Type-Moon, Path of the Magus

After Xia Yuan opened his magic circuits, as a contracted Servant, he could naturally sense the changes most clearly.

He couldn’t help but admire inwardly: “Quite an impressive mana supply. It seems the Master’s magic circuits have a very high conversion rate of mana and life force. Although the number of magic circuits isn’t particularly outstanding, their quality is excellent. With this mana supply, combined with my ‘Self-Recovery,’ we can fight more freely in the upcoming battles.”

After sensing the newly awakened magic circuits, Xia Yuan familiarized himself with his body while contemplating his next moves.

Now that the most crucial issue of mana supply had been resolved, time no longer allowed him to waste any more. He had to think about how to handle the upcoming war.

Before he could take a breather, a sudden knock on the door startled him. He glanced at the Count in the corner of the room, signaling him to hide. The Count nodded in understanding and slowly dissipated into spirit particles.

“Is anyone there?” A deep male voice came from outside the door.

“Coming.”

Pretending to be lazy and just waking up, Xia Yuan stretched, tucked the gun from his pocket into his waistband, and walked quietly to the door, opening it cautiously.

“Hello, are you Mr. Xia Yuan, the seventh Master of the Holy Grail War?”

“Huh?”

Opening the door, he saw a young man with short brown hair and brown eyes. He wore traditional black religious attire with a golden cross necklace on his chest. His expressionless face and empty gaze made him seem like a walking corpse.

Xia Yuan, of course, recognized him.

Mapo Tofu Priest, Kirei Kotomine — a pleasure-seeker.

A backstabbing pleasure-seeker in the Type-Moon world, with an extremely high danger level.

When he opened the door and saw him, Xia Yuan involuntarily shuddered, feeling a bit speechless.

How did this guy arrive so quickly? Wasn’t there still some time before the Holy Grail War began? The church’s efficiency was surprisingly high.

Swallowing hard, Xia Yuan took a deep breath and nodded to him: “I am Xia Yuan. May I ask who you are?”

“I am Kirei Kotomine, a priest from the Fuyuki City Church and also a staff member for this Holy Grail War. Could I take a moment of your time?”

Unfortunate, the Holy Church had found him so quickly…

But he was the seventh Master?

Although he was indeed a Master, he wasn’t a regular Holy Grail War Master.

A·venger wasn’t one of the traditional seven classes, and in this Fourth Holy Grail War, the three knight classes had already been determined. Berserker was also confirmed to be in the hands of the Matou family. Judging by his appearance, he had already met the other six Masters or obtained their information. So, the only Servant group in the Fourth War that hadn’t been received by the Holy Church was… the Caster group.

So, he had mistaken him for Ryuunosuke Uryuu’s position?

Realizing this, Xia Yuan felt somewhat delighted. He had been worried that his identity as an A·venger group would be exposed and face exclusion from the orthodox seven classes, leading to them joining forces to eliminate him first.

Now that he was mistaken for the Caster group, it seemed he had inadvertently blended in with the orthodox seven classes.

What an unexpected gain!

“Is there a problem?” Seeing Xia Yuan lost in thought, Kirei Kotomine frowned slightly and spoke up.

“Uh… nothing.” 

He needed to try to act like a normal person, maintain composure, and not arouse suspicion.

“I just don’t understand why a staff member from the Fuyuki City Church would come to find me. I’m usually very law-abiding and never do anything unethical. I even go to church to pray occasionally. Surely there’s no need to specially send a priest to make me feel guilty?”

Xia Yuan self-suggested in his mind that his side had enough hidden information. Since the advantage was his, he must not be seen through. At this point in time, Kirei Kotomine hadn’t yet been corrupted by Gilgamesh. As long as he remained steady, there shouldn’t be any danger.

Just don’t mess up, the advantage is mine.

Although somewhat puzzled by Xia Yuan’s unusual behavior, Kirei Kotomine didn’t pursue it. He only wanted to continue completing the task assigned by the Holy Church and his teacher. He didn’t care about other matters, so he explained:

“No, I’m not here to make Mr. Xia Yuan atone for sins. I’ve come to visit today because of the Holy Grail War.”

“Holy Grail War? What’s that?”

So he’s just an ordinary person after all…

Seeing Xia Yuan’s confusion, Kirei Kotomine wasn’t annoyed. He simply pointed at the gloved hand and said, “I think you must have noticed recently, the Command Seals that appeared on the back of your hand.”

