Endless Meetings

In Fuyuki-City, detectives Osaki Koyo and Yomaura Taya were hard at work investigating a possible murder. A dead body had been found near the Ryuudou-temple, something that had shocked the city's inhabitants, and the police had promptly put their best people on the case.

Osaki and Yomaura had accepted the job and were now working to shed light on the situation, to identify the victim and to hopefully find suspects, as well as motives, means, and opportunities.

As the victim's body was already well on its way to becoming nothing but a skeleton however, identifying them had been a challenge, to say nothing of determining how they had been killed.

They had ultimately succeeded in the identification quite quickly though, through dental records they'd happened to have in their system.

Carlton Paris was not a criminal, but several years ago, an overzealous officer who had happened upon the scene of a mugging had arrested everyone in the vicinity who looked suspicious, including Paris, who, as someone born in the Caribbean, had a dark complexion and was thus extra suspect, at least according to that particular officer.

He had been released quickly, and the arresting officer had been punished, but Paris' dental records had still been entered into the system, which now helped in identifying his body. As regrettable as that incident had been, it did have some use now.

According to the background check, Carlton Paris worked as a part-time cleaner at one of the companies located in the harbour. He was by all accounts a hard worker, who kept himself to himself and had never been involved in any incidents, save for the one where he had been unlawfully arrested.

Interviewing the teenagers who had found the body had yielded no new information, though Osaki and Yomaura had been unpleasantly surprised to learn that Matou Sakura was one of them. She was associated with Emiya after all, who was better known at the station as Rakurai, the elusive vigilante.

She had claimed not to be involved with the murder, and the detectives had chosen to believe her, as they couldn't find any reason for Matou or Emiya to want Paris dead.

As such, they needed to look for other avenues, and as part of that, they were going to search and investigate Paris' house.

The address was found easily enough, a warrant to search the place was obtained in less than a day, and now, Osaki found himself behind the wheel of his car, on his way to Carlton's house with his partner sitting next to him in the passenger seat.

"So that's the preliminary conclusion that the pathologists have made?" Yomaura spoke into her phone, biting her lip in thought. "But do they think it is correct? And there were no other injuries? No mysterious substances in his body? There were? Alright, thank you."

She ended the call, and then turned towards Osaki once she'd put away her phone.

"According to the pathologists, Carlton was strangled to death, most likely with a cord or a thin piece of rope." She told him. "They haven't found much more yet, but they are confident that Paris was drugged while he was killed, most likely with Tenzine."

"Tenzine?" Osaki asked, quickly going over the list of drugs he'd had to memorize during police-school. "Isn't that an anti-depressant?"

"It is, though an overdose can easily change it into a very potent sleeping agent." Yomaura replied. "It is likely that he was strangled while unconscious or at the very least dazed from it."

"Is Tenzine difficult to obtain?"

"You certainly can't buy it without a prescription, if that is what you mean. Its use is regulated quite heavily, and according to Paris' doctor, he was not using Tenzine, or any other drug for that matter."

"So it was administered to him by someone else, likely involuntarily."

"I'd say that is the most probable option."

"In other words, the killer is someone who knows how to get their hands on Tenzine. Interesting."

"It should certainly narrow down the pool of suspects." Yomaura agreed, before she pointed to the right of the car. "Senpai, we have arrived. That's Paris' house over there."

"House?! You mean manor!"

Osaki had already been surprised when he had found himself driving into Fuyuki-City's richest neighbourhood on the way to Paris' address, but the sight of what was supposed to be the man's house truly baffled him.

Instead of a halfway decent apartment in a cheap flat, where Osaki had always imagined cleaners to live, Paris apparently owned a rather opulent manor, three times as big as Osaki's own house. It was old and stately, surrounded by a massive garden on all sides, but had clearly been redecorated and refurbished several times in recent years, giving its outside a more modern appearance.

This was the home of a rich man, and Osaki couldn't help but wonder how a part-time cleaner could possibly afford to live in it.

He parked the car in front of the gate, and after they'd gone through said gate, walked across the garden to the house, and let themselves in, Osaki only became more confused and suspicious, as the manor was even more lavishly decorated on the inside than on the outside.

Numerous artworks, about half of them Japanese and the other half Caribbean in origin, littered the walls and floors, including but not limited to paintings, vases, ancient weapons, and statues. A great number of bookshelves were spread around the place, holding hundreds of books on an immense variety of subjects. Expensive furniture was standing around everywhere in sight, most of it still looking pristine, as if it had never been used.

It only confirmed what Osaki had said before. This was the home of a very wealthy man.

"So, Senpai." Yomaura began after a few minutes of looking around. "Do you think we may have missed something in Paris' background check?"

"I'd say that's pretty likely at this point, yeah." If cleaners earned enough to live in a place like this, Osaki had chosen the wrong job. "Clearly, he had access to a lot of money that he certainly didn't earn by cleaning part-time."

"Could he have inherited it? Or won the lottery perhaps?"

"If that were so, it would have shown up in his background check. The fact that we have no idea where the money came from makes it more likely to be illegal earnings than something like inheritance or the lottery."

"Drugs?" Yomaura proposed. "He could have been trading in medicines that are prescription-only, like Tenzine, before being killed by a rival using the very thing he was dealing in."

"It's possible." Osaki allowed, pursing his lips.

"But you don't believe it?"

"Look around you, Yomaura. If Paris was involved with the illegal drug trade, he clearly made a lot of money from it, and generally, drug-dealers don't get this rich without ending up on a watch-list of some kind. If he really was a major player in the underworld, he wouldn't have such a clean background. He would have a warning next to his name in the system at the very least."

"I suppose that is true." His partner acknowledged. "Could he have been a hitman then? Someone who kills other people for money?"

"The profession of hitman has been exaggerated by Hollywood. You can't earn a lot of money doing it, as every single major criminal has dozens of underlings who would only be glad to kill their boss' enemy for a hundred dollars or less. No, this fortune did not come from being a hitman either."

"What about fraud?"

"Now that is far more likely. If done well, fraud is lucrative, easy, and can be hidden very well from prying eyes." Osaki nodded sharply, getting up from where he had been rummaging through a drawer. "Yomaura, see if you can find Paris' bedroom. If there's anything incriminating in this house, it will be hidden in there."

"You got it, Senpai." Yomaura nodded eagerly. "I'll be looking for bank statements, odd emails, lots of money, and strangely-high quality vaults."

"Good luck. I'll be looking around a bit more in the drawing room and the dining room."

"Good luck to you as well then."

Once Yomaura had left, Osaki focused on his own search again, calmly going over every part of the rooms with a fine tooth comb, looking for anything suspicious.

He didn't find anything though. There was absolutely nothing suspicious about Paris' house as far as he could see. Everything was neat and tidy, with not a stain anywhere. The artworks were pristine, the books had clearly never been touched, if the kitchen had seen any use, it would have been only once in a blue moon, and the carpets looked as if no one had ever walked on them.

In short, the house was immaculate.

Which set off all kinds of alarm bells in Osaki's head.

Houses with people living in them weren't supposed to be immaculate. They were supposed to be messy, stained, and disorganised. Even the greatest neat freak couldn't get their house to be this spotless.

Something was going on here. Someone, likely Paris, had gone to great lengths to remove every trace of personality from the ground floor of his manor, and Osaki wondered why.

"Senpai!"

Hearing his partner's call, Osaki left the ground floor behind for the moment to go and see what she wanted, ascending the stairs to the first floor of the manor.

"Senpai!"

Again following the sound of his partner's voice, Osaki eventually arrived in a large bedroom, which held a king-sized bed with crumpled sheets, an opulent desk cluttered with paperwork, shelves full of books that had been read often, and even a small kitchen covered in stains and small spots of damage.

In other words, it looked like someone had actually lived here.

"I think we can say that Paris almost exclusively lived on the first floor." Yomaura repeated what Osaki had realised seconds before, standing next to the desk as she rummaged through the paperwork. "Though I have no idea why."

"He must have had a different purpose for the ground floor." Osaki answered, walking around the room once, before pulling one of the most worn books out of its shelf. "Perhaps it was only to receive guests and not to- Oh?"

"Senpai?" Yomaura looked up from the paperwork when Osaki made an involuntary noise of surprise after he'd opened the book on a random page. "What's wrong?"

"This book." Osaki replied, holding it to the side so his partner could see it as well. "Someone has been writing in it."

"Oh, I see." Yomaura peered at the small notes that had been made in the page's margin. "It's English, but it says… 'Ice-breaker'? 'Interesting fact for pillow talk'? 'Feminists will like this fact'?"

"It seems like Paris was mining this book." Osaki mused, flipping the page a few times, finding that the whole book was full of such notes. "He was mining it for subjects to talk about with women."

"Sounds like he was a dedicated ladies' man." Yomaura grinned, pulling a book of her own out of the shelves. "It's the same for this one. He really was working hard to improve his pick-up game."

"Interesting to know, and it means we can add heartbroken ladies and jealous husbands to our list of suspects, but it still doesn't explain how Paris had enough money to afford a place like this."

"Perhaps he was charging the women money in exchange for spending time with him." Yomaura joked, before her smile fell. "Hold on…"

For a few seconds, both detectives were silent, Yomaura's words playing in their minds, before Osaki spoke up again.

"You mean he was a gigolo?"

"Ah, well, I mean, it's not impossible, is it?" His redheaded partner spluttered, a blush coming to her cheeks at the mention of that word. "If picking up women was his job, then it makes sense he was working so hard on his seduction skills, and that he didn't want other people, or the government, to know about it."

"It's certainly not impossible." Osaki agreed, the dots connecting rapidly in his mind. "In fact, it almost seems likely at this point."

No wonder that the ground floor was so devoid of personality. If Paris was taking different women home every other day, then he needed it to be as inoffensive as possible, to not contain anything that would make a client feel uncomfortable.

"Does a gigolo really earn enough to live in a manor though?" Yomaura asked sceptically. "I have arrested pimps before, and from what I know, prostitutes certainly don't earn much."

"I don't know. I never really looked into the profession of gigolo, so their earnings are a bit of a mystery to me. I suppose it depends on their clients."

"Speaking of clients, we'll have to track down Paris', don't we?" Yomaura asked, pulling a face. "That's going to be unpleasant, I can already tell."

"His clients may very well be involved in his death, so yes, we'll have to track them down and question them." Osaki replied, before he sighed. "And that is indeed going to be unpleasant."

There was no way that Paris' clients were going to come forward by themselves. Using a gigolo's services wasn't exactly looked upon favourably in Japanese society after all. Even the merest whisper of a rumour that you had visited one could be enough to destroy a woman's reputation, and to have it become known that the police questioned you about such a visit would forever make you an outcast. People would simply refuse to associate with you, out of fear of being contaminated by your 'evil vibes'.

It was weird and extremely unfair, but that was how it was, and good police-officers and detectives always took great care to be as discreet as they could be. One wrong move could wreck someone's life after all, even if they were innocent.

Though that was assuming they'd ever find the clients in the first place, which was by no means a sure thing.

"Perhaps we could look for a diary or agenda that has the names of his clients written in it?" Yomaura suggested.

"It's worth a shot, though I doubt we'll be so lucky."

After a few minutes of searching however, Osaki was forced to eat his words, as they did indeed find an agenda which kept meticulous record of every appointment Paris had made with his clients over the past year.

It also contained a few less-than-pleasant surprises for the two detectives however.

"Senpai, isn't that woman here, on Thursday afternoon, a very prominent judge?"

"She certainly is. I have spoken with her several times in court."

"And isn't this woman a member of the city-council?"

"Correct."

"And this one is a rich heiress, if I'm not mistaken."

"You're not mistaken."

"Good gracious…"

It went on like that for a while. Carlton Paris had 'entertained' a lot of women in his career, and several of them were rather big names in Fuyuki-City. Big enough that the reveal that they had visited a gigolo would have far-reaching consequences, for those women, for the city at large, and for Osaki's and Yomaura's careers.

In other words, they would have to be very cautious about their next steps.

After going over the agenda, the detectives further searched the room, but they couldn't find anything else of note. As far as Osaki could see, no one had been inside the room for over a month.

"I think that's everything, Senpai." Yomaura eventually said as she closed the last closet she'd looked through. "This is normally the part where I would suggest we call the forensic department, but considering the information in here and what it may do to our investigation and to prominent members of society…"

She did not have to explain further. Osaki wished he could say otherwise, but even after the law enforcement agency had been cleaned thoroughly in the wake of Rakurai's last outing, there were still many people working in all its departments that he didn't trust as far as he could throw them. It wasn't at all unthinkable one of them would sell the information about Paris being a gigolo to the media, and that would greatly complicate the investigation.

As said before, Japan was incredibly reputation-focused, so if it came out the police was investigating a gigolo's murder, no one would want to speak to them again, out of fear of being suspected of hiring Paris' services, if not murdering him to cover it up.

Even worse though was the possibility that an unscrupulous officer may stumble upon the contact details of one of Paris' more known clients, and would then use that information for immoral purposes.

Blackmail came to mind, or selling the information on again.

"Take the agenda." Osaki eventually said, and Yomaura obeyed, shoving it into the pocket of her jacket. "We have to remove any and all information that indicates Paris is a gigolo before we call forensics."

"We cannot take all the books though, nor can we erase Paris' notes in them." His partner protested, and Osaki clacked his tongue in annoyance, not having thought of that.

"…Leave them. We'll play it off as him being a lady's man. Also, he could afford to live in this house because his family in the Caribbean is rich."

"Very well, Senpai."

Paris didn't have any family, but since he was born in the Caribbean and Yomaura was the only one who'd done a background check on him, no one else knew that.

With the agenda removed and the mystery of Paris' money no longer an issue, no one should be able to figure out that the man had been a gigolo.

"Will we inform the superiors of the truth?" Yomaura asked once they'd finished their search for incriminating details and were back in Osaki's car. "Personally, I'd rather not, not yet at least."

