Trading cards.
A set of cards that have an image of a person on each of them. In Chaldea's case, the trading cards that are usually sold in the shops of the mini mall would contain images of servants or items, and the rarity of the card would be ranked, which the lowest level would be copper while the highest-level would-be gold. Not only that, but the cards would either come holographic, making them even more rare.
As for the sales of the trading cards in Chaldea, some of the staff enjoyed the trading cards. Not only that, but some of the servants would enjoy them as well.
Especially Gilgamesh since he constantly gloats over how rare his card is...and the fact that he has copies of it already...and the fact that he has every card of Arturia, and Medea is in the same boat as he is.
Normally, trading cards wouldn't cause a war or somewhat...
However, in this case, it will when a new trading card of a certain hero will be released...
Shirou was walking down the hallway, minding his own business. As he did, he came across Nursery, Abigail, Jack, Jeanne D'Arc Alter Santa Lily, and Paul who were sitting on the ground in a circle, examining something.
"All right! I've got it!" Abgail exclaimed happily.
"Eh? You got it already? No fair! This is rigged!" Jeanne D'Arc Alter Santa Lily exclaimed.
"Calm down Jeanne D'Arc Alter Santa Lily. It's just a pack of cards," Nursery said.
"Exactly. There's nothing we can do about what we get from the packs," Jack said.
"Still though! How is that every time whenever I open a pack of cards, I keep getting the common cards with the occasional semi-rare one?! Meanwhile, Abigail keeps getting the rare card and even sometimes getting the extra-rare one?!" Jeanne D'Arc Alter Santa Lily ranted.
"I don't know. Maybe it's because I am a good girl lately!" Abigail replied with a smile on her face.
As Shirou passed them by, he overheard what they were talking about. "A pack of cards? Chaldea also sells packs of trading cards here? Well to be fair, Chaldea's mini mall does include a variety of shops, so a shop that sells packs of trading cards is possible here. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if one of the shops sell something outrageous..."
Shirou then continued to walk in the hallway. However, his walk was short-lived.
Because in an instant, a hand appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Shirou, dragging him inside before he could even notice.
"What the heck?!" he thought as he was dragged into a room. As he did, he then noticed the familiar look of the room around him.
It was Osakabehime's room, and in front of him was Osakabehime herself.
"H-Hey there Shirou-san..." Osakabehime said nervously.
"Um...hey there Osakabehime..." Shirou replied.
For a moment, nobody didn't say anything as they were trying to figure out what to say to the other. Then Shirou decided to speak out first. "So...Osakabehime...can you explain why you dragged me to your room earlier?"
"Well...let me ask you this. Have you ever heard of Chaldea's trading cards?"
"Well...a little bit actually. Earlier, I've overheard Nursery, Abigail, Jack, Jeanne D'Arc Alter Santa Lily, and Paul talking about trading cards. Why though?"
Osakabehime let out a sigh. "Well listen. Chaldea's trading cards will have a new pack of characters coming out soon, and you're part of those new characters that are going to be released soon."
"Really? Who are the others?"
"Musashi, Hakuno, Sieg, the caster counterpart of the King of Knights, the female Merlin, and Caren. Right now, you're the first servant for the lineup."
"I see. But why are you asking me this?"
Osakabehime slightly turned her head to the left in embarrassment before continuing. "Well...you see, I'm the artist for the artwork of all of the cards, which means I'm in charge of drawing every card. So...well, I just need to borrow you for one slight moment..."
Shirou let out a small sigh as he knew where this was going. "And let me guess. You want me to pose for you?"
"Y-Yeah."
Shirou sighed again. "Well, at least she's asking for permission this time..."
And Shirou began posing for Osakabehime...
Musashi was humming happily as she was walking down the hallway. "Hm, I wonder what I should do next...I know! Ask Shirou-kun for udon!" she thought excitedy as she then changed the direction she was walking in earlier and headed towards the cafeteria.
However, as she was walking down the cafeteria, she then felt a hand grabbing her out of nowhere and dragging her into the room she was next to coincidencely. "What the heck?! What is this?!"
As she was dragged into the room, she got a good look at the person who dragged her earlier, which was Osakabehime.
"H-Hello Musashi," Osakabehime said.
"Hello Osakabehime-chan! Would you explain why you dragged me here to your room?"
Osakabehime let out a small sigh. "I need you to pose for me for a moment."
Musashi was confused for a moment. "Posing? For what?"
"Well, did you know that Chaldea has trading cards of all of the servants here?"
"No. This is the first time I've ever heard of this."
"Well, a while ago, me, Hokusai, and Blackie came up with drawing trading cards of Chaldea's servants. At first, we did it for fun and thought of it as a side activity. However, to our surprise, a lot of the staff and servants liked the trading cards, and that's how Chaldea has its own trading cards."
"Is that so? What do these trading cards have something to do with me posing?"
"It's quite simple. The trading cards the three of us would do include images of the servants in Chaldea, which includes you of course."
