Shirou Emiya is challenging FGO

Chapter 88 The time that has never come has come! ? (1! Please give me a monthly ticket! Please subscribe automatically!)
86. The Fujimaru siblings’ youth romance story is problematic

Until the second year of junior high school, Fujimaru Ritsuka's life was very ordinary.

A fraternal twin brother who looks nothing like him, a sister who is a few years younger than him, a gentle and virtuous mother, a father who is busy with work and often travels on business but has a loving relationship with his wife and is still throwing flash bombs at an old age.

Although the family is not wealthy, they have enough food and clothing.

There is nothing I am particularly good at, and there is nothing I am particularly bad at.

I was not excluded in the class. Although I didn't have anyone I could call a close friend, I had a good relationship with most of my classmates and friends. We would go out together from time to time and celebrate each other's birthdays.

The only thing that could be considered a semi-unusual hobby of Li Xiang was that she liked watching horse racing - she was not keen on gambling, she just simply liked watching the races and liked watching the horses running freely on the track.

Perhaps because they were born as twin siblings, their overly lively and open-minded parents actually gave both siblings names that are pronounced exactly the same, but with slightly different Chinese characters.

It is said that both of them were so-called "SF (science fiction) otaku" when they were young, so they were very keen on paying attention to the details of the settings.

My brother's name is Fujimaru Ritsuka.

My sister's name is 'Fujimaru Ritsuka'.

When I was young, my brother was often tricked by his parents into wearing women's clothes. When he grew up, he realized that something was wrong: "No matter how you pronounce it or how the Chinese characters are written, these two names are definitely girls' names, right?!"

Mother: "Because you are prettier, Ritsuka looks very handsome in men's clothes. The contrast between twin brothers and sisters is really great!"

Ritsuka: "Is it really okay to say this in front of my daughter? - I don't mind, after all, it's more convenient to move around in men's clothes."

Brother: "What you are wearing is women's men's clothing, right? Isn't it still women's clothing in essence!?"

The elder brother seemed a little upset about this: "Isn't it true that I am the only victim? From now on, just call me Fujimaru. Don't call me by my name. Ritsuka or something like that is basically a woman's name. I'm actually a man."

The mother suddenly became serious and punched Fujimaru without warning: "I will correct you, a child like you who doesn't understand the good intentions of your parents!"

Fujimaru and Ritsuka dodged and said, "Who can understand this old joke in this era?!" (Note: The line of Camus Vidan, the protagonist of the 1985 TV animation "Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam", the original line is "For an adult like you, I have to correct you!")
Mother: "It's OK as long as you two understand! Oolaoolaoola!" (Note: the battle cry of Jotaro Kujo when he throws his fist in "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure")
Brother: "Mudashi Mudashi Mudashi!" (Note: In "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure", Dio Brando's battle cry when he punches is pronounced as "Mudashi")
The mother and brother were fighting passionately. Ritsuka took the opportunity to attack and grabbed his brother from behind: "Here comes the chance! Mom!" (Note: The first version is the classic line in the 1988 TV animation "Magic Hero Altar/Dragon Fighter" "Here comes the chance! Xiao Du!")
The mother immediately started to change her brother's skirt!

The elder brother struggled hard: "Ritsuka! You plotted against me!" (Note: In the 1979 TV animation "Mobile Suit Gundam 0079", Garma Zabi's famous line "Char! You plotted against me!")
"Beautiful!" The younger sister, who was not in the right situation, also rushed over and held her brother's legs.

Because he was afraid of accidentally kicking and hurting his little sister, the brother could only accept the "torture" in humiliation.

[(Speaking of which, in many secondary creations nowadays, there are settings where male Fujimaru likes women's clothing, so I will just add a judgment here casually)]

[(Fujimaru's acceptance of 'women's clothing': 1D100=80)]

[(Aren’t you enjoying this!?)]

Maybe it was because her foundation was really good. Although she didn't have any mental problems, she had some thoughts like "I'm so cute! It would be a waste if I didn't dress up!" and became very proficient in makeup techniques.

As a result, the school has a mysterious campus legend that "a mysterious beautiful girl of unknown origin will give unpopular boys charity chocolates on Valentine's Day every year."

Ritsuka could occasionally see Fujimaru secretly trying to hold back his laughter: “I wonder what expressions those guys would have if they knew that the chocolates were given by me, haha ...

Occasionally, Ritsuka would have a subtle sense of disorientation: What's going on? He's good at makeup, housework, and even learned to fake his voice (← to play a prank on his friends), why does it feel like my brother's femininity is higher than mine! ?
Ritsuka, whose private hobbies are horse racing and rubber-binding, felt a subtle sense of crisis.

Of course, these are just minor episodes.

Wonderful and joyful family relationships.

Lixiang likes this atmosphere very much.

But all this ordinary daily life was changed when I was in the second year of junior high school.

That day was Ritsuka's birthday.

It is also Fujimaru's birthday.

My father, who has been on business trips for a long time, prepared his vacation and time in advance. After school, the family would dine at the booked restaurant and then go to the movies together.

If I have to say, it’s not a very special plan.

That day, Fujimaru, a member of the literature club, went home early, while Ritsuka went to the commercial street to play with her friends who came to celebrate for her. When she left the karaoke, she came out a little late because of the enthusiasm of her friends.

But this is not a big problem. His family has already contacted him via mobile phone and told him that they are leaving for the restaurant where they have booked a table, and asked him to go home and change his clothes before coming back.

Nothing special.

Similar situations have occurred on my birthday every year.

But that day—

Lixiang remembered that it was next to the river.

