Chapter 50: Mordred's Transformation

"Did... did I say something wrong again?" Little Medusa asked with an apologetic expression.

"No, just as you said, you don't know about my circumstances, so some friction is inevitable... No, I should say some friction could have been avoided if I'd just learned to be more patient." Mordred couldn't bring herself to chastise such a kind and adorable Servant for an unintentional remark. If anything, after this little conflict, Mordred felt like she'd gained some new understanding.

Had staying confined to the British Isles all this time... limited her perspective? Restricted what she could see? Now, through the platform of the Holy Grail War, she could envision so much more. Would this growth mean anything? Mordred wasn't sure, but she trusted her hereditary intuition—she really liked being here.

"Mmm, this way even when Master isn't around, we can get along well. And we'll be able to get along with any future Servants too, without causing Master any trouble." Little Medusa nodded as she spoke.

"So you're helping maintain harmony among the Servants too. You must really like this Master of yours, to voluntarily take on that role." Mordred couldn't help but remark.

"Yes... because Master has already fulfilled the greatest wish for all three of us. So we really, truly... love Master. It's Master who gave us this chance to reunite. That's why I'll never forgive anyone who tries to hurt Master or Big Sister. That's my bottom line." Little Medusa's eyes shone with determination as she spoke seriously.

Seeing Little Medusa like this, Mordred couldn't help but grin. "Seems like I made the right choice. Any Master who can earn the affection and trust of a Servant like you... must be one interesting guy."

"That guy might be weird, not giving us any specific orders yet, just telling us to standby here. But I've got a feeling he's planning something huge. When the time comes, we'll get to raise some hell... Oh, and there's that thing Master promised me too." Mordred said slowly.

"Little Medusa, my foolish little sister, must you take so long just to talk? Don't you know it's time for afternoon tea?" Suddenly, Stheno's voice came from the room behind them. Hearing this, Little Medusa nodded to Mordred and said, "Big Sister is calling me. Let's talk more about each other's stories when we have time."

With that, Little Medusa ran back into the room. Watching her leave, Mordred shrugged and continued wandering aimlessly through the Matou residence.

"Hmm? The sound of sword practice?" Before she knew it, Mordred had wandered down to the Matou basement. The enclosed space amplified the sounds of sword swings echoing through the quiet area. This piqued Mordred's curiosity—was there another Servant here training in martial arts?

However, she soon realized her guess was wrong. In her line of sight was a small figure—clearly just a child, with no Servant aura whatsoever. Yet the sword forms and footwork reminded Mordred of the moves her Master Takashi Kuroda had used against her—that one strike had nearly taken out her kidney.

This suddenly interested Mordred, so she called out: "Hey, kid! Want me to spar with you?"

Hearing the voice, Little Shiki stopped her practice and frowned. "Who are you?"

"Doesn't matter who I am. I can tell practicing alone is boring, right? Want me to be your partner?" Mordred flashed a bright grin.

"What a weirdo... Well then... En garde!" Little Shiki muttered before suddenly throwing her knife at Mordred, her own body darting forward like a swallow in flight.

"Oho! Not bad!" Mordred blocked and deflected the knife, only for Little Shiki to somehow appear exactly where the knife was flying. Catching it mid-air, she spun her body, the blade drawing a perfect arc toward Mordred. Just like that, their sparring began, the two of them soon sweating and playing in equal measure throughout the basement.

......

"This will be our home from now on, Jeanne." Takashi Kuroda brought Jeanne to what was formerly the Emiya residence. Of course, from today onward it wouldn't be called the Emiya house anymore, but the Kuroda Estate... though that sounded oddly out of place in the Type-Moon aesthetic.

"If I ever randomly adopt some Shirou in the future, he can't possibly be called 'Shirou Kuroda'... No no, that just sounds wrong. Anyway, since I've dealt with the Grail mud, the Fuyuki fire probably won't happen. Maybe Shirou will get to have a proper childhood after all." Takashi mused to himself.

"You acquired this entire estate?" Jeanne asked in surprise as she looked at the large property.

"Though remote, it's well-connected—perfect for our base. Plus, we just had a battle nearby recently. Playing on the 'hiding in plain sight' principle, I doubt our enemies will find this place anytime soon. Once I set up some warning magecraft arrays, we won't need to worry about surprise attacks." Takashi explained.

The shed in the yard had been destroyed by Mordred, but Takashi had already repaired it using his black mist powers, so Jeanne didn't notice anything amiss.

"Jeanne, let's clean up the rooms this afternoon, then go shopping for daily necessities on the commercial street. We'll be staying here as our main base for the coming days." Takashi said.

Jeanne nodded and began cleaning after choosing her room. Meanwhile, Takashi pretended to clean while using the black mist to gather intel from various locations.

First was their true headquarters—the Matou residence. According to Semiramis, Mordred had some conflicts with Stheno after returning, but they'd worked it out themselves. Apparently Mordred got along surprisingly well with Little Shiki, sparring and playing together without major issues. Meanwhile, little Sakura Matou missed Takashi and kept asking Semiramis when he'd return.

"That girl's quite clingy," Takashi remarked fondly.

Semiramis also reported that the Hanging Gardens would be fully constructed in a few more days, after which the three-day incantation could begin. Meanwhile, Kariya Matou and Lancelot remained stationed near the bounded field to prevent intrusions.

"Good thing I sent Kariya and Lancelot out first. If Lancelot ran into Mordred, who knows what kind of mess might happen. Those two should stay separated for now. And Mordred's actually not bad at playing with kids—she's basically a big kid herself. Having her accompany Little Shiki works perfectly. As for little Sakura, Little Medusa can take care of her. Their compatibility was good in the original work anyway, so no issues there." Takashi thought to himself.

After handling matters with Semiramis, next came the reactions from the Holy Church and the Tohsaka family regarding that morning's events. Takashi immediately contacted Kirei Kotomine's side.

"The plan's been moved up? Heh, this should be entertaining." Receiving intel from Kirei, Takashi smiled meaningfully. He'd already had Semiramis place surveillance familiars near the Tohsaka residence precisely to witness a certain Streetlight King's glorious slaughter of Hassan.

"Perfect timing. When the Assassin-class Hassan appears, it'll further corroborate my claims. The Holy Grail War hasn't even officially begun, yet it's already this exciting. Kayneth, Kiritsugu Emiya—now we're just waiting for you two to make your entrance." Takashi mused silently.