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After walking with Kirei Kotomine for dozens of minutes, Natsukawa Tora was led to an area roughly on the outskirts of Fuyuki City; any further and they would be entering the mountains.
Stopping at the entrance of a somewhat desolate church, Kirei Kotomine pushed open the door and led Natsukawa Tora inside.
"Are you back, Kirei?"
A somewhat burly middle-aged man spoke in a deep voice to the two who entered.
Kirei Kotomine nodded, and then the middle-aged man walked over to Natsukawa Tora, offering a smile that could be described as "kind": "First time meeting you, Seventh Master. I am Risei Kotomine, the priest of Fuyuki Church."
"Hello, I am Natsukawa Tora."
After a brief greeting, Natsukawa Tora followed up with a question: "Um... Mr. Kotomine said he would explain this mark to me."
As Natsukawa Tora spoke, he displayed the Command Seals on the back of his hand to Risei Kotomine.
After examining it for a moment or two, Risei Kotomine nodded: "It is indeed a genuine Command Seal. It seems the Lord's revelation was correct. You have done well, Kirei."
Just as Risei Kotomine said, the reason the Church was able to discover Natsukawa Tora's status as a Master was because Risei Kotomine had received a "revelation" yesterday. The Lord the Church worshipped had told him about Natsukawa Tora's situation, which was why Risei Kotomine sent Kirei Kotomine to bring him in.
Gesturing for Natsukawa Tora to sit, Risei Kotomine said: "Mr. Natsukawa, I must tell you something both unfortunate and fortunate. You have been chosen by the Holy Grail to become one of the seven Masters participating in the Holy Grail War. The mark on the back of your hand is the proof of your selection—the 'Command Seals.'"
"The Holy Grail War... what is that?"
"Seven magi chosen by the Holy Grail lead their respective summoned Heroic Spirits in a battle for ownership of the Holy Grail. The final survivor will obtain the right to the Holy Grail. This is the Holy Grail War."
"The Holy Grail? Is it the one mentioned in the Bible..."
"Oh? Have you read our teachings as well?"
"There's a translation in the school library. I read it out of interest."
Hearing this, Risei Kotomine couldn't help but laugh: "If you have the chance, please be sure to carefully experience the mysteries within. Back to the topic at hand, the Holy Grail contested in the Holy Grail War is, unfortunately, not the relic mentioned in the teachings, but merely a namesake. In essence, the Holy Grail is actually an omnipotent wish-granting device that can grant any wish."
"An omnipotent wish-granting device? Really?"
"Who knows? It's just a title passed down by word of mouth. So far, three Holy Grail Wars have been held, but none have allowed the Holy Grail to fully manifest. Each time, various factors led to the failure of the ritual."
In the First Holy Grail War, because no formal rules had been established beforehand, the Masters' awareness as "participants" was thin. On the other hand, since there were no Command Seals like there are now, situations arose where Servants would not obey orders, and the Holy Grail summoning failed before the ritual could even take shape.
The Second Holy Grail War incorporated the failures of the first and was held with detailed rules in place. Although the Command Seal system was completed and Masters could command Servants at will, the ritual still ended in failure for various reasons.
And the Third... this time could be said to be the root of all evil to some extent.
The Einzbern family, having performed poorly in two consecutive Holy Grail Wars, exploited a loophole and summoned an extra-class Heroic Spirit, the Avenger Angra Mainyu. However, he was incredibly weak and was quickly defeated, his soul being absorbed back into the Greater Grail. As a result, the colorless power of the Greater Grail was contaminated into black mud by the Avenger, who was formed from evil wishes.
It was also during World War II, and the Imperial Army and the Nazis were also involved around the Lesser Grail. If the one the Einzberns summoned hadn't been Angra Mainyu but Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, the timeline would have shifted toward a different outcome entirely.
Looking at it this way, the root of everything lies with the Einzbern family. If they hadn't knowingly broken the rules and exploited loopholes, perhaps the Holy Grail War would have ended by the Third.
Besides that, there was a small interlude in the Third War—the Edelfelt Family, a magus family from Finland, sent twin sisters who were the next heads of the family to participate. In the end, both sisters fell in love with the head of the Tohsaka Family at the time, who was Tokiomi Tohsaka's grandfather. The sisters fought bitterly over the man, and eventually, the older sister became the "loser." After withdrawing from the Holy Grail War, she swore never to set foot on Japanese soil again. Because of this, the descendants of the Edelfelt Family loathe Japanese people, especially the Tohsaka Family.
Coincidentally, decades later, the descendants of those sisters fell in love with the same man again and fought once more, and the descendant of the older sister was still the "loser"... *(Come to think of it, Risei Kotomine was the supervisor of the Third Holy Grail War, right? Did he witness that whole love triangle scene back then?)*
Natsukawa Tora suddenly really wanted to ask Risei Kotomine about the details of that time.
*He loves watching women fight.*
"Mr. Natsukawa."
Risei Kotomine's voice pulled Natsukawa Tora's thoughts back.
"In this Holy Grail War, you are the only ordinary person. If possible, please summon your Servant as soon as possible; only then will your safety be guaranteed. Additionally, if your Servant is eliminated, please come to the Church immediately. The Church will protect Masters who have lost their Servants in the Holy Grail War. Please keep this in mind."
"Okay, I'll remember that."
After a pause, Natsukawa Tora asked: "Um, could you disclose the specific time for the Holy Grail War? And who are the other participants besides me, so I can be mentally prepared?"
"..."
Seeming to hesitate over whether to tell Natsukawa Tora, Risei Kotomine was silent for a while, then sighed: "Once all the participants have arrived in Fuyuki City, the Holy Grail War will officially begin. At that time, I will gather all the Masters at the Church to hear the rules. I will also send Kirei to notify you."
"As for the participants, there's no harm in telling you."
"Einzbern, Matou, Tohsaka—these three are the Three Founding Families who created the Holy Grail War and each holds a fixed slot. The Einzbern family has hired the Magus Killer, Kiritsugu Emiya. The Tohsaka Family is represented by the current head, my friend Tokiomi. And the Matou family hasn't been confirmed yet, but they won't be absent."
"Of the remaining four, one is you, the second is my son, and the last two are magi from the Clock Tower in London—having said all this, you've probably never heard of these people anyway. In short, as an ordinary person, just try to survive as best as you can."
*(Kiritsugu Emiya, Tokiomi Tohsaka, Kirei Kotomine, Kayneth... these four shouldn't change. As for Waver, if the timeline doesn't shift, that won't change either. Then the remaining one is Matou.)*
Thinking of this, Natsukawa Tora smiled and bowed to Risei Kotomine: "Thank you very much for the information and advice, Father Kotomine. I will keep it in mind. Well then, I'll take my leave."
"Good. Kirei, see young Natsukawa out."
"No, that won't be necessary. I'd like to... do a few things on my own, so I won't trouble Mr. Kotomine."
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