Chapter 526: with translation of chapter title

NO. 109: Little Hero, heart and spirit adrift

At ten in the morning, Miss Desert Hero was already sitting in the main building library of the Clock Tower.

That is, a building like that clock tower.

For the sake of convenience and familiarity, the mages of Fate/Grand Order also strove to reconstruct the structure of the Clock Tower in this world.

Its main building is the First Department—the headquarters of the Basic Department.

This not-so-ancient building also bears multiple functions beyond the scope of disciplines.

Besides, each of the other departments also has its own satellite town, striving to replicate it, distributed around the outskirts of London.

At the same time, there constantly exists a barrier that repels non-source-energy practitioners.

Even the Law and Politics Department, which has always dealt with secular authority, is no exception.

Each department's satellite town is also a little world filled with the characteristics of that department, a separate heaven with all five viscera complete, and the characteristic of the Basic Department as a whole…

Is simply the basics.

So basic that anything even remotely related to the basics gets stuffed in here!

In the main building of the Clock Tower, there simultaneously exist related functional facilities for multiple disciplines; the library also stores a large number of foundational books from other disciplines, and it is common to see students from other departments coming and going in the satellite towns…

Although it is the territory of the Basic Department as a whole, it nevertheless presents the appearance of a 'little Clock Tower'.

It has the highest foot traffic, and also an extremely important symbolic status.

Therefore, even though Miss Desert Hero is a student of the Archaeology Department, she can stay for a long time in the library of the Basic Department as a whole.

After all, this place has the most and most complete books, and just like the library of Central Trésen—although it has a specific professional focus, it also collects many books unrelated to the profession.

However.

In this era where source-energy cultivation is no longer a secret, the collection of the Clock Tower's main building library may not necessarily be more numerous or comprehensive than that of London's library.

The only advantage here is otherworldly source-energy arts—that is, the books of the Fate/Grand Order magic system are extremely comprehensive.

Miss Desert Hero does not belong to those who exalt otherworldly powers with the belief that 'the moon is rounder in another world'.

This can be seen simply from the fact that she applied to the Clock Tower but entered the Archaeology Department.

The Archaeology Department is the most laid-back among all departments of the Clock Tower, and this was already the case in the original world.

As for this world…

Normal ruins on Earth have become few; unless you intend to wrestle with the remnants of old gods in hot blood, testing the dice's quality, otherwise you must go to other planets to see them.

Therefore, at the Clock Tower, the reason this major exists is just to mix diplomas.

It's an excellent choice for slacking off, yet it conflicts with the Clock Tower's rather high admission threshold.

Thus, while there are especially few students in this major, it is also very suitable for someone like Miss Desert Hero, a talented individual whose aspirations lie elsewhere.

One only needs to remain registered long-term and occasionally do a project to obtain a graduation certificate and professional certificate from a source-energy higher education institute; you wouldn't even say it's Miss Desert Hero—if it were Aomo, who could originally go to university, they might even consider it…

Of course, the major that directly trains otherworldly exploration teams obviously has a higher priority.

At that time, Aomo was still set on a position at the Two Worlds Safety Bureau, while Miss Desert Hero, whose dream path had not yet undergone a major deviation, was still a student of the Archaeology Department of the Clock Tower, and moreover a student of Central Trésen.

Cultivating source-energy can indeed let one approach the martial prowess of a 'hero,' but what she venerates is a spiritual giant.

Taking morality as its cornerstone, never letting go and never being defeated, it distinguishes itself from the mediocre and narrow-minded, truly becoming a role model that leads everyone, as mentioned in the book……like a first-rate horse girl.

——possessing a personal charm that can attract everyone, having the strong strength to continually win championships, and being able to show the running posture of dreams.

——That is exactly her dream.

But unlike another classmate with a similar dream, the Microglow Flying Steed, Miss Desert Hero is not that confident.

Even if, under the discovery of a certain 'Bo Le', she drew out that sword blade of dazzling brilliance.

…In fact, Miss Desert Hero is not lacking in recognition.

As a lover of books who, since childhood, has admired heroic legends and firmly believed that one day she would write that story, and who is rich in imagination, she can draw that holy sword from the stories she has always written, which is already sufficient to prove her will and spirit.

This is precisely her 'qualification'.

