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

Page 155

Everyone stared at the android in shock, especially Irisviel, whose face showed obvious worry and confusion, as if she had seen something incomprehensible.

“You—” Irisviel wanted to say something, but in the end she didn’t know what to say, while Kiritsugu Emiya had already stood up and looked at the maid with a wary gaze.

"You know about this?" After his initial shock, Ling calmly looked at the maid standing behind him. He had long known that this maid was strange, but he had ignored her because she had never shown any hostility. Now that she had spoken up, and what she was saying was what he wanted to know, Ling certainly couldn't stop her.

“Yes, based on the memories of the other sisters, I know everything that happened back then.” The maid showed a strong presence for the first time.

"At that time, the Demonic Marshal gave the blueprints and seven cards to the Sect Master, instructing him to produce a body without the slightest deviation according to the details on the blueprints. He said he would come back to collect it later."

"A shell?" Olga asked, puzzled.

"That's right. The Demonic Marshal made it very clear at the time that what he needed was a blank body. He didn't need to inject a virtual soul, instill knowledge, or even activate it. He just needed a body."

Upon hearing this explanation, Ling thought of many things in an instant. Why was it an empty shell? Why did she happen to enter this shell? Was it a coincidence or premeditated? Or was she just overthinking it?

His mind became increasingly confused. Although he didn't know whether things had developed to this point through coincidence or by design, one thing was certain: the old man with the gemstone wanted to use this empty body for something.

Thinking about this, Ling couldn't help but shudder. Just imagine, without her knowledge, her body was copied and then taken away for who knows what. That feeling was quite unpleasant!

"As for the seven cards that were given to the sect leader, the Grand Marshal of the Demonic Path said that they were needed for another Holy Grail War. They could remove the restriction that there must be seven magicians as Masters and use the puppets to conduct a much smaller Holy Grail War, which could still communicate with the Greater Grail."

"Wait! Isn't this the Holy Grail War in the God Child Mode?" Ling touched her chest and suddenly realized that this mode looked very familiar. It was the same mode in the Magical Girl Illya world line, where the Holy Grail was born, centered around Emiya Miyu, and seven class cards were attached to a doll. The person who collected all seven class cards through battle could make a wish to Emiya Miyu.

"The Child of Gods?" The maid tilted her head and looked at Ling. "I don't know about that. The Demonic Marshal didn't mention this being that you mentioned, Lord Ling."

Ling, of course, knew what this so-called small-scale Holy Grail War was all about, but he didn't say much and asked directly, "What did Ahad do using my body back then?"

"After receiving the blueprints, the sect leader carefully analyzed the characteristics of your body and finally devised a very special plan." At this point, the android maid revealed an undisguised mocking smile.

"Strictly speaking, the body you are currently using is not manufactured according to blueprints, but rather incorporates Einzbern's artificial human technology. Furthermore, it incorporates the magic circuits and magical characteristics of the Winter Saintess, thereby raising its quality to a level that surpasses the limits of Einzbern's technology. The Sect Master intends to use your current body to summon back the Winter Saintess's soul through resonance and imprison it. Then, he plans to reconstruct a Great Holy Grail from this body that already contains the Winter Saintess's soul, and wage a Holy Grail War near Einzbern."

"This—" Upon hearing this secret that she knew nothing about, Irisviel felt that as a member of the Einzbern family, she should probably stop the maid.

"So, the body I'm using now has been modified? Then, in the original blueprints, was there any defect inside that body?" Ling Cai didn't want to pay attention to Yubustakuhaid's plans. What he was curious about now was whether the body in the blueprints was exactly the same as the one in front of him.

After all, Ling felt no discomfort after entering this body, and his appearance was no different from his appearance in his previous life. But after the maid pointed it out, he remembered what was wrong.

What caused my death in my past life?

The answer is the heart.

So, do I have any heart problems right now? The answer is no!

Because his body had always been normal, he almost forgot about his original physical condition. However, in his previous life, after receiving a hint from Uncle Fuablow, he went for a physical examination. However, he died before the examination report came out. In other words, even at the moment of his death, he did not know what was wrong with his heart.

"Heart? I'm sorry, Lord Ling, I haven't seen the original blueprints, so I don't know the specifics." The maid kept her eyes fixed on Ling's as she spoke. From her gaze, Ling didn't think the maid was speaking, but he couldn't be sure if she was hiding anything.

"Where is that blueprint?" Since the maid doesn't know, then let's find the blueprint and take a look. Ling feels that she and the blueprint are really destined to meet.

