An Opportunity / Chaldea (Merry Christmas)

Clock Tower, London, Britain

The young Lord, sitting in his office, was frowning as he looked at the "chessboard" in front of him, seemingly contemplating his next move.

However, the mobile phone that suddenly started working forced the Lord El-Melloi II to snap out of his thoughts.

"Hello, this is El-Melloi."

After pressing the answer button, the Lord El-Melloi II, frowning, spoke into the microphone in a rather displeased tone.

But the next second, as if he had heard something shocking, the young Lord straightened up instantly from his slumped office chair.

Outside, as if sensing the movement inside the room, a small head suddenly peeked out from the crack in the quietly opened door.

"... Master?"

Seeing the Lord El-Melloi II engrossed in his phone conversation, Gray, filled with curiosity, quietly approached the table.

After glancing up at his disciple's subtle actions, the Lord El-Melloi II turned his attention back to the voice on the phone.

Gray, however, was drawn to the chessboard on the table.

That being said, the number of "pieces" neatly arranged on the board does not match that of any popular board game in the world.

--A game with only seven pieces would probably leave an outsider completely bewildered if they saw it.

For example, Gray...

Looking at the chessboard, she saw pieces wielding swords, guns, bows, and even possessing "strange" appearances. And among these pieces, Gray noticed something that caught her attention—

The chess piece holding a sword bears the name of King Arthur?

Furthermore, the name [Medea] is also written on another chess piece dressed as Magecraft. However, these are only two chess pieces with names; the other five chess pieces remain blank...

"You said I was taking notes."

The sudden sound interrupted Gray's thoughts. Looking up, she saw the Lord El-Melloi II preparing to hold the phone between his shoulder and ear. Gray quickly stepped forward and took the phone for her master. With his hands free, the Lord El-Melloi II picked up the chess piece in front of him—

"The [Goddess] and the [Chain of God] from Sumerian mythology..."

And so Gray watched as her master wrote down names that only appeared in mythology on the blank chess pieces.

Because the chess pieces are made of mithril, which has excellent magical compatibility, even the Lord El-Melloi II, who is not skilled in Magecraft, can easily leave marks on them...

"Finally, there's Rider, who's already been eliminated... Hmm, I understand. I'll let you know as soon as there's any progress here."

With that sentence as the ending, the Lord El-Melloi II hung up the phone and put down his last chess piece.

At this moment, on the chessboard in front of the Lord El-Melloi II, apart from the chess piece dressed as an assassin, all the remaining chess pieces had been given names.

For Gray, who had been watching and thinking for a long time, even after racking her brains, she still couldn't figure out how to play this board game.

"--This is the [Holy Grail War]."

Seeing his disciple deep in thought, the Lord El-Melloi II softly revealed the meaning behind the chess pieces—

Saber - [King Arthur]

Archer - [Ishtar]

Lancer -- [Enkidu]

Caster--[Medea]

Rider--[Agamemnon]

Assassin--[???]

Berserker -- [Cassandra]

Oh, I almost forgot...

And then there's the Ruler who adjudicated this Holy Grail War— [Joan of Jeanne d'Arc]

In fact, apart from "Assassin," who has yet to appear, all the information about the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City was dumped on the Lord El-Melloi II by Wang Xiaoming over the phone.

As for the reason, it's probably because they wanted to "seek outside help".

[Forging the strongest into a "weapon," using the spirits of gods and heroes as "fuel." Ultimately...]

After hearing some unclear and ambiguous things from Circe, Wang Xiaoming sensed a certain urgency and took it to heart.

Ever since Medea and Touko Aozaki got together, they've been talking about something mysteriously.

As for Wang Xiaoming, who was cruelly "abandoned," he became more and more confused after thinking about it, so he simply gave up thinking about it. Rather than letting himself overthink it, he decided to hand the matter over to "professionals" to handle.

As for his identity as a "professional," then he is naturally the [Big Ben☆ London Star] who teaches inside the Clock Tower.

As for the Lord El-Melloi II, whether out of friendship or his own obsession with the Holy Grail War, Lord El-Melloi II had no reason to refuse Wang Xiaoming's request.

Even so, looking at the chess pieces on the chessboard in front of him, the Lord El-Melloi II's already somewhat conflicted expression became even more nauseous. All the known information was laid out on the table, but the Lord El-Melloi II had no way of piecing it together.

It's like a jigsaw puzzle; you're just one piece away from completing it, but you can't seem to find the final piece to put it all together.

[Whydunit]

The other party's motives—after ten years of painstaking planning, what exactly is that lurking figure doing...?

"Hey, is anyone home?!"

The Lord El-Melloi II was deep in thought, was pulled back to reality by the noise coming from outside. Lord El-Melloi II looked up and saw a silver-haired girl push open the office door and walk in.

"Eh, Miss Olga?!"

After seeing the girl's true face, Gray looked surprised.

"Are you so surprised to see me, Miss Gray?"

The silver-haired girl... no, it should be Olga Marie Asmirette Animusphere, the daughter of the Department of Astromancy Lord, showed a rather displeased expression after seeing Gray's surprised look.

"Hey, hey, that's not how it is..."

Upon hearing Olga Marie's question, Gray quickly shook her head as if trying to explain something, but after stammering for a long time, she was unable to make herself clear.

Fortunately, the Second Lord El-Melloi II spoke up to help his disciple out of the predicament.

