"This is not for us to decide, but for the Holy Grail."
"The Holy Grail chooses those worthy of it."
"And only one person is chosen in the end."
"That is the Holy Grail War."
"A requiem ritual where those chosen by the Holy Grail slaughter each other."
"I'm still not convinced."
"Even if only one person can be chosen, I don't like that person having to kill other Masters."
Rin suddenly spoke up.
"Wait a minute."
"You're mistaken, Emiya-kun."
"But didn't you say it was a life-or-death battle?" Shirou turned to Rin as she said that.
"That's right."
"Shut up, Kirei."
"Listen, the Holy Grail that appeared in this city is a spirit. Because it has no physical body, we can't touch it..."
"Do you know what that means?"
"Ah, that's why we need Servants."
"That's right. Only souls can touch the spirit body."
Rin began to explain.
"To put it simply, the purpose of the Holy Grail War is to eliminate all Servants, except for my own."
"That means there's no rule that requires killing other Masters."
Shirou breathed a sigh of relief. "Is that so? If that's the case, thank goodness."
"Then, even if I participate in the Holy Grail War... Tohsaka won't have to die."
"I see. So that's how you see things?"
Kotomine suddenly asked Shirou a difficult question. "Let me ask you, Emiya Shirou, do you think you can defeat your Servant?"
"No way, that's impossible."
"Exactly. A Servant is very difficult to defeat even with your Servant."
"Then what will you do...? The answer is very simple, right?"
"No matter how strong the Servant is, he cannot exist without a Master. In that case..."
"Killing the Master is the fastest way."
"Exactly."
Shirou looked surprised.
"Then what about the reverse? If the Servant is destroyed first, the Master will no longer be a Master, right?"
"No. As long as there are Command Spells, that person still has the ability to be a Master."
"For example, if a Servant loses its Master, that Servant can still form another contract with the Master who lost its Servant."
"This is why Masters must kill other Masters."
"If a Master is still alive, then he might become an obstacle later on."
"Then what if I use up all the Command Spells now?"
"Hmm... Then you can really throw away your Mastership."
"However, I don't believe there's any kind of magus who would use a powerful spell like a Command Spell in such a foolish way."
"If there is, then they're nothing more than cowards, worse than newbies."
Shirou thought irritably. "He's making me angry."
"He's definitely sneering at me."
"If you want to throw away your Mastership, then do it."
"Just do what you said. Use up all the Command Spells and cancel your contract with Saber." Kotomine said in a provocative tone.
"Then I'll guarantee your safety until the end of the Holy Grail War."
"Wait a minute."
"Why do you have to ensure my safety?"
He walked towards the window. "I'm not interested in it either. But it's my responsibility."
"I was sent here to oversee this Holy Grail War."
"Ensuring the safety of the magi who lost their Mastership is the top priority."
"This time?"
"That's right. According to the records, the first War took place 200 years ago."
"Hmm, so this war has been going on for that long?" Anos thought.
"Since then, the War has been happening every 60 years. This is the fifth time."
"The last War was 10 years ago, this time is the shortest cycle."
"Has this thing happened 4 times already?" Shirou asked.
"Really, the severity of the previous 4 Wars has been getting higher and higher."
"Blinded by ambition, the Masters began to indulge in wanton massacres."
"A supervisor was sent to curb such actions starting from the Third War."
"That was my father."
"I understand why a supervisor is needed."
"But... if what you said is true..."
"What if the wish from the Holy Grail belongs to a scumbag?"
It was a fairly easy question, so Kotomine just smirked in response. "If that's the case, it would be very troublesome, but there's nothing we can do about it."
"Stopping a master chosen by the Holy Grail is beyond our ability."
"It's no different from a cup-shaped magic lamp after all, the winner who possesses it can wish for anything they want."
"That's stupid!" Shirou shouted angrily, and Kirei only calmly replied. "If you don't want something like that to happen, then take it."
"It's better than having it fall into someone else's hands, right?"
"What are you going to do now, boy?"
"Aren't you going to consider the idea I just mentioned?"