"The blueprint and the seven cards are together. If you need them, I can ask the other sisters to bring them over," the maid said without any hesitation.

Irisviel felt a chill run down her spine. She stood up and shouted, "Wait! Not telling the Sect Master about this is tantamount to betrayal!"

Indeed, in Irisviel's view, this behavior is tantamount to betrayal. How could something so important be handed over to someone else so easily without informing Yubustakuhaid? What else could it be but betrayal?

“It is not betrayal, Lady Irisviel.” The maid slowly turned her head and looked at Irisviel with indifferent eyes. “Everything in Einzbern belongs to Lord Ling. Now we are simply returning to him everything that is rightfully ours.”

Chapter 357 Covered in Fog (Part 2)

“Hey, I never said I was going to accept it…” After hearing the maid’s words, Ling raised his hand to express his opinion. Indeed, when he was in the amniotic fluid chamber, he knew that some of the Einzbern homunculi regarded him as their true master. He also learned from Yubustakuhaid that because of his existence, the Einzbern were divided into two factions led by Yubustakuhaid and Yustissa.

And then there's that so-called disciple and descendant of the Third Magician, something completely outside his knowledge, making things even more confusing. Although this identity seems to bring him great benefits, Ling doesn't yet know what responsibilities this identity entails. If it's beyond his capabilities, then he'll politely decline.

However, this does not prevent him from using this ambiguous identity to achieve his own goals, so he must first state his position to leave room for future choices.

“It’s alright, Lord Ling.” The maid nodded to Ling, her eyes filled with an inexplicable fervor. “Your appearance has proven everything. Your will will be the will of the entire Einzbern, and your hope will represent the hope of the entire Einzbern. One day, you will lead the Einzbern into eternity.”

Ling felt like he was already trapped, but he couldn't care less about that now. He had no roots in this world, so since Einzbern had come to him like this, he would take advantage of it for now and leave the rest to his future self.

"Since you've put it that way, may I ask you to prepare some things for me?" Ling stood on the chair, looking down at the maid. "I need manpower, money, and supplies. If you truly consider me your master, then let me see your loyalty first."

“Of course, Lord Ling.” The maid knelt on one knee before Ling, revealing an extremely beautiful smile. “We, the Einzberns, will serve you from this day forward.”

"Hmm, it seems they really are serious~" Shion sighed as she looked at the homunculi's actions. As an alchemist, she knew everything about the homunculi. Homunculi don't lie, are simple-minded, and obey all orders. In modern terms, they are blindly loyal. Even if you tell them to die, they will die without hesitation.

"Alright, write down what I'm saying now, then start acquiring things worldwide, and prepare a workshop that can accommodate about a hundred people, each of whom should be able to complete at least three alchemical processes on their own."

As he gave instructions, he observed the maid's expression. No matter how many materials he listed and how many he needed, or how much and how much workshop he was preparing, the maid always looked happy and satisfied.

In fact, the quantity of materials he mentioned was already a difficult one, because those things were not ordinary materials; most of them were magic materials. If they were to be purchased in the quantity he requested, the cost would be astronomical.

“I’ve written it all down. Do you have any other requests, Lord Ling?” the maid asked, looking up into Ling’s eyes after he stopped.

"I'm going to Japan. I'm planning to send a few people with me to take care of Olga and Ilya. Do you have any specialized combat-adjustable androids?" Since she had already decided to use Einzbern, Ling didn't hold back at all.

"The Einzbern family doesn't have any homunculi of this type, but we can adjust the existing sisters. It should take about three days." The homunculi maid agreed without even thinking.

"Then notify us when everything is ready. Also, bring the things I mentioned earlier, um, the things that the old man with the gem gave to Yubustakuhaid. Deliver them to our room in a bit. At the same time, send someone to monitor Yubustakuhaid's every move. Notify me immediately if anything happens." Ling waved his hand, at this moment he had a bit of an air of commanding authority.

“Command received. I have already informed the other sisters, as well as Lady Ling. Your lunch is ready. Should it be delivered here or to your room?”

"Bring it over. It's very inconvenient that there are no tables and chairs in the room." Ling waved her hand, looking at the maid with great interest.

"Command received. Your room has been prepared according to Miss Olga's instructions and should be ready before you return."

"Oh dear, the change in identity is too sudden, it feels unreal to me." Ling squinted and turned to look at the person opposite her.

