What?
What did he just say?
The Lesser Grail?
But didn't the Lesser Grail fall during the transfer? When did he—?
No, that's not right. That Holy Ark was prepared before the Holy Grail War began. More importantly, he just said this is the complete Lesser Holy Grail, meaning it already contains enough Servant souls!
What exactly is going on here?
To answer these questions, we need to start with the Subspecies Holy Grail Wars.
After the Third Holy Grail War, the Holy Grail War system in Fuyuki became known to magus worldwide. Over the next sixty-plus years, Subspecies Holy Grail Wars were widely held around the world.
Although lacking the crucial core Greater Grail, the rituals of the Subspecies Holy Grail Wars were incomplete, summoning at most five Servants. Even if the ritual was completed, it couldn't become an omnipotent wish-granting device, let alone open the door to the Root.
However, the number of five Servants was just right to create the conditions for the Lesser Grail. As long as the ritual constructed by the Three Founding Families was not arbitrarily modified, the Subspecies Holy Grail Wars would end with the formation of the Lesser Grail.
Shirou belonged to the Eighth Sacrament Assembly, responsible for supervising and reclaiming holy relics, including overseeing the increasingly rampant Subspecies Holy Grail Wars. The Middle East, where Shirou operated, had frequent occurrences due to various complex reasons, providing Shirou ample opportunities to gather information on the Holy Grail Wars and witness the birth of Lesser Grails.
In one such Subspecies Holy Grail War, the five participating groups ended in mutual destruction. Naturally, this Lesser Grail fell into the hands of the overseer, Shirou, who sealed it in the prepared Holy Ark, preserving its magical power and souls until today.
"Though they are two different rituals and normally not interchangeable, this Lesser Grail was created strictly following Fuyuki's rules. Therefore, it's almost identical to the original Lssere Grail. By linking the two with my Noble Phantasm, it can perfectly replace the original Lesser Grail—ha ha ha ha, I admire my brain for coming up with such a perfect idea."
"Stop laughing, it's unsightly."
Semiramis poured cold water on her master's smugness.
"You mentioned 'replacement'; then what about the souls of Spartacus and Vlad III contained in the original Lesser Grail—"
"—Unfortunately, there's only one Lesser Grail compatible with the Greater Holy Grail. Their souls can only remain in that Lesser Grail until they naturally dissipate."
"So, this means there are only five Servant souls, one short of the omnipotent wish-granting device—let's just kill that useless writer as a sacrifice, as I suggested."
"Woo woo woo woo!!!"
Feeling Semiramis's malicious gaze, the speechless Shakespeare frantically shook his head.
"There's no need for that," Shirou waved his hand.
"A Servant can be found somehow. Jeanne d'Arc can sense changes in the Greater Holy Grail through her Ruler privileges, and Chiron and the others won't just stand by while I 'destroy the world.' At that time, we can kill anyone we want."
"So, you deliberately used the term 'destroy the world' and delayed to let them go on purpose."
"Sort of."
"But releasing all nine Servants—isn't that too many?"
"Without me, I fear they wouldn't dare come."
"That's not true. So-called heroes, even when alone and knowing they will fail, will fight for their beliefs."
Karna, leaning against a pillar, gazed at Shirou with divine eyes. His heroic demeanor left an overwhelming impression, making Shirou feel as if he were being stripped bare by Karna's gaze.
"You should know this well—so you're lying, or at least not telling the whole truth."
"Master? What's going on?"
Semiramis's eyes narrowed immediately. "What scheme are you up to now?"
Shirou struggled to resist the urge to bang his head against the wall. "How can you be such a human lie detector and see through even this? Can't we just have some fun together?"
"Sorry."
Karna apologized, his only character flaw being his piercing insight. He often mercilessly pierced through appearances to point directly at the essence, making him seem too cold, sharp, and difficult to get along with.
"Fine, since it's out, go ahead and say it."
Karna didn't decline and continued, "You give me a very contradictory feeling. You've prepared extensively for your wish, almost controlling everything, yet you deliberately slack off at crucial moments, even giving the enemy opportunities—what do you really want? Surely you don't intend to use the enemy's hand to stop yourself? Then what's the point of all your scheming?"
"Guess slowly," Shirou said no more, knowing that saying anything more to Karna would only make things worse.
Karna didn't press further and left a parting remark, "I'll leave now. Call me if you need anything," before dematerializing.
"Master—!"
Semiramis wanted to ask more but was cut off by Shirou.
"Hey, Semiramis, is this Holy Grail War interesting?"
"Hmm, interesting, very interesting."
Semiramis was momentarily stunned but then smiled a genuine smile unrelated to her usual allure.
She understood what Shirou meant. All she sought was amusement, and her Master and this Holy Grail War provided her with unexpected joy. Although her Master occasionally angered her, and Achilles and Atalanta were somewhat annoying, it was all part of the fun. It was certainly more interesting than the monotonous court life, but—
"I still want to know your true thoughts."
"I see. For now, I can only say I don't plan to lose... the rest I'll leave as a puzzle. If you truly solve it, I'll tell you everything. That's also a kind of fun, isn't it?"
Shirou turned to look at Shakespeare, who nodded vigorously. Unlike everyone else, Shakespeare harbored doubts but never questioned the person involved. He merely observed, recorded, and enjoyed the entire process silently.
"A puzzle? That's a novel experience for me too."
Since she ascended the throne and ruled the Assyrian Empire, only her servants had to guess her thoughts; she never needed to guess others'. Trying it occasionally wasn't bad.
"Fine, I agree."
"Then let's proceed. I'll start linking and replacing the Lesser Grail with the Greater Holy Grail. You draw mana from the Greater Holy Grail to repair the garden. Caster, go back to your study and write. Jeanne d'Arc's counterattack will take about three to five days. This is our last bit of leisure."
"I understand."
Semiramis glanced at the mess and activated spatial transfer. Though the Greater Holy Grail was here, this wasn't the core of the Hanging Gardens. The core was always the Throne Room, where she could maximize the garden's power.
Shakespeare hurriedly followed the Empress out, still not cured of his poison.
Once everyone had left, Shirou exhaled deeply, slumping ungracefully onto the stone steps before the Greater Holy Grail, muttering softly:
"Finally got them temporarily fooled. None of these top-tier Heroic Spirits are easy to deal with. I wonder if the Black Faction is the same—what do you think?"
Shirou suddenly turned, smiling faintly at the golden face in the center of the Greater Holy Grail.