I want to just drift through life in Type-Moon.

Page 168

After hearing these words, Chengzi looked at Ling with a strange expression. "I can now confirm that you and that person are really not in cahoots."

"Hmm, sure, sure." Ling rolled her eyes in annoyance, then raised her chin. "Now can we talk business as business people?"

"Of course, I need a lot of money to prepare for my new workshop recently. But my price is not low, and even without examining the little girl's body, I know that this is a long and complicated project with a very low success rate. So even if I don't succeed in the end, you will still have to pay the money you owe."

"Hearing you say that, I suddenly have the feeling that I am the meat on the chopping board, and you are holding a cleaver, looking at the meat and preparing to chop it up." Ling's analogy was very vivid. After all, this Orange didn't know him. In fact, even now, Ling still didn't know how the Orange in the post-apocalyptic world knew him. Moreover, that Orange seemed to have a very high level of affection for him. As for the one in front of him, this was the real, original Aozaki Orange as a [Magician], so he couldn't expect her to have any special feelings for him.

Now the two are practically complete strangers. This Aozaki Touko only treats him as a business partner, so she can rip him off without any hesitation.

"I'll pay $300 million upfront as research fees. This child will stay with me for a week. Any problems?" Orange asked, cigarette in hand, stating her price directly.

"Huh, are you talking business so casually? At least invite us in for a cup of tea and we can talk slowly, right?" Ling was really surprised this time. He never expected that Chengzi would talk to him about such an important matter right here. As for the amount, he was completely unmoved.

On the one hand, the amount was so large that he had no concept of it; he had never seen so much money in his two lives. On the other hand, he was not the one who would ultimately pay, so he didn't care.

"There's nothing in there except a few tables and chairs, and the water and electricity aren't even connected yet." Orange looked at Ling indifferently, as if she found him troublesome.

"Is this the Hall of Garan or Devil.May.Cry?" Ling suppressed a thought that only he knew.

"--Galan Hall, this name is quite suitable. I was thinking about what to name it after opening the workshop and agency together these past few days, and it seems I have it now." Orange's eyes flashed, feeling that this name was to her liking, so she immediately decided to name the agency "Galan Hall".

Aozaki Touko's eyes also flashed in Chaldea, then she showed a nostalgic expression, "Garan no Doraemon—ha, that brat really did something unnecessary, and what's this Devil.May.Cry? Devil May Cry?"

“…, your place here is originally called Garan Hall.” Ling pursed her lips and said softly, as if she had inadvertently plagiarized something that should have belonged to Orange.

"You mean I was going to rename this place Garan Hall anyway?" Orange understood what Ling meant and suddenly felt a little depressed. Although it wasn't to the point of being unhappy, this feeling made her already irritable mood even more agitated. So she threw the half-smoked cigarette on the ground and stomped it out roughly.

"Give me the deposit and your contact information first, then you can go back. Also, don't tell me you don't have that much money right now. If you do, then this transaction doesn't need to continue, because I'm in a bad mood." Orange irritably ran her fingers through the hair behind her head and shook it, trying to cool her head off, while simultaneously dismissing them.

"Wait a moment." Ling didn't care about Orange's attitude, because from his perspective, Orange's attitude was already quite good. After all, Kiritsugu Emiya's behavior was really problematic before, and it was fortunate that Orange didn't order Beo to wipe them all out.

Furthermore, he had experienced pure kindness from Touko in the post-apocalyptic world, and strictly speaking, his connection with Touko Aozaki was the deepest. Therefore, he didn't care at all about Touko Aozaki's rude attitude.

Orange and Olga watched as Ling led Ilya to the maids who had fainted earlier due to Beo's murderous aura, and then gently patted their cheeks to wake them up.

After the maids stood up again, he began to communicate with them, pointing to himself and Ilya, and finally pointing to Orange and saying something.

