"Huh?"
What had happened to him, Uryu Ryuunosuke had no idea.
The doctor before him hadn't moved. The same motionless posture.
The red eyes he had desperately wanted to kill and gouge out were right in front of his nose.
"Ah… ahh…."
"You'll be dead in thirty seconds."
Blood gushes like a fountain. It flows from none other than his own neck.
The interest that had fallen into a rut after killing over thirty people springs forth once more.
Blood is beautiful.
Vivid and hot. The blood that makes one realize they are alive.
"This… this is it. I've finally found it. The most precious thing was inside my own body…!"
A shame.
It's a waste, that blood scattering on the floor.
A little more… I want to clutch it in my hands….
His eyes closed.
"He was a real psycho."
It was the first time I'd seen someone so moved by the sight of their own blood.
The look of ecstasy on his face as he died. It was frightening.
"First, I'll have to burn the body. A hospital with no patients is great since I don't have to worry about being caught."
I can just send a letter to the Tohsaka family later. They surely won't be upset that I took care of a murderer wandering their territory.
I threw the murderer's body into the incinerator. Of course, I left the right hand.
After a separate investigation, it turned out this man was indeed a participant in the Holy Grail War.
He was a magus with Magic Circuits, albeit weak ones.
If other magi had found this murderer, they would have gladly harvested his circuits.
They're meaningless to me. I burned them all along with the body.
But the Command Spells are different. The Command Spells themselves are a mass of magical energy.
It's something that even a quack magus like me has no reason to refuse.
I heard they're used to command the Servant summoned for the Holy Grail War, but since I don't have a Servant.
Of course, I have no intention of participating in something like the Holy Grail War.
To put it simply, I've obtained three extra batteries.
"Living virtuously really pays off."
A smile naturally formed on my lips.
If I were to sell about one Command Spell to old man Tokiomi, how much money would I make?
He's hell-bent on victory, so not buying isn't an option.
And given his honor-bound personality, he won't haggle like a cheapskate.
If I play my cards right, I might be able to squeeze out about 100 million yen?
"Good. Good… huh?"
I was planning to preserve the murderer's hand in formalin, but the Command Spells on the back of the hand began to disappear.
"No. My 100 million yen…!"
If anyone saw me shedding tears while holding a severed hand, they would probably think I was crazy.
But I want them to understand.
I'm flat broke. I need every means of making money I can get.
Was it misfortune or a blessing? The vanished Command Spells reappeared on the back of my hand.
Like it or not, this means I have to participate in the Holy Grail War.
Now that I have Command Spells, I've become a part of the struggle for the Grail.
"I'm going crazy. Damn it all."
Should I build a workshop first? More importantly, what kind of Servant will be summoned?
I heard you need a catalyst to summon the best Servant. The best Servant is directly linked to victory in the Holy Grail War.
Isn't bragging about his catalyst what Mr. Tokiomi came here for? The importance of it is too obvious to even state.
So, does that mean I have to prepare a catalyst too?
This is bad. I don't have the money to buy something like that.
Forfeiting the war is one option, but not a good one.
"Even if I say I won't participate, they'll be suspicious, and if I do participate, I'll be the main target. This is troublesome."
Neither the Church nor the Mages' Association likes me.
The reason was simple. I once annihilated an entire island.
It was shortly after I was reincarnated; for some reason, I immediately went on a rampage.
I hadn't fully apotheosized as a Beast; it was more like my larval form ran wild.
The problem is that even that larval form can easily kill people.
By the time I came to my senses, the Holy Church and the Mages' Association were simultaneously hostile towards me.
I thought this life was a wash and was ready to die quietly.
But for some reason, instead of being exterminated, I was taken in by the Holy Church. That's the story.
"It's a dark history of slaughtering civilians. I'm no different from that murderer."
It's only natural that my reputation is in the gutter. I've never been on friendly terms with the other Executors.
I don't even remember it, but I still regret it constantly.
When I had grown up a bit, I asked the Church if I could go back to that island.
But all I was told was that the island itself had been obliterated.
They were blatantly hiding something, but I didn't have the luxury to dig any deeper back then.
What could I even do if I went back? Apologize to the dead? A meaningless act.
A sigh escaped me. I should deal with the matter at hand first.
"First, I'll build a workshop and try summoning a Servant. If I'm lucky, I might get a good one, right?"
Though I doubt a good Servant would come to me.
I don't know. Just come, anyone.
As long as we can communicate, I couldn't ask for more.
My motivation is at rock bottom.
"I need to stock up on supplies first… and remodel the clinic into a workshop… There's a lot to do."
I'm already tired.
I went into town.
I had canned goods, ramen, and other preserved foods I bought by scraping together what little money I had delivered to the clinic.
In case the water got cut off, I bought a ton of bottled water, and likewise, I bought a gas canister.
This should be enough for supplies.
The Holy Grail may be an important treasure to magi, but I don't need it.
