What Holy Grail War? Let's Play Cards!

"Here you go, Brother Jiang, your noodles." A young girl with a side ponytail placed a steaming bowl of noodles in front of Jiang You. The broth, infused with red oil, swayed back and forth from the movement, sending waves of fragrance throughout the room. "You rarely come by, and yet you don't even say hello? Just sitting here glued to your phone?"

Seeing Jiang You completely absorbed in his phone, the girl lightly tapped his head with a tray to get his attention.

Jiang You finally looked up at the girl. "Xiao He? Well, I took on a side job, so I have to earn my pay. I just finished a busy stretch, so I finally have time for a good meal. But rather than saying I rarely visit, isn't it more surprising that you're here helping your mom serve dishes?"

Jiang You had grown up in this city and was a regular at this restaurant near his home. The owner's broth-based noodles were famous, and his familiarity with the owner allowed him to skip the usual wait times.

However, Xiao He came from a well-off family and had never experienced hardship. The last time he saw her two years ago, she was still quite pampered. Now, seeing her efficiently working in the restaurant piqued Jiang You's curiosity.

He simply assumed that she'd matured after starting university.

"What, do you think I'm some delicate girl who never lifts a finger?" Xiao He pouted, hands on her hips.

"That's exactly what I think." Jiang You grinned, effortlessly teasing her.

Ignoring her playful punches, Jiang You picked up his chopsticks and inhaled a mouthful of noodles.

He suddenly paused, his brows furrowing slightly. Setting down his chopsticks, he stared at the bowl.

The color and aroma hadn't changed in over a decade, yet the taste was... slightly off. It wasn't bad, just subtly different.

"Hey, little girl, stop flirting with your boyfriend. I'm starving over here!" A regular customer at the next table joked, reminding Xiao He that the restaurant was packed, leaving little time for idle chatter.

Xiao He shook her fist at Jiang You in a "just you wait" gesture before resuming her work.

Watching her hustle about and seeing the restaurant owner busily cooking in the kitchen, Jiang You decided not to dwell on the odd taste.

It was still delicious, after all.

Satisfied, he finished his meal, waved goodbye to the mother and daughter, and hurried home to grind his game.

As Jiang You walked away, the previously bustling restaurant fell eerily silent. Dozens of customers seemed frozen in place, as if someone had hit a pause button.

The cheerful expression on Xiao He's face gradually vanished, replaced by an unusually solemn look. "He noticed something was off."

The owner, expressionless, continued cooking the broth. "It was just the taste. Maybe I was in a bad mood and accidentally added too much seasoning. Or perhaps it's because you specifically asked me to learn how to cook for him. Any of those reasons would suffice. The data is fully recorded—there won't be another mistake next time. But do you really think you can deceive him like this?"

"You should know as well as I do—he is stranded in this world, not descended into it. If he ever begins to question this world's reality and wishes to return, everything in this world will pave the way for him. His existence far surpasses our reality. Even if this universe were to collapse into silence, it still wouldn't be able to fulfill his desire. This universe would simply shrink into an infinite singularity. Just by instinctively believing something should be a certain way, he distorts the very fabric of rules to match his expectations. This region—no matter how much computational power Mooncell expends—can't even replicate a fraction of what he does. This isn't a space we carved out; it's a world shaped by his will. Why not just follow his lead and weave a dreamlike illusion for him?"

"That would only delay the inevitable destruction. Right now, because of his own thoughts, he has trapped himself in the vessel of a low-tier Servant. This is the only chance we have."

"I won't let you interfere. As unbelievable as it may seem, at his core, he embodies the entire concept of humanity. He is a concept of concepts—a human among humans."

"So that's why you're siding with him? Even if it means using powers meant to oppose a Beast?"

-

"Caster, can't you just spiritronize? Why do you still need to take a plane?"

Just like in the original events, Kiritsugu Emiya had gone ahead to scout Fuyuki, but this time, Jiang You had taken Saber's place and was traveling with Irisviel by plane.

The reason, however, was completely different. The rules of the Holy Grail War had been utterly warped by Jiang You's influence. The distinction between Masters and Servants moving separately or together hardly mattered anymore.

Kiritsugu and Jiang You had split up to gather more intel. At the very least, they needed to confirm the identities of enemy Masters and Servants, ideally even witnessing some duels to analyze their decks.

Meanwhile, Jiang You's main role was to protect the Lesser Grail—Irisviel. Currently, the dueling rules only applied to Holy Grail War participants. Other individuals could only duel if a participant provided them with a deck or if Jiang You personally invited them to a duel.

And how did Jiang You know all these rules?

Because an airport security officer couldn't stop a duel-wielding, passport-less man from entering the country, no matter how hard he tried.

Security Officer: "He's too strong... I suspect he hasn't even used his full power yet."

In the end, Irisviel had to use suggestion magic to get Jiang You through airport security.

"You mean that? Oh, that's my logout point. I reappear wherever I last logged out. If I disappear, you guys will have to handle the Holy Grail War by yourselves."

Seeing Irisviel's confusion, Jiang You offered an explanation that even a Magus could understand.

"Just think of it as a coordinate-lock phase shift. When I vanish, I'm actually operating in another world. I don't actually spiritronize at all."

Bored from waiting, Jiang You began to fiddle with a reward crystal he had received earlier.

The transparent crystal reflected an iridescent glow. He stared at it for a long time but found no system notifications. Even pressing it against his cards didn't trigger any effects.

So, Jiang You simply started tossing it like a rock.

"Ca... Caster! What are you holding?!" Irisviel nearly leaped out of her seat in panic.

Lost in thought, Jiang You absentmindedly replied, "Oh, this? It's a Soul Crystal."

Irisviel was one micron away from an immediate meltdown.