Benienma

TIP

Note: This material is translated by u/Konchew

Info

Bio-Data

• Class: Saber
• True Name: Benienma, the Tongue-Cut Sparrow
• Gender: Female
• Source: Japanese folk tales, Uji Shūi Monogatari
• Region: Japan
• Alignment: Lawful Good
• Height: 130cm
• Weight: ??kg

Meta

• Scenario Writer: Nasu Kinoko
• Character Design: Harada Takehito
• CV: Kuno Misaki
• Main Appearance: Fate/Grand Order

Stats

Parameters	Values
Strength	D
Constitution	E
Agility	A++
Magical Power	B
Luck	B
Noble Phantasm	B

While her Luck stat is originally C, taking into account that she met a person like the Old Man even while suffering from misfortune, its rank must be higher than that - or so the person in question believes. And so, that's how it turned out.

Class Skills

Mind’s Eye (False): [A]

Resistance against penalties incurred from visual impairments.

The ability to foresee danger thanks to natural talent that one could liken to a sixth sense or a sense of foreboding.

I'm leaving the fact that I feel a connection with a certain Sasaki because of the completely identical technique and ability unsaid on purpose; when I meet that sham of a samurai, I’ll cut him down. Such are the thoughts Benienma harbors.

Basket of the Stars (Big): [EX]

The first secret art of the Enjaku Sewing (Sword Drawing) Technique. The Wicker Basket of Retribution.

Two dice-like wicker baskets are taken out of the Straw Raincoat of the Sage and unsealed.

The unsealed baskets materialize as a large basket roughly 1 meter across and a small basket that's roughly 30 cm across.

The Wicker Basket of Retribution reduces every enemy's NP gauge, removes skill seal from her party, and as a bonus restores the enemies' HP by a very small amount (300~500).

No matter how much of an unreasonable fate it forces on the opponent, its essence as a present is not lost. That's how Benienma does things.

Basket of the Stars (Small): [EX]

The second secret art of the Enjaku Sewing (Sword Drawing) Technique. The Wicker Basket of Gratitude.
A stupidly broken cheat skill.

It buffs the attack power of the party, charges their NP, and also heals them. The heck is this, how scary.

And then, for some reason, it also restores the enemies' HP a little (800~1000).

Leaving aside how much favorable development it grants to its own team, its appearance as a gift must be kept. That’s how Benienma does things.

Personal Skills

Magic Resistance: [A]

Even though she is an Assassin by nature, since class-wise she is a Saber, she possesses high Magic Resistance.

Presence Concealment: [A]

Even though class-wise she is a Saber, since she is an Assassin by nature, she possesses high Presence Concealment. So which one is it.

Independent Action: [A]

The blessing of the "Straw Raincoat of the Sage" that conceals the form of its wearer and alleviates the compelling force of the world that would forcibly erase one from the present world. Benienma can act without burdening her Master.

Ventriloquism: [EX]

The result of the intensive training undertaken to be able to converse with others even with her tongue cut out. Skill seals targeted at her are invalidated.

Noble Phantasm(s)

Judgment of the Ten Rulers of the Afterlife・Travel of the Wicker Basket

• Rank: A
• Classification: Anti-Unit Noble Phantasm
• Range: 1
• Maximum number of targets: 1

Juuou Hanketsu・Tsudzura no Michiyuki.

The third secret art of the Enjaku Sewing (Sword Drawing) Technique.

The wicker basket that calls forth calamity is summoned and unsealed.

The hyakki yakou (in truth, just a bunch of sparrows) emerging from the basket throw the enemy into disorder and seal them inside.

Afterwards, they are transported to the inn of the sparrows where, in the tatami room of the sparrows who dressed up as the Ten Kings of Hell (Ten kings with jurisdiction over the dead. King Enma is one of them.), they receive Benienma’s sword of judgment.

Deals bonus damage against those with the "Chaotic" and/or "Evil" traits. Servants with both traits receive the full-course judging by default.

Sparrow Reversal

• Rank: C
• Classification: Anti-Unit Noble Phantasm
• Range: 1
• Maximum number of targets: 1

Suzume Gaeshi.

The zeroth secret art of the Enjaku Sewing (Sword Drawing) Technique.

