Chapter 71: Saint Veil (1) – The Gourmet Street

Saint Veil was the capital of the first human empire in history. During the later wars against the monsters, all the major human empires decided to establish it as the main royal city of their race. The dwarves and elves each had their own capitals as well, and the Robert Festival rotated every five years among these royal cities.

The grand event itself was named after the great dwarven archmage who established the dungeon system two thousand years ago.

Zhao Tianhe and his party were staying at a hotel in the second ring district of the capital. At this moment, three enormous magical portraits, conjured by light spells, covered the hotel’s exterior windows.

These lifelike images depicted three figures: Robert, the stout, plainly dressed dwarven mage; Emily, the beautiful elven prophetess with her hair tied back; and the original Hero, the “Nameless One,” whose face was hidden behind a white mask, clad in light armor and a cape, sword in hand.

As for the great human sage who founded the Hero system, he left neither name nor visage. The only recorded appearance showed him as this masked figure, so the public seldom called him “Great Sage,” referring to him instead as the Original Hero.

Nearly all hotels housing officials would be shielded by such grand light spells. Initially, this was for ceremonial effect, but it now also prevented reporters from sneaking in or spying.

"You’re from St. Rossport, right? Rooms 1201 to 1207 on the twelfth floor," the receptionist said, handing over the keycards to their team leader.

Their group from St. Rossport was just thirteen people—seven rooms meant someone could enjoy a room to themselves.

"You’ve got the numbers. Take a room for yourself," Aranta said to Zhao Tianhe with a smile, taking a key and dragging him toward the magic elevator.

The so-called “magic elevator” was essentially an elevator powered by magical energy; its structure was the same, though its operating principles varied by class—force fields, gravity drives, even spatial teleportation.

"Kid, those two girls—especially Miss Artoria—seem to have quite the feelings for you," Aranta remarked, sizing Zhao Tianhe up meaningfully as the elevator ascended. "Don’t let the opportunity slip by—a man should never keep a lady waiting…"

"Yeah," Zhao Tianhe replied, casual on the surface, though there were crucial reasons why he hadn’t confessed or clarified his feelings.

Artoria, after all, was the legendary female incarnation of King Arthur, and in the legends, she had a wife—a woman married to a woman. In the Fate series, where she originated, she even had a husband!

Fate/Stay Night, the original “eroge” game, included romantic scenes between Artoria and the protagonist, Shirou Emiya—scenes Zhao Tianhe had seen himself. The meme “Artoria, the Vice of Type-Moon Heavy Industries” had its roots here.

The thought made Zhao Tianhe feel a little green with jealousy, but then he reasoned: after all, Shirou came first; if anyone was the rival, it was him.

Not that this diminished Zhao Tianhe’s fondness for Artoria in the least. What truly troubled him was something else—something that left him conflicted, even pained…

"I can sense Artoria’s attitude toward me, but… she shouldn’t act like this unless she’s lost her memories of Shirou Emiya," Zhao Tianhe mused, stroking his chin as thoughts he’d long avoided resurfaced. "And besides, in my world, the Fate series is just a game. There’s no way she could be truly summoned here. I need to keep observing—at least until her affection reaches twenty!"

What Zhao Tianhe really feared was rejection. If she did remember Shirou Emiya, then all of this was just his own wishful thinking. Wouldn’t that be unbearably awkward? How could he face anyone after that?

Plagued by hope and anxiety, Zhao Tianhe set an alarm and collapsed onto the bed, soon drifting off—he hadn’t rested well, given the airship’s turbulent passage through a storm.

He had barely slept an hour before the alarm dragged him from his dreams.

There was no helping it; his breakfast quest was on a schedule.

Fortunately, the buffet was right downstairs. Zhao Tianhe loaded his tray, fulfilled his quest, and returned to his room for more sleep.

This time, he slept straight through to noon, waking naturally.

A rare visit to the capital meant little to Zhao Tianhe—he wasn’t eager to sightsee or play tourist. But how could he not take Artoria and Elay out for a stroll?

In the next instant, Elay and Artoria appeared in his room.

"So this is the capital? It’s even bigger than St. Rossport…" Elay exclaimed, gazing out the window, pointing in awe at a massive floating structure over the city center. "What’s that?"

"That’s Humanity’s final bastion—the Sky Citadel, under construction for nearly three thousand years. It’s one of the main hubs of the Maginet," Zhao Tianhe explained. Such knowledge was common sense.

