While Kirei was quietly overwhelmed by Caren's bizarre line of attack, a small relief began to grow in his heart. The Servant had accepted Caren. That meant the plan was working.
If the Servant recognized Caren, then at least she wouldn't behave like a rabid dog and immediately attack her designated Master—him.
On the other side of the chamber, Caren, who had just been called "big sister" by the silver-haired Servant, now wore an expression like she was staring at a particularly dumb pigeon.
She slowly turned toward Kirei and, in a calm but sharp tone, asked, "So what exactly is going on here?" The silver-haired child was already radiating a terrifying aura of authority despite being only five years old.
Kirei didn't even try to dodge the question. He laid it all out honestly.
The Holy Church was the designated supervisor and regulator of the Holy Grail War, responsible for overseeing the ritual's conduct and maintaining order in the region.
As the Church's representative, Risei Kotomine had been entrusted with this oversight. However, due to personal connections with the Tohsaka family. He leaned more toward allowing Tokiomi Tohsaka to obtain the Holy Grail. After all, magi only pursued the Root. Even if he made a wish upon the Grail, it wouldn't threaten the Church or the stability of Fuyuki City. From the standpoint of maintaining order, letting Tohsaka win the Holy Grail War was the most stable path.
With that in mind, Kotomine Kirei had been assigned to become Tohsaka's apprentice. They would stage a falling-out and pretend to be enemies, while secretly forming an alliance to help Tohsaka win.
Listening to this convoluted plan, Caren really wanted to ask, Are you all brain-damaged or what? But she restrained herself. Because Kirei had started talking about the silver-haired little girl. In order to support Tohsaka, Kirei also summoned a Servant. But something went wrong during the summoning.
Among the belongings of Caren's late mother, a photo had accidentally fallen onto the summoning circle—serving as the catalyst. That single photo brought forth a Servant who was never supposed to be summoned.
A silver-haired little girl.
If that had been the only issue, it wouldn't have mattered. Kirei was only playing a supporting role; even if the Servant lacked combat ability, she might still be useful in other ways.
However, what neither Kirei nor Risei had anticipated was—
The moment the silver-haired girl appeared, she tried to kill them both. The summoned Servant turned out to be a rare breed—a homicidal maniac. Despite both Kirei and his father being well-trained in Bajiquan, there was no way their human bodies could stand against a Servant's strength. Thankfully, the Command Seals existed.
Barely surviving the initial ambush, Kirei managed to bind the girl with the Seals. Even so, Risei had been gravely injured and had to be transferred to the Holy Church for treatment.
As for the silver-haired girl—she refused to obey orders. Every day, she did nothing but call out for her "mommy"… and try to kill Kirei. It was one of the worst Master-Servant compatibility cases in history. With no better options, Kirei recalled the photo used in the summoning circle—the picture of baby Caren.
So, he figured maybe his daughter could fix this mess. Thus, he sent a letter and summoned her back, despite never intending to meet her again.
Unexpectedly, it worked. The moment the Servant saw her, she accepted Caren without question.
—They had matched gazes, and it was clear. They were both hopeless weirdos.
After listening to Kirei's explanation, Caren couldn't help but ask, "So what exactly is this Servant's true name? Can a girl that young even be considered a 'heroic spirit'?"
That was what puzzled her most.
Kirei nodded.
"Servants don't necessarily have to be heroes. As long as they're famous, even anti-heroes or fictionalized figures can qualify."
"After investigation, both I and Master Tohsaka confirmed her identity."
"Jack the Ripper—she's the true form of that infamous killer from foggy London."
"She's also the manifestation of the vengeful spirits of tens of thousands of unborn, abandoned children."
Tens of thousands of discarded fetuses, their resentment and agony, had coalesced into this single being. Having been abandoned by a mother she never knew, she eternally yearned to find one—desperate for maternal love.
And because she had never truly been born, her mind remained that of a child. After Kirei's explanation, Caren finally understood the identity of the silver-haired girl.
Jack.
Her small, childish face turned grim. She also recalled Kirei's earlier mention of the summoning process. If her baby photo had been enough to summon Jack, there must have been a strong point of resonance.
