Shinji Matou at Your Service

After a series of minor incidents, Shinji and Arcueid finally managed to board the train, accompanied by the deputy manager, the woman in white. She escorted them throughout the journey, which left the conductor, Rodin, and the other staff members utterly shocked.

They were well aware of the deputy manager's condition. Due to her unique existence, she needed long periods of rest to accumulate enough power to be active. She had just used up all her energy about ten hours ago during an eye surgery—yes, the legendary technique was hers. Now, even manifesting herself took considerable effort, let alone accompanying someone for an extended period. Could that single touch have such miraculous power? The answer was yes.

That single touch indeed had a miraculous effect.

The woman in white was a lingering phantom born of memories, her existence extremely fragile and thin. If not for the fact that the Mystic Eye Collection Train was a semi-otherworldly, mysterious artifact, the phantom would have vanished long ago.

Shinji's touch not only replenished her depleted spirit but also reinforced her existence with his origin. While it didn't change her mode of existence, it greatly reduced the energy consumption of her activities, indirectly extending her active time.

To Shinji, it was just a small gesture, but to the deputy manager, it was undoubtedly a generous gift, and her willingness to accompany them stemmed partly from this.

Of course, the act of accompanying itself didn't matter much to Shinji—he wasn't the type to be so particular. However, the impact of this gesture made him quite pleased.

The presence of a True Ancestor and the recent slaying of Forest of Einnashe was enough to pique the curiosity of all the passengers. Without the deputy manager there to maintain order, someone might have already approached him, hoping to establish a connection or at least gather some information. Shinji couldn't easily turn down certain individuals, such as Luvia and others he had encountered during the Castle Adra incident.

For instance, there was Olga Maria, the daughter of the Lord of the Department of Astromancy, only twelve years old, with beautiful silver hair and amber eyes. In a previous life, she was the unfortunate Director of the Human Order Foundation, Chaldea, who met her end in the prologue of Fate/Grand Order and and reborn as a vessel of the alien god, U-Olga Marie.

Then there was a certain blood-spitting, walking anomaly.

This man, who seemed to bleed at every turn, was named Melvin Weins. About the same age as Waver, he was Waver's closest friend, with a connection so deep even Reines couldn't compare.

Melvin was the one who encouraged Waver to participate in the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki, covering all his travel expenses. During Waver's toughest times after returning to the Clock Tower, it was Melvin who supported him, helping to keep the struggling El-Melloi Classroom afloat. When Waver was short on funds, Melvin would lend him money; when Waver needed connections, Melvin would introduce him to the right people.

The funds Waver used to renovate the Modern Magecraft Theory class came from Melvin, with the Velvet family's crest currently held as collateral by Melvin.

Unlike Waver, who had worked his way up from humble beginnings, Melvin was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. The Weins family was a centrist force in the Clock Tower, and although Melvin had been looked down upon in his childhood due to his frail health, he quickly rose to prominence as a rare and valuable Crest Tuner.

With his outstanding skills in crest tuner, Melvin amassed a vast fortune and connections that transcended factions within the Clock Tower. Even Barthomeloi Lorelei, who was often at odds with the democratic faction, was a regular guest of his, and Melvin played a key role in her completing her crest inheritance in just a year.

However, despite his dazzling resume, Melvin himself was a mess. Besides his albinism and chronic blood-spitting condition, his personality was twisted to the extreme. While he was indeed Waver's best friend, he was not necessarily his ally—otherwise, he wouldn't have sent Waver into the dangerous Holy Grail War.

Melvin's personality combined Touko's obsession with interesting things, Reines' sadistic tendencies towards Waver, and Flat's naturally cheerful disposition, making him the biggest troublemaker in Waver's circle.

Thankfully, his poor health kept him confined to his workshop most of the time; otherwise, Waver's stomach might have already given out. This time, upon hearing that Waver had boarded the Mystic Eye Collection Train, Melvin immediately secured an invitation, chartered a helicopter, and raced to join Waver, nearly losing his life along the way.

Normally, Melvin would have been out and about, eager to join in the fun of what was happening outside the carriage. Unfortunately, his blood-spitting condition had flared up again, leaving him too weak to move. He could only lie on a table, lamenting his missed opportunity while coughing up blood. Even Caules, tasked by Waver with looking after Melvin, hadn't shown up because of this.

These three, along with another part-time trickster, Jean-Mario Supinerra from the Clock Tower (also a peculiar magus with a popular TV show where he fights zombies while cooking on London's TV), as well as Gray, Luvia, and Yvette, who had come to help earlier, were the members participating in this Mystic Eye auction.

Oh, and there was one more. A woman sitting quietly in a corner, wrapped tightly from head to toe. Shinji had no recollection of her, so she was likely not an important figure. He figured it was better to focus on what to do next rather than pay her any attention.

After being delayed by Forest of Einnashe, Shinji thought they'd missed the chance, but it turned out they arrived just in time before the climax. Missing out on the opportunity to stir things up would be a disservice to Gaia and Alaya's favor.

Indeed, it was as if everything had been perfectly arranged. Shinji had arrived just in time. All parties had finished their preliminary skirmishes and were entering the heated phase of confrontation. The fifth item of the Mystic Eye auction, the final item, was now displayed at the center of the stage.

This was the highest-ranked item ever auctioned in the history of the Mystic Eye auction, second only to the Rainbow class—a Jewel class Mystic Eye. Its ability was time-based, allowing the viewing of past events. Not only could it show things that had already happened (though the time-reversal aspect was uncontrollable), but it could also recreate events from the past in the present.

"It allows the shadow of the past to emerge in the present like a bubble—thus it is named the Mystic Eye of Transience."

After introducing the Mystic Eye, which she had personally extracted from its original owner's eye sockets, the deputy manager turned to the auctioneer.

"Leandra, you may begin."

"Yes, deputy manager—let's resume the auction. The current bid stands at 240 million dollars!"