A Core Ship From The Start
Chapter 1083 - Chapter 1083 746

Chapter 1083: 746 Chapter 1083: 746 For Duanmu Huai, finding another place to stay wasn’t difficult, especially since he had acquired a magical item from Neverwinter City specifically designed for that purpose.

Thus, everyone simply headed into the forest outside Fuyuki City, and after CASTER set up a barrier, Duanmu Huai resolutely opened the Mage’s Mansion.

“Wow…”

Entering the Mage’s Mansion and seeing the splendid hall and corridors, Medea’s eyes lit up.

“MASTER, what magic is this?”

“It’s a spell called Mage’s Mansion, specifically used for living.”

“I want to learn it too!”

“Well, I’ll look into it and see if there’s a way later.”

Duanmu Huai was all for Medea learning Mage’s Mansion, as none of the mages around him knew this spell, and Mary had just recently started learning magic and hadn’t touched the higher-level spells yet; naturally, she couldn’t learn Mage’s Mansion either. But Medea was different; her magical capabilities were top-notch, and since she appeared in the role of CASTER, she surely had a deeper understanding of magic.

“Okay, now let’s talk about that little girl… Lorena, did you find out anything?”

Sitting on the sofa, Duanmu Huai quickly brought up the topic, as he had asked Lorena to inquire about the girl’s situation before he left.

“Ah, reporting, Sir Knight, the child is named Sakura Tohsaka, a daughter of the Tohsaka family.”

“We didn’t go to the Tohsaka family, was she captured?”

“No… um… I heard that her father willingly gave her to the Matou family.”

“… Huh?”

Hearing Lorena’s response, Duanmu Huai blinked.

“What does that mean, ‘gave her to the Matou family’?”

According to the information Lorena gathered from Sakura, the Tohsaka family had two daughters, Rin being the elder and Sakura the younger. They always had a nice relationship and lived a happy life with their parents. But not long ago, Sakura’s father suddenly transferred her to the Matou family, and the grandfather from the Matou family told Sakura Tohsaka that she no longer had a mother or sister, as if they ceased to exist…

“What kind of madness is this…”

Admittedly, having heard Lorena’s explanation, Duanmu Huai was genuinely confused. He initially thought the little girl was a victim of kidnapping; he planned to ask her where her home was once she woke up and simply send her back. But now… what a mess.

One might understand if Sakura Tohsaka was unfavored by her parents from birth and therefore given away, but according to her own words, this wasn’t the case. It was truly baffling.

“Tohsaka… Tohsaka… They’re one of the three families that started the Holy Grail War, right? What a mess. Why would they do this?”

“Ah, this… I know a bit…”

At this moment, Mash raised her hand and began sharing what she knew.

From Mash’s description, Duanmu Huai learned that, on this planet, psychics used a technique called “Magic Seal” to control their spiritual energy better. This magic seal helps magicians utilize their power more effectively and stores the magician’s own research and techniques regarding their unique powers.

More importantly, this magic seal could be passed down through generations.

That means, before the predecessor who owned the magic seal died, they could transfer their magic seal to the next generation through surgery or other methods. The inheritor would also store their own knowledge and techniques in the magic seal as they used it, passing it down through generations. This is why magicians are so keen on family lineage. For the ancient families, their magic seal represents centuries of collective wisdom and power of that family’s magicians, something that newer magician families simply cannot match.

It’s like being born with a fortune versus being born a beggar.

And this presents an issue — the magic seal can only be passed to one person, usually the eldest child.

“So you mean, to avoid disputes, Sakura was given to the Matou family?”

My goodness, a magician’s dispute like some sort of royal family succession scheme.

But that’s not quite right either. If that were the case, why not send the baby away right after she was born? Why raise her and then send her away? What kind of logic is that?

“No, I need to get this clarified.”

Thinking it over, Duanmu Huai finally stood up with a slap on his thigh. It just so happened that the Tohsaka family should also be participating in the Holy Grail War. It would be convenient to address this en route.

“Medea, Mash, we’re going to the Tohsaka residence!”

Meanwhile, Tokiomi Tohsaka, the head of the Tohsaka family, was completely unaware of the looming disaster over his head. Yet, even so, Tokiomi Tohsaka was also seriously engaging in conversation. And the subject of their discussion was precisely Duanmu Huai and his servants.

No, or perhaps, all the masters and servants tonight would inevitably discuss this opponent, but for Tokiomi Tohsaka, it carried a surprise and shock from another sense.

For the masters of SABER, LANCER, and RIDER, they seemed not to notice anything amiss, but Tokiomi Tohsaka knew there was a problem with Duanmu Huai and his group!

As the master controlling this land’s spiritual vein, Tokiomi Tohsaka naturally wanted to win the Holy Grail War. Thus, to gain an advantage, he even staged a play. He had his disciple Kotomine Kirei summon ASSASSIN and then had him feign an attack on himself, subsequently having ARCHER kill him to create the illusion that ASSASSIN was dead.

