[FMMISM] Chapter 18: Unexpected Information

"Ahh~ My shoulders are killing me..."

Placing her cup on the table, Aoko complained.

"Aoko, can you tone down your lewd act?" Ragna sighed, also placing his cup on the table.

He couldn't help but glance disdainfully at Aoko across from him.

After a few bottles of sake, Miss Magician placed her heavy chest onto the table to lighten the load. Two soft objects wrapped in a white sweater were placed on the table, gently swaying like a pure white pudding.

Morgan and the surrounding diners were stunned by Aoko's actions, but Ragna had grown accustomed to her antics when she drank alcohol.

As more than two hours passed after that, now it was half past five in the afternoon.

Over time, the izakaya became more bustling, reaching its peak of customers.

Ragna, Morgan, and Aoko in the corner of the izakaya had already finished their sake. Now in front of them were numerous empty sake bottles, with a hotpot bubbling in the center of the table.

Since they were here, they might as well have dinner. Of course, it was Aoko who had decided this on behalf of Ragna's wallet ten minutes ago.

"Well, to be honest, I was planning to participate in the Holy Grail War..." Aoko rested her chin on her hand, stirring the hotpot with chopsticks.

It was clear she envied Ragna being able to participate in the Holy Grail War alongside Morgan, such an extraordinary beauty.

Morgan, sitting diagonally opposite Aoko, had a completely different style from her. One could say Morgan was truly a British princess, elegantly nibbling on the food on her plate.

"Speaking of which, Kayneth, the dean of the Department of Mineralogy, is participating in this Holy Grail War. From what I know, the Mage's Association has never sent such a big shot to Japan before..."

"And did you know? The incident where his prepared catalyst was stolen by a student caused quite a stir throughout the Clock Tower—Hey, Ragna, are you listening?"

Hearing Aoko's question, Ragna nodded as he busily stuffed fried chicken into his mouth.

"Yeah, I know. Kayneth's catalyst was stolen by one of his students, right?"

"Heh, you're not even from the Clock Tower, yet you know such internal news. I've always wondered, could you really have clairvoyance?"

After saying that, Aoko reminisced when she first met Ragna with her friend.

Back then, just like now, Ragna had revealed her and her friend's identities and purposes before they could even say anything.

"I told you ages ago I indeed have clairvoyance." Ragna answered casually.

"Hmph, I don't believe it. Every time I follow your horse race bets, I end up losing big time." Aoko frowned, holding her chopsticks as she fell into deep thought.

Although she claimed not to believe him, she couldn't shake the feeling that the boy in front of her possessed eyes that could see through everything. Even though his aloof gaze couldn't be counted as an offense, she often felt as though he stripped her bare, letting him scrutinize her body and soul at will.

She felt that in Ragna's presence, nothing could escape his eyes; he knew everything there was to know—even about her friend, Alice.

Despite Alice's character, which trusted no one she didn't understand, she somehow opened up to this mysterious boy.

Feeling a mix of embarrassment and annoyance, Aoko suddenly spoke up.

"Oh, by the way, Ragna, let me ask you—do you know what new catalyst Kayneth had prepared after his original catalyst was stolen?"

"So you do know?" Ragna arched a brow, visibly pleased.

"Of course I do." Aoko replied, nodding cheerfully.

"Aoko... Not gonna lie, if I had secrets, I'd rather die than share them with you." Ragna said with a smirk.

Truly, this woman couldn't wait to casually spill the beans about what catalyst others had prepared at a public place like this.

"C'mon, don't be like that. For a perfectionist like Lord El-Melloi, it's never been a big deal if his enemy gets intel in advance." Aoko said with a smile, before continuing inside her mind. 'Besides, his new catalyst is the type where even if you knew in advance, you couldn't come up with a countermeasure.'

"Kayneth's newly prepared catalyst is for summoning Lancer Diarmuid, the First Spear of the Knights of Fianna, right?" Ragna stated while scooping a meatball out of the hotpot and putting it on his plate.

"Huh?" Aoko blinked her eyes confusedly.

Although Ragna sported a confident and proud expression, his answer was completely wrong.

"Aoko, don't underestimate my connections in London." Ragna continued. "As for the strategy to handle Kayneth, I've had it planned out for a while. Hmph, but then again, how could that scholar who only does research in his workshop be my match..."

"Master, I think you've guessed wrong..."

As Ragna gestured with his chopsticks while talking proudly, Morgan, who was casually stirring wasabi, interrupted him without looking up.

"Huh? Wrong...?"

"Well, well, isn't this a surprise? Ragna can be wrong too after all... Has your 'clairvoyance' finally failed somewhere other than in gambling?" Aoko shook her head with a smirk.

"..."

Ragna fell silent.

'Kayneth's Servant isn't Diarmuid? Well, this was a bit unexpected, but still within the limit of understanding.'

In the end, Ragna didn't dwell on it and moved on to ask.

"So, what catalyst is he preparing?"

"It's a fragment of the Round Table."

As soon as Aoko answered, the air suddenly became quiet.

"From what I heard, the fragment came from the Department of Summoning, which supposedly can summon King Arthur or one of the Knights of the Round Table. Initially considering a Servant from the Knights of Fianna, he ended up choosing a Servant from the Round Table with more certainty—hmm? What's wrong with your expressions?"

Even the easy-going Miss Magician noticed something amiss, puzzled as she looked across the table, observing the subtle expressions on Ragna's and Morgan's faces.

'A Knight of the Round Table, huh...' Ragna squinted his eyes slightly.

Looked like this Holy Grail War was turning into a civil war of Britain.

However, now that Kayneth's Servant had changed, he also needed to consider other Masters changing their Servants.

First and foremost was probably Uryuu Ryuunosuke, the original Master of Caster Gilles de Rais.

Since he summoned Caster Morgan, Ryuunosuke shouldn't be summoning Gilles anymore, right?

No.

Considering Gilles's suitability as a Berserker, maybe he was actually the unchanged one.

'Meh, whatever...'

Ragna decided long ago that the first thing to do upon returning to Fuyuki next time would be to eliminate Ryuunosuke.

"Aoko, your information has been a big help. Thanks a lot." Ragna chuckled. "This should improve my odds in the Holy Grail War."

"Heh, did I really help that much? Well, all I did was find out Kayneth's Servant is from the Round Table." Aoko said with a pleased expression, swaying slightly.

"Yeah, honestly, you've been a big help." Ragna glanced at Morgan beside him.

After all, his own Servant was practically part of the Round Table, so they had a countermeasure to work with.

"Alright, enough talk, Aoko. Let's continue drinking." Ragna raised his cup to her.

"Sure!" Aoko replied cheerfully.

Just as they were about to toast, Morgan, who had been quietly eating and drinking, suddenly lifted her cup too, joining them.

"For our victory in the Holy Grail War, cheers!"