Chapter 57

Shinji rolled his eyes at Rin, then propped his chin up and began to analyze, "Hmm, it's true that it's somewhat unexpected that the Holy Grail chose someone like me who doesn't even have a magic circuit, but you're right about the latter part. As long as other candidates summon their Servants, the Command Spells on my hand will naturally disappear."

"The latter part?" Rin detected something off. "Wait a minute, are you saying my first part was wrong?"

"Are you an idiot?" Shinji looked at Rin with disdain. "Do you really believe that the Holy Grail randomly selects Masters?"

"Hold on, that was in my father's notes..."

"Then your father is also an idiot."

"You jerk!" Rin, being a daddy's girl, immediately stood up.

But Shinji didn't mind and continued explaining on his own, "Listen, Tohsaka. I don't know why the Tohsaka, one of the founding families, can't even figure this out, but remember this clearly: the Holy Grail does not randomly choose Masters."

"Eh? It doesn't?" Rin blinked, surprised.

"Yes, the Holy Grail has rules and priorities for selecting Master candidates. Those with a strong desire for the Grail to fulfill their wishes, including subconscious desires, will have a very high priority. Those without such desires will have a very low priority, regardless of their magical abilities.

"Additionally, you should know that the founding families themselves have a very high priority. Combining these two factors might be the reason why someone like me, who isn't even a magus, was chosen as a candidate this time."

"I see..." Rin nodded but then noticed the implication in Shinji's words. Her expression hardened slightly. "Do you have a wish you want the Holy Grail to fulfill?"

"Ah, just this morning, actually. I just remembered now."

Saying this, Shinji recalled his idle wish earlier that morning when Sakura went out to buy medicine.

"If only the Holy Grail could cure my cold, I wouldn't have to suffer like this."

"That's probably it." Shinji raised a finger and continued, "Maybe the Holy Grail heard it and gave me this chance."

After seeing Shinji's memory, Rin's eye twitched uncontrollably. "No, isn't that wish too trivial? And you're not even a magus, are you?"

"So didn't I say? The founding families have a very high priority. This priority even overlooked the fact that I'm not a magus."

Shinji showed a look of reluctance. "Damn, I shouldn't have said anything! Now I've gotten myself into such a troublesome situation! Damn it!"

"It should be fine," Rin said. "The Matou family has withdrawn from the world of magic. The other Masters shouldn't target the Matou this time. Besides, you don't even have any magical power. I bet you definitely can't summon a Servant. If you're worried, just stay home for a few days until the Command Spells disappear."

"Yeah, it seems that's the only thing I can do now."

Shinji nodded, though his expression remained calm, his heart was racing.

Shinji had noticed Archer since he entered, but pretended not to see him.

Archer's presence meant that the Holy Grail War hadn't deviated from its original course, which meant that the Saber class hadn't been summoned yet.

The fact that he, who shouldn't have had Command Spells, now had them, might mean that his secret plans were detected by some higher power.

A warning in this manner?

It's not impossible. The Holy Grail has its own will (like Avenger and the depersonalized Justeaze). Not to mention, this world has something called the Counter Force. If he really was detected, things could get complicated.

"Maybe going abroad and hiding until the war ends would be better?" Shinji muttered to himself.

"How worried are you about getting involved?" Rin retorted, exasperated. "I told you it's fine. Just think of it as a temporary tattoo."

"True."

Shinji nodded again. Being chosen as a candidate by the Holy Grail at this time didn't seem like a good omen.

Then, could it be that his soul, which came from another world, had been noticed by this world's Counter Force (Alaya, Gaia) from the start?

Shinji had considered this possibility. The system had previously confirmed that he was a transmigrator, not a reincarnator with memories from another world. So when he crossed over, he might have been noticed by those two entities.

This wasn't good news. In Shinji's understanding, the Counter Force is, in simple terms, the will to prevent the extinction of humanity (Alaya) and the planet (Gaia).

Although these forces are generated by the collective unconscious will of humanity and the planet, Shinji saw them as the true controllers of everything, with humanity and the planet being like a train fixed on a track they deemed safe.

If someone jumps off the train or deviates from the track, they will be quickly eliminated by the Counter Force's "small" agents, which have no humanity.

Gaia's goal is the planet's survival, making humanity an obstacle. Alaya's goal is the survival of primates, making Gaia a threat. Thus, they oppose each other.

However, a war between Earth and primates would endanger both, so they coexist and cooperate.

But one day, primates will venture into space, and the Earth's fate will be uncertain. Thus, a clash between the two is inevitable.

--Such is their complex relationship.

To give a simple example, both Counter Forces prevent magi from reaching the Root, but for different reasons.

Alaya's Counter Force prevents it because it's a power humans shouldn't have. Attempting to reach the Root triggers the Counter Force because an omnipotent human could potentially cause the apocalypse.

Gaia's Counter Force restricts it because human actions might destroy celestial bodies.

If deemed a threat by these forces, it's basically game over. So Shinji reflected on what might have made him appear as a threat to humanity or Earth.

Hmm, probably nothing.

All he did was save a sister.

All he did was secretly eliminate some third-rate magi coveting the Matou family's magical knowledge after Zouken's death!

All he did was discreetly remove a few local Japanese magic families trying to take over unguarded ley lines after Zouken's death!

All he did was introduce some advanced technology to accelerate the world's progress just a bit!

He hadn't affected this world at all!

Yes, he was that confident!

But if it's not the Counter Force...

Seeing Shinji deep in thought, Rin, after calling his name several times to no avail, finally couldn't hold back. She walked up, put her hands on her hips, and took a deep breath.

"Hey——!!"

Quickly covering his ears, Shinji looked at Rin with an odd expression.

If anything, both Counter Forces were currently friendly towards Shinji, with Alaya being more favorable than Gaia.

This would be explained in future plots.

However, Shinji's antics would eventually turn this friendliness into hostility or resentment.