A New Lesser Grail

TYPE-MOON Universe, Earth, Japan, Fuyuki City. 

Not long after Tatsuo's fight with Bazett and lancer ended, he opened the door to his, Elicia's, and Saber's suite. Wen e did, Saber had already returned with Illyasviel, Sella and Leysritt. Plus, a few steps behind him, Bazett followed with a listless expression on her face. 

However, that expression changed when Bazett saw the old man sitting on the couch and chatting with Illyasviel. 

"Wizard Martial?" Bazett asked in a dumbfounded tone. 

"Oh, it's the McRemitz girl." Zelretch replied with a nod. He then continued with a shrug. "Didn't expect to see you ear. "Kinda expected to see you falling past the window at some point, actually." 

The dumbfounded expression on Bazett's face only deepened when she heard that. 

"W-Wy are you here?" Bazett asked, trying to regain her composure as she did so. 

"Originally? I only came here to try this young Assassin's cooking." Zelretch said while gesturing towards Tatsuo. 

*Snap!* 

"Ah… That's right." Tatsuo said as he snapped the fingers on is right hand. "That was the whole reason we even went out, wasn't it? Hold on, I'll get started right away." 

With that, Tatsuo turned and walked into the kitchen. Then, making a show of cutting space, he pulled the groceries he and Saber bought out of his [Inventory]. And while most of those present were amazed at wat they just saw, Zelretch looked at Tatsuo suspiciously. He could tell that the groceries did not come out of the tear in space Tatsuo just made. Even so, he had no idea where they actually came from. 

"But somewhere along the way, I was made to sit here while Mrs. Taylor took my measurements and made new clothes for me." Zelretch continued after shaking his head. "Then, Saber and this lovely young lady from the Einzbern Family showed up and wanted to ask me to help with something. However, before I could find out what that something was, you and the Assassin arrived." 

"I… see…" Bazett replied in an uncertain tone. Then, she turned to look at Saber. "And why is that other Servant here? Did you make a contract with Einzbern after her Servant was defeated?" 

"Nope." Elicia said, popping the "p" as she did so. "She's mine. After you and Illya both almost succeeded in killing Emiya, I convinced him to back out of the Holy Grail War for his safety. Then, I made a new pact with Saber." 

Hearing that, Bazett's eyes opened wide in surprise. Then, she narrowed her eyes as she took a good look at Elicia. Someone had to have an immense amount of Od to sustain two Servants. Especially two as powerful as Tatsuo and Saber. However, no matter how hard she tried, she could not see through Elicia, probably due to the little artifact Tatsuo gave her when they first arrived in Fuyuki. 

"I see." Bazett said after giving up on trying to see through Elicia. "Then, I guess that means none of us really had a chance of winning this Grail War, did we?" 

"Not really." Elicia replied casually while continuing to make clothes for Zelretch. 

"Anyway, now that you've asked your questions." Zelretch said while turning to Illyasviel and Saber. "Would you like to tell me what you wanted to ask me?" 

"Yes." Saber replied while bowing her head slightly. "Though, I'll admit, this was not my idea. Rather, it was Assassin's." She then gestured to Illyasviel and continued. "According to Assassin and Elicia, Miss Illyasviel's heart is the Lesser Grail. And because of that, it has greatly reduced her life expectancy. So, we were wondering if there was something you could do about that." 

"Yeah, do you think you could transfer the Lesser Grail to something else?" Elicia asked, finally looking up from her work. "It would be a real shame if Illya had to die because of this. Because from what I can tell, she won't live more than a year after the Grail War is finished." 

"Hmm… That's quite the conundrum indeed." Zelretch said as he started stroking his beard. He then continued after a few moments of contemplation. "I'm sure transferring the Lesser Grail into another object would be no issue. The issue would be with the material to make it out of. It would have to be a magically receptive enough material to hold the essence of the defeated Servants. Yet, sturdy enough to not be damaged like it was in the Third War. And I don't' have anything like that on hand." 

"But you do have that kind of material, don't you?" Elicia countered. "And if you do, Assassin can use his Magecraft to shape it into a suitable vessel." 

"Can he?" Illyasviel asked, interest sparkling in her eyes. "Does that mean he knows [Alchemy]?" 

"He does." Elicia acknowledged. "But only to the point of equivalent exchange. He probably couldn't make a homunculus." 