Orange waited listlessly, while Olga, who hadn't kept up with Ling, looked at her with a troubled expression, hesitant to speak. Only Beo hummed a tune happily as he looked at the moon. There was no communication between the three of them, and the atmosphere was a bit awkward.

Finally, Olga couldn't help but ask, "Excuse me, Ms. Aozaki Touko?"

Orange turned her head and looked at Olga with a cold gaze. "Is there something you need?"

For Orange, being given the sealing order meant she had to be wary of any magician. Although Ling and Olga claimed to be from another timeline, she couldn't be sure if they were deceiving her, even if the possibility was small, she still couldn't let her guard down.

"—You really have no impression of Ling at all?" Olga hesitated for a moment, but still asked the question that had been hidden in her heart.

"What do you mean by that?" Orange was surprised that Olga wanted to ask such a question, and she looked at Olga with some astonishment.

"Because this is the first time I've seen Ling be so friendly and unguarded with someone, I wanted to ask him to find out, since this place seems to be his past." Olga looked into Orange's eyes, trying to see something, but when she found only surprise in Orange's eyes, she saw a look of anxiety on her face.

"--If I heard correctly, you two are Master and Servant, right? Don't you even know your own Heroic Spirit's past?" Orange looked at Olga incredulously. If that was the case, then this Master-Servant relationship was quite intriguing.

On the Chaldea side, both the investigation team and the other staff members were looking forward to Olga's next answer, because Ling's past was still a mystery, and Olga, as his Master, seemed to know something.

“Ling is not a Heroic Spirit on the [Seat], he admitted it himself. According to him, he was—” Olga stopped there, looking at the bracelet on her wrist that showed a green light. She knew that Chaldea had been observing them, so she was conflicted about whether to continue.

Unlike Ling, who speaks his mind without any reservations, she doesn't care whether what he says has been filtered or whether it's true. At least he doesn't worry about the consequences of saying those things.

However, she couldn't do that. If Chaldea found out that her summoning was fake, that Ling was deliberately sent to Chaldea, and that her previous contract with him was just a hindrance, wouldn't Chaldea look down on her? She had no authority before, and if this was known, how would they view her in the future?

Chapter 396 Oranges, Oranges, and More Oranges (Part 4)

"No, it's nothing. I'll investigate that kind of thing myself." As she said this, Olga remembered the open space that Ling had gone to with her the day before yesterday. If she wasn't mistaken, that was probably where Ling's old home used to be.

"Although your servant was quite friendly to me, I'm sure I don't know him, and that attitude is really bothering me." Orange looked at Ling whispering with the maids with a helpless expression, so when Olga brought up this topic, she felt she had to say something.

“Just as your servant said, Beo abandoned me as soon as you came here. I am now the one to be sealed, but you brought a magician from this world to find me. My hiding place may be exposed, and the seal executor is very likely to come knocking. Without Beo, even I have to put in a lot of effort to deal with those guys. This loss is extremely heavy for me.”

She glared at Beo, who was looking at her with innocent eyes, and said, "You have no integrity at all, you really are an ingrate!"

Beo smiled nonchalantly, "Who told you to be so boring, Orange, while that person seems so interesting to me? So of course I'd dump you!"

Looking at Beo, who showed absolutely no shame, Orange felt a surge of anger. "Get out! Your new master is over there, don't get in my way!"

“If it’s a matter of the seal designation, you don’t need to worry too much.” Olga considered it for a moment and felt that there was no problem in bringing it up. “Your seal designation will be lifted in the future, so you just need to get through this period.”

"Huh?" Orange stared at Olga in astonishment. "Do you know what you're saying? My sealing assignment was strongly recommended to the Execution Department by my unscrupulous teacher. I don't know how popular I am in the Clock Tower. Is there anyone who can help me remove the monarch's recommendation? Is it you? -- Wait, I forgot to ask, what time is it in your world line right now?"

