FATE: Target of Grand Master

Xia Yan never mentioned his parents to his followers, for a simple reason: his parents had passed away unexpectedly when he was in elementary school.

The car crash and the deaths are just four simple words that sum up Xia Yan's parents' ordeal. In the end, only Xia Yan, who was sitting in the back seat, survived. This left an indelible longing for the concept of family in his young heart.

In the year following the loss of his parents, Xia Yan, who suddenly became an orphan, suffered from severe physical injuries and mental distress, and was forced to suspend his studies for a year. He was then transferred to a well-regarded welfare institution for rehabilitation and living.

Looking back now, Xia Yan doesn't have a deep impression of his life in the welfare institution. He only vaguely remembers that he seemed to have met a little girl of the same age there.

Even though that little girl was my best friend who accompanied me through that dark period, I couldn't remember her name or what she looked like. The only impression I had of her was that she was as beautiful as a doll.

As time went by, Xia Yan's injuries gradually healed, and his mental state recovered, so he naturally continued his studies.

With the help of relevant subsidies, accident compensation, and the property left by his parents, Xia Yan was able to come of age smoothly and was admitted to a decent university. At the same time, he also fell in love with the Type-Moon IP.

During this process, Xia Yan tried countless times to recall his life in the welfare institution, but it was all in vain. Gradually, he buried this memory deep in his heart.

After that, after playing a football match, Xia Yan, who was preparing to play FGO, was pulled into the Master Trial.

Therefore, even in the brutal Master Trial, Xia Yan was pursuing the concept of a warm and harmonious family.

In Xia Yan's view, every Servant is his family member. He will give enough care to his family members, but he also regards himself as the head of this big family. When there is friction between family members, he must stand up to uphold justice and mediate the relationship.

"I hope this kind of thing won't happen again. A little commotion is harmless, but I cherish each and every one of you, and I don't want to see us divided."

"Uh-huh!"

Musashi nodded repeatedly, and Morgan replied, "Understood."

Having said that, Xia Yan also adopted a relaxed expression.

"So, is there anyone willing to help me with dinner tonight...?"

Before Xia Yan could finish speaking, Musashi suddenly rubbed his arm and said, "This trial is a bit tiring. I'm sorry, Xia Yan, I need to go and rest for a bit."

Xia Yan was used to Musashi slacking off at times like this, so he didn't have high hopes. He turned to look at Morgan, only to find that Morgan had already turned and left, not even bothering to make up a reason, as if she was using her actions to retaliate against Xia Yan for the lesson she had just received.

"Why."

Xia Yan sighed, and only then did he notice Miss He.

"Sorry, you must have seen this funny."

"That's not true."

Miss He smiled and approached Xia Yan, then looked around and quietly asked, "Master, so in the last trial, did anything happen between you and Boss Morgan and Musashi?"

Seeing Miss He's face flushed with excitement, Xia Yan said irritably, "No! Nothing happened between us!"

"real?"

"real!"

"Really? Really?"

"Really, really! If I'm lying, I won't be able to bring a single Servant with me in the next trial!"

"All right."

Seeing that Xia Yan had made such a vicious oath, Miss He showed a disappointed expression, but then she regained her composure.

"Hey, if anything happens between you and anyone else later, you have to tell me!"

Xia Yan looked at Miss He with a strange expression. How come he hadn't noticed before that this person was so gossipy?

"Here, this is a fragment of the Holy Grail. The Atlas Academy uniform was a great help during this trial, so please hurry up and make the second Mystic Code."

To end the topic, Xia Yan decisively assigned Miss He a task. With something to do, Miss He lost interest in inquiring about Xia Yan's gossip.

As is customary, the next step is to work in the kitchen.

After exchanging one Master Point for ingredients, Xia Yan suddenly felt a sense of emotion.

Thinking back to when he first entered the Master Trial, he would have to split every point in half to spend it. Now, he can easily buy items that cost only a few dozen points. Suddenly, a bad idea popped into his head: if he could persuade BB to raise the price of food exchange, wouldn't that be able to drag down some Masters with less than healthy remaining points?

