Chen Li felt he had gotten the cause and effect backward.
If he encountered difficulties with Entries while forging an immortal and undying Curio for Matou Zouken, he shouldn't be the one racking his brain over where to get them. He should be throwing the problem back at Matou Zouken.
Because Zouken would undoubtedly be in a much bigger hurry than him.
The phrase "If you won't do it, someone else will" was once again made manifest.
If you don't hand over the Entry, someone else will be more than willing to hand one over to have a Curio forged.
"I know you want a Curio that can extend your life, so you need to provide me with either a [Metamorphosis] Entry or a [Devolution] Entry," Chen Li said, crossing his arms and speaking to the holographic projection before him with an air of command.
Only by facing Matou Zouken directly did Chen Li truly understand what it meant to be "terrifying enough to make a child stop crying."
The man's appearance was horrifying.
Zouken was a short, hunched-over old man dressed in a navy and dark gray kimono, holding a wooden cane. He was bald, his limbs were as withered as a mummy's, and a sharp glint shone from his deeply sunken eye sockets.
And because he had abandoned his original fleshly body, his appearance was somewhat reminiscent of his Crest Worms.
"Are you certain?"
"I'm certain. So, do you want a Curio forged or not? If you don't, I'll find someone else. Do you have any idea how busy I am every day? People are constantly begging me to forge Curios for them. If it weren't for the fact that I can harvest a little Miracle Power from the miracles you create, who would even bother with you?" Chen Li said with a look of disgust.
"Why a [Metamorphosis] or [Devolution] Entry?" Although Zouken was displeased with Chen Li's attitude, the thought of how miraculous a Curio Forger was kept him from daring to show any disrespect.
"According to the Miracle Commission, you raise insects. I figured these are the only kinds of Entries you'd be able to find. Aren't insects related to devolution and metamorphosis?"
"And what effect would a Curio forged like that have?" Zouken asked patiently.
"By my estimation, each time you die, your physical and spiritual age would decrease slightly, making you younger. It would be a form of longevity, and it would even come with immortality as a bonus," Chen Li explained.
"And... what is the price I must pay?"
"First, you must provide the Entry yourself. You also need to offer some precious items as my forging fee. Is that condition acceptable?"
"It is," Zouken shook his head.
If the forger had to take a loss to create such a wondrous item, Zouken wouldn't have believed it in the first place.
"If you want to add other functions to the Curio, you'll have to pay an additional forging fee."
"No problem."
"Then tell me what additional offers you can make," Chen Li asked.
"Additional offers?" Zouken was taken aback.
"You really don't get it, do you? There are some things I don't have to take, but you can't fail to offer," Chen Li said, rubbing his fingers together.
"Then what is it that you desire?" Zouken asked in a slightly hoarse voice.
"Things that contain precious Entries. If your world has any special local products, that would work too... Wait a minute, someone's contacting me." Halfway through his sentence, Chen Li suddenly opened The Guide to Forging Curios again to check a message.
"Local products..."
"Um... your name is Matou Zouken, right? My apologies, but our deal might have to be called off."
"What?" Zouken, who had tolerated Chen Li's aggressive tone until now, instantly shot to his feet, tapping his cane on the floor.
"Because someone else made a better offer. Their world has a creature called a Slime that can shapeshift. A [Morphing] Entry is quite valuable," Chen Li said, unfazed by Zouken's glare.
"Mere shapeshifting, mere shapeshifting... My world has beings known as Servants. They are Heroic Spirits who have left a magnificent mark on history and possess wondrous items called Noble Phantasms. Perhaps they would satisfy you."
"Hm?" Chen Li straightened up slightly, his interest seemingly piqued.
"My world also has a system of power known as Magecraft, and in one year, the Holy Grail War will be held. Seven Masters will summon seven Heroic Spirits to compete for the omnipotent Holy Grail. I can provide you with a place in it," Zouken continued.
"That sounds pretty good..."
"There are beautiful women among the Servants..." Zouken sized up Chen Li, noting that he was at an age of virile passions, and added this tidbit.
"Beautiful women? Sorry, I like lolis."
"There are! There are lolis!"
"Huh?" Chen Li, who had just blurted that out as a casual excuse to not tarnish his reputation too much, was taken aback.
"I have just reached an agreement with the head of a magus family to adopt his second daughter into the Matou family. I can give her to you. She is a loli."
"...Fine, then." Chen Li reluctantly agreed.
Although he had planned to find a reason to accept the offer anyway, he hadn't expected it to happen like this.
"If it's possible, could you add another function to the Curio I want forged?" Seeing that Chen Li seemed somewhat satisfied, Matou Zouken decided to strike while the iron was hot.
"What function?"
"Could you add a function that places a curse on anyone who kills me?"
"It's not difficult, but you'll have to prepare the Entry yourself," Chen Li nodded.
You all heard him. Matou Zouken asked for this himself.
Doesn't this make him even more convenient to use as a suicide bomber?
"No problem," Matou Zouken immediately agreed.
"Then let's sign the contract. I will forge a Curio that grants you longevity and immortality. In return, you will give me a spot in the Holy Grail War and that little loli, completely unharmed. You will also provide me with the necessary resources during the Holy Grail War and agree to let me travel to your world at any time. How about it?" Chen Li said, taking out the Compulsory Transaction Gold Coin.
