Fate's Sasaki Kojirō had always been one of Arthur's favorite anime characters since he was a child. As a Servant under the Assassin class, his ancient tone and sharp wit made him especially charming in Arthur's eyes.
According to the lore, the catalyst to summon him was the main gate of Ryuudou Temple. Because of the magical restriction placed on him, he could never leave its entrance and was forever assigned as its guardian — respectfully dubbed the "Doorkeeper Old Man."
But truthfully, Sasaki Kojirō wasn't particularly powerful overall. His strength lay entirely in his swordsmanship, which had been honed to the point of reaching the realm of magic.
"Total of 5,950 points, and just the Noble Phantasm 'Tsubame Gaeshi' alone, which represents the peak of his sword skills, costs 5,000 points."
Arthur broke into a cold sweat. Everything was so expensive — he could barely afford anything. After thinking for a moment, he decided to first buy a weapon for self-defense.
He selected Sasaki Kojirō's signature blade: the Monohoshizao.
This sword, also known as Bicchū Aoe, and sometimes inscribed as Bizen Osafune Nagamitsu, was unusually long — five shaku, or roughly 1.5 meters. Its deep blue sheath and hilt were sleek and elegant, while the blade gleamed like frost, exuding a chilling sharpness. Only someone who had mastered secret sword techniques like Sasaki Kojirō could truly wield it — especially for unleashing the technique Tsubame Gaeshi.
Normally, it would be unusable for ordinary people, but Arthur already understood the concept of "swordsmanship," so it didn't matter.
The system deducted 50 points from his balance. The next moment, a 1.5-meter long nodachi with its sheath appeared in Arthur's hand.
In Japanese culture, there is little distinction between "swords" and "katana." So whether one used a katana, a tachi, or any long blade, the user would still be considered a swordsman, and their techniques classified as kenjutsu.
This was precisely why Arthur had chosen "swordsmanship" over "bladesmanship."
The moment the Monohoshizao fell into his hands, Arthur felt a strange connection form between them — a subtle resonance, almost spiritual.
With a thought, the Monohoshizao responded, slowly dissolving into shimmering blue particles. Another thought, and the particles regrouped in his hand, the sword returning to form.
Arthur drew the blade lightly and flicked his wrist. The curved sword arced beautifully through the air, slicing elegant crescents, stirring the breeze.
He turned toward the kotatsu. A flash of the blade — the teacup resting on the table vanished, only to reappear balanced on the sword's spine. The tea inside trembled with a single ripple.
"Hmm, not bad. Even better than I expected. Plus, it has spiritual materialization. I won't need to carry it on my back all day."
He took the teacup, finished the tea, returned it, and willed the Monohoshizao to vanish again.
632 points remained. Now down to 582.
Looking at his remaining points, Arthur decided that rather than boosting his attack or mana, it'd be better to go for a more functional skill: Zonge's Insight, which cost 500 points.
This skill was extraordinary — even if one repeated the same move countless times against an opponent, the accuracy would not decrease. It granted the ability to avoid having one's attack patterns read — essentially, every battle felt like the first time to the enemy.
Ding. Purchase complete.
Arthur calmed himself and quietly felt the subtle changes to his body and perception.
"82 points left. I'll save those for now. Time to get a good rest and prepare for tomorrow's fight against the Zombie Devil."
Having done everything, Arthur went to shower, dried off, then lifted the blanket to go to sleep…
…only to be hit by a strange smell. The center of his bed was noticeably soaked.
Arthur blinked, confused. When had that happened? He didn't remember drinking water in bed — let alone spilling it.
Had he… wet the bed?
Impossible. If he had, Hayakawa Aki would've noticed when she lay here earlier—
"Wait… Aki… she was lying here earlier?"
Arthur froze. He suddenly remembered how Aki had curled up under his blanket earlier, trembling and shaking… her body visibly reacting to something.
"She wasn't… doing that, was she…?"
Then he recalled the system notification that had rung in his head earlier:
[Ding~ Detected Hayakawa Aki's euphoric emotion! System rewards 50 points!]
That announcement had sounded far more passionate and excited than usual.
"No way… could it be?"
Arthur reached out and touched the damp spot, pressing two fingers together. As he slowly pulled them apart, a glistening, viscous string formed between them.
He brought it to his nose.
Yup. Smelled like the ocean.
He licked it.
"…Hmm… not bad. She's probably been eating a lot of fruit lately. Apples, in particular."
---
Somewhere in Tokyo
The sky darkened. On a quiet street in a rural town, a short-haired blonde woman trudged home, listless and tired.
Beside her walked a strange little dog.
Her golden hair was messy and wild, giving off a feral charm, but her face was pure and delicate. One of her eyes was covered with a black eyepatch. Even so, the remaining eye showed deep exhaustion.
She wore a simple white shirt with denim shorts. Her long, snowy legs were bare. Despite the chilly weather, she only wore a tattered green coat that ended awkwardly at her waist, giving her a worn-down look.
The dog beside her was even stranger — orange-colored, and not quite dog-like at all. A chainsaw jutted out from its head, complete with a black handle, and its tail was a long chainsaw cord.
—BEEP! BEEP BEEP BEEP!—
A car honked behind her, slowly pulling up. The window rolled down, revealing a woman with a mischievous grin, a half-smoked cigarette between her fingers.
"Hey, stinky Denji. Swallow this cigarette, and I'll give you 100 yen."
Denji's eyes lit up.
"Really?! Then here I go!"
He grabbed the cigarette, tilted his head back, and swallowed it whole.
The woman inside burst out laughing.