Fate/Strange Fake Vol 1 Chapter 2

Act 2: Berserker

The Clock Tower.

For magi, however, it means something else altogether.

many magi together, and at the same time, is the finest educational

It could well be said to be the Vatican of magic. For as long as

mage, each of whom has gone on to elevate the art of magic to a new

“Fuck....”

the halls.

man in his early thirties, remonstrating the youngster facing him. His

He wore a red coat with golden ornamentations on its shoulders,

But that youngster desperately replied—

—with a response that was just a bit off.

you.”

“But I really, really want to participate, professor! I’ve got to go to

“For fuck’s sake! Don’t bloody go around yelling about that in the

of it? It’s not a top-secret matter, but it certainly isn’t something a rotten

clingy youngster a piece of his mind, having checked to make sure that

He was an instructor at the Association, the finest educational institution

II. Apparently, that wasn’t his real name, but everyone who knew him

Though he was still young, he was said to be the finest lecturer in

had gone on to become a first-rate mage. His students became famous

As such, he earned the respect of many magi, who bestowed upon

“Great Big Ben 9 London Star”.

a bit irritated that his students were stealing the spotlight.

man standing before him, who was also one of his students.

the youngster nonchalantly replied, “Yesterday, some professors and

in one of the basement lecture halls, right? You know that famous puppetmaster,

the flesh!”

indistinct, perhaps with infuriation. He applied a claw hold to his

in that meeting?”

“That was a top-secret meeting, you twit! They must’ve set up

He averted his eyes. “Er, well, see, I know I shouldn’t have, but I

“So I figured, why not try hacking into the room’s own Bounded

—silence.

his: its use was in fact rather prevalent among younger magi. His actual

he meant that he had bypassed the Bounded Field unnoticed, snuck

Flatt Escardos.

Though he entered El-Melloi’s tutelage as a young man, he subsequently

To describe him in a single word, only El-Melloi’s terms of abuse

Using a few more words, however, it would be fair to describe him

however, critically lacks the ability to put that talent to any good use.

the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It was hoped that Flatt would be a

with the talent necessary to control them, but—

disposition that is necessary for all magi.

of other professors. Eventually, though, all of them started bellyaching

there was nobody else available.

all the other students. Other professors were unable to achieve

V’s reputation.

to graduate from the Clock Tower.

weak points, unwilling to send an underprepared mage out into the

made that choice.

V, calmly.

enlightenment. That said, he looked as sullen as usual. He whacked

harassing me about this.”

of item to summon a hero, right?! I don’t know how I’m supposed to

Napoleon?! An emperor would be the coolest thing!”

firing squad than make a contract with you!”

against it. Instead, perhaps because something about the Holy Grail

know, you’re.... why do you want the Holy Grail? I can’t imagine that

you, I have to ask—you aren’t planning on wishing to graduate, or

or anything that stupid, right?”

“Because I want to see it!”

“I mean, it’d be so super-cool! It’s the Holy Grail! Hitler and Gobbles

and Godzilla all looked for it too! If it really exists, I’ve just gotta see

“His name was Goebbels, not Gobbles. Godzilla never looked for

culturally speaking, that just doesn’t seem right.” El-Melloi corrected

Flatt waited a while for his professor to respond, expecting to be

kindly said, “Do you understand what a war of mage against mage

end up being killed gruesomely, not having accomplished anything.”

want to see it even more!”

more—

end up saying the same thing.

from a different angle.

the Grail?”

play chess, or...”

that just might work! Hell, maybe you could even have a chessboxing

“...This is a tricky problem, huh. I really, really want to see the other

made friends with six Heroes, I’d be an awesome mage! We could even

El-Melloi remained silent. He had figured that Flatt had completely

He wasn’t planning to admonish Flatt, nor was he particularly surprised

He put his hand to his chin, and seemed to be thinking about something

And eventually, he snapped back to reality, and said, “...that’s not

“Yeah, yeah, well, I’m counting on you, professor! Or, should I say,

“Don’t call me that to my face! And honestly, why did you have

making fun of me, you clod!”

perfect! Like, um, how about ‘Magical Miniskirt Professor’1!?”

with so coldly by El-Melloi. He wandered around the academic wing

manner unbefitting a man nearly 20 years of age.

“Ah, good to see you there.” A woman called out to him from down

She was one of the administrative personnel of the Clock Tower.

“These packages are for your professor. Could you pass them onto

1絶対領域マジシャン先生

would have to hand these over to Master V, but—

Flatt thought negative thoughts as he headed back up the hallway,

He used clairvoyance magic to examine its contents.

designed for ceremonial use.

inscribed on the blade. An electric sensation shot through his body.

Professor...! You got it for me!?

the box with him.

weren’t written in any script he could read. Presumably, they were

He could figure out how to interpret those instructions at some

wing, as quickly as possible.

“Son of a fuck... he’s back again?” Lord El-Melloi II was clearly not

towards him. Strangely, though, when Flatt caught up to him, with a

nothing to do with the Holy Grail War.

gasped Flatt, as he showed the parcel to his professor. Having run a

quickly.

