Chapter 12
Beta: Worldbringer of Joseun
Cover: LousGndiner
Illya had been bored these past few days.
Hamelin had been meeting in the same old place as before, not even bothering to check for others like any regular paranoid drug dealer would – actually, that was sort of an apt description – and instead took a relaxing nap until the Black Sword Knight's representative arrived.
Idly, she noted down that this was a different player, again. Of course, the guy was jittery but that was to be expected from someone doing something they weren't used to, which this guy clearly was.
Illya decided to pay that bit of fact no more heed than usual and noted the username down on a piece of parchment. It wasn't anything like modern paper, much more grainy and coarse, but it wasn't something to complain about.
It was good that Krentelfal suggested buying the paper, it would help her remember their names. Granted, Illya could've memorized it herself without the need for the parchment, but that would mean that Illya had to memorize the names of a bunch of sleazebags.
Yeah, there was no way that was going to happen. She'd sooner commit familicide than do that, specifically upon several old stuffy German men.
Illya shook away the admittedly pleasing thought and focused on other matters, namely on where Krentelfal had wandered off too. She wasn't worried about his wellbeing per se, but more so about him being seen.
They had played it safe the entire time, ensuring that the honor-driven knight was kept out of the public eye, yet Illya knew deep down that the knight wasn't going to keep it up for long. His raw strength alone could take down several mid-level raid bosses, or possibly go toe-to-toe with a level-ninety raid boss. That sort of strength brought attention, certainly not something that they want at this stage of the plan.
Then again, if he wasn't siphoning from her locked passive skill then none of that would've been a problem. If only Illya knew how to access it.
Maybe one day. This world, Theldesia, still had unseen nooks and crannies filled to the brim with mystery. Perhaps one of those mysteries could allow her to do so. If not, then Illya was going to be the only one in a guild of powerhouses without an overpowered ability.
Seriously, the only saving grace she had was having a relatively high-level. The moment that her guild started to catch up to her, they'd be strong enough to hold their own in mini-dungeons, alone.
To put it into perspective, Rin, who used her own Gandr variations whenever she pleased, could destroy an entire pack or two of dire wolves as she was now. At her level of 18, most Sorcerers wouldn't be able to do that without being nearly mauled to death in the process. Defensive spells, physical enhancement, pure offense, Rin had all of those covered with ease.
All that added with the fact that she could get stronger.
Even Sakura, who was still sorta the weakest in the group, would be an absolutely godly support with all the possible support summons that Druids end up getting down the line. Of course, her Foxtail race might interfere with that and give her weird skills or spells instead, but that also meant that there was a chance she'd get a strong summon from the actual Summoner class itself.
Then there was Shirou…
Illya didn't even need to think about it. All it did was reinforce the idea of keeping to themselves and not letting the local adventurer populace know of their skills.
Luckily, they were all too busy with the roles that Illya had assigned them, to do anything that would make them stand out too much. Rin was busy working on the potion with the ingredients that Krentelfal had gotten for her, while both Sakura and Shirou were handling relations.
How they were doing that exactly, Illya didn't know. She only knew how to manipulate people and wear a facade in magus meetings, not act genuinely nice and caring to people down on their luck and contemplating various ways to off themselves.
Not that offing themselves would do anything.
A familiar knock on the cement beside her dragged her attention.
"Krentelfal, good morning," Illya greeted with the grace she was drilled to have, literally. "Where have you been?"
"I found it odd that Hamelin frequently chose the same location to meet," Krentelfal began. "With that in mind, I scoured other locations. Most organizations I have been acquainted with made their businesses in more conspicuous locations. Mostly taverns or brothels. Sadly, I have not seen any of the riffraff. It is as if they're not afraid of being caught out."
"That's because they're not really paranoid," Illya replied in reason to his voiced concern. "They have no reason to be. From their perspective, who cares? The Black Sword Knights certainly don't care, those guys think more of the exponential benefits instead, emphasis on the EXP. There might be a few members who're concerned, but as long as Isaac doesn't care, then that's all that matters."
Countless leaves rustled as Illya sighed in irritation. "He's a good guy, but he's probably thinking more about his guild than any other player. Not that I'd blame him, Akihabara situation and all that." A memory of playing Elder Tale flashed through her mind. Specifically, about the time that Isaac had called Woodstock's guild weak.
"Ah, just thinking about that guild's leader makes me annoyed," Illya muttered. "I don't think you know, but their guild only accepts strong players above a certain level. They're a strong raid guild, but sometimes they let it get to their heads."
It was that arrogance that made Woodstock W start up his guild in the first place.
"I presume that they are not well-liked?"
"No. Not very much, no."
"Hmm, yes. I suppose that I can see why," Krentelfal mouthed. "Although, pardon me for informing, but I feel as if you've gone on a bit of a tangent."
Had she?
Illya blinked for a few seconds.
"Oh! You're right… that's never happened before," Illya mumbled. The stress must be getting to her. She's never been one to trail onto a tangent before. Old man Acht would've beaten it out of her if she had… Definitely just the stress, yup. "Right then, where was I? The point is that Hamelin doesn't see the need to hide because there's nobody to hide from. As long as they don't know about us, then we can spy as much as we want."
Krentelfal nodded, but there was no hiding the slight concern in his eyes as he brushed a stray leaf from his pauldron. "As long as they don't know about us… well, it's not just our stealthiness that we need to be concerned about. There is still that Assassin, from a few days ago."
Illya frowned.
"I know, Krentelfal," She muttered in consideration. "That Assassin hasn't appeared since then. It could be that she ran for good… but it's definitely more likely that she's just gotten better at hiding. She might've taken a more ranged approach like we are."
Well, Illya was certain that the Assassin didn't have access to familiars made from strands of her hair, but there were spyglasses in the game, so she could have one now… Hang on.
"Speaking of the devil…" Illya muttered as she hunkered down, conjuring a second familiar behind her. "I think that's her."
