1.
1.
3
1. We may not end up with the most honest take on what's going on here, but it's not like we're here for a revolution either. A biased tour would still give us some insight into what the people in charge are thinking about this place, and this may be useful insight if/when we try to convince them to pitch in for Lestari's cause.
Year: 2023
Location: Agra, India, Shangri-La
Daytime: Day
“Well then, let’s go with the tour.”
“That’s surprising coming from you. You seem like someone that values honesty above all.”
“After everything, fake niceness is better than none at this point."
“Thank you for trusting us, Miss Lestari, everyone. We promise you that we will give our best services. First, everyone must be hungry, we already booked a restaurant recommended by Maharaja himself. Next we will visit the Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders and India’s pride,” said Aditya.
He led us to the expensive-looking minivan. The car seems spacious enough for nine people, and there are fruits, snacks and water already prepared inside. Magellan immediately devours the snacks without care, Assassin seems concerned about poison, while Kenshin quietly leans to the window. The other three male Servants are in spirit form, so they don't take space at all, how convenient.
The car entered the city of Agra.
The first thing I notice is how both empty and full this place is. It’s empty because the road barely has any cars, none of them seemingly privately owned, most are public vehicles like buses. As for the full part, I have seen Bollywood movies my mom watches, and this is very similar, there are so many people and stalls across the street.
What sets it apart is how multicultural this place is. Many of these stalls are not even Indian food, many of them are Western and East Asian, including the sellers who are clearly native from those regions. The customers of these stalls are also the same, different ethnicities looking for food that might be unfamiliar with their mother’s tongue.
“Welcome to Agra, everyone. You may have heard of this, but we are very proud that our city ranks number 3 as the safest in the world. The sight of multiethnicity is often considered to be a tourist attraction in itself, and the UN often promotes us as an example of anti-war effort.”
“How nice,” I say so as someone with western and asian blood running in my veins.
This reminds me of my bitter memories in Clock Tower. I always wonder why magi that seek transcendence like the root will concern themselves on something worldly like racial discrimination? It should matter so little where we or our magecraft came from as long as it brings us closer to the root. But I suppose the ideal model of a mage isn’t the same as the magi in reality.
“This place has changed since the last time I came here, traffic was very bad back then,” says Magellan seemingly in wonder.
“Maharaja issued special laws that limit the ownership of privately owned vehicles, without it the traffic will jams every day,” explains Aditya.
Ah so that’s why the road feels so empty despite the population increasing six times.
“So you have visited here before, miss?”
“A few years ago I came here to discuss the Greece Raid. Without Shangri-La’s support on information control, the plan might not reach many historical Servants around the world.”
“Ah, a lady diplomat, like Miss Walpurga from EC!”
“Oh you know her? We get along quite well.”
“Yes, she provided many medicines for civilian aids sponsored by the EC in the past. Despite looking so young and carefree, she can be very eloquent with her words. Even the Maharaja thinks she is a charming and smart person.”
“That sounds like her indeed.”
Magellan and Aditya continue to chat about the Servant Walpurga of European Confederation. It appears that even if she can’t talk about EC directly due to the geass, she can still talk about her co-worker neutrally like this. I think I am beginning to understand how to get around the geass.
“We have arrived,” says Aditya as we arrive at a big restaurant.
I saw many waiters waiting for us at the front door, smiling and both hands pressed together.
“WELCOME TO THE CITY OF AGRA! LESTARI ELLIWYN AND HER FRIENDS!”
“Umm, thank you for the warm welcome.” I answer awkwardly.
They lead us to a reserved table a bit far from the other customers, but I can feel they stare at me the moment they hear my name.
It is not the most fancy place, but I can tell from the many awards they hang on their walls, it’s a very successful and recommended one. They also explain that the restaurant has been open for 80 years, and how various officials and celebrities have come here. It’s clear that they have confidence in their food.
