The next day came quickly, and surprisingly, Jiang You got up early for once.
Turns out, dangling a dream really does work. Medea had been working like she was on a caffeine binge and singlehandedly set up the entire venue overnight. Even with her Servant body, she uncharacteristically showed signs of exhaustion.
Jiang You made a mental note: this tactic works. He'd definitely use it again.
"The venue can currently hold up to 200,000 people. That's the spatial expansion limit. I figure that's good enough to cover about a fifth of Fuyuki's population."
Medea was truly giving it her all, and the amount of mana drained had left Atrum visibly shriveled. When Jiang You picked him up, the box holding him had some empty space, causing him to rattle noisily—definitely ruined the handfeel.
Hundred-Faces quickly found a better fitting container, but Jiang You thought it looked too small and unbalanced. So he stuffed the gaps with cotton.
"I don't know if I should call you considerate or sadistic."
Medea looked at Atrum's pleading eyes and twitched her lips. Even when she siphoned mana from others, she made it quick. Jiang You's methods, though, gave her a bit of the creeps.
"That's exactly the point."
A guy who used people as batteries was now literally turned into one. How poetic. Still, Atrum's torment would soon end. After the duels, there likely wouldn't even be a Holy Grail War anymore. Just crown the tournament winner and be done with it.
"I scheduled your match for the second half. You deserve some rest. But hey, if you lose, don't go blaming me."
"I'm not that petty."
Medea rolled her eyes. Who was it again acting all hands-off? She was a Caster, and this so-called organizer knew zero magecraft. She'd been the one doing all the work.
"You've got some nerve. Weren't you the one insisting this should be a fair, pure dueling tournament with no backstage interference?"
"I just put your match second. The other three were actual random draws, so it doesn't count as rigging."
Jiang You declared that as the organizer, he had infinite authority. The rules were his to make. Why would he hesitate?
"Also, if you want to choose your opponent, that's fine too. We're on the same side—no need to be that formal. It's a battle of strength anyway, not cheating."
"I recorded that. I'm going to play it for that little girl. She's been cooperating with your little game so nicely, and you're out here doing all this nonsense. Should be a fun reaction."
After Jiang You had explained the manifestation form of his Noble Phantasm yesterday, Medea had warmed up to him a bit. Now she could joke with him openly.
"Mercy, please!"
Jiang You surrendered immediately. Illyasviel clearly wanted to defeat him fair and square within his Noble Phantasm. If she heard this, her affection might take a nosedive—and he had a thing about maxing female characters' affection meters.
"I'm going to go restore some mana and get ready. Soul Crystals are pretty tempting, after all. If anything comes up, go to Jason. Don't be shy—order him around however you want."
With that, Medea went off to rest, leaving Jason to Jiang You.
"Finally, that woman's taking a break."
Even though Medea had supposedly set up the venue by herself, Jason had been stuck doing all the grunt work all night.
"Just so we're clear—if I win the championship, you have to let me go!"
"You'll have to ask Medea. Even if you win, she decides. If she agrees, fine."
Jiang You noted to himself that Medea's affection had only just gone up—he couldn't risk letting it drop again.
"Didn't you summon her?! Come on, Caster, have a heart. Just get me away from her and I'll do anything!"
It was rare to see a Servant look so exhausted. Medea had clearly cut off Jason's mana supply, keeping him just barely maintained. He stepped forward and grabbed Jiang You's arm.
"I'll do anything!"
"This ain't FGO, pal."
Jiang You thought Jason didn't even have the right to promise that—he had no freedom of his own.
He'd said before that in the myths, Medea was the problematic one, but in the Nasuverse, it wasn't so clear-cut. You could blame Nasu for not thinking things through when he wrote this stuff—same goes for the likes of Qin Shi Huang and Jing Ke. Jing Ke's eyes might never get "patched," so to speak.
Medea's affection rewards hadn't included Heracles so far. Whether he'd be available in later affection tiers was still unknown. But once they left the "Exiter" scenario, Illyasviel's deck would be usable again. She could then just draw Heracles like a normal card. A card that could be summoned from inside a toilet? Who wouldn't want that?
Honestly, Jason might be even more tempting than Medea—he definitely had Heracles in his deck.
Jiang You rested his chin on his hand, thinking about how to raise Jason's affection level without tanking Medea's.
"Once Medea gets bored of you, she'll probably let you go."
Nothing came to mind, so Jiang You gave up thinking. In any case, he had to finish the tournament first.
He shook off Jason's hand and walked away while Jason struck a tragic pose like some melodrama character.
There was still post-match work to coordinate with Hundred-Faces. The finals were almost here.
Once the news was out that Ryuudou Temple would host the final duel, Hundred-Faces quickly spread it far and wide. The number of people calling in sick in Fuyuki skyrocketed, tanking the economy.
Many had even set up tents at the base of the mountain, hoping to grab the best seats. Hundred-Faces, doubling as staff and security, caught several fans trying to sneak over the fence. If they wandered too far, they'd end up activating Medea's defensive magic.
To normal people, magic had always been something of legend. Now they had the chance to witness it up close—and even meet real mythological figures! Who wouldn't be thrilled? Everyone wanted to be part of this once-in-a-lifetime magical adventure.
Fan clubs even started forming on the spot—and began arguing before the duels even started.
"Minamoto no Raikou will absolutely one-shot Heracles!"
"One-shot my ass! Heracles is unbeatable!"
"Support our local Servants! Raikou for the win!"
"Am I the only one who thinks Shinji beating a Servant as a mortal was badass? Crest Worms number one!"
Yeah... humanity's always been a little weird.
Amid the growing hype, a helicopter from a local TV station rapidly approached. As the doors swung open, a man in a Victorian-style suit leapt from 100 meters above and landed perfectly atop Ryuudou Temple's gate. His coattails flapped wildly in the wind.
"Welcome, everyone, to Duel City—Fuyuki!"
Jiang You spread his arms wide and shouted to the crowd:
"The first-ever Duel City finals officially begin now! Duelists! Come forth and claim your glory and rewards!"