Krentelfal made himself scarce and took cover within the concrete, spectral body perks, as they gazed towards the canopy below them. A glint of light flashed for just a second, long enough for Illya's familiar to dive down towards it.
It took a bit longer for it to reach the location, mostly because it swooped around their building to avoid being seen, but once it did reach the location, all they found were a few falling leaves.
Illya groaned in annoyance. "She noticed."
"Or rather-" Krentelfal cut in. "-she noticed the glint that her own spyglass gave off and fled. She is aware that she is not the sole person here, so we are fortunate that Hamelin's riffraff remains unaware."
Well, lucky me.
"I forgot to ask, did you follow up on the list I gave you?"
"But of course. Unfortunately, none of the adventurers on it appeared similar enough to this Assassin."
Illya sighed. "Don't worry about it. Just keep looking, who knows what that Assassin is after."
"As you command, Lady Illya."
When Krentelfal faded, Illya reclined her head back on the concrete wall beside her.
"… You could just call me Illya…" she muttered.
At the same time, her familiar – the one she had from the beginning to spy on the Hamelin member – returned to her and disappeared into motes of mana.
The Hamelin member had already left, so that must mean that the Black Sword Knights stood him up, which was strange. The Black Sword Nights were never late on their usual meetings, in fact, they were always on time. Which made this outcome all the more confusing. Judging from what Illya saw with her familiar, the Hamelin member seemed to rush away in a panic, but for what reason? Illya didn't know.
What could've grabbed their attention?
Illya decided to discard the thought for now when she received a message from Rin. It didn't really say much, other than asking for her to come to the Arcadia for something.
She could've just sent the reason why too… then again, this was Rin. Typing was not the twin-tailed magus' strongest suit. She probably tried to use a quill on it for a few minutes.
Well, Illya wasn't going to decline anyway. There was no longer a reason to stay, with the Hamelin peon already gone along with the Assassin. Krentelfal would know where she had gone, seeing as he was still linked to her mana source, so she could leave without issue.
She still couldn't help but wonder… what had Rin called her for?
"Hey, Sakura," Rin called from the Arcadia's backroom. "Can you come here for a second? I want to make sure the trial potion works."
Sakura, not wanting to be a burden, did as she was told and left her previous duty. She was initially sorting the books and tomes in the Arcadia, as Ferlna was a bit too busy purchasing ingredients from her supplier. Apparently, he was feeling a little under the weather, which meant that he wouldn't be able to deliver the store's supplies.
Honestly, both Rin and Sakura hadn't believed that excuse. Ferlna was stoic, but even when she excused herself, the Lander couldn't hide the initial hasty stammer. She was hiding something, but seeing as Rin wasn't worried and more than likely already knew what it was, Sakura simply let it go.
It did hurt just a bit to know that there was something Rin wanted to keep hidden from her.
"I'm here, Nee-san," Sakura said as she entered the back room.
It looked substantially different from the previous times she had been here. She had visited a few days ago just to make sure Rin was eating right, even though the 'food' that they had didn't even qualify as food. Sakura didn't want her to gain the bad habit of not eating properly. She wasn't sure how nutrition really translated with these adventurer bodies they possessed, but the Foxtail didn't want to take any chances.
"Good, here," Rin said as she handed her a potion. It wasn't the same color as the blue experience potion, but it had much more of a teal shading. "Supplies are low, but I wanted to see if this combination would do the trick."
How Rin could work with ingredients she'd never seen before still baffled Sakura, but her sister was a genius by regular magus standards so all she could do was grab and smile at the concoction.
"Do I have to be worried about anything when I drink it?"
"No, not really. There's a chance that the effect won't work, but that should be the worst of what could happen," Rin explained. "I've taken a few drops from the original EXP potion and diluted it. Using structural analysis on liquid forms isn't easy, but I managed to split it apart. The potion you're holding has all of the ingredients I found in the sample, synthesized as thoroughly as possible…"
Judging from the color, the synthesizing hadn't work.
"… but as you can see, it's not the same," Rin muttered frustratingly.
"Any reason you can't drink this yourself?" Sakura asked reasonably.
There was literally no reason for her to do this. Rin was an adventurer like Sakura, so any resulting effects that the potion would've given the twin-tailed magus would also have been given to the Foxtail sibling.
Rin nodded in acknowledgment before going off on her explanation. "I could do that, but there's always a chance that our differing physiology's could influence the effects. The midget mentioned that there were potions meant for different races. Remember the potion that gave Wolf-Fangs more strength but weakened other races?"
Sakura did remember. Illya had a couple of those in her inventory but only used them against much stronger bosses, apparently. She didn't really have the need to use them when they faced monsters with levels greatly lower than the guardian's own.
"… and you looked like you were bored," Rin added, her voice taking a much softer tone than before. Sakura expected her to say more, but when nothing else was said, the little sister nodded with a smile.
"Alright then," Sakura said as she downed the teal shaded brew.
It tasted like water, as did every apple and orange juice in this world, so it was easy to drink. It would've been easier if the texture didn't feel like sludge, though.
When everything tasted the same, the texture was what mattered. Potato chips might not taste like potatoes, but they were at least crunchy and enjoyable to chew. That was probably why Adventurers always ordered it in the taverns.
As to why potato chips would exist in this medieval fantasy game, Sakura didn't know. Maybe Illya would, but she wasn't here.
Sakura eyed the buffs appearing on her screen. "Hmm… It looks like I have an attack strength bonus, but it isn't very much, seeing as it's only ten percent. Other than that, there's a twenty percent defense buff, but that's it. I don't have an experience buff."
Rin silently cursed to herself and turned around to face the table behind her. On top of it, there seemed to be pots, kettles, and other archaic brewing devices. Compared to Rin's usual workshop, it seemed much less advanced.
"Damn… Was the synthesizing off? Did I mess up the ratio of the ingredients? I'll have to analyze it again," Rin sighed in frustration. That frustration faded when she smacked her forehead. "I'm an idiot, why didn't I think of that?"
