Chapter Eighty-Nine: An Unexpected New Spirit Contract Partner

After the voices of Gilgamesh and Kirei Kotomine faded away, the Tohsaka mansion once again sank into silence, broken only by the crackling of shattered wood burning in the flames.

But soon, a new figure appeared here.

Out of the pitch-black shadows, Roland slowly stepped forward. With an odd look, he gazed at the face of Tokiomi Tohsaka lying at his feet, disbelief still frozen upon it after the flesh and blood that had clung together could no longer bear the weight of the head, causing it to roll slowly to the ground. Roland idly brushed his fingers over the Key of All Spirits in his hand for the first time in a long while.

“To think I would find it so easily after searching so hard. The mages I killed myself did not qualify to become spirit contracts, yet you, the overlooked one, have crossed that threshold.”

Roland had only come to confirm whether Kirei Kotomine's line would develop as he had anticipated, but instead he had stumbled upon an unexpected delight.

The power of the Key of All Spirits was already in motion. Tokiomi Tohsaka actually possessed the qualifications to become a spirit contract; this truly exceeded Roland's expectations.

Though turning Tokiomi Tohsaka into a spirit contract would not be of much help to Roland at his current level, it was, after all, the first spirit contract he had created himself. He still felt some anticipation.

Before long, amid the circulation of silver light, the information for the new spirit contract unfolded before Roland's eyes.

— Spirit Contract [Tokiomi Tohsaka] (Uncontracted)

Manifestation: A charming little mustache will grow beneath your chin.

Effect: Under the influence of Tokiomi Tohsaka, your wariness toward those around you will greatly diminish. So long as you gain someone's trust, it becomes very difficult for you to doubt them. In addition, you will grow prone to carelessness; whenever you are at a critical juncture, countless factors will cause events to drift away from their expected course. Furthermore, Tokiomi Tohsaka demands that you uphold elegance at all times.

Granted abilities:

Magic Circuits: You possess the aptitude to probe the mysteries. In the number of magic circuits, you receive a bonus equal to Tokiomi Tohsaka's standard while he was alive.

Excellent Head of the House: You know how to manage a family. Whenever you become the head of a household, you can always run it with order and keep it profitable.

Ordinary Magus: In knowledge of the mystic arts, you receive a bonus equal to Tokiomi Tohsaka's standard while he was alive. Moreover, as your understanding deepens, you will gradually become lacking in empathy.

Digestive Requirement: In a grand ritual with at least seven participants, you must always win with elegance and composure.

"Calling that subtle would already be praise," Roland muttered, staring at the spirit contract in his hand with a strange expression. He did not even want to voice any contempt, as though doing so would lower his own dignity.

Other spirit contracts might split cost and ability evenly, but here, with Tokiomi Tohsaka, it was all cost, and every single one of them was maddeningly subtle. To say the contract was entirely useless would also be inaccurate; after all, it could barely be considered an aptitude for pursuing the mystic arts. But if one were to say it was useful, the dense cluster of negative traits alone was enough to make anyone recoil.

Costs like losing caution, maintaining elegance, and even a warped sense of values—if this had been the Roland of just after his transmigration, he might have gritted his teeth and accepted them for the sake of survival. But the curse that made one fail at the critical moment was something Roland would never, under any circumstances, agree to.

From the way Rin Tohsaka had behaved, it seemed this curse within the bloodline varied from person to person; as long as one's own conditions improved, the errors brought by the curse were limited, and would not drive someone completely to ruin.

Even so, combined with the other costs Tokiomi Tohsaka imposed, it was practically the perfect tool for a backstabbing expendable.

"The moment I made a contract with the old sword, this spirit contract landed in my hands. It really does feel as though you're hinting at something."

Looking at the Key of All Spirits in his hand, Roland sighed.

"What should I do with this spirit contract next?"

No rule stated that one had to form contracts with spirit contracts. The Key of All Spirits was merely an item; it had no force of compulsion.

How to use it was entirely up to Roland, its wielder. Even if he left it alone, nothing would happen.

But wasting such a rare spirit contract still left Roland somewhat troubled.

After all, a spirit contract this ominous felt unsettling to keep at one's side. It would be better to resolve it quickly.

Though only he could use the Key of All Spirits to digest spirit contracts harmlessly, the power of a spirit contract did not affect only him.

"If I casually toss it onto some fellow, could it work like a curse? Though I would also have to consider compatibility... after all, once separated from the Key of All Spirits, a spirit contract becomes a wild calamity."

As Roland pondered, he reestablished contact with the Key of All Spirits and cast Tokiomi Tohsaka into the silver vortex it had formed.

"If there's a chance next time, I can verify it then."

Yes, Roland had already decided how to use Tokiomi Tohsaka's spirit contract.

Key of All Spirits

— Spirit contracts held: Soul of the Holy Lord (Contracted), Tokiomi Tohsaka (Contributed)

— Spirit contract draws: 1

— Status: Traversable

Only when reclaiming a new spirit contract could one obtain a draw from the entire pool of Key of All Spirits contracts, but even that was not absolute.

During the journey, if the master of the Key of All Spirits created a spirit contract that was of no use, it could also be offered back to the Key of All Spirits in exchange for a new draw.

However, this draw had limits.

It was restricted to worlds possessed by the contracts the user had contracted or digested, and the result was not necessarily a spirit contract. If one's luck was poor, one might obtain something that was not even a spirit contract at all, merely useless odds and ends.

"How should I choose?"

Roland looked at the two worlds available to him: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and Jackie Chan Adventures.

After pondering for a while, Roland directly sent his consciousness into the vortex symbolizing JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.

Although Jackie Chan Adventures might yield items with a higher ceiling, to be honest, Roland did not lack power at the moment. Rather, he was already overwhelmed trying to complete himself. Thus, even after gaining a new spirit contract draw, he had not acted on it.

But the world represented by Stands was different. Though it did not appear as overwhelmingly powerful, it brimmed with possibility.

And conveniently, Roland happened to need something very much.

Among the key factors for ascension to heaven, besides a Stand, a friend, the password symbolizing experience, and the courage to discard one's Stand, Roland also had no exact idea what sort of soul and ritual he required.

After all, this was something DIO had realized only after many years of refinement and by the selection of fate itself. The original Roland had intended to fill in the missing pieces slowly, using knowledge from various worlds as reference until he found a ritual suited to himself.

But if he could have someone who understood that ritual to serve as a reference, it would surely save much time and effort.

Roland reached into the vortex, following his instincts as he grasped what he had caught, then withdrew it. At once, the corners of his mouth began to lift uncontrollably.

This new spirit contract, compared with the others that were as complete and flawless as jewels, was plainly damaged. Even the soft blue light it emitted could not make up for that.

But the moment Roland saw its name, he understood: fate still stood on his side. At this point, as for the effect of combining a suitably compatible target with a spirit contract, he would surely be seeing the result very soon.

— [Spirit Contract Fragment - Enrico Pucci]

And that's the end. By the way, a quick report on the backlog: the first-day subscription count was 4,900. My sincere thanks to all the readers for your support of Fat Little Bird. According to the previous extra-update rules, that's six additional chapters. Including tips, plus the backlog from the new-book period, that's four more. Monthly tickets add up to one more. In total, I still owe eleven chapters. Fat Little Bird is still adjusting to the pace of 8,000 words a day, and I hope to finish paying it all back before the next volume ends...

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