Patrolling

"Master, please maintain a degree of vigilance towards that man who claims to be your ally."

As he walked through the streets of Qianxi, Tsukahara Meiji's mind was suddenly filled with this statement, causing his already tense expression to clearly show a hint of panic.

The sensation of a woman's voice directly entering his mind wasn't a pleasant one; it always made him feel as though he suffered from a severe mental illness. Moreover, the sense of the unknown, of not knowing when it would sound again, always made Tsukahara Meiji's heart skip a beat, triggering an explosion of tension.

Of course, that was the Archer's voice.

This voice was the best proof that Tsukahara Meiji was currently participating in the Holy Grail War.

Following Tsukahara Meiji silently in Spirit Form, she protected him from the shadows.

As the "ears" of the collective known as Robin Hood, her all-pervasive espionage techniques had been elevated to a skill, comparable to "Presence Concealment" with "Stealth Action." This allowed the Spirit Form Archer to easily evade casual detection, as long as she didn't step into a Magus's guarded workshop.

This way, Tsukahara Meiji appeared to be nothing more than a tourist visiting the area.

While Qianxi wasn't a major metropolis, it was the first "pilot city" to propose the concept of a "slow-paced city," and it attracted quite a few foreign visitors intrigued by the novelty.

Moreover, for foreigners, the more important aspect was visiting "China" itself, rather than which specific city they were in. Who cared where in China you were? It was like how Chinese people, even if they just ate a hot dog in a third-tier American city, considered it having been abroad and seen the world.

Tsukahara Meiji was still not accustomed to the Archer's secretive way of speaking. He glanced around, and seeing no one nearby, he lowered his voice and said, "Okay, I got it."

Even now, the Archer couldn't accept Karl as her ally.

Knowing he couldn't possibly change his Servant's mind, Tsukahara could only placate her to avoid further discussion.

"Also, Master, I have one more piece of advice."

The Archer's voice persisted, and Tsukahara Meiji nodded silently, signaling that he understood and wanted her to continue.

"Please soften your expression a bit. Otherwise, you'll be too conspicuous."

The streets of Qianxi were very peaceful; the term "slow-paced" was vividly reflected. The streets were clean and tidy, with unmanned watering vehicles on the road, and the air carried the scent of moisture and sunlight. It was a bright, sunny day, as if even the surrounding shops were infected by this brightness, their colors appearing much more vibrant.

Tsukahara wore a simple t-shirt with Chinese characters printed on it, and a camera hung around his neck.

In the slow-paced Qianxi, the crowds on the street were not numerous, at least not in line with the propaganda about China's population pressure. Leisurely and unhurried people ambled slowly through the city with a sense of aimlessness.

Among this crowd, Tsukahara Meiji's demeanor was more than just conspicuous; it was utterly out of place.

However, this was the Archer's suggestion.

In her words, "Sometimes, the more blatant you are, the easier it is to go unnoticed." By exploiting the mindset of these excellent Magus who would think, "How could that idiot possibly be a Magus?", Tsukahara could achieve the effect of invisibility.

Furthermore, Tsukahara Meiji was a "first-generation" Magus, and his magical cultivation could only be described as almost non-existent. If he hadn't grafted Karl's magic, he probably wouldn't even be able to command a Servant.

(This plan is what's called 'hiding in plain sight' or 'acting boldly under surveillance'?)

Tsukahara Meiji, using his limited knowledge of Chinese, offered two rather inappropriate idioms. The meaning seemed correct, yet also somehow not quite right. He himself was quite magnanimous: if he, a Japanese person, spoke idioms better than the Chinese, wouldn't that be an insult to the Chinese? Insulting them on their own turf, did he still want to finish the Holy Grail War properly?

But now, the very Archer who proposed this "hiding in plain sight" strategy was telling him to act naturally, even though she was the one who told him to be exaggerated.

Tsukahara Meiji hadn't yet noticed the crux of his problem.

If he happened to catch sight of a mirror, he might have understood the Archer's meaning.

The current Tsukahara Meiji didn't look like a tourist at all. He looked like a low-level paparazzi, walking around, suspiciously glancing in all directions, instinctively craning his neck and frowning to avoid being noticed. With his somewhat unseemly appearance, anyone walking down the street like that couldn't just laugh it off. He looked like a petty thug looking for a target!

