A few months later, in a Tokyo bookstore, a brand-new manga titled "Fate/Zero" appeared.
Even more surprising—it was placed right at the store's "staff pick" recommendation shelf.
The author?
A supposed genius beautiful girl mangaka ☆ Ritsuka-chan.
…That was a joke.
If she seriously called herself that, never mind whether it would sell—Ritsuka herself would die of embarrassment.
(Not bad, a title designed to bait clicks.)
In the end, Ritsuka decided to draw Fate/Zero and used the pen name "Master."
Not long after it was released, the manga was flooded with praise.
...And also a flood of people wanting to mail her razor blades.
Lady Ritsuka felt completely innocent.
"Don't blame me! Blame the timeline, okay?"
Surprisingly, readers loved the Servants and Heroic Spirits setting.
Probably because it allowed them to see those mythological and historical figures in fresh, non-stiff interpretations—far removed from their textbook images.
(excuse me? You sure? KING ARTHUR is a GIRL??)
Thanks to that, Ritsuka managed to earn just enough to cover her living expenses.
Only just enough—if she summoned even a few Sabers from Chaldea, they'd all be eating dirt by now.
With that thought, she munched on potato chips while reading the comments under her manga.
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"Saber is so cute wwwww I want to—xxx"
(You better pray the Round Table Cooking Club doesn't find you. Light cannons are waiting, bro.)
"Sensei, your bias against Lancer is too obvious!"
(Is this a white-knight fan? Pretty touching if true.)
"Hey, this is too brutal. Does anyone have the address of Master-sensei? I want to send them a razor blade."
(Feel free—I'll just donate them to Chaldea for Tiamat to chew on.)
"Isn't this treatment of historical figures a little too twisted?"
(Nope. Honestly, real Heroic Spirits are way more shameless than you think.)
"When's the next release, Sensei? Is it still part of this series?"
(Yup! Next up is Fate/Stay Night. I'm thinking of starting with the Four Holy Grail Wars. No one will know anyway.)
---
Just then, a familiar tune started playing.
♪ "Chiisana koi no uta~" ♪
(Note: This is a classic J-pop song. Translation: "A Little Love Song")
Ritsuka turned her head and spotted her phone ringing on the bed.
Ugh. Her ringtone was the embodiment of secondhand embarrassment.
(Note 1: She's judging herself too.)
The caller ID displayed: Editor.
"Moshi moshi? What's up?"
"Ah, Master-sensei! Hello! Congratulations on finishing your manga! So... what comes next? Got any ideas for a new project?"
A woman's voice came through cheerfully.
"Thanks. As for the next project—I've already got something in mind."
"Really? That's wonderful! About how long do you think the first chapter will take?"
"Pretty quickly, actually. I had the idea in mind while I was drawing F/Z."
(And if I get stuck, I'll just ask the Emiya family.)
"Great! I won't keep you then—looking forward to it!"
"Bye-bye."
Hanging up, Ritsuka let out a long sigh and picked up her pen again, beginning preparations for the F/SN manga.
After all, Fate/Stay Night was originally a visual novel, which made it a pain to adapt into manga form.
The real question now was—which route to start with?
She thought it over...
UBW, of course.
Watching the King of Heroes get all huffy and puffing with rage was way too entertaining.
(Leg sweep!)
As for Gilgamesh going berserk?
Shut the door—Enkidu, handle it.
And how would the Emiya family react to seeing Illya get her heart ripped out?
(Illya: "Seeing that golden guy... it felt like my heart got stolen. Is this... what love feels like?")
(Gil: "Run, you sparkly brat! The whole Emiya family + Berserker Herc is coming for your ass!")
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Scene Transition ——————————————————
That day, Mizushino Souta was in a great mood.
Because his favorite mangaka—Master-sensei—had confirmed a new series in the Fate franchise!
He'd discovered Fate/Zero a few months ago while browsing in a bookstore.
Just picked it up out of curiosity…
And fell completely in love.
Now that the manga had ended, Souta felt restless, a bit empty.
After all, when your favorite series finishes, it leaves a void.
But with the new series announced, he was thrilled all over again.
"Another Fate manga by Master-sensei? YES!"
With that thought, he headed home, feeling great.
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Scene Cut — Two Weeks Later ———————————————————
Lady Ritsuka was very annoyed.
Just a few days ago, Da Vinci had detected a space-time anomaly.
And the source?
Tokyo. Right where she was.
"I just announced my new manga and now some idiot is starting trouble again? Can you NOT? At least wait until I finish this one!"
(So basically, you're not even worried about the world ending? What kind of "World-Saving Master" ARE you?)
Whatever. If the anomaly started here, they were bound to cross paths eventually.
This was a low-magic world—nothing here could stop Chaldea from marching through like a steamroller.
(Villains: grasshoppers trying to kick a tank?)
Shaking her head, Lady Ritsuka returned to drawing her manga.