Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

As the person in charge supported by all the demons of Mount Oe, Hestia was naturally nominated as a key member of the city hall.

Hestia weighed the matter carefully before accepting the appointment.

There was nothing she could do; she was short of money.

Collecting figurines, playing games, attending concerts—any hobby can be very expensive.

It's all the same whether I'm working or not. I used to go to maid cafes, now I go to the city hall, it seems like there's no difference.

After watching her friend leave, and then having a quick breakfast, Utsumi Eri glanced at the time, wiped her mouth, grabbed the carton of milk from the stove, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and rushed out of the room.

Although the knowledge taught at school was not difficult for her to learn.

But now, it seems there's nothing to do besides going to school.

Since she has chosen to integrate into this world as "Eriyo," she should play her role well.

Soon, Erise Utsumi, with a hot milk in her mouth, arrived at the intersection downstairs.

A black Toyota pulled up to the side of the road almost simultaneously and rolled down its window.

"Eri-chan, get in the car!"

Her friend, Hana Rin, in the back seat, opened the car door and waved happily.

The two successfully met up, and the ghost girl, Momiji, who was acting as the driver, chuckled as she rolled up the car window, started the car, and drove towards the school.

As the vehicle jolted, a uniquely shaped pendant was flung out of Hana Rin's arms.

When Eri saw the jet-black patterned scale tied to the red rope, she was momentarily stunned.

"Want it?"

Eri nodded subconsciously.

"This is the only one that's not allowed."

Hua Lin shook her head with a grin, tucked the pendant back into her collar, pressed the hard thing on her chest, and her bright eyes were filled with longing.

"After all, this is a talisman given to me by my guardian angel."

Upon noticing the slight blush of a young girl's first love on her friend's face, the goddess of the underworld's face instantly darkened.

"A new Chinese restaurant recently opened in Akihabara?"

"It seems so, why?"

"We're having snake soup tonight!"

Eriyo gritted her teeth and gave a sinister snort.

Chapter Two: This is common sense, my friend.

"Eri, look, look!"

On the way, Hua Lin, who was pressed against the car window, seemed to have discovered something. Her sharp eyes followed the flashing images outside the window, and she cheered excitedly.

Eri turned her head and saw a giant screen on the wall of the building facing the square, playing images at a very loud volume.

However, she treated it as just another advertisement and wouldn't bother to even glance at it normally.

But right now, this cold-hearted goddess of the underworld is being coerced by her overly cheerful friend into paying attention to the scrolling images.

On the screen, two Servants are engaged in a fierce battle.

Footage shot from multiple cameras is edited into fast-paced footage.

The scene of a Servant unleashing their Noble Phantasm is accompanied by dazzling and exaggerated subtitles.

Whenever the swirling aftershocks of a Noble Phantasm attack reached the audience, the screen would always activate at the last second, blocking the aftershocks and causing the audience who escaped unscathed to scream and cheer excitedly.

A drone camera flew in the sky, capturing a panoramic view of the battlefield where multiple Servants' figures intertwined.

It was a meticulously crafted stadium modeled after the Roman Colosseum, and its scale was far larger than the original Colosseum ruins.

"Did you see that!? Did you see what happened just now!?"

"Who knows what that is?"

"Huh? Eriri, you don't... know about the Holy Grail War, do you?"

Seeing Hana Rin's incredulous expression,

"...Isn't this just a performance in the arena right now? I'm not interested."

The screen was displaying an advertisement for another elimination round that was about to begin, and people in the square in front of the station stopped and looked up at the screen.

"You mean to say that you, a native of the Holy Grail City, have never watched a Holy Grail War?"

"What does it matter if you haven't seen it? It's just a game."

"What? I can't pretend I didn't hear that—look at the screen."

"I'm not telling you I'm not interested."

"Let's see what the connection is, look quickly!"

"Wait a minute, Karin—ooh!"

Karin used both hands to hold Eriyo's head, forcing her friend to look up at the big screen.

At this moment, highlights from past competitions are playing on the big screen.

The scene shows a cloud of dust rising from the ravages of the treasure, and a person suddenly bursts out from the dust while keeping their body low.

That extraordinary leg strength was indeed from a follower.

It was a female knight wearing dark purple armor.

Her long hair flowed freely as she leaped and dodged the arrows shot by the enemy, clinging to the sides of several large stone pillars standing in the arena.

The enemy's attack followed immediately, and the stone pillar, whose base shattered, flew into the air, but the female knight clinging to the pillar was unharmed.

The production team also meticulously replayed the female knight's acrobatic-like movements in slow motion.

The next second, the female knight seized the opportunity when the enemy's attack was exhausted and pressed forward in one breath.

Her rapier was drawn from its sheath, radiating magical light, and pierced deeply into the enemy Servant's body with a whooshing sound.

It was a merciless and fatal blow.

The enemy, whose spinal cord was shattered by the precise attack, could no longer maintain its physical form and decomposed into particles of light.

--GameOver.

A dazzling, shimmering banner displayed the name of the final winner.

"The winner of the elimination battle is the Servant Saber 'Galahad'."

"—Master 'Koharu F. Leidenfoss'..."

A burst of cheers erupted from the audience, and the flower petals of blessing almost covered the entire arena.