She was born bearing the name 'zennorobroy', just as Miss Grace was born with a connection to 'altriapendragon'.

They are both qualified individuals, but their perspectives on themselves show an obvious difference.

Early Miss Grace merely lived as a grave keeper, leading a repressed yet habitual life.

She had no notion of dreams, and also rejected her own face, because each time she saw a changing visage it felt as if she were possessed by the spirits of long-dead heroes—truly a case of 'Takeuchi's face doing all evil' (x).

This mindset persisted until she met Lord El-Melloi II, and even after later contacting Chaldea, experiencing a series of events, before it underwent some change.

But Miss Desert Hero, on the other hand, accepted her fate from the very beginning.

Admiring the hero of that name, she dared to find deep-seated courage within her timid personality—yet she still ended up, like Miss Grace, in a low valley of low self-evaluation.

Because she has a dream, and that dream is exceedingly difficult.

The track of a first-rate horse girl ultimately is too cutthroat.

Even though she hasn't officially debuted… in fact, it's precisely because she hasn't officially debuted that she has such a prolonged slump.

From the moment she entered Trésen, from the junior high department onward, watching the seniors run made her deeply feel her own shortcomings.

From the senior high department onward, seeing her peers who had already signed with trainers and set foot on the track run, she again felt that she still had a great distance to cover.

She was like a soldier trapped in firepower insufficiency syndrome, her self-evaluation once dropping to the level of her roommate Mi Yu.

This is obviously not appropriate.

Because those she compares herself to are all seniors who have set foot on the track.

A horse girl student who hasn't officially started her career is still in the basic training stage; how could she be compared to those already under trainer supervision, who more frequently set foot on the track, active horse girls?

This amounts to discarding the trainer's role, as well as discarding the accumulated duel experience of those active horse girls.

Moreover, among those she looks up to, there are even peak figures like Triple Crown winners.

Central Trésen is the highest academy for horse girls, and moreover a supreme place where first-rate horse girls and Triple Crown horse girls frequently emerge.

One can even have the opportunity to meet those big figures, and even the student council may have a permanent Eight Crown winner.

Being able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them is both an honor and a burden, just as the saying goes: to wear a crown, one must bear its weight.

A better environment also means fiercer competition.

But… constantly comparing oneself to something overly brilliant is also a kind of arrogance.

She had also tried to convince herself this way, using differing objective conditions to soothe her inner anxiety.

But this had no effect for a long time.

All horse girls have a longing and pride for running; even what seems humility is merely buried deep in the heart.

Just as Gele would meet El-Melloi II, who guided her out of her past limited view to see a broader world…… the Desert Hero also met Jizhao, Dongshang Biange, and that Miss Morgan, whose cold words nevertheless allowed her to confront herself.

In peer-level races, her strength was acknowledged; in Source Energy cultivation, she was guided to confront her inner self. Though the Desert Hero remains silent and terse, only becoming talkative when discussing books, she has already stepped out of the mire of inferiority.

Through books she met countless people; moreover, she could shout and wave at Aomo in the hallway. After being able to run alongside Red Supercar, Ailisuzhi, Mancheng Chazuo, Meipu Bopang, and Dongshang Biange, she could then comfort and guide those peers who were lacking.

Once the hero's steps found the track, she need only devote herself to waiting.

Waiting for the arrival of the moment of fate.

She, well-versed in heroic literature, understood this very clearly.

In every hero legend's story, aside from their own talent, there must also be that 'day of fate' which truly begins their story.

Just as a boy draws a sword from stone, as a youth undergoes transformation, or as a man piloting an airplane is rear-ended by a sphere of light.

That is precisely the story's beginning; that is precisely the arrival of fate.

By coming into contact with and studying Source Energy techniques beyond the Three Goddess skills, she could more clearly feel the seasonal stir of her own soul compared to many horse girls; the Desert Hero could, to some extent, perceive the existence of the horse spirit.

From this, she would also generate a premonition akin to fate.

Such a day would not be far off…… she awaited it day after day, but occasionally, a strange sense of dissonance would arise.

Whenever she came to a building like a library, she would feel an empty sensation.

As if a figure that ought to have been there long ago was missing from her side.

The soul is restless, in emptiness.

It seemed the opponent who should have faced off and competed for superiority was absent, in the most unacceptable way.