16 Chapter 16 Servants and Eunuchs?

..... Ah. I had suddenly realised why nothing appeared during that "fake" summoning earlier.

It wasn't that nothing appeared in front of me, it was that I had just summoned something that hadn't fully materialised in the physical world.

It might've been due to the strange form of summoning, or even the fact that this world was completely different to any normal one that "she" could've been summoned in.

Perhaps it had something to do with one of her Skills. If I wasn't mistaken, Ryougi Shiki possessed a Independent Manifestation Skill when summoned in the Saber Class, maybe she tried manifesting by herself, without the need for a Master or anything.

At any rate-.

I glanced around the room, noticing the varying expressions of shock, envy, curiosity and interest.

If I had known that this would happen earlier, I might've opted to skip this particular event.

Turning back towards Saber, I restrained a sigh before nodding, gesturing for her to follow me as I headed towards one of the stairs heading to he second floor.

From what I had been told, every floor with the sole exception of the top one was open to the disciples for meetings and private affairs.

This building in of itself was a restaurant, although the ground floor could be converted into a large ballroom.

It made things simpler, even if it didn't do anything to help the situation I was actually in.

I gave Yu Ning'er a small bow and flashed her a smile before leaving her alone in the corner of the room what we were once occupying. I wasn't really sure if I blew my chances of trying to get in her good books, but from the looks of things I think the conversation went rather well.

On the other hand-.

"Was it really necessary to show yourself in front of all these people?".

I looked at Saber, thinking of all the rumours and talk that would echo throughout the Worker Disciples later. It wasn't that I wasn't glad she was here, although I just wish that Servants would have a little more tact before making a sudden appearance.

Shiki smiled taking a step closer towards me. Despite the fact that physically, she was the most flawless being I had ever met, in turn, she was also the most dangerous being I had ever laid my eyes on.

Her radiant blue eyes narrowed slightly as a smile rose up on her face.

"You..... can't even imagine how pleased I am to here you say that".

I raised an eyebrow, my expression becoming slightly confused.

Shiki sighed before smiling once more, raising her arms hidden behind her thick kimono.

"It shouldn't be possible for you to summon someone like myself to this place. My existence, even though it is recorded upon the Throne Of Heroes, is something that is very much like a dream".

She reached out, gently placing a hand on the side of my face.

It was as if she was trying to prove she existed. As if the act of just touching me validated her existence.

I grabbed her hand, removing it from my face but not letting go. Shiki's eyes widened before her smile suddenly grew wider and her expression much more pleasant.

"I don't know why I am here. It doesn't matter why I am here. Since you have summoned me to this place, I will answer your call. May I know your name, Master?".

I nodded.

"Jinsei Rentaro. But please, in public, just call me Ren".

Shiki shook her head, giving me a graceful smile as she tiptoed away from me. Her footsteps light, not producing any sort of sound or noise whatsoever.

"I'm afraid I can't do that Master. As I said before, I do not know why or how I was summoned here by you. My existence isn't anything more than an illusion, so leaving behind memories is impossible for someone like me. For the time being, I think I'll refer to you as Master over your actual name".

I scratched the back of my head.

Ryougi Shiki, summoned as a Saber Class Servant was one that was relatively friendly, despite the distance between her and I being as wide as the distance between the Sky and the Earth.

She was calm, collected, beautiful and would never under normal circumstances create meaningful relationships with other people.

It would only end up hurting both parties once her "Master" awoke from their dream.....

Since she was an illusion, being validated by others, that is, proving that she does exist may both hurt her and comfort her considering that she technically didn't exist when she was alive.

Being the third personality born from Shiki, the feminine goddess who embodied grace and elegance, she was never able to take Shiki's place and become the dominant personality. Thus, despite having existence, she never had her own independent one.

..... She had a tricky personality, that was for sure.

I felt a burst of magical energy solidify on the back of my right hand. The image of three Command Seals appeared in the shape of a crescent moon, although from where one was standing, it may look like the moon has a shadow behind it.

Saber gave me a nod, never letting up her graceful posture.

"Use me as you see fit Master. Any order, not matter what you may ask of me, will be fulfilled to the best of by abilities".

I nodded.

..... Maybe it was for the best that I summoned this onee-san type character. I mean, sure another Noble Phantasm would be great and all, and by all means any sort of Servant would more than likely wipe the floor with a majority of Cultivators in this World, but Ryougi Shiki?

She wasn't angered by her sudden summoning, nor was aggravated by the fact that there wasn't wish or wish-granting device that I could possibly grant.

..... Perhaps, in a way I had granted her a wish.

Turning towards Saber, I noticed that she was staring at me, never letting up her smile for even a single moment.

"You're thinking about me, aren't you?".

I nodded.

"I'll explain how I summoned you here later, although to be perfectly honest its not as interesting as you might think. It's rather cliché actually".

An eyebrow raised on Saber's face.

"Oh? You're only making me even more interested, Master-san~".

..... It was honestly ridiculous how many buttons this girl was pressing right now.

"At any rate, this world is a foreign one, as you probably could've guessed. From what my compatriot and I can tell, this World is still in the Age Of Gods. The depreciation of Magecraft never occurred and the tradition forms of Chinese Magecraft are widespread, so much so that all other forms of Magecraft are either dead or non-existent".

Saber nodded.

"I cannot feel the World rejecting my existence. Even with my Independent Manifestation there would still be some push back. It seems that either Gaia does seem to care about my presence, or that there is no Gaia in the first place.....".

