It was winter, and the night sky appeared even gloomier, as heavy snow mixed with biting winds lashed against the glass windows.
This was the first snow of the year in Fuyuki.
In just a short time, the snowfall had already blanketed the forest outside the Einzbern Castle, covering the roads, and cloaking not only the entire castle but the whole city with a thin layer of silver.
Emiya Kiritsugu stood by the window, gazing out at the profound darkness beyond.
Known in the outside world as the "Magus Killer," his unique skill set had caught the attention of the Einzbern family, who had hired him as a Master to participate in this Holy Grail War.
Bzzz…
The vibration of a cellphone suddenly came from his pocket. Kiritsugu deftly pulled it out and answered the call.
On the other end of the line came a cold, calm female voice reporting the situation.
"Just now, in a shopping mall in the southern part of Fuyuki, we detected signs of suspected Master and Servant activity."
Kiritsugu's expression remained indifferent, his emotionless eyes quietly staring into the darkness outside. "Do we know their identities?"
"Not yet. That Servant was wearing a black robe and even donned a mask to deliberately conceal his face… As for his Master, she's just a young girl who looks about fourteen or fifteen."
"I felt something was very off, so I didn't dare get too close."
Kiritsugu remained silent.
This was strange.
No, extremely strange.
Normally, a Servant could follow their Master in a spiritual form.
The advantage of this was that it deterred enemies from making any rash moves, since no one could tell if a Servant was present or not.
But this Servant had openly materialized in the physical world, following his Master in plain sight…
Just what exactly were they planning?
"Do you know what they were doing?" Kiritsugu asked.
"From what we've observed so far, they're simply shopping in the mall… or rather, it looks more like a boy and girl going on a date."
This response finally caused a slight change in Kiritsugu's perpetually calm expression, adding a trace of peculiarity.
The Fourth Holy Grail War of Fuyuki was a "game" in which seven Masters summoned Servants to fight each other, and the last one standing would be granted the Holy Grail to make a wish.
Today was the night before the Holy Grail War officially began.
Technically, Masters were only supposed to summon their Servants on the first day of the war… but in reality, nearly every Master cheated and secretly summoned their Servants in advance.
Under normal circumstances, if a Master died, the Servant they had summoned would lose their supply of mana and vanish.
The first night should be when all participants exercised the utmost caution, because no one yet knew what kinds of Servants the others had summoned, nor their identities or trump cards.
So what were these two thinking…?
Were they deliberately using themselves as bait to lure others in? Or… were they simply that reckless?
"Keep a close watch on them… but don't act rashly for now."
Kiritsugu's low voice carried his order. "I need to prepare for the Servant summoning ritual as well."
…
Alvin, of course, had no idea that while he and Manaka Sajyou were out strolling, many pairs of eyes were secretly fixed on them.
Or rather, he had noticed these hidden observers from the moment he followed the girl out, but he simply couldn't be bothered to deal with them.
"Saber, what's wrong? You've been absent-minded since just now."
At this moment, the clear and melodious voice of the girl beside him rang out. She looked at him with a hint of curiosity in her eyes.
Alvin shook his head and smiled. "It's nothing. I just sensed a few… rather interesting presences nearby, so I couldn't help but pause for a moment."
Interesting presences?
Manaka Saijyou tilted her head slightly, then quickly seemed to grasp the meaning behind Alvin's words as she curled up her lips into a soft smile, and said, "You mean those rats hiding in the dark, right?"
"Okay, forget them. Let's go buy some groceries. I've been reading a few new recipes these past two days—tomorrow I'll let you try something new."
With that, she quite naturally slipped her hand around Alvin's arm and led him toward the mall.
A faint, subtle fragrance seemed to waft from the girl, like the gentle scent of a clingy little kitten.
If only Tiamat were here… Alvin suddenly thought to himself.
Though she was called the Mother Goddess of Creation, she seemed to have quite an interest in human cuisine… maybe she would get along really well with Manaka.
