---

^{Latin District - Northern Sector, Alleyway}

Mentions: Tristan (@KoL), Ywain (@SSW), Noon (@Danchou)

---

The spear was let go from her adversary, and it followed the path it was meant to follow whilst being pushed by its former wielder just enough to let the spear get in her path. By any means, this didn't mean any sort of a hindrance to Yazhu, merely dedicating a moment to block it and send it away. But a moment was all that was needed.

It was enough of a window to let Noon grasp his new weapon. Another long hilt, which appeared on Noon's side, was grasped, and Yazhu believed she saw the attack. He'd unsheathe his weapon and slash at her at the same time, a powerful move if it managed to connect. If it didn't, Yazhu had more than enough time to disarm and incapacitate her opponent whilst he was recovering from the strike. To defend from such a strike was the right choice. Both because of what she knew and what she didn't.

He slashed. "Cross Ecliptic!"

It was a mere instant. A brief sense of danger, a primordial instinct left behind from the days of large beasts and insurmountable dangers. The hair on her back was beginning to stand, and Yazhu knew she couldn't dodge: that'd leave her chest open. With her arms crossed in front of her, she took the blow full on. She stood her ground with firm feet, rooted like an iron statue to the floor

She felt the force behind the strike. The sheer power behind it shook her arms, her muscles, her bones. It permeated through her upper limbs, to her chest, down to her legs. It pushed her back several feet, enough so that the initial conditions of the fight were once again met. And indeed they were, as the place of the strike emited a trickle of smoke yet her armor stood in place, unharmed. Her arms hurt from the pure force of impact from Cross Eliptic, and she knew that prolonging this fight would be dangerous: Her reflexes would be hindered, her arms would fail to respond as she needed them to be. A single mistake could kill her, and staying was a mistake.

"Master, please ready yourself for a retreat. I believe we have done enough for the night,"

The voice reached her mind and she took a defensive, yet unadvancing stance. Any strikes that came her way would be parried, dodged or deflected in the brief amount of time that'd it take for Tristan to come by her side. Nevertheless, she spoke her goodbyes. "We'll settle this on another night. Farewell, Mr. Noon, we'll meet again soon".

---

"I'm sorry, but I cannot do that, Master..."

It was a strange reply from the wrathful Demon Prince. To refuse his Master's order, especially against such a boastful foe, was uncharacteristic of the otherwise impulsive Saber. This refusal of orders should not be mistook for insubordination on Saber's part, however. Much like his Master, Saber was also angry at how presumptuous this Caster had conducted his negotiations especially after dealing with a similarly overconfident Caster just moments ago. At the same time, unlike Tenryuu, Saber's anger was more along the lines of a feeling of annoyance rather than actual hatred. Because of this, Saber was unable to follow his Master's command because he actually cannot perform it.

Instead, he cleaved through the beastmen with a single slash of his mighty greatsword, aiming to bisect the group of foes before him. With a flick of his wrist, Saber would see that the mere annoyances that stand before himself and his Master would both be easily rid of.

"... If you wish to have my Master's leyline, then seek us out directly as I have no desire for a cowardly Caster who would send dogs to do his own dirty work. Otherwise, keep your garbage away from our property."

As soon as he opened even the slightest distance between themselves, Tristan concentrated on bursting away from Ywain, disappearing in a blur of speed. There were a few things that he could analyze from the outcome of their duel. An idea of his capacities as a Servant as well as of others he might come to face. Even though he thought that a fight were he would be in so much of a disadvantage was unlikely to happen a second time in this war.

It wouldn't take long, in fact, it took barely any time at all, for the Archer to reach his Master's side. No words were spared to Ywain's Master as Tristan merely took Yazhu in his arms and disappeared in the night. The only memory of their presence left behind being the sound of countless strings snapping as the maze of traps Tristan built was undone.

"Even though I didn't need to use my Noble Phantasm, this duel used much more of my energy than I believed it would. However, now that I have a good idea of the capabilities of this form, I'll be able to adjust my tactics better in our follow up encounters," Tristan said to Yazhu as he carried her away into the darkness of the night. "For the time being, I suggest we rest and concentrate our efforts on gathering information instead of trying to communicate with our enemies."

