As a Ninja, I Only Want to Live off Women in Type-Moon

Hartless cautiously set up a soundproof Magecraft barrier, then asked with a smile, "Do you know about the Magecraft ritual that took place in the Far East ten years ago—the Holy Grail War?"

Hartless began to explain, and as time passed, a look of surprise gradually appeared on Higashino Kanade's face.

As someone who knew the plot, Higashino Kanade had a far broader perspective than the natives of the Nasuverse. Yet even he, who knew so many secrets, could not help being shocked by Hartless's incredible plan.

Seven years ago, Hartless had cooperated with Lord Animusphere and gone to Fuyuki City in the Far East to investigate the Holy Grail War.

After returning from the investigation, he learned that the Holy Grail was now nothing more than useless scrap incapable of granting wishes. However, he came up with another idea: creating a subspecies Holy Grail War.

By secretly sponsoring major families in various regions, he redirected Fuyuki City's Ley Lines to the outskirts of London. Then, by summoning Einnashe, he altered the local Ley Lines and constructed a subspecies Holy Grail.

However, the Holy Grail system in Fuyuki City had ultimately been created by the Three Great Families. Even though he had constructed a subspecies Holy Grail system, he could not summon Heroic Spirits. Thus, he set his sights on Waver, who had once been a Master.

As long as Waver rode the Mystic Eyes Collection Train through the site where he had prepared the subspecies Holy Grail, Waver's former status as a Master could serve as a medium to connect to the legendary Throne of Heroes and summon genuine Servants. That was Hartless's plan.

The reason Hartless wanted to get rid of Higashino Kanade was that, publicly, Higashino Kanade and Waver were teacher and student, and their relationship was far from shallow.

Higashino Kanade's overwhelming combat strength would inevitably hinder his plan and might even ruin everything. That was why, after learning that Higashino Kanade intended to board the Mystic Eyes Collection Train, Hartless wanted to eliminate him beforehand.

"Interesting. I have to admit, you really are a genius." Higashino Kanade praised him sincerely.

Constructing a subspecies Holy Grail War entirely on his own was something many Magi would never even dream of. Hartless had not only thought of it but successfully built a subspecies Holy Grail system. He was undoubtedly a genius in the truest sense.

"After hearing such a crazy plan, you don't intend to stop me?" Hartless asked jokingly.

"Why would I stop you? What does the Holy Grail War have to do with me? Isn't it fine if I take the money and watch the show?" Higashino Kanade looked disdainful, but he was thinking about something else.

Servants!

As flawed copies of Heroic Spirits, Servants came from one of the Nasuverse's highest mysteries: the Throne of Heroes. The world information contained within them was absolutely beyond comparison to that of any Dead Apostle or any Phantasmal Species.

If he captured a Servant and had the system recycle and analyze it, he would definitely obtain a huge amount of world information. There was even a strong possibility that it could upgrade the Gold Treasure Chest into a Diamond Treasure Chest.

Therefore, Hartless summoning a Servant would be enormously beneficial to Higashino Kanade. He even wanted to help Hartless complete the subspecies Holy Grail ritual, then find a way to get his hands on the Servant Hartless summoned.

Ding! A follow-up system mission has been triggered!

Mission Name: Recycle a Servant

Time Limit: Ten days

(Exceeding the time limit will be considered mission failure.)

Description: After someone plotted against you, you learned of Hartless's plan. In order to become stronger in the future, you decided to assist Hartless in summoning a Servant, then capture the Servant alive and hand it over to the system for recycling.

Mission Reward: One Gold Treasure Chest

Mission Failure: Silenced!

(You already know too many secrets. Hartless has decided to use the Servant to kill you and silence you after summoning it. If you want to survive, you can only fight.)

After listening to the system, Higashino Kanade looked at Hartless with a hint of wariness in his eyes.

It seemed that Hartless, that old scheming bastard, had no intention of honoring the contract either. Were Type-Moon Magi really this morally bankrupt?

Higashino Kanade suppressed the killing intent in his heart and asked another question.

