Walking in the Question and Answer System of Heroic Spirits

Shiki Jieli: "It seems like the Second Generation saw something, but the image isn't clear enough to see it."

Weber: "But who would have left this affinity diagram here?"

Kenneth: "Have you forgotten that there was another reason why your future self came back to this village?"

Webber: "Hartles!"

The Second King's gaze fell on the edge of the notebook. He said, "It seems the person who created this affinity diagram pays great attention to the three factors of humanity. The content almost entirely follows the hypothesis I've conceived so far... no, in terms of precision, it far surpasses mine. They saw the possibility that Grey is King Arthur's physical body and that King Arthur's spirit exists underground, and conducted further investigation."

[Kay: "Such an impressive record of investigation, and they've really laid it all out without any defenses."]

[Second Generation: "The other party probably didn't intend to hide. According to the rules of that village, no one would come to the other side of the swamp, and he may have set up a barrier as needed. We were swept here by the flood, and suddenly emerged from underground as anomalies."]

[Kai: "I see, that makes sense."]

[Second Generation: "Another possibility is that he simply didn't have the energy to hide it. There were some ground coffee beans left in the kitchen, which he probably intended to use when he returned. The fact that he didn't wait until just before making coffee shows that he was a rationalist, unconcerned about the coffee's flavor diminishing, and that he found it easier to grind the beans all at once. In other words, I think he intended to return immediately but couldn't."]

As he spoke, he flipped through the stack of documents, his body involuntarily stiffening.

[Grey: "Teacher, what's wrong?"]

The Second Prince did not respond immediately, but after a long pause, he said, "...Is that so? Ah, is that so? Damn it!"

[The second prince swore for the first time and slammed his fist heavily against the wall to show his anger.]

Rin Tohsaka: "Did they discover Heartles' identity? But there's no need to be this angry."

Tokiomi Tohsaka: "No, he must have discovered something else in that document, and it's probably some bad information, which is why he's so angry."

Kiritsugu Emiya: "I'm afraid it's related to the Arthurian resurrection ritual in this village, or perhaps it's related to Gray."

[Grey: "T-Teacher?"]

[Second King: "At the time, Reines and I didn't realize there was another character here whom we now know. Unfortunately, he seems to have left before we got involved in the reenactment."]

[Grey: "Another person we know?"]

The Second Prince flipped through the documents again, and after a short while, he spoke, "It's Hartres."

[Grey: "Huh?"]

Upon hearing this name, Grey was momentarily taken aback.

She had forgotten that the Second Prince had returned to this village to find clues about Hartres. After all, they had encountered a series of absurd situations since entering the village. She just hadn't expected that they would inadvertently achieve their initial goal.

[Second King: "I see. Tsbia said he made a deal with Hatres, yet the villagers never spoke of anyone like Hatres. If Hatres never even approached the village, the answer is simple. He never came into contact with the village; it seems he was merely observing it for a long time."]

[Grey: "Wait a minute, why did Hartrace take so long to investigate my village? And what exactly is written on this amicability map?"]

"...It seems to be a combination of academic paper and magic technique."

The Second King looked at the map of affinity again, stroking his chin, and said, "Hartles is trying to interfere with King Arthur's magic in this village."

Lion Robber Jie Li: "Interference? That guy always manages to cause some big trouble every time he appears."

Weber: "So, did he succeed?"

Kenneth: "Probably not. Judging from how quickly he left, something must have happened."

[Grey: "Interference! Like Flat?"]

[Second: "No, Fratt's methods are basically based on skill and intuition in his eavesdropping tapping and reverse counters, while Hartrace spends far more time and effort on them..."]

At this point, the Second Prince stepped forward and stroked the amicable image on the wall, letting his gaze linger for a while before lowering his head in contemplation.

"No, I can't decipher it."

[Grey: "Sigh! Can't the teacher do it?"]

[The Second Prince: "I can see the general direction. The original spells here were written using Celtic magic and black magic witchcraft, while the interference spells are based on modern magic and black magic, combined with the alchemy of the Atlas Institute. The way the spells are interwoven is too intricate to determine the specific intention."]

The Second Prince flipped through the illustrations on the wall, dozens of sheets of paper covered with intricately patterned notes, each depicting a completely different design and sketch. Some resembled angel wings, others ancient crowns, and still others were pentagrams, hexagrams, eleven-pointed stars, or twelve-pointed stars, as well as unusual shapes composed of various figures.

"Among the thousands of numbers here, a single misinterpretation of a single number or a pattern as fine as a hair's breadth can render the entire thing different."

