Fate/Reawakened Wishes

[wingstrike96]

[X] Let Naoki entertain you until Seran is finished with his meeting. Maybe he could also assist you with browsing the antiques.

 

[Sumanai]

[x] Let Naoki entertain you until Seran is finished with his meeting. Maybe he could also assist you with browsing the antiques.

For we are a magnanimous master, and it would be cruel to deprive the child of our brilliance.

 

[Edgedancer]

And calling the vote. Naoki is going to be so happy.

I also started on getting some character sheets up. More is going to be added as the story progresses, so for now the new information is basically some specifics on all the magical shenanigans crammed into Karisviel's body.

 

[Edgedancer]

Spoiler: Winning Vote

[] Let Naoki entertain you until Seran is finished with his meeting. Maybe he could also assist you with browsing the antiques.

"You're a very lucky man, Naoki. Do you know why?" you ask him.

"You mean besides the fact that I got to meet you?"

"Yes. I'm going to have you take responsibility for your employer and have you entertain me until he finishes his meeting."

"I see. We can't... expect someone of your status to wait and suffer such an indignity as boredom."

"Exactly!"

"The boss can count himself lucky that you have enough restraint to not simply burst into his meeting."

"You may stop stating the obvious now."

The corners of Naoki's smile twitch. You intended to let it slide, but before you can say anything, Idasviel moves in front of the counter. She leans forward until her face was right in front of Naoki's, requiring her to stand up on her tiptoes and balance herself with both her hands on the counter, also placing down the box of chocolates.

"Don't worry, when my elder sister said the obvious, she only meant explaining her actions. You can continue mentioning her positives as much as you want. There's no need to be roundabout about it either. Just be honest about whatever fraction of her boundless charm has captivated you and she'll graciously accept your feelings. So go ahead, praise her right now."

"No, I don't think that's appropriate," he says, leaning back slightly.

Idasviel vaults over the counter and positions herself behind Naoki. Even if she's slightly smaller than him and has no visible muscles, her strength as a Servant made it easy for her to simply grab him by the shoulders and push him towards you.

"Now now now now now," Idasviel says, a frantic edge entering her voice as she brings her mouth right next to his ear. "Don't worry about silly things like that. Just be honest. It feels so liberating."

He awkwardly looks at Idasviel out of the corner of his eyes—unwilling to actually turn his head towards her—and then finally surrenders to your wholesome glory. "Karisviel," he says, meeting your eyes now, "you're a very beautiful woman. Almost otherworldly so, as if you're a fairytale princess that stepped right out of a picture book."

You give an appreciative hum at the description. "Very good, Naoki. That's much better than having to bottle up all the passion my presence inspires within you, isn't it?"

"Oh yeah, sure. I'm so lucky your personality matches your outward brilliance. Otherwise this whole conversation would be… unbearable."

"Ah, it's wonderful how good you are at praising Elder Sister," Idasviel says, all but swooning as she sees your contend smile.

"Oh no, I should be thanking you for helping me get over my silly inhibitions."

"I'm just doing my duty towards my sister, I don't deserve any thanks for something as natural as that." This time it's Idasviel who doesn't meet Naoki's eyes, instead she's staring at where she's clinging to his shoulders. A slight blush is spreading over her cheeks.

Naoki considered her for a while, then his smile grows a bit wider. Surely he had just awoken to your sister's charm as well. You knew that people would have no choice but to love you once you left the castle, but even you hadn't imagined that the two of you would be such heartbreakers.

"I still think it's admirable. Karisviel can count herself lucky to have such a dutiful little sister as you. I'm sure she counts you as just as much of a blessing as the brilliance she was born with."

Idasviel gives an adorable little yelp and jumps away from Naoki, her face now entirely red. She plays with her bangs in an futile effort to hide her face and stammers out a response, "You really shouldn't be complimenting me like that. I'm… I mean, I quickly… no, first off you should give your attention to my sister instead. She's much more deserving."

You pull her into a hug from across the counter, which she happily accepts. "You're both right. You, Idasviel, have been a wonderful addition to my life and you, Naoki, are free to shower me in adoration. I assure you, I know how to handle it."

"You two really get along great, don't you?"

"Of course, but then, how could anyone not get along with someone as lovely as us?"

"I couldn't imagine that either. If nothing else, the two of you are delightful," he says with a chuckle. "Anyway, I don't think I'm interesting enough to be taking up all your attention."

"No need to put yourself down like that," you say. "You maybe be lacking when compared to myself and Idasviel, but so is everyone else. In fact, by those standards you're a very diligent and delightful young man." Granted, this was the first time you had a face to face conversation with someone who isn't an Einzbern homunculus, but you're confident in your ability to read people.

"And he's so kind and handsome," Idasviel absentmindedly murmurs into your shoulder, quiet enough that Naoki wouldn't hear her. Though you don't think that she's doing it on purpose. "I want him to participate in the Holy Grail War. Then I could touch his heart, right after ripping open his chest." You gently pet her head to calm her down. Well, you suppose it isn't impossible for her wish to become true. It's not like simply looking at somebody's hands was enough to check for Command Seals.

"My sister has a high opinion of you as well."

