Only after completely losing Assassin did Kirei Kotomine's war truly begin.
Up to this point, he had been concealing his true strength in order to make better use of Assassin, but there was no longer any need for that.
Even during his time serving the Holy Church as an Executor, he had been one of the very best among the elite. Despite being a novice who had only studied Magecraft for three years, Kirei Kotomine still possessed combat ability far beyond that of an ordinary Magus.
After Assassin vanished, the Tokiomi Tohsaka faction moved into the second phase of its original plan.
Using the intelligence gathered by Assassin, Tokiomi Tohsaka intended to deploy Gilgamesh and eliminate the enemies one by one.
Unfortunately, things did not go as smoothly as expected. Even by the time Assassin disappeared, there was still a great deal of missing information.
As a result, Kirei Kotomine's first new task for his teacher was to investigate the boy Gilgamesh had referred to as Faker, Shirou Amamiya.
Kirei Kotomine spent the entire night gathering every piece of information he could on the boy.
Several days of working without sleep had left even the former Executor, famed for his iron will, feeling worn down.
At that moment, Kirei Kotomine was in his room on the first floor of the Tohsaka residence, leaning back in his chair with his fingers pressing against the bridge of his nose.
Just then, he sensed a presence approaching from the hallway outside, one he knew very well.
Even in something as simple as walking, that Heroic Spirit made no attempt to hide the overwhelming pressure he exuded.
Archer did not even bother knocking before swaggering straight into Kirei Kotomine's room.
"Still wearing that same dreary expression as always, Kirei."
With a lofty, disdainful smirk on his face, the King of Heroes Gilgamesh casually walked over to the cabinet and took out a bottle of red wine and a glass as if he owned the place.
This was not the first time Archer had barged into the room. Lately, he had been coming by almost every night to drink the red wine from Kirei Kotomine's collection.
Even when asked what he wanted, the King of Heroes would only give a cryptic look and say, "Because it seems there is someone besides this King who is also bored."
In simple terms, he was just there to pass the time. Apparently, he found Kirei Kotomine's hollow, suffering expression entertaining.
"You seem to be in a good mood today, Archer."
Kirei Kotomine had noticed that Gilgamesh had been wearing a faint smile ever since last night.
Ordinarily, a smile would put the people around you at ease, but Kirei Kotomine was not the kind of man who felt joy because of someone else's happiness. Nor could he imagine why the King of Heroes was in such high spirits.
"I still cannot tell what is so remarkable about this so-called Holy Grail. But even if it turns out to be nothing more than scrap metal, that hardly matters. This King has already found entertainment besides the Holy Grail."
"Oh... what a surprise. Have you really taken such a liking to this boy called Shirou Amamiya?"
There was no doubt that the reason the cynical, arrogant King of Heroes was in such a good mood was his battle with the red-haired child the night before.
"Since arriving in this era, this King has seen far too many mongrels lusting after the King's treasure.
The sight of those fools fighting over this King's Holy Grail is as ugly as it is laughable.
So when this King occasionally comes across a mongrel or two with no interest in the Holy Grail at all, naturally I take notice."
As he said that, Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes and noticed the file on Shirou placed in front of Kirei Kotomine.
"You're investigating that fellow?"
Kirei Kotomine nodded, then began reading from the report he had just finished.
Shirou Amamiya. Officially recorded as eight years old, an orphan of unknown parentage.
Until a year ago, he had lived in a children's welfare home in Fuyuki City. Then one day, he suddenly left the home and began staying with the Matou family.
Not long after Shirou Amamiya moved in, the Matou family publicly announced that Zouken Matou had left Japan for a long trip abroad, and that his son Byakuya Matou would be handling the family's affairs in his place.
At first, Kirei Kotomine had shared the same opinion as his teacher, that Shirou Amamiya was actually acting as the Matou family's proxy Magus.
But taking all the available information together, along with Zouken Matou's disappearance, it seemed even more likely that Shirou Amamiya had seized control of the Matou family himself.
Tokiomi Tohsaka had ordered Kirei Kotomine to investigate Shirou Amamiya, but the more he looked into the matter, the stranger it became.
There were simply too many things that could not be explained.
Where had that child's power come from? And why had he entered the Holy Grail War?
"Archer... do you know anything?"
"Oh? So there are things that interest you after all, Kirei."
Gilgamesh smiled in a meaningful way as he lightly swirled the wine in his glass.
