The Third Singularity.
A.D.1573 – Voyager of the Storm – Okeanos.
Chapter 146 – Himiko, here!
Whoosh…
Whoosh whoosh…
The sound of wind whistling past his ears kept sweeping through…
Wait a minute… the wind is howling?!
Ethan immediately opened his eyes wide.
In front of him was the deep blue sea, and he himself was free-falling from the sky!!!
The sensation of weightlessness spread throughout his body.
"What the hell is this?!"
Panicked, Ethan looked around, only to realize that there were no Servants around him. Not even Mash was anywhere to be seen.
How the hell did Doctor Romani calibrate this?!
Ethan immediately tensed his body against the strong wind pressure, trying to open the communication interface on his wristband.
But after several attempts, the band still showed nothing.
Shit, don't tell me this time I'm really done for…
Ethan's brain was running at full speed, staring at the ocean surface getting closer and closer.
He vaguely remembered hearing that professional divers would dive into water in a safe posture, which could reduce the water resistance on the body.
If the posture was wrong, it'd be no different than slamming straight into concrete—definitely dead, and smashed to pieces so badly no one could piece it back together.
Then what was the correct angle and posture?
Wait a second…
Why the hell am I even thinking about unrealistic stuff like this?!
Ethan shook his head hard, immediately dismissing those pointless thoughts.
Rather than thinking about how to fall safely, it'd be better to think about how to save himself.
Maybe I should summon a Servant, or else I'll seriously get wiped out the moment I enter the game, splattered as soon as I hit the water.
Ethan extended his right hand—the one bearing the Command Spell.
"With my Command Spell, I order…"
"Rather than wasting magical energy like that, how about letting me handle it?"
Suddenly, Ethan's hand was grabbed, and right after, a blonde girl appeared beside him.
"Draco?!"
"Why so surprised? Didn't I say I'd guarantee your safety?"
Draco quickly scanned the surroundings, a smile forming on her face.
"Oh? Then let's do it like this!"
She wrapped her left arm around Ethan, and her right arm instantly transformed into a dragon's, powerfully swinging backward!!!
"Whooooosh——————————!!!"
Ethan only felt his entire body being pushed sideways by a powerful force, turning his vertical free fall into a diagonal glide through the air.
"…Hey, is this method of yours… even safe???"
Fighting against the strong wind, Ethan turned to ask Draco.
"Hahahaha, you're really such a coward. Just relax and leave it to me."
Draco, petite and small, held Ethan tightly by the waist, plunging downward at full speed!!!
Ethan felt like he was free-falling inside a weightless elevator, suddenly launched onto a roller coaster that had gone off the rails.
The wind was so strong it made it impossible for him to breathe.
Just as the sea surface was approaching rapidly, Draco didn't panic. Instead, she calmly extended her dragonized right arm forward.
"BOOOOM——————————!!!"
A beam of blood-red light burst from her palm!
Then Ethan suddenly felt his speed sharply drop, and using that recoil force, the two of them plunged straight into the sea.
"Blub blub blub blub————————!!"
Even though he had braced himself, Ethan still couldn't help gulping down a mouthful of bitter, salty seawater.
Moreover, at the very moment they hit the water, he seemed to glimpse a massive dark shadow swimming not far away.
"Gehu~~~"
Ethan thrashed violently to get back to the surface.
"Really, humans are just so fragile."
Beside his ear came Draco's giggling voice, and then his right arm was firmly pulled.
"Grit your teeth and endure it, my Master~"
The moment she finished speaking, Ethan suddenly felt a force lifting him out of the water?!
Before he could even process what was happening, his entire body shot off, skimming right above the water's surface!!!
After flying just above the sea for what felt like ten seconds, or maybe even half a minute, at incredible speed, Ethan's shoulder slammed into something, and his body rolled several times before finally coming to a stop.
"Huff… huff…"
At that moment, Ethan was lying on his back, looking up.
Above his head was the blinding sun, and it felt like all his internal organs had been pulled out, twisted, and shoved back in.
I wanna throw up…
"Ugggh…"
"Hehe, I can't believe the one making such a pathetic face right now is actually the Master of Chaldea—the one who defeated me."
