Two days had passed since the onset of the Holy Grail War. That morning, as Shiomi was going about his usual preparations at home, he received an unexpected visitor.
"Ciel?"
Seeing the young nun standing outside the courtyard, Shiomi was momentarily speechless.
"Just as I suspected. After examining the traces at the seaside park, I concluded that one of the combatants in that battle was you, Mr. Shiomi," Ciel said, her expression calm. "It's been a while. How have you been?"
Though uncertain of her intentions, Shiomi knew it was unrealistic to think he could completely conceal his involvement. As long as he avoided contact with other Masters and Servants, he might stay under the radar, but once interactions occurred, anyone with a keen sense for information would notice.
"Still, I'm surprised you managed to find this place," Shiomi remarked.
"It wasn't too difficult. After forming my hypothesis, I reviewed Fuyuki City's property records," Ciel explained. "In addition to your original residence, you purchased this new home a few years ago. I decided to take a chance and came here."
Shiomi raised an eyebrow. "So, you're not here just as a friend dropping by..."
"I've come in my capacity as the Overseer dispatched by the Holy Church for the Fifth Holy Grail War. I have matters to discuss."
He nodded and opened the gate. "Please, come in—if you don't mind."
Ciel followed Shiomi into the house and into the living room.
Morgan was there, sipping tea. Upon seeing Ciel, she gave a slight nod in greeting.
In truth, Ciel had only met Morgan once or twice before and knew her merely as Shiomi's wife.
After sitting down, Ciel took a sip of tea and got straight to the point:
"You've likely seen the news—there's been a series of murders in Fuyuki City recently."
"We're aware," Shiomi acknowledged.
"What are your thoughts on the matter, Mr. Shiomi?" Ciel asked abruptly.
Shiomi leaned forward slightly, resting his arm on the table. "Without any concrete information, it's generally best to treat it as a typical violent crime and leave it to the police or other law enforcement agencies."
"Generally speaking..." Ciel adjusted her glasses.
"Yes, generally speaking," Shiomi replied, resting his chin on one hand. "As you know, I participated in the Fourth Holy Grail War. I'm sure you've seen the Holy Church's records. During that war, there were instances where individuals with latent magecraft abilities were granted Command Spells by the Holy Grail to serve as Masters, essentially to fill the ranks."
Ciel nodded deeply. "I recall. One such individual was Ryuunosuke Uryuu. According to post-war investigations, he came from a family that once had a lineage of Magi, though it had since died out."
"Based on that experience, I suspect a similar situation might be occurring now," Shiomi said. "However, lacking definitive evidence, I had planned to investigate further during the day."
But now, that seemed unnecessary.
Ciel's deliberate mention of the murder cases was a clear indication that they were connected to a Master participating in the Holy Grail War.
"Contrary to that, the Master responsible for these serial killings is well-versed in the Holy Grail War," Ciel stated. "They're intentionally committing murders to have their Servant consume the victims' souls, thereby increasing their own power."
"Have you identified which group it is?" Morgan interjected.
While the question was posed, the process of elimination had already narrowed it down to essentially two possibilities.
"The Assassin faction," Ciel replied. "Perhaps they chose this tactic because their Servant is too weak compared to other classes."
"What's the Holy Church planning to do?" Shiomi looked at her. "With your strength, it wouldn't be hard to eliminate Assassin's Master, right?"
"That would break the rules," Ciel said with a wry smile. "Don't be fooled by how I seem—I actually follow the rules pretty closely. And after what happened in the last Holy Grail War, the Church has put much stricter regulations in place."
"So?" Shiomi already knew the answer.
Ciel sat upright on the mat, her expression serious. "On behalf of the Church and in my own capacity, I want to commission you to handle this, Mr. Shiomi. As you know, the Command Spells left over from previous Holy Grail Wars were all lost during the last war. So unlike before, we can't issue an official subjugation order and lure other Masters to prioritize dealing with the Assassin faction."
"And what do we gain by taking down Assassin's Master?" Shiomi asked.
"To be honest, not much," Ciel admitted after a pause. "But you're not officially part of this Holy Grail War. Technically, your involvement is already a breach."
At that moment, Morgan smiled dangerously. "Then we just have to silence the one person who knows, and no one will be aware of our existence."
"That might work, but if I die, the intel I've gathered will be released to the Holy Church," Ciel responded calmly. "Mr. Shiomi, I doubt you want to bring the full wrath of the Church and the Mage's Association down on yourself. That would go against your usual methods."
She clearly understood Tenkei Shiomi's principles and presented her request in the most diplomatic way, laying out the stakes and consequences.
"So you're saying that if I accept your commission and eliminate the Assassin faction, you'll turn a blind eye to what we're doing?" Shiomi caught on immediately.
"Exactly."
"That's a fair trade." Shiomi shrugged. Honestly, even if Ciel hadn't said anything, he would've gone after the Assassin faction for Sakura's sake. "So, do you know where their base is?"
"Unfortunately not. I tried tracking them, but I was worried about alerting them, so I couldn't follow through," Ciel said, bowing her head slightly.
With an Assassin capable of concealing their presence, Ciel couldn't afford to follow too closely. Otherwise, she'd be exposed before getting anywhere.
"So we're starting from scratch," Shiomi crossed his arms. "Well, it's just getting back to the old routine."
Tracking and investigation were areas Shiomi had some skill in.
After they reached an agreement, Ciel expressed her thanks and left Shiomi's new hideout.
"Worked out just right for us, huh, my dear?" Morgan teased as Shiomi cleared away the tea set.
"Well, the Overseer is still a Burial Agency Executor. They can't just ignore our actions—that'd be a problem."
After all, if even someone from the Burial Agency ended up dead while supervising the Holy Grail War, the implications would be obvious.