Rin opened up her inventory and grabbed an EXP bottle. She had gotten one every day, but she had apparently been using her bottles for experimentation. While Sakura and Shirou each had a dozen bottles, Rin probably had under half of that.
"If analyzing liquids is an issue, then I should've just made it into a solid," Rin said as she poured the potion into a black pot. Once she finished, she held her hand out and touched it. In an instant, the pot had a few flecks of ice sprouting atop of it. "Decreasing temperature instead of increasing it. This is just fire-based magecraft but in reverse."
Rin's face scrunched up in irritation as she swatted something away from her face. Oddly enough, Sakura saw nothing.
"… Damn menu, always telling me things I already know."
"Nee-san?"
"Hmm, what is it?"
"Is something wrong?"
Rin blinked. "No, all I have to do is wait until the thing is completely frozen. I'm not too sure that I'll get different results from my initial analysis but there's always a chance."
"That's… not what I meant, Nee-san." Sakura winced slightly. The previous Matou took a deep breath to calm her – admittedly wildly – beating heart. "There's something bothering you. Shirou and Illya-chan might've not noticed, but you've been in the Arcadia earlier and leaving much later. You've spent more time here than in our own guild room."
Rin snorted, but the Druid could tell that it wasn't out of malicious dismissal like she would do to anyone else. "That's the smartest thing to do, right? The Landers here won't stay quiet for long. Shirou already told me that there's a few who want to start their little 'uprising' early."
That wasn't good.
"Luckily, our lovable boy toy managed to stop it," Rin muttered afterward. "Sometimes I wonder how he does it… Never mind. The point is that we're running out of time, I can't afford to dawdle back at the guild room."
Sakura frowned. "I understand, but don't you think that this is a little much? At this rate, you're going to start staying up all night…" the Foxtail Druid narrowed her eyes on her sister, or more specifically her suddenly averted eyes. "Nee-san!"
"Well, in my defense, I wanted to see how well an adventurer body deals with sleep deprivation."
Sakura huffed. "See? This is what I meant! You're pushing yourself too far! You need to sit back and relax for a bit, at least for a day."
"We don't have a day! Why can't you just be a good sister and listen!?"
Sakura admittedly stumbled back at the unexpected shout.
Be a good girl and shut up.
Rin, who had previously shut her eyes and screamed to the world, widened them in abject horror as she held a hastily risen hand to her face. "No, wait! I didn't mean to– I didn't mean to shout at you!"
Push it back, Sakura.
Grand– Zouken isn't here anymore. He's dead.
You aren't being scolded by him. Breathe.
Sakura took a subtle calming breath, holding it in like the emotions threatening to burst out from within her, and carefully exhaled. It was shakily done, which, unfortunately, her dear elder sister noticed.
"I-It's fine," Sakura forced out. "The stress was just… getting to me."
"No, no it's not," Rin muttered in her previous soft tone. "You were just looking out for me, that's all. You're right, I'll relax for today so you don't need to worry anymore…"
Sakura's face, admittedly, held back any visible reaction. She was 'trained' to keep her emotions under lock and key, and while it was a lesson she liked to forget, she couldn't help but fall back into it. Sakura wasn't the same person as she was before, but enough stimuli caused her to freeze up.
It wasn't so bad, but from time to time, Sakura would remember her time at the Matou Manor. Remembered the times that she'd have to listen to the orders of Zouken without question. Remembered the times that her limbs writhed as parasites crawled within her. Remembered when the echoes in her mind would–
Sakura suppressed a shiver and exhaled.
Forgetting… forgetting her life within that accursed manor, forgetting what she had been through… that wasn't easy. It would never be easy. In fact, it was literally impossible to forget. She could get over it, learn to deal with it whenever her family was around.
Shirou made it easy to feel safe, especially when she was wrapped in his loving embrace, so she would never have to think about it. Illya was bombastic and had always stirred up a little trouble here and there before they were transported, but they were welcome distractions. Even Rin would drop what she was doing once in a blue moon to hang out together as sisters.
But in the end… all those days she spent in the Emiya estate, those were nothing but flowery distractions. They allowed her to push her past deep down within her, but that was the thing about the past, it always caught up to you.
Looks like I still haven't gotten over it…
"I'm sorry, Sakura…" Rin muttered. The eldest of the siblings walked up to her slowly. Eventually, she wrapped her arms around the now calmed down sister. "I shouldn't have shouted. I know I'm sometimes short-tempered, but that doesn't justify what I did."
You didn't do anything. This was all me–
"If you're thinking something bad about yourself, I swear to Zelretch's balls that I'll hug the living daylights out of you," Rin berated as her arms pulled her closer. It was suffocatingly tight, but Sakura found that she wasn't pulling herself away.
"… Sorry, I overreacted."
"No, no you weren't. If anything, I'm the one who overreacted," Rin continued even as her suffocating hug relented. One arm unwrapped itself and found its way atop Sakura's head. A beautiful smile formed on the twin-tailed magus' face. "So let's just stop the crying, alright? That's an order from your big sister."
It took a moment but Sakura found herself nodding.
"Alright, Nee-san."
Sakura found her old smile working its way back onto her face, but it quickly fell once she noticed Rin's own smile dropping like lead. "A big sister… I haven't really acted like one since we got here, haven't I?"
What?
As Sakura was about to retort, her eldest sister's palm hovered above her face, halting her words before they could leave.
"No, that's the truth here. I haven't been acting as a sister should ever since we got here. I was too distracted by our current situation but that's not an excuse," Rin pushed on. "Even when overwhelmed at being trapped in a different world or being shoved into a new body, a big sister should always think about her little sister first, but what have I been doing this entire time…?"
Sakura noticed the silence that Rin had fallen into. Eventually, her elder sister took a seat by the work table.
"... Did you know? The real reason why I wanted to help out the Landers?" Rin muttered. Sakura didn't need to respond to the leading question, which Rin interpreted as a cue to continue. "Illya was right about one thing. Staying in this town wasn't going to help to keep you safe, even though you don't want to be coddled anymore. We've done that enough in Fuyuki, I guess…"
Seeing Rin much more vulnerable was something Sakura wasn't used to. Her elder sister would always put up a strong front, most likely to act as a bastion that her fragile little sister could hide behind, but as she stood now, the reliable older sister was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, Sakura found the sister that was as equally uncertain as she was.
