Chapter 721

【Reines: "Ah? Wait! The Grand Resolution is being convened late tomorrow night! If something happens, what do you intend to do?"】

【Waver: "I intend to return before it convenes, but if an accident occurs, you shall attend in my stead. After all, you are the original successor; no one will have any objections."】

【Reines: "I have an objection, Onii-chan!"】

【Hearing Reines's wail, Waver wears a smug smile and turns to leave, taking Gray with him.】

Kayneth: "Where are you going at such a critical time?"

Waver: "It seems to be because of the contents of the letter Atrum wrote. That my future self would leave at a time like this... I fear it has everything to do with Heartless."

Shishigou Kairi: "Heartless has already gone to Albion. If this really concerns him, there shouldn't be any trouble, right?"

【Meanwhile, on Olga Marie's side.】

【Olga Marie is incredibly shocked after receiving news of Sra's attack from Kayano Hishiri.】

【She is currently traveling with Kayano Hishiri to visit Rufureus.】

【To be precise, Rufureus invited her, and the location is a villa in the suburbs.】

【After the two arrive, Rufureus unceremoniously orders Kayano Hishiri to leave.】

【This is because Kayano Hishiri had long known of the Servant's existence but never reported it.】

【Kayano Hishiri does not care in the slightest; she leaves a letter and departs. This was her purpose in coming.】

【Rufureus opens the letter and reads it, then tells Olga Marie that it was written by the previous head of the Barthomeloi family, and its content is to urge them to stop the redevelopment plan for Albion.】

【Olga Marie expresses confusion, suggesting that continuing the development might have benefits, only to be unceremoniously rebuked by Rufureus.】

【Rufureus rambles on for a long time; in short, his meaning is: just let everything take its natural course; what is meant to come will always come.】

【A typical "lying flat" philosophy, believing that maintaining the status quo is best; this is also the stance of the Aristocratic Faction.】

Kayneth: "To think it even alarmed the previous head of the Barthomeloi."

Caules: "Are they really that unwilling to develop Albion? This shouldn't conflict with their interests, should it?"

Gordes: "Maintaining the status quo... Hmph, easy to say. 'Letting things take their course' is actually just fear of shaking their own position."

Feng Xi: "Typical old-man thinking; the older they get, the more cowardly they become."

Waver: "After all, most elderly people have long since lost the drive of the youth."

【Rufureus rambles on to Olga Marie, mentioning his son Bram, believing he is too young and needs training; then he mentions his daughter Sola, stating she had already lost her value long ago; finally, he mentions his student Kayneth, feeling he has talent but is unfortunately not a qualified aristocrat.】

【Then, Rufureus takes Olga Marie to the basement and opens a rusty iron door.】

【Inside is a massive library; the materials and books within were specially transported by Rufureus from the Clock Tower's underground archives.】

【The librarian here is also very special—it is actually a Skeleton Soldier.】

【This Skeleton Soldier likely uses something similar to the Atlas Institute's recording media to store detailed information about the library; as long as you name the book you are looking for, it can lead you to it.】

【Rufureus brought Olga Marie here to search for information on Heroic Spirits.】

【Led by the Skeleton Soldier, he finds a notebook left behind by a magus named "Makiri Zolgen."】

Tohsaka Tokiomi: "Makiri Zolgen!"

Tohsaka Rin: "Father, do you know this person?"

Tohsaka Tokiomi: "Of course I do. He is the founder of the Holy Grail system and the ancestor of the Matou family."

Everyone: "What!"

Matou Kariya: "So he was the ancestor..."

Matou Kariya: "I'm not interested in family history, so I never really looked into it."

Feng Xi thinks to himself: "If you knew he was the old worm, I wonder what expression you'd have."

Because the old worm didn't have much screen time in the Fourth Holy Grail War, his true identity wasn't exposed, but it will certainly be revealed by the Fifth.

I hope they won't be too shocked when the time comes.

【The video returns to Waver, who has already brought Gray to a remote small town.】

【They go all the way to the town's clinic and find a robust physician who looks to be nearly sixty.】

【Waver: "Nice to meet you, Mr. Grot."】

【The physician named Grot asks curiously: "I heard you came all the way from London to interview me?"】

【"No, that's not it."】

【Waver says softly: "Because, 'aren't you and I old friends?' It's been a long time since we met, and I have many things I'd like to talk to you about."】

【"... Hmm, yes, that's right."】

【Hearing Waver's words, Grot frowns at first, then his expression pauses, and he mutters.】

【Seeing Gray cast a suspicious look, Waver says in a low voice: "Don't speak. That was a suggestion I placed just now. Because my technique is limited, it cannot be disturbed."】

【Gray is stunned, not knowing why Waver would do such a thing.】

Shishigou Kairi: "Hahaha, I thought you were such a stickler for the rules, kid. So you use these methods too?"

Waver: "... One must learn to relax one's bottom line at critical moments."

He is more curious about what is wrong with this physician named Grot that requires him to use such methods.

【Waver: "Do you remember a patient from thirty years ago? He goes by the name Heartless now."】

【Hearing this, Gray gasps.】

【"So, this is what Mr. Atrum was talking about..."】

【She finally understands that what Atrum left on the envelope wasn't magic, but the information he had investigated.】

【No, calling it magic isn't wrong either; after all, that much information couldn't have been written on an envelope.】

【The reason the reader uses magical energy to make the message appear is to turn the recorded text into a simulated magical formula, gathering the vast amount of information Atrum found and playing it out on the teacher's Magic Circuits.】

【Atrum does not shy away from fusing science and magic; this concept is deeply characteristic of him.】

Shishigou Kairi: "I see. Atrum, this man still has some redeeming qualities, doesn't he?"

Waver: "To think he found Heartless's whereabouts from thirty years ago... this guy really has some skills."

Kayneth: "I remember Heartless joined the Mage's Association thirty years ago. This might be a clue from before he joined."

Waver: "Very likely. No wonder my future self would come here at this time."

【"Although the Bodhi leaf fell into the hands of the Izelma family at the underground auction, thanks to that, I also noticed one thing."】

【"Haha, he probably thought he could hide his identity by having multiple people bid, but on my land, hiding tracks with sand and dust is a matter of course. The tenacity we insist on has been honed to the point where we must search for a target based on just a dry wind direction or a trace of scent."】

【"Yes, you should know the information up to this point, right? However, the problem of the changeling only occurred when they returned."】

【"It is said that when a certain changeling returned to reality, they received the blessing of a fairy. The Mage's Association also looked at that magus differently; they were called a genius from the Far East even earlier than Aozaki Touko."】

【"As for Heartless, it seems a certain physician hid him. However, I decided to come here before investigating in detail, and I didn't want to look for extra trouble before the Holy Grail War, so I temporarily suspended the investigation."】

【"If it were you, you might be able to offer some insights. I'll tell you the physician's address—I'll use the above information as a return gift for the fun you provided."】

【This is the message Atrum left for Waver on the envelope.】

Waver: "The physician who hid Heartless? It's this physician!"

Tohsaka Rin: "Um, what does 'changeling' mean?"

Feng Xi: "This, it's a general term for some people who have had strange experiences with time."

Feng Xi: "There is a legend about our country's famous Ancestor Lu, who went out when he was young and slept in a cave for one night, only to find that decades had passed outside when he came out. It's just like that."