Chapter 21: Kirei, Be Careful of Caster
'Last night was so thrilling. If it weren't for the fact that Caster's basic attributes were not very good, I had summoned Archer in advance to observe and protect me in secret, and I also had gemstone defense magecraft set up on my body, I might have been the first participant to leave the battlefield.'
'That Caster's charm disguise is extremely strange. It must be a high-level charm. Otherwise, I would not have opened the door for her at that time.'
At the Tōhsaka family's villa, Tōhsaka Tokiomi sat beside a distorted gramophone and sighed.
This is one of the properties of the Tōhsaka family. As a family that can afford to spend a lot of money on gem magecraft, the economic strength of the Tōhsaka family is naturally second to none in Fuyuki City. Although in order to prepare to win this Holy Grail War, Tōhsaka Tokiomi has spent a lot of wealth to build magecraft workshops, purchase holy relics, and select magic gems, he still retains a terrifying wealth that ordinary people can hardly imagine.
After all, Tōhsaka Tokiomi often behaved with aristocratic etiquette. This was not because he was deliberately trying to flatter himself, but because the Tōhsaka family was indeed an aristocratic family in the past. It's just that its reputation has declined now. In modern society, its power and reputation are no longer as good as before, and only a large number of vulgar and useless things are left.
Of course, ever since the Tōhsaka family began practicing gem magecraft, the money earned from these gold and silver items has been far less than what they have spent. Tōhsaka Tokiomi was not sure whether his well-behaved daughter Tōhsaka Rin, who was not yet an adult, could rely on the remaining wealth to become an excellent magi after the villa in Toyama Town was destroyed.
There will definitely be no problem with living, but the practice of gem magecraft is really too expensive. To practice this kind of magecraft, you cannot use diamonds formed by carbon deposits, nor can you use artificial jewelry gems. You must use magic gems with magical powers.
Thinking of this, Tōhsaka Tokiomi sighed slightly in his heart, feeling more and more sorry for his beloved daughter.
He was also thankful that he had already given his other daughter, Sakura, to the Matou family.
(TL: What? 'thankful'?)
Otherwise, if this situation occurs, the other party will inevitably suffer a lot because of wealth issues in the future.
Speaking of the child "Sakura", he sometimes wanted to meet her. After all, even as a traditional magi, he still had feelings and always loved his wife and daughters. He was not as cold-blooded as other traditional magi. It's just that there are invisible rules among magi that prohibit them from prying into the magic background of other families.
Sakura herself was given special training by the Matou family, and it is even said that she was given a magic crest by the Matou family.
If he went to see Sakura privately and was mistaken by the Matou family as wanting to use Sakura to spy on the absorbing magecraft and water magecraft that she was practicing, it would be a disgrace to the relationship between the Tōhsaka family and the Matou family, as well as to Sakura's future development.
"I'm glad you're safe, Master. After I prayed last night, I spent the whole night in the basement researching Assassin's real name and identity. It was my negligence that I didn't rush to the scene to provide support in time."
Kotomine Kirei's calm voice carried a hint of apology, as well as an inexplicable tiredness that came from having stayed up all night without closing a wink and being busy the next day.
In fact, he was really a little tired. Miss Illyasviel's behavior from evening to morning was too tiring.
"Hahaha, it's okay. I'm already very relieved that you were able to check Assassin's real name all night. After all, no one expected that someone would attack so quickly during the first stage of the Holy Grail War. If you could have anticipated it in advance and sent Assassin to my side without my instructions after summoning Archer, it would have made me suspicious."
On the other side, Tōhsaka Tokiomi was both angry and amused, and he played a little joke on his disciple in a casual manner. He was angry because his disciple was too honest and humble.
He had clearly told her that there was no need to verify Illyasviel's real name, as it was most likely a pseudonym, but the other party still spared no sleep all night to help him.
What made him laugh was that he had such a disciple to assist him. Even if he unfortunately died in this Holy Grail War, there would be someone to help take care of his wife and daughter in the future, so he no longer had to worry about attacking and spying on the source.
"Speaking of which, thank Father Risei for me..." Tōhsaka Tokiomi touched the scar on his neck and thanked him sincerely:
"If he hadn't arrived at the scene in time to cover up the traces that night, with such a big commotion, I'm afraid only large-scale hypnosis magecraft could have been used to hide the mystery."
He also saw today's newspaper, and he had to say that the Holy Church acted swiftly enough.
As soon as the fight was over, a series of actions such as scientific theoretical basis and expert refutation of rumors followed.
And she didn't show the slightest dissatisfaction with him, and silently endured it all.
However, it is rumored that many gas companies in Fuyuki City have been blocked by angry citizens and sued, resulting in the loss of many orders. The company has also recently spent a lot of manpower and resources to inspect and repair pipelines everywhere, and the company's president may face a lawsuit.
"These are all the responsibilities of the Holy Church. Teacher, you just need to do your best to win this Holy Grail War."
"I know. After the Holy Grail War is over, I will personally visit and thank Father Risei for his care."
'Just like what Assassin said, I don't have any doubts about myself at all.'
'Obviously, I had already reported Assassin's basic appearance characteristics before this.'