But in fact, only a few people like Tokiomi Tohsaka and Kotomine Kirei knew that ASSASSIN had the ability to duplicate. The one killed before was just a duplicate, intended to make other masters believe ASSASSIN was dead. This way, he could have his disciple control ASSASSIN to monitor the actions of other masters and servants.

After all, no one would suspect a servant who was supposedly dead.

However, this led to a problem.

SABER, LANCER, ARCHER, RIDER, the supposedly dead ASSASSIN, and the confirmed dead BERSERKER… Logically, the opponent should only have one servant, CASTER.

But that man actually had two servants!

“Yes, Tokiomi Tohsaka was certain that BERSERKER had died. The reason was simple: after the explosion at the Matou residence, he had also ordered his disciple to manipulate ASSASSIN to check on it. Afterwards, he focused on Matou Ganyu, who was frantically searching for Sakura everywhere. In fact, when Matou Ganyu appeared at the inn and dispatched BERSERKER to kidnap someone, ASSASSIN was watching him closely.”

“It was precisely because of this that Tokiomi Tohsaka knew that the invasion of CASTER’s workshop by BERSERKER had failed and even resulted in their annihilation.”

“So the question arises,”

“If that shield-wielding girl is neither SABER, LANCER, ARCHER, RIDER, CASTER, ASSASSIN, nor BERSERKER, then what class is she exactly?!”

“The girl is definitely a Heroic Spirit, as she activated her Noble Phantasm in front of everyone and even blocked LANCER’s Noble Phantasm attack. To call it magic would be a joke.”

“But the question remains, what class is she? And how did she appear in this form?”

“I believe CASTER and his Master clearly violated the rules of the Holy Grail War.”

Tokiomi Tohsaka was sitting at the desk, staring at the phonograph-like communicator in front of him.

“Do you mean that I need to issue a warrant for CASTER under the name of Cathedral Church?”

On the other end of the communicator was Kotomine Risei, Tokiomi Tohsaka’s good friend, who served as the neutral arbitrator for the church in this Holy Grail War. Of course, although he was ostensibly neutral, given his friendship with Tokiomi Tohsaka, it was clear whose side he was on.

“That is one idea… But I would like to ask if there is an organization called the Tribunal within the Cathedral Church? He seems very much like someone from the Cathedral Church.”

“I have never heard of the Cathedral Church having such an organization, but indeed…”

Facing Tokiomi Tohsaka’s inquiry, Kotomine Risei fell into silence as well. Thinking carefully, the man’s attire, way of acting, and tone resembled those of certain extremist members within the church, and though the strange armor was indecipherable in origin, it certainly carried a religious connotation…

“Sorry to interrupt you both.”

Just then, Kotomine Kirei’s deep voice sounded from the communicator.

“What happened?”

“Yes, I just received a report from ASSASSIN. CASTER’s Master has left the forest with CASTER and that shield-bearing girl, and they are heading back to Fuyuki City.”

“Do they intend to launch an attack on someone again?”

Hearing this, Tokiomi Tohsaka frowned. As the local authority, he and the Cathedral Church needed to cover up any magic-related incidents in the area. Previous explosions at the Matou residence and the battle at the port had been dismissed as gas explosions… but one cannot keep attributing everything to explosions.

“Yes, based on their direction, they are headed toward the Tohsaka residence. Please be careful, Master.”

“………???”

How did this end up landing on his head?

It was a peaceful and quiet night in Fuyuki City. Walking the streets where not a single vehicle could be seen, Duanmu Huai, accompanied by Medea and Mash, strolled leisurely like a nighttime walk.

“Come to think of it, I forgot to ask you, Mash.”

Breathing in the cold, fresh night air, Duanmu Huai turned to look at Mash.

“Yes, what is it, Master?”

“When you blocked LANCER’s attack earlier, did you use your Noble Phantasm? Do you know what your Noble Phantasm is?”

Having been educated by Medea on Heroic Spirits and Noble Phantasms, Duanmu Huai was curious about what exactly Mash’s Noble Phantasm was.

“Sorry, I actually don’t really understand it myself.”

“Eh? But you activated it?”

“Yes, I’m sorry, I actually don’t really understand it; it just instinctively came out…”

“You didn’t shout out its name?”

“That was something I thought of on the spot…”

So that was it.

In the meantime, the group arrived at the Tohsaka residence, which was located on the outskirts of Fuyuki City, occupying a large courtyard and a grand house.

“Wow, they always say that cultivating immortality requires wealth, companions, and land; it seems it is no different for psychics.”

Looking at the courtyard before him, Duanmu Huai remarked, while Medea raised her magic wand.

“There are many defensive magics here. I’ll remove them.”

“There’s no need for that; it’s too much trouble.”

Duanmu Huai waved his hand.

“When it comes to the Tribunal, we always walk the righteous path. Just going straight in will do!”

While saying this, Duanmu Huai reached out, pulling a thermite grenade from his waistband, gestured, and then violently threw it forward!

“Tribunal, open the gate!!”

“Boom———-!!”

With Duanmu Huai’s roar, the thermite bomb exploded instantly, spreading flames rapidly and thoroughly engulfing the entire courtyard in fire!