Shinji Matou at Your Service

After Siegfried finished his account, Shinji surprisingly refrained from making fun of Gordes.

Acknowledging one's mistakes and correcting them is a great virtue. Although this was different from the storyline Shinji knew, Gordes' ability to make such a decision indicated his change, which was enough.

Moreover, with Toole, the sharp-tongued girl around, Gordes now had a nemesis. Someone could finally curb his foul mouth, and hopefully, his other bad habits would also diminish.

Given this, Tootle couldn't just be left to die; they needed to find a way to extend her life.

Not sure if the bits and pieces heard from Fiore could help, but well, might as well go all out and tell Gordes everything. If he could develop some results, there might be hope for extending Toole's life, which would also help Siegfried. After all, they would need him and Astolfo's strength later.

Although spreading such precious information without the original person's consent wasn't right, as the big sister of the homunculus, she wouldn't want her excellent juniors to die prematurely. Besides, surviving the Hanging Gardens was uncertain, so it was best not to leave any regrets.

"Fiore, adjust your state; I'll perform the surgery now."

"Caules, go prepare a medicinal broth for your sister."

"Fatty, lend me your workshop's operating room. If you have time, assist me. Don't worry, I won't let you help for nothing; I'll compensate you with something you're interested in."

"Astolfo, you and Siegfried rest first. Once you've recovered, I have something I need your help with."

"Mr. Kairi, please handle the serum."

"Achilles, Atalanta, and Artoria, please assist with security."

"Avicebron, that woman is your responsibility. I want to see results within a day or face the consequences—no excuses, I know your preparations are complete."

"Teacher, please find a room for Artoria and Jeanne—if possible, could you keep an eye on Roche? I fear Avicebron might target him."

The latter part was communicated directly through "whispered thoughts," causing a momentary change in Chiron's expression, who then nodded.

A Noble Phantasm is part of a Servant, so to some extent, the compatibility of the Core is the same as with Avicebron.

Who among those present had the best compatibility with Avicebron?

The answer was undoubtedly his Master, Roche, also a golem magus. The Adam activated with Roche as the Core would be stronger than using Celenike.

Completing the Adam was Avicebron's obsession in life. Would such a person abandon a superior Core for an inferior substitute?

Neither Chiron nor Shinji could guarantee that.

Chiron based his judgment on Avicebron's nature, while Shinji's concerns stemmed from the storyline. According to the plot, after the Black Faction's defeat, Avicebron defected to the Red Faction. He used Roche's admiration to have him secretly bring out the Golem Adam, then placed Roche inside the Golem as the Core, ultimately activating the Noble Phantasm.

Although Avicebron hadn't switched sides yet and Roche still had three Command Spells, making such an event seem impossible, Roche's trust in Avicebron had reached a blind level. Avicebron could probably sell Roche, and Roche would still happily count money for him.

Avicebron had already completed the preparations, yet he wasn't rushing to use Cleneki to activate the Noble Phantasm. This behavior only intensified their worries—could it be that Celenike's capabilities weren't satisfactory to Avicebron?

Of course, Shinji didn't care whether Roche lived or died. He had no interaction with Roche, who was at most a familiar stranger. However, this stranger held absolute command over Avicebron with three Command Spells, which was crucial. To assault the Hanging Gardens, Avicebron and his Noble Phantasm were essential. Shinji had to keep Roche tightly controlled, leaving Avicebron no opportunity whatsoever.

Just as Shinji was compelling everyone to take action through requests, threats, or incentives, the only one he hadn't addressed, Jeanne, suddenly displayed an unprecedented panic, exclaiming:

"This, this is impossible!!!"

More than one person asked, "What happened?"

"Just now, my class privilege showed that five new Servants have joined this Holy Grail War."

"What did you say!!!"

"Are you kidding?"

"Five new Servants? Are you sure you didn't misread?"

Shinji frowned.

"I understand the Holy Grail's summoning system well. Its limit is the fifteen Servants from the Red and Black factions plus the Ruler. How can there be five more?"

"But, but the Servant status I saw was exactly like that."

"This is strange."

Shinji knew Jeanne wouldn't lie, nor would she joke about such matters, but how could this abnormal situation be explained?

"Can you see detailed information about these five Servants? True names, classes, alignments, anything."

"I can't see their true names; I need to see the Servants in person for that. The classes are Archer, Lancer, Rider, Caster, and Berserker. They have no alignment, and all five are shown as deceased."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other in confusion.

The more information they received, the more perplexing it became.

They could confirm that there were no unusual actions within Millennia Castle; otherwise, Jeanne would have noticed.

So, the source of this anomaly could be determined—it must have been caused by Amakusa Shirou's faction. But the question was, what was the point? If the five Servants were alive, they could still be used as combat power, but what use were five dead Servants?

Was it just to shock the opposition? To show off his presence?

This joke wasn't funny. Although the opponent seemed to enjoy showing off, a person capable of driving himself to such lengths wouldn't pull such a pointless stunt.

This meant that this abnormal event must have some significance.

What was the meaning of these five dead Servants? And why did they appear on Jeanne's Servant list?

Shinji couldn't figure it out. If Fiore were here, she might be able to see something—no, talking about this now was pointless; he had to rely on his strength.

Since this path led nowhere, he needed a different approach—what would he do if he were in Amakusa Shirou's position?

With this thought, his mind suddenly cleared.

However, before drawing any conclusions, he needed to confirm one thing.

"Jeanne, think carefully—did these five appear as deceased immediately, with no gradual process?"

"Yes, that's correct." Jeanne nodded confidently. "When I detected them, they were already dead."

"I think I might have guessed what that guy's plan is..."