"Sometimes, I can't help but think that I should've agreed with Illya about leaving this town, but then I'd think about how you'd be sad," Rin muttered. "I'm selfish. I don't like to share, and if I have to then I'm doing it reluctantly. I'm short-tempered and I admit, stubborn to some degree. No matter how you look at it, I'm a mess of a person."
Just when Sakura tried to deny the claim, the self-proclaimed mess of a person pushed onward with a downtrodden tone.
"When I tried summoning a Saber, I messed up and got an Archer. The entire time during the grail war, I kept antagonizing you and the others. Hell, even when I was younger, I tried to save my classmates from some deranged monsters… but I couldn't even save a single one of them. No matter the choice I make, when it matters the most I always made the wrong one, messing up at the last possible moment." Rin's eyes slowly shut as she shuffled in her seat. "… So this time, I made the choice I wouldn't normally make. The choice that Tohsaka Rin, would never have made. The choice to stay in Akihabara and risk getting caught up in a large-scale civil war between Adventurers and Landers."
Sensing more, Sakura could only stand and listen.
"Ridiculous, isn't it? Call it a little superstition of mine – or whatever you want – but the choices I personally wanted to make were ones that ended up causing the most harm. The decision to stay here wasn't one I personally wanted, so maybe it'll all end up right for once… That's the real reason," Rin confessed as her eyes slowly became lidded. "I don't know why Shirou wanted to help these Landers, but that's his decision. What mattered to me the most was that this whole situation we found ourselves in won't end in a nightmare, not like the Holy Grail War… Was that so wrong?"
No, no it wasn't wrong.
In fact, Sakura sympathized with the notion more than most. More than anyone else, the plum-haired magus knew the nightmares of the Grail and what existed within. Not wanting such an event to happen again was normal… Although, it was almost funny. Rin's reason for staying, to try rid herself of her superstition, was almost entirely similar to Sakura's own.
Sakura's mind thought back to a certain boy, fighting tooth and nail against all odds to save her.
Because of her, her dearly beloved hero forsook his own dream. The dream that he so selflessly worked towards… it was a beautiful dream, one that Sakura would often bask in its radiance no matter how childish the rest of the world thought it was.
However, that radiance vanished. Her beloved still wanted to help others, Sakura knew that deep down, but he wouldn't do so while Sakura was in danger. If Sakura had chosen to run, then Shirou would never be able to save anyone.
She knew that he broke something within him when he chose to figuratively and literally try to sacrifice the world to save her. The fact that he did so forever lingered within her as a regret. Much like the Holy Grail's corruption, it flickered here and there, until it would eventually – perhaps after a decade or so – consume her mind, drowning her in regret.
In this new world, she could right her wrong and give back to her hero. That was why she picked to stay in this city, filled with despair and turmoil. It was so that Emiya Shirou could once again be the hero she knew him to be. Not just for herself, but for others.
Just as Rin selfishly chose to stay for her own reasons, Sakura did as well.
Her elder sister sighed. "Damn it, just when I told you off for being mopey. Look at what I'm doing now. If Archer saw me now, he'd probably be disappointed."
"That's not true!" Sakura followed up swiftly, finally seeing a chance to speak. "I might not have known mister Archer well, but I don't think he'd be disappointed."
"That's a nice thought Sakura, but the guy was a pragmatic ass-hat of a Servant. He would've chosen to leave without a doubt… like I would've done." Rin murmured. A loud sigh of exasperation followed soon after. "Besides, I can't let my cute little sister be sad. You finally made some new friends here. I'm not going to be the one to take them away from you now."
Rin rose from her seat and placed her arms around Sakura's shoulders. "I'm not going to let my own doubts stop me from being the sister you need. Understand, Sakura?"
And now her sister spun her reasoning into something more.
"… That's not fair, Nee-san," Sakura muttered. She couldn't even get her own words in. Here Rin was, pouring her heart out, yet she couldn't do the same. Rather, her own treacherous heart, as black and as hollowly fake as Sakura thought it to be, clenched at those heartfelt words.
Instead of words, Sakura pulled the eldest Tohsaka sister into a gut-wrenching hug.
Even though Sakura did not like the fact that she couldn't say anything, she couldn't fight the sheer joy rising up from within her depths as the hug grew tighter.
No more words needed to be said.
The Arcadia store chime, signaling the arrival of a customer, sent enough of a jolt between the sisters that they stepped back from each other and pretended that nothing happened.
Ferlna, being none-the-wiser, stepped into the back room with a bag in her hands. However, it was easy for the Lander to notice the awkward yet not-awkward air between the two.
"… I do not know what occurred here, but I trust it is no longer an issue?"
"Y-Yes, Ferlna-san."
"No problem, it was just a small issue."
"Then perhaps you can tell me about it later," Ferlna concluded. "For now, there is something that you all need to see, a rather interesting development a few blocks down."
She reached into her bag and pulled something small out.
Something small yet infinitely recognizable.
"Is that…?" Sakura found herself muttering. Her Foxtail ears twitched as her nose mimicked them. Her eyes widened in surprised disbelief as a conclusion was drawn. Rin was not far behind from her own deduction, but her own surprise was dampened by suspicion.
Ferlna held it in front of her face, her other hand adjusting her off-center pair of glasses.
"As you can see, there is much to discuss."
The journey to the Arcadia was different.
Illya hadn't noticed it at first, being more preoccupied with her own thoughts, but eventually, she did. It was impossible to ignore the fact that many of the usual bum-players weren't where they usually were. The sidewalks felt surprisingly empty without them to fill up space.
Did Sakura do something? Getting some of the adventurers up and raring to go was her job, but even Illya knew that the Foxtail Druid wouldn't have been able to do this, at least not this quickly. A week or so then maybe, but a few days? No offense, but that was out of Sakura's reach. Especially since today was a supposed relaxation day for the Foxtail.
