Chapter 22

Rin Tohsaka was extremely frustrated, frustrated enough to want to bang her head against the wall.

She had already harbored such suspicions, and the summoned Servant's adamant insistence that he had lost his memory undoubtedly intensified her doubts——

This was undoubtedly a mishap on her part during the crucial summoning phase, which subsequently triggered a series of headache-inducing problems.

I can't take it anymore, let me just die……

My heart is so tired……

Every step was filled with setbacks, as if every link was working against her. The full confidence she once had before the summoning ritual had now completely transformed into self-doubt and self-loathing.

No, I must be elegant, elegant, elegant……

Silently reciting the Tohsaka Family's family precepts in her heart, the girl still wanted to struggle, unwilling to give up hope for this Holy Grail War. Although as things stood now, she actually didn't have much hope in this Holy Grail War.

But——

Once she missed this Holy Grail War, the next one would probably have to wait sixty years.

Thinking of this, Miss Tohsaka, relying on an indescribable tenacity, mustered a ruthless streak, forced herself to calm down once more, and began to explain the detailed situation of this summoning to her Servant.

And as she spoke with a tone carrying a hint of irritation yet clear logic, Xia Zhi gradually gained a general understanding of this world's situation.

——This world was, of course, also Earth.

——The current time point was precisely February 1st, 2002.

——The current location was a small coastal city in the far east of Japan, named Fuyuki City.

Around the 19th century, this city began secretly holding Holy Grail Wars; regrettably, it never successfully achieved its goal, thus cycling repeatedly. And each war, regardless of success or failure, would exhaust the spiritual power reserves in Fuyuki City's Dragon Vein.

Therefore, only after sixty years of "recharging" could Fuyuki City's Dragon Vein spiritual power once again become abundant enough to support the next Holy Grail War.

Until now, the sky above this city had only witnessed the magnificent chapters of five Holy Grail Wars. And what was particularly special was that the most recent Holy Grail War was separated from the previous ritual by a mere ten years.

In this fifth Holy Grail War, Rin Tohsaka——the Magician young lady who had accidentally mis-summoned him here——was one of the participants.

Her family held a pivotal position in Fuyuki City, being both a member of the Clock Tower Magic Association and the manager of Fuyuki City.

For generations, the Tohsaka Family had always been powerful contenders in every Holy Grail War, from the Tohsaka Family's ancestor Tohsaka Nagato, to the previous head Tohsaka Tokiomi, to the current Rin Tohsaka herself; their family's presence had never been absent.

——The main point is just participation.

Of course, speaking of it, who isn't like that?

Looking back at every previous Holy Grail War, a character who could truly be called a winner had never appeared.

——————

Basically that was it, and during Rin Tohsaka's narration, Xia Zhi also casually probed without changing expression, asking about the situation regarding Britain Island, and received a response within expectations.

That land was currently under the rule of the United Kingdom, and was not some legendary Fairy Kingdom.

This point was actually within Xia Zhi's speculation; ever since he was summoned, he had vaguely perceived this possibility——perhaps this was another parallel world, or perhaps the same world, just in a different historical period.

After all, based on the clues he grasped, the Fairy Kingdom's world should be the existence that deviated from the norm.

Vivian had also once mentioned a key point——

Outside Britain Island was nothing but void, the Surface World had already turned into the Sea of Nothingness

Based on the tense speculation revealed by that "turned into", Xia Zhi was more inclined to believe that the Fairy Kingdom's world was a new product derived on the Mors Timeline after the decline and destruction of the Earth world he was familiar with, born upon the planetary ruins after the doomsday catastrophe.

Of course, whether this hypothesis holds true still requires further collection and verification of more clues.

And returning to the current situation, he also didn't think about such distant problems for the time being, but instead rapidly searched his vast Database, confirming he couldn't find any geographical knowledge regarding "Fuyuki City" and the like.

Obviously, this most likely belonged to a blank caused by the Other World's Outer Planes deviation value.

Moreover, the era around the millennium was indeed quite distant from the era he was familiar with; the sense of Spacetime distance was particularly obvious.

Very good.

Neither the right timing, nor the geographical advantage——

He couldn't help but once again cast his Gaze toward the black-haired, Pigtails girl not far ahead, feeling that perhaps he still needed to evaluate, to see if the remaining manpower could satisfy the conditions.

It felt a bit uncertain……

Moreover, whether the teammate was a pig-like teammate was still very vague, but the opponents were most likely truly god-like opponents.

After all, a slightly proper Heroic Spirit Summoning seemingly often summons those famous, meritorious great heroes from history, mythology, and legend; their past achievements were either dragon-slaying and god-slaying, or ruling over all things.

Could it really be just coming to punch the clock, then retreating directly?

Xia Zhi wasn't belittling himself either; it was just that after self-examination, he felt that with his own power, in this Holy Grail War, although one couldn't say he was pivotal, one could say he was better than nothing.

Thinking like this, he instantly felt even more upset……

——Vivian?

——Vivian, come save me!

In the dilapidated Living Room, Rin Tohsaka hadn't speculated what the Servant she summoned was thinking inside; after finishing her explanation in one breath, she also felt even more tired, so she found a still-intact chair and sat down.

