Type-Moon's Problem Child from Collapse

Chapter 12: How Did This Thing Become a Heroic Spirit?

Thunder and lightning raged across the earth.

Fu Yuan, now fourteen years old, was curled up under his covers. With his naturally exceptional perception, he always felt like the thunder outside bore some malice toward him. Still, at least he was a big kid now—he wouldn't be scared into crying.

Fu Xuan, who had come by to check on his son, let out a sigh. His gaze turned cold as he looked at the weather outside. Strangely enough, after Fu Xuan entered the room, the thunder gradually quieted down.

Fu Yuan poked his head out from under the covers, his face still showing some fear of the weather outside.

"It's alright, Xiao Yuan."

"But Dad, I always feel like they're about to strike me."

"They wouldn't dare!"

"Hehe~ Dad's bragging again."

"...Remember this, Xiao Yuan. Don't go to remote places alone from now on."

"Why, Dad!"

"Idiot. A boy out in the world needs to learn to protect himself."

"Mmph~ Don't knock my head, it'll make me dumber!"

"Can't you just do something about it, you surnamed Fu?!"

"It's fine. Once Xiao Yuan comes of age, it'll sort itself out. Nothing major will come of it."

"If something happens to Xiao Yuan, you're sleeping on the couch for the rest of your life."

"Haha! With me here, nothing will go wrong."

Two years later, Fu Yuan joined the Transmigrator Army. Fu Xuan? Miserable!

By the time the video Kiritsugu had recorded from a distance finished playing, the expressions of those present had gradually turned serious.

"Saber, what do you think of this battle?" Kiritsugu, having witnessed Saber's fight with Lancer earlier, had fully acknowledged Fu Yuan's combat ability. He genuinely wanted to hear Saber's opinion.

Caught off guard by being suddenly called on, Fu Yuan pulled himself together, stopped bickering with Senior Sister, and put on a very serious expression. His childish face paired with that stern look was somewhat comical.

Then Fu Yuan spoke words that perfectly matched his identity.

"I think the video quality isn't great."

Kiritsugu: ... 'I really am an idiot for having any hope in you.'

"Ahem, A Yuan, be serious. This isn't a small matter." Irisviel, looking quite earnest, reminded Fu Yuan twice. After all, even a single piece of intelligence could turn the tide of battle.

Illya, hearing that it wasn't a small matter, quietly perked up both ears again.

Kiritsugu rekindled a sliver of hope. Saber was, after all, a Heroic Spirit, not some Problem Child.

"Hmm... I'll watch from a seated position." Fu Yuan pondered for two seconds before giving an answer that perfectly matched the facts.

"Oh! Can you do that?!" Illya seemed to have learned some profound wisdom. 'From now on, when Little Illya encounters a problem she doesn't know, she'll do this too.' 'Learned it! Learned it!'

Crack~

Kiritsugu, expressionless, tossed the shattered pieces of the cup in his hand into the trash.

At the same time, a truth dawned on him. 'Better to rely on yourself than on others.' The ancients were truly wise. (?ω?)

"Ahem, just kidding, just kidding." Feeling a chill run down his spine at the sight of the crushed cup, Fu Yuan quickly straightened his expression and explained.

Looking at Kiritsugu's perfectly calm face, Fu Yuan felt a bit uneasy. After all, he'd been too busy bickering with Senior Sister earlier and hadn't actually watched.

Still, Fu Yuan had some experience dealing with situations like this. First, you had to project confidence, then speak with absolute certainty.

"First, they're strong. Second, they're not to be trifled with. Third, they..."

Crack~ Kiritsugu crushed another cup he'd picked up, staring at him with a perfectly calm face, saying nothing.

"I think we can form an alliance with the Matou Family." Fu Yuan's speech was very fast as he quickly blurted out the opinion he'd originally planned to save for last.

"Hmm." Kiritsugu nodded with moderate satisfaction, then asked with genuine confusion, "But how do you know one of those two sides is the Matou Family?"

