Type-Moon's Problem Child from Collapse

Chapter 4: Cuteness Is Unreasonable

"The future?"

Kiritsugu Emiya murmured under his breath. The maid beside him seemed to hear him speaking but couldn't make out the words, yet the rules programmed into her mind did not permit her to ask.

"Clean this up."

With that, Kiritsugu Emiya walked straight out without explaining his reasons. He didn't need to explain, after all, aside from Irisviel, every homunculus in this castle was merely a tool created for a purpose.

Though that was what he thought, Kiritsugu still made sure to close the door as quietly as possible, since Illya was still asleep.

Then, just as he happened to spot Irisviel heading back to her room, he spoke up to ask: "Irisviel, have you seen Saber?"

"A Yuan? He should be in the courtyard right now." After their earlier conversation, Irisviel had already let her guard down around Fu Yuan. And thinking about it, A Yuan was just a boy—what was she even worried about?

'A Yuan? So what happened while I was looking up information?' Kiritsugu felt a flicker of confusion but didn't voice it. After all, it was just a small matter.

"The courtyard, got it. Irisviel, go back to your room first. I'll be there shortly."

"Hey, Idiot Kiana, where are you dragging me off to?"

"You're the idiot. Less talk, more walk. I'm taking you to meet someone even you can't beat."

"Eh~! There's someone that strong at St. Freya Academy?"

"Class Monitor! Class Monitor! I brought the person!"

"Class Monitor? Mm~ Such a familiar aura."

"Huh? Why do you suddenly want to teach me Sword Practice? My Fist Technique is amazing!"

"...It's cool."

"Mm~ You win."

"A sword? I don't need one. A good friend gave me one. Here, this one—Unrivaled."

"So if you're teaching me Sword Practice, why are you giving me a pair of gauntlets? And ones someone else used at that."

"Void Grip? What a weird name."

Fu Yuan stood in the courtyard of Einsbern Castle, gazing at the ground blanketed in pure white snow. For some reason, memories suddenly surfaced of his first meeting with his master five hundred years later. He had to admit, fate truly played its tricks. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed that the master who was once like a machine could turn into a Work King + Grind King + Whale King + Babysitter.

But Fu Yuan felt this change was a good thing. That former version of his master had been far too exhausted. Still, occasionally Fu Yuan couldn't help but wonder—if his master had been like this back then, would that incident never have happened?

As he thought, Fu Yuan's hands began to surge with no small amount of magical energy, gradually coalescing into a pair of slender swords. The sword in his left hand was predominantly black, while the one in his right was predominantly white. A-rank Noble Phantasm—Xuanyuan Sword: Unrivaled.

Then, the hands gripping the swords began to move at an extremely slow pace, sometimes fast, sometimes slow. The sword followed the heart, the body danced with the sword, and the shadow drifted with the body. His form was as soft as drifting clouds, his arms as supple as if boneless. Every step bloomed like a lotus, and his movements were like butterflies fluttering among flowers.

Crescent Moon, Sea-Splitting, Sky-Rending, Flying Falcon, Mystic Falcon, Rain Swallow, Vine Sparrow, Cloud Eagle, Moon Heron, Weeping Willow, Secluded Orchid, Sturdy Bamboo, Ink Chrysanthemum, Pure Lotus, Green Pine, Rock Breaker, Chaotic Thunder, Thunderbolt, Mountain Collapse, Instant Dust, Quaking Wind.

Every stance and every move seemed ordinary yet profoundly deep. This was the wisdom of all humanity from the previous era, and the life's work of a girl named Hua over fifty thousand years. It was a sword art created for slaughter and protection, honed toward the simplest and most direct path. By all logic, it shouldn't possess any aesthetic beauty, yet the petite figure in the courtyard appeared so graceful, so breathtakingly beautiful that one could lose themselves in it.

Kiritsugu Emiya, arriving at the courtyard, saw this scene before him and unconsciously stopped, reluctant to disturb it.

In the courtyard, the bright moonlight shone upon the pure white snow on the ground, illuminating a petite figure in a Daoist robe who was completely lost in her own performance. Everything was so perfectly seamless, as if crafted by nature itself.

Finally, the dance ended. Whether by coincidence or fate, the clouds in the sky obscured the moon, leaving only a single beam of moonlight spilling down upon that petite figure, making her seem like a Banished Immortal.

Fu Yuan stood there, his mind involuntarily drifting to the scenes of everyone practicing swords at Floating Cloud Temple. But this state didn't last long, as a teasing voice echoed in his mind.

'Hey hey, Junior Disciple Brother, that Master of yours is about to be captivated by you.'

Hearing this, Fu Yuan suddenly noticed that Kiritsugu had been standing there for who knows how long. Realizing this, Fu Yuan's cheeks instantly flushed red. Mm~ So embarrassing. What do I do, what do I do? I want to find a crack in the ground to crawl into!

Kiritsugu Emiya watched the boy before him, who had lowered his head in shyness, and his expression flickered with a trace of daze. Then, as if realizing something was off, he quickly cast a calming spell on himself.

