What Holy Grail War? Let's Play Cards!

"Shatter☆Break☆Grand Applause☆!"Jiang You let out a brazen laugh after defeating a minor magus in a duel.

Due to someone's complete ignorance regarding Servants, they failed to conceal even a fraction of their mana, revealing the full extent of their Spirit Origin. As a result, the moment they set foot on the Zenjou family's territory, they were mistaken for an intruder.

After defeating both the head and heir of the Zenjou family in a duel, Jiang You confirmed that these characters, who had little relevance to the main storyline, wouldn't generate any worthwhile rewards.

Feeling disappointed, Jiang You, with Illya's help, found Tohsaka Aoi in a hidden chamber—along with Tohsaka Rin, whom she was shielding behind her. Illya's distinctive appearance made Aoi recognize her immediately. Coupled with the fact that Illya already bore Command Spells in preparation for the Fifth Holy Grail War, Aoi mistakenly assumed the young girl was Jiang You's Master.

"Master of the Einzbern family, have you truly fallen so low as to resort to such disgraceful tactics to win the Holy Grail War?" Aoi glared at them, torn between fear and defiance. She had considered begging for mercy, but as the face of both the Zenjou and Tohsaka families, she couldn't afford to lower herself here. Otherwise, they would become a laughingstock among the other magus families.

"Your legs are shaking. Stop pretending." Jiang You mercilessly exposed her false bravado. "Besides, how can you call others disgraceful when your Tohsaka family is secretly in bed with the Church?"

Aoi knew exactly why her husband had taken Kotomine Kirei as his apprentice. Embarrassed, she fell silent.

Jiang You took a step forward, lifting the gift box in his hands, about to explain his intentions when a childish voice rang out from behind Aoi.

"Bad guy! Don't bully my mom!"

A young Tohsaka Rin jumped out, standing protectively in front of her mother. Clearly, she and the Zenjou family had mistaken the gift box for some kind of magical weapon. A gemstone, brimming with magical energy, gleamed in her small hand as she prepared to strike.

Illya simply flicked her wrist, and silver threads cracked through the air like a whip, shattering Rin's gemstone instantly.

"You've got to be kidding!" Rin, seeing Illya's similar age, had assumed they were peers. Having her magic so easily dismantled wounded her pride deeply.

"Seriously, I'm really just here for a visit," Jiang You sighed and opened the gift box, revealing an array of brilliant gemstones. The light reflecting off them bathed the chamber in a dazzling glow. "Your Tohsaka family specializes in gemstone magic, right? This should be more than enough as a token of sincerity—both financially and magically."

"So... this was all a misunderstanding?" Aoi let out a long breath. The Tohsaka and Einzbern families were technically old acquaintances, so visits between successors weren't out of the ordinary.

But before she could fully relax, Jiang You's next words made her breath catch in her throat.

"Oh no, not entirely. This is indeed a visit, but it's also a reckoning!"

"This is your family's business. Maiya Hisau, please bring Sakura over." With a snap of his fingers, Jiang You signaled Kiritsugu's group waiting outside. Since Kiritsugu preferred to remain in the shadows, Maiya handled the exchange.

"...What is going on?""Sakura?"

Mother and daughter gasped in shock.

"M-Mom..."

The moment Matou Sakura saw her mother, her eyes turned red. The defenses she had built around herself crumbled in an instant. She threw herself into Aoi's arms, unable to hold back her sobs.

Rin was completely unprepared for this kind of reunion and was left utterly bewildered.

"Sakura, my sweet child, tell me what happened."

Aoi had assumed that Sakura suffered mistreatment in the Matou household, but even so, it wouldn't warrant the Einzbern family bringing a Servant to demand answers. She realized the situation must be far worse than she had imagined.

"I... I..."

Sakura wanted to speak but feared her experiences would make her mother and sister reject her. She hesitated, turning her teary gaze toward Jiang You, silently pleading for guidance.

"Say it." Jiang You gave a firm nod.

And so, between her sobs, Sakura recounted her harrowing experiences in the Matou family over the past year.

Rin covered her mouth in disbelief. To her, magic had always been something elegant—its chants and patterns beautiful. But for Sakura, magic had been nothing but suffering and agony.

"How could the Matou family's insect magecraft turn into... this?" Aoi felt dizzy. Magi were deeply secretive about their crafts, so the Tohsaka family's knowledge of the Matou lineage remained stuck three centuries in the past—back when Zolgen Makiri had been an idealistic man striving to rid humanity of its sins. Back then, their magecraft had been noble.

"As the mind changes, so does the art. Power is neither good nor evil; it's how it's used that shapes its purpose," Jiang You concluded.

"No, I have to find Tokiomi and demand that he revoke the adoption!" Aoi clutched Sakura tightly, determined to return to the Tohsaka estate and resolve this with her husband.

But Jiang You blocked her path. "Guess why I was able to bring Sakura here? Also, let me remind you of something."

Silver threads gently pried Aoi's arms away, and Jiang You caught Sakura in his own embrace.

"I am Sakura's guardian now."

"...Sir?" Aoi's anxiety deepened. She couldn't read Jiang You's intentions.

"I know that as a mother, you care for Sakura's well-being, but you're far too late. And besides, in the Tohsaka family, your words mean nothing. I brought Sakura here to see you—nothing more. Now, it's time to confront Tokiomi." Jiang You straightened up, towering over Aoi. "I will visit the Tohsaka estate. If you truly care, come with me and hear your husband's answer for yourself."

Aoi nodded woodenly. She had no choice—Jiang You held all the power here. All she could do was hope that Tokiomi could handle him.

-

A Certain Hotel

"Lancer, did you sense something?"

The towering man stood up slowly, his gaze piercing through the walls toward the Tohsaka estate.

"Master, the war has begun. Let us march forth and show them our might!"

"Hahaha! You're right, Lancer. It's time to let these backwater magi witness the power of a Lord from the Clock Tower!"

Kenneth Archibald beamed with satisfaction at his Servant. With such a formidable Spirit Origin, how could they possibly lose?

"Sola, wait here for my victorious return!"

"Understood. Best of luck, my prodigious fiancé."

Sola idly swirled the wine in her glass, her response halfhearted.

Her fiancé... her Servant... both were so rigid, so dull. She could already see her future—lifeless, monotonous, suffocating.

A strange unease settled in her heart. It felt like she was missing something important.

She frowned, trying to grasp the thought, but in the end, she shook her head and cast it aside.

What else could she do?

She'd just have to endure.