---

---

@SubjectVision@Danchou@SSW

---

^{Latin District - Arènes de Lutèce}

Mentions: @Cu Chulainn (Dietrich) @GreenGoat (Tenryuu)

---

And the familiars fell down to the Saber's powerful strike like wheat to a farmer's scythe. They had no say on the matter, as they were simple automatons meant to carry a duty, and they didn't lift a finger to retaliate or even defend against the strike: the only reaction was a broadening grin on the hound that was leading the group. And, before the lights in its eyes faded as its limited life quickly abandoned the sliced carcass, the mouth of the perishing canine moved enough to mutter two syllabes: "Amen". And thus, the hounds were no more.

---

^{Latin District - Northern Sector}

Mentions: Tristan (@KoL)

---

"Thank you, Archer" commented Yazhu once she was sweeped up by Tristan. Whilst she listened to his remarks, she absentmindedly rubbed the arm where she was just hit. "I agree, let's return and plan for the upcoming nights". She didn't speak much during the travel, as she was thinking about her previous opponent and the encounter: what could she have done to turn it to her favor earlier. Next time, she'd be much more careful when dealing with opponents. This encounter reminded her that magus weren't as limited as her in terms of magecraft and, as such, they'd have many tricks up their sleeve prepared beforehand besides traditional use of magecraft.

Yazhu first thought that a week was just too short of a time to do anything to win a war. Today she thought that it was gonna be a long week.

---

Everything was going according to plan as the distance closed and her sword drew near the enemy… Until that happened. The careful planning, if one could call something nigh instinctual planning, was all wasted in a tiny fraction of second as the enemy servant took that wide step to the side and brought his weapon around, and instantly changed every rule of their engagement with this new revelation.

Her eyes flew wide as she gasped a single word. "Lancer!"

d’Artagnan’s intention, to make use of superior swordplay to overwhelm and disarm the enemy, became instantly null as Lancer showed his true colors and more than doubled his reach. Of course fighting around something like that was well with her capabilities as saber, if she had known about it before commiting to a charge. Sadly horses don’t quite turn on a dime, and the introduction of that reach coupled with the lack of precise maneuverability made what happened an entirely foregone conclusion.

Saber flew from the saddle with a start as one of the legs was cut from beneath her mount, tumbling through the air with a look of shock and embarrassment plastered across her face. By the time she hit the ground it had turned into anger outright, and a new plan of action.

Her sprawling roll ended in a composed kneel, with her musket drawn and trained on…. Nothing.He was gone by the time she had righted herself. With a look of anger she cast the musket aside, vanishing into thin air along with her now maimed mount as it was dismissed.

“....UGH! You cowardly old man! I take back everything nice I sad about you! You would deny me satisfaction in my own land? I won’t tolerate you spitting on the honor of house Castelmore! Not anywhere and certainly not here!” She shouted into the night until her voice cracked, before turning on heel and storming off, back towards, or rather past, her master and his entourage and towards their atelier.

This did not stop her from placing an arm around Ceres shoulder however, nor Venus waist. She was not nearly so wroth as to forget herself that totally. “Please excuse my outburst ladies, something of a… principle matter. I am prone to being over-passionate about things.”

---

---

---

Lucienne and her servant had managed to leave the fight that had broken out during her negotiations that had been going rather peacefully. It seemed like servants were showing up one after the other. Well... They were. But she was wondering if that trend had continued on after her departure from the place.

But now it was back to Lucienne and her servant being alone. Although having a rather confident feeling of security she was now rather wary of her surroundings. Making sure that her guard isn't lowered and she is always on the lookout for enemy masters. Or just enemies in general. Of course she would leave looking out for her servants to her own as Caster was far superior in that regard.

"It seems that our best course of action would be to try and reconvene with those two pairs in the coming nights Caster. If we can work together with that lot then there shouldn't be too much to worry about." Lucienne made sure to communicate through the mental link with her servant. They were alone but even then she had come to think one couldn't be too careful. Perhaps she had already given up too much information tonight as well. However she still believed that was the correct decision, it allowed trust to be built between both parties. She will just have to bear and of the consequences that come along with the information that was divulged.

