In the end, Jeanne went to Fiore's room in Shirou's place to attend the strategy meeting, while Shirou himself stayed in the conference room playing bridge with Mordred.
"So, what are we discussing?"
"It's about Uncle Darnic going berserk."
Fiore's words made Jeanne's expression turn serious.
"…Now that you mention it, there is something even more urgent than stopping Amakusa Shirou right now.
Lancer, Vlad III.
He is currently hiding somewhere in this city. If we leave him alone, it will undoubtedly lead to an unimaginable disaster."
Fiore paused, then said, "Ruler… there is something I'd like to ask of you."
"You want me to assist in subduing the 'Black' Lancer, correct?"
"Yes. No matter what, even after Uncle Darnic has become like that, this is still a family matter for Yggdmillennia.
If possible, I want Yggdmillennia to be the one to let Uncle rest in peace… but with our current strength, we simply can't stand against him."
As Fiore spoke, she watched Jeanne's reaction.
"I see. What concerns you is whether this would conflict with my position as Ruler, isn't it?"
Fiore said, "Exactly. After all, it would mean taking action to eliminate a specific Servant."
Jeanne said, "Please rest assured. The 'Black' Lancer's actions are a serious violation of the order of the Holy Grail War.
Even in an ordinary Holy Grail War, after Lancer became what he is now, it would be difficult to acknowledge his right to continue competing for the Holy Grail."
Vlad III, having released the "Legend of Dracula," had become the monster known as Count Dracula.
Although he had lost his sanity, and although he was stronger now than when he was Lancer, the Guardian of Romania, that was not the real issue.
The real issue was that Count Dracula possessed the vampire powers recognized by the world.
Through bloodsucking, he could turn humans into soldiers under his control, and those soldiers could then go on to attack other humans…
Just imagining it made Jeanne's scalp prickle.
After the terrifying legend of "Jack the Ripper," was Romania about to face an even more horrifying "Night of Wallachia"?
That absolutely could not be allowed to happen…!!
Fiore said, "I understand. Then let's schedule the search for Lancer for tomorrow during the day."
The vampirized Lancer had gained tremendous power, but at the same time, he had also gained a vampire's weakness. Sunlight.
That was why Fiore set the operation for daytime, when a vampire's abilities would decline.
But… Jeanne did not agree.
The Holy Maiden said gravely, "If we don't deal with Lancer now, dozens, perhaps even hundreds of people could die tonight."
Fiore accepted her reasoning. "…Yes, you're right.
Then please make your preparations and gather at the city gates. I'll contact Archer and the others."
Jeanne said, "Of course, but I'd like tonight's operation to proceed without Ar… without the 'Black' Saber. Is that all right?"
Fiore looked at Jeanne with a complicated expression, and Jeanne hurriedly explained.
"It's not what you're thinking! Saber has been fighting for days in a row. He's already been through enough!
We were only able to stop Caster's attack just now because of him too, so I want him to get a proper rest tonight!
I'm absolutely not trying to show favoritism toward him or anything!"
"I wasn't thinking that. Please don't get so worked up."
"Ugh."
Jeanne quietly let out a breath of relief.
Ever since the Holy Grail War began, Saber had been fighting almost every night. Surely it was all right to let him rest for just one night.
"Thank you. Then it will be me and everyone from the 'Black' faction, and preferably the 'Red' Saber as well…"
Fiore looked awkward. "Please don't ask the 'Red' Saber if you can avoid it."
"Why?"
At Jeanne's question, Fiore looked like she wanted to speak but could not quite say it. Caules, unable to keep watching, stepped in to explain.
"The Master of the 'Red' Saber is from the Mage's Association. We'd rather not owe him a favor if possible."
"And besides, we still can't say for certain that he has no connection to Amakusa Shirou, can we?"
Jeanne nodded in agreement.
Although Shirou trusted Sisigou a great deal, that man in sunglasses… really did not look like a good person.
In the end, tonight's operation team was set as Ruler, Archer, Rider, and Berserker.
Since their opponent was a vampire who could assimilate enemies into his own followers, Masters and Homunculi would not only be useless, they would become liabilities.
After asking Shirou to help protect the various Yggdmillennia magi, Jeanne left with the Heroic Spirits of the "Black" faction.
...
...
A crisp sound rang through the courtyard.
A wooden spear roughly the length of a battleaxe and a wooden sword modeled after a two-handed sword slammed violently against each other.
In just two exchanges, the two-handed wooden sword knocked the wooden spear flying, then followed with a horizontal slash that sent the Homunculus flying as well.
"Too weak, too weak, too weak!"
Mordred rested the wooden sword on her shoulder and looked down at the artificial lifeform on the ground.
