Under the dim light, Sakura Matou lowered her head absentmindedly, the expression on her face faintly dimmed for no clear reason.
Tohsaka Rin clearly didn't notice her sister's low mood. She thought for a moment, then continued, "But I still feel like it's not very reliable."
"I heard that the Einzbern family seems to have made some moves recently. Sakura, haven't you gone back to the Matou house these days? Did you hear anything from there?"
The three great families of Fuyuki are the Matou family, the Tohsaka family, and the Einzbern family.
After the Fourth Holy Grail War ended, the Einzbern family sealed off their castle and didn't allow anyone to approach. Even the Tohsaka family couldn't get any information.
But the Matou family might have some special channels for gathering information.
That was the thought behind Rin asking the question.
"I did hear some news from Uncle Kariya recently. Apparently someone from the Einzbern family booked a flight and left Fuyuki last night."
Sakura said softly.
"Left Fuyuki? Where did they go?"
Rin raised an eyebrow and quickly asked.
With her father gone, she felt she should take responsibility for the future of the Tohsaka family and the next Holy Grail War, and start gathering intelligence in advance.
"Like Father, they also went to England. According to the airline staff, it was a mother and daughter. But their next stop wasn't London."
"Then where was it?"
Rin asked.
"Cornwall… in history, it was one of the territories of ancient Britain."
———
Cornwall, located at the southwestern end of England, is also said to be the birthplace of King Arthur.
Every year it attracts a large number of tourists, but recently, as a tourist destination, Cornwall had become noticeably quiet.
After all, the weather forecast said there would be heavy snow for nearly half a month. With freezing temperatures, no normal person would go out.
But at this moment, two figures were walking across the land of Cornwall.
Biting cold wind mixed with icy snowflakes struck their faces, stinging as it blew against their skin.
It was a mother and daughter. Though to outsiders, calling them sisters wouldn't raise any suspicion.
Irisviel and Illya.
The wind blew Irisviel's dress backward, outlining her graceful and striking figure.
She wore a white dress similar in color to the snow. Narrowing her eyes, she struggled forward through the snow.
Beside her, a silver-haired girl with the appearance of a young child held her hand tightly, her bright red eyes curiously observing the icy world around her, filled with curiosity for this new environment.
As a homunculus, she normally couldn't leave the Einzbern castle. But this time, her "grandfather," the "father of homunculi" of the Einzbern castle, made an exception for the Fifth Holy Grail War and allowed the mother and daughter to travel to Cornwall together.
As for why they came to the birthplace of King Arthur, the answer was obvious.
Facing the wind and snow, Irisviel looked ahead. Snow fell in thick flakes, and everything around was wrapped in white.
In the distance, the outline of a castle could already be faintly seen.
Irisviel let out a small sigh of relief, took her daughter's hand, and trudged through the snow step by step until they finally entered the castle.
Having temporarily escaped the wind and snow, Irisviel finally relaxed. She looked out at the vast white world mixed with sea wind and snowfall and couldn't help sighing softly.
"I didn't expect such heavy snow. If I'd known, we could've come a few days later."
"If we came a few days later, the 'thing' here might've already been taken by other magi."
Illya's clear and pleasant voice sounded from beside her.
Hearing this, Irisviel fell silent for a moment, then nodded.
After the last Holy Grail War ended, news of the Greater Grail in Fuyuki spread across the world overnight. Now all sides knew about the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki.
On top of that, with the recent appearance of magus travelers… once they obtained holy relics, it was inevitable they would covet the Greater Grail.
Arriving in Cornwall early to find the relic and then returning early to prepare, that really was the best choice.
"Is your body alright?"
Illya's bright red eyes stared straight at her mother, "Ever since the last Holy Grail War ended, your condition hasn't been very good, are you really okay?"
Irisviel's gaze softened a little, "It's fine, as long as the Holy Maiden is still here, nothing will happen to me."
During the last Holy Grail War, the consciousness of the Holy Maiden of Winter had always been attached to Irisviel.
Originally, as a homunculus, her lifespan was very short. But the Holy Maiden of Winter had previously used the Third Magic to specially modify Irisviel's body, allowing her to continue living.
As long as the Holy Maiden of Winter's consciousness remained, Irisviel's life would not come to an end.
And in turn, as long as Irisviel lived, the Holy Maiden of Winter's consciousness could continue to exist.
It could be said that the two were now in a symbiotic relationship.
"If I can win the Fifth Holy Grail War, I'll definitely make a wish to let Mother become a real human."
Illya looked at her mother and spoke with complete seriousness.
Irisviel's expression softened further. She gently stroked the girl's smooth silver hair, "I'm already very happy that you feel that way… but I don't want you to push yourself."
Illya quickly shook her head, a bright, innocent smile blooming on her face, "It's not really pushing myself. Not just for you, I also want to see big brother again."
"I'm really looking forward to how he'll react when he sees me in the next Holy Grail War."
Irisviel froze slightly, and a complicated look appeared on her delicate, cool face.
