What Holy Grail War? Let's Play Cards!

[To Senpai Emiya]

When Shirou Emiya noticed the letter placed on the table, he realized that Sakura Matou had already left overnight. In her letter, she repeatedly apologized for leaving without saying goodbye, explaining that she had urgent matters to attend to and would be away for a while. She also urged him, multiple times, to avoid going out at night for the next month.

The rest of the letter was filled with daily reminders—how long the milk in the fridge would last, taking out the trash on time—nagging like a worried mother.

"But Sakura has always been careful. It's not like her to suddenly decide to leave overnight like this," Shirou thought, finding the situation strange. However, since she had already written as much, he figured there wasn't much else he could do.

"I just hope everything goes well for Sakura… Ah, crap, I forgot to make breakfast for Taiga!" Shirou panicked and rushed into the kitchen. Let's hope he doesn't end up being late.

Six Hours Earlier

Sakura Matou stared at the soul crystal in her hands. With just skin contact, the crystallized magical energy began nourishing her Magic Circuits. Cautiously, she attempted to connect with it using her own mana. In an instant, an overwhelming surge of magic filled her circuits, the gentle power repairing the ailments within her body. Even the circuits that had been altered by the Crest Worms were slowly reverting to their original state.

Sakura wasn't sure if this was a good or bad thing, but the warmth was so comforting that she couldn't bring herself to let go. By the time she regained awareness, the soul crystal had already merged with her Magic Circuits. Her previous Water-attribute circuits had disappeared, replaced by something entirely unknown.

"This is bad," Sakura muttered uneasily. According to that Caster, Matou Zouken was still alive at this point in time. He would never allow her circuits to become incompatible with the Matou family's magecraft. And if he discovered she had obtained a soul crystal—a treasure capable of driving any magus to madness—her fate would be sealed.

The fear of Zouken had long been etched into Sakura's soul. For eleven years, she had never once considered resisting, enduring everything in silence.

But now, after experiencing the power of a Servant firsthand—firing those arrows under Caster's command—the seed of rebellion had been planted. And now, it was beginning to sprout.

A three-petaled Command Seal appeared on the back of her hand.

"The Holy Grail War… A Servant…" Sakura murmured. Her usually vacant eyes gradually filled with determination. "Then… I'll just have to defeat Grandfather again!"

Overcoming years of oppression wasn't easy, but she had made up her mind. For now, she needed to stay out of the Matou family's sight and summon her own Servant.

"I'm sorry, Senpai. I was sent here to spy on you under Grandfather's orders. But your kindness… your warmth… I can't just stand by and let you get hurt. Please forgive me for leaving without saying goodbye."

Bowing deeply to the sleeping Shirou, Sakura quietly took her essentials and stepped out of the Emiya residence.

After all, she already had the Holy Relic in her possession, didn't she?

-

[Sakura Matou's Favorability Reward Has Been Sent. Please Check Your Inbox.]

Just as Jiang You was about to check the effects of [Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern], he noticed his inbox flashing wildly.

New Items Received:

[Sakura Matou] ×2 [Book of False Attendants] ×3 [Crest Worm] ×3 [Imaginary Number Magecraft] ×1 [Founding Magus Families] ×1 [Medusa (Rider)] ×1 [Sakura's Dream] ×1 [Sakura Matou: Dark Grail] ×1 [Soul Crystal] ×1

Upon opening it, a dozen new cards popped up—what a jackpot.

"What the hell? Is the favorability reward delay always this bad?" Jiang You instantly recognized that at least half of these cards came from Sakura's favorability rewards. He couldn't help but marvel at the absurdly high drop rates.

With so many cards to go through, Jiang You decided to focus on advancing the story first.

After all, there was an elderly man with gray-white hair in front of him, looking as if he was about to drop dead at any moment.

"Ugh… cough!" Kariya Matou coughed violently, blackened blood spilling onto the ground, accompanied by several dying Crest Worms. With Zouken's death, the Crest Worms inside him had become unstable, throwing his already fragile magic circuits into chaos.

Kariya forced himself to focus on Jiang You. The moment Zouken died, a Servant-like figure had appeared at the Matou residence—it was obvious who was responsible.

"Zouken… is dead. You did this, didn't you?"

Jiang You saw no reason to lie and simply nodded.

"Hahahaha… That old bastard finally got what he deserved!" Kariya laughed weakly. The man who had ruined his body, who had made him suffer in a futile attempt to save Sakura—was finally gone. He had resigned himself to dying in battle for the Holy Grail, prepared to fight to the death for his wish. But now, it had come true so easily.

However, the forced circuits within him were breaking down.

[Kariya Matou's Favorability Reward Has Been Sent.] [Kariya Matou] ×2 [Lancelot (Berserker)] ×1 [Awakened Will] ×1

The emotional upheaval was too much for Kariya. He coughed up more black blood, his breathing growing weaker.

"Wait, don't die on me! If you're gonna go, at least duel me first!" Jiang You had gained a few good cards from him and now felt slightly more sympathetic toward him—but only slightly.

As an act of humanitarian aid, Jiang You summoned Illyasviel. Her mother, Irisviel, had some knowledge of healing magic, and Illya had learned a bit as well.

Although clearly reluctant, Illya cast a healing spell on Kariya while staring daggers at Jiang You, her puffed-up cheeks making her look like she was ready to bite him at any moment.

"Be good. I'll get you more next time." Jiang You chuckled, knowing exactly why Illya was pouting. Her reaction was oddly amusing. However, he had already reserved one for Kiritsugu as [Bitter Choice] and kept another as a backup. He had no extra soul crystals to spare for her.

Now, he had to decide who else to take out.

Thinking carefully, it seemed that—aside from Waver and a certain lemon-head—he had legitimate reasons to eliminate nearly everyone in this Holy Grail War. And since he had already taken down so many, why not go all the way?

Come to think of it… could he also take out regular humans?

Just as Jiang You's thoughts were spiraling down a dangerous path, the system popped up with a notification:

[You have reached the maximum limit for Soul Crystal rewards in a single scenario. It is recommended to increase Favorability for additional card rewards.]

"Oh, I see. Too many NPC kills disrupt the story, huh? Makes sense… but at least give me a materials farming stage!" Jiang You grumbled. Was Konami really restricting material drops now?

Wait, no—this was classic Konami behavior. He had almost forgotten because the crossover event had been so generous.

That's the Konami he knew and loved.

Meanwhile, Illya huffed silently. She understood that the soul crystals belonged to Jiang You, and he had the right to use them however he pleased. But still—why had he given one to that purple-haired nobody and not her?

With no reasonable excuse to argue, she could only stew in silent frustration.

"No matter what, thank you," Kariya said weakly. "The Matou family's remnants… everything in that house… take what you want. I only ask… please… help the two children…"

Before he could finish, Kariya lost consciousness.

At that moment, a shadow lunged forward. A massive, magic-imbued lamp, pulsing with red veins, flew straight toward Jiang You's face.

[Lancelot has challenged you to a duel. Do you accept?]

[Duel/Battle]