The sun slowly rose in the east, sending delicate golden rays filtering through dense foliage onto a stone-paved path.
A blonde girl dressed in a school uniform walked quietly along this secluded road.
Her clear, sapphire-blue eyes shone with gemstone brilliance, radiating determination and resolve. Yet, nothing about her demeanor matched the schoolgirl appearance she wore.
If it weren't for her uniform, few would mistake her for an ordinary student.
She was tall, with an elegant figure and porcelain doll-like beauty. Her long golden hair was neatly braided into a thick plait, swinging gently behind her like a ponytail.
As she walked, she sighed quietly, clutching her suitcase tightly.
Because of her previous encounter, her suitcase had been badly damaged in the skirmish. Almost all the neatly packed clothing inside had been ruined—barely anything was wearable now.
The lack of fresh clothing troubled her greatly. Not because she couldn't bear discomfort, but because this was a borrowed body—one she had promised to care for diligently.
Yet now, her suitcase was practically destroyed, she had no usable currency for Romania, and her stomach was growling loudly.
She hadn't felt hunger at all during her confrontation with Karna, but now that she'd released her Servant form, intense hunger suddenly surged through her body.
Only now did she realize she'd been so focused on quickly reaching the Holy Grail War that she'd neglected food for several days—a terrible oversight for one responsible for this borrowed body.
Thus, hungry and frustrated, the girl entered the city of Sighișoara.
She had to discover why the Red Faction was so hostile toward the adjudicator of this war—and why she'd been forced to manifest through possession instead of her usual summoning method.
Indeed, this girl was the Servant summoned directly by the Holy Grail itself to oversee the war's fairness—Ruler.
This class differed from the other seven main classes, as it normally took no direct part in the war. A Ruler's role was merely to observe and maintain order.
Usually, the Ruler class appeared only under special circumstances, such as when the outcome of the war became unpredictable, or if something threatened the stability of the world. Only then would a Ruler manifest to restore balance and correct irregularities.
Therefore, her being summoned itself didn't confuse her.
But there was still a major problem.
Unlike other Servants, a Ruler should have appeared fully summoned and autonomous. Yet this time, she'd had no choice but to find a human host and intervene indirectly.
If this unprecedented circumstance had occurred, something else she didn't yet understand must have gone seriously wrong with this Grail War.
And the hostile reaction she'd received from the Red Lancer confirmed it.
Why would any faction try to eliminate a neutral observer? Black's attempt to recruit her was understandable—but the Red side's aggressive stance defied logic.
Her revelation had indicated that finding the Red Masters would provide answers.
That's why she'd come to Sighișoara—to reach the Red faction's base swiftly and uncover the reason for these anomalies.
But right now, her immediate problem was finding something to eat.
"Servants!"
As she approached the church in Sighișoara, she sensed only one Master and Servant pair within the entire city.
As Ruler, she had the ability to detect Servants within a ten-kilometer radius.
"Are they from the Red faction? Either way, I should meet them first."
Since that Servant wasn't directly in front of her, she couldn't yet determine their allegiance—but given their proximity to Red's base, it was probably safe to assume they belonged to the Red faction.
She pulled out a small bottle of water, gently pouring it onto the ground.
This was another power granted by her role as Ruler—the ability to precisely track Servants.
---
"Master, a Servant is approaching," Arthur warned Shirou cautiously.
Since he belonged to neither the Red nor Black faction, he could sense only that another Servant was approaching—not their affiliation.
Arthur stared warily in the approaching presence's direction.
Although combat was forbidden during daytime, that was merely a surface rule. Arthur couldn't assume every Servant would respect such boundaries.
Remaining vigilant was essential.
After all, Mordred hadn't hesitated to attack during daylight—even if that had been a trivial skirmish.
If a Servant truly wished, attacking openly in daylight and endangering innocent bystanders was completely possible.
"Red… Saber?"
As a golden-haired figure emerged, the girl tilted her head slightly, looking at Arthur with clear confusion.
Her abilities as Ruler informed her this Saber belonged neither to the Red nor Black faction.
Then another possibility suddenly occurred to her.
Her expression grew stern as she quickly approached Shirou and Arthur.
"Are you the anomaly in this Holy Grail War, King Arthur?"
Arthur froze, utterly stunned that this unfamiliar girl immediately addressed him by name. Shirou, equally baffled, wondered if this girl was part of the Red faction.
After all, her eyes carried obvious hostility—yet perhaps due to the daylight, she refrained from taking action.
"Who are you?" Arthur asked firmly, staying calm and refraining from rash actions.
He didn't understand what she meant by calling him an "anomaly."
"I am the adjudicator summoned to oversee this Holy Grail War," she declared resolutely. "King Arthur, you are not meant to participate here!"
Her voice rang with unshakeable conviction, clearly certain that Arthur's presence was a fundamental mistake.
"Adjudicator…?" Shirou muttered in confusion, echoing Arthur's puzzled expression.
Shirou had never heard of an adjudicator class; Darnic hadn't mentioned anything like that either.
Arthur, too, looked deeply perplexed. The Grail had provided him no knowledge of a "Ruler" class—unsurprising, since in a typical Holy Grail War, Ruler rarely appeared.
After all, why would the Grail burden Servants with information they'd never normally need?