Fate: Question And Answer System of Traversing Heroic Spirits

[Kayneth: "Let me ask you again, what does victory mean to a mage?"]

[El-Melloi II: "To discard all preconceived notions and focus entirely on achieving the ultimate goal."]

["What is your ultimate goal?"]

[Kayneth shouted: "Answer me, Lord El-Melloi II!"]

[El-Melloi II: "Then let me answer you, my teacher, about what I am pursuing now!"]

[The scene shifts to Sisigou and Luvia.]

Sola-ui: "I didn't realize, Kayneth, how much you've influenced this boy."

Kayneth: "Hmph."

Waver: "…"

El-Melloi II: "Ahem…"

Darnic: "But are we really just going to leave the Child of Einnashe like this? What exactly is the person behind all this trying to achieve by putting so much effort into it?"

Tohsaka Tokiomi: "Who knows? Maybe it's all just for amusement."

Gilgamesh: "Tokiomi, are you insinuating something about me?"

Tohsaka Tokiomi: "I didn't mention anyone by name."

Gilgamesh: "Hmph!"

[Sisigou and his group tracked down a woman named Mary Lil Fargo, a close friend of Trisha, hoping she might have some answers.]

[Sisigou didn't mince words, directly stating his intention to learn why Trisha was investigating a case from seven years ago.]

[Mary explained that the last time she saw Trisha was a month ago.]

[At that time, Trisha had told her about an incident from seven years ago, during which a beheading case occurred. Around that time, Marisbury had been investigating the Holy Grail War and discovered that the Greater Holy Grail had been contaminated. Since then, he became indifferent towards Olga Marie.]

[Mary added that this behavior was puzzling. Olga Marie was not only Marisbury's only child and heir to the Animusphere family but also showed remarkable talent. Yet, the old director's attitude seemed to suggest he had given up on her.]

[Trisha had been confused by this and began looking into the reasons behind it.]

[According to Trisha's findings, the person Marisbury had entrusted with the investigation was described as someone "without a heart."]

[At the mention of this description, Luvia's expression visibly shifted.]

[Although Mary didn't mention a name, Luvia immediately thought of someone fitting that description.]

[There was a rumor about a magician whose heart had been stolen by a fairy, yet he was still alive. The outside world regarded him as extremely dangerous.]

[This individual wasn't entirely unrelated to the current situation either, as he had a stepsister who was aboard the Mystic Eye Collection Train.]

Kayneth: "Heartless... I didn't expect him to be involved."

Sola-ui: "Wasn't this man declared missing?"

Heartless, the former head of the Modern Magecraft Theory Department.

His real name remained unknown, but according to rumors, his heart had been stolen by a fairy, leading to his nickname, Heartless.

In 1994, shortly after the Fourth Holy Grail War ended, he abruptly resigned from his position, and his whereabouts became a mystery.

[Back on the train, Gray had an idea. She transformed Add, her weapon and shield, into a makeshift snowboard, using it to catch up to the moving train.]

[Once aboard, Add immediately began grumbling, only stopping after an exasperated Gray scolded him into silence.]

[Not long after, Hishiri arrived and summoned Gray and the others, asking them to join her in the lounge car.]

[Gathering everyone there, Hishiri announced that since El-Melloi II was currently unconscious, she would be taking charge of solving the case.]

[She then brought up the seven-year-old case, pointing out an important detail.]

[It was revealed that the investigator sent by the Holy Church to look into the incident at the time was none other than Karabo.]

[Hishiri then explained that since she couldn't see into the past or the future regarding the case, this meant that the actual crime scene must have been somewhere else.]

[Hishiri gestured towards Olga Marie sitting beside her.]

[Olga Marie lowered his head and opened the box he was holding. Inside was Trisha's head.]

[Trisha, having foreseen her own death, had placed her head into an imaginary number space to preserve it, sealing it within.]

[Since time inside an imaginary space is static, her head retained consciousness when it was released.]

[With her last breath, Trisha uttered Karabo's name.]

[The murderer was revealed to be Karabo.]

Gordes: "So the murderer is from the Holy Church. Not surprising in the least."

Kotomine Risei: "That's impossible. An agent of the Church would never commit such an act."

Illya: "Wait a second. Weren't we supposed to be solving the mystery? How did we suddenly find the murderer like this?"

Tohsaka Rin: "You're so dense. Can't you see? Either the murderer slipped up, or there's more to this case than meets the eye."

Emiya Kiritsugu: "Exactly. And don't forget, Faker's master couldn't possibly be Karabo."

Tohsaka Tokiomi: "Stealing the Holy Relic alone is far beyond what Karabo is capable of."

[Hishiri then explained how Karabo had committed the crime.]

[She claimed that Karabo's Mystic Eye ability was akin to the legendary Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, capable of recording and storing attacks. With this power, he could observe an object and reproduce the stored attack at any time to strike.]

