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Fate/Prototype: Fragments of Sky Silver
Novel 2 - Best Friend Arc - Act 2
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Yet another girl is tossed around by the Holy Grail War――――
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Still, it was early morning.
The girl didn’t care at all at the whiteness of her breath nor the air in the corridor which had accumulated plenty of coldness during the night. She felt the warmth of the morning sun shining in through the large glass windows, she knew that the temperature would rise as time passed from here onto noon, and above all else, she wasn’t bothered by the cold.
Already, the girl
――― Misaya Reiroukan was recalling the events of that breakfast.
Misaya: “What is
that man’s true name?”
Seated at the opposite end of the long table, her father uttered to the quiet Misaya’s question.
“It is not my place to answer that.”
“If you have something that warrants an answer, then you should ask that gentleman directly yourself.”
Misaya: “I understand. Father.”
Misaya accepted her father’s words as consent.
In other words, that man was
―――
‘One of the seven Heroic Spirits who will materialise in accordance with the large-scale magic ritual known as the Holy Grail War being carried out here in Tokyo, a man who has obtained form as the Servant of we Reiroukans with the rank of Caster, to directly face such a man.’
“A man.” Yes, she intuitively knew that he must be a man.
The figure she saw for the first-time last night, had been magically concealed.
All she could remember was an eerie
“shadow.”
She was confused. There was bewilderment too. As she remembered correctly, she had been overwhelmed.
To be overwhelmed without grasping the immediate other’s existence. It was a first for Misaya. Although her life up till now was a not very long ten years, whether it be mysteries or mages, there were many times when she had gotten involved with beings who couldn’t be called humans in the proper sense. However, Misaya had never been intimidated by any of them.
Whenever a demon appeared in front of her eyes due to her father’s necromancy, whenever she stared off with a magical beast starved for blood at a distance close enough for its breath to touch her skin or whenever she had exchanged words with a magus who underwent a year on a said visit from an European association, Misaya Reiroukan had faced each of them resolutely without flinching at them.
It was not a conscious action.
Only, until it was deemed reasonable to do so.
However. Last night, she was confused. She couldn’t instantly figure out how they should face each other.
‘How should I comprehend that fact?’ Misaya had yet to obtain the answer from within herself.
Misaya: ‘……I will ascertain it. I will, with my own two eyes.’
While walking through the corridor, she responds to her father’s words from breakfast again in her mind.
A Heroic Spirit. A great man or hero that has surpassed human intellect, a powerful illusion which cannot be handled by a magus unless there is an
exception like now. The embodiment of a formidable myth.
The
“shadow” that called itself Caster, yes, is indeed a Heroic Spirit.
That can no longer be doubted now.
Then, what is a Heroic Spirit? What is that person? Is he truly the one who will bring the Holy Grail to the Reiroukans, is he a person worthy enough for her father to show respect to him in that way?
Since she had permission, there is no reason for her to hesitate in her conduct.
Misaya proceeds dignifiedly down the corridor, while disregarding the
opposition from the many barriers that gave her body a scorching sensation, she reaches the front of a room addressed to that person as a
“private room” on the northernmost corridor of the first floor of the Reiroukan Mansion.
It was a big red door.
Usually, she didn’t walk to this area much.
A section that was once used as a workshop by her grandfather, she had heard that everything of magical worth had been moved to her father’s underground workshop after he succeeded to the position of master. So, Misaya knew that this area was in effect a dead zone. A group of rooms with no user in this spacious mansion. Places where no one lives.
Misaya: ‘After the discussion of Holy Grail War came out, father seemed to be using the storeroom.’
A few months ago, she was watching as specialist antiquarian dealers had carried in large numbers of carefully packed furniture. Since it was not possible to directly bring them into the underground workshop, they were briefly placed in this uninhabited area, if Misaya’s guess of carrying the cargo in with familiars was right, then the items that were not carried underground and the items with no magical worth amongst the articles bequeathed to them by her grandfather, meant that the old furniture must be quietly sleeping somewhere.
And, while imagining to some extent of what will enter her view, Misaya gazes at the door.
She didn’t touch the doorknob because it was already slightly ajar.
Misaya: ‘He sure is careless for not locking the door. Isn’t he?’
While lowering her evaluation of him down a grade in her mind, she quietly approaches the crack.
