Inside the school library, Ren could be seen sitting quietly at one of the tables, while in front of him lay a massive stack of papers.
"Hm… that's really a lot," he muttered, staring at the pile with mild annoyance. "I don't feel like going through so many things at once."
The stack of paper in front of him was the result of SCP-067 — The Artist's Pen. Even though Ren had commanded the pen to write only two years' worth of biography about the fake priest—along with every major thing he had done during that period—the amount of paper produced was still overwhelming.
You might wonder why Ren was sitting in the library while classes were still in session.
Well, the answer was simple.
From the very beginning, Ren had never been particularly interested in studying. The main reason he attended school was simply to make friends. After that objective was fulfilled, everything became much easier.
Using SCP-2030's Reality Manipulation, Ren subtly modified how people perceived his actions, ensuring that whatever explanation he gave would always sound completely reasonable.
For example, when Ren told his teacher that he needed to spend the entire morning in the library, Shizuka Hiratsuka naturally asked him for a reason.
Ren simply replied that his great-grandparent's aunt's son had recently been sent to jail and now needed a lawyer, and that, as a helpful relative, he wanted to research legal articles in the library so he could assist.
It was, by any normal standard, a completely absurd explanation.
Yet Hiratsuka-sensei only nodded in approval, even looking at him proudly—as if thinking that this was exactly the kind of compassionate student she had raised.
Ren had also discovered something interesting about SCP-2030's reality manipulation.
The system had described the ability as affecting only a single target, but when used on other people, the result could sometimes twist in unexpected ways. If Ren tried to influence someone to do A, the outcome might still become B—just in a strange, indirect manner.
However, when Ren targeted himself, the effect never twisted.
He remembered clearly that the system had once explained the reason: SCP abilities were loyal—or at least docile—toward him, but when used on others, their effects could behave according to the unpredictable nature of the SCPs themselves.
Which meant—
Using them on other people always carried a risk.
Ren glanced again at the mountain of paper in front of him and sighed quietly.
After going through the stack of papers for hours, Ren slowly frowned. The results were far more unexpected than he had imagined. This world was truly a chaotic mixture of many different fictional settings and stories, and the butterfly effect created by their interaction was incredibly strong.
First, the fake priests he had captured were actually part of a stray group operating under the devil faction of the Underworld.
Second, this group had been secretly planning to create an artificial Devil King, something that could be controlled and used as a pawn.
Third, the method they were experimenting with was, in simple terms, extremely reckless. They were using mass-produced devil chess pieces to reincarnate humans into devils. Normally, the chess pieces created by Ajuka Beelzebub worked perfectly and did not cause problems. However, these people were recklessly experimenting with them for their own purposes.
In this world, there existed many superhumans who stood on humanity's side, acting as a shield against supernatural beings. This group of devils took advantage of that fact. They kidnapped these superhumans and reincarnated them into devils using chess pieces.
Once reincarnated, the victims' power increased dramatically.
But the group was not satisfied with that.
They wanted to make these newly created devils even stronger—and at the same time completely controllable.
During their search for ways to strengthen them, this group discovered something unexpected.
They learned about the Holy Grail War, and even more dangerously, they learned about the event where the Einzbern family once summoned the Avenger-class servant, which eventually corrupted the Holy Grail.
Their new plan was simple.
They wanted to obtain more of the black mud that overflowed from the corrupted Grail and use it to enhance the reincarnated devils. After all, devils themselves were embodiments of the Seven Deadly Sins, so the malice spilling from the Grail was practically compatible with their nature.
And thus—
The Corrupted Devils were born.
However, because these reincarnated devils had originally been humans, the malice from the Grail did not synchronize perfectly with them. Instead of obedient weapons, they became unstable monsters that were hostile toward everything around them.
Of course, the devils could have used real devils as test subjects.
But that was impossible.
The devil race had an extremely low population. Fewer than a hundred new devils were born each year, making their race incredibly scarce. Using their own kind as experimental material was simply not an option.
Oh—and one more thing.
The mastermind behind this entire operation was the Naberius family, the very same family responsible for nearly driving the nekomata race to extinction.
Finally, Ren discovered the most important piece of information.
The Holy Grail War was going to begin in just three days.
And remember when Ren thought the butterfly effect in this world was strong?
In the original animation, the Fourth Holy Grail War began in 1994.
But now—
The year was 2021.
Ren decided that he would join the fun.
There was no reason for him to be afraid of it. With his current power, he could easily bulldoze through everything and end the entire situation within a single day.
However—
That wouldn't be fun.
Besides, every transmigrator who arrived during the Fourth Holy Grail War seemed to have a mission of their own.
And one mission appeared almost universal.
To save Sakura Tohsaka from that worm-obsessed monster.
Ren had the same intention.
