A Different Fate - [Rewrite]

Chapter 24:Kirei and Sakura

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The following day, Gilgamesh was lying down on a couch, a red wine glass in hand, while Kirei was looking through some documents he needed to fill in.

The King of Heroes was thinking. He wanted some information from the priest… but there was no need to be particularly subtle with that arrogant man.

Swirling his glass, he spoke up.

"I was under the impression that the Matous were supposed to be clever people."

Kirei's interest was awakened. It was very rare for Gilgamesh to address him, and it was even rarer for him to bring up subjects connected with the Fourth Grail War.

Unperturbed, the king continued.

"Kariya Matou was nothing more than a puppet manoeuvred from the shadows during the war… Things were said to have changed for the family. Even if their lineage is dying and the direct descendant, that blue-haired brat, has indescribably little magic prowess… since Zouken adopted Tokiomi's daughter, the Matous were supposed to have gained new power."

Kirei snorted.

"They have. The magical energy that the girl, Sakura, has… is enormous. Adopting her has strengthened the family."

Gilgamesh did not seem impressed.

"It certainly does not appear to be the case. She is nothing but a timid and submissive child. And her adopted brother, who is supposed to be much less powerful, does nothing but verbally and physically abuse her." He gave a scoff. "And you are telling me that that girl is strong? Your ability to get information has deplorably worsened."

The King of Heroes knew that such a sentence would trigger Kirei… and he would walk straight into his net and be entangled in it, telling him everything he wanted to know about Sakura and Zouken.

As expected, the priest's dark eyes narrowed.

"I said she had strong magic powers, not that she was strong as a person." His expression became more derisive. "Not that one could actually blame the girl. She spends her days in the dungeon, with the worms feeding on her body's energy, and with Zouken's ruthless and sadistic training. Her adoptive brother, Shinji, is unaware of this… he only sees his 'Grandfather' spending more time with his younger sister than with him, and he hates her for it. And after hours and hours of torture with that old man, it's no wonder she can't defend herself against Shinji… and is completely at his mercy."

Gilgamesh considered that information. Arturia would be horrified to find out about it, and he could not avoid being a little disgusted himself at what was being done to Rin's innocent sister.

However, from what Kirei had said, it was highly unlikely for Zouken to ever let Sakura go abroad as they had planned, and it would be quite difficult to save her from the abusive, dysfunctional family she was trapped in.

The only way to free her would be killing Zouken, but that was close to impossible.

The old man was a master magician, and he would not be broken as easily as Jubstacheit. His very nature, for one, was strong enough to have allowed him to live for centuries.

However, there could be a way to get rid of that immortal parasite… even if he would have to mention it to Arturia first, to make sure she agreed. For the moment, he would keep his thoughts to himself and focus again on Kirei.

Right on cue, the priest's phone rang and he answered, walking out of the room to not be disturbed.

Gilgamesh took a sip of wine, knowing perfectly who was on the other end of the line, and waited for a dissatisfied Kirei to come back.