"This is the first time you have ever asked something of me."
Kirei Kotomine replied in a mildly provocative tone, "I have heard that King Gilgamesh possesses eyes that can see through all futures. In that case, seeing through the true nature of a mere child should be effortless for you, King."
"Hmph. Naturally."
The King of Heroes took the bait with ease. No, more accurately, he knew full well that Kirei Kotomine was baiting him and stepped into it anyway without the slightest concern. That too was the composure of a king.
"Before this King's highest-ranking [Clairvoyance], no truth can hide itself.
Do not misunderstand, Kirei. What this King sees is not merely the future of all creation.
Using the future to infer the past is child's play as well."
With that, the King of Heroes narrowed his deep crimson eyes and lifted his gaze toward the empty air.
He had intended to observe the future in order to glimpse the past of the boy Shirou Amamiya, but...
"...Hm."
The King of Heroes frowned in displeasure.
"...So it's the same as last time."
"Archer, what exactly did you see?" Kirei Kotomine asked curiously.
"That brat's future is covered by some kind of invisible barrier."
Gilgamesh said, "It was the same when that brat went to subjugate Caster.
Whenever this King tries to peer into his future, a [wall of light] appears before my eyes, one that cannot be crossed and cannot be interfered with.
...I see. So this is the witch's handiwork."
The King of Heroes gave an indifferent snort, then resumed drinking his red wine.
"Forget it. In the near future, that fellow will present himself before this King and meekly accept this King's judgment. There is no need for such tasteless prying into the past."
So after all that, he just couldn't see it.
Kirei Kotomine asked in an odd tone, "Archer, if you cannot see Shirou Amamiya's future..."
"It is not that I cannot see it. It is that I do not wish to!"
The King of Heroes sternly corrected him.
"Seeing through that brat's future would be easy enough. But doing so would ruin the fun, what one calls [delight]. Do you understand, Kirei?"
Delight...
Kirei Kotomine recalled his earlier conversation with Archer.
The two of them had discussed what delight was.
Archer had said that since Kirei Kotomine had no wish for the Holy Grail, then why not simply pursue pleasure itself?
Kirei Kotomine had answered that such a thing would be depraved and unjust, but Archer had dismissed that without a care.
At that moment, the man finally realized that he had always treated the pursuit of pleasure as a kind of sin.
The King of Heroes seemed to have already grasped the painful truth that troubled him, yet that truth was some kind of answer Kirei Kotomine did not even dare imagine.
No. The more he thought about it, the less he understood.
He shook his heavy head and changed the subject.
"So in other words, Archer, you do not know all of Shirou Amamiya's secrets either.
If that is the case, then why did you call him Faker?
That is what you said back then, was it not... As the true king, you would pass judgment on the false king."
"Hm? I simply felt that was the case, so I said it based on instinct."
The King of Heroes took a sip of red wine.
"That brat's soul casually reveals the bearing of a king in this King's presence. In that case, it is only natural for this King to pass judgment."
"...What?"
Kirei Kotomine was left staring blankly.
Archer said, "Instinct is enough. Thought will never reach an answer in the end.
Kirei, especially for a hopeless fool like you, try entrusting yourself to instinct once in a while."
After speaking those meaningful words, the King of Heroes Gilgamesh drained the wine from his glass in one gulp, rose from the sofa, and left the room with a satisfied smile.
In an instant, the room's sense of splendor vanished, and the atmosphere in Kirei Kotomine's room returned to its usual dull monotony.
Finally able to sit quietly by himself, Kirei Kotomine once more reflected on everything he had said to the King of Heroes so far.
The reason Gilgamesh was drawn to Shirou Amamiya...
Everyone taking part in this Holy Grail War, whether Servant or Magus, harbored some intense long-cherished wish.
Only that willful king was not pursuing the Holy Grail itself. He was participating because he could not stand the thought of others fighting over his treasure behind his back.
Most likely, Shirou Amamiya was the same. He had no interest in the Holy Grail itself either.
In that respect, Kirei Kotomine was actually not so different from the two of them. Even now, he still did not know why he had joined this war.
Perhaps deep down, in some hidden corner of his heart that even he had not noticed, he too desired the miracle of the Holy Grail. But it was absolutely not the [delight] Archer spoke of.
Kirei Kotomine had spent more than thirty years of his life on a faith devoted to pursuing truth. That conviction was something that would never change.
