As much as you'd
love to assert your superiority over the priest and his floozy, you prefer a palace over a temple, though the two are often one and the same.
"I'd hate to inconvenience you by moving furniture in here," you jest with smugness. Kotomine's eyes close with a cordial smile. Semiramis twists her lips and lifts her chin slightly. You arise and move out into the middle of the church followed by Rin, then you face Kotomine.
Holding a confident smile on your lips, you warn him, "Your wish threatens to upset the delicate equilibrium this world's people have. In fact, it endangers to deflate the entire world of any consequence, and as such, it is an insult toward the king. Watch your step, mongrel." You turn, not having the time to see his expression.
"Now, now," he soothes. "There is no need for that in the house of God."
You scowl in fury, clenching your fists. Once again, he didn't lie. His sentence was a throw-off. A way to change the subject. The way he slides along the conversation, avoiding your precisely pointed questions is annoying. He slides through like a serpent. More than that, it's very irksome.
Rin blinks as she looks at you. "C-Caster!" she gasps. Soon, her features harden in anger. "You can't just insult people like that! What's wrong with you?" Looking behind Rin, you see that Semiramis is drawing sufficient amusement from this situation.
"That man is a
serpent, Master." You put adequate inflection on the word. "A vile serpent spouting vile words, as a serpent does. Such whelps are below me. I am out of here."
Rin turns around, shaking her hands defensively. "I'm really sorry! I have no idea what––"
CRASH! A blade fired from a golden portal destroys a piece of pottery, then the portal closes. Another two projectiles –– a battleaxe and a warhammer remove the door to let you through, then their portals close as well. Though you hate destroying fine architecture, the reviled serpent deserves this punishment.
Rin gasps in shock, her legs trembling, then she turns to Kotomine again, spouting apologies.
"I'm really sorry! I'll pay for the damag––"
CRASH! Sounds of further vandalism come from the outside. "Crap," Rin says as she runs off, after you.
You will watch with joy as Kotomine struggles to obtain his wish only to have it be taken away by you. All so a little girl can have True Magic. But for now, it is time to enjoy yourself. And more importantly, enjoy this Great Holy Grail War.
Being left alone in the church, Semiramis and Shirou look at the exit. Shirou sighs, sitting in his pew and loosening his neck, letting his head move back and look at the ceiling. He closes his eyes and reminisces about the hundreds of ways this could have gone better.
"My..." Semiramis says, still looking at the exit. "What a hotheaded king."
"Caster is too strong for us," Shirou states, matter-of-factly.
"Hum?" Semiramis looks at him.
"His abilities, his Noble Phantasm. He might quite possibly be the strongest Servant in this War. He could take on the entire Black Team alone, provided they didn't use any of their trump cards and he was fighting seriously."
Semiramis becomes visibly upset. "Hmph. He might not be all talk, but I can take him on. He looks like the type to enjoy wine in the evening. That just so happens to be my specialty, as you are aware, Master."
"Yes," Shirou answers. He opens his eyes and looks at her, returning to his signature smile. "But for now, let us not pick a fight with him. He is a strong asset, if he can be controlled."
"As you wish, Master."
***
Day 1
Long story short, you began to set up your temple. It is a basic structure. By inscribing cuneiforms near the entrances of the manse, as well as some of the outside walls, you have created a nigh-impenetrable Bounded Field. Not even Servants may enter, Astral Form or not, unless invited in. The walls are reinforced with magecraft, strong enough to take on an A-rank Anti-Army Noble Phantasm with just scratches on the windows.
In addition, you have full knowledge if anyone – Servant, Master, or unaffiliated magus – approaches within fifty meters of the territory.
You've had some time to explore the manse. It has a foyer, two parlors; eight bedrooms, each with a bathroom; a servant quarters, currently empty; a scullery with an interconnected kitchen, a basement, an attic, a storage room, a pantry, a ballroom, and a study. You've taken one of the bedrooms as your own, even though you don't have the need to sleep.
Your Master spoke to that tawdry priest once more. Apparently, there's some form of great battle plan. Once Assassin of Red gets her floating fortress up, the entire Red Team will use it as a base of operations and attack the Black territory. Kotomine sent a letter giving some specifications of what the Noble Phantasm is capable of and asks that you be prepared.
[] [Battle] As a gesture of goodwill, offer to give some of your armory to the dragon-tooth skeleton soldiers. An army equipped with Noble Phantasms is going to be scary, even for Servants, let alone pathetic homunculi.
[] [Battle] As a gesture of goodwill, offer to stand atop the floating fortress
of doom and rain down judgment from above, essentially acting as the world's most fearsome artillery cannon.
[] [Battle] Go to ground level to fight on your own. You'd love to partake in the glory of the event in person.
[] [Battle] Disregard the Red Team and their plans. Begin plotting how to seize the Holy Grail for yourself.
[] [Battle] Inform the Black Faction to incite conflict. It should make things interesting, everyone around you seem to be inconsequential, except for the vile serpent.
What's your plan for today?
[] [Action] Drink wine on a couch and monologue. What else should the king do?
[] [Action] Explore Trifas and get some modern clothing. Getting to know the modern world more intimately should be very interesting and provide you with a change of pace, maybe calm you down.
[] [Action] Go to the enemy castle, crush some golems for sport, and go back home. This ensures that the Black Faction sees you as a big, dangerous player and should make things much more interesting.
[] [Action] Ensure that Rin understands
why she wishes for reaching the Root. You want an interesting person to be your Master, not just another 'hurr-durr' magus whose only desire is to continue the nonsense of her ancestors.
[] [Action] Write-in.
