She watched my face discreetly for any hint of judgement. Yet... My expression remained indifferent.
After taking in my reaction, she relaxed further within my arms.
I carried her toward my home while voicing another question.
"So... Medea, right?" My voice did not fluctuate.
"Hm." She gave an imperceptible hum, burying her head deeper against my chest.
"Do you know what that red sigil on my hand is? And this undeniable connection I have with you now... What is it?" I asked without a change in expression.
"Master... You don't know about the Holy Grail War?" Medea spoke with genuine bewilderment, snapping her gaze toward my face.
?
"Holy Grail... War?" I spoke with obvious incomprehension.
[Ultimate Detective] immediately began processing this new information.
Holy Grail. A legendary artifact from various mythologies. Most notably associated with Arthurian legend as the cup of Christ, possessing miraculous powers.
War. A state of armed conflict.
Combined... A conflict centered around a powerful artifact?
Medea's confusion at my ignorance suggested this "Holy Grail War" was fundamental knowledge for any participant.
Which meant...
I had been pulled into something far more complex than what I anticipated.
The crimson sigil on my hand. The connection siphoning something from me. The woman with pointed ears and supernatural abilities who called me "Master."
All connected to this War.
"Explain." My voice remained flat. "Everything."
...
..
.
Later.
"So..." I asked a second time for confirmation. "A war is about to happen soon, in which Servants, or rather... legendary heroes from the past, are summoned to fight alongside their summoner Magi against other heroes and their summoners to decide who will be granted a single wish from the Holy Grail?"
"Yes... Master. That thing on the back of your hand is called a Command Seal. With it, you can order me to do anything... even something against my will." Medea spoke while gulping down the bacon and eggs I'd whipped up for her earlier, though her voice faltered a bit at the last part.
Her enthusiasm for food was understandable... My [Ultimate Cook] talent meant that the food I created was better than anything, anywhere else in the world.
I walked to a nearby drawer, brought out some tissues, and handed them to her automatically.
My mind was already running in overdrive.
[Ultimate Analyst] analyzed her words.
[Ultimate Detective] deduced the inner workings of the Grail and the ritual, my mind splitting into countless thought streams, each tackling the new information from unique angles.
First of all. Magi. Magus.
Humans with awakened magic circuits.
Generally hailing from hereditary magi bloodlines of past eras.
My mind flashed back to the inability to pinpoint the exact futures of Rin Tohsaka, Shinji Matou, and Sakura Matou.
All three of them came from old and affluent families. They were either Magi themselves, or they had connections to one.
That conclusion was tucked into the corner of my mind.
.
... The Holy Grail... something that can grant any wish.
That was impossible.
The world would have already been destroyed if that were true. I knew humanity deeply along with their selfish desires.
If something like a universal wish-granting machine was possible, this whole world would have already witnessed a bloodbath of unprecedented scales.
Magi were ruthless, unfeeling monsters who only had one goal in their minds... To reach the Root.
A so-called focal point of existence or an ultimate reality existing beyond everything.
The origin of all existence.
If this so-called Holy Grail could really grant any wishes, Magi would have torn each other and the world apart for this artifact.
Yet... No such thing had happened until now.
So, either the Magi were fools... or someone was trying to fool the summoned Servants and participating Masters by making promises like pies in the sky.
Conclusion reached.
The Holy Grail was a hoax.
.
Now... for the other matters. Servants. Legendary heroes from bygone eras summoned into the present through some incomprehensible magic.
That was what caught my attention.
So... that golden-haired man from earlier was not a human, but rather a summoned Servant.
From what Medea had told me, Magi were strong, but not strong enough to wipe a whole area off the face of the map casually.
So... that man had to be a Servant.
Summoned Servants were further divided into seven classes.
Saber. Lancer. Rider. Archer. Caster. Assassin. Berserker.
Medea was the famous witch of Colchis from ancient Greece.
Also referred to as the Witch of Betrayal by the masses.
I knew her whole story thanks to the [Ultimate Anthropologist] talent.
As for what I felt towards her?
Wariness? Pity? Compassion?
No, I felt nothing.
You ask why?
I could tell from her micro-expressions, along with the lack of warnings from my [Ultimate Precognition], that she wouldn't betray me. At least, not yet.
My gaze lingered on her as she continued stuffing food into her mouth, all her witchy or princess-like dignity gone.
My other streams of thought returned to the subject at hand; half of my mind kept its focus on her, while the other part deduced everything with frantic speed.
.
That golden-haired man did not look like he knew any close combat martial arts from the way he held himself. His body was full of openings. [Ultimate Analyst] might not have been able to analyze his existence... yet it could still analyze his facial expressions and posture, just as it had with Medea.
That man had even thrown a holy sword at me.
So... He was most probably an Archer.
That meant... there were five other Masters and Servants out there, in the dark.
Saber. Lancer. Rider. Assassin. Berserker.
And now... I had been dragged into this war.
The future...
No longer looked so boring.
But first of all...
I had to somehow solve the problem of my own magic circuits.
According to a quick check from Medea, my own magic circuits were dormant.
The only reason I was able to supply mana, or rather Od, to Medea without collapsing or destroying my own dormant magic circuits was simple.
My [Ultimate Adapter] talent was at work. My life force was being forcefully converted to mana (Od) by my dormant magic circuits.
A forceful drain of mana from my magic circuits would most likely destroy them from the inside with internal damage. Hence... When I contracted Medea, my dormant circuits were put under tremendous pressure. But my body adapted with my [Ultimate Adapter] talent.
Hence, a small part of my dormant circuits were jolted to life, working overtime to feed Medea with my Od.
I had to awaken all of my dormant circuits as soon as possible.
And have Medea keep a close eye on me just in case during the awakening.
After that... I'll try to learn some basics from her, like [Body Reinforcement] and [Gradation Air] spells.
I'll create something to counter that golden-haired man too.
Because if I didn't break that man's jaw during our next meeting...
It'd be too boring, right?
***
[Ultimate Cook]: Teruteru Hanamura's Talent. As already stated, Izuru is a perfect cook. He has the capability of creating dishes that greatly dwarf the high class chefs or top chefs in the world.
[Ultimate Adapter]: The talent to adapt no matter how difficult the circumstances. Izuru has mastered this talent.
...
[300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter]
[5 chapters ahead on P@tr3on = [email protected]/Not_Aaryan]