Well in the short term at least... She thought to herself, continuing the line of thought that she was communicating to her servant to herself.

Nonetheless tonight was a resounding success in her mind. She didn't need to waste any of her energy in skirmishes and had made more connections than she had hoped. And now she could enjoy a quiet stroll home with her servant. Perhaps they can go sightseeing another night.

Returning to the street where her residence and workshop had been arranged she noticed that the lights in the neighbouring houses were now off. Everyone must have went to bed. It was rather late now after all. But as she opened the door she kept in mind that she had just a few more things to do tonight. Perhaps if things went well she would even stay up to continue her work. She held the door open for Caster to enter first. A polite gesture to her companion.

"I will be only a moment Marguerite, I have a quick phone call to make." Now Lucienne spoke aloud. She was safe within her own workshop. Although it could do with some fortifying...

But for now she made her way into the living room on the bottom floor. She had requested for the house to be laid out so that the ground floor was to be a purely normal, residential, family setting while the first floor would act as her study and workshop. And of course now her servants too.

Lucienne dialed in the same number as she had before to reach her contact, this time in a lot less inexperienced manner. If anyone were to see her she would have seemed to be as used to the phone just as any other Parisian would have been... As it should have been already really but she couldn't help that she had grown up with a weakness to modern technology. If only her parents had exposed her to it a bit more.

"Ahem, Mademoiselle are you there??" The deep voice called out from the phone.

"Oh. Yes sorry about that Monsieur my mind had slipped off for a moment. I just had some requests to make of you if you would be so kind to hear them."

She heard a reserved sigh from the other end. "Well of course you have mademoiselle, after all why else would you have called me?"

"Wow. That is rather harsh no Monsieur? You are a good friend of my family!" She responded as if she had been hurt by the implication although she hadn't really denied it.

"Yes. Yes. I know. Now just say what it is you want." Lucienne grinned at the response.

"Well it's nothing too big... Well it is actually. If you are able then could you please try and get a hold of some... Err... Well how do I put this now..." She pondered the matter out loud over the phone.

"Mademoiselle your family has always been a unique friend of mine to say the least. Whatever it is just say and I shall try my best."

"Ah yes, of course Monsieur. I knew that I just wished to be respectful. You see I would like you to transport some animals that have passed on so to say. Whether it be from a vet or a shelter anything works really." With permission from Monsieur Bogdanoff she began to speak rather matter of factly. She was generally rather careful with how she phrased things and wished to speak in a way that would not offend others. But now she was requesting something as a magus and so she just said what she had to.

"And along with that if you can get a hold of any gems or crystals then could you send them here as well Monsieur. My family will be very grateful for this."

"No worries mademoiselle. I will see what I can do. If you will allow me I will get right to it."

And with that the phone call ended. She would find out soon enough if Monsieur Bogdanoff had managed to achieve what she had asked but for now she would turn her attention to upstairs. With her servant.

"So... What should we make first eh Caster? Perhaps something to add a bit of Resistance to Magecraft? Or maybe something more offensive eh? If you will take me on as your student then I shall love to learn anything from you Teacher!" Enthusiastic she made her way upstairs. After all when disregarding the grail and the second ownership of Paris. This was a once and a lifetime opportunity in of itself.

Seine River
@ManyThings@Indra

---

Rider smiled as he heard Saber. "It's quite simple. Wars are won and lost via alliances. The more allies we can gather, the better then chances of ourselves and those allies. My master and I plan to set up a base somewhere in the city, and I'd invite you to join us, or perhaps it would be the other way around? Heh. Regardless, Rider grew serious for a moment. "I have a few stipulations if we are to join forces. The first is that our Masters form some form of contract, preventing them and us from attacking, I and my Master cannot harm yours, you and yours cannot harm mine. That should help prevent fear of betrayal before the end of the war. The second is that once that contract is made, you and I share True Names with each other. It's a high price, but it's what I expect of any ally in this war where betrayal is so readily possible."

Rider returned to his Master's side as he spoke, never quite taking his eyes off of Saber.

