Chapter 56: Convening

For Kotomine Risei, the supervisor of the Fourth Holy Grail War, the challenges this war brought him were far beyond his expectations.

Perhaps it was because he was no longer as young as he was sixty years ago, or maybe it was because this Holy Grail War had too many unique situations that differed from the previous one.

Caster's actions had caused significant trouble. Not only was the Holy Church involved, but even the Magic Association was secretly taking measures.

Therefore, when the old priest saw Tatsuya Suzuki and Berserker pushing open the door and walking in, his first thought wasn't a greeting, but words of gratitude.

This was because when Caster summoned the enormous sea monster, Berserker shrouded the area around the Mion River with a thick fog. The fog continued to spread, eventually covering Miyama Town and Shinto.

The extremely low visibility hindered the city's operations to some extent, but it effectively concealed the presence of the supernatural. Only a few quick-thinking residents on both sides of the river saw Caster's actions.

Most people simply observed a sudden weather change with heavy fog at night.

As a result, both the Holy Church and the Magic Association were spared considerable trouble.

No matter where this Holy Grail War leads, Tatsuya Suzuki's decisiveness and ability to "cover up the mystery" as a Master would undoubtedly enhance his qualifications as a magus within the Association.

"Mr. Suzuki, welcome," Kotomine Risei, as the manager of Fuyuki Church and the supervisor of the Holy Grail War, extended a greeting to Tatsuya.

It was exactly noon.

"I originally sent the request to Mr. Tokiomi. It would be great if the church could support it," Tatsuya said as he walked through the aisle between the seats and approached Father Risei.

As he moved forward, he noticed that Tohsaka Tokiomi had already arrived with Gilgamesh, both seated on different benches.

Iskandar and Waver were also present.

Unlike Gilgamesh, who remained indifferent and ignored the others, Iskandar occupied the front row, examining the architecture and artifacts of the church with great interest, as if he were visiting a museum.

The remaining two groups were Kotomine Kirei and Emiya Kiritsugu.

Kirei aside, the fact that Assassin had been defeated was something the Church clearly intended to keep hidden.

As a result, Tatsuya could only sense that Kirei was hiding inside the door leading to the backyard of the chapel, but there was no trace of Assassin.

"Because the matter you mentioned, Mr. Suzuki, is too serious. As the manager of Fuyuki, the Tohsaka family cannot ignore it," Tokiomi said sincerely.

After all, if the Holy Grail War had problems that Tatsuya mentioned and Tokiomi was unaware of, it would have to be suspended or even terminated.

If a flawed Holy Grail were allowed to descend and the members of the Association in Fuyuki found out, it would undoubtedly damage the reputation of the Tohsaka family.

"That's reassuring," Tatsuya nodded. He looked around and added, "I thought we would be the last to arrive. Looks like someone else is late."

As soon as he finished speaking, the door of the chapel was pushed open, and a figure wrapped in a black windbreaker appeared in the sunlight streaming in.

Emiya Kiritsugu.

Upon seeing him, Tohsaka Tokiomi's expression froze momentarily. He initially believed that Emiya Kiritsugu was just a magus hired by the Einzberns to assist in the battle, but now it seemed that his original prediction was correct.

The real Master was Emiya Kiritsugu, and the Einzbern homunculus was merely a nominal agent.

Tokiomi couldn't criticize this tactic; after all, he was also secretly collaborating with the Church and using various methods.

This left Tatsuya and Waver as the only upright Masters.

After Kiritsugu pushed the door open and entered, he let it swing back, but the door was stopped a second time. Artoria followed Kiritsugu inside, her expression impassive.

This small action hinted at the extremely poor Master-Servant relationship, which was understandable. No wonder Irisviel was the one handling the nominal Master duties.

Kiritsugu walked to a bench about five steps away from Tatsuya, entered the row, and sat down.

Saber stood behind Kiritsugu on the right.

The only person who found it strange was Waver, but when he wanted to speak, the King of Conquerors held his shoulders, suppressing the question.

"Well, now everyone is here," Tatsuya said, looking around at the remaining Masters in the church, even subtly including Kotomine Kirei, who was hiding behind the door. "Thank you very much for accepting my invitation. You all understand the reason for this meeting. To put it simply, the final reward of this Holy Grail War, the omnipotent wish-granting device, has a serious problem. I believe that if this issue continues to be concealed, it will harm everyone's interests, so I decided to reveal it."

As he said this, he naturally glanced at the other Masters present.

Tokiomi and Waver were both listening attentively. Only Kiritsugu maintained a look of disdain, as if to say, "Let's see what you have to say."

Perhaps he didn't believe Tatsuya at all and thought he was trying to trick everyone into withdrawing from the Holy Grail War.

At this moment, Artoria placed her hand on Tatsuya's shoulder, indicating that she would explain the next part.

Tatsuya did not object. After all, he had only briefly discussed it with Artoria the previous night.

To be honest, the one who knew the situation best was none other than Artoria, who had personally entered the underground cave where the Holy Grail was located and inspected it.

"Next, let me explain," Artoria said.

Unlike Tatsuya's calm and sincere demeanor, Artoria's voice was cold and businesslike.

"Time is precious, so I'll get straight to the point," she said, glancing at Artoria with a slight smile. "Fuyuki's Holy Grail has been contaminated. The magical energy gathered inside is no longer pure."

This single statement caused a commotion in the chapel.

Both Masters and Servants were visibly shocked.

For those who had attended the aborted "banquet" the previous night, the King of Conquerors and the King of Knights finally understood what Artoria meant when she said, "The Holy Grail has gone mad."

But even though they were shocked, whether or not they believed it was another matter.

"What evidence do you have to support this claim, Lady of Britain?" Tokiomi asked with a respectful tone. Although he didn't particularly care about Servants, he respected the identity of Heroic Spirits, especially those who were magicians from the Age of Gods.

Waver was also a bit anxious. "Yes, where's the evidence? If you're just going to use Caster as an example like you did last night, I won't believe it."

On the other side, a crack appeared on Emiya Kiritsugu's expressionless face, his eyes widening in surprise.

Artoria had anticipated the Masters' reactions.

If no one had any objections, Artoria would have found it dull.

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