Ah, Fuyuki, land of spontaneous gas leaks, random explosions and the Grail War. Three things that shouldn't go as well together as they do.
Glancing up from the map I had bought at a convenience store, I fixed my eyes at the start of the 'foreigners' district in the Southern part of Miyama Town.
Folding the map back into its smaller brochure form, I placed it into my ticket pocket, on the inside of my jacket.
Walking down the street, I tentatively took in the unique architecture of the surrounding buildings.
They were all in what I attributed to mixed-classical high-end Asian architecture, or whatever you called a building that looked like the ugly love-child of a classical Japanese home, and a European manor.
Very neat, very avant-garde, and very ugly.
The foreigners that built their homes here didn't seem to have an understanding of what good taste was.
Which was a bit odd, as it was my understanding that the land they had built their home on, was worth quite a bit of money. So why they were actively depreciating the land's value, with such atrocious architecture, was beyond me.
As I passed through the neighborhood, my eyes landed on a three story tall pure european styled manor.
{Morgan, do you feel any bounded fields on the house over there.} I said while jerking my head in the direction of the manor.
There was a small window of silence, before Morgan spoke. {Yes, the manor is decently fortified as well, though it wouldn't be a problem for either of us to brute force our way through.} She said in a board tone.
I let out a low hum at her words, before closing in on the house.
Walking up to the manor's iron gates, I gave the gate a gentle knock, while pumping trace amounts of Od into the gesture.
I could see an imperceptible ripple spread through the nigh-invisible bounded field surrounding the border of the property.
Standing still, I folded my arms behind my back, and waited for someone to come and greet me.
A few moments later, I saw the door open, revealing a man in a red double breasted suit, with a western bow tie around his neck. He had styled brown hair, blue eyes and a well-trimmed goatee.
The man flashed me a smile, before walking towards the gates.
"Mr. Pendragon, it's an honor to make your acquaintance," he said in surprisingly good English.
Smiling back, I decided to respond in Japanese.
"And it's a pleasure to meet you as well, Mr.Tohsaka," I said with a kind smile.
My flawless, according to Altrouge, Japanese must have been a shock to Tokiomi, as his eyes widened a smidge.
He sent me a more genuine smile, as he reached the gate, before opening it and gesturing for me to enter.
As I entered, he sent me an outstretched hand.
"I welcome you to my home, Mr. Pendragon, and I must say, your Japanese is excellent, may I inquire on why you learnt it?" He probed with mild curiosity, causing me to give him a raised brow, before clasping his hand.
"I thank you for the warm welcome, and for your question, if I am going to get the most out of my stay here, I need to understand the language, no?" I said lightheartedly, causing the magus shaking my hand to give a happy smile.
"Indeed you do," he mused
Removing my hand from the handshake, I gave him a nod.
He returned it, before gesturing towards his house.
"Shall we enter?" He suggested, causing me to shrug.
"I would hope so," I returned, causing the man to give a polite chuckle.
The man shot a smile, before taking the lead.
Following him, I watched as he swung open the door, revealing a woman with long dark green hair, with eyes a similar color.
Though at a glance, her hair and eyes came across as something closer to an oddly colored brown.
Tokiomi gestured to the woman, and gave me a smile. "This is my wife, Tohsaka Aoi," he said with some pride.
The lady gave a deep bow, before sending me a gentle smile.
"Welcome to our home, Mr.Pendragon," She said in a warm tone.
Smiling, I gave a respectful bow back to the Lady of the house.
"I thank you for the warm welcome, Ms. Tohsaka, I'm looking forward to your hospitality," I said kindly, causing her to give a smile in return.
Seemingly appreciating my good manners, Tokiomi gave a wide smile, before clapping his hands together, drawing attention to him.
"Well, we should head on inside, as I believe you have some things you'd like to discuss," he explained, causing me to give him a nod.
"That would be great, please, lead the way," I said while gesturing ahead.
{I have breached the workshop's defenses.} Whispered Morgan's voice through the link.
