“About that time you got stabbed…” I pause and try to recall that exact moment. Changer and the enemy servant attacked each other simultaneously. After that, Changer said something about that red spear having something to do with bypassing defences.

“Are you wearing an armour under that robe? Did you trust that for your defence?”

“Under my robe? Well…”

He gets up and grabs the collars of his robes. I brace myself for a dramatic reveal of a magical antique armour. Maybe it is even a noble phantasm?

With one swift move he gets rid of his robe and…

“The hell are you doing?!” I shout and immediately turn my eyes away.

“As you can see I’m just showing that I don’t wear any-“

“Wear it again!”

I have been to the beach a few times before, so it is not like this is the first time I saw the chest of a guy. But still, a guy suddenly getting half-naked while we are alone is not something I have experience with.

“What? You asked.”

“No one asked you to get naked! You could just say: ‘No, I have no armour.’”

He sits back with a proud expression on his face. Bastard. But I don’t want to waste any more time with this foolishness than necessary. I just silently wait for the excess blood on my cheeks to go away.

But… His body… A servant, after all. Never mind that, me!

“If you don’t wear armour, what was that about Lancer’s spear bypassing defences?”

“Lancer? That servant we saw last night? We can’t be sure of that master. He might as well be a rider. Or maybe even an assassin.”

“Really? He used a spear. He fought on foot. He fought head on. I think, it is quite obvious.”

“He might have done so just to trick us.”

“All right, I’ll revise the question. What was that about that red spear bypassing defences? What did you mean by it?”

“It’s just that, I used a spell to push his spear away from my body, but it only slowed it down. I didn’t know whether that spear dispels magic, or it breaks down enemy defences, or something else, so I just made a guess there.”

“I see.” I sigh. “You didn’t actually figure out anything then.” I’m a bit disappointed.

He lowers his head. “Nothing solid about his spear, no.” Then his eyes light up as, once again, he looks me in the eyes. “But about him in general, I might have some ideas.”

“Really?” Maybe this talk wasn’t just a waste of time after all.

“Yes. But to make sure of a few things, I need to ask. Master, you remember his stats, right? Mind sharing?”

Of course I remember. As if I could forget such crucial information after just one night.

Master ? Sex Male Class ?Lancer? Height/Weight 185cm 70kg True Name ? Alignment Lawful Neutral Strength A Magical Energy B Endurance C Luck E Agility A+ Noble Phantasm ?

I tell Changer about Lancer’s stats. And yes, I still think he was a lancer class servant.

He holds his chin with one hand and thinks, but in no more than a few seconds, he starts talking:

“I broke his arm, remember, with my daika. I didn’t do that to break his arm. I put quite a lot of magical energy behind that attack. Even against a servant, it would normally blow that arm off. So I thought: His endurance might be absurdly high. But no. Which means, something reduced my attack’s effect. He likely has magic resistance. Not too high level, but decent. That means he most likely is not an assassin. He is strong and fast, and his spear is clearly a noble phantasm. Most likely a lancer like you assumed, but there is still a chance that he is the Rider.”

I raise an eyebrow. I expected more.

“Sooo… Basically he has magic resistance. Is that all?”

“What do you mean, is that all? I’m telling you high level attack spells will work, and he won’t be hiding.”

I sigh. Sure that is something, but we still know too little.

“And one more thing, though it won’t exactly help us.”

“Yes?”

“He and his master wore the same earrings. Which either means they are magical and are somehow useful, or the earrings are the relic that summoned him, and his master is still wearing them because she has some admiration or something for her servant. Either way, separating them would likely be hard.”

Same earring. Interesting, but it indeed doesn’t help us.

In the end, we certainly don’t know much about the enemy, but that’s not the only topic I wanted to talk about.

“Say, Changer.”

“Sten.”

“Right, Sten. Tell me, how did you keep up with him? I mean, he has A+ in Agility while yours is only C.”

“I’m just that good.”

“What?”

“I’m just good at reacting. All kinds. Reacting to surprises, reacting to feints, reacting to quick movements. You could say I have a high reaction speed. Or that I adapt quickly. Anyway, basically I’m good at dealing with surprise attacks and faster opponents. Though it doesn’t change much when I face anyone that I can already match in speed.”

Skill: Mental Adaptation A Ability of the mind to quickly adapt to changes. Allows fast reaction in situations where one would otherwise be surprised.

Also allows keeping up with faster enemies. Practically has an effect of decreasing the disadvantage of speed by up to two ranks.

“Ooo, that’s nice. That means I don’t have to worry about you getting outmatched in speed, right?”

“Something like that, yeah. Though not in everything. For example, if that servant and I raced, I would be crushed.”

