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

Page 158

The world is like a sophisticated machine, and he is an indispensable part in human history. Whether in life or after death, he is given a huge responsibility. If he acts recklessly, there may be problems more serious than the burning of human civilization.

"I have no choice in this~" Roman whimpered like a defeated dog, then shook his head and began to deal with today's work. Olga is now in another timeline, and the accumulated work has piled up like a mountain. In particular, since he has obtained the position of acting director, the work that has accumulated for more than a year must be resolved.

In fact, during these three days, his sleep time had been reduced to three hours a day. If it weren't for the energizer specially made by Da Vinci, he wouldn't have been able to keep going. Now that Olga has given such an order, he can already foresee how many problems will arise in Chaldea today.

Meanwhile, after Olga asked Da Vinci to relay the order, she handed over the reins to Ling. Ling didn't say anything more and focused on playing games with Ilya.

As a result, Ziyuan and Da Vinci watched the group play all sorts of card and board games with great interest.

As the game progressed, even Mrs. Irisviel and Kiritsugu Emiya joined in. Olga, who had been losing all along, stopped participating and instead sat down next to Rin, watching him win from start to finish with a displeased expression.

Three hours later, Ling put down the dice. He was a little tired after crushing the noobs for so long. And although he seemed to be enjoying it on the surface, he wasn't happy at all.

"You cheated, didn't you?" Olga said sullenly, glaring at Ling as he won again.

"You looked at it from beginning to end, I don't believe you didn't notice whether I cheated or not." Ling looked at her palm with a sour expression, her displeasure evident.

"Hum, there was no cheating, but according to the probability I calculated, this is completely unscientific—" Shion had not cut off the projection, so she watched the entire process of everyone playing the game during the three hours of gameplay. As God's-eye view, she saw more than anyone else and came to a conclusion: as Rin's opponent, if the Emiya family did not cooperate to cheat, their chance of winning was zero.

This shows that Ling's luck is better than everyone else's, reaching a level of "mystery".

Although Da Vinci was busy with her own things, she would occasionally take a look. So when Ling stopped playing, she reflected on it and said, "Ling, it seems that something big has happened to you again. I remember that you never won when you played cards with me before."

When they were in Chaldea, Leonardo da Vinci would often play games with the laid-back Ling to relax. Whether it was card games or video games, Ling never won a single game that involved luck. In video games, Ling couldn't beat Romani either. However, Ling was still very willing to play back then, and would be happy for a long time after winning a game, unlike now, when he shouldn't be happy even if he wins.

With a gloomy expression, Ling covered his face with his hands to prevent anyone from seeing his expression. "If I'm not mistaken, I can't beat you even if I play against Da Vinci now."

With her face propped up by her fingers, Ling picked up the cards in frustration. "But since you're in charge, Da Vinci, let's do the final test. Da Vinci, you play a game with me. Just find someone to play for you."

"Interesting. What do you want to try?" Da Vinci's eyes lit up. Since Ling was asking for torture, she was naturally indifferent.

"Hum, let me get involved in this too. That little sister named Ilya, she can follow my instructions in a bit—" Shion couldn't help but want to get involved, but before she could finish speaking, Rin waved her hand away like she was shooing away a fly.

"I won't play along with you. Just watch. I'm playing a game of chance with Da Vinci. I just want to compare our luck."

As he spoke, he handed the cards to Kiritsugu Emiya. "Uncle Kiritsugu, could you please shuffle the cards and lay them out in a 6x9 grid? Da Vinci and I will be talking about which card, so please help us reveal that card."

Kiritsugu Emiya silently took the cards, skillfully cut and shuffled them, and laid them out one by one on the small table as instructed.

“Then I’ll go first.” Da Vinci pulled up a chair and sat down, then casually looked at the projection and said, “Mr. Emiya, please turn to the first page of the first row.”

"This one?" Kiritsugu Emiya said, pointing to the leftmost card in the top row facing him. Since he and Leonardo da Vinci were facing each other, and da Vinci hadn't specified whose position to turn over, he had to ask.

"Yes," Leonardo da Vinci nodded.

Kiritsugu Emiya turned over the card as instructed: Aoi no K.

Ling pointed to a card in the deck, and Kiritsugu Emiya turned it over: the Jack of Diamonds.

"Mr. Emiya, please have the third card in the sixth row." Leonardo da Vinci spoke again, this time it was the two of clubs.

Ling also pointed to a card, but he still lost despite having such a small card as Da Vinci, because that card was the Two of Diamonds.