"Oh, why?"

"Because they might order us to put a stop to the investigation." Yomaura didn't hesitate for a second to say this. "Paris was a foreigner, which makes most of our bosses reluctant to spend money and manpower on him to begin with, but if they find out that he was also a gigolo, they will shut the case at once."

"You are right, of course." Osaki sighed, pressing his forehead against the steering wheel, the cold rubber soothing against his aching head. "Fine, we won't tell them about that little fact yet. Not until we have caught the perpetrator and the final report needs to be submitted, and there's nothing the superiors can do anymore."

It was entirely against regulation, but they had gone against regulation so often over the past year that Osaki didn't even care anymore. After the absolute mess that Rakurai's case had become, it was difficult for him to stick to protocol as much as he'd once had. Justice came first now, and regulations second.

Of course, he would still obey the law, that went without saying, but it wasn't said anywhere that they had to report any information they found to their superiors at once. It was commonplace and generally considered the right protocol, but it wasn't required. You could also do it later, like, at the very end.

Loopholes like those really ought to have been closed years ago, but they hadn't, and Yomaura and Osaki now gratefully made use of them.

"Shirou!" Illya cried happily once the redhead appeared in the Vault, running at him for a big hug. "You're back!"

"I am indeed." He laughed, catching her in his arms and twirling her around, as big brothers were supposed to do with their little sisters. "Good to see you again, Illya. You as well, Sella, and Leysritt of course. Are you all alright?"

"I'm perfectly alright now that you're back!" Illya beamed at him.

"Everything went fine in your absence, Lord Emiya." Sella calmly gave her report, bowing slightly from the waist. "No one has been hurt, nothing has been destroyed, and we haven't lacked anything we may have needed."

"I'm fine." Leysritt said shortly, apparently not in the mood to talk.

"I am glad to hear it." Shirou smiled, before turning back to Illya, setting her down on the ground again. "I finally got done with that purge I told you about. Sorry it took so long, but it really was a lot of work."

"Done?" Illya cocked her head to the side, frowning in confusion. "You mean you're on a break?"

"No, I mean I am done."

"As in, your part is done, and others have now taken over?"

"The purge is over, Illya."

"But weren't you going to take on an entire department?"

"Three, actually. Archaeology, Mineralogy, and Botany."

"But you only started this morning."

"Yes, I did."

"Then how can you already be done?!" Illya's expression became more incredulous with every answer Shirou gave her, and now, her confusion was total. "It should have taken you weeks at least!"

"Under normal circumstances perhaps, but I was cheating." Shirou grinned confidently, before quickly summarising the events of the purge and how he and Lady Barthomeloi had completed it in a single day by being awesome and overpowered.

Or at least, that was how Illya put it once he'd finished.

"I have the coolest big brother ever!" She cheered, jumping at him for another big hug, which he happily reciprocated. "All other little sisters can go take a hike; I've won this competition!"

"Competition?" Had she participated in something without him knowing it? "I don't know of any competition."

"There's a competition between all the little sisters of the world about who has the coolest and awesomest big brother of them all." Illya explained, sounding completely confident, as if she had the first idea of what being a little sister entailed. "That's you, by the way. That's why I have won."

"I am not sure that's how things work…" Shirou began slowly with an attempt to refute Illya's words, but she looked so happy and content with herself that he lost the willpower to continue. Instead, he just nodded in agreement.

Sella had no such problems though.

"What utter nonsense." She scolded Illya without a second of hesitation, marching right up to Shirou and plucking the little Homunculus out of his arms. "Please don't bother Lord Emiya with such drivel, lady Illyasviel. You are very well aware you know nothing about being a little sister. I would appreciate it if you didn't fabricate competitions merely to pretend you do."

"Sella! Don't be mean!" Illya whined as Sella pulled her away from Shirou, helplessly flailing in her big sister's arms. "Please let me enjoy having a big brother, please!"

When she put it that way, even Sella paused for a moment, but she quickly recomposed herself and placed her mistress on the ground, a fair distance away from Shirou.

"Instead of bothering Lord Emiya with needless banter about non-existent competitions, perhaps you should show him the fruits of your labour." She suggested, and Illya immediately stopped pouting. "I am sure he will be pleased by your efforts."

"Oh? You have something to show me, Illya?" Shirou asked kindly, sure that whatever it was, if Sella approved or at least condoned it, it couldn't be that bad.

"I do!" Illya jumped forward to grab his hand, pulling him along with her as she gave him a thousand-watt smile. "So I was going over the treasures in your Vault this morning, and then I found something that looked really expensive, and I thought to myself, 'maybe it would be fun if I gathered all the expensive stuff I could find, so I can feel really rich', and then I did that, gather all the expensive stuff I mean."

Suddenly, she paused, both in walking and in speaking, and turned towards him, pressing the tips of her index fingers together. "Is that alright?"

"Of course." Shirou said, patting her on the head, feeling happy that she'd been enjoying herself so much. "I told you that you could do anything you wanted as long as you kept to the rules, and from what you told me, you didn't break any of them."

"Yay!" Illya cheered again, before she resumed pulling him along. "Over there, on the table!"

Shirou quickly spotted the table she was talking about, and then also saw the pile of treasures that had been placed on top of it.

Illya had already said that she had gathered the most valuable objects she could find, and she had done good work, as the things she had found were indeed extremely valuable, every single one of them.

"And?" His little sister asked eagerly once they stood next to the table. "Was I right? Are they valuable?"

"They are indeed extremely valuable." Shirou grinned, before picking up one of the goblets. "This goblet for instance, while already worth a lot because it's made of gold and gems, is worth even more because any water that you drink from it has healing properties."

"Wow! Really?" Illya asked, bringing her face very close to the goblet.

"Yes, I believe it was someone's attempt at copying the Holy Grail." Shirou told her, using his Sight and Tracing to obtain that information, before immediately explaining further when Illya's expression darkened. "I don't mean the monstrosity from Fuyuki. I mean the cup that Jesus Christ drank from during the Last Supper, which is said to hold the power to heal all maladies, even age and death."

"Can this cup do that?" Illya's expression brightened up again, thankfully, and Shirou almost felt bad about having to disappoint her.

"No, it wasn't a very successful attempt. This cup can heal almost all wounds, most diseases, and all curses that are below Divine in level, but it is far from perfect."

"Darn." Illya pouted again, though she quickly shook it off. "It's still valuable though, right?"

"Oh yes, I could sell this for millions of pounds, I imagine." Shirou said, though that was mostly a guess. He had no idea what Magical objects were worth, as he'd never sold or bought one before. "Though I might be wrong."

"And the others?"

"The same. These are all worth quite a lot, if you ask me." Shirou said, picking up and studying a silver spear that would always remain sharp no matter what happened to it, a mirror that showed people as they truly were, completely disregarding illusions or disguises, rings that would make the wearer invisible, necklaces with Protection Charms, and much more. "Why? Do you want me to sell them?"

"Oh no! There's no need for that." Illya shook her head, smiling brightly at him. "I just wanted to feel rich, and if you say that these things are indeed valuable, then that is enough for me."

She looked positively adorable at that moment, with the bright smile and clear eyes, and Shirou couldn't suppress a fond smile, only just resisting the urge to reach out and pat her head.

"Maybe we could place them on display and show them off to other Magi. They'll be sure to get super jealous." Illya then muttered, the earnest smile replaced by a cruel, mocking one, and the image of adorability immediately broke. "To see their faces distort grotesquely in envy would be most wonderful indeed."

"Ah." Shirou sweatdropped as he looked at his not-so-adorable-anymore sister, and he spotted Sella shaking her head in dismay in the background. "If that would make you happy, I'm sure I can figure something out to make that happen."

"Thank you!" The happy-go-lucky version Illya reappeared immediately, yet it could not fully recapture the adorability that she'd possessed before. The illusion had been forever shattered.

"But before I forget, now that the purge is over, we can soon return home." Shirou said after a few moments of silence, forcibly changing the subject. "It shouldn't take longer than a week, maybe two, and then you can leave the Vault."

"I will wait as long as is necessary." Illya declared solemnly.

"And with some luck, that's only a week or two more." Shirou grinned, before looking at Sella. "You might find my house a little small though, especially for six people. I will have to see if I can enlarge it somehow."

"Would it not endanger the secrecy of the Moonlit World if you were to increase the size of your residence with Magecraft?" Sella asked sceptically. "Or do you plan to use common building-methods?"

"I am going to use Magecraft to increase the size of my house, but only on the inside." Shirou replied. "Just like with my suitcase. That way, we'll have enough space, but no one will notice anything amiss from the outside."

"Of course. My deepest apologies for doubting you, Lord Emiya." Sella bowed again, much deeper than before, and Shirou realised too late he had probably increased her awe of him even more. "Sorcerers truly are impressive."

Shirou pursed his lips at being called a Sorcerer yet again. He'd harboured some hope that Sella would let that go at some point, and that he could convince her that he wasn't a Sorcerer, but it seemed that point was still far away.

Which was very ironic, considering he truly was not a Sorcerer. But then again, him being a Sorcerer was probably more believable than him being a god from another dimension. Sometimes, truth was stranger than fiction.

"So cool!" At least Illya was happy, as her eyes had started glowing the moment he mentioned making something bigger on the inside than on the outside. "We could have a palace inside a normal house!"

"I will do my very best." Shirou promised her. He didn't really see the need for a palace himself, but if Illya wanted one, he'd give it his all to build one. He would have to discuss it with Sakura and Ayako first of course, but he didn't think they'd have a problem with it. "But to get back to what we were discussing before, will you be alright in here for the next two weeks or so?"

"Sure." Illya grinned, looking back at Sella and Leysritt for verification, before turning towards Shirou again when the maids both nodded. "We found a lot of books, boardgames, and other stuff, so we will be fine."

"Are you really sure?"

"Yes, big brother." Illya sighed in exasperation, before she beamed at him once more. "Oh my, is this what having an overprotective big brother feels like?! It's wonderful!"

"I… am glad you think that way."

"What about you though, Shirou? What will you be doing while we are in here?"

"Nothing much honestly. I just have to wrap up a few matters related to the purge and say goodbye to everyone in the Clocktower, and then I can leave." Shirou replied, though he was aware wrapping up those matters might not be so easy as he was making it out to be. "I'll have to think of some farewell-gifts as well."

"Farewell-gifts?"

"Yes, farewell-gifts. I don't mean I'll give one to everyone I've met, but at the very least, I should give a present to Lord El-Melloi, for standing by me the entire time." Shirou wasn't going to pretend he had been an easy apprentice. He'd picked fights with prominent heirs, had drawn the eye of the Queen of the Clocktower, he had gotten Lord El-Melloi involved in all manners of problems that were none of his business, and he had completely upended the status-quo in the Clocktower, resulting in Lord El-Melloi being given a ridiculous number of responsibilities on top of those he'd already possessed. It was honestly a miracle Lord El-Melloi hadn't thrown him out after that first matter, let alone after all the others.

"What present would you give to him though?" Illya asked curiously, before spreading her arms wide to point at all the piles of treasure lying around. "You have enough choice. I imagine even a lord of the Clocktower would be impressed by some of the things lying around here."

"I don't think he would be very happy with a random trinket." Shirou said, and honestly, it would feel cheap if he just grabbed something off the floor here to give to the lord. "No, if I want to do something nice for him, it needs to be something he would really appreciate, like… like paying off his debts!"

"Oh?" Illya cocked her head to the side in curiosity. "Does he have a lot of debt?"

"From what I've heard, 'a lot' is an understatement. When I talked with Reines about that debt, she compared it to the budget of a Hollywood blockbuster film."

"And how much is that?" Illya asked, having never heard of 'Hollywood blockbusters' before.

"It varies. Anywhere between one-hundred-million and four-hundred-million American dollars, according to my searches."

"That is a lot." Illya let out a low whistle at the amount, which was indeed utterly ludicrous. "How did he manage to rack it all up?"

"Well, honestly, it's kind of dad's fault."

"Huh?" Illya blinked in confusion.

"To make a long story short, dad killed the previous Lord El-Melloi, whose family then fell into ruin. To escape that ruin, they forced the current Lord El-Melloi, my sponsor, to take on their debt and lead them until they'd regained their former status." Shirou gave a very short summary of the events that had led to Lord El-Melloi being hundreds of millions of pounds in debt. "So it all began with dad really."

"Is this Lord El-Melloi a nice man?" Illya asked suspiciously.

"He is." Shirou nodded confidently.

"Then I feel terrible for him!" Illya cried, pouting intensely. "You should absolutely pay off his debts!"

"Gladly! Although, to do that, I will need to find a lot of money somewhere. Dad was rich, but he wasn't that rich." Shirou mused. Kiritsugu had left him a large inheritance, totalling well above fifty million pounds in total, hidden in numerous bank accounts, vaults, trusts, and other places around the world, but Lord El-Melloi's debts were easily five or even ten times that.

"Then perhaps you should sell some stuff." Illya suggested, and as one, their gazes were drawn towards Illya's collection on the table. "If you sell my collection, it will be easy to get enough money together."

"Are you okay with that though?" Shirou asked, crossing his arms. "I thought you were going to display it."

"I'll find other things to display." She shrugged in a gesture of magnanimity, which seemed entirely genuine and also made Shirou very happy to see. Nevertheless, he couldn't just accept it.

"I could find other things to sell as well." He smiled, looking around his Vault, which held plenty of treasures that Illya hadn't considered worthy of her collection.

"Whatever you want." Illya's magnanimous streak continued as she smiled indulgently.

"Lord Emiya, may I please raise a concern?" Sella suddenly requested, bowing deeply.

"Please do."

"Your intentions of releasing this Lord El-Melloi from his debts are most noble, but I fear it might not be as easy as you believe." She warned him, giving him a very serious look. "I do not doubt you can obtain the money at any time you wish, but I fear your sponsor will not accept it so easily. Lords can be hesitant about accepting charity."

