Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

Nearby, on the edge of the city square, two suspicious men were holding crepes and talking loudly.

A red-haired giant, two meters tall, wearing a tasteless game promotional T-shirt and casual jeans.

The blond youth, whose fashion sense was equally astonishing, wore a simple leather jacket on top and overly ornate snakeskin trousers on the bottom.

They are the two ancient kings who descended upon the modern island nation: Iskandar and Gilgamesh.

"what?"

Irisviel was dumbfounded.

Why are Archer and Rider standing peacefully on the side of the road enjoying crepes?

Although it's not wartime yet (at night), you two look way too much like foreign tourists!

Archer and Rider soon noticed this as well.

"Wow! To actually run into someone in a place like this, what a strange encounter!"

Rider walked over with a refreshing wave, as if greeting a friend he bumped into on the street.

Archer stood still, his disdainful gaze sweeping over the three men.

"Why are you in a place like this, Rider?"

Saber instantly switched from her adorable eating mode to a serious alert mode, silently protecting Irisviel behind her.

Upon hearing this, Rider scratched his cheek in annoyance: "Even if you say that, this street isn't Einzbern territory, is it? Why can't we show up?"

As the Conqueror King said, it is their freedom to appear wherever they want, and Saber seems to be looking for trouble.

Saber was about to retort—

"That's not true. To the very end of time and space, this entire world is my garden."

The golden archer solemnly pointed out the Conqueror King's mistake.

His arrogant and haughty tone was so natural that no one even had the thought of refuting him.

However, after learning about the Hero King's extraordinary and absolute strength, everyone began to think that there was nothing wrong with his statement.

"..."

Irisviel looked worried.

She had assumed that Archer and Rider would be irreconcilable, but to her surprise, the two were actually lounging around on the roadside in perfect harmony.

Even the Masters of both sides haven't shown up yet, could this be...?

Irisviel came to a worst possible conclusion.

She asked nervously, "Have you... already formed an alliance?"

"——————"

A strong chill swept through the streets of Xindu as night fell.

In that instant when the temperature plummeted, all living things within a radius of hundreds of meters trembled uncontrollably.

The one who caused all of this was Gilgamesh, who had touched the king's sore spot.

"Watch your mouth, you flesh puppet."

Just being stared at by the King of Heroes's crimson eyes made Irisviel, who thought she was used to war, tremble and break out in a cold sweat.

"The word 'alliance' does not exist in the king's dictionary. I will never form an alliance with anyone—"

On this desolate and corrupt land, no one can stand shoulder to shoulder with me.

Gilgamesh gritted his teeth and said, "If you dare to speak so presumptuously before the king again, I will turn you back into a vessel (a lump of flesh) that can no longer speak."

The immense killing intent and hostility emanating from the King of Heroes rendered even the unruly Iskandar and the fiercely protective Artoria speechless.

As for the silver-haired android whose head was slammed by the King's wrath, he lowered his pale head, letting cold sweat drip onto the ground.

In the overwhelming silence, Gilgamesh turned around, hands in his pockets, seemingly oblivious to everyone around him.

"Going back is such a disappointment—"

"Isn't this essentially an alliance?"

A childlike voice made the Hero King stop in his tracks.

Shirou gripped Irisviel's trembling hand tightly, meeting Gilgamesh's gaze without fear.

"You can't possibly be completely unaware of what Tokiomi Tohsaka, Kirei Kotomine, and the church have been up to behind the scenes, can you, King of Heroes?"

"........."

Irisviel looked up and stared in surprise at the boy beside her.

Although he knew very well that there were Tohsaka family familiars and spies everywhere around him, Shirou decided that it was no problem to reveal that he knew the inside story now.

Therefore, he deliberately revealed in public the biggest scandal of this Holy Grail War, which showed that the master and apprentice were in cahoots with the supervisor.

It's easy to imagine how terrible Tokiomi Tohsaka's expression must have been, and how much Kirei Kotomine was questioning his existence, all from afar. Shirou didn't care.

"It has to be said that he is indeed the oldest king, and even his acting skills are remarkable."

I thoroughly enjoyed your clown act with Assassin that night.

Facing the Golden King, whose anger was gradually rising, the red-haired boy's childish face was filled with a sarcastic expression.

He undoubtedly wanted to reignite Archer's anger, which had already subsided, leaving even Saber speechless with astonishment.

Then, with a mocking smile, Shirou uttered a joke that would enrage the King of Heroes.

"Can you act that out again?"

“You bastard, who gave you permission to look me in the eye?”

Volume 1, Chapter 73: Gold vs. Lake Light, the Noble Phantasm that elevates the bond with her.

"How could this be...? The truth has been revealed...?"

When Tokiomi Tohsaka heard Shirou reveal his despicable private dealings in front of everyone, he was so embarrassed that he almost fell off his luxurious chair.

How did this kid know our inside story? Where did the information leak out?

Could it be Kotomine Risei...? No, that's impossible!

