Chapter 20: Einzbern Castle

There is a national highway in Fuyuki City that goes westward from Miyama Town, facing away from the city lights. In front of the road lies a deep, undeveloped forest.

In this undeveloped forest, there is a classical castle in the Western European medieval style.

This is the Einzbern property in Fuyuki City and their exclusive base, established as one of the three major families that built the Fuyuki Holy Grail War system.

Anyone entering this forest will be monitored by the castle's owner. Through layers of illusions and magic barriers, neither Servant nor Master can escape detection.

However, despite controlling every corner of the forest and using crystal ball magic for far-reaching observation, irisviel did not see any signs of Saber entering the forest.

This made her sigh unconsciously.

"Are you feeling tired, Iris?" Kiritsugu asked his wife.

irisviel immediately put away her worried expression, smiled, and shook her head.

"You were lucky not to be affected by the close encounter between Saber and Berserker. You should get some rest," Kiritsugu said, concerned about her condition.

Even though Maiya had managed to evacuate irisviel from the seashore and get them to the Einzbern castle, the close proximity to the battle might have caused injuries.

"It's okay... but Saber..." she expressed her concerns to her husband.

Kiritsugu glanced at the Command Seal on the back of his hand. "From the current situation, the Saber is still safe. I saw with my own eyes that she left with Berserker and the other Master of her own accord."

Kiritsugu, who had been at the Wangan warehouse, did not reveal himself until the last moment, but this decision also led Saber to take arbitrary action.

"However, the method of evacuation is more accurately described as Caster rather than Berserker," Kiritsugu commented.

If it weren't for his privilege as a Master that allowed him to confirm the rank of his Servant, he might have been confused.

"I haven't had time to say anything about this yet—" irisviel added.

After waking up under Maiya's care, she had learned the situation from Kiritsugu, who had retreated, and then began to use the crystal ball to explore the forest.

Being separated from their Servant had put them in a very dangerous situation.

Any Master who wants to raid this place with his Servant can go straight in without any hindrance.

"Kiritsugu and Miss Maiya were far away and couldn't see the situation clearly. In fact, Berserker and Saber are directly related, and Saber also knows her real name," irisviel said. "Her name is Morgan, and she is Saber's sister."

Kiritsugu's frown relaxed again. "This is really a big problem. Berserker has a B-level or higher berserk ability but looks no different from an ordinary Servant. She is also a top-level magician from the Age of Gods." Kiritsugu looked at the map of Fuyuki City. The more he analyzed it, the more he felt the difficulty of the Holy Grail War would increase sharply.

Not only that, the Master of Berserker, Tatsuya Suzuki.

Even though he knew the other party was from the Magic Association, had obtained the rating of a Deity at a young age, and had even participated in tasks designated by the seal, Kiritsugu still believed he could rely on his unique fighting style to assassinate such a magus.

These pre-conceived tactics were completely shattered after tonight's battle.

Human magi can rival Servants, fight Lancer without losing, and challenge the unpredictable Archer.

Especially when he was attacked by Lancer, Tatsuya was able to counterattack instantly, resulting in a lose-lose situation and forcing Lancer's Master to retreat.

"The most urgent task is to find Saber. If necessary, we can even use the Command Spell to forcibly call her back," Emiya Kiritsugu said. "If the Servant and Iris are separated for longer than tonight, we must evacuate from here and find a new hidden base."

irisviel then asked, "Then... Kiritsugu, do you know where Saber is?"

"Probably over there." Kiritsugu pointed to Miyama Town through the bedroom window. "I can feel that when Berserker took the Master and Saber to move, the location shifted from the Wangan warehouse behind Shinto to the residential area of Miyama Town."

"That place should be the base of Berserker's Master," irisviel deduced.

But the question also arises: how to get in touch with the other party, or should they visit them directly?

The magician's residence is where the workshop is located, and there must be a very sophisticated barrier outside.

What if Saber is actually being held hostage...

"The Master of Berserker must have reached some kind of agreement with Saber, which is why Saber agreed to go with them first," Kiritsugu explained to irisviel with an apologetic look on his face.

He was well aware of his own responsibility in this.

Because he refused to communicate with Saber and let his wife take over as the Master, the consequence is that now, once Illya and Saber are separated, they will lack the necessary means of communication.

"Don't worry, Kiritsugu. I anticipated this situation," irisviel gently comforted her husband.

Then, the unusual movement coming from the barrier made irisviel's heart tremble.

"Is a Servant going to attack us so soon?" Kiritsugu guessed from his wife's expression, then picked up his weapon and prepared to fight.

Maiya at the door was also ready to go at any time.

"No, it's a familiar delivering a letter," Illyasviel said as she walked over and opened the window.

A blue bird landed on the windowsill.

irisviel reached out and moved closer, causing the familiar to emit magical power, through which the information was transmitted and received by her.

When the information was read, the blue bird disappeared like a phantom, which made Illyasviel admire the ingenuity of its master.

She closed the window.

"Kiritsugu, Berserker's Master sent a message, hoping that Saber's Master will meet him tomorrow. Saber will rush over to join us later," irisviel turned around and told Kiritsugu. "He said there is something important to discuss, but he didn't say what it was."

"That sounds really suspicious," Kiritsugu couldn't help but laugh.

"Then, do you want to refuse?" irisviel asked.

"No, of course we have to go. They even suggested that Saber come back first, obviously wanting to dispel our concerns to the greatest extent possible," Kiritsugu put down his gun. "Besides, we need to reunite with our Servant as soon as possible."

At this time, Maiya, who had been waiting at the door without speaking, said, "Then, I will drive Madam to Berserker's Master tomorrow to reunite with Saber. Kiritsugu will monitor the situation nearby from the shadows as usual."

"Well, let's do it this way. What do you think, Iris?" Kiritsugu asked his wife for her opinion.

irisviel smiled confidently, "Of course I'll go. I also want to see who Morgan's Master is."

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