Shinji Matou at Your Service-Chapter 1027: The Overseer Takes Action

The Overseer—this is currently Caren Hortensia's position.

Her full title is the Overseer of the Holy Church, stationed in Fuyuki City, Japan, for the Holy Grail War.

The Holy Church is exceptionally meticulous about managing holy relics, and for this, they established the Eighth Sacrament Assembly. Both the Holy Grail and the catalysts used in the Summoning are considered holy relics, and thus, they fall under the Church's jurisdiction. This is the official reason for the position of Overseer.

However, this is merely a surface explanation. In reality, the Tohsaka, Matou, and Einzbern families disclosed this information to the Church deliberately, allowing them to handle the work for free. This was done to maintain balance and order, as well as to keep the Mage's Association in check.

Caren, however, was unaware of the true origins of the Overseer role. Even if she knew, she wouldn't care. After all, the Overseer position was just a pretext—her true goal was to eliminate the heretic known as Kotomine Kirei.

Her appointment to the Overseer position stems from an encounter on the border of England (detailed at the end of Volume 1 of the Shinji Case Files).

Before Ciel confronted Roa, she had been lurking for a while, overhearing parts of the conversation between Roa and Araya. She learned that they were planning to interfere with a ritual called the Holy Grail War. From their conversation, it seemed that winning the war and acquiring the Greater Grail would open a path to the Root.

Ciel, who inherited the memories of Roa XVII, knew very well what the Root meant to magus. This was not something she could ignore. Moreover, both she and Caren had deep-seated grudges against Roa, or more specifically, Kotomine Kirei. Thus, both for personal and public reasons, they needed to defeat Roa as soon as possible.

After escaping danger, Ciel immediately used her Burial Agency privileges to investigate. However, the Tohsaka, Matou, and Einzbern families had done an excellent job of covering their tracks. As a result, the Church's understanding of the Holy Grail War remained limited to the idea of a small-scale magical ritual in the Far East. The records in the intelligence department were sparse, with hardly any valuable information.

At that point, Ciel even began to wonder if she had been deceived—perhaps Roa had already discovered her presence and deliberately said those things to mislead her.

She confided in Fiore about her frustrations.

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This woman, whom she had recently met, had a peculiar charm, one that inexplicably calmed people's minds. After battling Roa and Araya, they had stayed together. Initially, it was because Caren hadn't fully recovered from her injuries and had limited mobility. Fiore was also reluctant to let Ciel act alone. Later, they were drawn together by the issue of the Holy Grail War.

However, this time, rather than calming Ciel, Fiore made her even more agitated—because Fiore revealed that she knew the truth about the Holy Grail War. While she couldn't explain the details, she confirmed that Roa hadn't been lying and that the Holy Grail War was indeed about to take place. If Ciel didn't believe her, she could check with the Eighth Sacrament Assembly, as they should have received an invitation to send an Overseer.

When Ciel investigated, she found that this was indeed the case. At this point, both she and Caren could no longer sit still. On one hand, they tried to coax more information out of Fiore, while on the other, they submitted a request to Narbareck for action. During this time, Fiore and Narbareck met briefly and had a short conversation.

In the end, Narbareck approved Ciel's request, allowing both her and Caren to head to Fuyuki as a nun and the Holy Grail War Overseer, respectively. Merem stayed behind to handle the remnants of the Forest of Einnashie, and Narbareck, in her capacity as Director of the Burial Agency, formally invited Fiore to join the Agency.

After receiving Fiore's usual response—"I am just a wandering magus with no intention of joining any organization"—the invitation was revised to a request for cooperation. This time, Fiore did not refuse.

Incidentally, surveillance in Japan had always been handled by the Heretic Inquisition Knights, so it was only natural that the news of the Burial Agency sending an Overseer through the Eighth Sacrament Assembly reached Riesbyfes ears. As the chairwoman of the Reien Girls' Academy and the Holy Shield Knight, she had been bored. Upon hearing that the Burial Agency was coming to her territory, she immediately became interested, dropped everything, and rushed to Fuyuki. She also brought along the items that had been sealed during a previous investigation—specifically, the Spirit Board that Ciel and Caren had mentioned.

Initially, both Ciel and Caren were reluctant to accept this colleague they had no connection with, but Riesbyfe's persistence was surprising. To join them, she even agreed to the harsh condition of following all orders, so the two no longer resisted. After all, Riesbyfe was one of the Church's top combatants. With her help, the chances of success in the subjugation mission would increase significantly.

After playing a small prank on Riesbyfe, Caren's mood noticeably improved. She cleared her throat and solemnly explained:

"Even though this is a borrowed position, the Overseer's duties must still be carried out properly."

The primary responsibility of the Overseer is to oversee the progression of the war, ensuring that magecraft and miracles are kept hidden from the public eye. They are also tasked with protecting Masters who withdraw from the war and dealing with unforeseen incidents. In special circumstances, they even have the authority to temporarily alter the rules of the Holy Grail War.

"Without a Master's request or an emergency, we are not permitted to interfere with the ritual's process."

"I see."

Riesbyfe slumped back onto the bench, disappointed, but Ciel's next words reignited her spirit.

"Roa's involvement itself constitutes an emergency."

"Are you saying...?"

"No Master would tolerate having such a venomous snake lurking in the shadows. As long as we confirm his presence, we can join forces with the other Masters to take him down. At that point..."

"I can challenge their Servants?"

"Yes, as long as the Master and Servant agree, though that's not what I meant. I want you to deal with the Servant on Roa's side. As Miss Fiore mentioned, only participants in the war are eligible to obtain the Grail. If Roa wants the Grail, he will have a Master-Servant pair in the war, either as a participant himself or through an ally. Until then, please be patient. If you really can't wait, go hunt some vampires nearby to kill time."

At this point, Ciel pushed up the glasses she wore for disguise, masking the cold glint in her eyes.

"There have been a lot of vampires flooding into this country, and they're quite active in this region. Caren and I need to stay hidden and can't expose ourselves recklessly, but you're different. You've operated in Japan frequently, so there's no reason anyone would be suspicious if you take action."

"Fine, I'll listen to you. I'll start by taking out these vampires as an appetizer and make up for the subjugation numbers you've left behind."

The Holy Shield Knight was full of enthusiasm.