A dimensional journey starting from the Dragon Clan

Information about the Einzbern family, which has been cut off from contact with the outside world, is difficult to obtain even from the Clock Tower in London. But Tokiomi had said before that he had clues about that Master. Tokiomi rolled up the paper at hand and placed it on the desk, then picked up the roll paper with new characters on it.

"...This happened nine years ago. Einzbern, who has always been proud of the purity of his bloodline, suddenly found a magician from outside as his son-in-law. This incident was once discussed in the association. It caused a lot of controversy, but apart from me, the only person who saw through the truth of this matter was the old patriarch of the Matou family.

The magicians of the Einzbern family, who only have deep knowledge in alchemy, are not good at fighting. This was also the main reason why they failed in the past Holy Grail War. Those people seemed to finally be getting impatient.

The magician we are looking for now really feels like he 'qualifies'. "

After briefly browsing the printing paper while talking, Tokiomi handed the paper to Kirei. Seeing the title "Investigation Report: Emiya Kiritsugu", Kirei's eyes narrowed slightly.

"This name... I seem to have heard it somewhere. It is said that he is a very dangerous person."

"Oh, even the Holy Church knows about it. Emiya, who was said to be 'hunting magicians', was notorious at the time. On the surface, he doesn't seem to belong to the association, but in fact he is a convenient killing tool for the upper echelons of the association."

"According to the church, he is an agent, right?"

"It is worse than this. That is a free assassin who has been specially trained to hunt magicians. Because only magicians know magicians best, he will use methods that are least in line with magicians' rules to hunt down magicians... He's the kind of man who can use dirty tricks without any fuss."

Tokiomi's tone showed obvious disgust, but Kirei began to be interested in Emiya Kiritsugu. He had indeed heard rumors about him. It seemed that he had opposed the Holy Church in the past. Someone once told me to be careful with this person.

Look at the information handed over. The majority of the account is an analysis of Emiya Kiritsugu's tactics - his techniques and the accidental death and disappearance of the magus he supposedly killed. In the process of reading, Kirei gradually understood the reason why Tokiomi hated this man. Sniping and poisoning are just the beginning.

There were all these unbelievable reports of bombs being dropped in front of the public and crashing planes with a lot of passengers on them. There is also speculation that the massacre of indiscriminate terrorist incidents that has been reported before was actually a crime committed by Emiya Kiritsugu just to hunt down a magician. Although there is no definite evidence, the information listed is very credible, and it is most likely that he did it.

Assassin, this word is very appropriate. There are many cases where the confrontation between magicians develops into killing each other, but these are often purely magic competitions, and a series of procedures that comply with duel rules are usually adopted to solve the problem. In this sense, the same is true for the Holy Grail War. Although it is called a "war", it is not a disorderly killing, but a series of strict iron rules and regulations.

There is not even a single line in Emiya Hosugu's combat history that records battles using "normal magician" methods.

"Things like magicians are contrary to the ordinary laws of the world, so they must strictly abide by the laws of their own world."

Tokiomi asserted, with anger seeping into his calm voice.

"But Emiya is a man who is completely unscrupulous. He has no pride in being a magician. Such things are absolutely inexcusable."

"You're talking about...pride, right?"

"Yes. Even this man must have undergone rigorous training in order to become a magician. If so, he must have the belief to overcome and transcend suffering. Such an original intention should never be forgotten even if he succeeds in the future. "

What Tokiomi said was wrong. Even if you don't have any purpose, you can devote yourself to harsh cultivation. There are still fools like this in this world. Kirei knew this better than anyone else.

"——Then why did Emiya Kiritsugu become a murder tool?"

"Well, it's probably just money. After arriving at Einzbern's house, he stopped working. He already had enough money to live and clothe himself for the rest of his life, and that's a matter of course - it's in the report You should probably write about it. That guy is not just involved in assassinations. He seems to be making pocket money all over the world whenever he gets a chance."

