It should be known that Revolution is by far my favorite game just for the fact Claire is in it; however, it's not the only thing I got into. Back in my original life, I was a part of the manga research club, and during my time there I was introduced to a very particular manga. I admit that I was turned off by it initially, but it did somehow grow on me. Because of this, I was then introduced to one of my favorite series, before I got into Revolution, the Fate series. I probably started watching it around my high school years, and I wasn't disappointed when watching it. It had amazing scenes, extensive lore, interesting ideas, and of course some very lovely characters, none of them like Claire-sama, obviously. I soon found myself falling down the rabbit hole and learned the lore, bought a couple of games and sunk millions into the mobile game after it was released. Those moments were quite a dark time.
I soon fell out of it once I got introduced to Revolution, but I wasn't entirely out. I still played the mobile game when I couldn't be at home with Claire, however, my heart was entirely devoted to my beloved.
"Rei! What are you talking about?!"
When Lene was describing Claire's condition to me, I thought it sounded a lot like command seals given to masters in the series. The three red marks meant the grail found Claire worthy to complete in the holy grail war if there was a holy grail. More descriptions of the "curse" had me more convinced, yet I couldn't be sure since this is the world of Revolution. It might have been all coincidence, but after this test, I knew for sure.
"Commoner, stop daydreaming and explain!"
"Sorry sorry, Claire-Sama you're a master!"
"You said that already! What does that mean?!"
I was once again being shaken by the frightened Claire. She was so cute whenever her face was flushed with fear. I could stare at her like that all day.
"It means you are able to summon a servant!"
"That doesn't answer my question!"
"Rei, Claire, please calm down!"
Lene separated us and stood like a wall to stop any poor interactions from happening, not that I mind being shaken like a rag doll too much. But now that I stood here and my brain had time to settle, I realized something, I'm the only person in this world that knew this information. Furthermore, this kind of event never happened in the story before, so my knowledge of this stuff is gonna rat me out if I'm not careful. And after that kitchen incident between me and Lene earlier on, I was already one foot in the grave on that front.
"Now Rei is it a good thing that the circle glowed."
"Uuuuuh. I guess. It's really not important. It just means that Claire-Sama is fine, so no harm there."
I backpedaled hard.
I said too much already, and it was likely that if I continue, I'd be walking into a minefield. Despite my excitement beforehand, I realized that a holy grail war isn't something you want your love interest to be fighting in. It was filled with death, betrayal, danger, and sexy anime characters; all things I need Claire to avoid.
"Furthermore commoner, what does it mean that I will have a servant? There's clearly more to that than what you and Lene are."
"Uh"
"And does it have any connections to the circle glowing?"
"Uuuuh."
"And I'm not the only one with this mark on my hand, are you implying this applies to everyone."
"Look can we just..."
"Commoner, I order you to give me an explanation before I have to write you up!"
"You can tell us Rei."
Claire and Lene weren't letting up, and it seemed I had to explain one way or another.
"Alright Alright! I'll talk just for you Claire-sama. But this information has to be between us, ok?"
"Commoner, dozens of people are suffering from this! This could possibly save all of them from this torment."
"It's not as simple as that Claire-Sama. I'm not exactly sure why other people are getting affected the way they are, but If you are obligated to be a master, there is a very high chance of you dying if more people summon them."
There was a long silence that fell upon Lene and Claire. This was gonna be difficult to explain to them.
"Those things on your hand, Claire-Sama, are called command seals. They represent your worthiness to become a master and act as a way to control your servants if they refuse to corporate with you. You issue an order to them, and your servant has to follow it at the cost of one of those marks."
She nodded as she leaned forward listening to my explanation, Lene was also laser-focused on my words.
"As for what a servant is, they are known to be heroes of history. They are summoned as a familiar that draw upon magic from the master to maintain a human form."
"So... they're undead?"
"Kinda but kinda not. They look as normal as us, but they're more like... spirits who create a new body from magic."
"And why on earth would I want to summon a ghost!?"
Lene and I looked over at Claire who was looking a little pale as she panicked at the idea of summoning a ghost. She noticed her outburst and tried to collect herself and sat back down. It should be apparent that Claire was afraid of ghosts.
"I-I mean, you can't trust these ghosts. They can desire all kinds of… untasteful things…"
"Claire-Sama has a point. Why would people summon these things? It sounds like they are pretty dangerous to own if those marks are used to do stuff like making them commit Suicide if they go rogue."