After the spell took effect and his emotions gradually settled, Kiritsugu Emiya decided to cut straight to the point to avoid any more awkward situations. "Saber, the next question may be somewhat offensive. I want to ask—when you died, roughly what time was it?"

'Knows it's offensive and still asks. Junior Disciple Brother, shut him down.' A voice from someone clearly enjoying the chaos rang out in his mind.

"Mm~" Fu Yuan ignored the voice in his head and instead seriously thought for two seconds before speaking somewhat uncertainly: "2019?"

'As expected! Saber is from the future. But if that's the case, then Saber's reaction upon hearing about the Holy Grail War earlier becomes very interesting.'

"Then have you ever heard of the Holy Grail War, Saber?" The dagger was drawn. In the end, Kiritsugu Emiya was still the Magus Killer. Especially during the Holy Grail War, everything was geared toward victory.

The question came abruptly, and Fu Yuan couldn't help but freeze for a moment. Then, inwardly, he felt a bit amused. After all, in the Type-Moon worldview, who knew which parallel world this was.

Plus, for those two figures in the Type-Moon world, the Holy Grail War was their only source of entertainment. Spoilers? Fu Yuan didn't want to become an enemy of the world just yet.

"I've heard of it, Master."

"Then you—"

"It's useless, Master. The things involved here are very complicated!" This time, Fu Yuan directly cut him off and then explained very seriously about Type-Moon's parallel worlds. Fortunately, the Jeweled Sword Indigo was quite famous in this world, so using his reputation made it easy to clarify things.

Kiritsugu Emiya left, walking away deeply disappointed.

But this conversation made Fu Yuan recall some other things—for example, which Holy Grail War this should be. If it were just the most normal one, it would be fine, with only an Archer causing some trouble. But if it were the Root Princess's iteration, the mortality rate would be truly high.

Thinking about it like this, Fu Yuan suddenly felt pressure. Even his fair little face showed a hint of difficulty. Sigh, life isn't easy. Fu Yuan sighed.

But this troubled feeling only occupied Fu Yuan's mind for a few seconds. After all, someone who had scraped by this long—whether he could keep living or not, Fu Yuan felt he really didn't care anymore.

The reason he was taking this Holy Grail War so seriously now was just to make up for the regrets of his past life: Sakura, Kallen, Fujino, Illya, and Kiritsugu Emiya!

The Type-Moon world and Magi were all more or less sick, at least in Fu Yuan's opinion. And among them, Kiritsugu Emiya was one of the most severely afflicted, forcibly shackling himself with a chain called justice.

Then driving himself relentlessly toward that goal, willing to abandon everything for it, including himself and his family.

Though Kiritsugu Emiya now seemed satisfied with Fu Yuan's existence, Fu Yuan knew that even if he hadn't been summoned, as long as someone was useful to him, Kiritsugu would forcibly endure it.

It was roughly like this: if Fu Yuan now forcefully made a move on a maid in the castle, Kiritsugu Emiya might be displeased, but if it meant winning over a Heroic Spirit, he might even take the initiative to help.

Still, thankfully, he could still be saved. He still grieved for his family and the dead. There was still a chance for redemption.

"Heh!" Really! Why think so much? Who could say what the future held?

"Sleep? Sleep?"

Thinking this, Fu Yuan suddenly felt bored. He picked an unused room and went to sleep.

Though Heroic Spirits didn't need sleep, they couldn't resist how comfortable it was!

Chapter 5: Fu Yuan Falls Again, Again, and Again

Today at St. Freya Academy was as peaceful as ever.

Mm, if you ignored Colonel Himeko throwing a tantrum over some little bug's defection.

After experiencing many things, Fu Yuan had fully grown up and recovered all his memories. He quietly ate breakfast in the cafeteria. Passing students could tell from his face—now stripped of childishness and grown quite handsome—that Fu Yuan seemed to be in a good mood.

In fact, Fu Yuan's mood really was good right now. Of course, it would be even better if that golden-haired man weren't sitting across from him.

"Aren't you going to try to keep her? She was your best friend after all." Defection was always an organization's greatest taboo. Fu Yuan surely understood this, so Otto didn't directly say "capture" or anything—after all, burning bridges was bad for everyone.

Hearing this, Fu Yuan looked up at him. Otto's face still wore that hypocritical expression, that hypocritical smile, unchanged even after Fu Yuan had beaten him black and blue before.

"Oh? Keep her? Why? Did she do something wrong?" Fu Yuan wore an utterly indifferent expression, even with a hint of schadenfreude as he shot back.

"My friend, you should know that if she becomes completely ungovernable, it won't just be Schicksal—the other two sides will act too."

Even discussing such a serious topic, both faces were full of nonchalance.

"Mm, when that happens, I'll step in." Fu Yuan swallowed the last bite of food on his plate, his tone carrying a hint of seriousness. When that time came, he would act—at the very least, he'd vent all the grievances Chong Chong had suffered these past days.

After eating, Fu Yuan prepared to head back to the training ground to continue practicing. At the cafeteria entrance, he suddenly seemed to think of something. Turning his head toward that loser, his face slightly mocking, he said, "Oh, congratulations. Your plan succeeded."