When Orange heard Olga say that her seal would be lifted, she was initially skeptical, since this had never happened before. However, when she thought about Olga's identity—one of the twelve future monarchs of the Clock Tower—the credibility of the claim began to waver.

“I don’t know the details, but I heard that at the end of the world, the Bureau of Arcane Judgment and the Observatory of Calion was vandalized, and the seals on several people, including you, were released at that time.” Olga’s tone was full of sighs. Even she found that incident amazing. It didn’t matter what the reason was for that person to vandalize the Bureau of Arcane Judgment. What mattered was that the person did it and got away with it without any consequences. It was a blatant slap in the face to the Clock Tower.

But when you think about that person's identity, everything seems perfectly reasonable, because no one in the entire Clock Tower has the authority to punish that person. They even have to avoid him when they see him. Smashing the Secret Tribunal is already a minor matter. Even if the entire Clock Tower were smashed, it might still end up being forgotten.

"Who is so powerful that they even destroyed the Bureau of Secret Ritual?" Upon hearing that the seal on her body might be lifted in the future, Orange's mood immediately improved. Then, with a mix of schadenfreude and gratitude, she asked Olga about the outcome regarding that powerful person.

After all, according to common sense, the unknown person who did such a big thing must have a miserable end. Although she was the beneficiary, it didn't mean she wouldn't call that unknown person an idiot.

Olga stared intently at Aozaki Touko with a strange look in her eyes.

Orange was stunned for a moment, then pointed at herself and said, "No way, could that amazing person be me? Impossible. Although I consider myself very powerful, I couldn't possibly be powerful enough to take down the entire Sealing Designated Execution Department. Could it be that I had some kind of extraordinary encounter in the years that followed, causing my abilities to increase dramatically and making me an invincible being?"

Orange on the Chaldea side shook her head and chuckled as she watched herself being so narcissistic. Waver couldn't help but turn his head away, his shoulders trembling slightly as he suppressed a laugh.

"Hey, I'm still here. Can you please not be so disrespectful? And is your sense of humor really that low?" Orange noticed Waver's behavior and complained helplessly. This feeling of having one's embarrassing past exposed was really shameful. She even had the urge to disconnect Chaldea from the other side.

Although it was supposedly to prove that Chaldea had a way of keeping track of their strengths, this kind of surveillance was utterly devoid of human rights. Moreover, she knew what the forensic department was up to. Simply being able to observe Olga Marie was not enough. If that was all they could do, then Chaldea's struggles were meaningless.

Thinking of this, Orange turned to look at Leonardo da Vinci, who was still smiling. Orange didn't know if he was confident or hadn't noticed Chaldea's dangerous situation. However, Orange didn't need to worry about that. She supported Chaldea's monitoring of Olga because she wanted to find out about Ling. Since Qingzi had come to remind her, Ling's existence was very important.

"No, I'm sorry, but it was really funny to see you like that." Weber and Orange had a fairly good relationship. Although they didn't interact much, they had collaborated a few times, so this little thing was harmless.

"Oh dear, I should really write this down if I can make you smile." Orange rubbed her fingers together, feeling her craving for a cigarette return, but she didn't have many cigarettes left. After thinking for a moment, she suppressed the urge to smoke another one.

"Please don't, I'm extremely weak. It's not something to be happy about to be remembered by a Grand Rank magician like you," Waver sighed.

"—But if you want to become stronger, there are actually many ways, right?" Orange knew what Waver meant. Indeed, Waver's existence was completely out of place with all the other monarchs. As far as she knew, the other clock tower monarchs were all incredible monsters, but Waver was ridiculously weak.

Lord El-Melloi II (Wave Velvet) has the Magic Class "Fes".

Although it's technically a fourth rank according to the general algorithm, this title comes with special conditions. Simply put, it's an honorary rank bestowed upon special skills or achievements that require evaluation, unlike the abilities of ordinary magicians. Lord El-Melloi II only barely achieved this rank because of his students' abilities. According to his adopted sister, his actual skill level is roughly below the fifth rank (Cause).