"It's very kind of you two to be concerned about me like that, but that isn't quite what I meant," he says as he steps around the counter. "It's just that I can regale you with your own brilliance, while you focus on something else. Maybe some of our antiques are worth your interest?"

You perk up at that proposal. You start looking at the various items scattered around the shop in more detail. Only the fact that you're still holding Idasviel stops you from actually darting towards them. You quickly find that the furniture and similar decor don't exactly hold up to your standard. They were after all meant to be affordable for the people living in this town. Still, you're determined to find something interesting. Now, if only your kind nature would permit you to peel your sister off yourself.

"Excuse me," Naoki says to Idasviel, who stares back at him with big eyes, "Idasviel, actually could I maybe just call you Ida?" She nods. To think that your own sister would acquire a nickname before you. "Thank you. Then, Ida, could you maybe let go of your sister, or at least come to the other side of the counter again? I think that even she'll have trouble searching through the shop without moving."

"Ah, I'm sorry, Elder Sister," she says, as she pulls herself away from you and hops over the counter. "Please, go ahead and enjoy yourself."

"A wonderful idea." You throw a sidelong glance towards Naoki as you start walking. "I take it you also wish to shorten my glorious name?"

"If you would let me," he responds.

"I shall allow it, seeing how any name meant to address me will be glorious by association alone." Even if simply shortening your name wasn't the height of creativity, adding to your life experiences like that did earn him a reward. So you don't surpress your urge to giggle in anticipation. Your adorable smile and lovely voice elicit a blush from Naoki, which only grows deeper when you give him a sly smile.

"In that case, Kari, is there anything particularly worthy of your interest?" he asks in an attempt to regain his composure.

Teasing him would be below you, so you let it slide and continue the conversation.

"I do have a particular interest in various mythologies and folklores."

"How fitting for such a fantastical lady," he says with a chuckle. "Regardless, it does seem the boss may have something that interest you." With that he leads both you and Ida to a corner of the shop partially hidden behind a couple of large shelves.

There you find an assortment of objects, ranging from paintings and tapestries to little statues and old tomes, all themed after various heroes from all over the world. There are some inaccuracies, like certain rulers being depicted as male, but overall it's quite the collection. Ida heads straight for the norse part of the collection. Maybe parts of Brynhildr's tastes were bleeding through? Regardless, it wasn't the most subtle behaviour on her part, but it should be fine as long as she doesn't cover herself in Brynhildr themed art.

"Your sister seems to have a passion for norse mythology," Naoki says.

"She does. We're german, so I suppose something like the Nibelungenlied would be more appropriate, but she does have a love for originals." That's not exactly the truth, but as close to it as was his business. As you talk, you start searching through collection yourself.

"I see. So, how did our little town manage to attract two foreign wonders?"

"Hm? We're Einzberns. There's only one thing that would bring us to Fuyuki."

"I'm afraid I never had the fortune of hearing about your family before."

That made you pause. You had assumed that a magus would only let another magus come and go into his house, but there's no way a magus, especially one living on the land housing the Greater Grail, wouldn't know about the Einzbern. On second thought, there hadn't been even the most basic bounded field around the store's entry. It's a bit of a pity that Naoki lacks the knowledge needed to fully understand how great you are, but otherwise it didn't matter much. After all, the gap between you and an ordinary magus was alreagy large enough that him lacking any magical ability made no noticable difference.

"In that case it would likely be best to say that we're here to claim a family inheritance," you ultimately settle on telling him.

"I'd wish you good luck with that, but I doubt the task will actually be a problem for you."

"Perceptive as usual, my boy. There are some miscreants trying to oppose our claim, but that is mostly a matter of formality. Still, you may cheer for me, if it sooths your worries."

"In that case, good luck you two. Hopefully, whoever is giving you trouble will come to their senses when they actually meet you in person."

"One can only hope. It would be despicable for anyone to be too caught up in their own selfish desires to partake in my glory."

You stop as you spot something in the chinese assortment. Amongst the pheasant feathered helmets and various scrolls is a pendant in the shape of a fenghuang. A piece of jewlery obviously couldn't be a replacement bird, but you still feel a pang of sentimentality at the sight and the mythological bird does suit your person rather well, seeing how it represents various positive connotations.

You try on the necklace and get a compliment from Naoki for sharing your beauty with it. Just to be prudent you also get a second opinion from your sister, who gives you even more gushing praise.

You decide to buy it.

Leaving Ida behind to rummage around a bit more on her own, you and Naoki head back to the counter. While you finish the transaction, the door to the back opens and two people emerge into the shop.

The first was a man in his late thirties, wearing glasses and a confident smile. You're quite certain that's Marsh Seran.

Behind him follows a man that's about a decade younger than him with a calm expression and holding a tightly wrapped box under his right arm. What draws your attention are the Command Seals on the underside of his right arm. They're partially hidden by the sleeves of his trench coat, but extend far enough up his wrist that you can still recognize them clearly.

So Seran had found someone to peddle his catalysts to after all. Maybe you should be indignant over the fact he's supporting your competition, but it won't make much difference one way or another.

Regardless, you can't sense the presence of any Servant besides your sister and he only just aquired his catalyst, so it seems safe to assume he did not summon his Servant yet. Meaning that, even ignoring that it could be considered rude to Seran, killing him would accomplish nothing besides having his Command Seals pass on to a new potential Master.

