Today is Monday. Both Sakura and I bring our servants to school, so it is very safe. No sane enemy would attack when two servants are present. And last night, this Changer of mine proved he can deal with Assassin’s attacks, so I am as relaxed as I could be.

We met with Sakura and her servant in the lunch break, at the same rooftop we met two days ago, and I told them about last night. We all agree that one of the servants must be different from how it seems. Other than that, they weren’t really any help in making sense of things.

I’ll summarize the problem.

Until now, I saw six servants.

I know the classes of Changer, who was summoned in place of Archer, and Rider, Sakura’s servant.

I’m pretty sure of the classes of two others. One of them is the black figure from last night. He managed to conceal his presence from Changer, who once sensed two servants fighting from close to half a city away. He hid, and he threw needles. I’d bet half my remaining money that he is Assassin. And if Sakura’s grandfather is right, that means he is Hassan-i Sabbah. Therefore I call him a he, even though I never really got a good look at him.

The other one I’m pretty sure of is the beastly man in blue; the servant of that woman from the association. The inhumanly fast servant who uses a two-meter-long red spear and has magic resistance. He fits the Lancer class like a glove.

Now, this is where it gets complicated.

I saw two other servants. The Greek warrior that fought Lancer, and the big man we all assume to be Heracles. I’ve never seen the seventh servant.

The remaining three classes are Saber, Caster and Berserker.

That Greek warrior used both a spear and a sword, which is weird in itself, but that means he could be a Saber, a Lancer or maybe a Rider. Since he did better with his sword than he did with his spear, and since the Saber slot is open, I had assumed he was Saber.

That would mean Heracles, who we saw use a bow, is either Berserker or Caster. A giant body, a giant lion pelt around his shoulders, and a bow… He definitely fits the Heracles image I have in my mind, and definitely does not fit the image of a Caster. But we saw him speak, even though we couldn’t hear him, and he was smiling. I thought Berserkers were mad warriors that only knew how to crush things, much like animals.

My head hurts. It all fits if we assume Changer is actually Caster, and Heracles is Archer, but…

I asked him once more. He said he is a hundred percent sure that he was summoned in place of Archer.

No, no, no. If I don’t trust even my own servant…

Changer told me the truth. He has no reason not to.

I hope we’ll reach answers soon. Otherwise, planning our moves will be hard.

Right now, I have two choices. I’ll either move out, search for the others, and hope that I’ll stumble upon answers, or I’ll wait and see rather than acting blindly.

Finally, we reach my house. At least for today, I don’t plan on leaving again.

                *                             *                             *

[Interlude]

“Sakura.”

“Yes, brother?”

“May I come in?”

“Sure.”

Sakura was in her room, studying. She might be a master in the Holy Grail War, but that was no reason to neglect her studies. She had nothing better to do anyway, especially since she decided to remain holed up for a while.

Her brother opened the door and entered. He was a handsome guy, had good grades, had decent athletic ability, and was popular with the girls. But when they were alone at home, he was different.

Sakura put down her pencil, leaned back and turned towards her brother, Shinji. He looked at her bed, but decided not to sit.

“I have a favour to ask.”

His eyes were involuntarily drawn downwards, but he forced them up and looked at his sister’s eyes.

“I’m listening.”

“I need information about a girl. I hear she is a freshmen.”

Sakura closed her eyes and sighed. As always, Shinji reacted to her sigh by fidgeting where he stood.

“A girl again, brother? You do remember that I’m a master now, right? I don’t have time for…”

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

“I know that! But…”

He continued more slowly as he realized his voice had come out louder than he intended.

“But, you are still going to school. It’s not like you go fighting during breaks. You could learn about her.”

Sakura sighed again. Her brother never had enough girlfriends. When he saw a girl he found attractive, he would definitely go after her. He was pretty good at it, and on the rare occasion when his efforts weren’t enough, he would come ask Sakura for help. Until now, it had always worked out, except for the school’s idol Tohsaka Rin, with whom Sakura had clearly refused to help.

“Very well, brother. But you owe me for this.”

Shinji’s eyes lit up with joy. Just as he acted like a different person than usual when he was with his sister, Sakura acted different from normal too. She was less shy, more dominant, and was unwilling to help without personal gain. Anyone who knew them from school would be surprised.

“Thank you, Sakura! I know neither her name nor her class, but I’ll tell you all about her looks.”

                *                             *                             *

“Sakura, I have something to talk.”

This time, it was Rider.

“Sure, Rider, let’s talk.”

The time was evening, after dinner. It had been half a day since they got that report about Assassin from the Tohsaka. Sakura was, once again, at her desk. This time, she was reading a book.

“It’s about your sister.”

Sakura closed her eyes and nodded. She was half expecting this. She gestured toward her bed. There was no other places to sit in the room.

Rider remained standing.

“I know she is your sister, but I’ll be honest, Sakura. I think…”

“She is lying to us. That’s what you were going to say, right Rider?”

“Yes.”

“I know, it doesn’t fit.”

“I think her servant is Caster, and a crafty one.”

Sakura sighed again. She had hoped to be wrong, to be missing something obvious, or to be thinking in a wrong way. But, to hear Rider give voice to what Sakura herself thought… It eliminated that little hope.

“I agree. That flying field spell was a high-level thaumaturgy, worthy of a Caster. He interrupted sister’s answer when I asked about his class. We haven’t seen anything from him to show for being Archer. Besides, he being Archer instead of Caster doesn’t fit what we’ve seen of others.”

She pauses. It pains her to admit it.

“It all points to the same thing. Sister is lying to me.”

She stands up, and starts walking up and down the room. By now, she is talking more to herself and less to Rider.

“Perhaps, Mr. Sten is preparing a big ritual that they don’t want us to know. She wouldn’t allow anything large scale that would affect innocents, but maybe he is preparing a strong, single-target spell. Of course, a caster wouldn’t have much chance in a straight up fight. That must be why they are lying, even to us. But it’s not like we’d go attack them if they told us. They must really have something else planned. They-”

“Calm down, Sakura. Don’t get riled up.”

Rider approaches Sakura and puts a hand on her shoulder. To anyone watching, they would seem like two sisters. Sakura stops, takes then releases a deep breath, and sits back down.

“You are right, Rider. I’m calm now, thank you.”

She looks Rider in the eyes. She now has a calm expression and strong determination in her eyes.

“How is the field going? Will it really be ready soon?”

“Yes. Unless I have to fight in the meantime, two more days will be enough.”

Sakura nods.

“Good. Once it is fully complete, we won’t have anything to fear from even those servants with high magical energy.”

“Yes. Good night, Sakura.”

“Good night.”

Rider turns to her spirit form and leaves without even moving the closed door. Sakura closes her book and gets in her bed.

“If nothing goes wrong in these two days, only two things will be left that could endanger us. An Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm, or an unknown, ritual-magic level spell that we can’t possibly prepare for.”

She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes.

“A Caster, huh, sister?”