(A/N) Well, here we are. Where is here exactly? That's for me to know, and for you to find out.
I'd like to thank everyone for this story's continued support. The last chapter reached, then passed the 100 review mark. It makes me happy to know that people are enjoying this project.
Now for the important bit. As many of you may know by now, we'll be exploring the nasuverse beyond the grail war. That includes –but is not limited to– the Clocktower and apostles, both of which are integral to most Type-Moon works. Despite their importance, however, we don't know too much about them.
As a result, I'll be using what elements we do know about, and I'll take creative liberties with what we don't to fit the canvas of the story. I promise two things: that anything I write that is contradicted in the future will be corrected if the flow of the story allows it, and that no OCs will have any extended roles. We're here for Nasu characters, not original characters, and as such they only exist to fill the blanks.
Now that the important stuff is outta the way, please enjoy the chapter!
X
"Here, let me take that."
Not giving her the opportunity to refuse my help, I lifted Sakura's suitcase from the ground and brought it to the front door. It was small –not too heavy either– but that was relative, I supposed.
According to Kiritsugu, our ride to the airport would arrive any minute now. There wasn't much else to do, only to double-check all the bags before taking off. Particularly, the inconspicuous briefcase that leaned against the wall. There wasn't a single thing in there that we'd want airport security getting a whiff of.
Still, I couldn't help my worry despite our preparedness. We were basically taking the Matou heir out of the city against the expressed wishes of the family head. Experience told me this situation could and would devolve very quickly.
The doorbell rang.
How strange. Guests were rare enough, let alone those that rang the doorbell. Could it be the Fujimura gang? It wouldn't be out of the question for them to be our escorts.
As I opened the door, my only solace was that it couldn't be Zouken. The bounded fields wouldn't allow that thing within ten feet of the property.
Hm? Who was this?
It was a Caucasian man. He was fairly tall, though quite evidently not in the best shape. I couldn't tell if his expensive-looking suit was tailored or not since it needed to hang over that mountain he called a stomach.
To his credit, he looked friendly enough– from what little I could tell from a second's glance. His twinkling eyes and bright smile shone through a bushy blond mustache. Quite the youthful look, if one could overlook the greying hair and balding scalp.
Despite this, I knew not to assume that he'd be friendly at all. He was a magus. Likely one from the Clocktower. I could smell it.
"Old man!" I called over my shoulder. "We've got company."
Kiritsugu met us at his own pace. "Lord Meluastea. It's a pleasure," he greeted in English.
Meluastea… the name was familiar, but I couldn't remember why.
…Hold on. A Lord?
The Lord in question laughed jovially. "Indeed it is, Emiya. Calling you was a last-ditch effort of mine. You seemed to have fallen off the face of the earth, so you can imagine my surprise when you picked up the line!"
I could, actually. My surprise must have matched his own, since I was under the impression that Kiritsugu wanted to drop off the radar.
Starkly contrasting the man, my adoptive father's expression was stone cold. Not quite unwelcoming, but definitely more interested in business than in formalities. "Your needs align with my own, Lord Meluastea. It's fortunate that you were willing to make the trip all the way here, especially on such short notice."
The Lord waved his hand dismissively. "It's no skin off my back. While taking a jaunt through such a backwater country wasn't something I planned, I'd do it again in a heartbeat if it meant getting this… predicament of mine over with quickly and cleanly."
Meluastea looked at me properly for the first time, then his eyes trailed behind us to find Sakura. "And these two are?"
"Apprentices of mine. They'll be coming with us."
"They won't complicate matters, I hope?"
"No."
Another laugh. "Who am I to argue with the great Magus Killer himself! That's fine. I'll be waiting in the car."
With that, the magus stepped out the door.
"…That was…" I trailed off. It was an unexpected meeting to say the least.
The Lords of the Clocktower very rarely stepped out of their place of governance, let alone made the trip to an Asian country on purpose.
"Lord Meluastea was very recently elected to replace the old director of the Kischur faculty. He called me out of the blue one day, sounding awfully distraught. From what I could gather, some wayward magi stole property belonging to the mineralogy department, and he wants them dealt with and swept under the rug before anyone can call his competence as an overseer into question. I had conditions for my service."
"Those being?"
"That he come escort us himself, namely. We don't have access to a private transportation service here, so getting across the border unnoticed would be a little less convenient otherwise."
…I get it now. That was his plan all along.
I doubted Kiritsugu actually needed his sponsors to hold him by the hand whenever he needed to move inconspicuously. This was his insurance that Zouken couldn't get in our way. He wouldn't risk it now, not if intercepting us meant catching the attention of a Lord.
A man with connections is frightening, indeed.
