Fuyuki…?
Why the hell did Kayneth go to Fuyuki on his own?
When Alvin heard Reines' words, his first reaction was sheer disbelief.
After all, back when he first arrived at the Clock Tower, he had gone through great effort to save Kayneth, his teacher and successfully dissuaded him from participating in the Holy Grail War.
And now, without saying a word, the other party had gone to that "peaceful" city?
"What's he going to Fuyuki for…?"
After a short silence, Alvin finally couldn't help but ask.
Reines, still oblivious, hesitated for a moment before replying softly, "I heard it's because my brother's teacher opposed that engagement."
"My brother wanted to prove his worth, and coincidentally, he heard that the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki was about to begin, so he…"
Kayneth's teacher?
Oh, that gloomy old man from the Department of Spirit Evocation…
Alvin quickly realized.
Come to think of it, Kayneth's fiancée, Sola, was that old man's daughter.
'It seems his opposition to the engagement must have something to do with me too…' Alvin thought to himself.
He wasn't stupid.
The moment Reines mentioned that Eulyphis opposed Kayneth's engagement to his daughter, Alvin had already vaguely guessed the reason.
And to be honest, it was unavoidable.
After all, the pressure from the Moon King was just too overwhelming, and that old man was a meticulous egotist.
He had never considered Kayneth an especially outstanding "son-in-law."
If not for the fact that Kayneth was the head of the El-Melloi family, Eulyphis probably wouldn't have even considered marrying off his daughter to him.
But if one could obtain the all-powerful wish-granting device… or even use it to reach the Root, then even Eulyphis would have no choice but to change his view, wouldn't he?
Perhaps that was exactly why Kayneth went to Fuyuki.
The problem was… Kayneth probably had no idea just how many monsters were lurking in that "small" city. He'd barely set foot there and was likely already being crushed over and over.
And in the end, he would even die there.
Alvin had done everything in his power to prevent Kayneth from entering the Holy Grail War, but Kayneth still ended up going anyway… Was this what they called "worldline convergence"?
Alvin felt his mind was in a mess for a moment.
Flying from Britain to Japan, then traveling to Fuyuki by land… he didn't even know how much time it would take..not to mention, there were no flights available tonight.
And it was too late already.
Even if he left immediately, by the time he reached Fuyuki, he might be just in time to collect Kayneth's corpse.
Kayneth might think Fuyuki was nothing special, but only Alvin truly understood how many "monsters" were gathered there.
The quality of a magus might not matter much, because one have to know, this was the Holy Grail War… and what truly decided the victor was the Servants summoned by the Masters.
The stronger the Servant, the higher the chance of victory.
For instance, in the original timeline, if Tokiomi's summoned Servant, Gilgamesh, had fought seriously from the start, the Holy Grail War might have been over in a single night.
In the end, no matter how skilled a magus was, they could never hope to contend with a Servant.
I have to think of something… Is there any way I can get to Fuyuki before the night ends?
At that moment, Alvin's mind went into overdrive.
He didn't consider himself a good person, and Kayneth had been harsh with many, but when it came to teaching him, Kayneth had always been responsible and dutiful.
For that reason alone, Alvin had to bring him back alive to the Clock Tower.
"What's wrong? Why do you look so pale?"
At this time, Reines stretched out her hand and waved it in front of Alvin, with a look of concern in her eyes
Alvin pulled himself out of his thoughts and shook his head. "It's nothing. I was just wondering which relic my teacher brought with him to Fuyuki this time."
When this matter was mentioned, Reines couldn't help but sigh. "Don't even mention it. The relic my brother had originally prepared was stolen. He's using a different one now."
"I honestly don't know if it's even reliable…"
There's no way it is… Alvin thought bitterly.
He had read the original timeline, and he knew well why Kayneth died in the Holy Grail War.
On the other hand, it was due to his arrogance, but it also had a lot to do with the Servant he summoned… and with his fiancée.