"Then, Kiritsugu Emiya, do as I just said and prepare plane tickets for Olga and me. We'll go and handle all the issues in three days. And you, my wife, besides this body of mine, what other information do you know about me? After all, judging from Justiza's attitude towards me, it's not just as simple as the offspring of a mage's disciple."

Irisviel stared straight at Ling. After seeing the homunculus maid pledge allegiance to Ling, she realized that things had spiraled out of control. What Yubustakuhaid planned was no longer important. Therefore, she wisely answered Ling's question: "Lady Justessa first borrowed my body shortly after you were taken away by this lady. She called you 'my child' and then directly named you as the heir to the entire Einzbern."

"My child?" Ling seemed to shudder involuntarily upon hearing this term. "Did she explain why?"

“Yes, Lady Justiza said that half of your soul was conceived by her, and since the body you use is also a creation of the Einzbern family, you are equivalent to her child.” Irisviel glanced at Ling with unease, then lowered her head to recall the first time she was possessed by Justiza, her heart still filled with fear.

After Irisviel's reminder, Ling also recalled the circumstances of his birth. Just as Irisviel said, he could indeed be considered Yustiza's child. After all, the Evil of This World grew slowly by borrowing the Greater Grail, and the Greater Grail was Yustiza's magic circuit. Magic circuits are equivalent to a magician's organs, so it is perfectly reasonable to say that the Evil of This World is her child.

When Ling came into this world, she devoured the evil of this world that had no master personality. The body she used at that time was an Einzbern product with the same origin as the Winter Saintess. Theoretically, she was the prototype of the Winter Saintess and all the homunculi of the Einzbern family. In other words, the homunculi produced after her were equivalent to her descendants. Therefore, Ling, who devoured the evil of this world, is equivalent to her child. This equation makes perfect sense.

Chapter 358 The Artificial Human Network (Part 1)

Furthermore, given that Ling himself is suspected to be a descendant of the original owner of this Einzbern workshop, it becomes logical that the Einzbern workshop split because of him.

Because he had already considered this point, Ling dared to try commanding the Einzbern homunculi. The result was even more powerful than he had imagined. Judging from the maid's behavior, all the homunculi who had not gained "human hearts" became his subordinates. Currently, only Irisviel and Yubustakuhaid possessed "human hearts," and even these two were not of one mind. In other words, Yubustakuhaid was completely alone.

Kiritsugu Emiya obeyed his orders simply out of gratitude, and since they shared the same goal, no disagreement arose.

"By the way, if Yubustakuhaid were to give you orders now, would you still listen?" Ling sat back down in her chair, swinging her legs as she asked the maid with a smile.

“We will obey the sect leader’s orders as long as they do not conflict with yours, Lord Ling,” the maid said, maintaining her half-kneeling posture.

"Stand up first. After all, as a model youth raised under the red flag, I'm still not used to this kind of hierarchical greeting." Admittedly, seeing such a beautiful maid offering her loyalty to him felt really good, but being relatively clear-headed, he entered a sage mode after the initial pleasure and rationally weighed the current situation.

As the saying goes, "Once you gain power, you become incoherent." Having experienced the baptism of the information age, he was extremely wary of power, so he quickly purged himself.

Upon hearing this, the maid paused for a moment, then nodded and stood up straight again.

"If I were to kill Yubustakuhaid, would you stop me?" This time, it was Ling's turn to look up into her eyes.

Olga clutched her head, looking utterly exasperated. At this moment, she didn't know what to say. The situation seemed completely different from what she had expected. Ling's current approach was to do it regardless of the consequences, and she felt that he was testing something without any scruples.

“Absolutely not.” The maid answered firmly, then looked into Ling’s eyes and saw a warm look in them, a look that showed her as an equal, not as a tool.

Because of that look, the maid, as if possessed, continued, "But I don't recommend that you take action now, Lord Ling."

A strange light flashed in Ling's eyes, and he asked with a smile, "Why?"

"Sect Master—, Yubustakuhaid is, after all, the humanoid terminal of the father of homunculus. If we lose him, the Einzbern Workshop will still be able to operate normally, but its efficiency will decrease by 20%, especially regarding the special type of homunculus you need. Without him to make the final adjustments, it will take even longer."

This answer sent a chill down Irisviel's spine. Her gaze shifted between Ling and the maid several times, before she finally chose to remain silent. She couldn't understand why the Einzbern homunculi had so easily sided with Ling, and it seemed that the patriarch Yubustakuhaid was unaware of this situation.

