"...Sure enough, all the capable magicians have almost run away?"
The dark clouds were sucked in by the typhoon, revealing a blue sky over downtown Snowfield.
Despite this, the storm was still roaring, and Sigma walked cautiously in the sun and rain.
"As soon as we found out that the typhoon was a product of magic, almost everyone ran away. Of course, there seem to be some arrogant people who stayed after all this!"
"...When dealing with this kind of guy, you must be careful when coming into contact with him...Whether he is a magician or a magic user, he is probably someone who wants to take advantage of us whenever he gets an opportunity."
"Is it your turn to say this?"
Sigma forcibly ignored the words of the 'Shadow' who looked like a young knight.
In fact, the special forces led by [Thorn]—these people who had been abandoned by Faldius—have almost made these people unable to have contact with others.
Although there were still troops remaining in the desert area, Francesca and the others were also there, so they decided that it would be dangerous to move rashly.
Although the communication network has been cut off, Faldius' surveillance network is still operating.
Relying on the information obtained from the Watcher, while avoiding surveillance and traveling through the streets, the old captain's 'Shadow' started talking at some point.
"Humph. But I really didn't expect that you would treat us like 'Chaplin'."
"you are not happy?"
"No, I just think you are really brave. If you want to deceive people, it would be better to use the name of a great man who can play a decisive role in the war? King Arthur, Charlemagne, Mohammed II, etc.?"
Looking at the old captain who said the names of these heroes, Sigma thought for a moment and then shook his head.
"I've said it before, that's the first name that comes to my mind...the name of a great man worthy of respect. If I don't do that, the other party will be able to detect the unnaturalness in my words. They are all professionals, not even a little bit.
The sense of disobedience can make them expose my lies."
"No, no, it's the most unnatural thing for a comedian to become a Heroic Spirit, right? Besides, after all, such a modern person wouldn't be on the Heroic Spirit Seat..."
Sigma continued to speak expressionlessly to the words of the heroic spirit who had transformed into a boy with a snake staff.
"They haven't understood the Holy Grail War to that extent. Also, I don't know that it's difficult for people close to modern times to become Heroic Spirits."
"Because the mystery is getting thinner and thinner. And it's impossible not to sign a guardian contract with the world itself. But, it doesn't mean that the older the better. According to the nature of the Holy Grail, there are heroic spirits that can be summoned and those that cannot be summoned.
It will change. For example, the Holy Grail here (Snowfield) and Fuyuki's Holy Grail are derived from European magicians. It is more difficult to summon heroic spirits that are closely related to the East and...the American continent. Because
Compared to the spiritual veins of the land, the nature of the Great Holy Grail has higher priority."
"That's right...but if you say that, Charlie Chaplin is British, so you can rest assured."
"Huh? Is this what you should be concerned about?"
'Shadow' smiled bitterly, and at some point he turned into a woman wearing a flying hat again.
"Tia Eskaldes... seems to have returned to this city."
"!What's the destination?"
"In the sky above the forest on the west side, it seems that he is observing the situation below from a position close to the typhoon. He is quite concerned about the situation in the valley to the north. He is probably paying attention to the movements of the magicians gathered there, right?"
"That's it..."
Sigma, who was walking forward while thinking about the newly obtained information, turned into a "shadow" that looked like an old Japanese swordsman and asked.
"I see that things are getting more and more chaotic in the west. Can we continue?"
"Ah, I just need to do my own thing."
Then, Sigma seemed to suddenly think of something and asked the 'Shadow'.
"Speaking of which... the woman wearing the flying hat just now, isn't she a modern person?"
Then, the 'Shadow' who turned into a young knight answered.
"We 'Shadows' are not heroic spirits. We just reproduce the qualified information records in the world observed by Watcher one by one according to personality, so it has nothing to do with modern times and ancient times. It is the same as copying. We are really just information.
It’s just a collective.”
"Is it similar to the ultra-high-performance AI? The era of relying on AI to create high-efficiency spells and magic circles may soon come."
"Ah, among those guys in the north, there are some who are good at that."
"To the north... How many magicians are there in the city now..."
Suddenly, Sigma saw a figure in front of him. He activated the magic of invisibility and hid in the alley.
The person walking in the storm was a police officer, probably one of the sergeant's subordinates.
"…Police?"
After thinking for a moment, Sigma asked.
"...Is the sergeant in the police station now?"
The 'Shadow', who can control things in the city at will, said regretfully while turning into a tall and strong hunter.
"Ah, he's here. But unfortunately, that pretty girl named Vera went to deal with the guys in the north. Speaking of which, although I, as a 'shadow', can't let you do this or that, but
There are many magician ladies in the canyon to the north, don’t you plan to go there and join them?”
"No...they can't accommodate people like me from Francesca and Faldius. It's incredible that people from the police are there."
"snort!"
The hunter was very unhappy and disappeared. Instead, the old captain appeared again and spoke to Sigma.
"So, what are you going to do? You asked where the Sheriff is...are you going there?"
After a short moment of silence, Sigma made up his mind and spoke.
"...Ah, the more actors, the better."
"But if there are too many characters on the stage, things that have been sorted out will not be clear, young man."
"There is no need to figure it out... I just need to complete my own comedy."
"Comedy, although I know you really like it, I didn't expect you to act in it yourself."
Facing the old captain's mocking words, Sigma recalled the past while weaving his own words.
"...What I see in reality are all tragedies. Even comedies are the kind that make the characters suffer misfortune for fun."
Thinking of his childhood friends, Lambda and Tao, and his mother, whose face she didn't even know, who was buried in a place called Fuyuki, Sigma looked up at the sky where the weather looked like a joke.
"It doesn't matter if it's just once, I want to act in a comedy that ends with someone laughing..."
Remembering the unknown assassins who were both smiling, Sigma took another step forward.
"Oh, the joke about dying with a smile is pretty good..."
············
City of Snowfield, Office of the Chief of Police.
Orlando Revie, who was collecting information using the magic-based observation machine on the table in the director's office, felt that the police station's barrier was partially damaged.
"...the impact of the storm? No..."
The possibility of an invader taking advantage of the chaos in the west to attack is very high.
Remembering the threat of the assassin who had used all his strength to attack at the beginning, and Flat Escardes who had suppressed the entire police station by finding a backdoor, Orlando carefully checked the status of the barrier.
It looks like the barrier at the back door was destroyed.
It was neither removed by skillful manipulation of magic nor destroyed by full force. The traces left behind were very traditional techniques used by ordinary magicians or magicians.