No wonder people always say that simps end up with nothing in the end…
After seeing Lancelot off, Saber turned her gaze back to Ren Kuroda and asked calmly,"Assassin, what do you need me to do? With the strength you've shown so far, dealing with Caster shouldn't be particularly difficult, should it?"
For most Heroic Spirits, the red faction's Caster was a largely unknown existence. But for Saber—who had participated in the Fourth Holy Grail War—Caster was someone she distinctly remembered defeating with her own hands using the Sword of Promised Victory.
"Defeating Caster isn't the difficult part," Ren Kuroda replied."The problem is that I can't find him at all. He was clearly prepared in advance. Even after tracking down the places he stayed in ten years ago, I still couldn't find a single trace of him."
He continued evenly,"You know how Casters are—experts at magecraft and magical tools. If he's deliberately hiding, finding him won't be easy."
In truth, Ren Kuroda's aura-sensing ability already ranked among the very best of all Heroic Spirits. Yet even after searching all over Fuyuki City for days, Caster remained completely elusive.
"Then what exactly do you want Saber to do?" Rin asked."You said earlier that you wanted to use Saber to lure Caster out, didn't you?"
She frowned slightly as she thought it over.
"Caster isn't Lancelot. If I remember correctly, his true name should be Gilles de Rais—formerly a marshal of France. Saber is the King of Knights of Britain. Their eras and regions don't overlap at all. There's no connection between them."
After Rin voiced her question, Saber also looked at Ren Kuroda with a puzzled expression.
Seeing that look, Ren Kuroda could only cover his face helplessly. At this point, he almost felt a bit sorry for Bluebeard. Back in the Fourth Holy Grail War, that guy had relentlessly pursued Saber—
Yet Saber herself had never taken it seriously, viewing it as nothing more than a normal clash between Heroic Spirits in the Holy Grail War.
Once again, the saying held true: simps end with nothing.Matou Kariya and Bluebeard were living proof.
"You've already encountered the red faction's Caster before, haven't you?" Ren Kuroda said."Didn't you notice how obsessively fixated he was on Saber? That obsession went far beyond what he showed toward any other Heroic Spirit—honestly, it bordered on fanaticism."
At his reminder, Rin, Emiya Shirou, and the others suddenly recalled the battle at the Tohsaka residence. Back then, Caster really had become unusually agitated the moment he saw Saber.
"But that still doesn't make sense," Rin said slowly."Are you saying Caster actually knows Saber? There's nothing in their legends that connects the two."
Rin frowned, beginning to doubt her own grasp of history. She even made a mental note to review her textbooks when she got home.
"There's no doubt about it—Caster, Bluebeard, and Saber, the King of Knights, have absolutely no connection whatsoever," Ren Kuroda said decisively."But Caster has mistaken Saber for someone else he knew."
He paused, then corrected himself mid-sentence.
"That famous French village girl… ah—no, I mean the Saint. You know who I'm talking about, right?"
He shrugged.
"As far as I know, aside from a small difference in figure and a few facial details, Saber's appearance is almost identical to that Saint."
Yes—very small.Roughly the difference between an "A" and a "D."A face-only enthusiast like Caster never noticed the discrepancy.
"You're saying the one Caster is pursuing is actually the Saint of Orléans, not Saber the King of Knights?" Rin exclaimed."But then how do you know all this, Assassin?"
Ren Kuroda's explanation completely exceeded everyone's expectations—yet it made an unsettling amount of sense. Rin couldn't help but wonder where on earth he'd learned all of this.
After all, even Saber herself—who had lived through the Fourth Holy Grail War—had never understood why Caster had been so obsessed with her.
"You don't need to worry about that," Ren Kuroda replied casually."Just know that I'm not making this up. As for my background… even if I explained it in detail, you wouldn't recognize it."
He gestured vaguely.
"I'm basically the same type as your Servant, Archer."
What Ren Kuroda meant was that—like Archer—he was a cheater who wasn't recognized by history, yet knew everything about historical Heroic Spirits.
But the moment he said that, Archer's expression froze in shock.
Those words instantly answered a question that had been gnawing at him for some time.
At first, Archer had thought history itself might have changed—that it was normal he didn't recognize this unfamiliar Assassin, since in his own timeline, Assassin should have been Sasaki Kojirō.
Yet what troubled him was that this unknown Assassin seemed to know far too much.
As a Servant of the same faction, Assassin shouldn't have known Saber at all. And yet—not only did he understand her identity perfectly, he even knew things she herself didn't know.
Now the answer was clear.
So that was it—this Assassin was also a Heroic Spirit from the future.
