Reborn in Type-Moon: Starting by Adopting Sakura - Chapter 45

"And that's how I became Serenity's Master," Yuu concluded, as if accidentally acquiring a deadly Servant was just another Tuesday evening inconvenience.

Irisviel drove through Fuyuki's winding streets in contemplative silence, her destination being Ryuudou Temple. She had mentally prepared herself for combat tonight—maybe a few confrontations. What she hadn’t anticipated was Yuu returning with what appeared to be a very clingy assassin.

Artoria occupied the passenger seat with her usual composed and indifferent 1111expression. In said backseat, Yuu had somehow become a human-shaped piece of furniture for Serenity, who had draped herself across his lap like a particularly elegant cat who'd decided this was her new favorite sleeping spot.

Her slender arms encircled his neck in what could generously be called an embrace, though it looked more like she was attempting to merge with him on a molecular level. Her head rested against his chest as if she'd found the world's most comfortable pillow and had no intention of ever giving it up.

From the moment he'd lifted her from that streetlamp-lit pavement, she'd maintained this position with the determination of someone who'd finally found something worth holding onto and wasn't about to let social conventions get in the way.

Artoria had listened to Yuu's explanation without comment, while Irisviel finally broke the silence with what was probably the most diplomatic way to address the elephant—or rather, the extremely attached Servant—in the car.

"How long exactly are you planning to keep holding her like that?"

"My Master is simply replenishing my magical energy," Serenity murmured against Yuu's chest. The way she said “Master” wasn’t the typical formal address of a Servant to their summoner—it held a deeper affection, as if she had found something approaching salvation in human form.

For the first time in what felt like lifetimes, Serenity was experiencing the simple miracle of physical contact that didn't end in death. From the moment Yuu's hand had met hers, she'd made a decision that encompassed everything she was—her poisonous skin, her lethal touch, her very existence—and offered it all to the man who could somehow hold her without dying.

"Yuu..." Irisviel pouted.

…

1:03 a.m.

Thirty kilometers west of Fuyuki's neon-lit streets, a national highway carved its way through mountain terrain that looked like it had been specifically designed to discourage casual tourism. The road was far enough from any village or population center that even the most dedicated late-night travelers would think twice about stopping for a scenic break.

Dense forest crowded both sides of the asphalt like nature's version of a privacy fence. Officially, the land registry listed the area as private property belonging to some foreign corporation whose actual existence was about as verifiable as unicorn sightings.

There, hidden behind layers of mist that seemed suspiciously persistent regardless of weather conditions, stood a castle that would have made medieval architects weep with professional envy. The structure rose from the forest floor like something that had been transplanted directly from a European fairy tale, all stone towers and arches that managed to look both magnificent and faintly ominous in the moonlight. Despite its apparent abandonment, every window gleamed, every stone remained perfectly maintained, as if an invisible army of custodians worked around the clock to keep it in pristine condition.

The entire area was wrapped in enough illusions and bounded fields to make any magus jealous. To any unfortunate soul who happened to wander off the highway, the forest would appear as nothing more than unremarkable woodland—assuming they could even find their way in, which was statistically unlikely, bordering on impossible.

Only a handful of magi knew this place by its proper name: the Einzbern Forest. During the planning stages of the Fourth Holy Grail War, Jubstacheit von Einzbern, patriarch of the family had decided that establishing their base of operations within Tohsaka territory would be tactically inadvisable.

So, he had simply purchased the nearest major spiritual node to Fuyuki and transformed it into their personal fortress. The Einzberns then proceeded to relocate their ancestral castle, sealing it away from the mundane world behind bounded fields.

It was a display of the Einzbern family’s resources that bordered on flamboyant. While the Tohsakas spent their time haggling over property values and navigating local politics like ordinary mortals, the Einzberns had simply rewritten geography to suit their convenience. It was the magical equivalent of showing up to a knife fight with a tank—technically overkill, but undeniably effective.

Now, beneath the pale moonlight, the grand castle stood in anticipation—about to welcome its first new residents in sixty years.

In the quiet autumn night, the BMW's engine growled through the forest before falling silent beneath the imposing castle gates. Inside the car, Irisviel had been releasing a series of increasingly pointed sighs that would have impressed a professional drama coach. Each one seemed to carry its own distinct flavor of frustration.

"Are you tired, Iri?" Yuu asked, apparently oblivious to the fact that her current mood had less to do with fatigue and more to do with the attractive Servant currently using him as a personal reclining chair.

"…"

She turned the key with perhaps slightly more force than necessary, killed the engine, and engaged the handbrake like she was trying to make a point. Staring blankly ahead, she said, “No, I’m fine. Go on.”

Serenity appeared to have drifted off to sleep, her warm breath creating a gentle rhythm against Yuu's chest. One of his hands rested against the smooth curve of her back while the other supported her hips as he attempted to find a more comfortable position—a task made considerably more challenging by the confined space and his passenger's apparent determination to maintain maximum physical contact.

"We'll need to focus on Ryuudou Temple first," he explained. "Every major leyline in Fuyuki converges there, and there's quite an extensive cavern system beneath the grounds. That's where I'll need to establish my research base."

The temple wasn't just strategically important—it was the beating heart of Fuyuki's spiritual geography, the location where the Greater Grail itself resided. It was prime real estate in the supernatural sense. Any Master foolish enough to try holding it would find themselves with a target painted firmly on their back.

Beyond Ryuudou Temple, the other three major spiritual nodes were located at the Tohsaka family estate, Fuyuki Church, and the sprawling new residential district on the city's eastern edge. Each one represented a potential power base, and each one would likely see its share of violence before this war concluded.

"I'd rather you stayed here at the castle while I'm working, Iri," he added, his voice taking on a gentler tone. "At least until we have a better sense of how things develop. I can reach the temple easily enough from here, and if anything goes wrong... you still remember how the phone works, don't you?"

"…Yes. I remember."

The question was probably unnecessary—Irisviel was many things, but technologically incompetent wasn't one of them. Still, there was something reassuring about covering the basics when you were about to leave her alone in a magically warded castle while you investigated a supernatural doomsday device.

Splitting into two groups had been the plan from the start.

Even though some unexpected developments had occurred along the way—acquiring a deadly assassin with attachment issues being chief among them—the overall strategy remained sound. If anything, the changes had made certain aspects more feasible.

But now—

"I should come with you to Ryuudou Temple, Yuu. With Lancer there to protect me—"

"That's exactly why you can't come." He sighed. "Serenity can make herself invisible with Presence Concealment; even other Servants have trouble spotting her when she doesn’t want to be found. But if Artoria shows up anywhere near the Greater Grail, every Master in the city will know about it within hours."

"But what if something happens to you?"

"Nothing's going to happen. Just wait for me to call, alright?"

Irisviel's lips parted as if she wanted to argue further, but she caught herself and let them close again. Her hands slipped from the steering wheel to rest in her lap.

"...Fine."

She knew he was right—tactically speaking, it made perfect sense. That didn't make watching Serenity curl against him like some sort of house cat any less irritating.

She'd known Yuu for years now, and yet this stranger, this Servant who'd been unconscious under a streetlamp an hour ago, was currently enjoying the kind of physical closeness that she had never... well. It seemed grossly unfair.

But then again, Serenity was just a Servant. Once the Holy Grail War ended, she'd fade away back to wherever Servants went when their jobs were finished.

The thought should have been comforting. Instead, it reminded her that Artoria would disappear too, and suddenly the whole situation felt considerably less satisfying.