Charlotte Holmes

Li Ye did not know whether the Magie Friedman left inside Aleka's body was a completely independent consciousness or still connected to the original.

If it was the latter, then it should have died as well.

Sheathing his sword, Li Ye turned and left without hesitation.

The trail of the Crusaders' remnants had come to an end, but Li Ye did not care.

Li Ye had figured it out as well. This place was the domain of Ozymandias, the Sun King. Aside from the Atlas Institute, which lay beyond his control, there was no way the Crusaders' remnants could hide their tracks from Ozymandias.

As for any other intelligence concerning the remnants, it had vanished along with Magie Friedman's death.

Once Li Ye reunited with Nitocris, the two continued onward.

Toward the otherworldly realm at the center of the desert—the Atlas Institute!

Several hours later.

"Wait, Miss Nitocris, are you really a Pharaoh?"

Li Ye looked around in confusion. Since he had a Pharaoh traveling with him, he naturally had Nitocris guide this outsider.

But Li Ye had never expected Nitocris to lead him around the desert for an entire day.

The sun was setting, and dusk had arrived.

After walking from daytime until evening, Li Ye had not even caught sight of the Atlas Institute.

Yet Nitocris beside him refused to admit it, shouting, "Insolent wretch, are you questioning Pharaoh Nitocris's judgment?!"

Clearly, Nitocris absolutely refused to take responsibility and decisively rebutted Li Ye's doubts.

Seeing this, Li Ye, biting down on his canteen, shrugged and sighed toward the sky.

"Ah!" A flash of inspiration struck Li Ye. Smiling, he raised a finger. "Miss Nitocris, I have an idea!"

Half an hour later.

Li Ye gazed contentedly at the ghosts spread across the desert, intoxicated by his own world-shaking wisdom.

Since the two of them were far too inefficient at searching on their own, they just needed to call for help. Luckily, Nitocris could summon a whole army of undead.

"This is disrespect toward a Pharaoh!"

Nitocris kept moving her hands while still finding time to glare at Li Ye.

Despite her complaints, Nitocris still took Ozymandias's orders seriously. Using the ghosts to conduct a sweeping search of the desert, she and Li Ye continued advancing.

Until night had fully fallen.

Li Ye and Nitocris still found nothing.

Until—

"As an alchemical institution, the Atlas Institute naturally has measures against a blanket search. Such a method is unlikely to work."

"That is common sense, my friend."

A faint voice drifted over from afar through the sandstorm.

Servant?!

Sensing the fluctuations of magical energy within the sandstorm, Li Ye instantly spun around, his sword half-drawn!

Soon, Li Ye saw who stood within the sandstorm.

A British-style cape coat, tall and refined features, and most striking of all, eyes possessing the wisdom of one who seemed to see through everything.

"Who are you?" Li Ye rapidly analyzed the newcomer's identity.

All Heroic Spirits were figures who had left their mark on history, each one a renowned hero.

Seeing this man's elegant attire and that attention-grabbing air about him, Li Ye quickly thought of a famous Heroic Spirit.

"Charlotte Holmes—"

"It seems this gentleman knows me. A pleasure to meet you for the first time. I am Charlotte Holmes; this must be the Servant Nitocris. May I ask how I should address this gentleman?"

Holmes spoke with a smiling expression.

Holmes had immediately stated Nitocris's True Name, but Li Ye was not surprised. Instead, Holmes's attitude toward him put Li Ye on guard.

The reason was simple. Compared to Li Ye, who considered himself possessed of world-shaking wisdom, Holmes was genuinely intelligent.

When dealing with people this clever, Li Ye worried that he might inadvertently reveal all his information.

Li Ye was currently carrying a great treasure—the Holy Grail was on him.

And Holmes was exceptionally skilled at observing his surroundings, a world-class detective capable of seeing the whole picture from the slightest hints, a genius known to nearly everyone.

He must have noticed the Holy Grail at first glance—

"My surname is Li, given name Ye. I'm from out of town."

Facing Holmes, Li Ye decided to use his strongest response technique.

A direct answer.

"Mr. Li Ye, since you are heading to the Atlas Institute, how about we travel together?"

Holding a pipe, Holmes spoke with a smile.

Just as I thought, he came because he noticed the Holy Grail. And he's probably already analyzing where I'm from, isn't he? Holmes really is terrifying—

Li Ye's expression did not change as he marveled inwardly.

Even from Li Ye's own perspective, the two characters in his name revealed far too much. Though his superb foreign-language skills allowed him to converse seamlessly, both his appearance and name pointed toward a particular nation.

Unlike the mysterious ancient nations of the West, it was a colossal entity whose mystical side was entirely different as well.

With Holmes's intelligence, even if Li Ye had not stated his name, Holmes would have already narrowed it down to a general direction.

"I'd be honored. May I ask how Mr. Holmes came to appear within the Sun King's domain?"

Li Ye had no reason to refuse Holmes's invitation.

It was simply too difficult for Li Ye and Nitocris to find the Atlas Institute on their own. Who knew how many days it would take them to arrive?

But with Holmes, things were different. The addition of the greatest mind was an enormous boost for Li Ye and the others.

"Holmes? Another foreign Servant!"

Nitocris withdrew the ghosts scattered throughout the desert and looked at Holmes in confusion.

She had never heard that name and merely took him for an ordinary Servant.

Holmes raised an eyebrow, immediately realizing that Nitocris had not been granted knowledge when summoned as a Servant. From this, he inferred that her summoner was most likely Ozymandias. Only the Sun King could skip the process of bestowing knowledge during a summoning.

"Mr. Li Ye, you are quite familiar with Servants. Just as you suspected, I am a masterless Servant independently summoned by the Ley Line several days ago. I happened to encounter you while you were searching for the Atlas Institute, so I thought I would accompany you."

Holmes answered Li Ye's question and also addressed what Li Ye had been wondering.

"Then, Mr. Holmes, how should we find the Atlas Institute? Miss Nitocris and I spent half a day searching but could not find this otherworldly realm."

Having confirmed that Holmes was at least an ally for now, Li Ye did not beat around the bush and asked directly.

Li Ye had to reach the Atlas Institute before Holmes discovered his identity as a Knight of the Round Table!

Li Ye could not be certain of anything else, but one thing was certain: Holmes was allied with the soon-to-arrive Chaldea. Therefore, from the standpoint of factions, Li Ye, as a Knight of the Lion King, was highly likely to become enemies with Holmes and the others.

That was assuming Holmes already knew of the Lion King's existence.

Before long.

Holmes led Li Ye and Nitocris to the top of a sand dune.

"This should be the place, Mr. Li Ye. I'll leave it to you."

Having guided them there, Holmes stepped aside and made room for Li Ye.

Li Ye, who had somehow become a tool, pointed at the desert before him. After confirming the location, he decisively threw a punch!

Boom!!

The blow, wrapped in magical energy, pierced the earth. The yellow sand trembled, then caved inward in a rolling torrent like quicksand!

A deep, dark opening appeared before Li Ye and the others.

Thanks to reader 20180131094855771 for the 100 Qidian Coins tip. Haha, I'll keep working hard.