Chapter 159

'As you predicted, Saber's true Master is hiding in the hotel where Maiya was staying.'

Shinji, who had spent an uneventful night on the park bench, albeit with some back pain, was listening to Zayd's report while walking back to his hotel.

'Master, are you really going to leave Caster alone?'

'It's already over. By tonight, he will make a large-scale move, and he will be the second Servant to exit this Holy Grail War.'

Listening to his Master's words, Zayd was astonished and delighted, finding it almost unbelievable how steady his new Master was! Compared to Tohsaka Tokiomi, who always thought he had everything under control, his own Master truly embodied strategic foresight.

'My Master, since we know the whereabouts of Lancer's Master, why not strike while he is weak?'

'Someone else will take care of it. Why should we dirty our hands? And remember, Lancer still has his uses. His Master's fate is irrelevant, but Lancer himself needs to be kept for later purposes.'

Shinji paused, stopping in his tracks as he noticed a woman with flowing white hair and an eyepatch approaching him. He smiled lightly.

"…In the future."

…

"This place is safe; no one is monitoring it, and no one will hear us no matter how loud we get."

In the hotel room, where Shinji had set up a barrier, he casually mentioned this while closing the curtains.

"What the hell is going on?!!"

The white-haired woman with the eyepatch, having waited for five minutes, finally exploded in rage.

"What do you mean?" Shinji pretended to be clueless as he slowly walked to the sofa and sat down.

"Why…?" The woman clenched her fists, her face showing signs of breaking down before she couldn't hold back any longer. "Why did I turn into a woman after drinking the potion?!"

"Pfft!" Unable to hold it in any longer, Shinji let out a small laugh and turned his face away.

Matou Kariya—now Matou Yanako—glared at Shinji furiously. Drinking the strange potion and losing his "cannon" would be hard for any man to endure.

Seeing Yanako about to explode again, Shinji waved his hand. "Calm down, Kariya… I mean, Miss Yanako. So, did a magus infiltrate the Matou residence last night?"

"That's not the point…"

"That is the point. Tell me what happened first."

Interrupting her, Shinji's expression turned serious. He had initially thought he wouldn't need to use that potion and could retrieve it later, but it turned out to be necessary.

Seeing Shinji's serious expression, Yanako gritted her teeth and began. "It was a man in a suit with stubble on his chin. When I discovered his intrusion, I drank the potion as you instructed. After that, I found that he had left, having only briefly inspected the outer barrier."

"I see…"

Shinji nodded, then began to ponder. Berserker had yet to appear, so Tohsaka and Kotomine likely suspected someone had already been eliminated.

The church possessed devices like the spirit graph that recorded when Servants were summoned and eliminated, so they were well aware.

During last night's banquet of the three kings, the Emperor might have mentioned Berserker, and Gilgamesh might have casually relayed the information he heard from Kotomine.

This means that the news of Berserker's early departure was known to all Masters, including Emiya Kiritsugu.

Considering Irisviel's condition and the currently manifested Servants, Kiritsugu must be cautious. Even with this information, he wouldn't let his guard down.

Thus, he might take a risk to investigate one of the three great families—the Matou household.

With Kiritsugu's skills, discovering that the Matou's barrier was just an empty shell wouldn't be difficult. After realizing this, he might decide to conduct a brief investigation.

Therefore...

"Hey! Shinji! This…"

Interrupted from his thoughts, Shinji replied, "Calm down. Your body will return to normal in a week."

"Really?!" Yanako's expression brightened at the thought of regaining his "cannon," but then he realized something else. "Wait! A whole week?! Zouken… your old man chased me out this morning, thinking I was a thief! Even Sakura didn't recognize me!"

"Don't worry, I'll take care of Sakura. By the way, did Zouken leave alone?"

Yanako crossed her arms impatiently. "No, he took you and some luggage with him, probably planning to stay away for a while."

"Hmm… this means the Matou family is completely out of the Holy Grail War. I'll send you back tonight and explain everything to Sakura personally."

