James Moriarty, the Napoleon of Crime, looks back on his life with some regret, and he brings the Master of Chaldea on a trip down memory lane in order to see his past, and check if things could turn out differently.
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Tropes:
- And You Were There: After Moriarty and the Protagonist return to Chaldea, the other servants are interested to hear that they were used as substitutes as gang leaders and mages through the Protagonist's perception. Sieg himself was quite interested to learn he was the main villain.
- ...And That Would Be Wrong: Moriarty tells the Protagonist that chaos and all sorts of shenanigans will occur once the Subspecies Holy Grail War starts. The Protagonist reacts with shock and all Moriarty can stutter is a quick "of course! That would be bad!"
- Blood Knight: The three mages who show up to represent the three crime organizations are all itching and willing to fight for their desires, which is why they take the form of Alexander, Prince of Lan Ling, and Vlad III rather than a trio of Caster-class Servants to Chaldea's perception.
- Call-Back: To the Kogetsukan case, which is lampshaded by Moriarty himself to get the protagonist up to speed on the general gist of circumstances.
- Charm Person: "Prince of Lan Ling's" magecraft is rooted in using "beauty" to affect his enemies, which is why he takes the form of Prince of Lan Ling to the protagonist's perspective in the first place. While dangerous, it's noted that it's not suited for a proper battle like the Subspecies Holy Grail War and he would be the first to die in a straight fight, which he doesn't refute.
- The Dog Was the Mastermind: The thief that stole the leaf was Sieg himself, who didn't want a mere copy of his ancestor Siegfried used as a tool by the mages. He had the leaf stolen so that the gang leaders would turn on each other out of paranoia, while he would fake his death and escape with the artifact.
- Even Evil Has Standards:
- Criminal mastermind Moriarty continues the Running Gag of refusing alcohol to the underage protagonist, even when they're employed as bartenders.
- This is pointed out to apply to all the gang leaders and mages, as Moriarty notes none of them are good people, but also none of them are so evil as to readily order the murder of an innocent young person like the protagonist if it wasn't a necessity to their goals.
- Impoverished Patrician: "Vlad III" is from an old but less affluent mage bloodline, as opposed to the Nouveau Riche "Alexander."
- Interface Spoiler: The event doesn't even bother to hide the fact that the Archer of Shinjuku is James Moriarty, hell, the Banner promoting the event spells his name outright.
- My Greatest Second Chance: Moriarty actually made a mistake during his lifetime that caused the downfall of the town the Master and him were in the dream world. While he realizes that this won't really change reality, he takes this chance to settle things seriously.
- Mythology Gag: The valuable magic relic the person who looks like Sieg is holding on to that he plans to sell at auction? It's the blood-stained leaf that would serve as a catalyst for Siegfried's summoning.
- Older Than They Look: "Alexander" is old enough to drink, but has gone to some effort not to look his age (he doesn't actually look like Alexander in reality, but he does look young enough that he understands the protagonist questioning him about it).
- Perception Filter: Once again, the protagonist sees people within the dream as Servants they're familiar with, though Moriarty also perceives them similarly despite knowing who these people actually are. Moriarty also notes this goes both ways, as those people are interpreting the protagonist and his own appearances and words in ways their brains can make sense, which is why they can address the magus who looks like Vlad III as "Vlad III" and he responds like they used his actual name.
- Rivals Team Up: Lampshaded and defied with the three main criminal organizations. Moriarty notes to the protagonist's question that two sides joining forces ganging up on the third would make sense on paper, but each side has circumstances that makes such a team-up all but impossible to pull off without risking themselves.
