"What do you think, Morgan?"
Using the familiars he'd placed throughout Fuyuki City, Tenkei Shiomi quickly caught sight of the first battlefield.
It was the Tohsaka residence, perched on a hillside in Miyama Town.
Under orders from his Master, Assassin launched a surprise attack on the mansion—long fortified with over twenty layers of detection and defensive barriers, resembling a military stronghold.
Yet, Assassin skillfully slipped past the barriers. But just as he attempted to dismantle the foundation of the first layer, he was instantly struck down by Archer, the Servant summoned by Tokiomi Tohsaka.
The entire engagement happened so quickly that Shiomi barely had time to switch between his familiars' viewpoints. All he managed to catch was a distant glimpse of that imposing golden figure.
The opening battle ended with Assassin's swift retreat.
Shiomi certainly wasn't the only Master who had witnessed the first clash of the Holy Grail War.
He froze the projected image transmitted back by the familiar, leaned against the desk in the workshop, and turned to ask his Servant.
"A pretty hopeless gap in power, huh."
Morgan seated herself gracefully in the chair by the desk, crossed her legs, and leaned back with elegance.
To an outside observer, the closeness between them might've suggested something intimate.
But since no one else was around, it didn't matter.
"Judging from the attack patterns, every weapon that pierced Assassin looked like a Noble Phantasm," Shiomi said, arms crossed. "Normally, Servants in the Holy Grail War only possess one Noble Phantasm. Exceptional ones might have two or three…"
But sheer number wasn't the key—what really mattered was the nature and rank of the Noble Phantasms.
A Noble Phantasm could be a weapon, a concept, an ability, or a unique technique.
"Or maybe all those weapons that appeared to be many were actually manifestations of a single Noble Phantasm," Shiomi mused aloud. "Take the Gáe Bolg held by Scáthach, Queen of the Land of Shadows—its prototype can split into countless forms to strike, and when needed, it can even transform into a three-section staff, a short blade, or a longbow…"
At that, Shiomi found himself drifting back to the timeless days he spent in the Land of Shadows.
Surviving in a place teeming with lurking spirits and undead, he'd been discovered by Scáthach during one of her patrols. She took interest in him and made him her student.
Recalling that brutal, hellish combat training—even after enduring it—still sent a chill down his spine.
Fortunately… thank the heavens… that person cannot die. Which also means she can't be summoned into this Holy Grail War as a Servant.
"You seem very familiar with the Queen of the Land of Shadows, Master," Morgan remarked, a faint trace of discontent in her voice.
Snapping back to the present, Shiomi figured it was likely Morgan's pride as a Servant that made her bristle at the idea of her Master using other Heroic Spirits as benchmarks.
"It's nothing," Shiomi answered vaguely, not wanting to divulge his past. "I did my homework for the Holy Grail War, that's all."
Morgan studied him quietly for a moment, as if trying to read something in his face. Then she looked away, wearing her usual aloof smile as her gaze returned to the recording of the first battle.
"Didn't expect Assassin to be knocked out so soon. Seems those assassins are even more worthless than I thought."
It wasn't an unfair judgment.
Among the seven classes in the Holy Grail War, Assassin and Caster were generally regarded as the weakest.
That's because the Assassin class could only summon one of the various incarnations of Hassan-i-Sabbah from the history of the Hashshashin sect.
"That's not necessarily true. If the first Hassan-i-Sabbah responds, then the outcome of this Holy Grail War is already decided in advance," Shiomi countered.
"A mere Magus wanting a response from that old man? That's just arrogance," Morgan sneered. "Besides, if the Master can even come up with such an idea, he must know it's impossible."
"You're right," Shiomi admitted, not denying he was joking.
As for Caster, considering that the three knight classes and even Rider possess Magic Resistance, summoning even an excellent Caster-class Servant would still face a disadvantage in terms of compatibility.
However, Shiomi found himself genuinely curious—what would have happened if Morgan had manifested as a Caster rather than a Berserker?
But that was purely hypothetical and not worth discussing for now.
"Still, don't you think everything's going a little too smoothly?" Shiomi looked Morgan in the eyes, voicing his doubts directly.
Morgan asked him to explain. "What makes you say that?"
"From the moment Assassin appeared and tried to break the barrier, to the instant Archer counterattacked—it all happened too fast. It's like they knew ahead of time and had an ambush ready. Plus, Assassin has the Class Skill 'Presence Concealment'. Getting caught so easily seems way too sloppy," Shiomi said, listing his thoughts. "It can't be that Archer has some kind of presence-detection ability, right?"
"We don't even know Archer's true name. How could we possibly know what abilities he actually has?" Morgan didn't immediately agree but seemed intrigued by the discussion.
Shiomi raised an eyebrow. Morgan had a point, but that just led to another question.
"In that case, why did Archer bother to reveal himself at all?" Shiomi pointed out. "If he really had the ability to detect Assassin's approach and set up a flawless ambush, then the best strategy would've been to keep the Servant hidden. That way, no one would gain any intel. So that only leaves one possibility." He raised a finger, a confident smile forming on his lips. "This was a staged fight."
"Go on," Morgan nodded.
"It was a prearranged fake match. Assassin's Master and Tokiomi Tohsaka worked together to stage this so that Assassin's defeat and withdrawal would seem perfectly reasonable." Shiomi snapped his fingers, a crisp sound ringing out.
The smile in Morgan's eyes shifted into something more subtle. "To join the Holy Grail War in pursuit of an omnipotent wish-granting device, only to lose and retreat so easily... Aren't you oversimplifying things?"
"Who knows? After all... Assassin's Master is Tokiomi Tohsaka's student." Shiomi presented another piece of intel he'd gathered on the Masters.
At last, Morgan's expression changed. "It seems this Holy Grail War in the Far East might be more entertaining than expected."
"Either way, the Holy Grail War has officially begun. It's time for us to act too."
Shiomi rose from his desk and headed toward the door of the workshop. Just before stepping onto the stairs, he turned back.
"About what you said earlier—teaching Sakura Magecraft. If you have the time later, I'd really appreciate it. After all, the better the teacher, the better the results."