The infinite sword system has been mastered, and you say this is the dragon clan?

Chapter 463 Artoria Caster and the Philosopher's Stone
'That treasure...'

Menek spoke passionately, but Hohenheim remained unmoved. He knew, of course, that Menek was referring to the Holy Grail, originally bestowed upon the culprits of the Singularity, which had ended up in this era.

His gentle and serene gaze slowly shifted to the photographs of elderly men on the walls of the principal's office. These were photographs of elders such as Lord Mayek, the Marquess of Gambett, and Viscount Charlotte. It was their dedication to educational ideals and the development of their school philosophy that allowed this hilltop castle on the outskirts of London to stand here, educating and nurturing students.

"Menek, do you still remember the last wishes left by those elders?"

The hot-blooded youth, filled with resentment and eager to expel the monsters from this land, was suddenly stunned. He looked at the most familiar figure in those photos, which were different from ordinary photography techniques; they were photos that had been enchanted, photos that could move.

In the middle of the photograph, Lord Mayek is lost in deep thought, as if he were worrying or looking forward to the future of the Secret Service, just like in his lifetime. Gambet is buried in a pile of papers, writing and calculating. The complex mathematical formulas are enough to make one's scalp tingle at a glance. Viscount Charlotte is tall and thin like bamboo, quietly smiling kindly at this young genius.

The academy must be established, and the war must not stop. Whoever survives, our cause must continue!

Menek seemed to hear their voices echoing in his ears, and he suddenly realized that while he was impulsively and passionately charging ahead, trying to change the times, it was the elders who were still worried and supporting him from behind, trying their best to nurture the next generation.

This is why he approached Hohenheim, the legendary alchemist. Paracelsus von Hohenheim was a prominent figure of the 16th-century Renaissance. According to legend, he created the Man in a Bottle and the Philosopher's Stone, and rediscovered the four elements and the three primary substances. The Magician in the Major Arcana Tarot was designed based on him.

Having ascertained Hohenheim's identity, entrusting him with the task of teaching and nurturing a new generation to continue the elders' legacy was undoubtedly the most appropriate choice. To have these sorcerers, skilled in magic, shoulder duties that should belong to warriors was a waste.

After calming down a bit, Menek apologized decisively, "I am very sorry, Principal Hohenheim. I was angry because I witnessed a tragedy during the investigation, seeing how the fairies were toying with humans.

“I understand, Menek. Our compassion and empathy make us incompatible with those inhuman beings…”

Hohenheim gestured for the weary Menek to sit down, and with a flick of his finger, the gleaming silver kettle and the toy-like little figure beside him automatically ran over and poured the young man a steaming cup of hot cocoa. After doing all this, the tiny creature, no bigger than the palm of his hand, even went to great lengths to bring over a plate of pastries, and finally gave Menek, who had just returned from his travels, a military salute.

Menek smiled, nodded to the little guy, took a sip of the very sweet hot cocoa, and sighed inwardly that the principal's sweet tooth was still far beyond what ordinary people could have imagined.

"But my dear child, we must not let hatred blind us. While looking up at our ideals, we must not forget to keep our feet on the ground. After all, the phenomenon of demons is occurring more and more frequently, but the scope is still not large, and cities with large populations are functioning normally."

Hohenheim's face was partially obscured by rising steam and white mist, and Menek only heard the headmaster say—

"Besides, I am not entirely unprepared for this war that has already begun. In fact, my planning has been underway since the time I started sending teachers and outstanding students like you out on missions, and even earlier."

Menek's attention was immediately drawn. "Headmaster, could it be—"

Hohenheim said, "You should know that the treasure didn't originally belong to me. I've explained to you the concept of the 'Holy Grail War' and how the Holy Grail can drive people mad. It's far more dangerous than the fairy phenomenon you're investigating."

"But what I haven't explained is how the original owner of this thing, the one whose name cannot even be mentioned, attempted to throw the entire era into chaos and set the whole world ablaze."

"However, no matter what his plans were in this era, they were ultimately brought to an end by a little girl due to a series of unexpected factors... This last thing is the only one that you are familiar with."

