Many things are not as simple as they appear on the surface.
Just like a certain person whose airplane frequently crashes, they can actually transform into a giant several tens of meters tall.
What the eyes see is not necessarily the truth.
What the ears hear is not necessarily the reality.
This is the so-called disguise, giving others false information about oneself.
Unfortunately, Misaya Reiroukan, standing before everyone, is one such example.
It is not the mature female teacher's true name, but false information obtained through layers of disguise.
Her true identity is Scathach—the only Servant to survive the Fourth Holy Grail War.
No.
More accurately, she is not a Servant, but "disguised" as a Servant.
After the death of her "Master," Kirei Kotomine, she obtained enough magical energy from the "black mud" overflowing from the Holy Grail to complete the circulation within her body.
Now, she can actually be considered within the range of "ordinary people."
Of course.
"Ordinary" here refers to the concept of being able to act independently without a Master providing magical energy.
After all, Scathach, who came here through the Holy Grail, was not fundamentally distorted.
She is still the Queen of the Land of Shadows, the guardian of the passages between worlds.
She is also someone who seeks death, desiring to end her own cursed existence.
As for the name Misaya Reiroukan used for disguise, it originated from a story she
accidentally overheard.
For some reason, Scathach thought the name was quite good, so she used it to introduce herself to her colleagues at school.
That being said—
Scathach's reason for working at Homurahara Academy was not to fulfill any desire to become a teacher.
She had her own purpose.
During the Holy Grail War ten years ago, Saber, before leaving this world, once told Scathach that there was a knight named Ian who was even stronger than her.
The Queen of the Land of Shadows, who had not been affected by Kirei Kotomine's fatal destiny, decided to meet this person.
However, crossing eras was certainly unrealistic.
The only thing she could hope for was the Holy Grail War, which might be held again.
Scathach didn't know if she, in her current state, was qualified to participate in it.
So, to be absolutely safe—
She decided to choose someone with sufficient strength as a necessary standby.
If she could participate herself, that would naturally be best;
But if she couldn't, then let him (or her) join instead.
This was the true reason why Scathach became a teacher at the Kendo Club of Homurahara Academy and remained there for ten years.
However, the ideal was plump, but reality was quite bony.
Although ten whole years had passed, Scathach had not encountered a student who met her expectations.
This one was too weak!
That one was also too weak!
How could such weak students be qualified to be her substitute?
And so—
To this day, Scathach is still dedicated to finding someone who meets her requirements.
She didn't know that she had artificially created an astonishing legend in this school.
That is—
"The old woman of the Kendo Club can never be hit."
Of course.
The term "old woman" would certainly not be used openly, and the well-preserved Scathach certainly didn't look like an old woman.
This was more like a decade-long jest from the students.
But because the fact that she had never been struck once in ten years was too impressive, it gradually evolved into a new exaggerated urban legend.
"Hey, hey, did you hear?! The old woman of the Kendo Club has reached divine mastery with her spear, she can even punish gods!"
The students making such jokes had no idea that it might have already become a reality at some unknown moment.
[You are unaware of the information hidden by Scathach before you.]
[In your eyes, she is merely a Kendo Club teacher named Misaya Reiroukan.]
[But you know one thing—if you want to impersonate a teacher at this school, her help might be indispensable.]
[Therefore, you decide to be a little friendly.]
"Misaya, why are you here?"
Soichiro Kuzuki adjusted his glasses, looking at his colleague with a puzzled expression.
"You... you usually don't come to the office, do you?"
"Just dropping off some materials," Scathach said, placing the items she was carrying onto the table. "I'll leave soon."
"So—"
Scathach's gaze swept over the Tohsaka sisters and Ian before her.
"If you have something to say, say it quickly."
"Oh... it's like this." Soichiro Kuzuki adjusted his glasses. "They want your help."
"My help?"
Scathach frowned—she didn't like doing such things.
"Isn't there a mistake?"
"I... can't do anything."
"No," Soichiro Kuzuki shook his head. "You are the only one who can do this."
"He—"
The seemingly stern teacher pointed at Ian.
"Wants to join the Kendo Club, as a teacher or something."
"..."
Scathach looked at the man Soichiro Kuzuki was pointing at.
She was silent at first, then coldly shook her head in response:
"I refuse."
"Although the Kendo Club isn't a big place, there are still some people who are serious about learning."
"If you think an outsider can just blend in with a few words, that's a bit too disrespectful to our Kendo Club."
"So—"
"Please seek someone more capable."
After saying that, Scathach directly turned around, intending to leave the office.
She hated people who tried to use backdoors.
Just turning to leave without uttering any harsh words was already considerable restraint.
"..."
[You realize this might be your only chance to infiltrate Homurahara Academy.]
[You know you absolutely cannot easily miss it.]
[You decide to do something—at least, you cannot let Misaya Reiroukan leave your presence like this.]
"Teacher Misaya!"
Ian spoke at this moment, stopping Misaya Reiroukan, who was about to leave.
"Could you stop for a moment?"
"..."
Scathach, standing at the doorway, paused there.
After a moment of hesitation, she decided to be a little polite.
The Kendo Club teacher turned back, asking coldly.
"What is it?"
"Are you dissatisfied because I refused your admission?"
"If you're going to put it that way—"
Ian met Scathach's rather displeased gaze, but his attitude remained very polite.
"Then yes, I am a little dissatisfied."
"Oh?" Scathach grew interested—she quite liked teaching lessons to those who didn't know their place and were full of themselves.
"Are you saying you insist on joining the Kendo Club?"
"Please don't put it so seriously." Ian smiled slightly. "I just want to know if there's any other way to make Teacher Misaya change your mind."
"After all—"
"Being rejected outright is a bit disheartening."