And judging by the fact that he knew Archer as well, Archer began to suspect that Ren Kuroda either came from a future even further ahead than his own—or perhaps from the future of this very timeline.
That would explain everything.
Just like Archer himself, this Assassin had already experienced a Holy Grail War once before—under a different identity.
Archer suddenly recalled the gathering at Fuyuki Church, where Kotomine Kirei had assembled everyone. Aside from Assassin himself, Assassin's Master had also been someone Archer didn't recognize.
If Assassin was a future Heroic Spirit, then wasn't it possible that—just like Archer—he was participating in this Grail War as a Master?
An unfamiliar Assassin.An unfamiliar Assassin's Master.
Archer shuddered.
He felt as though he'd finally pieced it together.
Assassin's true identity was likely the same as his own—a Heroic Spirit from the future. And the Master who summoned Assassin was probably… himself.
No—more accurately, just like Archer and Emiya Shirou.
A future version of Assassin, summoned by his present-day self—still an ordinary magus.
That explained why Assassin understood the Holy Grail War so thoroughly—and why, despite being an Assassin, he was also proficient in high-level magecraft.
Because he had once been a magus himself.
Ren Kuroda, of course, had absolutely no idea that a single offhand remark had caused Archer to spin out an entire cinematic-grade theory.
A theory complete with timelines, future selves, and causality loops.
Honestly, if Ren Kuroda ever found out what Archer was thinking right now, he'd probably recommend he quit being a "hero of justice" and start writing screenplays instead. Much better career prospects.
Setting Archer's wild self-theory aside—
Now that Saber understood why Caster was so fixated on her, she once again looked at Ren Kuroda and asked how she should proceed.
After all, she had already promised to help him in exchange for settling things with Sir Lancelot.
And her impression of the red faction's Caster was deeply ingrained. Even if Ren Kuroda hadn't used Lancelot as leverage, Saber likely would have chosen to help anyway.
A knight's code upheld justice and compassion—and as the King of Knights, she could never tolerate someone who slaughtered women and children the way Caster did.
Because of this, Saber became even more convinced that Assassin was fundamentally the same kind of person as herself and Shirou.
Otherwise, Caster's atrocities in Fuyuki City weren't exactly a secret—so why had no one else stepped in? Why was Assassin the only one willing to involve himself in such "trouble"?
In their own eras, these summoned Heroic Spirits might have been heroes or great figures. But here and now, they fought only for the Holy Grail.
They had already saved countless people in life. Now, they wished to fight for themselves.
Many could defeat Caster—but no one wanted to waste mana or expose their trump cards before the final battle.
And with the Fuyuki Church all but defunct, there were no Command Spells as incentives. Without tangible rewards, the Masters simply weren't interested.
"If the goal is to eliminate Caster," Rin said decisively,"then Archer and I will help as well. We'll treat it as a temporary alliance."
For others, Caster might not have left much of an impression—but for Rin, the memory was painfully vivid.
When she was a child, one of her classmates had been abducted by Caster. Rin had gone searching for them herself—and nearly met a horrific end.
She never imagined that history would repeat itself ten years later, on the very same day.
Back then, she had been powerless because she was too young.
This time, no matter what, she intended to kill that executioner with her own hands.
"Caster sees Saber as Jeanne d'Arc," Ren Kuroda said."And to him, the Saint is sacred—untouchable. That belief is his faith."
He spread his hands.
"So drawing him out is actually very simple. Since, in his eyes, the Saint must not be violated—then all we have to do is violate Saber."
The instant those words left his mouth—
Every woman present turned to stare at Ren Kuroda with the exact same look.
The look reserved for absolute scumbags.
Saber's face twisted with anger.Rin looked openly disgusted.Even Sakura and Medusa gazed at him with pure contempt, as if he were human trash.
Meanwhile, the two Emiya Shirōs stared at Ren Kuroda in awe—full of admiration.
Not only was this guy insanely strong… his skin was thick enough to rival a fortress.
To say something this shameless with such righteous confidence—it was almost inspiring.
"I know this is a bit… unreasonable," Ren Kuroda said, utterly baffled by their reactions."But Saber, you already agreed, didn't you? As long as I wasn't asking you to help me obtain the Grail, you said you'd agree to anything else."
Looking at Saber and the others' explosive reactions, Ren Kuroda was completely confused.
Just moments ago, Saber had been radiating heroic resolve, saying she'd help even if he didn't ask.
So why was it that the moment he suggested doing something that slightly damaged the image of the King of Knights, her reaction was this intense?
And more importantly—
Why were Rin and the others reacting just as strongly?
And why did the way they were looking at him suddenly feel… off?