"For me, it is not honorable to place the hope of salvation on a child. I would rather abandon ethics and morality to mass-produce artificial life forms for war... But the vast majority of people in this country need to have such a hope in their hearts."

Menek clenched her fists when she heard this. It was completely unfair to her to elevate a child to a high position and subject him to turmoil. But at that time, those enormous eyeball monsters that seemed to reach the sky did indeed leave an indelible impression of terror. The appearance of that child and the simultaneous death of the demon king who controlled the demon god did provide a sudden glimmer of hope.

"But Headmaster, why can't we tell everyone in the academy the name of that mysterious person? Isn't he already dead?"

“Death? How could that be? Such a being has already conquered death. That day’s battle only temporarily destroyed his physical form. He will return sooner or later. If his name spreads, it will only enhance his fame and make him even more powerful.”

Hohenheim shook his head. "However, through recent investigations, combined with the astrological predictions of our most capable astronomy professor—the bright trajectory of Mars, the imminent signs of war—I have indeed deduced that the enemy may return. Don't worry, child, we are prepared. Starting this school year, we may well sound the horn of counterattack."

"The astronomy professor, the centaur?" Menek should have been excited, but after learning that the information came from divination, he scratched his head. He wasn't interested in the mystical astrology, nor did he have any talent for it. He always felt it was a riddle-solving course.

Hohenheim smiled. "It's Professor Chiron, child. I hope you will maintain the most basic respect for professors."

Okay, alright—

Menek was speechless. Even though the other party was a centaur, he had always held Chiron, the top instructor of the Greek hero crash course, in high regard! Except for those damned, dazzling, star-studded divination classes!
"Just kidding. It's getting late, and I think your friends, Angers and Lushanyan, must be getting impatient. Dean Helena will definitely complain to me when she finds out."

After a brief farewell, Hohenheim watched Menek leave the principal's office before pulling out a newspaper filled with text and animated images. The headline read, "World's largest bank vault, the Bank of Rome, has been hacked, but officials claim thieves failed to steal anything."

Hohenheim held up the newspaper and looked at Elder Mayek in the photograph. "This is the treasury where the Secret Society's assets are stored! That person is still watching us after all. The Demon King who commands the servants of the Demon God Pillars has been resurrected and returned."

Mayek in the photo is startled from his reverie, as if he has just woken up, his half-closed eyes opening. "...He's in the wrong place. Even when Gambet was in charge of finances, he wouldn't have made such a big fuss."

"Yes, he saw that we had partnered to establish the school and assumed that the Holy Grail that rightfully belonged to him would be kept in your secret society's treasury, but that's clearly not the case."

"But soon, realizing his mistake, he will come to this school. Sooner or later he will discover that this seemingly harmless school is the real headquarters," Hohenheim said.

A glint of shrewdness flashed in Mayek's cloudy old eyes in the photograph, "...You're planning to deliberately lure him here?"

Hohenheim did not answer, but instead made a pointed remark:
"The stars reveal a bright path for Mars and the coming of war, but a brilliant exoplanet has crossed Pluto's orbit... It seems that something different from us is coming, and everything is becoming increasingly confusing and unclear."

"May our savior grow up quickly."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Artoria Caster was eagerly awaited to grow up from the time she could remember. She didn't know what real parents were, nor where she came from; her childhood was spent in a village in Cornwall, the fairy kingdom.

The Fairy Kingdom is naturally full of fairies, but there are also a few humans. The fairies have imitated civilization from humans—fairies do not need to reproduce, but they imitate human social relationships to form families. The fairies' bodies are not as fragile as humans', but they imitate human labor systems to build villages and cities and to divide labor.

Castor didn't understand the point; perhaps the fairies just thought it was fun.

She herself was not aware of being a fairy. After all, fairies have powerful magic and bodies, and their abilities are innate, while her magic was weak and her physical qualities were similar to those of humans. She needed to grow and train to become stronger.

After being adopted by the fairy village, Caster lived under their oppression, doing farm work all day long. She was also kept in a stable, and due to the terrible living conditions, she even lost two toes when it got cold.

