In Type-Moon, it all starts with adopting Sakura.

"With my exceptional luck and affinity, I believe the Servant who can resonate with me must be among the strongest! How could a mere relic possibly compare to my luck and affinity!"

Speaking of which...

If Rin Tohsaka were to use compatibility summoning, what would she ultimately summon?

Is it Red A?

Logically speaking, it should be this person.

But...

In this timeline, Shirou is Kotomine Shirou, and no matter how things change, he won't become like Archer, so this option can almost be ruled out.

So, besides Archer, who is the Servant who has a very good synergy with Rin Tohsaka and can get along with her perfectly?

Miser, willful, stingy, unreasonable...

This Servant is extremely obsessed with gems, looks poor, seems very capable most of the time, but always fails at crucial moments and frequently betrays the trust of others...

In an instant, Luo Wei immediately thought of a certain guy who had been completely fooled by him and Gilgamesh.

You know, that's a really big problem.

So... it might really be that.

Now that we already know that Rin Tohsaka will summon a huge problem, are we really just going to watch her summon it?

Luo Wei began to ponder.

But when he thought of Rin Tohsaka's confident words and boast that she could solve everything without his intervention, he knew very well that even if he tried to stop her, she probably wouldn't listen.

and so……

Let's leave it to the professionals to handle.

So, it happened at Kiritsugu Emiya's house.

Knowing that Kiritsugu Emiya has appeared in Fuyuki City and is preparing to participate in the Holy Grail War to protect his daughter, Kirei Kotomine is having tea with him, exchanging stories about their past years.

Meanwhile, the snow-white elf, Ilya, was playing in the courtyard with a guard who was over two meters tall, with dark skin, and as tall as an iron tower.

What should have been a heartwarming scene turned into a rather unsettling experience for Kirei Kotomine upstairs.

In his eyes, the scene had a beauty and the beast feel to it, no, it should be described as a loli and a titan.

Because he could sense the terrifying power hidden within that body, and as a Master who had once cooperated with Gilgamesh, he was very clear about what this sense of oppression represented—the power of a top-tier Servant.

At this moment, Kirei Kotomine could fully imagine what would happen if his opponent truly went all out in the fight...

Fuyuki City might take off overnight, right?

It seems that this was to verify Kirei Kotomine's conjecture, or perhaps he had noticed that she was being spied on.

The dark giant who was playing with Illya suddenly turned his head and looked at Kirei Kotomine above him. In that brief moment of eye contact, Kirei Kotomine felt as if a huge arrow was about to pierce his heart.

That's absolutely terrifying...

If Gilgamesh is the strongest king, then this one can almost be considered the strongest hero or warrior.

Fortunately, the other party was Kiritsugu Emiya's Servant and had no intention of killing him; otherwise, he would have been dead in that instant of spying.

"What's wrong, Archer?"

In the courtyard, Ilya, who had been catching butterflies but was at a loss because they flew too high, curiously looked at the black giant beside her who was observing Kirei Kotomine.

"It's nothing... Ilya."

The black giant turned its head again after hearing Ilya's call, and then looked down at her.

Compared to the coldness and terror in his eyes when he was staring at Kirei Kotomine, the black giant now acted like a father when facing Illya, his eyes filled with tenderness.

He looked up following Ilya's finger and soon spotted a white butterfly perched on a tree.

However, the black giant did not directly pluck the butterfly and hand it to Ilya. Instead, he bent down his towering body, stretched out his broad hands, gently lifted Ilya, and placed her steadily on his shoulders, acting as a ladder so that Ilya could reach out and touch the snow-white butterfly.

Then, Ilya easily placed the fluttering butterfly in her palm, a bright and happy smile appearing on her face.

In the eyes of the black giant, that smile was so beautiful and pure, something he would protect even at the cost of everything, and something precious that he had failed to protect with his own hands.

“Ilya…”

He murmured softly, but his words did not reach Ilya's ears.

At this very moment, Ilya is busy releasing the butterfly in her hand into the sky, giving it its freedom.

Then, she lowered her head and asked if the black giant had just been calling her.

The black giant did not answer, but only a slight smile appeared on his lips.

Even without that memory.

Even if it's not that time and space.

Even though she doesn't know herself at all.

But none of that matters.

This time, he will protect Ilya's life no matter what, and use his bow and arrow to shoot through any enemy that might harm her.

Even if that golden guy reappears, the ending won't change.

“Archer…”

Watching the Servant below getting along well with his daughter, Kiritsugu Emiya, who was chatting with Kirei Kotomine above, felt a little more at ease. He had absolute confidence in the strength of this powerful hero.

If he had summoned himself instead of King Arthur in the last Holy Grail War, perhaps even Gilgamesh would not have been his match.

But now all of that is in the past.