“I don’t have the kind of awareness that makes me inhuman,” Weber replied after a moment of silence.

Grey looked at her teacher worriedly, when Yad suddenly spoke up: "Hahaha, what a coward! You're so weak, you're completely helpless without Grey's protection. Are you deliberately not getting stronger so that my little Grey can stay by your side forever? I never thought you were this kind of person—"

"Yard!" Before Yad could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Gray, who blushed and shook the long, thin cage in her hand with all her might. After Yad begged for mercy, she covered it with her cloak again.

"Oh dear, it seems being weak isn't all bad after all," Orange said jokingly, before turning her gaze back to the big screen.

On the other side of the screen, a new development had occurred. Olga shook her head at her other self and continued to look at her with that strange gaze.

Orange wasn't stupid; she finally understood the meaning behind Olga's look and murmured incredulously, "No way..."

Olga nodded, looking at Aozaki Touko with envy. "Yes, the one who smashed the Secret Tribunal was the Fifth Magician, your sister Aozaki Aoko."

"No, no, no, how could this be? What reason would she have to do this?" Orange seemed unwilling to believe it. She kept shaking her head, her trembling hands unconsciously trying to cover her face.

“I don’t know about this level. After all, no one has the courage to ask that person for the reason. The Secret Tribunal may know something, but that’s all old news to me, so I didn’t investigate. Besides, I only remembered this matter after it was mentioned to me.” Olga looked at Aozaki Touko’s ugly expression and didn’t know how to explain.

Fortunately, Ling had already come over with several maids at this time.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." After politely apologizing to Chengzi, Ling pointed to the four maids behind her. "I just asked them, and Einzbern has enough funds to pay in full at once."

Orange didn't answer; she was still in shock.

Ling gave her a strange look, then asked Olga, "What were you talking about just now?"

"I told Miss Aozaki that her seal will be broken in the future," Olga replied.

"Hmm, I see. Then it's not surprising that she reacted like that. After all, in her eyes, having experienced the Night of the Mage, almost killing her sister and almost being killed by her sister, they wouldn't do anything for each other, right? Heh, the ethical drama of the magic family. The two sisters clearly care about each other so much, but they end up killing each other because of that unrealistic thing. It was definitely retribution that Aozaki Oki was killed by Fumie Eiri in the previous generation." Ling muttered.

Chengzi was startled awake by Ling's words. She looked at Ling with complicated eyes, "I didn't expect you to know such a hidden thing. The rumors outside are that I killed my grandfather. Just how close were you to me in the past?"

“Ah ha,” Ling looked at Aozaki Touko with a complicated expression, “Talking about being close is giving me too much credit. To be honest, the total time I’ve spent with you hasn’t even exceeded seventy-two hours. I’m also very curious why you in the post-apocalyptic world are so close to me. Logically speaking, apart from the you in the very first world, you shouldn’t be able to know me in any other timeline.”

"Wait, what does this mean?" Aozaki Touko pressed her temple. "How many versions of me have you met?"

"—If you're included, that makes you the third." Ling answered the question obediently. Then Olga and Orange exchanged a glance. Olga gave Orange a wink, and although it was their first meeting, Orange understood what that look meant.

She hesitated for a moment, then said softly, "Can you tell me about it?"

“No, not.” Ling said expressionlessly.

“Then I’ll listen attentively—” Orange began, following her usual train of thought, but then she paused abruptly, as if realizing what she had just said. “Why?”

“Because that has nothing to do with business. All you want to do with me is a simple transaction. There’s no need to know so much, right?” After she took the initiative to ask about his past, Ling finally decided how to face this Aozaki Touko. The Aozaki Touko in the post-apocalyptic world had shared memories with him, which is why Ling finally chose to accept her back then, even though she lied to him once and didn’t tell him the truth. But the way that Aozaki Touko looked at him wasn’t like looking at a stranger. This Aozaki Touko, on the other hand, completely treated him like a stranger.