The Second Prince remarked, "It's like creating an exotic scene by adding only a few minimal brushstrokes to a landscape painting. There's no uniformity in technique or paint; it was clearly impossible, yet he forcibly made it happen through terrifying persistence and exquisite skill."

"Ah, this must be the true skill of Dr. Hartless, who supports the modern magic department without a monarch."

Kenneth: "That guy, he can actually weave so many different magic spells together. Hartles, he truly deserves the title of genius."

Rin Tohsaka: "Just looking at it makes me dizzy."

Weber: "Teacher, can you understand this?"

Kenneth: "What do you take me for! I'm a human being, not a computer. Even if I could translate, it would take me at least several days."

Lion's Tribulation: "Unfortunately, the Second Generation and the others didn't have that much time."

Kenneth: "If he had the El-Melloi family's calculator with him, he could have finished the translation in no time. What a pity..."

Rin Tohsaka: "A computer? What's that?"

Kenneth: "Hmph, that's a secret of the El-Melloi family."

"Although I know the direction, unfortunately, my brain and magic circuits are incapable of handling such large-scale calculations."

The Second Prince lamented, "If only the Moon Spirit Essence Liquid were here..."

"Are you looking for me?"

Just then, a figure suddenly stood by the door, startling the three people inside.

"Whoa!"

[Kai reacted the most, letting out a gasp and nearly falling over. He had been standing guard by the door the whole time and hadn't noticed anyone approaching from behind him.]

"Trimmau!"

Both King Harry and Grey stared wide-eyed at the sudden appearance of the silver figure.

"Here are your eyes (looking at you, kid)."

[The mercury maid, with a blank expression, utters a classic line from Casablanca, 1942.]

Rebellious Knight: "Hahaha! Kai is hilarious! What kind of reaction is that?!"

Artoria: "..."

How shameful! Her brother Kai has indeed been corrupted by that old scoundrel Merlin.

Lancelot: "But he doesn't seem to have noticed who came, is it because it's a Mystic Code?"

Rin Tohsaka: "Wait a minute, shouldn't we be concerned about how she ended up here?"

[Second Generation: "...How did you get here?"]

[Trimmau: "Yesterday, Lady Reines instructed me to return to the village on my way back to London. The order was to 'hide as far as possible from my brother's sight, and when he's in danger, put on a show of strength before coming to his rescue, using persistent pleading to curry favor with him as much as possible.' But because I couldn't find you, I waited nearby, and only then did I finally catch a glimpse of your reaction and come looking for you."]

【"..."】

The Second Prince was speechless for a moment, then burst into a cheerful laugh.

"Haha, does that mean that guy has been doing this kind of thing since the very first round?"

[Grey: "Very much in Miss Reines's style."]

Waver: "Reines, this girl is really a little devil."

Kenneth: "No, no, this shouldn't be happening..."

Weber: "What's wrong, teacher?"

Kenneth: "If this Trimmau is real, then doesn't that mean this really is a timeline from the past? This completely contradicts what happened before!"

"hiss..."

Everyone then realized what was happening and fell into deep thought.

Is this really the past? But if it is, how could Flat and Sphinx have interfered from the outside?

But if it's fake, how do you explain this Trimmau?

The Skeleton King seemed to know the truth about this world, but she went mad after learning that this was the second round and offered no explanation.

[Grey: "But what can Trimmau do with him here?"]

[Second Generation: "The Moon Spirit Essence was a Mystic Code that my teacher, Kenneth, personally crafted when he was in his twenties. The reason it is praised as the supreme Mystic Code of El-Melloi is not because of its superior combat capabilities, but because it is also one of the top calculation machines in the El-Melloi faction."]

[Trimmau's right hand evaporated, forming several number disks in mid-air.]

[Second Generation: "However, if I were to control it, only a very small number of functions could be activated, but that would be sufficient."]

Rin Tohsaka: "So the Moon Spirit Essence Fluid is the calculator you were talking about!"

Shiki Jieli: "This thing feels a bit like a magic version of a computer."

Kenneth: "This is the culmination of my El-Melloi family's heritage, so naturally it must be preserved carefully."

Rin Tohsaka: "So you changed its appearance and brazenly brought it out in front of people. How should I put it? It's the most dangerous place is also the safest place."

Chapter 255 The Death of the Priest

"Ah, is that so? That technique is connected here? He's not concerned with any one of the body, mind, or soul, but rather with the preservation and alteration of these elements."

[The Second Prince looked at the affinity diagram and waved his finger, causing the number panel to change continuously.]

[Shortly afterward, the transformation stopped, and the Second Prince seemed to have reached some conclusion, frozen in those few seconds.]