"You're right." Shirou pressed his hand to his forehead as he realised Lord El-Melloi might indeed be too proud to accept the money from him. He might accept a sum of up to one million, if Shirou phrased it as payment for his services, but even that was far from certain. There was no way he'd ever accept hundreds of millions.

"The solution is obvious." Illya scoffed suddenly with the arrogance that was inherent to every little sister. "Just tell him you have some stuff you want to sell, ask him for help in finding buyers, and split the profit fifty-fifty."

"…That's brilliant, Illya." Shirou grinned widely, genuinely impressed she'd found a solution so quickly.

"It's common sense. Stupid brother." She mumbled, but there was no hiding her pleased blush.

"I'll have to make sure not to sell anything dangerous, but harmless Mystic Codes, Magical Objects, and some gems shouldn't be a problem." Shirou rapidly assembled a list of things to sell, though he didn't add anything from Illya's collection –that was now hers– nor did he include the best gems, which would go to Rin.

Anything that Sakura and Ayako might appreciate wasn't up for sale either of course. That went without saying.

"But enough about business." Illya interrupted his list-making, grabbing his hand again. "I want to hear everything about the purge. Who did you attack? Did they scream? I hope they screamed."

Her vitriol and spite towards Magi in general were on full display as she giggled maliciously at the thought of him beating them up, but Shirou didn't reprimand her. After what she'd gone through, she was allowed to hold a grudge.

Also, he too didn't like Magi very much, so he had no right to judge.

So he readily told her about the purge.

"Yes, a lot of them screamed, quite loudly in fact…"

Elsewhere, on the normal plane of reality, the participants of the purge were being paid their reward for their hard work. The Enforcers and mercenaries were directly handed the sum they were owed, while the Policy-personnel would see their monthly salary increase drastically for the rest of the year.

The payments themselves were extremely generous. Policies had money to spare after all, and there was nothing wrong with being generous after a massive victory. The department might work mainly by wielding big sticks, but sometimes, a carrot could do wonders as well.

Among the Enforcers collecting their reward was Gideon, and Gideon was a bit concerned. He had signed up for the purge along with his team, believing that it would take a month at least, but now that it had ended in a day, he feared that massive decrease in time might negatively affect his pay check.

He needn't have worried though. The rewards weren't any less. Everything that was supposed to have been paid over the course of the month had been compressed into one huge payment. A payment that was frankly ludicrous, even by Enforcer-standards.

And Enforcers-standards were not low. Enforcer-work was dangerous, very dangerous, and the risk of death was high. There were rogue Magi with unknown Magecraft, Dead Apostles with their inhuman abilities, mercenaries seeking to get rid of you, the ever-continuing power plays between lords, and much more. It wasn't unusual to die before you reached forty years of age, and anyone above fifty was the exception.

However, if you survived, the rewards were huge, more than enough to buy anything a normal person could want and then some. It was a high-risk high-reward occupation, and Gideon, who had been an Enforcer for close to a decade, had become a wealthy man over the years, solely through the rewards he had received for his work.

The payment he had received for participating in the purge blew every sum he'd even been paid before out of the water though. Never before had he earned so much money with one job, a job that had frankly been one of the easiest of his career so far.

It was, as said before, ludicrous.

"Hoooooly cow! That's a lot of zeros for a day's work." Angy spluttered once he showed them the contract on which their salary had been written. "All that money is in our shared bank account now?"

"Indeed it is." Gideon nodded, wanting to laugh at Angy's astonished expression but finding himself unable to, as he was just as astonished as she was. "I'll split it up evenly and deposit it into everyone's private accounts as soon as I can."

"Imagine what we can do with it." Rit squealed, her blonde hair bouncing up and down as she ran at Gideon to jump into his arms. "I know what I am going to do with it! I'll take you out for dinner, Gideon. My treat!"

"Shouldn't that be the other way around?" Suladan asked, the stoic man allowing himself a small smile as he too was overwhelmed, positively, by their sudden wealth. "As the man, Gideon should treat you."

"Nonsense!" Rit immediately rejected the Egyptian's words. "I invited Gideon, so I pay. Simple as that."

"If you say so." Suladan had no comeback to that, and he backed down graciously.

"Hey, Khamul, fancy a trip to the market with me?" Angy asked the hooded man standing next to her, grinning widely at his hidden face. "I need some ingredients for my concoctions, and now that I have a lot of money, I can get the best ones."

"I too am in need of materials." Khamul replied, the hood moving up and down slowly. "I would gladly accompany you. You are very good at bartering."

"Even better when I have you standing behind me though, glaring intimidatingly at the shopkeepers." Angy winked slyly, and a soft, scratchy laugh emerged from the shadow under the hood.

Gideon gave Angy and Khamul a pitying look. They were the potion-expert and the Bounded Field-expert respectively of their team, and that meant they needed ridiculously expensive ingredients and materials to perform their craft. It wasn't unusual for them to spend all their earnings on preparing for their next job, meaning they had very little, if any, savings.

Since their crafts were vital for the overall performance of the team, Gideon had offered multiple times that they could take the money they needed from the shared account, but Angy and Khamul always refused, citing that having a clear limit of how much money they could spend was a good thing for them.

That didn't stop Gideon from buying them all their groceries though, as well as paying for all their other expenses.

"Can I tag along with you to the market?" Kyra raised her hand as if she was in class, stepping forward calmly, her signature lazy smile on her face. "I too am in need of several ingredients and materials, and it is so much easier to shop when I have companions than when I am alone. At least when I have Khamul with me, I am not bothered so much by strange men."

"The troubles of being a beautiful woman." Ruti giggled, before immediately assuming a neutral face again when Kyra glanced at her. "Eh, I mean, those stupid men! How dare they?!"

"What about you, Sisigou?" Theodora asked, and the entire team turned to look at their temporary ally, Kairi Sisigou, the large, scarred mercenary who had declared multiple times to have joined the purge for the reward only.

"Me? I'm heading off to my next job." Sisigou grinned roguishly, his sunglasses doing an effective job at hiding his eyes, making it difficult to see whether he was really happy or just faking it. "I got an invitation to come to Romania, to talk with a dude named Darnic Prestone. The guy sent me a letter the other day, telling me he had an assignment lined up if I was interested. It'll be a long job too, he said, with constant pay."

"Prestone?" Suladan's eyes narrowed at the name, his hand automatically moving towards the sword hanging on his hip. "Be careful, mercenary. Darnic Prestone is unreliable to the core."

"You got experience with him?" Sisigou asked curiously, turning towards Suladan to show his genuine interest. "I didn't find much on him myself."

"I met him several times, to negotiate a business deal, a long time ago." Suladan replied, his grip on his sword not loosening in the slightest. "His tongue is as black as his heart. He is evil in its purest form. He is fouler than you can imagine, and has been for all of his miserable life."

"Weren't there rumours that he is pretty old?" Ruti asked, scratching her head. "I mean, seriously old. As in, well over retirement age?"

"He should be well over ninety years old by now." Suladan sneered, his hatred for Prestone showing in every aspect of his body-language. "Though I can assure you he won't look a day over thirty should you accept his invitation and meet him, mercenary."

"De-aging Magecraft?" Sisigou asked in a casual tone, though from the tense lines around his mouth, Gideon concluded that he was listening very well to what Suladan had to say, and was believing it too.

"That seems the most likely explanation." The grim Egyptian nodded. "I would not surprise me in the slightest if it involved foul acts, which I shall not name here."

A number of possibilities flashed through Gideon's head, including body-stealing, draining vitality from young children, or using extremely dark Mystic Codes, but Suladan indeed did not explain further, nor did Gideon ask.

"Damn." Sisigou let out a low whistle, not a trace left of the roguish demeanour he'd displayed earlier. "Then perhaps I should think some more about accepting that invitation."

"You believe what I say?" Suladan appeared surprised that Sisigou was taking his words into consideration.

"It's clear your anger is genuine, and you have no reason to lie to me."

"Then, if you are receptive to my words, heed my warning and stay away from that creature. He is wretched, evil, and miserable, and he will inflict nothing but pain on you, as he does on everyone he interacts with."

"Including you?" Sisigou asked piercingly.

"Including me." Suladan confirmed.

"Noted."

It seemed Sisigou had been convinced to give Prestone's offer a miss, and with that matter settled, Suladan let go of his sword again, and the tension surrounding the group disappeared quickly.

"Ahem, anyway." Theodora attempting to get a conversation going again. "Does anyone know what is going to happen to all the people we took captive?"

"Nothing good." Angy replied immediately, cutting the taller girl off. "And nothing I want to talk about right now. This is supposed to be a happy occasion. I don't want to sully the air by theorising about the torture that's going to be inflicted on those criminals."

"I understand! My deepest apologies for bringing it up." Theodora lowered her head in apology, and Angy's expression quickly mellowed.

"No, I am sorry for reacting so strongly." The pink-haired woman replied, reaching up to pat her black-haired team member on the head. "I merely have no appetite to discuss punishments and interrogations right now."

"I just hope that whatever they get, it is what they deserve." Sisigou said, in an almost philosophical tone. "Though I should watch my tongue. I too have committed my share of atrocities, and when it's time to pay the piper, I won't be laughing, let me tell you that."

"I suppose that goes for us all." Khamul remarked, and the entire group fell silent, thinking back on the questionable and sometimes outright evil acts that all of them had committed in the line of duty.

Enforcers often had to do work they weren't proud of, and all of them, Gideon included, had a lot of blood on their hands, some of it from innocent bystanders whose only crime had been to see more than they should have.

The afterlife wouldn't be gentle on any of them.

Though that was all the more reason to enjoy life.

"Let's go out for dinner right away." He smiled at Rit, and she smiled back, her beaming expression soothing his heart like nothing else could.

In Italy, the Vatican to be more precise, in a small, personal shrine belonging to a widely respected bishop, a heated discussion was taking place.

Though perhaps 'heated' was the wrong term to use. Everyone present was a devout Catholic after all, and all of them took that very seriously. There was no yelling between them while they were inside a house of God.

Nevertheless, it wasn't exactly a friendly discussion either.

"You wish to enter the Clocktower under false identities and false pretences to… do what now?" Bishop Dilo asked in a tone that was a mixture of amused, disbelieving, and tired.

"To find the Magi who are in league with the Dead Apostle Ancestors." Kayla replied, her enthusiasm with the idea, already small, waning even more at her superior's reaction to it. "We heavily suspect that there are many within the Magus Association who serve the Vampire Lords, and we wish to track them down by infiltrating their ranks."

'We' being Kayla herself, her best friend Lily, her other friends Mira and Jonah, and her much older, much respected colleague Sidonus. It was with these people, as well as a few others who weren't present right now, that Kayla had been tracking down and destroying hidden bases of the Meluastea-family.

The Church was seldom so proactive in fighting against Magi, but this had been one of the rare exceptions. The Meluastea had committed crimes in Church-territory, so according to the old agreements and treaties, that meant the Burial Agency was free to destroy their outposts and kill their servants and flunkies without having to anticipate retribution from the Clocktower.

At least, that was the theory. Naturally, killing Magi belonging to powerful families always caused trouble, but the Church could handle that, if the cause was right.

During this process of destroying the Meluastea's bases however, the team had found several clues that hinted at the fact that the Dead Apostle Ancestors were responsible for the Meluastea suddenly committing so many heinous crimes. Naturally, with them being loyal members of the Burial Agency, they weren't able to look the other way, and they had decided together to request bishop Dilo for permission to infiltrate the Clocktower to further investigate the Ancestors' influence inside the Magus Association.

All members of the team were capable of at least some acts of Magecraft, enough to pretend to be low-level Magi, so it shouldn't be too difficult to make the infiltration work.

Kayla had been against it at first, but the others had persuaded her to think about it, and when she'd done so, she had to admit the infiltration actually had a fair chance of succeeding.

Bishop Dilo clearly didn't agree however.

"Absolutely not." He said, in a tone that made it clear he would accept no protest.

"But bishop Dilo!" Jonah clearly didn't get the message however, and protested anyway. "We just told you that the Ancestors have infiltrated the Witches' headquarters, and-"

"I already know that the Ancestors have many agents within the Clocktower." Bishop Dilo cut him off, before sighing when Kayla and her team gave him disbelieving stares. "It is only logical. Magi are by nature very corruptible. If an Ancestor offers them resources or ancient knowledge in exchange for information or services, they will easily and happily accept. That is unavoidable."

"And we're fine with that?!" Jonah demanded, ignoring Mira's attempt to shush him. "We're just gonna accept that there are Witches who cooperate with those monsters?"

"Jonah, calm down." Lily said sternly, glaring at the man with reprimanding eyes. "I'm certain that is not what bishop Dilo was saying."

"No, it is." Bishop Dilo corrected Lily, sounding far too light-hearted for the subject, and everyone present could almost hear how Lily's neck cracked when she jerked her head back to the bishop to give him a disbelieving stare. "We are indeed 'just gonna accept' that the Ancestors have a firm grip on the Magus Association. There is after all not much we can do about it without risking a war, which is exactly what the Ancestors are hoping for."

"T-Then, our plan?" Lily brought out, looking at the bishop with large, betrayed eyes after he corrected her assumption. "If we can infiltrate the Clocktower and bring these Magi to justice without risking a war…"

"It is a plan that has a very low chance of success." Bishop Dilo replied, sounding profoundly unenthusiastic. "Yes, in the event that you manage to pull it off without a hitch and remove the corrupt Magi, it would be a great victory for the Church, but the chances of that are very, very small indeed. Too small to risk a great team like yourselves for."

"There can be no success without risk." Kayla tried to counter his points, not entirely sure why but going ahead with it anyway. "And wars are not won by the cautious."

"War is exactly what we do not want, Kayla."

"We are already at war, with the Ancestors." Kayla dared to argue.