Draco appeared in his line of sight, looking at him with a smug expression.
"Hurry up and thank me. You've survived once again, you know."
"Phew…"
After testing his fingers and confirming he could still move, Ethan immediately tried to stand up.
But what he saw next made him freeze in shock.
In front of him was a beach, and he was lying on the sand!?
Although his entire body was covered in sand, filthy, and sore all over, his limbs were all intact.
Looks like it's thanks to the protective effect of the Mystic Code from Chaldea.
"Hey, hurry up and thank me! If not for me, you'd be permanently buried at the bottom of the ocean by now!!!"
Seeing Ethan not immediately thank her, Draco stomped closer in annoyance.
"Umu, thanks."
Ethan muttered, then started fiddling with his wristband, trying to connect with Chaldea.
But for some unknown reason, the connection wouldn't go through no matter how many times he tried. He had no choice but to wait for Chaldea to fix the system and contact him again.
"You…"
Seeing Ethan's dismissive attitude toward her, Draco's expression darkened slightly, but she quickly burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha, looks like the others have all been separated. You're pathetic—can't even summon a single Servant besides me."
"It's fine, I can use a Command Spell to summon them."
As he spoke, Ethan raised his hand, preparing to activate the Command Spell.
"Hahahaha, you think those cheap Command Spells on your hand are enough? Don't make me laugh!"
Draco's mocking words made Ethan freeze a little.
"This kind of worthless mana crystal doesn't even taste good if you fed it to me. If you knew the location of your targets, maybe it could work. But do you know where they are right now? If you don't believe me, go ahead and try. I'd love to see the look of disappointment on your face."
"..."
Hearing what Draco said, Ethan suddenly remembered.
The Command Spells from Chaldea only regenerate one line per day, and they're a simplified version of real Command Spells…
Because he'd always had a steady supply of mana, he had completely forgotten that the effectiveness of these Command Spells was actually weak.
Damn it, this really is bad!!!
He didn't even know where Mash, Johanna, Jeanne Alter, or Mordred were. All he could see around him was endless ocean—where was he supposed to even begin searching?
"Even if the Command Spell doesn't work, using the Holy Grail could easily achieve that."
Above Draco's left hand, a golden Holy Grail slowly appeared and dropped into her palm.
"——————————!?"
"This Holy Grail was recovered by you and me personally from that time-space Rift. Though it's not as good as my original one, it's more than enough to grant one or two wishes."
"Then—"
"I refuse."
Before Ethan could even finish his sentence, Draco rejected it flatly.
"Hehe, how could I possibly let you get your wish so easily? After all, I'm Beast VI—the enemy of the Human Order."
She stared directly at Ethan and gently licked her lips.
"Those weak Servants are no longer here. Just cling to me quietly and let me enjoy the pitiful state you're in, hehe."
Draco continued her teasing attitude as before, constantly using her words to provoke Ethan.
Though she didn't seem to hold any ill intentions toward him at the moment, just as she said, she was still a Beast.
The kind of being who could "make a move" at any time—so he absolutely couldn't let down his guard.
"System, check points!!!"
Ethan steadied his mind and started calling out to the system internally.
[Beep beep — Scanning, scan successful!]
[Current Livestream Points: 450,000 (with a total of 200,000 already redeemed in gifts).]
[200 pulls left until guaranteed drop.]
[Would you like to begin gacha now?]
Ethan instantly felt reassured.
He was no longer the weak version of himself from before.
With pity in hand, he was invincible!!!
No Heroic Spirits? Then just gacha them on the spot.
What's the big deal?
Just as Ethan was about to throw caution to the wind and use a pity pull—
Suddenly, someone was approaching from behind.
"Who's there!!"
Ethan immediately went on alert, shouting loudly as he turned around.
"Uwaa————————!!!"
Suddenly, a girl with twin ponytails, startled by the shout, lost her balance and fell flat on her butt into the sand.
"Aiyaya, ouch ouch ouch~~~"
Annoyed, the girl loudly scolded Ethan:
"What the heck are you yelling for all of a sudden?!"
"————?!"
