The magician wearing a ring, that is a Wizard and Appear, rebellious knight!

Holy Grail War.

It was a large-scale war conducted by seven Msters and their corresponding seven Servants around the "Holy Grail that can grant any wish."

Among them, the seven Servants each have their own positions. They are: Saber, Archer, Lancer, Rider, Berserker, Assassin, and Caster.

In addition to these seven positions, there is one position outside of these seven, which is Ruler.

As the name suggests, Ruler is a Servant summoned by the Holy Grail itself only when unexpected situations arise in the Holy Grail War. They appear as overseers of the Holy Grail War.

Speaking of individuals associated with Ruler, one might think of the Saint Joan of Arc, who was active during the Hundred Years' War. As Ruler, she can manifest in the present world by possessing the body of someone with the same magical circuitry.

However, now an unexpected development has occurred.

She was informed by the Holy Grail that this Holy Grail War would have an unprecedented mutation. As Ruler, she had prepared herself for it, but... later, the Holy Grail told her that she had to supervise as a true Servant.

"But how is my Master going to handle this?"

Before departing, Joan of Arc had expressed this question.

"Wait for the right moment..."

That was the nonsensical reply from the Holy Grail.

"What is this... suddenly making me participate in the war as an official Servant, yet not telling me who my partner is..."

She vented her dissatisfaction, living in the Throne of Heroes. However, in the next moment, she felt a resonance with her own mana.

"The magical energy emitted during summoning?"

"It seems that the Master has already begun the summoning."

Seeing her body start to take on an ethereal form, Joan of Arc naturally wanted to witness the skill of the magician who had summoned her as Ruler.

===========

"Now that I've revealed my true name, can you answer me: Are you my Master?"

At first, when Joan saw the young man who had summoned her, a youth one year older than her own living age, she was somewhat surprised.

However, upon arriving in the present world, she felt the terrifying magical power emanating from the young man who followed Ruler's privilege.

"Well... since I found you using your banner, I suppose you are..."

Contrary to Joan's expectations, the youth's casual response made it seem as though he had no intention of summoning her. This irritated Joan a little.

"Wait a moment! The way you talk, it's as if you disdain summoning me!"

"Huh? Oh, that... Well..."

The youth scratched his messy hair in frustration and then stated the reason that Joan found completely truthful:

"Because I never wanted to summon a Heroic Spirit..."

He said—what—!?

Clearly, this statement became the catalyst for igniting Joan's anger. Despite being called a Saint and a great figure from the Hundred Years' War, upon hearing the youth speak completely contrary words to his actions, all her remaining patience and decorum were thrown out the window.

"How can you, as a magician, be like this! Summoning me for no reason and then saying you didn't want to summon me! Do you even realize what my position is..."

"Ruler—the Arbiter, right? The proxy overseer of the Holy Grail War, a Servant who usually appears only when anomalies arise in the Holy Grail War?"

"Hey! While that's technically true, but..."

"Let me make it clear, Miss Saint..." The youth's eyes turned serious. He locked onto Joan's eyes and revealed a surprising piece of information. "Right now, in this Fourth Holy Grail War, aside from the seven original Masters and their respective Servants, an evil force will also interfere with the war, with the aim of obtaining the Holy Grail buried beneath Fuyuki City!"

"What!"

Clearly, Joan was also greatly alarmed by this revelation. Until now, in the three previous Holy Grail Wars, no such intrusion had occurred.

"Can you tell me the details..."

Joan's words were cut short as the call of a bird reached her ears. A red bird descended slowly from the sky, singing a few notes before its descent. The youth's expression twisted momentarily.

"What, so soon!?"

Seeing the bird's swift response, the youth quickly slipped a pale yellow ring, unfamiliar to Joan, onto his finger and secured it on the buckle of his belt.

"Connect~Please~~"

Just as Joan was wondering why the belt was making a sound, a magic circle the size of a human materialized beside the youth, startling her.

Then, the youth reached into the magic circle and pulled out a motorcycle.

"Hey!"

The youth swung his leg over the bike and tossed one of the two helmets hanging on the handlebars to Joan.

"What... is this?"

"Wait a moment, I'll explain later. Get on the bike. Don't tell me you don't even know how to wear a helmet in this era?"

"How... how is that possible! It's just a helmet, why the fuss!"

Joan's pride made her voice defiant, and she hastily put on the helmet that had flown her way. After hesitating for a moment, she cautiously got onto the motorcycle.

"Hold on tight."

"Huh?"

The youth's words made Joan exclaim, and a flush of embarrassment spread across her face.

"Hurry up." The youth turned his head, urging her, "We're going to take a shortcut, so hold on tight or you might fall off."

"Ah... I see."

Realizing she had misunderstood, Joan nodded like a chick pecking at grain and then extended her arms to wrap around the youth's waist, pressing herself tightly to his back.

—This position... feels a bit... that way...

Feeling the warmth from the youth's back, Joan's face, already a light shade of red, turned into a deeper shade. She hadn't had much experience interacting with men in her past life.

"Ready! Garuda, lead the way!"