At this point, no one thought there was anything wrong. However, in the third round, the five of the fan was paired with the four of the diamonds. In the fourth round, the ten of the reds was paired with the nine of the fan. In the fifth round, the six of the hearts was paired with the five of the hearts.

Seeing this, the others finally figured out the pattern. In this cross-world match, Da Vinci was clearly superior to Ling. In the following games, Ling only won three times, while Da Vinci won by a large margin.

“————” Ling remained silent as she looked at the cards that had already been turned over.

Not only him, but Olga also looked at the cards with a strange gaze. She recalled the time when she and Ling played the Jokers game at the beginning, and a guess flashed through her mind, "Ling, were you comparing our luck values ​​through the game before?"

Chapter 368 Revisiting Guanbuzi (Part 9)

Ling did not answer, her gaze still unfocused as she stared at the table of cards.

“Hey, hey, hey, even if you lose, you don’t have to look like this, do you? I don’t remember you being such a sensitive person,” Leonardo da Vinci noticed Ling’s strange attitude and tried to persuade her, “We didn’t bet much, so you won’t be too upset if you lose, right?”

"—It's not about winning or losing at all." Ling looked up at the ceiling of the plane and sighed helplessly.

"What exactly happened?!" Olga didn't like Ling's appearance. Even if Ling was fierce, she would be better than her current troubled look. It's not that she's a masochist, but this confused look shouldn't be on her chosen partner.

Those in positions of power can do as they please, but they cannot afford to be confused. Even if they make the wrong choice, they can still make amends. However, being confused means that those in positions of power lack confidence and direction, which is a fatal flaw.

Olga had already prepared to summon the family tutors from the past as soon as the two returned to give Ling a series of educations, including etiquette, heraldry, and most importantly, imperial studies. As the person who would accompany her for life, Ling must lead the family to a more prosperous future as the other half of Animusfia's power holder.

"Let me try again. I'm not sure yet." Ling rubbed her face, trying to cheer herself up, and then gestured for Emiya Kiritsugu to shuffle and deal the cards again.

“This time, my wife and I will play a game of drawing cards, then it’s Kiritsugu’s turn, then little Illya’s turn, and Olga’s turn is last.” Rin told the people surrounding her the order, and then turned over a card before they could answer.

Irisviel looked at Ling strangely. She still didn't know what Ling wanted to do. However, since he only asked her to play a game with him, she didn't need to refuse. So after Ling made his move, she reached out and randomly flipped over a card.

After one round, the win ratio between the two was 20 to 7, with Ling winning by a large margin. Then, Ling remained silent and played another game with Emiya Kiritsugu, and Ling won again, with the ratio also being 20 to 7. Then it was Illya's turn, and Ling won again, with the ratio being 18 to 9.

"Then it's your turn, Olga, but I think you might not even be able to win once." Even though he had already won three matches, Ling's face was still extremely ugly. When he turned to look at Olga, he showed an expression as if he had given up.

"So, what exactly are you trying to do?!" Olga was getting a little frustrated. Ling was always unwilling to reveal his plans, which put her in a very passive position as the Master.

"It's nothing, just like you said before, testing my luck. But judging from the current situation, I'm pretty sure I'm cursed." Ling watched as Kiritsugu Emiya finished cutting, shuffling, and arranging the cards in one smooth motion. He pointed to the cards on the table and gestured for Olga to proceed.

"Final test, Olga. I'll tell you everything after we're done. Let's begin now."

Olga stared at Ling's face quietly for a long time before finally saying, "If you have something to say, you should talk to me about it first. I am your Master, and there is no one in this world closer to you than me!"

Ling glanced at Olga in surprise, then stared at her face with a half-smile, making Olga's ears turn red. She then snorted, avoided Ling's gaze, and bent down to flip over a card.

Seeing this, Ling composed herself and flipped over the card next to the one Olga had revealed. This round of comparing sizes was more bizarre than all the previous ones, because from beginning to end, Ling had been flipping over the card next to Olga's, and in the end, she won from start to finish.

Everyone stared at the deck of cards with strange looks. Even Ilya, who was still a child, was affected by the eerie atmosphere and sat quietly in her mother's lap.

"Ling, you say this is a curse, right? Could it be because of the Einzbern family?" Actually, when Da Vinci played the game with the second character, Kiritsugu Emiya, she had already vaguely guessed something. Her memory was quite good. Three days ago, in the amniotic fluid chamber, Ling put on the Mystic Code called "Rhine Gold" and was then granted high-level privileges by the Einzbern family. Combined with Ling's strange luck now, all of this makes sense.