The grassy area beside the river is a favorite place for many children from nearby primary schools to play after school.

That was not the route Ritsuka usually took home.

That day, because I went to play with my classmates and friends at a place a little far away that I didn’t usually go to, I had to take that route to go home.

Lead-gray clouds suddenly covered the sky, followed by a sudden intensification of the wind and faint thunder. A foreseeable heavy rain seemed to be about to pour down from the sky at any time.

Li Xiang, who was just thinking about running back home as fast as possible, accidentally saw a quarrel between several children.

It's not a rare thing.

A child was surrounded by a group of children. His robot toy was snatched away by other children. The bullied child wanted to get his toy back, while the bad boys who bullied him laughed and played the "pass the ball game".

The robot toy of the bullied child was constantly thrown in the hands of the bad boys. They laughed and looked at the crying boy, who was running back and forth between the bad boys like a headless fly.

Lixiang frowned and habitually wanted to stop this malicious farce, but at this moment, an accident happened.

During the process of passing the 'ball', when the 'ball' - the robot toy was about to be snatched back by its owner, the bully threw the toy out with extra force in order to prevent him from 'successfully'.

It was not thrown into the hands of other bad boys, but because of excessive force, it fell into the river nearby.

The river was calm most of the year, but unfortunately that day was a day when the water was surging.

Ritsuka was stunned, and the bad kids who bullied others were also stunned.

At this moment, God calculated the time perfectly and the rain began to fall, from a few drops to a torrential downpour in the blink of an eye.

Ritsuka subconsciously looked up at the sky.

It was at this moment of distraction that the bad kids screamed.

When Lixiang looked at the group of children again, the bullied child, who didn't even take off his schoolbag, came to the river because he was anxious to get his toys back.

The turbulent river, accompanied by heavy rain and strong winds, pushed the wind and a wave hit, sweeping the child into the river.

The bad boys were all dumbfounded.

Ritsuka rushed over subconsciously.

Throw the schoolbag to those bad kids: "Use my phone to call the police! The password is XXXXXX!"

Before he realized what he was about to do and the risks, Ritsuka took off his shoes and jumped into the river.

Although it took a lot of effort, Ritsuka managed to get the child to the shore before the river became more turbulent.

If Ritsuka had successfully climbed ashore after that, perhaps there wouldn't have been the nightmare that followed.

--brick

Somewhere upstream of the river, living in the shadow of a bridge, a homeless man picked up bricks to build a makeshift shack, but they were washed away by the sudden heavy rain and the river.

One of the bricks that was given kinetic energy by the river hit Ritsuka's forehead, who was already at the end of his strength.

For a moment, Ritsuka seemed to hear more exclamations.

But blood soon dyed her vision red.

Being swept into the river, muddy water poured into the mouth and nose, and the body was swept away by the turbulent current.

The turbulence was like countless transparent pythons wrapped around my ankles, unable to break free, and the concrete pipe wall was rapidly retreating in my sight.

concrete?
When Ritsuka realized it, the back of her head hit the rock protrusion at the bottom of the river hard. Miraculously, she did not faint, and her fingers tried to grab the concrete that might be the support of a bridge downstream.

but failed.

The moment the fingernails were flipped over, the limbs and ribs were dragged by the turbulent current and hit the trap hidden in the turbulent river.

Broken bones. I'm afraid there are also internal injuries. If no one comes to save him, he will definitely die.

If it were an ordinary human, this would be the end.

It is said that when a person is on the brink of life and death, he will see a revolving lantern of his life.

But at that moment, Ritsuka's consciousness was unexpectedly clear. Although his whole body was wailing in pain inside and out, his consciousness was incredibly clear.

On the line between life and death.

Under the muddy river that might be her grave—

As if it was an illusion, Ritsuka saw a figure.

A girl wearing an orange-red tights like a space suit in a science fiction story, with her long hair tied into a ponytail.

She looks exactly like me, but she seems to be a little older than her, who is in the second grade of junior high school. She is probably a high school student.

It's like my own reflection.

But she had a pair of golden eyes that were completely different from his own, so bright in the dark river bottom.

The golden irises seemed to be flowing with melted gold foil of the sun, and every line reflected the cracks of time, as if telling countless stories of the past.

Li Xiang seemed to be face to face with her, yet seemed to be separated from her by a distance in different time and space.

Only those two golden hues pierce through the barriers of this world - who are you?

Such confusion just emerged in the girl's mind.

"——!?"

The next moment, when Li Xiang came to her senses, a huge force suddenly appeared, and the turbulent current that devoured life seemed unable to contain her and spit her out - she was actually thrown back to the shore by a wave!
(Hallucination? Saved?)
But it's not enough.

The heavy rain was still beating against Lixiang's body, and severe pain was surging from her body - from inside her body: blood loss, hypothermia, internal organ damage, everything was fatal, and if she didn't get the necessary first aid immediately, she would still die.

The broken ribs pierced into her lungs, making breathing difficult. The severe pain and lack of oxygen began to make her consciousness blurred.

The instinct of survival and the instinct to be with his family drove Lixiang to move his body with great effort and move towards home.

An incredible miracle happened.

The severe pain gradually faded away, but this was not because of paralysis caused by excessive blood loss, but because the injuries were recovering.

She even stood up again.

My breathing gradually became steady, as if the damage to my lungs and the pain in my ribs were all illusions.

Only the consciousness becomes more and more muddy.

Instinct alone drove her home.

Suddenly, Lixiang, who had only taken a few steps, stumbled and fell to the ground.

".?"

Something strange happened to Ritsuka.