The streets of Paris were still busy even at this early hour, though not as populated as they would be in a few hours when all of the tourists had woken up. The people who passed her on the street were the ordinary denizens of the French city, people on their way to work or out to do some shopping; a few likely looking for a place to eat breakfast like herself.

The first night of the war had been eventful, to say the least, but not in the way Cleo had expected; two separate encounters with enemy servants on a night that was supposed to be about scouting rather than engaging, both of which led to offers of an alliance rather than deadly combat. It shouldn’t surprise her, joining forces with another Master to increase your chances of surviving until the end of the war and then fighting amongst your remaining allies was a smart strategy, certainly smarter than trying to go it alone; even so, the idea of putting your trust in someone you knew was planning on stabbing you in the back eventually, while you plotted the same against the, wasn’t particularly appealing. It didn’t look like Cleo had much of a choice however.

“What do you make of the Servants you met last night Saber?” The first thing she had done this morning was purchase some clothing for her Servant, something she had not been able to do last night when she wasn’t even sure what he would look like before summoning him. It allowed the pair to walk around Paris together, without the need for Saber to remain in his spirit form. “What is your opinion of them as a Paladin or Charlemagne?”

@ManyThings

Residential District Streets, searching for a place to eat

---

"I certainly didn't expect everyone to be so friendly... I could see righteousness within each of them. As warriors, I'm sure I could defeat Saber or Lancer, Archer would be a bigger challenge, and I don't know about Caster."

Saber openly walked about with his Master, wearing his new modern outfit. He nodded, smiled, and waved, to French citizens as they passed. Even if he didn't count the hundreds of years between his death and now, it had been a long time since he had felt like one of the common people. Because of that, the smiles he gave them were more than genuine.

"Gaining allies is good, but we will ultimately have to defeat most of the Servants in the city- it would be best to choose from among those who are willing to cooperate with us, rather than move back and forth with no commitment."

He stopped and gazed at a restaurant to his left. It was small, probably owned and run by a family who lived in an apartment above it. An available table for two was visible just inside the window. Saber nudged Cleo, bringing her attention to the option for their morning meal. "Anyway, are you going to join me tonight? I admit it was comforting to not be stressing about your safety while I fought, but you can probably beat some enemy Masters if you come out."

---

^{Hungry Head (@King Cosmos)}

Tenryuu Gensai
Core, The Ritz Hotel

---

"So you just ordered your Servant to murder them all?"

Tenryuu nodded in shame. After going back to the hotel since last night, she had simply flopped onto her bed, and slept until morning. After... some needed business done, Chii had finally asked her about what happened after she left.

"Hoh! A bold move." Chii had a small smirk now. "A Caster comes and offer an alliance, and you squander it. Hoh! Hohhohhoh!"

"Mnngh... I was just so annoyed by their attitude... I'm trying my best here, you know? Some dogs dare come in here and just bark nonsense at me." She scratched her head for a moment, before turning back. "Ah, yes. I almost forgot. Saber, let us go."

She could had had another Servant, bound to serve her, but instead it was squandered due to that Caster having no real sense of danger, even after the command seal that specifically forbade him to fight. Perhaps it was best that that Caster did not join her; who knows what sort of trouble he will land her in if left unchecked. Even so, she felt compelled to get back at her own Servant for killing him when she specifically wanted him to be recruited.

"Hmm... Saber might be too strange a name and attract too much attention." She stopped, thinking hard. "Dietrich... then I'll call you Tricks while we're in public."

Saber slowly peeked from the door of the bathroom of the suite once his Master called out to him. He seemed hesitant to leave, as Tenryuu had already completed a portion of the Demon Prince's punishment for killing Moses when she had requested for the opposite. Who would have known that woman would have an outfit that was fitted almost perfectly for Saber's surprisingly petite form?

"... I understand that I need to be punished, Master, but isn't that nickname along with wearing this outfit for the rest of the war a bit much?"

