Manaka and Charl were actually friends—more precisely, fellow transmigrators.
It began a month ago, when Charl met her near the River Thames, a day he could never forget. When he first saw her, a strange aura surrounded her, giving her an almost mysterious presence.
Even more oddly, the clouds in the sky seemed to part as she appeared, sunlight spilling down as if drawn to her.
It was a strange phenomenon Charl witnessed firsthand, enough to make him briefly wonder if she was even human.
Later, however, he learned the truth.
"I'm a magus apprentice, I'm supposed to study at the Clock Tower… but I got lost." Manaka explained awkwardly.
"…You got lost," Charl repeated.
She nodded, clearly embarrassed.
Weird, he thought. Still, he chose to trust her and offered to guide her.
As they walked in silence, Charl spoke up with a gentle smile.
"My name's Charl. Charl Animusphere."
The moment she heard his last name, Manaka froze.
"…Animusphere?" she echoed, her voice stiff.
Charl noticed, observe her for a moment and then knowing that her appearance was that of foreigner, especially from the Far East—why would she react like that? but even so he decided not to press the issue.
Instead he changed the subject.
"And you? What's your name?"
She hesitated for a moment, then answered quietly.
"Manaka. Manaka Sajyou."
As soon as those words left her mouth, Charl stopped walking.
"…Hold on, Manaka… Sajyou?"
Manaka turned toward him, confused by his reaction.
"Is something wrong?"
Charl stared at her for a few seconds before letting out a quiet sigh.
When he hear that name there's many thoughts inside his mind, but then he just guessed that she was—
"You're not from this world either," Charl said calmly, as if stating an obvious fact.
Manaka's eyes widened. By the look of her face, it's seem she still trying to processing. After a brief moment, she nodded.
Silence fell between them again—but this time, it felt different. The tension faded, replaced by a strange sense of familiarity.
"Well,that explains a lot." Charl said after a moment, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Like what?" Manaka asked cautiously.
"Why you look like a walking protagonist," he replied flatly.
"…Excuse me?"
And just like that, the strange meeting by the Thames became the beginning of an unexpected friendship.
Later on, they often spent time together, discussing topics that only the two of them could understand. After a few weeks passed, what began as awkward meetings gradually turned into genuine friendship.
In time, Charl learned Manaka's secret.
She confessed to him that, despite being in Manaka Sajyou's body, she had no connection to the Root at all—even though the original Manaka was famous for possessing such a connection.
After thinking it through, Charl came to a conclusion.
He explains that because she had transmigrated into Manaka's body before that connection was established, the Root had never recognized her. That was why she couldn't access it.
Not only that, her magecraft talent was also moderate. Even barely to be said a proper magus.
However, that wasn't the only strange thing about her.
Charl soon realized that Manaka possessed an abnormal kind of luck—so overwhelming that it could practically twist reality itself.
There were plenty of examples.
Once, the sky had been dark and rainy as they walked outside. Yet the moment Manaka stepped onto the street, the clouds suddenly parted. Sunlight poured down around her, and the rain stopped as if it had never existed.
Faced with such a scene, Manaka could only scratch her head awkwardly and laugh it off.
The more time Charl spent with her, the more he understood.
Although Manaka had no connection to the Root, and no remarkable talent as a magus…
She was clearly blessed by the world itself.
It was almost as if the world favored her existence.
Charl even began to suspect that she possessed EX-rank Luck. But over time, he stopped questioning it.
He simply got used to her absurdity.
....
Inside Charl's residence.
the two of them sat quietly in the living room, facing each other across the small table as the faint ticking of a clock filled the silence.
For a long while, neither of them spoke, as if both were carefully choosing their words. Eventually, Charl cleared his throat, breaking the stillness.
"So… what is it you wanted to talk about?" Charl asked, fixing Manaka with a questioning gaze.
"It's about the Holy Grail War," Manaka replied, letting out a weary sigh as she slowly shook her head.
Once again, silence settled over the room, her words lingering heavily in the air.
Charl knew it well—the Holy Grail War, a ritual infamous even among magi.
It was a bloody ceremony involving seven magi, each chosen as a Master and paired with a Servant of a different class, bound together by contracts and Command Spells.
Servants themselves were manifestations of Heroic Spirits—figures drawn from history, legend, and folklore—summoned from the Throne of Heroes, a place said to contain the records of countless heroes from throughout human history.
During the summoning, a Master could choose to use an artifact as catalyst, an item closely tied to a specific hero, which greatly increased the chance of summoning the Servant they desired.
Without one, however, the process became nothing more than a dangerous gamble, leaving the result entirely to fate.
Each Servant was assigned a class that reflected their legend, abilities, and the role they played during their lifetime.
Saber. Archer. Lancer. Rider. Caster.
Assassin. Berserker.
Those seven were the standard classes that participated in the Holy Grail War.
In rare and abnormal situations, however, a Servant of the Ruler class could appear—usually as an overseer when the Holy Grail War itself had gone dangerously off course.
The moment a Servant was summoned, their class was already fixed and could not be changed.
