Dating Caster

However, Wang Xiaoming had no time to appreciate these things at the moment. The instant he saw this figure, some fragmented memories came rushing back, accompanied by a splitting headache.

"Uncle!"

Seeing Wang Xiaoming's painful expression, Little Shirou rushed to the bedside and looked at him anxiously, then, as if thinking of something, cast his gaze toward Caster standing to the side.

"Let me see..." Caster hesitated for a moment, then walked to the bedside and reached out to place her hand on Wang Xiaoming's forehead.

[What is this!]

This was Caster's most direct sensation at this moment. Under her magecraft detection, Wang Xiaoming, an ordinary person with no magical energy, had no secrets from her, and precisely because of that...

"A soul covered in cracks."

In Caster's vision, Wang Xiaoming's soul was currently covered in fine, dense cracks, as if it would shatter at the slightest touch.

Although Caster was curious about how this man had survived until now, she decided to calm him down first.

"Ugh..."

After the pain subsided slightly, Wang Xiaoming opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was that purple robe.

He hadn't expected Little Shirou, the future protagonist, to actually summon her.

Medea, the one who should have appeared in the Fifth Holy Grail War as Caster, had appeared ten years early.

Logically, there was no way these two could have ended up together; he never expected Little Shirou to summon her.

Could it be because they are both "Saber-philes"?

Jokes aside, Wang Xiaoming felt more confusion and fear in his heart than anything else. Could an ordinary person like him really survive this cruel Holy Grail War?

Relying on his own memories?

Don't be ridiculous.

The Caster team from the original plot had already been wiped out, and heaven only knew if the subsequent plot would follow his unreliable memories.

Maybe he should just run? The thought of deserting once again rose in Wang Xiaoming's heart.

As long as he could get far away from this city...

"Uncle?" Seeing Wang Xiaoming staring blankly, Little Shirou suddenly called out to him.

Hearing the voice, Wang Xiaoming looked down and met Little Shirou's eyes, which were filled with worry.

Could he really just leave this child who had saved him behind?

Wang Xiaoming asked himself.

Leaving a small child in this Holy Grail War—if the Servant were easy to talk to, that would be one thing, but Wang Xiaoming, who recognized this Caster's identity, knew she was not a Servant who was easy to get along with.

Although his saving Little Shirou earlier had been a stroke of luck, since he had saved him, there was no reason to abandon this child!

The confusion in Wang Xiaoming's eyes completely transformed into determination.

No matter what, he was going to carry this kid through this dungeon!

But the first problem was... he had to survive.

He knew from his memories that the worldviews of those magi were exceptionally twisted. An ordinary person with no magical energy absolutely could not intervene in the Holy Grail War; once discovered, they would be "humanely eliminated."

It was either getting stabbed to death or getting stabbed to death, and he didn't have any gems to use for resurrection!

What should he do? Wang Xiaoming was at his wit's end regarding this matter.

Should he go and seek refuge with that church?

In Wang Xiaoming's memories, there was a supervisory organization in this Holy Grail War—the Holy Church—and one of its functions was to take in Masters who had already been defeated.

But the priest in that church didn't seem like a good person...

Forget it, and besides, Caster would definitely not agree to that plan.

In the current situation, even though Little Shirou possessed the Command Spell, the two of them were the weaker party, and for Caster, the Command Spell could barely be considered a deterrent.

Even if he used up all three Command Spells, Caster...

Wait a minute—

Wang Xiaoming suddenly froze, as if he had remembered something.

"If your head isn't clear? I can take care of that, too." Caster, standing to the side, said out of the blue.

Caster's voice brought Wang Xiaoming back to his senses, and he immediately slapped his forehead, cursing himself for being an idiot:

The best teacher was right beside him, yet he was looking for other ways!

"Miss Caster!"

"What is it?" Under the intense gaze of Wang Xiaoming, Caster subconsciously took a step back and asked vigilantly.

"I want you to teach me and Shirou some basic magecraft."

"Why should I?" Caster countered.

The fact that [ordinary people must not participate in the Holy Grail War] was common knowledge instilled into the Servants by the Holy Grail upon their summoning, and Caster naturally knew it. She also naturally understood Wang Xiaoming's intentions.

But why should I help you?

This was also the true thought of Caster. Even if he were her own Master, she had no obligation to do such things.

"No, you will help." At this point, Wang Xiaoming revealed a mysterious smile. "Miss Medea, what do you say?"

"..."

Although she did not know why she had been identified, there was no longer any need for concealment. Caster reached out and pulled back her hood. Her water-blue long hair cascaded down.

"I am becoming increasingly curious about you."

With her hood removed, Medea stared at Wang Xiaoming, her tone of voice profound, even carrying a trace of undisguised killing intent.

In the Holy Grail War, because Servants must hide their true identities to prevent their weaknesses from being exposed, a Servant would absolutely never tell their true name to anyone other than their Master.

However, Medea was certain she had not leaked any information, so how could this man possibly know her true name?

If he did not explain the reason, then this person absolutely could not be left alive!

It really was her.

After comparing the information with the memories in his mind, Wang Xiaoming once again confirmed the identity of this woman.

Medea, a figure whose life was pierced through by tragedy.

"An elf?"

Little Shirou was clearly focused on something different from Wang Xiaoming; Medea's pointed ears reminded him of the messengers of the forest from fairy tale books.

GJ! As expected of a mongrel, look at this level of flattery! You deserve to be a bulldozer for the rest of your life!

Observing the slightly thawed expression on Medea's face, Wang Xiaoming gave a thumbs-up to Little Shirou in his heart.

