Chapter 9: Bai Song: Case Closed, She's a Master!
Although I'm not entirely sure about Tom's exact meaning, but considering his unusual behavior... Oh, sorry, that's actually quite normal for Tom. Anyway, Tom must have noticed something, and it's highly likely that it's an enemy.
Following the direction indicated by Tom's tail, Bai Song looked over and coincidentally saw the backs of two people with long white hair entering the game arcade, one male and one female.
"Are those two participants in the Holy Grail War? If they are, then nod your head," Bai Song asked Tom, but he had only seen their backs as they entered and didn't have a chance to observe if they had Command Seals. Unfortunately, the two individuals disappeared from Bai Song's sight, so he had no choice but to lower his head and ask Tom, who was wrapped around his neck.
Both of those individuals had silver hair. As far as Bai Song could recall, there was definitely no such combination in the Fourth Holy Grail War. Apart from Alice Phil pretending to be a Saber Master, there wasn't even a single person with silver hair.
Now, with these two individuals in front of him, both with silver hair, it clearly indicated that they were a new combination of Masters and Servants from outside the original storyline.
Upon hearing Bai Song's question, Tom's brain suddenly crashed. He could identify the male, but he didn't have that feeling about the female. Should he nod or shake his head?
In the end, Tom chose the Indian way of nodding, swinging his head from side to side like a pendulum.
"...So, I'll take it as a yes?" Bai Song looked at Tom, who was shaking his head, and fell silent for a while. He was somewhat at a loss, unsure whether they were or weren't.
But Bai Song was certain that those two individuals were participants in the Holy Grail War. After all, in the dark and brutal Fourth Holy Grail War, he remembered clearly that most of the people he encountered along the way had black hair, at most red or brown hair.
Suddenly encountering two individuals with long white hair, it was impossible for Bai Song to believe that something was not amiss.
At the same time, Tom, being his own Servant, also had a reaction. When the two factors were combined, Bai Song wouldn't believe that these two were not participants in the Holy Grail War.
"Let's go inside and take a look," Bai Song casually took off his coat and held it in his right hand to cover the Command Seals on the back of his hand. Then, he cautiously entered the arcade.
However, just as Bai Song reached the entrance, he was immediately stopped by a staff member. The staff pointed to a piece of paper posted at the door and said, "Sir, it's prohibited to bring cats inside."
"Oh, this?" Bai Song pointed at the paper. "This is not a cat, it's just a stuffed toy. I won it from a lottery over there. See, it's quite flexible."
To make the staff member believe, Bai Song pulled on Tom's paw, and it extended over a meter long. Obviously, this was something that normal creatures on Earth couldn't do. Tom cooperated by slowly retracting his paw like a wound-up toy, all while emitting a laugh that no cat could produce, "Hoho hahaha!"
Once the paw was completely retracted, Tom immediately pretended to have a vacant expression, resembling a genuine doll.
"Oh, it's not... I'm very sorry, please come in," the staff member quickly stepped aside, allowing Bai Song to enter.
"The claw machine in that shop can actually give out such fantastic dolls? I'll get one after work!" After Bai Song entered, the staff member's eyes were filled with excitement as they looked towards the shop across the street. That "stuffed toy" was already a must-have for them.
Upon entering the store, Bai Song immediately began searching for the two white-haired individuals. It was quite easy to spot them since the two with silver hair didn't require any deliberate searching. They were already within Bai Song's line of sight.
Approaching quietly at a closer distance, Bai Song pretended to watch others play games while secretly peeping at them.
Although the distance was relatively close, about five meters, it was unlikely that he would be noticed. After all, he was just an ordinary person with no magical abilities, and even if those two people realized he was watching them, it probably wouldn't matter much, as many others were glancing in their direction.
The two people, a man and a woman, both had silver hair, but their styles of dress were significantly different.
The man wore an outfit resembling that of a traveler, with a camera hanging around his neck. It was evident that he was a modern person. The woman, on the other hand, dressed coldly, entirely in white, and seemed overwhelmed by the noise of the game arcade. Additionally, there was no Command Seal on her right hand.
Bai Song quickly made a preliminary determination. The man was likely the Master, and the woman was clearly his Servant. Furthermore, the man wore gloves on both hands, undoubtedly to conceal his Command Seals.
"Hmm? Red eyes?" Just as Bai Song was preparing to change position, the woman happened to turn her head and say something to the silver-haired man. From his angle, Bai Song had a clear view of the woman's eyes.
"Red eyes... Red eyes, let me think... It might be Tomoe Gozen? She looks a bit like her."
There are several white-haired characters in the Fate series, but when it comes to white hair and red eyes, the options are limited. Besides Mary (proto merlin), Bai Song only knows one other character with red eyes, and that's Tomoe Gozen. However, it's highly unlikely that the woman Bai Song saw was Melty. Her demeanor was completely off. After a brief confirmation, Bai Song quietly left the game arcade. If he wanted to hear what they were saying in such a noisy place, he would have to get closer, but that would also increase the risk of being discovered. In that case, it wouldn't be worth the potential consequences.
After a short while of browsing, Bai Song had already found a Master and Servant pair. It couldn't be called a windfall, but it was certainly a satisfactory outcome. Even if there were no other discoveries for the rest of the day, Bai Song would be content.
"I'm telling you... this place seems dangerous no matter how you look at it," said Iris, looking at Merlin, who was already immersed in the game. Although she also wanted to play, there was a time and place for it, and the Holy Grail War was about to begin as night fell. Initially, she thought Merlin was just joking when he said he was useless except for self-preservation, but after witnessing him in action in Fuyuki, she realized he wasn't lying. He truly was unreliable.
"Don't worry, as long as I'm here, and unless something unexpected happens, I'll be the first to run if there's an enemy! Oh, by the way, I'll definitely bring you along," Merlin reassured her and continued tempting her, "Come on, let's play. It's really fun."
"Grr... Fine, but just one game," Iris reluctantly agreed, swallowing her saliva. She glanced at her left hand to check the time and noticed that it was still early, so she decided to give it a try.
Unbeknownst to them, night had quietly fallen.