In truth, Morgan hadn't expended that much energy. At most, if she were to activate her Noble Phantasm a second time, its efficiency would dip slightly.
She had only pulled that little stunt on a whim after settling the battle.
But Tenkei Shiomi reacted exactly as she expected, catching her the instant she began to fall back.
"Hey… are you alright…" Shiomi asked, a bit nervously.
He assumed she had burned through too much mana and couldn't maintain her footing.
"I overexerted myself a little. Can't really stand steadily," Morgan replied coolly, completely unfazed. "I don't think I can make it home on my own. I'll be needing a lift—from my husband."
"Then just de-materialize and rest in spirit form—"
Shiomi offered reflexively, but before he could finish, he felt a sharp pinch on his arm.
Even with his body tempered by Scáthach's relentless training, that E-rank Endurance still packed a painful sting.
"My Endurance is only E, remember? I'd fall apart like that," Morgan said flatly.
Shiomi paused, puzzled. Was she acting spoiled just because they'd won?
Either way, whenever Morgan behaved like this, he found it oddly difficult to get annoyed.
Maybe it was because she was absurdly beautiful? Somehow, nothing felt out of place.
Which was a problem—shouldn't his heart belong solely to his mentor?
...
"Just now… were you thinking about another woman?" Morgan asked again.
Shiomi nearly lost his footing. "No! Absolutely not."
Shaking off the intrusive thoughts, he scooped Morgan into a bridal carry and headed toward the shore. She cooperated smoothly, reverting from her battle gear to her usual outfit.
"Come to think of it, I only ever bought you this one outfit. When we've got time, I should pick up a few more," Shiomi said as they walked.
Cradled in his arms like a princess, Morgan responded naturally, "Whatever you say."
As they neared the riverbank, Shiomi asked, "Earlier you said the Fuyuki Grail had gone mad. That's not just a bluff to mislead the other factions, right?"
"I'm not interested in schemes. Crushing my enemies with sheer force suits me better," Morgan replied.
"Well, that's going to be a real pain…" Shiomi muttered.
[Mission Update]
[Missed your little devil navigator? Now that you've learned the truth about the Fuyuki Grail, your mission is going to change~]
Receiving the updated mission, Shiomi came to a halt. The all-too-familiar system prompt had returned—and with it, a fresh headache.
"What's wrong?"
"I want to change our approach regarding the Holy Grail." Shiomi looked down at Morgan in his arms and spoke with quiet resolve.
Morgan looked slightly surprised after hearing him out, but offered no objections. She simply nodded silently in agreement.
When the two returned to the embankment, Shiomi noticed another issue.
The thick fog Morgan had conjured still showed no signs of dissipating. If someone tried to expose her now, she wouldn't be able to keep up the act.
Still, seeing how much she was enjoying it, Shiomi decided he might as well play along too.
After all, Morgan wasn't heavy, and having such a soft, cool beauty nestled in his arms... wasn't exactly a bad deal.
"Thank you for your hard work, Shiomi-kun—and Lady Witch," said Tokiomi, offering his gratitude. "It's a relief to see things resolved so swiftly."
With that, the reward for defeating Caster would now fall to Shiomi.
Not that Tokiomi had much choice—things had progressed beyond his expectations. He hadn't anticipated Caster causing such chaos.
Had it not been for Tenkei Shiomi's Servant handling things in time, the sheer amount of effort needed to cover up the incident would have left Tokiomi with a splitting headache.
"It's nothing. Since the Holy Church issued a call, we simply responded accordingly," Shiomi answered calmly. "But with the Holy Grail War reaching this point, I doubt I'm the only one caught off guard. Mr. Tokiomi, the Einzbern family, the Church—none of you saw this coming either, did you?"
As he spoke, he glanced toward Irisviel.
As one of the two founding families still active in the war, and having witnessed the operation against Caster firsthand, Irisviel was now also reflecting on the things Morgan had said earlier.
They had just collected the remnants of Caster's defeated soul—making this the second such recovery.
Though she remained standing, Irisviel could already feel her physical functions deteriorating further.
"I'm deeply ashamed," Tokiomi admitted.
"So then, Mr. Shiomi—what do you propose?" asked Irisviel.
Shiomi looked around at the others—Waver among them—and considered the remaining Masters. Including himself, and Kirei who remained hidden, all identities were accounted for.
"I wouldn't call it a proposal. But there is something crucial regarding the Holy Grail War that must be discussed face-to-face with all remaining Masters and their Servants," Shiomi said. "Tomorrow at noon, we'll convene at the Church to reveal the hidden issues behind this Grail War and decide, together, where it should go from here."
The unexpected announcement left Tokiomi momentarily stunned.
Of course, he knew the inner workings of the Holy Grail War.
If the Grail were merely a wish-granting device, then defeating the other six Masters and Servants would suffice.
But as a tool meant to reach the Root, the seventh Servant must also be slain.
That was why Tokiomi had placed such importance on the Command Spells, even conspiring with the Church to organize the operation against Caster.
Though in the end, thanks to Gilgamesh's lack of cooperation, the credit went to Tenkei Shiomi.
"Don't be so tense, Magus of this land. We're not discussing the core mechanics—but the underlying problems," Morgan said, still nestled in Shiomi's arms, yet exuding an undeniable authority.
Even if it looked a little absurd to everyone else.
Tokiomi immediately understood and relaxed slightly.
"Very well then, let's go with your suggestion, Shiomi-kun," he agreed.
If it was about hidden problems, it was worth hearing out—whether it turned out to be nonsense or not.
"No helping it, guess we'll see what this is about," Waver added, arms crossed, accepting the proposal.
Like Irisviel, he had heard what Morgan said at the banquet—so of course, he was concerned.
"The Einzbern will attend as well," Irisviel said.
Shiomi, already walking down the far side of the embankment, stopped in his tracks and looked back at Irisviel with a meaningful glance before driving off with Morgan.
The look gave Irisviel pause.
—If Saber's true Master didn't show up tomorrow, they would refuse to share anything.
It looked like Kiritsugu would have to make an appearance. Otherwise, from every angle, he would be excluded from what came next—and possibly end up as the common enemy of every other faction.