"It's none of your business..."
"I have no reason to fight."
"I have no interest in something as vague as the Grail, and this whole thing is too weird."
"Hmm... So you don't care what the holder of the Grail does?"
"Even if that person causes a disaster?"
"Well..."
"You have no reason to fight, fine."
Shirou suddenly became aggressive and Rin immediately stood up.
"Emiya-kun?"
"What's wrong? You suddenly..."
"Hey... shouldn't you think about it for a moment?"
Shirou saw Rin's concern for him and turned his face away. "I'm fine... After seeing your weird face, I feel better."
"What do you mean...?" Rin asked.
"No, I didn't mean anything by it."
"I just said what I meant."
"It's not better, idiot." Rin scolded Shirou
"It's a waste of time worrying about you."
Shirou's thoughts: "It's rare... Tohsaka is worried about me."
"Phew..."
"Okay."
"I want to know one more thing."
"So what happened to the previous holder of the Holy Grail?"
"Nothing."
"In short, he held the Holy Grail, but the Holy Grail didn't reach its complete state."
"That's the result of an idiot letting his emotions get the better of him."
Shirou was confused. "What do you mean?"
"The Holy Grail didn't appear?"
"It's simple to make the Holy Grail appear."
"Once the seven Masters gather, the Holy Grail will activate itself."
"As Rin said, there's no need to kill the other Masters."
"But if you don't, the Holy Grail won't be complete."
"It chooses the one worthy to hold it."
"So it chooses a worthy person to be able to grant the wish?" Anos was sitting on the chair, his eyes looking straight at Kirei.
Anos had been sitting quietly since the beginning of the meeting, but now, his voice rang out, deep, clear, and filled with dignity.
"So... the Holy Grail will choose the worthy person, as long as seven Servants appear, regardless of whether they have to fight to the death or not?"
Kotomine nodded, his expression unchanged. "Exactly."
Anos stood up, hands in his pockets, taking each step forward as if the space had to retreat to make room. He looked straight at Kotomine, his eyes calm but piercing straight to the core of the matter.
"So you mean... The thing that decides the fate of the world is placed in the hands of people who have no morals, only knowing how to choose based on the results of massacres?"
"The Holy Grail does not care about morality." Kirei replied. "It only grants wishes to the last person, those it deems worthy."
"That's not what worthiness means." Anos said, his voice soft. "It can only be called survival. And sometimes, the one who survives is not the strongest, but the one who is willing to give up the most."
Rin looked at Anos, her expression mixed with surprise at what he said. But Anos didn't need to look at her. His eyes were still locked on Kotomine.
"Then let's say if someone like you wins, someone without ideals, without emotions, and only knows how to observe and judge, what will the world receive? An empty wish?"
Kotomine smiled. "If I win, it's because the Holy Grail allows it. Whatever the wish is... it doesn't go against its rules."
Anos was silent for a moment. Then he turned back to Shirou.
"Emiya Shirou. You don't want to fight. I understand. But you're in the middle of a battlefield. And hesitation is the first thing to be destroyed."
"Do you understand?"
Anos stepped closer to Shirou.
"I know that you don't want to kill people, you just want to be a superhero, but you should understand that sometimes you have to kill something, and if you don't kill it, more and more people will die."
"Do you understand what I mean?"
Shirou clenched his fists, his lips pressed together. "I... ."
Anos nodded, slowly.
"Then don't fight for the wish. Fight for the people you want to protect. Fight to prevent the wish from falling into the hands of someone unworthy."
Shirou was silent for a moment, then looked at him and looked at Anos with a determined gaze.
"I may be a new person. But I, Emiya Shirou, am still a magus."
"Once I decided to follow Kiritsugu, whom I have always admired, to become a hero of justice."
"So running away is not an option...!"
"I will fight as a Master."
"I will not let something like that happen again."
Anos smiled with satisfaction behind his mask, Kotomine also curled his lips a little and then he spoke.
"I have now recognized you as Saber's Master."
"Participants, fight with honor and fight with your hearts."
"Therefore, the Holy Grail War has officially begun."
