Learning how to activate my Magic Circuits...
That's what Lady Ava said, but it turns out my circuits are already active, especially the ones behind my eyes. It seems they activated when my eyes changed into the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception.
In the end, Lady Ava brings me back to the real world since there's nothing more she needs to do with me for now. She didn't expect my Magic Circuits to already be active.
Waking up in the middle of the night, I find myself back in my room. It seems someone carried me here when I fell asleep.
I'm in the same room as Yua, which is one of the reasons we're so close. I glance over and see her sleeping soundly, her soft snores filling the quiet room.
"Want a drink..." I mumble, my throat dry.
A few minutes later, I'm sitting at my small desk, a glass of water in hand.
"Hahhh, this is too much to take in," I sigh.
Since I'm already awake, I decide to continue my plan from earlier to write down everything I know about the Fate/Zero anime story so I won't forget when it starts.
If I remember right, the story begins three years from now, with Kiritsugu, Irisviel, and Saber arriving in Fuyuki.
I don't think I need to get involved, though. Magi in the Holy Grail War always try to hide themselves so normal people won't discover them and make the Mystery disappear from this world.
And the winner will be Kiritsugu, who destroys the Holy Grail since it's already corrupted by Angra Mainyu, summoned in the previous Grail War.
"Hmm, I don't know what happened after Kiritsugu destroyed the Grail, but I hope nothing bad came from it," I murmur to myself, biting the end of my pencil.
I should ask Lady Ava later for more information. I'm sure a cup filled with the mana of five Servants being destroyed isn't just nothing.
"Well, if nothing happens, I can just laze around and focus on my future. I don't want to do 9-to-9 work again in this life," I say, leaning back in my chair.
"It's not like I want to get involved with the Grail War. There's no way in hell I can kill people like those Magi. I'm just a normal person," I say, laughing to myself.
So, I spend almost an hour writing down everything I remember about Fate/Zero.
It's been five years, so I'm sure I forgot some parts, but the important stuff needs to be written.
"Finally finished!" I say, looking at my diary with a satisfied grin.
All I need to do now is live my life in this world.
"Oh, right, I almost forgot!" I gasp, grabbing my pencil again.
Hurriedly, I start writing, this time using a whole page for the things I almost forgot.
There are two things I absolutely have to do, no matter what, now that I know I'm reincarnated in this world: save Tohsaka Sakura from her fate and at the very least i want to see Gilgamesh once.
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A month has passed since I found out I'm reincarnated in Fate/Zero.
That also means it's been a month since I met Lady Ava, and I'm not gonna lie-my impression of her gets lower every time we meet.
At first, I thought she was the most beautiful and elegant person I'd ever seen, but the more she opens her mouth, the more annoying she becomes.
"Rikka, concentrate! If you don't want to use a chant, you need to focus," Lady Ava says, her voice sharp.
Right now, she's standing in front of me while I'm sitting on the ground in her flower garden, meditating to use my Magic Circuits.
I'm still not used to them. Every time I try, my whole body feels like it's being tickled or tingling, so for the past month, I've been meditating to get my body used to it.
But damn, I suck at this meditating stuff. Like, who can sit still for hours doing nothing?
Twack! "Ow!" I yelp as I feel a smack on my head.
"You're still not concentrating. Your bad habit of thinking too much is showing," Lady Ava says, crossing her arms.
I rub my head, which kinda hurts after her smack. "Sorry... I mean, if you're just sitting here with nothing to do, you can't help but think about random stuff!"
"Then do you want to give up learning magecraft? Should we start with a sword instead? Want to learn to fight like her?" Lady Ava says, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
She's talking about teaching me sword skills, probably because it's easier for her. She's used to it after years of training some other student she refuses to tell me about.
"No! I prefer magecraft, thank you very much!" I say quickly, waving my hands.
After thinking about it, becoming a mage is way better for my future. As long as no one finds out, I can use it to my advantage later~
"We should stop for now. It's almost time for you to wake up, and we shouldn't tire your mind while you're sleeping," Lady Ava says, walking over to me. She bends down, picks me up like I'm a kid-well, I guess I am-and holds me gently.
"Did I ever tell you how sweet you smell?" Lady Ava says, carrying me to the usual spot where we always take a break in her flower garden.
"Yes, you've said that a few times already..." I mumble, rolling my eyes.
She says it's because she's half succubus or something, and she can smell something sweet from me. I don't know where it comes from, so I just ignore it since she's the only one who notices it.
"Did I ever tell you to call me Big Sis?" she asks, her voice all teasing again.
"Yes, you did, like, a million times already..." I sigh.
She keeps telling me to call her Big Sister instead of Lady Ava. At first, I didn't mind, but her personality doesn't exactly scream "big sister" vibes.
"Maybe if you actually acted like a big sister, I'd call you that," I say, crossing my arms.
"Ehhh? But I'm totally acting like a big sister!" Lady Ava whines, rubbing her cheek against mine. "I'm teaching you everything I know about magecraft and even how to use your Magic Circuits!"
And this is exactly why I don't want to call her Big Sister. She acts more like a clingy little sister, doing stuff like this every single day.
"St-stop it!" I push her cheeks away with both hands, squirming.
