【From afar, Pativia saw a sea of flowers.】

【To her amazement, these were organic flowers blooming atop inorganic matter. Green stems and leaves poked through the metallic'soil' beneath her feet, growing denser and thicker. These flowers grew amidst the foliage, blooming as if no one else existed.】

【Strolling through the sea of flowers, Pativia soon came upon that tombstone.】

【It stood in the center of the floral sea, so tall one had to tilt their head back to see the top. Shaped like an inverted triangle, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, it was like a giant sword thrust into the heart of the earth. Its silhouette was now dilapidated; one could imagine the builder piling up metal from the graveyard alone, crafting the tombstone before her bit by bit.】

【It was as if Rupert II had long foreseen his own Death, specifically leaving this undisturbed cenotaph for himself at the edge of his throne.】

【Pativia stepped forward cautiously. Before the tombstone, she saw a unique inorganic flower. The buds were hypoeutectic alloy, the stems were transistors and copper wires, and the fragrance of rust and machine oil mingled with the scent of flowers.】

【She called up the origin-tracing model, but that mysterious signal had quietly vanished, simply because she was already at the eye of the storm. It took her a long time to digest this fact, while the star overhead fell three times. Then, she had to spend even longer digesting another fact.】

【At the source of the soliton, the core of the Staff system, was the star itself.】

——

Fate/Today's Menu for the Emiya Family.

"I didn't realize Rupert II was quite the romantic, making his cenotaph so beautiful." Rin Tohsaka surveyed the sea of flowers on the Celestial Screen with disbelief. In a world of Inorganic Life, this sea of organic flowers seemed out of place, yet growing in this desolate world, it possessed a unique sense of sanctity.

An emperor who tried to use an army of Inorganic Life to eliminate all organic life, yet a sea of flowers grows before his grave... it was truly eerie yet harmonious.

"Logically, Rupert II had already determined himself to be an inorganic lifeform by this point. Would an inorganic lifeform have the aesthetic for these fresh flowers?" Lancer was sitting in his chair without a shred of decorum, his red eyes staring fixedly at the inverted-triangle tombstone. Compared to this sea of flowers, it was clear that this bare tombstone better suited Rupert II's aesthetic.

"They were probably planted by someone who came later, right? Like that woman named Polka-Kakamond... She killed two of her fellow Geniuses in a row; it's quite understandable to leave a bouquet at a colleague's grave." Archer shook his head with a light chuckle. "Judging by her record, this woman could be considered the strongest Assassin in the universe. Two assassinations saved the cosmos twice. I really wonder which genius she'll aim her scalpel at next?"

"Madam Herta?" Emiya Shirou guessed.

"Unlikely," Rin Tohsaka reflexively denied. "From what we've seen, Polka-Kakamond's two targets were both inorganic emperors who posed the greatest threat to the cosmos. Unless Madam Herta develops some extreme desire to slaughter the cosmos or purge humanity, Polka has no reason to kill her."

"Is it really just about purging threats to the cosmos?" Hearing Rin's words, Archer couldn't help but laugh. "...Rin, the way you describe her, this Ms. Polka doesn't sound like a genius, but a hero guarding the peace of the cosmos."

"But looking at the results, she is the hero who successfully protected the cosmos." Rin puffed out her cheeks and poked Archer's chest. "Then you tell me, if it wasn't to protect the cosmos and stop the inorganic legion's slaughter, why would Polka risk her life to kill her own colleagues?"

"Fine, I don't know either, but I bet it wasn't for some vision like 'peace' or'salvation'." Archer shrugged. "She must have her own goals... it's just that none of us can know her true thoughts right now."

——

【The School War is often criticized by historians as being misnamed. Compared to many events spanning dozens of Eras, its duration was too brief, confined to conflicts within the Intelligentsia Guild, and lacking a profound impact on the galaxy—like a fragile butterfly.】

【Standing before the core of the Staff. Terror, excitement, adrenaline, and dopamine stimulated her emotions, causing her thoughts to freeze momentarily. Pativia felt a sense of anger for no reason—an anger born of being blinded by ignorance. She lost all desire, leaving only the impulse to seek knowledge.】

【The so-called inorganic bionic neuron clusters were nothing more than a crude imitation of Nous. The Emperor created a celestial-level computational interference device, giving it the processing power to provide answers, but failed to grant them the function to 【ask questions】.】

【Asking no individual, relying only on his own mind. Because of this, he was the Emperor, requiring no investiture from an Aeon's Authority. With infinitely extending equations, a gaze spanning the cosmos, and a mind expanded by the Staff, he molded himself into the ideal Perfect Scholar.】

【He was the sole nucleus within the nervous system composed of the Staff. Upon his throne of cast iron, he crowned himself!】

——

Ling Cage.

"Self-coronation?! Good grief... that's some boldness. No wonder he's an inorganic emperor and a member of the Genius Society," Shanda marveled.

"But after completing his self-coronation, Rupert II should have become the human closest to Nous in the cosmos. Even if his Staff system was just a crude imitation of Nous, it's not something an ordinary genius could even hope to compare with." Bai Yuekui thought it more and more suspicious. The strength of Emperor Rupert II after his self-coronation likely far exceeded that of an ordinary Emanator. How could such a person die? She couldn't imagine it at all.

Shouldn't an organic lifeform like Polka-Kakamond have been locked onto the moment she entered his inorganic empire? Let alone pulling off an assassination so blatantly.

"Could it be that Polka isn't just an ordinary genius? Or perhaps she herself is an extremely powerful Emanator of Erudition?"

"Does the opportunity for self-coronation now fall to Pativia?" Xu Tong suddenly realized this. Now that this Scholar was standing before the Staff, it seemed all she had to do was nod, and she could perfectly inherit Emperor Rupert II's legacy!

"She is the person within the Intelligentsia Guild closest to being a genius!"

Without a doubt, this was a massive temptation.

Shanda even began to fantasize about the scene of himself sitting on the Iron Throne and completing his self-coronation. He didn't ask for the Staff system to grant him immense wisdom; he just wanted to ensure he could calculate his opponents' tiles perfectly when playing Mahjong in the future.

Just based on that alone, he found it hard to refuse the temptation of self-coronation.

To this end, Shanda urged somewhat impatiently, "What is this girl waiting for? Hurry up and complete the self-coronation! The thing she's been pursuing so painstakingly is right before her eyes. Why has she stopped now that it's within reach?"