"And why couldn't you mention this earlier?"
"Hm?" he looked at me with a tilt of the head. "Didn't I?"
I shook mine. "Never mind."
A silence formed as the three of us walked out the door with our luggage. "Say," I spoke. There was one thing I was still curious about, if just barely. "What happened to the previous Lord?"
I was met with a wry grin.
"I killed him."
Tch. Of course he did.
X
The Lord's limousine was undoubtedly more spacious than I would've thought had I only seen it from the outside. Was it some sort of magecraft? It could be, though it could have just as easily been the product of a smart interior arrangement.
The three of us –Kiritsugu, Sakura, and I– sat along a couch-like seat that spread lengthwise form one end of the vehicle to another. Meluastea took a similar position on the identical couch that lined the wall facing us.
"We won't be at the strip for another while yet. Let us take the time to discuss the specifics of my humble request," imposed the jubilant magus. He took the manilla folder at his side and passed it to Kiritsugu.
As my old man retrieved its contents, the Lord explained, "Those are the student records of the two imbeciles you'll have to track down, along with photographs of the item I want you to retrieve. From what I've been told, they've been spotted crossing the Swiss border into Germany."
Germany? I doubted it was a coincidence. Still, I was told we were going to Europe to meet contacts, not to pick a fight with the Einzbern family.
Yet.
I peered over Kiritsugu's shoulder to see what we'd be looking for. At the forefront of the paper stack was a film picture of some sort of gemstone.
"It cannot be known under any circumstances that the jewel has left the premises of the clocktower. We won't land in Frankfurt before tomorrow, so you'll need to move quickly to track them down. I trust you'll be able to accomplish that just fine?"
"Of course," agreed the Magus Killer easily.
Part of me wanted to ask why the stone was so important, though the department head probably wouldn't answer my question truthfully, if at all. He wanted this kept secret; that we actually had to see the thing was likely bad enough in his eyes.
No more was said. All that was heard was the shuffling of papers in Kiritsugu's hands, until, "These magi… they aren't from Kischur. They're from the faculty of archeology."
I didn't know that his observation meant anything until a frown settled on Meluastea's face.
"Indeed. Though I won't be quick to direct any blame, I fear that this was an attempt to slander my name, and to have me removed from my position."
"The Astaire faculty of archeology is run by your brother," Kiritsugu stated. I couldn't help feeling a little confused, as I didn't think there could be two lords of the same family within the Clocktower. Then again, it wasn't as if I was the most well-versed on the matter.
"It is," agreed the greying man somberly. "He was under the impression that he'd be given power over two divisions within the school, so one could only imagine his disappointment when the family appointed me to the second spot."
I wouldn't pretend to know how Lords are elected, or if they're even elected at all, but I couldn't say I cared either way. From what I could gather, Kiritsugu only took this job to help us get out of Fuyuki. Whether or not the man was being screwed over by his own family was no skin off my bones.
"So it's not the jewel itself they care about then. They just want you to look bad," I spoke. My English was quite fluent, I'd like to think, though my accent was a little strange if one paid close enough attention.
The magus shook his head. "Not exactly. From what I hear, they have a buyer."
Ah. That's a little more complicated then.
"Who?" Kiritsugu asked.
"I don't know, I'm afraid."
The danger of an unknown factor wasn't lost on any of us– save for Sakura, maybe; as a young child, she was only here because it was more convenient to bring her with us than to leave her to the wolves. She was still about as vocal and expressive as rock, though, so I couldn't say for sure.
She didn't speak English either, now that I thought about it. We'd have to explain everything to her later. How bothersome.
Kiristugu closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. "If I were to take a guess… I'd say they're somewhere in Konstanz. The place is a hub for eccentric personalities that would risk the ire of the Mage's Association if they felt it was worth the effort. It's just over the border too; a good place to start our search, if nothing else."
Meluastea stroked his moustache. "Mhm… but if you're wrong, where do you go from there?"
"Then we follow the Rhine."
A well known European river. If I recalled correctly, it extended from the Alps all the way to the north sea, passing through France, Switzerland, Germany–
Ah. It leads straight to the Einzbern castle. Of course, if the buyer wasn't near the border, then you look for the family you know wouldn't give a rat's ass about what the Mage's Association might think.
The insinuation wasn't lost on the Lord of Kischur. "I see…"
X
We had arrived in Germany without much interruption, thankfully. Meluastea had a private runway, so we didn't have to deal with wait times or even customs. I wasn't sold on the legality of such lengths, but I wasn't going to bring it up, either.
Rather than ride the train, the Lord was kind enough to provide a vehicle that we could use for the remainder of the expedition. He stayed behind, however, saying he had business to attend to in the area after giving us the address to his local manor for when we were finished.
