Even though Da Vinci-chan had made countless modifications and expansions to the interior of the imaginary submarine Shadow Border, cramming this many people aboard still made it feel cramped—especially with multiple Servants, Pseudo-Servants, and even a Beast-class entity among them.
The front half of the vehicle buzzed with cheerful energy.
Director U-Olga Marie, her memories restored, was surrounded by Ritsuka and Mash. She complained arrogantly about the smell of engine oil, yet obediently accepted the warm towel Mash offered her.
The two unfortunate brothers, Wodime and Kadoc, were being dragged along by Ophelia while apparently conducting some profound investigation into the "Team A building."
Even the recently surrendered Senji Muramasa had been hauled off by a dark-faced EMIYA to a corner of the kitchen, where they were deep in discussion about projection magic, forging techniques, and possibly who the real wet nurse was.
Yet behind this lively scene, the rear of the vehicle seemed surrounded by an invisible barrier of absolute isolation.
Only one person occupied that space.
Kotomine Kirei.
Or rather, the false believer Gregory Rasputin.
He sat alone on a wooden supply crate, back leaning against the cold carriage wall, holding a plate of mapo tofu that emitted an eerie red glow. He ate it slowly, one bite at a time, with an elegance that somehow felt profoundly lonely.
No one approached him.
This was normal.
After all, for most long-time Chaldea staff, this face was practically synonymous with PTSD.
The memories of the mad priest who had chased the Shadow Border with a rocket launcher in the prologue and mercilessly attacked it, or the cold-blooded killer who betrayed Da Vinci-chan at the Antarctic headquarters—those memories could not be erased simply by the words "I changed jobs."
Even Mash, who had the gentlest personality, instinctively raised her guard and quickened her pace whenever she passed him.
Thus, the man who had once been a powerful and terrifying existence, who had inspired countless magi throughout his life, now sat in the corner like a transfer student shunned by the entire class at a reunion, quietly eating his lunch in silence.
"What does it taste like? This is Emiya's special 'Super Spicy Hell Version,' specially made to shut you up."
A languid voice broke the silence.
Kotomine Kirei paused, the spoon of tofu hovering in mid-air.
He looked up to see Steve standing in front of him, hands in his pockets, wearing a faint smile.
"Oh? Mr. Steve."
Kotomine Kirei set the spoon down and put on his usual irritatingly cheerful smile—the kind that made people want to punch him. "Emiya Kiritsugu's cooking skills are indeed beyond question."
"This unbearable pain, this burning sensation in the stomach… it's perfect for reflecting on my sinful life. Care to join me?"
"No thank you. I have no inclination toward self-harm."
Steve waved a hand, casually pulled over another wooden crate, and sat down opposite him.
Unlike everyone else, Steve showed no caution toward the priest. Instead, he stared at him intently, as if reminiscing with an old friend.
"By the way, Father… your current Saint Graph is a fusion of Rasputin and some evil dragon, but as a Servant you should still be able to receive records from the Throne, correct?"
Steve leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice. "For example… the memories of 'Kotomine Kirei' from another parallel world."
Kotomine Kirei's pupils contracted slightly.
He paused, as if searching the vast Servant memory database for a specific keyword.
"Another… world?"
His gaze gradually deepened, as though piercing through the Shadow Border's wall to reveal a distant Fuyuki City—a place filled with the scent of gas and peaceful everyday life.
"Ah… I remember now."
Kotomine Kirei's smile slowly widened. It was no longer a fake smile, but a genuine one filled with nostalgia, relief, and a hint of helplessness.
"That world…"
"In that world, the Fourth Holy Grail War was… how should I put it? A truly boring farce."
He spoke slowly, in a deeply captivating voice. "There were no brutal battles, no twisted betrayals, not even a proper tragedy."
"Because Caster used some kind of Jeweled Sword Operation in just three days to gather every Master and Servant at Ryuudou Temple, handed out candy, and granted everyone's wishes."
"…Except for me."
Kotomine Kirei pointed at himself with a wry smile. "Since my Servant left first, I became the only outsider."
"That Caster… that is, you, Mr. Steve. You let me live instead of killing me."
"For a full ten years."
"I spent ten boring, uneventful years at the Fuyuki Church."
"Every day was the same: praying, cleaning, listening to confessions, and going out for mapo tofu."
"I had always sought so-called pleasure, yet you arranged that world so perfectly—so perfectly that you left me no room to commit any sins."