The one who truly knew the answer was not Archer. It had to be someone else.
Shirou Amamiya.
A thought rose unbidden in Kirei Kotomine's mind. Just as he had spoken face to face with Archer, if he could also speak face to face with that boy...
Suddenly, a burst of intense agony made Kirei Kotomine double over in pain.
"!?"
He saw a Command Spell appear on the back of his hand, which burned as if it were on fire.
The two Command Spells that had remained after he used one on Assassin had reappeared, identical in shape and size to the previous ones.
"How can this be..."
Kirei Kotomine was speechless. He had clearly lost his Servant, and yet new Command Spells had appeared.
Three years ago, when he first received the Command Spells, the man had been utterly at a loss. But now, he seemed to understand a little why he had once again been chosen by the Holy Grail.
...
...
"Shirou!?!?"
At dusk, when Taiga Fujimura came back from school and saw the red-haired boy standing at the entrance of the Amamiya residence, she instinctively covered her mouth.
Shirou turned around and gave a stiff wave.
"Yo, Fuji-nee... long time no see."
Before he could even finish, Taiga Fujimura rushed over and threw her arms around him.
"You idiot, idiot, idiot! Shirou, you complete idiot! Disappearing without a word, with no news at all. What were you even thinking?!
Even when I asked the Matou family, they said they didn't know anything, and even after I had the Fujimura Group search for you, there was still no trace of you at all!"
Taiga Fujimura burst into tears as she pounded on Shirou's back.
"Do you have any idea how worried I was?! I thought I'd never... see you again... uuu... uuuwaaaaaah!!"
Shirou wrapped an apologetic arm around her waist.
"...Sorry. I made you worry."
After that, it took Shirou about ten minutes to finally calm her down.
The two of them went inside.
Shirou sat down on the tatami, while Taiga Fujimura went to make tea.
Looking around, he noticed that even though he had not been living here lately, there was barely any dust on the furniture.
Fuji-nee and Sakura must have been the ones cleaning up.
Three minutes later, Taiga Fujimura returned to the Japanese-style room carrying two cups of green tea. After handing one to Shirou, she sat down directly across from him.
Shirou blew on the steaming tea and started the conversation.
"...Fuji-nee, you didn't go back to the Fujimura Group."
"How could I leave? If Shirou came back one day and found nobody here, wouldn't that make you sad?"
Cold sweat ran down the boy's face.
"I-is that so..."
"Shirou, where have you been all this time?"
The girl in the sailor uniform stared fixedly at him, as though she feared that if she looked away for even a second, he would disappear again.
"Yeah, well... a few things happened these past few days."
"What things?"
"Well... I can't tell you."
"Shirou!"
Taiga Fujimura grabbed his wrist in one go.
As expected of the [Tiger of Fuyuki], Shirou felt that if she got serious, she might actually be able to snap a bamboo sword in her grip.
"Answer me, Shirou. What exactly happened?"
Taiga Fujimura demanded it with an extremely serious expression.
Shirou forced out a smile.
"Fuji-nee, please don't worry. I'm completely safe right now. I have someone really incredible protecting me.
There are only a few days left at most. Once everything is completely over, I'll definitely come back."
"What do you mean by that? You're leaving again?"
Shirou nodded firmly.
"But I promise you, I'll definitely come back safe..."
"Shirou."
Without looking away, Taiga Fujimura stared straight into the boy's eyes.
"...Can I trust your word?"
"Yeah."
"..."
For just a moment, a hint of sadness crossed Taiga Fujimura's face, but in the end she still nodded.
"If Shirou doesn't want to talk about it, then I won't force you... but Shirou, you'll stay tonight, right?"
"No, I'm only staying a little while before I leave."
Shirou said, "I was just passing by today, so I stopped in to take a look."
The Tokiomi Tohsaka faction had already shifted its strategy from [gathering intelligence] to [preparing for the decisive battle], so Shirou could now come and go from the Amamiya residence openly without worrying about being spotted by familiars watching the place. That was only the secondary reason.
The real reason was that he had missed Fuji-nee enough to make a detour just to come here... but Shirou could never bring himself to say that, not even if he died.
Even after being thoroughly scolded the moment he arrived, he still felt the same thing.
Coming back here really had been the right choice.
Once again, Shirou confirmed it for himself.
He was fighting to protect this home, this place he belonged.