He no longer craves the Holy Grail; his former desires and dreams have long since vanished. He is no longer the Magician Killer; now he is simply a father who wants to protect his daughter.

Kirei Kotomine also expressed his support for this.

After all, they are both fathers and have a daughter, so they can be said to understand each other the most.

Even Kirei Kotomine was moved when he heard Kiritsugu Emiya's wish or goal, and wanted to lend him a hand.

However, he now bears a responsibility, serving as the referee in the Holy Grail War, and cannot afford to be biased or cheat; otherwise, he might really have to team up with Kiritsugu Emiya to fight.

He apologized to Kiritsugu Emiya for this.

Upon hearing this, Kiritsugu Emiya naturally didn't think anything of it. This was a debt he owed alone, so how could it involve Kirei Kotomine and make someone like her, who had already reformed and started a new life, make mistakes for him again?

He and his Servants will protect Illya.

After learning of Kiritsugu Emiya's resolve, Kirei Kotomine couldn't help but chuckle. Although he couldn't personally lend a hand, as a friend, he naturally provided Kiritsugu with a great deal of assistance.

For example, he directly told Kiritsugu Emiya about the map of Fuyuki City, both the visible and underground sections, as well as the various hidden alleys and even the ley lines, hoping it would be helpful. Then there was the information about the other groups' personnel.

Just like when he helped Loewe, Kirei Kotomine told Kiritsugu Emiya everything he knew and warned him to be careful, then could only wish him success.

Then Kirei Kotomine looked down at the white elf playing with the black giant, a hint of reminiscence creeping into his eyes.

Once upon a time, when he welcomed Karen back, he must have envisioned this kind of life, and longed for this kind of daughter, except...

Compared to the lively and agile Ilya, Kallen, who always slacked off during training and liked to cause trouble for her, was clearly much more troublesome.

Over the years, Kirei Kotomine has come to realize that the reason he couldn't feel his heart beating before was simply because he hadn't been in contact with his daughter enough. If he had been in contact with her earlier, his heart would have been pounding with anger every day.

They really are a handful.

However... this feeling isn't bad either.

"Well then, I'll take my leave now."

After learning everything about Kiritsugu Emiya, Kirei Kotomine offered him the last bit of help he could before getting up to leave, knowing that he would be the busiest person after the Holy Grail War began.

"Okay, goodbye."

Kiritsugu Emiya also slowly rose, preparing to see off his old friend.

However, at this moment...

Beep beep beep—!

Suddenly, Kirei Kotomine's phone, which was in his clothes, rang. He took it out of his pocket and answered it.

He then immediately heard some alarming news that made his heart race.

"Hello, is this Kirei Kotomine? Yes, it's me, Lo Wei. I have some news for you, which is—you must be prepared for a series of gas explosions in Fuyuki City during this Holy Grail War."

Are you kidding me?

Upon hearing Luo Wei's voice, Kirei Kotomine couldn't help but shudder.

Give me a reason.

He couldn't help but ask.

“I’m not kidding you. Why?” Lovi said, “It’s because Rin Tohsaka is preparing to summon a Servant using affinity.”

"So what? Isn't this normal?"

"wrong!"

Just as Kirei Kotomine was about to give that answer, he suddenly realized that something was wrong.

"Who do you think summoned it based on affinity?"

"Rin Tohsaka, you probably guessed how troublesome it would be to apply that guy's personality to Servants, right?"

"Yes... Just thinking about it, I can picture the scene of the Fuyuki City bank being robbed."

Kirei Kotomine covered his forehead. "Why didn't you stop her? Don't you have a lot of relics?"

"There are many, but she told Luvia that she wanted to win by her own strength, so neither side relied on my help."

Kirei Kotomine: "So what do I do? Don't you care about my feelings at all?"

"Actually, it's not a big deal, so you don't need to be so desperate. Also, there seems to be some noise over there. Are you with Kiritsugu Emiya? It seems you've already met. You should have seen the Servant I summoned with Kiritsugu Emiya's artifact. Anyway, no matter how crazy the Servant Rin Tohsaka summons with compatibility is, it will never be stronger than the original Servant in the end, so just relax. You've already dealt with it once, so it's not a big deal if it happens again."

Then, while Kirei Kotomine remained speechless and choked with emotion, Luo Wei hung up the phone and successfully delivered the bad news to Kirei Kotomine.

At this moment, Kirei Kotomine, who had been in a good mood, suddenly felt dizzy. He decided that he needed to contact the gas company and the relevant construction departments in Fuyuki City.

It's easy to imagine how lively this night will be.

Meanwhile, Kiritsugu Emiya, who had been chatting happily with Kirei Kotomine, suddenly sat back down on the sofa as if he had been struck by something, and couldn't help but wonder what had happened.