TYPE-MOON Universe, Earth, Japan, Fuyuki City.
"Saber, what do you think I should do?" Shirou asked in an uncertain tone.
A day has passed since the conversation Shirou had with Elicia about backing out of the Holy Grail War. Currently, Shirou and Saber were sitting at the kitchen table in the Emiya Residence while Shirou picked at his breakfast with an uncertain expression on his face. As for Saber, she was sitting with him at the table, eating an absurd amount of food that looked as if it would not fit in her petite body.
"Honestly, I'm not sure." Saber replied after swallowing the food in her mouth and wiping her mouth with a napkin. "Part of me wants to see you see things through to the end. But that woman, Elicia, isn't wrong. You're woefully unprepared for an undertaking like the Holy Grail War. And I would rather not see you die during the ritual."
"I see." Shirou muttered while pushing food around on his plate.
"By the way, you should eat." Saber said while pointing at Shirou's plate with her chopsticks. "No matter what, everything will be easier on a full stomach. Remember, hunger is the enemy."
Despite himself, Shirou found himself smiling at Saber's advice. Even if he still had no idea what choice he should make, he decided to heed her advice and eat his lunch.
Meanwhile, at the foot of Mount Enzou, Tatsuo and Elicia were waiting in front of the stairs leading to Ryuudou Temple. Today, they would be performing the [Purification] on the Greater Grail. And Medea and Souichirou should arrive to lead them through the [Bounded Fields] any minute now.
And since it was still daytime, both Tatsuo and Elicia were wearing casual clothes, with Tatsuo wearing a button-down black shirt with the top few buttons undone, black slacks, leather shoes, a light white jacket, and a pair of sunglasses, Elicia wore a yellow sundress, high-heeled sandals, and a large straw hat.
On a side note, the two were almost late for their appointment with Souichirou and Caster because Sakura would not let them leave the suite without getting some pictures. And Elicia, proud of her creations, played into the impromptu photoshoot.
"So, do you think they'll really keep their word?" Elicia asked curiously, though she seemed completely unbothered.
"Definitely." Tatsuo replied nonchalantly. "The magical contract is pretty strict, after all."
Reaching that point, Tatsuo looked up the stairs, where he could see the silhouettes of a man and woman climbing down the stairs.
"But once we're back down here, all bets are off." Tatsuo continued. "I wouldn't be surprised if they see us as the biggest threat to them."
"Because of your Class, right?" Elicia asked with a smile. "Well, I guess I can understand that. I mean, you could be hiding anywhere, after all."
"Exactly." Tatsuo replied with a nod. "Anyway, they'll be here soon."
"Yeah." Elicia said with a nod of her own. "We'll just have to be on guard once the job is done."
It did not take much time after that for the silhouettes, Souichirou and Caster to arrive at the bottom of the steps.
"Good, you're punctual." Caster said with a nod, her hood still covering most of her face.
"No thanks to her." Tatsuo said as he glanced at Elicia.
"Whatever." Elicia said while rolling her eyes. "We needed to immortalize my latest creations on film. Even if we had been a few minutes late, it would have been worth it."
While Tatsuo and Elicia had their little back and forth, Caster, who like seeing cute girls in cute clothes, could not take her eyes off of Elicia and her sundress. And when she heard Elicia's rebuttal to Tatsuo's accusation, she nodded in agreement.
"It would appear the two of us have more in common than just being Magi." Caster said as she stepped forward to get a better look at Elicia's outfit. "Perhaps, once the [Purification] is complete, we could sit down and chat about our hobbies."
In response, Elicia's eyes also lit up. She then reached out and took Caster's hands into her own with a smile on her face.
"That sounds great." Elicia replied. "I don't have too many opportunities to talk about clothes with people, you know? So that would be nice."
"Excellent." Caster replied, her hood shifting enough so that the smile she wore was no longer covered by its shadow. "Then, shall we head up and get the tedious work out of the way? The sooner that is done, the sooner we can have our conversation."
"Sounds good to me." Elicia replied as she, while still holding one of Caster's hands, started walking up the stairs.
