[68] Subsequent Thoughts

While these actions seemed like something a Mage Killer would do, his initial wish still made him feel incredibly unreal.

And then...

The next scenes depicted Emiya Kiritsugu collecting information.

These had some reference value for Tohsaka Tokiomi as well.

As he saw the information Emiya Kiritsugu had gathered about Kotomine Kirei, a slight unease tugged at his heart. Was this really the information he wanted Emiya Kiritsugu to obtain?

Watching further, he breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that Emiya Kiritsugu had indeed succeeded; the information he collected was exactly what Tohsaka Tokiomi wanted him to see.

And then...

As he continued reading, doubts began to creep in.

Emiya Kiritsugu's actions... if the risks didn't match the rewards, was his true goal really to "create a world where no one would weep"?

This required further investigation for clear information.

However...

One thing he could infer from his previous observations was that Kotomine Kirei indeed didn't have a clear purpose. He appeared rather lost. It seemed like he wanted something from Emiya Kiritsugu. Did he want to understand this man's desires?

Could it be that these two were similar in some way?

"This isn't funny at all... Well, I can just inquire about it from Father Risei. But... Kirei does seem like the kind of person who could save the world."

Next page—

The scene shifted to Matou Kariya, and from the mark on his hand... he had received a Command Seal!

"Matou Kariya..." Tohsaka Tokiomi rested his chin on his hand for a moment. "I need to update my impression of you."

The next moment, he smiled slightly as he watched the young man who had received the Command Seal. He was probably the best Master he could hope for so far, one who would likely exit the stage early on.

Well, not even worth paying attention to. A child as innocent as him... it was too early for him to participate in such a war.

However... his goal was simply to gain recognition for his talent from others and to show the Clock Tower his potential. Such a person might have some utility and could be allied with, as his goal wasn't the Holy Grail itself. With this, Tohsaka Tokiomi would have three Servants on his side, greatly increasing his chances of victory.

"But being chosen by the Holy Grail itself already implies talent, so I'm not exactly deceiving you." Taking note of this, Tohsaka Tokiomi smiled and continued reading.

Seeing this magus who used hints so poorly, his gloomy mood was eased.

The next moment, he tensed up again.

"The sheath of the legendary holy sword? Could it be..."

Sure enough, the subsequent dialogue confirmed it: Einzbern indeed intended to summon the legendary king, "Arthur Pendragon"!

And, unfortunately, they had obtained the sheath. This meant that Tohsaka Tokiomi's plan to summon a certain Heroic Spirit might be in jeopardy.

"Really..." The next moment, as he looked at the portrayal of his own daughter in the manga, he couldn't help but laugh. His mood relaxed again.

This manga was something else, sometimes making him anxious, and at other times making him laugh like this.

"Well... Kirei remains consistent. Perhaps he should indulge the child a little at this time. There's no need to be so serious."

But that was precisely why he felt at ease. Kotomine Kirei was a man who never lied, and Tohsaka Tokiomi could trust him with his back. If he said, "It's possible," then he would ensure his safety thoroughly.

Such a comforting disciple, completely unlike the demeanor of a magus.

And... his own daughter was indeed adorable.

Furthermore—

"It seems I've indeed obtained the Holy Relic I wanted. Excellent..."

And then... the next moment, as he looked at the depiction of Matou Kariya and his own daughter, Sakura, he couldn't help but lose his smile.

"It has begun... the summoning of Heroic Spirits!"

Tohsaka Tokiomi straightened up.

He hadn't expected to see even this scene. What level were his Mystic Eyes, really?

Was it truly just future vision?

Future vision was a very special Mystic Eye ability, generally divided into prediction and determination. Predictive ones were more common, and Tohsaka Tokiomi had encountered quite a few worldwide. Determinative ones were rarer...

However, to see so clearly, like Kurokawa Kazuya, it wasn't prediction or determination but something more advanced, more exceptional...

If this were a game, someone with future vision would have privileges, but... if his guess was true, it had already surpassed that, becoming an abuse of power.

However, it was just a manga, and few people would believe it. Most treated it as entertainment. Only magus or those who already had some knowledge would see the deeper mysteries within.

For magus, it didn't matter. But... Kurokawa Kazuya's decision to reveal this secret was unsurprising if he indeed possessed future vision.

Unless... someone with the authority of a Lord stood behind him at the Clock Tower as support. Even so, he would likely attract the attention of other magus...

What was he thinking?

Seeing this, one should deeply understand the dangers of the mystical world...

Could it be... someone even more advanced than a Lord stood behind him? Someone like... Zelretch?

Tohsaka Tokiomi pondered for a moment and had a guess.

That is, Kurokawa Kazuya might not actually possess future vision. Instead, he was used as pawn by someone who transferred this knowledge to him, making him believe it was his own inspiration.

If he was just pawn, there would be no issue of his safety... and if he died, the people behind him probably wouldn't care.

But... what was the purpose of doing this? To spread mystery? Even though it wasn't necessary, as by that time...

Mystery would naturally disappear.

It seemed he understood something now, and Tohsaka Tokiomi refocused his attention on the process of the Holy Grail summoning.

And then—

He was surprised once more. Even the incantation for summoning Heroic Spirits was written correctly!

Even the two lines he had added, as well as the ones added by Matou Kariya when summoning Berserker, were all correct!

Could it be that everything on this page was genuine? Much to his astonishment, everything he could verify was true—

And then...

The summoned Heroic Spirits were described. A red giant... unknown Class... unknown abilities. But he could research similar entities.

The Black Knight! Berserker Class... unknown identity. That too could be investigated.

And then—

A golden Heroic Spirit!

Success! The Heroic Spirit he had planned to summon had succeeded. With this, he no longer needed to worry about Saber, whom Einzbern had successfully summoned.

"What...?" When he flipped further, Tohsaka Tokiomi was momentarily stunned. "A woman?"

Had the Heroic Spirit summoning failed? Was it not King Arthur they had summoned?

Tohsaka Tokiomi began to think carefully.

This would complicate things.

Related to the sheath of Arthur Pendragon's legendary sword, a woman, a knight... he couldn't think of anyone like that. If it were someone like Morgan...

A Saber-class Morgan? A knight?

Impossible... How could the witch be Saber? Caster would make more sense. Or perhaps a magus wearing knight's armor?

"Sigh... the one person who was so clear, and now the identity has become uncertain," Tohsaka Tokiomi muttered.

Turning the pages further would lead to the next part of the manga, ending the first episode of Fate/Zero.

However, this was only the first episode for now. There would be a second, a third...

"But... what about the promised original manuscript from Kurokawa Kazuya?" Tohsaka Tokiomi rubbed his chin. "Hasn't it arrived yet? Or did he forget... or maybe, after seeing this, he decided not to send it anymore? No... it's probably not the latter. If he was concerned about his safety, he wouldn't have done this. Well, I'll go and find him, ask him directly."

Tohsaka Tokiomi slapped the Jump magazine and picked up his staff as he walked out the door.

"I'll wait a little longer. Once the matters with the Matou family are settled, I'll go find Kurokawa Kazuya. This is bad—"

Saying this, he suddenly remembered something very important!

---

The Holy Grail War has begun!

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