IBHJ Chapter 953

Shirou spent over two months grinding day and night, finally reaching level 8. He then settled in this now-rundown lakeside town.

There were many ruins of temples and pyramids around the lake area. He figured this must be what would become Lake Titicaca in the future. Of course, that was after the Maya were gone. The Aztec Empire, which inherited Maya civilization, was also destroyed by the Spanish Empire. Over time, this lake area would become a scenic border between Bolivia and Peru. That was the future that should have been, but this Connection Point had deviated from the normal path since the mythical era.

In this Connection Point, the UOs bet was placed here, causing the UOs from the other eight planets to descend. The Maya gods of this world resisted and were destroyed by the UOs. Moreover, the Mooncell modified the rules of this world, turning it into a virtual game world. As a result, the original classical survival environment instantly changed into a futuristic virtual environment, causing the classical humans living on this continent to evolve into adventurers adapted to the game environment. Therefore, even the once sacred lake was now sparsely populated.

But just as there's a generation gap between internet-age teens and their elders back home, the same divide existed here. Even though adventurers were the new normal, and faith in the gods and reverence for nature had been tossed aside with the arrival of the UOs, the older, less adaptable generation still clung to their traditions.

Prayers to the gods, rituals at the sacred lake, gratitude for nature's bounty... these things still lived on in this sparsely populated former Holy City. But the new generation of adventurers was extremely averse to these traditions, so the lake area saw few of them.

But no matter how the new generation viewed this place, Shirou found life here quite agreeable.

Morning jogs along the mountain path, chats with neighbors on his return, afternoons spent fishing on Lake Titicaca, and the occasional playful jab at Mordred.

It was a leisurely, peaceful life.

Sure, electricity and internet would make it a dream come true, but he'd already kicked his modern illness back in Britain. He was quite content with this primitive life.

Returning from Lake Titicaca, he cradled a hefty fish in his arms. Turning to Artoria, who was also hauling several large catches, he smiled, "Looks like another fish feast tonight, eh? I'm thinking soup for this big guy. Yours would be great steamed or braised." He paused, then added, "Oh, and we're almost out of pepper. We can swing by Grandma Enos' on the way."

"Mm," she nodded, smiling and lifting her catch. "And I out-fished the King again today."

He rolled his eyes. "If using Noble Phantasms on the lake water counts as fishing..."

They chatted and laughed as they walked home. When they passed Grandma Enos' house, they stopped.

Grandma Enos was the local general store. Compared to the shops in big cities like Zaun, her selection was limited, but she did have South American peppers and salt.

Since settling here, Shirou's family's hearty appetites had made them frequent customers of Grandma Enos.

"Hello, Grandma Enos!" Artoria called out, placing a large fish on the doorstep. "We're out of pepper again. Could we trouble you for some? We've left a fish here for you."

While QP transactions were the norm between adventurers and NPCs, the old ways of bartering were still how things worked here.

"Alright, just a moment."

A frail voice called from inside. Then, with a creak, the door opened, and an old woman with silvering hair at her temples stepped out. She shakily handed a sack of peppers to Artoria.

"Thank you, Grandma Enos." Artoria took the peppers and offered her thanks. Just as she and Shirou were about to leave, Grandma Enos caught her sleeve.

"Is something wrong, Grandma Enos?" Artoria asked, puzzled.

Shirou looked on, equally confused.

Grandma Enos hesitated for a moment, then looked at the two and asked, "Mr. Shirou, Lady Artoria, I don't want this fish. In return, could you help this old woman with something? It's something only adventurers can do."

Shirou and Artoria exchanged glances, then he stepped forward and said, "Are you in some kind of trouble, Grandma Enos? If it's not dangerous, we'll help you."

"It's not anything dangerous, just helping a poor child."

Grandma Enos gestured for the two to follow her inside. They exchanged glances again, then followed Grandma Enos into the house.

"I have a habit of getting up early. Every morning when I wake up, I walk around my yard a few times. Today was no different, but I found a young man lying unconscious in my yard," Grandma Enos explained.

Artoria's eyes widened. "A bandit, perhaps? Should we alert the guards?"

Grandma Enos shook her head. "Oh, no, dear. He's a good child, and he was desperate for a hiding place. But there's something odd about his condition – it's as if he's under some sort of spell."

A spell? He raised an eyebrow.

Grandma Enos led the two into her house.

As soon as they entered, he immediately spotted a young man lying unconscious on the bed.

The youth was strikingly handsome, with rosy lips and pearly teeth. But oddly, despite the sweltering summer heat, he wore a close-fitting hat.

Shirou studied him for a moment. The young man's breathing was even, but he remained deeply asleep, as if under some powerful suggestion. Unlike the simple suggestion he had used during the Fourth Holy Grail War, this was high-level spell, completely unlike any magecraft he knew. Unfortunately, magecraft wasn't his strong suit.

Artoria didn't even bother to look, simply shaking her head. She was a holy sword wielder, not a magus. Her magecraft level was even lower than Shirou's, barely at the level of recognizing magecraft.

"I know you two adventurers aren't skilled in spells, so I wanted to ask you to take him to Lady Morrigan to help remove the spell. He's a good child and shouldn't suffer from something like this," Grandma Enos said, gently stroking the youth's cheek.

Looking at Grandma Enos's kind face, he frowned. "Forgive me for asking, but how did you know he was under a spell?"

Even Shirou, with his considerable knowledge of magecraft and access to Merlin's records, had taken a while to recognize the magecraft at play. How had this ordinary old woman spotted it at a glance?

Grandma Enos sighed, her eyes taking on a distant look. "There's something I should have mentioned earlier. In my youth, I served as a priestess to the God of Wisdom. It granted me certain... abilities."

She paused, a shadow crossing her face. "But when the invaders struck down my God, those powers faded. Even so, I can still sense things about people. This boy... his soul is pure, but it's clouded by fear and sorrow."

Her gaze refocused on them, her voice growing urgent. "For him to end up like this in my yard, something dreadful must have happened. Please, I beg you – help this child."

"I understand, Grandma Enos," Shirou nodded.

Grandma Enos was once a priestess, essentially a magus from the Age of Gods. But her magecraft had vanished with the demise of the God of Wisdom who had bestowed it upon her.

Shirou decided to help, not for any reward, but out of simple compassion.

He carefully put one arm around the youth's neck and the other under his knees, lifting him up to take him to Morrigan. As he did, a gust of wind knocked the hat off the young man's head, revealing his true appearance.

"My king!" Artoria exclaimed, pointing at the youth's forehead.

His gaze followed her finger, landing on a distinct eye slit on the young man's forehead!

A third eye!

He was astonished. Waver had only recently told him about three-eyed people, and now here was one right before him!

According to Waver's theory, three-eyed people were descendants of the Maya, and there might be some connection between them, the Lord of Salvation, and the lost ancient civilization.

Shirou's gaze remained fixed on the three-eyed youth in his arms. He cherished his current peaceful and quiet life, but there was one final, powerful enemy standing between him and fully achieving it - the Lord of Salvation, who had destroyed the ancient civilization and summoned the Beast of Revelation through Manaka in the Shinjuku Holy Grail War!

"Please don't worry, we'll take care of him," he assured Grandma Enos.