Chapter 577: When Will We Masters Ever Stand Up?
"Five Years of Magic, Three Years of Drills," "Advanced Magical Applications," "Computerized Magecraft: From Beginner to Grave..."
Shirou hugged the ever-growing stack of books, swaying unsteadily as her bewildered face was nearly buried beneath the colorful covers.
"Wait, Sakatsuki, what are all these things?"
Before the towering wall of books that could make anyone sigh, the young man examined the list displaying hundreds of titles, nodding thoughtfully as his fingers glided across.
"This one, this one, and this one..."
Under the salesclerk's awkward yet polite smile, Sakatsuki said:
"Except for these three books, I'll take all the rest."
"Understood..." Even the clerk paused for a second before calculating the total. "That'll be 2,000,000 QP."
"What?"
Shirou trembled: "How many zeros did you just say?!"
"Just two million. Is that a lot?" Sakatsuki turned his head in surprise, glancing at the girl through the gaps in the book pile. "At the Clock Tower, no amount of money could buy you these books."
"B-but... our starting funds as Masters are only 500 QP!" Shirou looked like she was about to cry. "Even if you sold me, I couldn't—"
Beep.
The sound of a card swipe cut off the girl's words. Shirou's eyes widened as she stared dumbfounded at Sakatsuki, who nonchalantly paid the bill, discussed the delivery address with the clerk, then turned and plucked a book from the towering stack in his Master's arms. Noticing the girl still frozen in place, the young man raised an eyebrow and lightly tapped her head with the book.
"Ow."
"What are you standing around for? Let's go, my Master."
Watching Sakatsuki hum a tune and walk off flipping through his book, then looking down at herself—laden with a mountain of books like some servant—Shirou couldn't help but wonder if something had gone terribly wrong...
Where did Sakatsuki get so much money? During the preliminaries, all he did was skip class and flirt with girls in the nurse's office!
And if they offered delivery service, why was she still foolishly carrying all these books?
Her hands and feet turned cold in broad daylight. Hell is empty, the devils are here. Can this world get any worse? When will we Masters ever stand up...
"Hey, Shirou, if you don't hurry up, I'm leaving you behind."
"C-coming!"
———
In the corridors of Tsukimihara, the handsome white-haired young man strode forward while the girl behind him, burdened by the heavy stack of books, trailed after him like a little attendant.
"The Holy Grail War is a series of one-on-one battles. The last remaining Master and Servant will obtain the Grail. Dropping out midway isn't allowed—it's either win or die. Though it feels more like an elimination tournament than a war, don't you think that makes it easier to understand?"
"So... we just need to... prepare thoroughly... and fight our opponents... right?"
Shirou panted heavily, struggling to keep up with Sakatsuki's pace. The young man glanced at her, tossed the finished grimoire back atop the stack, then pulled out a new one to flip through as he continued:
"The battles take place every seven days, giving each Master ample time to gather intelligence and prepare for combat, but idleness is not permitted—to prevent this, the Moon Cell has set a small challenge for the Masters."
"A challenge?"
"Yes. According to the rules, all participants in the main battle must collect two cipher keys within the six days before the decisive battle. These cipher keys are the keys to the arena where Masters will determine the victor. They must be found before the final battle."
As if reading Hakuno's thoughts, Sakatsuki flashed a teasing smile.
"If you can't even manage that, you'll be forcibly erased before entering the arena."
Forcibly erased... meaning death?
The girl couldn't help but glance out the corridor window. Though the eternal moon still hung in the sky, the hues of dusk had already spread across the heavens, painting this world in twilight.
One day had already come to an end. After the long yet fleeting night arrived and departed, only five days remained until the first battle.
Yet here she was, having just contracted with a rogue Servant, still clueless about the Holy Grail War, barely understanding magecraft, and utterly lost on how to command a Servant in battle...
And now, she had to collect these mysterious cipher keys too?
This is too much...
A metaphorical waterfall of tears streamed down Hakuno's heart as her slender shoulders slumped under the weight of both tangible and intangible burdens, looking utterly pitiful.
With a thud, a hand landed on her shoulder. Seeing Hakuno's face screaming misery, Sakatsuki smirked.
"No need to be so tense. This is just a simple trial to demonstrate your abilities. You know, right? At the corner of the school's first floor, the original entrance has been transformed into an arena for Masters and Servants to train."
Kishinami Hakuno nodded, and Sakatsuki continued, "The arena constructs two levels for each round of battle, with one cipher key generated on each level. Since Masters and Servants need to train in the arena anyway—hunting enemy programs, gathering resources—finding the cipher keys is just an added task."
Unlike the preliminaries, the main selection at Tsukumihara Academy featured two additional structures: the coliseum for decisive battles between Masters and the training arena used before the final battles.
From a conventional perspective, both facilities existed beneath Tsukumihara Academy, their sizes rivaling the school itself. The training arena would even expand layer by layer as the main selection progressed, eventually surpassing the academy in scale—a true fragment of an otherworldly digital realm.
After all, the Moon Cell, practically a "Garden of the Gods," constructed a world that defied Earth's dimensional framework. To the spiritual virtual world SE.RA.PH, Tsukumihara Academy, the coliseum, and the arena were merely fragments woven from countless data points.
Entering the Master's private room, Hakuno set down a thick stack of textbooks and sighed in relief—only for Sakatsuki to grab her hand again and drag her out.
"W-where are we going now, Sakatsuki?"
"Hmm? Isn't it obvious? I've just explained several hundred words' worth of coliseum details to you." With his crimson mantle fluttering, the young man's eyes sparkled, already brimming with impatience. "Let's go, let's play at the coliseum... ahem, I mean, let's go train properly at the coliseum, Master!"
"It's clearly you who wants to go, isn't it?" Even the good-natured girl couldn't help rolling her eyes, though she didn't pull her hand away from Sakatsuki's grasp. "And what about these books?"
"Ah, you reminded me!" Sakatsuki snapped his fingers, his expression growing even more delighted. "Come on, Master, bring your books along. We'll conduct practical drills at the coliseum—after all, practice is the sole criterion for testing truth!"
The door to the private room opened, then closed again, trapping the girl's wail inside where it lingered.
"They're so heavy! And I haven't even had dinner yet—"
By the time Hakuno had composed herself and arrived at the coliseum entrance with Sakatsuki, a familiar figure happened to emerge from the gateway, running right into them.
That unmistakable deep-blue seaweed-like hair, eyes of the same color, and that perpetually irritating face...
"Shinji?"
"Hakuno? And Sakatsuki?!"
Beside the dumbfounded Shinji stood a red-haired woman dressed in a blazing crimson coat and black knee-high boots—someone who gave the immediate impression of being "just like a pirate." She glanced at Hakuno, then let her gaze linger on Sakatsuki's faintly amused expression before finally speaking up, breaking the slightly eerie atmosphere.
"Hey, Shinji, are these your friends?"
"Of course not!" Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Matou Shinji jumped. But after seeing Hakuno's expression, he stammered and corrected himself, "N-no, sort of. At least Hakuno's my friend from the preliminaries... but that guy doesn't count!"
Pointing at Sakatsuki, Shinji's expression turned fierce again, though it carried an air of bluster.
"Listen up, Sakatsuki! This isn't the preliminaries anymore—I'm a Master with a Servant now!"
"This time, I'll definitely crush you and make you beg for mercy at my feet, you hear?!"