"Lady, please don't take the jokes so far after we've reunited."

"Huh?"

After hearing her master's words, Gray looked at the silver-haired girl opposite her, somewhat confused.

"Tsk... you have absolutely no sense of humor."

Who on earth has no sense of humor?!

Looking at Olga Marie with her arms crossed and a haughty expression, the Lord El-Melloi II Prince inwardly scoffed. But scoffing aside, the important matter still needed to be addressed—

"So, what exactly happened that requires you to come here in person, Lady?"

Although the Animusphere clan lives in seclusion in the mountains, they still have necessary means of communication. The fact that Olga Marie has come to visit in person clearly indicates that something cannot be discussed over the phone.

The other party's answer confirmed the Lord El-Melloi II Prince's suspicions.

"Hmm, there's something strange."

The silver-haired girl nodded seriously, but didn't rush to speak. Instead, she scanned the room around.

How secure is this room?

"This is the office that the previous generation used. If we don't use force, there won't be any problems."

"Whispering sound!"

Hearing the obvious sarcasm from the Lord El-Melloi II, Olga Marie was not angry. After letting out a disdainful snort, she walked to the French windows of the room and lowered the velvet curtains.

As the room gradually darkened, Olga Marie suddenly asked a seemingly random question—

"Is the Holy Grail War currently taking place in Fuyuki City?"

"That's right."

"That explains it..."

The silver-haired girl murmured to herself upon hearing the Lord El-Melloi II's answer, and the Lord El-Melloi II's expression became serious because of the question.

He had a premonition that the Lord's daughter who had appeared before him was the "opportunity" to help him complete the missing piece of the puzzle.

Chapter 408. Chaldea (Merry Christmas)

Animusphere, a prestigious family in the world of Magecraft.

Its head is Marisbilly Animusphere, one of the Twelve Lords Lord of the Department of Astromancy Clock Tower.

Due to the nature of their Magecraft arts and the leadership plans of the current head of the family, the Animusphere clan almost entirely lives in seclusion within their own territory.

Unless under certain special circumstances, people of this tribe will not easily leave their territory.

However, at this moment, Olga Marie Asmirette Animusphere, a noblewoman of the Animusphere family and the next successor of the Department of Astromancy, is visiting the El-Melloi Classroom.

"The form of the star; the form of the universe; the form of the god; the form of myself."

The celestial bodies are emptiness; emptiness is void; void is where God resides.

In this somewhat dim environment, the girl's clear, melodious singing voice became the only bright spot in the room.

"That's amazing!"

Feeling the immense magical power rising in the room, Gray, standing beside the Lord El-Melloi II, exclaimed softly in amazement. Even though she had seen many grand scenes, witnessing Magecraft unfold before her eyes was still incredible to Gray.

"After all, she comes from a prestigious family..."

Although she spoke words that sounded like flattery, the Lord El-Melloi II Lord's furrowed brows proved that she was being hypocritical. Damn it! What exactly is she trying to do with this level of magic?!

If the Lord El-Melloi II hadn't activated the powerful barrier left by his predecessor in this office in the first instance, and if they hadn't been located at the [Department of Modern Magecraft]'s headquarters [Slur], the corridor outside the office would probably have been packed with those clueless Magecraft by now.

However, Olga Marie's actions also piqued the curiosity of the Lord El-Melloi II.

Magecraft, in the end, is about rewriting the laws of the world.

Although the longer the incantation, the more sophisticated the Magecraft becomes.

However, the limit that the human soul can withstand is approximately [ten sections (TenCount)]. Using this as a dividing line, terms like "instantaneous contract (TenCount)" are based on the same reasoning.

Of course, a long ritual can greatly enhance the scale and stability of Magecraft, but under normal circumstances, the techniques used to perform such Magecraft trick require a specific ritual setting.

However, because the barrier set up by the previous generation seemed to have the effect of gathering magical power, by a twist of fate, this office became a barely acceptable ritual space, thus leading to—

"It's done!"

Olga Marie's sudden voice interrupted the Lord El-Melloi II's thoughts, and he looked up. Lord El-Melloi II saw that as the girl's voice faded, a pale blue light shone from her chest. Then, the glowing light gently landed in the center of the room.

Under the soft glow of that fluorescent light, an object is gradually taking shape...

"This is..."

As the blue spherical object gradually took shape before his eyes, the Lord El-Melloi II subconsciously swallowed, his brain seemingly going blank. After a long while, he managed to utter a name with difficulty—

"[Chaldeas]?!"

"Hmph, not bad eye!"

Upon hearing the name spoken by the Lord El-Melloi II, Olga Marie, whose magic was somewhat depleted due to the construction of the spell, puffed out her chest, her tone and expression revealing a hint of smugness.

"Well, after all, I've been to Antarctica before..."

Having focused all his attention on the planet model in front of him, the Lord El-Melloi II casually gave a reply.

"Master?"

Hearing the cryptic remark from the Lord El-Melloi II, Gray was a little confused.

"When El-Melloi was still in charge, he collaborated with [the Department of Astromancy] on a project."

After briefly explaining the situation to his disciples, the Lord El-Melloi II, who had already recognized the object before him, turned his gaze back to the silver-haired girl.

"Although it's just Projection of [Chaldeas], it's not a spell you could construct in your current state. Did you use Mystic Code?"