"The true identity of the Caster-class Servant in the Fourth Holy Grail War..."
"Gilles de Rais—a famous black magician in European history. He was also one of the real-life inspirations behind the villain 'Bluebeard' from Western fairy tales."
"Born in France in 1405, he was a nobleman with his own territory from birth. During the Hundred Years' War between England and France, he fought alongside France's national heroine, Saint Joan of Arc, and was once celebrated as a national hero himself."
"However, after Joan was captured, Gilles de Rais suffered a severe mental blow. He withdrew to his lands at Machecoul and Tiffauges, where he immersed himself in the study of alchemy."
"He hoped to discover the secret of transmutation through blood, but sank deeper and deeper into madness. It is said that he tortured and killed more than three hundred children, and was ultimately executed by burning at the stake."
"It feels a bit similar to the legends of Vlad III the Impaler and Bloody Mary."
"The historical experiences of this figure are basically consistent with those from my previous world. However, this world has preserved far more historical records and folklore related to him. The same applies to the legends surrounding the other Heroic Spirits."
"For 'Fate/Zero', that's actually good news. The more concrete the historical basis of a character, the greater the impact they'll have on the audience."
Rubbing his chin, Kamiyā Yuu carefully studied the historical records of Gilles de Rais displayed on his computer screen, marveling at how well history had been preserved in this world.
In his previous world, the records concerning this figure felt more like a vague legend.
In this world, however, the records were almost equivalent to hard evidence.
From the ruins of Gilles de Rais's residences to crude ancient illustrations, and even countless detailed folk accounts, everything seemed remarkably convincing.
Kamiyā Yuu could not help wondering whether there truly had once been a madman in history who murdered over three hundred children.
He had only spent a few minutes reviewing Gilles de Rais's historical records when a new email notification appeared on his company messaging account.
*Click. Click.*
He opened it with a double-click of his mouse.
This time, it contained detailed information regarding Iskandar, the Rider-class Servant of the Fourth Holy Grail War.
The densely packed text and illustrations totaled dozens of pages.
Like most of the records concerning Gilles de Rais, the majority of Iskandar's materials had been compiled in English. Some sections even contained Ancient Greek text that Kamiyā Yuu could not read.
"Iskandar—the Arabic name of Alexander the Great."
"Born in Pella, the capital of the Kingdom of Macedon, he once studied under the famous Greek scholar Aristotle. He accompanied his father on military campaigns at the age of eighteen and inherited the throne at twenty."
"He was one of the greatest military geniuses in European history and the most renowned conqueror of the Macedonian Empire."
"Possessing extraordinary talent and courage, he led his armies across Europe, Asia, and Africa, spreading Greek civilization far and wide."
"He was honored as the 'King of Conquerors' and remains one of history's most famous military commanders and statesmen."
"During his lifetime, he led his armies eastward in an unending campaign. His greatest wish was to reach 'the end of the world' and personally witness the legendary 'Oceanus,' the boundless sea."
"In the Fourth Holy Grail War, he is summoned as a Rider-class Servant."
Memories of the original character information surfaced in Kamiyā Yuu's mind.
Surprised, he looked up from his computer screen toward Kamiyā Sora, who was lying on the sofa in his office, playing with a laptop.
"Sora, you've already gathered the information for the fourth character? At this rate, my novel writing is actually falling behind."
During this period, Kamiyā Yuu had not been writing the main story of 'Fate/Zero'.
Taking into account the need to supplement the content and coordinate with the anime's airing schedule, he planned to release heavily revised biographies of the seven Heroic Spirits throughout June, at a pace of roughly one character every four days.
The completed Saber volume was the longest so far, totaling around two hundred thousand words.
The next one would cover Gilles de Rais, the Caster-class Servant of the Fourth Holy Grail War, and was expected to be around one hundred thousand words.
These stories were not easy to write.
Kamiyā Yuu was certain that if 'Fate/Zero' itself did not exist, nobody would read these heavily altered historical biographies.
Their purpose was to reconstruct each character's personality and obsessions through historical records, thereby emphasizing the ideological conflicts that would later emerge in the Holy Grail War.
Kamiyā Sora wore a fitted black women's business suit.
Her slender legs, wrapped in black stockings beneath her professional skirt, looked so delicate that they seemed as though they could be encircled with one hand.
Lying on the sofa in Kamiyā Yuu's office, she appeared every bit as relaxed and casual as she did at home.
Meeting his gaze, she responded softly:
"Mm. It was too troublesome, so I wanted to finish it sooner."
"And your writing speed is very fast, Yuu. If I'm not careful, I might end up slowing you down instead."
As Kamiyā Yuu's nominal special assistant, gathering information was an important part of her job.
Anime production often requires extensive research into numerous topics.
No director could personally handle every detail, so animation studios commonly employed unofficial "know-it-alls" whose specialty was finding information.
For example, if an anime was set during World War II, someone needed to research the era's social environment, firearms, aircraft, and tanks.
Directors with plenty of time and particularly meticulous personalities might even travel overseas to museums to examine the actual artifacts in person.
Although she complained about it being troublesome, she had still completed the task on her own initiative.
The surprise on Kamiyā Yuu's face filled her with a subtle sense of pride and satisfaction that even she herself had not noticed.
As she became more familiar with Yosuganosora Animation Studio, there were increasingly more ways in which she could help him.
In truth, she had never considered ordinary work troublesome.
When she pushed tasks onto Kamiyā Yuu instead, it was probably just another way of acting spoiled.
Closing her laptop, Kamiyā Sora sat up and stretched her slender body lazily.
She placed the laptop on a nearby table before lying back down on the sofa.
"Yuu, I'm going to sleep for a while."
"You worked hard. What do you want for dinner tonight?"
Watching her yawn sleepily, Kamiyā Yuu thought for a moment before asking.
"Fried hamburger steak."
She paused briefly.
"Yuu, is this a reward?"
"Mm. I won't deny that it's partly a reward."
"Then make it crispier this time, and don't put any vegetables in it."
Fried hamburger steak was one of Kamiyā Sora's favorite foods.
However, because Kamiyā Yuu always considered nutritional balance, he usually added vegetables.
Taking advantage of this rare reward, Kamiyā Sora immediately exercised her "special privilege" and removed the things she disliked.
—Once in a while shouldn't hurt.
Kamiyā Yuu smiled helplessly and nodded.
"Then come grocery shopping with me after work."
"Mm."