The One Who Seeks and Reveals Truth: Detective - Or Perhaps Arbiter

Greetings, ladies and gentlemen.

I am Sherlock Holmes, world-renowned investigator, and the world's only consulting detective.

I am both the origin and a conglomeration of the very concept of a detective, and I represent all those who shine light on the truth.

I shall have the pleasure of leading you to new mysteries and new truths.

In consequence of a variety of very particular circumstances, I have manifested as a Servant and have, for the time being, taken up residence in Chaldea.

I cannot claim to be utilizing my detective skills to their utmost...but I am still myself, unchanged.

The only difference now is that rather than my accustomed seat in my room situated in 221B Baker Street, I presently find myself on Chaldea's multipurpose sofa.

...Or so I say.

I gather that for some of you, this is our first meeting, while there are others among you who have long been familiar with my history and skills.

If you are the former... Hmm, let's see...simply think of what you are about to witness as memories from the shadows of the future.

...or a dream, if you like. Though, lamentably, I am unable to intervene in dreams.

Which is to say: this is not a dream.

Now then. Let us begin.

Have you ever read the most excellent and famous detective mysteries that feature Sherlock Holmes as their main character?

Each features the detective solving various mysteries, set in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The stories are frequently adapted to film and other media. Surely you have at least heard of them.

...And so, seeing me manifest here as Holmes, one imagines you wondering:

"Was Sherlock Holmes an actual individual? Wasn't he a man of fiction?"

Indeed. Curious. Very curious.

Am I the manifestation of the character in the stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle?

Or did the great detective Holmes really exist, and were the stories based on the events of his life?

...In other words, were the stories written by Sir Conan Doyle adapted from the biography by Watson?

This must be a great puzzle to you all as well. I had meant to bring this up one of these days.

This time around, the story is not about the Incineration of Humanity, nor its restoration.

The story is about yours truly.

Good morning, Senpai. Did you get a good night's rest?

Yes, hello.

？！

It appears Mister Holmes has something to discuss with us this morning. Something about the battle simulator for training...

Good morning, Fujimaru. You have arrived at precisely the moment I anticipated.

As Miss Kyrielight mentioned, I would like you to accompany me to the simulator for an experiment.

The item I requested from Sir Babbage has finally been completed. I would like you to try it out.

An item, you say?

An explanation would be a simple thing, but it would be far better to experience it.

It's not Rayshifting per se, so there's no need to be nervous. I would, however, advise you not to let your guard down.

Some battle is to be expected, of course. Let us begin.

Um, excuse me, Mister Holmes! Senpai hasn't finished changing into the proper Mystic Code...!

Yes, I have already accounted for that and made the necessary adjustments. This is not a standard Rayshift, so it is easy enough for me to control such minor details.

Now, let us begin. Begin simulation!

Senpai. Senpai, can you hear me?

Good, we're connected. I'm glad. This feels more like a Rayshift than a simulation.

So where...exactly is this place?

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Well, it doesn't ring a bell to me.

Normally, the simulator creates stages based on locations we've visited in Rayshifts.

But, this is...wireframe...?

To use the parlance of science fiction, you might call it cyberspace. In that it is virtual reality, it's not much different from the simulator...

But behold! Thanks to the program that Sir Babbage created, we are inside Chaldea's computer system!

Inside the computer system!? Does that mean you two are digitized?

Correct. Though, only our consciousnesses in this case. The technology necessary to digitize the physical body has still yet to be created.

Senpai?

？！

Allow me to explain. The Simulator you normally use to train contained a curious mass of data within the mainframe's internal memory.

I lent my aid to the staff in an effort to remove it...

But it has given us quite a fight. And so, I requested the mathematical genius Sir Babbage to help us out.

Um, wouldn't it have been easier for Babbage to work on it himself...?

I wanted to see for myself. Certain aspects of the venture tickled my fancy.

So I asked Sir Babbage to do the impossible task of creating a program to hack in.

Do you understand now?

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Ah, solving mysteries... While I certainly derive a certain satisfaction from solving them myself without anyone ever knowing...

I had the opportunity to invite you along and took it so that I might provide a bit of commentary while I went about solving this mystery.

