I Can See Health Bars in Real Life

Chapter 740 - 13: Chaldea on the Offensive

Private Higashikawa Academy.Located on a small hilltop in the old district of Deep Mountain Town on the west side of Fuyuki City, it is a very ordinary school, except there are a few more magicians than usual.

At dismissal time in the afternoon, the setting sun slanted down, casting long shadows on the ground. Tohsaka Rin, slowly walking out of the school gate, was closely observing the back of the distant purple-haired girl, frowning slightly: "Why does everyone seem a bit off today..."

As someone who cares most about her sister, Tohsaka Rin naturally noticed Makoto Sakura’s changes with great detail. It seemed to be a positive change; her smile appeared much sunnier, as if she’d let go of some heartache, becoming more cheerful... unlike before, when she seemed gloomy, like she was forcing a smile.

Of course—

A good change is still a good change, but it’s just a bit too sudden...

Especially at such a crucial moment, it’s hard not to make Tohsaka Rin feel worried.

The reason she insisted on coming to school today was to confirm whether her sister had been dragged into the quagmire of the Holy Grail War. Although she did not sense any Command Spell reaction from Sakura, Sakura’s changes still made her vaguely uneasy.

But as she had said, today everyone seemed to have problems.

First, there was the major incident at the Yanfeng Church; Father Kotomine wasn’t deliberately ignoring her calls—he was actually dead... Thinking about this made Tohsaka Rin feel uneasy, but she still suspected there might be more to it. The timing was too coincidental.

Going to the church early in the morning, she found herself unable to enter, not even using magic.

Because the site was sealed off not only by the police but also by the forces of the Holy Church... The scene was too horrifying. The underground secret room of the church was too terrifying. It was tied to a triple-digit number of disappearances from ten years ago—the truth was self-evident.

Was this really a church bringing the gospel, or was it a Devil’s executor in the human world?

They say the Father had a special fondness for children; it turned out Father Kotomine was the same, reaching a level of insanity—not confined to molestation and sexual harassment but extending to torture, murder, etc. ... One can imagine, if this were leaked, what a huge blow it would bring to the reputation of the Holy Church.

Thus, the church’s forces were naturally going all out to block the news, not allowing this event to be exposed—no outside individuals could enter the site.

Not even Tohsaka Rin’s connections worked.

But being so secretive, even though she didn’t know what was happening inside the church, Tohsaka Rin still instinctively felt it could never be a mere gas explosion—there must be a bigger issue at play, likely connected to the Holy Grail War.

Aside from the major event at the Yanfeng Church, another incident involves Emiya Shirou, who allegedly also had a gas explosion at home; he didn’t come to school today, saying over the phone he needed time to deal with the explosion at home.

Although lacking more evidence, Tohsaka Rin felt this guy likely became a Master.

Then there’s that annoying Makoto Shinji, who also didn’t come to school today—or possibly ever again—saying his family arranged for urgent overseas study... Yes, very urgent...

Without a doubt, these are all directions very worthy of suspicion.

Reflecting on the clues collected today, piecing them together like this, Tohsaka Rin increasingly felt the problem was severe. She walked out the school gate with her head low, deep in thought, but was soon softly called out to by someone—a girl wearing a blue and white dress.

"Miss Tohsaka."

The girl bore flowing golden hair and bright emerald eyes, looking charming yet bearing a very serious expression, naturally drawing much attention from passersby who cast surprised and admiring glances her way.

This was also the reason Tohsaka Rin felt at ease still attending school today.

Because with the other’s protection nearby, the problem truly wasn’t significant.

"Saber..." Tohsaka Rin called softly, then quickly glanced around before stepping up to walk alongside the blond maiden, whispering, "I found quite a few issues at school today. Did you notice anything while patrolling nearby?"

"Just a while ago, there seemed to be a Servant’s magic power approaching, but I couldn’t detect their exact whereabouts. Concerned it was the enemy’s diversion tactic, I dared not stray too far from you, so I failed to meet that Servant..."

The petite girl with golden hair and blue eyes spoke calmly: "As for other matters, nothing else caught my attention. Today was relatively peaceful, and nothing occurred at the base."

"A Servant approached just now...?"

Tohsaka Rin instinctively glanced at the road ahead, where Sakura’s figure had long vanished.

It shouldn’t be, right? She hadn’t sensed the presence of a Command Spell on Sakura, probably not related to Sakura... That Servant should be targeting herself, likely an Assassin class, hence acting so covertly, ultimately remaining undiscovered.

She instinctively turned back to glance at the swordsman girl beside her.

This Servant was, of course, the Saber that Miss Fujimaru Ritsuka from Chaldea called over for support, purportedly the true form of King Arthur, the legendary king of Britain.

And she was a girl, quite unexpected!

Yet having such support indeed brought much peace of mind; this Saber’s stats were truly enviable to Tohsaka Rin... Only regrettably, although cooperating with Tohsaka Rin’s operations, Saber was still a Servant summoned by Fujimaru Ritsuka.

——A vassal of a vassal is not my vassal.

