The white world dispersed.
The vision was restored to its original state.
It was still the somewhat dim underground altar, still surrounded by a crowd of masters and servants, and in front of him, was Fiore sitting in her wheelchair.
However, all the good intentions in everyone's eyes had turned into surprise and doubt. The golden cup in Fiore's hand had disappeared, and her posture had changed from holding the golden cup to pressing her right hand with her left hand.
That was where the Command Seal, the proof of the bond with her servant, was located!
"Black Assassin, you, you—"
Fiore's eyes widened, staring fixedly at Shinji's somewhat changed face.
Jeanne had the same expression. Just now, both of them had sensed something unusual through the bond between master and servant and the privileges of the ruler.
"I'm sorry, Fiore."
Shinji knelt on one knee, gently holding Fiore's hands with his own, and said apologetically.
"Although some unexpected things happened, you are still my master. I will help you achieve your wish, so please continue to support me and lend me your strength."
"W-What exactly happened? Our contract... how did it break? And your condition..."
"This."
Shinji lowered his head, looking at the spotless white spiritual garment woven by the Third Magic on his body, his eyes gentle.
"It's a gift from a woman who acted on her own. That foolish woman, I like how she looks in white, but that doesn't mean I want to wear white myself."
"Foolish woman?"
Fiore found she couldn't understand what Shinji was saying at all.
"What's going on?"
"To put it simply, I became human, similar to how Amakusa Shirou Tokisada was before. You should understand now, right?"
"I see, it's 'incarnation'."
Jeanne was the first to react.
"But 'incarnation' should only be a miracle triggered when a servant touches the Greater Grail, shouldn't it?"
"Normally, yes, but this time someone used a Lesser Grail to release this magic."
As Shinji spoke, he moved his body a bit. Just a stretch and an endless stream of power emerged. Now, he was even stronger than he was as a servant.
But the stronger he became, the heavier his heart felt, as if Justeaze had attached her own life to him to give him this strength.
"Ah, the fool you mentioned earlier..."
"The foolish woman."
Artoria had good manners and didn't say the term, but Shinji had no such reservations. Even if Justeaze heard it and got angry, as long as she got angry at him, Shinji would let her handle it however she wanted.
"I know you don't understand what I'm saying and have many questions about me. Since everyone is here, let's clear it all up in one go."
"You remember everything?"
Fiore's eyes lit up instantly.
"Yeah, sort of. I've more or less touched the Grail."
Shinji hesitated for a moment but ultimately didn't debunk this lie.
"Your true name is?"
"Matou Shinji—never heard of him, right? That's to be expected. I'm neither a hero nor a historical figure, just a slightly special magus."
As soon as he finished speaking, Gordes clapped his hands. Among the Yggdmillennia family, he was the only one who had contact with the Three Founding Families, so naturally, he found it familiar. (Darnic was already dead.)
"Matou... Matou... Why does that sound familiar? Ah, isn't that one of the Three Founding Families that created the Holy Grail system? Originally known as Makiri, they changed their name to Matou after moving to Japan."
"Are you a member of the Makiri family?"
"Yes, but not from this world. My existence is very unique. To explain it clearly, we have to start with the origin of the Holy Grail system and the Einzbern family—"
Shinji then began to educate everyone on the history of the Einzbern family, from the birth of Justeaze to the visit of Makiri Zolgen, the creation and construction of the Holy Grail blueprint, Justeaze becoming the Greater Grail, the start of the Holy Grail War every sixty years, and finally, the Third Holy Grail War, where one of the masters, Darnic, used Nazi Germany's power to cripple the Three Founding Families and seize the Greater Grail.
Afterward, he shifted the topic to parallel worlds, ending with his own experiences.
This explanation took over an hour, even with Shinji intentionally glossing over the last two points.
Despite this, it still left everyone in awe.
Comments like:
"I never knew the Einzbern family had such a past. Two thousand years, such persistence!"
"Wow, the clan leader was so impressive when he was young."
"Oh, parallel worlds exist? This is the first time I've heard of it."
"What? The consciousness of the Winter Saint Maiden hasn't dissipated and even has some kind of connection with you?"
"So Perseus is your ancestor. You're really lucky to have obtained his Noble Phantasm."
"You've already participated in a Holy Grail War?"
"So that's how you obtained the other four Noble Phantasms. I think I remember Gilgamesh throwing out four Noble Phantasms. You managed to pick them up. As expected of my master."
—And so on.
Of course, Shinji hid the part about traversing parallel worlds, instead claiming that one-day Justeaze was summoned by another Holy Grail, inexplicably crossing over, and brought Shinji, with whom she had a contract, along.
After careful examination, they found out that there was a problem with the Holy Grail War in this world, and their emergency system seemed to have some issues, thus seeking aid from "themselves" in another time or space.
After understanding the situation, they decided that Justeaze would stay in the Greater Grail to monitor the system, while Shinji, as a servant, would participate in the Holy Grail War to uncover the truth.
Being the creator of the Holy Grail system, Justeaze knew how to utilize the rules to the fullest extent, allowing Shinji to become a master as a servant and summon Artoria.
This explanation sounded far-fetched and unreliable, but magi and servants believed it because magic itself is beyond common sense; the more improbable it is, the more it aligns with their understanding. Achieving this also demonstrated the miracle of the Greater Grail as an omnipotent wish machine.
As for the Yggdmillennia family's concern about the original seventh master, Sagara Hyouma, Shinji claimed ignorance. The only one who knew the truth, Rikudou Reika, wouldn't expose him. (When summoning Jack the Ripper and Artoria, Sagara Hyouma was reduced to ashes, naturally unaware of what happened.)
Fiore, Caules, and the others didn't care much either. After all, that guy, like Celenike, practiced black magic, had a twisted personality, and took pleasure in torturing and cursing others, disliked by most magi.
Sagara Hyouma's only ally, Celenike, seemed distracted for some reason, so whether she heard it or not was another matter.
Seeing no one raising any objections, Shinji quietly breathed a sigh of relief. He got along well with most of the Black Faction's masters and servants and didn't want their relationship ruined by a scoundrel.
"That's my story. Feel free to ask if you have any questions."