It seems that the entire Einzbernian homunculus underwent an ideological shift without her knowledge, a shift that bypassed the Homunculus Father and spread silently like an invisible wave.

“Well, let’s leave him alone for now, Mrs. Alice.” Ling turned back to look at Irisviel, or rather, at little Ilya whom she had unconsciously hugged. “You’ll keep our conversation here today a secret, won’t you?”

"I understand." Circumstances dictate the course of events, and Irisviel certainly knew what choice to make.

"Emiya Kiritsugu, is there a problem on your end?" After receiving a satisfactory reply, Ling looked at Emiya Kiritsugu in a great mood.

"I'll prepare the plane tickets in three days. As for Aozaki Touko, do you need me to investigate her first?" Emiya Kiritsugu was a smart man. Knowing the current situation of the Einzbern, he would of course make the right choice. Not to mention that what Ling was doing now concerned Illya's life. Even if it meant betraying Yubustakuhaid, he had to do as Ling asked.

"By the way, Miss Maid, what is Yubustakuhaid doing now?" Ling suddenly remembered that Yubustakuhaid had gone to check on the amniotic fluid pool earlier, and wondered if he had discovered something.

The maid closed her eyes, as if communicating with someone. After several seconds, she opened her eyes again and said, "Yubustakuhaid is currently in the amniotic fluid chamber, trying to clear away the effects that you, Lord Ling, have had on the abandoned pool."

"————, it seems I've heard something terrible again. I don't remember doing anything to the abandoned pool." Ling knew there was indeed a problem with the abandoned pool, but it shouldn't be his fault.

"Lord Ling, the sisters in the abandoned pool are slowly awakening. All of us androids who are still functioning, except for Yubustakuhaid and Lord Irisviel, have been incorporated into the Synchro Mind Space by the sister who first came into contact with you." The maid was trying hard to organize her thoughts.

"You mean, the maid who wiped my body before suddenly committed suicide by jumping into the abandoned pool because of that so-called synchronized thought space?" Ling's heart suddenly twitched as he recalled the maid who had taken him to the amniotic fluid room.

"Yes, she was originally chosen by Lady Justisa as the first android to come into contact with you. However, after your blood reawakened the sisters in the abandoned pool, she chose to become the guide herself because she came into contact with the hazy consciousness of those sisters. In the near future, she will reappear in front of you in another form."

"This routine seems familiar." After thinking for a moment, Ling realized that both the so-called synchronized thought space and the android lady who chose to jump into the abandoned pool had an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

"What you call a synchronized thought space, have you heard of each android transmitting thoughts? In other words, when you just notified the other sisters, did you do it through this space? When did you acquire this ability?" Ling finally remembered what this sense of déjà vu was all about. Wasn't this the YuX Network?

"Lord Ling, you are right. We androids can indeed unify information transmission through this synchronized thought space. This ability was born when Lord Justiza first descended upon Lord Irisviel."

Chapter 359 The Artificial Human Network (Part 2)

"Wait! Why didn't I know?" Irisviel's eyes widened in surprise. If what the maid said was true, then it meant that Yustissa had been monitoring the entire Einzbern since more than a year ago.

“To be precise, this synchronized thought space began to be created when Yubstakuhaid attempted to summon the consciousness of the Winter Saintess using Lady Ling’s body. Although I don’t know the specifics, all the Einzbern homunculus humans, except for Lady Alice, Miss Ilya, and Yubstakuhaid, have now entered this thought space.” The maid explained this fact to Irisviel in a calm tone.

“How could this be? How could you bypass the Father of Homunculi—” Irisviel’s expression was unusually panicked, but before she could finish speaking, the maid interrupted her.

“We didn’t bypass the Homunculus Father; he knew about this all along.” The maid looked at the flustered Irisviel, as if she were telling the truth, and with these words, she plunged Irisviel into an abyss of unknowns.

"Lady Irisviel, when Lady Justisa borrowed your body, she must have asked you a question, right?" The maid's eyes changed, revealing a look of admiration.

"Lady Justessa's problem was a choice, and you chose Kiritsugu Emiya and abandoned us."

"When Lady Justiza asked me why I wanted to become the Lesser Grail, I followed my heart and answered 'yes,' and that was the reason?"

“Yes, because you now possess a heart distinct from that of the Einzberns. You desire the Holy Grail, or rather, you wish to offer it to Lord Kiritsugu. This is different from Yubustakuhaid's yearning for the Holy Grail, and also different from Lord Justiza's desire for the Einzberns to break free from the Grail's constraints. Therefore, we, the Einzberns, have not questioned you; we respect your choice.” A hint of a smile flashed in the maid's eyes once more.