“While waiting for your food, may I offer you some masala chai?” ask one of the waiters.
We nod, and he brings out two teapots to our table. He soon begins pouring brown drinks from one teapot to another, and quickly pulls his hand upward as he fills the second teapot. He repeated it multiple times, and finally poured it into our cups.
This is called ‘tea pulling’. It’s a trick to give a nice foam on the top of the tea and quickly cool it down to be ready to drink. I’m quite familiar with this technique as my mum serves teh tarik in our cafe, despite its mainly a coffee shop.
“Master, what drink is this masala chai? This is very sweet and fragrant, I like it,” ask Assassin while quickly drinking the tea.
“Ah, it’s a type of milk tea from the Indian region.”
“Milk and tea…? That’s not a combination I would think of.”
“Really? Growing up in England makes me think it’s the way to go.”
“That’s hard to imagine. Tea is supposed to be bitter, what's wrong with you?”
“You didn't even put sugar in your drink back in the Sengoku era?”
“No.”
“Japanese like us are more accustomed to drinking tea as it is. Even the likes of Oichi and Nobunaga that enjoy those imported tea from the west prefer them plain. Although a lot of my subordinates enjoy sweet tea, so it's not as uncommon as back when we were alive,” says Kenshin as she gracefully drinks the chai.
“Heeh, interesting.”
Our food soon arrived.
Massive plates of biryanis, tandooris, kebabs, curries, naans, lamb chops and many other savory and spicy foods are served to our table. It’s been a long time since I have massive feasts like this. Even us girls that care about appearance decided to eat them all like we will die tomorrow.
“Ahh that was great,” I say as I lean to the sofa.
“Yeah.”
“Hey, don’t forget about us.”
I realize the guys have been looking at us enviously in their spirit form. They can’t join us as I can only maintain three materialized Servants, and Aditya will be confused if suddenly the girls are gone and replaced by the guys instead. So I ordered a massive take out for them.
Our lunch continued without any issue and we decided to continue our trip to Taj Mahal.
* * *
Taj Mahal, one of the new seven wonders in the world. A major tourist attraction that attracts millions of tourists a year.
A building that shows the beauty and rich history of India. At first glance, it may look just like a very fancy mosque, but in actuality it incorporates both muslim architecture and Indian masonry techniques. It also tells the romantic story of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and his devotion toward his late wife Mumtaz Mahal, something that all people regardless of their background will love.
However, what is important to us is it also houses a Mana Reservoir in which the vein can be clearly seen on the ground by those with magical energy. From the very start, I want to investigate the Mana Reservoir of this area. I requested Aditya to leave us alone to hide the mystery of my magecraft. He was hesitant at first, but after a call with the Maharaja and gave us permission, he left.
As soon as I entered the city of Agra, I suddenly felt the burden of providing magical energy to six Servants lightened significantly. I learned that Magellan and Zachary had been here and connected to this Mana Reservoir before.
In fact, Zachary has been materialized for quite some time as soon as Aditya is gone.
“It’s nicer moving my own body like this,” he says as he swings his arm around.
“Why don't you materialize earlier if you have been connected with this Mana Reservoir before?” las Casas asks in his spirit form.
“I will scare people with my appearance. I’m a 10 feet tall giant, y’know? I can’t claim to be a very talented person like the rest of the Servants.”
“That’s true.”
Wise up!
“Hmm…”
“How is it? Lestari, Bell?” Kenshin asks.
“As expected, it is the same thing as anywhere else.” I answered after analyzing the reservoir.
“Just like the other Mana Reservoirs in Fuyuki and Point Nemo?”
“Not just that, it should be the same with regular leylines. The structure, composition, everything is identical to standard flow of mana. And yet, I can’t do anything with it.”
“But Servants can, as demonstrated by Magellan and Zachary, and all of us in our respective home Factions,” Bell adds.
“It’s a mystery and at the same time, it shouldn’t be. This thing defies logic and reason.”
