149. Three Female Leads, Three Separate Plots? I Refuse to Make a Choice!

On the surface, the Holy Grail War was a battle to seize the Holy Grail and fulfill the wishes of Masters and Servants. In truth, it was a conspiracy that had continued for several centuries.

But to Su Ye, this Holy Grail War was merely another instance. All he had to do was take on the role of a Master, lead his Servant to victory, obtain his ability, and leave.

Of course, if possible, taking a few girlfriends with him would be nice too.

As for everything else, he could not care less.

In this instance, Su Ye’s original role was named Shirou Emiya, a useless fool whom everyone called “the mongrel.”

Although the man was both incompetent and hopelessly self-righteous, his story featured at least three girlfriends he could pursue.

Pay attention to the key phrase: at least.

The gentle underclassman from next door, Sakura Matou; Rin Tohsaka, the beautiful girl from his school; and the absent Saber, the dim-witted king with the cowlick.

Saber was the name of a class. Her true identity was a gender-swapped version of King Arthur: Artoria Pendragon.

Because there were three female characters, the story of this instance, Fate/Stay Night, had branched into three separate routes. In each route, only one person could emerge victorious in the end.

Yet up to this point, Su Ye still had no idea which of the three girls represented his girlfriend on this special card.

The First Evolution

Perhaps that was what made a special card special. The route he took was something Su Ye himself could decide.

Of the three girls, only one had appeared before him so far: Sakura, gentle and delicate, so timid that she scarcely dared raise her voice. Even an accidental glance was enough to make her blush.

Sakura was also the most tragic of the three.

She had originally been Rin Tohsaka’s younger sister, but at the age of five, she had been adopted into the Matou family. For the next decade and more, she had remained under the control of the old monster Zouken Matou, suffering every imaginable torment.

Could anyone imagine a five-year-old girl being adopted into another family, then thrown directly into a pit crawling with disgusting insects and left there for an entire night?

That Sakura had survived—and grown into the gentle, lovable girl she was now—was nothing short of a miracle in the history of the Japanese art of perverted conditioning.

And, as in every horror story, the little girl who endured endless suffering would, so long as she did not die, eventually grow into a thoroughly corrupted final boss.

Sakura was no exception. In her own route, she decisively fell into darkness and became the ultimate villain.

But whether one wanted to win Sakura’s heart or regarded her as an opponent, no one wanted to see Dark Sakura.

Su Ye least of all. Looking at the adorable underclassman who cooked him breakfast and dinner and even provided a wake-up service, he simply could not accept the sight of her becoming a girl with a chopping knife in hand and a completely broken expression on her face.

So, in order to prevent the story from unfolding as it originally had and dragging Sakura into eternal ruin, Su Ye spoke decisively after dinner.

“Sakura, it’s already so late. It won’t be convenient for you to go home alone. Why don’t you stay here tonight?”

The moment Su Ye finished speaking, the two women opposite him instantly turned to stone.

“Su, Su, Su, Su, Su, Su, Su!”

Big Sister Fujimura stared at him in utter disbelief, her finger coming within an inch of poking him directly in the eye.

“You actually invited Sakura to stay the night right in front of me! You heartless little brat! Am I not a woman too? Don’t I have to walk home alone at night? Isn’t that dangerous for me too?”

“I don’t care! I’m not leaving either. I’ll stay with Sakura. Don’t even think about sleeping here alone with her!”

Su Ye could not help rubbing his forehead. Was Fujimura trying to compete for affection or help him along? Sakura had not even agreed to stay, and Fujimura had already made it official.

Was she planning to let the arrangement of two people staying overnight become a regular occurrence, then find a chance to leave them alone?

If that was the plan, he would have to put up an altar and worship Fujimura like a goddess.

Sakura had always been the sort to accept whatever fate handed her. According to the setting, she also had a high level of affection for Su Ye. Besides, she had come to his house under Zouken Matou’s orders to spy on him.

Thus, after a little half-hearted resistance, she agreed.

That night, Su Ye slept rather poorly. It was not because the girl in the next room talked late into the night, but because sleeping on tatami laid directly over the floor was something he had yet to grow accustomed to.

While Su Ye and the others slept, two figures in red leaped from a high-rise several hundred meters away.

At that moment, Newton wept. Gravity seemed not to exist for them.

The pair consisted of a Master and a Servant. The girl was the Master—and Su Ye’s classmate—Rin Tohsaka.

The tall male Servant beside her bore a slight resemblance to Su Ye. His hairstyle and temperament were vastly different, however, and without a careful look, it would have been difficult to connect the two.

The next morning, after waking up, Su Ye found himself considering the matter.

In the original story, Rin Tohsaka’s Servant was not a hero from the past or from myth. He came from the future of the protagonist, Shirou Emiya. Since he belonged to the Archer class and wore red, netizens had nicknamed him Red Archer.

Because Red Archer was Shirou Emiya from the future, his true identity was not an archer at all, but a magus. The abilities he used were all powers Shirou had yet to fully comprehend.

