Fate: Livestream in Chaldeas

Chapter 186 – Even if you become a Heroic Spirit, you still have to write stories for me!

The person who appeared before Ethan was a boy of about ten years old with blue hair.

He was carrying a stack of books in his arms, as if moving them from one part of the house to another.

Although he looked like a child, his eyes were far from innocent—instead, they carried a strangely mature and experienced look.

"Senpai, it's a Servant!!!"

Mash immediately stepped forward, raising her shield in a defensive stance.

"Aren't you a Servant too? Why are you acting so surprised?"

The blue-haired boy calmly retorted, then looked at Ethan and Mash with displeasure.

"Barging in without knocking, and now you're planning to use force to take over my house?"

Just two sentences were enough to make Mash's attitude shift immediately.

"No, how should I say this… Actually, we didn't come here with any bad intentions…"

"You're Andersen, right?"

Ethan directly and bluntly stated the boy's identity.

"Oh? I didn't expect a Master like you to have a bit of skill."

Andersen showed no expression at all, quietly carrying the stack of books to the bookshelf.

"You can sit wherever you like. I don't have tea or snacks to offer guests anyway."

Right after that, Ethan gently patted Mash on the shoulder, signaling her to relax. Then he moved the pile of books stacked on the sofa over to the table before sitting down.

Once she saw Ethan seated, Mash leaned her shield against the side and sat down next to him.

"Andersen? That Andersen—the globally famous fairy tale writer, Hans Christian Andersen?!"

Dr. Romani seemed very surprised by the identity of the blue-haired boy before him.

"Stories like The Little Mermaid, The Little Match Girl are known worldwide! Just mentioning Andersen's name and all children know his works!"

Upon hearing Dr. Romani's voice, Andersen slightly furrowed his brow.

"Whose voice is that? Sounds pretty foolish. What's important about fairy tales is the message they convey, not the author's name. And yet you keep emphasizing the author's presence."

Andersen's razor-sharp comment made Dr. Romani hurriedly apologize.

"A... Ah... So-sorry… ha ha… really sorry…"

It was clear that Romani's weak spot had been hit by that remark.

"...I didn't expect a fairy tale writer to be so sharp-tongued when he spoke. Aren't you the one who wrote those stories that brought such beautiful imagination to children…"

Mash seemed a bit reflective.

"Fairy tales will be interpreted differently by people of each era. That evolution is what matters most."

Andersen dusted off the last book and placed it back on the bookshelf.

"There's no such thing as a perfectly beautiful fairy tale. Just like the world we're living in now—full of uncertainty."

Then, he walked over and sat on the sofa across from them.

"I know you have a lot of questions. After all, as a non-combat Servant, I can't really help with anything else."

Andersen was very clear about his role.

"But just so you know, I didn't arrive here much earlier than you guys."

"May I ask… is this London?"

Ethan was the first to ask.

"Oh? Didn't expect that to be your opening question."

Upon hearing Ethan's question, Andersen seemed to become a bit more interested in him.

"It is London, but only 'Old London.'"

"Old London?!"

Upon hearing this phrase, both Ethan and Mash visibly showed their confusion.

"You two were found in the fog by Frankenstein, right?"

"So that girl earlier was Frankenstein?!"

Mash seemed a bit surprised to hear the true name of the Berserker.

"That's right. She is that poor artificial monster. But thanks to her, no one dares approach this area anymore."

Andersen moved the stack of books from the sofa to another spot.

"The fog appeared suddenly, killing many people. All of London fell into crisis. But then… a ray of hope appeared."

"A ray of hope?"

Ethan tilted his head as he asked.

"A mysterious force suddenly intervened. They created an artificial bounded field near Big Ben, isolating the fog-covered area. Then they started expanding the interior. In less than a year, they built a new city centered around Big Ben."

"A new city?!"

Andersen's words left Dr. Romani stunned.

"I understand it's hard for you to believe. But humans, you know—they won't believe something unless they see it with their own eyes."

As he spoke, Andersen stood up from the sofa and walked toward the staircase leading to the attic.

"Follow me."

Ethan and Mash exchanged a glance, then quietly followed behind.

The rotting steps of the old building reeked of mold and decay, clearly untouched by cleaning for a long time.

"Be careful. This place used to be a reception hall and book display area of a publishing house. But now it's in terrible disrepair."

Hearing Andersen's words, Ethan was reminded of the scene when he followed Frankenstein—the houses on both sides of the street had been eerily silent, showing no signs of life at all.

"We're here."

Andersen led them up the final flight of stairs and into the attic.

"Use your own eyes to witness it… that is the face of 'New London.'"

Following Andersen's pointing hand, Ethan and Mash both turned their eyes toward the window.

And what they saw left them both stunned!

Completely different from the mist-covered, deathly and gloomy area where they were standing, far off in the distance was a dazzlingly radiant, magnificent, and unbelievably bustling district?!

It was clearly nighttime, and yet Big Ben was shining brilliantly under countless colorful lights!

Surrounding the clock tower were towering skyscrapers, and faintly visible were entertainment structures like a massive Ferris wheel.

The same scene was transmitted back to the communication screen at Chaldea.

"Impossible! In the year 1888, London had only just established its first alternating current electrical system for humans—it's absolutely impossible for them to have reached this level of application!"

Dr. Romani immediately blurted out in protest.

"Romani, this might just be the reason why the Human Order Foundation Value of this Singularity is marked as EX."

Da Vinci, standing beside him, had her eyes intensely fixed on the image being transmitted to Chaldea.

"The distortion of this age hasn't caused human technology to regress—it has made it evolve at a terrifying speed!!!"

"That's right. I don't know where you people came from… but it seems you've finally discovered the key to this time distortion."

