[102] The First Battle II

"Not here..."

The man sighed and said to the person who walked out from the adjacent room, "Did he leave? The letter..."

"It's all set, he left it behind," Another magus nodded. "We'll just have to wait for his return now."

"That's good then." The man nodded and looked at the characters on the signboard in front of the house, "Kurokawa" Then he slowly smiled.

"Future sight, huh... If it's what Wizard Marshall said, then it's fine. But if it's not, it's undoubtedly the highest-level Mystic Eye. Maybe it has surpassed 'Gem' and reached the 'Rainbow' level. Hehehe, it's quite interesting!"

Normally, future sight should be a 'Golden' or lower-level Mystic Eye, something that could be countered with magecraft. In other words, it could disappear from the eyes of someone with certain skills after performing specific rituals.

However, if everything wasn't as Wizard Marshall said but rather what Kurokawa Kazuya saw, then his vision was far too clear. It might have reached a level where most magecraft would be ineffective, making it a 'Gem'-level Mystic Eye. This level of Mystic Eye was considered legendary, even capable of deeply affecting the Clock Tower's leadership, and was beyond what most magus believed was possible.

If it went beyond to the 'Rainbow' level... this level was considered non-existent by the majority of magus.

They had investigated Kurokawa Kazuya and found that Kurokawa Kazuya's possibility of possessing future sight was low but not impossible. So, they left behind a letter. Whether he had the legendary 'Rainbow' level Mystic Eye or not, inviting him wouldn't hurt. After all, this person seemed to be quite wealthy. Even if he didn't possess such an eye, he might become a customer.

Thus, they left behind this invitation.

From the "Mystic Eye Collection Train."

[Currently, the only 'Rainbow'-level Mystic Eye confirmed is the 'Mystic Eyes of Death Perception.' It's considered a rumored existence by the Clock Tower, something that shouldn't exist in reality. Even the 'Gem'-level Mystic Eyes can fetch a price exceeding one hundred million dollars.]

...

The Holy Grail War had been exposed, thanks to that Fate manga.

But the mystery hadn't disappeared. At least, so far, Kiritsugu didn't see any signs of the mystery fading away.

It was simple; mysteries wouldn't be extinguished so easily by something as simple as this.

You see, the Holy Church had a policy of "extinguishing mysteries." If mysteries vanished so easily, the Holy Church would be in tears. After all, the Holy Church wanted nothing more than all mysteries besides their own to disappear!

To make mysteries fade away, it required revealing the deeper aspects, such as the operating principles of magecraft, to the public. Each time you explained the principles of a magecraft, the mystique of that magecraft would significantly diminish, up until it was no longer usable.

However, magecraft principles were something a magus family had to hide. That's why even though El-Melloi II's power was low, many respected and feared him because he was a knowledge monster. He could analyze the essence of every magecraft with just a few words.

This made the original users of the magecraft feel resentful and threatened, causing them to shout, "Shut up!" as a threat...

He had done this countless times.

This was a behavior several times more heinous than the [Fate] series of manga published by Kurokawa Kazuya.

And at this time, the young Waver, who hadn't reached such a level, was on a hill not far away with his Servant, Iskandar.

"Really, the visibility here is terrible." Watching the two approaching Servants, Iskandar complained, "Isn't there a better place?"

"This place is decent," Waver sighed. "After all, near Fuyuki City, many suitable places for battle are crowded with people, especially that bridge where you observed and had your final battle in that manga. There are always a lot of people there... I heard someone even climbed up there and nearly fell to their death."

"Oh, really? That's interesting." Iskandar nodded and looked at Waver. "But kid, do you think you're being a bit too quiet?"

"It's nothing." Waver turned his head away. "I'm just... I don't know what to say."

"I see, so that's how it is." Iskandar said with a hard pat on Waver's back, nearly sending him flying. "Are you perhaps thinking about that manga? Are you wondering whether I acknowledge you or the you from that manga?"

"Ah, yes, that's exactly it! After all, that version of [El-Melloi II] in the manga is many times stronger than me, isn't he? Even though he's from a parallel world, it's still just a parallel world..."

"You fool!"

"Wow—ah!" This time, Waver was truly sent flying. "Why did you do that all of a sudden? Rider!"

Iskandar stood up and said, "The one who formed a contract with me is not the you from that manga! It's the real you standing in front of me now! Besides, kid, don't always look so gloomy! You've already realized, right? You know your own future now, and it's making you feel lost."

"Ah... maybe." Waver sat up, supporting himself with his hands and said with his head down. "It doesn't feel real... But right now, there are many people at the Clock Tower who have expectations for me, and there are also many who want to suppress me... It's like they think I'll definitely become a Lord in the future..."

"So that's why I said you're a fool." Iskandar grabbed Waver's collar and lifted him up. "Now that everything has changed from this Holy Grail War, you don't know what your future holds anymore. You know the future now. So, start anew! Create a future even more brilliant than the one in that manga. I believe you can do it!"

"Rider..." Waver was moved.

"Well, but to be honest, in that manga, you did get the Holy Grail in the end, right? As for your wish, you said something like, 'Make me grow 30 centimeters taller!' Hahaha!"

"Rider!"

---

If you're interested in reading more, feel free to visit my patreon which already contains 20 chapters: 

https://www.patreon.com/XElenea