And so, Ruler headed straight to the airport via the night bus and took off for Bucharest, Romania. If she can only turn into Spirit Form ... but it seems that is also impossible for her. Left with no choice, she had to use her own money - or rather, Laeticia's - to buy a plane ticket. Perhaps I should make a request to the Church or the Association later, she thought, becoming somewhat gloomy.
On the plane, she sorted through the knowledge that she had been granted. She understood the place that would become the battlefield - the small city of Trifas in Romania. It is the Second Owner of that land, the Yggdmillennia, which arranged for this Great War. Standing against them are magi from the Clock Tower, which the Yggdmillennia seceded from. But the problem with the current situation is that it is not a free-for-all between seven Servants but a conflict of an unprecedented scale between two sides of seven.
It is hardly rare for a duel to the death between single Servants to leave surrounding buildings crushed in its aftermath. And this is seven against seven ... It is unnerving just to think about the kind of widespread destruction that a full confrontation between the two sides will bring about.
Is the scale of this conflict the reason why she was summoned as Ruler? Was she called by the Greater Grail, fearing the threat of an utter collapse in the Holy Grail War?
She does not know... and now is not the time to speculate.
First, she must reach Trifas - everything starts there.
It took her a day and a half to reach the Henri Coandă International Airport in Bucharest, including transfer and waiting times. It is just past noon - thick, black-gray clouds filled the sullen sky, as though it were on the verge of tears.
Although she had been granted knowledge of this airport, built with the newest construction techniques, it still came across as novel to her.
Her legs felt heavy, probably because she has been sitting the whole time. During the long air journey, she spent half her time thinking about the Great War, and used the other half praying for a safe journey. Thanks to her knowledge as a Servant, she fully understands what kind of transport a plane is. But that is different from actually going inside one. The fact is, she did not want to understand why this mass of metal can fly through the air... In truth, she was simply glad that they did not fall out of the sky.
The sight of such a defenceless-looking girl tottering about with a bag in her hands must seem like the easiest mark in the world to the low-lifes that hang around the airport... but it never even occurred to them to lay a hand on her. They were not so unruly as to drag mud into a pure pond.
Trifas lays to the north-east. She will have to use some form of transportation to get there, either taking a bus or hitchhiking...
"...Hmph."
The instant she stepped out of the airport, multiple lines of sight pierced Ruler.
However, she can detect no Servants within the limits of the detection boundary centred around her - a radius of ten kilometers.
Ruler can nullify even the Presence Concealment skill of Assassins. If she cannot sense any powerful detection abilities despite feeling others' gaze...
"...then it must be remote viewing, or familiars."
Generally, there are two methods where thaumaturgy can allow one to see far-off things. The first is remote viewing - using a crystal ball, a mirror or such to observe a distant location. As long as there is some form of medium you can observe the outside even from the safety of your own workshop. Hence, most magi have mastery of this type of thaumaturgy.
The other is by using a familiar - creating a pseudo-living being by modifying a small animal or organism. By joining the causal lines between master and familiar, one can share its five senses. This is also considered a basic type of thaumaturgy for most magi.
Scanning the grey skies, Ruler noticed innumerable doves looking at her direction. It would seem that they are familiars - but, try as she might, she could not see the light of intelligence in their eyes. Normally, by being granted the hair or blood of a magus, the creature that becomes a familiar gains a degree of intelligence. While it cannot quite speak, its intellect should be quite detectable.
Yet they look for all the world like simple doves, though it is unmistakable that they are observing her. Are they being controlled by hypnotic suggestions? That would be quite a roundabout method.
Ruler glared, first at the direction from which she is being observed from, then at the doves. Her gaze did not contain any sort of prana or power, but it made clear her thoughts.
The sensation of being observed disappeared, and the doves all flew off at once. Ruler sighed when she confirmed this.
In essence, a Ruler does not take part in the Holy Grail War... However, as the position demands that it brings judgment upon Servants and Masters that violate rules, a fitting amount of combat strength is required.
Not many have experienced the Holy Grail War twice or thrice and even amongst those, it is doubtful that any has ever taken part in one where a Ruler manifested. Perhaps they wanted to measure the power of such a Servant.
"More and more, it seems this war will require some difficult judgment on my part..."
This Great War presents only one great point in favor of Ruler - the fourteen Servants are evenly divided into two camps, Noir and Rouge. In other words, it avoids a scenario where fourteen Servants are all acting independently. It is nightmarish enough just imagining all those Servants rampaging about at will - at worst, they can destroy the entire city.
"Whatever the case, I must first head to Trifas..."
Murmuring to herself, Ruler started looking for a bus, only to find that none headed directly to Trifas. She will have to head to Sighișoara first and proceed from there. But it turns out that there will not be a bus to Sighișoara until tomorrow. Left with no choice, Ruler asked around to see if there was anyone heading to Trifas. In the end, a lean old man wearing glasses and a deerstalker said that he could bring her along.
"Yes, I'm heading to Trifas myself."
"So, can you...?"
"But Trifas isn't really a tourist spot, you know. They've got that great big castle - but, funnily enough, it's private ground and off limits. Sighișoara is much better if you're interested in the history, being the birthplace of Vlad Țepeș and all..."
"I have some relatives waiting for me in Trifas. Could you please help?"
"Well, all right, if that's the case. But I've got some fragile cargo that I have to keep in the passenger seat, so that's no good. You don't mind sitting on the bed, do you?"
"Not at all. Thank you for your generosity."
"Just pray to your God that it doesn't rain."
The old man laughed as she clambered onto the back of the truck.
"Yes, I shall do that."
Ruler replied in earnest. Certainly, she can do little but pray when it comes to the weather.
After a series of banging noises, like what one would get from kicking an empty metal barrel, the truck settled and began to move. As it the truck rumbled on, Ruler watched scenes of Bucharest pass by.
The truck shook with a thud. Some black smoke began leaking out of the muffler.
"Yes... quite different from a horse."
There is a certain difference between the organic tremors of a horse and the repetitive shaking of a machine - perhaps, in exchange for speed and durability, they had to trade away a sense of comfort. She recalled the white horse that had once crossed the fields of battle with her. A good steed... but it went missing during the battle of Compiègne. Most likely it was killed, but perhaps it managed to find a new rider.
As the truck slowly picked up speed, several of the wooden crates it carried in the back began to wobble. Surprisingly, the truck is moving at the same speed as a horse now - but it is probably because this truck itself is below average in terms of performance. If it were a horse, it would be close to retirement.
Of course, most unlike a horse, a car does not run out of breath midway. The truck is moving towards Trifas at a slow but steady pace.
"Excuse me, sir. How long will it take to reach Trifas?"
Ruler called out to the humming old man in the driver's seat.
"Hmm... at this rate, it'll probably be twelve hours."
"Will it take that long?"
"Well, we have to stop for a rest at some point."
"I see... That will have to do, then."
Ruler felt somewhat disheartened but, on a whim, decided to take out a textbook from her bag.
"To think that a simple farmhand like myself would have a chance to be educated... What a wonderful world it has become."
However, while the Holy Grail had bestowed upon her the knowledge she needed to survive in the modern world, it did not go so far as to teach her the contents of this book. In other words, Ruler only knew as much as the girl she was possessed.
"...Je n'ai aucune idée."
Ruler began with the maths textbook, as a sense of foreboding for the tribulations to come filled her.
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