Fu Yuan: ! 'You guys don't know that yet? What about your huge intelligence network? In the Original Work, didn't you already know?!'

'Oh! You only know the Masters! Then never mind!'

"I think this kind of minor question doesn't need to be delved into!" Fu Yuan stood up on his chair, waving his small hand with great bravado.

Then, feeling Kiritsugu's death glare, his voice involuntarily dropped.

"It's not that big a deal, is it?"

Though Kiritsugu was tempted to investigate, he ultimately suppressed his curiosity. It wouldn't do any good for their cooperation.

He then looked at Irisviel, who still didn't know what was happening, and Illya, who might as well have "I'm an idiot" written on her face. He sighed. At least Maiya had probably noticed something was off.

But just as Saber said, this wasn't really a big problem.

"An alliance? Will he agree?" Kiritsugu cast his gaze once more toward this loli—no, shota—who seemed to know some hidden intel.

"Probably?" 'After all, I can do whatever they want.' Fu Yuan nodded with great uncertainty.

After all, no one could say for sure about this kind of thing. His intel all came from novels he'd read, so it wasn't necessarily true. Though, so far, Archer, Rider, and Berserker's performances hadn't differed from the novels.

Hearing this extremely uncertain voice, Kiritsugu sighed inwardly.

'How the hell did this thing become a Servant!'

"By the way, Irisviel, what kind of homework is Illya going to buy?"

"Hmm... let's buy a few more sets of practice tests!"

Little Illya's eyes instantly went wide. How did this drag me into it?

The next day, Irisviel was so excited about being able to go out and play that she got up early in the morning. Then she found A Yuan, who had been studying hard last night, curled up in his blanket with no sign of waking up.

Irisviel stood at the door, thought it over several times, and decided to wake Fu Yuan anyway. 'I'll just say it's to buy Illya's practice tests! Yeah, that's it.'

However, she didn't expect that the moment she stepped inside, Fu Yuan woke up instantly. Like a corpse springing back to life, he suddenly sat up, looked at the person entering the door, and said, "Oh, it's Irisviel. Never mind." Then he lay back down and pulled the blanket tighter.

Irisviel watched Fu Yuan turn into a silkworm cocoon and found it a bit amusing, but she still called out to the reluctant Fu Yuan to get up.

"Get up, A Yuan. Time to eat."

Fu Yuan groggily opened his eyes, completely dazed, and followed Irisviel out of the room with a blank look on his face.

'Huh? Why would a Servant like me need to eat?'

But since he was already out of bed, he didn't really want to climb back in. Thinking this, he glared at Irisviel with a mix of fierceness and cuteness. "Mmm~ That's too sneaky, Irisviel."

In the main hall, Kiritsugu Emiya, already seated in the host's position, watched Saber—who looked like she could be lured away with a lollipop—and felt a headache coming on.

"Big Brother, where are we going to play today!" Illya jumped up excitedly, grinning as she asked.

Fu Yuan, still not fully accepting that he was awake, blurted out a reply.

"Irisviel, haven't you bought Illya's homework yet?"

Illya: ???!!!

'Could you be a decent person!' Having only just learned what homework was yesterday, Illya was instantly displeased.

'I call you brother, and you do this to me!'

Feeling that resentful gaze, Fu Yuan finally snapped to attention.

Realizing the laziness from before, 'Is this another side effect of the Spirit Core? Too terrifying!'

Inside the Stigma, Su Mei, who had been up all night studying the Spirit Core and the rules of this world: ???

"Ahem, Saber, this trip isn't just for fun."

"If you're confident, try to finalize the alliance deal within today."

Kiritsugu watched Fu Yuan, whose expression had shifted from dazed to expectant, and felt he could guess what he was thinking.

"Tch, what's with this feeling of raising a kid?"

Fu Yuan: I feel offended!

