Roland was walking, thinking wildly in his mind. The experience gained from self-discipline allowed him to find the direction on the way to work even with his eyes closed.
Today's result was satisfactory. It was worth taking the risk to meet Zouken Matou. As Roland expected, for the twisted old bug, before he ran out of ammunition and food and had to fight to the death, this guy preferred to stand in the audience as a spectator, and did not mind giving some help to create unnecessary influence and gain more fun.
Although he is a corrupt person, perhaps for this reason, Matou Zouken is much more straightforward about this simple exchange of interests.
At the beginning, Roland was also hesitant about whether to try to make Zouken Matou into a contracted spirit. After all, judging from his experience, this guy had a much higher success rate than Ryuunosuke Uryuu. As long as he made good use of the Killer Queen's first sight, it would be very likely that he could do this.
But considering that Matou Zouken had perfectly interpreted the methods of a centipede that was still alive even after death in the original work, Roland gave up on this idea. Without the Holy Grail to attract the other party to come in person, Roland could not even be sure whether the other party was just a clone of an insect, or had hidden the life-saving insect far away.
In this case, the gain would be counterproductive. Without any certainty, it would not be a good experience to be an enemy of Matou Zouken. Moreover, it would be too embarrassing to be forced by such a guy to use the Loser's Dust to reverse time.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly. Although the prophet's advantage was reduced, the trace of the spirit was about to be revealed.
Judging from the influence caused by the Contract Spirit, this guy's requirement for the host should be at least magical, and it is very likely related to the Holy Grail.
So, who could the unknown contract spirit be with?
Fuyuki City had already checked once, and none of Matou, Tohsaka, and Ryuudou Temple had noticed any traces of the contract spirit. After excluding these targets, the remaining range was undoubtedly much smaller.
The Greater Holy Grail hidden in the Great Hole underground, Darnic participating in the Fourth War, and Einzbern who did not summon Amakusa even though it was the world line of the Holy Grail War.
Roland showed a gloomy expression as he watched the nails on his hands begin to grow naturally again.
——
Deep in the deserted mountains, the ancient castle enclosed by ice and snow was finally freed from the wind and snow for a day.
Although the sky had not yet cleared up, the milky white color that was slightly brighter than the dark and blurry snowy day was much brighter.
In this land where there are neither birds nor green trees, even the changes in light are a rare beauty for the residents.
But Emiya Kiritsugu had no intention of appreciating it. He sat quietly at the table, looking at the information sent by his right-hand assistant.
"The Masters of the Holy Grail War have been basically determined."
After a quick glance, he began to summarize in the simplest terms possible.
"The Tohsaka family is still the same. They always have excellent magicians as their masters, making them a difficult target. However, it is worth noting that he accepted a disciple from the Holy Church a few years ago, but broke with him after the other party also obtained the Command Seals. Although this is the case, judging from his experience, I think he is a more dangerous target than Tohsaka Tokiomi."
After speaking to himself, Emiya Kiritsugu did not receive any response. He sighed helplessly and looked towards the floor-to-ceiling windows in the hall.
A young woman who looked to be in her twenties stood quietly in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.
Her doll-like beauty, including shiny hair and fair skin, coupled with her red eyes that are as gorgeous as gems, makes her look like an elf that is not from this mortal world.
Even if she wears a simple, pure white dress without any accessories, it cannot conceal her natural elegance.
Princess of Einzbern, until now, Emiya Kiritsugu also feels that this title suits her very well.
It would be better if the other person could change his/her sometimes offline personality.
"Ms. Irisviel? Are you listening?"
"Yes, I am. And I told you, Kiritsugu, just call me Irisviel. We are friends, right?"
The white elf responded with an ethereal voice, but her eyes were still fixed on the French window.
"Really? Although I am the real master, you still have to attract fire in the open, so you'd better be more careful."
Although they have been together for some time, Emiya Kiritsugu still believes that they are just simple collaborators and not so-called friends. As for a deeper relationship, it was just an unrealistic longing that he once had in his heart.
After all, people like him shouldn't expect happiness, especially when they find the final touch of redemption.
Emiya Kiritsugu shook his head, retracted unnecessary thoughts, and continued to explain the information about the Master.
"The Matou family forced a person who failed in the succession to be the master. There is no need to pay attention to this half-baked person. The remaining one is the most troublesome guy."
Gently sliding the mouse, looking at the two photos in the data, which were taken more than 60 years apart, but the appearance of the subjects had not changed at all, Kiritsugu Emiya narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia was a participant in the Third Holy Grail War. Although he failed, he escaped unscathed. He was evaluated as a color rank many years ago. During these years, he launched many achievements related to the soul and founded the Yggdmillennia Family."
"The third time? How old is he now?"
"He's almost a hundred years old. Since the end of the last Holy Grail War, this guy has published many papers on the soul in the Clock Tower, which have received extremely high praise. Taking advantage of this trend, the Yggdmillennia Family he founded has also begun to expand wildly. As long as they are down-and-out magi, he will accept them."
"Although it is not terrible yet, it is still a feared force in the Clock Tower. In two hundred years, the Yggdmillennia may even become a large family comparable to the monarch level."
After hearing this explosive news, Irisviel came back to her senses and turned to look at Emiya Kiritsugu.
"A place as old-fashioned as the Clock Tower shouldn't be that easy to expand."
"Yes," Emiya Kiritsugu's expression became much more solemn, "This is also the really tricky part about this man. Although he has made great achievements in magic, he is more like a politician. As long as he finds an excuse, he will make a big move and confuse right and wrong to seek benefits. With his own strength and means, several small families have been devoured by the expansion of the Yggdmillennia."
Speaking of this, Emiya Kiritsugu's eyes were also very complicated. "Although Darnic is a magician, he is very familiar with human nature and various dark means. He calls himself a noble, but he has no bottom line. This guy and I have a very bad compatibility. I heard that he was immersed in the research of a ceremonial dress more than ten years ago, and he wasted a lot of time."
After pausing for a moment on this line of text, Emiya Kiritsugu tapped his fingers lightly on the table, making a low sound.
"Now it seems that this is just proof that Darnic is preparing for the Fourth Holy Grail War. That guy must have gained something extraordinary in the last war, which is why he is so persistent. He already has the means to prolong his life, but he still wants to participate in the war in person. Fortunately, he has already got into bigger trouble."
"What does this mean?"
Irisviel tilted her head and looked at Emiya Kiritsugu in confusion.
"The Clock Tower's quota for this battle was originally reserved by the Lord of the El-Melloi family."
"The El-Melloi from the Minerals Department?"
"That's right," Emiya Kiritsugu smiled as he said this. "For a spot in the Far East Magic Competition, the El-Melloi family would never get entangled with a troublesome existence like Darnic. But obviously, that prodigy named Kenneth doesn't think so."
"I guess he couldn't get over it. He circumvented the rules of the Magic Association and forcibly bought an extra spot. I guess he's preparing to compete with Darnic."