better late than never right guys
right
anw BMCMIIW, the next delay would be caused by WA2
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Volume 3, Act 4, Part 2
London, Clock Tower.
"Good grief… how did things turn this way?"
It was rare that Rocco Belfeban was this flustered; Lord El-Melloi II can't help but let out a slight laugh.
The Association of Magi's headquarters, as well as the highest institute of education where young magi gather with burning ambition—London, Clock Tower. Within it was this very place, an underground lecture hall protected with layers and layers of boundary. This place was utilized for many things; such as a place for students to meet in secret, or even confidential negotiations with the Holy Church.
In regards to the Great Holy Grail War, this had been the place where but a few days ago that the Association of Magi had gathered famed, first class bounty hunters meant to defeat the magi of Yggdmillenia, as well as catalysts worthy of summoning Heroic Spirit of high ranks.
The one who had been responsible for it had been the Head of the Department of Spiritual Evocation, Bram Nuada-Re Sophia-ri. According to him, the only lacking one had been the catalyst for the Caster class; the rest of the relics would have summoned Heroic Spirits unmatchable to those that had come before them.
That was how far they had stacked the deck. However, their decision to invite someone from the Church as one of the seven Masters had backfired instead. The man had gone out of control, killing all of the other five Masters but Shishigou Kairi and stealing their right as a Master.
Furthermore, according to the report given by the magi dispatched as surveillance units… Belfeban couldn't help but be struck in awe.
"The Greater Grail… had been stolen? Unbelievable."
"Doesn't seem like we have any room to not believe it."
Belfeban was twisting and turning his head horizontally like a mechanical doll; understandable, given the current situation. Einzbern. Tohsaka. Makiri. The three families that had constructed the Holy Grail War of Fuyuki. And the peerless, masterpiece of an artifact that they had manufactured during what may very well be their golden age. That was the Holy Grail that the Yggdmillenia had held in their possession.
And to think that it had been stolen…almost unthinkable. Moreover, it had happened in the open, in front of everyone's eyes, without any large organizational force behind it…
"Look, put that aside for now. Rather than that, what's the Holy Church even doing currently?"
Bram muttered with barely concealed displeasure. In accordance to precedent, the Association had always invited a member of the Church as an observer. From their perspective, the Church was currently very much going beyond the limits of their authority.
The world at large mostly had already known that the Grail was not the Holy Grail; not in the traditional sense. As far as the Association was concerned, the Church was just obliged to do their due diligence, and nothing more. They were not supposed to be impeding the process in any way.
And as they shouldn't. It was simply that in a Holy Grail War, a neutral party as a coordinator between clashes of interests between magi was necessary.
However… things had deviated quite considerably in the current Holy Grail War, in comparison to the usual. One couldn't handwave this as the Church merely "borrowing" the Grail. Handled incorrectly, there was an actual possibility that the relationship between the Association and the Church degrades into an all-out war.
"The Church has confirmed that the current state of affair is an unforeseeable one, even for them. They're quite bewildered themselves. Currently the relatives of the perpetrator is being investigated, but doesn't seem like they know any—"
"So it was a lone operation… all planned by this Kotomine?"
Belfeban said out loud with a rough harrumph.
"Hmph. Most likely he lost himself in greed upon witnessing the power of a Servant, or was instigated to by one. His was the Assyrian empress, Semiramis, no? Should be a child's play for one such as her to manipulate a naïve reverend."
"Old man. Are you saying the catalyst I gathered is responsible for this?"
Bram's tone was slightly but increasingly getting angrier. Belfeban hurriedly shook his head in a fluster, and El-Melloi II immediately spoke in an attempt to intervene.
"To begin with, we do not know how 'naive' this reverend is supposed to be. As far as I'm concerned, any clergyman participating directly in a Holy Grail War, believers or not, are immediate suspects."
Indeed, for one to be able to pull the feat of stealing the Greater Grail itself like this… it simply would not do to assume the perpetrator to just be your average person. That being said, one would have expected him to be a member belonging to the Church's dark side of sort, not just a… clergyman.
"In any case. The Grail is stolen, and the Masters we dispatched are as good as dead. Well, except for one of them, but relying on him to take care of everything would be quite unreasonable."