His excessive nervousness made Karl's posture stiff and unnatural, like a robot's. Combined with his exaggerated equipment, it completely failed to achieve the intended effect of "this person couldn't possibly be a Magus." Instead, people would feel a sense of confusion like, "What is this guy doing?" thus drawing more attention.

This was counterproductive.

The Archer could conceal herself, and Tsukahara wouldn't enter the notice of Magus. In terms of the intended concealment effect, as long as he didn't encounter the Assassin, who was in the know, Tsukahara Meiji would be the safest participant.

Moreover, the Assassin's stealth could be faintly detected by the Archer, who was equally skilled in stealth. If they were to encounter the Assassin, the Archer was confident she could perceive his "Presence Concealment" when he launched an attack and counterattack simultaneously.

Therefore, compared to Karl, who had no self-preservation abilities, these two were more suitable for gathering intelligence.

Incidentally, the Archer enjoyed this job. After all, as part of the collective Robin Hood, she did this kind of work every day: wandering the streets, gathering relevant information, searching for enemies and their weaknesses. If not for the sudden change in environment, the Archer would truly have a sense of déjà vu, as if she hadn't died.

However, the current situation was that the Archer could hide herself, but Tsukahara was attracting attention. Clearly, something was wrong.

Today's objective was naturally to scout the whereabouts of the enemy Master. But if he continued walking like this, let alone finding the enemy Master's location, he might even reveal his own identity as a Master!

"Um... is it that strange?"

Choosing an unoccupied spot for conversation, Tsukahara Meiji lowered his voice and asked the spirit beside him.

Because this Archer's abilities were primarily focused on "reconnaissance" and she wasn't good at sniping, she didn't possess the "Clairvoyance" skill common to the Archer class. She could only obediently follow the Master around to gather information. Even though she was right beside him, Tsukahara wasn't worried about his voice being too quiet for her to hear.

"Yes, it's very strange. This way, enemy Masters can easily notice you."

In fact, if the goal was to gather enemy intelligence, it would be much more efficient for Tsukahara Meiji to stay at home and let the Archer go alone. However, due to his inferior magic, if the Archer acted alone, it would consume an excessive amount of Tsukahara Meiji's magical energy...

Tsukahara Meiji's personality could probably be summarized as "carefree."

If not for this, he wouldn't have gambled his life so casually, even when receiving favors from others.

Nor would he openly read manga, such a non-magical form of entertainment, in a place teeming with Magus like the Clock Tower.

However, if someone could maintain a relaxed demeanor after experiencing a life-or-death battle, it wasn't called carefree; it was called having no nerves...

The intense battle with the Assassin last night, fighting a Servant with his physical body, had left too deep a psychological scar on this first-generation Magus, making him a bit jumpy.

The Archer sighed—at least Tsukahara Meiji felt she sighed, because her subsequent words clearly carried a hint of helplessness.

"Then, let's go eat some sweets to relieve your tension, Master. Or, we can do anything else; I'll accompany you. In any case, please stop making that attention-grabbing expression."

If Tsukahara Meiji were discovered by the enemy as the Master, his Holy Grail War would be over.

The Archer didn't want to underestimate herself, but she wasn't a particularly remarkable Servant. If a direct confrontation were to break out, she certainly wouldn't be of much use.

Therefore, she could only stick to the planned strategy; it would be best not to let Tsukahara Meiji show any weakness.

"Nervous... Yes, I am a bit nervous..."

Tsukahara Meiji gave a wry smile.

"Eating sweets... does that help?"

"Yes."

The Archer answered with absolute certainty.

Although, in reality, it didn't.

However, in many cases, the psychological aspect is the most important.

For example, if someone catches a minor illness, like a cold. If you give them a sugar pill, telling them it's a special medicine, they will often feel better due to self-suggestion.

In reality, sweets are simply widely accepted for their taste, and eating them brings a sense of happy pleasure, which can temporarily pull someone out of their nervousness. They absolutely do not have any inherent meaning in "relieving tension."

However, her own confident words would surely make the Master feel more relaxed psychologically.

This was the Archer's conclusion.

"I, I understand. Archer, follow me."