Emiya Family's Confectionery

After changing clothes, the girl draped in the Holy Shroud slipped through the commercial district.

Having changed outfits and left behind a Minotaur crystal, the fashionable girl suddenly transformed into a sunny-looking one. Wearing pants, a shirt, and flat shoes, she blended into the crowd before eventually returning to the library.

"A goddess... so gods really do exist in this world. That Loki Familia must belong to that God of Deception."

"But which goddess does that Pig-headed Man serve?"

Muttering to herself, Ritsuka greeted the old man watching over the library, then headed to the second floor, casually picked up a book, and sat down.

Actually, she had just had a chance to seriously injure that pig-man.

For some reason, he had underestimated her from the start, acting as though he had nothing to fear. That indirectly suggested that he was probably among the stronger people in Orario.

She seemed to have heard passersby shouting something about Ottar the "Mighty Warrior."

Anyone bestowed with the title of Mighty Warrior presumably had some skill, but catching him off guard and killing him had still been possible.

After all, she, Emiya Ritsuka, possessed a Noble Phantasm that could be unleashed with her hands.

The Mighty Arms That Once Held Up the Heavens and Split the Seas

If someone took that Noble Phantasm head-on from close range without any defense, then even the strongest opponent she had encountered so far, Gilgamesh, would probably have half his body swatted away.

After considering it carefully, she had not dared to use a Noble Phantasm. Even the kick that sent the pig-man flying had been restrained.

After all, she had only just arrived. Rashly offending a goddess was not a good idea—even if that peeping goddess was rather annoying.

From the old man downstairs, she had learned that the gods of this world possessed immense power.

If they truly stopped holding back, she could not fight a real god.

"Forget it. I should study the Crystal Dice first. That pig-man was completely uninteresting."

Ritsuka did not particularly like animals. At most, she had some fondness for things like kittens and puppies, but pigs? Please spare her.

Immediately tossing Ottar to the back of her mind, Ritsuka raised her palm.

Quest name: The Road Ahead

Quest Type: Optional

Quest requirement: Join any Familia and become an adventurer

Quest difficulty: Low

Quest reward: A brand-new Character Template (corresponding to the current world)

"An optional quest means I can do it or not do it?"

"..."

No one answered. The Crystal Dice simply glowed silently, making Ritsuka narrow her eyes in deadpan disappointment. Honestly, she had been rather hoping for a Golden Finger big sister.

Unfortunately, that was just wishful thinking.

"A Character Template... means something like Emiya Shirou and Alcides, right?"

The Crystal Dice rolled slightly, and two panels appeared one after another. They looked rather plain on the enlarged virtual display.

Emiya Shirou (Archer)

Synchronization Value (100%)

Alcides (Archer/Avenger)

Synchronization Value (100%)

"As for templates, what I have is enough for now, but I'm still a little curious."

Ritsuka pondered. Although she had not yet seen the combat methods commonly used by adventurers in this world, her observations at the plaza made it clear that cold weapons were still used in most battles.

However, judging from the items dropped by Minotaurs in the Dungeon, other possibilities also existed.

For example, more diverse forms of development, such as enchanting, forging, or magic...

"Miss, were you at the plaza just now? What happened over there? It was awfully noisy."

While Ritsuka appeared to be reading but was actually thinking, the old man managing the library came up to the second floor.

Ritsuka immediately put down her book and revealed an innocent smile.

"I was over there just now. They said that Ottar the 'Mighty Warrior' got sent flying by someone? I'm not really sure."

Scratching her hair, Ritsuka wore a puzzled expression.

Her acting was flawless, and combined with her identity as an outsider, the old man did not find anything suspicious. He merely said in surprise, "Ottar the Mighty Warrior? Someone actually sent the only level 7 flying? Could the Loki Familia and Freya Familia be having a conflict?"

The old man muttered as he went downstairs.

Sitting on her cushion with a book in her arms, Ritsuka fell silent. It seemed she had heard something rather incredible.

First of all, setting aside Loki and Freya, those two rather noteworthy names.

That guy named Ottar apparently was not ordinarily strong in Orario...

The only level 7?

That was it?

PS: Ottar is not weak. As Orario's only level 7, he had neither brought a weapon nor expected much from a little girl he had never seen before. How could he have imagined she would send him flying?!

And then came the instant slap in the face.

In terms of strength, if Ottar went full power, he would not necessarily win against Ritsuka, but he would at least have the strength to fight her—provided Ritsuka did not use those few trump cards.

Such as Unlimited Blade Works, Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasms, and the like...

Taking the overall settings into account and comparing the original novels and anime with Fate, I gave Ritsuka a fairly high evaluation.

(If there are any issues, please point them out. I still have time to revise it.)

Emiya Family's Confectionery

Time slowly passed. Having lost interest in adventurers and "Falna," Ritsuka spent several days finding ways to exchange all her crystals and materials for Orario's currency.

Something called Valis.

After obtaining quite a lot of Valis in one go, Ritsuka simply followed her whims and opened a shop.