With a low command, the youth's bird companion took off in a certain direction. Simultaneously, the motorcycle roared to life beneath them.

"Huh? Ahhhhh!"

Just as Joan felt the exhilaration of speeding, the next moment she let out a girl's characteristic scream. The cause was that instead of driving in a regular lane, her Master was taking the motorcycle down a slope. The intense jolting made Joan feel like she was about to vomit.

—Why... even though I'm a Servant, why am I feeling this realistic sensation of nausea?

—And also...

—As expected, this Master is truly annoying!!

==========

"Hmm..."

Emiya Shirou, hidden in the city of Fuyuki, stood before the entrance of an abandoned building. Since it was night and the building was scheduled for demolition, few people were around.

"Geez... why does summoning a Heroic Spirit take so long?"

He grumbled in annoyance, rapping the ground with the axe he held.

"And it has to be a human capable of magic to do the summoning, but..."

At this point, he chuckled darkly.

"But it's the one who fought Arthur to a standstill. Once he's summoned, I'm sure I can get my hands on the Holy Grail!"

Buzz...

"Hmm?"

While lost in his own thoughts, he heard the sound of an engine approaching from a distance. Looking in that direction, he saw a tiny dot growing larger and the engine noise growing louder.

Hold on!

"Yaaaah!"

Why was there also a woman screaming?

Miyurotros frowned in confusion, but the next second, his expression changed. He realized that five gleaming objects were heading his way.

"Damn, it must be him!"

He clicked his tongue and swung his axe, creating an imperceptible blur as he knocked all five objects out of the air. When the objects hit the ground, they made a clear sound. One of the objects, a silver bullet, rolled to Miyurotros' feet. He rested the axe on his shoulder and spoke nonchalantly.

"So you've finally arrived... Wizard with the ring..."

The motorcycle stopped about five meters away from Miyurotros. The person riding it removed the helmet from their head.

"Garuda, scout around first. I didn't expect you to summon here of all places..."

"Hmph!"

His Phantom opponent merely snorted.

"..."

Shirou parked the motorcycle and exchanged the ring on his right hand for one with a palm-shaped buckle.

"Driver On~Please~~"

The ordinary belt transformed into a silver mechanical one. Shirou turned the buckle on the left side of the belt to switch the sensors to left-handed mode. Then, he repeated an unfamiliar chant.

"Shabadobie Touch HenshinShabadobie Touch Henshin"

"Henshin."

Shirou showed the blue gem on his left hand, pressed it against the sensor, and initiated the transformation.

"Water~!Please~~!SuiSuiSuiSuiSui~~!"

A blue magic circle appeared above and descended slowly, passing through Shirou's body. Everywhere it touched, the previously plain clothing transformed into alternating black and silver armor adorned with blue crystals.

"Master! What is this..."

Seeing the armor, Joan of Arc was puzzled. If she wasn't mistaken, her Master's magical energy had increased several levels.

"Joan, I need to explain some things to you first..."

Facing away from Joan, Shirou transformed his spear into sword mode.

"First, like you, I won't be participating in the Holy Grail War. Our goal is the same: to protect the Holy Grail."

"Second, the title 'magus' doesn't quite suit me. I'm just a magic user with a ring... a Wizard."

"Sa! Show time da!"

[Come on! It's showtime!]

==========

s she stood beside the motorcycle, Jeanne thought carefully. It seemed that until now, she hadn't known anything about this Master. Subconsciously, she tightened her grip on the Holy Banner in her hand.

Since her summoning until now, less than half an hour had passed. However, in this short period, she had already witnessed many things she had never encountered in her previous life or in the Throne of Heroes.

Mechanical bird-like creatures, peculiar magic circles, and even strange individuals resembling bulls... These were all things she had never heard of before.

And now, another surprise for the maiden named Jeanne d'Arc was her Master, the one wearing armor imbued with magical energy.

"Wizard... Is that your name, Master?"

Unfortunately, the person being questioned was currently in a face-off against the bull-like creature with a spear and sword, so he couldn't provide an answer. To be precise, he couldn't even hear the question.

Jeanne really wanted to step forward and help him. After all, it was her duty as a Servant. However, he had strictly forbidden her from participating in the battle. But why? Especially when she was stronger than him in terms of combat power.

Moreover, she possessed two incredible Noble Phantasms!

"Why is this happening?"

Clang!

The sound of metal colliding interrupted Jeanne's thoughts. The bull-like creature swung its spear, and a disgusting black smoke gathered around the weapon. With tremendous force, it charged towards its Master.

"Master..."

Just as Jeanne was about to shout "Danger," she was astonished in the next moment.

"Liquid~Please~~"

In an instant, Wizard's body transformed into a watery blue state, and the spear swung by the bull-like creature passed through the humanoid form composed of water as if hitting air.

The separated water balls converged again and flew towards the back of the bull-like creature. Wizard reappeared, and at lightning speed, he changed to a new ring.

"Big~Please~~"

Wizard clenched his right fist and swung it through a blue magic circle that appeared in front of him. In the next moment, on the other side of the magic circle, a fist many times larger than normal appeared, knocking the turned-around bull-like creature away.