“Command Seals? You mean this?” Xia Yuan pretended to look bewildered as he took off his glove, raising his hand to show the fully manifested Command Seals.

“That’s right, those are Command Seals.”

“Oh, so that’s what they’re called. I thought it was some prank drawn by a mischievous kid while I fell asleep on the bus. No wonder I couldn’t wash it off.”

“No, this is not a simple doodle, but proof of being chosen by the Holy Grail. Those who possess this mark will participate in a great magical ritual here.”

“Magical ritual? Like a magic show?”

Xia Yuan looked at Kirei Kotomine with a puzzled expression.

“…”

“Regarding the matter of Command Seals, someone will explain it to you. My task is to bring you to meet the person who can answer your questions.”

“Mr. Xia Yuan, please come with me to the church. There, someone will provide you with answers.”

As he spoke, Kirei Kotomine extended his hand in a gesture of invitation, asking Xia Yuan to come with him.

“…”

Although somewhat reluctant, Xia Yuan had no reason to refuse. His current persona was just an ordinary person who had stumbled into this situation. Presumably, they had already investigated his circumstances long ago.

Moreover, there was still some time before the Holy Grail War officially began. Although the list of Masters had been confirmed, except for the Count, the other Servants probably hadn’t been summoned yet. Taking action against him now wouldn’t comply with the rules, so their intention in bringing him over should genuinely be to familiarize him with the procedures of the Holy Grail War, as a consideration for an ordinary person. The safety level should be quite high.

If worst came to worst, if they really planned to ambush him before the Holy Grail War began, he would have no choice but to use a Command Seal to summon the Count and fight them.

Right now, he was in a weaker position and had no right to refuse the church’s request.

Thinking of this, Xia Yuan sighed slightly and said to Kirei Kotomine, “Please wait a moment, Father. I’ll go back to my room to change clothes and then come with you.”

“Alright, Mr. Xia Yuan. Our car is waiting for you downstairs,” Kirei Kotomine said expressionlessly before turning to leave.

…

After confirming that Kirei Kotomine had left, the Count, who had been hiding in the room, also canceled his spirit form and sat back in his usual chair, asking Xia Yuan:

“How is it, Master? Do you want to go and see? Although I didn’t sense any malice from that priest, his soul emits an ominous smell.”

“An ominous smell?” Xia Yuan looked at him curiously.

“What kind of feeling is it specifically?”

“It’s hard to describe. That smell is like the emptiness emitted by those walking corpses in Château d’If. It’s difficult to imagine a normal human having such an aura. In short, it’s very ominous. Master, I think following him would be dangerous. Are you still going?”

“Yes, of course I have to go. This is a good opportunity to make contact with the Holy Church. We have no reason not to go.”

Xia Yuan nodded in response to the Count’s question.

The Count didn’t understand Kirei Kotomine, so his evaluation wasn’t surprising to Xia Yuan. But Xia Yuan had some understanding of Kirei Kotomine. He would indeed become very dangerous, but that was later. Right now, he wouldn’t do anything out of line.

But he still explained to the Count: “In Fuyuki City, which is full of church spies, they naturally couldn’t hide the fact that I’ve become a Master. I was originally worried about how to resolve this issue.”

“Unexpectedly, they’ve made a mistake this time. They haven’t realized that we’re intruders in the Holy Grail War. Instead, by coincidence, they’ve mistaken you and me for the seventh Master-Servant pair, Caster. This helps us avoid attracting the hostility of other Servants due to our identity. What we need to do now is to solidify this identity.

They’re in the open, we’re in the shadows, so the advantage is ours.”

Recalling Kirei Kotomine’s words and pondering the plot of the Fourth Holy Grail War, Xia Yuan didn’t dwell on it for too long. A simple plan was roughly completed in his mind.

“So I plan to go with him to the Fuyuki City Church to confirm our identity as participants. We’ll strategize about the rest later.”

Although it’s dangerous, he still needs to go.

“Do you need me to accompany you?” the Count spoke up. “If I go with you, it should be much safer.”

“No need. Exposing ourselves in someone else’s territory would be too dangerous. The Holy Grail War hasn’t started yet, so even if they killed me, it would be pointless. The Holy Grail would just choose another participant,” Xia Yuan refused.

“For them, compared to other unknown mages who might come, an ordinary person like me is clearly easier to control, so they won’t do anything to me. Besides, we can’t guarantee whether the Holy Church has any magical barriers that can detect a Servant’s spirit form, so you absolutely cannot come along, Count.”

