Fate/ Grand Crypter

Chapter 8

"From your description, it seems I missed all the action while I was asleep," Leo said.

"Yes, you did Darling. A shame too! Mash holding off those servants, and Cu Chulainn's heroic rescue was something to behold!" Peperoncino said.

The pair sat in the classroom, the shattered windows allowing a hot breeze to blow through the building. Leo resisted the urge to put his head in his hands and looked at Peperoncino.

"So, did Beryl end up summoning a Servant after all?"

"No Dearie. He just signed a temporary contract with Cu Chulainn. Since he is such a powerful Heroic Spirit, there wasn't a need to sign on a new one. Director Animusphere suggested saving resources since we only have enough for one more summon. The leylines of the land are rather damaged."

"I see... Thank you for updating me Peperoncino" Leo smiled. "Could I please have a moment? I just need to process everything that I have learned."
Peperoncino smiled and nodded. He softly left the room, shutting the door behind him and leaving Leo alone. When he heard Pepe's footsteps retreating away from the door, Leo leaned back against the wall and sighed. Ultimately, everything that had happened was a good thing. Ireland's Child of Light, Cu Chulainn had joined them. As the most famous hero of the Ulster Cycle, he was an incredibly powerful and versatile Heroic Spirit. Even summoned as a Caster, his abilities were top-notch. Heroic Spirit's strength was often proportionate to their fame, and in that regard, Cu Chulainn was especially high-ranked. Of course, their ultimate opponent in this Singularity was even greater. But the point remained that Cu Chulainn was on their side, and the four Servants who served the King of the Singularity were all dealt with. But...

"Yet again, I have done nothing to help." Leo's fists tightened into a ball. This second chance on life wasn't just an opportunity to save some lives he wanted to save, he had also wanted to redefine himself. To be a better him, one more proactive, the kind of person that people liked and praised. To save the day, once or twice. It was a selfish desire, but it was his anyway.

"But sitting here wishing that things were different won't help either."

If he had to decide between helping them all survive or being praised as a hero, it would still be the former. So his work was not done. Even if he went unnoticed, he needed to prepare for the next obstacle. Peperoncino had been excitedly telling him how they were preparing for the final push, that they were close to getting back to Chaldea. But if they did so now, they would still lose someone irreplaceable. He hadn't yet guaranteed their survival.

Leo pulled out his book and flipped it open. There on the pages was his last magecraft, the piece that summoned Cu Chulainn to assist against the enemy servants. Casting that spell had taken a lot out of him. But it worked. It was within the bounds of what the magecraft could achieve. While Leo did not know the specifics of his magecraft, he did know a fair bit about how magecraft worked within this world. Everything was a trade, magecraft was the act of balancing ability and mystery vs what you wanted to achieve. If you had unlimited magical energy or a strong mystery backing your magecraft anything was possible. But for most, that was out of reach.

Based on what he had achieved so far, it was safe to say Leo Valualeta's magecraft was actualizing what was written in this book. The book and the quill were no doubt specific mystic codes to facilitate the specific mystery he was reaching for. But the magecraft could only affect probability, not create a future that could not exist. It had been unable to grant him the strength of ten men, but it did summon Cu Chulainn in time, even if that had cost him a significant amount of strength. Theoretically, if he took actions that would ensure a specific event, and then used his magecraft to bring that event about, it would likely reduce the burden he would have to pay. If he intended to achieve his new plan, then this would be an essential trick to ensuring that it worked. The other part of it was simple.