She suddenly lost control of her body. This feeling was not the same as the feeling of being out of control like a "puppet with its strings cut" when her body was paralyzed and her muscles were twitching.

Rather, it was as if the body had become no longer its original self, and the consciousness was unable to adapt to the wrong body, and confusion arose during the operation.

Ritsuka fell to the ground, and in the reflection of the puddle - saw a stranger.

Where there should have been 'the reflection of one's own face', it was not Ritsuka's face, nor was it the strange phantom that Ritsuka had seen before, but the face of another beautiful but completely unfamiliar, white-haired girl with a pair of ruby-like eyes.

it's beautiful.

But but this is not me!

This is not me! This is not me at all! Ritsuka cried out in her heart.

Strange things happened again.

Ritsuka's face in the reflection of the puddle began to change again!

Not only the face changed, but also the body. Ritsuka could clearly feel that every piece of flesh and blood and every internal organ inside and outside of his body were wriggling, twisting, and - changing.

Long glass-colored hair that reaches the ground, huge horns that look like conch shells, a plump body, a tail with fish-like scales, and peach-colored eyes with irises that form a strange 'X' shape. Who is this?

--wrong!
"this is not me!"

Although I don’t know who this is, it’s definitely not me!
"I should, should I?"

Ritsuka was stunned.

Her memory seemed to be shrouded in a layer of fog, and she couldn't even remember what she looked like.

Family.

Come back home.

Yes! Go home!

Just go home! There must be a photo of me at home! Just find a photo of me! Then I can figure out what 'Ritsuka (me)' should look like!
She began to run, stumbling and dragging her unfamiliar and strange body.

The damn puddles on the ground were like a mirror, forcing the girl to look even if she didn't want to, and to know that her body was constantly changing, becoming unfamiliar to her.

What made the girl even more terrified was that in the process of constant running and out-of-control changes, her own memory - her memory of her daily life - became increasingly blurred.

When the girl returned to her home, she could hardly remember what she was.

The reflection in the water no longer looked like a 'strange person', but a distorted monster made up of the physical features of several different people.

In Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein, a monster made of countless human corpses was created.

The girl stumbled and almost crawled to the door of her house.

What I was faced with was an empty home - my family members, whose names and faces I could not remember, had already left.

How to open the door without a key?
The school bag containing the key was thrown away by her. When the girl subconsciously recalled the shape of the 'house key' in her mind——

Her hands began to twist.

The muscles and finger bones mutated uncontrollably and turned into the shape of a key right in front of her.

The girl subconsciously inserted the key that her right hand had turned into into the door lock.

The door opened successfully.

--wrong

No no no no no no!!!!!
"This is not me! I'm not a monster! I'm human, I am, I am. Who am I?"

The girl rushed into the house like crazy, climbed the familiar yet unfamiliar stairs, came to the second floor, opened the door of her room, as long as she could find her own photo -

No.

Where is a girl's room?

The place that I remembered was my room, but in front of me was just a warehouse where sundries were stored.

".Photos. There are photos in my brother's room!"

The girl muttered to herself and turned to the next room, which was an ordinary boy's room. Apart from the personal computer, the most eye-catching thing was the various light novels stuffed on the bookshelf.

The girl, who was out of control, roughly opened the cabinet on the lower shelf and took out the photo album.

Open the photo album.

If you can find 'yourself' in this...

".?"

"."

".!?"

No.

No no no no no no no no no!

Nowhere, nowhere!
In the family portraits of different ages and periods, some are happy families of four - father, mother, brother, and younger sister.

The girl's fingertips traced the boy's face in the family photo: "Fujimaru."

Then the little sister's face: "Haruka" (Note: FGO does not give the full name of Fujimaru Ritsuka's sister. I used Deepseek to generate this, which means "distant, future")
But there was no girl, no 'brother's twin sister'.

It was as if she had never existed in this world from the very beginning.

"No! No, no, no, no, no! There must be something wrong! What about me? What about me! Am I not the child of this family? I am, I am."

Tears flowed uncontrollably from the girl's distorted face.

"I am. Who am I?"

When the girl asked herself this, a sharp pain began to come from the deepest part of her mind.

It felt like something was about to be torn apart, and something was about to spill out.

Suddenly, a voice interrupted the process.

"No, if I do that, the world will be destroyed. I have to save the world."

It was a somewhat cold, female voice, as if it was speaking to the girl, or as if it was talking to itself.

The high heels tapped the ground, the sound was like the sound of a broken harp string, and then 'she' appeared in front of the girl.

She looked about the same age as her younger sister Haruka. She had long, lava-red hair tied into a neat ponytail. A goat-like horn could be seen next to her left ear.

The modified tuxedo fits the girl's budding figure well. The collar is embroidered with reverse cross thorns in silver thread, and a bow made of blood-red ribbon hangs in the hollow of the collarbone, trembling slightly with her breathing.

Rather than being beautiful, she is more seductive, like the devil that seduces people into falling into depravity in "Faust".

"Who are you?" she subconsciously asked the devilish girl in front of her.

The devilish little girl was silent for a moment: "I am Fujimaru Haruka, your younger sister."

"No, Haruka doesn't look like you!"

"Because she's a fake." The devilish girl said faintly, "'To you', she is a fake. I was born from the echo of your past. I am your half. I am your real sister."

Dazed and confused.

"Are you a devil?" She asked subconsciously, her heart aching as if it was being grabbed. "Devil. It doesn't matter if you are a devil! Please tell me! Who am I?"

The devilish girl who called herself Haruka did not answer her question directly.

"Sister, do you want to make a deal?" the little devil asked to himself.