Kotomine Kirei was silent for a moment, then continued:
"Teacher, do you remember the features of the Caster who attacked you? Assassin has returned. If you agree, I can order her to conduct reconnaissance so that we can find the Master of Caster and eliminate him/her as soon as possible."
"That's exactly what I'm going to say next... Kirei, she's really very strange. I even suspect that Caster was cursed in the Age of Gods, and her skills were upgraded after she became a Servant."
"Strange?"
"That's right, because until now, I have difficulty recalling Caster's appearance and figure, and even her attack methods are very vague. I only vaguely remember that Archer had fought with her, that she had extremely high magic attributes, and guessed that I chose to open the door actively because I was bewitched by her. As for whether she was a man or a woman, tall or short, it was as if I was cursed with "Information Erasure" and could not remember clearly. This was confirmed after I asked Archer."
Unless King Gilgamesh appeared in the world as a Caster and possessed the skill of clairvoyance.
Otherwise, under normal circumstances, even King Gilgamesh would find it difficult to resist the curse of "Information Erasure."
The strange thing was that Gilgamesh didn't seem to mind, and laughed as if he found it even more amusing, telling him not to worry, that not being able to remember a reptile wasn't a big deal.
"How could there be such a curse that goes against common sense?!" Kotomine Kirei couldn't help but exclaim.
The enemies that have been fought will all be forgotten, and not a single piece of information will be revealed. How terrifying was Caster in the Age of Gods? If this curse is used properly, it will be even more effective than presence concealment.
Tōhsaka Tokiomi seemed to have guessed what his disciple was thinking, and sighed in agreement: "So Kirei, you should try not to use Assassin to aid me, and don't try too hard to find her Master."
"I have King Gilgamesh's protection, so I will be fine for a short time. But you are different from Kirei. You summoned an assassin with inferior attributes. If you are targeted by Caster, you will most likely be in danger."
There was one more concern that Tōhsaka Tokiomi did not mention, and that was why Kotomine Kirei was helping him so straightforwardly.
The other magi are not fools. If they find any clues of the alliance between him and Kotomine Kirei and jointly target him, then it won't just be Caster who needs to worry about it.
"By the way, Kirei, what are the attribute values and Noble Phantasms of the Assassin you summoned?"
"Strength: E, Endurance: E, Agility: C, Magic: D, Luck: E, Noble Phantasm: C. The Noble Phantasm is of the detection and poisoning type. It is speculated that this person is not the leader of the Mountain Old Man Cult. She must have summoned an elite believer in the cult."
"......."
As expected, they can't count too much on the Assassin class.
This attribute value can no longer be called inferior, it should be called extremely explosive.
It can only be used to gather intelligence and detect the intentions of the master. If it comes to actual combat, I'm afraid he won't be as good as Caster in close combat.
"Just pass on the information you collect to me later. By now, all the masters of the Holy Grail War should have arrived in Fuyuki City and summoned their Servants." Hearing such explosive attribute values, Tohsaka Tokiomi was not very angry. After all, his disciple did not use any holy relics for specific summoning.
Relying solely on the summoning chant and one's own personality, it's like a card drawing game where you can only draw a card.
It could only be that his disciple happened to be unlucky and did not draw a good card.
After all, for a class like Assassin, it would be foolish to have too much hope.
"Let's leave it at that for now, Kirei. Remember, unless it's necessary, we should try to reduce contact as much as possible. Although I can't sense it, I always feel that Caster is hiding somewhere and watching me secretly..."
"I understand, teacher, and I wish you success as well."
Kotomine Kirei respectfully turned off the phonograph, which was a communication device that used the Tohsaka family's jewel magecraft.
Something similar to a telephone, which allowed him and Tohsaka Tokiomi to communicate with each other even if they were in distant places without having to meet each other, and it was equipped with a gem.
By utilizing the simultaneous resonance of the gems to exchange sounds, a telephone is a simple substitute, but as a traditional magus, Tohsaka Tokiomi, like most magi, has a strong aversion to relying on modern science, so they all use this method to communicate.
Speaking of which, his teacher was also quite generous and even installed such an expensive magic device in the old house. It seemed that he had anticipated that there would be accidents in the villa.
"Hey, hey, how is it? Master, this feeling that goes against rational concepts and morals?"
Miss Illyasviel, who had already drunk eight glasses of water and had red and swollen eyes, came over and asked with her hands behind her back when she saw the magic device was hung up.
"…It's a wonderful feeling."
Kotomine Kirei's mouth curled up unconsciously.
Our own Assassin's stats aren't that great, but its mechanisms are just one set after another.
There are mechanisms for creating large numbers of familiars, mechanisms for switching venues, mechanisms for detecting enemies and disguising oneself, and now even a mechanism for erasing one's own information has been brought out.
The most terrifying thing is that it doesn't even consume much of his mana. She is simply an all-round assassin who knows everything except numbers.
"My reason and education tell me that this is immoral, a betrayal of my teacher, a blasphemy against the clergy, and a disrespect for the God I believe in."
Standing in front of the little silver-haired girl who was only wearing a thin, baggy white pajamas.
The priest in black covered his face and raised his head, somewhat uncontrollably, with the arc of his head rising higher and higher. This feeling, this pleasure, was so wonderful.
"But every time I think of this, it seems like there's only one voice left in my heart... He believes it! He believes it! He really believes it!"