Not giving any reaction, I sent her a message back. {Good, try to wrap things up quickly, as I'd rather not talk to people who sold their child to what's essentially a dead apostle, longer than I must.}
Walking through the house, we entered a fancy looking living room, with well kept old furniture, and a glass chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
My two hosts sat down in a love seat, while Tokiomi gestured for me to seat myself in the single seater.
Unbuttoning my blazer, I sat down at the appointed seat, and shot the two a smile, before pulling out a folded piece of parchment from the blazers inner pocket.
Placing the parchment on the coffee table, I slid it over to their side, before leaning backwards and sinking into the single seater.
Tokiomi tentatively picked up the parchment, and unfolded it.
Seeing her husband was reading the document, Aoi took it upon herself to talk to me.
"How long will you be staying here in Fuyuki, Mr. Pendragon?" She asked in a calm tone.
Smiling at her question, I pulled out another folded piece of parchment, and placed it on the table.
"I decided to err on the side of caution, so I'll be leaving within the day," I said while tapping the paper with a finger, before gently flicking it over to the other side.
Aoi seemed a bit confused at my answer, and didn't immediately pick up the paper.
"What do you mean by that?" She asked in confusion, while slightly tilting her head to the side.
Shrugging, I shot her a smile. "I am not well acquainted with how master selection works, so I have chosen to stay out of Fuyuki before six of the seven servants have been summoned, to minimize the odds of me getting a set of command seals," I explained patiently.
At my words, Tokiomi lowered the document I had handed him, and shot me a satisfied smile. "I thank you for all the steps you have taken to ensure your neutrality, Pendragon," Tokiomi said with a pleased undertone.
Raising my hand, I gave a dismissive wave.
"Oh please, it was the least I could do to ensure my own safety, and please, call me Alistair. I associate someone being called Pendragon with my Mother being addressed, so I'd be thankful if you called me by my first name," I said in a humble tone.
The two momentarily glanced at one another, before the two nodded their heads at me.
"Then we insist that you call us by our first names as well, Alistair," Aoi said kindly.
Smiling at the two, I nodded my head, before gesturing at the other document.
"And please, have a look at the other document. I'd rather there be no misunderstandings between the two of us," I explained, causing Tokiomi to pick up the document.
{I have encountered a problem, Alistair, the snake-skin is nowhere in sight, nor can I find anything else that would be ideal for a catalyst.} Morgan said in an apprehensive tone.
The message almost made me frown, but I quickly smoothed over my expression.
{I'll stall them for a bit longer, prioritize getting the Greater Grails location, and look for the catalyst afterwards.} I ordered, before overtly moving my head to glance at the back of Tokiomi's hand.
"Are those command seals? Would that mean that you've summoned your servant already?" I asked with as much interest as I could muster, while cocking a brow.
Hearing my question, he lowered the document, before showing me more prominently the back of his hand.
"Yes, these are command seals, but I haven't summoned my servant yet," He explained with a twinge of pride.
Frowning, I cupped my chin, while slightly tilting my head.
"I thought command seals only formed when a contract was established, so how come you have them without the servant?" I continued my line of questioning, causing him to lower his hand, while slightly shaking his head.
"While I do not wish to disclose any of the details pertaining to the Grail System, the fact that all of the three founding families are guaranteed entry is relatively well known," he said, before tapping the back of his hand.
"So we are given a set of fully manifested command seals early on by the Grail, as a guarantee for our slot in the war," he explained calmly.
Giving a slight hum, I gave a slow nod.
"I see, now that is rather interesting…" I mused.
Smiling, Tokiomi stood up, making his wife do the same. Taking the que, I quickly followed their example, and stood up.
They were clearly about to escort me out, but I'd rather give as much time as possible to Morgan, to roam the house without needing to look out for either of the two.
"As much as we'd like to talk to you, we both have some things we need to do, and I'll have to look over these documents in closer detail immediately," Tokiomi explained, causing me to nod.
"I shall show you out," Aoi said while heading for the door.
Smiling, I followed her.
As we moved towards the exit, my eyes caught a tuft of brown hair, poking from the top of the staircase.