At the same time, this black long straight-haired, Pigtails girl slightly narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing the other party from top to bottom with a suspicious Gaze.

"It looks like you're a modern-era Heroic Spirit?"

She asked doubtfully.

The earlier discouraged Emotion, like Dark Clouds shrouding her, had made her thinking chaotic and her attention unable to concentrate, completely ignoring sensitivity to Details. Now that she had calmed down a bit, she noticed the other party's clothing attire seemed worth noting, and couldn't help but give rise to suspicion.

——Modern era?

——Of course not, I'm actually from the future……

Xia Zhi also knew that this outfit he wore, despite undergoing several modifications to adapt to the Fairy Kingdom's fashion trends, still retained some modern style elements, which was indeed quite conspicuous.

However, what did this have to do with him?

As an "amnesiac Servant", he displayed unusual calmness toward this question, and consistently responded with that righteous and confident appearance: "Don't know, forgot."

Rin Tohsaka: "……"

Fine fine fine, playing like this huh……

She tightly clenched her fists, the impulse to bang her head against the wall growing even stronger.

This black-haired pigtails girl didn't know this was the other party's own CPU excuse; she only grew more vexed at her own mistake, wishing she could smash her head into the ground — why would a single mistake trigger such severe consequences!

Can this Holy Grail War still be won? Who on earth is winning this Holy Grail War!

Both angry and anxious, she scratched her hair into a mess, gritted her teeth, and though she tried her utmost to restrain herself, her gaze still involuntarily wandered over the other party's attire that fused Mystery with a modern feel, unable to ignore its uniqueness.

There's really no way not to mind it!

The current Rin Tohsaka's understanding of the Holy Grail War is still rather immature; frankly, her concepts are somewhat thin and single-track.

For instance, in her mind Saber is undoubtedly the strongest Servant; if she could possess this trump card for victory, it would be almost equal to securing a guaranteed admission slot in advance.

If she really couldn't draw an SSR, she should at least pick the other two from the Three Knights; that way she could at least hold an advantage in other aspects, and even if she couldn't ensure a straight path to the finals, she could still keep a place in the competition.

If even this condition couldn't be met, the situation would be worrying. If she unfortunately drew Caster or Assassin — classes considered weaker — then in her view this battle could almost be declared over prematurely.

In previous Holy Grail Wars, these two bottom-tier classes had already fully proven their water content; they were basically first-round exit material.

It's basically like that; Rin Tohsaka firmly believes in concepts like this, which is why she was so obsessed with obtaining Saber.

She likewise believes the older the more Mystery, the more Mystery the more powerful — just like her father back then chose the fossilized shed skin of the world's first snake to shed its skin as a Catalyst to summon the most ancient Heroic Spirit —

If she had a choice, Rin Tohsaka definitely wouldn't mind doing the same.

But she happened to have no choice, and the Servant summoned wasn't ancient in the slightest — on the contrary, he was young to an excessive degree, making her feel colder the more she looked…

Ultimately unwilling to give up, Rin Tohsaka stared fixedly at the unfamiliar Servant of unknown quality she had drawn from the Gacha Pool at the cost of half her stones, nearly squeezing words and voice out from between her teeth —

"You really don't remember anything?"

"I really don't remember anything."

"Did you forget your Noble Phantasm's True Name too?"

"What Noble Phantasm?" The young man frowned in doubt; he didn't have that kind of thing.

"……"

"……"

The air suddenly turned quiet; silence is tonight's moonlight.

After a good while, a sound finally broke the silence.

"Heh, hehehe…"

The girl lowered her head to look at the ruin-like Ground, her expression completely hidden by the darkness beneath her bangs, letting out strange laughter from time to time.

Just like that, she staggered to her feet, turned around like a soulless Wooden Puppet and walked away slowly, swaying up to the second floor; from the hollow in the Living Room ceiling on the first floor, she could be seen passing through the Gap.

Not long after, the sound of a Room door opening and closing came from upstairs.

Everything quieted down.

"……"

"……"

Seems the blow to this Master Lady was a bit too big.

Xia Zhi, half-leaning against the rubble pile, watched this scene thoughtfully.

But this is fine too; he didn't call out to stop this young Magician lady — right now what she needs most is to rest a bit, let her head cool down, lest violent emotional fluctuations affect her judgment.

When she truly returns to calm, perhaps she'll be able to re-examine their mode of interaction with a more Rational attitude, and lay good psychological Preparation for future cooperation.

This is also unavoidable; just like the amnesia excuse he found for himself — not only did he Perceive the girl herself had such Doubtful thoughts, so he went along and PUA'd her, but also because he realized this is the current best Solution.

After all, he fundamentally isn't any Heroic Spirit…

No glorious achievements, no immortal Legends…

Not even any Miracle-like abilities, no glamorous Noble Phantasms that turn fantasy into Reality…

However, directly showing his hand is not the best move; that would Equal actively Exposing the fact that he's an Ordinary Person, truly not a Wise choice. However, disguising himself as a Heroic Spirit isn't a Feasible path either — after all, such a lie is extremely easy to see through.

