"Lord Dracula, who exactly are you planning to kill or save?" Kirie asked with genuine curiosity.
"It's that little girl who helped me find my way the other day. I think her name was Sakura, right? She's about to face some seriously unpleasant trouble," Dracula replied. "An ancient bastard named Zōen Matō wants to play some disgusting games with her using bugs. That's intolerable. I intend to rescue her. But then I thought, I just took you out for a long walk today, and I just finished bathing not long ago. The Matō estate is still over ten, maybe twenty kilometers from here."
As he spoke, he lazily flopped down onto the table. "I really… don't want to move at all."
"Master, why don't you explain the specifics to us first?" Jeanne, having finished her meal, overheard the conversation. As the righteous maiden saint, she immediately asked with concern.
Dracula, still lying on the table, recounted in detail everything he had foreseen through his precognition to everyone present.
"That's just too much!" Kiyohime snapped, her voice seething with fury. "Such a scumbag—clearly it should be cleansed with my dragonfire!"
"Hmph, for once, I actually agree with you, lizard." Elizabeth's face was equally indignant. "That grotesque man who violates every principle of the idol code must be given a taste of the Bathory family's dungeon hospitality."
"I never imagined someone like that could exist in my world." Nero stood up abruptly, pointing at Mordred. "Come, Mo! Let us deliver justice!"
"Understood!" Mordred jumped up with a rustle, her armor already donned and gleaming.
The two girls were just about to head out to enact righteous punishment—until Dracula stopped them.
"Oi, you two. Hold it a sec!" Dracula shouted. "It's pointless to go now. This all happens tomorrow morning."
The girls froze mid-step, reluctantly returning to their seats.
Suddenly—slam!—Jeanne's hand struck the table with thunderous force, making Miss Kagarino Kirie beside her jolt in shock, twin tails springing up in surprise.
"Hyaah! This is outrageous!" Jeanne fumed, staring at Dracula. "Master, let us go and cleanse him—and eradicate such wickedness from the world while we're at it!"
"Oh, don't worry, this eyesore who's wrecking the tone of the whole story will be dealt with." Dracula replied slowly. "But as for eliminating that kind of behavior entirely? Forget it, Jeanne."
He leaned back, arms crossed. "Truth is, modern mages all tend to have their… quirks. That old worm is just a particularly nasty specimen. If you really wanted to erase all that filth, you'd have to scorch the entire magical world to ash."
But then, he lowered his head and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Although… a holy maiden who destroys the world in the name of justice… hmm… that actually sounds kinda hot…"
"Don't panic, I haven't finished explaining," Dracula continued. "I just… don't want her to know it was me who did it."
"Why not?" x5
The five gathered Servants all chimed in at once, their eyes full of puzzled curiosity.
"Because raising a kid is such a hassle," Dracula replied with total nonchalance. "I don't hate children or anything, but playing 'surprise dad' with someone else's kid? Not my thing."
"Relax," he waved a hand dismissively. "I already found her a reliable guy—ahem, I mean guardian. We'll just call him when the time comes."
"The real problem now is this—how do we rescue that little girl without leaving traces, or arousing suspicion? Ideally, we do it all within the castle."
Mordred thought for a moment. "Well, if you have enough mana, Lord Dracula... I could try using my Noble Phantasm."
Since all the Servants were manifesting in their original bodies, they required an immense supply of magical energy—far more than Kagarino Kirie, a newly born True Ancestor, could possibly provide. Thus, Dracula was currently shouldering the mana for them all.
"Right, your Noble Phantasm is fairly… clean," Dracula mused. "But wouldn't that just blow Sakura up along with the rest?"
Mordred tilted her head. "Ah. Right. That would be a problem."
"Jeanne," Kirie suddenly spoke up, "I've got a question. In this world, are there any mages who can actually beat a Servant in direct combat?"
"Hmm… there might be a few," Jeanne said thoughtfully. "But in this Holy Grail War? No mage strong enough to beat a Servant has appeared."
"Then we're good." Kirie turned to Dracula. "Since this is all happening during the Grail War anyway, Lord Dracula—why not contract that little girl to a Servant of her own? That shouldn't be too hard for someone like you, right?"
"...Kirie," Dracula blinked, then grinned. "You really are a damned genius. With this, we can use the Holy Grail War itself as cover. Not only does it hide our tracks, but we'll also get a Master under our control. Excellent. Let's go with that."
---
Sakura looked up timidly at the balding, hunched old man. He wore a muddy-brown kimono and leaned heavily on a wooden cane.
He looked like he could drop dead at any moment—decay and rot clung to him like a second skin. And yet… somehow, it felt like this man could easily keep living another few centuries.
His beast-like eyes were an unnatural green, with sclera so black they looked like pools of tar. He gazed at young Sakura the way a starving predator eyes a fresh kill.
"Well then, Sakura. From now on, you're a member of the Matou family," her father said, still smiling with elegance in his crimson suit—then unhesitatingly pushed her toward the twisted old man.
"Be sure to learn magic well from Grandpa. Obey him, understand?" her mother added, forcing a tear-streaked smile onto her face.
Sakura turned back toward the house. Her older sister, unable to accept what was happening, hadn't come out of her room all day.
"Hehehe… what a lovely child," Matou Zouken chuckled, a sound like insects skittering beneath skin. "Now then, Lord Tokiomi, I shall take my leave."
"Farewell, Lord Zouken." Tohsaka Tokiomi gave a graceful bow.
Sakura looked back again and again, hoping her father would stop her… but he never did. He didn't even glance in her direction, merely maintaining his genteel facade in front of Matou Zouken.
Sakura was led into a luxurious black car and taken to the cold, looming gates of the Matou estate.
"We're here. Get out," Matou Zouken sneered. "This will be your new home. I promise you'll grow to love it."