You resolve to be generous and greet your competition peacefully.

[] Greet him formally. Even if this war was a mere technicality, your competitors deserve some measure of respect for being chosen by the Holy Grail.
[] Greet him informally. Naoki is correct that any sane person should cede their right to the grail to you. Explain to this Master exactly why he should do so.
[] Greet him bluntly. There's no need to hide the fact that you're going to win. If he still persists on fighting, he may as well tell you his last wish now.
[] Write in

Afterwards, you could finally have your meeting with Seran.

[] Keep the conversation brief. You've already spend enough time with Naoki.
[] Have a full conversation with him. It would be cruel to deprive him of the chance at this point.
-[] Write in conversation topics (optional).

Spoiler: Author's Note

Well, that took me way longer than it had any right to. Sorry about that.

 

[veekie]

[X] Greet him formally. Even if this war was a mere technicality, your competitors deserve some measure of respect for being chosen by the Holy Grail.
[X] Keep the conversation brief. You've already spend enough time with Naoki.

 

[Sumanai]

[X] Greet him formally. Even if this war was a mere technicality, your competitors deserve some measure of respect for being chosen by the Holy Grail.
[X] Have a full conversation with him. It would be cruel to deprive him of the chance at this point
- [X] Inquire about Naoki. How does a non-mage end up working at a mage store?

 

[HeirApparent]

[X] Greet him formally. Even if this war was a mere technicality, your competitors deserve some measure of respect for being chosen by the Holy Grail.
[X] Have a full conversation with him. It would be cruel to deprive him of the chance at this point.
-[X] The state of his shop's magical defenses. Not keeping even a basic alarm field around it is hardly excusable at the best of times, and when the Grail War has begun?
-[X] Restaurants in Fuyuki City. It's your and Idasviel's first time away from home; you should make a point of enjoying the local cuisine. Might as well get Seran's recommendations while you're here.

Masters and accessory shopping! Good times for everybody.

Not sure if multiple conversation topic suggestions are allowed, but that first one stuck out to me and the second is what I'd probably suggest otherwise.

 

[Edgedancer]

[X] Greet him formally. Even if this war was a mere technicality, your competitors deserve some measure of respect for being chosen by the Holy Grail.
[X] Have a full conversation with him. It would be cruel to deprive him of the chance at this point.
-[X] The state of his shop's magical defenses. Not keeping even a basic alarm field around it is hardly excusable at the best of times, and when the Grail War has begun?
-[X] Restaurants in Fuyuki City. It's your and Idasviel's first time away from home; you should make a point of enjoying the local cuisine. Might as well get Seran's recommendations while you're here.

Masters and accessory shopping! Good times for everybody.

Not sure if multiple conversation topic suggestions are allowed, but that first one stuck out to me and the second is what I'd probably suggest otherwise.

Click to shrink...

Sure, go ahead and vote for multiple conversation topics. I'm going to make room for whatever gains traction in that regard.

 

[Nevill]

Spoiler: typos

"I still think it's admirable. Karisviel can count himself lucky to have such a dutiful little sister as you. I'm sure she counts you as just as much of a blessing as the brilliance she was born with."

Click to shrink...

herself

Teasing him would be bellow you, so you let it slide and continue the conversation.

Click to shrink...

below

We're german

Click to shrink...

German

Perceptive as usually, my boy.

Click to shrink...

usual

You stop as you spot something in the chinese assortment.

Click to shrink...

Chinese

You try on the necklace and get a compliment from Naoki for sharing your beauty with it. Just to be prudent you also get a second opinion from your sister, who gives you even more gushing praise.

Click to shrink...

That cracked me up. Good thing the Einzberns have a bank account to match their arrogance.

[x] Greet him formally. Even if this war was a mere technicality, your competitors deserve some measure of respect for being chosen by the Holy Grail.
[x] Keep the conversation brief. You've already spend enough time with Naoki.

 

[Aylor_Aivo]

[x] Greet him formally. Even if this war was a mere technicality, your competitors deserve some measure of respect for being chosen by the Holy Grail.
[x] Keep the conversation brief. You've already spend enough time with Naoki.

 

[M3lk0r]

[X] Greet him formally. Even if this war was a mere technicality, your competitors deserve some measure of respect for being chosen by the Holy Grail.
[X] Have a full conversation with him. It would be cruel to deprive him of the chance at this point.
-[X] The state of his shop's magical defenses. Not keeping even a basic alarm field around it is hardly excusable at the best of times, and when the Grail War has begun?
-[X] Restaurants in Fuyuki City. It's your and Idasviel's first time away from home; you should make a point of enjoying the local cuisine. Might as well get Seran's recommendations while you're here.

 

[Mr.Dragon Fish]

[X] Greet him formally. Even if this war was a mere technicality, your competitors deserve some measure of respect for being chosen by the Holy Grail.
[X] Have a full conversation with him. It would be cruel to deprive him of the chance at this point.
-[X] The state of his shop's magical defenses. Not keeping even a basic alarm field around it is hardly excusable at the best of times, and when the Grail War has begun?
-[X] Restaurants in Fuyuki City. It's your and Idasviel's first time away from home; you should make a point of enjoying the local cuisine. Might as well get Seran's recommendations while you're here.