I frowned.

"This world is.... dead?".

"No, not dead, just..... balanced sort of. Humanity never started progressing beyond Mystery, towards Science and Physics. The World never needed to change itself, or request help from an outside source. The influence of Type-Moon and the other ORT's never reached this World, if ORT's even do exist here".

"So the views of humanity and Gaia are aligned here?".

Saber shook her head.

"Humanity has already diverged from the World. The very act of Cultivation is something that goes against the natural order of things. It's just that only those who Cultivate are either opposed or targeted, not humanity as a whole".

I see....

That made a lot more sense. It would also explain why Saber, Rin and I never felt any sort of resistance from the World the moment we came here.

In this foreign world, only Cultivators went against the World, the natural order of things. In a way, they could be considered something other than human since they were trying to exceed the natural limits of the human existence.

Saber wasn't human and Rin and I had only just started cultivating. So for the time being at least, we didn't have to worry about getting targeted by this Worlds Counter Force or anything.

I nodded understandingly. At least there was one less thing I didn't have to worry about now.

"At any rate, for the time being I'd like you to remain hidden or in your Spirit Form. I'll introduce you to Rin tomorrow, and for tonight at least, I'd like to try and form some sort of connection or relationship with the people downstairs. It would definitely be easier, if I didn't have someone as distracting as you present".

My words seemed harsh, but was probably more a compliment than anything else.

At least Saber seemed to think so.

"And what part of me is distracting exactly?".

I raised an eyebrow before glancing up and down Saber's body. Her thick kimono hide pretty much everything that I wanted to see, but her expressions and demeanour alone would've sent most other men foaming at the mouth.

"Everything".

Saber covered her mouth and giggled for a moment before nodding and disappearing into tiny little motes of light.

Despite her sudden lack of physical form, I could definitely still feel the pull on my magical energy, even if it was greatly reduced.

"I'll just observe this "gathering" with my own eyes if that is alright. If I see anything interesting I'll give you a call Master~".

I nodded in return.

I let out a sigh the moment I felt Saber's presence leave the second floor hallway. The sudden appearance of Shiki unnerved me slightly, and reminded me to be more careful the next time I planned on summoning something.

Some Servants definitely possessed some..... unsavoury personalities to say that least. If I had summoned someone like Gilles De Rais, or even someone like Mordred, especially after wielding Caliburn, I might find myself dead, before I can even proper start cultivating....

Even if the rate up was a lie, there was still a chance of getting spooked by something not on the rate up.

Case in point.

Patting out the crinkles in my uniform, I headed back down the stairs towards the main ballroom, only to be greeted by the sight of a massive number of Worker Disciples, gathering around in a circle on the other side of the room.

For some strange reason, I felt the small pains of another headache begin to form on the sides of my head.

"What do you mean its "in my best interest to serve my betters"?".

The familiar sounding voice unnerved me slightly, causing my headache to become much more severe.

"Exactly as it sounds woman. For someone like you, Talented, with no background of any kind, it is inevitable for other organisations and Sects to target you. My Clan, the Jia Clan are more than generous for extending this invitation towards you. You wouldn't even need to be blood-related to become a member of a Noble Clan such as my own. Just, that you perform your services well enough to-".

I frowned as the sound of a fist colliding against a nose echoed throughout the ballroom. Just from what I had heard, it didn't seem inappropriate for such a thing to occur, however considering that the voice sounded exactly like a certain tsundere that I know, I knew exactly what had just happened.

I pushed my way through the crowds, eventually stepping forward into the area shaped circle that the other disciples had formed, narrowing my eyes at Rin, and a group of young men huddling around a single young man, whom was clutching his bleeding nose as tears streamed down the sides of his face.

Just when I thought anything couldn't get more annoying-.

"Oi! Ren! This guy and his goons had been following me since I left the Girls Residence!".

She pointed to the dozen or so guys standing several feet away.

"He started asking me questions about my preferences and tastes and then started giving me "invitations" to come back with him to his older brothers Residence in the Outer Sect! He even tried grabbing onto me and forcing me back with him!".

A general look of disgust appeared on the faces of a majority the women present.

..... It was obvious that Rin had said this on purpose.

I raised an eyebrow, my gaze turning towards the distinct tear in her Worker Disciple Uniform. Even though Rin still wore the Uniform with a certain beauty befitting of someone with body proportions of her stature, the tear in the Uniform near the leg, showed a rather healthy amount of skin, that seemed more make her appear more sexy rather than graceful or elegant.

..... A tear that wasn't done by me, and was done to someone whom I considered my "girlfriend" for all intents and purposes.

I smiled, turning around towards the dozen or so Worker Disciples, whom all returned the look, but with angered expressions and looks of hate on their faces.

I was suddenly glad that I had been summoned to a wuxia world. I mean, if I had a bucket list, "putting arrogant young master in his place" would be near the top of the list.

Caliburn suddenly appeared in my hands. Still placed in its sheath, I drew on the Sword Of Selection, holding it in one hand, while simultaneously holding the sheath in the other.

For some reason, holding the sheath reverse grip, seemed more natural than holding in normally.

I let out a deep breath.

Despite my friendly smile, the meaning behind my words was anything but.

"Now then..... which one of you wants to be the first one to tell me who ripped Rin's clothing? I can guarantee, that the first one to speak, won't leave this place a eunuch".