A perfect distraction.
Turning my head to look fully at the hiding girl, I sent her a small wave. "Now who are you?" I said in a kind tone, causing Aoi to turn around and fix her gaze at Rin.
A small sigh escaped Aoi's lips, before a smile returned to her face. "Rin, show our guest some manners and introduce yourself," she chided gently, causing the girl to fidget a bit, before moving down the stairs.
Walking up to me, she gave a small bow. "I'm Tohsaka Rin, it's nice to make your acquaintance," she said in a nervous tone.
Glancing back at Aoi, I flashed her a smile, before I crouched down to her level, meeting her gaze with a smile.
"A pleasure to meet you, Tohsaka, I am Pendragon Alistair," I said, before conspicuously looking side to side, and raising a hand close to my mouth and slightly leaning in, as if I was sharing a secret.
"But anyone that's not a boring adult can just call me Alistair," I said in a conspiratorial tone, causing her to give a slight giggle, before nodding fervently.
"Ok, Alistair," she said with less nervousness than she had earlier.
But then, her expression suddenly turned mischievous.
"So, did you bring any gifts for us?" She said in a sly tone.
Blinking rapidly, I felt like Rin was really greedy for some reason.
Probably a side effect from practicing Jewelcraft.
The only thing that annoyed me was that she was right, as I had a pouch full of gems as a precaution if Tokiomi demanded compensation for my stay here.
"Rin!" Aoi scolded, causing the little girl to sheepishly rub her head.
Glancing back at Aoi, I waved my hand dismissively. "No need to worry, Aoi, I do in fact have a bag of jewels that I was going to hand over as a gift when I left, but I might as well hand one or two over to little Rin over here," I said while giving the greedy child a raised brow.
"Right?" I said in a teasing tone, making the little girl jump up and down in excitement.
"Yes, yes! You're right!" She said shamelessly.
There was an audible sigh from Aoi, but I decided to ignore it, and fish out the pouch from my inner pocket.
The young magus's eyes widened at the size of the pouch I had pulled out, which was about one and a half times the size of my fist.
Seeing her eyes transfixed on the pouch, I gave it a good shake, causing the bag to emit the satisfying sound of gems colliding.
Her eyes seemed to spackle, at the sound, causing me to give a light chuckle.
Opening the pouch, I looked over to Rin. "You can get two gems, what type do you want?" I asked, causing her to give a sly smile.
"I want the most expensive ones," she said with a greedy undertone.
Her words were followed by an exasperated sigh from behind me.
Giving her a sly smile, I pulled out two gems of pink and light blue color, and dropped them into Rin's outstretched hand.
As they dropped into her hand, her greedy smile faltered momentarily, before it returned.
Seeing the reaction, I gently shook my head, before tying the pouch shut, and standing back up.
Smiling slyly, I looked down at her. "Enjoy your diamonds, Rin, and I will hopefully see you at the Clock Tower sometime soon," I said offhandedly, before turning around.
There I met the stunned expression of Aoi, whose eyes were fixed on the two stones in Rin's hand.
{Status report.} I asked, causing a prompt reply from Morgan.
{I am sad to inform you that our primary objective wasn't achieved, but I have located the Greater Grail, and I have copied the records pertaining to the Grail War's history.} Morgan supplied in a resigned tone.
Not optimal, but it would have to do for now.
Smiling, I passed by the stunned Aoi, and palmed the pouch into her hand.
"Consider this a token of appreciation for looking out for me," I said kindly, before patting her on the shoulder. "I'll see myself out, I must thank your family for being so understanding," I commented, before heading for the door.
"Thank you, and have a nice day, Mr.Alistair!" Rin yelled from where I had left her, causing me to give a low chuckle.
"Thank you as well Rin, and do try to not explode the gems I gave you," I said before opening the door, and exiting.
Closing the door behind me, I walked to the gates, and left through them.
{Anything else useful you undercovered?} I probed, earning a sigh from my Witch.
{Other than some interesting facets of Jewelcraft, no, unfortunately not.} Morgan said dismissively, causing me to sigh.
