Walking in the Question and Answer System of Heroic Spirits

Inole raised an eyebrow and said, "Oh? What's going on?"

"Because among Albion's explorers were spies who had infiltrated the city on the orders of the Clock Tower faction."

Reines stated directly, "Among the five disciples, at least the murdered Karl was a spy. By the way, I wasn't the only one who investigated this matter; Miss Orange over there did too."

"Are you passing the conversation to me?"

[Aozaki Touko laughed, "So, I remember you overheard my conversation with Hartles. Oh well."]

"Even though she overheard it from the side, the truth is the truth. I'll admit it out of a sense of responsibility."

"Yes, I questioned Hartrace like that, and his answer was—I told them, 'Dedicate your lives to the most glorious things; they have things to dedicate their lives to.' And so, they got what they deserved."

【"..."】

Ashira's gaze flickered for a moment.

Now that the Grand Magician has ratified it, this fact is undeniable.

She was afraid; denying it outright would cause her to lose her ground immediately.

Helpless, Ashira had to change her tone, asking, "So what if that's true? Basically, it's impossible to secretly assassinate my mentor—Dr. Hartrace. If the head of a major department died in London, the matter would be exposed immediately."

Reines: "Yes, the Clock Tower watches over every corner of London."

"Assassination itself might be possible, but it would always leave traces of magical warfare somewhere. Killing the dean without anyone noticing would be incredibly difficult. It's good that you understand that. However, you have a location where you won't be discovered."

"Didn't you invite Hartres to Albion ten years ago?"

Olga Marie: "Is that the mechanism that makes smuggling possible?"

[Reines: "Yes, just like the unstable fissures that Hartres used in the Sla underground, Ashira should have used this mechanism ten years ago as well."]

"Apart from Kuro, most of the disciples have left Hartles' side. According to my investigation, you seem to be the last to leave. So, you may have told him that you wanted to take him to Albion to repay your master's kindness."

"From a magician's perspective, Hartres must be pleased to have the opportunity to enter Albion without going through the Bureau of Anatomy. Furthermore, the Clock Tower's surveillance doesn't extend there. This is because the Albion's necropolis operates according to Albion's independent rules, rules that are familiar to you."

"Of course, in terms of magician ability, Hartres, as the Dean of the Academy, is superior to you. However, in this respect, you are a team trained in Albion. To kill a magician focused on research, you should have many methods at your disposal."

【"..."】

Ashira fell silent again.

[Reines: "Ah, back then, Hartres's star pupil, Kuro, was probably against it. Although it would have been fine not to take Kuro along, he was likely indispensable in the search for the Rift."]

"Sigh, when Faker attacked Sla, I discovered that the rift would only stay in place for a limited time, so all you need to do is kill Hartles and Kuro as soon as you transfer to Albion."

"You may have tried to persuade him, but considering the duration of the crack, it was almost pointless."

Rin Tohsaka: "So in the end they succeeded, but Heartless protected Kuro, allowing him to continue living as he was."

Rin Tohsaka: "Wait! Something's not right! The answer was clearly that Hartles instructed the four disciples, which doesn't match the analysis in the video!"

Weber: "This shows that the analysis is wrong, or perhaps even Ashira and the others don't know that their actions were entirely within Hartres's calculations."

Lion Robber Jie Li: "This isn't right. Why would Hartles plot to kill himself? Could it be that he's gone too far?"

Kenneth: "The key probably lies with this kid named Kuro."

[Ashira: "...Your reasoning is just too illogical, isn't it?"]

Reines ignored her and continued, "But you weren't able to examine the body during that brief period of time, were you?"

[Ahira: "What do you mean?"]

"I was referring to the question you just asked, who Hartres is now."

Reines said seriously, "If you haven't carefully examined the body, you can narrow down the possibilities regarding who Hartres is now. Because, hasn't Hartres now discovered the location and time of the unstable rift's appearance? Only his star pupil, Kuro, could have accomplished something like that before."

[Ahira: "Are you implying that Hartres is now Kuro?"]

Reines: "Regarding Hartles—the magician who now calls himself Hartles's transformation technique surprised us greatly on the Magic Eye Train."

[Ashira cried out in a sorrowful voice, "...This...this is impossible!"]

[Reines: "That's why I asked you, did you examine the body at the time?"]