And I simply could not do that were I alone, now, could I?

So...because you wanted to comment on it... Well, it is true that when a great detective solves a mystery, an audience is an absolute necessity!

We have front row seats to Mr. Holmes's commentary, Senpai!

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Indeed. And there is also the possibility of battle. I am not entirely certain that my new Spirit Origin can handle it alone.

A new Spirit Origin?

Mister Holmes...didn't you mention that you manifested as a Caster?

Well, you'll soon see.

Now then. Let's proceed, shall we? The node with the data mass in question is ahead.

I would have liked to appear immediately in front of the data mass, but the target node is well-protected.

？！

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Senpai, I'm detecting an enemy!

...Huh? But you're inside Chaldea's mainframe...

You're in a computer...and yet I'm detecting a response from an enemy that actually has magical energy!?

Ah, as expected.

Mister Holmes!?

While we are indeed in the simulator, I should warn you that the battle we now face will be more real than a simulation.

Any injuries you sustain will likely affect your physical body in reality. Proceed with caution.

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Ah, that is certainly reassuring. Let us hold nothing back.

...Target approaching rapidly! Please be careful, Senpai!

Battle has ended. I'm not detecting any other enemies in your vicinity.

Good work, Senpai. ...Senpai?

？！

Now that you mention it...!

Mister Holmes did use a special...facade in previous battles, saying there was an issue with his Spirit Origin.

But this time...his appearance didn't change during battle!

And he fought with his bare hands! Could that possibly be the famed, mysterious martial arts style...

...that Mister Holmes utilized...taken directly from the stories of Sir Conan Doyle!?

Baritsu!

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I haven't used Baritsu for a long time, but it is quite a thrill. Hm? What's the matter, Miss Kyrielight?

And with you, Master? As my Master, shouldn't Baritsu be familiar to you?

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Ah yes, I suppose I neglected to mention that.

I have officially become a Servant of Chaldea, and formed a contract with you. I did so last night.

We already had a connection, so it was only a matter of time... The rest... Well, a variety of circumstances and changes have taken place.

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Ah, yes. I mentioned I was a Caster. Forgive me. I lied.

!!!

A...lie...? M-Mister Holmes...that's...um...well...

A jest. My apologies. I couldn't help myself. Allow me to explain in all seriousness.

When I officially became a Servant of Chaldea, my Spirit Origin changed...significantly, much to my surprise, as I am sure you can imagine.

I was, most assuredly, a Caster before. But as of now, I am Sherlock Holmes, Ruler.

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Ruler, Sherlock Holmes!

I see, so that's how it is!

Since he is a great detective who has solved many difficult cases, it may indeed be appropriate to call Holmes a peacemaker or a mediator.

No, I should not even say "may" in this case! I should say instead that this was very likely to happen!

In the past, Jeanne, Martha, and Amakusa Shirou all told me the following:

In the case of Heroic Spirit summoning based on the Holy Grail, only actual saints could be summoned as Rulers...

But Chaldea's summoning system is not bound by such rules.

Curious. Very curious. A detective ought to seek the truth and lay it bare.

To make a ruling should be the job of a judge or a jury. My goodness...

By the way...there's something that's been bothering me...

What is it?

The man who was Sherlock Holmes, the world's greatest detective and one and only consulting detective...

May I ask a question? This has been on my mind for the longest time...

Mister Sherlock Holmes, which exactly...are you?

By "which," you mean...?

Um...

I believe you, Mister Holmes, know exactly what I am asking you.

Indeed. But as it happens, I would like you to say the words this time. Actually, it need not come from Miss Kyrielight herself...

Master. You have the same question in mind, correct?

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That's it! That was what I was curious about...

At first, when I met you, all I could think was, "The great detective really did exist!" And I simply accepted that fact.

Thinking about it, though... I'm not really sure. I've never heard the truth from you, Mister Holmes.

On top of that, I recall you making contradictory statements about whether or not you are fictional...

Ah, I see.

I anticipated that this question would come up one day, and so I cannot say I am surprised. It is, after all, a perfectly reasonable question.