{Are you sure that planting a ton of explosives in the building isn't a good way to rid us of Gilgamesh?} I probed, causing the Witch of Britannia to give a faint chuckle.
{Unfortunately no, as loath as I am to admit, his armor is of the highest quality, so he would certainly survive, and with his A-ranked Independent Action skill, he'll find a new master in a matter of time. And once he finds one, he will use his eyes to divine who made an attempt on his life, putting us in the direct line of confrontation with the man.} She explained ruffly.
Grumbling slightly, I continued. {But we'd probably get Assassin and the two masters in one shot. So it should be worth something.} I defended my idea, earning a melodic chuckle from Morgan.
{While true, the ire of Gilgamesh is not something worth garnering so early in the war, so it's best to allow most things to play the same as Fate/Zero in the beginning.}
Ugh, I hate that her words make so much sense.
I just hope that things don't go exactly according to plans, or else I'll be little better than a wall flower for the entirety of the war…
~~Fate/False Order~~
Walking towards the old church, I saw a man standing outside the doors of the house of God, as if having been informed of a visitor coming over.
Something I attributed to Tokiomi.
Smiling, I walked towards the older man.
The old man had something that resembled a mullet, causing me to internally cringe.
The late 80's and early 90's was a terrible time for any form of style.
Reaching the old man, I extended a hand, which the old man grabbed with no hesitation.
I could feel his grip was quite strong despite his age, meaning that he was still probably a decent Executor given his age.
"A fine morning to you, young man, I am Father Kotomine, and what may this humble servant of God help you with?" he asked while shaking my hand firmly.
Ah yes, the humble, scheming servant of God that is about to go against his impartiality vow, to help a magus get the Holy Grail.
Truly, such a genial priest.
Smiling, I matched his grip strength, while shaking his hand. "A fine morning to you as well, Father Kotomine, I am Pendragon Alistair," I said modestly, before releasing his hand.
"As for how you can help me, you could open the door, as I have things to discuss where no prying eyes can see us," I explained.
The priest gave a shallow nod, before opening the door to the church.
"Then please, enter young man, the house of the Lord is open to all," he said while gesturing for me to enter.
Smiling, I walked straight past him, and idly started observing the room.
Quickly I noticed the shadows in the room slightly fluctuate in shape, before shifting to their former size, meaning that Morgan had begun to scout the room.
Hearing the doors close, I turned around, and met the squinted eyes of Risei Kotomine.
"As I am on a tight schedule, I'll cut to the chase," I said, while pulling out four folded pieces of paper out of my pocket.
"These are copies of my self-geass scroll's pertaining to my neutrality during the war through a few oaths, along with explaining conditions where I will discard my oaths," I explained, causing the old man to gently grab the outstretched documents.
Glancing up at me, he raised a brow.
"You seem to have handed one too many to myself," he explained, causing me to give a shrug.
"I'd like it if you were to hand a copy to each new master that registers themselves here during the war, other than the Tohsaka, Einzbern, and Kayneth Archibald, as I have already handed them a copy," I said calmly.
The old man gave a nod to my request, before stowing the documents into his priest robes.
Smiling back at me, he spoke again.
"Is there anything else I could help you with?" He probed, causing me to give a sheepish smile.
"Would you be capable of informing me of when a servant is summoned? As I have made an agreement with Tokiomi, to where I will leave the city, and only return when six of the seven servants have been summoned," I explained calmly.
The old man placed a hand under his chin, and released a sigh.
"As long as you hand out an address, then I shall inform you of when a servant has been summoned," he said good naturedly.
Smiling at the old man, I gave him a grateful nod.
"Good, then I'll send you a missive once I find some accommodation, then you can send your mail to that address," I said with a twinge of relief.
The old man nodded, before speaking up.
"On the topic of summoned servants, one servant was summoned a few months ago, we suspect the Einzbern, as they are well known for bending the rules," He said with exasperation.
His words made me fight down the urge to turn my smile into a strained one.
{Morgan, bad news, the church knows that a servant has been summoned.} I said with urgency.