"And that is why we cannot lightly challenge or provoke the Clocktower." Bishop Dilo's tone now became stern. "You are all well aware that the relationship between us and them is already as thin as a thread. We cannot afford to make the situation even worse than it already is, especially not for a brazen scheme like this."

"Come now, Gustavus, those are the words of a coward." Sidonus spoke up in his gravelly voice, taking a step forward. The old man had indicated before they entered the shrine that he would rather not speak, but it seemed he saw no other option now. "There was a time when a plan like this would have had your full approval. In fact, you would have eagerly joined in yourself for a chance at taking on an Ancestor. Please, try to summon that enthusiasm again."

"That 'enthusiasm' was fine when I was an Exorcist and you an Executor, Sidonus, but I am now too high-placed and too stuffy to act irresponsibly like that anymore." Bishop Dilo answered, giving his old friend a wry smile. "Besides, as I told you before, we cannot afford to lose a team like you, even temporarily. The Burial Agency is stretched thin as it is. We already had a beast of a time trying to suppress the mundane Apostles and their creators, never mind if we wish to strike at the heart of the matter by taking on the Ancestors themselves."

"I can't believe you refer to this as striking at the heart of the matter, yet you still don't want to do it." Sidonus grumbled. "There was a time when striking at the heart was your specialty."

"And now it is not." Bishop Dilo brushed his fellow elder's words aside with a casual ease that implied he was very used to doing so. "Especially not when we risk a major diplomatic incident if even the slightest thing goes wrong. Actions have consequences, Sidonus, always."

"I know that better than most." Sidonus narrowed his eyes as Dilo's words apparently hit close to home. "But I also know that inaction has consequences as well. I completely understand and appreciate your caution, my friend. I too do not want a war between us and the Clocktower, least of all because it would greatly benefit our mutual enemies, but letting the Ancestors get away with their blatant manipulation will only bring down more trouble upon us later down the line."

"The Cardinals are working on a solution." Bishop Dilo tried to argue, but he shook his head before any of them could react. "No, that is a weak argument. Listen, I am not necessarily against the concept of your plan, I can merely not approve of it in my function as a bishop. I have to think about the bigger picture."

"But what if we can assure you that we will be successful?" Lily asked quickly.

"You can't." Bishop Dilo lifted an eyebrow, giving the young woman a penetrating stare. "Infiltrating the Clocktower will be far harder than you think. You will either need accomplishments in Magecraft, which you do not have, or good contacts, which you do not have either, or a Lord who will help you gain entrance, which will also call much scrutiny upon you. From what I hear, you don't even know how to clear that first hurdle."

"We still want to try." Jonah insisted stubbornly, but it seemed bishop Dilo was growing tired of the conversation.

"But you will not." He told them, his voice indicating that it was the last he had to say about the matter. "I forbid you from throwing your lives away."

"Shouldn't it be our decision whether we throw our lives away or not?" Lily protested.

"No." The answer was firm and unhesitant. "When you joined the Burial Agency, you placed your lives into the hands of God and the Pope. It is their prerogative, and theirs only, to spend your lives on their designs. Do not forget, you are warriors of the Church, and you must follow orders."

"And your orders are that we cannot infiltrate the Clocktower?" Kayla asked for a last time, feeling a mixture of relief and annoyance at the refusal. Relief because she too had considered it a bad plan, and annoyance because she did in fact want to take action to counter the rising influence of the Ancestors.

"My orders are that you cannot carry out that plan that you presented to me." Bishop Dilo huffed, and everyone present perked up at his choice of words. "It has no chance of succeeding."

"But if we had a better plan-" Jonah began.

"Even if you presented a better plan to me, I would have to forbid you from carrying out that plan as well." Bishop Dilo interrupted him sternly. "The Church has a strong policy of non-interference when it comes to the Clocktower, and I am obliged to put an end to any attempts that I notice on our side to violate that policy."

"That you notice, huh?" Kayla asked, easily seeing what the bishop was hinting at.

Basically, he had forbidden them from carrying out the plan they had presented to him, because he was required to do so by the Pope. However, he hadn't forbidden them outright to go to the Clocktower, so if they made a different, better plan and didn't tell him about it, they would be able to carry it out and later hide behind plausible ignorance.

"We understand, bishop." She thus said, bowing her head in acceptance. "We will forget about the plan we presented to you, and we will not bother you with any other plans of its kind again."

"Very good." Bishop Dilo nodded. "Now, this would normally be the point where I dismiss you, as I am very busy indeed, but some information has reached my ears which I believe you should hear as well."

"Well? Out with it then, Gustavus, don't waste our time." Sidonus barked after a moment of silence, and the bishop slumped in disappointment.

"You really don't have any flair for the dramatic." Bishop Dilo sighed in part consternation and part resignation, before he lifted his head again and straightened his back. "Before I tell you the news, let me verify something. The report you filed with the administrators states that the Meluastea-family is responsible for the emergence of the mundane Dead Apostles and for the creation of the bases you have been taking down over the past weeks, correct?"

"Correct." Kayla confirmed, slipping back into her soldier mindset now that the situation had turned into something resembling a debriefing. "While there are many other Magi involved, we can tentatively assume that the Meluastea are the masterminds behind the recent events."

"They are one of the ruling families of the Clocktower, and one of the most powerful at that." Bishop Dilo grumbled, scratching at his neck, something he only did when he was irritated. "Powerful enough that both the Church and the Clocktower couldn't lightly interfere with their business. They used to be untouchable."

"Used to be?" Sidonus raised an eyebrow.

"That's the new information I wanted you to have. The Meluastea have been purged by the Magus Association itself. It appears they went too far and are now paying the price. They have been declared outlaws, and a message has been sent to the Church today telling us that we are free to kill any members of that family we can find."

"Oh, that is excellent news-"

"What?!" Jonah cried in horror, taking a step forward, interrupting Kayla. "The masterminds behind this mess are being taken out and we cannot participate?!"

"That's what you're concerned about?! Be glad everything sorted itself out, idiot!" Mira snarled, looking seconds away from throttling her partner, both for his absolutely inaptitude at keeping his priorities straight and for yelling in a shrine. "And don't talk so loudly in a shrine!"

"I wanted to participate in that purge! Bishop Dilo, you should have told us about this sooner!" Jonah continued whining, not lowering his volume in the slightest, and this time, Mira really did throttle him.

Or at least, she tried to, but Sidonus grabbed her by the scruff of her neck before she could reach him, easily holding her back.

"Easy there, young one." The scarred man laughed, amusement twinkling in his one good eye. "Yelling in a shrine is wrong, but fighting even more so, to say nothing about murdering your boy-toy."

"Bwahahaha! Oh, to be young." Bishop Dilo laughed at the scene, while Kayla wished she could sink into the ground in embarrassment over how her fellows were acting. "Worry not, Sidonus, I am sure God will easily forgive a small love-spat inside one of his houses."

"You would know more about that than I." Sidonus shrugged, before aiming a light glare at bishop Dilo. "And don't think I am not displeased we were not informed of the purge in advance. I too wished to participate."

"I am sorry, Sidonus, Jonah, but you couldn't have participated in the purge even if I had told you in time." Bishop Dilo apologised sincerely. "This was an internal affair of the Magus Association. Anyone affiliated with the Church won't get in without a lot of paperwork and explicit permission from the Vice-Director and her Second in Command."

"Oof." Jonah pouted at the missed opportunity. "I really wanted to slay some Witches."

"Look at it from the bright side. At least the Ancestors lost a lot of puppets today." Lily tried to cheer him up, with some success, as her words did manage to make Jonah's lips twist into a small smile. "And stop whining before Mira will never forgive you."

"It'll be fine, she loves me." Jonah's small smile became a full-blown grin, and Mira, who was still being held like a kitten by Sidonus, hissed in rage again.

"This will indeed have set the Apostle Ancestors back quite a bit." Bishop Dilo agreed with Lily. "I do not doubt they still have many agents and moles within the Magus Association, but I dare say more than half have been lost today."

"This might stir them up into a frenzy." Sidonus warned. "Creatures like that don't appreciate it, at all, when their plans go awry."

"The Cardinals are already preparing for any retaliatory strikes." Bishop Dilo nodded, before his mouth twisted as if he'd tasted something unpleasant. "Recent reports on the behaviour of some of the Ancestors have been… concerning."

"Blackmore." Sidonus growled, and a shiver went down Kayla's spine at the name of the Black Wing Lord.

"Yes. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you have already heard about his actions in Spain."

"Halt is an old friend."

"And far too loose-lipped, clearly."

"He also told me-"

"Bishop Dilo, is there anything you would like us to do?" Kayla interrupted them before they could go off on a tangent about things the rest of them had no clue about, like old men were wont to do.

"To do?"

"About the Ancestors." She clarified, hoping the answer would be positive, partially because she really was worried about the Bloodsucker Lords, and partially because she wanted to make a good impression on her favourite superior again after Jonah and Mira had undoubtedly made his opinion of her drop with their antics.

"No, you have been working hard enough over the past weeks." Bishop Dilo shook his head, before he gave them a pleasant smile. "You should take a holiday. I think a few weeks off is exactly what you need."

That was exactly not what Kayla wanted to hear, and she made to protest, to stress that they didn't need time off and were more than capable of being useful, but before she could get a word out, Sidonus talked over her.

"You know what, Gustavus, I think I agree." The scarred veteran grinned, before he turned towards Kayla and winked conspiratorially. "I hear England is nice this time of year, not too cold, not too hot, and there are a few things there I have always wanted to see. London in particular has been at the top of my list for quite some time now."

"A marvellous idea." Bishop Dilo's smile widened, his eyes twinkling in amusement. "A holiday to London is exactly what you young fellows need."

"I take it we'll be unaffiliated with the Church during said holiday?" Sidonus asked.

"Indeed. Should anything happen, the Church will not provide any aid whatsoever." Bishop Dilo's voice was full of warning, before it turned kind again. "But don't worry too much about that. You should just enjoy your holiday. Oh, and if you would be willing to say hi to Waver from me, I would really appreciate that. He is such a supportive young man, always willing to lend a helping hand, even to people of the Church."

"He sounds like a fine young man indeed." Sidonus laughed back. "But we have kept you for long enough, Gustavus. It's time we went on our holiday."

"A splendid idea. Have fun, you all, and be careful. Kayla, you are still in command. Make sure you all come back safely, okay?"

"Yes, bishop Dilo." Kayla nodded, feeling rather overwhelmed at the moment.

Somehow, they had received permission from the bishop to infiltrate the Clocktower, while at the same time they hadn't received permission at all. The bishop and Sidonus had been talking like it was all nothing but a theory, nothing but holiday plans that happened to be close to the Clocktower, but anyone with two braincells could figure out what they were really talking about.

Was this a taste of what things were like at the top? Saying one thing but meaning another, while speaking only in theories and hypotheticals?

If so, then Kayla never wanted to be a part of it. She wouldn't have the patience to twist and spin around like that. She'd punch someone through a wall during her first conversation, out of pure frustration if nothing else.

…Which was probably why bishop Dilo had always refused to take her to official events, even when she begged him to.

"Kayla!" Lily suddenly whispered harshly, taking the redheaded woman's shoulder in a vice-grip. "Come on! We're leaving. The bishop has dismissed us."

"Huh?" Kayla started at her friend's words, before she looked around and noticed that everyone else indeed seemed to be preparing to depart again. Hastily, she joined them, desperately wanting to avoid being embarrassed in front of her superior again.

She had been embarrassed enough for the day, the year even.

"Off to London then, I guess." Jonah huffed, looking peacefully resigned, as if he'd given up on struggling and was fully prepared to let himself be swept away by the current. "For a holiday of all things…"

"I really hope we'll be coming back though." Mira nervously scratched her temple, showing that she too was well aware of what Sidonus and bishop Dilo had actually been discussing. "God help us."

"If you go in without a reasonable plan, relying merely on luck, God will only very rarely reach down to aid you." Bishop Dilo suddenly said, adopting a lecturing tone. "But if you prepare in advance, make a good plan, and most importantly, make an honest effort, He might just be willing to give the Scales of Faith that little tap that is needed to tilt them into your direction. God helps those who help themselves."

""Yes, bishop Dilo.""

Battle involved paperwork.

It was a rule of thumb that was as old as the concept of battle itself, and while it may not always hold true, it could generally be assumed to describe reality perfectly well.

Advanced societies in particular always saw their battles accompanied by administration and logistics, both before and after the fighting. They needed supplies and manpower, they needed well-defined locations and maps, they needed to process prisoners and loot. There was no escaping the paperwork, not if you wanted your battles and their aftermath to go well.

That was why competent rulers always made sure to have qualified people in place who could deal with all those matters. People who worked around the clock to ensure everything was in place and accounted for.

Logistics was the lifeblood of battles, and administration the very basis of everything that happened in war, that was an undeniable fact. Woe the ruler who forgot such a thing, for nothing but doom would await them.

That was why it was a good thing that Lorelei Barthomeloi, who was objectively terrible at paperwork and tended to dodge such responsibilities whenever she could, had a capable person like Mirei Montmorency on her side to take care of such matters for her.

Mirei was an old hand at arranging logistics for war, having been through several purges already –though she admitted this one was by far the largest she'd ever experienced– and as such, she knew what to do before the purge started, while it was on-going, and after it had ended.

Even now that Fujimaru had completely upended her schedule by being capable of destroying Bounded Fields with a metaphorical snap of his fingers, she still had matters under control. She had been working almost twenty-four hours per day ever since the purge had concluded, now five days ago, but she was managing, somehow.

It would likely take at least another month before things would calm down again, a month of working around the clock, but that was what her personal healers were for.

Sure, they might protest that their medicines and concoctions weren't meant as substitutes for a good night's sleep, but Mirei was too old to care about such trivial details anymore. She didn't need as much sleep as youngsters did, and with her supporting potions on hand, she could reduce that need even further.

Nevertheless, Fujimaru's Healing Power, which could apparently even fix a lack of sleep, was still a balm to her weathered body.

