Fate: Hero Simulator

[3rd POV]

[You have completed the ending "Present the Head" and may now choose one of the three basic skills.]

[Starting selection... Please wait... Selection complete.]

[You have obtained the skill "Absolute Counter."]

...

"Tohsaka-san, you're so slow."

At the school gate, Kyouya stood waiting as Rin Tohsaka finally arrived.

The atmosphere was filled with the sour smell of lemons.

The untouchable beauty of Homurahara Academy, the one no boy had ever dared to approach, was now hanging around with the infamous bully.

Did that mean girls these days actually liked bad boys?

The boys who once admired her could only silently stand aside at this moment.

"I told you to wait somewhere with fewer people! Hurry up and come with me!"

Rin clearly noticed the strange glances from the people around them, and without caring about anything else, she grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the school gate.

Unfortunately, this action seemed to only draw more attention, like trying to hide something but drawing more notice instead.

"Fujimaru-kun, listen up. From now on, I'm your sensei, so you better start showing me some respect!"

"Even at school?"

Kyouya had no problem respecting teachers, but he had a feeling Rin was just using this as an excuse for revenge.

"Of course. From now on, you'll be my personal errand boy!"

"But sensei, have you considered that this might look like a 'play' to others?"

He teased her.

"P... Play? Nobody would think like you, you pervert."

In fact, Rin knew well that boys in their teenage years had no limits when it came to their imagination, and that kind of thing could easily happen even on the side of the road.

In the end, Kyouya managed to avoid being Rin's errand boy for now, and they soon arrived at Fuyuki Church.

"Rin, is this the disciple you were talking about?"

Before arriving here, Rin had already informed her senior, Kirei Kotomine, of the new addition to the Tohsaka family.

Whether it was a new disciple under the Tohsaka family or a new magus in Fuyuki City, as the overseer of the Holy Church, Kirei had a duty to keep an eye on things.

Especially with the Holy Grail War approaching, adding another magus so suddenly… wasn't that just asking for trouble?

What if he ended up betrayed, just like Tokiomi Tohsaka?

Oh, right. Rin didn't actually know how Tokiomi died.

"Fujimaru-kun, let me introduce you, this is..."

"I know, Father' Mapo,' my former rival."

To Rin's surprise, Kyouya seemed very familiar with Kirei, but what was this "Father Mapo" supposed to mean?

"Former Rival? That's an interesting choice of words. If I remember correctly, our score is still tied at nine to nine, isn't it?"

Kirei, of course, knew Kyouya.

After all, they were both regulars at Fuyuki's most famous Chinese restaurant, Hongzhou Feast Hall: Taishan, and coincidentally, they both had a particular obsession with Mapo Tofu.

The restaurant has held eighteen Mapo Tofu Eating Championships over the years.

When Kyouya was younger, he wasn't a match for Kirei, but in recent years, he has won several times in a row.

Now, he didn't even consider Kirei a challenge.

"Rin, I can see that he has great potential for magic. Why don't you let me teach him instead? I promise to return him to you as an excellent student."

A delighted smile crept onto Kirei's face, indicating how much he cared about his defeats related to Mapo Tofu tournaments. He was definitely not going to slip by the chance to torture him now.

"Fujimaru-san, how much do you know about mana?"

"I heard from Rin that it's kind of like human life force."

Although Kyouya knew this "Mapo Priest" was messing with him, he endured it to learn magecraft.

Once he mastered it... Heh, Kirei would have to be careful late at night.

"Mana comes from both the world's Greater Source or what we call the 'Root' and the individual's source. However, with the decline of the Age of Gods, the main source of mana shifted from the Greater Source to us, and many forms of magic became unusable. This is why the King of Magecraft Solomon had to reform the magic system..."

Although Kirei came from the church, he was quite knowledgeable about magecraft.

However, Kyouya was lost in thought as he once again heard the term "decline of the Age of Gods."

At that moment, a gust of wind rushed toward him as Kirei unexpectedly threw a punch.

Clearly, he intended to teach his apprentice a lesson for drifting off during the lesson so soon.

Bang!

"Oh?"

He was surprised to see that Kyouya had blocked his attack in time.

As a former Executor of the Church, Kirei felt that Kyouya's physical abilities were far superior to that of an ordinary high school student, but more importantly...

A punch was already flying straight for Kirei's face!

"Stop fighting! You guys, stop fighting!"

Naturally, Rin wasn't genuinely trying to stop the fight.

She simply didn't want her elegant jewel to explode in their hands.

"Have you been working out recently? Your body's pretty good."

Kirei noted.

"Eat, sleep, beat up punks."

As the notorious fighter of Fuyuki, Kyouya's daily routine involved high-intensity fights with thugs.

This level of physical exertion had indeed helped him quickly adapt to his current physique.

"Rin, you've really struck gold."

The use of magecraft wasn't just about casting spells. The essence of magecraft was the life force itself.

During their brief fight, Kirei sensed that Kyouya's magic circuits were exceptionally high quality.

"Since you're starting this late, you'll need to do more than just follow Rin's lessons. You should also read books about magecraft in your free time. You're already far behind others."

"Does the Ryudoji Temple have any scriptures that count?"

The only places Kyoya could think of that had anything to do with mystery and the supernatural were the Matou family and Ryuudou Temple.

He had already learned from Rin that the Matou were a family of magus.

If he were to go there, it might appear as if he was trying to steal their secrets.

That left Ryuudou Temple as the better option.

"Even though it's a different field, those scriptures could still serve as a decent introduction to magecraft."

Kirei admitted.

After sending the two off, Kirei turned his attention toward the church.

A blonde young man emerged, lazily swirling a glass of red wine. He watched Kyouya's retreating figure, deep in thought.

"You're interested in my disciple, are you? That's quite rare."

"Interest? Perhaps. He just reminds me of someone, that's all."

Gilgamesh spoke casually, but this piqued Kirei's interest.

In the past nine years, Kirei had learned everything about Gilgamesh's social interactions and knew there was no reason for him to know Kyouya.

It couldn't possibly be someone Gilgamesh knew from his past life.

To be continued...

...

Thank you for taking the time to read my work! If you're enjoying it, I'd greatly appreciate it if you could drop some powerstones and share your honest review to show your support. Thank you so much!

https://www.patreon.com/Abyssuit

If you want to read more, you can find up to 15 advance chapters at my patreon