Kiritsugu, who had been afraid of getting along with the Heroic Spirit Artoria from the beginning, thought of a solution that no one could have imagined.

Completely separate actions between Servant and Master.

Originally, the contract between the two was not limited by distance. No matter how far apart, the Master's spell is able to control the Servant. Similarly, the mana supply to the Servant will continue as long as the Master does not fall into an unconscious situation. In this way, the Master and Servant fight together as companions, and it is only a matter of will.

In various battle situations that require careful judgment, it is not possible to entrust all judgment to the Servant, and the Master must remain at the scene of the battle anyway as it is necessary for the Commander Tower to command the Servant.

Kiritsugu took the Master's solo action without mastering Servant's actions, needless to say, not out of trust in Saber. Instead, he used Alice Phil as his agent. She was entrusted with overseeing Saber's operations.

This is by no means a resourceless choice. Even if Kiritsugu's Servant is treacherous, as long as he is still pursuing the Holy Grail, he will never have the intention of killing Alice Phil. In Alice Phil's absence, even if Saber defeats all the other Servants, he won't be able to get the Holy Grail. Because in order for Fuyuki's Holy Grail to descend, Alice Phil's hidden "Holy Grail Vessel" is necessary and indispensable.

Hence the inevitability that Saber must protect Alice Phil as well as he did with the Master.

This anomaly is composed of members. It was due to the tactical philosophy between Kiritsugu and Saber. Saber as a knight Heroic Spirit, his abilities as a Servant, and his performance as a Noble Phantasm are all warriors based on the premise of "head-to-head combat". But as for Emiya Kiritsugu, who is the Master, since he is essentially an assassin who relies on scheming, it makes no sense that these two would act together.

It should be said from the point of view of the combat philosophy. Alice Phil is the right partner for Saber. This is Kiritsugu's opinion. His wife is indeed a non-human Homllnculus, but she is still a member of the famous Einsbelen family, with an innate temperament and majesty. Alice Phil undoubtedly has the ladylike style to make knights loyal.

And in fact, Artoria's sense of Alice Phil is also very good, and it can also be said that it is very good for Artoria's character, just two days of getting along, although there is not much knowledge of each other, they are only staying at a more superficial level, but there is no doubt that compared to Emiya Kiritsugu, Artoria is more willing to fight with him in the next ten days It is Alice Phil.

Artoria was also worried about the practical aspects of the coordination between herself and Emiya Kiritsugu, and she knew that if she wanted to fight well, Alice Fell was undoubtedly the most suitable master.

And that's why Artoria easily accepted the plan when she heard about it.

This was a tactic made after Emiya Kiritsugu knew that he would not be able to understand and support each other with the Heroic Spirit named Artoria anyway.

No matter how dissatisfied he is with his Servant, the man named Emiya Kiritsugu has made up his mind in his heart for the sake of his ideals, for the justice of his imagination, and in order to make all people in the world happy, no matter what the price is, even if he needs to lose everything.

Having obtained Saber, the strongest among the Servants, not to mention the 'King Arthur' who occupies the 'Seat of Swords' and is close to invincible, it can be said that if nothing happens, the Holy Grail is already in his pocket, and he will never allow any accidents to cause his long-cherished wish to come to naught.

"I can't sign a contract with you as a Servant, but as an acting master, we have to rely on each other no matter what, so the necessary rituals are unavoidable. ”

Artoria said with a smile, and then took a master-slave oath to Alice Fell with knightly etiquette.

"It is a great honor for me, my knight. ”

Alice Phil smiled brightly with a blush on her face.

Artoria raised her head, looked at the other party's gentle smile, and smiled faintly, and then looked out the window and asked, "What kind of character is Kiritsugu in Alice Phil's eyes?"

"As a guide for her husband. Someone who gives meaning to my life. - But that's not what Saber wants to know, is it?"

Artoria nodded. What she wanted to know wasn't Alice Phil's subjectivity, but the other side of Kiritsugu Emiya that she didn't know.

"He was meant to be a gentle person. It's just that because it's too gentle, it turns out that it can't forgive the cruelty of this world. In that respect, he is a colder person than anyone else. ”

"I can understand that decision. If we are to be in a decisive position, we must abandon human feelings. ”

In this sense, Kiritsugu and Saber are very similar companions. There is also a view that Kiritsugu's feelings for King Arthur's heroic spirit may be out of disgust for his own kind.

"If you want to use the power of the Holy Grail to help the world—Alice Phil said so, right? That's what you and Kiritsugu want?"

"Well, I'm just learning and selling that person's ideas. But I think it's worth the gamble. ”

"Really?" Nodding noncommittally, Artoria said softly.

"Because it's always been strange, I can't help but want to ask, Alice Phil, why do you have to go to the Holy Grail War? Is it just because you cooperate with me?" Artoria was curious, although Alice Phil was not an ordinary person, she was not the type to be good at fighting, and it would not have much impact on the battle, so Artoria was very puzzled, was it really just because of the decision made by cooperating with herself?

"Because there is a reason why I have to go, because this is the fate of the women of the Einzberen family. Alice Fell chuckled, her expression still gentle and unchanged, but Artoria smelled a hint of ominousness.

Without continuing to ask, Artoria felt that the other party did not want to say anything more on this topic, and she was not a person to get to the bottom of it.

"Would you like to talk to me here?" Artoria asked, looking out the window at the two frolicking and turning to Alice Phil.

"Huh?"

Saber looked away from Alice Phil in the face of the rhetorical question, and looked away with some difficulty. "That is to say, shouldn't you go and say goodbye to your daughter like Kiritsugu? Tomorrow...... You're going to go to the country called Japan where the Holy Grail appeared, right?"

"Ahh ――It's okay. There is no need to say goodbye between me and that child. Alice Fell smiled quietly. It was a thank you for Saber's concern, but it was more than that. A lonely and empty smile that makes people feel uneasy.

"Even if I disappear as Alice Phil, it doesn't mean that I will disappear. When she grows up, she will understand. Because the child is the same as me, a woman from Einzbelen. ”

Although she couldn't understand the meaning of Alice Phil's words, Artoria saw that the other party's non-human face instantly stiffened.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you to the end, that's a promise made as a knight. ”

Accepting Artoria's solemn declaration, Alice Phil smiled cheerfully and said, "Saber, go get the Holy Grail." For you and your Master. At that time, Einzberen will have a thousand-year-old wish, and my daughter and I will be liberated from our fate. - It's all up to you. Artoria, my knight. ”

At this time, Artoria still did not understand the meaning of Alice Phil's smile. In the midst of the silver hair shining like snow and the delicate beauty, this woman who is full of warmth and love was born under what fate?