"You all probably know about 'The Ring of the Nibelung,' the story of the great hero Siegfried," Ling said, leaning back in her chair with a furrowed brow. "The gold from the Rhine River was obtained by the Einzberns."

"I'm sorry, sir, once said that this cursed treasure, if divided equally among everyone in the world, would be inexhaustible. However, because it is cursed, the holder's life will go in a bad direction, and it seems to spread misfortune to relatives and friends as well."

Ling's expression was unusually solemn. "It is precisely because they possess this cursed property that the Einzbern are still incredibly wealthy even though they live in isolation. This is why they are able to create artificial humans like Mrs. Irisviel, whose cost is beyond imagination."

“Hum, that’s true. If what you said before is true, and this homunculus is a humanoid Holy Grail, and Einzbern can mass-produce it, the materials used would be equivalent to the value of the entire collection of the British Museum. I was wondering where Einzbern got so much money. It turns out it’s because of the Rhine gold.”

Shion suddenly realized and slammed her fist on her palm. "But the Einzbern family doesn't seem to be cursed."

Ling waved her hand, her expression complicated as she pulled open her collar, looking at the Mystic Code set she was still wearing, and replied in a somewhat uncertain tone, "Of course the Einzbern family has no problem, because they are all homunculus humans. If I'm not mistaken, the true concept of the Rhine Gold has been divided into three parts by the Einzbern family using alchemy. They were made into the Third Magic-specific Mystic Code: Heaven's Garment, and another Mystic Code of the Rhine Gold, whose specific abilities are unknown, which is also a clothing type. The last remaining concept should have been left in the Einzbern family."

"This explains why ordinary people are turned into gold when they encounter the Heavenly Garment, and why the operation of the Mystic Code can only be performed by elves, dwarves, or homunculus. After all, the three fairies of the Rhine River, who were elves, were the first to guard this cursed treasure. The giants were the ones who could forge this gold into a ring. Dwarves have the blood of giants, so they can also avoid the curse. As for the homunculus, it is essentially a manufactured humanoid and was not within the scope of the curse from the beginning."

Chapter 369 Revisiting Guanbuzi (Part 10)

“If what you say is true, then you won’t be cursed, right? After all, Heroic Spirits are elves, and you’re a homunculus now, aren’t you?” Olga noticed the flaw in Ling’s words and pointed it out incisively.

"Who is that Mr. Sorry?" Da Vinci wasn't concerned about the curse; he was more interested in the unnamed being being mentioned.

Ling closed her eyes in distress. "Mr. Sorry is Siegfried, because he likes to say sorry. Also, I don't think I won't be cursed. This involves an idealistic issue, which is that I have always believed that I am a human being, and this view cannot be changed."

"Furthermore, you have no idea how terrible this gold is. According to the records, the inscription on this gold is as follows."

Ling spoke the following words in a low voice—

Before their deaths, the Mist Clan told the hero, "This treasure is cursed." Just as they said, everything was deteriorating in a bad direction, and no one could stop it. The hero originally had no fascination with this gold, but he couldn't give it up, because the moment he did, the gold would increase its radiance in order to seek a new host—the logic couldn't be clearer.

“I won’t ask where you read this passage. If that’s the case, then no one can deal with this curse, right?” Da Vinci rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on, because she was very familiar with the effects of conceptual curses.

"I tried to determine if I was cursed by playing games, and the result was obvious. My wife and Ilya, who should have had the same curse, were even more unlucky than me, which means that I am cursed more deeply than the two of them."

"What do you mean?" Ziyuan listened to Ling's explanation with great interest and even played along.

“Because of the Golden Rule…” When Ling mentioned the Golden Rule, she specifically looked at Leonardo da Vinci. “As an ordinary person, I would never have the Golden Rule. It’s an extra stroke of luck. In the past, when I played games with Leonardo da Vinci, I was completely crushed. This is because Leonardo da Vinci, who descended in the form of Mona Lisa, possessed an inherent skill called Golden Rule Body. Well, it’s because she shamelessly redesigned her body as a woman (Mona Lisa), possessing a goddess-like perfect body. She possessed this beauty and obtained this skill through her own will.”

At this point, everyone remembered that the real Leonardo da Vinci was a man, and their expressions became somewhat subtle when they looked at the current Leonardo da Vinci.

"Hahaha, after all, I am a genius. As an artist who pursues beauty, gender is completely meaningless to me. Even if I were to descend in male form, my appearance would certainly be that of the majestic David! Because both of these are the ultimate beauty! Beauty is not divided by gender! Beauty is not divided by race! Beauty is not divided by—" Leonardo da Vinci felt no embarrassment whatsoever, and she was proud of her work to the very end.

