Chapter 25: The Slacker Among Hunters
The Clock Tower was quite efficient. After receiving the joint report from the Tohsaka and Einzbern families, several Lords of the Clock Tower expressed dissatisfaction, but they did not personally intervene. The reason was simple: Servants were clearly not something mages could confront head-on, especially not top-tier Servants like Gilgamesh.
Not all mages of the Clock Tower were as straightforward as Lord Ken. At the very least, they handled this matter cleverly.
Upon learning that Kirei Kotomine had abused his position during the Fifth Holy Grail War, the Clock Tower immediately contacted the Holy Church. One could say that the Mage's Association and the Holy Church were the two major secret-side powers of this world, yet their relationship was far from harmonious.
The Mage's Association and the Holy Church were originally hostile, but both sides gradually realized that their enmity brought no benefit, so they ceased hostilities.
The Holy Grail War could be said to be led by the Mage's Association, yet the supervisory authority was always staffed by members of the Holy Church. This was a mutual show of respect.
After the Mage's Association relayed the situation regarding Kirei Kotomine to the Holy Church, the high-ranking members of the Holy Church were furious. Their right to supervise the Holy Grail War was a courtesy from the Mage's Association, ensuring that the Holy Church was not excluded from such a major event. As mutually wary powers, this was the most basic respect shown to an opponent.
Kirei Kotomine's actions, however, made the Holy Church appear ungrateful. They had been invited to supervise, yet their own man was abusing his position. This was clearly a slap in the face from within their own ranks. What made it even worse was that the Mage's Association was now presenting the Holy Church with the "photograph" of this slap, essentially saying, "Old friends, we really have no choice. Your man has gone too far. We might have tolerated him using one Servant, but using a Servant from the previous Holy Grail War? That's not acceptable."
As for why Su Xiao reported this to the Mage's Association instead of directly to the Holy Church, there was a significant difference.
First, if he had reported directly to the Holy Church, they would have handled the matter secretly to protect their own reputation. They would have bypassed Su Xiao, approached Kirei Kotomine, told him to restrain himself, and found a way to destroy the evidence.
The current situation was different. The high-ranking members of the Mage's Association were all aware of this matter. If the Holy Church did not handle it properly, they would truly appear ungrateful.
Two hours later, Su Xiao received a reply from the Mage's Association. The Holy Church had dispatched members of the Burial Agency, who would arrive in Fuyuki City within eight hours at most.
Seeing the name "Burial Agency," Su Xiao suddenly had an ominous premonition. He couldn't help but speculate that, given the current circumstances, the Holy Church was unlikely to send strong combatants directly. That would further interfere with the Holy Grail War. Having the Masters resolve the issue internally was the most perfect solution.
Therefore, the final resolution of Kirei Kotomine would likely involve the Tohsaka and Einzbern families, along with the Burial Agency. This only confirmed his suspicions.
"That should be fine. I'm really curious who the Holy Church will send. It won't be Narbareck, will it? I've heard that person has a terrible personality."
Tohsaka Rin let out a long sigh of relief. In her view, even if Kirei Kotomine didn't die, he would be captured and taken back.
"Don't overthink it. If I'm not mistaken, the one coming is probably just a driver."
"A driver? No way."
Tohsaka Rin looked puzzled. Su Xiao didn't look at her but instead sized up Illya. She was an unexpected combat asset. For now, he could control her detonation at any time. As for her Servant, of course, he would make good use of it. Whether Illya would obey had never been a concern for Su Xiao, nor did he need to worry about it.
Waiting made time drag on. Over at Bubu Wang's side, things were quite lively. Stan and his two companions had attacked the Matou residence. Upon hearing this news, Su Xiao raised an eyebrow. He could confirm that Stan's goal was essentially the same as his: to use the local forces to find Kirei Kotomine. However, they were clearly a step behind.
The Holy Church was probably also bewildered. Their priest had been reported twice in one day, and by the three great mage families of Fuyuki City, no less. Poor Kirei Kotomine—trouble came to him while he sat at home. He had now become the key figure in the Holy Grail War.
Su Xiao waited until ten o'clock in the evening. The warning magic outside the castle reacted, and a massive vehicle drove into the mountains.
Inside the brightly lit castle, Tohsaka Rin and Illya both gathered around the crystal ball, watching the truck slowly making its way along the mountain road. No, it should be called a trailer.
With a roar, the trailer stopped in front of the main gate of the castle. A figure opened the driver's door and jumped down.
"So this is the Einzbern Castle. Quite impressive."
The one who jumped down from the trailer was a priest with spiky hair. He appeared to be around 40 years old, wearing a priest's robe and glasses, dressed like a demon-hunting priest. In reality, he was just a driver.
"Who is this? Does the Burial Agency have someone like this? But he looks somewhat familiar. Judging by his appearance, he seems quite strong..."
Tohsaka Rin bit her fingernail, momentarily unable to recall who this person was.
"Don't overthink it. He's just a driver."
Su Xiao's forehead throbbed faintly. The Holy Church was indeed a bunch of old schemers. They had really sent this driver, just as he had guessed.
Father Dawn, a member of the Burial Agency. Dawn himself had no combat ability; his main duty was to transport another exorcist who "easily got lost." Dawn was a lazy person, a slacker within the Burial Agency.
Fortunately, Su Xiao didn't need the Holy Church to provide combat power. He only needed to find Kirei Kotomine. If Father Dawn didn't have the ability to locate Kirei Kotomine, then his death was not far off.
Dawn was soon led into the castle by a homunculus maid. His expression was somewhat lazy, or rather, he was simply a very lazy person.
"Let's make this brief. You find Kirei Kotomine, and I'll kill him."
Su Xiao got straight to the point. Father Dawn had already received orders from the Holy Church, and the two quickly reached an agreement.
"Should we set off now?"
Dawn's voice was quite magnetic. Judging by his appearance alone, one would never guess his slacker nature.
"That's right."
"Then let's go. Get in my car. This is what I'm best at. But reversing in the mountains might be a problem."
"..."
Su Xiao said nothing. Tohsaka Rin, standing nearby, covered her forehead with one hand. She seriously doubted whether this priest had come to kill someone or to be a comedian.
After nearly ten minutes of reversing and knocking down five trees, the smoke-belching trailer finally turned around. One advantage of using a trailer was that Amu and Heracles had a place to sit.
Soon, the trailer slowly started moving. Dawn was driving in the front, while Su Xiao sat in the passenger seat. He rolled down the window, a cigarette held between the fingers of his extended hand. As for Tohsaka Rin, Illya, the homunculus Sella, Amu, and the great hero Heracles, they were all in the "premium seats" at the back.
"What the hell? What kind of premium seat is this! Whoa, I almost fell off!"
On the bumpy mountain road, Tohsaka Rin's slightly trembling voice rang out.