The emblem, a combination of the Holy Grail and a laurel wreath, rotates on the screen, then the scene switches to a post-match interview.

The female knight's sharp and determined expression showed no sign of fatigue.

Blue, glossy hair and bright mint green eyes.

Xiaochun? Galahad?

Two names...

Eri watched the twelve or thirteen-year-old girl on the screen skillfully remove her purple armor, put on her hood, and walk off the arena alone, her eyes thoughtful.

"Possessed by a heroic spirit?"

"Huh? Didn't you say you didn't care? You guessed it right away!"

Hua Lin looked at her friend with some surprise, quite astonished.

Since that one night, she felt that her friend seemed to have changed a lot, as if she had suddenly grown into an adult.

"Don't guess, analyze!"

Eri hummed softly as she pried the hand that was wrapped around her neck off, and at that moment she roughly understood what her friend wanted to express.

The so-called Holy Grail Wars are, simply put, a new type of sport unique to this city.

The game is safe and legal, with players competing against each other according to established rules. Under the approval and control of the Holy Grail through the program administrators, participants can use powerful weapons and even unleash Noble Phantasms.

During this time, the thrill-seeking audience members indirectly provide magic to both sides in the battle, which can be considered another form of "ticket purchase".

When a heroic spirit participating in a duel suffers severe injuries on the field, the arena's protection mechanism will be automatically triggered, and the spirit will be transferred off the stage. Afterward, as long as it has enough magic power, it can be alive and kicking again.

The reason for this project is that the residents of the entire Holy Grail City are mainly Heroic Spirits.

These famous figures from various eras were mostly unruly and full of boundless energy.

To prevent these heroic spirits from causing trouble due to having nothing to do, the mayor of the city hall introduced a game called the Holy Grail Tournament, modeled after the ancient Greek Olympic Games and the ancient Roman athletic competitions.

Private duels are normally prohibited in the Holy Grail City.

However, if there is a personal grudge between the Heroic Spirits, they can fight together on the stage of the Holy Grail Tournament under the official witness.

This policy effectively maintained the smooth operation of the Holy Grail City and reduced the occurrence of serious crimes.

At the same time, the spectacle of the Heroic Spirits War has attracted many tourists and special immigrants from all over the world.

Xiao Chun, who was on the ring before, seemed to be this type.

Since both Chitose Manazuru and Hestia work at the City Hall, even if Eriyo wasn't interested, she had heard about the Holy Grail Tournament from them.

It is said that the very business-minded Mayor earns hundreds of billions of dollars every month simply by selling the television broadcasting rights to the Holy Grail Tournament, making a fortune from it.

But those who can become heroic spirits are all people with fame and achievements, and they still have some reserve and self-respect.

Such behavior—going to the ring to fight to the death in order to attract public attention—does not happen frequently.

Therefore, in order to maintain viewership and popularity, both sides in the competition inevitably have official shills.

However, judging from the live broadcast just now, the girl named Xiaochun should be a genuine contestant, and it seems that she has accumulated quite a few fans both on and off the field because of her impressive performance.

Clearly, his friend Karin was one of these fans.

But for the former goddess of the underworld, these were just entertaining competitions between heroic spirits, nothing more than boring squabbles, which naturally didn't pique her interest much.

After all, she had just experienced a battle against the gods not long ago.

"Let me tell you, Xiaochun is incredibly strong. Despite being human, she has already defeated more than a dozen Heroic Spirits and is now a top favorite to win this Holy Grail Tournament!"

Unaware of her friend's true identity, Hana Rin incessantly promotes her idol and tries to preach to her best friend.

Bored, Eri could only give half-hearted replies, her unfocused gaze drifting out the car window, trying to find something new to distract herself.

Suddenly, the young goddess, who was being harassed by her friend, paused slightly as her gaze fell on the big screen.

On a bench in the corner of the park, a young tourist wearing a deerstalker hat and a black trench coat was sitting on the edge, intently flipping through this morning's newspaper, with a half-open tourist brochure beside him.

This person seems to be just a tourist from another country, nothing particularly noteworthy.

However, Eriyo frowned.

As a goddess closely connected to this land, even though the entire divine kingdom has been transformed and washed away, she remains very sensitive to unusual auras.

That was a heroic spirit.

An outsider who does not belong to the Holy Grail City.

Eriyo's eyes flickered as she habitually touched the guitar case where she kept the Amatsuma Spear.

Although she had no interest in working at the City Hall, she retained her former identity as a "volunteer police officer," patrolling at night as usual to investigate and eliminate unstable factors in the Holy Grail City.

It seems that tonight's tour is settled.

The girl secretly memorized the face outside the car window and the person's clothing, then quietly looked away.

As the black Toyota drove around the corner, the young man reading the newspaper on the bench looked up, gazing wistfully in the direction the car had gone. He took out a pipe, put it in his mouth, and began to puff out smoke.

Was it exposed so soon?

Tsk, a city entirely composed of and maintained by Heroic Spirits is indeed more difficult to infiltrate than a typical human settlement.

Perhaps I should book my flight for tonight in advance.

The young man in the deerstalker hat shook his head, looking at the large screen behind him with some regret.