Chapter 88 - Epilogue

Epilogue

Three months later...

Compared to the frigid winter during the Fourth Holy Grail War, spring in Fuyuki was pleasantly mild—perfect for a stroll or a bit of leisure.

"So... Kirei Kotomine's body is still missing?"

In a quiet café, Irisviel von Einzbern sipped her coffee as she spoke to Tenkei Shiomi across the table. Waver Velvet was seated beside them.

"Yes. Neither the Holy Church nor the Mage's Association has found any trace of his body," Shiomi replied with a slight nod. "Based on what you told me, Kirei was definitely impaled through the heart by the Black Holy Grail and fell into the lake."

Waver chimed in with a theory. "Could he have been swallowed by the Greater Grail? That thing looked like it could devour anything."

"We can't rule it out, but it still leaves me uneasy," Shiomi said, taking a sip of his coffee. "I tried using items tied to Kirei to cast a tracking spell. Every result came back with the same conclusion—he's dead."

Irisviel let out a soft sigh. "If that's the case…"

She wanted to offer some words of comfort, but in the end, nothing felt quite right. Kirei Kotomine, who had once made Kiritsugu so wary, being so quietly and unceremoniously killed by the very Grail he helped awaken—it was far from a reassuring end.

"Forget it. Let's change the subject," Shiomi said, turning his gaze toward the café window.

Outside, Kiritsugu Emiya was standing with a silver-haired young girl, peering into a storefront display.

Illyasviel von Einzbern.

Half a month after the Holy Grail War ended, Irisviel had come to Shiomi personally, asking him to help her husband travel to Germany and retrieve their daughter from the Einzbern estate.

Realistically, Kiritsugu could have done it alone. But to be safe, they had hired Shiomi for support—no expense spared.

"Who's the boy?" Shiomi asked.

Beside Kiritsugu stood a young red-haired boy.

"Oh, him? His name's Shirou," Irisviel explained. "His parents died in a car accident last month, and he had no remaining relatives. He happened to get along with Kiritsugu, so he took him in and gave him the Emiya name."

Shiomi nodded, understanding. He didn't pry further.

Having adopted two children himself, he had no reason to question another man's decision to do the same.

Their meeting today over coffee was really just an exchange of information—an informal debriefing after the war.

As the Masters who had made it through the chaos, it was only natural they'd want to keep up with the aftermath.

"I heard the Tohsaka girl's been studying with you lately?" Irisviel asked.

"It's more of a temporary measure," Shiomi said, shaking his head.

Tokiomi Tohsaka had indeed survived—barely.

But having been forcibly used as the activation core for the Grail, his Magic Circuits were severely damaged. Though he could still perform Magecraft, he could no longer be called a true Magus—only a Magecraft practitioner.

Already less gifted than his daughter Rin to begin with, Tokiomi now found himself completely unable to instruct her in advanced magic.

After careful thought, he had asked Shiomi to step in as a private tutor, teaching Rin the fundamentals. Their lessons were held about once a month.

Shiomi had to admit—Rin, with her rare alignment of all five elemental affinities, was in many ways more gifted than Sakura.

Perhaps it was a flicker of jealousy on Sakura's behalf that made him decide not to have her attend those lessons alongside Rin.

Instead, Sakura's Magecraft was entrusted entirely to Morgan.

If the students were of similar potential, then the only way to make a difference was through the level of the teacher.

"In three months, Mr. Tokiomi will begin transferring the Magic Crest to his daughter," Shiomi continued. "Rin will take over as the next head of the Tohsaka family. It's already been reported to the Mage's Association."

From then on, Tokiomi would serve only as her father, handling the Tohsaka family's affairs until Rin came of age.

He could no longer guide her as a Magus, but he didn't seem too discontent with the way things had turned out.

Being alive—more than anything—was enough.

"The Mage's Association..." Waver murmured.

Just a few days after the Holy Grail War ended, he had received the official war report as one of the surviving Magi.

Tenkei Shiomi, now sitting before him, had killed Kayneth and his Servant in direct combat.

"Don't look at me like that. The Holy Grail War is a fight to the death. Kayneth understood that perfectly," Shiomi said, raising an eyebrow.

"I know," Waver sighed.

Ever since learning the truth, he'd felt a measure of guilt over Kayneth's death.

If the King of Conquerors had been contracted to Kayneth instead of him, the outcome of the battle between his teacher and Shiomi might have been very different.

"So, Waver, aren't you heading back to England?" Shiomi asked. "You were technically skipping class at the Clock Tower to take part in the Holy Grail War, right?"

"I'm planning to take a break from school," Waver replied casually. "Then I want to travel. See more of the world. Learn about things I never even considered before."

The world was vast—filled with things he hadn't even begun to understand.

"Of course... being around a king changes a person," Shiomi said with a knowing smile.

Irisviel, listening nearby, let out a soft laugh.

...

After the conversation, Irisviel went to rejoin her family, and together they headed toward Miyama Town by car.

Kiritsugu Emiya had bought a house there and was currently renovating it. It looked like they were planning to settle down.

Waver, meanwhile, made his way to the shopping mall in Shinto to pick up supplies for his upcoming journey.

"Done talking?"

Morgan came downstairs after making sure everyone else had left. She'd been upstairs having snacks with Sakura and Caren.

She was still wearing the same blue kimono—clearly fond of the outfit Shiomi had picked for her.

"All done. We can head to the park and see the cherry blossoms soon," Shiomi said, pointedly looking at Sakura as he spoke.

Caren giggled behind her hand. "Are you admiring the flowers on the trees or your sister over there?"

"Dad!" Sakura pouted, protesting loudly.

Shiomi laughed and dodged playfully, then turned to Morgan with a more serious topic.

"I don't plan to stay in Fuyuki—or Japan—forever. In a couple of years, when Sakura and Caren are a bit older, I want to travel with them. Help them grow, see the world."

He closed one eye thoughtfully.

"So I'll need to set you up with a false identity—just in case. Something to keep people from asking questions."

After all, as a high-ranking familiar and a legendary witch, Morgan would draw more than a little unwanted attention.

"What do you mean?"

"We need to come up with an alias. If you have a name in mind, let me know. There's no rush."

Morgan tapped her chin, thinking briefly.

"Actually, I've already decided. I'll take your family name. As for the given name..."

She looked at him with a tenderness so unexpected, it left Shiomi momentarily speechless.

"Let's go with Aesc."

...

(40 Chapters Ahead)

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