"Miss Lainis."
"Mary, this way please. Someone wants to see you."
At the Clock Tower, in Lainis' villa, Lainis brought Olga Marie into the study. As soon as they stepped inside, Olga Marie froze in place, stunned to see someone inside who looked very familiar to her.
"I'll leave you two to talk," Lainis said, turning and leaving the room.
"What about Second and Gray? Don't tell me something's happened at the Clock Tower again." In the living room, Daniel Davis sat across from Lainis, while Trimmau poured black tea for both of them.
"I'm not that harsh on my dear brother. This time, he and Gray left on their own business. They went to Gray's hometown. Sphin and Flat went with them. But you—why are you so free? I recall the Holy Grail War is about to begin."
After his encounter with Hartless last time, Second had returned and dug up a lot of information about Hartless, as well as intel provided by Ritsuka Fujimaru, which made him begin to doubt what had happened back when he visited Gray's village.
"It's just a Holy Grail War. You think I'd lose? By the way, interested in joining? This time it's not as dangerous as the last one."
Although there were only a few days left until the Holy Grail War, most magi were in full preparation mode—even Rin Tohsaka was adjusting her condition to be in peak form.
"The Holy Grail War, huh…"
Lainis fell silent after hearing Daniel's words. It was impossible for her not to care about the Holy Grail War—the event that led to Kenneth's death and completely changed Waver's life. But personally participating in it? That she had never seriously considered.
Daniel invited her out of curiosity, wondering what kind of Servant she might summon. Could it be Sima Yi? He was a bit curious about Sima Yi's gender. In any other world, it wouldn't be a question. But in this one—even Jing Ke was a woman. So Sima Yi being female wasn't off the table.
As for Zhuge Liang, considering Waver's situation, he should be male. If Sima Yi turned out to be female, then the dynamic between Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi in this world would get very interesting.
"Forget it. Let my brother participate instead."
After some thought, Lainis declined. Since Second had already decided to participate, having both of them involved would mean the El-Melloi family had two representatives. If something happened to both, the family would be finished. As for Daniel saying this Holy Grail War wasn't dangerous—well, Kenneth had thought the same back then. And look how that turned out.
Just as Daniel was about to speak again, footsteps approached from one side. The two turned to see two Olga Maries—one big and one small—walking together. That's right: the one who had met Olga Marie in the study earlier was none other than the Director of Chaldea.
After returning from the Mystic Eye Train to the Clock Tower, Lainis and Olga Marie's relationship had improved quite a bit.
"All done?"
"Yes. Take me back. I have a lot of work to do."
Director Olga Marie nodded lightly, signaling Daniel to escort her back to Chaldea. Since Daniel saved her, a certain doctor had been having a much easier time than in the original timeline, often hiding in the infirmary, eating his little cakes, and browsing an idol website.
Director Olga Marie, on the other hand, had become extremely busy. Even with Daniel's help and Chaldea no longer lacking in resources, there was still a mountain of work. The incineration of human history was a massive burden on her shoulders.
From Daniel's outsider perspective, it didn't seem so bad—but for those involved, it was a whole different story.
"Alright then, see you next time."
Daniel nodded, smiled at Lainis, and left with Olga Marie.
"You didn't mention the Magic Crest," he said once they were back at Chaldea. This meeting with the younger Olga Marie wasn't Daniel's idea—it was the Director herself who brought it up after he mentioned the Mystic Eye Train and the parallel version of herself. Daniel took the chance to bring up the possibility of restoring her Magic Crest.
"There's no need for that right now."
Magic Crests were vitally important to mage families. Even for a parallel version of oneself, bringing it up recklessly could easily be rejected.
"As long as that's your decision."
"I understand. I'll participate. Preparations here are complete. I'll definitely summon the strongest Servant." With that, Rin Tohsaka hung up her call with her mentor, Kirei Kotomine.
