Chapter 388

"The meeting over there has ended." Roman's projection appeared next to Fujimaru Ritsuka's projection. "I was rushed over by Lord Haruaki and the deputy director to confirm the next action plan with you. They had other things to discuss, so they pushed me here, whose accuracy rate of discussion is not very high."

"Isn't Solomon's accuracy rate in fortune-telling low just because he usually just relies on revelations?" Fujimaru Ritsuka complained.

“Although there are reasons for this…” Roman cleared his throat and confirmed with the people who had been chatting for a while, “Have you discussed the customization of the Sun Blade?”

"Yes, after discussion, we finally decided that the four of us would use a universal katana." Ms. Okita sighed helplessly and replied to Roman, "However, this is only a preliminary direction. The village chief of the swordsmith village was furious after hearing our answers. He said that he would risk his reputation as a swordsmith and forge the most suitable Nichirin sword for the four of us without any clear requirements from us."

"I can imagine it." Fujimaru Ritsuka nodded seriously, "Just like when Mother Emiya was on duty in the cafeteria, if she told him that we would just cook whatever we wanted today - he would have had a horrified expression on his face."

"Well, the chief of the Swordsmith Village said that starting from tomorrow, he will observe the training of the four of us and give us the hidden tools in the village to use." Okita-kun cleared his throat and closed the sliding door leading to the balcony, "So we may spend quite a long time here..."

"It just so happens that the Flower Street over there also needs to make some infiltration preparations, so there is no need to rush..." Roman touched his chin, "I will go and discuss it with Lord Qingming, and send someone over to you."

"Eh? Can you send more people over?!" Yamato-kami Yasunari showed a very surprised expression.

"No, it's not using spirit particle transfer, nor is it using servant summons." Roman shook his head and explained to the others, "It's using Lord Haruaki's Noble Phantasm, 'One Hundred Demons Night Parade' - it's a cheating method, and although it's more troublesome, it's the most appropriate support plan under the current circumstances."

"I suspect that the item in the Swordsmith Village might be too fragile for you. You need to prepare in advance - you can't damage the property in the village."

"Then let's simply decide on the division of labor in the red-light district." Fujimaru Ritsuka reinserted himself into the conversation, "Who will be the oiran, who will be the ordinary prostitute, and the bald man who serves the oiran - of course, prostitutes are also OK. The current number of people is definitely not enough, so in order to better protect ordinary people, before you carry out the mission, we will transfer another group of members to assist you through Lord Haruaki's Noble Phantasm."

"Now is a good time to finalize the list of people to be added later." Roman reminded Fujimaru Ritsuka, "After all, this is a cheating method. Lord Haruaki is not controlling the 'One Hundred Demons Night Parade' as arbitrarily as before. If there are already guys who arrived here through the 'One Hundred Demons Night Parade', we can only recruit new members by sending back the previous batch first, so we'd better finalize the list for Hanamachi this time."

"Considering that this mission requires stealth at night, and the requirements for size, speed, and support..." Okita-kun and Miss Okita exchanged glances, "Not just any Servant is suitable for supporting the Flower Street mission. And if you choose from the sword men - katana... no, shun..."

"I think I should choose from the short swords."

"But..." Ms. Okita stroked her chin, thinking of the scene she had seen in the Honmaru, "Kotobuki should also be included, either as a bald man or as another courtesan. If I choose five more short swords... Rantoshiro, Kyogoku Masamune, Maeda Toushiro..."

"It seems that what other people said is not appropriate?" Mr. Okita asked Ms. Okita.

"How about calling Ranmaru over as well?" Ms. Okita tilted her head towards Mr. Okita and sighed helplessly, "It would be great if Yaken and Kikuichimonji also learned the breathing method..."

"Ah, speaking of this..." Fujimaru Ritsuka smiled and raised his index finger at the two of them, "Yakuken is currently working hard to learn the Insect Breathing. Judging from his progress, he should be able to catch up with the mission in the Flower Street."

"Then there's only one position left." Roman thought for a moment and proposed a plan with a smile, "How about this, I'll ask the Demon Slayer Corps if they're willing to send someone to be a liaison - I guess they're dissatisfied with the deputy director's arrangement and should like this proposal that allows them to participate in the Demon Slayer Battlefield."

"What about the identity arrangements?" Fujimaru Ritsuka asked the four people present.

"Let me be the most dangerous and attention-grabbing oiran." Ms. Okita smiled and replied to Fujimaru Ritsuka, "After all, the others are men. Even if the customers who come to flatter her are all played by our members, the people who will pay attention to the oiran are not just the customers who come to the store. If a man plays the role, there is a chance that he will be discovered."