"What will you do after you arrive in my world?" Matou Zouken asked after a moment of silence.
"You're still concerned about that? As long as I don't destroy your world or kill you when I get there, do you really care what happens to anyone else?" Chen Li sneered.
"..."
"If you don't agree, I'll just find someone else. This Curio, if you don't want it..."
"Deal," Matou Zouken agreed before Chen Li could even finish his sentence.
You read people so well!
A faint golden light emanated from the Compulsory Transaction Gold Coin, signifying that the deal had been struck.
"Then you should hurry up and cultivate worms with the best [Metamorphosis] or [Devolution] effect. The more successful your cultivation, the less I'll consume, and the less I'll charge. If you can't cultivate a top-tier one, then cultivate a few slightly better ones. The Holy Grail War starts in a year, right? Then I'll see you in 11 months," Chen Li said with a wave of his hand.
"...Goodbye." Zouken wanted to force a smile to leave a good impression, but found he couldn't smile at all.
In the time it took for him to register what was happening, he found that Chen Li had already hung up the video call.
"It's finally over." Matou Zouken could no longer maintain his somewhat amicable expression, but he also let out a sigh of relief.
Regardless of the other party's attitude, at least the deal was made.
As for that Tohsaka Sakura... no, Matou Sakura... she could stay with the Tohsakas for a while longer.
Although Zouken wasn't one to look down on his own home, he knew that his family's environment wasn't exactly suitable for a child's upbringing.
Especially since Chen Li wanted a complete little loli.
---o---
"It's finally over."
And just like that, I've become a loli-loving pervert," Chen Li thought, a headache coming on.
But it was fine. His original plan was to screw over Matou Zouken anyway, so he didn't need to worry about his reputation.
As long as the person is dead or has become good, they won't be able to speak ill of him.
"Oh, right." Thinking of this, Chen Li quickly sent Matou Zouken another message.
[My name is Sparkle.]
But then again, he couldn't completely ignore his reputation.
He'd just let Sparkle suffer a bit for now and share some Merit with her later.
Although Chen Li had never met Sparkle, he was certain she was a person of extremely low moral character.
His willingness to share some Merit with her was a testament to his own kindness.
---o---
"All in all, this transaction was a success. Not only did I get the old bug to provide the Entry himself, but I also secured a chance to go to his world and a spot in the Holy Grail War. Oh, and I saved a loli."
Chen Li was starting to feel more and more that his attitude toward the old bug was the correct way to operate as a Curio Forger.
The Type-Moon world had a lot of good stuff, especially for a Curio Forger.
Whether it was the Noble Phantasms of Heroic Spirits, the "Origin" that every person had the potential to awaken, or the "Concept" items that were practically everywhere in the Moon-lit World, they were all valuable resources.
The Holy Grail War itself was the least of his concerns.
The reason he had the old bug cultivate several slightly better worms with the [Devolution] or [Metamorphosis] Entries was because of a professional skill called "Superimposition" that was a reward from the Novice Quest series.
The effect of this skill was to increase an Entry's brightness by fusing identical Entries. Although the conditions were rather strict, its value was still immense.
"But was this skill the reward for Novice Quest seven or eight? Honestly, that little elf is always dangling carrots in front of me."
Because the little elf could see The Guide to Forging Curios's source code, it could give Chen Li spoilers.
It was just like how Chen Li played FGO. Because the Japanese and global server schedules weren't synchronized (with the Japanese server being ahead), he could predict the global server's event schedule based on the Japanese server's, a practice jokingly referred to as "Clairvoyance." (In the Type-Moon world, high-level Clairvoyance could even see into the future.)
Chen Li set the status of the old bug's world to "Offline" for a period of 11 months and then stopped paying it any mind.
In this state, 11 months for the other party might only be a few days or even a few hours for Chen Li, because the flow of time between worlds was inherently different.
Theoretically, Chen Li could use this function to continuously deploy ordinary weapons he had forged, allowing them to develop powerful Entries through the baptism of time and fate. Then, whenever he remembered, he could travel to that world and collect them.
A true behind-the-scenes mastermind.
After finishing the preliminary preparations for the third Miracle Commission, Chen Li looked at the remaining two.
This last commission was good, but it didn't fulfill his requirement of completing a Miracle Check-in.
[Camping]: I want a cup of instant noodles that I can never finish eating!
Issuer: Kagamihara Nadeshiko
Reward: 1～10 Crystals
Risk: Low
"Alright, got it. I'll forge it for you along with the next Curio I make," Chen Li nodded, and looked at the last one.
Once again, proof that Kaguya Houraisan was really useful!
[Invisible]: I want a pair of glasses that will make ghosts invisible when I wear them.
Issuer: Miko
Reward: 1～10 Crystals
Risk: Low
"Another commission that won't get me a Miracle Check-in... Ugh, wait a second." Chen Li's eyes lit up as he nearly overlooked the potential reward due to the low Crystal payout.
"Hey, why bother making glasses that make ghosts invisible? Wouldn't it be better to just kill all the ghosts?!"