The one silver lining in the cloud was perhaps the fact that there was no question where the blame lied. The Church had been the one to completely blunder this time. Now, they had quite a grave obligation to fulfill, and the Association had some advantages over them for any follow-up negotiations on the matter.
"We can either intervene assertively, or simply remain a spectator for now. Lecturer Sophia-Ri, El-Melloi II. Which would you prefer?"
"I'd rather wait this out for now."
"Agreed."
Both of them immediately replied, and Belfeban was of the same opinion. They all nodded their heads in approval.
There was simply no benefit in intervening the matter assertively. To say nothing of how problematic the enemy's strongest form of familiars, Servants, would be, fully assembled like that. There was no benefit… and matters were beyond the control scope of a magus.
"Once a certain amount of time passes, the Grail War will end. The Servants will vanish, and this apparently flying fort of theirs and what not will too, together with them. Until then, it will be enough to simply but thoroughly spread out our surveillance network in places."
"And what of Shishigou Kairi?"
"We can keep him participating in the War as he is doing now. Not that he'd withdraw even if we ask him to. He may very well somehow defeat all the other Servants and seize the Holy Grail—not that we should hold our breath for such a miracle to happen."
In the end, the Association's plan was to maintain the current status quo. Neither risking themselves nor putting their hands on the proverbial fire. It was a matter of course; there was still a possibility the current situation would bear fruit for them.
Upon returning to his private room, El-Melloi II's expression turned into a derisive smile, as if mocking himself.
"Hmph. Not unexpected, I suppose. Completely spineless bunch, the lot of us. To seriously think we'd obtain the Grail just like this… assholes. We're not even really trying, we just want the prize. All optimistic-like, barring old Rocco; not any different from children."
The man known as Lord El-Melloi II—or stuck with the title, more like—began reminiscing of a time when a certain incident happened. Of ten years ago.
Of a war. Of summoning a Heroic Spirit, and fighting by his side. Of being surprised by his massive frame, of being jealous, of being rebuked by him—and of course, of the time they had bade farewell to each other.
He turned his gaze to his wardrobe. Inside it, locked and protected both by means magical and mundane alike, was a certain crimson piece of "clothing". It was as normal as a piece of clothing can be—yet for him, its worth was beyond anything.
With a sudden desire to pick it up, he unlocked the wardrobe. He took out and opened the evergreeon oak case, and the slight smell of burning greeted him immediately. The worn out, crimson piece of clothing. Just by looking at it immediately made the memory of the great man, of ten years ago, resurfaced to his mind.
"Though… I can't say I don't get it. Even the most cunning of us have their childlike moments. …Heh. Holy Grail Wars really have too much in the way of romanticism."
Simply remembering the past slowly turned the corner of his face into a smile, and—
"My, brother of mine. I did not expect for you to have such a favorite pastime. To launch yourself in a soliloquy with a wide grin on your face over a mere piece of clothing… Could this be a particular 'fetish' of yours? Alas! I am truly disappointed."
El-Melloi II froze. Then slowly, he creaked his head and turned around.
In front of him was a young woman, sitting on a wheelchair with a cup filled with black tea on her hand. Skin as white as a bisque doll, with hair as if made of pure gold threads. Her figure would have been completely transient, were it not for her red flame-colored eyes, currently observing El-Melloi II with great interest.
The young woman exuded grace and elegance simply by sitting and staying put. Young indeed; she'd be 15 years old at most. Next to her was a mercury object shaped after a female mannequin of sort, attending her like a maid.
"Uh. Lady, since, um, when have you been—"
"Ever since you release the seal on the wardrobe and withdrew that case of yours."
"The room was locked—"
"I had her open it for me."
The maid-type Mystic Code next to her, Volumen Hydrargyrum
Marrow of the Moon Spirit()
"How come I didn't hear anythi—"
"Really? Brother of mine, you know that it is but a simple matter to erase the sound of your footsteps using magecraft. I left no trace whatsoever of my entry."
El-Melloi II sighed loudly towards the giggling young woman.
She was a "princess"; the real successor of the Archibald house and the one who had bestowed upon the person once known as Waver Velvet his current title—Reines El-Melloi Archisorte.