 

[Edgedancer]

And now seems like a good time to call the vote. Having a full conversation just barely won out. Hopefully I'll manage to get an update out faster this time.

 

[Edgedancer]

Spoiler: Winning Vote

[X] Have a full conversation with him. It would be cruel to deprive him of the chance at this point.

Both men notice you almost immediately. A presence shining as brilliantly as yours simply cannot be ignored after all.

"Einzbern," the Master said. He shifts his hold on the box to move it out of your sight and looks across the room, as if trying to spot your Servant was even remotely as important as paying attention to you.

"My, there's no need to be so nervous. I am indeed the Master of the Einzbern family. Karisviel von Einzbern," you say, smiling despite the lack of proper reverence. "However, there's no need to ruin such a beautiful day by fighting before all the preparations are complete."

"Fair enough. Oliver Steube." He extends a hand towards you and it takes you a moment to realize he expects you to shake it. As if you being respectful implied he was in any way your equal.

A rather arrogant assumption on his part. Still, restraining your amusement to a light smirk, you shake his hand. A small blunder like that was easy enough to overlook with your wealth of mercy.

"Of course, I would advise you to be prepared by the next time we meet. I can only be patient for so long on this matter and plenty of others will not have any patience at all," you say.

"Also fair. I'm certainly not going to expect any mercy."

"Well, I might be willing to show some, if you come to realize that I'm a superior being and support my claim as the winner accordingly."

Oliver scoffs at that.

What a shame. You sigh and turn towards a less pitiful person. "Mister Seran, it's a pleasure that we can finally meet in person, especially for you. Despite bringing myself already being plenty, I do have a little something to sweeten the occasion." You turn back to the counter and pick up the box of chocolates for him to see.

"That's very thoughtful of you. Naoki, could you fetch Mara and tell her we have a guest? Go ahead and take the chocolate with you while you're at it."

"Will do, Boss. If you'd excuse me," he says to the group as a whole.

"You're excused," you say, "but only if removing yourself from my presence isn't too much for you to endure."

"Thank you for the concern, I'll be sure to return as soon as possible." He gives one final smile before moving into the back.

Seran signals for you and Oliver to be quiet and, after letting a couple of seconds pass, says, "That conversation was entirely too close to letting Naoki catch on to something for my taste."

"Worry not," you reassure him. "Nothing of what we just said would imply the existence of magecraft to an ordinary person."

"Yeah, turns out I'm with Miss Superior on this one. You probably shouldn't have hired him at all, if you're that worried about it."

Seran groans at that. "Look, my daughter talked me into that one, but that's no reason to not be careful at all."

"Man, you didn't even get worried when I thought I sensed a Servant. Correctly, it turns out."

"Eh, I did prepare a summoning circle in the back, just in case somebody didn't want to bother making their own. Even if someone did try to kill you, you could have summoned your Servant in time. It would have been an adventure."

"Excuse me," Ida calls out from behind the shelves. "But I could still try to kill you right now, if you'd prefer."

"Oh no, that's really not necessary," Seran hastily responds.

"I don't mind at all. In fact, I would enjoy it."

"He was joking," Oliver says with an edge of annoyance in his voice.

"Oh… it's not nice to tease a lady like that."

You underline her point by glaring as Seran accusingly.

"I'll just take this as my moment to leave," Oliver says. "Kill you later, I guess?"

"Okay! It's a date!" Ida excitedly calls after him, as he exits the store.

The soft ring of the bell announces that you're now alone with Seran, who at least has the decency to look guilty.

"Could I maybe offer you some tea and cake to make up for my… rudeness?"

"I shall be merciful and grant you that chance," you say.

"If my elder sister is willing to forgive you, then I shall give you another chance as well," Ida says. She steps out from behind the shelves, carrying various figurines and similar commodities in her arms. You don't think she could carry all of it without enhanced strength, at least not that easily.

"Wonderful, follow me then," he says. He's much more cheerful again now, this chance at redemption must mean a lot to him. "Just pile up everything on the counter first. I'll have Naoki ring you up, while we talk."

Your sister does as she is told and the two of you follow him further inside. He leads you to a living room that you believe would be described as cozy, filled with wooden furniture that would fit right in with the antiques in the shop and the smell of tea. Naoki, in the process of setting the table, and a girl, presumably his daughter Mara, are already present.

Mara's wearing glasses and has slightly frizzy red hair. Despite her being rather mousy overall, she was looking at you and your sister with an excitement that reminds you more of a cat. You don't think that's quite the right attitude towards you, but at least she seemed aware that she's dealing with somebody special.

Poor Naoki gets sent out of the room again, at least this time he could gain some fulfillment from the knowledge that he's working for the sake of your sister. After he left and Seran formally introduced his daughter, Mara runs up to you until she's only inches away from your face.

"Wow, I've never seen an Einzbern homunculus in person. You really are a work of art."

"Of course I am," you say, turning your head to the side and brushing back some of your hair to give her a better look at your regal profile. "You've done well realizing. Feel free to display your keen insight by elaborating further."

Your offer must have been too tantalizing, leading to her being impudent enough to pinch your cheek. "You're so soft to the touch as well. The craftsmanship is impressive."

