Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

"If you don't mind, let me do it myself?"

"Thank you... thank you..."

Upon hearing this, the female spy's eyes lit up with gratitude and a sense of relief. She quickly handed the bartender and drinks to the customer and then went to serve the other guests.

Having acquired the cocktail shaker and drinks, Samael loosened his joints slightly and quickly found his rhythm. His hands moved like butterflies flitting among flowers, and in just a moment, a thick, scarlet Bloody Mary spread along the glass, emitting a strong aroma.

"Wow, you're an expert! How about you mix me a drink too?"

Just then, an enthusiastic voice came from behind. A female gunslinger with a lively personality twirled the Ace of Hearts between her fingers and leaned in.

Samael turned to look at Jane, the jinx behind him, and nodded with a smile.

"Sure, what would you like to drink?"

"A Margarita, please!"

The jinx Jian spoke excitedly, then sat down next to him, looking expectant.

Gu She readily picked up the cocktail shaker and began expertly mixing a "Margarita," a subtle smile playing on her lips.

Look, here comes our intelligence source!

Chapter Thirty-Six: Stop! Robbery!

Wipe the rim of the glass with lime slices, create a snowflake effect with salt, put ice cubes into a shaker, and then pour in tequila, Cointreau, and lime juice in that order, shaking vigorously until well combined.

A series of standard bartending movements, as smooth as flowing water, are a pleasure to watch.

“Margaret, please.”

Soon, a dark blue cocktail was gently pushed in front of the jinx Jane.

The female gunslinger pulled up a chair and sat down, taking the cocktail with interest. She looked it over, then took a small sip, her eyes showing surprise and admiration.

The Margarita, known as the "Queen of Cocktails," is one of the most popular cocktails in America and one of the most well-known traditional cocktails in the world besides the Martini. It is a must-learn subject for almost every bartender before starting out.

However, generally speaking, the simpler and more basic something is, the more it reflects the essence of a technology.

The same goes for margaritas, which have nearly twenty different ways of being prepared, with the majority being margaritas with various fruit flavors and margaritas in various other colors.

The glass in front of him was rich in flavor, with a fresh fruity aroma and the unique fragrance of tequila. It was sweet and sour on the palate, very refreshing, but had a strong aftertaste, which made the jinx Jane quite intoxicated, and she quickly finished the glass.

"Come again!"

"Ok."

Although he was treated like a waiter when he was also a customer, Samael just smiled and nodded without saying anything, and made the female gunslinger another drink.

After two glasses of Margarita, a blush appeared on Jane's cheeks. The female gunslinger at the counter, already slightly tipsy, raised her hand to her cheek, her eyes glazed over, and her voice was a little unsteady.

While cleaning the cocktail shakers, Samael casually started a conversation with the female gunslinger, chatting about all sorts of things.

Under the influence of alcohol, the troublemaker Jian, who was clearly a bit drunk, indeed spoke freely and without reservation, even taking the initiative to talk about all sorts of anecdotes and interesting stories.

This includes both her time as a cowboy in America and the part where she was summoned here after becoming a heroic spirit.

Samael listened seemingly casually, but unknowingly completed the basic information integration.

Mosaic City - Akihabara. This is the new name of the area beneath our feet.

The cause of all this was the Holy Grail War.

Several years ago, a massive Holy Grail War broke out in downtown Tokyo, and then quickly spread throughout the entire city.

Based on observation alone, more than thirty Holy Grail Wars, large and small, have been confirmed to be in a state of simultaneous imminent conflict.

All lands, people, and summoned spirits... none can escape it.

This so-called Holy Grail War was like strategically planting bombs at the junctions of major spiritual veins and then detonating them at a specific point, which quickly triggered a chain reaction.

As a result, central Tokyo was razed to the ground, and the landmark Tokyo Tower was twisted into a pretzel shape.

The ultimate victor of this Holy Grail War remains unknown.

But the catastrophe eventually came to an end.

