Chapter 9: Elric: The case is solved, this woman is a servant!
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Although Elric wasn't entirely sure what Tom meant just now, that uncharacteristic behavior… well, it wasn't unusual for Tom.
In short, Tom must have discovered something—most likely an enemy.
Elric looked in the direction Tom's tail was pointing and happened to see the backs of two people with long white hair entering the game hall, one man and one woman.
"Are those two participants in the Holy Grail War? If so, just nod your head." Just now, Elric had only seen the backs of the two people entering. Before he had time to observe whether there were Command Seals on their hands, the two disappeared from his field of vision. Helplessly, he had to lower his head and ask Tom, who was wrapped around his neck.
Those two people both had silver hair. As far as Elric's memory was concerned, there was absolutely no such combination in the Fourth Holy Grail War. Except for Irisviel, who was pretending to be the Saber Master, there was not even a single person with silver hair.
The two people in front of him both had silver hair, which explained the situation very well. It must be a new Master-Servant combination not from the original work.
Here, listening to Elric's question, Tom's brain suddenly froze. Among the two people, only the man gave him that distinct feeling of being connected to the Holy Grail War, while the woman did not. Should he nod or shake his head?
In the end, Tom chose the Indian way of nodding, shaking his head left and right like a pendulum.
"...Then I assume it is?" Looking at Tom who was standing there shaking his head, Elric was silent for a long time. He was a little confused. Was it true or not?
However, Elric ultimately decided to assume that the two people were participants in the Holy Grail War. After all, he clearly remembered that in Fourth Holy Grail War, most of the people along the way had black hair, with at most a few exceptions of red or brown hair.
Suddenly meeting two people with white hair at the same time was enough to raise suspicion. If this wasn't significant, Elric would gladly do a handstand.
At the same time, Tom, his Servant, also reacted to this. Putting the two details together, Elric didn't believe that these two were not participants in the Holy Grail War.
"Let's go in and take a look." Elric casually removed his coat, holding it in his right hand to cover the Command Seal on the back of his hand, and then carefully followed them inside.
However, just as Elric reached the door, he was stopped by the clerk.
The clerk pointed to a sign on the door and said to Elric, "Sir, cats are not allowed inside."
"What are you talking about? This isn't a cat; it's just a doll. I just won it in the lottery across the street. Look, it's quite elastic."
In order to make him believe, Elric pulled Tom's claw with his hand and stretched it out over a meter long. This was clearly something that no ordinary creature on Earth could do.
Tom was also very cooperative at this moment. When Elric released Tom's claw, it retracted slowly as if it were wound up. At the same time, Tom let out an evil-sounding laugh that no normal cat could make: "Hoohoo hahahahahahahaha!"
After his claw completely retracted, Tom immediately pretended to look dull and lifeless, as though he really were just a doll.
"Really not… I'm very sorry, please come in." Seeing this, the clerk quickly stepped aside to let Elric Bradley pass.
"It's amazing that the claw machine in that store can produce such great dolls! I'm definitely trying my luck after work!" After Elric entered, the clerk glanced longingly at the store across the street, determined to win a "doll" just like the one he had just seen.
Once inside, Elric immediately began searching for the two white-haired individuals. Unsurprisingly, they were easy to spot in the crowd. He didn't even need to search deliberately; the pair stood out and quickly came into his line of sight.
Carefully closing the distance, Elric pretended to watch others playing games while discreetly observing them. Though he was only about five meters away, he wasn't worried about being discovered. As an ordinary person without magic power, his presence wouldn't draw suspicion. Even if they noticed him, the busy crowd provided enough cover, as many others were also glancing in their direction.
There were indeed two individuals—a man and a woman. Though both had silver hair, their clothing styles were strikingly different.
The man was dressed like a tourist, with a camera hanging around his neck, making him look like a modern-day visitor. The woman, on the other hand, was dressed entirely in white, exuding a cold and detached aura. She seemed out of place amidst the noise and chaos of the game hall. Additionally, Elric noted that there was no Command Seal on her right hand.
It didn't take long for Elric to conclude that the man was the Master, while the woman was likely his Servant. The man's gloves, covering both hands, were an obvious attempt to conceal his Command Seals.
"Hmm? Red eyes?" Just as Elric was about to change his position, the woman turned her head to speak to the white-haired man. From this angle, Elric caught a clear glimpse of her eyes.
"Red eyes… Red eyes. Let me think… maybe Tomoe Gozen? She does resemble her."
In the Fate series, white-haired characters were not uncommon, but far fewer had both white hair and red pupils. the only one Elric could recall, aside from Irisviel with those traits was Tomoe Gozen. After confirming his guess to some degree, Elric quietly slipped out of the game hall.
In a noisy environment like this, overhearing their conversation would require getting much closer—something that greatly increased the risk of being caught. It wasn't worth the gamble.
Finding a Master-Servant pair during his stroll today was already a significant discovery. He couldn't claim to have hit the jackpot, but it was a satisfying gain. Even if nothing else came of the day, Elric felt it had been worthwhile.
Meanwhile, inside the hall, the pair continued their interaction.
"I'm telling you… it's dangerous here no matter how you look at it," Irisviel said with a sigh, watching Merlin as he became engrossed in the games.
She wanted to play too, but… timing was everything. The Holy Grail War would begin after nightfall.
Before coming to Fuyuki, Irisviel had only heard Merlin describe himself as being useless for anything other than surviving. At the time, she thought he was joking. Seeing him now, however, made her realize he wasn't lying. This man was truly unreliable.
"Don't worry! Nothing will happen as long as I'm here. If an enemy shows up, I'll run immediately! Oh, and I'll definitely take you with me," Merlin said confidently before turning back to the game. "Come on, try it! It's really fun."
"Guwu… then… okay, but just one game." Irisviel hesitated but eventually gave in. She checked the time on her left wrist and, seeing there was still plenty of time before nightfall, decided to indulge herself.
Before long, night had fallen without them even noticing.