I briefly wondered why he had a property in Germany, but decided it wasn't that strange. The Einzbern had a castle in Japan, after all.
Kiritsugu was lent a Bentley Continental– leave it to a Clocktower mage to drive a British car on German soil. Sakura was in the backseat, staring at her surroundings in wonder, while I sat shotgun next to the old man. We had a few hours on the road yet, so I took the time to skim through the profiles of the two troublemakers.
Alcmene Galliasta. The first-born of a relatively young magus lineage. An alchemist. Recently transferred in from the faculty of modern magecraft theory.
Edor Archis. Apparently a well-respected magus within the college community of Rocks Road. It was a surprise that he'd try something so stupid, considering he'd been around for the last fifty-somewhat years. Then again, he was probably feeling pretty restless if his life still hadn't gone anywhere in that amount of time.
Neither of them seemed particularly outstanding or dangerous in any way. Their published research was mediocre, their circuits were average at best, and neither had any connections to vouch for them. At all.
There was nothing in the profiles that would indicate a relation between them, either. It all seemed so random.
We weren't getting the full story, because either Meluastea didn't have it himself, or he didn't feel inclined to share it.
"Tch."
Kiritsugu glanced at me, before dragging his eyes back to the road. "Thoughts?"
"We're missing something here," I repeated aloud.
"You caught on. Good."
"Is there a reason we're doing this?" I felt the need to ask. This seemed like it could turn into a hassle, and we were already here. It wasn't as if the Lord could ship us back off to Japan if we hurt his feelings.
"Connections are important for a magus, Shirou. You scratch a Lord's back now so that you can make him scratch yours later on."
I snorted. It didn't slip me by that he said "make him scratch". If nothing else, I could always trust a magus to be a stingy bastard.
X
The first thing I noticed once we entered Konstanz was how populated it was.
That wasn't to say I had any preconception of how many people lived here, only that I found it strange how many people walked the streets considering the relative size of the town. The crowd was bustling, the sidewalks resembling something closer to what would come to mind when one thought of somewhere like Berlin or Munich.
Was there some sort of event? A local festival?
The car pulled into the parking lot of an unassuming corporate hotel. It wasn't run down in any shape or form, but it clearly wasn't a five-star location either.
Kiritsugu went to grab the luggage from the trunk while I helped Sakura get down from the car without hurting herself.
"What's the plan?" I asked him as I lead the girl by the hand. I couldn't imagine the man would want to waste time.
"…That'll be up to you."
Me? Wasn't he supposed to be the mercenary here? I had a feeling I'd be doing most of the heavy lifting since he wasn't as physically able as he used to be, but still.
He wanted to test me, then. Whether he believed me when I spoke about my past or not, he still wouldn't trust me with the safety of his child if he didn't know the extent of my abilities.
Understandable. This wouldn't be a difficult task for me, regardless.
…Or at least, it shouldn't be. I was quite adept at tracking targets, but that was more of a fortunate combination of physical talents than any sort of methodology. My go-to strategy was to find a high perch and look, then literally sniff people out. I could cover a lot of ground in very little time, so it worked out just fine for me… when I wasn't a seven-year-old.
My current eyesight was still a mystery, but I couldn't bet on being able to see kilometers into the distance right now. Hell, I'd struggle to scale any building that's even close to tall enough in the first place. I'd have to make do with my peculiar sixth-sense: my ability to "smell" magical presences.
Konstanz wasn't large –it couldn't be much larger than fifty square kilometers– but we didn't have time to waste either, if we wanted to catch the perpetrators before they sold the jewel and left us in the dust. I couldn't flip every stone and hope to luck out.
"This place has a well-known magus community, right? I can go into town and track the first magical trail I find. From there, it shouldn't be too hard to find a lead, assuming I ask the right people the right questions."
Like the old man said, Konstanz was home to bizarre and whimsical academics who would ignore the laws of the Mage's Association if it meant they could progress in their ventures. If there really was such a high-profile dealing going on here, I could hope that the excitement of the buyer would outweigh any need to keep things secretive.
I frowned, realizing that I was being awfully presumptuous. And hopeful.
"You could," agreed Kiritsugu easily, to my surprise. "I suggest you find a way to get near the downtown area. Gathering spots of the moonlit world often coincide with those of the mundane. Sakura and I will stay in the hotel. Come back and let me know if you find something before you act on anything."
I nodded, surprised that he didn't argue. Maybe he wanted to see how far my own methods could take me before I gave up?
"Hn," I agreed.
Kiritsugu tossed me a wallet. Opening it, I found various forms of identification –all clearly fake– and some deutsche marks.
