Ishtar rode the 'Maan,' gliding beneath the night sky, her gaze seemingly carelessly scanning the steel forest below.
"..I didn't expect the modern world to look like this…"
Soon, the woman muttered to herself.
When she was in Britain before, she had heard various things about the modern world from those transmigrators, but their words never gave her a clear picture.
After all, if you haven't seen something before, you won't be able to understand anything just by listening to the description.
Now, having seen the sights of the modern world, she had a clearer understanding of the so-called 'present world.'
Fuyuki during this period was in a developmental stage, with the old city district forming a stark contrast to the new city district.
Even late at night, the new city district didn't seem so dim, exuding the prosperity unique to a city.
Ishtar's gaze casually surveyed the layout of the surroundings.
Soon, her eyes fell on a certain skyscraper.
"..He's actually staying in such a conspicuous place during the Holy Grail War…?"
She couldn't help but mutter to herself: "..What a strange guy."
Under normal circumstances, during the Holy Grail War, all Masters would desperately try to hide themselves to avoid becoming a target or even being ganged up on.
The new city district, while nice, was too conspicuous and not convenient for the movements of Masters and Servants.
But in the end, when Manaka Sajyou chose this place as her base, she hadn't even considered the Holy Grail War.
In her view, whichever place was better for a date was where she'd stay.
Ishtar gathered her thoughts, riding the Maan, planning to circle around the glass windows outside to confirm the location of the room where Alvin was staying.
Buzz!
However, at that moment, she suddenly sensed a strange ripple of magical energy faintly drifting from afar.
She instinctively turned her head to look, soon realizing something and saying unconsciously.
"..This magical energy is… the Greater Holy Grail?!"
The Ruler class doesn't belong to any Master; it is a special Servant summoned by the Greater Holy Grail to balance the Holy Grail War.
But because Manaka Sajyou transferred Irisviel's Holy Grail, after Manaka altered the rules, performing a Heroic Spirit summoning as the 'Holy Grail,' she had a high chance of summoning the special Ruler class.
At this moment, Ishtar distinctly felt the magical fluctuations of the Greater Holy Grail coming from Ryudou Temple.
Though the disturbance was very subtle, it still couldn't escape a Ruler's perception.
But logically, without sufficient magical energy reserves, the Greater Holy Grail shouldn't be able to be summoned…
Realizing this, Ishtar instinctively looked toward the floor where Alvin was staying.
After a long moment of hesitation and struggle, she ultimately turned did not go forward and headed toward Ryudou Temple.
…
At the same time, on the other side.
In fact, although Alvin had become the White Dragon, when it came to magic circuits or magical energy, he believed he didn't understand as much as his teacher, Kayneth.
After all, he wasn't a thorough mage in the first place..so such things should be left to experts.
Under normal circumstances, every mage is born with a magic circuit, but Irisviel was different.
Though she was a mage and could use magecraft… her magic circuit, in a sense, was the Lesser Holy Grail itself.
But not long ago, Manaka Sajyou analyzed Irisviel's structure and transferred the Lesser Holy Grail into her own body.
If it weren't for the 'Winter Saint' unexpectedly awakening, Irisviel would likely be an ordinary person unable to use magecraft at all now.
But even with the Winter Saint's presence, the magecraft Irisviel could use was very limited…
After all, losing the Lesser Holy Grail meant losing the source of magical energy.
So… how could she acquire magical energy?
Not long ago, Kayneth had already given an answer.
Since a Master could replenish magical energy for a Servant, conversely, a Servant could also provide magical energy to a Master.
However, even with his thickest skin, and playboy personality, Alvin couldn't bring himself to say this out loud at the moment.
After all, even though he didn't mind taking such a gorgeous beauty, who fit all of his aesthetics, but neither the place, nor the occasion was convenient for such things.
In a sense, she had helped him, and Illya was in the living room right now…
If he actually did something, wouldn't it be a bit too perverse?
But though Alvin didn't say it, Irisviel seemed to guess something as she gazed into the young man's eyes, her expression softening slightly, and said. "..Looks like it's a method that would trouble you?"
