Chapter 10: Luck
[Diarmuid, the Knight of the Lake, the Troupe of Acrobats, and Matou Kariya teamed up to form three correct pairs and earned three Saint Quartz.]
Well, three groups, it was evident that this question wasn't in favor of the Heroic Spirits.
After all, the Masters knew which Servants they were planning to summon, giving them an extra answer, while the Heroic Spirits didn't have any insight into who would summon them.
As for Matou Kariya, a participant in the Fourth War, he had only managed to answer three pairs correctly. That indicated he hadn't been able to guess the other groups accurately.
At this moment, Matou Kariya felt rather helpless.
He had just returned to Fuyuki and hadn't even gone back to the Matou estate after confirming Sakura was safe. He had no idea which Heroic Spirit he would end up summoning.
So, in reality, he had simply made a lucky guess for one.
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[Gilgamesh, Artoria, King of Conquerors, Tohsaka Tokiomi, Kenneth, Kotomine Kirei, Tohsaka Rin, and Tohsaka Sakura managed to form five correct pairs, earning 5 Saint Quartz.]
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"You missed two pairs?" Tokiomi frowned.
Since the correct answers hadn't been revealed yet, he couldn't pinpoint where he had gone wrong.
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[Waver managed to connect six pairs and earned 6 Saint Quartz.]
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King of Conquerors: "Oh my, little Master, you're quite impressive."
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Waver: "Not bad, just a bit of luck."
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[Mage Killer and Chihiro matched all pairs correctly and earned 7 Saint Quartz, plus a bonus.]
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Kenneth: "What?! How did you manage that?!"
Getting all seven pairs correct wasn't something that could be attributed to mere luck.
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Chihiro: "Hehe, I just went with my instincts."
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What could he say? It was because he had watched the events of the Fourth Holy Grail War in Fate/Zero and was familiar with the details.
However, Emiya Kiritsugu's perfect score did surprise him.
Chihiro knew the answers from experience, but Kiritsugu had to rely entirely on guesswork. The fact that he had guessed correctly was unexpected.
In truth, there was some luck involved in Emiya Kiritsugu getting all the answers right.
He had deduced some pairs based on observations:
- Waver and the King of Conquerors, and the disturbing duo of Ryuunosuke and Bluebeard, were straightforward.
- Kiritsugu had already known that he would summon Artoria, so that was also easy.
- He inferred the connection between Gilgamesh and Tohsaka Tokiomi based on Tokiomi's change in attitude towards Gilgamesh after the latter changed his display name.
For the remaining Heroic Spirits:
- Diarmuid's identity was already known.
- The Troupe of Acrobats was clearly Assassin.
- The remaining armored knight, who was shrouded in mystery, was undoubtedly Berserker. There was no way Diarmuid could be Berserker.
Based on his observations of Kenneth, Kiritsugu reasoned that someone as prideful as the Lord El-Melloi would not summon an Assassin or Berserker, making it likely that Diarmuid was his Servant.
As for the other two, Kiritsugu placed his bets based on intuition.
He had a nagging feeling that Kotomine Kirei was particularly dangerous, leading him to believe that the man's Servant was Assassin.
Thus, the final Berserker must have been summoned by Matou Kariya.
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The system proceeded to reveal the correct answers.
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[Waver's Servant is Iskandar, Rider.]
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[Tohsaka Tokiomi's Servant is Gilgamesh, Archer.]
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[Emiya Kiritsugu's Servant is Artoria, Saber.]
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[Kenneth's Servant is Diarmuid, Lancer.]
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[Matou Kariya's Servant is the Knight of the Lake, Berserker.]
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[Kotomine Kirei's Servant is the Troupe of Acrobats, Assassin.]
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[Uryuu Ryuunosuke's Servant is Bluebeard, Caster.]
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[Chihiro failed to summon a Servant in time and was unable to participate.]
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Chihiro's face darkened.
So that's why the system initially referred to him as "Background Character." He really was just a supporting role in all of this.
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Tohsaka Tokiomi: "So, it wasn't King Arthur that Kenneth summoned."
Now he understood where his mistake lay. He had confused the Servants summoned by Emiya Kiritsugu and Kenneth.
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Waver: "Wow, I definitely overthought this."
Waver had initially assumed the scene of Chihiro failing to summon a Servant was a deliberate misdirection, so he had assigned the Troupe of Acrobats to Chihiro. Little did he know, he was simply overcomplicating matters.
However, the question did offer one advantage: they now knew the identities of the other participants' Servants.
People like Emiya Kiritsugu and Kenneth were already considering whether or not to change their summoning relics.
Kiritsugu had originally planned to have Irisviel pose as Artoria's Master while he hid in the shadows, ready to strike at the right moment. Now that his strategy had been exposed, he would have to adjust his plans.
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[The first question is over. The second question will now begin.]
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Waver: "Huh? So soon? There's no time to rest?"
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Kenneth: "Hmph, you need a break after just one question? You really are pathetic."
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Waver: "Uh…"
Kenneth was constantly on the lookout for chances to belittle Waver, especially in situations like this.
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[Essay question. Please watch the following video carefully, then answer the corresponding question.]
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The video began to play.
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[Three individuals stood atop a shipping container at Fuyuki City's harbor, gazing at the distant bridge.]
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[The two people flanking the tall, long-haired man in the middle were Kenneth and Waver.]
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Waver: "Wait, who is that?"
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Kenneth: "I'm not sure… but he looks oddly familiar."
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Tohsaka Tokiomi: "Are there other unrelated parties getting involved in the Holy Grail War?"
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Chihiro instantly recognized the footage.
"Isn't this from the promotional animation for "Fate/Accel Zero Order"?"
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[The scene shifted to the sky above the bridge, where a purple-haired girl holding a shield descended from above. Countless golden projectiles shot towards her—Gilgamesh's treasures.]
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[A series of explosions followed as a red object emerged from the smoke.]
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[It was the Knight of the Lake piloting a fighter jet, rushing to the girl's aid. However, Gilgamesh pursued closely in his Vimana.]
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Kenneth: "A Heroic Spirit piloting a fighter jet?!"
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Waver: "This is… a completely new experience for me."
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Hero King: "Hahahaha, behold, you mongrels! Witness the grandeur of my power!"
The group had already grown accustomed to Gilgamesh's arrogance and chose to ignore his antics.
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Magus Killer: "Is this another unfamiliar participant?"
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Waver: "That girl must be a Servant."
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Tohsaka Rin: "Her outfit definitely doesn't look like that of an ordinary person."
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Tohsaka Tokiomi: "That's impossible. She isn't one of the seven Servants announced earlier."
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Artoria: "The shield she's wielding… could it be…?"
Artoria was very familiar with that shield, but the girl holding it was not the wielder she remembered.
*****
T/N: I still haven't decided whether to fully translate this or not, as I'm unsure how well it will be received. If you feel the premise is good enough, please leave a comment and review. I'll decide whether to continue or stop in 5 days. It's up to you guys. Bye!
Also the MC mostly has Chinese servants at least for now, so know what you're getting into.