After parting ways with Shinji, Rin found herself carrying a food bag.
Inside the bag was an insulated foil box containing the 500-yen juicy gyoza, along with some dipping sauces.
"That guy obviously bought too much by mistake, but he still charged me the full price without a discount," Rin sighed, rubbing her forehead. "As expected, he and I just don't get along."
"But," Rin sighed again, thinking, Well, at least half of dinner is taken care of. I can just whip up something else when I get home.
With that, Rin returned to her home—the Tohsaka residence, which to outsiders appeared isolated and desolate in the countryside.
Entering through the front door and walking down the short hallway, Rin's attention was caught by the phone on the small table at the corner of the stairs.
The blinking light signaled a voicemail.
[Voicemail from January 31st at 3:21 PM.]
The phone helpfully announced the time of the message as Rin pressed the button.
"It's me. You should know the deadline is tomorrow, Rin. If you keep procrastinating, it's going to be a headache for me. Only two slots are left, Archer and Saber, but there's no time left. You need to find a Master quickly, summon a Servant, and activate the Command Seals. Of course, if you don't plan to participate in the Holy Grail War, just ignore this. But if you value your life, get to the church immediately—"
Beep!
Rin cut off the message from the man, whose tone was hardly pleasant and even somewhat nagging, before it could finish.
"Hmph, I don't need you to tell me that."
Unbeknownst to her, it was already 8 PM.
In the living room on the second floor of the Matou residence, dinner had long been over.
Taking a sip of the tea Sakura handed him, Shinji said, "Sakura, can you stay up a bit later tonight? We might have a guest."
The astute Sakura quickly understood. She brushed her hair behind her ear and asked, "Is it Rider's new Master?"
To keep the Matou family out of the war while still allowing Rider to participate, both Sakura and Rider had considered this the only possibility.
"Yeah, you could say that," Shinji nodded.
"What kind of person?" Sakura asked, and Rider, standing nearby, also looked at Shinji.
"Honestly, I don't know," Shinji shrugged. "Most of the time, there are multiple choices, and I can't predict how things will turn out."
"Huh?" Sakura looked puzzled, not entirely following.
Shinji smiled gently and said, "Anyway, no matter who it is, after tonight, the brutal war for that thing won't involve you or me anymore."
Seeing Shinji's gentle smile, Sakura felt a deep sense of reassurance.
She smiled and nodded, her eyes bending happily.
"Okay."
Late at night, at 11:50 PM.
In a room lit only by a dim table lamp, Shinji sat at his desk, frowning and holding his chin as he stared at two items—a cellphone and the puppet arm.
These represented the different choices for Rider's next Master: a magus secretly hired by his company, or... Bazett.
Time ticked by, and Bazett still hadn't arrived.
Watching the clock tick down to the final ten seconds before midnight, Shinji sighed and reached for his phone.
But just as he was about to touch it, he sensed a ripple in the barrier outside.
She came in the final second.
Dressed in a suit, with a ten-centimeter diameter, fifty-centimeter long silver cylinder strapped to her back, and her left arm missing, Bazett looked at the Matou residence, which still had traces of the barrier, with mixed feelings.
Though she heard that the Matou family had completely withdrawn from the world of magecraft, she hadn't expected it to be so thorough that even the magical barriers were dismantled.
Bazett didn't know what drove her to the Matou residence; it wasn't just because of Shinji's talk about the Holy Grail War...
Hesitating at the door for a long time, Bazett finally reached for the doorbell, but pulled her hand back at the last moment.
"Bazett, you can just come in."
Shinji leaned out of the window and waved with a smile.
Seeing Shinji's sunny smile, Bazett suddenly remembered last night, her face flushing as she looked away.
Sitting on the sofa in the second-floor living room, Bazett felt surprisingly nervous. She didn't dare to look directly at Shinji, remembering how they almost made a mistake last night...
Beside her, Shinji spoke in a calm tone.
"Basically, that's the situation. Bazett, are you listening to me?"
"So, the Matou family summoned a Servant but doesn't want to participate in the Holy Grail War," Bazett said, trying to sound calm but not daring to look at Shinji.
"That's right. It was my grandfather's decision, and summoning the Servant was also his command, not Sakura's wish."
"You want me to become the Master of the Matou family's Servant?" Bazett quickly understood Shinji's intention.
"That's not quite right. The Servant is a separate entity and has nothing to do with the Matou family. You can have complete control over the Servant. You should have noticed by now; our family's workshop and magical barriers are gone. The Matou family has severed ties with magecraft. We don't want to continue in the brutal Holy Grail War."
"Is your sister willing? Transferring Command Seals and a Servant is..."
Bazett hesitated.
"Of course, I won't let my sister go through anything cruel like having her arm cut off or her nerves extracted. To put it simply, the Command Seal system for the Holy Grail War was provided by the Matou family. No one understands it better than us. I know how to transfer the Command Seals without resorting to those methods."
Bazett pondered. If what Shinji said was true, taking over the Matou family's Servant was the best choice. But she still felt uneasy about why this man would help her so much.
"Why didn't you tell me the Matou family had already summoned a Servant when you informed me of Zouken Matou's death?"
"It's a simple answer: I was being cautious of you," Shinji shrugged. "Compared to you, Bazett, my sister and I are just ordinary people. Even though my sister has some magical talent, it's nothing compared to yours.
If I were in your situation, the Matou family's Servant would be something I must strive for. It's the best choice. The essence of the Holy Grail War is the mutual killing between magi."
"Then why tell me now? I could still forcibly take the Command Seals from the Matou family."
"Because after these few days, I've realized you're a good person, Bazett. If we talk things out, you probably wouldn't do that."
Seeing Shinji's smile again reminded Bazett of the vivid memory from last night, causing her face to heat up once more.