"But this…"

"You drank the potion too early. That man was just probing and wouldn't have gone deeper into the Matou residence. Blame yourself."

Hearing this, Yanako could only curse internally and reluctantly agreed. "Fine, I'll follow your plan. But today, only Sakura and that newly awakened girl are home. You need to find a way to take care of them."

"Leave it to me. But… you can't use your current identity anymore. Use the phone here and have the Matou collaborators create a new identity for you under Zouken's name as I instruct. You'll live under this new identity for the next few days."

...

Just past dusk, Yanako received her new identity with impressive efficiency from the collaborators. Now known as Kotobuki Yanako, she was a half-Japanese, half-American woman who grew up in the US and recently returned to Japan looking for a new job.

Shinji, taking Yanako back home, passed by the Miyama River Bridge and noticed Gilles de Rais standing on the water, seemingly preparing something.

Not interested in this, Shinji just glanced briefly. The highlight of this scene was Saber's final Excalibur.

The only thing that genuinely interested Shinji was the four treasures Gilgamesh threw away initially. If Gilgamesh claimed he didn't want them, then picking them up wouldn't be considered stealing.

...

Sneaking Yanako into the Matou residence, Shinji found Sakura sitting eagerly on the sofa, reading a picture book with the newly awakened girl.

Removing the invisibility cloak Shinji had lent her, Yanako, her eyes brimming with tears, called out softly, "Sakura."

"Thief…"

Seeing the girl's defensive stance, Yanako felt helpless. In her current 36D form, no one, not even Sakura, would believe she was Kariya.

"Sakura, don't be afraid. Uncle Kariya had to go away for about a week. This is the nanny he found for you—Miss Yanako. Just call her Aunt Yanako."

Seeing Shinji appear beside Yanako, the girl's guard dropped, and she nodded silently. "Okay, I understand. Hello, Aunt Yanako."

Transitioning from uncle to aunt would take Yanako some time to adapt to, especially for things like using the bathroom.

"I've prepared food and other necessities. Try to stay indoors. I'll leave the temporary employment contract signed by Mr. Kariya here."

After leaving some food from his system space, Shinji prepared to leave.

At this moment, Kiritsugu was having Maiya search for Lancer's new Master. Although Sola was the primary suspect, Shinji's interaction with Lancer meant he couldn't ignore him.

Though it might be a simple follow-up check, disappearing suddenly would deepen their suspicion and wariness.

"Hmm?" Feeling something, Shinji looked down at the silent, purple-haired girl by his side.

Understanding what the girl was expecting, Shinji patted her head and then turned to leave.

...

Shinji's suspicions were confirmed when he returned to his hotel and found his belongings slightly moved despite erasing his tracks.

Maiya had likely infiltrated his room and meticulously checked everything related to him.

"Confirmed. Just an ordinary detective, he's returned to the hotel."

From a nearby building, Maiya, holding a sniper rifle, reported to Kiritsugu via radio.

After a moment of silence, Kiritsugu replied, "So, Lancer's new Master is Sola… Okay, understood. Leave a monitoring familiar and then search for Sola."

"Understood."

...

"So cautious... Emiya Kiritsugu…"

Shinji, with his legs crossed, sat on the sofa, facing away from the window, one hand supporting his face as he looked at his wine glass with interest.

"But an ordinary detection familiar is no challenge. It's quite dull."

...

Around ten o'clock at night, by the Miyama River far from the Miyama River Bridge.

Ensuring there was no surveillance, Shinji, now in a diving suit, removed his invisibility cloak and silently entered the water.

He moved so carefully that not even a ripple appeared on the surface.

...

Unlike the original storyline, this timeline featured Shinji's interference, and there was no Berserker to disrupt the battle against the Sea Demon.

Tohsaka Tokiomi, more conflicted than in the original, was riding on Vimana with Gilgamesh.

Being the subordinate, Tokiomi understood his Servant could easily defeat the monster below, but...