I turned to leave–
Sakura held me back by the sleeve. Honestly, this girl. She should learn to speak her mind.
"Yes?"
"…Don't get hurt."
I laughed, squeezing her hand gently before letting go. "Of course not."
X
It was easy enough to jump onto a local bus that brought me into the heart of town. Thankfully, the mapping of the bus routes was easy enough to understand.
I slipped through the crowd which wasn't even a bit smaller than it was earlier. I was alert and ready to follow the first scent I could find, but I quickly encountered my first problem.
The smell of magecraft was everywhere.
It was so saturated that I had difficulty smelling if it came from any which way. It was almost as if there was something supernatural around every corner.
…That was almost it. It was the crowd. There were countless mages intertwined with the common folk. At the very least, it would explain how populated the streets had become, in the case in which the majority of the mages were foreigners.
If not the illegal purchase of an expensive rock, there was definitely something going on here.
Unfortunately, my efforts were burdened by the fact that there wasn't more than a foot of space between one individual and the next. I couldn't single out any one magus by their smell since I could just as easily be talking to a regular person standing next to a magus by accident.
I'd have to find another way.
"…the exhibit was…"
"…too expensive. I'd prefer…"
"…a puppet, for every…"
I tried to listen to my surroundings, but there were too many people to catch much more than snippets. Many people –likely the mages– seemed to be talking about a shared topic. But what?
I had to stop myself before I ran into someone's back. For whatever reason, the crowd had slowed down.
…No. It wasn't that. I'd slipped out of the crowd and fallen into some sort of gathering.
A lineup.
Apparently, I had stopped near some sort of… storefront? Boutique? Gallery? I couldn't tell. I looked through the nearby window to get a better understanding of what all these people were trying to get to.
Huh?
Was it a boutique after all? There were many mannequins, but I couldn't see any clothes…
Oh. They weren't mannequins, they were–
I could feel my stomach flip.
Puppets.
Very well made puppets.
Very well made, undeniably magical puppets that I had every intention of pretending I didn't see.
I spun on my heels and traced my steps back to the hotel whence I came.
It was unfortunate, but I'd have to tell Kiritsugu that my efforts were meaningless. The magical presence in the town was too saturated. We should just give up, tell the damn Lord that we lost his stone, and–
The mob gave me an ample berth when I snapped and kicked a nearby trashcan. It was bolted to the ground, so it didn't do anything other than make a loud "thunk".
How! No… Why! Why was she here! She had no reason to be here. At all.
Please, someone tell her to leave
Please.
With a resigned breath, I cursed.
Well, shit. It wasn't as though I could actually avoid this for much longer.
Could anyone blame me, though?
There was a saying that made its way through the moonlit world. Even someone like me caught wind of it at a certain point. Unfortunately, I learned my lesson after the fact, so the saying lost much of its value.
"If their name is Aozaki, stay away," as it went.
My dealings with this devil in the flesh of a woman were brief, but definitely memorable. Never in my seemingly-eternal existence had I met someone capable of simultaneously making me fear for my life, want to strangle them, and want to strangle myself.
Her sister? I've heard some say she's worse. I couldn't believe it.
A deep breath.
I had to think about this calmly. Why would she be here? The woman was designated for "sealing" by the Clocktower, though from what I understood, it wasn't for any of the numerous crimes that I'd wager she's probably committed. Rather, her prowess was desired, and they felt that keeping her around twenty-four seven was the best course of action.
Idiots.
At any rate, she was a free spirit, among other things. If she didn't want to be tied down, it would make sense that she'd be jumping from place to place. If she wanted to make any sort of living as a fugitive, then I supposed these strange pop-up puppet displays would be a secure and versatile way to get investors for her research.
For the sake of my own mental health, I didn't try to weigh the odds of running into her in some random university town in Germany.
Loathe as I was to admit it, though, if anyone had any information on nearby business transactions, it would be her. She was a frustratingly well-informed individual.
To my unfathomable dismay, my pondering whether I should ask her for information or pretend she didn't exist was cut short and decided for me. A hand rested on my shoulder.
"Something wrong, kid? You can take a look inside, if you want."
I froze. As if I didn't want to accept reality –which I didn't– my head fought me as I forced it to turn in order to face the one addressing me.
She was a youthful-looking woman, though definitely a grown adult. She was dressed in a conservative fashion, and yet her figure filled her clothing too provocatively for that to matter. The ponytail holding her red hair was quite loose, leaving strands to be pushed aside by her glasses.
She was staring at me wide-eyed, expecting some sort of answer. A shitty-smelling cigarette was lolled idly between her lips.
Fuck.