"Actually, I could." Tatsuo said from the kitchen. "But I wouldn't. I've got no interest in playing with the principals of life and death. That just sounds like a good way to get cursed by the gods to me." 

Hearing that, the corners of Elicia's lips twitched. She could not help but think about the Edward and Alphonse Elric in her world, and what the God of Life and Death, Ankhseram, did to them when they tried to bring their mother back from the dead. 

"Hmm… Interesting… Well, yes, I do have the proper materials for such an artifact in my workshop." Zelretch said while glancing towards the kitchen at Tatsuo. "And if what Mrs. Taylor said is true, then there should be no issue. I would just have to hop back to my workshop, pick up the material, and draw out the proper inscriptions to be inscribed onto the new Lesser Grail during the crafting process." 

"Really?" Sella asked gleefully. "Then, that means Miss Illya would be able to live a long life." 

Not only Sella, but Leysritt was also excited to hear that. However, she was much less expressive. 

"At the very least, it would make her chances of doing so rise greatly." Zelretch replied with a nod. "But before that…" 

Reaching that point, Zelretch put on a serious expression, which drew all eyes, other than Tatsuo's onto him. 

"I'm hungry." Zelretch said, his expression turning playful. "I've been waiting hours for this meal I was promised and I'm not gonna get started on work until I've had it." 

*Crash!* 

Immediately upon hearing what Zelretch had to say, Bazett, Illyasviel, and Sella fell to the floor in a comical fashion. Leysritt, on the other hand did not react much. Though, there was a hint of confusion swirling in her eyes. Meanwhile, Saber's eyes lit up quite fiercely, despite the fact that she nearly bankrupted Elicia at the café a few hours ago while Elicia started laughing hysterically. 

As for Tatsuo, he just shook his head while he continued to prepare the meal. And Zelretch, after seeing all the reactions, could not help but smile at his little bit of mischief. 

About an hour later, everyone sat down at the table and had the dinner that Tatsuo cooked. And while Saber ate like she had not eaten in days, something that Tatsuo and Elicia had come to expect, Bazett, Illyasviel, Sella, and Leysritt moaned sensually after their first bites. Meanwhile, Zelretch raised his head to the sky to hold back the tears that were forming in his eyes. 

Then, after the initial reactions, everyone at the table started to eat with great fervor. Meanwhile, Elicia smiled, enjoying the looks on everyone's faces as they ate. As for Tatsuo, he smiled as well. Though, he did have to adjust the way he was sitting after hearing all the moans. 

After dinner was over, Bazett, clearly feeling better after a good meal, bid everyone goodbye before returning to her suite. She would more than likely report everything to the Mage's Association. At the same time, Zelretch opened a portal to his office in the Clock Tower to retrieve the materials that would be needed to forge a new Lesser Grail. 

As for Illyasviel, Sella, and Leysritt, they were pulled into Elicia's bedroom where she started taking measurements and getting ideas for new clothing. 

And that left Tatsuo and Saber in the living room to meditate. Though, Tatsuo's mind was not as free of thought as it would usually be when doing so. 

'I kind of don't wanna fight Rider.' Tatsuo thought to himself. 'Although she was kind of weird. I did enjoy spending time around her and Sakura. I guess I can leave her to Saber. I wouldn't mind fighting Archer, though. Hopefully, I can get him to use a bunch of different weapons. Even better, he might use his [Reality Marble]. Then, I could copy all the weapons in [Unlimited Blade Works]. And with the [Metal magic] I learned from Alfonzo, I might be able to make real versions of all the weapons instead of just [Projections].' 

While Tatsuo continued to think, time passed quickly. Eventually, Illyasviel, Sella, and Leysritt left Elicia's room and went into one of the free bedrooms in the suite to get some sleep. Meanwhile, Elicia continued to work on making clothing for Illyasviel, Sella, Leysritt, and Zelretch. 

When the morning eventually came, Tatsuo was once again in the kitchen, cooking up a feast. Feeding Saber was beginning to get rather cumbersome. Meanwhile, Sella, seeing how much Tatsuo had to do, decided to help him. As for Elicia, Illyasviel, Leysritt, and Saber, they sat around the kitchen table and chatted. 

Then, just before Tatsuo and Sella were finished cooking, a portal opened up in the living room of the suite. And through that portal, Zelretch, carrying a box filled with materials made his appearance. 

"I'm not late for breakfast, am I?" Zelretch asked with a wide smile on his face. 