"Hey, hey, hey, friend, please calm down. We don't want to hear your speech~~" Ling stopped Da Vinci without saying a word, because he knew that if Da Vinci continued, the topic of "beauty" would go on for three days and three nights.

"In short, Leonardo da Vinci, who possesses the Golden Rule and is inherently lucky, is someone that no ordinary person can surpass in matters of luck. The fact that I didn't completely lose to da Vinci in my match just now proves that my luck has surpassed that of mortals."

Then he looked at the Emiya family, "Let's deduce that among Kiritsugu's family, Illya has the best luck. Kiritsugu, whose luck was originally average, has luck on par with his wife because he is favored by the Holy Grail. This favor refers to his wife's love for him. And finally, it's Olga—"

"Olga's luck was bad to begin with. Even if she became the Star Maiden, apart from her special status, it would be of no use at all. In fact, because of me, she became the target of Rhinegold's curse, which is why she was completely defeated when we compared sizes."

Upon hearing Ling's explanation, Olga looked utterly speechless, while Leonardo da Vinci seemed to be trying to suppress a laugh. Shion, on the other hand, pushed up her glasses, her brows furrowed as she pondered Ling's answer. In her opinion, while Ling's explanation was still plausible, the question about Olga seemed to be more complex than it appeared.

Even if she doesn't know what abilities the Star Maiden has, as Gaia's priestess, can this curse really affect Olga? Actually, it's normal for Shion to think this way, because she doesn't know that Olga's identity as the Star Maiden is largely unreliable. If we go back to the Chaldea timeline, of course no curse can affect her, but if we're not in that timeline, Gaia's blessing will be reduced to a very low level.

The reason for the trouble was that he had guessed this, so he brought Olga, who was affected by the curse, to the Holy Grail War. This would have been quite disadvantageous. Kiritsugu Emiya can be said to be a victim of this curse. If Kiritsugu Emiya had not broken off his relationship with the Einzbern after the Fourth Holy Grail War, he might not have even had anyone to see him off in his final moments.

"So you mean Olga is now an extremely unlucky person?" Da Vinci looked Olga up and down with astonishment, while Shion scanned Olga using the Emerald Book and then released the results.

"According to our research at the Atlas Institute, luck is a fluctuating phenomenon. If you add back all the peaks of luck in a person's life, it will become a straight line. In other words, there is no such thing as a lucky or unlucky life. There are only periods of exceptional luck or exceptional misfortune."

As Shion observed Olga's luck stat fluctuations through Akasha's records in this world, she explained.

"However, this average is different for everyone, right?" Ling knew that someone like Gilgamesh, who was born incredibly lucky, might have an average luck value that even the luckiest person could not match.

“That’s right, there’s no such thing as fairness from birth, and this average luck is one of them.” Ziyuan revealed a truth that would likely be a shock to the world if it were known.

"As far as we at the Atlas Institute know, luck is influenced by various mystical factors, such as divine protection, special items left over from the Age of Gods, and escaping one's predetermined fate through one's own efforts."

Ziyuan looked at Ling and told him everything she knew, to see if he had any ideas on how to deal with the problems caused by Rheinmetall.

Chapter 370 Revisiting Guanbuzi (Part 11)

"So, in the end, we can only use [mystery] to fight [mystery]? Ah, what an answer that doesn't surprise me at all." Ling closed her eyes and sighed in extreme disappointment.

“Hum, that’s it.” Ziyuan nodded approvingly at Ling, feeling genuinely reassured by his intelligence. After all, no one wants their future partner to be an idiot, right?

After learning the cause of the curse and its scope of influence, Ling quickly found a solution. Previously, she had been so concerned that she hadn't thought of using mystery to fight mystery. Now that she knew what to do, there was no time to lose.

Putting aside whether he himself would be affected, Olga was definitely already affected, that much was certain, so he had to help Olga resist this curse, which meant he had to give Olga the mystery of the concept of "protection".

The highest-grade item is undoubtedly the sword sheath, Avalon, but it seems the Einzbern haven't acquired it yet. In that case, they'll have to find a substitute from their own collection. They remember there was a detailed list among the Clock Tower's collection items, and one item on it was particularly suitable.

Without hesitation, Ling reached out and made a slash in front of her, opening a spatial rift. Before anyone could react, a small box fell into Ling's hand through the rift.

