What a worst-case scenario—an explosion ending.
As I muttered inwardly the words that one of that silver-haired, red-eyed woman’s disciples had once said in the dojo, I looked at the scene before me.
The blood-red Caldeas. A corpse engulfed in flames, burning fiercely. And an arm of unknown ownership, left only up to around the shoulder, severed from the body.
Aside from Caldeas, it was a familiar sight. At most, it was just a variation on a scene I’d seen countless times in my previous life.
Ugh. I thought my body felt heavy for some reason—so a pillar had been pinning me down. Well, this much I can clear away without much trouble. Still, if I hadn’t had the DC Coat, I’d have been done for.
“Ugh...”
Ah, it does hurt a little. Tch. That turnip had been oddly annoying for a reason. So that was it. My memories are so hazy, I can’t really remember the original Fate/GO all that well.
++++
Rewinding time a little, to around when the forty-eighth Master candidate, Fujimaru Ritsuka, met Mash Kyrielight, Lev Reinol, and Tohsaka Ren.
“Senpai, senpai. Please wake up.”
“Kyu—kaat!”
“Mmngh... what...”
The black-haired, blue-eyed boy, Fujimaru Ritsuka—hereafter Ritsuka—opened his eyes after feeling something licking his face. And what entered his view was...
“...Nagisa Kaoru?”
“...Then are you Ikari Shinji?”
Hmm. Black hair and blue eyes, so they do look similar. Come to think of it, you’ve got white hair and red eyes too.
“Music is for the lilies of...”
“Would you please stop that.”
“Could you shut up, turnip?”
“T-the turnip...”
Sure enough, just by appearance, that might fit. Ritsuka thought so. Good grief. A green suit and a green fedora? That was the first time he’d ever seen such an ill-fitting, old-fashioned outfit.
“Ugh... sleepy. No, more importantly, who are you?”
“Ah, I’m called Tohsaka Ren. This silver-haired... no, should I say purple-haired? Anyway, this is Mash Kyrielight. And that tacky suit is Turnip Reinol.”
“It’s Lev!”
“Uh... should I call you Turnip Lev Reinol?”
“Pffft!”
Was he making fun of him? No, he was just too sleepy to think straight.
“...Please leave out the turnip. Just call me Lev.”
“Ah, yes. Then should I call you Reinol?”
“Hmm. Very well.”
“Ah, by the way, you can just call me Ren. Shinji-kun.”
“Yes... no, my name is Fujimaru Ritsuka, though?”
“Why is that, Ikari Shinji-kun?”
“...Evangelion?”
“Correct, Fujimaru Ritsuka.”
“...Please just call me Ritsuka, Ren...san? Kun? Your age...”
“I’m a fresh, youthful thirty.”
“...Huh?”
“Ren does look a little young, yes.”
“...No, was it thirty? I’m getting a little confused.”
“...You don’t know your own age?”
“...I don’t usually count it. It’s not like I don’t know my birthday or anything. It’s just a hassle.”
What an odd person. That was Ritsuka’s conclusion about Ren. A weirdo.
“No, this isn’t the time for this! There are only five minutes left until the briefing!”
“Ghk! Come to think of it, I’d forgotten. The central control room... if we run now, we can just barely make it!”
“The director is quite strict...”
“Ugh. Hey, Ritsuka. Let’s hurry. If we’re late, I don’t know about me, but you’ll get chewed out hard. You’ll be marked for at least a month. Just like Mash said, Olga Marie is pretty strict.”
“Ah, yes. Which way do I...”
“Just follow me!”
Running after Lev Reinol and Tohsaka Ren, who were flapping their green suit and long coat as they sprinted ahead, Ritsuka thought that, eccentric as they were, they didn’t seem like bad people.
++++
“Huff, huff...”
“Your training’s lacking, turnip. You’re winded from just this much?”
“You’re the monster here... Don’t compare me to a human weapon who can brawl with a Servant barehanded... Look, even Ritsuka-kun over there is panting.”
“He’s a normal person. You’re a mage.”
Honestly. No grit, no grit at all.
“Anyway, let’s go.”
They opened the door and went inside.
“Ah, Ren and Lev? And behind you is...?”
“The final candidate. Came in today, I heard? A normal person.”
“I see. Please take any remaining seats.”
“You heard that?”
“Yes.”
The remaining seats were all in the front. Tch.
“Ahem. Then, since everyone is here, I’ll begin the briefing.”
“Hmm. To think Olga Marie had grown this much.”
“Be quiet! Ahem. Anyway, let’s begin.”
Oh, so she can control her emotions too? She’d seemed pretty emotional, though.
“Everyone gathered here was likely doing something different. Each of you...”
