Chapter 131: The Loss of Integrity

"Ugh... what is going on here?" Lancer held his head, looking around in confusion. Based on the information his eyes gathered, he appeared to be in a setting frequently seen in early visual novels: an incinerator room.

"But why am I here?" Lancer stared at the glaring sun, lost in thought.

"I seem to have come to school with Rin, then I met a girl on the way, and after that, I..." At this point, Lancer's memories became muddled.

"Forget it. If I've forgotten it, it probably wasn't anything important." Lancer stood up calmly, brushed himself off, and decided to explore the school.

However, Lancer didn't expect that as soon as he turned around, he would see an obvious outsider. She had no special aura about her; her short brown hair gave off a capable vibe, and she wore a standard female school uniform that somehow made her seem quite lively.

"Um..." Lancer suddenly didn't know what to say.

"Ah! I know, you must be the friend of Rin that everyone is talking about," the girl said. After a brief moment of surprise, she accepted Lancer's strange attire.

"Yes!" Lancer nodded. "That's right." If anyone with normal emotional intelligence had passed by, they would surely have sensed how odd Lancer looked, but this smiling girl didn't find it strange at all. She continued, "Would you like me to tell Rin you're here?"

"Ah! No, no need!" Lancer hurriedly waved his hands. He didn't want the others to know; although there was no rule against Heroic Spirits manifesting, he was being far too conspicuous, and he didn't want to get lectured by Rin later.

"Grrr..." At that moment, his stomach growled at an inopportune time.

"Hee-hee!" Although the girl laughed quite impolitely, Lancer felt a strange sense of comfort. "Sorry, I just arrived here yesterday and haven't eaten, and I made Rin angry this morning, so I didn't have breakfast," Lancer explained, rubbing his head in embarrassment. Even though he had no obligation to explain, he couldn't help but do so.

"Hehe, I see. Would you like me to buy you some lunch? After all, your outfit is really..." The girl covered her mouth and giggled.

"Then, thank you very much." Lancer hung his head in embarrassment, but after her footsteps faded away, he realized something. "Damn it! I don't have any money from this era!"

Lancer scratched his head in frustration. Not to mention whether he had brought any money, the currency was definitely wrong—he couldn't exactly use money from a few years in the future to buy things. Rin hadn't given him a single cent this morning, and now he was in a real dilemma.

"Forget it, I'll apologize to her later. As for money, I'll just find some hoodlums to 'borrow' a little from." Having made his decision, Lancer sat quietly on the grass.

After countless battles, he had developed a habit: when he had nothing to do, he liked to zone out. Forgetting the fighting, forgetting his responsibilities, just staring blankly at the sky.

"Um..." Suddenly, Lancer was interrupted by a hesitant voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I was just zoning out," Lancer said, scratching his head sheepishly.

"Yeah, yeah," the girl shook her head and said, "It's fine. But I only have bread for lunch, is that okay?" She had intended to treat him to a meal but had only brought bread, and she felt a bit bad about it.

"It's fine, having something to eat is good enough. But..." Lancer looked hesitant. He had no qualms about eating for free—after all, he still planned to "borrow" some money from hoodlums later—but he felt a pang of guilt toward this girl.

"It's alright, I intended to treat you anyway," the girl said, not minding at all.

"No, please, take this." He searched through his pockets and actually found something. Back in the era of King Arthur, before he founded "Sting," he had been a famous mercenary and still carried a few gold coins or gemstones. His survival no longer depended on these things, so he handed a small pouch to her.

"What is this?" The girl took the noticeably worn-out bag.

"Just some trinkets. Take them; I think you'll like them." In any case, he could just get some pocket money from Rin later, so he didn't care.

"Wow, these are beautiful." The girl opened the bag and saw the gemstones inside.

"As long as you like them." Lancer smiled nonchalantly.

"Yeah, I love them, but what exactly are these?" Seeing the worn-out bag and knowing Lancer couldn't even afford a meal, she never imagined they were actual gemstones.

"Nothing special, just some pretty minerals." Lancer wasn't lying; after all, gemstones are a type of mineral.

"Thanks for the meal," Lancer said, accustomed to the local custom after finishing his food. Suddenly, the girl asked, "Will you come back tomorrow?"

"I probably will. After all, I have to stay by Rin's side for a while." Lancer wasn't entirely sure, though. He didn't know what this Holy Grail War would turn into—Shinji was being mentored by Kariya, Sakura hadn't been corrupted, and Kiritsugu and Irisviel were still alive. He truly had no idea how things would unfold.

"Then I'll let you taste my cooking tomorrow!" Hearing that Lancer would return, the girl was full of spirit.

"Why? Why be so kind to me?" Lancer was certain the girl had no hostility toward him, but he couldn't fathom why she would do this.

"Because my father said that one should always lend a helping hand to the weak." Just as she finished speaking, the bell for class rang.

"I have to go. Goodbye!" Hearing the bell, the girl stood up and walked toward the school building.

"Goodbye. My name is Lancer, you can call me that." Seeing that sunny smile, Lancer couldn't help but tell her his name.

"Goodbye! And my name is... Shiko!" The young girl waved her hand and slowly disappeared around the corner.

"What a lively girl," Lancer sighed, lying back down. He couldn't wander around freely in this state—at least not yet. He didn't want to become the talk of the town before things had even started.

"Forget it, I might as well go for a walk." With that, he grabbed his cloak and gave it a flick.

***

"It seems the effect is quite good." Lancer walked past a student, but the student didn't notice him at all. Lancer sighed to himself; although he wasn't under the command of the local Master, as an Assassin-class servant, he had gained enhancements related to concealment. Just like now, people without magical talent couldn't perceive his existence. While it wasn't true invisibility, it was a significant dampening of his presence.

To put it in common terms: "Akarin~"

"Come to think of it, I remember Shirou is in the Archery Club, right?" Suddenly remembering something, Lancer began to search for his target. He couldn't say he liked or disliked Shirou; much like Kiritsugu, they grew up in environments different from everyone else. He hadn't experienced their lives, so he had no right to judge them—whether they were naive or something else. As for why he wanted to go, it was out of curiosity. After all, he had interacted with Sakura and Rin before, but he had only caught a glimpse of Shirou when the boy was a child.

"Target: Archery Club." Lancer headed toward his destination.