These days are the epitome of suffering.

But one day, her life suddenly changed. When she woke up, she found herself in Cornwall, a world that belonged to the human world, on the island of Britain.

"...Am I really not dreaming?"

Kaster stroked the acceptance letter in his hand again and again, the principal Hohenheim's signature and the gold-embossed seal leaving a tactile impression on his fingertips.

Upon arriving in this world, she first received this letter from an owl, and then was led by a professor named Madame Blavatsky into the so-called "magical world." The professor told her that these magicians, like herself, trained their magic and skills on their own, rather than being born powerful like fairies.

The amazing thing is that she hardly encountered any fairies on the way. There were human settlements everywhere, and a considerable number of people did not believe in fairies or magical powers and spells. They thought they were all legends and that all kinds of mysterious phenomena could be explained by something called 'science'. This was the so-called ordinary people.

Everything was incredibly bizarre and fantastical to Castor, who used to live in the fairy kingdom.

Without the oppression and torment of her fairy relatives back home, without the suffocating farm work and the cramped, cold stables, she will now go to a place called "Clock Tower," an "academy" founded by humans to teach magical knowledge, where all the students are magic apprentices like her.

My God, life in human society is so beautiful, it's like a dream!

"Of course it's not a dream!"

The Native American girl in the room next to her gave her a strange look. "The professor personally came over that day and took you to buy so many magic textbooks. You can't just pretend it was all a dream, can you?"

“Haha,” Caster put away the letter and laughed awkwardly. “Ghost” was her roommate who lived in the same dormitory building. She didn’t quite understand why a pretty girl would have a name like Ghost, but Ghost didn’t like to nag, so she didn’t ask too much.

"School starts soon, stop overthinking, my savior."

Castor instinctively retorted, "Pah! I'm no savior."

Alas, the people back in the Fairy Kingdom also call her the "Child of Prophecy," which is why they force her to serve them, as if doing so would inspire a savior and prove themselves!

People here do the same thing, but she really is just an ordinary girl!

Slightly depressed, Castor, who had a kind of "savior complex," continued packing her meager belongings. She planned to use the money that the kind Professor Blavatsky had given her sparingly, buying daily necessities and a few sets of clothes, stuffing them into the bundle, and then tying a sturdy knot to attach it to her wand, the "Wand of the Chosen."

She looked at the letter again; it seemed they were going to take a special train to the clock tower outside London, a school that was isolated from the world and had almost no other means of transportation besides the train.

The new school year is just around the corner.

The young girl, Caster, chuckled foolishly, beginning to look forward to the "school life" and "classmates and teachers" that she could never experience in the fairy kingdom.

Then--

"Oh no, I almost missed it!"

The girl, carrying a large package and a magic wand, sprinted across the platform as if she were rushing to catch the last train.

Ghost, who was about to get into the car, rolled his eyes at Caster. "I told you to have breakfast. What have you been up to?"

"Uh, I'm so sorry, London is so big, I got lost—" Caster was really embarrassed to say that she was dazzled by the vastness and prosperity of London, acting like a country bumpkin who had never seen the world. Even though the professor had taken her through the streets once before, it was only a tiny part of the vast land of Great Britain.

Then, looking at the ghost, she said, "Thank you for still waiting for me."

"I didn't wait for you," the ghost said, bewildered. "I'm gone."

Then, to her astonishment, Caster watched as the ghost followed a young man with an Asian face, dressed in a suit resembling a Zhongshan suit, onto the train and into a nearby carriage. There was also a group of older female and male students nearby; she vaguely heard the names "Yamahiko" and "Menek."

What? She betrayed herself and secretly got a girlfriend right after the start of the semester?

You're no longer my best friend!
Furious and saddened, Custer turned and entered another carriage, beginning to worry whether his college life would really be as wonderful as he had hoped.

She wanted to find an empty carriage, but it was too late and everywhere was full. In the last carriage, Custer saw a red-haired man eating and two red-haired sisters sitting opposite each other, laughing and playing around, tossing each other origami cranes that sparked.

"Excuse me, can I sit here?"

(End of this chapter)