Chapter 114: Returning, Zhang Jiao's Trap

And with that, the last two official Servants of the Holy Grail War exited the stage.

Leaving El-Melloi II behind to maintain the formation alone.

Thankfully, the black mud dissipated much faster than anticipated. Within minutes, it evaporated completely, and the threat ended without causing any major incidents.

The following day, everyone began packing up and returning to their homes.

Sigurd and Brynhildr still had a day or two left before they would disappear, so Waver decided to take Brynhildr on a final sightseeing trip.

Seeing this, Chihiro transferred Sigurd's contract to Kayneth, allowing the star-crossed lovers to spend their last moments together in peace.

As for El-Melloi II, his situation was a bit more complicated. He was scheduled to vanish that afternoon, which meant flying out of the country was impossible, what would Waver and the others do if he disappeared mid-flight?

Thus, he decided to remain grounded until the inevitable came.

The only Heroic Spirit left now was Ishtar, who had been summoned using the Chaldea Version Summoning Card. With no time limit on her contract, she could remain in the world indefinitely unless defeated or dismissed by her Master.

This meant that the Tohsaka family now had a permanent deity in residence.

After bidding farewell to everyone, Chihiro bought a plane ticket to return to home.

He could already imagine the fury on his mentor's face after such a prolonged absence with no word.

The flight first took him to Osaka, where he would transfer to a regional plane heading for Wakayama Prefecture. From there, he still had to take a bus to reach Mount Koya, home to the Shinto shrine where he had been raised.

After nearly a full day of travel, Chihiro finally arrived at the base of the mountain.

"Hey, Chihiro! You're finally back!"

A young priest sweeping the steps at the entrance to the shrine spotted him and rushed over.

"Where have you been all this time?"

"Nowhere in particular," Chihiro said with a shrug, tossing his bag over his shoulder. "Just went abroad for a bit to unwind. Don't worry, I brought gifts."

"You? Buying gifts? Did you win the lottery or something?" the young priest teased before his expression turned serious. "But hey, this isn't the time to chat. Be careful—your mentor's waiting for you, and he doesn't look happy."

"Haha, I figured as much…"

Chihiro's smile froze for a moment as a nervous chill ran down his spine.

Even though he'd mentally prepared himself, the thought of facing his mentor's wrath still made him uneasy.

Let's just hope he doesn't use me as a punching bag again.

Resigning himself to his fate, Chihiro straightened his back and strode confidently toward the shrine's entrance.

"I'm back!" he announced, his voice carrying across the courtyard.

"Ah! Big brother Chihiro is back!"

His loud greeting immediately attracted a group of young children, who came running with wide grins.

"Where did you go? Did you bring us anything?"

"Of course, of course. Don't pull on my pants!" Chihiro laughed as he handed out small trinkets and treats he'd picked up during his travels.

The kids cheered and scattered, delighted with their gifts.

Just as Chihiro started to relax, a large hand clamped down on his ear.

"Little brat, you've got some nerve sneaking off without telling anyone."

The voice belonged to a middle-aged man with a goatee and a stern expression. He wore the simple linen robes of a Shinto priest.

This was Tachibana Kosei, Chihiro's mentor and the head priest of the shrine.

That's right—Chihiro had taken his mentor's surname when he was adopted into the shrine.

"Master, you're the one who told me to go out and broaden my horizons!" Chihiro protested, trying to wriggle free.

"Broadening your horizons doesn't mean disappearing overseas without a word!" Kosei snapped, his voice rising like a lion's roar.

"And if you hadn't been pestering me constantly, I wouldn't have let you leave in the first place!"

"Come on, Master. You never said I couldn't leave the state," Chihiro retorted, though his voice lacked its usual bravado. "Besides, it's not good for your blood pressure to get so angry. You're supposed to be a spiritual leader, remember?"

"You're the reason my blood pressure's high in the first place!"

Kosei kicked off one of his cloth shoes, catching it deftly in his hand.

"You little punk! If I don't discipline you now, you'll tear the whole shrine down one day!"

With that, he began smacking Chihiro with the shoe, much to the amusement of the younger priests and children watching nearby.

"Master, wait! A gentleman uses his words, not his fists!" Chihiro yelped, trying to shield himself.

"You're no gentleman, so why should I hold back?"

"Not the face! Don't hit the face, I'll lose my good looks!"

The children burst into laughter, while the other priests wisely averted their eyes, pretending to be busy with their chores. It was clear that scenes like this were nothing new around here.

After a few minutes, Kosei finally relented, leaving Chihiro with a dirt-streaked face and a shoeprint on his cheek.

"Alright, Master, why are you so mad? It was just a trip," Chihiro muttered, rubbing his sore arm.

"You little fool," Kosei growled, crossing his arms. "Do you have any idea how dangerous it was to involve yourself in something like the Holy Grail War?"

Chihiro froze. "Wait… how do you know about that?"

How could anyone have known? He hadn't told anyone about his plans.

"Your spiritual key lit up on the Thought Network. The higher-ups noticed the disturbance and launched an investigation."

Kosei's tone grew serious. "That's the only reason I found out you'd gone far."

"Why are they sticking their noses into magic affairs?" Chihiro grumbled. "It's not like I was causing any harm."

"They weren't sticking their noses in for fun," came a calm voice from behind.

Chihiro turned to see an elderly man with a long white beard and an air of quiet authority approaching.

This was Yagami Akihiko, the shrine's head and Kosei's mentor. He was also one of the most senior Onmyōdō practitioners in Japan.

"Welcome back, Chihiro," Akihiko said with a faint smile. "From what I hear, your little adventure caused quite the stir."

"Master Akihiko…" Chihiro greeted him respectfully, though he felt a chill run down his spine. "What do you mean by 'stir'?"

"Your Servant used your spiritual key to access restricted archives in the Thought Network," Akihiko explained, stroking his beard. "The higher-ups noticed the unauthorized access and launched an investigation."

"Oh, for the love of…"

Chihiro cursed under his breath. Zhang Jiao had done something reckless again.

"Don't worry," Akihiko reassured him. "Your Servant resolved the issue before it became a problem. They even helped you upgrade your spiritual key, though the method was a bit unorthodox."

"Upgrade?" Chihiro blinked in confusion.

Kosei scowled. "It's illegal to tamper with the Thought Network without authorization. Do you know how much trouble you could've caused?"

"Well… it's resolved now, right?" Chihiro said nervously.

Akihiko nodded. "Yes, it's been taken care of. But try to be more cautious in the future."

Chihiro exhaled in relief.

Later, as Chihiro recounted his experiences during the Holy Grail War, Akihiko nodded thoughtfully.

"So, your Servant was Zhang Jiao, the famed mystic from ancient China? No wonder there were complications. Someone like that wouldn't concern themselves with modern rules."

With the matter settled, life returned to normal at the shrine. However, Kosei made sure Chihiro trained rigorously for an entire month as punishment, leaving him too exhausted to even think about his next adventure.

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