Chapter 171: Sir, Times Have Changed

[This unexpected action caused Fiore to fall to the ground, giving Sisigou the perfect opening to fire his gun..]

[Fortunately, Caules arrived just in time, casting a spell to block the bullet.]

Tohsaka Rin: "Uh, is this really what a battle between magus looks like?"

Emiya Kiritsugu: "Sisigou, you're crafting bullets out of fingers and grenades out of your heart. How does that even work?"

Sisigou: "Sorry to disappoint you, but this is necromancy in action. It's a unique technique of mine."

Kayneth: "Hmph. This kind of brawl doesn't qualify as a proper duel between magus."

Chihiro: "Director Kayneth, still clinging to those outdated ideals, huh?"

Chihiro: "Sir, times have changed."

Chihiro couldn't help but wonder why Kayneth was so stubborn. The Atlas Institute had already developed black-tech weaponry, so why was it so hard for someone like him to accept something as simple as a magical musket?

Darnic: "Fiore, your combat experience needs work."

Despite having the upper hand, Fiore had been caught off guard too easily.

Fiore: "I'm sorry, Uncle. I let my guard down."

Darnic: "It's fine. You're disabled, and your opponent is a renowned bounty hunter. It's not entirely your fault."

[Caules: "Sister, snap out of it!"]

[Fiore, shaken from her daze by Caules' shout, quickly resumed her counterattack.]

[This time, she used both of her mechanical appendages to fire simultaneously, shredding the car Sisigou was hiding in into a pile of scrap metal.]

[Sisigou, pinned down for real this time, didn't dare to expose himself and instead tried to distract Caules with taunts. But to his frustration, Caules wasn't the least bit fazed.]

[Meanwhile, the battle between Chiron and Mordred was headed in the opposite direction.]

[Having fought with only one functioning arm for an extended period, Chiron was at his limit. Left with no other choice, he sent a message to Fiore.]

[Chiron: "Master, I'm sorry. I can't hold out any longer. It's better to retreat for now."]

[Fiore: "Understood. Let's regroup at the designated location."]

[Receiving her command, Chiron made a sudden feint and fled the battlefield, leaving Mordred furious, her expression betraying her rage.]

[Mordred: "Coward! Running away like that!"]

[With Chiron retreating, Fiore and her allies also decided to pull back.]

[Fiore: "We'll see you in Trifas. That's where we'll settle this for real."]

[After delivering her parting words, Fiore and Caules quickly evacuated the area.]

[Sisigou: "Looks like their Servant's condition is worse than I thought."]

[Relieved, Sisigou lit a cigarette to calm himself down.]

[Sisigou: "Ugh, this brand tastes awful."]

Chiron: "Master, forgive me. The failure of this mission is entirely on me."

Fiore: "It's alright. The enemy was stronger than we expected. We underestimated them, that's all."

[Not long after, Mordred returned to Sisigou, visibly seething with anger.]

[Mordred: "Archer and Assassin both ran off. What about you? Was it a draw on your side too?"]

[Sisigou chuckled as he looked at her.]

[Sisigou: "Looks like you're getting the full experience of the Holy Grail War."]

[Mordred: "Hey! I haven't even said anything yet!"]

[Sisigou: "I can tell just by looking at your face."]

[With that, Sisigou commandeered another car and, with Mordred in tow, headed back to Trifas.]

[The video ends here.]

Tohsaka Rin: "Wait… you actually stole a car?"

Sisigou: "I didn't steal it. I paid for it. Anyway, the Mage's Association will cover the cost."

Chihiro: "If you find something you can exploit, you might as well squeeze it for all it's worth."

Sisigou: "Exactly. I'm risking my life out here, so why not let them foot the bill?"

Kayneth: "…"

[The first question concludes, and the second question begins.]

[This is a quick-answer question. A single question will be presented based on the video. You will have 5 minutes to answer. All group members may participate.]

[A correct answer earns 5 Saint Quartz. A wrong answer results in a deduction of 1 Saint Quartz. If no one answers within 1 minute, the question will be invalidated.]

[Please watch the video below.]

[Video starts.]

[Another day of teaching had ended, and as usual, the students of El-Melloi II's classroom were causing him endless trouble.]

[That day, El-Melloi II had been teaching the Kabbalah-based magecraft created by Avicebron. The students' assignments were acceptable, but there were always a few troublemakers.]

[Flat made a mistake in his credits, and Svin, not wanting to lose to him, deliberately made the same mistake. As a result, both of them now had to retake the exam.]

[The makeup exam meant El-Melloi II had to spend extra time preparing new exam papers, increasing his workload unnecessarily.]

[Later, Flat and Svin ended up fighting during class, which pushed El-Melloi II to his limit.]

[In frustration, El-Melloi II offered the other students extra credits if they beat up Flat and Svin.]

