Chapter Seven: Girl or Boy

"That Mapo Tofu! I’ve heard it tastes amazing—can you bring some back for me?" Lianhua turned her gaze back to Lancer.

"Phew, thank goodness." The anxiety that had gripped his heart finally eased. After all, having already experienced being 'sold' once, he had no desire to go through it again.

To be honest, he was also quite curious about the Mapo Tofu that Kirei Kotomine was so fond of. What kind of dish could possibly tempt someone whose 'purity' had long since surpassed the realm of humanity?

"No problem. But why don’t you just get it yourself? Since you’re a being beyond the gods, this shouldn’t be an issue for you, right?" Truthfully, this was one of his biggest questions. The loli before him was a being who surpassed gods—why would she need help from an 'ordinary' person like him?

"Are you sure you want to know?" Lianhua’s smile vanished as soon as Lancer asked, and she looked at him with utmost seriousness.

"Never mind." The more you know, the sooner you die—a piece of wisdom handed down from his ancestors. He decided to give up the question without hesitation.

"In that case, why aren’t you off working already!" Three swords appeared in his hands. Instinctively clutching them, a jester’s door materialized right in front of him. The little loli sent him flying through it with a well-placed kick.

––––– Dimensional Transition –––––

When Lancer awoke, he rubbed his head in exasperation. "Did I step on a landmine? Why did the cute girl turn into a loli queen?" He idly complained as he took stock of his surroundings.

He found himself in an untouched forest, undisturbed by humanity. He could even hear birds and wild beasts. "I must have some affinity with forests. If I participate in the Fifth Holy Grail War, my master would probably be Ilya the loli. For the Fourth, could it be Weber, that timid boy?" He idly speculated about his future as he followed the directions from the ring on his finger, seeking his first objective. As for who it was, there were no hints.

On the way, he also checked his new weapons.

Chengying

Rank: A

Type: Anti-personnel Noble Phantasm

Attack Range: 1–2; Sword Aura: 10–30

Maximum Target: 1

The legendary invisible sword. Even when attacking, its blade does not exist, residing in another world. At night, it grows even stronger. Once part of the collection of Master Kong Zhou, one of the Ten Great Swords of the Celestial Empire.

Hanguang

Rank: A–

Type: Anti-personnel Noble Phantasm

Attack Range: 1–3; Sword Aura: 10–50

Maximum Target: 1

The twin sword of Chengying among the Ten Great Swords. Though less adept at surprise than Chengying, it far surpasses it in destructive power, and grows stronger at night.

Yuchang

Rank: A+

Type: Anti-personnel Noble Phantasm

Attack Range: 1–1

Maximum Target: 1

Ranked eighth among the Ten Great Swords. Aside from its sharpness and durability, which earned its place among the Ten, it bears a curse: anyone with the status of 'King,' 'Lord,' or 'Emperor' stabbed by it will die. It is the blade of paradox and defiance.

He strapped Yuchang to his thigh; Hanguang and Chengying were naturally paired together. The exposed hilt of Chengying, devoid of a blade and without his acknowledged master’s command, was nothing but a decorative grip on his belt. Yuchang was well hidden, and aside from a small pouch on his waist and a box strapped to his back containing a cursed crossbow, there was nothing about him that looked like a weapon.

Just then, the sound of a waterfall reached his ears.

"Could there be a girl bathing?" Having read too many light novels, Lancer’s first thought was this, but reality is always harsh.

Sneaking closer and hiding in a bush, he saw not a bathing beauty but a young 'boy,' sword in both hands, practicing his swings.

With a sigh, Lancer prepared to leave, but the boy seemed quite alert and immediately shouted at the bush where Lancer was hiding.

"Ah—sorry, I was just passing by," Lancer replied. The boy, unfazed by Lancer’s awkwardness, gripped his sword with both hands and approached.

"Don’t attack. I’m just a traveling warrior." That was his cover in this world. The boy, upon hearing this, did not fully let down his guard.

When Lancer stepped out and the boy saw his distinctive foreign ranger’s attire, a look of realization dawned on his face. "A warrior? A wandering knight?" In this era, 'knight' was not just a title but a social class. Many who weren’t officially recognized called themselves knights, and among these, the quality varied greatly. Most were known as wandering knights, with those of high virtue called 'free knights.'

"A knight? Not quite. If you must give me a title, I’m more of an adventurer with some martial skill, from the East." Noticing the boy’s apparent disdain for wandering knights, Lancer clarified.

