Type-Moon, but the Servant is Tom

Chapter 207: The Race is About to Begin!

"Squeak~~~!!!" Just as Soji had left, a sound of an eagle's cry echoed through the sky. This sound immediately captured the attention of the eager crowd that had filled the sides of the racetrack.

Likewise, all the participating racers turned their gazes skyward. What appeared in the sky was a creature with a highly unique appearance, resembling a hybrid of a griffin and a horse. Unlike the traditional griffin with a lion's body for its hindquarters, this peculiar creature had an eagle's front half and a horse's hind half, creating an unusual sight.

This creature was named the "Hippogriff," a descendant of a griffin and a mare. Seated on its back were its owner, Astolfo, and Astolfo's master, Fujimaru Ritsuka.

Upon arriving in this Singularity the previous day, they had cautiously investigated the bizarre anomaly. Eventually, they discovered this opportunity to compete for the Holy Grail.

Without a doubt, Fujimaru Ritsuka would participate in this event. After all, the reason for coming to this specific point in time was to repair the Singularity. With the chance to obtain the Holy Grail right before them, how could they possibly let it slip by?

After inquiring about the registration process from a passerby, Fujimaru Ritsuka obtained a complimentary ticket and signed up for the race.

"We're here, right? Master?" Astolfo, who was piloting the Hippogriff, lowered their head to survey the ground below, asking Fujimaru Ritsuka, who was seated behind them.

"Definitely. Let's descend quickly. We have just one minute left before the start," Fujimaru Ritsuka responded. Out of caution, they added, "But make sure to keep a distance from those Servants. In case the situation changes, we should be able to escape quickly."

"Alrighty, Master!" With those words, Astolfo tugged the reins, and the Swift Eagle swooped down toward the waiting area.

"Thud!!!" In the next moment, the Hippogriff carrying Astolfo and Fujimaru Ritsuka landed on the ground, kicking up a gust of wind and a cloud of dust.

Just as Fujimaru Ritsuka had instructed, they landed at a location far from the other participants. After landing, Fujimaru Ritsuka surveyed their surroundings and confirmed that many of the Servants present were ones they had never seen before.

As Fujimaru Ritsuka's gaze swept over the group led by Gudako, their pupils suddenly contracted, and they couldn't help but exclaim, "Mashu...? How are you here?!"

At that moment, Mashu, who was in the middle of a conversation with Gudako, looked puzzled and asked, "Huh? Excuse me, who are you?"

Just as Mashu finished speaking, she finally noticed that Fujimaru Ritsuka was wearing Chaldea's uniform.

"Huh?" Hearing Mashu's puzzled question, Fujimaru Ritsuka was taken aback, "What are you talking about? I am..."

"Beep beep beep~~~."

Before Fujimaru Ritsuka could finish, their wristwatch emitted a series of beeping sounds. Then, a miniature projection of a purple-haired girl's upper body appeared on Fujimaru Ritsuka's wristwatch. "Senpai, did you call for me?"

Seeing the image of the girl on the wristwatch, Fujimaru Ritsuka felt like their brain's CPU was about to overheat, "Huh? Mashu, are you still in Chaldea? Then, who's standing in front of me..."

"In front of you?"

"Take a look." Fujimaru Ritsuka didn't say much, instead, they directed Mashu's attention to the scene in front of them.

Following Fujimaru Ritsuka's words, Mashu adjusted her perspective and looked at the person in front of Fujimaru Ritsuka. Immediately, she was astonished, "Huh huh huh? Why is there another me there?"

Mashu didn't understand why, but she was greatly shocked.

Glancing at the monitor in the control room, which had already analyzed the Saint Graph of the Mashu on the opposite side, and seeing the identical reactions, Mashu quickly informed Fujimaru Ritsuka of her discovery.

"An exact match?" Fujimaru Ritsuka looked at the Mashu opposite them with a complicated expression and speculated, "Could it be that she's this world's Mashu? After all, this specific point is so peculiar; it's not entirely impossible."

"Hey, the one playing 'Spiritron Invasion,' look over here." Just then, Gudako from the opposite side frowned and waved her hand.

Although Fujimaru Ritsuka wasn't quite sure what 'Spiritron Invasion' referred to, they tentatively waved back and asked, "Excuse me, who are you?"

Gudako raised an eyebrow, seemingly not understanding why Fujimaru Ritsuka was asking like this, "Me? Obviously, I'm Fujimaru Ritsuka."

"Huh???" Fujimaru Ritsuka's face was filled with question marks, and they asked in disbelief, "You're saying you're Fujimaru Ritsuka?!"

"Of course!"

"Never mind that, are you my friend?" With an indifferent wave of her hand, Gudako extended her right hand to Fujimaru Ritsuka, "Give me 50 Saint Quartz."

Hearing the second inexplicable term, Fujimaru Ritsuka, who was still processing the shock of the girl on the opposite side claiming to be 'Fujimaru Ritsuka,' became even more perplexed.

"Huh? Saint... Saint Quartz?"

"Don't play dumb. If you give me 50 Saint Quartz right now, I won't hold your intrusion into my instance against you."

"But... Saint Quartz is...?" Hearing Gudako's series of baffling terms, Fujimaru Ritsuka decided to start asking about Saint Quartz, which Gudako kept mentioning.

Upon hearing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka furrowed their brows even more, "Wow, you invade my instance and don't even give me Saint Quartz? You're in trouble now, you've stirred up something."

Hearing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka, who was already thoroughly confused, was left dumbfounded. How did things escalate to picking a fight with an enemy in just a couple of sentences? And what was most bizarre was that this enemy was also named 'Fujimaru Ritsuka,' and they had their own version of Mashu. If there weren't any problems, Fujimaru Ritsuka simply couldn't believe it.

Regardless, Fujimaru Ritsuka didn't want to make enemies right after arriving in this world. Since the person on the opposite side, claiming to be 'Fujimaru Ritsuka,' demanded that they hand over Saint Quartz, Fujimaru Ritsuka needed to first understand what it was and how to obtain it. Only by knowing what it was could they find it and give it to her, thereby resolving this strange hostile situation.

So, Fujimaru Ritsuka immediately asked, "Wait, could you please tell me what Saint Quartz is?"

Unfortunately, Fujimaru Ritsuka was splendidly ignored by Gudako.

"Senpai? Who is he?" Ignoring Gudako's money-grabbing antics, Mashu asked in confusion.

"He must be a friend of mine who came to invade," Gudako casually replied. She then turned to Red Hare and said, "Listen up, in the upcoming race, just hammer him until he agrees to give you Saint Quartz."

"Understood, Master."

Just at that moment, the large screen in the sky displayed that the entry time had ended. The race was about to begin.