Paracelsus's hideout shared a structure similar to Makiri Zolgen's manor, but its furnishings and laboratories possessed a demeanor far more akin to a magus's workshop.
If Zolgen's manor felt like the Kuonji Mansion, then Paracelsus's home felt as though the Garam-no-dou had been expanded several dozen times in scale.
"Ah, you've arrived."
"Oho... So that is one of the final Masters of the Human Order... To think he is the possessor of the Third Magic, a Mystery not even fully elucidated in the distant future!"
"Eeei! To have such a stimulating subject appear before me... I feel a surge of desire to cast aside my current work just to write about him!"
...And there stood the trio of minor talents... no, the Writer Team and Sherlock Holmes.
Thinking back on it, based on what was revealed in the Trion, the Servant Sherlock Holmes was supposedly a sort of spy dispatched by the Alien God. Is he not a spy here? Or is he acting according to his original nature...? Furthermore, according to the proper history of the Singularities, Sherlock Holmes should have been located in the 6th Singularity by now.
'The cliché where those you thought were allies in a Mafia Game turn out to be the hidden Mafia is a common one.'
"Dear me, it seems I invited guests only to neglect the hospitality."
As Paracelsus snapped his fingers, a cold Ice Elemental manifested and gently cradled a bottle of wine.
"It is my favorite wine. An 1812 vintage."
"...I happen to know that's incredibly expensive."
"It was a birthday gift from Makiri, but it should suffice for entertaining guests."
No, I didn't mean it like that—I meant it's more than enough.
"Putting that aside, you're Sherlock... Holmes, right? I heard you were monitoring Nikola Tesla. Is it alright for you to be here?"
"Ah, Master of Chaldea. There is no issue on this side... or rather, it would be more accurate to say that everything has already concluded, regardless of the problems involved."
"...Dear me, it seems his output was even greater than our projections. To think he would destroy all the elementals and homunculi in the mere thirty minutes I was away to greet the Chaldean group..."
I see.
I wondered why Holmes was sitting here nursing a wine glass, but it turns out Nikola Tesla had already obliterated the forces under his command and returned.
"At any rate, dismissing Mephistopheles was a pleasant miscalculation. To think the most troublesome existence after the King of Storms would be dismissed so easily... It has been helpful in many ways."
"...That demon brat was certainly annoying, but was he really that difficult?"
Mordred asked with a slight hint of irritation.
"You... resemble the King of Storms. Are you of the Round Table? Then I shall explain. Categorizing a Servant's rank is not done simply by looking at their combat power; it is judged by synthesizing their alignment, patterns, and Noble Phantasms. For instance, consider a Servant with zero actual combat ability who emits ancient toxins—the poisons of horrific creatures like the Hydra or Basmu—in a fine mist. Would that Servant be more dangerous, or would a Servant who can be reasoned with and is simply powerful, like a Knight of the Round Table, be the greater threat?"
"...The former, obviously."
"It was a decision based on those factors. Among the phenomena currently wrecking this Singularity—excluding this irregular situation called the 'Mafia Game'—there were four enemy Servants in total, including the recently dismissed Mephistopheles. If we look at the priority list I personally classified, the top is the King of Storms, followed by Mephistopheles, Nikola Tesla, and then Jack the Ripper."
"Can I ask why? Honestly, in terms of the danger of a Noble Phantasm, I don't think Jack the Ripper falls that far behind Nikola Tesla."
"It is a very simple principle. The legends forming the prototype of Jack the Ripper are quite simple: mist, night, and women... Among us in the Resistance, those capable of going out at night are strictly Servants. And are there any 'women' among us?"
"...For that reason?"
"Beyond that, the Heroic Spirit known as Jack the Ripper has too many flaws. Although she possesses an extreme Presence Concealment skill that cannot be observed by video records or various familiars, the moment she was observed by me once, she became unavoidable. That applies a penalty. Furthermore, since her Noble Phantasm is an Anti-Personnel type, she cannot inflict wide-scale damage. Taking all this into account, I had no choice but to give her the lowest danger rating."
...It was perfect.
A deduction that explained not just the conclusion but the clear process behind it...
"And Nikola Tesla. According to the testimony of Dr. Jekyll, who faced him directly using his Noble Phantasm, that side possesses the destructive power of a powerful Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm which he fires indiscriminately. However, in Tesla's case, his appearance patterns, the range of his attacks, and his targets are displayed in a thoroughly limited manner."
"...Come to think of it, you said you analyzed Nikola Tesla's location and blocked him from coming toward us. Did you lead all the mass-produced homunculi to block the path or something?"
"No, I had them all self-destruct. No matter how great Tesla may be, he could not brush off the charge of a homunculus army numbering in the thousands."
Paracelsus laughed awkwardly.
...By this point, the original 4th Singularity was starting to look like a literal hellscape.
Paracelsus, Babbage, Jack the Ripper, and even Tesla.
The two kings of mass-production alone were a headache, and yet there were two of those insane utility-type specialists attached to them as well.
"And the reason Mephistopheles was second... simply put, even I could not infer the location of that Servant."
"I suppose so. Chasing that mad demon would be hard even for my Instinct. If it were a level of Instinct like Father's, maybe."
"Exactly. Furthermore, that demon mainly used tactics where he hid among puppets to mock his opponents and massacred citizens. Unless I stepped in personally to distinguish him, catching a demon that is virtually impossible to identify through normal means can be called a feat."