Just as Tokiomi said, at the end of the report, in addition to incidents related to magicians, many experiences of Emiya Kiritsugu were also listed. Sure enough, Kiritsugu has appeared in every disputed place in this world that you can think of. It seems that he was not just a killing tool, he also made a lot of money as a mercenary. "

"...Can you lend me this document to read carefully?"

"Ah, sure. If you can analyze it carefully for me, it will be of great help to me. I am also busy preparing for tonight's summoning ceremony."

············

Kirei left the underground workshop and returned to the first floor. In the corridor, I met a girl struggling with an extra-large suitcase.

"Good afternoon, Rin."

She didn't specifically want to please her, but after saying hello in a normal way, the girl dragged the box to a stop and stared directly at Kirei with her big eyes. It has been three years since I met Rin in this room, but the suspicion in the girl's eyes when she looked at Kirei still didn't disappear.

"...Good afternoon. Kirei."

Rin responded with a somewhat stiff voice, but still a dignified and decent attitude. Although she was very young, she had a motherly air, and she could already see the hints of a lady in every move she made. She is none other than Tosaka Tokiomi's daughter. It is natural that he is completely different from elementary school students of the same age.

"Are you going out? This luggage is really big."

"Yes. From today on, we are going to Zhezen's house to hang out for a while. We also take the tram over there to go to school."

Since the Holy Grail War was about to begin, Tokiomi decided to let his family temporarily live in the next town - his wife's natal family.

They cannot let their mother and daughter be exposed on the Fuyuki battlefield, it is too dangerous. Of course, this is a natural arrangement.

But as a daughter, Rin seemed dissatisfied with this. Although she is still polite and considerate now, her cute little mouth is obviously pouting, and she can tell that she is very unhappy. Although she is a lady, she is still a child after all. She can't be expected to do that completely.

"Kirei, you stay with father and fight with him, right?"

"Yes, this is what I should do as a disciple."

Rin is not an ignorant child. As the heir to the Tohsaka Demonic Way, she has received Tokiomi's elite education. She still has some basic knowledge about the upcoming Fuyuki Holy Grail War.

As for the reason for taking refuge in her mother's family home, she could understand it as a valid reason, but she was still dissatisfied with it - once she left, Kirei would be walking around alone in the Tohsaka family's house as if no one else was around.

Rin's admiration for his father, Tokiomi, was extraordinary. Precisely because of this, Kirei, who became Tokiomi's disciple first and studied magic with him compared to the orthodox successor Rin, must be very annoying to Rin.

"Kirei, can I trust you? Will you protect my father until the end? Are you willing to make this agreement with me?"

"That's impossible. If this war is stable enough for me to make this agreement with you, then there will be no need for you and my wife to take refuge, right?"

Kirei didn't want to say empty words to comfort her, so he just told the truth lightly. Then Rin's eyes became more sinister, glaring at the shameless senior brother.

"...Sure enough, I still don't like you at all."

Kirei only had a good impression of this girl when she made such awkward remarks befitting her age.

"Rin, please don't say such disrespectful truth in front of others in the future. Otherwise, others will doubt the character of the father who educated you."

"It has nothing to do with Father!"

When she saw that he had pulled his father out as a shield, Rin's face immediately turned red with anger. This is exactly what Kirei wants to see.

"Listen carefully Kirei! If my father is injured due to your mistake, I will never let you go! I-"

At this moment, at what can be said to be a perfect timing, Aoi's figure appeared at the entrance. Already ready to go out. Since Rin hasn't come over yet, I came out to check on the situation.

"Rin! What are you doing? Such a loud voice."

"——Ah, that, I——"

"She came to encourage me before I left. Madam."

Kirei pretended to be calm and deliberately said good things to Rin, but Rin became even more angry. But I couldn't say anything in front of my mother, so I had to turn away.

"Let me help you with your luggage. Rin, that box is too heavy for you."

"No! I can get it myself!"

Rin dragged the box harder than before, and therefore got into a more intense struggle with the box, but in any case, he finally got out of the entrance. Even though Kirei knew that he was very un-adult like this, he still couldn't help but want to make fun of Rin whenever he got the chance.

Aoi, who stayed behind, bowed her head to Kirei in a virtuous manner.