Sisigou: "Pfft, Lord El-Melloi II, your classroom sounds like absolute chaos."

Illya: "It sounds so fun! Can I join someday?"

Emiya Kiritsugu: "We'll talk about this later."

Kayneth: "This is absurd! Outrageous! Waver, is this really the classroom you're running?"

Waver: "???"

Waver: "Why are you asking me about this, @El-Melloi II?"

El-Melloi II: "???"

Normally, people called for him when something happened, but now, it was Waver being blamed for it.

"Why didn't I realize how insufferable I must've been when I was younger?" El-Melloi II thought bitterly.

[After class, Gray was invited by Reines to have afternoon tea, where they discussed the aftermath of the Mystic Eye Collection Train incident.]

[Gray mentioned that she had become friends with Olga Marie Animusphere, and, at Olga's invitation, had visited the Animusphere household several times. Olga confided that she planned to sell the family's nuclear power plant, which was draining their resources.]

Kayneth: "A nuclear power plant?! What on earth was Marisbury Animusphere thinking when he built something like that?"

Tohsaka Rin: "They built a nuclear power plant? Are all the Lords this ridiculously wealthy?"

Sisigou: "Even if they are, spending money like that is insane. No wonder they have to sell it."

[Reines later mentioned that El-Melloi II had been offered a place in the Fifth Holy Grail War, replacing someone who had dropped out. However, he had declined the offer.]

[El-Melloi II had no choice but to decline because Faker was still alive. He couldn't simply leave while the case remained unresolved.]

[His decision to withdraw angered Atrum Galliasta, another participant who bore a grudge against El-Melloi II. Atrum openly expressed his desire to challenge him during the Holy Grail War, but El-Melloi II refused, leaving Atrum no choice but to storm off in frustration.]

[Atrum eventually departed for Fuyuki City, signaling that the Fifth Holy Grail War was imminent.]

Tohsaka Rin: "What?! You finally had the chance to participate, and you turned it down?"

Iskandar: "Oh, what a shame! I was hoping for another chance to see you in action."

Emiya Kiritsugu: "The Fifth Holy Grail War… it's approaching fast."

Kayneth: "Hmph. Waver Velvet, at least you made the right choice here. You didn't put personal ambition above your responsibilities."

Waver: "…"

[Reines then brought up Heartless, the mastermind behind the Mystic Eye Collection Train incident.]

[Reines: "After tracing everything back to the source, it's clear that a man named Heartless has connections to my older brother through earlier incidents."]

[Gray: "An earlier incident?"]

[Reines: "Yes, the Iselma case."]

[Reines explained that during an underground auction, where the holy relic "Siegfried's Bloodstained linden Leaf" was being offered as a reward for Aozaki Touko, someone had bid an astronomical sum of money for it.]

[Gray: "So, it all started there…"]

[Gray's thoughts drifted back to the past.]

Kayneth: "The Iselma family is tied to Heartless as well?"

Sola-ui: "How many people has this Heartless worked with?"

The Iselma family is a branch of the Barthomeloi faction, one of the Twelve Lord.

For generations, the Iselma family had been obsessed with creating the "most beautiful human being." Their experiments resulted in two creations: the Golden Princess and the Silver Princess, said to be so perfect that they redefined beauty itself.

The mention of the Iselma case caused concern among Darnic and others, especially regarding Siegfried's Leaf. Gordes had used this relic to summon Siegfried, but now it had somehow fallen into the hands of a grand magus in another world.

[The scene shifts to the past, as Reines and Gray prepare to attend an Iselma family banquet.]

[This was where the case began.]

[Reines wasn't fond of such social gatherings, but upon hearing that a top-tier magus would be attending, she reluctantly agreed to go.]

[The two women departed from London, traveling three and a half hours on the West Coast Main Line. They switched trains at Oxenholme Station before arriving at Windermere, their final destination.]

[A carriage was already waiting for them upon their arrival. When they stepped out, the driver approached to greet them.]

[Driver: "Greetings. You must be Lady Reines El-Melloi Archisorte."]

[Reines: "That's me."]

[Driver: "Lord Byron sent me to escort you. Please, step into the carriage."]

[The carriage began moving, its suspension so finely tuned that the ride was smooth even on the rugged mountain roads.]

[Eventually, they arrived at a lakeside estate dominated by two identical four-story towers.]

[This was the residence of the Iselma family, from which their name—the Twin Towers Iselma—was derived.]

[The driver introduced the Sun Tower on the east side and the Moon Tower on the west side. He then brought them to the Moon Tower, where they were to stay.]

[After the two disembarked, the driver and carriage melted away, shrinking down into a toy tin soldier and a miniature toy carriage.]

T/N: As this Iselma Q&A session while its not bad it was drawn out for too long, so 3 chps per day to get over with it quickly.