"..It's not exactly troubling, just… is it really okay to do this?"
On the sofa, Alvin sighed, slightly lowering his eyelids.
He could feel the woman in front of him gently gazing at him.
For Alvin, though he currently had a Master, this Master was practically no different from not having one.
Unable to supply magical energy and without Command Spells… it could be said that Alvin's continued existence in Fuyuki relied entirely on his White Dragon furnace core and the special ability of [Independent Manifestation].
If he could first supply magical energy to 'Irisviel' and then escort her to the vicinity of the Greater Holy Grail at Ryudou Temple, once Irisviel established a connection with the Greater Holy Grail… even if the opponent is someone overpowered like Manaka Sajyou, Alvin was confident he could stop her.
But the woman before in front of now wasn't Irisviel, but the Winter Saint..
That's someone else' wife, even though it didn't seem like there's any relationship or affection.
"..Are you worried that Irisviel will be angry if she finds out about what we did afterward?"
As if guessing the young man's thoughts, the silver-haired beauty's gentle voice suddenly sounded on the balcony, causing Alvin to instinctively look up at her.
Her vivid red eyes carried a soft smile, her maternal aura deeply captivating Alvin, making his gaze unconsciously lock with 'Irisviel's.'
Then, he saw 'Irisviel' tilt her head slightly and say softly.
"..She's watching right now, you know?"
For a moment, Alvin seemed stunned.
"..Isn't she still asleep…?"
'Irisviel' gently shook her head, one hand lightly resting on her full chest, her voice warm and pleasant.
"..My existence is merely a wisp of consciousness about to fade, so I can't fully occupy her body."
"..Irisviel has never been in a completely dormant state… including our current conversation, she can hear it too."
In other words, both the Winter Saint and Irisviel were currently in a conscious state, and this ancestor of the Einzbern family and her descendant were sharing the same body?
The heck...
Realizing this, Alvin fell into deep thought for a long while.
"..A Master can provide magical energy to a Servant, and a Servant can, in turn, feed magical energy back to a Master… That should be the answer your teacher gave, right?"
At this moment, Irisviel's voice came again, bringing Alvin back to reality from his previous thoughts as he subconsciously looked at the woman in front of him.
From beginning to end, her flawless white face maintained a gentle and intellectual expression, like a goddess descending to the earth, embracing everything.
Looking at the beauty, Alvin opened his mouth and spoke after a long pause, "Did you know how to obtain magical energy from the beginning?"
At that moment, Irisviel gazed at him with shimmering eyes, her expression calm yet tinged with a trace of complexity as she said.
"..If you count the time I spent slumbering in the Greater Holy Grail, I've lived for over two hundred years, no matter how you look at it."
"..When it comes to magecraft, or even how to acquire magical energy… I still know a thing or two."
After all, as someone who once wielded the 'Third Magic,' the Winter Saint's expertise in magecraft was indeed beyond what ordinary mages could compare to.
No matter how much of a genius Kayneth was, the gap in 'experience' was still there.
High EQ: Experience gap.
Low EQ: Age gap.
Looking at 'Irisviel's' cool, stunningly beautiful face and her gentle gaze that seemed to overflow with tenderness, at this moment, Alvin's brain began to work at high speed.
So she knew what to do from the start but was too embarrassed to bring it up, or perhaps she ..and even Irisviel wasn't mentally prepared, so she deliberately had me go to Kayneth.
…In the end, she was waiting for me to bring it up?
Yes… though she's an 'elder,' who's lived for a long time, she's still a woman, and she probably never experienced love in the past. It's normal for her to feel shy.
But now, Illya is sleeping out there, and this body doesn't even belong to the Winter Saint… Thinking of this, Alvin's emotions became incredibly conflicted.
As if reading his thoughts, Irisviel's expression softened, and she suddenly asked a seemingly irrelevant question.
"..Saber, do you know how the homunculi of the Einzbern family are created?"
Hearing her words, Alvin's expression shifted slightly, and he gently shook his head.
Though he had some understanding of the Type-Moon world, he didn't know the specifics… In short, he was a bit of a casual fan.