And the most obvious shared trait between them—
"..."
She shot Jack a deadpan look. This grudge, she would remember. But it wasn't worth arguing with a little monster like her. Caren turned her gaze back toward Kirei.
"So, you brought me here just to stabilize this thing's mental state?"
"Exactly."
Kirei nodded.
"The Command Seals can't be used freely. If we want her to be useful in combat, we need someone she's willing to listen to."
"Since Assassin recognizes you, your job is to co-command her with me."
"Our ultimate goal is to bring victory in the Holy Grail War to Master Tohsaka."
He laid out his demands with complete seriousness. Caren didn't react to the earlier part of his speech. But when Kirei solemnly stated his ultimate goal, she couldn't help but chuckle mockingly.
"Heh…"
"What's funny?" Kirei was surprised. He had simply stated his mission. This had all been agreed upon between the Kotomines and the Tohsakas—there was no room for debate. Seeing his confusion, the five-year-old girl gave him a mocking look.
"You said it yourself—those without wishes of their own wouldn't be chosen by the Grail."
"Yet here you are, holding Command Seals."
"So, either the Grail's system is broken…"
"Or you do have a wish buried deep inside you. You're just not aware of it yet."
Her words made Kirei frown. He instinctively wanted to argue—but found he had no rebuttal. He clutched at his chest, unsettled.
"I… have a wish I'd entrust to the Grail?"
For once, he looked truly uncertain. Seeing him like that, Caren's lips curled into a mischievous grin. The silver-haired little devil whispered sweetly, "It's very possible."
"How about this—if you did win the Grail, what would your wish be?"Urged by her taunting tone, Kirei tried to imagine it. But after a long silence, he shook his head.
"No. Nothing comes to mind that I'd wish for." Caren wasn't surprised. She already knew this man well. Wealth, love, family—none of it held meaning for him. None of the so-called joys of life brought him any happiness. In truth, she might be the same. But recognizing that similarity made her even more certain of what he really craved. Her grin deepened.
"If you don't have a wish to make…"
"Then maybe your hidden desire is the Holy Grail itself." She offered an example in a teasing tone.
"Like, say, right before your beloved Master Tohsaka reaches out to claim it—what if you just smashed the Grail to pieces right in front of him?" The moment she said it, Kirei pictured the scene. Tohsaka, beaming with pride after all his careful planning had paid off, eagerly extending his hand toward the Grail.
Only for Kirei to destroy it in an instant. To rip it away from him at the height of his joy. The image of Tohsaka plummeting from heavenly triumph to utter despair—
"Mm… Hehehe… Hahahahahaha—!" A deep, sinister laughter spilled from Kirei's throat. There's nothing in the world more delightful than this. Absolutely nothing.
Well—if he could stab Tokiomi Tohsaka right after destroying the Holy Grail, that might make it even better. After laughing for a good while in his usual low, stifled way, Kotomine Kirei slowly came back to his senses. And only then did he realize what he had just done.
"…What was that?" He couldn't help but direct a question toward his daughter, confusion and a trace of panic in his voice.
"Why… why did I feel so happy thinking about something like that?" As a man of the cloth, this kind of delight was unacceptable. And yet—why? Why did imagining that scene fill him with such uncontrollable joy? Was this truly joy? Was it even the right kind? Caren, in contrast, wasn't even slightly surprised.
"Because that's your true nature," she replied flatly. "Kotomine Kirei."
"You find pleasure in the suffering of others!"
"You're that kind of person!" Her tone was firm, with no room for argument.
"Finding joy in the ruin of others…" Kirei stared blankly at his own hands, as though seeing them for the first time. His expression turned dazed and distant. Seeing him like this, Caren chuckled softly but didn't interrupt his moment of self-realization.
Instead, she simply skipped into the cell and unlocked Jack's restraints with the key. As expected, once unchained, little Jack didn't attack anyone. Though she looked about eight or nine years old, her mind—still in a fetal stage—treated Caren, her "fellow broken soul," as an older sister. And when it came to her "sister," Jack was obedient. Thus, the Holy Church's Assassin faction was now fully prepared.