The briefest, smallest and deepest iai battoujutsu[1] where, having grasped the instant the opponent opens their mouth from having their breathing thrown into disorder, she transforms into her original size (sparrow size) and closes the distance at a speed that one can not perceive, before cutting out only the opponent's tongue.

"I won't take your life. However, that duplicitous tongue of yours won't be forgiven"

A secret technique overflowing with such a Benienma's kindness.

...Is how it was supposed to be, but, going "Nonetheless, battles are not so sweet that one can survive them with only this much", she modified the technique.

It has been converted into the disciplinary art of the devil where, at first, she rushes at the opponent and performs six spinning slashes (nicknamed Sextuple Sparrow); then, the moment the opponent lets out a voice of anguish from the intense pain, she aims for the inside of their mouth and performs a tongue-cutting needlework finish. Other than causing great damage, it also seals their skills for three turns.

(It is not used in Fate/GO)

Character

Pronouns

First person pronoun: Achiki (when in Master's company, she refers to herself as "Beni" if nobody is around to see)

Second person pronoun: Okyaku-sama (dear guest)/(for those she is not that familiar with) Omae-sama/○○-sama

She went through intensive training so she could properly pronounce the "sama" suffix.

She simply refers to her students by name such as "Tamamo", "Kiyohime" "Tomoe". However, in Tomoe and Suzuka's cases, when they are not present, she properly adds the "sama" suffix to their names. The reason she does not uses the suffix when she is before them is due to her mentality that as a teacher she can not spoil her students. This is due to her personality which cares more about the improvement of her students' skills than being hated by them due to her strictness.

Third person pronoun: Omae-samagata/Mina-chan (everyone)

○Ways of referring to the Master: Omae-sama/Goshujin (lord/master)

When she is very relaxed or excited, she uses "Danna-sama"[2]

Verbal tic

She expresses herself neatly, presenting her business and intentions straightforwardly without saying more than necessary.

The way she speaks gives off a sense of distance as if she was standing a single step away.

She may seem cool and taciturn, but that's simply because she is reserved and worried about invading the other party's comfort zone and displeasing them.

Due to "having a cut-out tongue" being the Tongue-Cut Sparrow's identity, her words are all said with a lisp. Since the "sa" column of the Japanese syllabary table (sa, shi, su, se, so) are pronounced with a lisp, ~desu becomes dechi.

The "sen" part of ~shimasen and ~ariemasen end up as "chen". Since she is embarrassed by this, she does her best to end her sentences with "~nanodechi".

In case the su becoming chi would not make sense because of the flow of the dialogue, she turns it them into chu. Words such as "agemasu kara" or "sou shimasu yo"[3] become "agemachu kara" and "sou shimachu yo".

Personality

Active, but withdrawn.

While she might have a charming appearance, she's more of a swordswoman than a young girl, with the disposition of a government official.

She is very earnest and prudent, therefore, she will earnestly respond to the other party, regardless of who they might be.

While it may be true that she does not possess the personality of living for one's own sake like Tamamo no Mae and Kiyohime, she does not dislike or feel repulsed by those who behave with abandon.

She possesses the temperament of a judge who remains calm and fair to the end, but in truth, she's a loyal sparrow who cherishes the favors she receives like treasures and will forever consider them as something precious.

She won't think of humans as anything more than targets to observe and judge, but since she will forever remember her debt of gratitude towards the Old Man, in the end, she'll be lenient with them.

Setting

The prison guard (oni) managing the Enma Pavilion. Datsue-ba and King Enma's[4] adopted daughter.

They say she was a young girl working as a servant for a high-class prostitute in her previous life who got lost in the mountains and died. (Her throat and tongue were crushed during her time working at the red-light district. Even when she was reborn, her tongue did not heal.) By the compassion of Jizō Boddhisatva[5] , she was reborn as an oni of hell (and losing her memories from her time as a human), became the adopted daughter of Datsue-ba at the Sanzu River and worked hard.

The news of her achievements have reached King Enma's ears and she officially became his adopted daughter.
She apprenticed under the Great King Enma to become a judge, and later, in recognition of her merits, she was left with the management of the "Mayoiga"[6] on the surface.

