Book 6: Chapter 48: I—Jeanne d’Arc—Don’t Boast
Tohsaka Rin didn’t plan to be a spy on the black side because she knew that even if her father won the Holy Grail Carnival, he wouldn’t obtain the Holy Grail. Time Witch would most likely snatch it away.
Perhaps before her father even made a wish, the Holy Grail would disappear.
In this Holy Grail Carnival, the game allowed for external assistance. Of course, if you didn’t want to gather 16 chess pieces, you could skip seeking help.
This posed a problem for some on the black side. The red side, as the dominant force in this world, had no trouble finding two people to assist.
However, even with Yakumo Yukari and Magi Mari-chan, the black side had only 15 people, which wasn’t enough. Moreover, those two were busy and didn’t have time to join the Holy Grail Carnival.
In the end, Luo Li stepped in to solve the problem. She created three flesh-and-blood clones. According to her, these were her from different segments of time.
Chen Heng couldn’t help but wonder why this ability was so similar to Tokisaki Kurumi’s from Date A Live. These clones were even more powerful than Kurumi’s. Apart from lacking the Primal Chaos Bell’s support, they were identical to Luo Li from that specific time frame.
Luo Li mentioned that if she wanted to, she could even manifest a clone from her prime—at a significant cost. The stronger the clone, the shorter its duration, but for a time ability user like her, this wasn’t a significant concern.
The clones she summoned weren’t excessively powerful. According to Solomon, they had a secret weapon and didn’t need to use overwhelming force.
With this, the black side was ready, but the red side was embroiled in arguments.
The red side and the black side had different situations. The red side, the original Holy Grail War’s participants, was historically cutthroat.
The relationships among these Masters were complicated, and making them get along was no easy task.
First was Kotomine Kirei, who had a keen interest in Emiya Kiritsugu but hadn’t shown it.
Then came Kayneth and Tohsaka Tokiomi, two respectable Magi who looked down on the Magus Killer, Emiya Kiritsugu, believing he had tarnished the title of Magus.
Next were Kayneth and Waver, the master-apprentice pair. Waver had stolen Kayneth’s holy relic, leading to Kayneth summoning Diarmuid. Now, Kayneth harbored a deep grudge against Waver.
(Kayneth: Feels like this troublemaker of a student has made me a cuckold.)
Incidentally, Matou Kariya was Berserker’s master.
Whether it was because this Holy Grail War had turned into a Holy Grail Carnival or Root’s dark sense of humor, Matou Kariya had joined the battle.
Lastly, there was Ryuunosuke, whom everyone looked down on. No one respected him, and some wanted to take matters into their own hands. However, the Holy Grail Carnival rules prevented them from harming him, and they needed his strength to win.
After much wrangling, the red side decided to borrow two Servants from the Reality Marble of Waver’s Servant, Alexander the Great.
[TL Note: Here’s more information on Reality Marbles: /wiki/Reality_Marble.]
Once everyone was in position, the game of chess began.
In a traditional chess match, the black side was at a disadvantage. None of the participants were skilled chess players; even the most knowledgeable, Doctor Roman, only had a basic understanding of the game.
Doctor Roman started seeking external assistance even before the match began, reaching out to two people outside the board: Sora and Shiro.
[TL Note: Shiro is Sora’s stepsister. Together with Sora, their names merge to form the word Blank, hence the username Blank Never Loses. Here is more information about her: /wiki/Shiro.]
Root, however, turned a blind eye to the situation. The ones upholding fairness this time are the normal Jeanne d’Arc and the Holy Grail. What does it have to do with me—Root?
One of the Ten Pledges Root established (plagiarized) stated that anyone caught cheating would be considered defeated. In other words, it was not a problem if they did not get exposed.
“Is everyone ready? The match is about to begin,” Jeanne d’Arc said from her referee seat, tapping the gavel provided by the Holy Grail.
“The black side is ready.” Sirin, in the position of the king, raised her hand.
“The red side is ready. Why must I accompany these plebeians in such a boring game? Well, at least the king’s identity somewhat matches my taste.”
Out of respect for the King of Heroes (actually, it was because Tohsaka Tokiomi had introduced Gilgamesh’s personality to everyone, along with Gilgamesh’s actions in the previous two matches, which led to an agreement, among those who didn’t want to lose, that Gilgamesh should be the king), the red side allowed Gilgamesh to be the king.
“Before we begin, I want to reiterate that this is chess with mana. Unlike regular chess, the chess pieces here possess consciousness. That’s all. Let the game commence. Oh, and, Younger Sister, do your best!” Jeanne d’Arc made a rallying gesture to Jeanne d’Arc Alter.
“Who’s your younger sister? I’m the elder sister,” protested Jeanne d’Arc Alter, waving her flag in disagreement.
“Such a mischievous younger sister,” Jeanne d’Arc sighed.
“…Is this Ruler really going to be a fair judge?” Waver, a red side Master, muttered.
“Brat, you dare insult my saintess like that? She’s Jeanne d’Arc, the embodiment of all that’s good and beautiful in the world!” Others didn’t react much, as they all felt that Jeanne d’Arc was indeed a bit unreliable as a referee. However, this comment provoked a vehement protest from Gilles de Rais.
Even if I—Gilles de Rais—am a spy, even though I’m with the red side but support the black side, I must say one thing: Jeanne d’Arc is the fairest of all.
“Alright, alright, I’m sorry. I apologize.” Waver didn’t want the situation to escalate. He was still waiting to win the Holy Grail Carnival, so he instantly apologized.
“Humph!”
“Red side, please make your move quickly,” urged Jeanne d’Arc, the referee.
Because the red side had suffered two losses in the previous rounds, it had the privilege of moving first, giving it an advantage.
“Pawn D2 to D4.” Kayneth, the first to speak, made his move. As the Clock Tower’s prodigy, he had some knowledge of chess, making him the most skilled among the participants, better than Tohsaka Tokiomi at least.
In traditional chess, having the first move was advantageous, and those who made the first move generally took the initiative.
Kayneth had no doubts about his ability to win this time. Just look at those eccentric Masters on the opposite side; not one of them seemed to have any artistic refinement.
How can I lose when victory is assured? The cat’s in the bag!
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