Inside the Tohsaka Residence of the Fifth Holy Grail War world, a light screen hung suspended in the elegant room.
Tohsaka Rin’s eyes widened, her refined face full of shock as she subconsciously raised a hand to cover her mouth, exclaiming in surprise, “Huh?
You’ve got to be kidding me!?”
She took a sudden step forward, her gaze fixed intently on the impossibly beautiful Da Vinci on the light screen, her voice filled with incredulous astonishment.
“That one of the three great masters of the Renaissance, that rare, unparalleled all-around genius in human history…
is actually a girl?”
Red A leaned against a pillar in the room, arms crossed, silver hair hanging by his cheeks.
Hearing this, he merely watched the light screen in silence, his expression calm and unruffled.
After a long pause, he finally spoke slowly, his voice flat and devoid of inflection, carrying a faint hint of exasperation.
“Leaving aside that the light screen never mentioned his real gender from start to finish, Rin, why are you so shocked specifically about him being female?” He tilted his head slightly, his gaze falling on Tohsaka Rin, a barely perceptible hint of teasing in his tone.
“That female King Arthur Alter appeared on the light screen earlier too, and you weren’t this surprised then.”
Rin was left speechless by Red A’s words.
She opened her mouth but couldn’t utter a single word of rebuttal.
Her cheeks, already flushed from shock, now turned crimson like a ripe apple.
She could only turn her face away and offer a weak, faltering defense in a small voice, her confidence dwindling by the second.
“Th-that’s different…
How can you lump together legendary figures and characters who actually existed in history?” By the end, her voice was as faint as a mosquito’s hum, trailing off completely.
She lowered her head in vexation, hands clutching her skirt, even her earlobes tinged with scarlet, looking utterly flustered.
Seeing this, a flicker passed through Red A’s eyes.
The corner of his mouth lifted into an extremely faint, somewhat resigned yet indulgent ‘ara ara’-style enigmatic smile.
His gaze returned to the light screen, his expression regaining its previous calm.
In New Chaldea’s control room, the cool white glow of the main lights spread across the smooth metal console.
Various screens flickered with a soft, pale blue light, and the low hum of instrument operation flowed gently.
Fujimaru Ritsuka rested his elbows lightly on the edge of the console, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the cool surface.
His gaze was fixed on the mysterious light screen suspended in the center, his eyes filled with an unmistakeable nostalgia, his tone carrying a warmth and melancholy of a long-awaited reunion.
“It’s actually the big Da Vinci-chan…
It’s been so long.
And the Doctor—” As his words faded, he slightly lowered his gaze, even the corners of his brows tinged with a gentle wistfulness.
Beside him, the small Da Vinci-chan stepped forward with light steps, her fingers moving quickly across a virtual screen in front of her.
Glowing white particles danced with her movements.
She first raised an eyebrow with a soft sound of surprise, her tone carrying a note of amused astonishment.
“Oh my, this is different from last Christmas.
This incident actually has records.” As she spoke, her fingers paused, enlarging the retrieved data interface and leaning in for a closer look.
Then she raised her voice and read aloud, “Let’s see, hmm…
The name of this mission is…
‘Da Vinci and the Seven Imitation Servants’!?”
[The image on the screen suddenly shimmered with fragmented streams of light, swirling like stars before rapidly transforming.
As the light and shadow faded, a tall, straight figure solidified within.
It was a man clad in black, with hair as white as frost, his deep skin tone making his sharp features stand out even more.]
[His lips parted slightly, his voice cold and steady, betraying not a ripple of emotion: “…Trace, on.”]
[As his words fell, two brilliant white glows of light suddenly coalesced in his palms, instantly transforming into two exquisitely patterned short swords.
Kanshou and Bakuya were held in his left and right hands respectively.
With a light twist of his wrists, the short swords flipped nimbly in his palms.
The flowing sword light showcased his deft skill, carrying a hint of casual showmanship.]
The image on the light screen was crystal clear.
Watching from afar, Rin was first stunned, her previously flushed expression instantly shattering.
Forgetting all about her earlier shyness, she subconsciously clenched the hem of her clothes, her body swaying slightly as she cried out in disbelief.