Forget it, these kinds of things often turn into boomerangs, and you never know when they'll come crashing back down on your head. What if one day you find yourself with a bunch of big-eaters in your house? You won't even have time to cry then.

When it was time to eat, Euryale sat down at the table as usual, but her eyes were red and swollen from crying. Instead of sitting on one side with Morgan and Musashi as usual, she quietly sat on the other side.

Cú Chulainn had no choice but to switch places with Miss Crane and sit at the other end of the table.

Unlike in the past, when everyone rushed to serve Xia Yan food or praise his cooking skills, today everyone just ate their meal in silence, and the atmosphere was very oppressive.

"Um... Xia Yan, why is my food different from yours?"

Cú Chulainn looked at the set meal served on his plate in front of him and asked with some confusion.

"It's nothing, I just tried out some special styles and wanted you to try something new."

Xia Yan's tone was very ordinary.

Looking at the dishes in front of him, which had a very special appearance, Cú Chulainn had some doubts, but considering that Xia Yan's cooking skills were always superb, he didn't think much of it.

"Cough... What is this?!"

Cú Chulainn had just put a bite of fish into his mouth when he immediately pulled out a piece of tissue and spat the fish out.

"Oh, this dish is called 'West Lake Vinegar Fish,' it's a famous 'delicacy.'"

Xia Yan's tone remained unchanged, as if he were talking about something perfectly normal.

"Xia Yan, are you sure this can be called 'gourmet food'? Is this your first time making this dish? Is it possible that you made a mistake in one of the steps, resulting in it not being cooked quite authentically?"

Cú Chulainn's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. The fish in this dish was not only loose and crumbly, but also had a strong earthy taste. The seasoning was only sour, making the whole dish feel like a disaster for the taste buds.

"If you don't like it, you can try the one next to it."

Xia Yan did not force Cú Chulainn to continue trying.

"Um... Xia Yan, are you sure you're not deliberately trying to trick me?"

Having learned a lesson from the West Lake Fish in Vinegar Sauce incident, Cú Chulainn's vigilance increased significantly when faced with Kirei Kotomine's favorite dish, which was deeply ingrained in his memory.

"It's just some Mapo Tofu, why are you so scared?"

Although Xia Yan spoke casually, Cú Chulainn didn't dare to put a single bite of the red thing that exuded a dangerous aura.

Seeing that every hair on Cú Chulainn's body was refusing, Xia Yan sighed and said, "I'm just letting you try a dish. If you don't want to eat it, then try the last cold dish."

Cú Chulainn, feeling like he'd been granted a pardon, immediately picked up the white, root-like plant from the last square.

"Pah... Xia Yan, this is..."

Cú Chulainn sprayed the food out again.

"This dish is called 'Cold Mixed Houttuynia cordata'."

"Ptooey..."

Cú Chulainn couldn't stand the smell of houttuynia cordata, so he grabbed the paper cup next to his plate and poured it into his mouth.

*Thud...*

The paper cup fell to the ground, and the grayish-green liquid inside spilled all over the floor.

Miss Tsuru exclaimed in surprise, "Master Cú Chulainn has fainted!"

Xia Yan, however, said nonchalantly, "It's alright. He drank a beverage called 'douzhi,' which is non-toxic and highly nutritious. He'll wake up soon, let's continue eating."

By this time, everyone realized that Xia Yan was deliberately trying to mess with Cú Chulainn, so they stopped saying anything more.

Before Cú Chulainn regained consciousness, Musashi was curious about just how terrible the food on Cú Chulainn's plate could be, so she picked up a little bit of what looked like the most normal West Lake Vinegar Fish.

Although Musashi forced himself to swallow the fish and rice, his slightly distorted expression said it all.

Since then, no one has dared to touch that plate that seemed to be cursed.

Not long after, Cú Chulainn regained consciousness.

The first thing Cú Chulainn did upon regaining consciousness was to stand up and bow to Xia Yan.

"Xia Yan, I'm sorry, I promise I'll never blabber again!"