He had no reason to betray.

If it were to be exposed that a church overseer was secretly colluding with a magician, Kotomine Risei's character and future career would be ruined.

There is absolutely no way he would betray Tokiomi Tohsaka.

So it was Kirei Kotomine who betrayed him...

Tokiomi Tohsaka wanted to immediately dismiss this absurd idea, but found himself completely unable to do so.

Kotomine Kirei.

Tokiomi Tohsaka found this former church representative, a man who had become his disciple three years ago, to be utterly unfathomable.

Despite possessing extraordinary talent, he is indifferent to everything and lives a dull and boring life like an ascetic.

Tokiomi Tohsaka once thought this was his true nature and was quite satisfied with it.

After all, Kirei Kotomine is meant to assist in obtaining the Holy Grail as one of the seven Masters, and Tokiomi Tohsaka would be more worried if he had too many personal desires.

But looking back now, wasn't Kirei's unusual lack of desire just an act?

To lower my guard and to prevent me from suspecting him, he deliberately acted as if he had no interest in anything!

Thinking of this, Tokiomi Tohsaka's heart skipped a beat.

No, I was too hasty in my judgment. It's not necessarily true that Kirei betrayed me.

"Teacher Tokiomi."

Just then, Kirei Kotomine contacted us. He had obviously also observed the scene on the streets of Shinto through his familiars or Servants.

"What exactly happened? Why was our operation exposed?"

Tokiomi Tohsaka sensed a wavering in his disciple's voice.

Although he knew it was too early to definitively say that he was a traitor, Tokiomi Tohsaka couldn't help but feel a sense of contempt.

If you betrayed me, then you really know how to play innocent.

Tokiomi gave a wry smile and replied, "I don't know what's going on either."

"Could it be because I've been using Assassin too much lately that their whereabouts have been exposed?"

Tokiomi Tohsaka had devised a very meticulous action plan. His original intention was to sit in a rocking chair, elegantly sipping red tea, watching other magicians fight and gathering information, and then cleaning up the mess at the end.

However, after the war began, unexpected events began to occur.

Undetectable by the "Spiritual Disk," Faker was later identified as an Extra-class Servant.

Possessing firepower comparable to Arche, he instantly annihilated the Sea Demon, and his existence became Tokiomi Tohsaka's nightmare.

In order to obtain as much information as possible about Faker, Tokiomi Tohsaka instructed Assassin to intensify the investigation.

This also prevents them from fully committing to concealing their whereabouts.

Kirei Kotomine speculated that someone probably saw Assassin, who was supposed to be dead, in Fuyuki City. Considering the extravagant public execution on the first night of the Holy Grail War, it was easy to deduce that Assassin and Archer were actually in cahoots.

Kirei Kotomine's prediction is actually quite reasonable. If Shirou's methods hadn't been even more sophisticated, the plot might have unfolded in this way.

However, when the disciple's brilliant deduction reached the magician's ears, it took on a different meaning.

After all, although the Assassin's actions were directed by Kirei Kotomine, the one who gave the orders was Tokiomi Tohsaka.

This sounds like a complaint that Tokiomi Tohsaka interfered too much with Kirei Kotomine and the Assassin's actions, which led to their scheme being exposed.

So it's my fault? Tokiomi Tohsaka thought angrily.

Kirei Kotomine, oblivious to his teacher's displeasure, continued to spout his opinions.

"There's no point in dwelling on this now; the key is what to do next."

Tokiomi Tohsaka's words were both a way of telling his disciple to shut up and a way of comforting himself.

At the same time, the boy's sarcastic words came from the farsighted magic trick.

"He truly deserves to be called the oldest hero king; even his acting skills are remarkable."

"I really enjoyed watching the Joker show you and Assassin did together that night."

"Can you act that out again?"

“You bastard, who gave you permission to look me in the eye?”

Tokiomi Tohsaka felt a chill run down his spine: "...Kid, do you know what you're saying?"

If you want to die, just say so! Don't splatter my blood!

Come to think of it, this kid looks familiar... I feel like I've seen him somewhere before...

"what!?"

Tokiomi Tohsaka exclaimed in surprise: Isn't that the brat who's been staying at the Matou family's place?! How did he end up hanging out with Saber's Master?

Wait... Could he be the representative sent by the Matou family in this Holy Grail War?

Having heard that Zouken had left Japan, Tokiomi Tohsaka assumed that Matou had given up on the Holy Grail War, but...

Shirou Amamiya! Are you Faker's Master?!

"What's wrong, Tokiomi-sensei?"

“Found him, Kirei. This child is undoubtedly the Master of the seventh Servant.”

Tokiomi Tohsaka regained his composure somewhat.

The fact that the final Master was a child the same age as Rin is indeed a blind spot. No wonder they couldn't find any clues even after turning Fuyuki City upside down.

But that's all.

Now that he has angered the Golden King, it's pointless for Amamiya Shirou to be such a genius—he will die without a burial place.