Hearing the explanation and seeing Lancer step fully from the bushes, the boy’s vigilance eased a bit. At this moment, Lancer looked harmless, dressed in unremarkable ranger’s garb, no visible weapons—Chengying’s hilt just looked ornamental, and Yuchang was well hidden. Only a small pouch and a box, which looked nothing like a weapon, were visible. That convinced the boy.

Tolia, as the boy was called, lowered his sword. He had been raised by his teacher to become a true knight, guided by the Eight Virtues and loyal to the king. On his travels, he’d seen too many who called themselves knights but behaved like bandits, so he had no fondness for wandering knights.

After a brief study, Tolia suddenly asked, "Since you’re an adventurer, you must know many interesting stories. Will you share some with me?" Raised under the strict tutelage of his teacher, Tolia was exceptional but had little entertainment in his life. Seeing a traveler, and with his revision tasks done, he wished for some conversation.

Lancer’s first impression of the 'boy' was that he was a noble—one of the real nobles, not leeches on society. Every action projected that aura. Since his mission was to support King Arthur, and meeting Arthur was no easy feat for someone of his position, he decided to befriend the 'boy' before him to get closer to Arthur.

But as he stepped out from the bushes toward the youth, Lancer was stunned.

Sunlight reflected off the spray of the waterfall, and the beautiful youth, body glistening with sweat from his practice, gave him a strange feeling. A terrifying thought surfaced in his mind: "What a beautiful boy…"

But at that moment, he snapped out of it, clutching his head and banging it repeatedly against a tree, shouting inwardly, "No! No! This makes no sense! I must be out of my mind! I’m a certified loli-con, otome-con, onee-san-con, uniform-con, queen-con!" As he realized he’d just admired a man, he entered full Spartan self-hypnosis mode, though with some oddities mixed in.

Tolia, seeing the man who had just been acting perfectly normal suddenly start smashing his head against a tree, looked genuinely confused. He was about to step forward and ask what was wrong when a deep, aged voice called from another direction.

"Who are you?"

At that instant, Lancer’s mind, still reeling, was jolted back to reality as the ring in his mind blared a series of alarms.

"Warning! Warning! A presence your master cannot resist has appeared within a hundred meters. Prepare for immediate retreat!"

The same alarm pounded his nerves relentlessly until, even in his temporarily scrambled state, his mind rebooted. Instinctively, he opened the box, loaded the crossbow in a second, slipped a potion into his mouth, ready to swallow at any moment, and stared warily at the bush opposite his approach, instinctively positioning himself to shield the beautiful youth behind him.

"Um," Tolia tried to explain that the voice belonged to his teacher, realizing Lancer seemed to be treating his teacher as the enemy.

"No need to say more. I’ll hold him off. I don’t know how long I can last, so you should run!" He hadn’t received any orders, but his soul insisted he stay—not out of gratitude or duty, but by sheer impulse.

"An interesting fellow, indeed." Though still some distance away, the era’s most powerful mage and druid—no mere legend, but one who truly communed with nature—understood Lancer’s words perfectly. Using the power of the wind, he said to Tolia, "No need to say more. Let me test this young man." Lancer, thanks to the wind’s interference, heard nothing.

Tolia’s expression turned anxious. Though he’d just met Lancer, there was a special feeling—no, not love, but something akin to the bond he’d felt when he found Lancelot at the lakeside: the natural connection of king and vassal. Yet he had been raised by Merlin to always obey his teacher, so though he wished to speak, he dared not. Lancer, seeing his expression, misread it as a sign of imminent danger and became even more determined to block their pursuer.

Lancer, usually so casual, now radiated a mournful determination. He had once been a soldier, surviving countless life-or-death missions where most of his comrades never returned. In such desperate moments, he could always draw out one hundred and fifty percent of his power.

"Bless me, my comrades!" He prayed silently, then raised the cursed crossbow and fired wildly into the trees, his right hand a blur as he reloaded. Of course, such ordinary attacks would never defeat his opponent.

"Extreme Mission: Block the Mysterious Mage

As a ranger, you have encountered a strange old mage targeting the young boy. You sense anxiety from the boy behind you and decide to protect him, swearing on your honor as a ranger!

Mission Objectives:
1. Prevent the mage from taking the boy for three minutes.
2. Block any harmful actions from the mage.

Rewards: The boy’s favor and 2,000 experience points."