Chapter Twenty-One: The Journey of Flowers

My name is Lin Hao, and I have secured three assists.

203:07:54

West of Miyama Town in Fuyuki City, a national highway snakes through the mountains toward the neighboring county. It is a two-lane road, yet one would be hard-pressed to see any sign of oncoming traffic. The mountain path is utterly silent as night falls, a silence broken only by a silver-white steel beast roaring from east to west.

"Wait a moment, Irisviel, have you been driving on the right side of the road this whole time?"

"Ah, yes. The traffic rules in Japan are different."

I am sitting in the back seat of the sedan, listening to this terrifying conversation from the front, just in time to watch the lady execute a bold, drifting lane change at the next bend.

Is the Einzbern family running a tofu shop? My lady, you are basically the drift king of Mount Enzo!

In any case, after causing quite a stir in Fuyuki New City, the lady and the white Saber are heading back to the Einzbern Castle per Kiritsugu’s arrangements. In his words, retreating after being attacked is perfectly logical, and since both Master and Servant are present, any tail would inevitably reveal their presence in front of him.

I understand the logic, but why couldn't we have Maiya Hisau drive like we did on the way out? Even white Saber, with her Riding skill at rank C, would have been better.

"A female driver who lacks common sense and relies on magic to speed recklessly is just too terrifying!"

[Maiya Hisau and Saber are both female drivers, and they both use magic.] The stupid system interjected.

"Shut up! I’m not listening!"

[Notification: Maiya Hisau is currently scouting intelligence on other Masters.] The prompt sister answered my previous question.

Hmm... well, although the plot has already collapsed into who-knows-where, this high-speed car chase sequence remains. But with Caster currently with me, who exactly is going to intercept the car?

As I lean out to check for any wild Marshals, the lady takes an inner turn too sharply, and the sedan scrapes directly against the mountain wall. Accompanied by a screeching sound of friction, my window is filled with nothing but jagged rock.

Wow, I wonder how much it will cost to repair, repaint, and wax this.

"Master, please be careful. My Prana Burst is not yet refined, so I cannot reinforce this vehicle to a high degree."

"It went perfectly fine when I was practicing in the courtyard, though? It must be that this road is too narrow."

If Irisviel were to take a driving test, she probably wouldn't even pass the written portion. And the trees in the courtyard—

Before I could finish my snarky thought, at the next outer bend, the lady seems to try and make up for her previous error by taking the turn too shallowly, causing us to smash through the guardrail and fly off the cliff.

I am frantically scrambling to cast some kind of magecraft, only to realize the silver sedan isn't falling. Instead, it is following a floating, translucent highway that appeared abruptly in the air, faintly shimmering with flower-like illusions, back onto the regular road.

"I knew it! A novice driver speeding on a mountain road without an accident must be getting help from the Counter Force!"

[The Counter Force of this world is you, Alaya.] The system named Gaia said.

"...Does this mean neither of us stepped in?"

I look back at the shimmering phantom of the road disappearing behind the car.

"Then what is that?"

[Notification: Saber Lily’s personal skill, rank EX, 'Journey of Flowers.'] The prompt sister answered.

Oh, the growth-type skill that replaces Charisma because she isn't the King yet. "And the effect?"

[Notification: Fills the journey with hope, ensuring the mindset of those fighting together remains positive.]

"A positive mindset can manifest a road in mid-air—oh right, she just transformed and modified this car using Prana Burst."

A Servant who cannot build their own road is not a good driver.

"Ah, speaking of which, there are quite a few drivers in this war. The Great Conqueror has his Gordius Wheel, Golden Flash has his Vimana, and Berserker counts as half since he can control anything that functions as a weapon. I’m not sure if Lancer has a vehicle."

[Demonic Boar?]

"Stupid system, if you’re bored, help me check if there’s anyone blocking the road ahead."

As for me, if we count Uncle Berserker... well, I’m just his shoulder ornament. No, I hadn't even thought of Qu Yun and Sun Feiliang.

"Little Hao, am I driving a bit too fast?" The lady looks at me through the rearview mirror and suddenly asks.

Huh? Did my facial expression crack because of my internal monologue?

"No, I'm fine..." I am in the middle of answering when the stupid system that just vanished returns.

[Ah, found them. Five Assassins have dug a trap and are lying in ambush ahead. 10 until contact—]

"10 kilometers? 10 minutes?"

[9, 8, 7—]

"Cough, cough, cough!"

"Ah, were you scared? I’ll slow down—is the brake on the left or the right?"

"Stop now!" I don't have time to complain about her dangerous remark; I lunge toward the passenger seat and use magecraft to slam on the brake.

202:55:16

"They dug such a huge hole just to intercept us? What if a regular car had passed by?"

Though my flying lunge to hit the brake was successful, I forgot that I am paralyzed from the waist down and couldn't stop my momentum, slamming into the dashboard.