Timidly, she peeks into the room
―――
Caster: “It’s Misaya, right? Please come in.”
Someone’s voice.
The sound wasn’t as vague as last night.
His appearance, yes. It wasn’t the elusive black
“shadow.”
Tall. His body itself hadn’t changed.
A slim figure. His body was the same as last night.
He was standing in the middle of the room with the morning sun pouring in through the gap in the curtains, appearing to be experimenting with something. Holding a flask containing blue liquid in his left hand, he was trying to pour silver liquid from the test tube held between his right fingers. Suddenly stopping his hands, he turns towards her.
Without exercising his concealment magic already, she could see his figure even in a dimly lit room with halfway-closed curtains.
‘―――He was a beautiful man.’
‘―――A beautiful person. I definitely don’t think he’s a woman. A man.'
A man wearing a long white robe.
‘Is it because of his long glossy hair that he has the gentle air of a woman, despite the fact that he definitely is a man considering his long body?’
‘Black hair. I think it suits him well.’
Even though she only saw his figure, her slightly lowered appraisal of him appears to have risen slightly.
Caster: “It seems strange saying it, but welcome. This mansion belongs to you and your esteemed father after all. Come now, Misaya, you will get cold if you stay in the hallway. There’s no need to be shy.”
Misaya: “……Sure.”
She slightly nods.
Realizing that she was becoming stiff, she enters the room.
And then, Misaya was mesmerised.
For beyond that door, was a magnificent
“Mage’s room.”
On the wooden desk, a number of thick magic tomes and parchments were piled up, likewise on the wooden shelves too. Brightly coloured liquids were pouring into the beakers and flasks, countless test tubes were lined up, a lump of pale flesh is floating inside a water tank connected to a brass object that appears to be some mechanical device, seemingly weird magical catalysts were here and there on the walls and in the cabinets
―――a mummy of something resembling a reptile, the claws, fangs and heart of a figure that was unlikely a normal creature, an obsidian knife, golden skull and various other objects were emitting a packed presence
―――along with the numerous visible magical formulas and magic circles that were scribbled on the walls, floor and ceiling.
Misaya: “Woah…...”
‘No way, a room which was supposed to be a good place for storage at best has been turned into a Wunderkammer[1] overflowing with mysteries like this? ‘
‘I thought it was just a space full of darkness and dust.’
‘It’s so vivid, as if, the entire room appears to be shining.’
Misaya: “It’s incredible. In just one night, you did all this
―――”
She speaks while still feeling it.
Her admiration itself leaked out as words.
The state of the room was really intriguing for the girl who still had a young curiosity.
During the Holy Grail War, Misaya couldn’t leave the grounds of the Reiroukan Mansion, meaning the workshop. Although her mother had moved to their secondary residence in Izu with their all of their servants, based on her father’s advice, Misaya chose to remain behind in this Suginami main residence for her desired future studies.
As a result, she mostly had to stay in her room for a while and couldn’t go to school as well.
Apart from that, Misaya wasn’t bothered by it, she was more than satisfied with just her father’s explanation where he had talked about the system and rules of the Holy Grail War to her when he had discovered some free time, although……
To tell the truth, it seemed completely tedious somehow.
Everything in her scenery that entered her eyes was fresh and exciting. It was the same feeling as when she had toured her grandfather’s and father’s workshop for the first time and said it was impossible, or even more than that!
“Umm….”, her hesitation is shattered by her boiling curiosity. “Is it alright, if I ask you something?”
Caster: “Of course. I am one who takes joy in teaching and guiding others. So, let me answer your burning questions.”
His tone. Calm.
His expression. Likewise, and at the same time, it was wrapped in kindness.
Caster: “You, too, are no less than a descendent of the many children who have received my teachings like your esteemed father. I will only respond, for as long you wish it.”
Smiling as he said it in front of her, she had already lost her patience.
Opening her small mouth, Misaya thinks of a question. What kind of creature is that mummy before us, that heart, fangs and claws too? The obsidian knife is a relic from which era, what sort of magic catalyst is the golden skull?
Misaya: “I want to enquire about the items in this room. It’s full of objects that I’ve never seen before……for example, let’s see, what’s this?” She points at the dried reptile~ish corpse.
Caster: “Ah, that’s……” He responds with a smile. “It’s a mummy of a salamander.”
He said it without delay.