"Since you didn't want me boarding the Mystic Eyes Collection Train, why didn't you bribe Yvette from the start and have her hide the information the train sent me?"

"If I could have, I would have done that too."

Hartless helplessly spread his hands. "Yvette comes from a Mystic Eye family, and her passion for Mystic Eyes outweighs everything else. Appraising the grade of your Mystic Eyes was what she wanted, and the reason I could bribe her was that I made a deal with her using Mystic Eyes."

"So that's how it is."

Higashino Kanade silently crossed Yvette off his mental kill list.

He had initially thought that Yvette and Hartless were allies who had joined forces to set him up. But now it seemed that Yvette was merely cooperating with Hartless for profit, no different from Higashino Kanade in essence.

Since Yvette did not know Hartless's plan, Higashino Kanade decided to spare her, considering her ambition to become Waver's mistress.

After all, this cooperation with Hartless was going to screw Waver over badly. Giving him a girl as compensation could be considered repayment. Higashino Kanade believed Waver would surely understand his helpless circumstances.

PS: First update! Usual request for recommendation votes!

The Underground Labyrinth

Afterward, the Shadow Clone found Yvette and obtained a ticket for the Mystic Eyes Collection Train. It then returned to Luvia's villa, handed the ticket to the original body, and dispersed on its own. Higashino Kanade's original body also learned about the deal with Hartless.

The Mystic Eyes Collection Train was set to depart four days later. Over the next few days, Higashino Kanade first received twenty million US dollars from Hartless, then heard that the Holy Relic Waver had used to summon King of Conquerors Iskandar had been stolen.

Higashino Kanade first used the money to repay what he owed Luvia. Then he paid Aozaki Touko the remaining balance in full and obtained the Mystic Eye Killer and Automatons he wanted.

Higashino Kanade entrusted the remaining fifteen million US dollars to Luvia, asking her to exchange all of it for rare Phantasmal Species materials. A day later, he handed the acquired materials over to the system for recycling.

As expected, the Gold Treasure Chest still did not advance. This only strengthened Higashino Kanade's resolve to capture a Servant alive.

Two days before leaving, Higashino Kanade went to find Waver and discussed sneaking into the Forbidden Library with him.

When Higashino Kanade found Waver, Waver was in a terrible mood. The theft of Iskandar's Holy Relic had dealt him a severe blow.

At Higashino Kanade's persuasion, Waver temporarily put aside his foul mood and agreed to help him.

Thus, that very night, Waver arrived at the Forbidden Library.

"Lord El-Melloi II, you haven't come here for quite some time. Have you suddenly come today because of the Holy Grail War?"

In the dim underground labyrinth beneath the Clock Tower, a hunched old man walked with a torch in hand while speaking to Waver behind him.

This hunched old man was the keeper of the underground Forbidden Library. He possessed the key to open the library gates. No one knew how long he had lived or how powerful he was. Waver remembered that when he had first inherited the title of Lord, the old man had already been guarding the library.

"Yes... The Fifth Holy Grail War is about to begin. I've already applied to the Clock Tower for permission to participate. I came to look up books containing information on Heroic Spirits." Waver lied without so much as blushing.

During his ten years as a Lord at the Clock Tower, Waver had accumulated an unimaginable amount of knowledge. He could already recite the legends and abilities of all kinds of Heroic Spirits backward and forward. He had only come this time to fulfill his deal with Higashino Kanade.

"Haha, Lord El-Melloi II truly can't forget the Holy Grail War. Do you wish to wash away the humiliation you suffered ten years ago, or avenge Lord Kaineth?" The old man laughed hoarsely, his voice especially piercing in the silent, deserted underground passage.

"Both," Waver replied.

"Then I'll wish you success in advance."

The old man smiled faintly, then used his cane to block Waver's path.

"Be careful. There are many Ghosts and Goblins imprisoned in this labyrinth. Even I have to declare my identity in advance, or countless undead will tear me apart."