The three grand capitals—human, elf, and dwarf—were each built around their ultimate weapons: the Sky Citadel for humans, the World Tree for elves, and the Forge Bastion for dwarves. The World Tree and Sky Citadel also served as the Maginet’s central nodes, while the Forge Bastion was shrouded in secrecy—even its location was a mystery, known only as the “Doomsday Nemesis.” Its defenses were said to far exceed those of the other two, serving as the Holy Council’s final bulwark.

"Humanity has accomplished amazing things in this world…" Even the ever-calm Artoria was astounded by the vast, sky-shrouding floating city.

Though built for defense, the Sky Citadel had, over the past millennium, shifted toward research, with sprawling structures growing around its hexagonal core to form a magnificent aerial city of science.

Especially in the last few centuries, the Sky Citadel’s technology conference had taken over more than sixty percent of the Robert Festival’s programming; the rest was mostly entertainment, talent shows, and commemorative events.

The once-celebrated Elven Blessing Ceremony and Dwarven Custom Armory had long since faded from prominence, merging with the Sky Citadel’s research department fifty years ago.

The benefits of this progress were plain to see; advances in information and transportation had accelerated dramatically in the past century. Two hundred years ago, small towns like Rogues’ Rest had no flying vehicles for hire, nor Maginet communications.

"In any case, since we’re here, let’s enjoy ourselves!" Zhao Tianhe laughed, and the three left their room, taking the magic lift downstairs and exiting the hotel.

With travel expenses covered, Zhao Tianhe wasn’t too worried about money.

Such a grand festival would naturally feature food streets—hundreds of unique delicacies from the three races, all gathered on Pedestrian Street No. 3 in the northern district.

Artoria’s eyes sparkled as she gazed at the food posters, swallowing hard.

"Wow, the Elven Treasure Exhibition looks amazing…" Elay was entranced by a jewelry showcase on another poster, but Zhao Tianhe, his attention wandering, hailed a flying boat and headed straight for Pedestrian Street No. 3.

"Suddenly, the King’s Appetite doesn’t seem so frightening after all…"

Compared to Elay’s tastes, Artoria’s appetite was almost nothing.

After all, the works of renowned elven craftsmen were extravagantly expensive—materials and labor alone meant even a single piece would cost a hundred gold coins at least.

Fortunately, Elay understood Zhao Tianhe’s financial limits, so although she was a bit disappointed, she didn’t say anything, and seemed to enjoy exploring the food stalls just as much.

"Oh! Dwarven Earth Dragon BBQ—eat two whole dragon leg platters and your meal is free, plus you win ten gold coins! Only one winner per day?!" Artoria, still working on her fruit parfait, suddenly spotted the sign across the street and her fighting spirit ignited.

"Miss, you’d like to try the challenge?" the parfait server asked, glancing at Artoria’s slender frame and shaking his head with a smile. "No offense, but yesterday I watched a giant of a man—possibly a Hero—give up and nearly get sick! Not because it tasted bad, but simply because there was too much! You realize, that’s two dragon legs’ worth—over two hundred pounds of meat!"

"No problem!" Artoria polished off her parfait in a flash, clenching her fists with excitement. "A challenge is what makes it fun! Let’s go, Ah He!"

"Well, I doubt it’ll be much of a challenge for you," Zhao Tianhe laughed.

"True," Artoria replied, "I just had two plates of stir-fry, more than a hundred skewers, seafood pilaf, and…" Her self-talk left nearby staff and customers stunned.

"But I haven’t used my secret technique yet!" Artoria grinned confidently as a tangible surge of magical energy radiated from her.

In fact, Artoria possessed a hidden talent.

Her unique skills depended on her mood; for instance, she could walk on water simply because she didn’t see a need to show off. Another hidden gift allowed her to convert food into mana!

Of course, this talent was so weak as to be almost negligible—just a couple of mana points per meal, something you’d naturally recover by resting for the same amount of time anyway.

But there was a secret use: it let her digest food rapidly.

Ordinarily, that would be wasteful, so Artoria kept her meals within normal bounds. But today wasn’t an ordinary meal—she was here to win!

"Don’t worry, Ah He. I’ll stake my honor as a knight on winning this challenge!" Having burned a great deal of mana, Artoria’s face paled, and the mighty rumble of a King’s Engine echoed from her stomach.

The hungry King of Knights, ready to strike!

"That poor shopkeeper…" Zhao Tianhe suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for the owner.