Having used it once before, I know it's a more user-unfriendly item than one might think.
"In the first place, the reason I came to Fuyuki was to find a Beast, not to play war games."
I decided to summon a Caster. As an Executor, I'm confident in hand-to-hand combat, but I'm hopeless when it comes to magecraft.
The only magecraft I know is Barrier Magecraft. I learned the Baptism Rite, but I doubt I'll ever use it.
In any case, it would be nice if a Servant who could help track the Beast showed up.
During my spare time, I took a walk in the park.
In the distance, I saw a familiar reddish-brown hair.
Tohsaka Aoi. Mr. Tokiomi's wife and the mother of the sisters, Rin and Sakura.
Since she was one of my most precious customers, I approached her amiably as part of my social obligations and greeted her.
"Madam! How have you been? You're walking alone today. Where are the children?"
"Ah, doctor…. The children are resting at home. I just came out for a bit of fresh air."
Mrs. Aoi greeted me with her characteristic gentle smile.
However, her expression was quite dark.
Could it be because of the Holy Grail War?
Even if victory is practically foretold, no wife would be at ease knowing her husband is heading into a life-or-death situation.
I, too, had become a potential enemy of Mr. Tokiomi.
She doesn't know yet, of course… but I somehow felt guilty.
"And what brings you here, doctor?"
"Haha. I ran out of food, so I came to buy some. Life has been quite difficult lately. I've just been filling my stomach with ramen."
"Oh my… I'm sorry. He's very busy right now, so he probably hasn't been able to pay attention to the clinic."
"No, it's alright. I can't be a burden on the Tohsaka family forever. I'm trying to find a way to make a living."
I subtly inquired about Mr. Tokiomi's schedule.
A man like him would probably know how to transfer Command Spells.
Victory isn't my goal. One Command Spell to protect myself is enough.
As someone who couldn't give up on 100 million yen, I wanted to proceed with the deal somehow, but Mrs. Aoi looked troubled.
"He doesn't tell me much. I can only support him. …Whether that choice is right, or wrong."
"Madam?"
"Ah… no, it's nothing. That wasn't something to say to an outsider. I should be going now. And you, doctor…?"
"I think I'll be heading back now as well. Farewell, then."
Something definitely happened.
Prying further would have been rude, so I quickly took my leave.
It also seemed Mrs. Aoi didn't want to talk any more.
As I was leaving the park, I saw a man hiding behind a tree.
It was the person who had been spying on Mrs. Aoi and me from earlier.
I shouldn't… kill him. Calm down, me. Murder is only for when it's necessary.
Calming my mind, I erased my presence.
I grabbed the shoulder of the man who was peeping at Mrs. Aoi, completely unaware.
"Hyaaah! W-what the!"
"Who are you? You've been peeping at Mrs. Aoi since earlier. Are you a stalker?"
His purple hair reminded me of the Matou family. His narrow shoulders and back told me what an unimpressive man he was.
Anyone could see he was a stalker, but he vehemently denied it.
"No! I'm an old friend of Aoi's! I came back to my hometown after a long time and was going to meet her, but I was just waiting because you were talking to her!"
"Is that so? For someone like that, the way you were looking at Mrs. Aoi seemed rather unusual."
The fact that he called her Aoi instead of Tohsaka… means he liked her?
But Mrs. Aoi is married to Mr. Tokiomi. This man returned to his hometown after a long time.
In that case….
"I... I... Aoi…."
I roughly understood what was going on.
I let him go.
"My apologies. There have been a lot of strange people around lately. Like serial killers."
"What…?! There's a serial killer in Fuyuki City? A-Are Rin and Sakura…?!"
"Calm down. That person is already dead."
So he knows Rin and Sakura, too.
Is he meeting her periodically because he can't forget her? He's a pitiful man, if you think about it.
"He's dead. Phew… that's a relief."
"That concern you have. I understand it completely."
"Yeah. Thanks. Whoever you are."
I handed him a business card.
"I run a small clinic in Fuyuki. If you feel even slightly unwell, please don't hesitate to visit."
Now is the time for some niche marketing.
The man looked at the business card. His eyes rolled, and he immediately pointed out the name.
"...Orkney's Paradise? That's a strange name for a clinic."
"It's my taste. Don't worry about it."
"This is a business card, but it doesn't even have a name. Are you really a doctor?"
I wish he'd get that seaweed-like hair out of the way.
I roughly pushed the man's arm away. I could see he was startled by the unexpected strength.
"I have a license, if you must know. I'm in a hurry, so I'd appreciate it if you'd let me go."
"Ah… alright."
The man put the business card in his pocket.
He looked around, spotted Mrs. Aoi, and ran towards her joyfully like an adolescent boy.
Decades must have passed, yet he still couldn't let go of his feelings?
A pitiful person.
"...Maybe I'll give him one treatment for free."
Pitying him, I returned to the clinic.
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