The amount of intimacy that can be gained by simply playing cards is limited. If you want to go further, you have to find another opportunity.
Takumi looked at Artoria, who had put on a bunny costume and was dealing cards seriously, and said to himself: I don't believe I can't win against you!
In addition to being a bit competitive, he was becoming increasingly captivated by her. There was no avoiding it; the mature version of Artoria was already a peerless beauty, and the bunny costume only made her more alluring.
Takumi and Artoria had played cards for two days. After seeing such beautiful scenery for that long, it would be strange not to feel a sense of desire. Moreover, even though Takumi had seen many beauties and was relatively immune by now, this was different. After all, having such a sight right in front of your eyes every day without being able to touch it was something most people couldn't stand.
Despite this, these two days had also been painful for the girls in Dimension City. Because Takumi had accumulated frustration with Artoria, he would vent it while practicing boxing with them, which resulted in them being beaten quite badly.
At this moment, an android maid knocked on the door and walked into the exclusive study where the two were situated. Since Artoria had to change into the bunny costume, they had moved to a private area without outsiders. Takumi, having already claimed Artoria for himself, did not want others taking advantage of the view.
Just when Takumi thought the maid was simply bringing tea, he heard her report: "Sir Takumi, the head of the Tohsaka family has sent a letter to inform you that the remaining three Masters have arrived."
This was a minor frustration. Even in this era, where convenient things like telephones existed, Tokiomi Tohsaka insisted on sticking to tradition. Therefore, the way he conveyed news to Takumi was not through the magical faxes popular among mages, but through methods that seemed backward compared to the secular world.
Traditional magecraft communication was a lot of trouble. Although it allowed for real-time conversation, it lacked incoming call notifications. It was similar to ancient internet chat rooms or message boards; unless you stayed by the device, you might miss the connection and turn a conversation into a stagnant message. Although this had the advantage of ensuring information was 100% conveyed, it was inconvenient, so Takumi usually let the maid handle communications.
"Has everyone arrived already?"
Takumi was slightly startled. It had only been five days since the news was released, which was faster than expected. He didn't think these people would arrive all at once so soon.
"Yes, the head of the Tohsaka family said that the three of them have already reported to the church," the maid replied.
"Okay. Go tell Tokiomi to inform Risei Kotomine to ask these three people to meet at the church as soon as possible. I will be there shortly."
"Yes, sir." The maid left to relay the message to Tokiomi Tohsaka.
"It seems we can only stop here for today."
Seeing this, Artoria put down her cards. With a flash of spiritual light, she changed out of her bunny costume and into her Lancer-class Spirit Dress.
"Let's go then; business is more important."
Takumi didn't dwell on his unfinished game. Compared to the potentially significant rewards in the Hall of Heroes, no matter how tempting Artoria was, the mission had to come first.
He led Artoria out of the study. When he reached the yard, he stopped Flora, who was still trying to coax the Grand Duke, Vlad III, as well as Asuna and Okita Souji, who were practicing their swordsmanship nearby.
"The rest of the staff have arrived. It's time to get down to business."
When the swordsmanship duo heard this, they stopped their practice, cleaned up, and approached. Flora stopped pestering the Grand Duke, set aside her experimental props, and joined them.
"Where are Megumin and Alice?" Takumi looked around. He could understand why Alice Nakiri wasn't there, as she had to make preparations with Nero. But he didn't see Megumin anywhere.
He looked at Artoria for an answer. Artoria pointed to the top of a tree not far away. With her Ruler-class abilities, she could accurately detect all Servants within a few kilometers.
Seeing that he had been discovered, Arash stopped hiding and jumped down from the tree. But before he could land, Megumin's voice rang out from the other side.
"Got you! Let's see where else you can hide!" Megumin stood up from a flower bush and ran over excitedly.
"Boss, help me," Arash said, his expression changing as he quickly called out to Takumi.
"Are you two playing hide and seek?" Takumi was speechless. He grabbed the back of Megumin's collar as she tried to pass him, lifting her up and instantly subduing her. He scolded: "Stop making trouble, we have business to attend to."
"Oh, fine." As soon as Takumi spoke, Megumin immediately calmed down.
After checking again, Takumi realized no one knew where Alice Nakiri and Nero had gone. He used a magical phone call to reach Alice and located them through mutual positioning. It turned out they were at the beach.
Before he could go to them, the two returned to join the group. The Grand Duke descended from the top of the castle once he saw everyone had assembled. At this point, the forces of Dimension City were fully gathered.
"Are we starting? That's fine. The preparations are handled; the rest is just minor decoration."
When Nero heard that the remaining people had arrived, she was slightly surprised but didn't dwell on it.
"Now that you're ready, let's go."
Takumi didn't ask for the specifics of her preparations. Instead, he gathered everyone and began the march toward the church.