But in this instance, Su Ye had taken Shirou Emiya’s place and inherited all of his abilities, including Projection Magecraft, the Reality Marble Unlimited Blade Works, and the Noble Phantasm Avalon, the Faraway Ideal Utopia sealed within his body.

At the same time, none of Su Ye’s own abilities had been suppressed—not Spider-Man’s, nor those of a martial artist, ninja, Professor X, Magneto, and so on.

Which raised the question: the Red Archer summoned by Rin Tohsaka—was he the future Shirou Emiya, or the future Su Ye?

If he was Su Ye, then wouldn’t this Red Archer be absurdly powerful?

Could all six of the other Servants combined even beat him?

Unfortunately, Su Ye had yet to meet the real Red Archer, so he had no idea what abilities the man possessed or what thoughts he harbored.

Was he, like the original Red Archer, treating “eliminating his past self” and “helping Rin achieve final victory” as equally important goals?

If so, had Su Ye created an opponent more powerful than himself?

He had originally assumed that with his many formidable abilities, combined with the Sword-class King with the cowlick, crushing the competition would be effortless.

Now it seemed he might have to face a future version of himself.

That was ridiculous!

As usual, after eating the meal Sakura had prepared, Su Ye helped her wash the dishes. Meanwhile, Fujimura Taiga hurried off to school to grade papers. Once the two of them had finished tidying up, they went to school together.

If his days continued as this sort of youthful routine, Su Ye would actually be quite happy.

After all, high school had already ended in his own world. New York had been destroyed, and his university life at Empire State University had been postponed indefinitely.

Strictly speaking, his student life was already over. He would never again experience this carefree high-school existence, free from the burden of homework.

Unfortunately, Su Ye knew that he would not be able to enjoy this peaceful school life for long. Starting that very night, he would be stepping into the rhythm of the Holy Grail War.

As usual, he idled his way through the afternoon until school ended. Just before he was about to leave, a kelp-headed boy named Shinji Matou approached him and asked him to help repair some equipment and clean up the archery club.

His surname alone made his identity obvious. He was Sakura’s older brother and Su Ye’s classmate—apparently, the two of them had once been on fairly good terms.

Of course, none of that mattered.

What mattered was that, because he stayed behind to work in the archery club, by the time nearly everyone else had left the school, Su Ye found himself caught in a battle between Servants that had broken out on campus.

In the original story, Shirou Emiya had discovered the battle between Red Archer and Lancer. Since anyone who witnessed such a battle was supposed to be killed, Lancer had executed him.

Now, just as in the original story, the battle between Red Archer and Lancer unfolded on school grounds, and Su Ye witnessed it as an innocent bystander.

“Why is there still someone at school?” Rin Tohsaka asked in surprise, looking in his direction.

The Lancer, a man in blue wielding a crimson spear—Cú Chulainn of Celtic mythology—charged toward Su Ye the instant he noticed him.

Su Ye ignored Rin’s cry of surprise and paid no attention to Cú Chulainn’s approach. Instead, he gazed at Red Archer, who had halted in the distance.

After a single distant glance, Su Ye suddenly understood.

So it really is me. As expected of me.

After exclaiming inwardly, Su Ye turned and ran toward the school building. He could not directly confront Cú Chulainn, because in Rin Tohsaka’s eyes, he was nothing more than an ordinary student.

Inside the school building, Su Ye crouched in the corridor, his face filled with terror and confusion.

At that moment, Cú Chulainn appeared before him out of thin air.

“You’re pretty fast, but it looks like your luck has run out. Since you saw me, I’ll just have to send you to your death!”

As he spoke, Cú Chulainn’s crimson spear thrust straight toward Su Ye’s heart.

With an ordinary person’s physical abilities and reaction speed, dodging that attack was impossible.

But just as the spear was about to pierce him, a large black hand suddenly emerged from the side. Before Su Ye could be struck, it seized the spearhead.

The black hand wore a metal glove. As it scraped against the spear, it produced a harsh metallic shriek.

“What are you?”

Cú Chulainn hurriedly pulled back, trying to wrench the spear from the black hand. But no matter how hard he tugged, it did not budge.

“So you’re Lancer?”

The owner of the black glove was a tall man clad in black armor, with a black cape flowing behind him and a black bat cowl on his head.

Through the holes in his mask, his eyes slowly fixed on Cú Chulainn. His voice was heavy with oppressive force.

“And who are you?”

Cú Chulainn’s eyes widened. He stared in horror at the Batman who had suddenly appeared, while a stampede of imaginary beasts thundered through his mind.

“You’re a Servant, which means he’s a Master too? Kid, were you playing me?”

He glared viciously at Su Ye. At first, he had thought the boy was merely an ordinary human. He had never expected Su Ye’s retreat to be an act of concealed strength—or that he had summoned a powerful hero with immense strength and an identity impossible to determine.

And with that Red Archer outside, whose true strength was equally difficult to gauge, Cú Chulainn knew he had probably stumbled into a disaster.

At that moment, Su Ye stood as well. All the fear had vanished from his face, leaving only a cold, sinister smile.

