Chapter 195: "Fate/Zero" Setting Collection (1)
Imperial Mage Academy.
The Archmages were originally about to depart after a brief exchange and return to their respective places, but unexpectedly, Durin approached them, holding a stack of booklets and saying, "Why are you all in such a hurry to leave? I have some small gifts I'd like to give you."
"Small gifts?"
Upon hearing Durin's words, the Archmages were taken aback and promptly accepted a booklet each from him.
"The 'Fate/Zero Heroic Spirit Biography' and the 'Steins;Gate Setting Collection'?"
"Exactly! Of course, this is just the initial publication, and the content isn't complete yet."
"The full versions will be released once both films have finished airing."
"By the way, due to the large number of printed copies, I've also provided each student and teacher at the Imperial Mage Academy with a free copy as a kind of student benefit, so you don't need to reimburse me for that through the Mage Tower."
"Wow, are you making money hand over fist or what? How can you earn money like this?"
"Haha, why not make money when you can? Although I'm not lacking for cash at the moment, I still need to earn what I can. Otherwise, how can we make magical alchemy truly rise? It requires funding, and a lot of it!!"
At Durin's remark, Dean Hohenheim immediately covered his face, expressing that he didn't recognize this student.
Yet, in the end, his curiosity about the setting collections prompted him to open the booklet in his hands and, along with the other intrigued Archmages, began to explore it.
...
In the square.
The students, having just witnessed the end of the movie, were preparing to leave when they suddenly saw members of the student council approaching with stacks of booklets in hand from a distance.
The students were initially puzzled, unsure of what was happening, but once they saw the title on the covers of the booklets, excitement erupted among them!
"Hey, don't push! Don't crowd! There's enough for everyone!!"
The student council president, White, shouted loudly, trying to maintain order, but the students ignored his attempts and rushed forward to snatch the booklets.
In the chaos, some even resorted to using magic to cut in line or shove others aside.
Seeing the situation escalate into further disorder, both President White and Vice President Diana felt helpless; they couldn't stop the crowd's behavior.
Fortunately, the instructors chatting on the platform in the distance noticed the commotion and rushed over immediately.
Professor Stitch even cast a fourth-tier Mind Storm, which left everyone in the vicinity with a ringing in their ears, abruptly bringing silence to the scene.
"For goodness' sake, what kind of behavior is this? You're embarrassing the mage community!"
Professor Stitch scolded, then casually picked up two booklets lying on the ground.
This scene evoked a mix of anger and resignation among the students. After all, in the world of mages, strength was the foundation of respect. When a fifth-tier Grand Mage spoke, no matter how you felt, you had to listen obediently.
With Stitch's authoritative presence, the instructors were relieved of the need to manage the order. Each of them promptly took two booklets for themselves and swaggered off.
Soon, under Stitch's oversight, the students began to form a long line, each one stepping forward to collect their own booklet while joyfully flipping through the pages to explore the content inside.
As for Picor and Dylan from the Magical Alchemy Department, they didn't partake in the frenzy from the start. As members of the department, they had already received their copies directly from Scar, which was considered an internal benefit of their field.
"Oh, I see now! So that's what the past of these Heroic Spirits is like!" Picor exclaimed as he flipped through the pages.
Since the "Fate/Zero" movie had only shown two-thirds of the story, the biographies contained explanations for only three Heroic Spirits: the fallen Lancer Diarmuid, the Caster Gilles de Rais, and the Assassin Hassan of the Hundred Faces.
In addition, the section on Masters was briefly covered in the last pages of the setting collection, since the information on Masters was far less extensive than that of the Heroic Spirits—characters like Ryunosuke Akutagawa could be summarized in just a few sentences.
Of course, this was partly due to the Masters' identities being tied to the unfolding story, like Kiritsugu Emiya, who would soon unravel mysteries in the upcoming plot—something the setting collection didn't delve into.
Meanwhile, Dylan was leafing through the "Steins;Gate Setting Collection," which provided explanations for many of the confusions he had while watching the film.
What astonished him even more was that the end of the book included various methods for creating magical alchemy props.
The detailed tutorials seemed to convey to all mages that as long as there was interest, they could recreate these magical alchemy items.
There was even a version included for ordinary people, indicating that many of the magical alchemy props could actually be made by non-mages.
These revelations left Dylan utterly shocked; he felt an overwhelming urge to return to the Magical Alchemy Department immediately to find materials and recreate all the magical alchemy props mentioned in the book.
Many other mages present shared his sentiments. Under the influence of the movie, most of them felt a genuine interest in magical alchemy springing forth from within.
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At Edward's Tavern.
After Emperor Hubbard and the orc prophet, among others, purchased the setting collection, they eagerly began to peruse the book. After a while, they slowly lifted their heads, astonished, and began to discuss what they had read.
"I see now, Diarmuid was a knight who pursued honor in life and fought valiantly for his lord and friends. I never expected he would later steal his lord's wife and elope with her; that's truly unexpected!"
"Indeed! And in the end, he was unwilling to face his former comrades in battle, constantly embodying loyalty and righteousness. It's no wonder that his lord, Finn, ended up killing him; such an act of betrayal is hard to accept."
"Thinking about it, Diarmuid, as a Heroic Spirit participating in the Holy Grail War, faced a fate similar to his life. Though it wasn't voluntary, in a way, it could be seen as a kind of destiny or perhaps a curse."
"Is that the curse of the Lancer? Fortunately, our empire doesn't have many Lancers; since combat techniques are more easily adapted for swords, most soldiers are swordsmen."
"Speaking of swordsmen, Saber's situation isn't much better, is it?"
"Hmm, certainly. We still don't know much about Saber's past. I imagine we'll learn more when the next Fate installment is released."
"That's something to look forward to!"
As the audience continued discussing, they flipped through the pages further.
Soon after, upon reaching the section about Assassin Hassan of the Hundred Faces, everyone gasped in astonishment.
Clearly, they hadn't expected that Hassan didn't refer to just one Heroic Spirit but rather a cult made up of 19 incarnations of Hassan, where each Heroic Spirit bore the name Hassan!
However, none of that was the most surprising aspect. The biggest revelation that astonished everyone present lay in the background story of Caster Gilles de Rais.
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