“Huh?
Archer!?
Isn’t that you?
Why are you in that place called Chaldea?” Her voice was full of incredulous shock, her eyes wide and round.
Hearing this, Red A’s body stiffened abruptly.
His previously crossed-arm posture froze for an instant.
His golden eyes were fixed tightly on the familiar figure on the light screen, his expression one of sudden, overwhelming surprise, his brows unconsciously furrowing.
He slowly lowered his arms, fingers slightly curled, and lowered his gaze in thoughtful contemplation for a moment.
Then he looked up at the thoroughly confused Rin beside him, his tone carrying a note of uncertain explanation.
“Well…
Rin, you should know that our true selves as Servants are the Heroic Spirits on the Throne of Heroes.”
He paused, his gaze returning to the light screen, his tone gaining a bit more certainty.
“So, it’s possible to be summoned repeatedly.
Moreover, that Chaldea is just a parallel world relative to ours.”
Hearing this, Rin blinked in confusion at first, then nodded thoughtfully.
But when her gaze fell back on the figure on the screen, confusion surfaced again.
She tilted her head and said, “Oh…
But, this version of you with that hairstyle seems kinda familiar.”
Her tone carried a probing curiosity, her eyes darting back and forth between Red A and the figure on the light screen.
On the surface, Red A remained as unperturbed as ever, his back straight, his expression calm, as if he paid no heed to Rin’s words.
Only the hand hanging at his side secretly clenched tight, his knuckles turning slightly white.
In reality, his mind was already in complete turmoil, churning with panic.
His thoughts raced frantically.
To desperately preserve his cover, he forced himself to speak with feigned composure, trying his best to maintain his usual steady tone, adding only a deliberate touch of nonchalance.
“Hmm…
Maybe it’s just a similar hairstyle.
It’s no big deal.”
[The light screen seemed intent on teasing him, as if seeing through his act.
The scene abruptly changed.
Rows of clear text appeared alongside a gentle narration, swiftly launching into a detailed introduction of the Heroic Spirit Emiya, showing no mercy whatsoever.]
[Heroic Spirit Emiya, formerly known as Emiya Shirou.
Different from the origins of other Heroic Spirits, this one cannot be called orthodox; he is an agent of the Counter Force, Alaya.]
[He is an existence like a defense mechanism born from the collective unconsciousness that believes humanity’should continue’.]
[Although established as an Archer, he was actually a magician in life, a Faker who used Projection Magecraft to replicate numerous famous and demonic swords.]
[He called himself a Champion of Justice and once devoted himself to killing his former self, but during his time at Chaldea, he had already abandoned this obsession.]
The detailed, irrefutable introduction lingered on the light screen.
The calm on Red A’s face instantly cracked.
His earlier forced composure vanished completely.
He abruptly raised a hand to press against his temple, his voice full of exasperated annoyance, mixed with a sense of helpless, wry amusement.
“…Seriously?
Then what was I trying so desperately to hide just now?”
He glared at the light screen, his tone adding a note of flustered irritation.
“You just went ahead and spilled my name outright.”
Rin stared at the text on the light screen, reading it word by word.
Her pupils suddenly contracted, her face filled with belated shock.
Her mouth hung slightly open.
It took her a long moment to find her voice again.
The astonishment in her tone built up layer by layer, carrying an unmistakable fluster.
“Oh?
Oh?!
Huh?!!
Archer, you’re Emiya-kun?!!”
Before her words even finished, she pressed on urgently, instinctively taking half a step forward, her eyes full of bewilderment and confusion.
“What’s going on?
Why did Emiya-kun become a Servant?”
Bombarded by these successive questions, Red A was left tongue-tied.
A faint, embarrassed blush crept almost imperceptibly onto his cheeks.
His eyes darted around, unable to meet Rin’s gaze.
His hands subconsciously waved vaguely in front of him as he hemmed and hawed, unable to form a complete sentence.
“I…
um…
that…
er…” His mind was a whirlwind of panic and helplessness, feeling that his earlier attempts at concealment were utterly ridiculous.
It might not seem tempting right nobut who knows what the future holds?
“And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!”