Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

Chapter 475 Aoko, who tricked Jack.

Inlaid in the city of Tallahassee.

It is one of the few mosaic cities in the Americas after the war. Before the war, it was the capital of Florida. During the Holy Grail War that swept the globe, Cape Canaveral, a space facility in Florida, was the first to be attacked and became a battlefield.

Today, due to the rise in sea level after the war, it has a strong barrier just like the cities in Japan. Also, due to its location in the Americas, the capital city is equipped with equipment to deal with large monsters, just like the city of Tama in Japan.

To some extent, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call the world where humanity lives in the new era a wasteland. After all, there are uncontrolled drones left over from before the war in the sky and sea that prevent people from flying into the sky and using ships to navigate the sea, and there are also a certain number of large monsters on land.

At this moment, the central square of Tallahassee is bustling with crowds and large screens are displayed on various buildings.

In one corner of the square, a chestnut-haired girl wearing a white top was playing a blue guitar.

This is a very typical street musician, commonly seen in various urban areas in the new era. However, no passersby stopped, and everyone walked quickly past the girl. This is probably because although her music style is also American, it is too old-fashioned, belonging to the style of the 1980s.

The guitar was connected to the amplifier via a wire, and the music played came out of the amplifier. For a new-age street performer, her volume was really a bit too loud.

It was a passionate and uplifting melody...

Sadly, the music the girl played was completely out of place in the mosaic city of Tallahassee, where people were expected to be careful and not disturb others.

Therefore, the biggest reason why her performances are not popular with the audience is this.

If this were in the old days, it might be acceptable, or perhaps it could be placed in another mosaic city, but this is Tallahassee, the first place attacked in the Holy Grail War. No citizen would want to be in this place filled with passion, a melody that evokes memories of past misfortunes.

In 1824, the capital of Florida was not Tallahassee, but two separate cities, one in the east and one in the west. However, due to the prevalence of yellow fever at the time, a healthy inland location needed to be chosen. So, the envoys from the two states set off from west to east and from east to west, respectively. The place where the two met became the new capital, Tallahassee, a town where one could see meadows full of flowers in the distance.

Its name means "ancient land" in Apalahi, and in a sense, it is the 'new Canaan', the promised land.

For many years, Florida has been a vibrant place, and its people are known for their passion and enthusiasm. Although Cape Canaveral, an aviation mecca, was established there based on its geography, logistics, and transportation conditions, it also proves the courage of the locals.

In any case, those who dare to challenge the darkness are always incredibly passionate. They don't fight to win, but to reject humanity's definition of darkness.

But all of this came to an end in 2011. After Cape Canaveral was destroyed, Tallahassee was also indiscriminately attacked. Just like Cape Canaveral, which was overgrown with vines and left unattended, and was eventually submerged by rising sea levels, the people who continued to live there, whether they were old humans or new humans, were as if they were bound by invisible vines and seawater, and became cautious.

If someone were to bring an old-fashioned rocket or airplane to ask the new humans of Tallahassee, their answer would invariably be something like, "I don't know what it is... It looks like it's swallowed something huge, it looks terrifying."

That's why passionate music isn't welcome here. Compared to places where large audiences gather and performers put on exaggerated acts, the place where the chestnut-haired girl is located can truly be described as a remote corner. Even the guitar case, placed at her feet as a place for audiences to tip and throw money, only contains a few coins and bills.

To be honest, these physical currencies are rarely used in the new era, but it seems her earnings weren't very good either.

But he seemed completely unconcerned, simply playing the guitar with his eyes closed as if he were engrossed in his hobby.

"Wow—why is the style so intense...?"

Upon hearing this, the chestnut-haired girl playing the guitar opened her eyes and saw a silver-haired girl squatting next to her, listening to her playing.

The chestnut-haired girl stopped playing and said with a smile, "Jack of Tallahassee?"

"Huh? Big sister, why are you calling me Jack like that?"

The silver-haired girl, one of the many Jacks of the new era, asked with some confusion.

"Because I've seen Jack in other cities too. According to you, you have a group chat, right? And the nickname is just the location plus Jack. Plus, you guys look very similar."

The chestnut-haired girl grinned at Jack, and Jack nodded in return, "Thank you for coming and listening to my playing for so long."

"You can actually travel between cities on different continents?! That's amazing..."

Jack from Tallahassee looked at the girl in surprise.