"I see...this sounds fun! I'll do it!" Musashi said excitedly.
Osakabehime let out a smile. "Great! Now if you'll give me a moment..." she said as she began to grab her drawing materials. "Okay! I'm ready now!"
"All right! What do I do in this situation?"
"It's simple. Can you do a cool pose for me?"
Musashi nodded in reply and unsheathed her swords. "Like this?" she asked as was doing a cool pose, holding her katanas in her hands.
"Yeah! Now you need to hold that position."
"For how long?"
"Until I'm done with the drawing itself!" Osakabehime said as she was drawing Musashi's body on her tablet. As time passed where Osakabehime was drawing Musashi, Musashi herself was getting a bit tired and sore from the pose she was in.
"Mmmmh...my arms are getting a bit sore right now...wait, I shouldn't act like this! I must be diligent! I can't let this sort of thing beat me!"
Eventually, Osakabehime was done with the drawing. "Okay Musashi! You can stop posing now!"
Musashi let out a sigh of relief. She let her arms down and sheathed her katanas back to their scabbards. As she did, she then raised her arms again and began to stretch. "Mmngh...well, how did the drawing go Osakabehime?"
Osakabehime let out a smile. "It went great! Want to look at it?"
Musashi nodded in reply. "Sure!" She then went over to where Osakabehime was and looked at the drawing she did on the tablet. She let out a smile upon seeing the finished product. "This looks amazing! You did a great job on this Osakabehime!"
Osakabehime let out a blush upon hearing Musashi's complement. "T-Thank you. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a lot of other servants' cards I need to finish."
"Eh? There were others that came before me?" Musashi asked as she was suddenly interested.
"Yeah. Shirou, Hakuno, Sieg, the caster counterpart of the King of Knights, the female Merlin, and Caren. In fact, if you're interested, do you want to see the artwork they're going to be introduced on the cards?"
Musashi let out a smile. "Sure!"
Osakabehime then quickly left the drawing she was doing on her tablet and went over to a new file. She then opened the file, and it revealed multiple files of the artwork of the servants Osakabehime mentioned earlier.
Musashi was in marvel at the artwork Osakabehime has done on her tablet. "Wow Osakabehime! You did all of this work?"
"Yeah," she replied as she grabbed an energy drink and began to chug it down. "And it costed me a lot of time...and sleep..."
"Wow...this amount of artwork Osakabehime has done...it's amazing!" Musashi thought as she was looking at the amount of artwork Osakabehime has done. As she continued looking at the artwork, there was one piece of artwork that caught her eye.
It was the artwork of Emiya Shirou.
"Eh...so that's the pose Shirou-kun went with...hm...wait, this gives me a good idea!"
Musashi then turned to Osakabehime. "Hey Osakabehime, can I ask you a favor?"
"Sure. What is it?"
Musashi let out a smile. "Oh, it's something that will blow your mind."
Soon, the new banner of Chaldea's trading cards was released, which included new cards of Shirou, Musashi, Hakuno, Sieg, Caster Arturia, Proto Merlin, and Caren. As news about the new banner of traind cards was released through the public, the staff members and servants who were fond with the trading cards and collects them were thrilled to see a new banner to come up.
Especially Gilgamesh and Medea, because it meant a new Arturia trading card to add to their collections, even though Gilgamesh scowled at the fact that Shirou was in the banner. Even those who weren't interested in the trading cards bought them. For example, Jeanne D'Arc and Astolfo bought a pack just to get the Sieg trading card, BB hacked the shipping so she can figure out which pack has the Shirou and Hakuno trading cards, and many more.
However, this banner was different from the others.
Because it has a new gimmick that Shirou was about to find out soon...
"Phew. I can't believe that I've spent that many QP on the ingredients for today's dinner here...speaking of which, I wonder how many QP would equal to yen...?" he thought as he looked at the bags of ingredients he bought earlier. As he continued walking in the mini mall, he came across a Trading Card Game shop, and on the window was a promotional poster of himself, Musashi, Hakuno, Sieg, the caster counterpart of the King of Knights, the female Merlin, and Caren, showing the new banner of Chaldea's trading cards.
For a moment, Shirou looked at the poster with interest. "So, I'm in a trading card huh? That's quite unimaginable...well then again, this is Chaldea, where anything is possible."
As he continued to look at the poster, it was then that he heard three voices coming out of the card shop.
Mysterious Heroine X, X Alter, and XX.
"Dang it! I didn't get Shirou's card! I got Musashi and Caren instead!" Mysterious Heroine X ranted.
"Me too. I got Sieg and Hakuno. No Shirou..." Mysterious Heroine X Alter muttered.
Mysterious Heroine XX let out a sigh. "That's how card packs works. You don't always get the card that you want," she said as she unwrapped her card pack. As she did, she looked at her cards and frowned at what she unpacked. "Damn, I didn't get Shirou. Just the Caster counterpart of me and the female Merlin..." she said with a groan.