Morgan replied instantly with equal urgency in her voice. {We'll need to change some plans then… as when the news of an eighth servant comes out, then we'll be in trouble.}
Thankfully, it would seem that this visit to the church was more fruitful than I thought.
{Seeing as you're the better schemer out of the two of us, I'm giving you free reign on how to throw them off our scent, just make sure that whatever you cook up isn't too morally reprehensible.} I replied back, causing a hum of amusement emit from Morgan's link.
{No need to worry, I've just thought up something useable…} She said mysteriously.
As long as no one gets too hurt, then it's fine. Naturally, masters were not included in the list of people I cared about not getting hurt, so she could do anything to them if she pleased.
Smiling at the priest, I gave him a grateful nod.
"Thank you for the information, but I'll be taking my leave for now, as I'd like to do some sight seeing, before I am inevitably forced to leave the city," I explained, causing the old man to give a small smile.
"As a member of the church, I shouldn't be saying this, but I recommend visiting the Ryuudou Temple before you leave, as it is probably the main, and only tourist attraction in this city," he said genially.
Smiling, I nodded my head in thanks.
"I'll take your suggestion to heart, and head there immediately, as something like that should be worth seeing," I said before opening the door.
Who was I to deny such an ironclad alibi for me being in the area.
Thank you Father Kotomine.
~~Fate/False Order~~
Morgan was gliding through the air in front of me, as she was leading me through a cave.
Apparently, they had the 'good sense', of hiding the grail inside a mountain for some odd reason.
To me it sounded incredibly impractical to travel to, but it certainly made up for it as an amazing hiding spot.
"I believe I have found it…" Morgan mused aloud.
Moving closer to the end of the tunnel, I was met with an open cavern.
And in the middle of it there was a floating stone orb, with golden cracks covering it, that allowed the light that was inside to spew out.
Morgan flew over to the orb, and suddenly it was surrounded by thousands of Fay-Runes, which gave off a beautiful blue glow.
Slowly I felt countless bounded fields erect themselves around me, making me feel more and more stifled, until the sensation suddenly disappeared, probably due to Morgan keying me into the field.
Slowly, I walked over to Morgan, who kept on adding more and more runes around the orb.
"Find anything?" I probed, which earned me a derisive snort.
"No, I can't sense any curse or anything similar from the Greater Grail, but as the Grail was never meant to summon evil servants, and seeing as I am very evil, I can only conclude that the curse is very good at hiding, as it is creating clear cracks in the system," she said while gesturing at the orb.
Walking closer, I actualized a mystery, and suddenly stone stairs sprouted up from the cave's floor, allowing me to walk up closer to the Greater Grail.
Frowning, I sent out a few probes myself, all of which came back blank, without any results.
"This is troubling…" I mused aloud.
I felt a gentle set of arms wrap themselves in front of my chest, as I felt Morgan's body press up against my back.
"Alistair, there is no need to look so troubled my dear," Morgan whispered into my ear, before one of her fingers started tracing my jaw.
"Angra Mainyu will need to transport himself from the Greater Grail, into the Lesser Grail in order to actualize his wish. So all we need to do is cut the connection as he's transporting himself from A to B," Morgan explained in her calming voice, which made me feel a bit more relaxed.
Smiling, I took in a deep breath, and thought a few points over.
"My only question is when he will begin his transfer," I commented, drawing a sigh from my witch, before she let go of me, and floated back to the Greater Grail.
"That, my dear Alistair, is why we'll need to secure the Lesser Grail as early as possible."
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A/N
Welcome back, my reader Overlords, please add this to your library and give me some comments, stones and Reviews, as it would be much appreciated.
Now that the mandatory begging is done, time to ask the hard hitting questions.
What are your thoughts on the chapter?
Anything I missed, or should have added?
What do you think Morgan's overarching strategy is? I'm curious on your thoughts.
Btw, I have made a Discord server for the fic, come on and chat with me! https://discord.gg/T39uwmxJ
Now I'm tired, so have a nice day, and send me some stones or some shit, I need motivation, or some shit like that.