"Thank you, boy. I feel better already." She sighed in content when the golden glow died down and the redhead lowered his arm again. "Out of all your abilities, I must say this one is the most useful in general."

"It is pretty amazing." Fujimaru smiled, his happiness over being able to heal others completely genuine as far as Mirei could tell.

"Indeed, but I didn't call you to my office just to get myself a dose of golden rays. Please, take a seat." She motioned towards one of the chairs standing in the room. "There's actually quite a lot we must discuss."

"I am all ears." Fujimaru said after he sat down. "Although to be honest, I don't know what we need to talk about. My part in the purge is done, is it not?"

"Technically speaking, yes." Mirei nodded, stapling her fingers together. "Our deal was that you would help in tracking down the illegal matters in Archaeology and the other departments, and you more than kept your end of that deal. All that is left is for you to receive your rewards, and then you can leave my office and never return. At least, that would have been the case had this been an ordinary matter and you nothing but a common soldier for hire."

"I sense a 'but' coming."

"But this matter ceased being ordinary the moment you destroyed the Bounded Fields on the Gate of Archaeology, thereby showing yourself to be a force to be reckoned with." Mirei continued, ignoring the boy's remark. "And you made it worse by acting so familiar with little Lorelei, and by performing several 'impossible' acts in her presence. You placed yourself in the spotlight, boy, and that means I cannot just let you go."

"Ugh." That was clearly not welcome news to Fujimaru, though it was probably not entirely unexpected. "So what happens next? Are you going to Seal me?"

"Nothing so drastic." Mirei immediately shook her head, giving him a reassuring smile. "All I want to do is make sure you understand your current situation and equip you do deal with it, so you won't be overwhelmed by your newfound importance."

"Really?" Fujimaru seemed surprised, and more than a little sceptical. "That's awfully kind of you."

"Naturally, I won't do it for free." Mirei admitted frankly, knowing he'd see right through any lie. "But I assure you the cost will be low, nothing you cannot easily afford."

"…I see. In that case, thank you." Fujimaru said, accepting her words as the truth, which they indeed were. "To be honest though, I was thinking of leaving the Clocktower soon."

"That is probably for the best." Mirei nodded gravely, taking him aback a bit. "If you stay, everyone will worry non-stop about your next course of action, and things would never settle down. By disappearing, you would remove most of this tension, and I can work on hammering out a new ceasefire between factions."

"So you're telling me to leave as soon as I can?" Fujimaru asked with a wry smile.

"No. There are matters you must take care of before you can go. Matters that cannot wait." Mirei was aware she was contradicting herself, but she was a Magus. Self-contradiction was in her blood. "I must request you stay for at least another two weeks."

"Fine by me." Fujimaru shrugged, apparently having anticipated something like that. "I already expected it would take about that long. Can I ask though what is required of me? I take it you don't want me to just sit in my room for two weeks?"

"Certainly not, boy." If he was going to stay in his room all the time, he might as well leave right away. "There are multiple reasons we need you to remain here. The most important of them is that we must present a united front to the rest of the Clocktower."

"A united front?"

"Allow me to explain. It is safe to say that your presence drastically simplified the purge. You reduced its length from more than a month to less than a day, we have suffered no casualties because of your talents, and none of our enemies managed to escape. People know this, and they know Lorelei holds you in high regard." Mirei summed up, looking the redhead straight into the eyes to make sure he knew how important this was. "Essentially, you are a part of the very face of the purge. If future-historians ever describe this period in their books or lectures, they will name you in one breath alongside Lorelei and me. You have contributed to the downfall of three departments and the gutting of the Neutral Faction, who were headed by the Meluastea."

"Alright, so I was important." Fujimaru rubbed the back of his head in almost aggressive motions, looking very grumpy for some reason. "But why is that relevant?"

"Because the purge doesn't exist in a vacuum, boy." Mirei immediately replied. "The purge will influence every aspect of the Magus Association and its workings, and it will determine the future power-structures for years to come. Your actions in simplifying it have given the Aristocratic Faction an incredibly strong hand to play in the coming negotiations and power struggles."

"Okay… So?"

"So we, the Aristocratic Faction and especially Policies, need you to stay on our side." Mirei leaned forward in her chair. "Tell me, boy, what do you think will happen if you break with us now? Or even if you just distance yourself from us?"

"…Your standing will go down?" Fujimaru guessed. "Your 'hand' will weaken?"

"Indeed! A lot of our current influence and power will be lost if you leave. The Democratic Faction and the Neutral Faction would surely see it as a sign that the Aristocratic Faction is weakening, that there is blood in the water, and then there will be war."

"You exaggerate! I cannot be that important-!"

"You are." Mirei interrupted him, speaking strongly as she slammed her cane down on the ground. "You really are."

"…" Fujimaru was rendered speechless, his mouth opening and closing periodically, until he found enough of his voice to ask a question. "Why?"

"Why? Are you seriously asking me that?" Mirei scoffed, before holding up her finger. "Listen, Fujimaru, there is something you really need to understand here. Of all the people who participated in the purge, the only one who really mattered was you."

"But the Enforcers and mercenaries…? And Lady Barthomeloi?"

"Were all replaceable. All of them, Gideon, Sisigou, McRemitz, and yes, even Lorelei, could have stayed away and been replaced with almost any other Enforcer or mercenary and nothing would have changed. Without you though, we would still be fighting, with absolutely no guarantee of a decisive victory. We owe a hell of a lot to you, boy."

"I-Is that so?" Fujimaru turned away from her, a slight blush appearing on his cheeks.

"That is why I am having this conversation with you, and not with any of the others." Mirei explained further. "Your actions from here on have the potential to heavily influence the new status-quo and Policies' standing in it. The actions of everyone else, not so much. Even if Adashino, Rit, or Lehrman suddenly decide to rebel, not much will change. If you take even one step out of line however…"

"Yes, I got it." Fujimaru didn't look at all happy about it though. "I will make sure to present a united front with Policies."

"Is that really so disagreeable?" Mirei asked, before motioning at his face when he blinked in confusion. "You look extremely displeased."

"Oh, that. No, that's not about having to present a united front or anything like that. I'm not happy because…"

"Because?"

"…Because I got wrapped up in Clocktower-politics after all." Fujimaru bemoaned, burying his face in his hands. "If dad were still alive, he'd be furious. Or he'd laugh really hard, that is also possible."

"Would he now?" Mirei smiled, feeling rather amused at the boy's despair, which was obviously fake for the most part. It was clear he'd had a good relationship with his father, and still thought highly of the man. "He sounds like a good father."

"He was." Fujimaru mumbled with a muffled voice.

"Nevertheless, you cannot fulfil his wish. You will have to participate in politics now, or all the hard work I have put into stabilising the political landscape again will go to waste. Lorelei would certainly be very inconvenienced as well."

"…"

"I know that you would rather not have become involved in Clocktower-politics." Mirei sighed, feeling genuinely sorry for the boy, though she knew there wasn't anything that could be done. "But you are too powerful and too influential to ignore. If you really wanted to stay out of everything, you should have remained on the sidelines and never gotten involved with the Magus Association at all."

"I know." Fujimaru lifted his head from his hands again and smiled weakly. "I have no one to blame for this but myself. I have no regrets though, about the path I have chosen, but that doesn't mean I cannot complain about it sometimes."

"Ha! No, certainly not." Mirei agreed wholeheartedly. "Complain away, boy, as much as you want, as long as you don't let it interfere with your duties."

"Hm, well, as I said, I will help you as much as I can." Fujimaru visibly gathered his courage, and when their gazes met, his eyes were devoid of any hesitation or doubt. "What do you want me to do?"

"I like your enthusiasm, boy." Mirei grinned, wishing more Magi had a helpful mindset like his. It would certainly make her job a lot easier. "Essentially, I want you to present a united front with us, as I already explained."

"How do I do that?"

"It's relatively simple actually. Aside from not rebelling and not leaving, you need to make sure everything you say is in line with Policies' released statements."

"And what does that mean?"

"If people ask you about anything related to the purge, you need to give the same reply that Lorelei or I would give. In light of that, I will now give you all information you need to give such answers."

"Is that wise?" Fujimaru asked cautiously. "I mean, I don't know much about operational security. Would it not be better to keep me as uninformed as possible?"

"Oh, I am not going to tell you anything classified or secret, boy." Mirei laughed, as that would indeed be preposterous, considering how little he knew about politicking. "All you'll get from me is information that will be made public soon anyway. This is necessary, because people will ask you about the purge, and if you cannot answer their questions or your answer differs from Lorelei's, it would put us all in a difficult spot."

"Because it would suggest we have no unity?" Shirou guessed.

"Indeed, boy, indeed." Mirei nodded, happy he was so quick to understand. "We must present a united front, and that means our answers must align perfectly."

"I understand."

"Do you? Good." Mirei smiled, amused by how he sat up in his chair like a proper student. "I'll give you a quick rundown of the most relevant facts now, and at the end of the meeting, I'll give you the relevant reports to read for yourself."

Fujimaru didn't react verbally, merely nodding his head once.

"What most people will be interested in is of course the new status-quo. After the fall of three departments and the gutting of the Neutral Faction, many of the old guard will be desperate for correct information, and the most important information will be the identities of the new rulers of Archaeology, Mineralogy, and Botany." Mirei began with the most crucial subject, the one Fujimaru would undoubtedly be asked about numerous times. "One-fourth of the Clocktower will be put under new leadership. That is a tremendous change that has never happened before in all of the Magus Association's existence."

"So people will ask me who will rule those departments from now on?" Fujimaru summarised her explanation, to which she nodded once. "Have you already decided on that?"

"Partially. When you are asked about the new rulers, please tell your interlocutors that the Archibald will rule Mineralogy, that the Archelot will still hold on to Botany provided that the head of their family marries someone of Lorelei's choice, and that no decision has been made yet concerning Archaeology, as there is too much that still needs to be done before we can even think about rebuilding that department."

"Very well." Fujimaru nodded, listening attentively.

"Furthermore, if people ask, you can tell them that the Meluastea have been arrested, all of them, save for the few who killed themselves before we could capture them." Mirei went on. "They will all be put on public trial, and they will receive punishment for their treachery. Similarly, all other criminals that we captured, like the Colby-family, the Saward-family, the De Vries-family, and numerous others, will also be judged. The trials are due to begin tomorrow, and will likely take several days. Lorelei and I want you to be present at those trials."

"Because we have to present a picture of unity?" Fujimaru ventured with a lopsided smile.

"Exactly!" Truly, it was so easy to explain things like this if the person she was speaking to had some common sense. "Most likely, the two of us will sit on either side of Lorelei, but that's not a certainty."

"…I'll prepare myself then." Fujimaru mumbled, the news that he was going to be close to the Vice-Director again obviously putting him off balance.

"You still don't know what to do with her, do you?" Mirei asked, not able to hide her amusement. "Even though you are handling her better than anyone else I've ever met, including myself."

"Well, she is pretty easy to get along with, as long as nothing goes wrong, but she's just…" Fujimaru trailed off, falling silent as he searched for the correct word to describe the brunette.

"Another thing that is important is that you do not give out the identities of anyone who participated in the purge, no matter how much you are asked about it." Mirei decided to throw him a bone by moving the subject along again. She'd find out his true opinion about Lorelei later. "Even if you think it is common knowledge that any particular person took part, ignore any questions that inquire about their identities. I don't care if they ask if Lorelei herself participated, you either don't say anything or you deny all knowledge."

Reprisals were still a very real possibility after all. The Meluastea had carried great influence, and many of its members had not been without charisma. It was not unthinkable that people were out for revenge at this very moment.

"Furthermore, when people ask about your competition with Lorelei, you will be very clear that Lorelei won it, and you will not say how close it actually was. Allow them to believe she beat you easily."

That was normally not an easy directive for young men to follow, pretending that they lost badly, but Fujimaru didn't even blink while he nodded. Apparently, he didn't suffer much from excess pride.

"If anyone asks about the purge in general, make sure to always mention how hard a battle it was, and how much effort we had to put in to bring it to such a swift end. I realise that it is impossible to hide the fact that unnatural things happened there, considering we finished the entire thing in under a day, but please don't fan the flames any more than you have to."

After such an upheaval, they needed stability, and Fujimaru going around telling everyone about his impossible exploits would not improve stability at all.

"That was just about everything I wanted to say. Just try not to give out too many details, give liberal praise to Lorelei, the Enforcers, and the mercenaries, and avoid bragging as much as you can."

"That shouldn't be too difficult." Fujimaru smiled, looking relieved that her directives were so simple. "I will do as you say."

"Then allow me to ask one more thing of you." Mirei said, and Fujimaru gave her a curious look. "I want you to look like you know what you are doing."

"Pardon me?" Fujimaru blinked in confusion upon hearing his second task.

"Once more, it is a matter of image and reputation. You are now known as a terribly powerful Magus who effortlessly dominates his surroundings. For the sake of Policies' standing, you must keep that image intact. As such, you have to act the part of the powerful, knowledgeable Magus who knows his way around politics and powerplays."

"…Right."

"Now, pretending to be more capable than you really are may sound simple in theory, but I know from experience it is more difficult in practice. As such, I will be giving you instructions now. I would greatly appreciate it if you followed them."

"…Please tell me the instructions first, or I can't promise that I will follow them."

"Good answer, boy, and one that ties in nicely with the first of the instructions." Mirei slammed her fist down on her desk with a laugh. "The most important thing to preserve your reputation and image of power, and really, boy, this is vital, is to never make any sort of promise to anyone. I mean it, do not do that. It doesn't matter how small the favour they ask might be, you don't promise them anything. Tell them that you'll see what you can do, or that it's 'certainly interesting', but never give them a concrete promise or a guarantee. Never bind yourself like that. People will try to trap you by extracting promises you cannot keep. Do not let them, or they'll weaken your standing and make a fool of you."

