Chapter 261: Just How Many Sakuras Are There?
Shirou looked at the purple-haired girl. It seemed she truly harbored no ill will toward him. When he first heard that she knew him, he thought she might have some connection to his kouhai, Sakura.
However, as he gradually received memories related to Nameless, he more or less understood the girl's true identity.
Although she shared Sakura's appearance, she was not human. Instead, she was an AI created by Moon Cell—a super-intelligent entity placed on the moon by an alien civilization to monitor Earth in a parallel world.
By monitoring Earth, Moon Cell used a specific human recorded in its database as a prototype to create NPCs whose appearance and personality were strikingly similar to humans. According to his memories, there appeared to be five "Alter Egos" derived from BB.
The prototype was the advanced AI, Matou Sakura, who served as the school nurse in the academy where the Holy Grail War was initiated within Moon Cell.
As an AI, she was merely a pile of data with no connection to the human world; her physical composition and surname were simply the results of random settings by the supercomputer—or perhaps a coincidence caused by the mysterious power of "The Mushroom."
BB, on the other hand, was a backup copy created by Matou Sakura on the Far Side of the Moon for certain reasons, though her personality leaned more toward the "black-hearted" side that the AI Matou Sakura usually kept hidden.
Shirou decided to get straight to the point: "Um... BB, I have some questions I want to ask you. Can you answer them?"
"I can~ I don't want to pay attention to any of those idiots outside, but if Senpai has questions, I'll answer anything! BB-chan's figure is the most standard among the Sakura Sentai, too. From top to bottom, it's 85/56/87—a perfect match for Senpai," BB-chan said, puffing out her chest with pride.
"No! That's not what I wanted to ask!" Shirou retorted, blushing.
However, taking a closer look, aside from the difference in personality, the girl's appearance and even her figure were identical to Sakura's during her student days. She was probably the type who could eat a lot, too.
"Oh stop it, Senpai. Have you already been captivated by BB-chan's top-tier idol-like cuteness?" Seeing Shirou staring blankly at her, BB laughed triumphantly.
"No, you're overthinking it." For some reason, seeing the girl's smile reminded him of the thick-skinned Fuji-nee, which actually helped Shirou calm down. He flatly denied her: "Anyway, tell me first—why did you all start a Holy Grail War like this?"
"So cold!!" The purple-haired girl shook her head repeatedly and pouted in displeasure, muttering under her breath.
"Tch, looks like this is going to take more effort. If Senpai had just listened to me obediently, maybe there wouldn't have been a need to turn the world into such a mess."
"Answer my questions first. Otherwise, if I don't know anything, I really can't get along with you," Shirou said.
"I know, I know. I really can't do anything with such a troublesome Senpai," the purple-haired girl said, spreading her hands helplessly.
"As for this Holy Grail War, BB-chan only suggested the idea at the start; everything else was formulated by the humans themselves. BB-chan only provided the opportunity to bypass Chaldea. Because many people love the ability to keep things this way forever, whereas Chaldea would restore everything to the way it was."
"People certainly would think that way," Shirou nodded helplessly and continued asking, "Then what about that cyber-space outside? At first, I thought it would be a purgatory of constant slaughter, but after coming in, the development feels more like a game."
"The current game outside is like that because Kayaba set it up arbitrarily. After all, his reference point was the FGO system. The basic principle relies on summoning Heroic Spirits to possess oneself to gain corresponding combat power. So, aside from adding some personal interests, it's actually no different from the original version.
However, according to these rules, wouldn't Senpai, who entered the network, also be limited to summoning only one possession target? In that case, Senpai's strength would be restricted. This idea of limiting the strong based on the standards of the weak—just where did it come from?
But since these are rules designed by humans, it's not surprising there are some strange ideas. So BB-chan only tampered with the rules slightly; I didn't do anything else," BB said, shrugging.
"Kayaba? Who is he? Is he the mastermind behind this Holy Grail War?" Shirou asked, puzzled.
BB said: "Kayaba Akihiko—he's just a weirdo. BB-chan isn't great at understanding humans, but even among humans, he seems like a freak. If I had to say, he's a science maniac, and quite a genius at that. Even in the world of the Masters on BB-chan's side, he would probably be an outstanding talent.
BB-chan simply explained the technology of Spiritron Hacking to Kayaba. He then used technology as the foundation and Saint Graphs as a supplement to develop a technique that converts a person's 'soul' or 'consciousness' into Spiritrons and transfers them into a cyber-space platform.
Given time, Kayaba might even develop technology to complete transfers to various platforms without relying on magical energy, eventually breaking through to allow humanity to cross the limits of time and space, making time travel possible. But well~! Those aren't things BB-chan cares about," the purple-haired girl said with a casual wave of her hand.
"A science maniac? Then what is his goal? He isn't planning to do something dangerous, is he?"
Shirou had a nagging bad feeling.
"How could BB-chan know the inner thoughts of a guy that even humans can't understand? But at least in this world, all the players are harmless. If the rules were too cruel and bloody—like not being able to leave once you enter, actually dying if you're killed, or having to fight until the last person stands to return to reality—Senpai would definitely hate that, wouldn't he?"
"So, BB-chan set it up from the start so there's no harm. At most, you'll just get a bit of mental fatigue; a good night's sleep will fix you right up."
At that moment, the purple-haired girl's tone shifted, and her body emitted a flash of light.
"Of course, if you really do get hurt, BB-chan will be the one to treat you~! Like this, by injecting it into your body, all pain can be healed~!" For some reason, BB had suddenly changed into a nurse outfit. Holding a massive syringe as thick as a human head in both arms, she winked at the boy and laughed in an adorable tone.
"No! No! That won't be necessary! I know you mean well, but just imagining that thing being stuck into my body... my heart really can't take it," Shirou said, wiping away sweat.
"Eh? If it's Senpai, BB-chan would definitely be very gentle and wouldn't make it hurt too much. Just one 'poke' in the butt and you'll be fine," BB said, looking quite disappointed.
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