As a price for ending the war, of all of Tokyo's 23 wards, 26 cities, 5 towns, and 8 villages, only Shinjuku, Akihabara, and Tama were able to barely continue operating. Most of the rest of the area was wiped out by some extraordinary force, leaving only a gray wasteland and an abnormally high sea level as the outer perimeter.

Using the power of the Holy Grail, towns were reorganized into metropolitan areas and given new life. These reorganized metropolitan clusters are collectively known as "Mosaic Cities".

Currently, there are only three "Mosaic Cities": Shinjuku, Akihabara, and Tama.

Correspondingly, the surviving humans also underwent some kind of mutation after the war.

The Holy Grail resides in their hearts, granting the citizens immortality. Aging, genetic degradation, infection, viruses, and malignant tumors are all overcome, and by consuming Command Seals, one can even reset their physical age.

In this new world, hearing the name of the deceased almost certainly means they died from murder.

Therefore, the new humans can adapt to harsher environments, have virtually no concept of normal death, and each of them can theoretically summon a Heroic Spirit.

However, according to the new laws of the shogunate, private summoning of heroic spirits is prohibited and is considered illegal. Those who do so will be arrested by the "Black Warriors" and imprisoned in the dungeon for "education."

The so-called "shogunate" refers to the power that took over the Tokyo area after the war and re-established three "Mosaic Cities".

The General is the de facto supreme leader, and under his command are seven Heroic Spirits and a large number of Dark Warriors.

Normal order is basically maintained by the Seven Riders, and the General himself almost never shows his face.

Therefore, no one knows its gender or appearance.

However, according to legend, the "General" is the ultimate victor of the Tokyo Holy Grail War.

Shogun? Mosaic City?

Samael stroked his chin thoughtfully, his eyes gleaming.

To be honest, this really does resemble the kind of mess that dead fox would make.

However, there is too little information at the moment to be completely certain, and he cannot draw a definitive conclusion for the time being.

Similarly, the seven riders who frequently appear only have simple class titles and rarely reveal their real names, which are easy targets.

To avoid arousing suspicion from the outlaws in the bar, Samael didn't press the issue too hard, instead chatting with the jinx Jane about the scenery and surrounding buildings of Akihabara to pass the time.

Incidentally, although the Shogunate and the Seven Riders are trying to maintain order, they are intentionally reducing the birth of new Servants.

However, these three reconstructed mosaic cities have long been corrupted by the Holy Grail. Even if no one becomes a Master, this land will spontaneously summon itself through the fragments of relics and data left over from the last Holy Grail War.

And every street, every piece of land can become an object from which they offer their magic.

Because, in a sense, the whole world is a giant Holy Grail.

Faced with a considerable number of Heroic Spirits, the Shogunate, in order to avoid becoming the target of public criticism, could only choose to turn a blind eye and tacitly acknowledge their citizenship, only requiring these Heroic Spirits to abide by basic laws and regulations.

Of course, since it was able to become the founder of a new order, the shogunate also had its own trump cards.

For example, [identification marker].

Those who disrupt the city's order will not be supplied with magic by the streets once their spirit origin is marked with an identification tag.

Simply lingering on the street will cause its magic to gradually erode your spirit foundation.

There are also temporary identification tags that allow you to be located in the city once you put them on, and then be surrounded and eliminated by the Seven Riders and the Black Warriors.

This has a considerable deterrent effect on heroic spirits.

The reason why these outlaws in the Golden Deer Bar are so well-behaved is mostly due to the infamous reputation of the Shogunate Army.

However, where there are constraints, there will naturally be resistance.

Many naturally carefree and inherently dark heroic spirits chose to flee the city and gather in the mountains, becoming a new force.

—The Oni of Mount Oe.

Ibaraki-dōji, Shuten-dōji, Kiyohime, and many other famous great yokai are among them.

They were often active at night, hiding during the day and fighting against the shogunate army.

Upon hearing these familiar names, Samael's lips twitched slightly.

The Shogunate Army, which dominates the daytime order, and the Oeyama Oni Clan, who stir up trouble at night, truly create a picture of hell.

Just as the ancient snake was swirling his wine glass, secretly grumbling to himself, the jinx Jane patted his chest and generously announced...