Mysterious Heroine X also let out a groan. "In the end, Shirou's card is out of our reach...and we used up all of our daily QP...DAMN SALT!"
Shirou turned around to see Mysterious Heroine X, X Alter, and XX. "Are all of you okay over there?"
The three heroines turned around to see Shirou, who was carrying bags of ingredients. "Oh. Hey there Shirou..." they muttered in unison.
"Is there something wrong with all of you?"
Mysterious Heroine X sighed again. "Oh...there's nothing wrong...just had a case of bad luck...and damn salt..." she muttered.
Shirou was confused with the last part of her sentence. "Salt?"
"It's a term of feeling," Mysterious Heroine X Alter said.
"And I suppose it has something to do with the trading cards I've heard of?"
"Yeah. We were trying to get your trading card, but in the end, we ended up spending most of our QP on getting reprints and the other rares," Mysterious Heroine XX said.
"I see." For a moment, Shirou was silent for a moment as he didn't do anything but look at the poster. Then he handed the bags of the heroines. "Wait here for a moment. In the meanwhile, can you hold these?" he asked.
"Eh? Sure," Mysterious Heroine X said as she held a bag as her counterparts did.
Shirou let out a smile. "Great. I'll be back soon, and don't eat what's in the bag. That's the ingredients for today's dinner."
The heroines' lit up upon hearing the word dinner. "Yes!"
Shirou then went into the shop. For a few minutes, he didn't come out of the shop. And when he did, he was holding something in his hand.
It was a sealed pack of cards.
"Here," Shirou said as he handed the heroines the pack of cards.
"Eh? Shirou, this is...!" Mysterious Heroine XX said.
"Yeah. It's the last pack of cards that were in the shop. You can have it if you want."
In glee, the three heroines grabbed the last pack from Shirou. "Thank you Shirou!" they said in unison. Soon the girls began to open the last pack. "Come on...give me something good!"
The girls then opened the pack and went through the cards. When they got to the last card, their eyes widen upon seeing what the last card was.
It was the Emiya Shirou trading card, and it was in a holographic state, making it extremely rare.
"Wow! We finally got the Shirou trading card! And what's more, it's in a holographic state, making it extremely rare!" Mysterious Heroine X exclaimed excitedly.
"Yeah. A card like this is something one can't find easily," Mysterious Heroine X Alter said.
"Indeed. The amount of QP a card like this is going to cost...it'll be over the roof," Mysterious Heroine XX said.
"Indeed. Anyways, thank you for the pack Shirou. Who would have ever known that the last pack contained the card we need," Mysterious Heroine X said.
"You're welcome Arturia," Shirou said with a smile on his face.
Soon, Mysterious Heroine X continued looking at the holographic Emiya Shirou trading card. However, it was then that her counterparts wanted to look it as well.
"Hey. You've been looking at it too long. My turn now," Mysterious Heroine X Alter said.
"Hold on! Give me a few more minutes!" Mysterious Heroine X argued.
"Sorry younger me, but it's your altered counterpart's turn now," Mysterious Heroine XX said.
Mysterious Heroine X let out a pout. "Fine..." she said as she handed the card over to her altered counterpart.
Mysterious Heroine X Alter grabbed the card and then looked at it with glee. "A holographic Shirou trading card..." she thought as inspected it at every angle. However, it was then that she noticed something.
There was something on the edge of the card, and it looked like the tip of a katana.
"That tip...can it be?"
"Is there something wrong?" Mysterious Heroine XX asked.
"Unaltered me, hand me your Musashi card for a moment," Mysterious Heroine X Alter said.
"Eh? What for?" Mysterious Heroine X asked.
"Just give it to me. There's something I need to confirm."
Mysterious Heroine X then handed her altered counterpart her Musashi card. As she did, Mysterious Heroine X Alter then inspected the Musashi card and noticed that a certain part of the katana Musashi was holding was cut off.
And that part was the tip.
"That positioning...it can't be!" she thought as she then combined the cards together. As she did, it revealed that the two cards together were a shared artwork between Shirou and Musashi together, looking like a battle couple.
Mysterious Heroine X and XX looked at that shared artwork between the cards and looked at it in jealously along with Mysterious Heroine X Alter.
"MUSASHI!" they all thought in unison in anger.
"Wow. I've never thought that idea would work. And furthermore, the design itself doesn't look that bad," Musashi thought as she happily ate the bowl of Udon she was eating while remembering the sneak peak of her idea she saw earlier.
However, her eating time was about to be over soon.
Because before she could take another bite, she felt a blood-thirsty aura coming at her. As Musashi turned around to see where the aura was coming from, she received three angry heroines coming at her with their weapons drawn.
"MUSASHI!" they exclaimed in unison.
And thus, Musashi got herself into a fight with the three heroines, but she didn't mind.
And then afterwards, the three heroines fought against each other over who gets the card...