Kirei Kotomine stared at the letter sent by the Holy Church and crumpled it in the next moment, burning it to ashes.
Last night, the man, claiming himself to be an Einzbern, had come to him, knowing all of his secrets.
Then, he had offered Kirei a commission, demanding his help in killing Zouken Matou.
Let's not even contemplate how difficult it was to dispose of the Elder of the Matou family. The fact that Kirei knew there was some unknown motive behind Black Von Einzbern's demand was also unnerving.
Surprisingly, the Homunculus survived Gilgamesh's attack.
As a result, perhaps in retaliation, Black made the entire church blow up, including Kirei's underground lab where he had been collecting Mana through people's life essence.
Now, not even a day had passed, and the Holy Church had already sent Kirei a letter, asking if he needed help.
One just couldn't go against the Holy Church and not face the repercussions.
If it were any other day, Kirei would have readily accepted the Holy Church's offer, letting other Executors handle the matter.
However, now, he couldn't afford to do such a thing.
Not when Kirei had killed the Mage sent by the Mage Association and had taken the Lancer for himself. Not when he wasn't truly alive, per se. Not when the black heart within him was connected to All the World's Evil.
"That was a neat trick," Gilgamesh commented. "When I arrived, the mongrel still had a true body. But before he lost his head, someone switched his body with a puppet."
"That's Caster for you," Kirei acknowledged begrudgingly.
They had already shifted to another Church next to the blown one.
Now, Kirei could only show that what happened at the main building wasn't an attack, but a spell gone wrong.
"Did you find him, Lancer?" he asked.
Lancer materialized out of thin air and shook his head. "I can't break the Bounded Field around the Einzbern Castle without using my Noble Phantasm. Also, you were right about Caster. I sensed her monitoring the Matou Mansion."
"Hahahaha!" Gilgamesh suddenly laughed. He stood up and threw his hands into his pockets. "Never would I have imagined someone besting you, Kirei. I don't want any part in this farce. For all I care, every member of that family can go and kill themselves. That would be a mercy. My patience with that girl… is running thin already."
Kirei bowed as Gilgamesh disappeared.
If he was being honest with himself, then Kirei didn't like or dislike Zouken Matou, either. However, if someone was going to kill that old man, he would prefer doing it himself.
Kirei… wanted to see the suffering on the face of a five-hundred-year-old man.
Would it be different from the one he had seen on his wife's face when she had killed herself — right in front of his eyes? Would it be different from the one he had seen in the last War, when people were burning all around him, making him laugh?
Also, once the Holy Grail War officially began, he could go all out and deal with the Homunculus, too.
With Black's status as a Grail's Vessel, he was bound to meet a cruel fate, anyway.
"Contact Caster," Kirei said, letting out a thin smile. "Let's — play along for now."
…
Shinji sat on top of Sakura, pressing her into the bed.
His hands were wrapped around her throat as she choked, tears streaming down her face.
But Sakura didn't resist. She had learned to endure. This would be over soon, she knew. Like always.
"Scream!" Shinji shouted, lifting her by the neck and slamming her back into bed. "Scream!!!"
Sakura's eyes were already dead.
She knew this would happen when Black had made her stay at Shirou's place yesterday.
Thinking of the joyful moments spent with Black and Shirou last night, a small smile surfaced on her lips.
Shinji, who had gone red in anger, stared in disbelief.
That smile on Sakura's face repulsed him so much that he let go of Sakura's throat and punched her, splitting her lips.
Letting out a grunt, he slid off her and marched out of the bedroom.
Sakura slowly got up, dressed for school, and cleared the bloodstains off her lips, trying to hide the bruises with makeup.
After a while, she stepped down the stairs, her mind devoid of thoughts.
"Sakura…"
Sakura's head snapped up, fear flashing across her eyes. "… Grandfather…"
Zouken Matou was standing in the middle of the hall, smiling at her. "You have been coming home late? Is it a boy?"
For a moment, Sakura considered lying.
She smothered the thought, though. She knew who… what her Grandfather was. No one in this world made her feel so helpless.
"… His name is Black Von Einzbern, Grandfather," Sakura said. "He… made me stay at Shirou's place. I promise it will not happen again."
"Oh, no, no," Zouken said, his smile broadening on his twisted face. Slowly, he walked up to the girl and stared into her eyes. "I am not reprimanding you. It's natural to spend time with someone you like."
A chill ran down Sakura's spine. "No. No. Grandfather. I don't…"
Sakura couldn't finish her words.
She didn't know if she liked Black or not. She remembered falling in love with Shirou over time. But Black… he was like an avalanche, just barging into her life.
The way he looked at her.
It felt like nothing would go wrong as long as she was next to him.
"… I" Sakura choked. "I… Please, Grandfather. Don't harm Black. I promise I will not talk to him. Ever."
The wide smile on Zouken's face became a grin, showing his teeth.
"What a good child you are, Sakura," he said. "Still, no. I have nothing against you making friends. However, I indeed am interested in this Black. He is an Einzbern. I also had a close friend from the Einzbern family. Perhaps, meeting the boy would bring back some good memories."
No… Sakura stared at Zouken in horror. No…
"Bring him home tonight," Zouken said, voicing Sakura's terrifying thoughts. "I want to meet the boy my granddaughter is interested in."
Shaking from head to toe, Sakura couldn't do anything, but… nod.
******************
AN: Up to 60 more chapters are available in advance across three Tiers. [Use the link in my webnovel profile to access all options]
You can even subscribe Trial Tier for just 1 dollar to have an experience of exclusive chapters for an entire month. I hope a few of you will consider supporting the work.
100 Power Stones: +1 Bonus Chapter