Haruka's eyes, which seemed to be gilded, stared at the girl. Her eyes, shining like burning red gold, made the girl think of the pair of eyes she saw underwater not long ago.

“Yes!” The girl grabbed a life-saving straw like a drowning person, “Tell me who I am! Please let me wake up from this nightmare! I want to go back to my daily life - that’s right! You must be the one behind all this, right!
You are scaring me! You are deceiving me! To… to make me do business with you? Just like the devil in those stories! "

The little devil shook his head and smiled bitterly, but did not intend to answer directly:
"You have seven chances to trade, sister. Remember this, seven times. Each trade is one seventh of your life. When the seven times are over, I will take away everything from you."

The girl was stunned.

This deal sounds pretty affordable, right?

Seven trading opportunities, but everything will be taken away only after all seven are completed. Doesn't that mean that as long as you use it six times, you don't have to use the seventh time? Isn't that equivalent to getting the first six times for free?
"This time it doesn't count, it's considered a trial!"

The little devil snapped his fingers.

She disappeared.

Everything seemed to have changed, and yet nothing seemed to have changed.

The photo album in the girl's hand no longer showed "Family of Four", but changed back to "Family of Five".

She looked at the girl in the photo, seriously and carefully, as if she wanted to engrave everything into the deepest part of her soul.

Her appearance and her memories also changed back to normal.

She remembered.

"Fujimaru Ritsuka. My name is. Fujimaru Ritsuka."

Reclaimed 'self'.

Li Xiang held the family photo album and shed tears.

Everything that just happened seemed like just a nightmare.

"I found you! Ritsuka!"

Suddenly, someone patted Lixiang's shoulder hard.

The man began to complain: "Really, everyone was looking for you. I called your home but you didn't answer. I happened to be nearby and thought maybe my time was wrong, so I came to check on you. Sure enough, you were here - and I gave you the key. How come you didn't take it out after you opened the door and left it on the door?"

Lixiang stared blankly at the key that the other person stuffed into his hand.

Key key?

wrong!

Didn't I just use the key that my hand turned into to open the door? After I opened the door, my hand turned back into its original shape. I didn't use the key to open the door at all!

But at this moment, the key is in Ritsuka's hand.

".Dream? Hallucination? Insanity?"

Was everything I just experienced an illusion?
They were all fake. Was he scaring himself? Li Xiang was a little confused.

"Why are you so wet? Did you just fall into the river?" The other party took out a blanket from Fujimaru's room and threw it on Ritsuka's head. "Wipe yourself first, then take a shower. I'll call your brother and let them know you're safe. Uh, you don't look injured. Take a shower and change your clothes. I'll take you to the hotel."

The other party said this, then took out his cell phone and started calling Lixiang's brother to report that he was safe.

Ritsuka stared blankly at the silver-haired woman of the same age who was taking care of herself.

——Orita-san. (Note: The original FGO work does not yet give the full name of this "girl who had a good relationship with Fujimaru Ritsuka (regardless of whether it was a male or female Ritsuka) in high school", and it is not even clear whether her last name is "Orita". Here I assume her name is Orita.)
You can tell from her hair color that she has foreign ancestry. In a place like Japan, although mixed-race people are often set as popular classic heroines in various comics, animations and light novels, this is not the case in reality.

Although eye-catching and different physical features may not necessarily lead to bullying, they can easily lead to being shunned, treated differently, and alienated - the so-called cold violence.

Orita is probably the same, but she doesn't like socializing and speaks harshly to others. Although she has not been bullied, she has always been on the edge of the class.

Ritsuka was a member of the volleyball club. She had no contact with her and they were not in the same circle.

But Orita, like his brother Fujimaru, is a ghost member of the literature club.

The so-called ghost members are those who are listed in certain clubs to fill the number of the literature club so as to avoid the club being disbanded due to insufficient number of members, and they basically do not participate in the activities of the club.

The reason why Ritsuka's brother, Fujimaru, was listed in the literature club was simply because he wanted to read the club's books for free - after the time came to the modern times, there were already quite a few paperback light novels in the literature club's books.

The literature department of Ritsuka's school has basically become a ghost club. The only person who often goes to the department is Fujimaru, who comes to read books for free.

The school didn't have any special requirements for this. They just thought casually, "Since it's a school, there must be a literature department, right? Even if no one is interested now, what if there is one in the future? Anyway, let's keep it like this. It doesn't require any funding anyway."

Perhaps because he couldn't bear it any longer, the instructor of the literature department stepped forward and caught Fujimaru who always came to use the books and the air conditioning - Ritsuka would occasionally use the air conditioning in the club room during lunch.

I don’t know if my instructor has read too many light novels recently.

The teacher decided to find something for the Ghost Literature Club to do. They couldn't let Fujimaru use the air conditioning for free, so they made him a temporary all-purpose worker. If any club was short of staff or any classmate had difficulties and needed help, they could ask Fujimaru for advice.

The Fujimaru siblings' suggestion (complaint) was: "Why don't you change the name of the Literature Department to 'Service Club'?" (Note: The Service Club is one of the clubs at Sobu High School in "My Teen Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As Expected". The club's activities are to lend a helping hand to those in trouble and accept various requests from school students.)
The instructor said regretfully: "I want it too, but the school doesn't give it this name in real life."

What neither Fujimaru nor Ritsuka had expected was that a few days later, someone actually heard the news and came to their door.

That person is Orita-san.

"My doujinshi is almost behind schedule! Do you have any help?"

Fujimaru scratched his head at the time, expressing confusion: "Why don't you go to the comic research club next door for this kind of thing?"