But, what Alvin didn't know was that, in fact, this girl didn't actually enjoy cooking itself.
The girl named Manaka Sajyou simply wanted to let the person she liked taste her cooking.
As long as she could see him eating what she made, just that alone would fill her heart with a joy called "happiness."
Because she had been so lonely for so long, because everything she did was always spoiled for her by "Omniscience and Omnipotence" revealing the future in advance, back in Britain, when she saw this boy who could not be predicted by that power, she couldn't help but be drawn to him.
At this age, most girls were all about looks, and their values tended to follow their aesthetics, and Alvin's appearance fit perfectly with Manaka's idea of what a "lover" should look like.
The Night Watchman of Britain, King Arthur's husband… a love that transcended history.
Just imagining such a thing was enough to satisfy all of a young girl's rosy, romantic fantasies.
Because it was winter and snowing heavily, the ground outside was already buried beneath snow up to their knees, and the mall was nearly deserted.
Alvin followed alongside Manaka Sajyou, while in his mind he was already working out how to find Kenneth and convince his teacher to abandon the Holy Grail War and go back home.
To be honest, he still didn't know which Servant his teacher had summoned…
Would it be the same as in the original Fourth War, summoning that luckless Lancer, or… would it be a different Servant this time?
As these scattered thoughts filled his head, the two of them had already bought an entire bag stuffed full of groceries without realizing.
Before they left, the cashier gave Alvin a suspicious look.
After all, a man bundled up so tightly in the middle of a shopping mall, even wearing a "white mask" on his face… no matter how you looked at it, he just screamed "suspicious."
Alvin silently took the heavy shopping bag from Manaka Sajyou's hands, holding the umbrella as he walked by the girl's side.
Without noticing it, the two of them had already passed through the bustling city center and were heading along a quieter street toward the high-rise where they were staying.
Manaka glanced at the boy a few times, unable to help herself, and then said, "Saber, when you're with me from now on, why don't you just take off the mask?"
"Wearing it makes it feel like there's a bit of distance between us."
Alvin sighed helplessly. "I just don't want to be recognized by anyone I know."
If he ran into Kayneth and that guy saw him appearing in Fuyuki as a Servant… Alvin had no idea what his teacher's reaction would be.
And in the original story, Kiritsugu Emiya's summoned Servant was King Arthur.
If he could help it, Alvin really didn't want his hard-won return to the living world to turn into a full-blown love triangle disaster.
But then again, since this world line had already shifted, maybe Kiritsugu's Servant this time might be someone else entirely.
Manaka thought about it for a moment and then said,
"Alright… I don't want to force you to do anything you don't want to do."
"But if possible, at least take the mask off when we're at home. Is that okay?"
In fact, if she wanted to, the girl could easily use a Command Seal to order Alvin to do what she wanted, but the girl didn't like the idea of using commands when it came to romance.
"If it's just at home, I guess that's fine…"
Seeing Alvin nod lightly, Manaka Sajyou was completely satisfied and took his hand. "Then let's go back."
Her smile was pure and beautiful, dazzling, her eyes filled with the joy of a girl in love.
For a moment, that radiant charm made Alvin reach out and gently stroke the girl's fair, delicate cheek.
Manaka shyly lowered her head.
However, just as Alvin was about to take Manaka's hand and leave, the streetlights suddenly flickered, bright and dim in turn.
Snowflakes drifted slowly from the ink-colored sky, and the surroundings became so silent that not a single sound could be heard.
Then, in that instant, from within the darkness, a faint golden light quietly appeared.
Manaka Sajyou was still in that bashful state, her gaze lowered, yet in the depths of her sapphire-blue eyes, there was a faint trace of coldness.
The Servants of Fuyuki… they really don't know how to read the mood, do they?
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a weapon wrapped in golden light shot forth, breaking the silence of the night.
The golden blade cut through the air, flying straight toward Manaka Sajyou.
In that instant, Alvin moved.
He picked Manaka up in a princess carry, and with a flash, vanished from where he stood.
Boom!