First Blood, S-Rank, Assassination

The plane arrived in Shiga City under a light rain. Ryunosuke Uryu's subordinate had apparently been waiting here for quite some time.

We did not exchange many words. He drove me straight to a rundown inn and told me the target was inside. He had checked in last night and had not come out since.

I took a look around. The inn was in a remote location and looked shabby. Even people traveling here on business probably would not choose it for lodging. Staying here would be worse than going to an internet cafe.

I told the subordinate to wait a moment, that I would be back soon. Then I opened the door and got out.

Raindrops fell onto me. I did not jog or quicken my pace, merely strolled as though out for a walk. By the time I finally entered the inn, I was completely soaked.

Yet there was no staff member at the front desk. Slightly puzzled, I walked farther inside, only to suddenly smell blood. Something immediately felt wrong.

Hardly anyone came to this inn normally. Perhaps Ryunosuke Uryu had gotten itchy hands and decided to take a knife to the inn staff. With that thought in mind, I quickened my pace.

The first door behind the counter opened into a small room with only a table and several chairs. The room farther in was a changing room. The smell of blood came from a locker inside, and the floor was covered in bloodstains.

I drew Dojigiri Yasutsuna and slowly opened the locker. A mutilated corpse tumbled out. It was a woman in her fifties.

I had thought that seeing something like this up close for the first time would trigger some physical reaction—vomiting, or an elevated heart rate. Yet there was nothing at all. Even I found it unbelievable.

I looked at the half-open window beside me. Had he escaped from here? I had no idea how long he had been running. I took an E-rank item, the Bloodstain-Tracking Glasses, from my inventory. Once worn, they allowed me to see where bloodstains were. They were one of the few somewhat useful items from the system's free lottery.

After putting them on, I indeed saw a trail of movement and immediately gave chase. The rain had only faded the traces slightly; tracking him was no problem at all.

Less than ten minutes later, I spotted a man in a raincoat. Every step he took left bloodstains visible through the glasses. He was the killer.

Once he turned into an alley, I acted decisively. I drew my sword and thrust it straight into his chest. He had apparently noticed me as well and intended to ambush me at the corner, but before I could even think, I had already driven my sword forward. It became as though he had delivered himself onto my blade. First Blood secured.

Before dying, Ryunosuke Uryu was still thinking, Aren't you supposed to first check whether I'm the killer, throw out a couple of harsh lines, and then start fighting? You're really going to kill me this decisively? He could no longer ask those questions.

A burning sensation suddenly came from my hand, and then the pattern of a Command Spell appeared. It resembled three sword blades thrusting outward. The rest of the rewards also arrived. I now had three lottery draws. The system issued a prompt: Fragment of the Prelati's Spellbook detected. Recyclable. Recycling it would grant five lottery draws.

It was not mine, and I could not use it anyway, so I recycled it. I had not expected Ryunosuke Uryu to drop so many coins for me. This felt great.

I contacted the driver, explained the situation, and had him pick me up and take me back to the airport. He could also handle the aftermath. I wondered whether I should do a single draw. Single draws could produce miracles. I doubted there would be many more missions that handed out lottery draws, and leaving them unused would not improve my strength. I should draw.

Then I selected a single draw. Golden light suddenly burst from the card face. Gold! This was not the kind of glow for a Necromancer or All Spells Must Be Broken. It had to be S-rank or higher. A single draw really could produce miracles.

S-Rank Skill Upgrade Card: Can upgrade one intermediate skill to advanced level (guaranteed mastery).

Excitedly, I immediately upgraded Reinforcement Magecraft.

0/80000

Active effect: Combat attribute enhancement increased by 500%.

Passive effect: Hidden attribute effects increased by 40%; takes effect without using Reinforcement Magecraft.

The explanation was brief and clear. Hidden attributes should be things like Instinct, like the hereditary Instinct of the King of Knights' lineage, perhaps even to the point of seeing through the future.

Combined with my talent bonuses, as long as I raised swordsmanship to advanced level as well, I was confident I could face Kirei Kotomine head-on. I would save the remaining seven draws for now. I did not want to draw myself empty by burning through my lifespan. Better to quit while ahead.

Unable to hold myself back, I asked the system, "Was all of this within your calculations?" Unfortunately, the system did not react at all. But that lack of response was the greatest response of all.

It seemed the system knew what I desired most deeply and was helping me through this method. What was this? This system was far too tsundere.

Sitting on the plane, I thought it over. I had already obtained a ticket into the Holy Grail War, but summoning a Servant would disrupt the plot and could cause certain deviations. I needed to minimize the risks.

At present, I had a base in Fuyuki City and a Command Spell. Before it began, my skills should be upgraded, and my attribute points could also be quantified. That only left the most crucial matter: the Servant. Getting a bad pull would be the biggest headache.

I drew Dojigiri Yasutsuna. It was a sacred object passed down for a thousand years and had been wielded by countless great swordsmen. If I used it as a catalyst, could I summon the former master who had suited it best?

I also needed to visit Tokiomi Tohsaka for a final confirmation. Sakura was about to be born as well, so visiting under that pretext would be perfectly reasonable.

It was already past four in the afternoon when I got off the plane. I could still make it back for dinner. The system had arranged seven days, yet the whole trip had taken just over eight hours. It had also proven that I would not hesitate when killing. Kirei Kotomine was as good as dead. Even if his master came, he would not be able to protect him.

I should make a detour to buy Fujino a gift. My little angel Fujino was more important. Fujino must miss her big brother too. Just as Yuan Shikai was about to get into the car, he suddenly felt a wave of palpitations and immediately turned his head. A lock of hair drifted down.

A sniper rifle. Someone is trying to assassinate me. Seeing that something was wrong, the subordinates immediately surrounded me and safely ushered me into the vehicle. The sniper did not fire a second shot. He had probably already fled.

The car drove straight back to the residence. There were no other assassins along the way. I was only curious about who wanted to make a move against me. It could not possibly be Kiritsugu Emiya, could it? I laughed at myself.

I could not figure it out, so I stopped thinking about it. I would leave it to the lineage to investigate. After all, an assassination attempt on the head of a lineage was no small matter.

Maiya Hisau returned to the base, picked up her phone, and sent a message: Mission failed. Returning now.

She then destroyed the phone, changed into casual clothes, disguised herself, and hurried to the airport to rendezvous with Kiritsugu Emiya.

This assassination had been a public contract. She had wanted to earn some extra money before meeting up with Kiritsugu. Failure carried no penalty, and the other party was an expert. If she kept tangling with him, she might be the one to fall.

If the job was still available, she would act together with Kiritsugu. Kiritsugu had married Alice of the Einzbern Household and had a daughter, Illya. It seemed she would have to go empty-handed.