"Father, I don't understand why we must bring Souya to Romania. You know, this is different from other Subcategory Holy Grail Wars; it's extremely special. The level of danger might even surpass that of a true Holy Grail War."
The young man's voice, filled with confusion and worry, echoed in the empty church. Shirou Kotomine, a youth with white hair and dark skin, was trying his best to reason with the old man before him.
"I know that child, Souya, is now an excellent Executor and has participated in many Subcategory Holy Grail Wars, but this time is truly different. It's a plan the Yggdmillennia clan has been plotting for nearly a hundred years. The dangers we will face there are far beyond what those half-baked wars can compare to."
Thinking of his younger brother, whose origins were similar to his own and who always greeted him with a warm smile, having to step into this cruel war with him, Shirou Kotomine's brow furrowed deeply.
"I understand the reasoning, but this order came from the Church. Even if you and I are unwilling, we cannot defy this directive," said Risei Kotomine, an old man in clerical robes, his hair white but his frame still imposing and strong, his face full of helplessness.
In this world, the Holy Church was one of the two major powers, on par with the Mages' Association. Although it shared the same faith and interpretation of the Lord's teachings as a normal church, it was actually a vast organization established for the purpose of "hunting heretics." Its internal rules were strict and its iron laws numerous. Even though Shirou Kotomine's true identity was very special, an existence just one step away from so-called "sainthood," it was almost impossible for him to change the Church's orders based on his personal will.
And Shirou naturally understood this, so upon hearing Risei's reply, his brow remained tightly furrowed.
"Relax. Just as you said, Souya is an excellent Executor. Watched over by the Lord, he will surely embrace hope even if he truly encounters danger." Risei placed a hand on Shirou's shoulder, comforting this "young man" who was more like a friend than a foster son. "Besides, this is a good thing for Souya as well."
He lowered his hand, a hint of gratification in his eyes as if he had thought of something pleasant. "The Church has reached a certain consensus with the Mages' Association. They will select some members with magical talent to study at the Clock Tower or with a magus family. I have submitted applications for both Kirei and Souya."
"There's no problem on Kirei's side. As for Souya, the Church has great expectations for him, but at the same time, they also want to see how great his potential truly is. And this is clearly a good opportunity for him to prove his worth."
Risei came to his senses, looked directly into Shirou's eyes, his tone pleading. "Shirou, I know you value this great war triggered by the Greater Grail, and I understand you must have your own pursuits and goals, but I still hope you can give Souya a chance."
"I am in my twilight years and have no great desires. Kirei has also grown up. He is just lost now, but one day he will find what he wants. The only one I worry about is my youngest adopted son. He bears the Stigmata, and his life is destined to be extraordinary. I only hope you can look after him a little more before he has fully grown. You don't have to shield him from the wind and rain, just give him some space to grow."
Shirou was silent for a moment. Only now did he realize that the Risei Kotomine before him was no longer the solemn and powerful supervisor he remembered from the Third Holy Grail War. Now, he was just an old man with white hair, nearing seventy.
Perhaps because a Heroic Spirit's time is infinite, the several decades that had passed were just a number for Shirou as he prepared his own plans. But for Risei, the years had changed him a great deal.
"Rest assured, Father. I will take good care of Souya."
In the end, Shirou sighed and agreed to his request. In truth, his initial reluctance to have Souya accompany him to Romania was partly due to the worry that he might interfere with his plans. This plan was his top priority, even above his own life. It was the ideal he had wanted to achieve since becoming a Heroic Spirit, a taboo that could not be disturbed under any circumstances.
In any case, the Heroic Spirit I plan to summon is unlikely to have any problems, and the materials needed to build the 'Gardens' are all prepared. When the time comes, I just need to have Souya stay within the 'Gardens'.
Thinking of the holy relic he had prepared, and the abilities of that Assyrian empress, Shirou felt a little more at ease.
Following Risei out, the church on the mountaintop became quiet once more. The cool moonlight scattered through the window cracks onto the marble walls, leaving only a cold and silent scene.
At this time, Souya, the center of the conversation, had no idea that his fate had already been arranged by his foster father and foster brother. He had, in fact, heard about being sent to Romania to participate in the Holy Grail War. After all, there was no possibility of refusing an order from the Holy Church; what he was meant to know, he would know sooner or later.
As for his thoughts and attitude on the matter?
What else could he do? If he couldn't refuse, he could only choose to enjoy it.
Sometimes, a person's life is already determined at birth. After all, as the saying goes, the biggest watershed in life is not the college entrance exam or adulthood, but the amniotic fluid. Whether you're tall, rich, and handsome, or short, poor, and ugly is already determined the moment you are born.
