Tanuki Rise of the Yokai Clan

Without knowing a misfortune that might fall before him tomorrow, Kirei returned to his hiding place.

In the beginning, he had sacrificed one Assassin to be killed to deceive all the Masters that he had defeated; that way, he could use other Assassins to hide and spy on all the Masters and Servants without them being known.

"What's wrong, Kirei? Why is your face so glum?"

Kirei looked up and saw Gilgamesh sitting on the sofa of his hiding place, taking out all the rare and expensive wines he had collected. As a priest, it was impossible for him to be extravagant, and all of the wine collections he owned were received from his teacher and friends. Nevertheless, he was reluctant to consume all of them, but Gilgamesh didn't seem to care about all of them and consumed them wastefully.

Some of the bottles were even rolled on the ground with half of the wine remaining.

However, Kirei didn't care about this and thought about Gilgamesh's question.

Why was he so glum?

Wasn't it obvious?

"Emiya Kiritsugu." Kirei's expression was full of bore. "He is more disappointing than I have thought to be." He thought he could solve his problem by meeting Kiritsugu, but the reality was otherwise. Kiritsugu wasn't the man that he thought to be. Instead, Kiritsugu was just like a child who was trapped in an adult body.

World peace?

How old was this man?

"Hahahaha...."

Gilgamesh laughed when he heard Kirei's answer.

"...is there something funny, Gilgamesh?"

Kirei's mood was far from good, or rather he was in despair since he knew that it was impossible for him to achieve salvation. His life was at a dead end, and he didn't know what to do with his life anymore.

"I didn't expect that someone could be so idiotic."

Hearing Kiritsugu's dream, Gilgamesh wanted to laugh since it was his first time seeing someone so idiotic.

Maybe, those idealists and kids would think Kiritsugu's dream was amazing, but those who were adults understood that Kiritsugu's wish was like a child's.

Moreover, what was so fun about world peace?

Or rather, wasn't it better for the world to be more chaotic?

Kirei shuddered with his thoughts as he prayed to the Lord for forgiveness.

"Kirei, meeting Kiritsugu is just an excuse, right? Or rather, you should have the answer to the doubt inside your heart, right?"

Gilgamesh swirled the wine glass with ease as he looked at Kirei with a lazy smile as if he saw something interesting.

"...."

Kirei fell in silence, but... but... how could he accept such an answer?

As the servant of God, how could he accept that he could only feel happy by watching the misfortune of others?

Knowing this, what was he?

Was he even a human?

Did his father sire a morbid dog instead of a human being?

If Kirei was like Ryuunosuke, who was easygoing, then everything would be easy. He could become a psychopath who could only feel happy by watching the misfortune of others with ease.

However, Kirei was a priest.

What he was taught for the past 30 years and his experience in life told him that what he sought was nothing but sin. Once he touched it, he would enter hell and become something worse even than shit.

Yet... yet...

"Kirei, what do you think a human should seek in this world?"

"...what a human seek?"

"It's a pleasure." Gilgamesh smiled as he watched Kirei, who was dumbfounded.

"...pleasure?"

"Isn't it? Even if people do work they don't want to do, it is because they want to give happiness to the people they care about, like their partner, children, or even a parent. Those simple actions bring them happiness, or we can also call it a pleasure."

Kirei was in a daze as he kept listening to the words that came from Gilgamesh's mouth.

"Then, the question is, what is your pleasure? What makes you the happiest?"

"...what makes me happy...?"

Kirei started to think about many of the life experiences that brought him happiness.

Was it his success to become executor?

Was it his marriage to his wife?

Was it the birth of his children?

Kirei thought about all the ordinary happiness that was felt by ordinary people, yet unfortunately, all of those events were unable to give him the happiness, excitement, or even pleasure that Gilgamesh talked about.

Instead... Instead... he felt happy when he thought about how Kiritsugu appeared in despair when Kiritsugu realized that everything had gone.

Even worse, Kirei also had imagined how happy he was when he thought how his teacher, Tokiomi Tohsaka's face when Tokiomi was betrayed by him.

This happiness... was it really okay for him to chase after it?

"...is it really okay for me to chase after it?"

"Why not?" Gilgamesh laughed at such a naive-like question from this emotionless priest. "Why is it not allowed for you to chase such happiness?" Frankly, for him, he didn't care about anything since, as a king, what kind of scene and people that he had never seen in life?

He was the King of this world, and all the people were his subjects. He had seen many things and experienced everything that the majority of people in history never felt.

What he sought after was only excitement and happiness.

Tokiomi was a boring man; even worse, he had angered him.

Instead of being with such a man, Gilgamesh thought that Kirei was even more interesting.

Watching this lost lamb seek the light inside the darkness makes Gilgamesh unable to wait to see how Kirei is going to be in the future.

Kirei didn't answer Gilgamesh, or rather he was unable to talk. Even though he knew what he sought after, it was impossible for him to accept it easily. Moreover, his father was still around, and when he thought of his father's disappointed face, he felt strangely happy, but it also shuddered him since he realized what kind of worthless human he was.

"You can search for the answer slowly. There is a lot of time in this Holy Grail. Come on. Have a glass."

"Yes."

Kirei accepted a glass of wine from Gilgamesh and swirled it for a moment, inhaling the scent of the wine deeply before he sipped it gently. Usually, even if the wine was expensive and rare, he didn't feel anything special, and it wasn't much different from the others, but today, when he thought of Kiritsugu's despair, he felt the taste of this wine become even more delicious.

Then, if he gave more despair and watched the misfortune of others, would this wine become even more delicious?

While he knew that it was wrong, he couldn't help but feel intoxicated.

---

Tamazuki knew about the lunatic exchange between Kiren and Kotomine, but he had never paid attention to those two since they were just humans. Their only advantage was the protagonist's halo, and those things were useless to him, or rather that luck would disappear sooner or later, especially when he was around.

Instead of thinking of those two, Tamazuki was more cornered about the figure in front of him.

Irisviel stared at Tamazuki nervously. Even though she told him she was okay to give her body, she also felt nervous.

"Should we start now?"

"...."

Irisviel closed her eyes as she apologized to her husband before she unbuttoned her shirt, ready to give her body to Tamazuki.