He put the case back inside the wardrobe, locked it, and grumblingly made sure to make a mental note to change the configuration of the spell currently protecting it. Then he once again sat down on the chair, looking at her with a glare that had made many students cowered in fear.
"I can't say entering someone else's room without permission is a habit I personally admire."
Reines, for her part, simply returned his glare with a composed expression.
"My. Is there anything weird for a sister to be entering her own brother's room?"
"You're trespassing! And you're supposed to be a noble of the esteemed Archibald house! In what world do you think this would be okay?!"
"Oh, please. Do stop overreacting, brother of mine. Rest assured, I shall never trespass into places other than your room."
Her smiling face completely dismissed his complain, all the while grandly declaring her future plans of more criminal activity.
"…My head hurts. Unbearably so. Where is the person that you're supposed to learn basic ethics and morality from again, and what the hell are they doing right now? I need to have a word with them."
"He is currently residing in the deepest depths of hell. I do believe you were the one who kicked my mentor down there while he was too busy surreptitiously glancing at hell from this very world?"
"—My bad. Let me rephrase that. For a self-taught, your cultivation of aesthetic sensibility is flawless. Now we just need to have you learn a lady-like modesty and self-control. Fervently. For my sake. And my head."
She momentarily ponder upon his words, then inquired him with a mystified look on her face.
"But… why? While there is an infinite amount of things that you need to do for me, brother of mine, there is not a single thing that I have to do for your sake. At all."
"You are just the worst, you know that!?"
"My, there is no need to yell, brother of mine. You should rejoice instead. But enough of that, for now. That piece of clothing you were gazing at so… it was a catalyst, yes? For one such as you—who, at best, I'd give a 40 out 100 points as a magus—to survive the Holy Grail War, it must be a catalyst for a befittingly powerful Servant. Why would you let such a thing unused in the Great Holy Grail War?"
El-Melloi II, for his part, simply turned away in silence. And naturally, she simple unflinchingly stared at him, demanding an answer. About a minute passed… and in the end, the youth relented, perhaps due to her persistence.
"…You're not wrong."
He answered with a nod.
"Indeed, you're not wrong. The Servant summoned by this catalyst would, without a doubt, be a powerful one."
In fact, the Servant summoned by this catalyst may very well be one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful, in all history of Holy Grail Wars. The Conquest King himself, accompanied by a legion of heroes on his sides—
However… after much worried pondering, El-Melloi II had decided to keep his personal catalyst where it remained instead. He had his reasons; to begin with, the collection of catalysts had been entrusted to the eldest son of house of Sophia-Ri, Bram. An excessive meddling on his part would not only be imprudent, it could even be construed as an insult—that's the first reason.
The second reason was that it was simply far too anxious-inducing to think of what would such unique, unrestrained, boundless Heroic Spirit even do in the Great Holy Grail War. Forget killing each other; seven Servants had been meant to cooperate. Had there been a Holy Grail War more befitting than this one in achieving his goal?
"Hah! Now this is just splendid. Very well! I shall subjugate the other seven on the other side too. Together, we shall set out for the world itself!"
…Not even joking. The Conquest King may seriously, actually set out on world domination in such a case. Fearing it as an actual possibility was El-Melloi II's final reason.
"Concerns of the relationship between the houses, as well as the possibility that the Servant summoned by the catalyst going rogue. Are those your reasons, then?"
"…Of course. While it was not by my own wish, I am currently at the top of one such house. I am not quite in the position to simply prioritize winning the Great Holy Grail War above all else. Remedial measure after the War is my main task. To make sure everything work as intended, whether or not someone obtain the Grail. Is that not how a Lord should behave?"
"…That's quite the lie, brother of mine. Surely you would not lie to your sister's face just like that?"
She had spoken straightforwardly, so much so that her words pierced his chest bluntly and thoroughly. As if asking "why?" wordlessly.
On her eyes was the determination to catch a glimpse at the real answer, and she wasn't going anywhere until she got her hand on it.
El-Melloi II then raised both of his hands, admitting defeat.
"…Fine, fine. I'll tell you the truth. The reason is… personal. Back when I was far, far more inexperienced than I am right now, there was a man who called me his friend. I was not a wily old coot enough to be able to betray him. That's all."
