FATE: Target of Grand Master

"It's hard to say whether I've seen through everything, but I've guessed the general idea."

Seeing Miss He lower her head and remain silent for a long while, Xia Yan continued, "Then let me share my guess. Miss Klein, this world is probably a figment of your imagination created with the Holy Grail. Apart from the Servants on my side, all the other Servant idols in this world are figments of your imagination, no, to be more precise, they are your impressions of these idols in their best possible state."

"Opponent, why would you think that?"

"If they don't refute my statement but instead ask me why I expressed my opinion, then it means I'm right."

Miss He: ...

"I have a flaw: I tend to overthink things. From the moment you accurately found us, I've been pondering one thing: why does Euryale have to become an idol? At first, I simply thought it was because you were obsessed with idols, but there are already so many idols in this world, and in the beginning, all the idols were ranked higher than Euryale. Why do we still need Euryale to participate?"

At first, I thought that a total of 12 idols were required to start the competition. However, after round after round of performances, I discovered many strange details. For example, besides these 12 idols, I couldn't find any information about other idols, and each round of performances only consisted of one show. This seemed to be paving the way for Euryale's comeback. Therefore, I made a bold guess: only Euryale has the potential to become the number one ranked idol.

Seeing that Miss He remained silent, Xia Yan continued, "Following this line of thought, what exactly makes Euryale different from other idols? After much thought, I can only think of one difference: Euryale is an outsider who just arrived in this world. The following is purely my personal speculation. To put it simply, you must have already participated in many rounds of idol selection competitions. Although I don't know why, all the previous idols must have failed."

Actually, when this idea popped into my head, I was quite surprised, but many details corroborate my guess. For example, your studio has photos of all the idols' costumes. These photos aren't of them trying them on, but rather of the finished costumes right after they've been made. This means you've provided costumes for these idols before. But in our recent interactions, I can sense that you're genuinely helping Euryale. So you have no motive to aid the enemy, unless this action wasn't happening now, but in the past.

Besides, whether it was a deliberate slip-up on your part or not, the host, Kun Kun, kept saying he had a lot of experience hosting performances. But in my opinion, there have only been four rounds of performances so far, so four performances shouldn't be considered a lot, right? Also, after the performance, I specifically searched for information about the idols who were defeated by Euryale, and found that I couldn't find any new news about their activities anymore. Doesn't this mean that their journey of challenge has come to an end? Of course, there's also decisive evidence: the group photo of the four of them on your wall.

"It's a pity I recognize all four people in the photo. You, Mashu, Fujimaru Ritsuka, and the mysterious idol X. Even if my previous guesses were just conjecture, you and Mashu shouldn't be strangers. But when the music maestro visited that day, Mashu didn't acknowledge you at all. Given Mashu's polite nature, it's impossible for her to not even greet an acquaintance. And where Mashu is, Fujimaru Ritsuka is bound to be there too. Therefore, I can confirm that this Mashu isn't the real person. So, if we apply this to the other idols, it makes sense that neither Nero's musical talent nor Silent Hassan's toxic constitution took effect."

Xia Yan took the water Morgan handed him from behind, took a big gulp, and said with slight dissatisfaction, "Miss Klein, I've said so much already, shouldn't you say something too?"

While Xia Yan was speaking, Miss He clenched her fists tightly until Xia Yan finished speaking, at which point she finally loosened her grip as if she had made up her mind.

She snapped her fingers lightly, and the world around her seemed to stop operating as if a pause button had been pressed, with only Xia Yan, his servants, and Miss Crane able to move freely.

Euryale, who was still celebrating with Maeve and Shuten-dōji on stage, was stunned and didn't understand what had happened.

Musashi rushed to Xia Yan's side as soon as she noticed the anomaly, but Xia Yan stopped her from drawing her sword.

Seeing that Xia Yan already had Morgan and Musashi by his side, Cú Chulainn ran to Euryale's side.

"Master Producer, you're right. This is a world that has already gone through 12 cycles. Because the number of idols is increasing, I can't maintain the magic power of so many Servants, so I have to use the images in my memory as substitutes. Therefore, it's inevitable that there will be flaws. Perhaps I also harbor a sliver of hope that you, Master Producer, can discover it."

"Hmm, so the final challenge will be the mysterious idol X, right?"

"Why?"

Miss He was surprised that Xia Yan had even guessed this.

"After all, even if they defeated the music master, it only made GxQxG the number one idol group. But when it comes to the individuals, the rankings of the three were not differentiated. I don't think there would be such a good thing as three people tied for first place. Although it is normal to say that the Four Heavenly Kings have five members, it is too well hidden that you have a thirteenth idol. If I hadn't seen that photo, I really wouldn't have thought about this issue carefully."

"But..."

"But what? Because you've already failed eleven times, are you afraid you'll fail the twelfth time too? After watching so many rounds of Euryale's performance, do you still have doubts about her?"

Miss Tsuru has witnessed Euryale's growth and would never deny Euryale's strength.

"However, Xiao Ai's impression on me is too strong. If the challenge fails, I cannot guarantee that you, Yu P, can safely enter the next cycle of reincarnation."

Xia Yan revealed a warm smile.

"Thank you for your concerns. After all, Mysterious Idol X is an idol you've supported all along, so I understand your concerns. But have you forgotten that Euryale also got to where she is today with your help? If I'm not mistaken, your insistence on training a new idol to defeat Mysterious Idol X stems from the fact that you yourself are trapped in this world, isn't it?"

"You really can't hide anything from O-P."

Tell me how the final showdown will take place.

Miss Crane looked at Euryale, who had already heard the whole story.

"Miss Euryale, are you really going to take on this challenge?"

"Of course. I don't want Xia Yan to be trapped in this world forever."

Seeing Euryale's determination, Miss Tsuru revealed the method for the final showdown.

"You and Xiao Ai will each sing a song, and I will give my evaluation. Only those who receive my sincere congratulatory evaluation will be considered winners."