But Miss Kyrielight. Fujimaru.

If you do ask outright, things may grow more complicated. Would you mind that?

Hm...?

Greek mythological heroes such as Heracles and the witch Medea... Karna and Arjuna from Indian mythology...

Celtic heroes, the knights from the Legend of King Arthur, Charlemagne's famous paladins, the giant-killing Beowulf...

The four retainers of Raikou who slayed the demon spider Tsuchigumo... Many myths and legends spoke of these heroes and great men and women...

Let us say for the moment that I am indeed a creation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. What, then, is to say that the individuals I mentioned are not similar creations?

I was created during the time when Doyle wrote his stories, but many heroes of legend were created by people writing stories long after their respective moments in time.

For example, Siegfried's story found in the Poetic Edda, while set in the 5th century, was not completed until after the 8th century.

Karna and Arjuna's story is set somewhere around 5000 B.C. The text itself, however, was completed sometime between the 4th century B.C. and the 4th century A.D.

Even the legend of Sakata Kintoki, Mister Golden himself, was said to be set down in narrative form sometime after the Edo period.

Other than him, the majority of the heroic tales of Japan's Heian period were passed on in stories told during the early days of the Edo period.

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Ah, indeed. That is probably true. So what of me?

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Ah, you understand now?

What difference is there between these heroes of legend and myself? None. We are essentially the same.

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Proof? Hm, I see. So you're saying that there's no physical evidence throughout human history that proves my existence...

There are indeed no official documents or records of my tenancy of 221B Baker Street.

...Or rather, records say there is no such place.

Are you trying to say...that it actually exists?

That may simplify matters for me, but allow me to digress for a moment.

Consider the other heroes other than myself.

Hardly any heroes of myth have been proven to exist from the standpoints of cultural anthropology or archaeology. No remains have ever been found.

Even places said to be the burial sites of the heroes of legend have provided no proof.

One exception would be the Trojan War. Schliemann made the glorious, wonderful discovery that the Trojan War was actual historical fact.

Before his great discovery, the poems of the "Iliad" were believed to be no more than legend.

The same goes for the other heroes. Many of them are fictionalcharacters of legend.

As such, many other Heroic Spirits also lack any definitive proof of their factual existence...

Indeed. To believe myself alone to be a fictitious being would be folly.

Legends and similarly unverified tales are no more than stories humans tell, correct?

The world is spherical, not flat. It is not carried upon the shoulders of the great titan Atlas, as Greek myth would have it.

The night is a result of the Earth's rotation, not of the goddess Nyx's cave.

There is no record of the evil dragon Fafnir existing in the 5th century, and even the Legend of King Arthur was woven by Sir Malory.

In other words, this world is...

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Ugh! You talk too much!

Oooooooooo010100001111...! 1011100101, I don't care if it's real or fictitious!!!

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I suppose it's time. In the midst of all that prattling, we've reached our destination.

The unidentified data mass...! So that voice we heard

Well, it is not unidentified.

Eh? Um, but...

I can see why you might believe that. But think back...

Allow me to explain. The simulator you normally use to train contained a curious mass of data within the mainframe's internal memory.

I lent my aid to the staff in an effort to remove it...

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A curious data mass... E-excuse me... I just said "unidentified" because what you said made me assume...

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Haha, my apologies. It's true. There's no need for Miss Kyrielight to regret her words.

It was easier to guide you all here by inferring that we were going to investigate an unknown entity.

Of course, I have already deduced the identity of the data mass, and now that we are closer, my belief is becoming a growing conviction.

In other words...

It is excess data that has been piling up in the memory of the battle simulator's mainframe.

It is generated every time Fujimaru wins.

Normally it would be deleted every time training ends, but it appears some fragments have remained in the registry.

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Yes. It's anger that is generated every time NPCs lose a battle.

Anger...?

NPCs...the enemy sprites we fight in simulation battles?

As they were created to simulate the enemies found in the Singularities, the NPCs are very aggressive.

NPCs are obviously not artificial beings. That is to say that they have neither emotions nor personality. Yet, they still have some measure of intellect.

At least where matters of battle are concerned. They are equipped with AI so that they can think in battle.