Andersen's gaze was also fixed on that city—a scene so brilliant it bordered on unreal.

"To the people of old London, that sight would be nothing short of a fairy tale. No—it surpasses even fairy tales! Isn't that the 'New London' of dreams?!"

"Incredible… At the very least, history has no record of such a London…"

Looking at the transmitted scene, Dr. Romani still couldn't believe his eyes.

"But if that's the case… where did they acquire the knowledge that caused humanity to develop at such an explosive pace?"

Romani voiced his suspicion.

"If they used the Holy Grail to wish for all human knowledge, then a single individual couldn't possibly withstand that enormous amount of data without collapsing."

The Holy Grail only grants Servants the knowledge they need upon summoning—any unnecessary knowledge would become an overwhelming burden.

"Wait a second… what's that underneath Big Ben?"

But very quickly, Romani noticed something odd.

"There seems to be a sealed-off area there—use the Shiba Lens to observe it immediately!"

"We can't observe inside!"

"There's an immense source of power interfering with observation!!!"

At the same time, Ethan was also staring intently in that direction, but due to the distance, he couldn't make out anything clearly.

"Andersen, do you know what that area beneath Big Ben is?"

Upon hearing Ethan's question, Andersen finally smiled again.

"No matter how a fairy tale unfolds, what determines its course—can only be the 'core.' Looks like you've realized the true 'core' of this city."

The information they had drawn from Andersen had finally touched the very heart of the matter.

"The technology of this city is advancing at breakneck speed. And in order to gather all the greatest scientific minds, they've constructed what they call the 'Academy.' At the same time, they promise to grant anyone who enters it all the knowledge they desire."

"The thirst for knowledge drives them to scramble for a way in. But… it seems acquiring knowledge in that place isn't something so easy."

"There's a selection process?"

Ethan offered his guess.

Just like an entrance exam — if you want to be chosen, of course you have to go through evaluation and testing.

"Detected magical energy waves suspected to be from allied Servants in the sky above the Big Ben area!!!"

Suddenly, the Chaldea communication channel was filled with the latest reports from the technicians.

As soon as she heard signs of allied Servants, Da Vinci immediately began data retrieval with the team.

"After comparing magical energy signatures — confirmed: Alter Ego and Rider, our allies!!!"

"They've previously appeared near the Big Ben area!!!"

After determining the location of Draco and Noah, Dr. Romani immediately relayed the information to Ethan.

"Draco and Noah went there?!"

"That's right, at least based on the observation results."

With Dr. Romani's confirmation, Ethan finally made his decision.

"Andersen, is there any way to get into that 'Academy'?"

Upon hearing Ethan's question, Andersen replied with an expressionless face:

"You people are really lucky. Tomorrow just happens to be what they call the 'Lucky Day.'"

"'Lucky Day'?"

Ethan blinked in confusion.

"It's exactly what you just mentioned—the day when you can 'pass the selection' to enter the Academy. But as for what exactly you need to do to get in… I'm afraid that's something you'll have to figure out for yourselves."

Andersen pulled his hand from his pocket, preparing to turn and climb the stairs.

"Andersen, can you do me a favor?"

Faced with Ethan's request, Andersen immediately refused.

"If it's about fighting, count me out. As you can see, this form of mine is a recreation of my peak creative state, and it's completely unsuitable for combat. Actually, none of my forms have ever been suited for fighting."

"No, I wasn't planning to ask you to fight."

"——————?!"

Andersen looked up, eyes full of suspicion, but Ethan began saying something that he couldn't make sense of at all.

"Hello everyone! This one is Andersen, I'll try my best to ask your questions, okay?!"

"Thanks to 'Mashu-chan Doglicker No.1' for the Saint Quartz! Here's hoping we can bring the Mermaid a perfect ending! Alright, I'll announce the deadline right away!!!"

Seeing Ethan smile as he approached, Andersen inexplicably took a step back.

...

In an unnamed labyrinth.

A blonde girl and a boy in a sailor's uniform were running forward.

Very quickly, they reached a dead end.

"Damn it, even this place is a dead end?!"

The boy in the sailor's uniform frowned angrily.

"Grrrraaaaaargh————————!"

Behind him, black hunting dogs suddenly appeared. They had deformed jaws and heads, and their four legs looked like they were built from machines.

"They've caught up!"

Noah prepared to attack immediately. But just then, Draco stretched out her dragon arm, firing a beam of light toward the black hounds!

One of them, struck directly, vanished on the spot without leaving a trace.

"GRRAAAA———!!"

Seeing one of their own destroyed, the remaining hounds lunged forward all at once.

"Annoying things!"

With just one swing of Draco's arm, the hunting dogs were instantly torn apart.

However… their bodies also vanished completely without a trace.

"As expected, you are Servants possessing immense power… I didn't expect the 'defense network' I set up would actually be this effective."

In that unnamed labyrinth, a girl's sweet voice suddenly echoed.

"Cowards like you only know how to hide in the shadows?"

Draco looked around with contempt, but couldn't detect where the voice was coming from.

"I was praising you, and yet you misunderstand me like this? That makes me really sad."

Her voice quivered with a hint of sobbing, but moments later, the clear, playful tone returned:

"Just kidding! There's no way I'd cry that easily! After all, I'm the one who will host this competition to perfection, so we can reach the final ending — Happy End!!!"

Right after that, more black hounds suddenly appeared around Noah and Draco.

"To truly end the game, you two need to escape this place. Who knows—maybe you'll even manage to save this world that's in 'crisis'~~~"

Finally, the girl's voice trailed off with a hint of regret:

"Such a shame, I still have to go take care of this round's 'selection.' Before I return, please do your best, okay~~~"