Meanwhile, Tatsuo and Souichirou exchanged glances for a moment. Then, in unison, they both shrugged before following the women up the stairs.
While climbing the steps, because Caster was with them, the trio did not have to worry about avoiding [Bounded Fields], a fact that made Tatsuo snort in annoyance.
"Is something wrong?" Caster asked as she turned back to look at the Assassin-Class Servant.
"Not really." Tatsuo replied. "Just wishing that it would have been this easy when I infiltrated here a few days ago. Instead, I had to play hopscotch and flip around all the moving [bounded Fields] on my way in and out so that I didn't get caught."
Though it was not visible thanks to her hood, Caster could not help the twitching of her eyebrows at finally having confirmation that Tatsuo had broken through her defenses not too long ago. At the same time, a plan started to brew in her mind for when the contract was no longer in affect.
Eventually, the group made it to the top of the stairs. However, instead of heading towards Ryuudou Temple, Caster led them towards a path that led away from the temple and down the mountain where the cave containing the Greater Grail was located.
"We're here." Caster said as she turned around in front of the cave opening to look at Tatsuo and Elicia. "Do you need me to do anything to assist you with the ritual?"
"That won't be necessary." Tatsuo said solemnly. "Although neither of us are as good as you, we're both accomplished Magi."
"I have no doubt about that." Caster said while giving both Tatsuo and Elicia an appraising gaze. "But since this is part of my workshop, I simply wished to offer my assistance. But since it seems my assistance is not needed, I will wait outside with Souichirou just in case something goes wrong."
"Sure." Elicia said in a cheerful tone. "It's good we have you here in case things get out of hand. And when we're done, we can sit down and talk about fashion. O, and we could even have a bite to eat. Assassin here is an even better chef than he is a magus, which should tell you something."
"Please stop volunteering me to cook." Tatsuo said in a dry tone.
"Oh, come on, Assassin~." Elicia whined as she grabbed Tatsuo's right arm and started shaking it up and down.
Meanwhile, Caster looked at Tatsuo with interest, her plans solidifying in her mind.
"Well then, Souichirou, let us give them their space." Caster said as she turned to look at Souichirou.
Nodding in response, Souichirou gave Tatsuo and Elicia one last glance before he turned around and started walking away from the cave. Caster, after nodding at the master-Servant duo, followed. The two then stopped by a nearby tree and sat down to keep watch over the area.
Tatsuo and Elicia, on the other hand, turned around and entered the cave. When they did, Tatsuo noticed that the [Bounded Field] separating the interior of the cave from the rest of the world had a small opening, just big enough for a person to step through, in it.
"She really is good." Tatsuo muttered while examining the opening. "I could make my way through this [Bounded Field], too. But I would have had to make a much bigger hole in it."
"Plus, it's kinda amazing how all that sludge is being kept away from the hole, too." Elicia said while also examining the opening.
"Yeah, that too." Tatsuo replied with a nod. "If I had opened it up, that nasty stuff would have poured out all over the side of the mountain. And I don't' wanna even think about what would have happened then."
"Anyway, let's get to work." Elicia said with a smile. "What do you need me to do, Tatsuo?"
"Nothing for now." Tatsuo replied. "First, I'm gonna draw a magic circle that will syphon the power of the leylines. When I'm done, you'll stand in that magic circle. Then, you'll feed mana to me while I use my [Purification Magic]."
"But wouldn't it be easier if you stood in that circle?" Elicia asked while tilting her head in confusion.
"If I wasn't a Servant right now, then yeah." Tatsuo replied with a nod. "but since I am, I can't replenish my mana on my own. So, we have to go through this extra step."
As he spoke, Tatsuo was already drawing the magic circle on the floor of the cave.
"But you'll have to be careful, Lici." Tatsuo continued. "There's much more mana in these leylines than anyone person can handle. So, you should only activate it when you're running low. Then, you should deactivate it as soon as… No, a little before you're full again."
"Got it." Elicia replied, nodding her head solemnly. "I'd rather not paint the inside of this cave with my insides."
