Souta, with a very serious tone, laid out his reason for eliminating Diarmuid.
His logic sounded ridiculous, but his expression was deadly earnest.
Fulfilling Diarmuid's wish to "die protecting his master" by killing him yourself?
That bandit-like reasoning left Rin speechless.
But thinking about it... maybe it really was the best for Diarmuid.
Given his chivalric nature, there was no way he'd get along with Kayneth.
Diarmuid wanted a noble master to whom he could dedicate his life.
Kayneth, however, didn't give a damn about chivalry and would use dirty tactics if it meant winning.
Their personalities were fundamentally incompatible.
So Diarmuid, just go die honorably with your chivalry intact.
Rin nodded, though her expression was complicated.
"It feels like we're just here to clean up after Fourth War's mess, fixing all the disasters others caused."
"Isn't that exactly what we're doing?" Souta shrugged.
"Oh, right." He looked at the two girls across from him.
"Rin, Illya, aside from saving your families, you don't have any other wishes, right?"
"Just want my mom." Illya answered instantly.
"I want a mountain of gems." Rin chimed in right after.
"A gem mountain..." Souta gave her a look. "I meant wishes for the Grail."
"The Root... does that count?" Rin asked hesitantly.
As a mage, she wasn't obsessed with reaching the Root, but it did cross her mind.
"It counts. But if you want to reach the Root, we need to change the plan."
Souta recalled info about the Holy Grail War mechanics.
To reach the Root, the Grail must consume all seven Servants' souls.
Meaning, after defeating the others, you have to command your own Servant to die, thus opening a "hole" to the Root.
But most normal wishes don't require such extreme steps.
Even Kiritsugu's idealistic wish—ending all wars—was nothing compared to the miracle of reaching the Root.
To simply perform a miracle in the current world, five or six Servant souls were plenty.
No need to fully awaken the Great Grail.
Souta laid all this out, then added:
"Even if you wanted to reach the Root, you'd have to fight off two Counter Forces. Their backed Heroic Spirits have basically infinite mana. And the Root itself might assimilate you."
"STOP!" Rin interrupted him, waving her hand frantically.
"I was just saying, okay?! I'm not really trying to reach the Root."
"Good. That'd be too much hassle." Souta exhaled.
He had considered letting Illya reach the Root to achieve the Third Magic, but he wasn't sure if his divine power could withstand the Root's assimilation.
"Then let Illya use the Grail wish to fix her body." Souta glanced at her.
"There'll be leftover mana, which we can let Iskandar and Saber use—a favor for them."
"Why don't you make a wish—to gain a massive following in this world?" Rin was curious.
"Because this world has two Counter Forces." Souta shook his head.
"If I transplant DnD's divine system here, Alaya might throw a fit. Too risky. Other worlds are fine—I don't need this one."
They'd already divided up the Grail's wish slots before the war even ended.
Insanely arrogant. They didn't care about the other Masters or Servants at all.
"Kinda a shame the Grail's fixed, but we can't use it to reach the Root."
"There's a better way to reach the Root." Souta looked at her.
"What?" Rin perked up.
"Become a simp for Ayaka Sajyou or Ryougi Shiki. Satisfy them, and boom—Root trip."
Souta's voice was completely serious.
"Especially Ryougi. If she's in a good mood, she might let you visit the Root for a day and toss you a Sixth or Seventh Magic as a bonus."
"I thought you had a real method. Ugh, got my hopes up."
"Enough with the jokes." She waved him off, clearly not buying it.
These days, telling the truth gets you nothing.
At Matou Residence, Souta was holding down Rin's ankles as she did sit-ups.
Despite her modest bust, her slender figure was captivating.
Sweat soaked through her clothes, hinting at forbidden temptation.
"Didn't I create workout equipment for you? Why make me help?"
"With someone helping, it's more motivating!" Rin laughed playfully.
"Souta, you seem uncomfortable. Struggling to hold back?"
"Rin, you're playing with fire." Souta smirked, tempted to tease her back.
Just as he was about to act, Rin's expression changed:
"Strong magic signal! Location... Mion River. Must be Saber and Lancer!"