Benienma renamed the "Mayoiga" to "the place where gods can relax"...in other words, "The Sparrow's Inn", became friends with the sparrows who lived there originally and turned it into a business.

However, during this, for no reason whatsoever, Benienma started yearning after a human village (as an afterglow of the memories of her previous life), and when she descended the mountains to visit it, she was captured by a greedy old woman.

Benienma was cowering in fear due to the trauma from her previous life that had been forgotten, but she was saved from her predicament by a "kind old man" who was treated as an oddball in the village.

The old man used most of his assets to get Benienma from the old woman and immediately returned her to the mountains. That was something Benienma has experienced for the first time, but has been looking for all her life: "the goodness of humanity".

A few years later. Feeling lonely by himself, the old man set off for the mountains. Hearing of this, Benienma wouldn't overlook such a thing and invited the old man to the "Sparrow's Inn" where he was entertained.

(The fact that she couldn't make anything that suited the old man's palate during this time is what turned her into an Iron Chef later on.)

Benienma wanted the old man to stay forever, but he chose to return to the village.

"Even if you obtain good luck, you must not monopolize it."

Even if he was poor, the old man was aware of such an obvious thing.

As a small repayment for his kindness, Benienma gave the old man who was leaving the Sparrow's Inn a souvenir.

"A large and a small wicker basket. If you don't bring either one with you, you won't be able to return to human habitation."

And thus, picking the "small wicker basket", the old man left the Sparrow's Inn.

After the old man left, Benienma reaffirmed the goodness of humanity, and decided on the policy of instructing herself as "a good human".

In the world of FGO, this anecdote is treated as the basis for the "Tongue-Cut Sparrow".

◆

Originally, she shouldn't have been summoned as a Heroic Spirit, but she was transformed into a Servant as the model of Japanese fairy tales and as the "representative that accepts the wishes of children".

Since her tongue was cut out back when she worked as the young servant of a courtesan, even after she became an oni, her tongue remained cut due to this trauma and she couldn't use it properly. She also lost most of her sense of taste.

For the sake of making delicious dishes for the old man, Benienma became an expert cook by observing the distribution of nutrients and how the humans who ate her food reacted to it, instead of depending on her own sense of taste.

Her notes on how people reacted to her dishes are gathered in proprietress Beni's secret notebook, that is, her "Notebook of Enma".

Her study notes concerning flavour. Rather than something like a recipe, it's something that determines the conclusion of the seasoning based on the reaction of humans. "If you get this reaction, this person prefers this flavour."

It seems like her cooking skills became famous among Divine Spirits, and before long, she started holding periodic cooking classes in the Throne of Heroes in response to the demands of the Japanese Heroic Spirits.

Due to having cooking skills being drilled into one with the severity of Hell itself here, it started being referred to as Hell's Kitchen.

The tiny cooking teacher is a demonic instructor. Uzume[7] is a graduate of Hell's Kitchen.

The majority of the Japanese youkai-type female Servants have gone through some growth due to Benienma's guidance. Therefore, regardless of their legendary and mythological backbones, the Servants known as Tamamo no Mae, Kiyohime, Osakabehime, Takiyashahime[8] , and Suzuka Gozen idolize and fear Benienma as "Beni-sensei".

Uzume: "Congratulations on graduating from my cooking class, Tamamo-chan! However, if you want to become an even better wife and wiser mother​, let me introduce you to my teacher's class! Still, you better prepare yourself...That place is Hell."

Tamamo: "You're exaggerating things again~. Of course I'll enter it!"

Benienma: "You"ve got guts coming here, you novice fox whose tails haven't even all grown out yet! I'll turn your body into one that won't escape from fried food the likes of karaage or tonkatsu!"

Tamamo: "Wait, is she the Heroic Spirit of Hartman!?" [9]

◆

A Servant whose name alone officially appeared back in "Fate/Extra".

She was called the "Tongue-Cut Sparrow Benienma" and the "Tongue-Cut Battousai".

Be that as it may, to be honest, her initial setting wasn't "a Servant who couldn't say the "sa" column of the Japanese syllabary table", but "a straightforward, but way too earnest little girl Servant".

Even if her tongue was cut out, she could communicate normally...is how the setting was like, but this time, the scribbled notes on Harada Takehito-san's character sheet were so sensational that it changed into "~dechi".

