Back in the hall.
Gwyn continued drinking his bitter tea, as if nothing had just happened.
Only the dozen or so walls riddled with holes and the giant crater on the floor silently told the tale.
“That might have been Assassin just now,” Tokiomi approached and voiced his suspicion.
“It’s not important.”
Gwyn spoke nonchalantly, pouring steaming tea from the pot.
“Yes.” Tokiomi immediately shut his mouth and didn’t say another word, waiting by the side like a Servant.
“Find me something to eat; I miss normal human food a bit.”
After a few cups of tea, Gwyn felt just drinking tea was boring, so he spoke again.
“I will go and prepare it right away.”
Tokiomi withdrew.
…
“Pfft!”
Fanatic spat out a mouthful of blood and stumbled to the ground.
Noticing someone approaching outside the alley, and knowing the Holy Grail War should be held in secret.
As someone of the Lawful Good alignment, she chose to follow the rules, immediately got up, entered her Spirit Form, and continued to flee.
“That Servant… who is he?”
“How can such a monster exist among Servants?”
“Which country’s history or mythology does he come from? He’s a bit too strong!”
Realizing she was out of danger, Fanatic finally had the mental capacity to think, her mind full of questions.
Unfortunately, she was destined never to get an answer.
Right now, Miyazaki Kotaka might be off experiencing his own magical little story somewhere.
…
Meanwhile, in a certain primary school.
The students were discussing a recent news item.
Many children had gone missing in Fuyuki City recently.
Seven-year-old Tohsaka Rin sat in her seat, listening to the discussions of her classmates.
Things like “perverted serial killer” and “child kidnapper.”
Even after class started, the teacher was reminding everyone to go home immediately after school and never linger outside.
Finally, the teacher said there would be no fifth period today, but they had to stay home.
Rin couldn’t help but glance at the seat next to her.
That was the seat of a little girl named Kotone, one of her good friends at school.
She was worried if her friend had fallen victim to that “perverted serial killer.”
Yesterday she went to a phone booth to call Kotone’s family, and a few days ago she even attended a classmate’s funeral.
Kotone’s family also said they hadn’t seen Kotone all day yesterday and had already called the police.
The more Rin thought, the worse her expression became, and she finally made a bold decision:
She planned to look for traces of Kotone!
Eventually, when Tohsaka Aoi came to school as usual to pick up her child before the end of the fifth period, she learned from the teacher that there were only four periods today.
Many children had already gone home after the fourth period.
After searching the school for a long time without finding any sign of Rin, a bad premonition immediately arose in her heart.
She also knew that news; people had been disappearing and dying in Fuyuki City recently, including many children.
Tohsaka Aoi first called the police immediately, then returned home and used a Magical Tool to explain the situation to her husband, Tokiomi.
Tokiomi, who was preparing gourmet food, stopped his movements.
It was during the Holy Grail War, and hearing such an abnormal situation.
He immediately linked it to the Holy Grail War and realized something was wrong.
He also immediately used his connections to have people search for magical traces in Fuyuki City to find his daughter.
Finally, Tokiomi took two deep breaths and brought the dishes to the table like a waiter serving a meal.
During this time, he was thinking about how to inform Gwyn of this.
But before he could bring it up, Gwyn observed his face and saw he was a bit distracted while serving.
Obviously, something was wrong.
“Something’s up?”
“Rin is missing,” Tokiomi stated the most important information in the shortest words.
“Oh? And then? What do you plan to do?” Gwyn’s interest piqued slightly.
“I’ve already sent people to look for her.”
“And I suspect this incident is inseparable from the Holy Grail War, likely related to other Masters and Servants.”
After Tokiomi finished speaking, seeing Gwyn still showed no reaction, he clenched his fist slightly.
“King, I would like to ask for your help.” He suddenly knelt down, then, feeling this might cause dissatisfaction, added: “This is my humble advice and plea.”
He didn’t want anything to happen to his daughter.
In this situation, Rin’s life or death was unknown; every second of delay was torture for him.
“Don’t worry, wait until I finish this meal. Did you make this?”
Memories flashed in Gwyn’s mind; wasn’t this caused by that guy Guijie, or whatever—the one called Sunny Boy?
“Sunny Boy? That’s quite a unique name; sounds like a cheerful, big boy who loves to smile.”
For him, these things were too long ago; being able to remember the nickname ‘Sunny Boy’ was already pretty good.
If it was that Sunny Boy, rushing wouldn’t help.
“…” Tokiomi was speechless, “I made it, Your Highness.”
“The taste is not bad, just not spicy enough. Next time remember to add more chili, a lot.”
“Go prepare a set of modern clothes. I’ll go for a walk after I eat.”
“The scenery of the modern world? It wouldn’t hurt to take a look.”
Tokiomi was overjoyed upon hearing this, “Yes! I will go and prepare right away.”
…
Tohsaka Rin immediately determined that guy was very suspicious.
Clutching the compass that could detect the strength of magical energy, she quietly followed behind the man.
Just as she was feeling smug about finding a suspect.
Suddenly, the man turned a corner and disappeared.
Rin was suddenly flustered and hurriedly ran out from the shadows, looking left and right at the corner.
Just then, she noticed the shadow on the ground suddenly extend.
By the time she realized something was wrong, a massive force lifted her up from behind.
“Ah!”
Rin immediately began to struggle violently and shouted out loud, trying to attract the attention of passersby.
“Stop shouting. You’ve followed me for so long; we’ve already reached a place with no one around.”
Rin froze, realizing only then that she had been discovered from the very beginning.
“Such a little thing dares to play Sherlock Holmes? You’re quite bold; I like it.”
“I wonder if a brave little kid like you will feel fear at the moment of death?”
“Kid, do you know? I recently got a great book.”
“That book records a very powerful ritual that says it can summon demons.”
“Demons, that sounds like something wonderful.”
The man talked to himself, imagining the form of a demon, with a look of longing and intoxication.
“No, don’t! You bad guy!” Rin continued to struggle.
Whether intentionally or not, the Magical Compass in her hand fell to the ground.
The sound of it hitting the ground was masked by Rin’s shouting.
“Stop screaming. Even if you scream until your throat is hoarse, no one is coming to save you.”
The man laughed, carrying a child in each hand as he turned into the entrance to the sewer.
After a while, the sound of rustling footsteps echoed in this remote place.
A young man wearing a simple gray long-sleeved shirt and casual pants appeared, looking to be in his early twenties.
His entire face possessed an indescribable beauty, reminding one of the legends of the Beautiful Young Man.
He bent down and picked up a pocket-watch-like object.
He blew the dust off the watch and looked.
The needle spun wildly, first swinging left and right in a certain direction, before finally locking onto the six o’clock position.
“What a clever and righteous little thing, though a bit overconfident.”
“Also, this aura is…?”
“Things are starting to get interesting, haha.”
With those words, the handsome young man put away the pocket watch and walked step by step toward where the Sunny Boy with the smile had left.
Each of his steps landed exactly where the Sunny Boy had stepped.