This Homunculus with shoulder-length silver hair was named "Toole." She was the leader of Yggdmillennia's Homunculi and the commander of their combat unit.
Although she possessed top-class combat skill and physical ability among Homunculi, she still could not withstand Mordred's slash, even though it was nothing more than a playful swing from the Rebel Knight.
"…Ugh."
Toole rose to her feet with help from her companions. Mordred gave a contemptuous snort.
"Weaklings like you think you can keep staying here and take part in the Holy Grail War?
Don't make me laugh. Go find a hole and hide in it while you still can… trash like you has no place on this battlefield."
Not long ago, Fiore, acting as the head of Yggdmillennia, had announced that the Homunculi would no longer be forced to participate in battle.
She had given them the right to choose for themselves. They could leave on their own, or they could continue serving Yggdmillennia.
Toole had chosen the latter.
The problem was that as a combat-type Homunculus, she was not suited to housework. Even if she stayed, the only thing she could do was keep fighting.
After hearing about that, Mordred came to see her on her own, without telling Shirou.
Under the pretext of "sword practice," she forced the Homunculi to train with her, then beat every combat Homunculus there, Toole included.
Her goal, of course, was to make them stop getting involved in the Holy Grail War.
"Compared to fighting, raising children for humans would suit you lot much better, ha ha ha ha!"
"…!"
Toole bit down on her lip in humiliation.
Well, well.
So even Homunculi with faint emotions could make a face like that when someone mocked them.
Seeing the girl react in a way no different from a human only made Mordred even more irritated.
"If you get it, then get lost! There's no place for you in this castle anymore!"
"…I refuse."
Toole took another wooden spear from one of her companions, assumed her stance again, and stared at Mordred with eyes as deep red as blood.
"You… are you insane?"
Mordred clicked her tongue in irritation.
In the next instant, her figure vanished from the Homunculi's sight.
Instantaneous acceleration achieved through "Mana Burst" was a simple matter for a Heroic Spirit.
But to the Homunculi, the blonde girl's movements were already too fast for even magically enhanced vision to follow.
Drawing on her extensive experience, Toole made a predictive block.
If Mordred had been a more cunning warrior, that defense would never have worked.
Fortunately, Mordred was the Rebel Knight who fought by instinct. There was not the slightest hint of trickery in her sword.
The wooden sword and wooden spear clashed. Yet…
With a sharp crack, Mordred snapped the wooden spear in the Homunculus girl's hands through sheer brute force.
"…Aaaah!"
Toole was struck hard on the head and sent flying again, screaming in agony.
"Hmph... If I don't teach you a lesson, you'll just keep pushing your luck."
Mordred clicked her tongue, glanced at the girl bleeding profusely on the ground, then turned and left the Garden.
Now that this was taken care of, she could go back and play with Father~
"Wait..."
A weak voice called out.
Mordred froze for a moment, then looked utterly exasperated.
The blood pouring from Toole's forehead had dyed her white robe crimson.
Even so, she gripped her broken wooden spear and, trembling, forced herself back to her feet.
"..."
Mordred narrowed her eyes.
In the Homunculus's eyes, she saw resolve.
Why?
Why go this far?
"...Tch."
Mordred looked up at the starry sky and took a deep breath.
She forced down the irritation churning in her chest and asked as calmly as she could.
"Hey, answer me, puppet. What exactly are you fighting for?"
After a brief silence, Toole answered, "To repay a debt of gratitude."
Repay... a debt of gratitude...?
Mordred found that answer laughable.
You're nothing but tools used by Magi.
Given fleeting lives, drained of Mana like batteries, forced onto the battlefield to die...
You've never once been treated as human, and you still want to repay those cold-blooded Magi!?
Wait... Was this what Father used to call that Stock-something Syndrome...?
When the victim develops admiration, dependence, and sympathy toward the perpetrator...
Ridiculous!!!
Mordred's irritation turned into rage.
"I see. Since you're so eager to die... I'll grant your wish."
Either way, death was death. What difference did it make whether she died on the battlefield or here?
That was how Mordred saw it.
Crimson lightning burst from her palm and burned the Wooden Sword to ash. She closed her hand around the silver magic sword.
"You should bring out the real thing too... Not that it'll change the result."
Amid Mordred's mocking laughter, Toole raised her trusty halberd.
The weapon was longer than its wielder was tall, a halberd that only the Monstrous Strength of a combat-type Homunculus could wield.
But compared to the intense killing intent radiating from the rebellious Knight's small body, it amounted to nothing.
Anyone could see the difference in their strength. This wasn't a "Versus." It was an "execution."
And yet, none of those present stopped her.
The girls of the Homunculus Corps simply watched as their commander challenged an opponent she had no chance of defeating.
