Wayland nodded with a smile. He could understand the Holy Grail's predicament; Ereshkigal, who existed beyond the established rules, was simply outside of its control.
And honestly, the Grail wasn't exactly generous to begin with.
Besides, Ereshkigal wasn't the only 'cheater' in this particular war.
"Do you want to eat?"
Wayland used his chopsticks to pick up a piece of shrimp tempura. "Want me to feed you?"
"N-No! I can do it myself!"
"Spirit form really is convenient, isn't it?"
Wayland watched as Ereshkigal flickered out of sight, unable to help but feel a little envious.
["G-Grandmother prepared a portion for me too, you know."]
Ereshkigal's voice drifted through their mental contract, sounding a bit defensive.
Wayland remembered now; to avoid raising Asuka's suspicions, Ereshkigal had been carrying a school bag that morning, which included her own bento.
But he hadn't seen it a moment ago.
'Can Servants take physical objects with them when they dematerialize?'
"Come on out and eat with me, then," he said aloud.
["I-I'm fine like this..."] Ereshkigal's reflex was to decline.
Wayland simply smiled and didn't push the issue.
A few moments later, however, Ereshkigal manifested beside him.
Watching her quietly focus on her meal, Wayland felt a sudden, fleeting sense of peace. This world, despite its dangers, was quite beautiful.
"Eresh-chan, have you noticed any magical bounded fields or arrays around the school?"
"Are you talking about the one Rider uses? No, not yet. It seems she hasn't been fully 'contracted' to Shinji Matou yet. Master... do you want to deal with him now?"
"Yes. But we should wait until he's forcibly taken the Command Spells from Sakura. If we deal with him then, the chances of her 'darkening' will be minimized."
"He is certainly an unpleasant individual, but won't 'removing' him cause conflict with Shirou Emiya or Sakura?"
"It won't matter, as long as they understand the extent of his actions."
Wayland bit into a fried shrimp. "And then there's Zouken Matou. We need to deal with him as soon as possible. According to the Clock Tower's records, he was a 'Pride' rank magus specializing in Botany and Curses. He has a lot of tricks up his sleeve, but after centuries of desperate life-extension, his actual combat power has likely diminished. The real problem will be finding him."
He knew the locations of the other Servants,Heracles and Medea, for instance,but Wayland preferred to let the original events play out as much as possible. His priority was ensuring Shirou Emiya's growth and dealing with Gilgamesh.
The ancient King of Heroes was, without a doubt, the most dangerous variable.
Of course, the 'Heaven's Feel' route could also solve the Gilgamesh problem, but that timeline was far too tragic. All the characters he cared about would likely end up dead.
This wasn't a game. There were no retries.
If you died here, you were gone for good.
And the threat posed by 'Dark Sakura' was equal to, if not greater than, any Servant.
"I'm finished."
Wayland packed away his bento box and chatted with Ereshkigal for a few more minutes until the lunch break ended.
***
"President, Emiya-san... good afternoon."
Wayland greeted the two as he returned to the classroom. "Emiya-san, how about we head home together after school? I'd like to ask you about the Archery club."
"The Archery club...?"
Shirou blinked. He'd only recently been pushed out of the club by Shinji, but the idea of a new member joining made him happy. "Ayako Mitsuzuri,the captain,would be thrilled. It would be even better if Fujimaru-san turned out to be a natural."
"Emiya-san is the real expert here, aren't you? I heard you used to be the star of the club. As for me... well, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. I don't know the first thing about it."
"That's fine. Anyone who's interested is welcome to join."
Shirou seemed to remember something. "Actually, I have to fix the heater in the audio-visual room after school. It might be quite late. Maybe tomorrow?"
"No worries. I'll just hang around the school for a bit, or maybe you can tell me more while you work."
The bell rang for the next class. "See you after school," Wayland said.
The afternoon lessons began.
***
"Emiya-san, did the heater in the art room get fixed this morning?" Wayland followed Shirou into the audio-visual room.
"It was just an issue with the older parts, really."
"Is the budget so tight that they can't buy a new one?"
"Mhm. Issei has been trying to change the way the club budgets are allocated, but it's difficult. The sports clubs are quite vocal about their needs, and it's created some tension with the Student Council. Issei's had a rough time with it."
Shirou looked at the aging unit. "Sorry, Fujimaru-san, but I need a bit of silence while I work on this."
"Go ahead. I'll go and explore the campus while it's still light out."
Wayland knew that Shirou actually needed to use his reinforcement magecraft to fix the device.
He stepped out into the hallway, but he didn't wander far.
There wasn't much to see, really; it was a standard high school layout, and he didn't want to get lost in the winter chill.
Darkness always came early in the winter months.
By the time the moon had risen, Shirou emerged from the classroom. Seeing Wayland still waiting, he looked surprised. "I'm sorry it took so long."
Wayland smiled. "No problem. Let's go."
As they left the school gates, Shirou began to describe the Archery club's drills and the personalities of its members.
By the time they reached the main intersection, the explanation was mostly complete.
"Emiya-san, I think this is where we part ways."
Wayland pointed down the road illuminated by the streetlamps. "My house is that way; I don't think it's on your route."
"Right. Tomorrow, then. I'll introduce you to the captain."
Wayland watched Shirou walk away. He looked up, and there, silhouetted against the moonlight on the roof of a high-rise building, stood a girl in a red coat.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]
The shift in formating for Irigal and Ereshkigal might be confusing, but it's intentional. It's meant to show the difference, it start showing from chapter 134, Irigal use [""] (when doing system stuff and dematerialize) and Ereshkigal use "". not big difference, but yeah. thats it.