"From now on, you are forbidden from entering the church."
"You are only allowed to enter when..." Rin suddenly interrupted Kotomine.
"When we lose our Servant and need a place to bury ourselves, right?"
"I know."
She walked out of the church.
"We won't see each other again."
Anos turned to Shirou. "Let's go."
The two of them started walking out of the church. Shirou leaned closer to Rin and asked her. "Hey... hey, is that okay?"
"Isn't he your senior?"
"That's right."
"But cutting ties with him would definitely make me feel better."
Shirou could only sigh when he heard that.
"But... why didn't he ask who you were?" Shirou asked Anos in confusion.
"Well, he knows that I killed my Master."
Shirou was surprised when he heard that. "Wait, how did he know?"
Anos didn't say anything and just silently followed Rin out of the area inside the church.
"By the way, Tohsaka."
"He said he was the one overseeing the battle. So does he know anything about your Servant?" Shirou asked her.
Rin shook her head. "Probably not, since I didn't tell him anything."
"Is that so? I thought you two were close."
"You know, Emiya-kun."
"Here's a tip: don't tell anyone your Servant's true identity."
"Even to people you trust."
"But for someone like you, I guess it's best if you don't know anything at first."
A question mark appeared above Shirou's head. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh, by the way..." Rin turned to Anos.
"He seems to know that you killed your Master and turned him into an owl, right?"
Anos nodded. "It seems that someone told him, or he knew it himself."
Rin frowned, glancing at Anos. "So... who told him? Could there be a spy among us?"
Anos shrugged, looking uncomfortably calm. "If there really is, then they'll have to find a way to escape my Demon Eye first."
The atmosphere was quiet for a moment. The four of them continued walking on the stone-paved road under the dim yellow light. But after a while, Rin suddenly stopped, turning around to face Shirou and Anos.
"That's it. I'll go the other way."
She crossed her arms, her voice a bit distant but not cold.
"I think... I've helped more than necessary. If we continue to get involved, we'll both be dragged into unnecessary trouble."
Shirou looked at her silently, his eyes wavering. Thoughts kept overlapping in his head:
"She didn't need to help me that much. She could have abandoned me from the start, and yet..."
"She acted because she believed it was right, not out of obligation."
"The Tohsaka I saw at school was arrogant and cold, very different from the one standing in front of me."
Shirou let out a small breath. "I guess so... but you know, Tohsaka..."
"You really are a good person."
Rin blinked. "Huh? Why did you say that so suddenly?"
Shirou scratched his head, smiling faintly. "I'm not good at this. But I know... you have no obligation to help me, and yet you still did it."
Rin snorted softly, looking away. "I just don't want to see an idiot rushing into a fight without understanding anything."
"There's nothing noble about it."
Shirou smiled. "I know. But... if possible, I don't want us to become enemies."
Rin stared at him for a moment, then pursed her lips.
"Ahahaha, I like people like you."
Rin blushed when she heard Shirou say that, turning away to hide her embarrassment, her voice stuttering with embarrassment.
"What... what?"
She crossed her arms, trying to regain her serious expression but her eyes avoided him.
"Anyway, no matter what... when you lose your Servant, remember to run to the church we just arrived at. That's the only safe place you can rely on."
"At least, if you do that, you'll be alive."
Shirou nodded, his expression serious. "Yeah. I know. Although I didn't think it would be that bad."
"No matter how you look at it," Rin frowned, "don't be reckless. There's no way I'm going to abandon Saber, and there's no way I'm going to let you die stupidly."
She let out a small sigh, her voice becoming lighter.
"Alright. I've given you all the advice you need."
"Please… be careful."
Shirou chuckled. "Yeah… I know."
"Are you two done talking?" Anos said in a rather serious tone.
"What's the matter?" Shirou looked to the side and saw that Saber had also taken up a fighting stance beside Shirou.
"We have a guest."
In front of the four was the figure of a small girl wearing clothes that weren't suitable for summer, and beside her was a large humanoid creature.
Anos sighed. "This is going to be tiring."
End of Chapter 4