Rin Tohsaka actually understood very well that the Throne of Heroes existed independently of the timeline.
It didn't only contain Heroic Spirits from the past. It also contained Heroic Spirits from the future.
But when people prepared to summon Heroic Spirits, they usually used a holy relic as the summoning catalyst, allowing them to summon heroes from the past. Who the hell could summon a Heroic Spirit from the future?
Even if you wanted to summon a future Heroic Spirit, where would you get the holy relic?
Since they were a future Heroic Spirit, their relic wouldn't exist in the past or the present, but in the future.
Without a way to go to the future, there was no way to obtain a future holy relic, and naturally no way to summon a Heroic Spirit from the future.
That was why Rin had never even considered the possibility that Archer was Emiya Shirou.
Because in her eyes, Emiya Shirou was just an ordinary high school student.
At most, he was good at the high jump.
But there were plenty of people good at the high jump. Who would ever imagine that some high school student would become a Heroic Spirit in the future?
And that she would actually summon him?
That was just absurd.
"So… you really are Emiya Shirou???"
EMIYA didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He really hadn't expected to have his identity exposed here. If he denied it now, Rin would probably truly lose her mind.
"Long time no see, Rin."
The shock Rin received at that moment was no small thing.
"It's really you. Why is it you?"
Rin couldn't understand how she had summoned Heroic Spirit EMIYA.
She hadn't prepared any holy relic.
Seeing Rin's eyes full of confusion, EMIYA smiled helplessly and involuntarily looked away.
Rin didn't know why she had managed to summon him, but EMIYA knew all too well.
But he really couldn't bring himself to say it.
Was he supposed to tell Rin in front of all these people: the reason you were able to summon me is because our future relationship is extremely close, and there's a very real chance you summoned me using your status as my holy widow?
If he said that out loud, Rin would probably kill herself from embarrassment.
So it was better not to say anything about it.
But then again—
He turned toward his older sister Illya and Sakura Matou.
"Sakura, Sister, why do you know my identity?"
Sakura said calmly, "Rowan told me."
Rowan? He had never heard of that name.
EMIYA asked, "Who is this Rowan?"
Illya sat on Heracles's shoulder, swinging her legs back and forth as she smiled.
"I know. He's from another world."
Another world?
He had heard the two of them mention that earlier. Could there really be someone from another world here?
That would be a huge discovery.
He had worked for Alaya for so long and had seen all kinds of people, but he had truly never seen someone from another world.
A rarity among rarities.
"So you're all working for this Rowan now?"
Sakura nodded. "Yes. Lord Rowan promised to help me change bodies."
"Same for Illya," Illya said with a smile. "He not only promised to help Illya change bodies, he even helped Berserker regain his reason."
EMIYA looked at Heracles.
Heracles nodded at him. Since this was Illya's younger brother, he could also be considered one of their own.
EMIYA smiled bitterly. Heracles had actually regained his reason. That was truly unbelievable.
A beast with only combat power and a rational Heracles were existences on completely different levels.
If they fought, even with his Reality Marble, EMIYA wasn't sure he could win.
Who exactly was this Rowan?
He could even do something like that.
At that moment, EMIYA developed an intense curiosity toward Rowan.
Then, at a café not far from Homurahara Academy, he met Rowan, who was drinking coffee.
"Yo, good afternoon, Emiya."
"You're Rowan? The person from another world?"
"That's me."
Rowan smiled and invited him and Rin to sit.
"What would you two like to drink? My treat."
Rin looked him up and down. He seemed fairly ordinary, aside from being handsome and easy on the eyes. There didn't seem to be anything especially unusual about him.
But she didn't underestimate Rowan. She still knew the phrase "you can't judge a person by appearance."
Someone capable of gathering multiple Heroic Spirits under his command was definitely not simple.
"I'll have a cappuccino," Rin said.
EMIYA said, "A latte, thank you."
Rowan nodded and called the server over.
"One latte and one cappuccino, please."
"Please wait a moment." The server smiled slightly and turned to leave.
Rowan said, "I assume Illya and Sakura have already told you about me. So, what do you two think? Do you want to join my camp?"
Rin asked, "What if we refuse?"
She was a little annoyed with Rowan. After all, just a moment ago, she had almost thought she was going to die.
"Then I can only say that it's a shame."
"You're going to kill us?" Rin's heart skipped.
"Huh?" Rowan looked at Rin in surprise, as if asking what nonsense she was talking about. "Kill you? Why? Because you didn't join my camp?"
