join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for advance chapters | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter | Report issues @discord.com/GVBdncd9Wr
Shinomiya Kaguya and Hayasaka Ai were strengthening their combat power, while Scáthach and Bond, on the other side, were not in such a hurry. After defeating Gilgamesh, they continued to stroll leisurely.
Scáthach simply believed in her own strength, while Bond simply believed in Scáthach's strength.
Since Bond's reason for leaving Einzbern Castle was to go shopping, he now had a very important task: to bring back a battery for Illya, the young lady of the Einzbern family.
"So what model of battery should I buy?"
Bond, upon arriving at the arcade, raised his front paws and propped them on a shelf, looking at the batteries of various sizes and feeling stumped. If it were in the past, he could have directly used his Skill of foresight to test and make mistakes, but now it was sealed.
"Why not just buy one of each?"
Scáthach said helplessly, feeling that this dog's intelligence was somewhat concerning.
"Then I'll buy one of each. Scáthach, while you're at it, help me get some game tokens. I haven't played these games in the Main World yet."
As he spoke, Bond had already scurried on all fours towards a claw machine, beginning to practice controlling the direction of the claw by gripping the joystick with his two front paws.
…Scáthach took one of each type of battery, put them into a bag, and held it. She then inserted coins into the self-service token machine, retrieved a box of game tokens, and walked over to Bond, helping him insert the tokens into the machine.
As the tokens went in, the claw machine lit up. Accompanied by music, Bond attempted to control the claw to grab a conspicuous doll.
With a 'ding', the claw missed and returned to its original position, no longer moving.
Witnessing Bond's claw miss and fail to pick up even a doll, Scáthach couldn't help but want to step forward and offer some guidance, but after looking at Bond's dog paws, she gave up the idea of guiding him.
"By the way, what's the situation with your Main World? Are there any strong individuals, and how strong is the strongest one?"
Scáthach suddenly asked. Previously, she had only thought about encountering opponents in this Holy Grail War and hadn't asked. Now, looking at Bond's operation, she inexplicably felt a bit curious.
For example, how did this dog survive in his world?
Still unable to grab the doll in the machine, Bond wagged his tail, signaling Scáthach to insert more tokens, and said, "I don't know either. Before becoming a Player, I was just an ordinary dog, living in a place called the Stray Dog Management Center."
"And after becoming a Player?" Scáthach asked.
"After becoming a Player, I still lived there," Bond said naturally.
"Why?" Scáthach asked curiously, "According to you, after becoming a Player, you gained sentience. Why would you still stay in that place?"
Scáthach, upon arriving in Fuyuki City, naturally acquired some knowledge of modern society.
Fuyuki City also had stray animal control centers. The basic process was usually to first try to sell or find adoptive homes. If neither worked for these animals, once a certain number was reached, euthanasia was the only option.
"Because I was timid. After all, even a dog like me could gain such power. Who knows what kind of beings are out there? Thinking that way, the small yard at the Management Center wasn't unacceptable. Staying inside, I could even take advantage of the wolfdog that used to take advantage of me…"
Bond babbled on, his paws gripping the control stick, finally managing to clamp onto a dinosaur doll. Unfortunately, the claw was too loose, and the doll fell again before it even reached the highest point.
"But I don't live in that Stray Dog Management Center anymore. A few elementary school students suddenly came over wanting to adopt a dog, and they ultimately chose me. That's how I got the name Bond Forger."
Bond said somewhat happily. Having a proper name proved that his adopters truly loved him.
"I see. Suddenly, an ordinary puppy gained sentience, looked around, and found himself in a society called 'human.'"
"A sense of being out of place surrounded him. Beneath this power lay fear of the unknown, and uncertainty about his own path…"
After some analysis, Scáthach watched the dolls in the claw machine constantly being picked up and constantly falling, never reaching the exit, as if she saw Bond, who, upon first gaining sentience, walked out of his cage but then looked at the crowd, tucked his tail, and returned to his own cage.
"So that's it. That's why this dog loves to try human things so much. He might be adapting to human society…"
Scáthach's gaze became firm, deciding to teach this dog how to survive in human society. However, just as she was about to speak, she heard the dog's voice, full of schadenfreude, again.
"Later, I went to the Stray Dog Management Center again, and guess what? That wolfdog had already been neutered, the day after I left!"
…Scáthach gave up on teaching and continued to stand by Bond, helping him insert tokens.
After playing the claw machine, Bond went to play the dancing machine and had a session on a massage chair before deciding to leave. After all, it was indeed difficult for his dog paws to use the other arcade games.
For lunch, Bond made a difficult choice between oden and a burger joint, opting for the latter. As a dog, he really wanted to eat a complete deluxe solo meal.
Chewing on a crispy chicken cutlet, Bond began to look around the restaurant, saying, "I have a bad feeling. I feel like I'm being watched by countless eyes, but I can't see anyone."
"Scáthach, do you have any insights?"
Bond asked Scáthach, who was sitting on the other side.
He had already felt this way at the arcade, but seeing Scáthach's lack of reaction, he hadn't said anything. The feeling persisted even after they arrived at the burger joint.
Scáthach put down her syrupy red tea and replied casually, "Because there have been Servants following us the whole time."
"Oh, so that's it…"
Bond took a bite, then spat it out, jumping off the stool in terror and spinning around himself, "There are Heroic Spirits!"
"Why didn't you say so earlier? Is it because you can't beat them?"
"No, actually, they're too weak. They don't even make me want to act."
Scáthach said calmly, feeling that this reason might not be acceptable to the dog, and added, "Moreover, there are several of those observing presences. Through magecraft, I can tell they all come from the same Heroic Spirit. Even if I were to act, I wouldn't be able to eliminate all of them completely."
The Servants secretly observing were naturally Hayasaka Ai's Hassan of the Hundred Faces. Since they encountered Scáthach, it was natural to send out a few Hassans for surveillance.
"Eh… He suddenly got a bit stronger. It seems he's using a Command Spell?"
Through her Clairvoyance, Scáthach discovered Hassan of the Hundred Faces undergoing dragonification.
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for advance chapters | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter | Report issues @discord.com/GVBdncd9Wr