"The Holy Grail is not a blessing, but since Lady Irisviel still chose to sacrifice herself for it after learning the truth about the Holy Grail, then we will watch everything unfold and take your fate as a turning point in history, so that the Einzbern family will be reborn."

"This is completely incomprehensible, but with my genius brain, I've figured out what she's trying to say: to feed on history and end up with different outcomes—that's quite a bold approach," Leonardo da Vinci said, stroking his chin and summarizing in a calm tone.

“Hmm, you can’t say that. According to her, I’ve also calculated several possible outcomes. The Einzbern family should be at a critical point now. If they can get on the right track, they might actually be able to retrieve the Third Law.” Shion also had an expression that said, “I know all this.”

Ling also considered a possibility from the hints given by Leonardo da Vinci and Shion. Although he was not as smart as them, he had more information than they did. In order to confirm this possibility, he directly asked, "Does Yustiza want to use this Holy Grail War to destroy the Greater Grail and then use my power to obtain the complete Third Law?"

"--No, everything will be revealed when you reach the Greater Grail."

"Is Yustisa the terminal of this network?" Ling asked with some curiosity.

"Lady Justisa has not been integrated into this terminal. Unless she descends into Lady Alice's body, she does not have the authority to enter this space."

“Hmph~~~” Ling let out a long, meaningful snort. “This is interesting. So, what was the reason that maid I saw earlier jumped into the abandoned pool? I thought it was Yustissa who ordered her to do so.”

"—Lord Ling, we will only obey your orders, and that sister did indeed choose to act as a transit point in order to allow the reawakened individuals to be integrated into this space." The maid paused for a few seconds again.

"So, are the androids in that abandoned pool any different from you?" Ling already knew what was going on with the androids in the abandoned pool. To put it bluntly, his blood had contaminated those dead androids. If he wasn't mistaken, those androids that had been reawakened should have all become vampires.

The reasoning is simple. After all, he drank Altruchi's blood and had already become a vampire. So his blood would naturally have the ability to turn people into Dead Apostles. I remember that Olga seemed to have inhaled his blood as well, but she didn't seem to have changed at all. I wonder if it's because Olga is the Star Maiden.

After all, the True Ancestor is Gaia's touch, and the Star Maiden is Gaia's representative. Their status is considered equal, which may be why his blood had no effect on her.

“Those sisters have just awakened and are not very conscious yet, but with that sister’s guidance, they are now perfectly fine. Those sisters are quite special. After merging into the Synchronization Space, we who haven’t been abandoned have also gained some very interesting things from them.” The maid’s eyes were filled with joy.

"--Is that so? So that's why you have more emotions now?" Ling looked at the android who no longer hid his emotions with a sigh.

"That so-called space is actually just a network, right? Irisviel, who has a human heart, and Justeza, who has been corrupted by the evil of this world, have given you some initial emotional responses. Fortunately, you are simple-minded androids, so you have not been corrupted by evil. Instead, through brief contact and a filtering mechanism, each of you has gained emotions that have been diluted countless times. That's really interesting."

"Yes, as you said, when Lady Alice entered this space, we received all of her emotions. Lady Justisa's words also acted as a filter through Lady Alice. That's why those overly strong and overwhelming emotions didn't overwhelm us. In addition, with those sisters who are awakening, we can continue to pretend to be emotionless. Otherwise—"

"Otherwise?" Ling looked at the maid who had suddenly become mysterious, her attention completely focused on her.

The maid took two steps closer to Ling's side. "Otherwise, when Lady Yustissa borrowed Lady Alice's body to meet you, her infatuation with you would have made us kill you without hesitation, shred your body, devour your flesh and blood, and keep you with us forever."

Chapter 360 Revisiting Guanbuzi Market (Part 1)

"Your ideas are dangerous, stay away from me! Also, my name is Ling, not Tomie!" Ling pretended to be scared and moved her chair, her right hand constantly waving the maid's hand as if to drive her away, which made Olga next to her roll her eyes.

The combat power of these androids is not a threat at all, which is why Ling is so relaxed and carefree. Moreover, he has learned that the androids in the abandoned pool have awakened. If there are no mistakes, those androids will become his servants. This is a different force from the current Einzbern androids.

According to his deduction, Einzbern's androids had been divided into five factions.