Shinji Matou at Your Service-Chapter 958: That Lord

The finances of the Emiya family... well, actually, there isn't much to discuss. Although they aren't as wealthy as the Matou family, their assets are still in the nine-figure range—in US dollars. Over the years, Kiritsugu and Maiya have made several investments, and thanks to his excellent intelligence-gathering capabilities, their returns have been quite significant. Even if Kiritsugu stopped working today, they would have more than enough to support Illya until her natural death. Don't forget, Illya's aging is one-third the speed of a normal person, meaning she can live for at least 200 years, not to mention the life-extending capabilities of the Third Magic.

In short, the Emiya family doesn't need to worry about their finances, and there won't be any of the usual family budget crisis scenarios here.

The matters of the Emiya family had, for now, reached a resolution. After all, with such deep bonds, their feelings for each other were no less profound than those between Irisviel and Illya. Now that Kiritsugu had let go of his ideals, and Shirley and Natalia had set aside their past grievances, the future developments were predictable.

Perhaps they wouldn't be as close as they once were, and perhaps there would still be some distance between them and the Dead Apostles, but all of them had sincere and kind hearts. One day, they would find happiness.

Shinji was certain of this. But before that, there was still one problem to solve—a problem not limited to the Emiya family, one that Shinji couldn't ignore.

What were Natalia and Shirley here for?

Earlier, upon learning that they were connected to Kiritsugu, Shinji had decided to hold off on pressing the issue. But now that the man himself had returned, Shinji couldn't let it slide any longer.

This was the time of the Holy Grail War, the most unusual one in Fuyuki's history. The appearance of Dead Apostles during this period was something Shinji couldn't take lightly, especially since this Holy Grail War had been strange from the very beginning.

From Shirley and Natalia's earlier statements, it wasn't hard to infer that they were affiliated with some organization.

Based on Shinji's understanding of vampire circles, organizations that took in and nurtured newly turned vampires weren't exactly charitable. The so-called protection and nurturing usually required future service in return, a way for vampire factions to grow in strength.

Was it possible that the faction they belonged to had plans for Fuyuki? Could they be targeting this Holy Grail War?

When Shinji raised this question, both Natalia and Shirley had the same reaction.

"..."

"..."

Yes, they remained silent. No matter how he asked, they said nothing.

"Kiritsugu, I'm in a tough spot here," Shinji said, turning to the person of interest. One of the reasons he had waited for Kiritsugu's return was to address this very issue.

"Natalia, Shirley..."

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Kiritsugu immediately understood Shinji's concerns. Frankly, he was also worried. Fuyuki was his home, and he didn't want anything bad to happen here.

"Kerry, I..."

Shirley started to speak but was quickly silenced by a raised hand from Natalia.

"We can't answer that question. We're just low-level members of our organization; we don't know much."

"Just tell me what you do know," Shinji said impatiently. Sometimes, even a small clue could lead to significant insights, especially for someone like him who transmigrated.

"We still can't," Natalia shook her head.

"No matter what, the organization has done us a great favor. We can't betray them. All I can say is that no matter what happens, we won't harm Kiritsugu's family."

"Can you guarantee that?"

Shinji's expression turned cold. His meaning was clear: You two are just low-level Dead Apostles—can you speak for the ones behind you?

Shinji had reached a point where he could force Scathach to use her twin spears in battle, and he could even hold his own against top-tier Servants. Even without direct action, his sheer presence could make anyone fearful. Moreover, he carried the titles of "Knight of the True Ancestor" and "Slayer of two Dead Apostle Ancestors." His reputation alone was enough to make people tremble.

Natalia's expression shifted slightly. Her hands pressed against the floor to support herself as she continued speaking.

"I can't speak for them, but I'm not making this up."

"What's your basis?"

"We're not the only ones who've entered Japan. Almost every major city in the region has seen the arrival of vampires. We just happened to be assigned to Fuyuki. Under such circumstances, the chance that Fuyuki is being specifically targeted is very low."

"I see."

Shinji's expression relaxed slightly.

From the beginning of the conversation, Shinji had been using his mental abilities to monitor Natalia, and he was certain she wasn't lying.

If what she said was true, then the vampires' objective had nothing to do with the Holy Grail War. Still, that didn't rule out the possibility of misdirection. These low-level Dead Apostles weren't the real threat—the higher-level Dead Apostles or even Ancestors were what concerned him.

"Fine, I'll take a step back for now. In return, you'll need to tell me the identity of this 'Lord' you mentioned."

Shinji had been curious about this mysterious figure for a while, and after hearing about how Natalia had survived, his curiosity had only grown. Anyone who could survive a plane crash, escape a missile explosion, and fall over a thousand meters without injury, all while saving Natalia, was no ordinary person. It was highly likely that this individual was one of the Dead Apostle Ancestors. Knowing their identity would allow Shinji to investigate further through other channels.

However, Natalia's response was the same.

"Sorry, I can't tell you that either."

"Bang!" +

Shinji slammed his hand on the coffee table.

"You can't tell me this, you can't tell me that—what can you tell me? Out of respect for Kiritsugu, I've been backing off, but don't push your luck! Or do you think I'm someone you can easily mess with?"

"How could anyone think that, the man who defeated two ancestors, Azure Knight?"

Natalia smiled bitterly, while Shirley trembled in fear.

"If it weren't for that Lord, we would have disappeared long ago. We owe him a great debt and can't betray him."

"Well then, I guess I have no choice," Shinji sighed in frustration.

"Shinji..."

Kiritsugu tried to plead on their behalf.

"They have their principles, and I have mine. I respect them, but I ask that you understand my position as well. Don't worry—I won't hurt them since they're your family. But I will temporarily seal them. That way, we can draw out other vampires in the area, or perhaps even the Lord behind them. I'd like to see what kind of figure dares to cause trouble in my territory! Rider, I'm counting on you. This is your area of expertise. Any problems?"

Medusa was indeed an expert in this field. She had two Noble Phantasms that could be classified as powerful sealing techniques: "Pandemonic Temple" and "Other-Sealing: Blood Temple." The former was used to suppress her uncontrollable Mystic Eyes of Petrification, while the latter was the ultimate expression of her vampiric abilities, allowing her to absorb blood within a wide area through a barrier. With her handling the sealing, Shinji was confident.

"No problem at all. I could also use this opportunity to study how vampires differ from me," Medusa said, licking her lips like a beautiful snake eyeing its prey.