Feeling underestimated, Fu Yuan just buried his head in his food. 'Gotta say, it tastes pretty good.'

Kiritsugu watched Saber, who had fully transformed into a food-devouring machine, and swallowed many words he wanted to say.

Kiritsugu Emiya: 'So gluttonous, even among the legends in the Hall of Heroes, this must be unique.' Kiritsugu suddenly missed the King Arthur he hadn't managed to summon. 'At least she couldn't eat this much.'

"Irisviel, keep an eye on him."

"Got it, leave it to me!" Irisviel looked at the helpless Kiritsugu, wiped the grease from the corner of her mouth, and said with great confidence.

Kiritsugu Emiya: 'Why do I feel like this is so unreliable!'

Kiritsugu glanced around the hall again. Maiya would be acting with him. Saber... forget about him. Irisviel... not very reliable either. Illya... why would I even think of Illya for something this important?

Suddenly feeling like his train of thought was off, Kiritsugu patted his head and looked at Saber and Irisviel with some despair. 'As expected, I'll have to rely on myself.'

Seeing his Master seemed to have a headache, Fu Yuan stopped his food-devouring and asked considerately.

"Hey, Master, are you having a seizure or an episode? Hmm~ they're pretty much the same."

Kiritsugu Emiya: ...

Deep breath, deep breath! Don't get mad, don't get mad!

"Kiritsugu, we should investigate the recent movements of the Holy Relics. We might be able to figure out the True Names of one or two Servants." Maiya, noticing Kiritsugu's awkwardness, spoke up considerately.

Kiritsugu packed up his things, ready to head out and investigate, and also to clear his head. Out of sight, out of mind. 'I actually thought this Servant was reliable at first. Ridiculous!'

Fu Yuan: "...True Names? Ask me! I know them!"

Chapter 13: Starting to Go Out

Kiritsugu:...

Maiya:...

"You know their True Names?"

"Isn't that obvious?" Fu Yuan now also showed some confusion. Didn't you already think I came from the future? Even with parallel worlds as a guarantee, it should be normal for me to know one or two Heroic Spirits, right?

Kiritsugu looked calmly at Fu Yuan, suddenly feeling a bit sentimental. So this is what they call making use of waste!

After finishing the last bite of rice in his bowl, Fu Yuan stood up on his chair, ready to let them know his worth and make them stop underestimating him.

Then he suddenly sneezed, as if someone was cursing him behind his back.

"Who's cursing me!"

Kiritsugu: So amazing... huh?... Idiot, glutton...

Kiritsugu was about to continue fantasizing in his mind, but seeing Fu Yuan's resentful expression, he suddenly stopped.

"Master~"

"Ahem, we should discuss some serious matters." Kiritsugu Emiya began speaking with a straight face, as if it hadn't been him daydreaming just now.

So amazing! Kiritsugu suddenly realized that Saber's perception ability also had its merits—at the very least, he couldn't imagine how sharp one's senses had to be to perceive another's moral character.

As for why it wasn't reading thoughts, if Saber had that skill, well... forget it, no excuses—he just looked down on Saber a bit!

"Berserker's True Name is Lancelot. At this point, he should be in his maddened state after his betrayal. Of course, it could also be that something went wrong during the summoning." Fu Yuan was still conservative in his statement, in case something was different and it became awkward.

"Archer, from his behavior, you can tell he should be the legendary King of Heroes, right? That oldest human Fat Tiger—pfft, King of Heroes."

"Rider, if nothing unexpected happens, should be just as he said—King of Conquerors Iskandar. As for why he's so tall, I think that's normal, since history is written by people." After all, he's still an A-rank Fair Youth!

This point was especially worth complaining about—how did an A-rank Fair Youth end up looking like that?

"If what you say is true, it will be a great help for future operations." A gratified smile appeared on Kiritsugu's face, as if his daughter had finally become sensible.

Fu Yuan showed a confused expression. This stuff? Helpful?