Misaya recalls her elementary school teacher. Accepting questions about the furigana of a Kanji from a female classmate, it was a casual response as if he was a natural teacher.
A salamander
―――
It is a Phantasmal Species, and at the same time, one who rules over one of the elements in one theory. Even though it should be an extremely valuable item no matter if it exists, it is difficult to imagine it being stored openly like this.
As he speaks to Misaya, he nods with a smile.
Caster: “Really, it’s true. It is a Phantasmal Species that has already long hidden itself away even in my era, let alone the modern one, but since it remains as a relic like this, it is not unnatural for it to be an object of study and experimentation. We can expect it to have great effects if used as a catalyst for elemental magic and it is a truly excellent catalyst for alchemy. It depends on how you use it, but we can derive an image of it during its lifetime.”
Misaya: “Is it possible to summon it?”
Caster: “You can. But I am using it for elemental materials.”
Smoothly.
He speaks as if it is natural for him after all.
Caster: “The elemental conversion of fire is often thought to be a very simple feat of magic, however, if you master it, then one might definitely even reach the fire brought by the sun itself someday.
It is a natural metaphor, but if you try to think about it
―――don’t you think it’s wonderful?”
Wonderful. She never thought about magic from that point of view.
Whether it was effective or efficient, Misaya believed that Magi should not hold onto dreamy emotions even if she was aware of its gain. It is not just her grandfather’s and father’s teachings that made it so, it was an idea derived as a very simple yet realistic answer. So, she never thought that the word,
‘Fantastic,’ would possibly come out there.
She wasn’t impressed, nor should she be convinced by it.
There was only surprise.
A question and answer time.
That has roughly crossed over thirty minutes.
Misaya: “Then, so, what’s in that jar that I can see over there?”
Caster: “It’s a Homunculus larva. By using a special solution, I can fix its appearance at each of its growth stages. That way I can observe the minute changes within it. I believe that if I know why they have such generally short lifespans, it can lead to the overcoming of their short lives.”
Without interrupting him again, he, with regards to Misaya’s words
―――
Answered them politely.
One by one.
If Misaya asked
“What is it?” or
“What is that?” or
“Were those crystals extracted one by one out of four of the five great elements?” or
“Is the last one a “fragment” of an ether clump that gave shape to the fifth formless ether?”, etc, he would openly answer them without hesitation no matter what questions she threw at him.
According to him, many of the items in this room seemed to have been prepared by her father for him as a Caster for the servant summoning. Finally, Misaya understood what the antique delivery men had brought in.
However. Regarding the
“fragment” of ether clumps, the elements, the involvement of Homunculi and the number of
gems filled with powerful mana as she could see, he said that he had apparently created them over the course of one night. She couldn’t understand it immediately as expected. All of them would have taken a long time, perhaps years, but what could have made it possible was due to the Servant skill that her father mentioned the other day. Or was it a
technique he had attained with the past magic that he had acquired over his lifetime?
Caster: “I believe, the ultimate ether leads to an ancient lost ritual. I want to obtain it, the righteous radiance of the stars that the sages of Chaldea reached in distant ancient times. It is the ultimate light which twinkles and fills the cosmos, and at the same time, the light of this planet as well.”
Although, she felt it was a little too bombastic.
Nevertheless, he repeated his sincere answers enough for her to hold a favourable impression of him. Although he saw her as a young girl, he hardly talked about specific magical exercises, but Misaya believed she had obtained more than she hoped for in her overview of his answers to her questions within their brief time together.
It was only. Just.
He hadn’t revealed his true name to her yet.
Caster: “…… Your face is saying that you’re dissatisfied. I see. I apologise for this.”
Misaya: “Huh?”
Caster: “You are already a Magus. If so, you would certainly be unsatisfied with my simple answers. Then, let’s spend about 2 hours per day for your instructions.”
That’s
―――
To be able to gain magical knowledge unknown to her, made her feel happy.
But, more than that, it is never desirable for a Servant who should be working for her father to spend time meant for the Holy Grail War on a separate matter. So, Misaya turns around and raises her face to answer him.
Misaya: “No, I have to politely decline. I am grateful for your offer though. But you are….”
Caster: “I am?”
There was a beautifully arranged face there.
Kind and gentle. A figure that is almost like a Magus and even feels young.
She even wondered,
‘What was that creepiness from last night?’