Irisviel' sat on the balcony chair, looking up at the snowy scene outside the window.
Her silver hair complemented the snow, and time had imbued her demeanor with a mature, feminine charm.
Her gaze soon carried a touch of reminiscence and faint nostalgia.
"..In the beginning, to realize the Third Magic, the disciples of the magic wielder established a workshop. After nearly nine hundred years of planning and creating individuals, they crafted the first homunculus who mastered the Third Magic."
"..That person's name was Justeaze."
Justeaze… isn't that her?
Alvin instinctively looked at 'Irisviel,' his thoughts becoming more active.
The latter extended her right hand, and silver threads quietly emerged in her palm.
"..The Third Magic I wield is an extremely intricate weave, but even so, saving one person takes years, let alone saving all of humanity."
"..Because I'm a homunculus, my body doesn't age or die… but because it's too fragile, I couldn't leave that castle."
"..The ones who created me were the disciples of the Third Magic wielder.
Their goal was to use the Third Magic to redeem all of humanity… but when they realized that human bodies couldn't create such a miracle, they accepted this fact."
"..After that, some left the Einzbern castle, while others chose to end their own lives."
"..In a sense, it was because of my existence that they were so frustrated."
Irisviel… or rather, Justeaze, recounted an incredibly heavy story in a calm and gentle voice.
"..Why…?" Alvin instinctively asked.
"..Saber, you have devoured Vortigern's power and you even possess a weapon like the Holy Sword of the Stars. Your existence itself is an incredible miracle, so you might find it hard to understand."
"..But my existence is also a kind of miracle, you know?"
Irisviel tilted her head slightly, looking at the young man, her voice cool yet carrying an indescribable allure as she gently placed a hand on her plump chest and said softly.
"My creation surpassed the limits of what humans could achieve. It was precisely because they witnessed such a miracle, and yet still couldn't save all of humanity after it was born, that they completely gave up on this experiment."
Alvin vaguely guessed what came next and said. "..The disciples of the Third Magic wielder all gave up on the grand endeavor of saving humanity… but later, you inherited their will?"
Irisviel slowly shook her head.
"After that, someone visited the Einzbern castle and found me."
"It was at his suggestion that we together created the Greater Holy Grail system."
"You should have met that person… His name was Makiri Zolgen, the first head of the Matou family in the past."
In a sense, the reason Matou Zouken later became so twisted, even wanting to live at all costs, was influenced by the Winter Saint.
Of course, when exactly Matou Zouken lost his original heart after that is unknown.
"..Are you still trying to use the Greater Holy Grail to achieve the salvation of humanity, to let their souls live forever?" Alvin suddenly asked.
"..After all, that was the dream of those who created me. Though they gave up, I still want to give it a try… It's one of the few 'desires' I have, I suppose."
Irisviel said, causing the young man to fall silent for a moment.
A homunculus, or rather, the Winter Saint Justeaze, did not have any human emotions and couldn't experience so-called feelings.
After the disciples of the Third Magic wielder abandoned the illusory dream of 'saving humanity,' her persistence might simply be to prove she had existed, or perhaps… she just needed something to hold onto.
But in a sense, this woman's life was deeply tragic.
She was unable to leave the castle from the moment she was born.
In the end, the ones who created her either ended their lives or left the castle, dying in despair.
She never left that castle her entire life, until she finally turned her life into the source of the Greater Holy Grail, ending her existence.
And now… the Greater Holy Grail was tainted.
"..Are you pitying me?" At this moment, 'Irisviel's' voice sounded, pulling Alvin back to reality.
The latter snapped back to his senses, shaking his head. "Just feeling a bit sentimental…"
"..If you really want to help me, why not do it another way, Saber?"
Under Alvin's stunned gaze, Irisviel gave a gentle smile.
She suddenly stood up, stepping closer to Alvin, her soft, alluring body almost pressing against the young man, pinning him against the glass door behind him, speaking enticing words in an incredibly calm and gentle voice....the words that made his heart and body race in an instant.
"..Take me, Saber."
.
.
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