"Thanks for the praise. Then finally... why is the King of Storms number one?"
"Ah, that is simple. She is unpredictable like Mephistopheles the demon, and her acts of destruction are on par with Nikola Tesla. With that much military power, it is common sense to place her at the top priority, is it not?"
We all nodded.
Indeed, if it is the King of Knights, she certainly deserves to be first.
"That is the rough estimate of the enemy's strength. For reference, our current Resistance forces consist of Makiri Zolgen, Henry Jekyll, and Nursery Rhyme on Mr. M's side. On Mr. P's side—Paracelsus—there is myself, Hohenheim, and the two authors over there. Beyond that, within the Clock Tower, seven Fes-rank magi and twelve Grand-rank magi who have decided to fight currently remain."
[Seven Fes-ranks... Based on this era, that means not even half remain.]
"To put it another way, as many as half the magi who achieved the rank of 'Fes' have remained. Every single one of them would be a powerhouse at least on par with Kayneth."
Of course, I didn't know how much help they would actually be in a fight between Servants...
"What is important is the essence of this Mafia Game. The moment I manifested in this Singularity, I grasped the fact that it was being operated by a system called the 'Mafia Game,' and I strove to solve it. Primarily, the fact that the basic rules of a Mafia Game are being applied."
"By basic rules, you mean catching the Mafia and having the citizens vote to crush them and all that?"
"Precisely. If so, how do we end the game here? There are three methods. It is an elementary deduction—would you like to try?"
"...The citizens catch all the Mafia?"
"That is one method. Technically, you could say it's a two-way choice."
"Could not a Mafia victory also be considered a way to end it?"
Andersen spoke bluntly.
"A comment truly fitting for an author of dark fairy tales... But you are not wrong."
"The last one would be, like you said, catching the mastermind of the game?"
"Exactly! Every game must have an 'Administrator.' The mastermind of this game? The starting point? Oh, I was able to infer that existence. It is likely the person responsible for this massive event called the Incineration of the Human Order. But unfortunately, he is not in this Singularity. I do not know for what reason, but perhaps your actions at Chaldea, interfering with him, had a significant impact. As long as that culprit does not exist here, there are two possibilities. The first is that he installed a magecraft formula that makes everything run automatically, and the second is that he entrusted the role of 'Emcee' or 'Moderator' to someone else to conduct this game."
"...But the first possibility, where it's an automated magecraft formula, still exists, doesn't it?"
"There is no such possibility. I can state that with certainty."
"Can you really be that certain?"
"It sounds like self-praise, but I am the world's greatest detective. My very essence and Origin lie in 'elucidation,' and whenever there is an endless Unknown, I feel a natural desire to challenge it. However, I have already finished the elucidation of that massive and tedious Bounded Field... and unfortunately, that Bounded Field does not have a function that runs automatically to drive the Mafia into a frenzy."
Holmes, having recited his deduction like a rapid-fire rap, gave a faint smile.
"It is the most probable method as a solution for the current situation."
"...It's a magnificent deduction. But there are two problems with that deduction. Flaws, in a way."
"Oh, please, say anything. Even Watson pointed out gaps in my deductions occasionally—very occasionally. What is it you wish to ask?"
"First, your deduction lacks evidence."
"True? It's just your guess so far, and there's no evidence to prove it, right?"
"...Hmm, I have no choice but to agree. It is an interesting hypothesis, but without clear evidence, it is difficult to move."
"And there's an even bigger problem."
"I can provide any amount of evidence, but what is this 'even bigger' problem?"
Slowly transforming my arm into a machine gun of the Asura Path, I pointed it toward Holmes and spoke.
"It's the possibility that you are the host of this Mafia Game."
"...A blind spot. But you hit the mark! Oh, the possibility that I, who made the deduction, am the true culprit of the case. A very interesting and splendid hypothesis... Yes, having a personality that suspects even these things is not bad. So, do you have it? The evidence that I am the culprit, or a method and evidence to distinguish the true criminal?"
"Of course I do. Everyone, stay right where you are and don't move."
I hadn't been able to use this method when I first met Makiri Zolgen.
But after hearing Holmes's advice, I began to think that this 'Mafia Game' didn't just consist of the Mafia and the citizens, but perhaps there was someone hiding inside who was toying with the game itself.
Not some bottom-tier magus from the Association trying to reach the Root through sloppy means, or the masterminds of the original story like Zolgen or Paracelsus, but the true criminal who was operating this game as a fragment of the Demon God King...
"Come forth, Naraka Path."
"...Hmm? This is..."
"Oho, a statue depicting the face of the King of the Eastern Hell. And only the face has been sculpted in a massive size."
Andersen muttered with interest as he looked at the statue of the King of Hell I had summoned.
Shakespeare's creative urge seemingly flared up again as he excitedly began scribbling something in his notebook, while Holmes carefully stroked the King of Hell statue and spoke.
"So, what will you prove with this puppet?"
"From now on, you will speak only the truth. I know your thirst for inquiry is abnormal, and I know exactly what your Origin is... but if you lie before this thing, you will actually die."
"...Is that the truth?"
"Certainly. If you lie, the hands of the King of Hell will pull out your tongue."
"Hoo..."
"Then... answer me. Are you an enemy to 'us'?"
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