It's a verbal tic that wasn't given birth by the writer in charge, but I thought it was worth the challenge.

The result is as you can see. The proprietress who was already gallant enough, powered up to become an even more gallant proprietress!

This what makes working in a group enjoyable. Harada Takehito otou-san, thank you...!

Attitude Towards Master

Although she takes on a distant attitude, she will honestly serves the Master.

Since she is the senior when it comes to age, she won't pamper them.

However, as their bond deepens and she begins to gallantly assist them, the lecturing (teaching so the Master would have an easy and pleasant life in the future) also increases.

While her appearance might be that of a little girl, her contents are that of a proprietress with a firm character.

Dialogue Examples

"Chirp chirp chirp. The Tongue-Cut Sparrow Benienma shall carry out the duties that come with her trade!"

"The tōrō nagashi[10] of the sparrow examiners... I won't take your life. However, that duplicitous tongue of yours won't be forgiven! The travel of the wicker basket, the court, is hereby adjourned!"

"Welcome to the Enma Pavilion. I have come to receive you, dear guests. I express my gratitude to you as the representative of the Enma Pavilion for your kind gesture of helping a sparrow."

"Servant? A word I haven't heard before. I admit to being a Heroic Spirit, but I am a simple prison guard from Hell. I was an oni helping out Mother in the Children's Limbo, but after this and that I succeeded the Enma Pavilion."

"Bullying the weak is unforgivable! Hm? Are liars fine, you ask? Lies are inevitable. The question is whether those lies bring trouble to a person or not. I knew a kind-hearted liar who brought happiness to those around but was all alone by himself."

Historical Character and Figure

Someone who became folklore as "creature that helps people in the mountains".

This archetype is also what's talked about in the Uji Shūi Monogatari, a collection of stories from the early Kamakura period.

The Tongue-Cut Sparrow is one of what's commonly called "The Old Man Trilogy".

Stories where the good old man always encounters happiness and the greedy old man always meets a miserable end.

The Old Man Trilogy is made up of the "Tongue-Cut Sparrow", the "Kobutori Jiisan"[11], and the "Hanasaka Jiisan"[12] .

The theory is that the Sparrow's Inn is what the "mayoiga" are based on.

Something that's in the mountains, deserted but completely clean, where flowers bloom and there is plenty of food.

This Servant is not an existence that resembles a Heroic Spirit; she manifested as a representation of the "tales" that tell of heroes.

A Servant similar to her would be Nursery Rhyme, though that one possesses no theme herself and instead, the concept of fairy-tales itself is what turned into a Servant.

Character in FGO

She appeared in the 2019 New Year's event, "Records of the Enma Pavilion's Prosperity".

If one wants to put it somewhere chronologically, it could be said to be the prologue of the third chapter of Part 2.

The Chaldea members have settled down in the Chaldea base of the Wandering Sea.

The Saint Graph Trunk has been connected to Trismegistus II and the reception of contracted Servants was steadily being prepared.

There were also Servants among these who've already been resummoned.

During this, "It's New Year so how about experimenting with Rayshifting?" proposed Sion with a light feeling.
When asked if she could pull something like that off, she carefreely replied with a yes.

"There is a singularity reaction on the Earth that has been turned into a blank state, just what we need. Seems like it's a hot spring attraction! How about going on a pleasure trip there?"

To such a tempting proposal, Tamamo no Mae, Kiyohime and Tomoe raised their hands going "Here, here!".

And then, the new director Gordolf was forced into becoming one of the Rayshifters as the one in the leading role, escorted by Fionn mac Cumhaill and Diarmuid (Saber).

Thus, Fujimaru, Mashu, and Gordolf Rayshifted in the company of the Japanese female Servants and the playboy knight order.

Their destination was deep in the mountains of Japan. The era was the somewhat early modern period of the past.
However, since it was just an experiment, the two male Servants along with Gordolf got separated from Fujimaru's group who became lost in the mountains. However, while they were wandering around, they encountered a sparrow (apprentice) caught in a trap and after helping it, it guided the group to a hot spring inn that was temporarily operating as just a hotel[13] .

Making it out of the thick and dense Japanese forest, they reached the summit of the mountain where a gigantic hot spring inn stood towering over the surroundings before the group.

