As the auction for the Mystic Eyes were about to begin, El-Melloi II stood up, interrupting the proceedings to launch into his deduction while lighting a cigar.
"...The Mystic Eye Collection Train is the creation of a high-ranking Dead Apostle. Previously, this train was headed towards the offspring of the Forest of Einnashe. The creations of two high-ranking Dead Apostles were about to meet on the same leyline, and they were rapidly approaching each other."
"The close proximity of such powerful magical energies on the same leyline would inevitably cause a distortion, and another Holy Grail was born."
El-Melloi II used the smoke from his cigar to trace the shape of a cup in the air.
"The leylines across the Earth are all connected. By twisting and guiding this lesser Grail, it could be linked to the Greater Grail in Fuyuki."
"Thus, that person successfully summoned a Servant."
Half a day before the auction started, Karabo's Mystic Eye had been removed.
The train staff had informed all present that his eye truly could replay events of the past, dubbing it the Bubble Mystic Eye.
"Just as Hishiri Adashino deduced earlier, this kind of slashing attack from the past could indeed catch a holder of Precognition completely off guard."
"Moreover, during my students' battle with the one who summoned the Servant, they encountered that very same attack from the past."
"This confirms that the person who controlled Karabo and killed Trisha is the same person who summoned the Servant to attack me and my students."
"I wish he'd hurry up and finish; the auction's almost over," Yvette pouted, complaining.
"Besides, the one who gave you the loan was him too, wasn't it? Yvette." El-Melloi II took a drag from his cigar. "Your reckless bidding was rather suspicious."
During the auction, Yvette had called out five billion without batting an eye, as if she wasn't spending her own money.
"It was you who provided the qualification to board the train in the first place, wasn't it? The invitation allowed for at most two guests." El-Melloi II pointed his cigar at Yvette.
"Furthermore, you've been using communication magecraft to report the current situation to him all along. These things are quite easy to investigate."
"Eh~ Busted already?" Yvette pulled out a telephone-like device and blinked cutely. "He's helped me out a lot in the past. This time, he even allowed me to study the Mystic Eye I won before the transplantation."
At that moment, the telephone-like device spoke up. "As expected of the famous detective."
"Who are you?"
"You must have some guess, don't you?"
"Ah, someone capable of casually opening the Department of Modern Magecraft's safe—the one you tampered with—highly skilled in hypnotism falling under the Department of Modern Magecraft's purview, and the one who won over Yvette and provided the funds..."
El-Melloi II pointed his cigar at the phone and declared his final conclusion. "You are the former head of the Department of Modern Magecraft—Dr. Heartless."
"Brilliant!"
Hearty applause came from the other end of the phone. "You are correct. But one final point remains: the motive. What is the motive?"
"...You wanted to summon a Servant." Smoke wreathed El-Melloi II's form. "Rather, everything else was secondary. The moment you summoned the Servant, your goal was already achieved."
"Precisely!" came the reply, brimming with even more fervor.
"My property?" El-Melloi II stared intently at the phone.
"Ah, of course. Please come to the roof for a chat."
Before the words had fully faded, Aesc, along with El-Melloi II and Gray, appeared before Heartless.
"No matter how many times I see it, that magecraft is truly marvelous," a young man with hair like burning flames said with a smile, tossing forward a piece of aged red cloth. "Here."
The cloth fluttered towards them. El-Melloi II caught it, took out a handkerchief, and carefully wrapped the cloth inside.
"Since you've achieved your goal, why not just leave?"
"I wanted to see you." Heartless, despite being an enemy, spoke with remarkable friendliness, as if confiding in a lover. "The more I learned about the Holy Grail War, the more captivated I became. Myths and legends reproduced in the modern age, just as they were... it's like a childhood fantasy."
"How boring," Hephaestion spat out disdainfully.
"Haha, El-Melloi II's deduction was simply too fascinating. I did indeed take up too much time." Heartless nodded, turning to leave. "Well then..."
"Wait."
"Oh?"
"The Holy Grail is a fake. The Master is a fake. The Command Spells are fakes. Normally, such a farcical ritual should never have succeeded. It should have been impossible to summon a Servant."
El-Melloi II's gaze fixed on Hephaestion. "However, what if a counterfeit was summoned from the very beginning?"
Heartless smiled, as if receiving an unexpected gift, and acknowledged El-Melloi II's words.
"Correct. I designated this class as 'Faker'."
"Then, who do you think I am?" Hephaestion asked casually.
"You are not Hephaestion," El-Melloi II asserted. "Your appearance is identical to the likeness of Iskandar passed down through later generations. With that specific catalyst, it would be impossible to summon any other Heroic Spirit. Therefore, you are—Iskandar's body double."
"Eh? But their builds are so different?" Gray tilted her head, holding Add.
"A body double in the magecraft sense. Being a magus yourself made it more convenient to serve as his double in matters of magecraft. You might have even learned magecraft precisely because you were required to act as the King's double."
"It's dissection..." Heartless, who had been observing from the side, murmured quietly. "The legendary El-Melloi II, dissecting mystery itself."
"If you want to know, then I'll tell you," Hephaestion said, baring her teeth in a grin.
Her smile contained intense hostility, a murderous intent surfacing in her eyes.
"I never had a name to begin with. As the King's double, I had no special name. That King tried many times to give me one, but I always refused."
Faker slowly drew her dagger. A flash of lightning streaked through the clouds.
"When I needed a name other than the King's, borrowing my elder brother Hephaestion's was sufficient. That's all there is to it. That's all, Magus."
"Then, one final question!" El-Melloi II shouted, his voice straining with effort. "The reason you did not appear within the Army of the King!"
"Silence!"
Faker stomped heavily on the train roof, unsheathing her sword and slashing towards El-Melloi II.
"First Limiter Release, Applied. Great Shield." Gray expanded Add and stepped forward to block.
The shield and short sword collided violently. The strike from the enraged Heroic Spirit nearly sent Gray flying.
Aesc glanced at El-Melloi II, but he just shook his head at her.
The lady's assistance was not yet needed.
He then turned his gaze back to Faker.
"That man would never have tolerated your circumstances! He would never have agreed to you being treated as a nameless thing! You refused his naming because you believed you couldn't be his double unless you remained nameless! For someone of your caliber not to appear in the Army of the King—it's because—!"
El-Melloi II poured all his strength into his final shout.
"You yourself harbor hatred for the Army of the King!"
"I said, SILENCE!"
Faker forcefully kicked Gray aside and swung her short sword towards the sky, tearing a rift in the void.
The Hecatic Wheel arrived amidst thunder and lightning.
The skeletal dragons pulling the chariot roared savagely, as if feeling their master's fury.
Illuminated by the lightning, Faker's face appeared even more grim.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.