"I should have known you would show up when it was time to eat." Tatsuo said while rolling his eyes. "And since I could feel you watching us the whole time we were cooking, there's no point in even asking that question." 

"Sheesh, you could at least let an old man have his fun." Zelretch said while rolling his own eyes. "Anyway, I've got everything that will be needed to craft a new Lesser Grail. So, I don't' think a free meal would be too much as payment." 

"It's not like you'd leave even if we told you no." Elicia said while continuing to stitch fabric together. "So, just take a seat and make yourself comfortable." 

Smiling at Elicia's permission to join them, Zelretch set the box he was carrying down by the couch in the living room. Then, he made his way over to the kitchen table and took a seat while waiting for breakfast to be served. 

After breakfast, Elicia took Saber, Illyasviel, Sella, and Leysritt out to see Shirou. She wanted to hopefully bury the hatchet between the two adopted siblings. Meanwhile, Tatsuo and Zelretch stayed behind in the hotel suite and got to work on the new Lesser Grail. 

"You know, you kids are really lucky that I helped in the creation of this ritual." Zelretch said while drawing out the magic circles that would be needed for the Lesser Grail onto a sheet of paper. "Otherwise, there's no one still alive who knows enough about it to help with the little Einzbern girl's problem." 

"Yeah, there was Zouken." Tatsuo replied. "But no matter what we did, I doubt he would have helped us with that." 

"Ah, yes. Zouken, or Zolgen Makiri." Zelretch said, a hint of reminiscence in his tone. "I helped him, the Einzbern girl, and my disciple's family, the Tohsakas, create this ritual so long ago. *Sigh* And now that Zolgen is dead, I'm the only one still alive from that time." 

"Hmph! Zouken wasn't exactly what I'd call alive, either." Tatsuo said with disgust in his tone. "He had become nothing more than a clump of disgusting worms by the time I killed him." 

"I suppose that's true." Zelretch replied while shaking his head. 

After that, Zelretch continued to work in silence while Tatsuo circulated his [energy] through his [Mana Reactor], refining it and making it purer with every circulation. Then, when Zelretch was done with his drawing, he opened the box he brought with him and revealed the materials inside. 

"Okay, if you inscribe this magic circle onto the item, you'll have a new, functional, Lesser Grail." Zelretch said, drawing Tatsuo out of his meditation. "The only question is, what shape are you going to make the new Grail?" 

"Not only that, but we'll have to find somewhere to put it after all this, too." Tatsuo said while thinking about a suitable shape for the Holy Grail. "We don't want it getting destroyed like the last one." 

"That's true." Zelretch replied. "But you don't have to worry about that. I'm sure the Mage's Association will think of something. As a Heroic Spirit, that's not something that you should even have to consider." 

"Fair enough." Tatsuo replied with a shrug. "Anyway, I guess I'll get to work." 

With that said, Tatsuo picked up the paper Zelretch drew the magic circle on and began to study it down to the finest detail. Then, once it was committed to memory, he took a look at the materials in the box before taking them to the room where Elicia summoned him and started to draw a [Transmutation Circle] on the floor. 

Meanwhile, curious to see the Magecraft Tatsuo would use, Zelretch followed him. And when he saw the strange circle that Tatsuo drew, his interest was immediately peaked. 

"I've never seen an Alchemy Array like that one before." Zelretch said curiously. "I must say, it's quite interesting." 

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that no one in this world uses Alchemy quite the way that I do." Tatsuo replied with a smile. "Anyway, I think I'll go with a cup. You know, something like the true Holy Grail. Keeping it simple is probably best." 

"Whatever you say." Zelretch replied. "You're the one making it, after all." 

Not long later, Tatsuo was done drawing the [Transmutation Circle]. Then, he placed the materials in the center of the circle and took one last look at the magic circle. After that, he knelt on one knee and placed his hands on the outside of the [Transmutation Circle] before flowing his [Energy] into it. 

*Zap!* 

A moment later, arcs of midnight purple electricity began sparking from the [Transmutation Circle]. Then, in an instant, all the materials fused together and formed the shape of an exquisite chalice with an intricately inscribed magic circle on both the inside and the outside of the cup. 

"There ya go." Tatsuo said as he stepped forward and lifted the new Lesser Grail off the floor while letting Elicia know that the task was complete over the telepathic link. "Now, we just have to wait for Lici and the girls to come back."