"I didn't expect that the Hero King would actually be summoned. It seems that in this Holy Grail War, I will finally have a chance to see a miracle happen."
On the road late at night, Kotomine Kirei was walking with his father, which was rare.
The two had just come out of the Tohsaka residence and witnessed the entire process of Tohsaka Tokiomi's summoning.
"Yes, for such a powerful king, Master's three years of preparation are worth it."
As always, Kotomine Kirei answered his father's words with a respectful attitude that would not make people feel cold.
"Well, now six heroic spirits have descended."
As if to confirm, Kotomine Risei took out the church's spirit disk from her arms. This was the privilege of the supervisor, used to check the survival of the heroic spirit. However, for the church that had completely sided with the Tohsaka family, this had become the best cheating tool.
"The only rank left is the caster rank. I guess the Holy Grail hasn't found its master yet. But this guy who rushed in is just a small figure to make up the numbers. He is not worth paying attention to. If you find any trace of him, just get rid of him."
Although his words were biased, considering that Kotomine Risei was the supervisor when the last war started, his evaluation was still quite convincing.
"I understand, Father."
"As for the surveillance of the Master, remember to have Assassin wait at the airport. The three local families have many experiences and bases in the war, so they won't reveal too much information. However, the Master from outside will inevitably need to travel by means of transportation."
Kotomine Risei rubbed his forehead while giving his son valuable advice. These were useful little experiences that could only be summarized by those who had participated in the war.
"After all, Fuyuki City already has two local families, the Tousaka and the Matou families. Foreign Masters are generally not so careless as to come to someone else's territory without a Heroic Spirit. Therefore, if you are lucky, it will be easy to get first-hand information about the Heroic Spirit."
"I'm going to do it now."
Without any delay, Kotomine Kirei had already developed a strong ability to act after many years of experience as an agent.
Kotomine Kirei was looking at his son's back with satisfaction. Although he once doubted whether the experience of having a son in old age had made him over-indulge his son, Kotomine Kirei's performance made it hard for anyone to feel uneasy.
"There is one more thing," the only thing to worry about is the child's tragic fate.
Kotomine Risei advised: "You should stop your recent morning jogs. After the war officially begins, you as a Master must not be too careless. I know you seem to have made new friends recently, but if you involve your friends because of your own selfishness, the consequences will only be worse."
"Yes, father."
Kotomine Kirei did not look back, but walked silently into the depths of the shadows.
——
"So, this is why you came to the store to see me so late at night?"
Roland looked at Kotomine Kirei in front of him with some confusion. When he was working the night shift, Kotomine Kirei suddenly ran in and solemnly told him that he would be traveling for a while.
Roland, who knew that the other party was going to fight in the Holy Grail War, accepted this matter very smoothly. The only puzzling thing was, when did the two of them become such good friends?
Apart from their names, they didn't even exchange addresses and phone numbers, and apart from morning jogging and meeting at the store every day, they had no contact at all. However, Kotomine Kirei's attitude clearly showed that he treated him as a close friend.
"Yes, please take care, Roland. If you have a night shift recently, please turn it down."
Kotomine Kirei hesitated for a moment, but still extended the invitation.
"If you encounter something you don't understand, you can also come to the church to seek refuge."
Having said that, he lowered his eyes secretly and looked at the gloves on Roland's hands.
"Really? Thank you very much."
Roland said with a smile, as if he had not noticed Kotomine Kirei's gaze.
Seeing this response, Kotomine Kirei said nothing more and quietly walked out of the store.
After leaving Roland's sight, a deep voice made a suggestion from behind Kotomine Kirei.
"Master, that guy gives me a very dangerous feeling. If he is likely to join the battle, it would be a good idea to eliminate him in advance."
"No need," but Kotomine Kirei rejected the request with a cold voice.
"You cannot hurt him. Even if you see him in danger within your sight, you must protect him, even if it means sacrificing your own life, regardless of whether Roland is our enemy at that time."
Faced with such an unreasonable request to protect possible enemies, Assassin had no objection and obediently agreed.
After a period of silence, it was Kotomine Kirei who broke the silence first.
"Assassin, aren't you curious why I have already agreed to the Master's covenant, but still want to do something like betrayal?"
"You naturally have your own ideas, I just need to obey them."
"Even if my wish is despicable? I don't even desire the Holy Grail? I even betrayed my master who has been so kind to me?"
Kotomine Kirei's voice gradually became deeper and deeper, and his body could not help but begin to tremble.
"You know what? Assassin, every time I see the passion that Master puts into the Holy Grail, I can't help but imagine him dying ridiculously on this path."
"That feeling makes me excited, thrilled, and makes me...happy."
"If that's what you want."
Assassin still responded obediently, without the slightest hesitation, and completely accepted Kotomine Kirei's order.
From a human perspective, he is definitely not a good person.
But he will be completely faithful to carry out his master's orders. In the true sense, he is completely loyal. Whether it is well-intentioned or malicious, he will accept it.
No matter how despicable or noble his master is, no matter how incomprehensible his orders are, he will obey silently.
This is him. Among the many Hassans, he is a unique outlier, extremely loyal and a mediocre person who is willing to make a deal with the devil in order to get this position.
"——I promise in the name of Hassan of the Cursed Arm that I will do everything I can to give you Tohsaka Tokiomi's head."
Roland naturally had no idea about the complicated entanglement behind this master-servant pair. After Kotomine Kirei left, he began to wait leisurely for the end of his shift.
"That guy is ready to come and say goodbye to me. It seems that the heroic spirits are almost all here?"
Matou Zouken also planned to hand over the magic channel and the holy relic to him tonight, and it seems that he really can't wait.
"I have to resign after today. Sigh, I know it's necessary, but it still makes me upset."
Feeling the stagnation of his nails growing in the gloves, Roland sighed, took off his gloves, and began to prepare to clean his nails during the last quiet time of the night.
But fate seemed to be against him, and the sound of the shop door opening was heard again.
"Welcome,"
Without having time to put on his gloves, Roland raised his head and looked at the new guest. Then, what appeared in his sight was
——The cold muzzle of a gun.
Hisau Maiya stared at tonight's unexpected gain with indifference and issued an order.
"Don't act rashly. If you make any unnecessary movements, I will take your life. Now, follow me and leave here."
"Oh, sorry," but to her surprise, the young man who was pointed at by a gun did not show any fear or panic. He just looked at her calmly and made a polite request.
"Before you leave, can you wait for me for a moment and ask for leave first?"