He with the long black hair. The being who calls himself Caster. True, she did come to confirm, whether he was a Heroic Spirit worthy enough for her father. From last night to this morning, she was at a loss about this and that almost without sleeping.
Are Heroic Spirits so easy to get along with?
Already her evaluation of him had risen by several levels, and it seemed unlikely that it could be stopped now.
While accepting his gaze without averting hers, Misaya opens her lips after thinking a little.
Misaya: “……You are, my father’s Servant. I think you should use your time and power for my father, for the Holy Grail War.”
Caster: “You are a wise child. Misaya.”
He nods, deeply.
Standing up from the chair he was seated on, he bends his body until the position of his gaze is at the same level as Misaya. While naturally getting into a kneeling stance, he said.
Caster: “You’re right. It’s my bad habit, you see. No matter the place I’m in, I convey my wisdom to someone and get preoccupied in teaching them. I was summoned as a Caster Servant, not what I once was. Which is why, I will not be misguided in my duty and shall spend all my efforts for your father and his ambition.”
His sincere gaze was staring straight at Misaya.
It was different from last night.
Unlike that time when he appeared as an eerie shadow that reminded her of cold transparent ice, Misaya couldn’t bring herself to think, as if there was one aspect of his personality that was the same as herself in there.
And yet, why is it?
She cannot find any confusion or bewilderment anywhere inside herself now.
But at this moment, she felt she was
being pressured by him.
Caster: “Misaya, you’re a wise child. A lovely child. It appears I can reflect on my own existence again, thanks to you.”
Misaya: “I-I only said what is to be expected of you.”
Without averting her gaze.
She directly accepts it and responds.
Then, as he smiled again.
Caster: “Please let me show you my gratitude somehow. Misaya.”
Misaya: “No, that’s…”
Already, she had devoted her valuable time to him for the sake of her own curiosity.
Although Misaya had mentioned what she honestly thought, “
I will not accept any more than this.”
Caster: “That doesn’t settle my feelings.”
Clearly.
She had been rebuffed by him.
Caster: “Therefore, let me give you this.”
When
―――
There was a dagger in his hand, where did he take it out from?
Misaya naturally knew that many mages in the modern era obtain it once and it is given to them by their master as proof for becoming a full-fledged practitioner. A mystic code that has an amplification function when exercising magic and a type of
“staff” used for magical rituals.
Above all, this shape is famous.
It can be said that it is an especially famous sword among mages.
Misaya: “An Azoth Sword ….”
Muttering, she mutters that name.
Caster: “It seems you know about it. How about its origin?”
Misaya: “I know it. It was created by Van Hohenheim, an alchemist and magus whose name still remains in open history, as Paracel
―――”
She looks at him as she speaks and suddenly stops her speech.
The beautiful man put his finger against his own lips and made a
“Shhh” gesture.
Flustered, Misaya covers her mouth with both hands.
‘Could it be?’
‘No way.’
‘Could this person be…...’
‘The creator and owner of this sword in the inherent sense―――！’
Caster: “It’s a secret.”
He said to her in a quiet voice, with his mouth close to her ears as if they were having a secret talk.
Naturally, while her father knew it too.
Misaya nods over and over again and tells him with a gesture that she will not say it nor tell anyone.
Each time she nodded; she felt an exhilaration welling up inside her heart. Exhilaration. Excitement. How should she say it more precisely? This thing that she can clearly feel, so powerfully within her.
Surprise, no. Moved, no. Delight, no.
This is pride.
He had confidence in the iron walls of the workshop which was the fortress of mysteries he put together and there was clearly a side of him that thought that he had no problem telling it to Misaya who was within it. Since her father brought up a metaphor of it being an ancient “temple,” not a workshop built by mages. Still. Even so, he told her his real name as a fact.
That is, in other words…….
None other than an assessment that she was
worthy of the trust of entrusting his fate to her.
Misaya: '……This person. Really, trusts me.'
Looking up at him with the gentle smile, she directly reacts to his gaze.
She regrips the dagger she held.
The Sword of Paracelsus―――
Even though she should’ve exchanged one when they met, last night.
Even so, for the first time, she had the delusion of properly shaking hands with him.
[1] Wunderkammer means
‘Cabinet of Wonder’ or
‘Cabinet of curiosities’ in German. A cabinet of wonder is a room filled with a collection of various objects.
Originally Posted by mami-kouga
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