After that, we sit down on the ground, surrounded by a circle of flowers. Lady Ava starts her teaching again, pointing out what I did wrong during my training and how to improve, her voice finally sounding a bit more serious.
Later that afternoon, around 4 p.m., I decide to leave the orphanage and head to the park nearby.
It's been a while since I've gone there, ever since my Mystic Eyes awakened. I've been so focused on practicing magecraft that I haven't had time to visit.
I'm going alone today because the other kids are still doing their chores, and Yua's stuck helping around the house.
I don't have to do chores since I often help out anyway, so I decided to take a break at the children's park.
It's also been a while since I saw her. I wonder if she's still gloomy or not.
When I arrive at the park, I see a bunch of kids playing while their parents watch them.
"Oh, Rikka, you're here alone?" one of the mothers greets me with a warm smile.
"Hello, Aunty. Yeah, I'm alone today," I reply.
"I see, I see. Be careful, okay? Don't go home too late. You can play with the others over there," she says, pointing toward the kids with a kind smile.
"Yes, Aunty," I answer, returning her smile before heading to the swings.
The swings are my favorite, but someone's using them right now, and it's not the person I'm looking for. So, I walk deeper into the park.
She likes to be alone for some reason, so I always find her in the quietest part of the park where not many kids go.
"Ah, there she is!" My guess is right. I spot her sitting at the edge of a slide, facing the other way.
I run toward her, planning to surprise her.
"Manaka, here you are!" I shout, wrapping my arms around her in a hug. We're about the same weight, so it's easy to do.
Her name's Manaka Sajyou, and she's got this really unique look-light blonde hair and pale blue eyes.
She says it's because she's half English, which explains the blonde hair, but it makes her look so cute, like a doll.
I met her a few months ago when everyone at the orphanage went on a picnic together. In the park, I saw her standing alone, staring at a butterfly on her finger.
At first, I tried talking to her, asking why she was alone, but she ignored me no matter how much I said. Her face looked like she was super bored.
Nothing I did got her to talk, so I started playing around with her face because she's just so cute. But then, her eyes locked onto mine, staring deep, like she was seeing through me.
It was honestly kinda scary, like she was a ghost or something. But then she just asked my name.
Since then, we've kept meeting up, and after months of trying, we became friends.
I look at Manaka, still hugging her, and gently touch her cheek. "I'm sorry, Manaka, I haven't come here in a while. I've been really busy the last month," I say, hoping she'll turn to me.
But Manaka doesn't answer. She keeps staring off in the other direction, her light blue eyes fixed on something.
I feel a pang of guilt. "Manaka? Are you mad? I'm really sorry, I was so busy..." I trail off feeling bad because i know she doesn't have any friends besides me.
After a few quiet seconds, Manaka finally speaks, her voice soft but sharp. "Thirty-three days, seven hours, twenty-two minutes, and forty-six seconds. That's how long you haven't come here."
I freeze, my hand still on her cheek. How does she know the exact time like that? Her doll-like face doesn't even twitch, but I can tell she's upset.
"I'm really busy during that time... I'm sorry, alright? Is there something you want me to do to forgive me?" I ask, feeling worse.
At first, nothing happened. Then suddenly, Manaka turned toward me and stared at me.
"Where?" she asked, her tone really similar to when she asked my name months ago. She's really mad at me...
But the problem is, I can't tell her about magecraft or even my eyes, as that's gonna break the rules that Lady Ava told me. Thankfully, I already prepared an excuse for this.
"Last month, I went to hospital because I went unconscious. Nothing bad happened, though, I'm just dizzy, and after coming back home, I got told to rest. Then so many things happened, and I just got free time now," I said to her with a small laugh.
After saying that, I suddenly feel like it was a bad idea. Why's it getting cold all of a sudden? Goosebumps prickle across my entire body.
"Sick? Are you sick, Rikka? Why didn't you tell me you're sick? I can do something if you're sick," Manaka says, her voice flat, like she's reading a script. I can't tell if she's actually worried or not.
"I'm fine, I'm fine! You don't need to worry. I'm already better, see? I'm here and not stuck at home!" I say, trying to sound cheerful.
She just stares at me, her eyes locked on mine, like she's studying them. Is she looking at my eyes? Did my Mystic Eyes activate by accident? No, I don't feel anything weird, so they're definitely still normal.
Then, out of nowhere, Manaka reaches out with her left hand, touching the right side of my cheek before sliding her hand up to my forehead.
"Manaka, what are you doing?" I ask, leaning back a little.
"Checking," she says, her voice still flat, her eyes not leaving mine.
I don't know what she's checking, but it's probably my forehead to see if I have a fever since I mentioned being sick. After a few seconds, she finally lets go and nods at me. "I understand, but if you can't come here, tell me first so I can go to you."
I nod back. "Sure, if I don't come, you can just visit me at the orphanage."
"Anyway, let's play! Got any ideas what to do?" I ask, trying to lighten the mood.
"I want to hear more of your stories," is all she says, her voice still calm but her eyes bright with interest.
The stories she's talking about are just manhwa or manga plots I remember from my old world. For some reason, she loves them, and that's how we got closer in the first place.
"Sure, I don't mind. Then I'm gonna tell you about a story where someone reincarnates as a little princess ignored by her own father the king"