"You're a nice guy, it's rare to see you so happy, this meal's on me!"

"No need, how can I let the lady pay? This time it's on me."

Samael snapped out of his daze and smiled slightly.

"Okay, next time, it's my treat!"

Jane, the jinx, nodded happily, her face immediately lighting up with a smile. Her hand, which had been hesitant to reach into her pocket, quickly dropped to her side.

The movements were so smooth.

She lost quite a bit playing cards earlier, and after searching through all her pockets, she couldn't find a single coin.

You're pretty savvy, buddy.

The female gunslinger looked at the man beside her with increasing tenderness and satisfaction, and then spoke up.

"You just said you were looking for the Lord's place? Perfect, I know this area well, I'll show you around!"

Is this... convenient?

After paying the bill, Samael turned around, seemingly somewhat reserved.

"Oh, we're already so familiar with each other, what's there to be inconvenient about!"

Jane, the jinx, looked completely at ease, displaying a hearty and straightforward demeanor as if she would go to great lengths for her friends.

"How about I take you there? All you have to do is buy me a drink."

Just as Samael was finding it hard to refuse, the cross-dressing man Dion turned around, licked his lips, and swirled the empty wine glass in his hand.

"I think you're just trying to freeload off me!"

Seeing that his "new friend" was about to be snatched away by Dion, the jinx Jane immediately scolded this unethical behavior of stealing people and vicious competition. Then she pulled Samael back to her side, raised her arm and affectionately hooked it around his neck, and said with a grin.

"Let's go, ignore this drunkard. I used to be a reconnaissance soldier. He knows this place better than I do."

As she spoke, Jane, the jinx dubbed the "Queen of the Plains," enthusiastically and familiarly dragged her new friend out of the bar.

Dion shook his head and reluctantly placed the empty wine glass on the table.

Meanwhile, Mata Hari, the waitress behind the bar, frowned slightly as she watched the two figures leave, her eyes flickering slightly.

"Look, that's Tokyo Tower. I heard it used to be quite tall, and you could see most of the central district from up there. But now, it's just a pile of rubble. Tsk tsk, I wonder who did it. That battle was really intense."

"If you're hungry, there's a restaurant called Red Enma Restaurant up ahead. Don't let the small size of the owner fool you; the food is delicious, though a bit pricey. Plus, the cooking is all based on personal preference. They only open on odd-numbered days of the week—Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The rest of the time, the owner is a cooking instructor, giving private lessons."

"If you're bored and there's nothing fun to do nearby, I recommend going to a bar or Kabukicho in Shinjuku."

"However, if you're interested in art or anything like that, you could check out the gallery three blocks down. They're famous for their ukiyo-e prints, and the owner is a girl, I think her name is A-Rong? She's supposedly the daughter of that Katsushika Hokusai guy? Anyway, I don't understand those colorful things..."

Along the way, the jinx Jane talked non-stop about the nearby street scenes and shops, giving a very thorough explanation.

Samael listened attentively, making sure to memorize some of the more important information and names.

It has to be said that the appearance rate of heroic spirits in the mosaic city is quite high. In a short chat, he heard three or four familiar names, covering all walks of life.

However, this is understandable.

After all, the new Servants who can ascend to the Throne of Heroes and be summoned are basically outstanding figures in their respective fields.

It's too difficult for ordinary people to compete with them.

Besides the familiar Heroic Spirits, Samael also marked some important locations in his mind.

For example, under the subway bridge of the land bridge.

This is the Akihabara Department Store Center, a magic supplies street filled with countless small shops.

According to the various odd shop owners operating here, this place used to be a place that sold electronic parts.

The surface level houses souvenir shops catering to tourists, selling things like dubious amulets, cursed items, and interior decorations...

Additionally, this place also sells gadgets that can be activated using Command Seals.

But to legitimate magicians, the owners of these small shops are just a bunch of amateur collectors, and the goods are of such low quality that they make them laugh.

If you delve deeper, you can even find shops selling gadgets made by Caster Servants and shops selling catalysts such as fossils, ancient relics, and looted items.