"Noted." Fujimaru nodded, but the frown on his face showed that he had an issue with her words. "But to not make any promises at all… Does that mean I cannot help anyone?"

"It doesn't mean that at all." Mirei waved the question away. "You can help as many people as you want. I am only saying you should be careful in what you say. If someone comes to you with a problem, tell them that you will try to help, but give no guarantees you will succeed. That way, they cannot trap you in a promise you won't be able to keep, and they cannot use that unkept promise to embarrass or otherwise harass you."

"I understand." Fujimaru's nod was more confident this time.

"Good. For the second tip, don't be afraid to walk away from conversations. Remember that you are not required to keep talking to anyone who gives you a bad feeling or is trying to make use of you. You can just end the conversation at any point and walk away, and there will be no consequences."

"I'll remember that."

"Third, be wary of any stranger who approaches you from now on, especially if they are trying to be friendly for no discernible reason. I imagine you already know this, as you are not a fool, but Magi aren't nice to others out of the kindness of their hearts."

"I don't think there's anyone alive who doesn't know that." Fujimaru smiled wryly.

"You'd be surprised by how many people still let themselves be taken advantage of just because someone was kind to them." Mirei sighed deeply as she thought back on all the times she had seen good people fall because they had been taken in by a kind word and a nice gesture. "There are good liars out there, boy, and though you are better equipped against them than most, you should still take care. Only trust those you were already friendly with before this mess happened, and even then, keep an eye on them."

"Very well." Fujimaru nodded obediently, clearly having no issue with this piece of advice. It was after all common knowledge, as he had said himself, that Magi were not a trustworthy lot.

"My next piece of advice is to try to never be alone anywhere except in your own chambers, which you have undoubtedly fortified." Mirei continued. "Even if you can beat anyone who tries to ambush you, such events can still be used to discredit you."

"Of course."

"Other than that, I would like you to continue carrying on as you have done before." Mirei smiled. "Aside from my instructions, you already behave like a powerful, knowledgeable Magus."

"I do?" Fujimaru's confusion was clearly visible on his face.

"Yes. Blatantly disregarding rules and authority when it is convenient, brazenly defying your supposed superiors, carelessly starting fights in hallways, and ignoring the generally accepted pecking order are all traits that very powerful Magi possess. It shows that you aren't afraid of repercussions and don't fear anything. That's exactly the image I want you to show to the rest of the Magus Association."

"…Have I done something to make you angry, Lady Montmorency?" Fujimaru asked after a moment, his expression having become tormented.

"I think we're almost done here." Mirei said, ignoring his question. She wasn't mad at him or anything like that, she just enjoyed making youngsters sweat sometimes. "We just need to plan our next meeting."

"Next meeting?"

"Of course. The trials start tomorrow morning, at nine, and I want you, Lorelei, and me to have a short meeting beforehand to get our stories straight. As such, I want you in my office again tomorrow at eight in the morning."

"But what if I am indisposed?" Fujimaru protested. "I could be having an appointment with someone else."

"Tell them Lorelei herself demanded to speak with you, or do whatever else it takes to get out of it. Feel free to place all blame on her shoulders and stress what an annoying, overbearing woman she is, but make sure you come to our meeting."

"…You are rather harsh on Lady Barthomeloi."

"She's a big girl, she can handle herself." Mirei dismissed his words, though she smiled inwardly at the concern he showed for the Vice-Director. "Also, I am giving you some homework."

"Homework?" Fujimaru deadpanned at her, and Mirei now laughed openly at his expression.

"Yes, boy, homework. I want you to prepare yourself for the trials, so I want you to read this before the meeting tomorrow morning for a full picture of the entire purge."

'This' being a pack of documents as thick as her arm, holding copies of all the relevant reports on the proceedings of the purge, from the moment Fujimaru broke the first Bounded Field of the day up to the point where Lord El-Melloi 'captured' Marianne Archelot. It was an awful lot of information, and Mirei fully expected the redhead to balk at her order to read it all in one night.

He didn't balk though, or react much in any other way, really.

"Very well." He nodded without blinking an eye, accepting the mass of papers from her. "I am very good at memorising thing, and I can read very fast. I will have gone through all this by next morning, and I will make sure to remember it all."

"Hold on, boy! I appreciate your dedication, but hold on!" Mirei raised her hands to stop him, standing up from her chair in her haste, before revealing the much smaller pile of summaries she had kept hidden under several empty sheets. "You don't have to plow through all that nonsense! Just reading these summaries will be enough!"

"I know." Fujimaru exchanged the complete reports for the summaries without pausing for a moment, giving her a slight smirk. "I saw them when I came in."

…He'd seen through her from the start?

"Darn." She grumbled, sitting down again. "Can you not at least pretend to fall for an old woman's jokes? You are a cruel boy, Fujimaru."

"You started it though?!"

"Just read the summaries."

"Fine." Fujimaru grumbled, looking at the much smaller pack of paper in his hand. "I will."

"Thank you." Mirei smiled, before deciding it would be a good idea to spell out their deal once more. "Remember, Fujimaru, if you play ball and stick with Policies throughout this conflict, I will make sure you will never receive a Sealing Designation for any of your 'unusual' talents. Just swallow your dislike for politicking for now, and in two weeks, you can go back home, I guarantee it."

"I will do as you ask." Fujimaru nodded, his expression straightening out again. "Regardless of how much I dislike politics."

"Then I have just one more question for you, if I may be so bold."

"What is it?"

"Why did you get involved in the matter of the Meluastea? If you are as averse to politics and fame as you claim, then certainly you should have stayed far away from it? I know you did not do it for the rewards, as Lorelei told me you have little appreciation for money or resources, and you clearly do not want a higher position, so what is your motivation?"

Mirei knew Fujimaru was a kind man, who thought it was only natural to help people if you were capable of doing so, but even altruism only went so far in explaining his actions.

"I want to become a Hero of Justice."

Or perhaps altruism was the whole reason after all.

"See you tomorrow, Lady Montmorency."

"Until tomorrow, Shirou." Mirei nodded, before putting her head in her hands once he'd left her office.

It seemed she had a lot to think about.

Waver was just enjoying a nice cup of tea, sitting in his office in blissful silence, hanging back in his favourite sofa, clad in nothing but pyjama pants and an undershirt, when he was rudely disturbed by his own personal hellion.

In other words, his little sister, Reines.

"Waver!" She cried as she stormed inside, followed closely behind by Grey, who at least looked suitably apologetic for disturbing him during his personal time, unlike Reines

Waver had been working his butt off over the past week, endlessly labouring to make sure the Archibald could successfully claim Mineralogy without issues while also holding on to Modern Magecraft Theories, and he had decided he had earned himself a break today.

It wouldn't be a long break, just three hours of total peace and quiet, during which he could fully recharge himself to tackle his next assignments.

So with that in mind, he had sent away Grey, told Reines and his other students to keep out of his office, and barred entry to absolutely everyone, to get himself that peace and quiet he so desperately needed.

But now, barely one hour into said break, Reines had thrown his orders to the wind and had stormed into his sanctuary, the expression on her face one of genuine anger.

That genuineness more than anything stopped Waver from immediately throwing her out by her ear. That, and the fact that Grey actually looked annoyed as well, which was unusual to say the least.

"What is it, ladies?" So when he asked that question, it was in a calm tone instead of the enraged one he'd originally planned on using.

"Waver, my beloved big brother." Reines began, a very brittle smile forming on her face that did nothing to hide her anger. "You have been working hard these past days, very hard indeed, and I am most grateful for that. Your reclamation of Mineralogy has been the best thing to happen to the Archibald this decade, and I am certainly not averse to praising and rewarding you for it."

"Thank you." Waver only just suppressed the urge to grin, basking in Reines' lauding of him, for he knew it would be short-lived.

"So when you asked for a short break, during which you'd be left completely alone so you could rest properly, I was more than happy to agree." Reines continued with that same brittle smile. "But, Waver, if you were so intent on peace and quiet, enough to even send Grey away…"

Her smile broke, and she angrily pointed to a corner of his office, her face contorting in indignation.

"Then why is that woman here?!"

"Ah." Now Waver understood what had pissed her off so much.

'That woman' was Marianne Archelot, the ruler of Botany and former wife of the known criminal and Meluastea-toady Jack Colby. She had blonde hair, blue eyes, and an absolutely stunning beauty that had left both Reines and Grey breathless the first time they'd seen her, after Waver had taken her from her bedroom to the main hall of her Department.

Waver completely understood that reaction. He too was struck silent by her beauty every time he looked at her, as were most other people.

It had been quite the struggle to get Svin and Flat to stop gawking whenever they caught sight of her and even Fujimaru and Lady Barthomeloi had told him that they considered Marianne to be one of the most beautiful women they had ever seen.

Marianne was currently in Waver's care. After the events of the purge, in which Marianne had killed Colby before surrendering without a fight to Waver, she had been put under a kind of house-arrest, but instead of staying at her own 'house', she had been told to stay at Waver's.

Waver himself couldn't fathom why Lady Montmorency had considered that her best option, but since he and Marianne already knew each other from several years ago, when they'd frequently interacted in one of the Clocktower's cantinas, he didn't mind it very much, nor did Marianne.

Reines and Grey hadn't minded it either at first, with the former only being glad to have the ruler of one of the other departments be in her debt while the latter just wanted to help. As the days passed however, they'd had a considerable shift in opinion.

Since he had been made responsible for her, Waver kept Marianne with him all day, even during his breaks and at night, though they slept on opposite sides of the room of course. It was something he'd rather not do, forcing a lady to stay in his presence, but he took his duties seriously, and Marianne didn't appear to mind it.

Reines and Grey on the other hand did mind it. In fact, they outright disliked it, if their words and behaviour were anything to go by. Even Waver, who wasn't the most well-versed in the language of women, could easily see that.

However, he couldn't see why they disliked Marianne's presence so much. She wasn't spying on them, she wasn't rude –to the contrary, she had been nothing but pleasant to everyone the entire time– and she was hardly dangerous either.

In fact, out of all the women in his life, she and Grey were definitely in a shared first place on the list of women who he most liked to have around him, slightly ahead of Bazett.

In his ignorance, Waver didn't realise at all that that was exactly the problem.

"I am sorry, lady Reines." Marianne apologised in her soft, melodious voice. She was sitting in a chair in a corner of the room, covered by a blanket, with a book in her hands that she'd been reading up until the two girls had barged into the office. "But it were Lady Montmorency's orders that we were not to be separated."

"Ugh." Reines had no rebuttal to that, so instead, she just glared at Marianne, who wasn't fazed in the slightest by it.

The blonde-haired woman was doing much better now than when Waver found her. She had been drowsy, confused, and lethargic, looking around with terrified eyes while shying away from everything that moved, but now, almost five days later, after plenty of food, water, exercise and, most importantly, a healthy dose of Fujimaru's Healing Power, she had regained most of her strength and vitality, slowly changing back into a proud lady of the Clocktower.

As such, she easily withstood Reines' glare, looking back fearlessly, as if in challenge.

Waver had to wonder whether Marianne knew why Grey and Reines disliked her. She had claimed she didn't, but he'd had his doubts from the start on whether that was true, and with her behaviour now…

"Melvin also wants to speak with you, Sir." Grey then said, pulling his attention away from the glaring ladies and towards the white-haired girl, who fiddled with her gloves a bit, shyly looking at the ground. "Sir, do you like Lady Marianne more than me?"

"Huh?!" The question came out of nowhere, and Waver was caught flatfooted, his mouth falling open in shock.

"It's just… She is always with you, at your side." Grey mumbled, her fiddling increasing as she became more and more agitated. "I-I just thought that… that maybe you like her more? I-It's alright if you do, I just…"

"Grey, no." Waver shook his head firmly, reaching out and placing his hand on his apprentice's head. "She is at my side because she has to be for now. This is by no means a permanent arrangement. Marianne will leave soon, and you will still be here, at my side. I will not abandon you, Grey, that is what I promised, isn't it?"

"I-It is, Sir." Grey nodded, at first weakly, but then the movement became sharper, more confident. "Yes, Sir, I understand. I am sorry for doubting you."

"It is no issue, but don't let it happen again. Sulking is unbecoming of a Magus, and especially of an apprentice of mine." Waver scolded her lightly once he was sure she could handle it. "As I always tell my students, you have to be impeccable. Being pathetic is a terrible crime for Magi, and acting pathetic even more so."

"Yes, sir." Grey agreed with him, and Waver turned his head to the side for a moment, only to find that Reines and Marianne were still glaring at each other, having managed to miss his conversation with Grey entirely.

He really wondered just why they were so hostile to each other.

Then the thing that Grey had said at the very beginning of their conversation finally clicked in his mind, and his head immediately began aching.

"Grey, did you just say that Melvin wants to see me?" He checked, hoping that he'd misheard, before his headache intensified when Grey nodded. "Any idea when?"

"According to what he told me, he should be arriving any minute now."

"Now?" Waver did a double take at the answer, before he looked at Marianne and Grey, who were now both standing and looked ready to start a fight, and then to the pile of papers on his desk, all on the subject of the take-over of Mineralogy, and then at Grey, who had been 'instrumental in the taking of the Graveyard without damage', according to Lady Barthomeloi.

Melvin was going to have a field day with this!

Much like Flat and Svin, Melvin often caused trouble for Waver. Unlike the boys though, Melvin did it completely on purpose, with the explicit goal of making everyone's day more difficult than it had to be.

A sadist through and through, Melvin had selected Waver as his favourite mark, mostly because Waver was the only one who had never chased him out with brute force. Not because Waver liked him or anything, but because he owed Melvin hundreds of millions of pounds.

Waver was not ready to face his 'friend', who would undoubtedly grill him for every interesting moment of the purge, would make fun of him all the way, and would likely try to escalate the brewing catfight in the corner, just because he'd enjoy it.

"I have to hide." Waver decided, entirely serious, and he was just about to grab a shirt and his coat when the door to his office was thrown wide open again, and a white-haired man stepped through, an aura of chaos following soon after.

