After their late-night snack, the two of them sat under the kotatsu and resumed their earlier discussion.
The details of the Masters and Servants involved in the Holy Grail War weren't something Shiomi needed to concern himself with. He hadn't returned to Fuyuki to compete for the Holy Grail. After learning Caster's true name from BB, he realized that even if she managed to win every other battle, she'd still suffer a crushing defeat against the King of Magecraft.
Whether or not Saber could defeat Caster was beside the point—Sakura's Magecraft was completely overwhelmed. Marisbury didn't even need to take the field as a Master.
Shiomi's purpose was simple: to protect Sakura and his family.
"I've never actually fought the King of Magecraft," Morgan said, stating the facts. "So I can't offer any firsthand insight."
"I figured as much," Shiomi nodded, undeterred.
"However, my husband did have a brief clash with the King of Magecraft, even though he was rushing to retreat," Morgan added. "What's your take on his strength?"
As she spoke, Shiomi recalled the battle from the day before.
"...Overwhelming."
"Oh? You're surprisingly lacking in confidence."
"No," Shiomi replied, analyzing slowly. "What I mean is, to modern Magi, the King of Magecraft is like a being from a higher dimension. Bazett was merely trying to launch a sneak attack to open a path for retreat, but Caster completely controlled the battlefield."
Her attacks were ineffective, and without any warning, even a top Sealing Designation executor was stripped of the ability to fight.
"Just by wearing all those rings on his hands, that man can nullify every form of Magecraft a human can wield," Morgan said with a soft smile. "Just from that, it's clear—the Command Spells meant to help Masters control their Servants in the Holy Grail War are completely useless against Caster."
Unlike top-tier Magic Resistance, which merely deflects Magecraft, this was absolute nullification. Any spell would be erased at its inception—as if it had never been cast.
Even Morgan would be at a disadvantage against that.
"Stop. That's enough." Shiomi felt another headache coming on.
He had already learned Caster's true name by then. Naturally, he didn't plan to engage in battle after expending his energy, nor did he want to reveal too much. So he had opted to use Grand Magecraft modeled after modern magic.
Due to his own unique nature, the spell's power and speed were far beyond the norm. But its foundation was still modern Magecraft.
And because of that, Caster had effortlessly unraveled the structure of the spell, reducing the entire activation to nothing.
"Once the war begins, it'll turn into a full-blown battle of Age of Gods Magecraft," said Morgan.
Shiomi let out a sigh. "Yeah... it definitely will."
That alone wasn't what truly concerned him. What troubled Shiomi was the King of Magecraft's Magecraft and Noble Phantasms—he couldn't gauge the man's true capabilities.
Even if Servants differ from their legends due to class-based biases, top-tier Servants still have the strength to match. Shiomi had clashed with Gilgamesh's trump card Noble Phantasm twice before.
The first time, if not for Artoria's Holy Sword mitigating most of the damage, he was certain his defensive runes—based on primordial magic—would've been completely shredded by Ea.
The second time, he avoided direct confrontation altogether and relied on trickery—using Artoria's Holy Sword as bait while simultaneously deploying Avalon to block the attack.
Because of that, he had a very clear grasp of just how powerful the strongest Noble Phantasms could be.
And that was why he couldn't predict what might happen if he and Morgan teamed up against the King of Magecraft.
"As expected, there's no way just the two of us can take on Solomon," Shiomi said, lifting his gaze. "Now that Caster's true name is known, the other Masters won't just stand by and do nothing."
Morgan idly rubbed her teacup with her fingers, looking up at Shiomi—she had already guessed what he was thinking.
"Given our original goal, you want to borrow the strength of another faction to take Caster out early. That way, even if Sakura can't win the later battles, at least she won't lose her life?"
"Exactly..." Shiomi nodded. "But I've been reviewing the current state of the other factions. For now, Sakura and Rin are out. The Matou Master doesn't seem stable, and his combat ability is questionable. As for Assassin—not even worth considering."
He began analyzing the remaining factions one by one.
Berserker, at least, would make a good vanguard against Caster. With someone that tough tanking at the front, Shiomi and Morgan could handle the King of Magecraft with less pressure.
But... there was a problem.
Shiomi had once helped Kiritsugu Emiya in a mission to Germany to seize Illyasviel. The girl now fighting as Berserker's Master was a Homunculus created by the Einzbern family and modeled after Illya. There was no doubt that the name "Shiomi" had been hardcoded into her very being.
That much was clear from her surprise assault on the church where Sakura was staying.
Rin had probably just been collateral—a secondary target attached to the Einzbern mission.
By process of elimination, only one choice remained—and it was the most suitable.
"So in the end, the person you're counting on most is your senior?" Morgan's eyes sparkled playfully, as if she'd seen through him from the very start.
Shiomi sighed, hand to his forehead. "I don't want to rely on him—but I have to. Sakura can't know about this…"
"Why keep it from Sakura?" Morgan looked puzzled.
If they'd just coordinated with her from the beginning, none of this scheming would be necessary.
"Why..." Shiomi was momentarily speechless. "She's sixteen now—a proper teenager in the middle of her adolescence!"
"...And?" Morgan still didn't get it.
"You... haven't raised any kids?" Shiomi rubbed his temples.
"Not at all," Morgan admitted, a little sheepish. "The one who had lots of children is the 'me from over there.'"
In other words, while she had accompanied Sakura and Caren during their upbringing, Morgan herself didn't have any real experience. Many things were new territory for her.
"I see."
He scratched his head and let it go.
Morgan viewed things from a different perspective than humans. It was natural she wouldn't grasp everything.
"It's simple, really—it's just a teenage rebellion. Sakura's caught between childhood and adulthood, and she's bound to be invested in the first major ordeal she's facing alone. Even if that ordeal is the Holy Grail War. If I join the war before her and then try to get involved again, it'll damage her pride."
"You understand her pretty well." A faint smile touched Morgan's lips.
"Because all humans go through that kind of growing up."
Shiomi rested his arms on the table, looked gently at Morgan, and spoke in a quiet voice.