These Homunculi have all gone mad...
Mordred thought that as she stepped forward.
Toole braced herself as if facing a formidable enemy, but Mordred advanced with the ease of someone taking a stroll.
The Homunculus girl thrust with all her strength. Mordred blocked it with one hand, then drove a kick sideways into her abdomen.
"Ugh...!!"
Toole collapsed for the third time, her face twisted in pain.
Of course, this would be the last time.
Mordred raised the magic sword over her head and swung it down at the artificial lifeform girl.
"Gordes came running over to complain to me, saying the Homunculi were being bullied in the Garden, so I came to see what was going on..."
Someone caught Mordred by the wrist.
Even with all her strength behind the swing, she couldn't bring the blade down.
She glared furiously at the one who had stopped her. "You're asking for... uh, Father?"
"Enough."
Shirou looked at her, utterly speechless. "What are you doing, Mordred?"
...
"Ah... I just remembered I have something to take care of, so I'll be leaving for tonight! See you tomorrow, Father!"
The moment Shirou let his guard down, Mordred slipped free from his grip and fled the Garden.
"Sorry about that. Mordred isn't a bad person at heart... I'll make her come apologize later."
As Shirou spoke, he went over to Toole and began treating her injuries.
"..."
The artificial lifeform did not show much joy at being saved.
Perhaps it wouldn't have mattered to her even if she had died just now.
No, that wasn't right.
Shirou immediately rejected the thought.
He noticed Toole's hands were trembling. That was clearly fear.
Well... It was Mordred, after all. It would be stranger if she weren't afraid.
This Homunculus did have emotions like fear and joy. She simply wasn't good at expressing them... In that respect, she was actually a little like Mordred.
Shirou thought that if Mordred ever found out he saw her that way, she would be furious.
"I heard from Gordes that you plan to stay and keep fighting."
"...Mm." Toole nodded softly.
"Is it because you don't want to see the castle you live in dragged into the war?"
The Homunculus girl shook her head. "No. We simply want to repay a debt of gratitude."
Shirou's reaction to that answer was much the same as Mordred's.
He couldn't understand how the Homunculi thought.
Even if the Yggdmillennia clan was willing to return their freedom, that merely offset what they had done to them before.
It really couldn't be called a debt of gratitude that needed repaying, could it?
Toole lifted her head and said, "We were created as Magecraft instruments for this Great Holy Grail War.
We do not have any strong desire to 'keep living.' We are lives arbitrarily consumed and used according to our creators' whims.
But... there was one strange Hero who treated us as real people."
The artificial lifeform girl's refined face was somewhat cold, but the eyes meeting Shirou's carried a powerful will.
It was not only Toole. The other Homunculus girls in the Garden were all looking at the red-haired boy at once.
"On the first night of the Holy Grail War, after you defeated us, you did not take our lives."
"That was..."
"Perhaps to you, it was nothing more than cheap pity. But to us, it was an immense salvation."
Toole paused briefly, then continued.
"Later, we heard that it was because of your opinion that Fiore-sama agreed to liberate the Homunculi of Yggdmillennia.
That is how we were able to gain our freedom."
As she said this, the silver-haired girl gave a faint smile.
"Saber-sama, we wish to repay your kindness... That is why we stayed. That is all."
"...I see."
Toole nodded and said with a hint of pride, "The only wish we have found in our brief lives... is to fight at your side.
So no matter how the 'Red' Saber tries to stop us, we will not back down."
Mordred... You really did end up playing the villain again, Shirou thought.
"Um... Was what I said just now too arrogant...?
To imagine fighting alongside a great Hero like you, isn't that overestimating ourselves?"
The girl asked shyly, and Shirou shook his head. "Of course not. Thank you."
Toole and the Homunculus girls around her all smiled.
Just then, Shirou raised his head and looked at the sky.
"There don't seem to be many stars tonight... I guess that's what you'd expect from a small town. The night sky is much darker than in the city."
"Saber-sama, shall we return to the castle?"
"Ah, sure."
And so, surrounded by the Homunculus girls, Shirou returned to the castle.
The moment he stepped into the Fortress of Millennia, a deeply ominous feeling crept up the back of his neck.
"What is this...?"
His "Instinct" had activated.
Was the "Red" faction attacking?
No, that wasn't it... This was...
Shirou looked over the scattered people in the conference room, and his eyes widened.
Jeanne and the others had gotten it wrong!
The plan to go out and hunt down Lancer had been flawed from the very start.
How could the proud King of Vampires ever allow his own castle to fall into someone else's hands?
Which meant... Lancer had returned!!
***
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
[email protected]/PinkSnake (50 Chapters Ahead).
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.
***