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IBHJ Chapter 570
🕑 Added 2023-11-13 08:39:50 +0000 UTCShirou rushed out, his mind a jumbled mess. But one thought was clear - he had to find that girl and bring her back.
His Instinct skill had already worn off. Reliable in battle, yes, but for finding people? Not so much. Certainly no match for Jeanne's Revelation.
Still, it gave him a vague sense of direction to follow. And soon, he spotted a bus stop up ahead. More importantly, the girl was there.
She looked about 12 or 13, with the same golden hair and ahoge as her mother. Aside from her petite figure, she was the spitting image of Artie when she was young.
Without hesitation, he reached out with his giant black arm towards the girl.
...
"Still not done?" Gray glanced at the nearby violin shop and let out a heavy sigh.
Her Servant was perfect in every way—obedient, adorable, but for one infuriating obsession: her endless pursuit of art.
Before their gas ran out, they had arrived in Vâlcea. The moment Gray parked, her Servant darted towards the violin shop, drawn like a magnet. No amount of pulling could deter her from running into the shop to pick a violin she wanted.
Left with no choice, Gray could only stand there and wait for her.
Just then, a chill slithered down her spine. She heard a whistling wind by her ear and quickly turned. A gigantic black hand reached for her.
Not good!
Gray's mind screamed, and she waved her hand. A flash of silver sword appeared, slicing through the massive black hand.
With a "plop", part of the hand's palm fell to the ground.
Before she could call for help, the severed palm turned into a mud tide, trying to engulf her.
Gray frowned, her expression solemn. The sword in her hand radiated a faint glow, ready to be unleashed. But the next moment, a black hand burst from the ground, seizing her ankle and yanking hard.
"Wah!" She yelped, losing her footing.
The mud cushioned her fall before coiling around her like ropes, dragging her away.
Gray's mind was screaming danger.
She had let her guard down!
She was ambushed!
This servant must have been watching her the moment she entered Romania, waiting for a chance to strike.
And now with her Servant gone, it was the perfect time to attack!
She had let her guard down!
Really let her guard down!
Thinking it was a novice connection point, she had relaxed her vigilance.
Could she really capsize the boat so close to shore?
Gray was nervous, ready to use a Command Spell to summon her Servant back anytime.
Yet the moment she saw who her ambusher was, she froze in shock.
...
Shirou looked at the girl before him, twelve or thirteen, with golden hair and blue eyes, almost identical to Artoria.
A swirl of complex emotions rose within him as he searched for the right words. There was a tension in the air, yet something oddly familiar about her.
But a man should stand tall right?
After taking three deep breaths, he said seriously: "You are Mordred, right? You probably don't know this, but I'm your dad!"
Gray: "?"
She was dumbfounded.
No.
The moment she saw him, she was dumbfounded.
But now...
Gray couldn't help but say: "I'm sorry. I know many people look just like me, but... you have the wrong person."
Shirou shook his head adamantly. "I won't mistake this."
That fleeting moment their eyes met had seared Mordred's face into his mind. She was identical to the girl before him, even their hairstyles were the same. Except Mordred was wearing silvery white armor, while this girl had on a white blouse with a plaid skirt and black stockings.
While their clothes were different, it's possible Mordred had returned to her base, changed out of her battle gear into casual wear to relax.
While many looked identical to Artoria, the Mordred he just saw was like a loli version of her. To put simply, a loli Artoria.
And other than his naturally grown Mordred, such a version of Artoria did not exist.
"Fujimaru-sama... I'm Gray!" she pointed at herself, unable to stop herself from saying.
Being suddenly called someone's father left her mind in shambles.
She had to correct this mistake.
Shirou was confused hearing this: "Huh?"
She patiently said, "Don't you remember me? I'm Gray, the one you brought from Britain to Japan. I'm the vessel of the King of Knights. You can't have forgotten me, right?"
Seeing Shirou so suddenly, Gray was very surprised. She had wanted to catch up, but his words struck her like thunder, forcing her to explain the situation clearly.
He looked at the girl standing before him. She appeared to be about twelve years old, with neat golden hair framing an innocent, almost childishly cute face. Her blue eyes gave off a guileless impression.
Frowning, Shirou had to admit he felt quite tense now, his mind a jumbled mess. Still, he felt this brat was treating him like an idiot.
Just then, Gray's Servant happily walked out of the violin shop. Seeing Gray bound by someone, her face paled in shock. She even dropped the carefully chosen violin on the ground. Materializing a strange black and red longsword, she charged at him, yelling angrily, "Release my Master!"
Shirou had thought nothing could surprise him anymore.
He was wrong.
Utter chaos.
This was truly too chaotic.
Right here, there were already five faces identical to Artoria's.
Saber, Jeanne, Gray, Mordred, and Gray's Servant Nero - a quintet of lookalikes!
Jeanne was the easiest to recognize with her iconic braided hair.
As for Nero...she was actually wearing Artoria's travel outfit, claiming it suited her artistic pursuits.
Thankfully her figure was more mature than the 15-year-old Artoria's, otherwise mistaking them would be far too easy.
Mordred and the current Gray though...truly identical!
And no need to even mention Saber - she was Artoria.
Now he could truly understand how Bluebeard must have felt.
Shirou had grabbed the wrong person, which could have led to conflict with Nero. Thankfully, Gray seemed quite accustomed to being mistaken for others, and quickly explained to avoid any misunderstanding between them.
Additionally, Saber and Mash arrived in time, averting conflict for the moment.
Only Shirou's heart was in turmoil, his mind a complete mess. He felt like he had lost his bearings.
While Mash and Gray caught up, he slipped into the nearby violin shop's restroom. Sticking his head under the faucet, he let the cold water run over his head and down his face in rivulets. The chilling wetness brought some calm to his jumbled thoughts.
Outside, Gray asked about Mash's recent adventures, and learned all about her travels with Shirou.
Gray sighed, "You're so lucky, Mash, getting to meet Fujimaru-sama here and even make a contract with him."
"Yes, the doctor said the same thing," Mash nodded.
"Romani, huh..." Gray wasn't surprised Romani had contacted Mash first, given Chaldea's signals were better than a personal terminal.
What did surprise her was that Shirou had concealed his identity. But she didn't pry - she understood he must have his reasons.
However, hearing about the Red Caster, especially on Cthulhu, made Gray frown.
No longer the insecure girl of thirteen years past, Gray now stood tall, exuding spirited confidence paired with tender, youthful looks. At a height similar to Mordred's, around 1.2m, she gave off the impression of a loli Artoria.
...
Seeing Gray left Saber speechless internally. Just how many more shared her face? A hint of helplessness flashed through Saber's mind as she now understood why Gilles had mistaken her in the previous war. Too many were identical to her.
Just in this war alone, Saber had seen quite a few: Mordred, Gray, and now Nero, who kept eyeing her with great interest.
“What exactly are you looking at?” Saber couldn't take it anymore and frowned at Nero.
"Oh, just comparing our differences," Nero nodded, puffing out her chest. "Hmm, yes, we do have quite big differences. And you're much more old-fashioned than me."
Nero laughed.
Saber: “?”
She was dumbfounded. Just what was going on here?
Why was this Holy Grail War so chaotic?
Comments
JeanMartin Freites
A good question, all things considered.
