Head straight west from the noisy streets of Fuyuki for about fifteen kilometers.
There is a highway heading east through the high mountains away from the villages and absent of man's presence. A stretch of dense forest occupied both sides of the highway. This stretch of the forest seemed forgotten by the rising torrent of land development.
Perhaps this land was owned by the state, but based on the records, it appears to be owned by a foreign company; moreover, it was not yet confirmed whether that foreign company actually existed. If anyone insists on investigating this land, then the first impediment would be an urban myth.
Rumor has it that deep in the forest, there is a 'legendary castle'.
Of course, the myth is just a boring fairy tale. Even if the forest is untouched by development, it is still only an hour's drive from Fuyuki. If there really was an eminent castle then everyone would know about it. In fact, people have conducted numerous ground surveys in this primitive land, and not even once have they found any traces of human buildings.
But after a few years, someone would raise this myth again.
A group of children once walked in the forest between playing and exploring, and a man was hitchhiking. They saw an ancient castle suddenly appear out of the dense fog; it was built of rock and was immensely spectacular. No one lived inside the castle and it looked abandoned. But inside there were all kinds of objects and everything was in perfect order, and people could not help but have the illusion that humans certainly lived there. It was said to be an extremely mysterious ancient castle.
Obviously, no one believed this rumor. The most it could be would be a story peddled by the tabloid press when they ran short of new material, which would have taken up a page in the special summer edition devoted to strange tales to pass around among the people.
Only a very small number of magicians knew that this castle really existed.
This castle only welcomes the owner who comes here to participate in the war every sixty years; in every sense, it is a castle of magic.
This castle is enveloped by multiple layers of illusions and fields, and would never be exposed to the outside world except by some freak accident. This is an anomalous space of existence. People who know of the castle's existence call this dense forest 'the Einzbern forest'.
When Fuyuki held Heaven's Feel, Jubstacheit, the head of the Einzbern family, felt that it was an inappropriate move to establish an outpost directly under the arch-rival Tohsaka family. Therefore, he used all the financial power of his clan and purchased the entire field covering the land closest to Fuyuki as the Einzbern family headquarters. That happened near the beginning of the third Touch of Heaven, which also coincided with the tense and dangerous times just before the establishment of World War II.
This extensive primeval forest is covered with a field and completely isolated from the outside world, and the Einzbern family transferred everything in their original castle to this forest. From this act one can see the immense financial power and extraordinary persistence in the pursuit of the Holy Grail of the Einzbern. Compared to the Einzbern, all the negotiations the Tohsaka had made to buy the land in Fuyuki, and the difficulties they had gone through in covering it up, became a mere game.
...
"Sigh..."
The dense atmosphere made Irisviel sigh several times.
"Are you tired, Iri?" Kiritsugu asked.
Irisviel hid her melancholy expression and shook her head, showing a smile.
"It's nothing; I'm not tired. Keep going."
Irisviel hurried Kiritsugu. The latter continued to talk about all sorts of intelligence matters regarding Fuyuki. On the table was spread out a map portraying the entire city.
"- Two positions are the heart of the entire area. One is the residence of the Second Master, Tohsaka. There is no need to name the other; Mount Enzou. All the leylines in the surrounding area converge on Mount Enzou. The details are just as the Head of the Family said -"
They had come servants to the castle before Irisviel and company did and had prepared everything properly at the meeting place before they left. Therefore, the meeting place where the meeting was held was kept immaculate. Not a speck of dust was gathered anywhere from the table legs to the tea cups, and the vases were filled with vivid flowers. It was impossible to imagine that no one had been here for six years.
It would be a lie to say that she wasn't tired. But Irisviel had at least rested in bed for a while. On the other hand, Kiritsugu had not rested for a single minute. It was already close to noon when Kiritsugu and his assistant Maiya arrived at the castle. However, as soon as they arrived at the castle, they received the summoning from the Fuyuki church, manipulated familiars, confirmed the notice, and Kiritsugu dealt with all these messes non-stop. Kiritsugu and company tried to attack Kayneth El-Melloi, but for some reason, they had decided not to carry out their attack. Later, the Church had confirmed Kayneth's death. Since Kiritsugu had not shown himself to be exhausted, there was no room for Irisviel to complain about her tiredness.
No, there were other, covert reasons for Irisviel to sigh.
"- A powerful camp was established with the Ryuudou Temple on top of Mount Enzou as its base. As a result, apart from Servants, all natural creatures can only traverse the field through the mountain path. Saber must be careful of this when acting."