Your ever diligent little sister responds by grabbing her wrist and pulling her away from you. "Please do not touch my elder sister without her permission."

"But-" Mara starts, but Ida interrupts her.

"I know that holding back is hard when dealing with such a dazzlingly perfect person, but if you cannot control yourself for her sake, then you're not good enough to be in her presence. It's only thanks to her unmeasurable generosity that someone like you gets the chance to interact with her at all."

"If only everyone was as reasonable as you, my wonderful little sister," you say and reward Ida by petting her head. "But you can let go of her. I imagine the point has been made."

"Okay~" Ida says with her voice dripping in contentement at being petted. You've been blessed with an adorable sister indeed.

Mara shows the sense to not argue further and retreats to her seat at the table. She does continue to stare at you, but you can hardly begrudge anyone being mesmerized by you as long as they stay in their place. Your charisma is simply too immense to resist.

"I'm sorry for my daughter's forwardness," Seran says.

"As you should be," you say. You move towards the table as well, but wait for your sister to pull her own seat close enough to yours, so she could remain in your petting reach, before sitting down. "I must say, your family appear rather careless to me. Even setting aside your current behavior, or letting Naoki getting this close to you, your house isn't even protected by a Bounded Field. That is a pitiful level of precautions with a war brewing."

Seran simply shrugs as he starts pouring tea for everyone. "The concern is appreciated, but I do have a rather solid security system installed and I doubt I can do much to stop anyone showing up on my doorstep with a Servant."

"What kind of security system?" Ida asks.

"Sensors on the doors and windows, motion detectors, those kind of things. It helps that most magi wouldn't event consider to check for further security measures after finding the magical defenses lacking."

"You're not honestly trying to present a lack of defenses as some kind of clever ruse to misguide possible intruders, are you?" you ask.

"Not exactly no," he grumbles. "But the alternative would be somewhat of a pain with all the customers entering the store."

"Mister Seran, do you know how you can tell that you're wrong on how important proper security is?" you ask. "You're disagreeing with me and my judgement is better than yours. Therefore, you are wrong."

For a moment he looks like he wants to say something, but then stops himself. "Alright, I accept your wisdom. I'll set up a Bounded Field. There is no more need to worry yourself over this topic."

"Wonderful. Then I shall have you repay me for my excellent advice, by allowing you to give me some recommendations of your own. Let's see, my research of the city was mostly limited to information relevant to the war, so I could use a local to point me towards good restaurants."

"When we eat out, it's mostly at the Koushuuensaikan Taizan," Seran says. "It's the only chinese restaurant in town, but also a damn good one. Assuming one likes spicy food, very spicy food. Besides that..." he looks towards his daughter for support.

"First off I'd like to add that the two of you should definitely give the mapo tofu they sell a try. I'm sure their spiciness in nothing you can't handle," Mara says. It's only now that she takes her eyes off you, taking a piece of chocolate to eat while she considers the question.

"If you ever feel like picking up some sweets on the go," she eventually continues, "Edomaeya is probably your best pick here in the shopping district. Their taiyakis are pretty good, but they've got a limited selection. So, if you want to sit down and dig down into some cake, the tea shop at Verde might be a better choice."

She continues on like that, listing Tonios, a stylish italian restaurant, and the ice cream parlor Lovely Freeze here in Mount Miyama. The later especially catches Ida's attention with a special couple sized sundae. There's also the Minato sushi bar, a rather high quality establishment that Mara can't afford to actually visit herself, and a coffee shop famous for having a very colorful clientele in Shinto.

It starts to occur to you that the father might own quite a bit to his daughter helping him out. After all, she's also the one that found him his assistant, even if upon asking her reason, it was simply that he's fun to keep around and she figured he'd be competent at the job.

Still, she did provide you with useful answers, so you decide to reward her with further conversation. Her first topic request, your Servant, gets denied for practical reasons, though you don't think she even realized that would be your sister. Luckily, her next request is the more interesting topic anyway. Yourself.

Thus, you spend the next thirty minutes illustrating a tiny fraction of your glory before it becomes time for you to go. It's sadly all the time you can afford, seeing how the journey back to the castle takes a significant amount of time. Still, the story of how you got permission from Acht to go out and have a picnic in the forest for Melsritt's second birthday should enrich their life. Your smile that day was the most beautiful thing she had seen in her short life up until that point.

The two of you say goodbye to the Serans and return to the front of the shop to pick up Idasviel's purchases.

You find Naoki talking with another customer, a british looking lad with short blond hair. Both of them glance in your direction, when they notice the door opening.

"That's the lady the package is for, right?" the customer asks. He addresses Naoki in an poor attempt to hide the fact he's staring at you.

Your infinite beauty has struck again.

"Indeed I am. Do feel free to address me directly, even if my presence is intimidating you with its perfection," you say.

"Right. So, uhm, go ahead and finish your business. I can wait for a moment, if you just have to pay."

"Of course. It's commendable that you know your place like that," you praise the unknown customer.

"Thank you, sir," Naoki says to the costumer. "I'll be back with you as soon as possible."

He leads you to the counter and you pay him. Ida eagerly picks up the box and gives you a beaming smile that's definitely worth more than some measly tens of thousands of yen.

