Patrol

"Master, please remain wary of that man who claims to be your ally."

As Tsukahara Meiji walked down the streets of Asakawa, those words suddenly rang in his mind, and the fear was plain on his already tense face.

Having a woman's voice directly enter his mind did not feel particularly pleasant. It always made him feel as if he had some severe mental illness. And the uncertainty of never knowing when it might suddenly sound made Tsukahara Meiji's heart leap involuntarily, sending his nervousness soaring.

Of course, it was Archer's voice.

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

In Spirit Form, she silently followed at Tsukahara Meiji's side, protecting him from the shadows.

As the ears of the Robin Hood collective, her all-pervasive espionage techniques had been elevated into a skill. Her covert movements, comparable to Presence Concealment, allowed Archer in Spirit Form to easily evade careless searches so long as she did not enter a Magus's guarded workshop.

That made Tsukahara Meiji look just like a tourist visiting the city.

Though Asakawa was not some first-tier metropolis, it was the first city to pilot the concept of a slow-paced urban lifestyle. Quite a few foreign visitors came here out of curiosity.

Besides, to foreigners, being in China mattered far more than which Chinese city they had come to. Who cared where in China they were? It was like how Chinese people could eat a hot dog in some third-tier American city and still count it as having gone abroad and seen the world.

Tsukahara Meiji was still not used to Archer's cryptic way of speaking. He looked around, and only after confirming that no one was nearby did he lower his voice. "Yeah, I got it."

Even now, Archer could not accept that Carl was their ally.

Knowing he could never win an argument against his Servant, Tsukahara merely humored her so she would not keep going on about it.

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

Archer's voice persisted in his mind. Tsukahara Meiji silently nodded to show that he understood and told her to continue.

"Please soften your expression a little. Otherwise, you are drawing far too much attention."

The streets of Asakawa were exceptionally peaceful, embodying the words "slow-paced" to the fullest. The roads were clean and neat, autonomous sprinklers moved along them, and the air carried the scent of mist and sunshine. It was a brilliantly clear day, and even the surrounding shops seemed brightened by the sunlight, their colors more vivid than usual.

Tsukahara wore a simple T-shirt printed with Chinese characters, with a camera hanging around his neck.

There were not many pedestrians on Asakawa's slow-paced streets, nothing like the pressure supposedly caused by China's population as advertised to the outside world. Leisurely people strolled through the city with an unhurried, aimless air.

Among them, Tsukahara Meiji did not merely stand out. He was completely out of place.

But this had been Archer's suggestion.

In her words, "Sometimes, the more blatant you are, the easier it is to avoid notice." By taking advantage of those skilled Magi thinking, How could an idiot like that possibly be a Magus?, Tsukahara could effectively hide in plain sight.

Furthermore, Tsukahara Meiji was a first-generation Magus. His magecraft amounted to practically nothing. If he had not been connected to Carl's magical energy, he probably would not even have been able to maintain a Servant.

(Was this what they called hiding in plain sight? Or committing a crime right under everyone's nose?)

Drawing on his meager knowledge of Chinese, Tsukahara Meiji came up with two rather inappropriate idioms. They seemed to convey the right meaning, yet somehow did not feel quite right. Still, he was open-minded about it. If a Japanese man used Chinese idioms better than Chinese people did, that would be slapping China in the face! And if he slapped them in the face on their own turf, how was he supposed to finish the Holy Grail War properly?

Yet now, it was Archer, the one who had proposed hiding in plain sight, who was telling him to look more natural. She had been the one who told him to act more exaggeratedly in the first place.

Tsukahara Meiji had yet to notice what his actual problem was.

If he happened to catch sight of a mirror, perhaps he would understand what Archer meant.

What kind of tourist did Tsukahara Meiji look like right now? He looked like nothing more than a low-grade paparazzo, glancing around with ill intent as he walked. To avoid attracting attention, he unconsciously hunched his neck and furrowed his brow. His whole appearance was rather sleazy. No one who saw someone like that walking down the street could simply laugh it off, could they? No matter how one looked at him, he resembled a petty thug searching for a target!

