Isn't It Normal for Heroic Spirit Summoning to Go Wrong?

Tokyo,

Cool moonlight spilled through the glass of the greenhouse onto the floor. The girl in the emerald dress calmly looked at the Magic Circle beneath her feet, its intricate lines and runes forming a summoning ritual that could almost be called a work of art.

"The Magic Circle is drawn perfectly. Well done, Aika."

The middle-aged man standing beside her spoke softly. His beard was neatly trimmed, and though he tried to restrain himself, he could not fully suppress the excitement in his words and eyes.

"Is that so? It was very easy. So easy that it was disappointing."

The girl's eyes reflected the formation beneath her feet. Her voice was as calm as a lake beneath the moonlit night. To her, drawing a Heroic Spirit summoning Magic Circle was no different from deploying a Magic Bullet spell.

"Wouldn't it be better to summon a guardian without a personality, then?"

She did not quite understand her father's actions.

"If we did that, we would violate the rules jointly established by the Holy Church and the Mage's Association."

The girl said nothing, merely gazing at the summoning Magic Circle beneath her feet. She seemed to be anticipating something, yet also seemed to be expecting nothing at all.

"There is no method to directly summon a guardian of the Counter Force. Even someone as talented as you, Aika, cannot accomplish that."

The middle-aged man patiently explained. He believed it was necessary to make these matters clear.

"Is that so? So that is why we need a Holy Relic."

"A catalyst for summoning a powerful Heroic Spirit. This is the final key the Sajo Family needs to reach the Vortex of the Root."

"This is... a Sword Sheath?"

The girl looked at the broad Sword Sheath in her hands. Its blue surface was adorned with golden patterns. Beneath its splendid appearance lay immense magical power, and it was also the key to summoning that person.

"Since we're summoning a swordsman, of course. Next, you will summon the Heroic Spirit as the Master, summoning a Servant manifested in the Saber class. All right, you may begin now, Aika."

The middle-aged man glanced at the silver moon overhead. It had already climbed to the very peak of the night sky, which was also the time when magical power was most active.

"As you command, Father."

The girl spoke softly, then began chanting an ancient incantation in a low voice. Meanwhile, in an empty warehouse on the warehouse street of Minato Ward, Tokyo, another magus was doing almost exactly the same thing.

"Let the surging wind be bound by four walls;

Let the gates in all four directions be closed;

Come forth from the Crown;

And circle endlessly upon the three-forked road that leads to the kingdom;

Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill;

Repeat five times, and when full, discard;

I proclaim;

Let your body heed my command, and let my command be with your sword;

Answer the summons of the Holy Grail. If you submit to this will and this reason, then answer;

I hereby swear: I shall accomplish all good in this world, and I shall eliminate all evil in this world;

You are the seven heavens clad in the three great Word Spirits;

Come forth from the Wheel of Restraint, guardian of the scales."

Vast magical power gathered as howling winds flowed through the greenhouse. The Magic Circle bloomed with dazzling radiance, and as the light gradually faded, a somewhat slender figure appeared before them.

"A Heroic Spirit has manifested in a visible physical form, a false body simulated from ether. This is truly wonderful!"

The middle-aged man unconsciously clenched his fists, his voice trembling slightly. The girl beside him seemed to have noticed something, and an expression of confusion and curiosity appeared on her face.

"Servant Assassin, everything shall be as you wish. I will offer everything to you—this body, this heart, everything..."

Beneath the lingering light, a young and beautiful woman wearing a skull mask softly recited her oath.

"Assassin...?!"

The middle-aged man froze. Somewhat dazed, he looked at the Servant within the Magic Circle, then at the girl beside him, before finally turning his gaze to the Sword Sheath placed at the center of the Magic Circle.

"Why Assassin?"

He muttered to himself. With that Sword Sheath as the Holy Relic, why had Assassin been summoned? Had all the efforts the Sajo Family put into this been wasted for nothing?

What an unfunny joke.

"Servant, hmm... Saber? I answered your summons. Are you my Master?"

At the same time, a gaunt man stared dumbfoundedly at the figure that had appeared in the Magic Circle. This was a mystery beyond the era, woven together by his own hands.

"You said you're Saber?"

The man swallowed, seemingly unable to believe his ears. His hoarse voice was like two sheets of sandpaper rubbing together.

"You're Saber? You're actually Saber! Hahahaha!!"

He laughed hysterically until his stomach began cramping and tears streamed down his face.

"Saber, hahahaha, Saber, Saber, Saber... I, Jin'ga Seiji, succeeded! I succeeded!"

The man shouted loudly, as though venting something, or as though he stood alone upon a stage applauding his own performance.

Seconds, minutes—he had already lost all sense of time, immersed only in the joy of summoning a Saber-class Servant. Although the completion of this miracle had largely relied on the Holy Grail's power, this miracle ultimately belonged to him.

And the efforts of the Jin'ga Family, a magus family, had not been in vain either. Though they were located in the Far East, a place recognized by the Mage's world as backward, Jin'ga Seiji could feel the powerful reality of the family that had been passed down for centuries.

The first large-scale magical ritual in history was about to be held in Tokyo. In the battle centered around the Holy Grail, the reason he had been selected as a suitable magus must surely be because of the Jin'ga bloodline.

Michael looked rather speechlessly at the gaunt, crazed man before him, with his sallow and impoverished-looking face. Perhaps the man's only redeeming quality was his sharp gaze, which carried the feeling of being tempered through hardship. Then again, perhaps all lunatics had sharp eyes.

The most fitting description for his behavior was Fan Jin Passes the Imperial Examination.

On the second day after the New Year, Michael had formally bid farewell to Aozaki Aoko and Alice Kuonji. He had seen the Holy Grail War about to unfold in this parallel world, that unusual Holy Grail. Perhaps he could use it to reach the Root.

In truth, he had not been particularly interested in the Root before. But after reading the information left within the Stellar Core, Michael understood that if he wished to continue growing stronger, analyzing and studying the rules that formed the world was indispensable. And right before him was a complete example for him to study and reference.

Crossing between parallel worlds without the Second Magic really took far too much effort. If he had not sensed that faint summons, he likely would have become lost in the gaps between parallel worlds.

Thus, Michael had replaced the Heroic Spirit that answered the summons and come to this world. That Heroic Spirit had seemed quite dissatisfied with Michael's act of taking its place, so Michael promptly beat it back to the Heroic Spirit Hall. However, because he had cut in line, the summoning ritual had suffered slight interference, though it was still barely usable.

Since he was not actually a Heroic Spirit and had merely put on a disguise, he naturally had not been implanted with basic modern knowledge. But judging from the room's furnishings, this should indeed be the modern age. At least he had not ended up in some absurd Age of Gods.

But why was his Master a down-and-out middle-aged man? Logically speaking, shouldn't Masters generally be beautiful girls? Then they would embark on a passionate romance with their Servants. Why wasn't his Master a beautiful girl?!

Could this be some orthodox hot-blooded route instead? A down-and-out man defying fate with his help and climbing to the peak of life? Just thinking about it was disgusting. Maybe he should simply wipe this guy out.