Not long after, on the hillside southeast of the New City—
Though it was deep night, the church doors were still open.
Inside the chapel, an elderly man in black stood before the altar, eyes closed in prayer. His hair had gone gray.
Below in the nave, a younger man—also dressed in black—sat quietly in the first pew.
An odd atmosphere hung between father and son, until footsteps approached from outside and shattered it.
"To preserve the Lord's peace, the church is not open at night," the priest at the altar—Risei Kotomine—opened his eyes. "That said, if you have urgent needs, there are seats available. You may pray quietly…"
"Thank you for the offer, Father," Bai Ye said with a polite nod. "But that's not why we're here."
"…By regulation, the church is neutral ground in the Holy Grail War," Risei said after a brief silence—having already identified Bai Ye and Scáthach's roles tonight at a glance. "Any Master or Servant who attempts to start a battle here gives me the right to call upon all participants to jointly eliminate them."
"That may be true," Bai Ye said, glancing toward the first pew, "but it doesn't mean a Master can treat this like a safe zone and live here, does it?"
"Kirei's situation is special," Risei said. "He and his Servant will not participate in the normal progression of the Grail War. So long as no crisis emerges that would threaten all of Fuyuki—or beyond—he will concede victory when the others reach their conclusion. I can guarantee that in the name of the Holy Church."
"If you put it that way… fine. I'll trust the Church once."
Bai Ye raised an eyebrow and turned toward the exit.
"I thought you joined the Grail War, Kirei Kotomine, because you wanted to use the Grail to correct your… personality defect."
"Wait."
As Bai Ye and Scáthach were about to step out, Risei—seeing Kirei's reaction (or lack thereof), and feeling a father's instinct that the calm was too calm—called out.
"What did you mean by that?"
"Oh? You didn't know?" Bai Ye stopped and turned back, smiling. "Your son was born unable to feel what most people call 'beauty.' Instead, he gains a strange joy and happiness from others' suffering, from misfortune, from the collapse of all things…"
"That's impossible!" Risei snapped. "Kirei has been devout since childhood. In his youth he endured severe training beyond what ordinary people could bear. As an adult he entered the Holy Church's seminary and graduated two years early as the top student. Everything I have seen—and everything my fellow priests who have known him have seen—speaks to his character and ability!"
"I won't play the cheap line about 'extreme perfection being a flaw,'" Bai Ye said lightly. "Tell me—does he look like he wants to deny it?"
"…If I had to prove myself against every baseless accusation," Kirei finally spoke, voice utterly flat, "I would have accomplished nothing by now."
"Exactly," Risei nodded, approving.
Even as clergy, Risei understood the principle: he who asserts must prove.
"Alright," Bai Ye said. "Since you insist, let me ask you a simple question."
He smiled.
"What do you think of your daughter?"
"…Daughter?!"
Risei whirled toward Kirei so fast his neck cracked audibly.
Bai Ye chuckled. "Oh, you didn't know that either…"
He cheerfully peeled open Kirei's past like a book.
"After you graduated top of your class from that seminary, didn't you withdraw not long after? You also abandoned the path of promotion to become a formal priest."
"That's because he got married.
"The woman's name was Claudia Ortensia—sickly, with an immune deficiency due to albinism. You probably knew about the marriage. But what you might not know is that in the two years they were married, she bore him a daughter.
"And unlike you, Claudia knew his condition from the start—or rather, the marriage itself was an attempt to see whether his problem could be fixed.
"In the end, no matter how strongly your son believed he loved her, he still couldn't feel the happiness ordinary people gain through marriage. Instead, he found pleasure in her pain—her suffering at being unable to heal him.
"In despair, he developed thoughts of ending his own life.
"And then, to prove he truly had the ability to love, that woman—already close to death—chose to end her own life in front of him.
"Mm. I suppose that was his last attempt. In that case, it's only natural that he wants nothing from the Grail."
"And the child?" Risei asked, voice taut.
Kirei still hadn't said a word. Bai Ye's calm confidence suggested everything he said was true.
For the first time in over twenty years, Risei felt as if he didn't truly know his son at all. He inhaled deeply and asked again:
"Where is your daughter?"
Bai Ye answered for Kirei.
"Don't worry. She's fine. As far as I know, after Claudia's suicide, Kirei handed the girl over to a priest he trusted."
Risei exhaled.
Thank God.
…Wait.
A priest?
Risei knew exactly how the Church viewed suicide. And he knew the sort of unwavering faith possessed by the kind of priest Kirei could call "trusted" in that era.
His jaw tightened.
So when Bai Ye and Scáthach exited the church and hadn't gone far, they heard Risei's suppressed fury behind them.
"Kirei. Stand up. Come here a little… so you don't accidentally damage the pews the faithful will need later."
"Father—"
"No more words. Bite down hard. This is my remorse for failing to truly care for you all these years—
Bajiquan: Heaven-Piercing Cannon From the Ground!"
....
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