When the mana reservoir was first discovered, everyone in the magical community rejoiced, as if the Age of Gods returned to our time. But we soon become confused as we somehow can’t use it to perform our craft, despite everything pointing out it is just a mana. And then through it, many Servants are summoned, and we learn it is only able to supply magical energy to Servants.
“Oh? I was startled when I felt so many Saint Graphs in this city. Turns out it was you all, the heroes that defeated SFA. Do you come here to meddle with the East affair, perhaps?”
???
A Servant suddenly appears from within the Taj Mahal, a prince-looking man with average frame and build. He appears to be sheepish, hiding behind a wall despite talking to us, unlike most Servants who act fearlessly.
“Bell, this man…” I quickly ready my cards and the others also quickly point their weapons to him.
“One of Phoenix Empire Servants. Other than his appearance, we know nothing about him. Not even his Class.”
“...And he is undetected by you.”
“You give me too much credit, lady. I’m the one that should be wary of you all. After all, there are seven of you, while I’m just a single Servant,” he puts his hands in the air. “Besides, I’m sure a Master like you knows how outclassed I am by everyone here.”
“His parameters… all Es?”
Wise-up!
That’s the lowest total parameters possible…
“As you can see, I’m the most useless Servant in this war. The reason why I’m here is because the Emperor thought I would have some use as a diplomat.”
“There is no such thing as a useless Servant. We are legends made manifest, parameters alone don't indicate a Servant’s overall strength. There must be something you hide,” says Kenshin pointing her sword forward.
“Who knows? As weak as I am, I’m still a Servant though. I wouldn’t answer your question without putting up a fight, Uesugi Kenshin.”
“My True Name… you…” Kenshin frowns and is ready to blitz him.
“Hahaha, I was just joking around! I came here because I want to ally myself with you!”
“You want to be our ally?” I ask skeptically.
“Yes, you have heard that EC has seized the Holy Grail, right? With SFA being severely weakened, only the Phoenix Empire has the necessary firepower to stop them from using it. But we lack the means to attack them decisively. If we can use Ferdinand Magellan warping ability even just once to ambush EC, that would be beneficial for both of us. Or at least, that’s what the Emperor said to me repeatedly, the man has little faith in my intelligence, you see?”
It’s true that EC is the biggest threat in the war, and their numbers of Servants dwarf every Factions. And we certainly can’t let them use the Holy Grail for their wish. But still…
The Phoenix Empire is the one occupying Japan right now. They are Kenshin’s enemy.
“...”
I look at Kenshin, she looks like she is about to slice his neck any second.
“This is not about your status as the sole Master at all, if that’s what you want to hear,” he adds something unnecessary.
Choice!
Last edited by Spartacus; March 18th, 2024 at 10:53 AM.
You can discussThe OG RequiemConQUEST and other Quests in Discord (disc is much more active here).
Click the image to ConQUEST
A - 2 (it smells like a trap to me)
B - 5
Last edited by Theadier; November 29th, 2023 at 07:23 AM.
A. 2. Ignore it.
While able to field 6 Servants at once sounds good, Ruler warned us on using the Mana Reservoirs might be demerits for us in the long run. Also, Destroying it while invite Maharaja's wrath, I think.
B. Write-in! Ask Bell to identify is the mysterious Servants lying or not.
Bell have the ability to listen to one's heart if he meet others face-to-face like this, he repeatedly use this in the story, unless he have Magic Resistance, which we can still gain a good info about this man if he can resist Bell's power. Also, fighting him in a supposed Neutral territory will make us looks bad, especially with the doubt the public had on us right now.
A. 2. Ignore it.
B. 5. Write-in! Ask Bell to identify is the mysterious Servants lying or not.
The Act of dozing off in the afternoon is a luxury indeed.
Coffee would be nice, though.
[Collection of my Servant Sheets]
Now Revamped!
A - 2
B - 4
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