Chapter 364·True Name

(This was from yesterday; I forgot to upload it.)

Upon hearing Reines's question, Ashira's face instantly drained of color.

"What you're saying... is all nonsense, just making assumptions upon assumptions!"

"Of course that's right."

Reines went straight to the point: "However, what I'm about to say isn't hypothetical. Because in Albion, there's a magician we know who helped me find evidence."

[That old man Graf, although he refused Reines's invitation, still helped her with the investigation.]

[Reines: "That's the full name of Hartres's disciple—Kuro."]

[Ashira: "Kuro's?"]

"I guess you don't know either."

Reines said meaningfully, "In this land, no one cares about surnames, because if they did, there's likely some record of them. You failed to kill Kuro; he probably faked the body using some method. Coincidentally, we also know someone who's very skilled in this area."

[Himeko Adashino: "Oh dear, are you talking about me?"]

Ignoring her, Reines directly revealed the answer.

"His name is 'Kurou.Adashino,' which, in Eastern naming conventions, is 'Adashino.Kurou.'"

The sound abruptly stopped, as everyone realized the meaning behind the name.

"This is your hidden trump card, isn't it—"

Reines looked at Hishiro Adashino and said, "Grey told me that during the Mystic Eyes Train case, you said you were tracking your brother. At the time, you said it was because Dr. Hartrace and you were both Norwich's adopted sons, but once you know the truth, you'll realize that excuse was terrible."

[Himeri Adashino's face remained expressionless, still bearing that faint smile.]

Rin Tohsaka: "Hey, wait a minute! Kuro Adashino? That boy's surname is Adashino?"

Shishikatsu Kairi: "Interesting. So, Kuro and Adano Ryori are related by blood. Judging from her expression, it seems she already knew."

Kenneth: "Hmph, maybe she's the one who erased the information about the name."

Fiore: "Himeri Adashino, this woman really kept this information a secret."

"...Are they here yet?"

[Hartres, as if sensing something, lowered his gaze to his feet.]

For convenience, he placed everything he brought here, such as the jar containing Emiya's organs, the pocket watch used to manage spells, and a large number of Stat coins arranged around it.

These gold coins are vibrating now, most likely because the Second Prince is very close and is using the Stud coin he found to locate him.

[Hartles wasn't unaware that a gold coin had fallen; he was just too lazy to pick it up.]

[The other party planned to use the gold coins to search for him, but he could do the same thing, turning the gold coins into an alarm when the Second Prince caught up with him, and it had to be said that it actually worked.]

"This is all I can do, and it's the last and biggest disruption."

[His fingers traced the surface of the gold coin; Hartres's voice sounded utterly weary.]

He had nearly exhausted all his magic and energy in preparing and activating the spell.

"Goodnight...Lord El-Melloi II."

Weber: "I used gold coins to track things, but I was taken advantage of instead?"

Shizi Jieli: "There's nothing we can do. The Second Prince must have guessed that this would happen, but he had no choice but to do it."

Weber: "Yeah, we can't find Hartles's whereabouts without doing this. Hartles is definitely using a calculated, open strategy."

[King II and Grey continued their careful descent and soon spotted several horizontal tunnels, one of which should lead to Hartles' location.]

[Grey: "...Almost there...almost there."]

[Venerable II: "Grey..."]

He gestured quietly, indicating the location of the tunnel they needed to enter.

Success was just one step away, but then, something unexpected happened—

One of the six eyes suddenly turned towards them.

For a moment, they felt as if time itself had stood still.

The monster hadn't done anything; it had merely stared at them, and it wasn't a demonic eye or an evil eye, yet it nearly crushed their souls.

They felt as if their internal organs had been crushed at once; their breathing stopped, their blood flow ceased, and every cell remained motionless like a stone.

【Hartles...】

With his last ounce of strength, the Second Prince gritted his teeth and said, "He manipulated...the gaze...as expected...Hartles...that guy possesses the Mystic Eye..."

[The next moment, consciousness was lost.]

Rin Tohsaka: "Damn it, we were about to make it through!"

Fiore: "Hartles, you really did have two plans."

Gold: "But what kind of monster is this? Just one look from it almost killed the two of them."

Lion Robber Jie Li: "It should have nothing to do with that monster; it's just a matter of strength."