Chapter 135: Do You Mind If I Take Care of Him?

"Is this our destination this time?" With an exclamation, a group of people abruptly materialized in a corner of Fuyuki City.

"Where is this place?" one of the bespectacled men suddenly asked.

"You don't even know that? And to think you call yourself a strategist," mocked a man carrying a giant sword the moment he saw the other's reaction.

"Hot-headed idiot, as if you'd know." True to the stereotypical persona of a mastermind boss, a mere adjustment of his glasses carried a distinct aura of murderous intent.

"Tch!" Though his combat capability completely eclipsed his rival's, this world wasn't a place where strength alone guaranteed survival. Knowing his friend wouldn't actually sabotage him, he still found it hard not to grow serious under such unusual circumstances.

"Alright, everyone here is an elite from our respective teams. I think we should perhaps discuss our current situation first," suddenly piped up the most remarkably average-looking fellow among them. Just how ordinary was he? The kind of faceless background character entirely invisible in a visual novel.

"Extra A, you actually came too? Given your temperament, shouldn't you be obediently hiding in your faction's headquarters guarding the door?" Yet, a discordant voice immediately chimed in, mocking the interruption.

"Madman, if you don't want to die, don't provoke me." Though an outlier, he had undoubtedly survived this long through formidable strength. While he disliked conflict, he wouldn't mind giving an aggressive challenger a brutal counterattack if pushed.

"You can't beat him, Madman." Seemingly familiar with his temperament, another person cut in before he could escalate further.

"Vice-captain!" The man was clearly displeased.

"No nonsense, listen to me!" The authoritative voice rang out once more.

"Understood!" Though deeply aggrieved, the hierarchy within the team was absolute; if he couldn't defeat the other party, compliance was mandatory. Besides, he didn't possess absolute certainty of victory anyway.

While these three factions clustered together, two other individuals had also gathered to discuss something amongst themselves. As these various groups wrestled with the situation, the curtain of light surrounding them slowly faded. All seven suddenly experienced a strange sensation, their eyes registering flickers of astonishment.

"Heroic Spirits? It seems this place is Fuyuki City. Wonder which Grail War this is," remarked the bespectacled man, suspected to be a boss.

"Let's hope it's the fifth. If not, the fourth would be acceptable. Any other and we'll be completely in the dark," summarized Extra-kun.

"Tch, a bunch of idiots. The surrounding architecture clearly rules out any earlier eras. Discuss amongst yourselves slowly, I'm going for a stroll. Send for me if there's a mission." Having dropped his rhetorical bomb, Madman promptly vanished. The remaining individuals displayed expressions of disgust, though none pressed the matter further.

---

"Basic familiarity with everyone this time around, but it's not without risks. What a blunder today, dragging an ordinary person into this," Lancer muttered, following behind Rin while stroking the head of Tianyi, who had transformed into an electronic sprite, as he reflected on the day's events.

"Hey! Assassin! I've been wanting to ask you for a long time, what on earth is that thing in your hand?" Rin turned around by chance and finally caught sight of it. Her curiosity peaked, but her tsundere nature took over, and she stubbornly endured until now before asking.

"Oh~ Master, it seems I overestimated you. I thought you'd be able to hold out a bit longer." Lancer unclasped his cloak, a teasing grin blooming on his face that instantly drove Rin to swing a punch at him. At times, she felt the irresistible urge to use a Command Spell, but reminding herself that his identity was Assassin—meaning it would be trivial for him to backstab her—she restrained herself. She had no desire to court disaster; besides, since he was an Assassin, he was bound to have weaknesses in other attributes, and she intended to save her trump cards for when they were truly necessary.

"Hmm?" Lancer furrowed his brow. He sensed that the trigger of the pistol he had given Ayako had just been pulled.

"What is that idiot playing at?" Deciding he needed to check things out, Lancer realized that a single stray shot could perhaps be dismissed as playing around, but the fact that the magazine of Lancer-imbued bullets had been completely emptied meant something had definitely gone wrong.

"Master! Emergency!" Without another word, he scooped Rin up in his arms and sprinted toward the school.

"Ah-ah!" Though Lancer had given a warning, Rin still let out a loud shriek as he accelerated, though she quickly recovered her composure and yelled at him, "Baka!"

---

"Tch, little girl, did you really think a mere handgun could stop yours truly?" Dusting off a coat that bore not a single speck of dirt, he broke into a sinister grin.

"Stay away from me!" Still clad in her kyudo uniform, Ayako's mind was in total chaos. When Lancer had left, he had specially handed her the pistol, explaining that because she had learned things she shouldn't have, she might be in danger. She hadn't taken it seriously at the time, though; judging from the earlier interaction between Lancer and this man, they seemed well-acquainted, and the man didn't look like someone who would attack others at random.

If Lancer knew Ayako's thoughts, he might not know whether to laugh or cry, given how overwhelmingly charismatic the Conqueror King truly was.

"Ayako!" At that moment, the girl cowering behind Ayako revealed herself. Unlike the spirited energy she had radiated when Lancer saw her during the day, her school uniform was now nearly in tatters, and her eyes reflected sheer terror.

Having finished her Kyudo club practice, Shirou had intended to head straight home, but cleaning duties had delayed her significantly. As she locked the doors, however, she spotted this strange man. Though she was curious about his mutterings of "seems not to be the protagonist, should be fine, right?", her adoptive father's past warnings and her own intuition told her she'd better leave immediately.

Inexplicably, the man had completely ignored the campus security cameras and cornered her. Just as he attempted to tear at her clothes, Ayako—who for some reason was still lingering at the school—had suddenly charged out, pulling a gun to confront him.

Recalling these events in a flash, the lingering terror in Shirou's eyes remained undiminished; the way the man had utterly disregarded the gunfire was simply too bizarre.

"Father! Please grant me strength!" Taking a deep breath, the usually timid Shirou turned to Ayako and said, "Lend me the handgun for a moment, Ayako."

"Okay." Stunned by Shirou's sudden shift in demeanor, Ayako reflexively handed the weapon over. Meanwhile, the man, whose face had been plastered with utter contempt, wore the expression of a spectator watching a good show. In his eyes, aside from Heroic Spirits, the only one he needed to exercise caution around was probably Shirou, the protagonist. As for anyone else, they were entirely beneath his notice.

Yet this fool probably couldn't have imagined in his wildest dreams...

"Reinforce!"

Circuit by magical circuit flickered into life.