"I don't know those people, and they just read comics and write reviews, which is embarrassing. Do you have anyone here who can help?"

Fujimaru thought for a moment and said, "I don't know how, but I can learn - Orita-san, what can I do for you?"

After a while, Orita also became a member of the literature club.

Ritsuka could only sigh that his brother had unknowingly become a light novel protagonist.

Of course, Ritsuka only knew that Orita and Fujimaru had been very close recently, and did not go any further to disturb them.

"."

After shaking his head and telling his parents that he was safe, Ritsuka returned to his room and opened the door again.

It was no longer a warehouse full of miscellaneous items, but Ritsuka's own room that he was familiar with. Everything was so familiar, and there was even a model that Ritsuka had not finished assembling in the cabinet.

It was as if everything that happened before was just a nightmare illusion.

Li Xiang couldn't tell what was real and what was imaginary. After confirming that there were no wounds on his body, he finally decided to go to the restaurant as planned to attend the birthday family dinner.

I don't want to make my family worry.

Seeing that Ritsuka was fine, Orita planned to leave. Ritsuka invited her to go with him, but she just waved her hand and said, "I won't get involved in your family's affairs."

After saying that, he planned to leave.

Looking at her back, Li Xiang stopped her for some unknown reason.

Then, Ritsuka told Orita-san everything that he had just experienced.

After Orita found out——

I thought it was interesting at first.

She aspires to become a cartoonist and is very interested in the bizarre ghost stories described by Li Xiang, which seem as if she were really there.

But that didn't mean she really believed it: "Where's the evidence? You don't have any wounds on your body. If you really fell into the river to save someone as you said, how come you don't have any injuries at all?"

"My schoolbag is lost! My cellphone was in it!"

"It could be that you are hiding."

While Orita was talking to Ritsuka, he sent a message to Fujimaru through the chat app on his phone.

Then Orita placed Fujimaru's reply in front of Ritsuka: "Are you really not injured? If you really lost your schoolbag and phone while saving people, it wouldn't take long for the police to notify us."

Compared to the lost schoolbag and mobile phone, the brother was obviously more concerned about the safety of his twin sister.

(Although Fujimaru is an ordinary person, his ability to analyze things calmly is amazing)

Ritsuka thought so subconsciously.

Orita was obviously concerned about the 'story' that Ritsuka was talking about: "Tell me more!"

The final result was that the police really came with news not long after, confirming that Lixiang had indeed jumped into the river to save someone.

Orita and Ritsuka took a shower together, and the former confirmed in the bathroom that the latter really had no injuries at all - saving someone in a turbulent river in this season and drowning himself, and finally climbing ashore intact? No matter how you think about it, there is something wrong!

After confirming that there is a problem.

Orita became even more excited!

"As expected, there is a mysterious power behind this world, right? Ritsuka, you must have awakened super powers!"

At last.

At Ritsuka's request, he made a deal with Orita: "I'll try my best to answer whatever you want to know, but you have to go with me tonight."

After bringing Orita to the hotel, Ritsuka calmly called Orita "my brother's girlfriend" and assured his family that he was fine and not injured, successfully diverting his parents' attention and making them less worried about Ritsuka.

Of course, after dinner, Lixiang was still obedient and was taken to the hospital by his family for a thorough physical examination.

I am in good health, or rather too healthy.

It seemed that everything that Li Xiang had experienced before, except jumping into the river to save people, was just an illusion, just a short nightmare.

The only aftermath of this incident was that the family of the rescued child came to thank Lixiang, and the school also publicly commended Lixiang for his bravery.

After that – another four years passed.

The Fujimaru siblings are in their second year of high school.

These four years have been unexpectedly ordinary.

During these four years, Lixiang would occasionally have dreams at night. Sometimes they were nightmares, and sometimes they were sweet dreams. But after waking up, he could not remember anything, and the only warmth left in his chest was nostalgia.

But that's all.

Orita originally thought that Ritsuka had awakened superpowers, and they were physical superpowers. If that was the case, then as a member of the volleyball club, wouldn't she be entering the classic "urban superpower show-off" segment next? !

Super Volleyball! Start!

——But it didn’t.

Everything was normal. Apart from being healthier than the average person, Ritsuka did not show any signs of 'cheating'.

The volleyball club's performance is not bad, but there is no element of Ritsuka cheating.

Mr. Orita, a future manga artist who has read countless movies, believes with his rich experience in reading comics: "This is because you, Ritsuka, are unconsciously rejecting superpowers! You are rejecting those things and want to maintain your normal self - so you seal your abilities! That's right! I've seen a lot of this kind of routine! What you need is excitement! More crises to stimulate you!"

However, Orita's idea has not been put into practice in four years.

Because his brother Fujimaru vetoed it: "What if Ritsuka gets hurt? That would be a loss, wouldn't it?"

Orita, who is actually a good person at heart, couldn't convince himself to do anything dangerous to Ritsuka to provoke her.

time flies.

On this day, a piece of news was accidentally seen by Lixiang on his way home.

"Blood Donation Activity"

Fujimaru, who had developed a habit of going home with Ritsuka after school along with Orita ever since the incident that year, naturally saw the news as well.

Fujimaru's focus was off: "If you donate blood, you'll get a One Punch Man stand!"

Li Xiang stared at the flyer in a daze.

The foreign lady dressed as a nurse who was handing out flyers looked at the boys and girls in front of her kindly. Her nurse uniform was embroidered with a pattern of a moon planet surrounded by olive leaves, which made Lixiang feel strangely familiar and kind.

For no apparent reason, a strange thought suddenly occurred to Ritsuka: I have to find a way to get Orita-san to participate as well.