"Why... did his body turn into water and his fist become larger..."

To be honest, today was the most chaotic day Jeanne had ever experienced. A series of bizarre events had unfolded before her eyes, leaving her overwhelmed.

"Emirotoros, I think it's time you come clean..." Wizard, who had retracted his fist, calmly addressed the bull-like creature not far away.

"What a joke... Damned Wizard..." Emirotoros, who had managed to stand up while propping his long spear on the ground, responded, "How could I reveal our true purpose!"

"I see. Well, then there's nothing more to be said..."

Wizard's tone sounded nonchalant, as if he were asking a casual question.

"Feel free to use whatever you have left. I'll reluctantly give you a chance to use your finishing move."

Leisurely removing the blue gemstone ring from his left hand, Wizard replaced it with a yellow gemstone ring and secured it to the buckle of the belt he adjusted to left-handed mode.

"LandPlease~~DoDoDoDoDoDon~DoDoDoDon~~"

A yellow magic circle emerged from the ground beneath Wizard and traveled upwards. All the blue gemstones on Wizard's body transformed into yellow ones.

"His appearance... changed!?"

Just how many secrets did this Master have!?

"Ugh~~" The young Master stretched and let out a contented sound. "Alright, Phantom is dealt with. Now, next..."

He approached the ruined building guarded by Emirotoros at a leisurely pace. After giving it a cold look, he walked directly towards it.

"Wait... wait a moment, Master!"

Noticing that the young man was already quite far ahead, Jeanne hurriedly retrieved the Holy Banner and caught up.

"Clarent..."

"Huh!?"

Hearing a faint voice, Jeanne stopped in her tracks, raising her right hand to her ear, attempting to locate and hear the source of the sound. The voice from earlier didn't sound like Japanese, rather it carried an imposing resonance. Like... the sound accompanying the activation of a Noble Phantasm!

"Not good! Master, move away—!"

Without thinking too much, Jeanne quickly ran to the young man's side, firmly planting the Holy Banner into the ground.

At the same moment, the building in front of them was reduced to rubble. A gigantic and blood-red sword, exuding an intense magical aura, materialized in the dust, taking on its sword-like form.

"This won't hold up if it continues like this!"

Understanding the power of that sword, Jeanne firmly made up her mind. She pursed her lips slightly, and the Holy Banner began to emit a radiant golden light.

In an instant, the sword on the opposite side had already begun its attack. An overwhelming aura descended as a massive red energy cannon fiercely assaulted them.

"Blood Arthur—!!"

"Will you lose to me? My divinity is here (Luminosite Eternelle)—!!"

Even though it was a massive energy cannon that could bring death, Jeanne's face showed no panic. The Holy Banner, enveloped in light, emitted a dazzling glow in the next moment, forming a translucent golden barrier that enveloped both of them. It faced the incoming energy cannon head-on.

The standoff between the two didn't last more than a few seconds before a massive explosion occurred. The smoke from the explosion quickly spread.

"Did we... manage to block it?"

Seeing that the attack hadn't continued, Jeanne finally let out a sigh of relief. An intense sense of weakness surged through her body, causing her to collapse like a puppet with its strings cut.

"Jeanne!"

From behind her, a voice filled with an inexplicable pain reached her ears. Lying there weakly, Jeanne thought she would hit the cold ground. However, the next moment, she felt a warmth behind her.

"Ma...ster?"

"Ah, are you okay, Jeanne?"

For some reason, the young man's voice sounded somewhat teary, but to Jeanne, it felt unbelievable.

"I never thought... that you, Master, would actually show concern..."

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm your Master, so I have to take responsibility, right?"

"Uh..."

"Yoo-hoo~~ Looks like the atmosphere here is pretty good?"

A cheerful voice suddenly came from the other side of the smoke. Hearing the voice, Jeanne subconsciously tried to stand up, but the aftereffects of using her Noble Phantasm rendered her immobile.

Apparently noticing Jeanne's attempt to move, the young man slowly laid her down on the ground.

"Thanks, rest for now. I'll take care of the rest."

The soft-spoken advice from the young man left Jeanne somewhat hesitant, but she had no choice.

Nodding in agreement, the young man smiled warmly. Jeanne was surprised to see that he could also smile.

—So my Master can also smile...

The young man stood up, walked around in front of Jeanne, and clenched the sword in his hand.

"Ah, are you going to take on the role of a Master and attack after your Servant falls? Quite responsible, I must say~~"

The thick black mist had completely dissipated. Under the moonlight, the silver-white armor emitted a faint white radiance. A slightly diminutive knight with a face that was a mix of charm and masculinity, raised his beautifully designed red-silver sword.

With a slightly masculine face framed by blond hair, the girl emitted a cheerful laugh, her emerald-green pupils fixed on the vigilant young man.

"I believe those are supposed to be my lines. You attacked suddenly and even forced Jeanne to use a Noble Phantasm with side effects. Don't you think it's rather dramatic in terms of imposing presence?"

"What about you? A rebellious knight—Mordred!?"