"..."
Scathach's lips curved slightly upwards.
"I see."
"Alright," she looked at Ian. "I'm not an unreasonable person either."
"How about this—"
"You come with me to the Kendo Club."
"As long as you can pass my test, I'll allow you to join the Kendo Club. How does that sound?"
"Thank you very much," Ian replied.
[Following the agreement, you followed Misaya Reiroukan to the Kendo Club's activity area.]
[And Rin Tohsaka and Sakura Tohsaka followed closely behind you.]
Just as Soichiro Kuzuki described.
Because of the legendary figure of Misaya Reiroukan, the Kendo Club was now the largest club in Homurahara Academy.
Such a massive scale naturally granted it a commensurate activity area and the most complete practice equipment.
So, even though it was a holiday, many people had come here.
"So, so many people..."
Sakura Tohsaka exclaimed, unconsciously leaning closer to her sister.
"Big Sister, is your school's Kendo Club actually this popular?"
"Eh?"
Hearing this, Rin Tohsaka's eyes widened.
Due to her identity as a magus, and her position as vice president of the student council, she didn't actually pay much attention to club activities.
After all—
As the heir to the Tohsaka family, Rin Tohsaka was solely focused on summoning Saber, and naturally began preparations early.
However, that possibility had now been completely shattered.
The powerful Saber had already been summoned by her younger sister, Sakura Tohsaka.
Whenever she thought of this, Rin Tohsaka couldn't help but feel sad.
After all, the Saber class had many inherent advantages.
That being said, Rin Tohsaka didn't blame anyone too much.
She responded to her sister's question.
"Sakura, even if you ask me, I don't really know..."
"I usually don't pay much attention to these things."
"But—"
"If Misaya truly hasn't been hit once in ten years, then her strength must be very considerable."
"Oh, right." Rin Tohsaka looked at her sister.
"Sakura, you need to be careful... Ian is a Servant, don't accidentally let him injure Teacher Misaya."
"You don't need to worry about that, Big Sister."
Sakura Tohsaka looked at Ian, her eyes filled with absolute trust.
That wasn't a feeling born after their relationship had progressed, but an affection that had already settled before then.
"I believe Mr. Ian will definitely know his limits."
"..."
Rin Tohsaka looked at her sister's confident appearance, speechless for a moment.
But she felt that this didn't seem like a bad thing either.
After all—
Mutual trust between a Master and Servant was very necessary.
On the other side.
Under the gaze of the Kendo Club members, Scathach brought Ian to the center of the training ground.
Immediately, everyone's attention converged.
Whispers also began to rise.
"Hey, hey, did you see that?! Someone actually dared to challenge the old woman!"
"Hiss... that's too reckless!"
"Exactly, for ten whole years, no one has been able to hit the old woman with a spear even once, he can't possibly think he can, right?"
"But honestly, that guy doesn't look bad either..."
"You, and you, go run ten laps outside now!"
Scathach precisely picked out the few who had just shouted "old woman." After confirming that those students really started running, she pulled out a practice wooden spear and threw it to Ian.
"The rules are simple."
"Within five minutes, if you can hit me with it, you pass the test."
"Or—" Scathach's eyes flashed with sharpness.
"You can last for five minutes, that works too."
"Satisfy one condition."
"..."
[You gripped the wooden spear in your hand.]
[It was light, and for safety, the tip of the spear had been treated to be harmless.]
[This meant that even if it struck someone, it wouldn't injure them.]
[However, despite this, you, summoned as Saber, are not skilled in using a spear as a weapon.]
[And the other party seemed very confident.]
[You decide to be a little cautious.]
"I understand."
"Very good." Scathach kicked up another practice wooden spear, then caught it steadily in her hand, pointing it at Ian.
"I'll count down three, then we'll start."
"Three."
"Two."
"One."
As soon as her voice fell, Scathach launched her attack.
To be fair, she hadn't expected the man before her to dare to approach her proactively.
This made her opinion of him slightly better.
So—
She would defeat this guy using only thirty percent of her strength.
That way, it would be a response to his courage.
Everyone's attention was focused on the duel between Ian and Scathach.
The difference was, the Tohsaka sisters hoped Ian would win;
While the Kendo Club members hoped their teacher would achieve a complete victory.
However—
The situation did not favor either side.
Or rather, their strengths were very close.
Scathach, who had taken the initiative to attack, continuously lunged forward, forming an extremely fierce offensive.
It was a dazzling, but ultimately worthless, flamboyant spear technique.
Normally, it wouldn't be qualified to be a killing blow.
But with Scathach's own enhancement, it naturally reached the qualifying line for defeating the target.
Most Kendo Club members couldn't last even two seconds before being spectacularly defeated by Scathach.
However—
Ian did not end up like that.
He calmly defended against each of Scathach's attacks, then skillfully parried the wooden spear that was about to hit him at the very last moment.
This was no accident.
Scathach, proficient in spear techniques, could see that the opponent was deliberately defending.
And even more surprisingly—she found that the opponent was not actually skilled in using a spear.
Scathach realized that the opponent might truly have come prepared.
The strength she displayed gradually increased from the initial thirty percent to forty, then fifty, finally reaching seventy percent.
In this situation, although the man before her had been hit several times, he was still able to defend against most of the attacks.
He was no mere show-off!
Realizing this, Scathach developed a strong interest in him.
After another exchange, Scathach asked her question.
"What's your name?"
Scathach hadn't expected to receive an unexpected answer at this moment.
"Ian Pendragon."
Wait, this name?!
A greatly shocked Scathach immediately wanted to call a stop to the match, but unexpectedly, Ian refused her outright.
"Teacher Misaya, let's continue."
The man said this, revealing a confident smile.
"I think I already know how to hit you."