"The streets are a bit empty today…" her brother voiced out from beside her.
"Yes, they are. It's weird," Illya admitted.
They had met up with each other along the way to the Arcadia, which was just a few blocks away. He likely got a similar message from their twin-tailed magus as well, which made it an even more pressing issue.
If only Rin would just explain it to her through the message system, but nope. That magus with a 'little miss perfect' facade wouldn't even do that. She insisted that Illya needed to be here for reasons the Guardian couldn't even wildly fathom!
Illya let out an exhausted sigh. "What are the chances that the other players decided to go out and do something?"
"Not likely," Shirou admitted with a wince. "Sakura and I shared progress and advice with each other for our tasks so I know much more about her results than everyone else, but she never mentioned anything like this."
His eyes roamed further. Illya's own mirrored his, but neither of them could find an adventurer… or a Lander.
"Anything on the Lander grapevine?" Illya prodded.
"There isn't much they're talking about, other than the potential civil war," Shirou admitted with some minor frustration. His eyes lit up a few seconds later. "Wait, Melhia did mention something odd happening in one of the central streets."
"Which is?" Illya asked.
"A couple of adventurers apparently opened a booth to sell things."
What.
Illya turned her head towards her dear brother with her mouth formed into a thin slit. "Details?"
"It hadn't opened by the time Melhia saw it, so she doesn't know what they're selling, but maybe everyone went to check it out?" Shirou mused. "As far as I know, it's legal. The head merchant around this district, Tomtom, allowed it, but even he doesn't know what it is."
Illya's eye twitched. "So a Lander just let an adventurer set up shop without checking what goods were being sold? That's a major loophole. What if they were crops taken from another Lander's farm?
Players were assholes, so it was a definite possibility. Why Illya had even heard of a guild that abused one of the quests to make a load of gold in no time. Luckily, one of the Game Masters noticed and managed to get it patched out.
Lucky bastards got to keep the gold, though.
"Apparently, they paid a lot to keep it secret," Shirou added. "Tomtom must've thought that it wouldn't matter. If it's illegal by Lander laws, then that'll be more fuel for anti-adventurer sentiments. However, if it's not, then instead the reverse would be true."
Illya cursed slightly in her head, unnoticed by Shirou. "So we'll need to see if their little booth is legitimate now. Their existence is now a variable that could heavily affect our overall deadline…"
If it's legal goods, then no biggie. More brownie points for adventurers, but if it isn't… Well, they'll be fucked and down a week of preparations.
"Alright, we'll talk about this later," Illya decided. "We're already at the Arcadia, so let's see what Rin wants–"
"YES! OH FUCK YES!"
Illya's legs just stopped.
So did Shirou's.
And so did the few Landers that were still around.
Was that… Rin?
Turning her eyes to the Arcadia, the source of that highly questionable scream, Illya found herself getting worried. Not really for Rin, but for her own sanity.
… No, that Tsundere couldn't possibly be– there's just no way.
Shirou, on the other hand, had tact the level of a moose and just walked right into the building.
"Rin! Are you al… right?"
"Shirou! What took you so long!? Where's Illya? I swear, I'm not holding myself back from these any longer if she's not here in TEN SECONDS!"
Finding the pressure of time wrapped around her, Illya took a few tentative steps into the Arcadia.
What Illya found honestly underwhelmed her.
Rin, the source of that outrageous moan, was holding a simple burger.
The Lander Ferlna and the twin-tailed magus' little sister, Sakura, also held in their hands a burger each.
Illya frowned in annoyance.
Sheesh.
From the sound alone, Illya thought Rin was getting drilled by someone. Not that Illya would've minded. If this was a classic case of NTR, then sure, Illya would've called her names and other mean and nasty stuff, but then she'd swoop in on her dearly beloved brokenhearted brother and mount–
Her nose twitched as her heightened senses noticed the smell hit her. Illya found her eyes widening along with both her Wolf-Fang ears twitching in response.
"Is that…?" Illya muttered in slight disbelief.
No… it can't be.
"You guessed it, midget!" Rin blurted out loud after taking a large bite out of the burger. She chewed faster than the little Einzbern had ever seen anyone chew and swallow it all like some sort of wild beast. In hindsight, they were all probably starved beasts. "It tastes and smells like a burger! I don't care how fat this will make me, anything is better than the shit we had before!"
Idly, Illya wondered if they could really get fat from eating too much in this world, but she pushed it out for the more important matter. "You called us all here for this?"
"Yup."
Upon getting her answer, Illya pulled her still-sorta-catatonic brother into the Arcadia, shut the Arcadia entrance door, locked it, and grabbed Rin by her shoulders.
"Where."
It wasn't a question.
"The backroom," Rin replied instantly, not feeling the least bit intimidated, as she held the semi-circle of burger she had left. "Ferlna brought a couple in a bag on her way back from buying supplies. It looks like there's one for all of us."
Illya didn't really hear the rest of what Rin said as she was already in the back room, locating the bag of burgers, and grabbing one of them.
Shirou, having taken a calmer approach, walked in and carefully studied what he saw around him. Namely, every single female in the Arcadia sighing blissfully as they ate burgers like they were in a fast food joint.
Granted, Shirou never really had fast food. The few times he did, he appreciated them for their cheap price and relative quality, but those things would kill one day. The number of things that his structural analysis picked up on a whim was too much to ignore.
These burgers, however, Shirou could make an exception for.
He didn't know why, or how it worked, but his structural analysis seemed to tell him everything about the burger, and how it was made.
The patty, made from an assortment of minced meat and spices, was fried on both sides with garlic and a stick of butter. The lettuce, carefully peeled from… something, his analysis couldn't determine what. The ketchup, mostly just tomato paste but added with several other unseen spices to keep the flavor up.
In short, it was an unbelievably standard home burger, made from ordinary home chef methods, but that was exactly what Shirou found hard to believe. There was no secret method for its preparation.