---

Stepping out from the bathroom, Saber revealed the entirety of his new uniform to both his Master and her golem. Wearing such an outfit reminded Saber of the strange requests of his senpai, of whom he spent his time within his (her?) court when the Demon Prince's uncle had displaced him from his throne. It was moments like these that Saber had wished he was summoned in his older form, at his moment of exile, instead of the Slayer of Beasts that encompassed his youth. At the same time, imagining himself in his older form wearing this outfit only made Saber blush more, his hands moving behind his back.

Perhaps Saber kept himself armored to hide the cutesy looks of his younger self from his opponents?

"Perhaps a different name would suffice? How does Theo sound?"

Much of Saber's discomforts were partially alleviated by Chii, who was also wearing the same uniform. Is this how Master treats all her familiars? Saber thought to himself. At the very least, it was an outfit that was surprisingly easy to move in, despite the uncomfortable breeze it provided. Perhaps the lack of armor can easily be made up by the mobility this new outfit would provide in conjunction with the use of Nagelring...

"... Shall we go shopping then, Master?"

“You’re right. We’ll need to defeat all other Servants eventually, which means it’s important that the ones we allow to make it to the final battle are those that we can beat.” Cleo turned to look at the restaurant Ogier indicated, pausing for a moment to look through the window at the interior before moving towards the door and opening it. “As contradictory as it sounds we need to ally ourselves with people weaker than us, people who aren’t a threat to us.”

Once inside a waitress hurried over to them and led them to the table for two and left them with a pair of menus. Cleo idly opened hers up, barely paying attention to the words before her as her mind stayed focused on the conversation with Saber. “To side with the Caster and Knight who will make for a stronger alliance, or to side with the Eastern Lancer who we know we can kill with less difficulty if need be. It’s not an easy decision Saber, and the wrong choice means my death; or maybe both choices lead to death and what I decide is pointless. Either way I have until tonight to decide, so give me time to think in peace.”

The waitress came back to take their order and Cleo asked for a simple omelette and a glass of water; after taking Saber’s order as well the young woman left once again. “I will join you tonight; I should be present for any further negotiations, if only to put people at ease. I’m not strong though, Saber, not strong enough to defeat another Master in a fight. Combat is not my forte, so if anything happens I’ll need to rely on your protection.”

@ManyThings

Oh dear sister... sleeping in again are we?

A singular voice spoke from the void which Ryte sleeps. A familiar voice, the voice of one of her sisters perhaps. It was comforting, soothing, giggling. It made her smile for a time...

...before a burning realization hit her, which allowed her to wake up in bed, lightly perspiring.

"Right... still dead." She shouldn't have gotten her hopes up. It wasn't the first time Ryte was experiencing such reoccuring dreams.



She didn't know if she alerted her guests. She was supposedly supposed to find Sanctuary today at the Church or to stay with them. She hasn't made up her decision yet and the Command Spells still vividly paint themselves on her palm. With a lazy wave and a yawned greeting, she sat on the nearest sofa and turned to Chii, Tenryuu and a kawaii onna noko someone else?

"O-oh. I didn't know you had other maids here, um...?" Ryte probably never introduced herself that night and she couldn't remember anything about Tenryuu mentioning her name which made her nervous as the clock winds down. "I-I know the other one is Chii, like you said but who's the other one?"

Oh that's right. She doesn't know.

@GreenGoat @Cu Chulainn

Tenryuu Gensai
Core, The Ritz Hotel

---

Tenryuu couldn't help but stare at her Servant, grinning widely all the while. Who knew he could look like that? She felt like something dangerous was awakening within her, but she wasn't sure what it was.

"No way, Tricks. I chose that name for you, Tricks. Don't worry too much about it, Tricks. You'll get used to it soon enough." Tenryuu was smiling, but her eyes gleamed of... something else, deeper and darker. "Lets go, Tricks, Chii. We have to go... shopping... for all my things."

A lot more things she needed to do, like strengthening her workshop, as well as figuring out how best to exploit the leyline. Perhaps she could set up a small ritual to siphon up a fraction of what the leyline offered to power Saber, or link a few of her automatons to the leyline itself. Clay would be a good base. She was loathe to use just dirt, and stone kinda wore her out.

"O-oh. I didn't know you had other maids here, um...?" A certain voice turned Tenryuu around, as the sleepy girl rose up. "I-I know the other one is Chii, like you said but who's the other one?"