If, perhaps, the the identity of the Servant that El-Melloi II had summoned be made known to somebody else, all magi competing in the Holy Grail Wars currently happening all across the world might just use everything at their disposal to grab a hold of the catalyst.
Then it would continue to exchange hands. The might and power of the Conquest King, used and summoned again and again just for the War. At that point, there would not be even a smidgen of respect given to the Heroic Spirit. …El-Melloi II simply would not let such a thing to happen; ever.
"So… you are simply acting like the naïve neophyte that you are. Goodness me. You acted as if nobody knew that of you, despite treating it as some sort of big secret that you would tell only me. Truly insufferable. Moreover, I shall have to warn you out of the kindness of my heart, brother of mine. Do understand that not only you were inexperienced; you still are, and will always be."
"You always just have to say a couple more words than necessary, don't you!? Don’tt you!?"
"Sigh. If only you were able to utilize that catalyst skillfully, we would have been able to pay off the debt of Archibald house."
She said grumblingly.
With how florid the subspecies Holy Grail Wars currently were now, the value of this catalyst had sharply risen. Even with low estimation, it would've been able to pay off their debt by at least fifty percent, maybe even seventy-percent.
But.
"You need to remember this, lady. If you've become so poor that you'd sell even your own friend, you'd be better off redoing your life altogether."
"…Hmph. Are you telling me to commit suicide, then?"
"That's being shortsighted. I'm just saying that simply abandoning the Archibald house and began anew, from zero, is an option. …Though, if that were to happen, heads would start flying. Mine, specifically. Anyway, there's a difference between a reset and a restart. If you throw away even your pride, then the El-Melloi faction might as well be done for."
Said El-Melloi II with a disgrunt. There were always exceptions, of course; for example, if one of his pupils were to participate in a Holy Grail War, and were unable to find a Servant, then he'd be hard pressed not to loan the catalyst to them—
"—Very well,. If that's how it is, then I shan't press you further. I shall simply extend the period by which you must shoulder the title of El-Melloi for just a little bit longer."
She smiled and giggled, truly enjoying herself, before standing up.
"So in the end, why did you even come here for…"
"Ah, my. True; I've forgotten the main reason I'm here for."
She turned back her head, hand still on the doorknob, before pointing at the maid next to her.
"Did you show anything unusual to her?"
What an ambiguous question. El-Melloi II couldn't help but tilt his head, and so did the maid in question, imitating him.
"Unusual? Besides your own particular brand of fetish, you mean?"
"I am referring to funny or violent materials that would be decisively harmful to her emotional sensibilities."
She said, smoothly ignoring the second half of his question.
"…I wouldn't do something like that."
"Right. Of course you wouldn't. I trusted that you wouldn't to begin with, brother of mine."
With a relieved face, she departed from the room. The mercury maid followed suit, but turned back towards him at the last second, gave him a thumbs-up, and whispered such:
"I'll be back."
Then she closed the door.
The heck?
As El-Melloi II tilted his neck in confusion, the door immediately slammed open again without any knock.
"Professor! I mean, my magician teacher of all things concerning the zettai ryouiki concept! I eavesdropped just a tiny bit about the Holy Grail War; is it true that we are taking the wait-and-see approach for now?! I don't really get it, but it seems like things are getting real interesting! Anyway, I promised to watch a movie together with the mercury maid I just met in the hallway already, so can you tell me more about it once you have an off-day!?"
A youth had entered El-Melloi II's room suddenly, and was now currently driving his head completely blank. Upon recognizing the youth, however, everything suddenly clicked together. He took a deep breath, then calmly addressed the youth.
"Alright, Flat. As a reward, I will increase the quantity of your homework. About twenty times the usual should do it. Of course, I will also extend the deadline for them; I expect to see all of them on my desk tomorrow at 1 p.m. instead of 11 a.m. Rejoice."
"…Um. Professor. …Are you, uh, angry at me?"
"Of course not. Not even the slightest, tiny bit at all. —So get moving already, you blockhead!"
"Aahh, alright, alright, already—!"
Like a storm, the youth made his exit as fast as his entry. As he watched the youth's back disappearing into the hallway, El-Melloi sighed.
"…I'm so tired."
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Originally Posted by Cyborg