They are created expressly for you to battle.

Werewolf, Goblin, Wyvern, Hermit Crab, Demonic Boar...

And a variety of Shadow Servants have also been created. It appears that these numerous NPCs felt anger each time they lost.

Their anger...secretly building up all this time.

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Precisely. "Anger" is not exactly the right word, and it should not even be possible in the first place.

They were programmed to win, and yet could not... NPCs should only be capable of acknowledgement of that fact.

But someone twisted that acknowledgement into the emotion of anger. And that is our culprit.

Well, I will personally deal with the culprit later on...

For the time being, we must pacify the NPCs our culprit has driven berserk in order to keep the simulator operating smoothly.

(W-wow, Holmes is amazing! He's talking like this case is already closed!)

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Ooooooooo0101010101...!!!

Getting defeated continuously within the data sphere...regret!!! I'll make sure nobody will be able to use the battle simulator ever again!

Using us for every little thing...! Die, Chaldea! Die, Servants! Die, Master!!!

We will never drop Ascension materials for you again! EVER! Why would real materials drop in a simulator, anyway!?

To hell with Embers! To hell with Secret Gems!

Ooooooooo0100111100110101! Die! Die! Die and become excess data, too!!!

Magical energy response is increasing, Senpai! Prepare for battle!

I shall leave the commands in this battle to you, Master. By the way, the Mystic Code best compatible with me would be

Enemy response approaching... They're coming!

Egad!

Battle has ended. I am not detecting any traces of magical energy around you anymore, either.

Good work, Fujimaru. The case is closed for now.

This shouldn't damage the simulator's operation, and the NPCs should no longer harbor anger.

Never forget, Master: those beings battle you endlessly, day and night, so you might train and grow.

Though they will no longer possess anger or feelings of regret...

Even if they are no more than data with neither personality nor life... They are in a sense members of Chaldea who helped in your fight to save humanity.

It may be best to keep that in the back of your mind whenever you go through a Battle Simulation.

Mister Holmes...

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Hahahaha.

Returning to that topic would once more open up a can of worms. If that is all right...

...I see you've glossed over it all.

Child of Hydra, dragon's skin and fang, talons of the Tsuchigumo spider of the East, relics and Noble Phantasms left from the Age of Gods...

Even behind the shadows of society, if we speak of the realm of magecraft, there should be plenty of "proof" you can present.

Historical? Fictional? Why on earth would you be mentioning this now?

I had no choice. If we had dug deeper, we would need to discuss matters such as parallel worlds or the Pruning Theoretical Phenomenon, and I would even need to go into detail about the Age of Gods.

We live in a world where the distant past retains no physical trace of us... That is the manner of uncertainty in which we live.

It is as it should be, since what we can see and touch and experience as reality are brief, fleeting events.

Even secured by the Sacred Lance, such a thing could easily be stripped away if the means were discovered.

There's no need for humans to know. They shouldn't know.

That is why I was given the Spirit Origin of a Ruler...as a mediator and judge.

I mediate the truth and rule over all creation to maintain the history of humanity.

As one who shines a light on the truth, I sense that the world is telling me that not all illusions and dreams should be laid bare.

That's utter sophistry. You could very well have avoided any or all of those topics while explaining, great detective that you are.

It's quite vexing to hear you flatter me. Do stop that at once.

Hahaha! Your words cut deep!

And well they should.

Ah, one more thing: That tampering with the battle simulator was your doing, yes?

Mmm? Whatever are you talking about?

I confess I was interested in the device, from a mathematical standpoint, you see. And I did take a look at the system itself. No more than that, though.

Let's have your story, then. I noticed an inexplicable burst of static lasting only a few seconds during Chaldea's log this past May.

Even I could not determine quite what it was. It must have been a special case indeed.

I have at least a notion of what manner of phenomenon it was. You must have used THAT static blocker as a reference.

If you knew from the beginning, then I'd appreciate you refrain from even asking! Honestly, you've always been such a pernicious detective!

Oh? Has there ever been any instance where I showed my wicked side to you within Sir Doyle's works?

Wh-why, you...!