Reason? Why do you do this?
Li Xiang didn't know, he just felt that he should do this, otherwise he might lose this friend. This sudden feeling was as if Li Xiang had lost this friend before.

"Orita-san, come too." Ritsuka looked at Orita.

"If you want, go ahead. I'll order some bubble tea and wait for you."

Orita felt puzzled. She looked at the blood donation vehicle not far away:
"I don't want to be given an injection and have my blood drawn when I'm fine."

Orita-san, who was muttering quietly, was actually just afraid of the pain.

Fujimaru just shrugged his shoulders. Since Orita didn't want to, he didn't want to force him. He took a fancy to the One Punch Man stand and planned to go directly - donating blood can help those in need and get small gifts, so why not?

But Ritsuka remained silent.

She suddenly felt that the interaction between her brother and Orita was inexplicably familiar, as if she had had a similar conversation with Orita before.

Say "Wait for me here, I will be back after donating blood."

But this farewell became a farewell forever, and I never saw Orita (my friend) again.
Ritsuka couldn't figure out what was going on with this inexplicable sense of déjà vu, or the palpitations that came with it.

A sudden and strong thought lingered in her mind: I must take her with me this time! I must find a way to take her with me! I must take her with me (save her)!

[(What is the relationship between Otomaru and Orita in this world line?)]

[(If it's over 80, it means they are more than friends but less than lovers. If it's over 90, it's assumed that they are in a dating relationship with the support of their younger sister, Ritsuka.)]

【（1D40+60（原作设定补正）=37+60=97）】

Ritsuka suddenly had an idea and winked at the nurse-dressed staff member: "Excuse me, do you have any couples packages?"

The staff, who were eager to improve their performance, immediately understood: "Yes, yes! If couples in love come to donate blood together, we will also give them a gift box!"

“Who, who has a close relationship with him!” Orita-san blushed immediately.

Fujimaru also scratched his cheek in embarrassment.

With Ritsuka's half-hearted consent, the pain-fearing Orita-san in this world line did not part with her friends. Oh, no, she in this world line and Fujimaru in this world had become lovers not long ago under Ritsuka's help.

Looking at the brother who was comforting his girlfriend, "Don't be afraid of pain, I'm here." and Orita-san who was saying, "Who said I'm afraid of pain!?"
Lixiang thought: That’s good.

Although she herself didn't know why she had to let Orita-san follow her here.

But the strong feeling of palpitations made her ignore the reasons and make a choice.

[(Fujimaru and Ritsuka are assumed to have the highest level (100) of spirit particle transfer adaptability, and will be taken away directly by Chaldea's disguised blood donation testing vehicle)]

[(Does Orita have it? Additional judgment, if so, then Orita also has the 'spirit transfer qualification' and 'master qualification')]

[(If not, Orita will be taken along by Ritsuka's unconscious interference with the test results, but she will not have the 'spiritual transfer qualifications' and 'master qualifications')]

【（Difficulty: 80）】

[(Orita-san's 'relevant qualifications': 1D100=88)]

[(Although not as good as Ritsuka and Group A, but among the ordinary Master Qualifications, the qualifications are slightly above the average)]

then.

After taking the test -

Although the staff of Chaldea's disguised blood testing vehicle were also surprised, "How come three Master-qualified people suddenly appeared? And they are all ordinary people, not born as magicians? There are only about fifty Masters in Chaldea now, right?"

But this is a good thing after all. The more people the better. The more Masters there are, the more Heroic Servants can theoretically be summoned in the future, which is naturally more beneficial to Chaldea.

The three ordinary people were successfully knocked unconscious and boarded a ship bound for Chaldea, a secret organization located deep in the Antarctic Mountains.

☆

I felt a soft touch on the back of my head.

Poke, Poke
On the face, you can feel the paws of a small animal poking your face.

Ritsuka opened his eyes.

What caught my eye was a girl with long light pink hair that covered her eyes. She looked about the same age as me, wearing glasses and had a quiet appearance.

An inexplicable feeling of nostalgia once again surged into Ritsuka's chest—

"Great."

The girl in front of me smiled faintly:
"Now that all the newcomers are awake, I'm Mashu Kyrielight, and I'm a staff member of the Humanitarian Security Organization Chaldea. You can just call me Mashu, Senior."

--senior

Hearing this name, Li Xiang felt inexplicably warmed up in his eyes.

This immediately made the girl named Mashu at a loss: "What's wrong with you, Senior? Is it possible that the effects of the previous test are still in your body?"

"Fu?"

Chaldea's mascot, Fu Fu, a small animal that was probably a cat, dog, or a mix of a fox and a squirrel, also licked the tears from Ritsuka's eyes out of curiosity.

[(Can Fufu sense that something is wrong with Ritsuka?)]

【（Difficulty: 96）】

[(Fufu's 'Inspiration': 1D100=13)]

[(It seems like his attention is not on important things at all!)]

"No, I'm fine!"

Ritsuka wiped away the tears that had flowed down his face for unknown reasons, and stood up from the lap of the girl named Mashu.

Ritsuka realized that he and others were in the corridor of the Chaldea organization's base, and in the seat next to him, his brother, Fujimaru, was getting up from his girlfriend's lap with a confused look on his face.

Perhaps it’s because their talents are not as strong as the Fujimaru siblings, so they don’t suffer from such serious sequelae?
Orita was not as drowsy as the Fujimaru siblings. She was excitedly reading a booklet introducing the Chaldea organization, eagerly absorbing the information recorded in it, which was the knowledge and information about "the mysterious world hidden in the dark side of the world!" that she longed to learn as a comic writer.