"Ah, um... what was your name again?" Coughing slightly, Tenryuu gestured grandly towards 'Tricks'."One of my maid, Tricks. Feel free to ask them for anything if you see them around. They'll make sure to help, within reason. Right? T R I C K S?"

Rei

Residential District Streets,

The fight against Saber and Rider was intense and was too fast for Rei to even keep up even with reinforcement. On the other hand, things savagely played rigjt into her hands as if a miracle happened for an alliance is to be written or not. Rei's tactical deception saved her and Rider and she was at awe and great relief surviving the first night of the war.

"I got everything set up." Rei showed Rider the motorbike she just bought for him, a Dodge Tomahawk modified specifically for Rider with Rei's intent of making it as Rider's pseudo-noble phantasm. Thanks to the wealth of her clan, Rei was able to buy Rider's vehicle.

"I had fun last night. Thrilling as it sounded, is it wrong for me to enjoy fighting, L-Lancer? I kinda wanna see Saber's Master and dont you worry about me when it comes to fighting, I can duke out enough ice as it is." Although Rei did not fight at hand, she kinda did given that her mana is powerful enough to sustain Rider.

"Anyway. A weapons shop is right ahead of us. I read about your history and you had 10 ninja with you, you see that is what exactly what I am trying to do. But then again...I still have that spider inside my bag and still trying to figure it out. In case I forgot, our conversation was shortlived. You wanted to ask me something? I suppose we can spare a little small talk."

@The World

As Madhisi was preparing to call Berseker and leave for their destination of tonight, a park as far from the place of her battle from last night as possible, not one, but two messages reached her almost at the exact same time.

The first one was from the persons she understood to be the overseer, probably some kind of arbiter meant to keep the order in this war. It alerted her about causing unneeded collateral damage, at the same time that it congratulated her for the first kill in the conflict. While Madhisi wasn't certain about what this overseer meant by "unneeded", if it was about taking the lives of innocents then it wasn't something that she had any intentions of doing again. On the other hand, the news that her adversaries from the previous night perished, where enough o bring a semblance of relief -- or was it satisfaction? -- to Madhisi's face.

A satisfaction that would last until as soon as she set her eyes on the following message, brought to her temporary home by what looked like a kind of familiar not very different from her golems:


This wasn't anything that she expected at all. But she could only conclude that this was the work of the second Master and Servant pair that she met yesterday. Madhisi had a basic understanding of what these Command Spells are and what they do but didn't particularly care for them since her objective.

Furthermore, she had experienced what this mysterious duo could do first-hand yesterday. It was completely possible that refusing this would result in her death before she could even take a step. Also, from the wording of this letter, it looked like they wanted to force her and Berserker into a position where they would be Servants to them. Never for one minute, Madhisi believed that the creator of this spider wanted to give anything to her.

Even so, she did as she was requested to. Using both Command Spells with the exact words that had been asked of her. If she could live now, there would probably be benefits out of this, like, especially, the chance to fight and kill others more easily. And maybe if this spider mage was really saying the truth, she could even get what she wanted out of this. Not that it was likely, after all.

After that, she waited to see what kind of escort would take her to where she needed to be.

---

---

-

Once more, Failnaught's melody could be heard in the streets of Paris, echoing in a soft yet heart-wrenching way as Tristan played while the sunset approached. The last encounter of the previous night allowed Yazhu and Tristan not only to gauge their battle strategies but also to gather precious information. The Latin District, one of the oldest parts of the City of Light, was undoubtedly a place of great activity and one worth paying attention to. No doubt the best place for an Archer to do so in this region was the top of Paris' Phanteon going high above any other buildings of the mostly flat skyline and vast open spaces that composed this region of the city. There was no way anyone other than an Assassin would be able to approach them undetected, not now that Tristan was finely acquainted with his nature as a Servant.