"Waver!" Melvin Weins, Waver's 'friend' and financer, shouted happily, his eyes shining in delight as he jogged forward, his arms wide open as if to embrace Waver. "My dearest friend!"

"Melvin." Waver acknowledged the other man, resigning himself to his fate as he was hugged tightly, knowing there was no way for him to escape anymore. Instead, his only hope was to take the initiative and bury Melvin under a barrage of questions, preventing him from being able to cause trouble. "Where have you been over the past week?"

"You missed the purge." Grey added, probably thinking along the same lines as Waver did.

"Haha! You'd think that, wouldn't you? But no, I didn't miss it at all." Melvin boasted, placing his hands on his hips and drawing himself up to his full height. "My mother forbade me from going out while the fighting was ongoing, that is true. I spent days being locked up in her office. She was afraid a stray spell might kill me, or that the excitement would."

"A not unreasonable fear." Waver said mildly.

"Yeah, I know." Far from being bothered by his own frailty, Melvin just grinned wider. "But mom was totally ahead of us. She bribed a few Enforcers and mercenaries and got them to agree to have a spell put on them that would transmit everything they saw to a screen in the office. It allowed me to have my fun, and mom to gather information."

"Like a camera." Grey said, her mouth forming a small 'o' of realisation. "But with people's eyes as the lenses."

"What's a camera?" Melvin frowned in confusion at the unfamiliar word. "And what does it have to do with mom's Magecraft?"

"That is not relevant right now." Waver dismissed the topic, perfectly aware himself what a camera was, but not about to explain it to someone who would immediately forget again. "Rather tell me what you saw."

"I saw a lot of awesome things." Melvin cheered, his mood the best it had been in years. "Oh man, all that destruction, those Magi pleading for mercy, the chaos, the battles, everything was so cool. Fujimaru was the coolest though, him and Lady Barthomeloi."

"They were rather impressive." Waver agreed, for it was simply true. "But if you only saw what the Enforcers and mercenaries could see, then you must have missed much. Lady Barthomeloi and Fujimaru often ran off on their own, allowing no one to follow them until most of the fighting was already over."

"Yes, I noticed. They seemed really strict on that." Melvin sighed, his wide grin and cheery demeanour disappearing instantly to make place for sadness and gloom, as a trail of blood began leaking from his mouth. "Mom wasn't happy, and I wasn't either. We missed so much of the fun, so much of the juicy intel."

"If it is any consolation, almost no one knows the full extent of what happened during the purge." Waver tried to sooth his friend's mood. "I dare say the only ones with a full picture of the events of that day are Fujimaru, Lady Barthomeloi, and likely Lady Montmorency as well. If you want to know more about what happened, you need to ask them."

"I am on good terms with Shirou." Melvin perked up again, the trail of blood continuing to leak from his mouth, and Grey offered him a tissue, which he accepted gratefully. "I could ask him what happened during the purge."

"That is a good idea." Waver jumped at the opportunity to cut the conversation short. He felt some remorse over throwing the redhead under the Melvin-shaped bus, but not so much that he wouldn't go through with it. He already had a lot of work to do, and very delicate matters to handle, and he could not use Melvin's destructive influence while doing that. "Why don't you try and find him now? He should be in his room, reading reports in preparation for the trials tomorrow."

"An excellent idea." Melvin was enthused again, and he turned towards the door. "Oh, wait!" Then he turned back to Waver. "Before I go, I have to ask; there are a lot of rumours floating around that you are going to become the next lord of Mineralogy and Botany. Is that true?"

"What? No, such rumours are not true." Waver frowned, before waving his hand irritably as he had to correct himself. "They are half-true. I am indeed going to become the next lord of Mineralogy, though I will have Reines and Delilah do most of the work, but Botany will not fall under me. It is still property of the Archelot-family."

"Is it? Even after all the illegal stuff that was done on their watch?" Melvin appeared surprised at first, but he composed himself quickly. "Well, I suppose the Archelot do belong to the Aristocratic Faction, so maybe Lady B was willing to cut them some slack. The Aristocratic Faction's power is immense at the moment, so if they want to protect the Archelot, they can, easily, and no one will be able to do a thing. No one can stand up to them at all anymore."

"Oh?" That was news to Waver. "I know that the Neutral Faction has been rendered powerless, considering they lost their leaders, but surely, the Democratic Faction is still working hard to check the Barthomeloi-family's power?"

"Nope. Right now, the only thing they are working hard on is making sure they have no traitors of their own among their ranks, and keeping their heads down until they are certain Lady B has no avenues to attack them." Melvin leaned in towards Waver, though he didn't lower his voice at all, making the gesture rather futile. "The fact that Policies managed to utterly annihilate three Departments in one day has their knickers in a twist. There is no way the Democrats are going to waste capital and influence on opposing the Aristocrats over some small matter like the fate of the Archelot-family right now. In fact, as long as Lady B keeps Fujimaru on her side, I'm pretty sure she can get away with doing almost anything, at least until the Democrats have regained their bearings."

"…" Waver had no response to that, though he found himself very grateful to be a member of the Aristocratic Faction right now.

"That Fujimaru." Melvin's grin turned razor sharp, and he leaned towards Waver even more, his pale eyes studying every twitch in Waver's face. "He destroyed the status-quo that had been in place for more than a millennium. Everything is shifting, Waver, in the Clocktower, in all of Europe even. The Meluastea have been lords for more than a thousand years, and their absence will have far-reaching consequences. Are you prepared for that, Waver? I certainly hope you don't have second thoughts about having participated in the purge."

"I don't regret my actions, nor do I disagree with Policies' actions so far." Waver said calmly, noting from the corner of his eye how Grey, Reines, and Marianne had stalked closer, all of them frowning at Melvin. "The Meluastea had to be stopped before they caused too much damage. Do you have a problem with that?"

"Oh no no no! Don't misunderstand me!" Melvin took a few steps back, and his razor-sharp grin turned back into a relaxed smile. "The Meluastea certainly went too far, and they had to be culled, I'm not arguing against that. Furthermore, it was to be expected that the Aristocrats would come out of it more powerful than ever. All of that is just a logical chain of events. No, Waver, all I am trying to tell you now is that there will be consequences you might not have expected."

"I am perfectly aware of that."

"Are you? Good. Then please make sure things don't go any further off the deep end. I would hate it if there were to be a war between Factions now. I do like my chaos and mayhem, but I'd rather they did not affect me directly."

"Hm." Waver frowned deeply. "I fear you might be overestimating me. I do not have the required influence or the necessary power to stop a war from happening."

"But you do." Melvin countered with a smile so sure that Waver was momentarily convinced as well. "You certainly do. You just don't know it yet."

"…"

"Alright then, I'm off." Melvin's tone was entirely light-hearted again as he spoke his goodbyes. "I have to question Fujimaru about the purge, and after that, I have the misery of the damned to enjoy. The cellblocks in the Department of Policies are stuffed to the brim, and I can't wait to see how terribly the prisoners are treated. Desperate cries truly are the finest of music to my ears, and none are more desperate than the mighty who have fallen."

"You are a monster." Marianne whispered, looking aghast at Melvin's words.

"I am a wretched beast, my lady." Melvin bowed towards her in greeting, grinning widely at her words. "And this is a terrific time for beasts. I wish you all a pleasant day."

The next moment, that human-shaped plague had left the office again, and the door slammed shut after him.

For several seconds, no one said anything, before Reines spoke up.

"So, Waver. You are technically still on your break. Should we leave you be again or…?"

"My break is over." Waver violently ripped a cigar out of its package and lit it, before drawing on it so hard he burned half of its length in one go. "I'm going back to work, and so will the three of you."

""Yes, sir!""

He'd underestimated the ripples that the purge had caused. So far, he'd treated it as an annoyance, something he had to deal with on top of his other responsibilities, but that wasn't right. The purge was shaping up to be the event of the century, and it was time Waver treated it that way.

No more breaks and no more complaining. He was going to complete the take-over of Mineralogy, he was going to solidify the Archibald's power, and he was going to prepare for the storms that were heading his way.

He had to stay vigilant, or he might very well not make it out alive.

At the same time that Waver was having his epiphany, the Neutral Faction had finally managed to organise a meeting between all of its remaining families. Well, not all of them, as several couldn't make it or were desperately trying to distance themselves from the faction altogether, but most families had sent at least one representative, so they could get started anyway.

Normally, such an event would be opened by the leading family of the bunch. Had this been a meeting of the Aristocratic Faction, it would have been Lorelei Barthomeloi who opened it. For the Democratic Faction, it would have been McDonell Trambellio Elrod. As the leading family of the Neutrals, the Meluastea, were sadly absent however, for obvious reasons, it was the main representative of the Phamrsolone-family who spoke up first.

The Phamrsolone were not the most powerful family of the Neutrals, or the most influential, or the richest, or anything like that, but they were the family that got along with just about every other family in the Faction, having no rivalries or enmity with any of them. As such, no one protested against Gladstone Phamrsolone taking the word first.

"Members of the Neutral Faction." Gladstone Phamrsolone spoke up gravely, not bothering with pleasantries or honoured greetings, as this was definitely not the time. "We are at the edge of an abyss. The Meluastea have fallen, the Aristocratic Faction is breathing down our necks, and bottom feeders are gathering to take a bite out of us. We need to take action immediately, or our Faction will cease to exist in mere months."

It was a great risk, opening with such words. Even if they were the truth, considering the Neutrals were leaderless and had lost an immense amount of power, Magi still hated it when it was even as much as suggested that they were weak in any way. Frankly, Gladstone fully expected someone to shout him down now.

But no one did, and that was perhaps the greatest and clearest indication that they were in deep, deep trouble.

"Does anyone have options?" Gladstone thus decided to ask. He'd wanted to ask that at some point later in the meeting, but if everyone already understood the urgency of the situation, he could move that up in the agenda. "To mitigate the damage and restore some of our standing?"

His question was blunt and direct. He had not the patience right now for the usual word games and power plays that normally dominated Faction-meetings. He needed to know which families would stand with him and which wouldn't, which families were useful and which weren't, and of course, which families would have to be sacrificed for the greater good of the Neutral Faction.

"We, the Brishisan-family, have already purged all those with direct connections to the Meluastea from the Department of Lore." Mario Brishisan, head of said department, proclaimed proudly. "With them removed, Policies will have no cause to investigate the rest of us. I suggest you all do the same with your own holdings."

The representatives of the Codrington-family, the Dioland-family, and the Sembren-family nodded in agreement, having already done the same, and most of the remaining families made plans on the spot to follow their example.

Of course, most of the Magi who had direct connections to the Meluastea and who were about to be purged were innocent of any wrongdoing, having obediently kept themselves to the laws, but they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the Meluastea's fall would pull them down too.

They were a necessary sacrifice, and very few of those present had any trouble with throwing them under the bus if it would help save their own skins.

"I like this idea." Gladstone injected as much enthusiasm into his voice as possible, even though he considered the idea the absolute bare minimum and something everyone in the room should have done already. "Let's keep the ball rolling. Any other ideas?"

"Perhaps we could allow for a limited investigation to be performed into our dealings with the Meluastea?" Peronos Jigmarie, cousin of the head of the Department of Curses, suggested carefully, aware that his words might trigger a storm of complaints. "Merely to show that we had no involvement in their illegal enterprises?"

Such a suggestion would normally be received with scorn and rage, but both Peronos and Gladstone breathed a sigh of relief when no one protested, and Peronos looked cautiously hopeful when several families even slowly nodded in agreement to his suggestion.

"What exactly is your definition of 'a limited investigation', Peronos?" Hector Crudelis asked, his stern, weathered face expressing nothing but total indifference. "I do not wish for Policies to snoop around my business and my family."

"We hand over any documents or other paperwork pertaining to the deals we have made with the Meluastea." Peronos replied, daring to speak loudly now that he had some support. "If we do that, voluntarily and without being asked or ordered to, pushing for more will make Policies lose face and influence. By being cooperative, we will defang them."

"The Aristocratic Faction has so much influence at the moment that even losing as much as half of it won't bother them." Hector countered, before inclining his head. "But your suggestion has merit."

"We could recompense those who have suffered from the Meluastea's actions." Flovis Harway proposed once Peronos and Hector sat down again. "I have always found there is not a single grievance in the world that cannot be made to disappear with enough generosity. If we all pitch in, we can collect enough money to buy our way out of trouble."

"Not all of us have enough money or resources for something like that." Lilianne Zepter, one of the two last members of the Zepter-family, protested, her hand tightly holding that of her twin-sister, Florance Zepter, the other remaining member.

The Zepter-family was very poor, to the point where they had to live on hand-outs from other families of the Neutral Faction, meaning they indeed couldn't afford to pay any money to 'buy their way out of trouble'. They weren't the only ones who protested however. Other, richer families, such as the Crudelis, also nodded their agreement with what Lilianne had said.

"The Harway-family will be glad to foot the bill for all of you." Flovis said, smiling magnanimously. It was not an idle promise either, as the Harway-family was preposterously rich even by Clocktower standards. Giving compensation to all families and individuals hurt by the Meluastea and paying generous bribes on top of that would be naught but spare change to them.

"Those are all very good ideas." Gladstone nodded approvingly, relieved the Harway-family was being so cooperative and supporting, even if it would probably come at a cost later down the line. "Let us keep the discussion going-"

"Enough, Phamrsolone! These options are terrible!" Doris Solonea, son of the head of the Department of Individual Fundamentals, suddenly spat, taking the hall aback with his rage. "Your plans would have us crawl around on the floor, begging for forgiveness as we empty our pockets to stave off the rabble! We would be mocked for all eternity if we lower ourselves to such a level!"

Doris' face was red with rage and indignation as he shouted, and his ten followers were all in a similar state. They were, Gladstone noticed to his concern, not the only ones in the room either to look like that.

