Chapter 33: Shocking Words!

"Damn it… They really teamed up with the church to set such a trap?"

Kariya Matou had also learned of the church's summon through his familiar and could guess the true target behind the call. The reward seemed generous, but transferring a Command Seal required direct contact with the overseer. 

This meant that if Sakura got involved, her identity would be immediately exposed. In that case, with her being such a small child, it would be almost impossible for her to survive an attack from the other Masters and Servants.

After all, no matter how strong Berserker was, it would be impossible for him to protect Sakura from a group of Masters and Servants scheming against her. Sakura was just a child, without the physical strength or abilities that adults had to defend themselves.

Even the use of familiars was something Kariya had to handle himself; Sakura hadn't learned any magic or the necessary knowledge. She was merely a girl with a vague understanding of what a "Mage" was. For someone her age, being exposed to the twisted "Holy Grail War" was already beyond what she could handle, let alone participating in it.

If it weren't for Berserker being so special, her safety wouldn't have been guaranteed at all.

"If we don't go, we'll end up with one less Command Seal than the other Masters… But if we do, she'll be exposed."

Knowing the gap between the two outcomes, Kariya clenched his fists in frustration.

If possible, he would go and pretend to be the Master himself. But that plan was pointless—one look from the priest, and it would be clear that he didn't have the Command Seal contract.

"!"

Just then, Kariya felt a hand on his shoulder. He snapped out of his thoughts and turned to find Berserker lightly shaking his head.

"?"

Confused by the gesture, Kariya looked at Berserker, his expression full of questions.

Berserker then picked up a sketchboard and, in neat handwriting, scribbled a few large characters: **"Don't worry."**

Unable to speak, Berserker had found a way to communicate by writing his thoughts on a board.

"But…"

**"No matter how much you hide, they'll come for you eventually."** 

**"The only way to ensure her safety is to end this war ourselves."**

Kariya's attempt to protest was cut off by the quick scribble of two more lines.

"..."

Silent for a moment, Kariya recognized the truth in Berserker's words. 

Ever since Sakura entered the war, there was no way for her to stay uninvolved. And with Berserker being such a powerful Servant, she would draw even more attention from the other Masters and Servants. They would either target her or try to form alliances, but the attention was inevitable.

This current scheme set by Tohsaka Tokiomi and the church was just the beginning. Could they really believe that Tokiomi was the only one who wanted to know Berserker's Master?

No.

Whether it was Saber's group, Rider's group, or any of the other teams, everyone wanted to know. 

Even though it appeared the current plot was to frame Lancer, it was also an attempt to expose Berserker and Sakura in the process.

They could ignore this scheme and skip the opportunity to gain a Command Seal. But doing so would only make them appear more suspicious and draw greater scrutiny. 

The Masters who showed no interest in such rewards would become the focus of deeper investigation. 

And who knows what more extreme measures would follow in the future? They were trapped in a situation where they couldn't stay out of sight forever.

"So, what do you plan to do?"

Kariya, unsure of how to proceed, turned to Berserker for guidance.

His original plan had been to find an opportunity to track Tohsaka Tokiomi's movements and assassinate him. However, Tokiomi never left his home, and Kariya had wasted time simply lingering without making progress.

Berserker then wrote a few more bold words on the board: 

**"They hunt Lancer."** 

**"I will hunt them."**

Kariya swallowed nervously, feeling the seriousness behind Berserker's resolve.

"But…"

Although he wanted to argue further, the sight of Berserker's back as he prepared to move silenced him.

---

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing… I just have a bad feeling about this."

Kyouko Sakura tilted her head curiously, watching as Jounouchi glanced around, his arms crossed, deep in thought.

"A bad feeling?"

Perplexed, Kyouko didn't understand why Jounouchi would suddenly say that.

"Yeah, my intuition's usually spot-on."

"I think we're about to run into some serious trouble."

"Let's get out of here, now!"

Jounouchi wasn't the type to ignore his gut instinct. Without waiting for further questions, he grabbed Kyouko by the hand and took off running.

"Hey!"

Dragged along the street, Kyouko shouted in protest. But Jounouchi didn't stop or even respond as they hurried away.

Moments after they left, a new visitor arrived.

"Gone?"

Kenshin had returned, his eyes scanning the empty street where Lancer had just been. In a low voice, he muttered to himself.

He had been away for only a short while, but Lancer and Caster were already nowhere to be found.

And what was more surprising: the two Servants didn't seem to have fought each other.

"Could they have formed an alliance?"

Kenshin arrived at this conclusion after pondering the situation. It was the only plausible explanation.

With Caster—a strange and unorthodox mage—around, hunting Lancer would become much more complicated.

---

"You never fail to surprise me, do you?"

Gilgamesh, sitting on a chair, gazed at the map spread across the table in front of him as he spoke.

"I merely thought that as a king, it would be beneath your dignity to be limited by mana constraints."

"Therefore, I prepared this gift."

Kirei bowed, showing the utmost respect as he presented his offering.

The gift Kirei presented to the King of Heroes was access to one of Fuyuki City's spiritual ley lines, uncovered by Assassin during his reconnaissance. Using knowledge passed down from his father, Risei, Kirei could harness the ley lines to replenish a Servant's mana.

Even someone as powerful as the King of Heroes could benefit from it.

"Hahaha! Not bad!"

"This gift pleases me greatly."

"Kirei, you are far more perceptive than Tokiomi."

Gilgamesh couldn't help but make the comparison. The more he interacted with Kirei, the more he found him far more suitable as a Master than Tokiomi ever was.

While Gilgamesh usually had no issues with mana unless he used his strongest weapon, EA (Enuma Elish), he certainly wouldn't turn down the opportunity to have even more mana at his disposal.

And the thought crossed his mind—perhaps it was time to get rid of the useless Tokiomi altogether.

After all, why let a fool who couldn't understand his King's will continue as his Master, when someone far more fitting was right in front of him?

"Sit down, Kirei. I grant you permission."

Surprised by the unexpected honor, Kirei was slightly taken aback. It wasn't often that someone was invited to sit at the King of Heroes' table.

It was clear now that everything Kirei had done so far had been the correct move.

"Tokiomi, it seems, has been up to something again lately."

"He's been acting on his own without consulting me, as usual."

Gilgamesh sipped from his wine glass as he spoke, a sly smile on his face.

"That is likely due to the trap being set to lure out Berserker's Master."

Kirei answered honestly, not hiding the details.

"Hmph, how boring these people are."

"Unable to deal with Berserker directly, so they aim for the Master instead?"

"Such a small-minded tactic."

Swirling the wine in his glass, Gilgamesh easily saw through Tokiomi's plan.

And then, Kirei heard something shocking.

"But… what do you think would happen if Tokiomi knew that Berserker's Master is his own daughter?"

"That would be something to look forward to, wouldn't it?"