"Tandō will become a bald man, and the three of us will become ordinary prostitutes to fill the shop's numbers... Yakuin can give him an identity that allows him to move freely." Okita-kun pondered and quickly arranged the undercover identities needed to carry out the mission. "As for the Demon Slayer Corps, let's wait for their response before we talk about it."

"By the way..."

"Ah, as for that store, the Umayashiki family will take care of it." Roman replied to Okita-kun with a smile, and cut off the communication. "You just need to keep improving your strength while waiting for the Sun Blade. After all, Lord Haruaki hasn't unlocked the Onmyojitsu that suppresses your physical qualities yet, right?"

"Ah... indeed, although I was already very strong as a human, if I have to deal with the demons found by those Grand Casters--"

"It's still far from enough to pass the final selection." Ms. Okita sighed and looked up at Okita-kun. "Those guys will definitely brag to the Demon Slayer Corps again... but we have to find a better way to use the breathing method. For example, like the Demon Slayer Corps's pillars."

"Let's contact Yakuken and ask him about this." Okita-kun turned on the communicator again and called Yakuken Toushirou. "Let's ask him what he has found out since he has been following the insect pillar."

The next day, the four of them met In again at the entrance of the village - as well as the person that Roman said Abe Haruaki would send over last night, and the express delivery of breathing training equipment sent by Yagen Toushirou from Chouya.

“…I didn’t expect it to be Mr. Muramasa.” Ms. Okita and Mr. Okita tried to lift the gourds that Yakuken Toushirou had tied together and had the word “blow up” written on them in a simple and crude way. At the same time, they greeted Saber, a boy who had just arrived at the swordsmith village. “Please wait while we move this first—”

"Projection, start." The young Saber sighed helplessly, and used projection magic to conjure a cart to help them move the gourd away. He explained helplessly to the four people, "I am Shirou Emiya - although I use the spirit base of Sengo Muramasa. This is one of the ways to cheat that they told you about yesterday."

“Eh!?!”

"After all, who is the most experienced in repairing old things? Isn't it me who has been absorbed by the engineering department?" Emiya Shirou dragged the cart and walked in front of the four people. "By the way, I will open the communication array later. In addition to me, the control room seems to have prepared other more suitable plans, so we also need to collect corresponding data."

So, when the five of them walked together to the training ground that the village chief had pointed out to them yesterday, the first thing they did was to watch the half-baked magician draw a communication array on the ground.

"Although I'm a half-baked person, it's still easy if I just copy down the pattern." Shirou Emiya dusted off his hands, stood up and injected magic power into the communication array. "Okay, the next step is to wait for - eh? The puppet with six arms?"

The village chief, who had received the news in advance, was not surprised by the appearance of Shirou Emiya, but simply pushed the old doll to the center of the training ground.

"I think what Dr. Roman said is right. This thing will fall apart in two moves in your hands..." Shirou Emiya looked at the obviously very old doll and complained to the four people, "I finally know why I came here - the really important mission has nothing to do with me."

"Isn't this a matter of course?" Da Vinci appeared in the communication array, "After all, Chaldea has an omnipotent person like me! But... why does that doll have three pairs of arms?"

"Let me introduce it." The village chief cleared his throat and turned to look at the few people. "This is En-10-Shiki. It was made by the swordsmith in our village during the Warring States Period based on the swordsman who created the breathing method in the Demon Slayer Corps. However, due to the swordsman's superb strength, it is difficult to fully replicate the swordsman's moves with two arms."

"So the swordsmith who made the doll at the time used six arms to make up for this shortcoming - although compared with the real strength of the doll, there is still a huge gap."

"I'll go take a look first." Shirou Emiya said hello to a few people, half-knelt down under the gaze of the village chief, and put his hand on the leg of the 10-shiki. "The projection begins, identifying the creative concept, imagining the basic framework, replicating the structural materials, imitating the production technology, empathizing with the growth experience, and reproducing the accumulated years. The whole project is complete."

"Strengthen, start." Shirou Emiya withdrew his hand, stood up again, and nodded to Da Vinci in the communication array and the village chief who had retreated to the edge of the training ground at some point, "Strengthen the restoration is complete, you can start it."

A key was thrown into Shirou Emiya's hands.

"...I will make a new version of this mechanical doll with genius speed." Da Vinci smiled as he watched Shirou Emiya insert the same ancient key into the keyhole to activate the mechanical doll, and then quickly made room for Ms. Okita who came forward to fight with the doll. "After all, Emiya-kun can't stay here all the time."

"I hope you can finish this today and let me go back." Shirou Emiya replied to Da Vinci after returning to the communication array, "Can you see it clearly?"

"To be able to see clearly—" Da Vinci looked at the Edge-10, and his eyes gradually narrowed, "Spending a day or something... You really underestimate me as a genius, don't you?"