Shinji Matou at Your Service

The information mentioned is partly from Caren's own words and partly deduced from them. After all, Shinji is not a member of the Burial Agency, so Caren wouldn't tell him everything. Most of what she talked about focused on Kotomine Kirei, and she only briefly touched upon her own story.

However, Caren didn't realize that Shinji understood her quite well. By combining her personality with the information she revealed and observing her emotional changes during the conversation, Shinji was able to piece together the truth of the matter.

Shinji's emotions fluctuated several times as Caren spoke.

At first, it was something like, "What the hell is going on with this situation? Kirei, what happened to you? There's no need to go crazy just because you're no longer feeling pleasure."

Then, it shifted to, "Caren, there's something seriously wrong with your thoughts. And your mental state—angry yet joyful—you've probably lost your mind too."

Finally, when he heard the title Demon Nun, Shinji became completely numb. "Your father was possessed by a demon, and now you're following the same path. What's going on with this world? Why is everything becoming so insane?"

But there were some revelations as well. The mystery of why Riesbyfe became the director of the Reien Girls' Academy and missed the 1998 campaign to subdue the Night of Wallachia was uncovered—it was to pursue Kotomine Kirei. Kirei had fled back to Japan, where the Church's influence was weak, during that time.

If we look at just the severity of the crimes and the level of threat, the Night of Wallachia far surpassed Kirei. But the Holy Church and represented the face of the Church, and Kirei's actions severely damaged its reputation. That was why one of the Church's top combat forces, Riesbyfe, was dispatched to deal with him with overwhelming force. However—

"From what Miss Caren said earlier, does this mean that Kotomine Kirei still hasn't been subdued?"

Caren bit her lip until it bled and said, "Yes, he's very cunning. He's managed to escape from both the Knights and Executors multiple times, and his whereabouts have become increasingly difficult to track. Ever since he fled into the Middle East a year ago, the Church has lost all trace of him. If you have any information, please let me know, I beg you."

"Alright, as a fellow resident of Fuyuki, I'll keep an eye out," Shinji replied.

It's easy to say something nice, but how much attention he would really pay, and whether he would inform the Church if he did find out anything, was another matter entirely.

With that, the topic of Kotomine Kirei and his daughter came to an end, and Shinji who had been sidetracked by the mindset of a transmigrator finally returned to his main goal.

"As for the operation to subdue the Forest of Einnashe, I hope to ally with you. You aim to kill the Forest of Einnashe, while I want the Crimson Fruit. With our interests aligned, forming a coalition is the best choice."

"No problem, I—"

"—Remember your position, Merem, you are now a member of the Burial Agency!"

Merem wanted to agree. He was a staunch supporter of the princess, and with Shinji intending to use the Crimson Fruit to alleviate Arcueid's impulse, Merem had no reason to refuse. But Ciel didn't see it that way.

"Our mission is indeed to subdue the Forest of Einnashe, but that doesn't mean we should give away the spoils of war, especially the most valuable one, to someone else for free, even if we have no use for it ourselves."

With an emphasis on the word "free," the blue-haired, blue-eyed girl continued speaking eloquently.

"Let me put it this way: Merem, your treasury contains many secret treasures. Does every one of those treasures have a use? Probably not, right? Now, if I were to ask you to give me one of the treasures that you don't use, would you agree?"

"Well..."

Merem rubbed his nose awkwardly, "As much as I'd like to say I'd be willing to give it to you, I wouldn't even believe myself if I said that."

"Exactly, so there's no reason for everyone to put in the effort if only Matou-san gets to take the spoils."

Ciel's words were so reasonable and logical that they left no room for argument.

Shinji had no formal ties to the Burial Agency. Technically speaking, he was even an enemy of the Burial Agency—after all, the True Ancestor was still a vampire and could be classified as an enemy of the Church, even if it wasn't a top priority. As a knight protecting the True Ancestor, Shinji also fell into that category.

He didn't intend to argue and calmly said, "I only want the Crimson Fruit. Everything else can go to you."

Ciel responded with a sharp gleam in her eyes, "But what if the only spoil is the Crimson Fruit? At least, I haven't heard of any other treasures belonging to the Forest of Einnashe—have you, Merem?"

"Nope."

Merem shrugged helplessly. He might have a nasty personality, but he wouldn't lie about something like this.

Having received the answer she wanted, Ciel raised an eyebrow provocatively.

Seeing this, Shinji sighed in resignation and asked, "What exactly is Miss Ciel planning?"

"It's simple. You need to offer adequate compensation, or else we won't give you the CrimsonFruit."

"That's a reasonable request. Name your price—USD, gold, precious metals, anything works..."

After all, Arcueid could just print money on the spot, and metals like gold, silver, copper, or iron could also be easily manifested.

"Oh? Do you think that a treasure like the Crimson Fruit can be measured in something as mundane as money?"

Ciel's tone carried a hint of sarcasm, to which Shinji responded with a smile.

"Don't underestimate the power of money. Without financial support, neither the Holy Church nor the Mage's Association would be able to function."

"Please don't twist my words. The Burial Agency isn't short on money. What we need is a treasure of equal value, at least something not too far off. Or are you saying that a knight of the True Ancestor doesn't even have a decent treasure to offer?"

It would have been fine if she hadn't mentioned the True Ancestor, but the moment she did, Shinji immediately realized that this cunning woman was deliberately making things difficult. Of course, her target wasn't him—it was Arcueid.

Just like many other dark organizations in various worlds, the members of the Burial Agency all had their dark pasts, and Ciel was no exception.

She was the seventeenth reincarnation of The Serpent of Akasha, Roa, which meant she was the previous incarnation before SHIKI Tohno. She had originally been the daughter of a baker in a small town on the outskirts of France, living a peaceful and ordinary life while pursuing her dream of becoming a pâtissier.

However, after her sixteenth birthday, Roa reincarnated within her and gradually awakened. Having never encountered anything supernatural before, the girl was easily overpowered by Roa and began an endless spree of slaughter.

The once peaceful town turned into a bloody hell because of her. Her parents, friends, and familiar neighbors were all brutally killed by her own hands. Worse still, her consciousness remained fully aware throughout the ordeal, unable to resist Roa's control, helplessly watching the tragedy unfold—until Arcueid awakened from her slumber, rushed to France, and killed Roa's seventeenth reincarnation.

With this in mind, Arcueid should have been Ciel's savior. But after all, Ciel was killed once by Arcueid, and the tragedies that occurred were due to Roa, who was a Dead Apostle under Arcueid. Roa's endless reincarnation was only possible because of Arcueid's power, so Ciel had always harbored hostility toward Arcueid. Therefore, it wasn't surprising that she would take this opportunity to give Shinji a hard time.