Excessive nervousness had made Carl's posture as stiff and unnatural as a robot. Combined with the exaggerated outfit, it simply

did not produce the intended effect of making people think, This person could not possibly be a Magus. Instead, they would wonder, What is this guy doing? That suspicion only drew more attention to him.

That was putting the cart before the horse.

Archer could conceal herself, and Tsukahara would not catch the eye of Magi. Under their original plan, so long as they did not encounter Assassin, who knew their identities, Tsukahara Meiji would have been the safest participant in the war.

Moreover, Archer, who was equally skilled at concealment, could barely detect a few traces of Assassin's hiding place. If they truly encountered Assassin, she was confident that when he launched an attack, she could see through his Presence Concealment and counterattack at the same time.

Thus, compared with Carl, who had no ability to protect herself, these two were better suited to gathering intelligence.

Incidentally, Archer liked this work. After all, as part of Robin Hood, this was what she did every day: wander the streets, gather relevant information, seek out enemies, and find their weaknesses. If the environment around her had not changed so drastically, Archer might truly have felt as though she had never died.

But now Archer could hide herself while Tsukahara drew attention. Something had clearly gone wrong.

Today's goal was naturally to investigate the local Masters' whereabouts—but if he kept walking around like this, let alone finding the enemy Masters, he might end up exposing the fact that he himself was a Master!

"Um... is it really that strange?"

Choosing an empty alley, Tsukahara Meiji lowered his voice and asked the spirit at his side.

Since this Archer specialized in reconnaissance and was not adept at sniping, she did not possess the Clairvoyance skill common to the Archer class. She could only honestly follow her Master around to gather information. Knowing she was right beside him, Tsukahara did not worry that she would fail to hear him if he spoke too softly.

"Yes, very strange. It would be easy for enemy Masters to notice you like this."

In truth, if they wanted to investigate the enemy, it would have been much more efficient for Tsukahara Meiji to stay home and let Archer go alone. But because his magical energy was so poor, allowing Archer to undertake Independent Action would consume far too much of Tsukahara Meiji's mana...

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

Otherwise, even after receiving someone else's favor, he would not have so casually wagered his own life.

Nor would he have openly read manga, such an utterly un-magical form of entertainment, at the Clock Tower, where Magi gathered.

But if someone could still look carefree after experiencing a battle of life and death, that was not being carefree. That was being numb...

Last night's battle with Assassin had been too intense. Fighting a Servant with his own body had left this first-generation Magus with far too much psychological trauma, making him jump at every rustle of grass and trees.

Archer sighed—or at least, Tsukahara Meiji felt that she had sighed, because her next words carried unmistakable helplessness.

"Then let us go eat something sweet to ease your nerves, Master. Or do whatever you like; I will accompany you. In any case, please do not keep making that attention-grabbing expression."

If the enemy discovered that Tsukahara Meiji was a Master, his Holy Grail War would be over.

Archer did not wish to belittle herself too much, but she was not some remarkable Heroic Spirit. If a direct battle truly broke out, she would certainly be of little use.

Therefore, they could only stick to their original policy and make sure Tsukahara Meiji did not reveal any openings.

"Nervous... y-yeah, I am a little nervous..."

Tsukahara Meiji gave a bitter smile.

"Would eating sweets... help?"

"Yes."

Archer answered without hesitation.

Though it did not, actually.

But many times, one's mindset was what mattered most.

For instance, if someone had a minor illness, like a cold, and was given a sugar pill as though it were a miracle medicine, they would often feel better because of psychological suggestion.

Sweets merely tasted pleasant to most people and gave them a happy sense of satisfaction, temporarily distracting them from their nervousness. They absolutely did not have any objectively guaranteed effect on relieving tension.

But her firm answer would surely make her Master feel more relaxed.

That was Archer's conclusion.

"I-I understand. Archer, come with me."