The moment the old man finished speaking, a massive ghost that seemed to have come from the Age of Gods flew in from the other end of the passage. Thick frost formed everywhere it passed.

"Who... goes... there..."

The enormous ghost stopped before the old man and stared at him and Waver with hollow, bone-chilling eyes.

"I am the administrator. I have brought Lord El-Melloi II here to consult materials. Please allow us through."

The old man took out a credential bearing the signature of the Clock Tower's acting headmaster. After the enormous ghost verified the handwriting, it transformed into a gust of freezing wind and howled away.

"Let's go, Lord El-Melloi II."

The old man casually put away the credential as though he were accustomed to this, then continued onward.

Waver followed closely behind him and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

This was already Waver's sixth time coming to the library to consult materials, but every time he saw that massive ghost guarding the path, he could not help breaking out in a cold sweat.

It was not because Waver was cowardly, but because of the overwhelming disparity in strength. A second-rate Magus like him was no match for any monster in this labyrinth. He even suspected that his disciple Grea could not defeat the massive ghost without releasing the Holy Lance.

This was the huge labyrinth spreading beneath the Clock Tower, known as the Albion Labyrinth. At present, only a small portion of it had been brought under the Clock Tower's control.

Most of the remaining areas had been temporarily sealed off by the Clock Tower because they were too dangerous.

Time and space within the Albion Labyrinth were both ambiguous, and the environment often changed. The air was filled with Mana—True Ether—and many dangerous Phantasmal Species lived there.

If he had not needed to learn King of Heroes Gilgamesh's weakness, Waver truly would not have wanted to come to such a deadly place. Only explorers and smugglers who valued money over their lives were passionate about this place.

After some more time passed, Waver crossed several dazzlingly confusing passages and arrived before a huge stone wall.

It was a bare stone wall, hard to the touch, and it looked as though they had reached a dead end.

The hunched old man lightly tapped an inconspicuous brick in the stone wall with his cane. The next moment, brilliant light illuminated the entire passage, and a huge metal door emerged from within the wall.

Waver revealed a curious look. The hunched old man thought for a moment, then smiled. "I haven't explained the secret of the Forbidden Library's defensive mechanisms to you before, have I, Lord El-Melloi II?"

"Defensive mechanisms? Can you tell me that?" Waver looked surprised.

The old man nodded. "Yes. This library only serves Lords and a few Grand Magi who have made immense contributions to the Clock Tower. You know how it is—our Magi are always a little abnormal. There are always bold fools who set their sights on the treasures stored here and want to take this forbidden knowledge out with them."

"And my duty is to explain the library's defensive mechanisms beforehand and discourage those bold fools. After all, everyone who comes here is an elite among Magi. It wouldn't be worth dying in a place like this." The old man pointed at himself and revealed an amused smile.

"Are you suspecting me?" Though Waver was panicking inside, he did not show the slightest sign of nervousness. Instead, he frowned in displeasure.

"Not at all. I trust you completely, Lord El-Melloi II." The old man waved his hand and laughed. "I may fear other Magi, but your Magecraft is only at the Festival Seat. Even if you wanted to take something, you couldn't!"

"Tch... Pointless prattle." Waver snorted unhappily. Being underestimated was unpleasant, but he could not refute it.

The old man stretched out a dry, bark-like hand and gently caressed the aged metal gate. One Magecraft circuit after another appeared on its surface, radiating a powerful pressure that made one's heart tremble.

"This gate bears Magecraft barriers carved by generations of headmasters. Conservatively speaking, there are already more than a thousand layers. Not only does it possess defenses powerful enough to withstand a nuclear strike, but it can also automatically counterattack when attacked. Its firepower is enough to kill a true dragon. Without the key, it is absolutely impossible to enter."

It's not like any country would dare drop a nuclear bomb on London, Waver grumbled inwardly.

PS: Second update...

The Magus's Forbidden Zone

The old man let out a sinister cackle, as though he had remembered something amusing. It gave Waver goosebumps.

"Someone once ignored my warning. Now, he has become one of the labyrinth's guards."

