Reborn with Steve Stand

Late at night, in the main hall of the Tohsaka residence.

Fang Mo sat on the sofa, enjoying the sight of Rin Tohsaka trying to reason with him.

"I know that heroic spirits like you often have lingering attachments to your past lives, but we are currently in the middle of the Holy Grail War. We can't leave Japan," Rin said, clearly distressed. If she had a choice, she wouldn't have summoned this particular Servant. But what could she do now? All she could do was try her best to convince him. "Not just Japan—we can't even leave Fuyuki City. That's because heroic spirits are essentially made of magical energy."

"Oh, is that so?"

Fang Mo surprisingly played along, nodding thoughtfully. "So, that means I can't blitzkrieg Poland this time, huh? Guess taking France quickly is out of the question, too?"

"Yes… exactly," Rin said through gritted teeth, doing her best to remain calm. "Führer, you really can't go to Europe right now."

"No problem."

Fang Mo waved it off grandly. "Asia will do. Since we're allies here, we might as well make this our base of operations. Trust me, no enemy can stand before us!"

"Base of operations?" Rin finally felt some relief, thinking he had given up on Europe. "So, are you talking about constructing a stronghold? What is your class?"

The "base of operations" he mentioned led Rin to think he meant "Territory Creation," a skill commonly associated with the Caster class.

Of course, a few other classes could create something similar. It was a skill used to build defensive structures and turn one's base into a magic workshop filled with traps, giving the user a major advantage in battle. Essentially, it created a home-field advantage.

"Territory Creation? What's that?"

To Rin's surprise, Fang Mo dismissed her question. "I meant a base of operations for warfare… By the way, is there a beer hall nearby?"

"Huh?"

Rin was completely taken aback.

"I need a place to deliver a speech," Fang Mo said confidently, adjusting his glasses. "After all, the Holy Grail War is still a war. Don't worry—I'm very experienced with this. The first step is to win the people's hearts."

"W-wait!"

Rin jumped to her feet, suddenly realizing what he meant. "No!"

"Hm?"

Fang Mo's eyes narrowed in response.

His playful demeanor instantly vanished, replaced by an intimidating aura that left no room for disobedience.

"Uh… Führer, please don't misunderstand!"

Rin quickly panicked. Honestly, she was terrified of her Servant, even with her command spells. After all, his infamous deeds had spread across Europe, and who knew how many people he had killed? Anyone in her position would be scared.

"It's like this…"

Forcing herself to calm down, Rin explained, "One of the rules of the Holy Grail War is that we cannot involve ordinary people. If we do, we'll be targeted for elimination by the other participants."

"That's an actual rule?"

Fang Mo feigned surprise.

"Yes."

Rin quickly nodded. "Heroic spirits are supposed to receive some basic information upon summoning, including common knowledge of this era and the rules of the Holy Grail War. Don't you remember any of this?"

"I have some information in my head, but it's incomplete."

Fang Mo replied, pretending to be thoughtful.

"What?"

Rin was stunned. Could the summoning ritual have gone wrong?

Indeed, as mentioned earlier, Rin's family had almost all passed away, especially her father, Tokiomi Tohsaka. As a result, she had performed the summoning ritual entirely on her own.

Since no one had guided her, the ritual exploded as soon as it was completed.

Normally, the heroic spirit should have stepped out of the summoning circle. However, the explosion blew a hole in the ceiling, and the summoned Archer had ended up in the storage room next door. This was how Fang Mo managed to slip in and take on his current role.

Of course, Rin had no idea about this and was now blaming herself, thinking Fang Mo's lack of knowledge was her fault.

"I see…"

Rin paused for a moment before accepting responsibility. "I'm sorry. This is my fault. Why don't we start by sharing information? It will help you understand the current era better."

"Gathering intelligence?"

Fang Mo nodded. "Sure, but give me a moment."

"What…"

Rin was puzzled for a moment. Suddenly, a flash of white light appeared beside Fang Mo, revealing a clean-cut, black-haired man with a small braid. He didn't look European but rather Asian. Despite this, he was also wearing a dark military uniform, with a cold, distant expression.

But what caught Rin's attention the most was the way the man looked at her.

His expression was odd—a mix of pity and sympathy. Given the identity of the heroic spirit she had summoned, Rin couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine.

At that moment, Fang Mo began to introduce him.

"This is an intelligence officer from the secret service. We can share information with him and send him out to gather more."

"Intelligence officer? Secret service?"

Rin was taken aback. She didn't doubt Fang Mo, since heroic spirits could summon subordinates in some cases. But she was still curious about his class. "Can I ask what your class is?"

"My class?"

Fang Mo gestured for Aki Hayakawa to leave before turning back to Rin. "Does it matter that much to you?"

"Every Master in the Holy Grail War would be concerned about this."

Rin replied.

"There's no need to worry about that." Fang Mo waved dismissively, exuding an aura of superiority. "Child, the moment we formed our contract, victory was already in our hands."

"I…"

Rin was at a loss for words.

However, Fang Mo quickly added, "If you're really that curious, I can tell you—I'm an Archer."

"Archer, huh?"

Rin nodded in understanding.

In the Holy Grail War, seven Masters summon heroic spirits to battle, and the spirits are divided into seven classes: Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, Assassin, and Berserker.

Each class had its strengths, but Rin had initially aimed to summon one of the three Knight classes—Saber, Lancer, or Rider—since they were known for their powerful combat abilities and strong magic resistance, which was crucial in the war.