This is the key difference. He knows that there are countless similar existences in parallel worlds, but they are only similar. Those minor differences might be negligible for others, but not for him.

Not every worldline has him—this is the truth that Ling has come to know. Whether it was secretly using Chaldea's facilities to search for records about himself while he was in Chaldea, or the confirmation in this worldline, the facts have clearly told him the truth.

“You are someone who has nothing to do with my past. I don’t deny that you are Aozaki Touko, but you are not the Aozaki Touko I know.” Ling stated a reason that made Touko feel very awkward in a flat tone. “In that case, there is not much relationship between us.”

"—That's true, but aren't you afraid that such an answer will anger me, making me refuse to do business with you, or simply not put in the effort?" Orange also recovered from her astonishment and looked at Ling with a detached gaze for the first time.

“I don’t think anyone dislikes money, and no businessman dislikes being ripped off, right?” Ling teased with a mischievous smile.

“That’s true, after all, I really need money right now.” Orange extended her hand to Ling and said seriously, “Let’s get acquainted. My name is Aozaki Orange, and I am a puppeteer under the seal designation.”

Ling naturally grasped Orange's hand and replied, "My name is Ling. As you can see, I am an ordinary person, and my current profession is Olga Marie's servant."

The two introduced themselves again as if it were their first meeting, and the slightly strange atmosphere between them before dissipated completely during the handshake.

Olga glared unhappily at the two holding hands. On one hand, even when facing Aozaki Touko, Ling still refused to talk about her past. On the other hand, seeing Ling touching other women, even if the woman was older than her, still made her jealous.

"Then let's discuss the details of our future cooperation." Ling released Chengzi's hand without the slightest hesitation; in his heart, Chengzi had finally become a stranger.

Chapter 397 Oranges, Oranges, and More Oranges (Part 5)

“Indeed, after all, words are meaningless. Even if I agree, you won’t feel at ease.” Orange withdrew her hand. When she touched Ling’s body just now, she realized that the other party was not a spirit, but a real being with a body. This confirmed that Olga’s statement that Ling was not a heroic spirit was true.

"I still trust your credibility," Ling said after a pause.

"No need for flattery, just tell me your specific requirements." Orange waved her hand, looking impatient.

“Olga and I may only be in this world for half a year, so if possible, I would like you to resolve Ilya’s problem within six months.” Ling pushed Ilya forward, placing her in front of Orange.

"This is a bit difficult. After all, this is something with an unimaginable level of completion and rarity. To figure out the problem and solve it in half a year is simply impossible for me with my abilities and what I have at hand." Orange knew very well what she could do and what she couldn't do.

At this stage, it is not difficult to simply figure out the body of this android, but to solve the problem of her lifespan, we must analyze the technology, methods and even modification routes used to create this girl. Otherwise, even she may have her body collapse due to the lack of conditions.

This is much more difficult than making a new body for the little girl; after all, completely replicating an identical body is much simpler than understanding and recreating it from scratch.

"There's no need to worry about resources, or rather, money."

Ling looked at the maid beside her: "You can guarantee that all of Einzbern's resources are under your control."

The maids exchanged glances, and one of them stepped forward, seemingly chosen as their representative: "Yes, Lord Ling, the patriarch Yubustakuhaid von Einzbern is now under our control, and the entire Einzbern belongs to you."

“I have no interest in this kind of poison disguised as sugar, but you mean I can use everything Einzbern, right?”

“Yes, Lord Ling, except for special cases, all Einzberns will obey your orders. Even if you asked us to die now, we would do it without hesitation.” The maid had a devout smile on her face, as if she would really die at Ling’s command.

"—So, you androids..." Ling frowned in annoyance, but he quickly put the maid's words aside and turned to look at Aozaki Touko. "As you can see, the Einzbern family can pay, so the funding problem is solved. Hmm, to speed things up, Miss Touko, how about you learn some of the Einzbern android technologies? After all, if you have those technologies, Ilya's problem will be easier to solve, right?"