The car stops just in time before a giant hole in the middle of the road, and the ambushing Assassins appear. While Saber faces them, the lady pulls me—now dizzy and disoriented—out of the car. I am currently lying on my back, staring up at a sky with few stars.

"It hurts, no, wait, this is just the pain transmitted by the avatar, it’s an illusion, I won't be fooled, haha, ha, woooo..."

[Wow... so that’s how you cry. Learned something.]

"Learned your sister! I just slammed my nose, okay!"

Anyway, to distract myself, I check the battle situation...

"Prompt sister, what is the status of the battle?"

*Buzz*—a real-time image generates before my eyes. I can see myself staring blankly at the sky, Saber confronting the five Assassins forming a circle, and the lady beside me, looking calm but occasionally scanning the surroundings.

Normally, this minor injury could be healed with a simple healing spell from the lady, but with battle imminent, using magic recklessly would be unwise. The Assassins might seize the opportunity.

"Then they’ll just have to count themselves unlucky." "Hahaha."

The five Assassins appear and circle the young knight from a distance, moving rapidly. Saber Lily has already changed into her silver-white armor and stands with sword in hand, tracking their positions to adjust her footwork.

"Hmm, that’s normal. A single Assassin would be instantly killed by Saber; coordinated combat is their only chance. Or perhaps their target is me or the lady?"

[Notification: Tokiomi Tohsaka only ordered exploratory attacks against all other factions; he did not specify concrete actions.]

You’ve grown arrogant, Tokiomi. Aren't you afraid of being ganged up on by being so brazen from the start?

[Perhaps he wants to test the abilities or even the true names of all the Servants?]

"Impossible. This generation of Hassan is the worst. If a whole battalion came, they might cause trouble, but a small squad is just a gift."

I watch those Hassans circling Saber and sneer in boredom.

When Saber is drawn slightly away from the lady, all the Assassins move simultaneously. Two rush toward me and the lady, while the other three charge at Saber.

Attack where it is certain to force a rescue—a good strategy, but we two Masters are not soft targets.

Irisviel, who was already on alert, waves her hand to summon a giant white eagle composed of silver threads. It blocks the path in front of us, flapping wings with sharp feathers to prevent the two advancing Hassans from moving forward.

Wow, *Expecto Patronum*.

Perhaps having communicated with the lady, Saber shows no intention of returning to help. Instead, she swings her sword at the three Assassins attacking her, and one of them is killed on the spot, caught off guard.

Seeing their numbers dwindle, the Hassans attacking us become even more vicious. The giant eagle is, after all, a construct of magecraft; it starts to falter, looking like it might fall apart.

"Looks like it’s my turn. By the way, what is Lin Hao’s character setting again?"

[A castaway from a cultivation family paralyzed due to a training accident?]

"So miserable, but that’s not what I meant."

[A half-baked elementalist who hasn't mastered Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, or Lightning.]

I must have been brain-dead when I wrote this character profile... but whatever.

I lift my hand, hooking my index finger, and aim at the two Assassins attacking Saber. Blue electric arcs containing prana flicker at my fingertips.

Although the principle is the "Gandr" spell often used by Rin Tohsaka in the future, as for the presentation—

"Hey, stupid system, give me some BGM."

[Releasing the dream carved into my heart, leaving even the future behind.] The stupid system is quite cooperative.

I aim slightly and flick the arc. The moment it leaves my hand, it turns into a bolt of silver lightning, striking one of the Assassins dodging Saber’s attack.

The Hassan, who would have perfectly dodged Lily’s diagonal slash, freezes upon being hit and is cleaved in two by the strike without any suspense.

"Forget the magical construct, catch that girl!" the remaining Assassin near Saber shouts toward us.

In the next instant, he is slashed into light particles by two horizontal and vertical strikes from Saber.

[Not knowing the limits, it's meaningless.]

Having likely realized the threat I pose, the two Assassins ignore the giant eagle and charge toward me, undeterred even as they are pecked and clawed by the construct.

However, who said I can only fire one at a time?

I lift both hands, aiming two clusters of electric light at them simultaneously.

*Biubiu*—

"Damn it... why catch her alive..."

Only a few steps away from me, the Assassins, frozen in place and unable to move, are pierced by two sword strikes from Saber, who has finished her opponents and rushed over.

[To the place where this power scatters its light, those distant thoughts!]

"Little Hao, you..."

"Assassins have no Magic Resistance." I hold my nose, which has started bleeding again, with one hand and give a V-sign to the lady and Saber Lily with the other.

[Uh, by the way, I just discovered that Kirei Kotomine added a command to the Assassins: find a way to capture 'Lin Hao' alive.] The system says, shutting off the BGM.

Ryunosuke, what exactly are you doing!