's restrictions by Tohsaka Sakura because of Tohsaka Rin.]
[Your feelings for Vivian are laid bare at this moment.]
"To be honest—" Ian's thoughts returned to the moment he shielded Vivian from that spear. "I'm not sure why I chose to do that. But... when I reacted, I was already standing in front of her."
"..." Tohsaka Sakura's eyes dimmed a little—she heard the deep emotion in Ian's words. "So... Mr. Ian feels it was his instinct?"
"Very likely." The man didn't avoid the question. "Anyway, Sakura, that's the situation. I... don't want to hide anything from you."
Realizing that she had, in a way, misunderstood Vivian, Tohsaka Sakura's heart was tightly wrapped in jealousy and regret. On one hand, she felt her words to Vivian then were a bit too harsh—she was still her teacher, after all. But on the other hand, she realized Ian's attitude towards Vivian might already be far beyond what she imagined.
When did this feeling develop? The girl's eyes became a little lost, yet she couldn't find a suitable direction for her thoughts. Just then, the man's voice sounded again.
"Besides that—Sakura, I actually have one more thing I want to tell you."
"Wh-what is it?" Tohsaka Sakura's voice dropped a bit; she was afraid of hearing anything else that would make her tremble.
"It's just..." The man's mind recalled the voice he heard when his consciousness was blurry. "I think I might have regained a part of my True Name."
"What?" Tohsaka Sakura froze. "Mr. Ian, you remembered who you are?"
"Not completely—but at least the name."
"..." Hearing this, Tohsaka Rin immediately became tense. Soon, she spoke up: "Um... if that's the case, I should probably excuse myself. Regarding a Servant's True Name, it's not appropriate for me to know."
In the Holy Grail War, a Servant's True Name must be kept secret at all times. After all, once a name is known, it could easily lead to discovering weaknesses. Therefore—voluntarily (or involuntarily) learning the True Name of another Master's Servant is an act of considerable hostility.
"It's fine." Tohsaka Sakura spoke, stopping Tohsaka Rin. "Even if Sister knows the name... it's not a problem."
"..." Even after having his body pierced once, Tohsaka Sakura still believed in Ian's strength. Realizing this, Tohsaka Rin said nothing more, quietly acting as a listener. Ian didn't prevaricate and directly spoke what he had sensed in his blurry consciousness.
"King Lot."
"My name... should be that."
"..." Tohsaka Sakura didn't respond to Ian. It was clear she was desperately pondering the meaning of this name, even using her phone to search. However—the result was nothing. Tohsaka Sakura completely failed to understand this outcome. Why was this so? How could there be a Heroic Spirit who had left no trace in this world? What could possibly have happened to cause such a situation?
Just as Tohsaka Sakura was racking her brains, Tohsaka Rin's voice broke the silence.
"Let's ignore whether we can find a corresponding identity for now. I think we should strengthen our defenses—Sakura, if I'm not mistaken, you've already set up defensive magecraft around the house, right?"
"Mm, that's right," Tohsaka Sakura nodded, then realized something. "Sister, Mom's side..."
"I've already set it up," Tohsaka Rin smiled slightly. "Sakura, you truly are a mature magus now. So, next—let's give Ian a check-up."
"Check-up?" Tohsaka Sakura was a little confused.
"Mm," Tohsaka Rin nodded. "Since his condition is so strange... I'm wondering if some kind of magecraft was cast on him."
"..."
"Then how do we check?" Tohsaka Sakura pressed.
"Just..." A faint blue light appeared on Tohsaka Rin's hands—a sign of a spell taking effect. "Just touch him everywhere to see if Vivian left any magecraft behind."
"Eh? Like that?"
"What else can we do?!" Tohsaka Rin's face flushed with shame. "You don't think I'm still thinking about a threesome, do you?!"
"But I didn't even mention that, Sister..." Tohsaka Sakura mumbled softly.
"..."
"..."
The atmosphere became a little awkward.
"So are you checking or not?!" Tohsaka Rin said, throwing caution to the wind. "If not, then forget it."
"Of course I'm checking." The image of Vivian flashed before Tohsaka Sakura's eyes. "Sister, teach me how to do it?"
"Alright," Tohsaka Rin didn't hesitate, but she quickly seemed to remember something else. "Oh, and one more thing. My Archer's name is Atalanta."
"Eh?" Tohsaka Sakura was a little surprised. "Sister, you're..."
"Don't use that tone," Tohsaka Rin replied. "I just don't want to owe you for letting me stay and listen."
"Is that so..." A smile appeared on Tohsaka Sakura's face. "I understand~"
[Tohsaka Rin and Tohsaka Sakura begin to examine you.]
[The result seems to be that nothing was found.]
[After all, as they touched you, they became a bit distracted, beginning to grope you and enjoy their time together.]
[But this is merely a superficial observation—in reality, Tohsaka Rin did discover the Command Spell reaction within your body.]
[She realized something but did not announce it.]
[And what you do not know is that the Holy Grail War welcomed its last Master this very night.]
Fuyuki Airport.
"Mr. Marisbury, please keep your passport safe."
"Okay, thank you."
A silver-haired man retrieved his passport from the inspection staff, then exited the airport. He looked at the snow-covered ground before him, pulled out a ring, and under the moonlight, it shimmered with silver light.
"The legendary king."
"If this truly is the ring you cast into the future—" The man's eyes sharpened in an instant.
"Then I ask you to answer my fervent wish."