However, after the ritual mishap, she was lucky enough to have summoned an Archer at all.

It's just… the identity of this Archer was beyond troubling.

Rin didn't even know how to begin processing it.

"So, can you explain your abilities?"

After thinking for a moment, Rin asked again, "I've told you about my capabilities—my mana, gem magic, and so on. But the Holy Grail War is ultimately a battle between heroic spirits, and as a Master, my role is limited. It would be best if we understood each other's abilities."

Her request was reasonable, and Fang Mo didn't mind complying.

"As for me, all of my base stats are quite high."

Fang Mo began. "But while I say that, I'll admit that, as the Führer, my close-combat skills are rather average. After all, I'm better at waging wars than individual battles—you understand, right?"

"Yes, I understand."

Rin nodded.

"Besides that, I have several innate abilities." Fang Mo continued, "I can materialize as a spirit when necessary, and I have the Independent Action skill, likely due to my class. This ability is quite strong—I don't even need much mana from you to maintain my presence."

"Hmm."

Rin nodded again. So far, his abilities seemed fine.

Just as she started to feel relieved, Fang Mo dropped a bombshell.

"As for my other skills," Fang Mo pondered for a moment, "there's Race Supremacy, Artist, Wrath, and Black Emperor…"

"Wait a second."

Rin couldn't take it anymore. "I understood Independent Action and spirit form, but what's Race Supremacy?"

"Oh, that allows me to suppress anyone with certain bloodlines," Fang Mo explained seriously. "Given my identity, you understand that unless the King of the Jews himself appears, no one with Jewish blood can stand against me."

"I…"

Rin didn't even know how to respond.

Should she criticize this ability? It seemed incredibly… inappropriate.

But considering it was the Holy Grail War, if another Master really did summon a heroic spirit with such a background, her side would gain a significant advantage. They could completely dominate.

Now Rin was unsure if this ability was a curse or a blessing.

"Then there's Artist."

Fang Mo continued, paying no mind to her reaction. "I've painted and written books, so I have some artistic talents. It's only natural that I have a boost in that area, right?"

"As for Wrath, it's similar to the Berserker class's ability. In China, there's a saying: 'When a commoner is enraged, blood spills within five steps. When the emperor is enraged, corpses fall by the thousands.' As the Führer, you can imagine what happens when I'm angry, right?"

Fang Mo explained with a straight face, "In that moment, everyone will deeply remember the wrath of the Führer."

"And… Black Emperor?"

Rin asked nervously, shrinking slightly.

"It's like a unique leadership ability, but stronger." Fang Mo casually replied. "It enhances all my abilities and empowers my allies—well, except for Italy. I can also use it alongside my Noble Phantasm."

"Noble Phantasm?"

Rin paused. "As an Archer, your Noble Phantasm must be some sort of ranged weapon, right?"

"Well, yes and no."

Fang Mo smiled confidently. "You might not believe this, but my Noble Phantasm is incredibly versatile. At full power, it can even reach EX level."

"Oh? That powerful?"

Rin was intrigued. Sure, her Servant was infamous, but given his terrifying past, his stats were undeniably impressive. Maybe she really had a chance at victory.

"Could you show me your Noble Phantasm? I know it uses up mana, but since we'll be fighting together, it's important that we understand each other. Please?"

"Showing you is no problem."

Fang Mo replied casually. "But haven't you already seen it?"

"…Huh?"

Rin was confused. "Seen it? When?"

"No matter."

Fang Mo waved dismissively. "I'll show you again. By the way, do you have a bathroom here?"

"Bathroom? It's downstairs."

Rin didn't think much of it and led the way. "Follow me."

Fang Mo followed her down the stairs to a door on the first floor. Just as Rin was about to open it, Fang Mo suddenly grabbed her arm.

"Don't go in."

Fang Mo stopped her. "I've already activated my Noble Phantasm."

"What?"

Rin was confused, but Fang Mo gestured toward the bathroom.

The door was wooden, with a glass panel near the top. Normally, a curtain would be drawn during a bath, but since no one was using it, the glass was unobstructed.

When Rin peered through, she saw something bizarre—thick purple smoke was filling the entire bathroom.

"…Huh?!"

Rin's expression hardened.

At that moment, Fang Mo's voice came from behind her. "A little bathroom purification, nothing out of the ordinary."

"I…"

Rin didn't know what to say. Her face was flushed with a mixture of embarrassment and frustration.

Of course, Fang Mo wasn't a heroic spirit, so all this talk of Noble Phantasms was nonsense. What had actually happened was that Fang Mo, upon seeing the bathroom, activated his ability to stop time. During the pause, he pulled out a splash potion of poison from Steve's inventory and poured it into the bathroom, then stepped out and closed the door.

To Rin, though, it seemed as if Fang Mo had turned her bathroom into a gas chamber with just a wave of his hand.

Even though she hadn't inhaled any of the purple smoke, Rin's face was turning a shade of purple all the same.

"See? That's my Noble Phantasm."

Fang Mo continued, ignoring her reaction. "I can project anything my empire once possessed—whether it's buildings, tools, tanks, planes, cannons, or even armies—into reality."

Fang Mo smiled and patted Rin on the shoulder. "Since this power manifested after I became a heroic spirit, I named my Noble Phantasm…"

"The Third Reich!"