After all, now that he knew a cute little girl like Sakura was about to be defiled and turned into a breeding ground for a swarm of disgusting worms by Zouken Matou, there was no way he could simply pretend he hadn't seen it and walk away.
Now that he had made his plan, it was better to act quickly. Ren didn't know exactly when the Tohsaka family would send Sakura to the Matou household, so delaying things could only make the situation worse.
Ren left the library and headed toward the teachers' room. After arriving in front of the door, he knocked lightly before entering.
Inside, he saw Shizuka Hiratsuka sitting at her desk, busy marking a stack of test papers.
"Sensei, sorry to bother you," Ren said politely, "but I'm planning to take a leave for at least a week. Is that okay?"
Hearing this, Hiratsuka immediately frowned.
"Brat," she said, putting down her pen. "The school year just started, and you've only been here for a little over a week. And now you want to take a leave for another week?"
As she spoke, her palm slowly curled into a fist. If Ren failed to give a convincing explanation, she was clearly ready to demonstrate just how heavy the punch of a martial arts master could be.
"Now give me a reasonable explanation," she continued, narrowing her eyes, "or else…"
"Well, teacher, calm down," Ren replied casually. "You see, my mother's sister-in-law's granddaughter's great-aunt's uncle told me that their daughter just got into trouble after arriving in Tokyo, and he asked me to help solve the situation and let her stay at my place for a while."
He delivered the absurd explanation as naturally as breathing.
"Oh, right," Ren added, as if remembering something important. "She's still eight years old, so I hope you can let me go."
Hiratsuka stared at him blankly for a moment.
"…Your family's relatives are really… complicated," she said slowly.
Then she waved her hand dismissively.
"Ah, whatever. Just go. Take care of her, and don't let her get into trouble."
"Haha, thanks, Sensei," Ren said with a grin as he walked out of the teachers' room.
Deep down, he really had to thank SCP-2030 for its contribution. Having reality manipulation really makes your life easier!
After leaving the teachers' room, Ren didn't waste any time.
Instead of going back to class, he quietly left the school grounds and walked toward a secluded corner behind the campus building. Once he confirmed that no one was nearby, the space in front of him distorted slightly.
A thin crack appeared in the air.
Then it widened.
Ren stepped through the portal.
A moment later, he reappeared inside his house.
"Alright… preparation time," he muttered to himself.
Compared to other people who would need to pack luggage and supplies before leaving for a trip, Ren's preparation was extremely simple. Most things he needed could be stored inside his dimensional space anyway, so there was no need to bring a large suitcase.
He only grabbed a small bag to avoid attracting attention.
After making sure everything was in order, Ren opened another portal and stepped through it once again.
This time—
He arrived near the train station.
The station was bustling with people coming and going, completely unaware that someone capable of tearing open space itself had just arrived nearby.
Ren walked in naturally and bought a ticket to Fuyuki City, blending into the crowd without drawing any attention.
Soon, the train arrived.
After boarding, Ren found an empty seat and leaned back comfortably.
The trip wasn't particularly long, and most of the time he simply closed his eyes and rested while occasionally thinking about the information he had read earlier from the priest's biography.
Three days until the Holy Grail War.
And somewhere in that city—
A small girl was about to be handed over to a house of nightmares.
Several hours later, the train finally arrived in Fuyuki City.
Ren stepped off the train and stretched slightly.
"…So this is Fuyuki."
The city itself looked peaceful on the surface. Cars passed by normally, pedestrians walked along the streets, and nothing about the place suggested that a deadly supernatural war was about to begin here.
But Ren knew better.
The first thing he did was book a hotel room.
He chose a relatively normal business hotel and paid for a full week of stay. The receptionist didn't ask too many questions, and soon he received his room key.
After entering the room, Ren placed his small bag on the table and walked toward the window.
From here, the city lights stretched far into the distance.
"…Alright," he murmured.
"Time to start working."
Ren sat down on the bed and began organizing the information he had gathered.
His first target was obvious.
The Tokiomi Tohsaka household.
If his memory was correct, Sakura would soon be sent away from the Tohsaka Residence and handed over to the Matou family.
Which meant—
If he wanted to intercept the situation cleanly, he needed to observe the Tohsaka household first.
Ren stood up.
A faint ripple spread through the air around him.
By using SCP-2030 traits, he began scanning the city quietly.
Locating a magus household wasn't difficult for someone like him.
A moment later—
Ren smiled faintly.
"…Found it."
The Tokiomi Tohsaka residence had already appeared within his perception.
And now—
It was time to see what was happening there.
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(Author's Note: SCP-2030's "Laugh is Fun" ability is a bit weird and complicated. If you want the full explanation, feel free to search it on YouTube. But if you don't want to bother with that, here's the short version for example the host of SCP-2030 can find someone and teleport them straight into the show, and this what Ren did, the fact that he was able to scan and find someone in fuyuki easily)