Phoenix Chaldea, a human rights continuation protection agency.

Abbreviation: Chaldea.

A magic workshop built as a place that can be kept secret and not interfered by any country.

In order to ensure that human history can continue long and tenaciously, this research institute and observatory brings together researchers from various fields, including magic and science.

Observe this world that cannot be fully understood by magic alone, and cannot be fully understood by science alone.

This is a secret agency established by various countries to prevent human extinction (Bad End).

In a nutshell, it is an organization that combines the technologies of both mystery and science, and has mastered the abilities of "observing the past", "predicting the future", and "time travel". It aims to be an organization similar to the "Space-Time Administration" in science fiction works, and is a "world protection organization" that is in the process of development.

However, reality does not give the Chaldean organization the opportunity to develop slowly.

One day not long ago, Chaldea's observation device suddenly discovered that 'the future has disappeared'.

The future disappears - in other words, it's 'the end of the world'.

Saving the world and regaining the future is urgent!

In 2004, Chaldea discovered a singularity of time and space distortion in Fuyuki City, Japan - codenamed "Singularity F".

Prepare to send agents to take a time machine to the singularity F in Fuyuki City, Japan in 2004 to investigate and correct the distortion of time and space to save the world.

However, not everyone is qualified to travel through time.

For example, Olgamari Animusphia, the director of Chaldea, did not have it.

So far, only more than fifty qualified people have been found in the whole world.

And for some reason, most of these qualified people are young boys and girls, who obviously lack combat experience.

But there is no time left, no time to train them slowly.

As long as you have the qualifications, you can go!
If we can't save the world, everything will be irreversible.

Fortunately, Chaldea did not simply send young boys and girls to their deaths.

As Chaldea's agents, they are immature and naturally will not be held to high standards.

First of all, there is an elite group called 'Group A' in Chaldea.

Secondly, even ordinary agents from other 'Group B' will be arranged to perform the 'Heroic Spirit Summoning' ceremony one after another after going to the front line.

Summoning Heroic Spirits - that is, summoning heroes from history, legends, and myths in human history, driving them as familiars, and relying on their power to save the world.

Because of this, these trans-dimensional agents of Chaldea are officially named - "Master".

A person who controls heroic spirits.

Obviously, suddenly saying that the future has disappeared and the world has been destroyed does not seem real to young boys and girls.

But——Summoning a Heroic Spirit?
This kind of setting is actually very common in stories.

But actually summoning Heroic Servants yourself and forming a partnership to save the world in real life is another matter!
The half-French-blooded student Orita is currently obsessed with the question of 'who will my Heroic Spirit be'.

"After all, it's still Joan of Arc! My favorite character in Granblue Fantasy! Whether the real Joan of Arc is a saint or the blackened witch Joan of Arc written by Shakespeare, they are both amazing! After all, the saint and the blackened saint are classic settings that you have to try!"

This is true.

Compared to the greater good of saving the world.

Being able to summon and contract one's own heroic spirit is obviously more attractive to the selected boys and girls.

Fujimaru: "."

Li Xiang: “.”

Although the Fujimaru siblings now felt groggy and dizzy, they wanted to find a bed to catch up on some sleep.

We'll talk about Heroic Spirit partnerships later.
"I'm sorry," Mashu said with an apologetic expression, "Although you have just arrived, today is already the first time for you to transfer your soul particles, that is, the day of time travel. Ah! Of course, since you have just arrived, I don't think the director will force you to travel directly, but the mobilization meeting is coming soon. I think the director will call everyone to the meeting and listen to her pre-war mobilization."

Mashu didn't finish his words.

"Hmm? I was just wondering why Mashu hasn't come yet. Turns out there's a newcomer here."

From the other end of the corridor, a man wearing a green leather coat, a green leather bowler hat, and squinting eyes appeared. He looked like a college professor who was not easy to mess with in a fantasy story.

[(Can Leif sense that something is wrong with Ritsuka?)]

【（Difficulty: 96）】

[(Leif's 'Inspiration': 1D100=7)]

【(Completely Blind)】

The man who didn't feel anything was wrong with Ritsuka and the other two simply nodded and said, "Just call me Professor Leif."

Mashu immediately introduced the three newcomers: "This Professor Leif is the real helmsman of Chaldea now!"

Upon hearing this, Leif could only smile bitterly and patted Mashu on the shoulder: "Don't say that, Olga is the director."

Does he seem kind?
Led by Leif and Mash, the yawning Fujimaru siblings, as well as Orita, who was brought here as Fujimaru's girlfriend and looked around excitedly, arrived at the central meeting room of Chaldea.

Listening to the pre-war mobilization speech by a young woman named Olga Marie, the current director of Chaldea.

To put it nicely, this speech was very methodical and serious.

To put it bluntly, it's boring.

The Fujimaru siblings, who were already yawning all the time, became even more drowsy after hearing the literal meaning and kept "kowtow".

Such a disrespectful behavior naturally attracted the attention of Olga Marie, who was already nervous and nervous.

Olga Marie grabbed Fujimaru's ears and scolded him harshly on the spot!

When Orita saw this, he couldn't stand it at all, and he actually started swearing at Olga Marie.

Olga Marie was immediately so angry that she was like a chipmunk whose food had been taken away, and she directly drove Fujimaru and Orita out of the venue!

Ritsuka looked left and right, and despite Olga Marie's repeated murderous looks, he also slipped out.

Mashu also left the venue.

Mashu awkwardly defended Olga Marie: "The director is just too nervous. She is also under a lot of pressure. She is eager to make achievements after hastily inheriting the position of director through irregular procedures. After all, as the director of Chaldea, she has no spirit particle transfer and Master talent, which has always bothered her."

