How come the Ace of Cups isn't considered the Holy Grail?

Emiya Shirou followed behind her and also saw Yuuto and the other person eating in the shop.

"Tohsaka? Are you eating at this restaurant too?"

Rin Tohsaka remained silent, only inhaling to relieve the pain on her tongue, and like Yuuto, she used chopsticks to pick up a ball of rice and put it in her mouth.

Hmm, this is probably the result of summoning based on compatibility, right?

The two who asked the questions asked the same pointless questions, and the two who answered also chose to respond with practical actions.

However, the way the two of them were eating in silence clearly whetted Artoria's appetite.

goo—

The loud rumbling of empty stomachs echoed in the Chinese restaurant, which had no other customers besides them. Even Yuuto and Rin Tohsaka stopped eating and glanced at Artoria, who was still looking on high alert.

Seeing this, Shirou Emiya quickly pulled Artoria to sit at the table next to Yuuto and the other two, and then placed an order with the shopkeeper, Ba, who had rushed over after hearing the 'commotion'.

"Ah, two Mapo Tofu set meals, one of which should be the largest size, mildly spicy, please hurry."

"Okay~ Please wait a moment~"

After the shop manager, who was still wondering whose stomach had been growling, left, Shirou Emiya turned his attention to Yuuto and Rin Tohsaka, who were almost finished eating.

They both seemed to think that a short, sharp pain was better than a long, drawn-out one, so after taking their first bite, they both started eating much faster.

To outsiders, his desperate appearance might give the impression that the restaurant's food is exceptionally delicious... No, it's not exactly an illusion.

It does taste really good, but not everyone can enjoy this 'deliciousness'.

In short, before the food they ordered was served, Artoria maintained a facade of being hungry but outwardly ready for anything.

Hunger is the greatest enemy!

Yuuto, who had finally finished eating, wiped his mouth. Seeing that Rin Tohsaka across from him had also finished her lunch, the two, who had no intention of staying any longer, got up and prepared to leave.

Artoria, of course, wouldn't lose her mind and start a fight here, so she just silently watched them leave.

"Oh, right, you probably don't know yet, do you? Saber?"

Before leaving the store, Yuuto remembered that Artoria was unaware that the Holy Grail War was essentially over. He stopped in his tracks, turned around, and pointed at Artoria, who had become tense because of his action, saying:

"Now, only you, Berserker, and I remain as Servants in this Holy Grail War; everyone else has left the stage."

Seeing the undisguised surprise in Artoria's eyes, Yuuto smiled and extended a meaningful invitation to her.

"If you're free tonight, come to Ryudong Temple and see the 'Holy Grail' that's about to appear."

Artoria: "Wait, Archer, what do you mean by that—"

Boom!

The door closed, cutting off Artoria's unfinished words.

She sat back down in her seat, looking pale. Seeing this, Shirou Emiya across from her couldn't help but ask with concern, "Are you alright, Saber?"

"……fine."

Artoria was indeed unharmed. Although she was somewhat surprised that the Servants from the other groups had been eliminated, she quickly calmed down because she had a vague premonition of something similar.

Now she was just thinking about what Yuuto had said at the end. She didn't know if he had arranged to have a final battle with Berserker there tonight, or if there was some other reason that made him certain that the Holy Grail would appear in that place tonight.

"Ryudou-ji Temple?"

Artoria's murmur was instantly drowned out by the shopkeeper's greeting.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Here's your Mapo Tofu set meal, a super-sized one! Please enjoy!"

Looking at the two plates of Mapo Tofu on the table, one large and one small, which looked like flowing lava, Artoria's eyes instantly sharpened as if she had met an opponent. She then couldn't wait to pick up a spoon, scoop up a spoonful of tofu, blow on it to cool it down, and put it in her mouth.

hiss!

so spicy!

Chapter Forty-Nine: All Tactics Turn to Playing Cards!

"Is it okay to just tell them directly like this?"

On the streets of Fuyuki, Yuuto and Rin Tohsaka each held an ice cream cone to relieve the pain and spiciness on their tongues. As they stepped over the bare tree trunks by the roadside, Rin Tohsaka looked up and asked Yuuto beside her.

She was referring to the invitation that You Du had extended to Artoria before leaving the Red Continent Banquet Hall and Mount Tai.

She licked the ice cream cone again, the icy chill and the sweetness of the cream making her feel her tongue gradually regaining sensation. This comfortable feeling made Rin Tohsaka squint her eyes.

"What if they come and cause trouble at night?"

"Don't worry, I've already considered that!"

With no pain in his tongue, Yudu quickly finished off the ice cream cone in his hand.

"Besides, even if I don't say anything, the commotion caused by the Holy Grail's appearance tonight will make them aware of it anyway."

"Instead of gambling that they won't cause trouble at crucial moments, it's better to put them out in the open from the beginning and resolve these potential problems in advance."

That being said...

After imagining the two scenarios Yuuto mentioned in her mind, Rin Tohsaka nodded knowingly and then skipped over the question.

"So, is there anywhere else you'd like to go next? Time is running out, we need to hurry!"

It's a perfectly normal sentence, so why does it sound like I'm about to die?

But it seems like there's nowhere I really want to go...

You Du was silent for a moment, until he caught a glimpse of a fishing tackle shop on the side of the street out of the corner of his eye, and a good idea suddenly came to him.

"How about we go fishing?"

Toosaka Rin: "Huh?"

……

late at night.

Ryudong Temple.

Thanks to the suggestive magic of Rin Tohsaka and Illya, the Ryudouji Temple and its surroundings were now completely deserted.

Having changed out of her everyday clothes and back into the armor made of magic, Artoria, holding the Excalibur wrapped in the Wind King's Barrier, arrived at the foot of Mount Enzo. With a solemn expression, she stepped up the stone steps towards Ryudou Temple at the summit.