Tohsaka Rin was feeling very conflicted. She had always wanted to summon the strongest Saber, had been dreaming about it for a long time, but was never able to succeed, nor was she confident of succeeding. Meanwhile, someone else casually pulls in a super powerful Saber, and apparently can even choose according to their mood...

While she couldn’t draw a Saber, others had a full roster of Servants across all classes, more than they could even deploy at will.

What kind of pay-to-win player is this? Miss Tohsaka was genuinely envious, almost to death!

That third-rate magician actually told the truth, she really could keep summoning Servants from that Chaldea place... Could it be because she’s occupying the Caster class? After all, the rules of the Holy Grail War state that a Magician, as a Master, can summon Servants to compete.

Well, the Caster class itself is indeed somewhat special; although as a Magician, this class is also a Servant, it can also act as a Master... Maybe this class isn’t as useless as I imagined. Although it’s definitely not as strong as the top three Knight classes, some Casters can barely play a role...

For a moment, she couldn’t change her inherent stereotypes, still embracing the traditional Mage’s understanding of the Holy Grail War, Tohsaka Rin thought a bit arrogantly.

The two traveled peacefully all the way back to the mansion, currently serving as the command post for the powerful alliance between the Tohsaka Family and Chaldea. The mansion was already fortified with numerous Magical Techniques, becoming a solid stronghold, built upon the solid foundation established by generations of the Tohsaka Family.

Once the technical support from Chaldea arrived, it naturally became even more impressive.

"Master, I’m back."

Saber greeted Fujimaru Ritsuka, who had come out to welcome her, with a cheerful salutation, which made Miss Tohsaka’s heart involuntarily feel a sour tinge again. She was really jealousy-ridden; people are indeed different, when can she experience the joy of being a pay-to-win player?

As she was muttering this, she noticed another unfamiliar figure emerging from the mansion.

It was a literary girl dressed in a black skirt, draped in a moon-white coat, with black hair and eyes, long twin tails almost reaching her ankles, exuding a peculiar atmosphere.

"Who might this be...?"

Tohsaka Rin was slightly taken aback, glancing to the side; this person didn’t seem to be a Servant?

"This is Miss Akai Hinako, another Master from Chaldea, who just arrived." Fujimaru Ritsuka quickly explained, reaching out to pull the literary girl along, who glanced at her somewhat helplessly, but didn’t seem to resist the contact.

"Another Master?"

Tohsaka Rin tugged at the corner of her mouth, staring in disbelief.

——What kind of absurd development is this?

——It’s not even just summoning extra Servants against the rules, it’s being able to summon other Masters?

As if she suddenly figured something out, Tohsaka Rin became cautious: "Wait! So how does our previous collaboration stand? What do you mean by bringing another Master..."

She could collaborate with Chaldea because she was a Master, and the other side only had Servants; even Fujimaru Ritsuka, for now, was summoned as a Servant, blunderingly, which was the basis of the collaboration. However, now, they had sent over another true Master, naturally alerting her.

"Relax, Miss Tohsaka, you said you aimed purely for victory, fighting for the honor of the Tohsaka Family, while we need to retrieve the Holy Grail, resolving the disruptive factors of the formed singularity..."

Fujimaru Ritsuka seriously explained—

"On this basis, our collaboration will not be affected, right? You don’t need to worry, in contrast, we’ll fully commit to helping you win the Holy Grail War..."

"Uh..."

Tohsaka Rin was still on high alert, but she couldn’t suppress a favorable feeling.

The other party was indeed very sincere; otherwise, given her current hand, there was no hope of victory. Only by relying on the demonstrated powerful lineup on the other side did she have any hope of winning.

"I, along with Miss Altria and Miss Ishtar, will provide you with support..." Seeing Tohsaka Rin’s expression, Fujimaru Ritsuka pressed on, "But this is the only support we can give; Elmero the Second teacher was supposed to come, but couldn’t perform Spiritual Particle Transfer..."

"Based on predictions, it’s likely due to limitations of the Holy Grail War. Since I’m occupying the Caster class myself, he couldn’t come over. Other Servants will probably face the same issue, because the corresponding classes have been occupied by existing Servants. Special classes appear not to be recognized by this Holy Grail War, so there’s no way..."

"Only Miss Akai Hinako isn’t a Servant, yet possesses Spiritual Particle Transfer adaptability, and is also very strong, will give us great assistance as well! Hence the transfer for support, you can rest assured, Miss Tohsaka..."

Fujimaru Ritsuka’s series of remarks essentially dispelled Tohsaka Rin’s original wariness.

"Really... that amazing?" Tohsaka Rin muttered softly, looking at the literary girl.

"Of course, Miss Akai Hinako’s qualifications as a Master are even better than mine, her evaluation in combat command is very high..." Fujimaru Ritsuka smiled a bit awkwardly but was still quite impressed saying this, as she was just a bottom-rung substitute, while the literary girl was one of the original A group’s seven candidates.

Akai Hinako’s gaze, however, was peculiarly floating, somewhat aimlessly looking off in another direction.