Shinji Matou at Your Service

"An unfamiliar ceiling."

This is often the first line spoken by protagonists in many anime after they regain consciousness. Now, Shinji found himself saying it as well.

It's not that he was trying to invoke a certain sentiment or meme; it was simply the truth.

Under the manipulation of the Old Man of Jewels, he had left the parallel world and returned to his timeline. The first thing he saw upon regaining consciousness was an unfamiliar ceiling.

He turned his head to look around. Just like the ceiling, the surroundings were unfamiliar. Shinji was certain he had never been here before.

"Could something have gone wrong with the soul return?"

A chill ran down Shinji's spine. This seemed like the most plausible explanation. His body was preserved in a special container crafted by the Old Man of Jewels. If the return was successful, he should have woken up in the container, the first thing he should have seen being the gel-like substance.

However, he quickly dismissed this guess.

He looked down—arms and legs smaller than those of a Servant's body.

He touched his head—hair that had not yet fully grown back.

There was no doubt that this was indeed his own body, just one that had only grown for twelve years.

"It seems the soul has successfully returned, but why am I here?"

Following the method taught by Scathach, he spread his magical energy throughout his body, awakening bodily functions that had been dormant for an unknown period. Shinji got up from the ground, the dizziness from the crossing vanishing.

"Could it be that the old man is up to something again?"

Shinji was already psychologically scarred. This parallel world journey, though fruitful, had also been exhausting. He didn't want to be messed with by the old man any further.

"Old man, are you there? If you are, please respond."

No response.

"If there's something you want me to do, just say it. How am I supposed to know what you want if you don't tell me?"

Still no response.

"Old man? Old Man of Jewels? Second Magician? Kaleidoscope? Old Jewels?"

Yet no response.

"Alright, looks like he won't respond. I'll have to rely on myself."

Having gone through the trials of the parallel world, Shinji's mentality had matured significantly. He was decisive after assessing the situation and did not forget to be cautious in an unfamiliar environment.

The first thing he did was check his body.

The physical condition of a twelve-year-old was not as optimal as that of a fully maximized Servant's body. Being accustomed to that body, transitioning back would naturally come with some discomfort, so he had to adjust his state to better protect himself.

His magic circuits were intact, and the flow of magical energy was smooth.

The relic and login crystal showed no abnormal reactions and were ready for use at any time.

Everything was functioning normally.

It seemed the Old Man of Jewels did not deceive him in this regard; he had indeed taken good care of Shinji's body.

Next, he needed to try contacting the outside world.

His phone—out of battery. Which made sense; over ten days had passed, and even on standby, it wouldn't last that long. Although he didn't know the principle behind how the Old Man preserved his body and personal items, unless time was stopped, it was impossible to prevent battery drain.

Technology wasn't working, so he tried the mystical approach. He sent out a wisp of consciousness, calling along the contract engraved on his soul.

"Justeaze, Justeaze, can you hear me?"

In the past, their telepathic communication had a distance limit, but now, having stepped into the realm of the Third Magic, as long as they held each other in their hearts, they could hear each other's voices even if separated by the ends of the earth.

As expected, Justeaze's response came, though the voice was faint, it couldn't hide her concern.

"Shinji!!! Thank goodness, you've finally contacted me. Where are you?"

"I'm not quite sure either. I just woke up and found myself in a completely unfamiliar place. I don't know what happened. Do you have any clues?"

"Zelretch said there was a bit of a problem when you came back. He's investigating the cause. First, try to figure out your location. Once we have a rough coordinate, we'll come to pick you up."

"Okay. First, help me let my family know I'm safe. They must be very worried after losing contact for so long."

"Yes, I'll do that right away. Take care of yourself."

"You too."

"One more thing..."

"What is it?"

"I haven't responded yet—I, Shinji Matou, like you, Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern!"

"Ah!!!"

Justeaze seemed to be greatly shocked, and her transmitted thoughts became intermittent.

"Th—that, shouldn't such words be said in person?"

"I can't wait, so I'm giving you a preview—I'll give you a proper response when we meet."

"Th—then, I'll wait for you. You must come."

Her voice, completely different from usual, was delicate and soft, giving Shinji endless motivation.

"Definitely. So, now—let's start exploring this new map."

Shinji stretched and carefully observed his surroundings.

It seemed like he was in a hall. The stone floor and walls, the ancient yet grand pillars, didn't resemble modern architecture but rather an old castle.

However, if it were an old castle, it was too well-preserved. The floor and walls were clean and spotless, showing neither the marks of time nor traces of human habitation as if it were newly built.

"Could it be some movie set still under construction?"

Through his eyes, Shinji could gather only this much information. To make further discoveries, he needed to explore other areas.

But before that, Shinji needed to prepare—repairing Hades' Cloak.

Acting openly in an unfamiliar environment was unwise. With the cloak's concealment, his safety would be greatly increased.

Based on his previous experience, the lower the rank of a Noble Phantasm, the easier it was to repair and the less magical energy it consumed—his real body was not the Servant body crafted by Justeaze, and he couldn't recklessly expend magical energy. Saving even a bit was crucial, which was why Shinji chose to repair only the cloak rather than restoring all his Noble Phantasms at once.

Skillfully opening his magic circuits and drawing magical energy, he suddenly noticed something was off before the spell could fully activate.

"No! The magical energy conversion rate is wrong!"

Using his magic circuits as a medium to draw magical energy from the Greater Source was the instinct of every competent modern magus, and Shinji was no exception. Since it was drawn from an external source, perfect conversion was naturally not possible. The stronger the magus, the higher the conversion efficiency. The more active the Greater Source, the higher the conversion efficiency.

The reason why the Child of Einnashe was so difficult to handle was that its inherent 'otherworld' suppressed the activity of the Greater Source, affecting the continued supply of magical energy. Here, it was the exact opposite: the activity of the Greater Source was unusually high. As soon as Shinji opened his magic circuits, the omnipresent life energy flooded in, almost making him burst. Frightened, he quickly shut his magic circuits.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Phew, finally recovered. I never expected to be overwhelmed by magical energy. What kind of place is this? The Greater Source during the Age of Gods, no, even the Age of Gods, couldn't be like this."