These words giving Saber warning could only be said to Saber's face to face. However, Kiritsugu did not once set his gaze on the girl dressed in male attire standing behind Irisviel.
There were two reasons for the air to feel stagnant and heavy. One was that Saber was putting on an attitude of complete rejection towards Kiritsugu. Saber's attitude did not start just now, but became even more obvious since they had arrived at Einzbern Castle.
"Also, apart from these two positions, there are two other key points in Shinto where the leylines meet. One is the Fuyuki church at the top of the southern hill, and the other is the new town spreading east of the financial district. To conclude, there are four key spiritual grounds in Fuyuki that are properly equipped to carry out the descent of the Holy Grail."
"So, once the war enters its final phase and the number of Servants is reduced, we should take control of one of these positions?"
"Correct. Any other questions regarding the topography?"
"...Saber, is there anything you're not sure about?"
Irisviel acted a bit tactfully and tried to pique her interest. The Servant girl smiled and shook her head.
"Nothing in particular. That was explanation enough."
Even if the girl in question didn't have it in mind, from an observer's perspective, that was a sarcastic, unserious response.
With a sigh, Irisviel continued.
"Well, as for our rules from now on... It seems that all other Masters will hunt Drako first, isn't that right, Kiritsugu?"
"Yes, that seems to be the case. The supervisor did hint that there would be compensations for the effort."
A while ago, Kiritsugu had told them about the Fuyuki Church's announcement, and the review of the rules from the supervisor; about Drako's target, and about the supervisor's countermeasure to stop him.
"Anyway, regarding this Drako, it will be more advantageous if we didn't join with the other Masters. After all, right now, it's only us who know that he has more than one Servant. Even if they want to attack together, we won't necessarily win because we have more numbers. There will be casualties on both sides, I'm sure. When everyone is weakened, it will be our turn."
"Master, that's enough."
That was Saber's cold voice objecting, which until now had been kept out of the discussion.
"Drako will hunt down all the Servants one by one before we manage to weaken him. He's already finished off Lancer, and Caster as well. Only Archer, Rider, and Berserker are left, and I doubt any of them will proactively try to form an alliance. If we act too late, we will lose everything."
Perhaps Saber hoped that her words would break through the wall surrounding Kiritsugu's heart. But, as usual, Kiritsugu continued without showing any signs of even hearing Saber's voice.
"It will be fine, Iri. We found no openings in the field, and the alarm and sounding systems have already been checked..."
Biting her lips, Saber's expression grew grimmer as she looked at Kiritsugu. Although Saber could forcibly endure the way Kiritsugu ignored her, there was the righteous indignation that he let Drako do whatever he wanted.
Of course, Emiya Kiritsugu couldn't look any less annoyed by Saber's expression.
------------
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"But... Kiritsugu, shouldn't we think of a way to handle Drako first?"
Irisviel gave an objection in favor of the ignored Saber.
"If Drako really wipes out the rest of the Servants before we can take action, Saber will be at a numerical disadvantage. Even with her Noble Phantasm, we might not manage to take the victory."
Kiritsugu nodded at what his wife pointed out.
"That's why we won't ignore the other Servants' fight with Drako. We'll be watching closely, and we'll strike at the right time. We don't need to confront Drako directly, but wait for attrition."
Irisviel was puzzled. When Saber heard this from Kiritsugu, she was dumbfounded with rage.
"Don't... fight Drako?"
"All the other Masters have set their sights on Drako. If I've been able to come to this conclusion, I'm sure the others have as well. No idiot is going to directly confront Drako, so it would be best to remain inactive for the time being. We have to use this terrain to our advantage since they can't enter our territory undetected.
"Drako is not worried about Father Risei's statements, and I am sure he has learned what the Church is up to. He will most likely not change his tactics, and if he does, it will be very slightly. Once Drako attacks another of the remaining Servants, I'm sure one or two of the remaining Masters will confront him. That will be our time to attack Drako. We have seen his pride; he would never think he would go from the hunter's role to the hunted. As long as he doesn't attack, Maia and I will look for possible weaknesses he has."
That was Kiritsugu's commendable strategy. To Kiritsugu's eyes, there are no human morals or the pride of being a magus. He is just a predatory machine originating from the formula of the survival of the fittest.
Originally, Kiritsugu did not plan to come to this castle. Irisviel finally understood Kiritsugu's intention by suddenly changing her plans and joining forces with her.
"Master, you... Just how despicable can you be!"
Saber rebutted angrily and loudly, and Irisviel felt a faint pang in her heart. Saber's indignation now was different from the anger she had felt last night at Rider's taunts and Caster's boasts - in a way, this was an even more vivid anger.
