Chapter 07

How?! How could that Holy Grail War be in this timeline? This and that timelines are different! This timeline's Holy Grail Wars are supposed to be full of butterflies! I blame Zelretch for this.

[AN; Poor Oz not knowing this one is caused by the bigger troll than Zelretch.]

The First Tokyo Holy Grail War is one of the most dangerous grail wars. The servants are also OP. Let me think. This Holy Grail War classifies Servants and Masters with ranks. Servants' ranks are –

Servant Rank 1st – Saber; True Name: Arthur Pendragon

Servant Rank 2nd – Berserker; True Name: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Servant Rank 3rd – Archer; True Name: Arash

Servant Rank 4th – Lancer; True Name: Brynhildr

Servant Rank 5th – Rider; True Name: Ramesses II aka Ozymandias

Servant Rank 6th – Caster; True Name: Paracelsus

Servant Rank 7th – Assassin; True Name: One of the Hassan-i-Sabbah, Hassan of Serenity

Thank god I've read that novel from Beast's Lair. If not, I��ll be a goner. And most of all, Manaka Sajyou. The damn girl is proficient in every magecraft in the entire world, with talent that surpasses even the magi from the Age of the Gods.

Moreover, she has been connected to the Root ever since she was born. This would make the three founding families of the Fuyuki Holy Grail Wars cringe their teeth so hard. Not only them, but most of the traditional magus would also likely bang their head with tofu to kill themselves. Including Lorelei. Her magic circuit quality is EX rank.

Talk about the magic circuit, what about mine? I haven't checked it. I've already a battle and haven't even checked my magic circuit. Good job me! I need to go home first. I should take Sigma to see his new home. I still have some months to prepare. I hailed a taxi and went straight home with my newly adopted son.

When we got home, surprisingly, he was the one who initiates the talk. "Who is she?" he asked.

"Who? Lorelei?"

"Yes."

"Your new mother." What is this kid asking? She already said that she'll be his mother.

"No, I'm not talking about that."

At that, I let out a sigh. "Kid, let me ask you something. Do you know anything about the Mage's Association?" I asked to which he shook his head.

I sigh. "Listen to me. The Mage's Association is divided into three main branches: The Clock Tower, the Atlas Academy, and the Wandering Sea. Ever since Clock Tower became the official headquarters, the Three Great Branches as they are called started to drift apart from each other."

I raised my index finger. "First, The Clock Tower. It is currently the headquarters and main branch of the Mage's Association and has existed since before the start of the AD calendar. It is also where most of the magi gather to learn."

I raised my middle finger. "Second is Atlas Academy. The Atlas Temple, Atlas Academy, or Atlas Institute is one of the three major branches of the Mage's Association specialized in Alchemy. It is also known as the Titan's Pit and the Institute of Aggregation and Analysis. This is where most of the scholar gathers."

I raised my ring finger. "And lastly, The Wandering Sea. It is also known as The Moving Tomb and Baldanders is an integrated association in Northern Europe. It is a conglomerate of minor organizations of magi that are spread throughout Europe that was originally the original Association that predated the Clock Tower. They have ceased communication with the Association since the Clock Tower became the headquarters. This base is itself a moving mountain range. Normally it is wandering at sea as its name suggests, but sometimes it comes up on dry land. It opens to the outside world only once a year, on December 31st."

Then I take down all three of my fingers. "So, what do you think? Tell me. Which one has more authority in your eyes?"

"The Clock Tower," Sigma answers.

"Why?"

"Because most of the fighting forces are gathering at The Clock Tower. It is not that Atlas Academy and The Wandering Sea are not powerful. Atlas Academy is mostly made up of scholars. And we don't have enough information about The Wandering Sea, thus we don't know about their power. Since they don't interact with the outside world that much, I get an idea that they don't care much about the outside world."

"Correct," I replied. "And, your new mother, Lorelei Barthomeloi aka 'The Queen: The Supreme Mage of the Present Era' is an assistant director of The Clock Tower. She is one of the most badass women in the world."

He went silent after that. I know. It would be a lot to take in for him. But I want him to live like a normal person until he starts his studies in a clock tower. When he started studying there, Waver will already be taking the name Lord El-Melloi II and starts teaching there. I'm sure Waver will make him a good magus and in the right way. I showed him his new room after talking with him for a while. And I dived into my bed to think for the future.