"Now can you tell me what's wrong with this Holy Grail War?" Placing her phone on the table, Rin immediately turned to Daniel. Ever since hearing on the Mystic Eye Train that the Holy Grail couldn't actually grant wishes, she'd had a lot of doubts.
Daniel had kept the truth from her to prevent her from seeking revenge on Kirei too early, promising instead to explain things before the war started.
"If we're talking about issues with the Holy Grail War, we need to start with the Third Grail War."
Daniel gave a general rundown of the Holy Grail War's history, focusing on how Angra Mainyu had corrupted the Greater Grail. The first three wars hadn't succeeded mainly because the Three Founding Families all broke the rules. Though they had created the Holy Grail system together, they all wanted to monopolize the Grail for themselves.
"Next is the Fourth Grail War—the one where your father, Tokiomi Tohsaka, died. In fact, he wasn't killed by a Servant, but by your mentor, Kirei Kotomine."
"No way. Why would he kill my father?" Rin's first reaction was disbelief. If she hadn't known Daniel for a while and trusted his character, she might've flipped the table right then.
"Kirei killed your father because of his personality. He's a defective human being. He did it for pleasure. Your mother died because of him too. Oh, and the Fuyuki disaster ten years ago—that was also his doing."
Daniel didn't like Tokiomi either, but since the man had a good daughter, he couldn't very well gloat about his death in front of her.
Speaking of Kirei, Daniel couldn't help thinking of another person—Xiao Zizai, the merciful. Both found pleasure in the end of life. Both tried to overcome their inner demons. The difference? Xiao Zizai succeeded in restraining his, while Kirei failed. His last attempt was marrying a woman, hoping to fall in love. If he had succeeded, he'd be a normal person now—but he didn't.
"That bastard."
When she heard Kirei had killed her parents purely for his own pleasure, Rin exploded with rage, ready to confront and kill him immediately.
A grudge for one's parents' death is absolutely unforgivable. At that moment, she couldn't wait another second.
"You can't kill him right now. He has the Servant left over from the last war—your father's Servant, Gilgamesh. If you want revenge, you need a Servant strong enough to take him on."
Few Servants could fight Gilgamesh head-on. If you wanted to do that, someone like the Little Sun would be ideal—but that required a relic. From the beginning, Daniel hadn't planned on that. He had only thought of Ishtar.
"I see. But can I really summon Ishtar? I know gods aren't supposed to become Servants."
If summoning gods were possible, someone would have done it in earlier Grail Wars.
"Normally, no. But that doesn't mean they can't descend. You'll see in a moment." Daniel hadn't told Rin about Ishtar's situation, wanting to surprise her.
"Is there anything else I should know?" Rin asked.
"That mercury sword Kirei gave you—it's actually the one he used to kill your father." Daniel glanced at the sword on Rin's waist and spoke up.
Mercury swords were a common gift from magi to their apprentices. Second had given out plenty over the years. Thankfully, none of the people he gave them to turned out like Kirei, or there would be another teacher-slaying Noble Phantasm.
The reason so many magi chose mercury swords as gifts was their practicality. Though called a sword, they weren't meant for cutting or stabbing, but for use as a wand to amplify magic.
"That scumbag." Rin immediately threw the sword aside. Only Kirei could give a daughter the very weapon he used to kill her father—as a gift.
"You could use it for revenge." Daniel nodded toward the discarded sword.
"Not a bad idea." Rin picked it back up. Now this teacher-slaying Noble Phantasm could add another legend—just like the Leaf Village's tradition of teacher-killing.
As they spoke, the two arrived at the Tohsaka household basement. One room still held the summoning circle left behind by Tokiomi. Rin placed a golden stone tablet in the center of the circle.
"I proclaim. Your body shall be under my command, and my fate shall be your sword. Submit to the summons of the Holy Grail. If you accept this will and this reason, then respond!"
Rin walked to the edge of the magic circle and began chanting the summoning incantation.
"By the way, does this magic circle affect the kind of Servant summoned? Like, does it increase the odds of a high-star Servant?"