It was the "mayoiga" mentioned in folklore, the Sparrow's Inn that entertains myriads of gods...!

That is how the introduction of the story went. I wish for you to check the rest by actually playing the event.

Related Characters

Tamamo no Mae/Kiyohime

"They were both students overflowing with motivation. However, the fly in the ointment was that when I took my eyes off them, they would go "I messed up, but, oh well!". Individuality comes after you've become fully qualified, you know?"

Tomoe Gozen/Suzuka Gozen

"Tomoe-sama can't seem to get rid of her war-like methods no matter what... Always conducting herself as though she was on a battlefield, that mentality is probably because she was always running through battlefields with Yoshinaka-sama.
On the other hand, Suzuka-sama is way too free-spirited. I was taught how to make chara-ben[14] ."

Ibaraki-douji

"I heard she was a terrifying oni who laid waste to Kyoto, but she was quite a reasonable oni in the end.
She isn't an oni from hell so we have no connection, but I think she could adapt relatively well to the red tape of Hell. ...Well, that habit of stealing things will have to be fixed..."

Tawara Touta

"The rice person! He's Japan's strongest warrior who even defeating a god-eating centipede with an "Eiya"!
He also eats his meals with gusto as if they were really delicious!"

Fionn mac Cumhaill

"He was a great help back in the Enma Pavilion. Fionn-sama shines a lot more when he is observing his surroundings than when he is alone. I want to become a person like that too."

Sasaki Kojirou

"He's a shady samurai, but his ability is the real deal. In the first place, since his main battlefield was the mountains, I just can not understand the meaning behind swinging that long sword around all freely like that. Not breathing a word about the incredible training he put himself through, chirp, that is worthy of respect, but...as expected, he is a deviant!"

Comment from the Illustrator

Her base look is in the image of a Japanese traditional doll and a Zashiki-warashi. From there, within the realm of 'that which might plausibly exist in fairytale illustrations', I added things like a sparrow Enma crown, a sparrow straw raincoat, a sparrow cook's apron, a tokin[15] horn that's like the beak of a sparrow, a long sword which's size does not fit her, tall pokkuri getas[16] and a short-length flame-patterned long-sleeved kimono...and done!...oh my, how cute! And that's how the process went. The lisp I scribbled down for no special reason has apparently been adopted into her setting. (Harada Takehito)

TL Notes

[1] I'm sure you've seen a samurai or swordsman cutting down their opponent in the blink of an eye and sheathing their swords right afterwards in animes. That's an iai. Battoujutsu is the art of drawing one's sword.
[2] Respectful way to refer to one's husband/the master of the house, shop, etc.
[3] "To give" and "let's do that way" respectively. With Beni's "chi" tic, they would normally turn into "agemachi kara" (something like "from Age town") and "soushimachi yo" (something like "it's Soushi town") hence why she says them with "chu" instead.
[4] Datsue-ba. King Enma is the ruler of Hell who judges the dead.
[5] Kshitigarbha, the bodhisattva who looks over children, travellers and the underworld.
[6] Mystical houses in Japanese folklore where people either get lost for eternity, die or receive some fortune.
[7] Uzume
[8] Takiyashahime
[9] Might be referencing Gunnery Sergeant Hartman from the movie Full Metal Jacket?
[10] The tōrō nagashi (灯籠流し) is a Japanese ceremony in which participants float paper lanterns down a river. This activity is traditionally performed on the final evening of the Bon Festival in the belief that it will help to guide the souls of the departed to the spirit world.
[11] Kobutori Jiisan.
[12] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanasaka_Jiisan
[13] As in it wasn't operating as a hot spring inn since the hot spring wasn't functional at the time.
[14] Homemade bento containing food decorated to look like cute characters from anime, etc.
[15] A tokin is a small black box worn on the foreheads of Yamabushi - practitioners of Shugendō (Japanese mountain asceticism incorporating Shinto and Buddhist concepts) - or Tengu, dangerous yet protective spirits of the mountains and forests from the Japanese mythology.
[16] Pokkuri getas are very tall wooden sandals worn by maiko during their apprenticeship.

Material Images

(Lib will add after publish)

Dialogue

Occassion	English	Japanese
Summoned