Emiya Shirou followed behind her, remaining vigilant at all times. In his view, since Yuto and his group had already made Ryudouji their base, they would definitely have some schemes planned along this route.

For example, a gatekeeper, or a trap or something.

However, since the gatekeeper left early and Yuuto was too lazy to do these unnecessary things, Shirou Emiya and his companions were not attacked until they reached the gate of Ryudouji Temple.

Shirou Emiya & Artoria: "?"

Oh... you just walked right up here?

Could the trap have been set inside Ryudong Temple?

The two looked at each other, both seeing confusion and bewilderment in each other's eyes.

Artoria pushed open the gate of Ryudou Temple. If she walked in front, even if there were any magical traps or attacks waiting for them inside, they could rely on their A-rank magic resistance to block them.

But still nothing, neither a possible magic trap nor an attack from the enemy the moment the door opened.

When Artoria pushed open the door, all she saw was Yuuto, who was carrying a large fish and whose eyes were shining, and a sentence that seemed to have been prepared for a long time.

"How did you know I caught a two-pound fish in Weiyuan River?!"

Artoria: "..."

At that moment, though only for a fleeting instant, she did recall the feeling of darkness that washed over her when she returned to Camelot and discovered Mordred's rebellion.

"Are you toying with me, Archer?!"

Enraged, Artoria immediately pointed her sword at Yuuto.

She had thought that she would face an extremely difficult battle after arriving, with almost no chance of survival. She also thought that she might arrive just as Yudo and Berserker finished their battle.

She had even considered the possibility that the other party had teamed up with Berserker, and that the invitation extended to her was just a scam or a trap. But she never imagined that after she entered, the other party would actually... boast to her about catching a two-pound fish?!

Who asked you?!

Rin Tohsaka and Illya awkwardly emerged from the shadows, each leading a Rainbow Neos and Hercules respectively.

They were originally standing with Yuuto waiting for Artoria's arrival, but Yuuto was worried that her attention would be drawn to Rainbow Neos and Hercules after she arrived, so he told them to wait in a corner to the side.

"Look at you, you're in a hurry."

You Du shook his head and casually picked up the two-pound fish he had been holding for a while. Uh... was it a crucian carp or a grass carp?

Never mind, he tossed the fish aside and looked at Artoria, who was facing him with a fierce look on her face.

"Since that's the case, you can now make your choice: do you want to duel with me?"

Yuuto held up two fingers and waved them at Artoria. He first lowered his middle finger, then took a few steps back to stand with Rin Tohsaka and the others, and lowered his last finger.

"Do you still want to fight us?"

"So...it really was a trap?"

Artoria turned her gaze to Hercules, who was standing next to Illya, and said in a serious tone.

She wasn't even confident of winning a one-on-one fight against the familiar standing next to Rin Tohsaka, let alone now with the addition of a Berserker who could revive countless times...

Unfortunately, the Holy Grail War was about to end, so there was no point in her retreating now. Looking at Yutaka's calm and unhurried demeanor, Artoria strongly suspected that the moment she left, he would summon the Holy Grail.

Fighting is clearly a dead end, while a duel... might offer a glimmer of hope.

With that thought in mind, Artoria finally put down her sword, and Yuuto, seeing this, understood the choice she had made.

All tactics have turned into card playing!

"In that case, let's begin—"

"Our duel!"

Yuwatari unfolded his Duel Disk and unleashed his Noble Phantasm, an invisible domain enveloping everyone. Rin Tohsaka, already used to such sights, skillfully chose a suitable spectator position.

At the same time, the Excalibur in Artoria's hand transformed into streaks of golden light, which then intertwined and wrapped around her left arm, reforming into a blue and gold duel disk shaped like a sword.

【Yoto LP: 4000】

【Artoria LP: 4000】

"DUEL!" ×2

Chapter Fifty: You're right, but that's just how it is—

Should I make the first move?

After scanning his hand, Yuuto's gaze fell on one of the cards.

Thump thump thump~

"Then I activate the Spell Card [Fusion Fate] from my hand! I fuse [Fate/HERO Demon] and [Fate/HERO Determinist] from my Deck!"

Yuuto took out two cards that the Duel Disk had automatically retrieved from his deck and held them in his hand. After showing them to Artoria on the other side, the two cards turned into two streaks of light and disappeared into the fusion vortex.

However, his action surprised Rin Tohsaka, who was watching from the sidelines.

"You can actually fuse cards from within a deck?"

Even if she has knowledge about duels instilled in her mind by Yuwatari's Noble Phantasm, it's just basic popular science and related rules; it doesn't install a detailed deck of cards in her head.

So this was the first time Rin Tohsaka had seen a fusion being performed in a deck after learning about the fusion-related information.

She thought that being able to perform Fusion in the Graveyard or without using a Fusion card was already the limit...

"The fusion requirement is a Level 6 or higher 'Hero' monster + a 'Destiny HERO' monster!"

Yuuto didn't care what she was thinking. He drew the card from his Extra Deck that met his Fusion requirements and held it high.

"Immortal Phoenix! Now break free from your predetermined fate and be reborn in the blazing flames!"

"Fusion Summon!"

"Descend here! Level 8! [Destiny Hero: Phoenix of Destruction]!"

As soon as the words were spoken, countless flames erupted from the fusion vortex on the swimming field. The scorching heat, along with the tongues of fire, licked at the skin of everyone in the field, bringing waves of burning pain.

Even breathing causes a burning pain in the lungs, and even reminds Shirou Emiya of the Fuyuki fire ten years ago.

Standing opposite Yudu, Artoria could clearly feel the water in her body being constantly evaporated.

Fortunately, the flames came and went quickly.