She kept going on and on, but I ignored it. It was all stuff I already knew anyway. The rule of the world is that you ignore speeches from people in high positions.
“Sss...”
See? Ritsuka was already asleep too. Well, that guy’s partly because of the spiritron transfer and all. Hm? Why is it so noisy? I looked forward and saw Caldeas in my field of vision. Ah, so she was explaining Caldeas.
“As you can see, since 2017...”
Something about how humanity’s future could no longer be observed. Any questions? Raise your hand if you have one. I do. The talk went on like that.
“No, even so, we’re all from distinguished mage families...”
“If you don’t want to follow instructions, you may leave right now.”
“Ha! As if I wasn’t already...”
“Of course, transportation was provided for your arrival, but not for your departure. You can walk down the mountain through a blizzard at six thousand meters above sea level.”
“...Damn it.”
Oh, vicious. This is basically, We brought you here, and coming in was up to you, but leaving isn’t~ isn’t it?
The complaints died down. Hmm. In a situation like this, I guess they’d have no choice but to cooperate.
“It’s good that you’ve quieted down. I wish you’d all been as quiet from the start as this boy here...”
“Olga, if you mean Ritsuka, he’s asleep.”
“Eh?”
I snorted. A laugh slipped out. She’s more of a clumsy fool than I expected.
“You little—!”
Smack!
Oh, that’s a hot one.
“Get out! I’m revoking your Master qualification and demoting you to candidate!”
“Ow...”
“Oh, that was fierce. Well, he doesn’t seem to be coming to his senses, so I’ll take this guy to his My Room first.”
“Haah... do as you please.”
“Ah, I’ll...”
“Fine. Go ahead.”
There. I led the still-dazed Ritsuka out. If we stayed there, he might get hit again.
“So? That was fierce, right?”
“Ah, yes...”
“How do you feel? Olga’s actually pretty cute, you know? A reward of sorts... ahem.”
“Cough...”
His face turned red. This guy’s a gentleman, huh.
“Uh... come to think of it, I don’t know where the empty My Room is.”
“Ah, I know.”
“Oh, then Mash, could you guide him?”
“Yes.”
“Then... I’d better head back in. Tch. Calming down a strict Olga Marie is hard.”
What else could I do?
“Anyway. Go on, Ritsuka.”
“Ah, yes. Ren-san.”
“Call me big brother.”
“Yes, Ren big brother.”
That’s better.
++++
“Then please prepare for the Rayshift. Ren, get Shiva ready. And take care of the control room too.”
“So I’m doing double duty...? Well, can’t be helped. Being too capable is tiring too, you know.”
“You’re noisy.”
“Wow, harsh~. Hey, isn’t that a little too cold for your patron? I’ll have you know I covered about twenty percent of the startup funds.”
“Then work already! Gand!”
“What?!”
“Hmm, déjà vu.”
As I kept working, I slammed my head into the incoming Gand. I reinforced my forehead with ki and aikido to protect it.
“Ah, there’s a typo.”
“...Huh?”
“Ugh, annoying... no, seriously, what even is the principle behind that?”
“It works somehow through spirit.”
“...So it’s grit theory?”
“No, I just clearly rammed a Gand with my bare body. How?”
One Master looked dumbfounded.
“I’m someone who’s won fights against Servants, after all.”
“...Don’t tell me that rumor was true?”
“It is true.”
Well, I could understand the disbelief. A modern human defeating a Servant head-on sounds like a joke.
“And isn’t it a bit much to call it a rumor right in front of the person involved?”
“Ah, s-sorry.”
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”
After replying casually, I turned my eyes back to the screen.
“Hmm, we’re almost done.”
There. Stretching, I fixed my gaze on the screen. At this point... the rest is just simple calculation, so I can leave it to Trismegistus.
“Olga. It’s done.”
“Ah, okay.”
I stood up from the chair. Hmm, my body aches.
“Then please get into the coffins. Team A, please go in first.”
“Hey, good luck, Kirsch.”
“Whatever.”
One by one, the Masters entered the coffins.
“Then, please begin.”
“Parameter survey in progress... survey complete. Beginning quantification.”
“Quantification by Trismegistus commencing. Current 50%... 78%...”
Hmm. Will it start soon?
...Huh? Why is that turnip making such a creepy face again...?
A chill ran down my spine. The familiar, all-too-familiar sensation of the battlefield. Right after that, my consciousness cut out for an instant.
++++
Damn it. I’d forgotten. That turnip bastard was Lev Reinol—Pylorus.
I wrapped my body in wave energy to raise my physical abilities, then shoved away the pillar pinning me down.
“Ugh...”
“Olga! Are you okay?”
“Ughhh...”
Only a groan came out. Damn it.
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