The old man stroked the metal gate, then forcefully pressed one spot on it, leaving behind a hole as thick as a finger.

He took out a small knife, cut his finger, inserted the bleeding finger into the hole, and muttered a mysterious incantation.

Waver knew clearly that the reason the old man could become the Forbidden Library's administrator was not merely his formidable abilities, but also his bloodline and incantations passed down through generations. From the very birth of the Clock Tower, the old man's ancestors had guarded this place.

With a thunderous boom, the entire labyrinth seemed to tremble. A crack appeared in the gate, and bright firelight shone through from within.

As time passed, the gate slowly opened outward, and the scene inside came into Waver's view.

It was a secret chamber as large as four football fields. Hundreds of bookshelves, some packed full and others completely empty, stood neatly arranged inside. The floor was dark marble, Magecraft-sustained flames hung from the ceiling, and dozens of metal Automatons patrolled between the bookshelves. Countless books, treasures, and Phantasmal Species fossils that would drive Magi mad with greed if released outside were neatly arranged on the shelves.

"Follow in my footsteps. If you step on a trap and get killed on the spot, I won't care."

The old man gave his warning and headed toward the center of the library.

As Waver walked, he examined the library's collection. Aside from Grimoires passed down from the Age of Gods and top-secret research left behind by Magi designated for sealing before their deaths, Waver also saw fragments of the Round Table of King Arthur, the Golden Fleece, the original text of the Cattle Raid of Cooley, and a Young Hydra specimen.

Any one of the treasures here, if taken outside as a Holy Relic, could summon a powerful Heroic Spirit.

At the center of the Forbidden Library was a small circular garden. At a stone table in the garden sat a woman reading a book.

However, rather than calling her a woman, it would be more accurate to call her an elf.

She possessed beauty beyond anything humans could rival, a perfect figure like a work of art, long green hair reaching all the way to her legs, a revealing white robe, and the pointed ears characteristic of elves.

Waver had met this elf before. She was the true master of the Forbidden Library, the librarian commissioned by the Clock Tower.

Logically speaking, Phantasmal Species such as elves should have gone to the Reverse Side of the World with the end of the Age of Gods. But due to the unique environment of the underground labyrinth, which was filled with enormous amounts of True Ether from the Age of Gods, conditions existed for these Phantasmal Species to survive.

"My lady, Lord El-Melloi II wishes to consult the library's books. The acting headmaster has already approved the matter. What do you think?"

The proud old man who had just been frightening Waver now respectfully bowed to the elf like a servant.

"Granted."

The elf spoke in a mesmerizingly pleasant voice. She casually tossed a pair of glasses to Waver, then waved her hand as though shooing flies, driving Waver and the old man away.

Having entered several times before, Waver knew this elf utterly hated humans. He had heard that a Clock Tower headmaster from some generation had persuaded her to become the Forbidden Library's administrator in exchange for free access to the library's knowledge. She ignored every visitor who came.

The glasses were used to identify which books contained curses, which books were transformed monsters, which books were genuine Grimoires, and which Magecraft tools were hidden in traps beneath the floor tiles.

"Lord El-Melloi II, you only have five hours to consult the materials. I will wait at the entrance the entire time. Once your time is up, you will be forcibly removed."

The old man bowed to Waver and left. After taking several steps, he suddenly turned back and said, "I forgot to remind you. Magecraft and Mystic Eyes are forbidden in the library. Once it detects Mana being released, the library's defensive mechanisms will activate automatically. You will be killed very brutally within three seconds."

The old man sneered, threw out those words, and left.

Though Waver appeared calm on the surface, his heart was pounding and his hands trembled faintly. He was afraid.

The defensive mechanisms of this library had practically been designed specifically for Magi. Once a Magus entered, they had to become an ordinary person. Even the slightest use of Magecraft could bring about death.

And any Magus who infiltrated without receiving the Magecraft tools bestowed by the elf would not even survive half a minute. This was a truly inescapable place of death!