Absolutely none.
Even though Shirou himself toiled away at their guild room kitchen, doing the exact same thing to try to make anything halfway decent without accidentally turning them into the blackest paste known to man, only to end up with the result known as 'failure'.
He needed to know!
The fact that his structural analysis couldn't determine anything further hurt his soul more than he ever thought possible… but that faded once he sank his teeth into the unhealthy, yet undeniably delectable, player-made burger.
The fact that it didn't taste like wet and soggy crackers brought tears to their eyes, literally in Rin's case.
The next few minutes were a blur. The adventurers didn't know what they were doing, and all they thought of was the burger they had eaten to the very last crumb.
Their gluttony faded and all that remained was curiosity.
"Ferlna, where did you buy those?" Rin asked, her face drawing closer to the bespectacled Lander like a woman on a mission. Strange enough, Sakura and Shirou were doing much of the same.
"Was it the new booth opened by adventurers?" Illya's voice cut through.
Ferlna blinked. "Yes, that's right. I'm surprised you already knew."
"Everyone! We're moving out!"
"Way ahead of you, midget!"
"Wait, wait just a moment! Have you all not noticed that you all are acting a just a tad bit too odd? True, this is a wonderful taste fit for the king's own personal palette, but have you all lost your minds?" Ferlna's voice of reason cut through the food-deprived adventurers.
Unfortunately, there were no food-deprived adventurers in her shop. All that was there was an open door, swinging back and forth from the stray gusts of wind.
Her brow twitched.
"Hmm…? Strange, I had thought she was here a second ago," came the familiar voice of that old ghost Krentelfal. Ferlna still didn't know why he hung around those adventurers, but she'd learn in time. Hopefully from the adventurers themselves. "Why, greetings to you Lady Ferlna. Mayhaps thou knowest where our Lady Illyasviel has wondered off to, and why?"
She sighed.
"I wish I knew."
Ferlna decided that she was going to have an afternoon shower. Perhaps the adventurer shenanigans would fade from her mind if she did so.
She wasn't very hopeful about that, though.
It took a while, but after regaining their wits and sanity – as embarrassing as it was to admit that they lost them in the first place – the Emiya Family managed to follow the trail to the burger booth. While none of them had actually checked with Ferlna as to where this burger booth was, they had used reasonable deduction and did the obvious.
There were more adventurers and Landers making their way towards a street, two long lines of both adventurers and Landers alike stretched far, possibly into the next street over, as they stood for an aggravatingly long wait.
At the very front, was a horde of people. Most of them were adventurers, but that was not surprising considering that they had all gone a literal month without tasting something as simple as a burger.
An everyday commodity in their corporate-driven world, but now they all longed for that simple and addictive taste again.
"The line is too long," Shirou muttered. "Even if we stood there, it'd be hours until we get an order. By then, the booth might already be sold out."
"Their menu isn't that large, but there is variety," Sakura muttered. "Which means that they know how to cook food. Actual food. That's…"
"Insane," Rin cut in. "Just look at that line. Forget actually ordering. People will be camping here overnight just to eat one of those. It's a monopoly of the business. They're raking in a literal fortune."
Illya swallowed some saliva threatening to leak out of her mouth. That wasn't good. She was the leader so she needed to remain composed… but those burgers! She might have the nineteen-year-old body she so dearly craved now, but the child mind within her threatened to break out into a tantrum.
Illya ignored that her child mind was also technically nineteen.
"Let's get out of here. We need a better view." Illya stated as she walked out of the line. A few adventurers eyed them, keeping an eye out in case they tried to shove into the line. "There's no point in lining up right now. Might as well try and gain as much information on this as possible."
Once the Emiya Family left the area, or rather out of sight from the hungry line of adventurers, they neatly tucked themselves around the corner of a relatively far alleyway. Far enough to not be noticed, yet close enough to glean a glimpse of the burger booth.
"I think I can see the title," Shirou said. He structurally reinforced his eyes and gazed far, farther than any regular man could, and noticed the results. "The booth's name is Crescent Moon."
"… Those are Crescent Moon Alliance guild members acting as attendants," Illya muttered.
"You mean Marielle-san's guild?" Sakura muttered. Somehow, Illya wasn't surprised that Sakura already knew who she was. More than likely, the plum-haired druid had met her while out on the job, or sometime earlier.
"Looks like it," Rin replied, her own eyes reinforced. "They're all wearing uniforms. They must've known about the cooking method for a while now."
Illya preemptively held her hands out. Not surprisingly, she managed to catch both her brother and Sakura, both of whom were walking towards the stand with gusto.
"What are you two doing? What, do you really think that they'd tell you how to cook?"
"W-Well…" came Sakura's somewhat embarrassed reply.
"They could," Shirou optimistically pointed out.
Illya blinked.
By Zelretch's balls, they really did.
"Like hell, they will. They're sitting on a gold mine," Rin said, shooting Shirou's hopes straight from the sky. "Nobody with a brain would willingly give out that sort of information."
"Yeah…" Illya muttered. "Which makes it all the more strange that it's the Crescent Moon Alliance that's selling the burgers."
"Reasoning?" the skeptical twin-tailed magus prompted.
"Marielle is many things, a caring guild leader and a friend to all, but she isn't a businesswoman," Illya muttered. "If it was her who discovered it, then she'd have told everyone she could. The fact that they managed to form themselves into a semi-coherent business means that someone else is behind this."
Was it Henrietta? That secretary was competent, but she didn't have the guts or smarts to pull something like this off.
Something's fishy.
"At least it's leaving a good impression," Sakura pointed out. "Look, the adventurers aren't moping around. The Landers are enjoying themselves."
Rin hummed. "True, but the guys at the back of the line are getting impatient. That's leaving some bad vibes too… Illya, do you have an idea on who's behind it yet?"
Illya shook her head. "Not yet."
Think, Illyasviel von Einzbern. Think!