“So you plan to go alone into the tiger’s den?”

“Yes, it’s unavoidable. This is the only choice that can maximize our benefits right now.”

“Is that so…”

Hearing this, the Count pondered for a moment, looked at him deeply, and then nodded, seemingly agreeing with his reasoning.

“If that’s the case, I have no reason to continue dissuading you.”

“Be careful. If you really encounter danger, don’t be stingy with the Command Seals. Use them to call my name, and I’ll come immediately. Remember, don’t risk your life under any circumstances, understand?”

Although the plan was somewhat risky, it was undeniably the best option.

Moreover, if even the Master had made such a resolve, he had no reason to refuse.

“Don’t worry, Count. If I encounter danger, I’ll definitely summon you and quickly escape,” Xia Yuan patted his chest, making a promise to the Count, then opened the door to leave.

“You really leave me no choice.”

“Well then, be very careful, Master.”

Watching Xia Yuan leave, the Count of Monte Cristo slightly lowered the brim of his hat, his dark green figure gradually disappearing in the room.

[There is an illustration here, which can be viewed in the updated version]

Chapter 7: Rules and War

After boarding the car arranged by Kirei Kotomine, they drove for about twenty minutes.

Watching the city gradually recede and seeing more and more trees, Xia Yuan realized they had reached the outskirts of Fuyuki City. If they continued in this direction, they would leave the boundaries of Fuyuki.

He was quite familiar with this area. After all, during those years of mingling with the underworld, territorial disputes between organizations were common. Of course, they couldn’t engage in large-scale armed conflicts in the city center.

So the Fuyuki City docks at night and the sparsely populated suburbs were places he frequently visited.

As Xia Yuan was lost in thought, the car finally stopped in front of an old church. Kirei Kotomine opened the car door for him and said:

“Mr. Xia Yuan, we’ve arrived. My father is waiting for you inside.”

“I understand.”

Following Kirei Kotomine out of the car, the open church doors clearly showed they had been waiting for them for some time.

“You’re back, Kirei.”

Accompanied by a deep male voice, an elderly, somewhat burly priest holding a Bible slowly walked towards them.

“Yes, I’m back, Father.”

Kirei Kotomine nodded, then raised his hand in a respectful gesture, bringing Xia Yuan before the elderly priest and began to introduce them.

“This is my father, the priest of the Fuyuki Church, Risei Kotomine. He is also the supervisor of this Holy Grail War. He will answer your questions from now on.”

“Hello, I’m Xia Yuan.”

“Mm, pleased to meet you, the person chosen by the Holy Grail, the seventh Master, Mr. Xia Yuan.”

After a brief self-introduction, Xia Yuan, pretending to be completely unfamiliar with the situation, directly asked him:

“Um, Father, could you tell me in detail about the Holy Grail War and this strange pattern?”

Taking off his glove, Xia Yuan very naturally showed the Command Seals on the back of his hand to the two men.

“Indeed, these are certainly Command Seals.”

Risei Kotomine examined the Command Seals on the back of Xia Yuan’s hand, confirming in his heart Xia Yuan’s identity as the seventh Master.

Although he was initially surprised when he first received the information – how could an ordinary person be chosen by the Holy Grail? Was there a mistake in the investigation? – now, seeing the fact before him, he finally believed this outrageous situation.

But… an ordinary person?

That’s not bad either.

Ordinary people are easier to control than those lawless, heretical mages. This way, the participants in the Holy Grail War have already been reduced from seven to six, greatly decreasing the difficulty of achieving victory. It seems his old friend’s luck is quite good.

“Please, have a seat. Since you have been chosen by the Holy Grail, I will slowly explain to you about the Command Seals, the Holy Grail War, and its rules,” Risei Kotomine said, inviting Xia Yuan into the church and gesturing for him to sit down. He suppressed his emotions and looked at him seriously.

“Mr. Xia Yuan, I’m about to inform you of both fortunate and unfortunate news. You have been chosen by the Greater Grail to become one of the Masters participating in the Holy Grail War. The red marks on the back of your hand are the best proof of being chosen — the ‘Command Seals.'”

“By the way, you and the other priest have been mentioning the Holy Grail War. Is the Holy Grail you’re referring to the one mentioned in the Bible?”

“Oh?” Hearing this, Risei Kotomine asked with some surprise, “Has Mr. Xia Yuan also read our doctrine?”