As she chanted, Daniel examined the summoning circle. It hadn't changed a bit over the years—proof that Rin had invested heavily in it. Compare that to Waver in the Fourth War, who had to use stolen chicken blood due to lack of materials.
"A gold light! Looks like it's not a possession. But who will it be?"
Seeing golden light rise from the circle, Daniel immediately knew what was happening. When Rin summoned a goddess, there were two possibilities: either she became the Servant herself, or the goddess descended normally.
Elsewhere, in a singularity, a goddess searching for something she had lost suddenly felt a summoning force—and disappeared.
"I am the Goddess of Venus. You must be—"
As the golden light faded, a proud voice came from within—but then paused, as if stuck. When the light vanished completely, a woman with long black hair, a curvy figure, and a face identical to Rin Tohsaka stood in the circle.
That face, of course, belonged to Ishtar.
"So it's you," Ishtar said, immediately understanding why she had been summoned upon seeing Rin.
"Who are you? Turn around!" Rin's expression darkened instantly when she saw Ishtar. She rushed to Daniel's side and forcefully told him to turn away, not allowing him to look at Ishtar any longer.
At the moment, Ishtar was wearing a very revealing outfit—even more so than a swimsuit. Daniel had certainly gotten an eyeful, but for Rin, it was mortifying. The woman had the exact same face and body as her.
"Put on some clothes!"
Looking around and finding none nearby, Rin pulled Daniel out of the basement, grabbed a set of clothes from her room, and tossed them at Ishtar.
"Why should I wear this?"
Ishtar naturally refused. From Rin's perspective, the outfit Ishtar was wearing was far too revealing. Going outside in it would cause a massive commotion.
But Ishtar wasn't Rin. She was a goddess, and even though her personality had merged with Rin's, her divine mindset still took precedence. Gods and humans simply thought differently. It was like the locust demon from Xianjian 4, who said she wanted to teach humans a lesson—but her idea of a "lesson" was killing them, not injuring them.
"What's going on here? Why does she look exactly like me?" Seeing that Ishtar still refused to wear the clothes, Rin turned to Daniel with a demanding look.
"Gods can't descend directly, but they can possess vessels. She's using the body of a parallel version of you."
Daniel gave a rough explanation of Ishtar's situation. In fact, Rin, Sakura, and Luvia were all vessels for gods.
"I didn't take your body—it's more accurate to say we fused." Ishtar added from the side. Most people would naturally assume the goddess had taken over Rin's body.
"Whatever the case, you will wear these clothes. That's an order."
Now that she understood the situation, Rin looked a bit calmer. But when Ishtar still refused to put on the clothes, Rin used a Command Spell without hesitation.
"You're kidding me." Ishtar looked speechless. She never expected Rin to use a Command Spell over something like this. After all, there were only three. Each use had to be carefully considered—usually saving one to force the Servant to self-destruct if necessary. Against particularly resistant Servants, two might even be needed.
"Are you an idiot? Is this how you fight a Holy Grail War?" Ishtar grumbled as she reluctantly got dressed.
"I do what I want." Rin fired back without backing down.
If it had been any other Servant, Rin wouldn't have dared speak like that. But this was her own body. She didn't care that the other person was a goddess.
"Well, that's not bad. At least she's improved a lot compared to how she used to be," Daniel commented. He understood Rin's reaction. This wasn't divine-era Uruk. Ishtar's outfit here would absolutely cause a stir.
In divine Uruk, with Ishtar's status, no one would dare be disrespectful—except a certain king.
"Now it's my turn."
Once the argument finally stopped, Daniel prepared for his own summoning. The three went back to the basement, and Daniel placed Avalon in the center of the magic circle.
"I can't believe it—it's that. You're trying to summon that king, aren't you?"
Technically, divine-era Ishtar shouldn't know about King Arthur. But as a summoned Servant, she had knowledge of the modern era automatically uploaded into her mind.
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