Thus, while no one was paying attention, the shop beside the library quietly underwent a transformation, hanging up a sign that read "Emiya Family's Confectionery."

After spending money to acquire the shop and giving it a simple renovation, Ritsuka began making sweets herself.

She did not make much each day. After all, there were not many customers; only she and the old man next door ate them.

"Mmm, such an easygoing life. I feel like I'm about to become lazy."

Inside the shop, which was just over thirty square meters, Ritsuka crunched on a Pocky stick.

She had made it herself, an imitation snack based on the description on the only remaining package. After all, she truly had nothing else to do.

Strawberry cake, Pocky, crackers...

With nothing better to do, Ritsuka began studying all kinds of delicious foods. No matter how much she ate, the calories could be converted into magical energy, and then she could casually throw a few punches to burn off all the calories she had painstakingly consumed. Noble Phantasms consumed a great deal of magical energy, after all.

Since she happened to have abundant magical energy, she also took the opportunity to strengthen her use of Alcides's power.

As for the other Archer, she used Emiya Shirou's power with exceptional stability.

It was as though it had completely become her own ability...

In the back room, Ritsuka stood before the counter in thought, holding a bottle of transparent, clear liquid. This was the result of her attempts to improve Mapo Water.

Compared with its hellish spiciness, she had focused on emphasizing the numbing sensation and fragrance, but the process of improving it had not gone smoothly.

The first problem was that this world differed from hers. Certain things here were very different from what she remembered. For example, she had never seen meat floss, only accidentally discovered something relatively similar.

It was called Meat Paste, and it was absurdly expensive.

Secondly, there was Mapo Water itself. Although she had a bottle as a sample, she did not know its actual ingredients.

This bottle of Mapo Water was still stored in a mineral water bottle.

Her research had hit a bottleneck.

"Miss, are you busy?"

Suddenly, a strong and vigorous voice rang out in the shop.

Ritsuka immediately headed outside.

The old man from the library next door entered the shop and looked around, discovering that there were only two girls working part-time nearby, sitting in a corner and enjoying delicious cake at an unbelievably low price.

In Orario, cakes were not particularly expensive, but the more famous ones were still not something ordinary people could casually afford. Non-adventurers would have to hesitate for a long time before buying even a single slice, let alone eat one every day as a meal.

They simply craved this cheap and delicious food.

After all, even though Ritsuka did not make much every day, there would still be leftovers. If she ate them all herself, she would get sick of them.

So she simply sold them at a dirt-cheap price. At the very least, it would build up her reputation.

Besides, the cost was truly low.

"I'm not busy. There aren't any customers anyway. Come in and sit down."

The two Maidens in the corner finished their daily serving of dessert and left in high spirits. Soon, only Ritsuka and the old man remained in the shop.

Taking out some peanuts she had fried not long ago, Ritsuka emerged from the back kitchen carrying a pot of homemade sake.

"Old man, your food and drink."

"Hehe, you really understand me, miss. Then I won't hold back."

At the table, the old man was in an excellent mood as he drank.

Japanese sake had a low alcohol content. The clear liquor was somewhat like a beverage and did relatively little harm to the body. Ritsuka had often bought it for Kiritsugu to drink in the past.

However, she herself did not drink. She was not used to the taste of alcohol.

"Old man, did you come here for something?"

Sitting across from the library old man, Ritsuka played with the Mapo Water she had newly developed. The crystal-clear liquid looked like sake, but it had no particular smell. Only when it encountered spiciness would it undergo a qualitative change.

She had to admit, Kirei Kotomine really was a genius.

"Sigh, I've almost been annoyed to death lately. That miss... that Goddess comes to mooch off my books every day, and she keeps trying to drag me into her Familia."

"With these old bones, I wouldn't even be enough to give the monsters in the Dungeon an extra bite to eat."

The old man shook his head and sighed helplessly.

Hestia.

The Kitchen God of ancient Greek Mythology, goddess of the Hearth and goddess of Flame, one of the Twelve Olympian Gods, belonging to the same mythology as Heracles.

Her status was extremely high. She was one of the most sacred and ancient gods on Mount Olympus.

Ritsuka had a slight impression of that woman who was less of a goddess and more of a goddess with a screw loose.

That was because she had once seen Hestia pestering the library old man, trying to recruit him. Hestia apparently was a goddess who had yet to establish a Familia.

Furthermore, her divine name was rather famous. Alongside Artemis and Athena, she was one of the three renowned virgin goddesses.

"Old man, haven't you tried refusing her?"

That Goddess did not seem to have bad character, nor did she seem like someone who would stubbornly harass others. Logically speaking, as long as he properly refused her, there should not be a problem.

"There's nothing good about coming down to the lower world. It would be better to simply return to the Heavenly Realm. Making a life for yourself in Orario isn't that easy."

The old man's words carried hidden meaning, and his gaze grew distant.

In present-day Orario, the highest-ranked adventurer was Ottar the "Mighty Warrior," a level 7. But there was a reason for that. Before this, the Familia standing at the peak of Orario had not been the Freya Familia or the Loki Familia.