Orange stared in disbelief at the scene before her. If she hadn't seen and heard it with her own eyes, she would have doubted whether she was dreaming. It was as if Ling was casually tossing her something worthless, trying to reveal to her the secret of a magic family lineage that had lasted for thousands of years and was even related to magicians. Didn't he know what this meant?

Orange looked at Ling with a complicated expression. "Do you know what you're saying?"

"Of course I know, but what does it matter? Rather than let Einzbern's technology be sealed away and disappear into history, it's better to let you see it and improve your level. And this comes with conditions, after all, this is not an opportunity that money can buy. If possible, I hope you can be kind enough to take on this difficult problem." Ling blinked and pointed to the maids.

"The situation in Einzbern is a bit complicated right now, but the biggest problem should be resolved after this Holy Grail War. I promised a certain blond handsome guy that I would do what I could, but my ability and my kindness are ultimately pitifully small. It's my way to just talk and pass the trouble to others."

Hearing these words, he showed no shame whatsoever. “After all, I haven’t even sorted out my own affairs yet, so I don’t have the spare time to care about so many things. Like the one from the Wu Jing family in the Kanbuko Hospital, the one in the Matou family’s insect cave, or the one from the Asagami family, because I didn’t see it, even if I knew, I wouldn’t take any action. You can call me selfish, but I’ve already thought of the best solution for what’s happening within my sight. If you accept Einzbern’s technology, then as a beneficiary, it’s not unreasonable for you to take care of them after Olga and I leave this world, is it?”

"Lord Ling, I apologize for interrupting you." After Ling finished speaking, the maid spoke up before Orange could say anything, "You can certainly do with the technology of Einzbern, but if possible, we do not wish for this technology to be taken away from Einzbern."

"Hmm? So if Miss Orange wants to watch it, she can only watch it in Winter City?" Ling looked at the maid with some surprise. He thought the maid was really obedient to him, but it seems that when it comes to fundamental issues, the underlying orders left by the father of the homunculi will still take effect.

“That’s right, and when you’re looking at those technologies, you must be present to monitor them, Lord Ling.”

“Your behavior patterns are really strange. What’s the point of me being here or not?” Ling shook his head, indicating that he couldn’t understand it, but he didn’t delve into it further.

“Miss Ilya’s body is involved in the creation of the Holy Grail. Even the Sect Master doesn’t have the authority to access it. With your authority, you can certainly browse it, but if it’s to be opened to outsiders, it requires your permission, and one of you, the Sect Master, or Lady Justisa must be present. Otherwise, the Homunculus Father will not release the records.” The maid explained softly, but she didn’t look at Orange once throughout.

Aozaki Touko on the Chaldea side was also shaking her head. She knew what her counterpart would choose, because what Ling said still held great appeal for her at that time. Moreover, it was an ancient magic family, and after learning the true name of the Einzbern family, no one could refuse.

Moreover, the servant mentioned Guanbuzi Hospital, Wujing, and Asagami. According to the time on the other side, they should be referring to Wujiao Kirie and Asagami Fujino. Thinking of this, Touko seemed to realize something, and her gaze on the screen softened a little.

"—Because I didn't see it, I wouldn't have acted even if I knew. You can call me selfish, but I've already figured out the best solution for what's happening within my sight. Oh dear, it's neither a lie nor the truth, just a joke. This kid's rhetoric is really interesting."

Orange in Chaldea had already seen through Rin's trick. If he really lacked goodwill, he wouldn't have mentioned the three people who had suffered unfortunate fates. Although she didn't know what was going on at the Matou family's place, she could deduce from the experiences of Wujou Kirie and Asagami Fujino, as well as the repulsive term "insect cave," that the one at the Matou family's place must have also suffered a tragedy.