When he saw the address and logo printed on the exterior, he realized

Flatt nodded his head furiously, like he was some kind of headbanger.

Hearing his professor’s response, Flatt glowed with happiness—the

“Thank you so much! I mean, really, thank you so very much! I’m

“Damn. When I was his age, I was everything he isn’t. I bet he

so much?” El-Melloi muttered under his breath, exasperated.

El-Melloi II had returned to his room. As he thought about his

It was a double lock, with both a physical component and a magical

the cabinet.

cloth.

apparent use.

room, it was evident that it was no mere raggedy scrap of fabric.

huh....” Thinking back on Flatt’s ramblings, he frowned and scowled.

but I’m glad it didn’t come to that.”

the case. He thought about the parcel he had let Flatt have.

that system of having students courier other people’s mail. Not that it

“Well, anyway, if that’ll get him to forget about the Holy Grail War,

A few months earlier—

of his room. Every time he finished playing a game, he filled out

down his impressions of the game. It was just the proper thing to do.

airmailed back to Japan, but he did so nonetheless. Thanks to that, he

filled with all sorts of game merchandise.

To the contrary, he had little interest in most of the products he

designers.

If there was any merchandise El-Melloi really did want, he would

Japanese company—on the package Flatt had brought to him, he figured

didn’t even bother to open it before letting Flatt have it.

game merchandise.

from some sort of game about robots or something of that ilk, but—

the British Empire”.

The sun shone brightly, hanging high in the midday sky.

was thoroughly unprepared for the journey.

clueless about the specifics.

than the Holy Grail War—

“These are... so... awesome! If I use these... Command Spellthingums...

He rubbed his hand over and over again. Every so often, he would

though he was heartbroken.

Command Spells, no matter what!”

disappear after being used. If anybody else with knowledge of the Holy

apprehended Flatt then and there and taken him in for interrogation.

mostly children with their parents.

he opened the cloth parcel he had been holding.

It was a dastardly-looking knife, tinged in red and black, and was,

Even though it was still sheathed, its blade was nonetheless bizarrely

“Man oh man, thank goodness for Master V. I mean, sure, he was

waiting for me!”

the knife with his own eyes did not dissuade him. Rather, it left him

onwards, bringing him all the way to the States.

in the war, and had endowed him with Command Spells for that

He stared alternately at his Command Spells and his knife—and

Perhaps thirty minutes had passed, when—

known about it, they surely would have fainted from the shock of it.

been there to witness it, he would likely have praised Flatt. Of course,

Flatt in the unmentionables a few times first.

something achieved by Flatt’s own latent talents? Either way, in a certain

Grail War.

〔I ask of thee: art thou the Master who hath summoned me?〕

Upon hearing that frighteningly crisp voice, Flatt leapt out of his

As before, though, all he could see were families and couples walking

〔“Aye,” say ye? I shall take that as an affirmative. Our contract is

“Huh? Huuuh!?”

find anybody who seemed like the one who had just been speaking.

on.

and without an altar at that! Quite some pluck you have there, O

you neither speak the summoning incantation!?〕

and I was kind of fiddling with it... and I guess we linked up. Man, I’m

〔I see... Well, that is quite alright—in fact, it speaks volumes about

Apparently, the voice of that Servant-ish being was being transmitted

He soon realized that magical energy was flowing through his

talking to the voice in his head. “Er, erm... I guess this isn’t really the,

〔Not at all, lad. I am a special case. Don’t let it bother you.〕The

refined and polite, to boot. Oddly enough, he was unable to get any

〔In any case, I do not really have a definite “identity”, so to speak.

then again, perhaps you could not. It is that sort of thing.〕

speaker is a man or a woman; or if the speaker is old or young; or

voice is bound to give away those details. But this voice, which was

It was like he was speaking to a headless monster.

A casual question.

surely be just what he expected.

Spirit (?)” with the voice inside his head.

(?)” did not precisely accord with the class of beings called “Heroes”.

popular, there couldn’t be many who hadn’t heard of that Servant.

Holmes or Arsène Lupin, but—unlike those two, he had really existed,

For some reason, the Servant remained silent. Flatt nervously

Suddenly, a man of large build, dressed in shades of black, entered

“Boy oh boy! You finally manifested!”

black looked at Flatt suspiciously.

Of course the man would be wearing black.

peered down at Flatt—a man sitting on a bench in front of a fountain

“What in blazes are you doin’ yammerin’ to yourself, son? And

“N-no! I mean! This isn’t!”

“Did that surprise you?”

handed his truncheon to Flatt.

into thin air.

lack of a police officer. In the officer’s stead, he saw a woman dressed

And then, the woman spoke to him. “I thought I might demonstrate

though certainly feminine, had the same feel to it as the voice that

“Huh? Huh? What!?” Flatt grew more and more surprised.

〔I apologize for startling you, Master. I thought this way might be

The voice was in his head again.

was off. Some rubbed at their eyes while others cocked their heads, and

into a woman and then vanished. Of course, their questions were met

Given what they had seen, and given that the imprint left in the

what they had just seen was no hallucination.

suspicion—only within Flatt’s mind would it be revealed.

