Fate: Question And Answer System of Traversing Heroic Spirits

[At this moment, Gray suddenly recalled the pendant she had seen on Trisha before boarding the train. When questioned by El-Melloi II, she reluctantly described it as a Buddha statue holding a naked woman.]

[Although magi often wear pendants imbued with defensive spells, Trisha wasn't a believer in Buddhism. So why would she wear such a pendant?]

[There had to be another purpose for the pendant. It seemed like this could be a crucial breakthrough.]

[At the same time, El-Melloi II was still perplexed by Hephaestion's appearance.]

[During the Fourth Holy Grail War, he had never encountered her among Iskandar's Army.]

[From her demeanor, it was clear she was fiercely loyal to Iskandar. So why hadn't she responded to his summons?]

Iskandar: "Ah, Hephaestion and the others are incredibly loyal, but they're too stubborn for their own good."

Waver: "You're one to talk. Seems like they picked that up from you."

Iskandar: "Hahaha, fair enough."

Darnic: "It seems the focus on the pendant wasn't for nothing."

Kotomine Shirou: "There are still too many unanswered questions in this case, like how the murderer summoned Hephaestion. And if the murderer isn't Karabo, then who is it? And how did they pull it off?"

[In an effort to buy more time to gather funds, Melvin followed El-Melloi II's instructions and complained to Leandra. This successfully delayed the auction until midnight.]

[El-Melloi II and Gray then sought out Olga Marie, as she was now the only one who could assist them.]

[Upon learning that the murderer might be an enemy of El-Melloi II, the furious Olga Marie slapped him across the face.]

[Her current state was one of immense frustration, her heart consumed by resentment and grief.]

[She felt she had been all but forced to work alongside Hishiri in uncovering the murderer.]

[Hishiri's actions had severely humiliated her as the daughter of a Lord.]

[After the discovery of Trisha's ad, Olga Marie had been teetering on the edge of a breakdown.]

[If Trisha had been able to discern that Marisbury had given up on his daughter, how could the Olga Marie herself not have realized it?]

[Trisha had been the only person who truly cared for her, and now she was gone. The thought of being alone from now on left her utterly despondent.]

[However, after some spiritual guidance from El-Melloi II, the young director began to recover her composure.]

[What she wanted most now was to reclaim her dignity and to metaphorically slap Hishiri in the face.]

Kayneth: "Why did Marisbury become so obsessed with the Holy Grail War? He changed so drastically after learning about the contamination of the Grail."

Chihiro: "Perhaps his wish was shattered. If the Grail's corruption was confirmed, he might have felt that his last hope was gone."

Kayneth: "That's one possibility. But what was he truly trying to achieve with the Holy Grail?"

[Meanwhile, Sisigou found Flat and Svin and updated them on everything that had happened so far.]

[After hearing the details, both expressed dissatisfaction with El-Melloi II.]

["Something this exciting happened, and the teacher didn't even call us?"]

["The bond is fading. We're being left out."]

[The three of them casually chatted while preparing for their mission, with Flat and Svin volunteering to take care of things.]

[Back on the train, Olga Marie revealed the information her father had uncovered about the Holy Grail to El-Melloi II.]

[El-Melloi II was shocked to learn that the Holy Grail had been contaminated.]

[Although he had witnessed the destruction caused by the black mud at the end of the Fourth Holy Grail War, he hadn't fully understood its cause or implications at the time.]

[Back then, he had assumed that either Emiya Kiritsugu or Kotomine Kirei had employed some form of dark magic.]

[With the death of Iskandar weighing on him, he hadn't had the presence of mind to investigate further.]

["It's just an illusion."]

[Olga Marie was deeply saddened upon realizing that Trisha had been investigating on her behalf, likely uncovering critical information, only to be killed by the murderer.]

["Everything is like a forgotten scene. The owner has long gone far away, leaving behind only shadows in the present."]

["Knowing it's just a shadow, why does everyone try so hard to cling to it?"]

["It's like an afterimage…"]

["That's it!"]

[Hearing Olga Marie's lament, El-Melloi II suddenly had a moment of clarity.]

Iskandar: "Oh? What did you figure out?"

Chihiro: "He's guessed Hephaestion's identity."

Iskandar: "Shadow, huh? Ah, now I see it too."

Iskandar: "But this kid's sharp. To think he could piece it together like this."

Chihiro: "Well, if he weren't clever, Zhuge Liang wouldn't have favored him."

Iskandar: "Fair point."

Darnic: "Hephaestion's identity? What do you mean? Isn't she simply the Servant Hephaestion?"

Tohsaka Tokiomi: "She is Hephaestion. Just watch the video—it should explain everything soon."

Gordes: "What does this 'shadow' idea have to do with Hephaestion's identity?"

Caules: "I don't get it either."

[El-Melloi II then called Luvia, asking her to investigate who had prompted the old director to delve into the Holy Grail War.]