Otto watched the thin figure gradually disappear from his sight, still wearing that hypocritical smile on his face. But he suddenly felt things might have gotten a bit troublesome.

"Looks like this body of mine will need to be replaced again."

"Mmm~" Fu Yuan reluctantly opened his eyes. His gaze was somewhat unfocused as he stared at the ceiling, then he began a very difficult struggle. Mmm, he didn't want to get up.

As for the dream he just had, it held no deeper meaning. Fu Yuan didn't know why he'd dreamed that—maybe he was nostalgic for how he looked when he grew up.

In the Einzbern Family's hall, a very ornate dining table was covered with delicious dishes. Though there were quite a few "people" in the living room, only three sat at the table.

"Kiritsugu! Kiritsugu! Didn't you say a guest came to the house? Where is he?" One small, adorable figure shook the arm of the man sitting at the head of the table, asking very curiously.

Kiritsugu looked at the tiny figure with affection, while also feeling a bit curious—where could Saber have gone at this hour?

Irisviel watched the two of them very tenderly, then considerately spoke up: "I'll go upstairs and check. A Yuan must have something keeping him, which is why he's coming down so late."

"Just a little more sleep, just a little more, just a little." As if successfully convincing himself, the little head poking out from the blanket tilted to one side and fell deeply asleep again. Two seconds later, his body instinctively pulled the blanket tighter.

The figure inside the Stigma watched Fu Yuan make such childish movements with a smile, then glanced at the white-haired beauty at the door and smirked mischievously.

Irisviel had witnessed Fu Yuan's entire bed-lazing process. The corner of her mouth twitched. Did Heroic Spirits need sleep too? After thinking it over, she decided not to wake him, quietly retreated, and considerately closed the door.

Su Mei watched her silently leave, then wordlessly released her perception seal. In her mind, she kept telling herself that Junior Brother was still young and couldn't lack sleep. Then the corners of her mouth began to curl up involuntarily.

In the living room, Kiritsugu looked at Irisviel, who seemed to have seen a ghost, and asked with some confusion: "Irisviel, Saber wasn't in his room?"

The little one in his arms looked up curiously, staring at her mother.

At this point, Irisviel didn't know what to say. After a moment's hesitation, she replied hesitantly: "A Yuan seems to be sleeping in?"

Kiritsugu Emiya, who had been amusing the daughter in his arms, looked at Irisviel in surprise upon hearing this. After receiving her affirmative answer, he also wore an expression like he'd seen a ghost.

'Do Heroic Spirits need sleep?' Kiritsugu Emiya felt his Saber was becoming more and more abnormal.

"Big Brother is sleeping in?" Illya, sitting in Kiritsugu's arms, suddenly looked up and asked adorably.

At nine in the morning, his precise biological clock (lol) successfully woke Fu Yuan. But Fu Yuan still didn't know his reputation had been ruined (?)

Feeling the warmth of the sun on his body, the small figure on the bed finally sat up lazily. Then he spaced out for a good while before the pupils of his eyes finally focused.

"Nah nah~ Why does something as anti-human as waking up have to exist?" Fu Yuan said very seriously, with very unserious words.

"Aha, actually, Junior Disciple Brother, even if you slept a little longer, no one would care." Su Mei said in a nonchalant tone—after all, it was the truth.

"How can a martial artist waste time in bed?" Fu Yuan suddenly began lecturing his mischievous senior sister with a serious face.

"Ah! This!... Do whatever makes you happy." Su Mei suddenly lost the will to chat and closed the voice call.

After waiting a moment to confirm that his senior sister had cut off her perception, Fu Yuan leaped up from the bed in one swift motion.

He grabbed a wooden stick he'd picked up from who-knows-where, suddenly put on a very serious expression, and began muttering to himself.

"The divine is the ultimate of transformation, the subtle essence of all things, beyond the grasp of form—Void Sword Qi, Divine Essence!"

"Void Sword God!"

As he chanted the incantation, his hands began to swing rapidly. Don't ask—it was just childishness.

Fu Yuan even wiped non-existent sweat from his forehead, then slowly sheathed his sword (the wooden stick), striking a cool pose.

"So cool!" At that moment, a slightly childish voice reached Fu Yuan's ears from the doorway.

Fu Yuan's expression instantly froze. Then, as if in slow motion, he turned his head frame by frame to look at the little girl who had been standing at the door for who knows how long.

The little girl had delicate features and silver-white hair just like Irisviel, and her little princess dress made her look incredibly cute.

But none of that mattered—she wasn't as cute as him anyway. Getting off track, getting off track. The real problem was that Fu Yuan had never learned a memory-erasing skill.

'I can do it!' At that moment, a crisp yet demonic voice rang out in Fu Yuan's mind.

Fu Yuan's brain completely crashed.

Fu Yuan went into seclusion.

Fu Yuan despaired.

Fu Yuan went blank.

After providing a few more expression packs for Su Mei in the Stigma, Fu Yuan gradually came back to his senses and said with a hint of self-abandonment.

"No fun anymore. Come on, let's end it all!"