Of course, there was no point in explaining all of this to Reines.
Just as he was thinking about this, a line of text quietly appeared in Alvin's vision.
[New CG detected in Fuyuki. Would you like to unlock it?]
[Yes / No]
A new CG in Fuyuki?
'If I remember correctly, this is the Fourth War era. And during this war, most of the Servants were male, weren't they…?
Almost all of Alvin's collected CGs were related to beautiful girls. Could it be… the system had changed?
Though a thousand questions ran through his mind, Alvin still chose "Yes."
And in the next instant, he felt his body grow light, almost as if it were floating. In the distance, he faintly heard a chant.
As Alvin listened carefully, his heart gave a sudden jolt.
He knew that chant.
…It was the incantation for summoning a Servant!
Right… Although it might be too late to rush to Fuyuki directly, what if I accepted a Servant summoning as the "Watcher of Britain"?
"Alvin, where are you going?!"
Seeing Alvin turning to leave the room, Reines couldn't help but shout after him.
"Fuyuki," Alvin said.
Reines blinked, her eyes slowly widening. "Eh… Eh?!"
She quickly came to her senses and instinctively asked, "Why are you going to Fuyuki?"
'If I don't go find your brother now, you might never see him again…' Alvin thought so, in his heart and said, "I'm just going to clear my head. Besides, with all the commotion in the Clock Tower recently, it'll be a good way to avoid the spotlight for a while."
"But even if you go now, it'll probably be too late… By the time you get there, the Holy Grail War might already be over," Reines blurted out.
"If I were just going there normally, sure, it'd be too late."
Alvin smiled brightly. "But I have a way to get to Fuyuki before the war begins."
Reines furrowed her brows slightly. "Stop keeping me in suspense. What is it?"
Alvin only put on a mysterious look. "I'll tell you when I get back."
Not giving Reines any chance to argue, Alvin immediately turned and left. He passed through the academy buildings and returned to his room.
Then, he opened the system interface.
On the CG interface, a new line of text quietly appeared before his eyes.
[The prologue of the Fuyuki CG has been unlocked]
[From here on, proceed with caution, and aim for victory in the Holy Grail War...]
'If I remembered correctly, aside from that flashy golden guy and a Lily, the other Servants in the Fourth War weren't particularly terrifying, right?'
To be honest, he didn't expect the system to be this considerate, even giving him a special reminder.
Not that it was really necessary.
After all… even without using his full power, Alvin didn't think he could possibly lose in the Holy Grail War.
After all, his purpose this time was just to ensure Kayneth's safety, and it didn't matter whether he won the Holy Grail War or not.
Thinking of this, Alvin couldn't help but let a small, amused smile slip onto his face.
Just then, another line of text appeared in front of him.
[Detected a summoning from a Holy Grail War participant. Accept the summoning?]
Alvin couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.
Technically, this was still the night before the Grail War, wasn't it?
He didn't expect someone to break the rules and summon this early.
Who could it be…?
Tokiomi? Or maybe Kayneth?
Anyone who could summon him had to be someone who was either closely tied to him or possessed one of his relics.
In Alvin's mind, only those two fit the bill.
However, before Alvin could react, he saw another line of small words quietly appear in front of him.
[Detected a summoning from a Holy Grail War participant. Accept the summoning?]
"…"
For a moment, Alvin even suspected the system was bugging out.
Didn't it just pop up once already? Why is it here again?
And before he could even finish that thought, several more notifications appeared in quick succession.
[Detected a summoning from a Holy Grail War participant. Accept the summoning?] ×3
This time, Alvin could be very sure. The system wasn't bugging out.
In just a few short minutes, more than five different people in distant Fuyuki were all trying to summon him at once.
Looks like there are quite a few "transmigrators" over in Fuyuki… Alvin thought to himself.
After all, "Night Watcher" was a unique existence tied to Britain, and only transmigrators who had been to Britain could possibly acquire a relic connected to the "Watcher."
