[The video tinued.]

  [A Servant materialized beside Kotomine Shirou. She was an enting woman with an air of majesty and an alluri deadly presence.]

  ["I am the Assassin of Red," she introduced herself. "My true name is Semiramis. I look forward to your instru… Sisigou Kairi, was it?"]

  ["Tch!"]

  [Mordred instinctively reached for her on, her fighting spirit igniting at the tone of the Assassin's introdu. But Sisigou quickly stepped forward arained her.]

  ["Calm down, Saber," he said, his voice low. "o stir up trouble already."]

  [Kotomine Shirou interjected with a calm tone. "Let's focus on exging information."]

  [Sitting across from Sisigou, Kotomine Shirou leaned forward slightly. "From what I've gathered so far, Bck's Lancer appears to be Vd III."]

  ["Ah, no surprise there," Sisigou said casually, exhaling smoke from a cigarette. "This is Romania, after all. It's almost guarahat someone would summon him."]

  [He flicked the cigarette stub away and added, "And what about our own side?"]

  [Kotomine Shirou replied fidently, "You rest assured, the quality of our Masters and Servants is excellent."]

  ["Oh really?" Sisigou asked, clearly skeptical.]

  [Kotomine Shirou tinued, "There's more—Ruler has desded."]

  ["The fifteenth Servant, huh?" Sisigou muttered, stroking his thoughtfully. "Makes sense. With a flict this rge, you'd need someoo act as a mediator. As long as we don't draw Ruler's attention unnecessarily, it shouldn't be a problem."]

  ["Then shall we meet up with the other Masters?" Kotomine Shirou suggested.]

  [Sisigou waved the suggestion off immediately. "There's no need for that."]

  [Kotomine Shirou raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Why not?"]

  [Sisigou smirked and replied, "We're better off w indepely. My Saber is strong enough to fight on her own without needing backup."]

  [Kotomine Shirou tilted his head slightly, his expression unreadable. "I take it you're not a fan of teamwork?"]

  [Sisigou shrugged. "Guess not."]

  [With that, Sisigou turned aured for Mordred to follow him. The two walked out of the church, leaving Kotomine Shirou and Semiramis behind.]

  [As the sound of their footsteps faded, Kotomine Shirou spoke softly. "It seems he's bee suspicious."]

  [Semiramis shrugged nontly. "'t bme me for that."]

  [Kotomine Shirou's expression darkened slightly. "We still don't know Saber's true identity. She must be cealing it with a Noble Phantasm or some other method."]

  [Semiramis folded her arms and leaned back with a yet disdainful posture. "So what's the pn now? Shouldn't we deal with them before they bee a nuisance?"]

  [Kotomine Shirou shook his head. "For now, they are still our allies in this Holy Grail War. Let's not act rashly."]

  ---

  "This guy," Waver muttered, watg Sisigou's easygoing demeanor. "He's not even realizing he's walking into a trap."

  "Well, to be fair, Kotomine Shirou's not the only oh ulterior motives," Kayh ented dryly. "The Bck Fa isly unified either."

  Kotomine Shirou himself, still monit the group chat, sighed inwardly. "I suppose it was iable this would be exposed…"

  He g the messages, his thoughts a mixture nation and calcution. "But at least the specifiy pns remain hidden for now."

  Kayh: "Kotomine Risei, your sons are quite the handful."

  Kotomine Risei: "…"

  Risei silent for a long moment, could only offer a weak response.

  He stared bnkly at the chat, utterly at a loss for words. Both of his sons—one biological, the other adopted had mao distinguish themselves as troublemakers.

  A soft voice broke his train of thought. "Grandpa, are you okay?"

  Risei turo see a white-haired young girl with curious eyes looking up at him.]

  "Ah, ," he said, f a gentle smile. "Grandpa's fine, just… a little tired."

  ---

  [The video paused.]

  [Question: Who is the Ruler summoned in this Holy Grail War?]

  [A: Saint Jeanne d'Arc; B: Emperor Qin Shi Huang – Ying Zheng; C: Detective Sherloes.]

  ---

  Without hesitation, Bluebeard erupted with zeal.

  Bluebeard: "Of course, it must be my Jeanne d'Arc!"

  [Ding! gratutions to Bluebeard for answering correctly. You have earned 3 Saint Quartz.]

  Chihiro: "Wow, Bluebeard snatched that one fast."

  Tohsaka Rin: "I 't believe he answered correctly."

  Waver: "Whenever Jeanne is involved, that lunatiever hesitates."

  Darniodded thoughtfully. "So the Ruler this time is Jeanne d'Arc. We'll o keep that in mind."

  [The video resumed.]