Why do I feel like this classmate Mashu is making things worse?
Although she seemed to be defending Olga Marie with good intentions, it sounded like sarcasm.

Is this what is called natural black?

Mashu said that she could take them to the dormitory area to rest first.

Ritsuka asked curiously, "Mashu, aren't you going to participate in the next event?"

"No, I'm just a staff member here, in the logistics department. Theoretically, it's not my turn to participate. The director doesn't want to see me participate either."

Mashu shook her head and continued with a smile:
"After I take you to the dormitory area, I can also continue to show you around Chaldea so that you can get familiar with your future living environment."

"?" Ritsuka tilted her head.

For some reason, she felt that there was something off about the Mashu in front of her. Or something was not right?

I don't know why, but Ritsuka always feels that Mashu shouldn't be such an optimistic and cheerful person at this time, but a more depressed and inferior person.
Shaking his head, Ritsuka hid the rude thoughts that suddenly popped up in his mind.

Along the way, Orita was still angry about what Olga Marie had done: "She was the one who ordered us all to attend the meeting! She should have known that one of us was in a bad mental state when we first arrived. Why is she still like this? She did it on purpose! She wanted to make an example of someone!"

Fujimaru could only smile bitterly and comfort his girlfriend.

Ritsuka was stroking the fur of Fufu in his arms, a little distracted.

After arriving at Fujimaru's room—

There, he met Romani Akiman, the head of Chaldea's medical department, who was hiding there.

Dr. Roman, who was secretly eating the handmade cake he had made, was completely dumbfounded.

"What's going on! This isn't an empty room in my exclusive rest area—Ah, hey, hey, young lady, why are you crying all of a sudden?"

Before Roman could finish his complaint, he saw tears streaming uncontrollably down Ritsuka's face.

Everyone was dumbfounded and fumbled to comfort Ritsuka. Ritsuka wanted to say that she was fine, really fine, but she didn't know why she wanted to cry.

Mashu guessed: "Maybe it's because Senior's adaptability to spirit particle transfer is so good, so the test has the greatest impact on her! She needs to rest!"

Roman quickly brought the strawberry cake that he hadn't had time to eat to Lixiang's mouth: "Are you hungry? Eat something, some sugar is good for your body!"

In a hurry.

But it made Lixiang inexplicably nostalgic and moved.

Ritsuka couldn't accurately describe how she felt at the moment.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, she soon won't have to worry about this anymore.

—Chaldea exploded.

The sudden series of explosions broke the final peace.

As the only Chaldea executive present, Roman quickly connected to Chaldea's host to inquire: "Not good! Due to a series of explosions for unknown reasons, the Chaldea base is disintegrating! You guys should go to shelter quickly - wait! The most critical issue is the power plant!"

Roman turned pale when he thought of this:
"If the power plant loses power, even if the Chaldea base is as huge as a small city, there will always be strong parts that have not collapsed, and the heating system will be shut down due to the power outage - this is Antarctica! Even if there are survivors, everything will be over if the power is cut off!"

Roman was about to leave immediately: "I'm going to the power plant to repair it! Mashu, come with me and help, everyone else go to the shelter!"

Fujimaru immediately followed Roman after hearing this: "I'll go with you too! I'm a boy, I'm strong! I can lend a hand - I don't want to do nothing, especially since you said, Doctor Roman, that if the power plant is shut down then everything will be over, right?"

When Fujimaru said this, his girlfriend, Orita, immediately said, "I'll go with you guys, too!"

Ritsuka wanted to say something too.

But it was rejected by everyone.

Roman warned: "Ritsuka, you are in the worst condition, don't worry about what's going on here, go to the shelter!"

Mashu said bluntly: "If you, Senior, collapse while we are repairing the power plant, you will become a burden."

Li Xiang was helpless, knowing that what they said made sense.

As for where to take refuge
Roman hesitated for a moment before suggesting, "Ritsuka, why don't you go to the conference room? Although that place was also hit by an explosion of unknown cause, it is the most important core area of Chaldea, so it is the most solidly built and the least likely to collapse. And you know the way! You know how to get there!"

Mashu nodded in agreement, but also warned Ritsuka: "Don't get close to the fire, senpai. Just stay nearby and wait patiently for us to repair the connection to the power plant."

Very reasonable judgment.

Fujimaru actually wanted Orita to seek refuge with Ritsuka, but was rebuked by his girlfriend's stubborn look.

Obviously, at this moment, the most dangerous place, and the place that is the final guarantee for everyone's life safety, is the power plant.

So, everyone set off.

Fujimaru Ritsuka takes refuge near the control room
[(Are there any survivors in the sea of fire?)]

[(Fujimaru Ritsuka conducts a 'luck check')]

[(Difficulty: 96 (Since there are no survivors in the original work, the difficulty has increased greatly))]

[(Fujimaru Ritsuka's 'Luck': 1D100=96)]

【(A little fairy!)】

[(Survivors are specifically)]

[(1. Olga Marie?)]

[(2/9, Ophelia (Because of the power of the Demon Eye, even if she is attacked during the soul transfer process, she may still survive, so the probability increases))]

【（3, Cadoc）】

[(4. Pepeloncino)]

[(5/8, Akagi Hinako (Because she is a True Ancestor, she may survive even if she is attacked during the soul transfer process, so the probability increases))]

[(6, Kirshtalia)]

[(7, Beryl)]

[10. Chaos Super Expansion]

【1D10=5】

←to be continue!

(End of this chapter)