During the last Holy Grail War, she had experienced many things with Alvin… her feelings toward that Servant had always been complicated.
To be honest, if he really appeared again in the next Holy Grail War… she didn't even know how she herself would react.
Various emotions tangled in her heart. Irisviel quickly calmed her thoughts and gently placed her fingertips against her chest, closing her eyes.
This time, in order to find a certain holy relic, the eighth head of the Einzbern family, "Ahad," had specially transmitted a unique form of magecraft to Irisviel through a terminal.
As long as she used it, she could locate the corresponding relic upon arriving in Cornwall.
Around Irisviel, strands of silver threads gradually formed, like sentient tendrils sensing everything within the castle.
At the same time, memories of the last Holy Grail War surfaced in her mind, along with everything that had happened with her daughter in that apartment.
And also the blunt, almost shameless words she had spoken to the boy on the balcony back then.
As if recalling something embarrassing, a faint blush quickly appeared on Irisviel's snow-like, flawless face.
"What's wrong, Mother?"
Illya's voice suddenly sounded.
Irisviel came back to her senses and quickly shook her head, brushing away those scattered thoughts.
"It's nothing… give me your hand, Illya."
Irisviel extended her hand to her daughter, "Next, I'm going to link our senses together… and use the highest-level indexing magecraft of the Einzbern family."
Illya nodded obediently and placed her small hand into the silver-haired woman's.
The moment Irisviel closed her eyes, everything inside the castle silently entered her perception.
If you're still willing to manifest, please guide me to the right path… Alvin.
She murmured inwardly.
———
[Clock Tower]
[Inside the Library]
The winter sunlight, devoid of warmth, shone through the open window, making the blonde girl's hair look especially captivating.
Reines leaned against a bookshelf, flipping through an ancient tome in her hands.
[The Legend of King Arthur]
"Gray, have you noticed that the contents of this book seem to have changed?"
After reading for a while, she looked up at the silver-haired girl beside her.
There was a hint of disbelief in Reines' voice, "I really didn't expect the history of ancient Britain to actually change because of the appearance of travelers."
Gray was still wrapped in her black cloak. She leaned closer, her beautiful eyes quietly fixed on the book in Reines' hands, falling into silence.
In the original legend, King Arthur ultimately died on the plain of Camlann, and her burial place was the Isle of Apples, or Avalon.
But the contents written in this version of history were completely different from what they remembered.
In the first century AD, a cosmic vanguard descended from beyond the world. A Beast lurking in the shadows wandered outside Britain, yet no one approached.
Arcueid, Artoria, Morgan le Fay, and others accompanied the White Dragon and Britain until the Age of Gods completely ended, and Britain reached its final glory.
And in the end, the White Dragon, King Arthur, and Morgan went to the legendary Avalon… after that, there was no further record of what happened.
"Maybe for history, as long as the result doesn't change, the process doesn't matter."
Gray suddenly said softly.
In history, ancient Britain ultimately collapsed… and in the current records, it had likewise become part of history.
As long as the result stayed the same, how it got there didn't matter… that was history.
A thoughtful look appeared on Reines' face.
Gray couldn't help but glance at her friend a few more times and suddenly asked, "Why are you suddenly so concerned about the legend of King Arthur?"
From what she knew of Reines, she had never been interested in this kind of history.
Reines' eyes flickered slightly, and she quickly laughed it off, "Just curious… nothing special."
"Really…"
Gray still looked at the blonde girl suspiciously.
In the end, Reines seemed to give up and let out a helpless sigh.
"Alright, I'll tell the truth."
"Have you heard about the Greater Grail system in Fuyuki recently?"
Reines' blue eyes fixed on Gray.
Gray nodded lightly.
The topic had practically spread throughout the Clock Tower recently. Of course she had heard of it.
Reines looked around, confirmed no one was nearby, then leaned close to Gray's ear and whispered mysteriously, "Actually, I'm planning to participate in the next Holy Grail War too."
Planning to participate in the next Holy Grail War…?
When Gray heard Reines' words, she froze for a moment.
She blinked, staring at the blonde girl in disbelief.
Sunlight fell on the girl's fair, delicate face, adding a faint warm glow to her skin.
"Why? You shouldn't have much interest in the Holy Grail, right?"
Finally, Gray couldn't hold back and asked.
Reines shrugged, "I'm not really interested in the Greater Grail, but my brother is… after the last Holy Grail War, Sister Sola refused to let him go to Fuyuki again no matter what."
"If someone from the El-Melloi family really has to go to Fuyuki, then it might as well be me."
If Alvin were here hearing this, he'd probably blurt out something like: what a considerate little sister of the Clock Tower.
After all, across the known timelines, there was basically no chance for Kayneth to survive. Last time, Alvin had gone through a lot of trouble just to get him back safely.
If Kayneth went to the next Holy Grail War… no one knew whether he'd come back alive.
"It's not just because of my brother, though."
Reines suddenly added.
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