It was an antique oak box with a small wooden cross carved on the lid. After taking out the box, Ling handed it to Olga. "Well, here you go. This should be able to ward off the curse of Rhinegold. After all, I'm the one who dragged you into this mess."

Olga took the box, puzzled, and then opened the ancient oak box amidst the curious gazes of the crowd.

The small box was lined with thick purple velvet, and in the very center of the box, a roughly made silver ring lay quietly.

Upon seeing the ring, Olga quickly slammed the box shut. Her face flushed, she glared at Ling, her eyes filled with panic and shyness. "You! Why did you suddenly give me this?!"

"Don't want it? Well, if you don't want it, we can change it." Ling tilted her head and looked at Olga, who was looking shy, and pretended to take the box back from her hand.

Olga quickly hugged the box to her arms. "Who said they didn't want it! But shouldn't this be given to me on my knees in a sacred way? Why, you... I'm not saying I don't like it! It's just too sudden! It's completely different from what I imagined!"

Only then did Ling understand Olga's meaning. He looked at Olga with the eyes of someone who looked at an idiot, and then said with a helpless expression, "Olga, how is your brain constructed? I clearly said that I would help you solve the problem of the curse. That ring is just a tool to suppress the curse. I had no intention of proposing to you at all."

Olga was taken aback by Ling's words. "No, a proposal?"

“No.” Ling shook her head decisively.

"If you're not proposing, why are you giving me a ring?!" Olga stood up excitedly, grabbed the box with both hands, and tried to throw it at Ling's head, but after several attempts, she failed and could only sit back down angrily.

"You women are so unreasonable! I made myself perfectly clear. Did you misunderstand and that's my fault?" Ling rolled her eyes in annoyance. Her words offended everyone present, and the women watching the scene looked at Ling with disdain.

Olga finally realized that she had made a mistake, but as a girl, how could she apologize first for such a misunderstanding? So she could only pretend to be very angry to hide her embarrassment and disappointment, reopen the box, and take out the silver ring inside.

As a noblewoman, Olga naturally possessed an appreciation for jewelry. She didn't believe this seemingly ordinary silver ring was some cheap knock-off. Although the precious metal that made up the ring wasn't particularly valuable, the mystery it contained was enough to make it worth a fortune.

After seeing the design of the ring, Olga finally gave up, because she realized it was a men's ring.

The ring is made of silver plated with gold. The band shows signs of resizing, clearly indicating that a woman's slender ring size was changed to a masculine one. The side of the ring is decorated with a diamond pattern, with the blank space naturally forming three crosses. The ring face features a unique triangular prism design, engraved with the Gothic letters "IHS" and "MAR," symbolizing Jesus and Mary.

Back at Chaldea, once Leonardo da Vinci and Shion clearly saw the patterns and the two Gothic letters on the ring, they immediately knew what it was.

“I didn’t expect you to have such a good thing, Ling. Indeed, if it is this ring, it can definitely resist the curse brought by the Rhine Gold.” Da Vinci knew the origin of this ring very well. As a relic of a saint, as long as you wear it, you can be said to be immune to all evil.

“Hum, from the perspective of the concept of protection, this ring is indeed in a very high position. After all, the true owner of this ring represents the saint who saves the country and protects it.” Ziyuan nodded in agreement. This ring is impeccable in terms of both history and significance.

"Seriously? As a European nobleman, you still haven't figured out the origin of this ring?" Ling couldn't help but probe Olga, who was deep in thought.

Olga didn't speak, but asked in a strange tone, "Of course I know what this is. I was too surprised to see it clearly before. But before I talk about that, I want to ask, where did you get this thing from?"

"Consider it a bonus from the deal. After all, those things were just small parts; I haven't gotten the real big prize yet. But why do you ask that?" At this point, Ling glanced at Ziyuan. In that deal in the post-apocalyptic world, the Clock Tower was indeed a small part. What he really wanted was the Demon Sword - Emperor Slash, which was still stored in the deepest vault of the Atlas Institute.

“Although I don’t have this box, I have an identical ring at home,” Olga said, fiddling with the ring and staring intently at Ling.

Hearing this unexpected explanation, Ling felt that things were really coincidental, but upon closer reflection, it made sense. The ring came from the Clock Tower, and it seemed that Barthelon Loreleia had indeed kept her promise and brought all the relics from the Clock Tower. The Animusfia family must have paid special attention to rings, since Solomon's Ring was one of their collections.

"Oh, in that case, let's just consider it returned to its rightful owner." Ling shrugged indifferently, finding it slightly amusing.