Lene caught on fast to the purpose of the command seals.
"Well, for one these servants are incredibly strong. Even one of medium strength has enough power to take on an army of several trained soldiers."
"That's... absurd!"
"Along with that, these servants and masters participate in a secret war. After a victor is decided, the winner is granted a wish-granting object capable of altering the very structure of the world."
""WHAAT!""
They both yelled in shock at the idea of this secret war, and for an adequate reason too. Not only did this mean the country could easily be wiped out by one person if given a good hand, but also someone could be granted any selfish or evil wish they wanted if they won. I can think of a few people who could use that, and with less than savory intent. I better try to quell their fears soon, because I was quickly losing my personal space as the two girls swarmed me.
"How long has something like this been going on?! How come we haven't heard of it?! How did a commoner like you learn of this?!"
"This type of event could be catastrophic! We can't let something like that happen! It must be stopped!"
"Can you please back up Lene? Not you Claire, you're perfectly fine where you are."
They both backed away from me, Claire especially shooting me a dirty look. It was so cute seeing her so mad and flustered. But I couldn't just tease her all day, I needed to get to the point.
"It'll be fine Claire-Sama, I doubt anyone else would know of this. But... we need to remove those command seals off of you", it should have been obvious back when I first thought of it. When I appeared in this world, the only thought on my mind was to protect Claire-Sama. Though this weird event was throwing a wrench into my plan. What was laid out was quickly getting called into question. Not only was Claire-Sama roped into this, but I unexpectedly brought in Lene as well.
"And let someone else have their way with a servant and wish?! I think not!"
It appeared I spoke too much. As mentioned before, Claire-sama is a villainess. However, there was more to Claire than being a snot-noised privileged child: she was proud, had a sense of duty, and would never let anything threaten the nobility of the land. I should have probably reeled back before I told her of the risks of a grail war, but it seemed to of convinced her to only pursue the war.
"Claire-Sama..."
"Lene, it's quite obvious we shouldn't let this war happy, and I don't trust leaving this to the commoner."
"But Claire, this is a life-or-death battle. If you're not careful..."
"That's Claire-Sama to you, Commoner. I doubt someone like you could understand anyway. I'd rather die fighting against the evils of this world than let them win!"
Oh, Claire-Sama, you're always so dedicated to your beliefs. Even when faced with hell you walked in without hesitation, and I got no choice but to follow.
"Commoner, I need all the information you have! And I won't take any excuse you will make. I need to… summon… one of these servants as soon as possible."
"Oh Claire-sama, I didn't know you were wanting an open relationship."
"Will you stop that!"
"But we should really talk about our future before we consider a 3rd partner."
"Ugh, you're so insufferable!"
"Alright fine, but we'll need to go over some stuff. Perhaps we could discuss it over tea later tonight?"
"Gah! Fine! Whatever!"
"You two are so cute."
"Thanks!"
"Don't you start too Lene!"
We all (besides Claire) had a laugh as we stood up. It would be impossible to get Claire off my back if I turned her down; and while I'd love to have that cute angry look follow me around, she'd eventually find out how to summon based on how plot progression works. Me showing her will just allow me to keep an eye on her through this. There was now only one, or maybe a couple, problem to attend to.
"Lene, could you get some gloves for Claire-Sama? If another master saw her seals, she'd instantly become a target. I'll take care of the blood and we'll meet up later to talk about Claire."
"Like you do anything else, Rei. Don't forget to get a change of clothes, you... spilled some. Please accompany me Claire-Sama"
"I know. Have fun you two. Don't get lonely without me Claire-sama!'
Claire shivered as she joined Lene and walked out of the clinic. It was so adorable. But I had to clean this crime scene up before trouble came so I had to keep that thought to the side for now. But there was another problem to think of, Claire with a servant could lead to many unexpected outcomes. If it was someone like Gilles, Claire was as good as dead. Someone like Elizabeth will drive her up the wall, and that is a job exclusive to me. And if it was someone like Diarmuid...
Ugh. now I'm getting worried over nothing, Claire still had her heart for Sienn anyway. There's no way she'd fall for some random hot guy that comes from nowhere...
Well, no matter, I just had to get prepared for every possibility. I've already done pretty well at that so far; it shouldn't be too hard to do it again