But even then, he didn't expect this many people to summon him at the same time.
…A bunch of White Dragon fanatics, huh?
While Alvin was complaining in his heart, he was silently looking at the five system reminders that appeared in his field of vision and fell into deep thought for a long time.
Now then… the question was, whose summoning should he accept?
The strength of a Servant in the Holy Grail War wasn't just about the Servant—it was also tied to the Master's magical circuits.
The larger the magical circuits, the more mana they could provide to a Servant.
In other words, if you wanted to win the Holy Grail War, you must first need a Master with powerful mana capacity to fuel their Servant.
However, Alvin had no idea who these Masters were… This was like opening a blind box.
If he got summoned by a weak Master… no matter how strong Alvin was, he might get dragged down to his death.
"There's nothing I can do. Since I don't know who's summoning me… I'll just have to trust my luck."
Just as Alvin thought this, one of the summoning prompts suddenly shone brighter than the others.
It was as if the summoner's desire and hope were overflowing from it, making him hesitate for a moment.
Hmm… He didn't know who it was, but handsome boys usually didn't have bad luck.
"Since you want me that badly, I'll give you a chance…"
Alvin quietly closed his eyes and accepted the summoning.
In an instant, the surrounding environment was swallowed by darkness.
.....
---
In the basement of a mansion in Fuyuki.
Morgan le Fay stood before a crimson magic circle, her expression twisted with a terrifying scowl.
On the magic circle rested a black scale… the relic of the White Dragon. By all rights, with this relic, she should have been able to summon Alvin.
Yet she failed.
"Why…?"
After what felt like an eternity of silence, Morgan finally voiced the question burning in her heart.
She had made all the preparations in advance, and given her connection with Alvin… Why hadn't he responded?
Why had it failed?
The answer was obvious.
—Someone else in this Holy Grail War had already summoned him.
Morgan's eyes gradually turned icy cold as she realized it.
She didn't know who it was. But it didn't matter…
Even if he was someone else's Servant for now… in the end, he would be hers.
---
Cold.
One could faintly sense the biting chill of winter in the air.
In the upper floor of a luxurious skyscraper in Fuyuki, Alvin's figure slowly materialized.
In his Servant form, Alvin didn't feel the cold.
But he could still sense the wind rushing through the open window, fluttering the white curtains and brushing against the edges of his robe.
He wore a black long coat with a hood, exuding an aura of mystery.
Beneath the hood, one could barely glimpse his pale, almost luminous skin.
"So this is what I look like as a Servant… not bad at all," Alvin murmured to himself, gazing down at his hands.
Under normal circumstances, a Servant would be weaker than they were in life, and Alvin was no exception.
This was where a Master's magical circuits truly mattered.
The stronger the Master, the more power the Servant could manifest.
And Alvin was very satisfied with this mysterious Master of his.
He could feel that right now, he was at his absolute peak as a Servant.
A "Rank-Breaking" Servant.
If the worldline hadn't changed, the only other Rank-Breaking Servant in this Holy Grail War should have been Gilgamesh.
"Looks like it really worked, huh?"
At this moment, he suddenly heard a girl's voice full of joy coming from behind him.
"The moment I foresaw someone else trying to summon you first, I admit I panicked a little. Hehehe…"
Alvin felt as if his thoughts had short-circuited a little, and the joy in his heart was suddenly dampened a lot.
Wait a second…
That voice sounded awfully familiar.
He slowly turned his head toward the sound.
And then he saw her.
A girl stood there, dressed in an elegant Gothic gown.
Golden hair framed a face of pristine beauty, her lips soft and pink.
Beneath the hem of her dress were slender legs clad in white stockings, ending in pristine white boots.
Every detail radiated the air of a noble lady.
Their eyes met. Alvin's pupils dilated slightly, his gaze locking onto her.
"You…"
His lips parted in disbelief as the realization struck.
Manaka Sajyou?!