Who else is connected to the Crescent Moon Alliance? Woodstock? Ichimonjinosuke? No, if it was them then it would've been their own guilds. It needed to be someone completely unaffiliated to a guild. Someone smart, without a guild, and enough guts to pull off an idea like this.
If Illya didn't know any better, she'd have guessed that it was the Villain in Glasses that was–
The Villain in Glasses.
Like a rusty cog, it was slow but eventually gained enough traction and momentum to spiral into something more. More and more gears turned until the whole motion was apparent.
It fit.
No guild, which meant he had to rely on another. Illya knew from her solo days that the Villain in Glasses would occasionally drop by the Crescent Moon Alliance for wildly speculated reasons. The Elder Tale forums would not shut up about it, especially the creepy little subset of fans that worshiped the literal ground he walked on, spouting about how it was some sort of crazy conspiracy.
Like gears in a cog.
This was also a part of his modus-operandi. The few fully recorded, several hours long, Debauchery Tea-Party raids on YouTube – to say that Illya had a lot of spare time back in Fuyuki was an understatement – showed the man in his element. Every time, that man would be in the back line, almost as if manipulating them like willing puppets to a grand play.
It fit.
This was the Villain in Glasses' work.
However, Illya didn't want to jump to any conclusions. Even if it all fit like a jigsaw puzzle, there was an issue with it. Namely, the motivations. Why would Shiroe, the Debauchery Tea Party's strategist, open a burger stall?
She could rule money out, seeing as the guy was loaded, and she could also rule out the petty reason of pride. If this was his work, then what was the end goal? Create a nation-wide chain of restaurants and never ever have to work a day in his life? What if it was a more outlandish one, like creating a spy network…
… It was no good. Illya couldn't figure it out.
She was good at magus politics, battle, and acting cute and innocent. This was not within her forte. She just didn't know what that Villain in Glasses wanted!
"I know that look," Rin muttered. "You know who's behind this?"
After a second of mentally collecting herself, Illya answered.
"Yes, I think I do. His name is Shiroe, a rather well-known name here," Illya muttered back. "However, I don't think I can do anything with that information."
"Why not?" Sakura asked with nothing but curiosity.
"Because if that man's planning something, then he's not going to be out in the public eye," Illya replied. "While I personally don't know him, I do know that he's not the type to talk with others, especially strangers."
"Shiroe…?" Shirou muttered in subtle surprise, possibly about how similar their names were. "Was he the person you come back to town to try and meet? Do you two already know each other?"
"No, I don't know him. I met him once, but we didn't talk," Illya reluctantly admitted. "I only know him by his reputation. His knowledge on Elder Tale – or I suppose it'd be knowledge on Theldesia now – was almost unrivaled. He knew all the important players and all those players knew him. It was like he had his own little organization, that's mostly why I tried meeting with him before. Unless you planned a meeting beforehand, you wouldn't be able to even meet him."
Seriously, the guy was a recluse. He had his own blog where he'd post information on the game, but he'd never reply to any questions people had… Well, dumb questions. There were a few good ones, such as the interval between spawning of mobs at a farming location when the number of players exceeded the limit. Those would be answered without issue.
He knew a lot about the game, which translated well here in Theldesia. Whatever knowledge that was trapped in the Villain in Glasses mind was valuable. The extent of his knowledge about this world, even Illya didn't know the limits of it. Granted, some of that information could be rendered moot.
Oh, she wished. She wished that she knew him. At least then she'd have someone else to rely on in this game, an ally that she could pry into for knowledge. More than that, if she knew him personally… well, then Illya wouldn't really be different from the other players, specifically the ones that hounded him on the forums for information. The guy stayed out of the limelight for a reason.
In that sense, while Illya highly respected him, she knew that the two of them would probably not get along very well.
"So he's like a magus then, but for a game?" Rin muttered in consideration. Illya didn't really refute it. The Debauchery Tea Party's Shiroe was intelligent, reclusive, and a hoarder of knowledge. If he had a self-destructing abundance of pride, then Illya would've said he was a magus passing his time in a game. "Hmm… Well, I honestly don't know what to say. He's opened a burger joint, which should grow into a franchise soon given enough time. Do you think his plan is similar to ours?"
In other words, was he gaining the power to ensure he wouldn't be touched?
Illya pondered.
"Not likely… but there's always a chance," the snow-haired guardian admitted. "No matter who they are or where they come from, if they're desperate enough then they'd do anything."
She would be a hypocrite to deny that. Anyone in the Emiya Family would be.
"Should we head back or continue watching them?" Shirou asked as his eyes flickered between Illya and the booth. Of course, Sakura was doing the same.
"We should head back. There's no point staying here," Illya finalized. "We can come back later. Either way, this development benefits us. Good food makes people happier, which would do this miserable city some good."
Every member nodded at that simple fact.
"I guess you're right…" Shirou muttered with just a subtle hint of conflict. He really wanted to interrogate them, maybe just ask for some hint or clue, about how to make actual tasting food, but as mentioned before, that was nigh-impossible. "Let's head back."
Illya nodded in relief. At least he wasn't going to do something stupid here.
Once they got back, Illya would be updating their plans. Crescent Moon' burger stand, the Villain in Glasses' hand in it, and their overall goal, what exact purpose they all served could only be told in time. All the Einzbern magus could hope for was that it wouldn't interfere with her own.
It'd be absolutely horrible if they did, but Illya imagined that to be unlikely. This was a food stand, and if gaining enough influence was the goal of the Debauchery Tea Party's Strategist, then it wouldn't conflict with hers. The Emiya Family was going to be selling EXP potions, not whatever burgers they had… but Illya had to admit, they had a much bigger variety.
Coffee, tea, burgers, steaks, and even parfaits could be made. The possibilities that existed behind Crescent Moon were absolutely endless, just like the food industry back on their world…
Illya's eyes drifted to the Landers around her, some of them eating burgers of their own.
… Or perhaps it was something more. The Landers, if they hadn't reacted to how horrible their usual dishes were, would end up flocking to Akihabara all in order to sate their curiosity. To see how much their food differed from the Crescent Moon.