Xia Zhi can also tell the Holy Grail War is very important to the girl — especially since this little lass has zero scheming depth, she probably never thought to Disguise her longing for and emphasis on the Holy Grail War in front of her own Servant; those thoughts are practically written on her face.

So he must be even more careful, taking into account the Possibility that once her Mindset collapses, she might do something stupid… after all, she is the Master, holds the Advantage in the Contract, and owns the Guaranteed Drop of three Command Seals.

In this situation, he must leave some room for fantasy for her, let her cling to a sliver of lucky hope.

Like right now —

The "amnesia" excuse gives himself a reason and gives the other party a reason, letting both sides avoid the most intense Conflict erupting directly.

As long as the truth hasn't been completely nailed down, as long as a sliver of lucky hope remains, a person can self-restrain and won't go to extremes because of a breakdown.

Xia Zhi gently exhaled, reviewed the whole process, and felt he had still grasped Rin Tohsaka's psychological activity. He withdrew his gaze, looked at his own body, and tried raising a hand to before his eyes.

This time it succeeded…

Counts as Good News, Indicating motor function is recovering.

He tried to stand up from the rubble ruins, and couldn't help complaining inwardly: Summoning is summoning… why did it even change his key bindings?

Come to think of it, this current body should count as a Servant's body, but what exactly is this situation?

————

————

Next morning.

"Waaaaah——!!"

Early in the morning, an astonishing Miserable Cry rang out from within the Tohsaka Family's Western-style Mansion.

Swaying unsteadily, the seemingly still-unawake girl rubbed her eyes, walked out of her Room, and just as she was yawning, she Sudden saw that Huge Gap in the Living Room floor; through the depression she could see the first floor's floor full of chaotic mess.

For an Instant, Rin Tohsaka felt her heart skip a beat.

Eyes instantly widened, yet Pupils sharply contracted, and Immediately came that Screams that seemed to pierce eardrums.

"What are you yelling so loud for?"

Downstairs, Xia Zhi frowned and poked his head out, looking at the black-haired pigtails girl upstairs with a face of collapse and disbelief, and dug at his Ears.

"……"

"......"

"Heh, hehehe... So—so it's true? It's not a nightmare?" Rin Tohsaka's entire person had turned gray-white, as if the artist had forgotten to color her in, and she knelt there in dejected defeat all at once.

It's over, it's over, no hope left......

She had originally thought she'd had a terrible nightmare, and her mood was already far from pleasant.

She hadn't expected that upon waking, reality would deal her an extremely heavy blow, and her mood collapsed even further.

And......

How much money will it take to repair the Western-style mansion! I'm really going to go bankrupt!!

Half an hour later.

Rin Tohsaka went out; she walked on the road with her head lowered, her whole person inexplicably giving off a gloomy feeling.

No choice.

The pressure of the Holy Grail War, the pressure of life and livelihood, the pressure of financial bankruptcy...... the weight of reality on this day directly and unceremoniously pressed down entirely on the girl's youthful shoulders; she simply couldn't laugh.

She even still has to go to school!

Clearly it's such a painful, such a sorrowful matter, yet she still has to pretend nothing's wrong and go to school—what kind of black comedy is this!

At her side, Xia Zhi—whom others simply couldn't see—followed the girl with great interest; after regaining his ability to act, the "Spiritualization" technique he instinctively mastered could both conserve magical energy and facilitate movement.

He completely ignored just how heavy his Master's mood was, striding along with lighthearted steps, looking around at this unfamiliar Fuyuki City, and before long he detectingly looked toward a certain direction and raised a question:

"Is that place the location of the Leyline?"

"......"

"......"

Rin Tohsaka weakly glanced at that direction and listlessly replied: "That place is Yuan Cang Shan; it is indeed one of Fuyuki City's Leylines......"

Right now she truly had no mood for it, nor did she care how this fellow perceived the Leyline there, and she even less knew what this fellow was plotting.

"Yuan Cang Shan......"

Xia Zhi walked beside the girl, chin in hand, thinking.

He had contemplated all last night, constantly calculating his own conditions and advantages, and the final conclusion was—his side had absolutely no advantage; relying on ordinary strategy, there was virtually no chance of victory.

So, he could only not take the ordinary path.

His attention naturally fell upon the largest piece of the puzzle in his hand, which was the handwritten copy of the "Baopuzi" that Index had transcribed not long ago; the Original Scripture Level is a grimoire teaching people how to achieve immortality and become Immortals.

In the several dozen pages of forbidden knowledge already written out, the main content recorded is Alchemy.

More precisely, it is the Stone Boiling Technique.

In Daoism, mineral medicines such as stone marrow are believed unable to be easily ingested; one must obtain the Stone Boiling Method before they can be ingested for cultivation...... utilizing this technique, one can cook mineral essences and stone marrow, all manner of Five Metals and Eight Stones, none unable to be boiled, extract their essence, and transform them into pills.

If there are sufficient conditions, not only can one cook the Five Metals and Eight Stones......

One can even cook Earth Vein Qi!

Huh? Earth Vein Qi......

(Chapter End)