"Emiya Kiritsugu-sama, you insult the Heroic Spirits.
I only joined this war to prevent the spilling of rivers of blood. Fighting for the Holy Grail, not spilling meaningless blood, minimizing sacrifices, one person accepting the mission of destiny instead of armies of men, and competing here... that is what we Servants must do.
Why don't you give me the responsibility to join the battle? It was the same when you attacked Lancer's Master last night. One wrong step would have resulted in disaster. You don't have to use such despicable methods - or does Kiritsugu-sama have no faith in me, a Servant?"
Kiritsugu did not reply. He maintained an indifferent silence as if Saber's angry words were mere jokes. Irisviel hated the mask-like expression of indifference on Kiritsugu endlessly.
This man was not the husband she knew.
She certainly knew that Emiya Kiritsugu had a split personality. She detected that, on the one hand, Kiritsugu passed all his emotions to his wife and daughter, and on the other hand, he hid the wounds of the past in his heart. Irisviel knew something about what kind of life Kiritsugu led before he entered the Einzbern family. But was that the decisive factor that caused the separation between the two of them?
Also, the factor that helped Irisviel realize that was this black-clothed woman present at the meeting. The woman did not speak a single word and silently entrusted everything she had to Kiritsugu. That woman was the other reason why Irisviel felt melancholy.
It was not the first time she had seen Hisau Maiya. She had seen Hisau Maiya a few times in the Einzbern castle. Hisau Maiya managed all of Kiritsugu's external world business during his nine years of seclusion.
The woman who worked with Kiritsugu before he met Irisviel. At the time of the meeting, she did not present even a bit of doubt in the face of Kiritsugu's words and maintained her unrelenting silence. Perhaps to Maiya, the Kiritsugu of now was the Emiya Kiritsugu she knew.
Suddenly, a faint scent crept into Irisviel's nose. It was the smell of tobacco. That smell of tobacco had always been with Kiritsugu, ever since the day she met him. Irisviel still remembered that she detested that smell very much then.
She had not smelled that scent for a long time since she married Kiritsugu. Now the scent of tobacco emanated from Kiritsugu again. Perhaps it is the smell of gunpowder from the battlefield.
The Kiritsugu of now had undoubtedly returned to the Kiritsugu of nine years ago. Back then, Acht adopted Kiritsugu to win the Holy Grail. Kiritsugu was like a cruel and merciless dog.
And the Irisviel back then was a mere doll guarding the Holy Grail. As soon as she remembered Kiritsugu's past, it was almost as if Irisviel remembered her own past. As if the nine years the two of them lived together no longer existed. Irisviel's heart began to grow impatient and restless.
Just now, the person closest to that man, Emiya Kiritsugu, was not her, his wife, but Hisau Maiya....
Irisviel did not speak her mind, but asked a completely irrelevant question:
"...What should we do about the new rule the supervisor proposed? Didn't he want us to have a ceasefire with all enemies other than Drako?"
"Ignore that new rule. The supervisor only proposed the rewards for sticking to the new rule, not the details of the punishment you would get if you broke the rule. If the supervisor were to get in our way because of that, we can just pretend we didn't know about this rule."
With a completely different attitude from when dealing with Saber, Kiritsugu answered Irisviel's questions with details.
"- Besides, it just didn't seem that he could be trusted and respected supervisor of this war. Covering up for the Assassin Master as if he knew nothing about it, he is probably on Tohsaka's side. Before we find out everything about them, we should look at him with doubt."
"..."
Saber was so furious that her body trembled, and countless thoughts roamed Irisviel's heart. For a moment, the two of them sank into silence. Kiritsugu took that silence as the signal for the meeting to end.
"Then, the meeting is over. Irisviel and I will stay in the castle and make preparations for a possible Drako attack. Maiya will return to the city and gather information. Report back to me if there are any changes there."
"Yes, sir."
Maiya nodded without hesitation, got up, and left the meeting room. Kiritsugu stood up a little later, gathered the maps and documents on the table, and left the room. Kiritsugu didn't look at Saber even once until the end.
Saber, completely ignored by Kiritsugu, bit her lip firmly and furiously and fixed her eyes on the carpet beneath her feet. Irisviel and Saber remained in the meeting room. At that moment, Irisviel didn't have the words to appease the fuming Saber.
No, the proud King of the Knights Saber would not wait for others to comfort her with other words. Right now, for Saber, what she had to do was to solve the current problem at its root. When she thought this, Irisviel put a hand on Saber's shoulder to show her gratitude and immediately left the room and followed Kiritsugu.
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