After entering the mission world of Fate/Stay Night, Zuke appeared at Reines' stronghold in Fuyuki City.
The stronghold was a mansion obtained from who-knows-where—though the El-Melloi family had declined, it was still the household of a Lord, so maintaining appearances was necessary.
Opening his eyes in the mansion's living room, Zuke glanced around but didn't see Reines.
However, after sensing the surrounding "ki," he quickly detected her presence—she wasn't far away.
With an Instant Transmission, Zuke left the mansion and reappeared on its roof—sure enough, Reines was there, fiddling with something.
Hearing the movement, Reines flinched, startled, before turning around. Recognizing Zuke, she sighed in relief:
"Oh, it's just you, Mr. Zuke. I thought an enemy was attacking."
Renting such a large mansion as a stronghold had its pros and cons.
The advantage was that Reines' living conditions were undoubtedly comfortable, and the spacious house and yard allowed her to set up high-quality defensive barriers.
The downside was that it drew unwanted attention, making it easy for enemies to locate and target them—just like how Kayneth's ostentatious rental of the top floor of the Hyatt Hotel in the original story made him a prime target for Kiritsugu Emiya's bombing.
Though in this world, Kayneth had been eliminated by Zuke before Kiritsugu could strike.
"If an enemy really comes, you shouldn't have to worry too much. Escaping won't be a problem."
Zuke chuckled, glancing at Reines' outfit—she was still wearing the maid dress Stand he had given her, seemingly with no intention of putting it away.
"Being this cautious? Even wearing the maid outfit in your own stronghold?"
".........It's just that this maid outfit provides a significant boost to my abilities."
Reines' face flushed red. After all, the outfit's effects were undeniably impressive—it even amplified her magical energy, a rare attribute.
Initially, she had worried about the embarrassment of wearing it in public, but after testing it during the day, she discovered that others couldn't see it at all.
Though she could see it herself—even in mirrors—others, including photographs, showed no trace of the maid dress.
This allowed Reines to wear it freely. Since Zuke had given her this "Noble Phantasm," wasn't it meant to be used as she pleased?
Moreover, wearing it gave her a sense of being protected by Zuke—a rare feeling of security she had seldom experienced before. She found herself growing fond of it.
"So, what are you doing here?"
Seeing Reines' reddened face, Zuke smiled and changed the subject, turning his attention to the magical tool she was adjusting.
It resembled a small lamp stand with an amethyst necklace hanging from it—Zuke recalled Reines using a similar crystal necklace in the original story.
Since he knew nothing about magecraft, he had no idea what the tool was for.
"This is a magical energy detection device. I'm using it to monitor which participants will summon Servants tonight."
Reines had no reason to hide it from him and explained:
"Though I summoned you ahead of time, the optimal period for summoning is actually from tonight until early morning."
A magus's condition fluctuates over time, with certain periods allowing peak mental and magical circuit performance.
While a magus's state shouldn't theoretically affect the summoned Servant, many were superstitious and preferred summoning at their peak.
In the original story, Rin Tohsaka had been a prime example—she hadn't even noticed her clock was tampered with, causing her to miss her optimal window.
The crystal pendant Reines was using had indeed served a detection purpose in the original story. Now, repurposing it to monitor Servant summonings was a fitting use.
"If anyone summons a Servant during this period, this pendant will guide us to their location, making it easier to investigate."
After setting up the device, Reines nodded in satisfaction and turned to her "Volumen Hydrargyrum" maid, Trimmau.
"Trimmau, keep watch here. If the pendant reacts, record it immediately."
Though the magical device was ready to detect Servant summonings, Reines couldn't stay on the rooftop indefinitely.
The night was cold, and as a magus, her physical endurance was average. Even with Zuke's maid dress boosting her, she had no desire to freeze on the roof.
Trimmau, being an artificial maid made of Mercury, wouldn't feel the cold, making her the perfect observer.
"Understood, Master."
Trimmau nodded. Though she possessed basic artificial intelligence, she was still just a Mercury-based familiar, so her personality remained largely flat.
"However, the pendant is already reacting."
"Huh?"
Reines blinked in surprise and turned back to the device.
To her astonishment, Trimmau was right—the pendant had already begun moving, slowly tilting northward.
"Someone's summoning a Servant already?"
Reines was stunned. Though tonight was indeed a good time for summoning, this was far too early.
Had someone messed up their timing?
She was right.
The one who had gotten the timing wrong was none other than Rin Tohsaka—just like in the original story, she had misread the clock and summoned prematurely.
"Perfect, everything's ready."
Rin stared excitedly at the glowing summoning circle in the basement, stretching out her hand.
She hadn't noticed that the basement clock was set differently from the others in the house and immediately began the summoning ritual.
"Even if I can't summon Zuke... it's fine! As long as I summon a strong enough Servant to force that El-Melloi girl to give up the Grail!"
Rin's plan aligned exactly with Zuke's prediction—defeat Reines as a Master to force her withdrawal from the Holy Grail War.
If Reines' wish had been to keep Zuke, Rin might have backed off. But since her goal was to restore the El-Melloi family, Rin had no choice but to intervene.
To be continued…