Now, where to send him to study? Should I take him with me to Tokyo? Yeah. I could make him study in Japan. I will be staying there after the First Tokyo Holy Grail War after all. But, here's the question. Will I survive? Even I'm not sure myself. And with Manaka there, I have an even lesser chance for survival. She was connected to root since birth. Then how about me? I'm sure I'm connected to root before coming here. How about now? Do I connect to root just like Shiki Ryougi? Let's try. I don't have another personality but seems like I'm still connected to root. Then why am I not erased by Counter Force? Another topic to think about later.

At that time, in the deepest part of the Root, 3rd POV

"Hey, look. He is trying to connect himself with the Root," said the humanoid-shaped shadow.

"It seems so. I can't wait to see my old friend again," said the man who has a blank white face which is covered in a mosaic.

"Is that why you add that war called The First Tokyo Holy Grail War into this timeline? You gave my big brother a scare," said a childish voice. Though the thing is that the childish voice is coming from the very big dragon.

"I just hope you don't troll him hard, H*******. Your jokes sometimes tend to go overboard," the humanoid-shaped shadow said to the blank white face person.

"No, it doesn't," replied the now known H*******.

"Your joke made a person's second wife die, the first wife to leave him and soon to be the third wife to search and kill him every time she sees him in one timeline. Did I mention that the first wife was put in a public execution?" The dragon deadpans.

H******* raised a finger, and then lowered it. The dragon has a point. He sees others are staring at him without saying anything, "Okay, I messed with them a lot. But everything is okay in the end, right?"

"How about others? What did they say, M*******?" The humanoid-shaped shadow asked the dragon.

"They said they need to keep order in their own world, T****. Some said they will come here to watch their friend's last adventure when they have time."

"Is he not your friend, M*******?" asked T****.

"No, he is my big brother that I admire a lot!"

Then, T**** turns behind and looks at two women. One of them has a body of mid-twenties. With blue hair, tied in twin tail. The other is in the body of a grade-schooler body with a bob cut green hair. They clearly cannot move from their place. "Now, what to do with you two? I'm sorry but we can't let you call Counter Force on our friend. His connection to Root is our gift for him, you see."

The older one asks, "Who are you all? What are you doing here? Why can't we move."

This time, it was H******* that replied, "We don't need to answer your question. Unlike you two who are second in command in your own universe, we three are in charge of our own universes and control them. So, in sense, we are of higher rank than you. Of course, we will be a lot stronger than you."

"We have come to see my big brother's final adventure. We gave him our gift for this adventure. We can't let you act on it."

"If we see you two scheming something to our friend, we won't be hesitant to destroy you two. Do you understand?" asked T**** with a toothy grin. Those two could do nothing but nod.

"You can go now," H******* said with a wave of his hand.

Now, back to our MC who doesn't know that his overpowered friends saved him from the hands of Counter Forces, 1st POV

Now, establishing a connection to 「 」. It was then, much of the information rush into my brain. After a while, it doesn't hurt so much. But it was draining my prana like crazy. I… must… stop… the connection. Only after that, it was bearable for me. My prana almost sucked dry. I looked at the clock and 10 minutes. It is my limit. I don't know if I could break through my limit. But, 10 minutes is my limit now. So, in those 10 minutes, I can interfere with reality to an extent. Not bad. I would need to rest about a day after that though. Hey! At least I'm sure I can survive against Manaka.

But there's a bigger problem. Bigger than Manaka. The Beast Class servant. How am I supposed to stop that? Should I let Saber do his thing? He would need to release 6 seals and the power of the other 6 servants to push back the Beast into slumber until the next war. I will support the way I can and if possible, I would like to stop Manaka from summoning the Beast.

Enough about that for now. I need to think about where I should put Sigma while I'm in the Grail War. He would be eleven next year. I should go over there and make some friends. How about making friends with Raiga? I could let Sigma stay with him while I'm participating in the Grail War. I'm sure Raiga could be trusted by seeing Shirou interacting with him. And I know I could trust him if what the root shows me is true. I'll prepare and go to Japan next month. I need to say something to Lorelei first though. She won't let me go if I told her that I'm going to participate in the Holy Grail War. I'll just tell her that I would be letting Sigma study in Japan and I'll be staying together with him. Yes, I could do that.