"We're a legitimate team here, not some illegal criminal organization."
"If you don't join, then you don't join. Why would we kill you? We're not insane."
Rin couldn't help retorting, "Then why did you say it's a shame? You made me feel like I was about to be silenced."
Rowan said, "I only meant it's a shame that the two of you won't get to enjoy our team's excellent benefits."
"Benefits? You mean money?" The poor young lady immediately caught the key point.
Rowan picked up his coffee and took a sip, then said faintly, "Talking about money is so vulgar. If you join our camp, not only will room and board be free, you'll even be able to visit other worlds, enjoy the scenery there, and taste food from other worlds."
"You can learn powers from other worlds and receive the favor of beauties from other worlds."
"Devil Fruits, magic, ninjutsu—we have everything."
"You can even enjoy our free resurrection package, so you don't need to worry about the danger of death."
"Of course, if you don't like any of that, you can trade it for something a little more vulgar."
"Gold, diamonds, gemstones, jewelry—we have it all."
"You can take as much as you want."
"Please let me join your camp."
Before Rowan could even finish, Rin grabbed his right hand and bowed ninety degrees.
What a joke. She was so poor she could barely keep the lights on. Faced with such a generous boss, how could she possibly refuse?
Was she supposed to reject money for the sake of dignity?
How much was dignity worth?
Did people understand how expensive the Tohsaka family's gem magecraft was? That thing truly burned money.
When her father was still around, Rin never had to worry about vulgar things like funds. But now it was different. Every gem she spent in battle made her heart bleed.
Now that she had finally met a rich patron who didn't lack money, if she didn't cling to this thigh now, when would she?
She had decided to hug this thigh today. No one could stop her.
Seeing Rin's expression, which clearly said that no one could persuade her otherwise, EMIYA smiled bitterly.
He knew Rin's weakness had been perfectly targeted.
In the end, he sighed and said, "I'll join too."
He couldn't not join. Rin had joined. Sakura had joined. Even his older sister Illya had joined.
If he didn't join, how was he supposed to face these people closest to him?
Might as well surrender.
Besides, he trusted Heracles. Heracles would not have joined some bizarre criminal organization.
And so, of the Heroic Spirits in this Holy Grail War, only the final one had yet to appear.
King Arthur, Artoria.
When EMIYA heard this, he took the initiative and said, "Since Emiya Shirou hasn't summoned his Heroic Spirit yet, why don't we get ahead of him and summon the final Heroic Spirit ourselves?"
Medea's eyes flickered. "That might not be impossible."
"Are you sure?" Rowan had already illegally summoned King Hassan earlier. Could they really continue summoning Heroic Spirits?
Would the Grail allow that?
Medea smiled faintly. "Perhaps the Grail won't allow it. But it's not as if we can't modify the Grail."
Hearing that, Rowan suddenly understood.
In the end, the Holy Grail was something created by the Tohsaka, Matou, and Einzbern families.
Since it was created, it could be modified.
Rowan immediately brought everyone to Ryuudou Temple.
Beneath Ryuudou Temple was a massive cavern. On the rock surface was an enormous, terrifyingly large-scale magic circle.
This was the Greater Grail, the true core of the Holy Grail War, and the central system of the ritual.
Its existence was inseparable from Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern, the Winter Saint of the Einzbern family.
She was not the kind of saint commonly imagined as gentle, loving, or divinely appointed and pure.
Rather, she was a saint who, for the ideals and path she pursued, did not hesitate to make herself a living sacrifice.
In order to complete the Greater Grail, she made herself its sacrifice and became its furnace core.
Her magic circuits continued proliferating inside the great cavern of Mount Enzou, eventually forming a one-kilometer-wide core that became the central system of the Holy Grail.
As for her remaining consciousness, it was permanently sealed inside the Greater Grail.
At that point, the Holy Grail really had been a wish-granting Holy Grail. Although granting wishes could very likely distort history and form a Singularity, the Grail itself was genuine.
Unfortunately, during the Third Holy Grail War, the Einzberns broke the rules and summoned Angra Mainyu, causing the Grail to become completely corrupted.
Once released, the Greater Grail would begin pouring out All the World's Evil.
Until disaster destroyed every human being that ought to be cursed, it would continue spreading malice.
That all sounded very terrifying.
But it was not beyond Medea, disciple of Hecate, goddess of magic.
And besides Medea, Rowan also had Serie at his side—a great mage who had lived from the Age of Myth to the present day.