Flatt waited for him to continue, with bated breath.

in which he appeared, the Servant’s true name was far more important.

head, but—

in an altogether different way.

“Are you serious!?”

that there was nobody in front of him, and that he looked rather silly,

Paying no attention to the young man’s antics, the Servant continued

“None ought to know my true name, save perhaps for myself—the

to my murders.”

The knife Flatt held was not a true relic, but rather, an imitation.

It could draw forth a much more powerful spirit, precisely because

That Servant had no name, though there was proof that he once

And yet, none knew what he truly looked like.

or a woman;

He—though his gender was not known—was a symbol of fear; one

and he was the topic of myriad tales and theories.

Perhaps a teacher;

Perhaps a prostitute;

Perhaps a devil;

Perhaps a conspiracy;

It was not even certain whether he was a single person or not. The

him—and then they were unified into a single legend.

Indeed, for Flatt, who had spent many years at the Clock Tower,

Everyone knew what proof there was that he existed.

There were found the macabre corpses of five prostitutes. There

identified myself in my letters.〕

A few months earlier—

He had mail-ordered the game from Japan, thinking that it would

Alas, the Japanese do not distinguish between the homophones

latter. The game’s protagonist was based on a real person, who wandered

personality within him. At times, he would also end up fighting

Even though it wasn’t what he was expecting, El-Melloi played the

about the game. First on that list was his opinion that “the game’s title

When he turned the survey card over, he noticed that there was

If you send in this card, you could be one of 100 lucky winners

signature on it! (sheath included)

He snorted at the thought. He lost interest in the prize itself, and

And all the while, he was utterly unaware of what that survey card

Flatt sat in front of the fountain in the park, having a mental conversation

In just a short while, he seemed to have gotten the hang of the situation,

“So, you’re saying that because you were nobody at all, you gained

〔Righto. You got lucky, though. If I had manifested as a Servant

maddened rampage to... well, in any case, let us just say that I would

“Uh....” Flatt found it difficult to interpret that as a joke. He

Were Jack to go on a rampage, most magi would worry that ordinary

found himself relieved for a different reason, one rather atypical

“U-um... by the way, what class are you? Are you Assassin?”

“Huh?”

Flatt wasn’t a complete ignoramus—he had done some basic research

He knew that Servants of the Berserker class would gain power in

Perhaps Jack understood why Flatt was confused. He began to

“You see, I was enshrined in legend as a symbol of madness. The

“Ah... like how a negative times a negative makes a positive!”

to wonder if that explanation would fly. Flatt, of course, took it in

This, in turn, surprised Jack, who mumbled something before

this probably would not have happened. Since I was just an emblem of

Then again, perhaps there is something unique about this Holy Grail

“Wow. Servants really are awesome!” As usual, a simple response

Recalling a matter which had made “him” uneasy, the Servant

before you in the form of a police officer—why did you not attempt to

that is the most basic sort of magic?〕

what was going on, first.”

Flatt, sensing that there was a tinge of embarrassment in the voice

Grail, what’ll you wish for?”

but I beg you, please do not laugh at me.〕

his voice echo in Flatt’s head.

in other words, my own identity. That is all.〕

〔I am a mere fable, with no real presence. And yet, when I think of

nature—it frightens me. I do not expect that you will understand me,

His voice sounded meek.

It was an unusual idea, but at the same time, it was likely all that

Flatt thought for a while. Then, straightforwardly, he asked the

do? Like, if someone summons you somewhere besides a Holy Grail

〔That may well happen. Though my current form differs from the

legends about me are all based on that premise. If I am a person of

my reality as possible.〕The way he spoke somehow conveyed the impression

“Doesn’t that just mean there’s no real you?” stated Flatt, straightforwardly

Flatt was just such an outrageously frank person. The Servant was

〔...Do people ever tell you that you lack decorum?〕

〔I was not commending you... but, well, that is fine. We need not

fit to summon me. You could expect neither the might of a Hero nor

It was an eminently reasonable thought.

would be hesitant even to be around him, and to summon him as

Flatt, frank as frank could be, replied.

identities and all that!”

“Come on, that’s so cool! Besides, you’re an awesome guy! Isn’t

He may have had a mage’s intuition, but his temperament was...

If there was one way in which his temperament was fitting of a

It was that his intuitions differed ever so slightly from those of most

To phrase it in the most generous way possible, he was gifted with

Though it was unclear how the Servant interpreted Flatt’s reply—

and savagery, readied himself for battle. With the slightest bit of optimism

〔Very well, my Master. Where shall we begin? Using my abilities,

where they stand! I await your orders. What might they be?〕The

His Master, on the other hand, just sat there with a calm smile on

“The weather’s nice today. Let’s just enjoy the sun for a while. It’s

〔Wha...!?〕

tragedy, and the Villainous Spirit who created nothing but tragedy.

ideals of the Holy Grail War than they.
That one thing, and nothing else.

Chapter end

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