"Master, it pains me to say this but I believe we do not have the luxury of trying to open dialogue with our enemies in this war. Not anymore at least, we would do better to gather information and take down any targets that present themselves as vulnerable. I shall not allow what happened yesterday to repeat itself. Seeing you injured pains me down too much, thus I'll be sure to cut down anyone who opposes us be them Servants or Magi. But, fear not, after this conflict is done for, I shall weep and lament their loss. That's the only thing I, who was born without a blessing, can do when I take out the lives of those who were," Tristan said, raising his voice only as his melody picked up the pace. Yes, that was the only thing to do. If he wished to make his oath to Yazhu become truth, the only option that Tristan had from now onward was to show the kind of terrible power that possessed.

"Come o Heroic Spirits who transcended time and death to join and do battle in this land. I shall put you to rest once more with my elegy," Tristan said in a wistful voice, not to his Master but rather hoping the wind carried his intention to the other Heroic Spirits who joined this Holy Grail War, just as the last note of his song was perfectly aligned with the tolling of Notre Dame's bells, announcing the beginning of another night of slaughter.

"It's time," he said in a somber voice as he got back to his feet and concentrated his attention on searching.

---

---

@SubjectVision

Northern Latin District, Meeting Place in the Streets

---

Under the light of a streetlamp, on the ground instead of a roof this time, stood the paladin. He wore his armour, as his modern clothes would fall uselessly to the ground if it became necessary to spiritualize. He crossed his arms as he glanced occasionally towards either end of the street.

"...Maybe Sir Ywain and Sir Noon met their ends here last night."

Saber's tone held no fear, nor humour, nor sadness. If the knights he had agreed to fight with had been killed, then that was that. They were knights, after all, and they had agreed to do battle against Archer. Still, even if the idea of them dying in battle brought him no tears, the idea of them surviving brought him hope and happiness. He cared for them, but did not hate the lack of them. A one-sided coin.

"Let's not linger too long. If neither the knights nor the ladies show themselves soon, we have better ways to spend our time."

He spoke aloud. His Master had accompanied him this night, although she had hidden herself for the time being. A fair decision, he supposed, since it wasn't like they were waiting in ambush. He was the one with the presence that would draw the attention of others in the district. Speaking of which, the radiance of another Servant touched his senses. Leaning a bit to gaze southward between a set of buildings, he could vaguely make out a man standing on the Pantheon, far in the distance. Was it Sir Tristan? If so, the Archer could probably see him much better than vice versa. Saber raised his hands, no weapon in either, to show that he wasn't there to fight. He then flashed Tristan a thumbs-up that seemed to say good luck out there tonight.

I've gone and made too many friends. He thought idly to himself. Some of them will probably have to die.

---

^{@King Cosmos@KoL}

---

Mirai observed the master of Berserker through his eyes, and then through his eyes through the eyes of his familiar. The command spell on the back of her hand had faded to a single stroke and Berserker was nowhere to be seen or felt. A cold smile stretched across her lips.

“Caster, call off the Bakudan Brigade and have our stately little friend lead the way. Do not allow them to be followed.”

---

Once the guests arrived at the core building, the giant sphere at the center of the museum complex, Mirai and her servant were of course ready to receive them. The presentation was rather modest all things considered, a simple low table and tea ready to be served, with two cushions- one for her and one for her guest. Caster needed no such accommodation, as his head had resumed its rightful place in her lap.

Of course the meeting was not unguarded, even if Caster could easily take care of any human magus in the blink of an eye he was to be expected to interrupt his relaxation for petty busywork that could be done through other means. Flanking the table were two stout karakuri that despite their stillness seemed entirely ready to spring into action, possessed of bow and spear in a classic japanese fashion that was old-timey and yet entirely timeless. Near the door itself were two more, these two brandishing a great axe nearly as big as the automaton holding it and a katana. A matched set, to pull at the nostalgia of someone in the room, though obviously not their guest.

With an all too genuine smile the master of the workshop broke the silence. “I apologize for the circumstances that have caused this meeting to occur. Seeing you so beyond your depth last night had me concerned that you might not be wise enough to cooperate, so I deemed it necessary to force your hand. Still I am overjoyed that you made the correct choice, please, have a seat, we have much to discuss about how we can best help each other.” One hand gestured to the seat across from Mirai while another began to pour the tea.

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