At that moment Kotomine Kirei shook his head helplessly. "Those ten years felt longer than hell to me."
"I had thought I would simply grow old and die in that church as an ordinary, boring priest."
"…Until 2004, the day death was destined for me."
Kotomine Kirei looked at Steve, his smile deepening. "You came—at the very last instant of my life, just as the world's boundaries were converging and everything was about to end, you pushed open the church door."
"You gave me neither salvation nor judgment."
"You simply… revealed my true nature with a smile."
"You told me I was not a lost sheep, but an 'evil' that had been incurable from birth."
"You affirmed my distortion. You affirmed my emptiness."
"In that moment, I finally found the answer."
"Ten years late, yet only for an instant… at the end of that parallel world, I died satisfied."
Kotomine Kirei set down his plate, clasped his hands together, and made a gesture of prayer toward Steve.
"In that sense, Mr. Steve, you are truly my benefactor."
"Your methods are… quite perverse."
"Likewise."
Steve shrugged. "Don't act so pitiful. Even though you claimed you didn't care about that daughter you mentioned during those ten years, I still raised her, didn't I?"
"Ah… Caren."
The moment he spoke the name, Kotomine Kirei's expression softened. "That child… how is she doing after I died? Given her personality, she must be causing you all sorts of trouble."
"Trouble? Not at all."
Steve recalled the silver-haired nun and couldn't help smiling. "Just as you said before—she's very energetic."
"She didn't become a representative of the Church like you. Instead, she's living as an ordinary high school girl—shopping with friends every day, eating desserts, occasionally teasing her father… That's the privilege of such a peaceful world."
"Is that so… I'm glad."
Kotomine Kirei nodded, satisfied with the ending.
Then he changed the subject, his deep gaze still fixed on Steve.
"So, Mr. Steve… our story in that world has ended. Why have you come here again?"
Kotomine Kirei pointed out the window at the white wilderness. "This world is ten thousand times crueler than that peaceful Fuyuki."
"You've already achieved great success and risen to the seat of a hero… Why would you still choose to throw yourself into this desperate apocalyptic world and taste suffering?"
"Is it for some noble ideal? For the grand cause of saving humanity?"
"LOL—!"
Steve burst out laughing.
He leaned back against the cold cargo crate, hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling.
"Noble? Great achievements? Don't say such stupid things, Father…"
"The reason is very simple."
Steve turned his face and winked at Kotomine Kirei. His eyes held a pure strength of will that only those close to him could understand.
"Because… it's boring."
"After you died, the world became far too peaceful."
"Yes."
"This silence feels… somehow lonely."
"Watching the people daily life at Fuyuki, or seeing Caren playing house—it's wonderful, but it always feels like something is missing."
"And…"
Steve lowered his voice, a slightly twisted yet completely honest smile on his face. "It seems a strange Fetish has awakened."
"Fetish?"
Kotomine Kirei was momentarily speechless.
"Yes. I'm the type who's irresistibly drawn to lolis overflowing with maternal instinct."
Steve said it with complete seriousness. "So I asked that old man with the jewel to send me to this world."
"I actually meant to go straight to Chaldea, but something went wrong and I got summoned as a Servant by Sion instead."
"But it doesn't matter where I am. As long as I can enjoy myself, that's enough."
"…"
Kotomine Kirei fell silent.
He stared at the man before him. His expression shifted from "joy" to "surprise," and finally settled into an extremely complex "speechless" state.
He had assumed this man—who could freely manipulate parallel worlds and rewrite causality—must possess some immeasurable, universe-shaking grand motive.
The result…
Was that it?
Just because he was bored? Just because he wanted Fetish?
"You…"
Kotomine Kirei opened his mouth, searching for the right words, but in the end could only sigh.
"Mr. Steve, you are truly… even more desperate than I am."
"Thank you for the compliment."
Steve waved a hand lightly. "In this world filled with suffering and hatred, simple humans like us are quite rare."
"Well then… let's get along well, Father."
"This road is still long."
Kotomine Kirei stared at the hand Steve extended. After a moment of silence, he gently shook it with the hand still holding the spoon.
"Hmm… Indeed."
"If even a monster like you has joined this game… then perhaps even a heretical priest like me can look forward to that unknown ending."
In the rear corner of the carriage, the two "villains" exchanged meaningful smiles.
…
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