What else could he do? The system's final prompt had said that collecting Exotic Energy could restart it. The young transmigrator could only grit his teeth and steel himself to search for this so-called Exotic Energy. Li Zihan swore that he had never heard of such a useless system.
In the blink of an eye, fifteen years passed. The results of Li's many years of effort, combined with the residual energy left when the system shut down, had barely pushed the restart progress bar to seventy percent. The remaining thirty percent was a number that made his scalp tingle just looking at it. Filling it with mana would require at least ten years' worth of accumulation from a High-Grade Spirit Vein.
But as a transmigrator blessed with foreknowledge, if he searched carefully enough, he would always be able to find a suitable place to gather energy.
High-grade spirit vein, decades of mana accumulation. Hmm, Fuyuki City—the peaceful, friendly city—was the one. If he didn't make an example of it, he would be letting down both the nation and the Party.
If he poured All the World's Evils from the Grail into the system, it would definitely charge it to full, right? Li Zihan thought. Once it was fully charged, he could go to another world.
Thinking of that made Li Zihan a little melancholy. After all, he had spent fifteen years in this world. He had grown somewhat attached to it. Saying he had no regrets at all would be a lie.
But he had to leave. If he didn't run, there was a chance he would die violently in the streets. As someone who knew his limits and did not want to be soaked in Fuyuki Marine, Li Zihan had absolute faith in certain people's desire to beat him to death.
He hoped the next world would be a peaceful, friendly slice-of-life setting. Better yet, one full of youthful daily life and that sickeningly sweet smell of romance. Li Zihan longed for it. Dealing with the lunatics of the Moon World, who had no moral bottom line whatsoever, was simply unbearable. Li Zihan absolutely refused to admit that kind of life was living. It could only be called surviving.
He took a pair of fingerless gloves from his pocket and put them on, covering the crimson runes on the backs of his hands. With a light snap of his fingers, dozens of pale blue butterflies flew out from the shadows and, following their master's will, fluttered into the distance.
The future was too far away. Humans were creatures that ultimately lived in the present. What mattered most now was winning this fight over the cup, not playing the brooding poet and daydreaming about the future in the rain. Li Zihan sighed. If he could not send those Heroic Spirits who had stepped out of history back where they came from in this stupid cup war, he might be sent back where he came from himself—by getting beaten so badly that his soul transmigrated and reincarnated.
He followed the bridge straight ahead and finally stopped at its end, waiting for a certain nominal ally to arrive. The Holy Grail War had never been a fair and just friendly match. Even if it were a friendly match, with participants who were all mages with warped values, it would turn into a complete handbook of dirty tricks.
This battle for the Holy Grail had never been meant for outsiders. Li Zihan thought this and curled his lip. The Three Founding Families were truly ruthless. There were seven slots in total, and the three families had already reached an unspoken agreement. The other four participants entered the battlefield completely unaware, even believing this war to be an aristocratic game meant to display their abilities. I'm talking about you, Kirei Kotomine! They were clearly treating all the other participants like crops ready to be harvested.
Still, this was fine. Participating as a representative of one of the Three Founding Families would buy him enough time to make his preparations. Li Zihan watched the passing cars as he thought. If he did not prepare thoroughly, even a transmigrator who knew the plot had a high chance of ending up with a big fat GG amid laughter and cheers.
A sleek sedan tore through the curtain of rain as it sped in from the distance, then stopped nearby. A middle-aged man with dark blue hair stepped out of the driver's seat and opened the rear door.
"Li-kun, the Lord Commander invites you." The man acting as chauffeur bowed in greeting.
"I'll trouble you, Matou Family Head." The guest smiled as he got into the back seat and closed the door.
"It is only proper." The middle-aged man spoke his polite pleasantries with a numb expression, mechanically, like a puppet. "No need to stand on ceremony."
"How has the old gentleman been lately?" the youth asked courteously.
"Not very well lately." A hint of relief appeared on the middle-aged man's face, but it soon darkened, as though he had thought of something unpleasant.
"That's truly wonderful—cough, cough, truly saddening." The youth smiled brightly.
As they spoke, the engine rumbled and carried them into the distance.
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P.S. New author, new book. Everyone is welcome to come roast it.
It's free anyway, so read a little. (^人^)
An Unbreakable Alliance for the Matou Family
Matou Family, courtyard.
An old man dressed in a dark navy kimono sat in the stone pavilion at the center of the courtyard. With practiced movements, he ground matcha with a natural stone mill into a fine powder. He then placed a small amount of tea powder into a tea bowl, added a little warm water, and whisked it evenly with a bamboo whisk. As time passed, a thick layer of foam formed in the bowl, looking exceptionally beautiful.
If this old man's face were not such an affront to the eyes, the effect would have been even better. The slender youth sat upright across from the old man and thought this to himself. Seriously, why was a Scandinavian learning this stuff? He was taking this Japanese-style act a little too far.
"Li-kun, please." Naturally unaware of the rich inner drama unfolding in the person before him, the old man invited his guest in accordance with Japanese etiquette.
"This junior thanks Old Man Matou." The youth accepted the tea bowl and responded according to tea ceremony etiquette as well. He placed the bowl on the gauze mat on the table, rotated it twice, and took small sips of the matcha. Then he carefully examined the patterns on the tea bowl.
Before you continue