"Kotomine, my husband is begging you. Please help realize that man's long-cherished wish."

"I will do my best, please rest assured."

Even in Kirei's opinion, Tohsaka Aoi was a perfect wife. She is dignified and prudent, careful in everything, understands her husband but never interferes, and values ​​loyalty and fulfilling her most important responsibilities more than love - she is simply a model of a good wife and mother in ancient times. In the contemporary era when the women's liberation movement has begun to penetrate society, she is simply a fossil-like figure. As expected, Tokiomi, a man, chose the person who was most suitable for him as his spouse.

Kirei stood in the entrance hall and kept watching the mother and daughter. Not a taxi, but a private car, with Aoi holding the steering wheel. Not only the driver but also all the servants have been laid off since last week. On the one hand, it is to avoid injuring innocent people, on the other hand, it is also an extremely careful anti-espionage measure. Tokiomi was not careful enough to be wary of his servants. This suggestion was made by Kirei, and half of it was almost forced upon Tokiomi.

Before the car drove away, Rin stuck out her tongue at Kirei and made a face, hiding it from her mother. Kirei smiled bitterly and watched them go away, then returned to the empty mansion.

············

Before Tokiomi came out of the underground workshop, Kirei occupied the empty living room alone and began to carefully read the report about Emiya Kiritsugu.

I don't understand why I have such a strong interest in this heretical magician I have never met. Maybe it was because he felt something very happy about this person who was despised by his master, Tokiomi.

The master-student relationship between Tokiomi and Kirei, which lasted for three years in this room, was always a bit ironic.

Kirei's serious attitude in listening to the lectures and his speed in understanding were both impeccable in Tokiomi's opinion as his master; he was a priest who originally hated magic, but he had a strong interest in all fields of magic. . Kirei made Tokiomi happy by learning all the secret techniques with a greedy thirst for knowledge. Now Tokiomi's trust in Kirei is absolutely unshakable, even to the extent that he allows his only daughter Rin to treat Kirei as a senior brother.

But compared to Tokiomi's deep friendship, Kirei's heart became increasingly cold.

As far as Kirei is concerned, he doesn't practice magic just because he likes it. He practiced training in the church for a long time, but in the end he achieved nothing, so Kirei put his hope in new training that was contrary to the church's values, that's all. But the result was a complete failure. In the world of magic exploration, Kirei still did not find any fun or satisfaction. On the contrary, the radius of the hole in my heart expanded a bit.

Tokiomi didn't seem to notice Kirei's disappointment at all. The view that "his father Risei belongs to the same type of person" is indeed correct. Tokiomi's evaluation and trust in Kirei were exactly the same as Rimasa's.

There is a line between people like my father and Tokiomi and myself that cannot be crossed. Kirei was deeply aware of this, so he probably had a great interest in the character that Tokiomi hated.

He thought to himself, maybe Emiya Kiritsugu was a man on the "other side of the line".

Tokiomi's warning against Emiya Kiritsugu seemed to be simply a warning about his reputation as a "magician hunter." Therefore, the investigation report produced at Tokiomi's request also focused on the "battle history against the magician", and other descriptions were relatively simple.

However, when looking at the experiences of this man Kiritsugu in chronological order, Kirei gradually began to gain some certainty.

This man's actions are very risky.

In the era of free assassination before he was adopted as the son-in-law of the Einzbern family, Kiritsugu completed numerous tasks with distinction. However, the interval between these tasks is obviously too short. Considering the preparation stage and the time when he accepted the task, it can only be believed that he was carrying out multiple plans at the same time. Moreover, these plans are all parallel. He appears in disputes in various places, and the timing happens to be when the battle is at its most intense and has reached the stage of destruction.

He almost seemed to want to die on purpose, as if he had some kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder... The principle of his actions was obviously to seek self-destruction.

This can be said without a doubt. Kiritsugu is a man with no self-interest, and the benefits and risks in his actions are inconsistent. He couldn't be the kind of freelance assassin who was motivated by money.

So - what is he seeking? ()