"You've done well in helping me accomplish this smile, Naoki," you say. "But now we must depart. I hope we may meet again, so that you do not fall into despair from being deprived of our presence."

"Yeah. You Einzberns are surprisingly fun and given the strong first impression you made, that's pretty impressive. Anyway, I'm sure I speak for the boss, if I say that you're always welcome back."

"We'll see what we can do for you. Until then farewell."

"I really want to meet you again as well, Naoki," Ida tells him. "You're very kind and I think we have important similarities, like an appreciation for my elder sister, so I hope we see each other again soon."

The two of you also say your goodbyes to the other customer and then exit the antique shop. After a short walk, you reach the outskirts of town, where Mel had parked a car for you. Idasviel takes the driver's seat, while you sit down in the back and go over your plans for the first night of the Holy Grail War.

[] Patrol the city without a specific target. Getting a better feel for Fuyuki's layout can only help you in the long run. It is likely you'll come into contact with other participants, but that'll be easy enough to deal with when the time comes.
[] Seek out one of the Masters you know are participating for certain.
-[] The Tohsaka's Master.
-[] The Matou's Master.
-[] The Clock Tower's Master. Though admittedly you don't know the exact location of their hideout, only that it should be one of the higher class hotels in Shinto.
[] Visit the Overseer sent by the church. It is not strictly necessary, as they have already been contacted and informed about your participation before you made it to the city, but getting to know them in person can't hurt.
[] Stay at home and focus on sending out familiars to gather information on the other participants. It is unlikely that that anyone will try to assault your forest this early into the war, so you should be undisturbed for the night. It will be like on of those 'movie nights' you heard about.
[] Write in

 

[Lifeandlice]

[X] Patrol the city without a specific target. Getting a better feel for Fuyuki's layout can only help you in the long run. It is likely you'll come into contact with other participants, but that'll be easy enough to deal with when the time comes.

A homunculus wandering around the city with a powerful servant seemed to work in canon, why not here?

Your infinite beauty has striked again.

Click to shrink...

Also should this be struck or am I imagining a problem where none exist?

Eh either way, this is pretty good. Hope to see where it goes.

 

[wingstrike96]

[X] Seek out one of the Masters you know are participating for certain.
-[X] The Tohsaka's Master.

Check out the founding families

 

[veekie]

[X] Seek out one of the Masters you know are participating for certain.
-[X] The Tohsaka's Master.

 

[Sumanai]

Typical, I don't check in for a couple of days, and the Quest gets updated.

Anyway... Gotta admit, I'm a little conflicted as to which option to go with. You mentioned allowing multiple votes a while back, so I think I'll take a page out of the Einzbern playbook and cheat:

[x] Visit the Overseer sent by the church. It is not strictly necessary, as they have already been contacted and informed about your participation before you made it to the city, but getting to know them in person can't hurt.

I think this is the first time the church has been mentioned, so I'm kinda curious about seeing the status quo for this Grail War... especially gven the church overseers... er... history, with the Grail Wars.
Then again, maybe it's just a Kotomine thing. The Kotomines are the worst.

Alternatively...

[x] Seek out one of the Masters you know are participating for certain.
-[x] The Tohsaka's Master.

As much as I'd love to try and track down the Masked Matoufelt (or whatever their wrestling ring persona is), the Tohsaka's make a thematic sense as the master to scope out. I mentioned back when the vote came up for servants that giving Kari a psuedo-twin makes her a neat contrast/rival to to Tohsaka twins mentioned in the first post, so doing more stuff to explore and set-up that dynamic sounds fun.

 

[Nevill]

[x] Stay at home and focus on sending out familiars to gather information on the other participants. It is unlikely that that anyone will try to assault your forest this early into the war, so you should be undisturbed for the night. It will be like on of those 'movie nights' you heard about.

If they want to be graced with our presence, they'd have to stand out, first.

 

[Mr.Dragon Fish]

[X] Patrol the city without a specific target. Getting a better feel for Fuyuki's layout can only help you in the long run. It is likely you'll come into contact with other participants, but that'll be easy enough to deal with when the time comes.

 

[HeirApparent]

[X] Seek out one of the Masters you know are participating for certain.
-[X] The Tohsaka's Master.

 

[Edgedancer]

And it looks like we can close the vote in favour of the Tohsakas.

 

[Edgedancer]

Spoiler: Winning Vote

[] Seek out one of the Masters you know are participating for certain.
-[] The Tohsaka's Master.

You find the castle in impeccable condition, Melsritt's work is truly worthy of an Einzbern. Sadly, you do not have the time to fully settle in before you and your sister need to leave again to participate in the Holy Grail War. As such you content yourself with simple comforts. A hot bath, a massage and a four-course meal.

Melsritt's work gives you bliss as usual, though getting to share it with Idasviel elevates the entire routine to a whole new level. She's so excited through the whole experience, that you're pretty sure that without your insistence, she would have hand-fed you the entire meal instead of eating anything herself.

Alas, you have yet to earn a lead in the war that would justify lazing around, so you send word back to Germany to ask your family to look into Oliver Steube for you. Then you head out again together with Idasviel.

"Elder Sister, what do you want to do tonight?" Ida asks once she's behind the wheel of your car again.

"The same thing we'll do every night from now on, Ida. Try to win the Holy Grail War," you say.