“Lancer, is it? Looks like your luck isn’t very good.”

As the saying went, Lancers had always been cursed with an E in luck. Only Zilong was blessed enough to cheat the system.

Cú Chulainn was where that saying had originated.

When he saw the smile on Su Ye’s face, Cú Chulainn immediately released the spear. He performed a backward handspring, opening the distance between himself and Batman. A flash of red light appeared in his hand, and a new spear materialized.

At the same time, the spear in Batman’s hand vanished.

“My luck may not be very good,” Cú Chulainn said, “but yours won’t remain good forever. We’ll meet again.”

With that, he retreated into the darkness and disappeared.

His purpose had merely been reconnaissance. He had no intention of fighting to the death, so the moment he discovered that two Servants stood on the other side, he chose to withdraw.

As for Su Ye, Batman had been summoned through a shadow clone and was only temporarily pretending to be his Servant. Thus, he did not pursue Lancer. After driving him away, Batman vanished as well.

Just then, the sound of running footsteps came from the distance.

Seeing this, Su Ye rolled his eyes back and collapsed. A bloody hole instantly appeared in his chest.

The footsteps quickly reached him. It was Rin Tohsaka. While ordering Red Archer to pursue Lancer, she had run over herself to take a look at Su Ye’s condition.

After all, Su Ye was her classmate, and he had been dragged into this because of her. If he died there, she would feel guilty.

The sight made Rin panic.

Su Ye lay motionless on the ground, a bloody hole in his chest. Clearly, his heart had been pierced, and he was dead.

After a moment’s hesitation, Rin took out a heart-shaped pendant and began casting magecraft over Su Ye’s “corpse,” hoping to revive him.

Rin really is a good girl. Every time I remember that I used a shadow clone to pretend to be a corpse the first time we met, I feel a little guilty.

Red Archer’s voice drifted through their telepathic link. Su Ye could not tell whether he was lamenting or reproaching him.

Red Archer was Su Ye from the future, so everything Su Ye did now would, in theory, become part of Red Archer’s memories.

At that moment, Red Archer stood on the roof, gazing out over the surrounding landscape. Su Ye’s true body was concealed in the nearby shadows and did not appear, to avoid being detected by the magus Servant through a crystal ball.

Even without speaking, however, the two of them could communicate telepathically, completely unaffected by distance.

After hearing Red Archer’s remark, Su Ye shook his head.

“If you feel bad about it, then go expose me. I honestly don’t care. Whether I pursue two girls or three makes little difference to me.”

“Especially Rin. She isn’t as cute as Sakura, and she isn’t as adorably airheaded as Saber. And, most importantly, her chest is a little too small…”

Red Archer was speechless for a moment.

“You’re right. I’m the embodiment of an obsession, but you aren’t. That’s why I’m more anxious than you are. And this isn’t your fault. If anyone is to blame, blame me for spending my life being wild, unrestrained, and hopelessly fond of enormous breasts!”

Su Ye shrugged.

“Good. At least you know yourself.”

Red Archer’s brow twitched. Then he lowered his voice.

“Enough nonsense. Don’t you want to complete all three routes? Don’t lie to me. You know I’m you.”

“Heh.”

Su Ye laughed.

“If you’re me, then you should know that my goal doesn’t have to stop at those three routes.”

Red Archer stiffened. Images of the Rider Servant Medusa and the Caster Servant Medea surfaced in his mind, and a chill ran down his lower back.

“You’re really planning to take things that far?”

The three heroines were one thing, but those two were no pushovers. Their figures alone suggested they were the sort who could drain a man dry. Was he certain?

Su Ye nodded.

“Of course. Since I’m here, I might as well make it a grand occasion!”

Red Archer shook his head.

“But the Holy Grail can fulfill only one Servant’s wish. If you take Saber with you, you won’t be able to take Medusa and Medea too.”

Su Ye smiled.

“I’m beginning to wonder whether you really are me. Haven’t you heard the saying?”

“‘I do not ask for eternity. I ask only to have possessed it once.’”

After hearing this, Red Archer’s entire mood suddenly sank.

“I’m starting to regret being you. A scumbag thought like that is completely unbecoming of me as a heroic spirit!”

“Do you even know what kind of person can become a heroic spirit? You bastard, apologize to the sacred office of heroic spirit!”

Su Ye waved dismissively.

“Enough pointless talk. Just tell me whether you’re in or not.”

Red Archer regained his usual serious expression. He watched Rin Tohsaka emerge from the school building and look around for him. His gaze was resolute, his expression firm.

“First, I would like to express my most sincere contempt for my former self. Contempt for you, you worthless scumbag!”

“Second, since I am a heroic spirit, I have no way to betray my original wish: to help my former self fulfill his ambitions.”

“Finally, I would like to say that, spiritually speaking, I remain resolutely opposed to this. Nevertheless…”

“I’m in!”

Watching Red Archer leave, Su Ye gave a derisive snort.

“All talk and no shame. You really are me, after all!”