And just like that, a month has passed. The relationship between Lorelei and Sigma increased significantly. It all started when Lorelei noticed that Sigma has done his works perfectly. As a perfectionist herself, she took a liking to that boy. I've also checked my magic circuit and I'm amazed by myself. I have 100 high-quality Magic Circuits. Even Luviagelita Edelfelt has that many Circuits because of her Magic crests. I have 1000 units of output in Minimum. Great! By the way, I can connect to root for about 15 minutes now. Sugoi desho?! Saikou desho?! Tensai desho?! (I'm amazing! I'm the best! I'm a genius!)

We got everything we need. So, it's time to head to Japan. I can't wait to eat their food. But, first thing first. I need to go and say goodbye to Lorelei. I can't let her hunt me down with her battalion again. I left Sigma on the down floor and I went to her office alone.

"We won't be able to see each other for 8 years," she said with a sad smile.

"Well, you can come and visit us when you have time. And we can also visit you during Sigma's summer holidays."

"But it feels weird."

I tilted my head. "Weird?"

"All this time, I have you by my side. The longest time you stay away from me in a month. But now, you will be staying away from being for 8 years. I don't know if I would be able to handle it. I might drop everything I'm doing if I can't handle it anymore."

"Lorelei, you are a perfect woman. You, who is raised and became perfect in every way related to magus and nobility. And achieved it at the age of 9. You are the woman I'm proud of. So, please. Don't do it. You need to maintain your face as the Queen of the clock tower. You've worked hard for this position and your family won't like it if you don't act perfect. But I also wish to stay with you too." I gave her a hug.

After we part, I said with a small smile on my face. "Don't worry, we will visit whenever we can."

Lorelei kissed me on the lips and said, "Okay, just take care of yourself."

"Bye Lorelei, I will miss you."

"Bye."

And with that, I went out of the office without looking back. I won't be able to leave if I look at her downcast face. I went and took Sigma and went straight to the airport. After about 12 hours later, we arrived at Tokyo International Airport aka Haneda Airport. And took the train to Fuyuki. After staying at Hyatt Hotel for a night, we went house hunting and got a simple two-story house at the southern end of Miyama Town. Thanks to my connection to the root, I know exactly what Raiga Fujimura likes and quickly friends with him.

Now, it is time for my departure and I told Sigma to be a good boy. When I was about to leave, "Come back home alive, you stupid old man," comes Sigma's voice.

It was the first time he calls me something related to father, and it made me really happy. I smile and said, "Of course, kid. Who the hell do you think I am?!"

After saying goodbye, I went to the train station and go straight to Tokyo. I booked myself at The Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, and stay there until nightfall. During the night, I went into the park and prepare to summon my servant. I don't know which servant to summon. So, I just pull a gacha.

At that same time, inside the deepest part of the Root, 3rd POV

"As expected of my friend. He is trying to rely on his abysmal luck to get himself a Servant," said H******* while rolling on the floor.

"Which servant class should we give him? He summons too early and none of the Servants are summoned. We can give him any class we want," said the dragon.

"How about Extra class? That war is work with rank, right? Just make him the 8th Master. There's an Extra class in that timeline called Apocrypha, right? Give him that Extra class," said T****.

"We'll give him the Servant of that class. But I know which Servant to give him. Come here," H******* said while calling others to gather near him.

*mutter* *mutter* *mutter*

"I'm not sure about that," the dragon said as he doesn't want his big brother to suffer.

"Don't you want to see his glorious adventures, M******? Think about it. The harder it gets, the better and stronger he becomes. Doesn't he like that when he was with you?" said H******* while trying to whisper like a demon into the dragon's ears.

M******* has stars in its eyes. "Let's do this!"

The other two thought, "Too easy."

Back to our MC who doesn't know that he got screwed by his friends, 1st POV

Let silver and steel be the essence.

Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation.

Let red be the color I pay tribute to.

Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall.

Let the four cardinal gates close.

Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate."

"Let it be filled. Again. Again. Again. Again.

Let it be filled fivefold for every turn, simply breaking asunder with every filling.

After all the wind settles down, I see my servant. I saw, blood-red hair flowing down like a river, a red cloak, and black armor. I know her. I'm sure my luck rank is E. But why did I get her?

"Although I'm sure I'm to be summoned as an Avenger but now I'm a Servant Ruler. As per your summon, I've arrived. I ask of you, are you my master?" she said.

And this is how I met your mother, kids.