FATE: Target of Grand Master

Five minutes had passed since Xia Yan returned to the safe house, but the settlement information that usually popped up after each trial did not appear this time.

After waiting another five minutes with no response, Xia Yan felt that this special trial might not offer any rewards.

There are three reasons:

1. In the past, settlement information would usually appear immediately after Xia Yan arrived at the safe house. It has never happened before that it has not appeared for ten minutes like this.

Second, Xia Yan noticed that after the elimination rounds and duels with other Masters participating in the Master Trial, the "legacy" of those Masters did not pop up as it had in previous trials.

Thirdly, considering the purpose BB stated when initiating this special trial, she felt that there were too many Masters who had survived previously. The mechanism of this trial was designed to eliminate a large number of Masters. Therefore, in BB's eyes, passing this trial was only right, and it was reasonable not to give any rewards.

Of course, it can't be said that there were no rewards at all; at least Xia Yan obtained a new Servant—Nero.

For this reason alone, Xia Yan can be said to have gained a lot from this trial.

Oh right, Xia Yan was so preoccupied with thinking about things after he came back that he forgot to introduce the others who stayed in the safe house.

He looked up and saw that Nero was already chatting with Musashi, Euryale, and Tsuru.

"I am Nero Claudius, a servant of the new contract with the Musician. Three beautiful ladies, may I ask your names?"

"Oh, I've heard of you, the Emperor of Rome. But I didn't expect that what I knew about you was so different from what I actually knew."

Musashi approached Nero, scrutinizing him from head to toe, especially Nero's face, before nodding repeatedly.

"Hmm. Roman Emperor, you are quite a beauty yourself. It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Shinmen Musashi-no-kami Fujiwara Genshin. You can call me Miyamoto Musashi or Musashi. If you have time tonight, you are welcome to come to my room. As your senior, I will teach you how to conduct yourself here."

Musashi grasped Nero's hand and grinned mischievously.

"So you're a famous swordsman from Japan. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'll be bothering you a little tonight then."

Nero agreed without hesitation, which surprised Musashi.

"If we're talking about who came to Xia Yan's side first, I'm the senior."

Not wanting to disturb Xia Yan's thoughts, Euryale, who had been stopped by Morgan, had nothing to do and took the opportunity to join the conversation.

She raised her head slightly and said in a senior's tone, "Newcomer, if there's anything you don't understand, feel free to ask me. This goddess will generously tell you."

Nero turned to Euryale and asked, "Beautiful goddess, may I ask your name?"

"Eureka. I think I don't need to explain my identity."

"Yes, the second daughter of the Gorgon sisters, an immortal and perfect girl."

Nero's praise pleased Euryale greatly. Just as she was about to offer a few more words of praise, she saw Nero reach out and grab Euryale's hand, asking, "I already have plans for tonight. So, I wonder if the goddess has time tomorrow night for a long talk?"

"Why?"

Euryale clearly understood what Nero meant by "heart-to-heart talk," and immediately withdrew her hand, smoothed her hair, and glanced in Xia Yan's direction.

"You...you're blaspheming! No! Absolutely not!"

Nero didn't seem to mind, shrugging to express his regret before turning his gaze to the last one—Miss Tsuru.

"So, how should we address this beautiful lady?"

"Klein."

Miss He was much more reserved than the previous two, and simply gave her name.

"Klein? I'm sorry, beautiful lady, I don't recall that name. It's not your fault, but my mistake. How could I have missed such a beautiful woman who could leave her mark on human history?"

"No, no. My story is nothing more than a legend. It may sound strange for me to tell it, but Your Majesty, have you heard the tale of 'The Crane's Gratitude'?"

"Of course I've heard of it. I see, Klein, Crane, Crane. Oh dear, how could I not have noticed? How rude of me."

Nero suddenly realized.

"It's alright, Your Majesty, there's no need to blame yourself."

"So, Miss Klein, as your senior, do you have time to speak with me?"

Nero's second attempt—or rather, the third time he planned to have "deep exchanges" with Xia Yan's servant, including the one he agreed to with Musashi.

Snapped!

Just as Miss Crane was feeling a bit flustered and unsure how to answer, a paper fan struck Nero directly on the head.

"it hurts!"

Nero covered his head and turned to look at Morgan behind him, who was straightening his paper fan.

"Nero Claudius. Watch your words and actions. This is Xia Yan's safe house, not yours. Don't bring your decadent ways from your previous life here."

Morgan criticized him very seriously, then turned to look at Musashi.

"Musashi, you too, you started this whole thing. You're punished by having to explain to Nero tonight what this place is all about."

Musashi stuck out his tongue and remained silent, which was considered an admission of punishment.

Xia Yan, unaware of what they had been talking about, was still marveling: As expected of Lady Nero, her social skills are something that ordinary people cannot learn. Although Musashi is also considered to have a natural ability to make friends, Euryale, with her goddess-like demeanor, and the slightly reserved Miss Tsuru are not people who can easily become familiar with each other in just ten minutes.

In reality, if Morgan hadn't stopped her, Nero might have started her "harem" life before Xia Yan.

"Xia Yan!"

Xia Yan walked over to the group of Servants, and Euryale, seeing him, finally got her wish and hugged him.

The other Servants also stopped talking and looked at Xia Yan.

Looking at all the Servants in the room, Xia Yan couldn't help but sigh: Before he knew it, he had six Servants. If this were FGO, he would have a complete team.

"Xia Yan, during the time you participated in the trial, nothing changed in Fuyuki City, and nothing came out."

Musashi, as the strongest fighter remaining in the safe house during this trial, was almost always on guard.

"I checked just now too, and we still can't get in," Morgan added.

Hearing what the two said, Xia Yan nodded.

With Abby around, it's easy to imagine that the situation inside Fuyuki City is constantly deteriorating, but Xia Yan is powerless to do anything about it. It's like knowing that you have a time bomb inside you that's constantly counting down, but you can't defuse it.

Compared to the others, Miss Tsuru was the most shocked to hear that the invaders were so close to them, even though she had been told this news several days ago.

Was it finally found?

Miss Crane was filled with unease. She felt as if she had just woken up from a nightmare, only to find herself in the same nightmare again.