Sajyou Rei

After chatting more—or rather, after venting a few complaints to Naoki—Ayaka left. Though she had much more she wanted to say, for her, it wasn't the right time to voice those things.

No rush; she could wait until the man returned another time.

After seeing her off, Naoki and Gray also stood, preparing to stroll through the streets while heading to the airport.

"By the way, Brother, about the Fifth Holy Grail War… have you thought about which Servant you want to summon?" Gray asked suddenly on the way to the airport.

The question caught Naoki off guard. It wasn't that he didn't know who to summon, but rather that he had too many Servant-tier combat powers at his disposal, making him feel summoning a Servant was unnecessary.

He himself was already like a Servant, and not exaggeratingly, a top-tier one. Mordred was the same when wielding Avalon, plus Atalanta, who could flood an area with a rain of arrows at any moment, and Gray, who had trained relentlessly for four years. Against a second-rate Servant, she could still compete.

Moreover, four years ago, Gray would faint after unleashing the holy spear once, but now she could do so without issue.

However, since the holy spear could gradually turn its user into a divine being, Naoki had no plans to let Gray use it carelessly. Over the past four years, she had only used it once.

This meant Naoki didn't need to summon an overly powerful Servant; even a lesser-known one would do. If the Master's strength could tear through enemies, why not just roll the gacha?

"Hmm, let's summon King Arthur."

After thinking for a while, Naoki answered, "Of course, I'm not talking about the one tied to me, but the King Arthur connected to you, Gray—Arturia Pendragon."

"That King Arthur? Why? Didn't you…" Gray was a bit confused. From what she knew of her brother, reuniting with King Arthur from another world should've been something he eagerly anticipated. Why change it now?

"Because Arturia's tied to you, Gray. The issues with you—it's time to resolve them, right?" Naoki said, looking at Gray's face. "Though over the years, I haven't felt you rejecting your appearance anymore, I think it's better to let you meet her."

"Plus, there's Mordred."

Mordred had chosen to remain in physical form to awaken Arturia. Returning to that world this time, she'd definitely come along. Given the uncertainty of who might summon Arturia, it was better for Naoki to do it himself.

Of course, the main reason was still Gray.

"Or, Gray, don't you want me to summon King Arthur?"

"No, it's fine. You can summon any Servant you want. If it's King Arthur… it might be better."

Gray had heard from Merlin that if King Arthur appeared in the real world, her body would be increasingly affected. Beyond appearance, even her body would gradually resemble her identity, slowly moving her out of the human category.

She would no longer be herself.

But Gray felt that was fine. With a body like King Arthur's, she should be able to help her brother more effectively.

[Hehehe! Calling that Lia girl, huh? I'm starting to wonder how she'll react when she sees so many familiar faces after showing up. Maybe she'll just crash!]

Morgan, Mordred.

Either of these two was troublesome enough for Arturia. Add in Merry, who was worse than Merlin, the vessel that revived her, the Mystic Code simulating Sir Kay's personality, a half-Servant of another Knight King…

With so many gathered, Add didn't know about the others, but Merry would likely be thrilled—an avalanche of fun was coming!

"Oh, speaking of vessels… Before heading back, I need to pick that up. It's been four years; there shouldn't be any issues this time, right?"

Naoki was, of course, talking about the Logos React.

Previously, to gather Mana for the Greater Grail within it, he borrowed Fuyuki City's leyline and left it there. After over four years, it must have accumulated a significant amount of Mana.

After such a long time, the device should be fully complete.

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

At the same time, in Japan, Fuyuki City.

Mount Enzou.

Four years had passed, and Rin, now 21 and far more mature, stood at the entrance to the vast underground chamber, anxiously waiting for someone.

A few minutes later, accompanied by the rustle of leaves, two figures emerged from the forest.

Luviagelita Edelfelt and Emiya Shirou.

"Took you long enough. Traffic jam?" Rin asked.

"I have my own business, you know? Tohsaka Rin, you think I'm some country bumpkin like you, living in the sticks?"

Just like years ago, despite growing into responsible adults over the past four years, the moment they met, they reverted to their old habits—bickering and even clashing over a single mismatched word. This dynamic might never change, even as they aged.

Meanwhile, watching the two argue again, Shirou deftly and habitually stepped in as the mediator.

"Miss Tohsaka, Miss Luvia, please calm down a bit. You can argue later—right now, the leyline issue is more important."

"Hm, since Shirou's speaking… I'll let it slide this time, Rin."

Seeing Luvia cozying up to her butler, Rin felt like she was punching cotton. She sighed and said, "Fine—as Shirou said, I called you here about the leyline. I wanted to contact Naoki, but he's in London…"

"So, what's the situation? Leyline going berserk?"

"If it was, you wouldn't be standing here unscathed. It's something similar to four years ago."

Four years ago.

Shirou frowned slightly. "Class Cards… No, the Ainsworth family is gone, so it shouldn't be a Class Card issue."

"Right. The problem is actually where Naoki planted something before—in the underground chamber. Though theoretically, there shouldn't be an issue, just to be safe…"

Calling Luvia and Shirou was to prepare for potential danger, as, with Naoki's family unavailable, Luvia was the only one Rin could summon.

As they spoke, from the entrance to the vast chamber—

"Regarding the leyline anomaly, I don't think you need to worry anymore, Tohsaka-san."

A girl's voice echoed from within.

Shirou immediately stepped in front of the two, projecting Kanshou and Bakuya while staring into the chamber. "Who's there? Come out!"

"Oh, it's you… No need to be so wary; I mean no harm."

As her words ended, in the eyes of Rin and her companions, a long-haired blonde girl in an unfamiliar school uniform emerged from the entrance. She lifted her skirt slightly and bowed respectfully to the three.

"Allow me to introduce myself: Tohsaka Rin, Luviagelita Edelfelt, and Emiya Shirou. Though it may be a bit rude, may I ask you to answer a few questions? I've just awakened from sleep, and due to my limited abilities, I don't know much."

"Wh-who are you?"

"My name?" The girl gave a faint smile. "Manaka… no, having died twice, and with my other self's existence, using my original name feels inappropriate."

"Then… [Rei]."

That was the name originally set for the owner of this body.

"You may all call me—[Sajyou Rei]."