  [Night fell once again. In the dimly lit church, a t figure appeared behind Kotomine Shirou, casting an imposing shadow.]

  ["I have e at the Master's and to provide support," the figure decred. His voice was calm yet filled with unshakable fidence.]

  [Kotomine Shirou turned and smiled faintly. "Ruler is currently en route to Trifas. She will undoubtedly bee an obstacle to our pns."]

  [He gestured toward the t Servant. "Karna, I leave this task to you. Please eliminate her."]

  [The se shifted to a blonde-haired girl sitting in the backseat of a car, a determined expression on her face. She held a whip in her hands, its golden light illuminating the dark interior of the vehicle.]

  [This was Jeanne d'Arc—Ruler, traveling toward her destination.]

  [The video ended.]

  ---

  Jeanne d'Arc: "So I will be an obstacle to you… and you've sent a Servant to kill me?"

  Kotomine Shirou remained calm in the chat despite the accusatory tone directed at him.

  Jeanne d'Arc: "Kotomine Shirou, you owe me an expnation."

  Kotomine Shirou: "My apologies, Lady Ruler. However, I stand by my goals."

  Bluebeard: "How dare you threaten my saint! You will pay for this!"

  Darnic: "Lady Ruler, if the Red Fa has chosen to act against you, the Bck Fa would be hoo offer you prote."

  Jeanne: "We'll discuss such matters ter. For now, let's see how events unfold."

  Kayh: "Something is b me. Why is it that all of the Red Fa's Servants appear in the video, yet none of their Masters besides Sisigou and Kotomine Shirou have been shown?"

  Waver: "There's definitely something off about this."

  Sisigou Kairi: "Kotomine Shirou, you wouldn't happen to know anything about this, would you?"

  Kotomine Shirou: "I'm afraid I don't."

  Sisigou: "Hmph."

  ---

  [The first question ended, and a new annou was made.]

  [The sed question will now begin.]

  [This is a quick-response question. There will be one questioed to the video, and partits will have 1 mio answer. Correswers will earn 5 Saint Quartz, while incorreswers will deduct 1 Saint Quartz. If no correswers are provided withiime limit, the question will be voided.]

  [Please watch the video.]

  ---

  [The video began.]

  [In 1994, a few months after the Fourth Holy Grail War, Waver Velvet had begun wandering across different regions. He soon found himself deceived by a third-rate magus in Babylon and ended up imprisoned.]

  [In his cell, he uedly reunited with an old friend—Melvin Weins.]

  ["So, you got tricked too?" Melvin remarked with a bitter ugh. "That idiot magus running this pce was my predecessor."]

  [The two soon joined forces, esg their captivity and stopping the magus's third-rate pns in the process.]

  [As they reached the airport, Waver suddenly turo Melvin and asked to borrow money.]

  ["What for?" Melvin asked, intrigued.]

  ["I'm going to buy back El-Melloi's

  ["I'm going to buy back El-Melloi's ," Waver said seriously.]

  [Melvin grinned. "Sure, why not? This sounds like a fun iment."]

  [The video transitioo Waver returning to the Clock Tower. However, as soon as he arrived, he was ambushed and kidnapped by Luvia's elder brother, Reines's aplice Lanis. This led to the events already known to the group, Waver being the ag monarch of the El-Melloi uhe title El-Melloi II.]

  [Time quickly skipped forward to 2004.]

  [Waver appeared in the as El-Melloi II, lecturing his students with a mature and posed demeanor. But the se quickly devolved into chaos as his students caused various disturbances.]

  [The blond boy who had guided Sisigou in the earlier video—Ft Escardos—was enthusiastically asking questions, to the point of causing a racket.]

  [Audent, Svin Gscheit, was bickering with Ft, their voices filling the room with stant banter.]

  [A girl with pink twin tails, wearing a Lolita-style outfit and a fancy star-shaped eyepatch over her left eye, muttered under her breath, "I want to be the mistress of the sed geion." This was Yvette L. Lehrman.]

  [Nearby was a traudent, Caules Fe, watg the chaos unfold with a reserved expression.]

  [Finally, a hooded girl with white hair, who was sitting quietly in the er, gnced up. Her half-hidden face revealed soft but determined features. This was Gray.]

  Tohsaka Rin: "Pfft, Waver, looks like you've got quite the following."

  Chihiro: "Girlfriend development, perhaps?"

  Waver: "Cut it out! That's not what this is!"

  Iskandar: "Hahaha! Boy, it seems your charm is catg up to mine!"

  Kayh: "Escardos, Gscheit, Lehrman—Waver, you're lucky to have so many notable figures as students. Truly remarkable."

  So-ui: "It seems he's far more popur than you, Kayh."