And for Souya, he was a veteran at this watershed.
The first time was in his previous life. It's not convenient to mention his name, just an ordinary transmigrator born in an ordinary family, grew into an ordinary person, and was finally killed by an ordinary truck.
The second time was this life. Having transmigrated with the memories of an adult, he was abandoned at the door of a church in a state of confusion, not knowing his situation. If it weren't for his extraordinary talent, and waking up a sleeping nun with his loud, siren-like cries, he estimated he might have frozen to death outside. After all, it was a winter night.
As for what came after, he didn't grow up in a church as he had imagined, becoming a priest who believed in Jesus and loved little boys. Instead, at the age of four, he was taken away by a burly old man in a black cassock, wearing a golden cross, who looked like a priest. Just as he was terrified that he was about to experience what it was like to be a little boy loved by a priest before he could even become one himself, he unexpectedly completed his understanding of this world.
This old man was none other than Risei Kotomine, who had given birth to Fuyuki's strongest "tax evader," the Mapo Tofu priest. And he was adopted by him, becoming the younger brother of Kirei Kotomine, Souya Kotomine.
And the reason Risei had come to find him was, of course, because Souya's talent was extraordinary, his body was strong, and he looked like a promising seedling who would surely achieve great things.
Alright, actually, it was because a blood-colored scar had appeared on the back of his neck, a [Stigmata].
This was undoubtedly a gift of fate, a sign of the omniscient and omnipotent Lord's attention and mark upon him. In more common terms:
"I see in this child the makings of a saint!"
If it were a few hundred years earlier, he could have at least been a Son of God. But in the present, having entered the new millennium, he couldn't be a Son of God, but the benefits were still huge. Setting aside the ability most saints had to revive withered plants and walk on water, the greatest effect this Stigmata brought him was activating the deeply hidden magic circuits in his body, allowing him to leap from a Muggle to a genius who could learn magic.
That's right, magic circuits. When he heard this term from Risei, he finally understood what kind of world he had come to. It was naturally the disaster-prone Type-Moon world, where the world would be destroyed from time to time and the Human Order incinerated.
Great, just great. He used to always think how wonderful it would be if he could come to the Type-Moon world and get close to his favorite characters like the princess, Rin, and Ahoge. But after really coming here, he immediately went limp.
Not a peaceful world?! The feeling was like someone who talks tough online getting called out by a muscular guy in real life...
And when he was thinking if he could just hide behind Mapo Tofu, reality gave him a slap in the face.
Want to be a deserter? Give me your loyalty at once!!!
As someone bearing the Stigmata and possessing huge magical potential, he was naturally reported by Risei. The Holy Church, upon learning that a child with the makings of a saint had appeared in the modern era, naturally paid high attention. Thus, the little Souya was thrown into a great deal of training.
Physical training and combat simulation on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; learning magic and church culture on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays; and on Sundays, he was forced to attend Mass to consolidate his faith in the Lord and his identification with the Church.
Whenever he woke up from a dream at night, he would miss his past life and secretly wish that the Stigmata on his back was star-shaped and had moved down to his left shoulder...
But fortunately, the hard times would always pass. After becoming an Executor who could already fight an ordinary Servant head-on, he began to take on the job of an exorcist, traveling around the world to eliminate heretics who defied the Lord's will. His adaptation to this work was such that even the senior Executors of the Burial Agency would exclaim upon seeing him that this kid was destined to be one of them.
Of course, in the end, he did not join the Burial Agency, but like Risei and Kirei, joined the Eighth Sacrament Assembly, which was responsible for collecting and managing holy relics and occasionally serving as a supervisor in Subcategory Holy Grail Wars. In other words, he had become the traditional black-whistle referee of the Kotomine family.
It was also during this period that he finally figured out which timeline of the Type-Moon universe he was in. When he learned that his foster brother was Mapo Tofu, he thought he was in the world of Fate/Zero or Fate/Stay Night, that is, the world of the Fourth or Fifth War. Although he was sad about losing the chance to meet Princess Arcueid and Aoko Aozaki, on the whole, he was still very happy. After all, the world of the Holy Grail War was always better than the world of Tsukihime, where True Ancestors ran rampant and biochemical crises broke out from time to time. Besides, there was still the tsundere Rin, the gentle Sakura, and the cute King of Knights...
But all these fantasies changed when he saw the big brother named Shirou Kotomine, who was actually Shirou Tokisada Amakusa.
Hmm... a pseudo-saint with a rich modern social experience like me should be better at courting a saintess than that damn Sieg, right?
Jesus, oh no, almighty Lord, what do you think?
Souya rubbed his chin and looked up at the sky at a 90-degree angle.
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