Putting aside that absurd speculation, Kairi Sisigou began contemplating the new mission… and sighed dejectedly.
"Ugh… why is it always me dealing with these dangerous tasks…"
"It's not good for your health to keep sighing like that, Mordred's Master," Artoria suddenly interjected. "When I treated you earlier, I noticed many lingering injuries in your body. You must have endured a lot of brutal battles. If you don't maintain a positive mindset, you might not live very long."
"That doesn't matter. I probably won't even survive this Holy Grail War, so why bother worrying about what comes after?"
Although Artoria's words were meant to show concern, Kairi dismissed them with an indifferent attitude.
"Hey! Are you underestimating me?" Mordred glared at Kairi, visibly upset. "You're my Master! With my strength, I'll easily take down our opponents, claim the Grail, and win this whole thing!"
You're my Master! How can you say such defeatist nonsense?
"I'll be working with you all moving forward," Artoria said lightly, yet her words quickly drew the attention of the other two.
"Mordred's Master, during that phone call earlier, you were discussing a series of gruesome murders happening nearby, weren't you?"
Artoria's comment caused Kairi to frown slightly before nodding.
"This case falls under my jurisdiction as well. As Ruler, I can't just ignore it. If you're planning to investigate it, I'd suggest we join forces."
"So… this case really was caused by a Servant?"
From the clues Kairi had gathered, all the victims were mages from the Mage's Association, which was why the Association had taken notice. The most plausible theory was that a Servant was responsible for the murders. Servants required mana to remain in this world, and the organs of mages—especially their hearts—were the ideal "supplement" for that purpose.
The victims had indeed been disemboweled, their hearts removed. This matched the theory perfectly.
However, the Red faction's Servants were all accounted for, and the Black faction, as the local rulers, had plenty of artificial humans to serve as mana sources. They had no reason to resort to such actions.
This left Kairi unable to confirm the theory, but Artoria's confirmation shifted things entirely.
Artoria nodded and explained, "The culprit is Black faction's Assassin, whose true name is Jack the Ripper."
"Due to the rising popularity of these Subspecies Holy Grail Wars, nearly all of the Hassan-i-Sabbah's abilities have been thoroughly studied. So the Black faction sought a unique method to summon an Assassin outside the usual Hassan lineage."
"The Assassin class originates from the Islamic Hashashin sect, an extremist group active in the mountainous regions between Afghanistan and Syria during the Middle Ages. The sect's leaders were all titled Hassan-i-Sabbah, also known as the Old Man of the Mountain. Because of this, the Assassin class is essentially tied to this legacy, with the Servant summoned almost always being one of the 19 Hassan-i-Sabbah."
Artoria mentally added, Except for King Hassan, of course.
"One of the Black faction Masters, who happened to be Japanese, wanted to summon an Assassin not already well-documented. To do so, he returned to Japan, hoping the relative rarity of Assassin-class legends there would help. He targeted a specific legend—the infamous Foggy London serial killer, Jack the Ripper."
"To increase the odds of success, he even brought along a prostitute to serve as a summoning catalyst."
"He succeeded in summoning Jack the Ripper, but the Servant killed him immediately, leaving him no time to use a Command Seal. Jack then formed a contract with the prostitute. The pair came to this country to compete for the Grail."
"Since the prostitute is an ordinary human, she can't provide Jack with sufficient mana. That's why Jack has been hunting down mages to sustain herself. That's about it. Any questions, or anything I missed?"
Kairi stared at Artoria, mouth half-open, stunned into silence.
"Uh… well…" His mind was a whirlwind, and he instinctively reached for a cigarette. "Are you sure about this? Where did you get this information?"
"Hmm…" Artoria tilted her head, choosing her words carefully. "I… saw it myself?"
"…You're from Japan?"
"No, I was summoned here, in a remote part of Romania. I haven't been to Japan during this time." Artoria added, "Of course, I can't guarantee absolute accuracy. What I see might deviate from reality, especially in minor details. These things happen often."
"…"
The more Kairi listened, the more unsettled he felt.
It was akin to discovering his best friend was secretly dating his mother—absolutely absurd and infuriating.
In the world of magecraft, there existed a phenomenon known as Mystic Eyes, capable of influencing reality through sight. Mystic Eyes were categorized by their color, ranked from green to red, gold, jewel, and finally rainbow—each tier more powerful than the last.
Among these, Mystic Eyes capable of seeing the future—Future Sight—were extremely rare. Even jewel-level Future Sight could only glimpse a few seconds ahead, and only the user's own future.
Jewel-level Mystic Eyes were among the most powerful in the modern era, surpassed only by the legendary rainbow-tier, which were widely considered theoretically impossible to exist. The most famous jewel-level Mystic Eyes were the Petrification Eyes of Medusa, the Gorgon from Greek mythology.
Judging by what Artoria had described, her sight far surpassed jewel-tier Mystic Eyes. She could see not only far into the future but across vast distances, spanning Romania to Japan.
Kairi couldn't help but think of certain legendary figures also known for their clairvoyance.
Like Merlin. Or Gilgamesh. Or Solomon.
---
T/N: gilly poo mentioned
Oh, you're still here? Nice. While I'm out here juggling revival matches and reminding villains why they should reconsider their life choices, someone's behind the scenes making sure my story reaches you. Gotta admit, they're doing a pretty solid job.
If you want to help keep this whole thing running smoothly, here's the link: [patreon.com/WiseTL]. Think of it as… supporting your favorite underdog. Everyone loves an underdog, right?
Anyway, time to get back to saving the day. See you in the next chapter—don't forget to stay out of trouble (that's my job).
— Xia Luo 🕸️