[For example, he could slash a blade through the air, record the movement, and later make that cut appear on an object when it intersected the recorded point.]

Tohsaka Rin: "That's insane! There's actually a way to kill someone like that?"

Waver: "This is the first I've heard of it too. It's terrifyingly difficult to defend against."

[Karabo firmly denied the accusation, but Hishiri added that while she had no direct evidence, suspicion alone was enough for her to act.]

["Wait a moment!"]

[At that moment, El-Melloi II finally woke up and was pushed into the room by Gray in a wheelchair.]

[Melvin was overjoyed to see El-Melloi II awake, though the latter was visibly exasperated by Melvin's overenthusiastic welcome.]

[El-Melloi II wasted no time, immediately voicing his doubts: Karabo had no clear motive to kill.]

[Hishiri countered, suggesting that while investigating the case, Karabo might have confused himself with the murderer's mindset, effectively stepping into the killer's shoes.]

[The logic was ridiculous, akin to claiming a suspect was insane simply because no motive could be found.]

Illya: "Is this woman just stirring up trouble?"

Emiya Kiritsugu: "Regardless, Karabo is undeniably the prime suspect right now. After all, the victim named him directly before her death. Unless..."

Tohsaka Tokiomi: "Unless the woman from the Department of Policies is lying. In that case, the most suspicious person would be..."

Darnic: "Hishiri herself."

Tohsaka Rin: "It has to be her. She doesn't exactly give off trustworthy vibes."

Fiore: "She's far too manipulative."

[El-Melloi II argued that Hishiri's reasoning was purely conjecture. It wasn't even certain that Karabo's Mystic Eyes had the capabilities she described.]

[But to everyone's surprise, Hishiri seemed utterly confident in her claim.]

["His Mystic Eyes do have such abilities."]

[At that moment, a figure bathed in blue light and of an indescribable form appeared in the room.]

[Leandra introduced her: "Everyone, this is the acting conductor of the Mystic Eye Collection Train."]

Waver: "What... what is that?"

Avicebron: "It seems to be some sort of advanced familiar, or perhaps even a faerie."

Kayneth: "To think a familiar would be assigned as acting conductor. How absurd."

[The acting conductor spoke in a cold tone: "The designated time has come. I am here to collect the Mystic Eye."]

[It turned out that half a day before the auction began, all auction items would be retrieved by the train staff.]

["You!"]

[El-Melloi II instantly understood why Hishiri had chosen this exact moment to press her reasoning.]

[It was to leverage the Mystic Eye Collection Train's momentum and policies.]

["Wait a moment!"]

[Karabo attempted to intervene, but he was powerless to stop what came next. The eerie acting conductor stepped forward and, without hesitation, dug out Karabo's Mystic Eye.]

[After extracting the Mystic Eye, the acting conductor handed it to Leandra and then vanished.]

["What a magnificent Mystic Eye."]

[Leandra examined the Mystic Eye now sealed in a glass container and commented: "While it isn't of Rainbow-grade, it is of Jewel-quality. It can make shadows of the past materialize in the present, like sea foam washing ashore. Let's call it the Mystic Eye of Transience."]

Illya: "(?⊿?) They just ripped it out like that?!"

Darnic: "At least Karabo doesn't seem gravely injured. He fainted from the pain, but his condition is stable."

Sisigou: "How barbaric! They didn't even bother with anesthesia or painkillers."

Kayneth: "This is simply the way of the Mystic Eye Collection Train. Ruthless efficiency."

[Shortly after, Karabo was placed under confinement in El-Melloi II's room. His hands were shackled, though his eyes were bandaged with care.]

[Gray: "Master, do you think Karabo really committed all of this?"]

[El-Melloi II: "The ability to commit a crime and the will to actually do it are entirely different matters."]

[At that moment, Karabo regained consciousness.]

[El-Melloi II: "Apologies, but given the circumstances, we have no choice but to detain you for now."]

[Karabo: "I understand. This is the proper course of action."]

[El-Melloi II: "I want to confirm something, were you truly involved in the case from seven years ago?"]

[Karabo hesitated for a moment before replying: "...I don't know."]

[He wasn't lying. He genuinely had no memory of the investigation from seven years ago.]

[As it turned out, Karabo had never been able to fully control his Mystic Eye. It wasn't due to his age or inexperience, but rather the inherent instability of the Mystic Eye itself. Over time, the strain it placed on him caused significant memory collapse.]

[Karabo hadn't resisted the acting conductor out of selfishness. He had hoped to use the Mystic Eye's power one last time to uncover the truth. But against the acting conductor, he had been utterly helpless.]

[El-Melloi II concluded that Karabo's Mystic Eye was now a crucial piece of evidence.]

[However, to retrieve it, they would have no choice but to participate in the auction.]

[Melvin immediately volunteered to handle the bidding.]

[El-Melloi II sighed deeply, already dreading the mountain of debt Melvin's generosity would inevitably pile onto him.]