"Yeah, that would kinda suck." Tatsuo replied. "Plus, I don't' think Alfonzo would ever forgive me if something I did led to you dying."
"Yup, he would be really mad." Elicia replied with another nod. "But I don't' think he would blame you… too much."
"I'd rather not find out." Tatsuo replied as he continued to carve the magic circle into the floor. "So, please just be careful."
"I will." Elicia replied with a nod of her own, her tone much more solemn than usual.
The rest of the process of Tatsuo drawing the magic circle continued in silence, Elicia not wanting to disturb his concentrated state. Then, after about ten more minutes, Tatsuo finished and stood up while checking the circle for mistakes.
"Looks like we're good to go." Tatsuo said as he stepped away from the magic circle and gestured for Elicia to step inside. "I made it so that it would activate with magic power. And when you absorb mana from the leylines, it will convert that mana into magic power. The conversion rate isn't that great, though. But that was by design. Because if it wasn't, the amount of mana flowing into you might completely overwhelm you."
"Aww, you're worried about me, aren't you, Tatsu-Kun?" Elicia said, jumping towards Tatsuo and wrapping him in a hug as she did so. "You're so sweet~~~!"
Tatsuo could only smile wryly. The nickname, "Tatsu-Kun," made him think of Mai, who he was starting to miss, along with everyone else in his home world.
"Well, yeah." Tatsuo replied. "I mean, you, Alfonzo, and James are pretty much my first real friends. Violet is… well, she's different."
Elicia only smiled understandingly at Tatsuo's last few words.
"Well, Fonzie and I see you as the little brother we never had." Elicia said while hugging Tatsuo a little tighter. "Your situation was kinda like what would have happened if one of our siblings had been kidnapped to build the Tower of Heaven. Then again, you probably would have broken out with Erza if that had been the case."
"Ha!" Tatsuo let out a bark of laughter at that, imagining taking down cultists as he and Erza staged a rebellion. "Anyway, we should get to work. I really don't wanna be here any longer than needed."
Hearing that, Elicia released her hug and stepped back. She then walked towards the magic circle on the ground. However, before she stepped inside, she turned back to look at Tatsuo once more.
"Hey, can you set up a [Bounded Field] that will keep anyone from seeing what's happening in here?" Elicia asked while looking back over her shoulder at Tatsuo.
"Sure." Tatsuo replied with a curious expression on his face. A moment later, however, he realized why Elicia wanted something like that. "You don't want Caster to see you releasing your [Soul Armament], do you?"
"That's right." Elicia replied with a nod. "I don't' know what she would do with information like that. But she's way too smart to not make use of it."
["Holy shit!"] Scylla shouted from Elicia's inner world. ["You actually thought something through? Who the hell are you and what have you done with the real Elicia?"}
In response, Elicia only rolled her eyes while watching Tatsuo set up the [Bounded Field] she requested.
About a minute later, Caster, who was sitting with Souichirou under the tree near the cave, raised an eyebrow before turning to look in the cave's direction.
"Is something wrong?" Souichirou, sensing the change in Caster's mood, asked in his usual flat tone.
"No, it's nothing." Caster replied while shaking her head. "It just looks like they don't want us to know the details of this [Purification Ritual]. The [Bounded Field] that just went up over the mouth of the cave is meant to obscure the vision of anyone looking in from the outside. It even obscures the senses of anyone trying to feel what's going on through the barrier. I guess they were not just boasting. They really are accomplished Magi. I would have to put in some effort to get past the effects of that [Bounded Field] and understand exactly what is going on in there."
"Isn't that a problem?" Souichirou asked with very little inflection in his words.
"If we did not have that contract, it might be." Caster said. "But with the contract in place, they can't do anything that would be detrimental to us. Otherwise, they would be forfeiting their lives."
"I'll trust your wisdom on this." Souichirou replied after a moment of thought. "I know next to nothing about the mystic arts. So, I'll defer to you."
Caster smiled brightly when she heard that. Then, she leaned over and planted a kiss on Souichirou's cheek, which did not garner much of a reaction from the stoic man. Though, he did wrap an arm around Caster's waist and pull her just a little bit closer.