[Luvia, already aware of the answer, directly provided him with the name: Heartless.]

[To assist El-Melloi II further, Olga Marie brought out a virtual globe.]

[This was a specialized virtual environment simulation tool created by the Animusphere family, capable of modeling and predicting the development and direction of various environments.]

Kayneth: "I never imagined the Animusphere family had something like this. They've hidden it well."

Tohsaka Tokiomi: "This is precisely the kind of refinement you'd expect from the Clock Tower."

[Using the globe, El-Melloi II simulated the direction of the Leylines and successfully identified a connection between London and Japan.]

[This confirmed his earlier suspicions.]

["Really? How did I not notice this before?"]

[Having pieced everything together, El-Melloi II chuckled and said, "This isn't even a puzzle. Hephaestion isn't the real issue. The question is why she calls herself Hephaestion."]

["This isn't a case to solve, but the afterimage of a past case."]

["No, it's something even more hopeless, a wreckage left behind."]

["There's only one final piece of the puzzle left, but it's being hidden by that woman, Kanano Hisiri."]

[El-Melloi II turned to Olga Marie and asked, "When Trisha's head was hidden in the imaginary space, there were other things stored there as well, weren't there?"]

["Are you referring to this?"]

[Olga Marie reached under the sofa cushion and pulled out the pendant.]

[Gray: "That's it!"]

[Olga Marie frowned. "I checked it already. It's just an ordinary pendant. What does it have to do with the case?"]

[El-Melloi II: "Hishiri thought the same. She dismissed it deliberately because it would disrupt the puzzle she's trying to construct."]

[Olga Marie eyes widened. "So this pendant is actually the key to identifying the murderer?"]

[El-Melloi II: "Exactly. It will completely overturn the reasoning of the Law and Politics Department."]

[The video then gave a close-up of the pendant, which made several of the women in the group blush.]

Irisviel: "Ahem, Illya, stop staring."

Tohsaka Rin: "How could something this obscene even be related to Buddhism?"

Chihiro: "This is the 'Happy Buddha,' a central deity in Tibetan Tantric Buddhism. It represents 'Desire Heaven' and the 'God of Love' in Buddhism."

Chihiro: "The male figure on the statue represents the Dharma, and the female figure represents wisdom. Their embrace symbolizes the union of Dharma and wisdom, signifying infinite enlightenment."

Everyone: "!!!"

Caules: "Wait, is this for real? I thought it was just some crude novelty pendant."

Fiore: "Does Buddhism really include such beliefs?"

Kayneth: "It's understandable if you're unfamiliar. Buddhism is far less prevalent here in Europe."

Tohsaka Rin: "I didn't know, and honestly, I don't want to know."

Chihiro: "Haha, the Laughing Buddha is quite famous in China and Tibet, so it's not surprising that people outside those regions might not recognize it."

[That evening, the much-anticipated auction finally began.]

[The event was held in the train's eyeball storage room, with shelves on both sides lined with all kinds of Mystic Eyes.]

[True to its name, the Mystic Eye Collection Train boasted an impressive inventory.]

[Although fewer than ten participants were present, the bidding was fierce, with prices soaring by tens of millions at a time.]

[Yvette participated enthusiastically, winning several Mystic Eyes.]

[Finally, the last item was revealed: Karabo's Transience Mystic Eye.]

Darnic: "Is it a cover-up that no Rainbow-level Mystic Eyes are being auctioned, or…?"

Kayneth: "That's to be expected. A Rainbow-level Mystic Eye appearing here would be almost unthinkable."

Tohsaka Tokiomi: "What a pity. I was hoping to witness the legendary Rainbow-grade Mystic Eyes."

[The bidding for the Transience Mystic Eye quickly became intense, with Hishiri leading the charge and driving the price to an astonishing 230 million, leaving everyone stunned.]

[Watching this, El-Melloi II decided to make his move, raising the bid by another 10 million. However, Leandra hesitated to finalize the sale.]

[The issue was simple: no one believed El-Melloi II could actually pay such a staggering amount.]

[Melvin stepped in, calling for a temporary pause and promising to secure more funds. Leandra agreed to the delay.]

[Back in their room, Melvin tried to persuade El-Melloi II to abandon the auction, reasoning that they couldn't outbid Hishiri.]

[The logic was straightforward. With Karabo now in custody, his Mystic Eye technically belonged to the Department of Policies. Any money raised from the auction would return to them, effectively making it a circular transaction.]

["It's like transferring money from one pocket to another," Melvin explained. "They can afford to bid as much as they want."]

[However, El-Melloi II wasn't concerned.]

[He pointed out that Hishiri didn't represent the entirety of Department policies, and the funds she could access were limited.]

[Moreover, even if she won the auction, she would have to pay upfront. Handling fees alone would be substantial, and if the bid price became excessively high, the Department of Policies might refuse to approve the purchase for Hishiri.]