"Miss Medea, in my memory, you were supposed to appear ten years from now."

Taking a deep breath, Wang Xiaoming prepared to start [confessing the truth].

Listening to Wang Xiaoming's words, Medea remained silent. Wang Xiaoming, however, ignored this and continued on his own: "In the Fifth Holy Grail War ten years from now, you were summoned by a handsome man. After being unable to endure his words and actions, you tricked him into using up all three Command Spells before killing him."

"..."

Medea's expression was strange. Putting herself in that situation, it really did seem like something she would do.

"Having lost the magical energy supply from your Master, you ended up dying with regrets in the Holy Grail War."

The highest realm of lying is nine parts truth and one part falsehood; Wang Xiaoming felt he had done a good job. He did not expect Medea to believe it all, but as long as she believed half of it, the conversation could continue.

"You say the Fifth Holy Grail War will open in ten years?" Medea raised a question unrelated to her own situation.

"Yes, the Fifth Holy Grail War ten years from now..."

"Impossible!" Medea said coldly. "The ritual of the Holy Grail War is launched in 60-year cycles. How could the Holy Grail gather enough magical energy in just ten years?"

"Because the fourth one, this current Holy Grail War, had a flaw. The Greater Grail finished the Fourth Holy Grail War in a rush while most of its accumulated magical energy remained unused, so the Greater Grail became full of magical energy again in just ten years."

Wang Xiaoming spread his hands, explaining it in a very straightforward manner, with an expression that said he didn't care if she believed him or not.

"Then, what exactly was the flaw in this Holy Grail War?"

"I only know that a flaw will appear, but I don't know the specifics. However, the biggest flaw right now should be us. You two, who were supposed to appear ten years later, have become a pair in this Holy Grail War."

"Eh, me?"

Little Shirou, who had been listening to the story quietly on the side, did not expect the uncle to lead the topic to him, and pointed at himself blankly.

"Yes, the you from ten years later is another story entirely." Patting Little Shirou's head, Wang Xiaoming said to him with a smile, "If you are interested, I will tell you later."

"Was that man from before the original Master of Caster in this Holy Grail War?" Medea asked thoughtfully, associating it with the scene of her own summoning.

"Yes." Wang Xiaoming nodded and replied, "He would have summoned Gilles de Rais, the prototype of [Bluebeard]."

"A piece of trash, indeed."

Although the Age of Gods where Medea lived was far more ancient than the era of Bluebeard, the Throne of Heroes had no concept of time, so she had heard a little about the legend of Bluebeard.

"In other words, you know the true names of all the Heroic Spirits participating in this Holy Grail War?"

"You could say that. Information about them feels as if it were crudely stuffed into my memory by someone. Although some parts are still quite blurry, I can always recall some things."

Medea nodded, remembering Wang Xiaoming's soul, which had been covered in cracks earlier.

"So, I will provide you with intelligence regarding this Holy Grail War; you can naturally witness for yourself whether it is true or false. In exchange, I need you to teach us the basics of magecraft. How about it?"

"Deal."

The cover hasn't been approved yet; I was originally planning to wait for the cover to be approved before updating...

T_T

Chapter 11. Magecraft -- Medea's Strength

After reaching the deal with Medea, Wang Xiaoming stayed in the hospital for another day before he began preparing to be discharged. The injuries on his body and the trouble of being discharged were easily handled by Medea. It had to be said that magecraft was truly a convenient thing. In a great mood, Wang Xiaoming hummed an unknown tune as he walked out of the hospital gate, greedily breathing in the fresh air that lacked the scent of disinfectant.

It feels like I'm alive again!

Little Shirou seemed equally happy to be out of the hospital, changing from his previous gloomy demeanor.

For the two of them, the previous experience was no less than a rebirth.

Then there was the matter of adopting Little Shirou. Before Wang Xiaoming was discharged from the hospital, the head of the local Fuyuki City police station, having received the news, quietly paid him a visit. When Wang Xiaoming mentioned his desire to adopt Little Shirou, whose parents had been killed, the official told him to stop by the police station's household registration office whenever he had some free time.

This title of [Hero] is truly useful. After handling the series of affairs, Wang Xiaoming couldn't help but sigh. At the same time, his mischievous sense of humor flared up:

Wang Shirou...

Wang Shirou...

The neighbor next door...

Tsk tsk, the bulldozer he grows up to be will probably be even more unstoppable.

Another thing was that during his chat with the police official, Wang Xiaoming discovered that the man had secretly slipped him a room key card...

The landlady of the inn originally arranged by the newspaper had been offhandedly killed by Ryunosuke, so that place was naturally no longer habitable. Therefore, after the police finished their investigation and evidence collection, and considering Wang Xiaoming's status and deeds, they arranged for him to stay at the most expensive hotel in Fuyuki City.

"This is the place."

Standing in front of what was touted as the largest hotel in Fuyuki City, Wang Xiaoming felt quite curious. He had never stayed in such a luxurious hotel in this life, and as for his previous life... ahem, let's just check in first.

"Eek--"

Having walked only a few steps into the lobby, Wang Xiaoming felt a chill from the inside out instantly sweep through his body.

"Mister..."

Suddenly, Little Shirou, who was following behind him, reached out and tugged at the corner of his shirt, saying, "Caster just told me that we have already walked into a barrier."

"Uh, could you ask her if it's too late to run now?"

Wang Xiaoming felt incredibly bitter inside. Encountering something like a barrier at a time like this—who else could it be but that group of Masters participating in the Holy Grail War?

Is this what it means to walk straight into the line of fire?