It inevitable that this chain reaction would end up creating a Food-Renaissance for them all. Kingdoms and their Nobles would seek it all out, alongside the Player-made Merchant Guilds in every major city.
In one fell sweep, the Villain in Glasses had prepared to dip his fingers into every pocket that existed in Theldesia.
Illya suppressed a shudder.
… They'd need to redouble their efforts in the EXP potion department. She'd even stop stalking Hamelin and leave that entirely up to Krentelfal to help the twin-tailed magus out. It was much, much more important that they reproduce that potion now.
While it was true that, because of how large in scope the Crescent Moon would end up becoming, it would also be infinitely harder to keep the food preparation method under lock and key. It will be released one day, but when that day comes, Shiroe the Enchanter would already have enough money and power to do what he wanted.
… but this was that Shiroe we're talking about. That guy was as passive as they came. Could being in Theldesia for a month change him into someone capable of such a grandiose plan?
Illya didn't know, not a single bit, and she found herself frustrated at that.
No matter, she would not allow Shiroe the Enchanter to gain enough influence, at least not without the Emiya Family standing alongside him as equally influential peers, or perhaps even more.
The Villain's food and the Emiya Family's Potions, which would have more clout among the players…?
"Hurry up the line!"
"H-Hey, stop shoving!"
"Shut up! At this rate, they'll get sold out!"
Illya heard two footsteps halt instantly. Turning back, Illya found both Shirou and Sakura standing there, eyes wider than she thought possible from the normally calm pair.
Illya's Wolf-Fang ears flickered. "What's wrong, you two?"
"You absolute clown of a woman! Can you not cause a scene!?"
"Look, mister Enchanter, I've been traveling for a literal month! So sorry if I'm just a little cranky!"
Shirou found his jaw opening slightly as he turned back. Sakura followed shortly after. All Illya could do was stand in confusion. Was the talking back there causing issues for them or something?
"… Impossible," Rin muttered, which surprised Illya because she didn't even notice that the Tohsaka Magus was as surprised as them. "That voice…"
"E-Excuse me, miss customer, but could you please be patient? We might run out today, but we'll certainly have more by tomorrow!" An attendant tried to placate the unknown and unruly customer.
"B-But!"
"You heard the woman, now act like the adult you claim you are and be silent."
"Hey! At least I–"
"… Sensei?"
Silence finally claimed the woman, much to the Crescent Moon attendant's, and every other patron's, thankful relief. However, such relief didn't exist for the Emiya Family.
Eyes wide, jaws dropping, that was what affected her guild, but for the life of her, she couldn't tell why!?
Illya thanked her decision to make herself taller in her adventurer body because now she could see an adventurer, followed by a much taller yet lankier adventurer who was shouting his confusion, burst out of the line of adventurers in an almost maddened sprint.
The strange adventurer couldn't stop turning his – or more accurately her, now that Illya saw her body – head from side to side. It was frenzied, hurried, and one that the Einzbern Magus could just tell was littered with just a bit of hope.
Finally, she stopped as her eyes locked onto one direction.
Their direction.
"… No way," She muttered.
"What is it now!?" The adventurer beside her shouted in frustration. "We've been in that line for an hour! Why have you so brazenly chosen to abandon it?"
The adventurer wore a helmet that covered every portion of her head or more specifically a Kabuto Helmet, which meant that she was of the Samurai class. She raised her hands, no doubt to access her inventory, but when she did, she unequipped her helmet–
Illya's eyes widened.
That face.
She recognized that face.
The tiger-like Wolf-Fang ears on her head were new, but there was no mistaking the light-brown hair of a brunette, cut short like a boy's yet still holding some form of feminine charm, sharing an equally brown pair of eyes.
"I can't believe it…" Illya found herself muttering. There was only one reason for that. That reason was that this adventurer was Shirou and Sakura's caretaker for years on end. The woman who came around their home every now and then…
"... Shirou, Sakura?"
… was none other than Fujimura Taiga, the Tiger of Fuyuki–
"Who are you calling a Tiger!?"
"Stop attacking me, woman! The main cities are Non-PvP zones, you miserable excuse of an adult! You need to get used to your own username!"
The surprised expressions on the Emiya Family subtly faded.
… And she was exactly the same as before.
Illya could only sigh and rub her forehead.
This… complicates things.
She stared on at the two adventurers arguing in the middle of the street.
It really does.
A/N: Shiiit. Late. By a day. But still late. Shiiiiit.
Okay, so as hard as it is to believe, I was busy this entire month. Would you like to know why? My college's second year started. That's it. New classes and a new schedule to get used to, all of which was annoying for the first few weeks.
I also now have a seething irritation at Volleyball. My arms hurt all the time.
I live in Asia, so all you Americans are having a nice break and Steam summer sales, while I need to get my student face on and study. Dang it. I wanted to play Ace Academy.
Other news, related to the chapter. Yes, I had an emotional scene here but this was, in my opinion, needed. The characters were starting to feel different from canon so I wanted to take a dip into their mindset the entire time, especially for Rin and Sakura. Shirou might get his own in some future chapter so you'll know why he wants to save the Landers too. We're also now slowly entering the Round Table arc. Unfortunately, this chapter was longer than I wanted, but I couldn't find anything to cut out. Hence, this.
Also, yay. It's Taiga (if you all haven't guessed already. I made it pretty obvious on who one of the adventurers was).
Other news, less related to the chapter. El-Melloi case files anime is coming this month so I'm happy to get a glimpse at Waver's personality here. I couldn't find the time to read the case files novel, but the manga was cool.
Other news again, unrelated to chapter. FGO released their new chapter and I managed to roll the mad Archer who fights like a berserker and doesn't have a bow. I didn't have a single-target buster Archer so he's gonna be great. Maybe I'll try solo a CQ with him.
That's all I really have to say. Once again, thanks to my Beta for being prompt to point out how dumb I am. Leave a review if you found errors that we both missed, or don't. No one's forcing you.
Until next time,
Kappa.
