Chapter 48: How to Use the Holy Grail
It wasn't just that they could no longer eat delicious Chinese, Japanese, or Western-style meals every day without repeats in the cafeteria.
Ever since Heroic Spirit Emiya disappeared, every human and Servant in Chaldea clearly felt the changes in daily life.
When they woke up in the middle of the night unable to sleep and hungry, there was no longer a handsome guy who would appear to make them a late-night snack.
The glass mirrors no longer sparkled. Bookshelves and desks now gathered dust.
Trash thrown on the floor in the morning didn't magically disappear by the time they returned from a day's work. Clothes tossed onto the bed or sofa no longer got automatically washed, dried, and folded.
Someone even went to Da Vinci and asked, "The toilet paper and hand soap in the bathroom ran out a week ago and still haven't been replaced. Did the automatic cleaning familiars break down?"
"There was never anything that convenient in the first place, okay?!" Da Vinci roared in response.
Without realizing it, everyone in Chaldea had already been spoiled into becoming life-inept dependents by a single man.
The staff, who had once thought, "Even if we lose contact with the outside world, it's fine as long as everyone in Chaldea is happy," now often found themselves nostalgic for the tastes of home-cooked meals and their families.
So when word got out that a boy who resembled Emiya in many ways was coming to Chaldea, almost everyone — except for a few Servants — came running.
They looked at the boy with eager eyes, hoping to eat a meal made by him. Of course, if he could just stay, that'd be even better.
"All right, all right, things like cooking can wait until after business is done. If there are any Servants skilled in 'Item Construction,' please come over. Shirou, come with me," Da Vinci clapped her hands and gave instructions. Then she brought the boy into her workshop.
"Although we can't have you possessed by or summon Emiya, let's discuss customizing a combat-use spiritual foundation for you," Da Vinci said.
"Eh? You can actually create Heroic Spirits?" Shirou asked in shock.
"Well, under normal circumstances, of course not. But this kind of case isn't unheard of.
If we just want a spiritual foundation that can freely activate a Reality Marble, it is possible to create one. Using this!" Da Vinci said as she reached below her collarbone and above her abdomen, revealing a swirling vortex and pulling out a golden, glittering cup.
This was a Holy Grail she had secretly sealed away. But when the time comes, it must be used.
Da Vinci had no hesitation about that.
"Wait! Didn't you say earlier that all the Holy Grails were already used to power the interdimensional gateway?" Shirou interrupted, asking in confusion.
Da Vinci rolled her eyes slightly and smiled. "Ahaha… think about it. We had over a dozen Grails, right? I figured the power supply was already enough, so I kept one just in case. Geniuses always prepare for unforeseen future variables, you know. And now, it's useful!"
"…Really?" Shirou looked at Da Vinci skeptically. Could it be she was keeping one for herself?
"Boys who nag too much won't be popular," Da Vinci replied with a smile.
"But is it really okay to use this omnipotent wishing device just to make me stronger?" Shirou asked, a bit conflicted. Getting a Holy Grail so easily made the whole thing feel unreal.
"It's fine, it's fine. Just return it later. We've got more than ten. Giving one to you or to another Servant makes no difference — and there's no better use for it anyway," Da Vinci said with a dismissive wave.
"Thanks," Shirou said sincerely as he carefully took the Grail.
"No need to be so formal. This isn't the same as the legendary wish-granting device you need seven of. It's just a massive magic power crystal. The exact use depends on how you figure out the right method," Da Vinci explained.
Shirou nodded thoughtfully. "So if Mash wished to the Holy Grail to become a lucky master with maxed-out Servants, the Grail would just give her an infinite recharge of Saint Quartz, and she'd spend half a year slowly rolling until she got what she wanted, right?"
"Exactly! That's the idea! There's no such thing as guaranteed SSRs from a ten-pull. The bond between Master and Servant isn't built on money, it's built on fate," Da Vinci nodded repeatedly in satisfaction.
"Precisely! It's a giant battery! If it were me, I'd use it to remove an entire landmass from the timeline. Boy, what you need is knowledge! And remember, direct current is justice!" roared a burly lion-headed man.
"No! What's important is determining a method to carry out your wish and a firm faith!
Boy, as long as your faith is strong enough, even dead saints can be summoned! Now then, let me explain the conditions for joining the Jeanne Fan Club. Together, we shall summon all the Jeannes!" a gloomy man with bulging eyes said with a strange smile.
"Eh? Jeanne? As in Joan of Arc?" Shirou asked with confusion, sensing the man gave off fanatic cultist vibes.
"Jeanne is Jeanne! Pure Jeanne! Holy Jeanne! The Jeanne who burned all of France to ashes! There's the military flag Jeanne in white uniform, the black-armored dragon Jeanne, and even the Santa loli Jeanne! If you join the fan club now, you'll get a full magazine series documenting Jeanne's daily life and a special bonus: a super rare JK-uniform Jeanne photo!"
Jeanne Fan Club
The bulging-eyed man opened a magazine to show the boy various poses of Jeanne, then pulled out a photo of a young girl and tried to tempt him.
"Uh… aren't you contradicting yourself a little?" Shirou quietly took two steps back to distance himself, feeling like his mind was being corrupted just by hearing the man speak.
Just now, he had a dangerous thought like, "Black Jeanne is amazing! Maybe trading a Grail for her isn't so bad…"
"Gilles de Rais! Stop corrupting the new guy! I think as long as you train and get stronger the way you want, that's enough. In the end, training is something you decide for yourself. The Holy Grail is just a kind of accelerator for that process," said a man with deep blue hair in a tight blue suit, holding an oak staff.
Shirou looked at him in surprise. "Cu Chulainn? Aren't you supposed to be a Lancer?"
Caster-class Cu Chulainn said, "Have we met before? Though I do feel more comfortable with a spear, I'm a Druid now."
"No, I think you're actually more approachable like this," Shirou replied.
"Is that so? Hahaha! Well, anyway, let's hear what you've got in mind," Cu Chulainn said with a laugh.
Shirou nodded and began explaining the kind of fighting style he wanted.
"I actually just want to re-manifest the mental world I've already completed, and fight using a Reality Marble."
In his past life, his origin was "sword," and due to certain opportunities, his attribute also became "sword," forming the Reality Marble known as Unlimited Blade Works.
However, after being reincarnated into a world without any magic or mystery, his new body naturally didn't carry the "sword" attribute anymore.