Romania was a small nation located in southeastern Europe, at the northeastern edge of the Balkan Peninsula.
It shared borders with Ukraine and Moldova to the north and northeast, Bulgaria to the south, Serbia and Hungary to the southwest and northwest, respectively, and faced the Black Sea to the southeast. Its capital, Bucharest, was quite famous in Southern Europe.
Vlad III, huh?
Shirou Emiya flipped through the book in his hands, gradually understanding the true identity of that Lancer and realizing exactly where he was.
Though Shirou currently found himself in the Yggdmillennia family's castle—surrounded by architecture exuding a distinctly medieval atmosphere—this was still undoubtedly the twenty-first century. Modern technology, which should logically exist, was present here as well.
And now, Shirou had finally found the spot where they kept the telephones.
Perhaps out of concern for the castle's aesthetics, the Yggdmillennia had gathered their electronic devices in one discreet location.
Since Shirou had returned, it was only natural to inform those close to him that he was safe.
"Moshi-moshi! This is Fujimura Taiga. May I ask who's calling?"
The call connected quickly. Fuji-nee was Shirou's most important guardian, after all. Informing her first was the obvious choice.
As for Sakura—Shirou considered her just a friend, with no deeper feelings involved.
"Fuji-nee, it's me, Shirou. Sorry it took me so long to call."
Shirou apologized awkwardly.
"Shirou? I'm sorry, could you please tell me your last name?"
The voice on the other end sounded completely unfamiliar with the name "Shirou," as if she'd never heard it before.
"Emiya. My name is Emiya Shirou."
Feeling somewhat strange, Shirou nonetheless clarified his surname.
There was a pause on the line, followed by the rustling of pages turning.
"Emiya Shirou, was it? How can I help you?"
Something was clearly wrong.
Shirou felt an anxious tension rise in his chest, his brow furrowing deeply.
Why did Fuji-nee sound like she had no idea who he was?
The sound of pages turning earlier was most likely her checking the school's records—but evidently, his name didn't appear there at all.
"Teacher, could I ask you to help me contact Matou Sakura?"
Using another phone nearby, Shirou tried dialing Sakura's number, but received an automatic reply indicating that the number didn't exist.
"Matou Sakura? Wait a moment."
Once again, the sound of flipping pages came through the receiver. After several tense seconds, Taiga's voice returned.
"Emiya-kun, are you sure you're contacting the right school? We don't have a student named Matou Sakura at Homurahara Academy."
"Besides, the Matou family left Fuyuki City back in the 1930s. I'm afraid I have no idea where they went after that. Is there anything else I can help you with, Emiya-kun?"
Shirou didn't know what to say. This outcome was completely outside his expectations.
At first, he thought perhaps a form of magecraft had made those who knew him forget he existed. But Taiga's answer sent him spiraling into deep confusion.
This wasn't simply altered memories—the information was clearly written down in official records.
"No, nothing else. Sorry for troubling you."
"It's no trouble at all! I'm glad I could help. Take care!"
With a series of beeps, Taiga hung up.
Maybe…this place isn't what I thought it was.
Shirou resolved that once this so-called Holy Grail War was over, he would immediately return to Fuyuki City to investigate exactly what had happened.
The information he'd gotten from Fuji-nee was far too limited.
---
Darnic stood by the window, gazing thoughtfully into the distance.
In front of him, a futuristic monitor displayed Shirou Emiya's conversation.
"Fuyuki City…"
Darnic swirled the wine in his glass, sipping lightly.
"It's been a long time since I've heard that name."
After all, the Holy Grail now in his possession had originally come from Fuyuki City—the birthplace of the Holy Grail War itself. How could he not be intimately familiar with it?
However, ever since acquiring the Grail, he'd rarely heard news from Fuyuki's Three Founding Families.
At that moment, the quiet hum of wheels rolling approached from the doorway.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Enter."
"Uncle."
It was the young woman Shirou had seen earlier, seated in a wheelchair.
Her long, chestnut-brown hair framed gentle eyes, and her voice was soft and delicate.
Without anyone pushing it, her wheelchair smoothly glided into the room.
"Fiore, did you find anything?"
Darnic turned, looking down at Fiore seated in her chair.
Before Shirou Emiya became an ally, Darnic had had no intention of investigating him. After all, his original plan had simply been to strip Shirou's Command Spells away and convert him into a mana battery.
Why bother looking into the background of someone about to die?
But now, Shirou had become not only a Master but had summoned an immensely powerful Servant. Darnic needed to uncover his background.
"Regarding Shirou Emiya himself, I'm sorry, Uncle, but I found nothing useful."
Fiore lowered her head apologetically.
"According to footage from familiars around Trifas and statements from local residents, it's as if he appeared out of thin air in that forest. Neither the records of the magecraft community nor global census databases contain any mention of a 'Shirou Emiya.'"
At this revelation, Darnic's grip tightened on his glass.
Yet Fiore continued, clearly not finished yet.
"But when I searched using the surname 'Emiya,' I uncovered something quite interesting."
As she spoke, Fiore projected an image onto a screen before her. On it appeared detailed information resembling an encyclopedic entry, complete with the image of a man wielding a firearm.
"Emiya Norikata—a magus who received a Sealing Designation from the Mage's Association—and his son, Emiya Kiritsugu, known infamously as the 'Magus Killer.'"
"'Magus Killer'…?"
Darnic had heard the name before. Kiritsugu's ruthless methods of killing magi had provoked widespread outrage in the magecraft community, yet at the time, Darnic had felt a certain admiration for Kiritsugu's tactics.
If not for cooperating with the Nazis, the Grail wouldn't have fallen into his hands, nor could he have freed himself from the Mage's Association's control.
From the perspective of ruthless pragmatism alone, Darnic respected the Magus Killer's approach: victory belonged only to those willing to use any means necessary.