From that point on, Masters and Servants would clash with one another until only one pair remained, all for the sake of the Holy Grail—a mysterious artifact rumored to be capable of granting any wish.
That was everything Charl knew about the Holy Grail War.
Charl leaned back against the couch, his head resting on the cushion as he stared up at the ceiling, letting his thoughts drift.
"The Holy Grail War… huh?" he muttered.
"From the rumors I've heard, that you're also participating in it, right?"
Manaka let out a long, tired sigh.
"If I had the choice to not participate, I would,"
"But my master is insisting that I take part, no matter what."
She sighed again, this time rubbing her forehead with clear frustration, her brows tightly knit. It was obvious how much the situation weighed on her.
'I get it, Who in their right mind would want to take part in a bloody ritual like that?'
'And it wasn't just any Holy Grail War.'
'The Grail itself is already contaminated by All the World's Evils, A wish-granting device that twisted… that's nothing but trouble.'
Charl lowered his gaze from the ceiling and turned his head to look at her. Then with a wryly smile, he said.
"I see… So you came all the way here just to complain?"
He scratched the back of his head as he spoke.
"Of course not! I'm looking for a solution. I'm confused, okay? On one hand, I really don't want to participate at all… but on the other, the situation won't let me escape that fate."
As she spoke, her fingers fidgeted nervously in her lap, betraying her unease.
Charl couldn't help but chuckle softly at the sight.
"Oh? Complaining about fate, are we?" he said with a faint grin.
"You're a protagonist, have more confidence in yourself. Hmm.. I guess being one isn't as easy as it looks." He said, crossed his hand and closing his eyes, as if he trying to understand her pain.
"Ugh! Can you take this a little more seriously?!" Manaka snapped, glaring at him.
Her reaction only made Charl laugh again, though this time there was a hint of concern behind his amusement.
Charl raised both hands in surrender, the grin on his face softening.
"Alright, alright, I'm listening."
Manaka huffed, then leaned back into the couch, staring down at her own hands.
"It's not just the fighting," she admitted quietly.
"It's the expectations. Everyone keeps looking at me like I'm supposed to win. Like I'm some kind of genius who can solve everything."
She clenched her fingers.
"But I'm not," she continued.
"I don't have the connection to the Root. I don't have overwhelming talent. And if I make one mistake…" Her voice trailed off.
Charl watched her in silence for a moment.
"…You'll die," he finished calmly.
Manaka flinched, but nodded.
"That's Holy Grail War for you. No retries. No second chances." Charl said, his tone unusually serious.
Charl leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as his expression grew more serious.
"But here's the thing, If you can't win on your own, then you can win by summoning a powerful Servant."
"I did think about that, But I don't have any artifacts to use for the summoning." Manaka admitted.
Charl shifted slightly, one hand rubbing his chin as an idea formed in his mind.
"With the rumors going around about you participating in the Holy Grail War, there's no way Lorelei would just ignore the opportunity to get closer to her idols."
"She would've casually handed you a family artifact to summon a Servant… wouldn't she?" he said slowly, tilting his head.
"Uh… that's…" Manaka replied, her voice trailing off as she grew visibly nervous.
Charl looked at her for a moment, by the looks of her nervous face, he already deduced the answer.
He rubbed his chin again before speaking in the same calm tone.
"Let me guess, You tried to play it cool so you wouldn't look pathetic in front of her. She misunderstood and thought you were rejecting her help, so she left—right when you actually needed it most."
"...."
Manaka said nothing, but the expression on her face made it painfully obvious that he had hit the mark.
Charl let out a deep sigh.
'What a troublesome friend.'
Charl glanced at her again, then shook his head slowly, as if deeply disappointed.
"…You know, that might be the most worst protagonist troupe mistake I've ever heard."
"H-hey!"
He leaned back into the couch, folding his arms.
"Let me get this straight. The Heirs of one of the most influential families just offers you a perfectly good summoning artifact you wouldn't find it anywhere, and you decided to reject it out of pride?"
"I didn't reject it! I just—handled it… poorly."
"Oh, I'm sure you did, Congratulations. You managed to lose a free Servant before the war even started." Charl replied dryly.
She buried her face in her hands.
"Please stop…" she pleaded.
But Charl wasn't done.
"You know how most Masters struggle to get even one decent catalyst? Meanwhile, you're out here speedrunning the 'self-sabotage' route."
"That's not helping!"
He grinned, clearly enjoying himself.
"I mean, really. Blessed by the world, favored by fate, and yet defeated by basic communication."
Manaka peeked through her fingers, glaring at him.
"You're enjoying this way too much."
"Absolutely," Charl said without hesitation.
"This is what friends are for."
She groaned loudly and slumped back against the couch.
"…I hate you."
Charl chuckled.
"Relax. We'll fix it."
Her head snapped up.
"You will?"
"Of course," he said casually.
"It'd be boring if the protagonist died before the main story even reached its conclusion."
"Stop calling me that!"
Her shout echoed through the room, followed by Charl's quiet laughter.
"Fine, fine, then follow me."
Charl standing up, walking through the living room leaving her behind.
"W-what? Wait for me!"