Ethan stared in shock at the twin-tailed girl sitting on the ground.
"You're… Himiko?!"
"Huh? You know me???"
The girl sitting on the ground blinked in confusion.
"But you don't look like someone from the village."
"Village???"
Ethan immediately looked off into the distance, and sure enough, he could faintly see a place that looked like a village.
"The fortune-telling said someone would be in trouble around here, so I came out to check—and turns out, there really was someone here."
She stood up, brushed off the sand on her clothes, and began observing Ethan and Draco beside him from head to toe.
"Both you and that girl with you have unfamiliar faces. How did you two end up here?"
Facing the bright-eyed girl in front of him, Ethan quickly gathered his thoughts.
If we're talking about why Himiko—the queen of Yamataikoku—would appear in the year 1573…
Then there's only one possibility.
She's a Servant.
But… did Himiko even show up in Chapter 3? Could this be another system bug???
There were too many questions, but after thinking for a moment, Ethan responded to her:
"Ah, well… we were traveling by ship on the ocean, but got into an accident and ended up drifting here."
After all, he couldn't just spill everything right away.
And more importantly, the girl in front of him was a Servant. It was better to follow her back and observe first.
"Naruhodo, I see. In that case, you two should come rest in the village for a bit. The waves here are strong—it's a little dangerous."
"This place… is dangerous?"
Ethan asked suspiciously.
"Ah well, just come to the village first, we can talk there."
As she spoke, the girl glanced at Draco, who had been silently standing behind Ethan the whole time.
At that moment, Draco had already withdrawn her dragon-transformed arm, now appearing as nothing more than a cute little blonde girl.
"Oh! Is the girl next to you your little sister? She's so adorable!!!"
Himiko looked at Draco with a friendly gaze.
"Little… sister?!"
Ethan froze on the spot.
I'm not, I don't have one, stop spouting nonsense!
If you say it like that, Alaya might send some melee Archer to kill me!!!
"Fufu, that's right, let's go, my onii-chan~~~"
Draco flashed a wicked smile, then clung to Ethan's leg and hid behind him.
"You…!!!"
Judging by her look, she seemed to be thoroughly enjoying Ethan's flustered reaction.
Even now, Ethan had no idea what she was really after.
Could it be that making people uncomfortable is even more entertaining to her than destroying the world—or the Human Order???
"Haiyaa…"
Ethan sighed.
Oh well, it's already absurd enough that I'm relying on a Beast to help save the Human Order—might as well stop thinking too hard about it.
...
Following the carefree and cheerful girl, after walking through a small forest, Ethan finally saw a sizable village appear ahead.
"Hmm~ hmm~ Hmm~~~"
The girl walking ahead seemed to be in high spirits, humming a light tune as she went.
Draco continued to follow closely behind Ethan without saying a word.
Each time Ethan turned back to glance at her, she responded with a devilish grin that completely clashed with her innocent appearance.
It gave the eerie feeling that she was secretly plotting something dark.
"Himiko-sama, you've returned!"
"It's Himiko-sama!"
"Umu, thank you for your hard work, everyone."
The girl in front smiled radiantly like the sun, waving cheerfully to the villagers working along the road.
It was then that Ethan finally noticed—the road was lined with flooded rice paddies?!
The paddies were full of young, green seedlings that looked like rice sprouts, seemingly growing healthily under the sunlight.
"Excuse me!"
Ethan called out to Himiko, who was leading the way ahead.
"Umu? What is it?"
She turned her head, a puzzled look on her face.
"May I ask, are these flooded rice paddies?"
"Yes, they are. Haven't you ever seen rice paddies before? Do you people not eat rice where you're from???"
Himiko looked at Ethan in surprise.
"No, I've seen them before, but… isn't this just a small island?"
There's ocean in every direction—where would they get so much fresh water on an island like this???
Don't tell me… even back in the Yamatai period, they already had technology for growing rice using seawater…
Yamatai technology—far beyond anyone's imagination!!!
"Ah, that? There's plenty of fresh water, no worries at all."
The girl before Ethan put her hands on her hips, beamed brightly, and said proudly:
"After all, I'm very good at calling for rain."