"Of course, Elder Sister. Who will we murder first then?"

"I'm not entirely sure yet if we're going to kill them, but we're headed towards the Tohsaka's residence," you say.

"As you wish, Elder Sister. I hope they have enough class to at least not insult you with their very presence then."

"One would certainly hope that the lords of the land aren't some unruly miscreants."

Your conversation goes on like that, with Ida offering various ways that she could deal with the Tohsakas, if they do not live up to your standards. All in all it makes for a very comfortable drive.

It helps that Ida's access to the Riding skill made her driving impeccable. Allowing her to keep the car's movement perfectly smooth, even over the uneven surface of the forest road. She likely would have no trouble navigating the Benz around the tight corners of the suburb either, but given the position of the Tohsaka mansion, there was no need. All you have to do is drive around the edge of town until you reach the southwestern end of the suburb.

You find their mansion to be big enough to not be shameful... and not much else. It would have to at least double in size for you to consider it anything but tiny. Regardless, you have Ida park the car and get out of it.

As you take a moment to assess the surroundings, you can sense the presence of a Servant from inside the mansion. Further, it quickly becomes clear that the area is swarming with the familiars of Masters wanting to be keep tabs on the Tohsakas. The nearby Matou mansion is bound to be under similar surveillance, seeing how they lacked a defense comparable to the Einzbern Forest. Something to keep in mind, in case you end up having a confrontation out in the open.

Walking closer to the Tohsaka mansion, you find that the Bounded Field surrounding it is magnificent. Not simply immense in the way that the Bounded Field surrounding the Einzbern Forest is, but sophisticated to an extent that wholly transcend what modern magi are capable of producing. You'd wager the Rheingold on this being the work of Caster.

Though there's something else about the field. You can't quite put your finger on it by simply looking at it from the outside, but the way magical energy flows through it was off. If you had to guess, you would say that it was built on eastern principles instead off western ones. Naturally, there have been eastern magi distinguished enough to become Heroic Spirits, but the Holy Grail itself is so closely tied to western concepts that the summoning of any Servant not tied to the western cultural sphere is inherently an irregularity.

You smirk. It seems like the Tohsaka Master wouldn't be a disappointment.

Despite how powerful the Bounded Field is, you're confident that you and Ida could force your way inside, but that would be rude and needlessly combative.

So you ring the doorbell instead and wait.

And wait.

And wait.

After over a solid minute of waiting you ring again.

And again.

In fact, you're not going to let go of the button anymore until someone finally show up.

"Ida, It appears like I'll need to grow the Tohsakas a new set of ears," you say while impatiently tapping your foot. "If things continue like this, I'll let you cut off their old ones."

"Ah, Elder Sister, you're still thinking of my well being even when you have to suffer such indignity. How considerate of you."

Before you can respond to your sister, the door of the mansion finally opens. Outside steps a boy in his late teens, with black hair tied back into a ponytail that reaches slightly past his shoulders. He's wearing a black waistcoat over a dark red shirt and matching black pants.

His blue eyes carry a hint of irritation that's matched by the strained smile spoiling his handsome face.

Oh, so he is annoyed. The nerve. He should be on his knees and thanking you for alerting him to your presence.

"Excuse me, but I was not expecting a visitor tonight of all times," he says, slowly walking towards the front gate. His gaze shifts between you and Ida, before finally settling on you. "At least none that would bother to ring at the door." He stops out of arm's reach of the gate.

"Yes, we're being very merciful by giving you an opportunity to talk with us instead of simply burning your house down. You should be showing us some humility in return and praise the name of the great Karisviel von Einzbern," you say, while putting a hand to your chest for emphasis.

The Tohsaka snorts.

"Don't you dare!" Ida growls at him. "You may be a sexy hunk, but that doesn't mean you get to be disrespectful to my elder sister. The least you can do is introduce yourself."

He fixes Ida with a wry smile. "Akihiko Tohsaka. I don't imagine you're willing to return the favour?"

"Of course I would. I am Idasviel von Einzbern, thank you for being interested in me, even though my much more amazing sister is right there," Ida says and bashfully offers her hand to him.

"I was referring to the other name, even if I have no idea how you people managed to break the summoning system even further."

You sigh. "The second most beautiful woman in the world offers to shake your hand and all you can muster is a boorish question that is too blatant to get any results. What a pitiful display. I thought the Tohsaka's philosophy was elegance in all things?"

He scowls at you, but whatever he was planning to say gets cut off by another voice coming from inside the mansion.

"The lady got a point, bro," the, you assume, other Tohsaka twin says as he emerges into sight. He has the same handsome face and dark hair as his brother. Although his was cut short, making it easy enough to keep them apart at a glance. The fact he was dressed much more casually with an unbuttoned red jacked also helped.

"I keep telling you that you need to ease up a bit," he says as he reaches Akihiko and ruffles his hair. Ignoring his brother's growl, he turns to you and Ida. "Nanahoshi Tohsaka. I'm sorry about my brother. He's gotten even stiffer than usual after getting the spot as a Master."

He takes Ida's still outstretched hand and plants a kiss on it. "Still, that's hardly acceptable when dealing with two beautiful ladies."

"Ho, so it seems like at least one of you knows their manners," you say.

