Shinji Matou at Your Service

"Such misfortune~~~~~~~~~~"

Vacationing in Hokkaido during the hot summer should have been a pleasant experience, but Shinji didn't feel any joy at all because of the string of events that had recently occurred.

The beginning of it all was when he and Arcueid teamed up to eliminate the Night of Wallachia.

Originally, this was a good thing. They extinguished a disaster before it could manifest, ensuring the safety of Touko and Shiki, and incidentally earning some merit with Lorelei to prevent her from constantly complaining that he was just wandering around the world without doing anything worthwhile. Shinji knew very well how hard Lorelei worked. Unlike other Lords, the Barthomeloi family governed the Department of Law and Politics, which aimed to maintain the survival and order of the Clock Tower and the magical society. It was the darkest of the thirteen departments. The Barthomeloi family, including Lorelei's father, had a notorious reputation in the world of the occult.

Yet, from such a family emerged an anomaly—Lorelei, who was once an outstanding young lady and now a lofty queen. If the Barthomeloi family, adept at political maneuvers and manipulation, was a bottomless quagmire, then Lorelei was the lotus that bloomed from it.

Of course, living in such a family and inheriting the lordship, it was impossible to remain untainted. Lorelei was not ignorant of political maneuvers and tactics, but she preferred to overwhelm her opponents with sheer strength rather than relying on such methods. Under her leadership, the Department of Law and Politics, which had been gloomy for countless years, saw a new wave of vitality and vigor.

The older the organization, the harder it is to shake it. The amount of effort Lorelei put in to bring about this change was imaginable. Shinji stopped his travels in India and returned to Japan to eliminate Zepia to support Lorelei.

According to Shinji's original plan, he would return quietly, eliminate the Night of Wallachia in this area that had been cleared by Akiha and was mysteriously barren, and then let Lorelei announce the big news.

Since he entered the city quietly and avoided making any noise, no one would know, let alone witness it. Lorelei could calmly manage the information, perhaps attributing the credit to the Brigade or even taking a break and then claiming he had encountered and eliminated the Night of Wallachia upon his return, ensuring his reputation would skyrocket while he remained in the shadows, earning great rewards silently. It was a perfect plan.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.

Shinji's plan went awry from the beginning. Perhaps it was fate, but people related to the anomaly gathered around, and they had already started fighting the Night of Wallachia before Shinji found its main body. Moreover, they witnessed Shinji and Arcueid's performance.

This was very awkward. Touko knew his nature and watching him show off was fine, but being seen by outsiders was problematic. The resulting reactions were the real issues.

First, the plan to earn merit and boost Lorelei's reputation was ruined, along with his intention to stay low-key until adulthood—even more so because the last True Ancestor, Arcueid Brunestud, who usually acted alone, now had someone with her to eliminate the Night of Wallachia. The Holy Church and other forces wouldn't miss the chance to investigate who this person was, making it impossible to stay low-key.

In desperation, Shinji urgently contacted Lorelei, Kenneth, and Old Jewel. He asked the two Lords to manage the information and draw the mystical world's attention to Arcueid as much as possible, ideally depicting him as a lucky tag-along. If that didn't work, they should focus the attention on him alone to avoid implicating his family.

He also asked Old Jewel to keep an eye on the Matou family and Fuyuki City to prevent anyone from targeting his family.

The three prominent figures agreed without hesitation. Especially Lorelei, who directly made a detailed plan for Shinji, including protection for his parents, arrangements for his sister Sakura's studies at the Clock Tower, and Shinji's plans. It seemed less like an emergency plan and more like a long-prepared scheme.

Alright, it's not "like," it truly is.

Lorelei's pride wouldn't allow her to conceal something like this. Compared to working behind the scenes, she prefers that this one young man, whom she cannot surpass, step into the spotlight and become her right-hand man. Shinji had always declined due to his age, but now that she finally got this opportunity, how could she not take full advantage of it?

Shinji was touched by her goodwill and regard, but he still had concerns. These concerns stemmed from the Fifth Holy Grail War in 2004, three years later.

Since returning from the parallel world, he and Justeaze had been preparing for this Holy Grail War. Most of the resources Shinji earned from working for Kenneth and Lorelei had been invested in these preparations, supplemented by continuous financial support from Tokiomi, and the weakening period of the Tohsaka family following Tokiomi's death provided great convenience for this arrangement.

If not for this incident, Shinji was confident he could fully dominate the Fifth Holy Grail War and ultimately purify the Greater Grail, regardless of how much the plot deviated—unless the opposing Masters summoned top-tier Servants like Gilgamesh or Ozymandias, while his side ended up with Astolfo or Mata Hari, who are essentially useless in battle.

But this possibility had already been ruled out. Shinji ensured he had three catalysts to summon top-tier Servants—Artoria's scabbard and fragments of Karna's chariot, the latter being spoils of war he acquired in India while dealing with some scoundrels claiming to be descendants of Surya. Additionally, he and Sakura had sealed the room where Scáthach once resided, which means three top-tier Servants, all strong contenders for the highest-ranking classes.

Even if Rin Tohsaka, obsessed with the Holy Grail War, used the world's first snake skin shed left by Tokiomi to summon Gilgamesh, Shinji would not be intimidated. At worst, Karna could take the Rider class by using his chariot, or remain as Lancer, while Scáthach could become Caster—top-tier Servants are overwhelmingly powerful regardless of their class.

With three top-tier Servants, and formidable magi like himself, Sakura, and Kiritsugu, it would be hard to lose unless they made foolish mistakes like Gilgamesh.