After the new era, the disruption of air and sea routes led to the decline of intercontinental communication, and civilization returned to a state of city-state fragmentation. In addition, the new humans themselves do not like to go out, so communication relies on the AI ​​in various cities, which is not real-time, so it is quite troublesome. Therefore, to travel to cities in other continents, it is basically necessary to rely on Servants who have established underground routes, but the cost is astronomical.

"so so."

The chestnut-haired girl nodded with a smug expression, and then immediately pulled a square plastic shell from the guitar case on the ground, staring at Jack with shining eyes.

"Little Jack, you've listened to my performance for so long, are you willing to buy it? I'm really sorry, but it's just that it sounds so good. But do you have cash? If you want to use a checkout code, just stick it over there."

"Okay okay."

As Jack pulled out his phone to scan the chestnut-haired girl's QR code, he exclaimed, "Wow, that's expensive! I have to participate in the Holy Grail Wars three times to earn that many Q coins..."

"It's worth the price, it's worth the price. After all, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and the emotional value is the best."

"Um, but big sister, can I ask you a question?"

"what is the problem?"

"that is……"

Jack waved the plastic shell in his hand blankly, "What is this?"

"Oh, so Jack from Tallahassee doesn't know..."

The chestnut-haired girl hesitated, then said, "This is a CD, you know. Simply put, it's something that stores music, so it needs a player—"

"But Jack, I don't have a player either."

It's heartless, but... if we can't sell them, we'll be broke today, so this is the only way.

Thinking of this, the girl suddenly brightened up and said again, "...How about buying another one? I have some here, cheap and affordable."

"Ok."

Upon hearing the notification from her phone that the money had been credited to her account, the beaming girl plucked the guitar strings and played a very romantic melody for Jack, who was holding a CD player.

"By the way, Jack, do you have any songs you like to listen to? If I know them, I can play them for you."

"No need, I've heard enough... Um, since things are like this, could you do me a favor, Jack?"

Jack, after slicing the media player with his knife, pulled out his phone, smoothly logged onto the official website of the Holy Grail War, selected the Holy Grail War tournament in Shinjuku, Japan, and handed it to the chestnut-haired girl. "Could you help Jack make a splash in this 'Demon King's' tournament?"

"...Oh, you want me to become an online troll?!"

"No, it's just sending encouraging messages like 'Keep it up! You look so cool!'..."

"I never expected you Jacks to be like this."

The chestnut-haired girl's lips curled up subtly. "This really surprised me, but it's not impossible."

"In that case, could you make a song for this Demon King after watching her match? Using the song you made yourself, and I'll pay for Jack's part."

Jack from Tallahassee was naturally in Jack from Shinjuku's group. Although most of them didn't think she looked like a 'mother' in the photos, since Jack from Shinjuku said so, it must be true. After all, Jack wouldn't lie to Jack, so that's why Jack from Tallahassee did it this way.

Upon hearing this, the girl casually scratched her hair and said with a smile:

"Well, this doesn't suit my personality at all, but since it's rare for a customer to ask for it, I'll give it a try."

"Thank you!"

Jack, overjoyed, skipped away like a bouncy ball. Although it was just one person's change, it seemed to bring a sense of clarity to the corner of the square where the girl was standing.

Just as the chestnut-haired girl was about to pick up the banknotes from her guitar case and leave, a shadow appeared in front of her, causing her to instinctively look up.

An orange-haired woman raised a lit cigarette, looking down at her with a mocking smile:

"You're almost fifty years old, and you're still deceiving children here, Aoko."

……

A short while later, at an outdoor table prepared for waiting guests at a restaurant in the central square, the two people who had just met stared at each other expressionlessly.

As if to break the silence, Aozaki Touko calmly said:

"I never expected you to come to Tallahassee."

"That's normal. After all, there are only a few cities in the world now, so you'll run into one if you just wander around."

"Yeah, they're scamming kids out of their money."

"objection!"

The chestnut-haired girl, Aozaki Aoko, made an X gesture. "Jack is a Servant, and in terms of age, he is over a hundred years old."

"Ah."

Orange gave a mocking laugh, "Clearly, all the Jacks who possessed him were born after the new era, and the oldest is no more than eight years old."

"...That was a reasonable deal."

"Never mind, I have no intention of asking you these things."

Orange took a sip of her black tea. "What is your purpose in coming to Tallahassee?"

Orange understands her younger sister's personality quite well. Although she is traveling around the world, she tries her best to answer the various mysteries of the new era, such as "Why is the death rate of the Holy Grail War that has swept the world so high?", "Why are there no flying objects in the air in the new era?", "Who planned the Holy Grail Wars in various countries?", and so on.

