"Master Roy, shall we begin the training?"
After Rin Tohsaka left alone, Hayasaka sighed in resignation, patted her cheeks, and smoothly adopted the posture of a dutiful maid before entering the living room.
She wanted to quickly train Utaha so she could return to Rin's side. But upon re-entering the living room, she saw that both Roy and Utaha were already prepared to go out.
"The training can wait. First, we're going to the shopping district."
Roy had changed out of his loungewear into an overcoat.
"Utaha only arrived at my place yesterday, and there are many daily necessities we don't have at home. We need to go shopping. And Hayasaka, since you'll be staying here for a while, we'll need to get some things for you too."
Utaha had also changed into a new office lady outfit.
She couldn't help but grumble inwardly—'just how many identical office outfits does this Aozaki household have?'
"...I suppose there's no helping it."
Hayasaka nodded in reluctant agreement.
Before long, the three of them were ready. They locked the gate and headed toward the shopping district.
Fuyuki City—or rather, New Fuyuki City—wasn't very large.
The original Fuyuki City had been almost entirely burned to the ground during the catastrophe ten years ago. The current New Fuyuki City had been rebuilt atop its ruins.
Now, as one of Japan's last four fortress cities, New Fuyuki had a population of around 200,000. The number of skyscrapers was far fewer than before, and even the most bustling commercial district resembled a small town in the middle of nowhere. At least the goods available were fairly comprehensive.
"Master Roy, may I ask a few questions?"
As they walked toward the shopping district, Utaha tentatively glanced at Roy.
"Of course. I'll answer whatever I can."
Roy walked ahead without turning around, his tone relaxed.
Hayasaka, observing from behind, noted that Roy was still wearing his glasses—meaning he was in an approachable mood.
She had only crossed over to this world a few days ago and knew very little about it, so she also pricked up her ears.
"That Misaki City you mentioned earlier with Mayor Tohsaka—is it also one of the four fortress cities?"
"Mhm. Fuyuki City, Misaki City, Tokyo City, and Mifune City—those are Japan's four fortress cities."
Both girls fell into puzzled silence.
They were familiar with Tokyo City—it was likely the same as the Tokyo Metropolis from their world.
But Fuyuki City, Misaki City, and Mifune City were completely unfamiliar names, places they had never heard of. This was probably one of the differences between their worlds.
They wondered if any of the people they knew had also crossed over into this world.
It was hard to say about other places, but Tokyo City might hold some clues.
Utaha silently prayed—her family was in Tokyo, and she hoped none of them had ended up in this bizarre world.
"I have another, somewhat presumptuous question… What is the Holy Grail War?"
Hayasaka inwardly nodded.
She, too, felt this question was extremely bold.
Having stayed by Rin's side for over ten days, her cautious nature had prevented her from asking anything too probing. Yet here was Utaha, who had only arrived yesterday, daring to bring up such a sensitive topic.
That said, she was also deeply curious about the Holy Grail War and the so-called "wish-granting." Might as well take this chance to listen in.
"The Holy Grail War is a magecraft ritual."
"You're familiar with the Holy Grail in the general sense, right? The cup said to have been used by Jesus Christ during the Last Supper. Believers consider it to possess miraculous power, spawning countless legends. Though, technically, there are over 200 alleged 'Holy Grails' across Europe, each church claiming theirs is the real one. Even if Jesus returned, he probably couldn't tell which was genuine."
"The Holy Grail that appears in the Holy Grail War, however, truly possesses power akin to that of Jesus's cup. Obtaining it can grant any wish—even immortality."
"To seize this chance, seven chosen Masters and the Heroic Spirits they summon engage in battle until only one pair remains. This conflict is called the Holy Grail War."
Utaha and Hayasaka were speechless.
A Holy Grail capable of granting any wish—even immortality? Chosen Masters summoning Heroic Spirits to fight to the death?
The concept was so fantastical that they struggled to process it.
"Of course, that's the surface-level explanation. The Holy Grail does possess immense power—it's practically omnipotent, though not quite almighty. The idea that it can grant any wish is a lie spread by the three founding families of the Holy Grail War: the Einzberns, the Tohsakas, and the Matous."
"Moreover, the Holy Grail no longer functions as a wish-granting device. Proof of this is the Fourth Holy Grail War held in Fuyuki City ten years ago—the very cause of the Great Catastrophe."
"The cause?"
Utaha quickly caught on, her heart trembling.
"Master Roy, are you saying the Great Catastrophe that turned the world into this state… was caused by the Holy Grail War?"
Hayasaka's temple twitched.
'What?'
The Holy Grail War turned the world into this?
And the last Holy Grail War took place right here in Fuyuki City?
Wow, the ground suddenly feels hot under my feet—like it's burning. I can't sit still anymore!
"Indeed, the Fourth Holy Grail War is recognized as the origin of the Great Catastrophe in the world of magecraft."
Roy nodded and continued, "The Holy Grail was corrupted into the 'Black Grail,' transforming from a wish-granting device into an instrument of destruction. Then, someone wished upon it—'Destroy the world.' And so, the Holy Grail did destroy the world—once."
That was the source of the Great Catastrophe ten years ago—the flames that engulfed the globe and burned for an entire year.
Utaha and Hayasaka felt their worldviews shatter.
Not only did such an absurd wish-granting device exist, but someone had actually used it to wish for the world's destruction?
'Just how much did that person hate the world?'
"After the Great Catastrophe, the three founding families faced varying degrees of punishment from the Mage Association. The Tohsakas and Matous surrendered all their magecraft patents, while the Einzberns handed over their homunculus technology…"
"That's all the punishment they got?"
"As the ones responsible, that's an unimaginably light sentence."
Utaha's voice dripped with resentment toward the three families. If not for them, even if she had crossed over, she wouldn't have ended up as a refugee.
Even Hayasaka couldn't resist offering sharp criticism—though she immediately remembered that Rin Tohsaka, whom she served, was a descendant of the Tohsaka family.
'...Hopefully, Rin doesn't hear about this.'
"Don't misunderstand the Mage Association as some noble entity. They don't care about humanity's survival—only the preservation of magecraft. They maintain order solely because human existence is necessary for passing down magecraft."
"...My perception of the magecraft world's moral baseline has just been lowered."
"Mine too."
The two girls nodded in unison, their expressions pained.
***
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