“But in a fight…”

“But in a fight, I won’t get speed blitzed.”

I nod. Waking up an hour earlier was a good choice it seems. We talked a lot, but thanks to that, I haven’t really touched my breakfast yet. I start eating, and neither of us say anything for a while.

After I’m done with the breakfast, I put on my jacket. That’s when Changer decides to speak again.

“Are we going out again, master? Where are we going this time?”

I answer while putting on my shoes.

“To school. I’m a student.”

“School? The war has started, and you’ll continue going to school?”

“Of course. Stopping my daily routine would be like announcing that I’m a master.”

He is in spirit form but I bet he has his arms crossed right now.

“I’m coming with you, master.”

“Of course you are. Why wouldn’t you?“

On our way to school we speak of maguses.

“Master, yesterday you said your family is the owners of this town right?”

“Yes, if any magus has any business in this town, they have to go through us, well me. What of it?”

“I’m just wondering. If there were any other local maguses living in this town, you would know, right?”

“Of course.”

“How many are there?”

“Only one other magus family lives here, and I know the only one among them that could be a master. We should see no surprises from them.”

We arrive at my school. As we are about to pass the gate Changer stops me.

“Stop, master. I sense a servant inside.”

I keep walking and answer him while being careful not to attract any unwanted attention from nearby students as the girl who speaks to herself:

“So that possible master we talked about also summoned a servant.”

“Is that master a teacher? How well do you know each other?”

“No, a student like me. As to how well we know each other? Well, let’s say, quite well.”

* * *

We move up the stairs leading to the rooftop. Noon of 2nd of February, the time we decided to meet. It’s Saturday, so the classes have already ended. The planned place of our meeting is the roof of the school building. Being students, it is an easy location for both of us. Besides, this is one of those overly convenient rooftops, where no one ever comes.

The door is already half open. When we go out, we are greeted by a cold wind. I bet it doesn’t affect the guy next to me, but I am glad I am wearing my coat.

As expected, there is a girl by the railings. A girl whose violet hair I know well. I bet there is someone else with her, but I can’t see that one yet.

“Hello, Sakura.”

* * *

[Interlude]

We move up the stairs leading to the rooftop. Noon of 2nd February, I have no idea why we are here. I can feel a servant on the other side. I already warned Rin but she told me not to worry about it.

I let out a deep sigh, but I do it silently. How good a servant I am. My master told me not to worry about an enemy servant she is directly walking up to, basically not to do my job, yet here I am still trying not to worry her.

The door is half open. It opens outside. Its rather dusty handrail seems like it was last used by a girly hand. It wasn’t grabbed but gently held. Because of the dust, I guess. Most likely a neat female whose servant does not open her doors. Maybe the servant is female too? I simply pass through the door before Rin pushes it.

We are met by two females. Before focusing on the Servant, I size up the master. She has decent magical energy. Good, but can’t compare to Rin. She has a pretty face, big breasts and overall, a nice looking body. She seems to be… Seems to be… I don’t know, around Rin’s age? Plus-minus five? I have always been terrible at this.

Next, I focus on the servant. She is standing right next to her master, non-moving. She has an even better figure than her master, who already clearly surpasses Rin. Should I instead ally with them? Nah, not yet. As for her clothes… I have no idea what to call it. It definitely is no armour, nor a robe with pockets. Only practicality I can see to it is that it must be easy to move in. Not a direct combatant, likely an assassin or maybe an archer. I almost laugh. An archer? She is wearing an eye patch that seals both her eyes. I have no idea how she sees, or whether she can actually see anything. Since her eye patch fits the colour of her… clothes, maybe it is just for fashion. That may be, but I should not assume.

“Hello, Sakura.”

I hear Rin. Apparently the enemy Master is called Sakura. Anyway, about the servant. I refuse to believe a servant would just dye their hair after being summoned, or a woman with that body and purple hair reaching down to her ankles -her ankles!- wouldn’t be famous. I bet I can figure her identity out.

First, she is female. That about halves my choices, so nice beginning. Second, she hides her eyes. Either she is blind, or has some other reason for it. Maybe cursed eyes? Third, that hair. That hair is not the hair of some random human. Nor any heroic human I know of. What is she then? A beast? A monster? A witch? Or something good, like a fairy? A fairy with those clothes? No. Then, a goddess? Divines can’t be summoned by the grail, so no. But a demigod? An ex-goddess? Something else? An ex-goddess… A monster… Unusual hair… Hides her eyes, and is female. Maybe… Assuming she is…

What the hell, grail? Do you hate snakes? Or is this some sort of humanization policy?

“Hello, Sister.”

Wait, what!?