"It's very simple, because of Cape Canaveral."

Is it merely a coincidence that this aviation mecca was the first to be attacked? Given humanity's desire to explore the stars, prioritizing the destruction of this place might first and foremost stifle the possibility of human development, imprisoning civilization on the surface shrouded in death.

"But..."

Aoko sighed and continued, "Cape Canaveral is now submerged. Even if I get past the massive monsters and drones on the seabed, I still can't open the gate to Cape Canaveral. It's a place that requires a staff member's card to open."

"What do the AIs in Tallahassee say?"

"They said they were powerless; all the data from Cape Canaveral had been lost, and most of the old government's records were also gone, as they had no right to access them."

Aoko glanced at the sky. "Although I also wanted to use force to open it, it might destroy the remaining Cape Canaveral, so I can't."

"Yeah."

After Orange finished speaking, the two fell silent again.

"Hey, you two—you haven't seen each other in so long, at least catch up on how you've been?"

At this moment, a blonde woman dressed in a white sweater, whose gender was unclear, interjected.

Although this person appeared suddenly, it was as if he had been there from the beginning, leaning against the wall some distance away from the sisters, staring at them with a curious gaze.

Orange glanced at the blond man with a cold look in her eyes.

"It's Beo, long time no see."

Its essence is a drop of star, a high-dimensional life whose soul has been materialized. It can change its form as needed. After being with the orange, it was named Beowulf. In Novia, during the time of the Hunnic king Avia, it was brought to Avia by Simphitelli, the Norse hero summoned by Odin.

However, at that time, he looked like a young werewolf.

"Long time no see, Aoko—speaking of which, wasn't the clerk just calling your number? Aren't you going in?"

"Ah...um..."

Aoko smiled and said, "I must have missed it."

This is a lie; she simply didn't want to spend money and wanted to get the snacks the shop gave to waiting customers for free.

"Oh, I see. What a pity. We'll just have to get a new number then."

Beo said in a nonchalant tone, "But how have you been lately? Orange and I just came from New York. It's a great place. They have a Bunyan statue from early American stories. It's said to be a male woodcutter, but it turns out to be a three-meter-tall little girl in real life..."

"In the 2011 Holy Grail War in the New York area, Paul Bunyan appeared as a Berserker. She fought with all her might to protect New York from the destruction of the city with her Noble Phantasm. That's why the surviving New Yorkers built a statue in her honor."

Orange explained softly.

Although the Holy Grail War that swept the globe was a disaster for ordinary people at the time, the Servants involved were not all willing to do anything for victory. Some Servants were willing to give up their long-cherished wishes for the sake of the present, after all, they were heroes.

"Speaking of which, I have met Robespierre, Mordred before..."

Aoko narrowed her eyes slightly, "Anyway, they're all a bunch of pretty sassy guys."

"Robespierre? He must be in Paris?"

"That's right, but because of its original deeds, it was marked as a 'high-risk existence' by the city, which means that a 'loyalty shackle' will be forcibly attached when it is summoned..."

While speaking, Aoko recalled her meeting with Sherlock Holmes in London. The great detective had told her that this action showed a clear contradiction between the Holy Grail's response to Servants who only respond to the call of those who 'maintain the status quo,' and its suppression of transformative Servants such as those who overthrow the existing system. This also contradicted the template-based therapy in the group psychotherapy room.

However, when Aoko told him about it a few days later, Holmes looked blank and at a loss, as if he had never said it at all.

"By the way, you still haven't summoned a Servant?"

Orange, who was smoking, keenly noticed the Command Seals in Aoko's hand. The dotted patterns were a unique design characteristic of those who became Masters later in life.

"It doesn't say that having this means you have to summon a Servant. Can't I just leave it? ...Aren't you the same?"

"I don't think I need to."

In fact, there are also people who obtain the Holy Grail through acquired factors but do not accept it and insist on not using its power. They have never even used Command Seals. This means that their Servants have never been summoned and are simply left unused. There are a few people like this in the New World, such as the parents of Eri's friend Karin.

"Anyway, everyone has the new Command Seals, but only Grandma Chizuru has the old ones."

Aoko said it casually.

The so-called old-style Command Seals are those that belonged only to the Master in the past Holy Grail Wars, meaning they could only be used three times.

"Ugh, I really want this too! If I had this, I could summon Servants..."

Beo muttered to himself, "Who would it be, according to my wishes? My master? King Attila? Or that three-headed dragon?"