"Thank you, I do try. Now, how about we continue this conversation inside. We're hardly having a private conversation right now."

"Ah, how forward. What would your mother think?" Ida asks, nervously playing with her hair.

"I think she'd understand, but she left town for the war, so there's no need for her to even know."

Akihiko tries to say something, but his brother silences him again. By now you have a pretty good idea which of the two was born first.

Ida, your much better behaved younger sibling, looks at you pleadingly. You can hear her voice in your head through the telepathic link between Master and Servant.

"Can we, Elder Sister? I know Nanahoshi isn't a Master, but it's like he's asking me to slowly strangle him to death. Maybe I should make him watch his brother's death first as foreplay? Then there'd be nothing left to distract him."

"Patience, Ida," you mentally send to her, as you pet her to calm her down. "But don't worry, if Nanahoshi decided to stay back in town, then he likely plans to serve as a spare to inherit his brother's Command Seals in the case of his death. Meaning we'd have to kill both of them if we want to be sure either way."

Ida gives a wistful sigh and patiently waits as ordered.

"Nice try." You say to Nanahoshi. "But you'll have to do better than that to get me into the territory of a Caster."

Just then your Command Seals send a throbbing sensation through your body and you see Akihiko grimacing.

"Elder Sister—Servant—to the west."

Idasviel rushes past you without the need for a verbal command. The attack soon comes, a line of bronze tearing through the night sky. However, its aim isn't any of you, but rather your car. The impact tears the vehicle apart, scattering flaming pieces of metal across the street.

"Looks like somebody else can't stand your back and forth anymore," Akihiko says.

You ignore his drivel for now, as if anyone could ever grow tired of hearing your voice, and focus on the attacker—Archer?—instead. You can already see the light of his next projectile approaching. Judging by it, you'd estimate Archer to have set up about two and a half kilometers to the northeast, where the first multi story buildings started to crop up in Miyama Town.

You have two mere second to make your observations before the projectile collides with Ida's spear. The arrow gets obliterated on contact; not the mana channeled within it. Now free, it tears through the air as a blinding light that rips away even your capability for thought.

Once you regain your sight, you find the street picked clean of the debris of your car.

"Though, I'd be willing to extend my brother's offer to granting you protection from Archer," Akihiko continues. "We can hardly let you be killed for trying to negotiate with us. Especially seeing how Archer likely moved on to you after deciding that you're a much easier target than Caster." The amount of smugness in his voice would have elicited eye rolling from a less disciplined person.

You continue to ignore him as you pull out a couple of your hairs and turn them into familiars. The Storch Ritters form a shield wall between you and Ida.

The next arrow collides with Ida.

Having to face the attack directly would undoubtedly shatter your familiars, but with Ida facing the brunt of the attack for you, they can at least deflect the ensuing shockwave. Standing in your self-made eye of the storm, you could see how the raging mana simply washed over the Bounded Field protecting the Tohsakas without so much as rustling a leaf.

"Do not worry, Elder Sister. My love for you makes me invincible. There's no need for you to accept an offer you do not want to," Ida says. Her arms are still shaking ever so slightly from the force of impact they had to endure.

"Your efforts are appreciated," you say.

Despite her claims, your sister won't be able to withstand Archer's onslaught forever.

However, she is reliable enough to make Archer's attacks irrelevant.

After all, the Bounded Field was still right there for you to take refuge in. A careless, arrogant, self-deluded fool like Akihiko might simply take that safety as granted. You on the other hand are a highly competent genius.

As such you refuse to let Archer whip you into a frenzy and take stock of two simple truths that don't escape your keen eye.

First, one of the familiars stalking the mansion ought to belong to Archer's Master, eliminating the need to send his Servant to investigate it for him instead.

Second, despite likely being privy to your conversation, Archer is not trying to lure you away from the Bounded Field. Instead he made a mock show of cutting of your means to escape.

The conclusion seems simple. Just as Akihiko sees the Bounded Field as an impenetrable barrier, Archer sees it as a cage for culling his prey. And he wants to force you into it.

There's only one detail not readily apparent even to your genius. Akihiko or Archer, which of the two was the bigger fool?

A fraction of a second before the next arrow hits.

It would be best to make a decision quickly.

[] Seek protection inside the Bounded Field
Even a genius of your level can't easily understand Caster's Bounded Field and this wouldn't be the first time a magus underestimates exactly how big the gap between themself and the magi of old is.

[] Retreat
This isn't your fight and the lack of a car does fairly little to effectively limit your mobility. Idasviel can effortlessly match the speed of a car on foot and carry you at the same time.

[] Go on the offensive
Archer is sorely mistaken, if he thinks he can involve you in his fight without suffering the consequences. Punishing him for his insolence is only the natural thing to do.

 

[Nevill]

Spoiler: typos

"If things continue like this, I'll let you cut of their old ones."

Click to shrink...

'off'

Outside steps a boy in his late teen

Click to shrink...

'teens'

[x] Seek protection inside the Bounded Field

By the time it comes to a confrontation I am sure Nanahoshi will manage to charm Ida into becoming an earth-shattering monstrosity. The more time we spend with the brothers, the less they are a threat to us, really!

 

[wingstrike96]

[X] Seek protection inside the Bounded Field