"Undoubtedly, the Solonea have a better idea then?" Suzune Kuruoka, wife of the head of the Kuruoka-family, sneered before Gladstone could say anything. "Gladstone was right when he said we were on the edge of an abyss. We lost our leading family, many assets, and almost all respect we once enjoyed. We need to lay low and be on our best behaviour. We cannot afford to take risks or to act out."

"Neither can we afford to degrade and humiliate ourselves for everyone to see!" Doris roared, and many heads nodded in agreement. "Strength is everything!"

"A Magus who kneels to survive may rise again, stronger than ever, while the Magus who keeps his knees stiff will die, stiff knees and all." Suzune countered, and the people who nodded and shouted in agreement with her were as numerous as the ones who'd agreed with Doris.

The hall was being split into two, and Gladstone realised he had to act quickly, before his Faction would turn on itself.

"I asked for options when I opened this meeting!" He announced loudly, silencing the arguments as everyone turned to him. "This means everyone can say their piece, including the Solonea. Please, everyone, listen to what Doris has to say, and let him finish before replying."

"Thank you, Gladstone. If only everyone here would be as rational as you." Doris Solonea nodded in a gesture of gratefulness, before glaring at Suzune, who merely closed her eyes in response. "It is true that our Faction has been struck hard over the past week, and yes, the Aristocratic Faction is now more powerful than ever, but the solution to our problems isn't to cower before the Barthomeloi and their ilk, to give them money and presents in an effort to please them, but to counterattack as fiercely as we can."

"With most of our power gone, we have nothing to counterattack with." Flovis Harwey protested.

"We have plenty." Doris Solonea assured him, calming down and regaining some of his elegance now that people were properly listening to him. "For one, while it is true that Barthomeloi had a lot of evidence to prove the Meluastea had broken laws, she should have presented that evidence to a grand jury of all Ruling Families before taking action. Her failure to do so is a serious breach of protocol, and if we hammer her hard enough on that, she might back down."

"That's a big if." Suzune Kuruoka scoffed.

"Additionally, we may have been weakened, but we aren't without influence yet." Doris continued as if he hadn't heard her. "We spent years burying moles in the Aristocratic Faction, through bribery and blackmail, and if there was ever a time to use them, it is now. We will undermine Barthomeloi and weaken her enough that she will hesitate to continue pursuing us."

This time, no one had any immediate rebuttal.

"Our best option though is to make a temporary alliance with the Democratic Faction." This suggestion from Doris had a lot of people sit up straighter, and several whispered conversations were audible soon after. "I am aware of course that our stance on Clocktower politics is diametrically opposed to that of the Democrats. However, a crisis always makes for unlikely allies, and at this point in time, our interests align with theirs."

"And what are those interests?" Mario Brishisan asked, not disparagingly, but contemplatively.

"To stop Policies and the Aristocratic Faction in their tracks of course." Doris answered. "Balance between the Factions must be restored, and the only way we have to achieve such a thing now is to unite against the Aristocrats."

"I agree, Doris, and the Democrats should be able to see that as well." Suzune had suddenly done a complete turn-around on the matter of listening to Doris, but since that was fairly normal for Magi, no one paid it any mind. "Yes, I think they would accept an alliance at this point."

"Try it." Gladstone ordered, though in a very polite tone. "Send representatives from our most powerful families to make the offer."

"Brishisan, Solonea, and Jigmarie then." Flovis Harwey said, referring to the three families that headed the Department of Lore, the Department of Individual Fundamental, and the Department of Curses respectively, and were thus among the Ruling Families. "That sounds like an excellent delegation."

"We will see it done." Mario Brishisan nodded, and Doris Solonea and Peronos Jigmarie agreed a moment later. "We shall create a preliminary contract for the alliance between the Neutrals and the Democrats, and we shall make sure everyone here gets the opportunity to assess it for themselves before we present it to them."

"Excellent!" Gladstone clasped his hands together in joy, elated that the first meeting he had ever presided over was going so very well. If this kept up, his position at temporary chairman might very well become a permanent position instead, which would considerably increase his influence in the Faction.

"There is no more use in continuing this meeting until we have the answer from the Democrats." Suzune spoke up again. "We will depart now and reconvene when the Democrats have made their decision."

"Wha? Wait, no! There is one last matter to discuss before you go!" Gladstone held up his hands in a panic to stop anyone from leaving, undoubtedly looking like a fool, and he mentally cursed Suzune for undercutting him like that.

"What is it, Gladstone?" Doris asked, and fortunately, there was no mockery in his tone.

"We must talk about the future." Gladstone explained quickly, relieved when no one actually left. "We now have a plan to get out of our current mess, and that is good, but it isn't enough. We need to take steps to ensure something like this will never happen again."

They were proud Magi after all, from families that were centuries old. It was already nigh-unthinkable that they would be brought this low in a mere week, but to then continue on without learning from the experience would truly make them nothing but rabble that got lucky with their births.

Their very right to existence was at stake here.

"That is true." Peronos Jigmarie announced, looking Gladstone straight in the eyes. "But to take steps to prevent this from ever happening again, we need to know first what led to this situation in the first place."

"We got complacent." Hector Crudelis growled lowly. "We let the Meluastea do whatever they pleased, and we failed to properly prepare ourselves for their fall. Our Faction has been strong for so long that we forgot how quickly doom can encroach."

"That is only a part of the problem." Suzune Kuruoka slowly put a lock of her black hair behind her ear, her expression ponderous. "Yes, we failed to properly prepare for the possibility that our leaders might fall, and once they did fall, we were slow to react, but we couldn't possibly have anticipated the sudden involvement of that monster, Fujimaru."

The tension in the hall rose sharply at the mention of that name.

Shirou Fujimaru, the second apprentice of Lord El-Melloi II, a third-rate Magus with little hope of improvement, a scion of a low-ranked, very young family located in distant Japan. Basically, a hedge-Mage who had come to the Clocktower to beg for scraps of knowledge.

That was the image that most of the people present had had of the young man, if they had indeed thought anything of him at all. It was the image that most of them had of Asian Magi in general, and for the first few weeks of his stay at the Clocktower, Fujimaru had done nothing to prove that image didn't fit him.

Then the purge had happened, and Fujimaru had shown himself capable of breaking Bounded Fields with a thought, of healing people with a touch, of being able to sense everything, no matter how hidden, and of keeping up with the Vice-Director herself in battle.

Suzune was right to call him a monster. Gladstone hadn't believed it possible for a single Magus to be so powerful and diverse in ability, outside of especially prodigious members of ancient families with massive Crests, yet he might have been proven wrong now.

"Fujimaru is the cause of many of our problems, and as long as he is a member of the Aristocratic Faction, he will only create more." Suzune said darkly. "We cannot make plans for the future without accounting for him."

"Where did that eyesore even come from?!" A Magus whose name Gladstone didn't know cried out. "Is he truly a hedge-Mage from Asia?"

"I can't believe it is possible for a Magus from a family that has existed for barely a few generations to produce such an individual." Bruno Sembren's voice contained nothing but certainty. "Undoubtedly, the boy lied about his origins. He is from an ancient Magus-family."

"Which one?" Mario Brishisan asked immediately, not in a scathing tone, but a genuinely curious one, showing he too was considering that possibility.

"The Barthomeloi." Bruno Sembren proclaimed, taking the entire hall aback. "He is related to the Vice-Director, perhaps he is even her younger brother."

Gladstone opened his mouth to shout Bruno down, to deride his words and mock the fact he'd even entertained such a ludicrous thought, but he couldn't produce a sound, even with his mouth wide open.

He couldn't, for Bruno's explanation wasn't even all that unbelievable.

"I don't believe that is the case." Suzune had no trouble going against Bruno though. "I agree that he must be from an ancient Magus-family, but I suspect it is one we currently believe to be extinct. His type of Magecraft does not match that of any old family I know of, and especially not that of the Barthomeloi. Also, his behaviour does not match that of those ice-statues."

"His Crest must be incredible." Oliver Dioland seemed in a trance, his eyes glazed over as he tried to imagine a Crest that would allow someone to be as powerful and broadly skilled as Fujimaru.

"Hm? Ah, yes, probably." Suzune agreed, not having considered that yet.

"Could he be from an unknown Asian family?" Harvey Lehrman, Yvette's father, wondered out loud. "China and Japan have ancient cultures. Perhaps they are hiding Magus-families that are as old, if not older, than ours."

"But that raises the question how many more of such families might be hiding in Asia." Doris Solonea growled angrily, the thought of being fooled to such a degree by Asians visibly angering him. "Are they hiding their proper bloodlines?!"

"There is no proof of that." Gladstone protested, now fearing this discussion might lead to Doris lynching every Asian Magus he could find after the meeting was over.

"There was no proof of Fujimaru either!" Doris blew up at him, his face once more bright red in rage. "Can't you see?! The Asians are trying to fool us by hiding their most powerful families!"

"Drawing such inane conclusions so quickly is precisely why your father passed you over as his heir, Doris." Suzune snibbed, and Doris turned his rage-filled eyes to her. "If you'd paid attention to your lessons, you'd know such a thing is impossible. The deterioration of Magecraft has long since ensured the Magus Association is the only bastion of Magi left in the world."

"You arrogant witch!" Doris roared.

The entire hall then seemed to explode with arguments and rows, leaving poor Gladstone to wave his arms like a fool, desperately trying to calm everyone down.

It was only when he beat the gong hanging next to him –a Mystic Code created specifically for situations such as this, which produced a sound that, while not overly loud, overpowered all other sounds in its vicinity– that peace was restored.

"Please, order!" He begged the hall once the sound of the gong had faded. "Are we Magi or are we braying dogs?"

His question struck home, and many people bowed their head in shame over their behaviour.

"We need to deal with Fujimaru." Doris was not amongst those people however, and he immediately continued the discussion, though now at a lower volume. "One way or another, we need to take him off the board."

"Can we not try to recruit him?" Harvey Lehrman tried.

"He would never join us." Ercole Codrington was swift to shoot the suggestion down. "We have nothing to offer that would tempt him, and even if we did, he is so deeply involved with the Barthomeloi he would still refuse."

"Then use blackmail." Doris spat, not in the mood for subtlety. "Certainly, there is something we can use?"

"I have looked into him, but there is almost nothing to find." Mario Brishisan admitted, and when the head of the Department of Lore said there wasn't anything to find, there really wasn't anything to find. "He arrived at Heathrow Airport several weeks ago, but their records have been completely purged of his name, so I do not know where he came from. The Fujimaru-family does not exist as far as the Magus Association is aware. He had no contact with anyone in the Clocktower before arriving, aside from Lord El-Melloi II. His spells are a complete unknown too, as are most of his movements since arriving here. Maybe there are things that can be used to blackmail him, but I have not been able to find them."

"Then you didn't look hard enough." Bruno Sembren frowned in frustration.

"Forgive me, but I didn't think it a good idea to start poking around too hard now that the Aristocratic Faction has taken Fujimaru into their midst." Mario grunted, clearly not impressed by Bruno's frustrated expression. "But by all means, feel free to look deeper yourself. Be aware though that being caught doing so will almost certainly bring both Fujimaru and Barthomeloi down on you."

"Urk." Bruno cringed at that horrible prospect, and he said no more.

"Fujimaru is off limits for now." Gladstone decided to step in before they wasted more time on impossible schemes, as he was also perfectly aware that the boy was untouchable. "What we must do is strengthen our position and beat back the attackers. Fujimaru can be dealt with later, once this matter blows over and he loses most of his influence."

"He will only become stronger overtime." Suzune warned, but she too knew that attacking the boy now was a fool's errand, so she didn't continue.

"If it is information about Fujimaru we want, why don't we try to obtain it straight from the man himself?" Flovis Harwey did continue however, slowly stroking his short beard. "By all accounts, the boy trusts easily and lacks the caution that is required to survive in the Clocktower. If one of us could befriend him, we could find out more about him."

"I doubt he will reveal any of his secrets to someone he only just knows, if he indeed accepts them into his circle at all." Mario pointed out. "At most, you'll obtain a tiny bit of information."

"Naturally, but even a tiny bit of information is better than none at all, is it not?" Flovis countered, which Mario couldn't disagree with. "If we could find out where he lives, or whether he has any family, or what his plans for the future are, we could use that to gather even more information, and so on, until we find something worth our time."

"It is a very long shot." Peronos Jigmarie said carefully. "The risks will be high, and the return will very likely be low. I cannot imagine anyone here would willingly take on such a duty."

"Not to worry, I'm sure the Zepter-twins are more than willing to contribute to the cause of the Neutral Faction." Flovis Harwey smirked, and both Lilianne and Florance Zepter flinched when the attention of the entire hall turned towards them. "It is for a good cause after all."

"Of… Of course." Lilianne mumbled, lowering her head so her hair came to hang in front of her face. "We will do as you say."

Neither girl wanted to try and befriend Fujimaru, that was completely obvious, but they couldn't refuse Flovis Harwey. He was their patron after all.

The Zepter-family was utterly impoverished. They had no money and no stable source of income. Lilianne and Florance tried their best to keep afloat by working for other families, but even then, they were continuously in the red.

It was humiliating for the scions of an ancient family to be reduced to this, especially when the twins were old enough to remember a time when their family had been rich and powerful, but their fall had been inevitable after their father had been killed by Kiritsugu Emiya, when the twins were only in their low teens. That had already been a harsh blow, but Emiya, ruthless and heretical bastard that he was, had also taken the time to utterly destroy the Zepter-Crest, which had truly knocked the family down into irrelevance.

It was similar to what had happened to the Archibald, though the Zepters hadn't had a convenient scapegoat like Lord El-Melloi II lying around.

Currently, the Zepter-twins were in the employ of the Harwey-family. As such, they had no choice but to agree when Flovis Harwey sent them to gather information on Fujimaru. To do otherwise meant they'd be kicked out, and then they would be easy prey to any vultures lurking around.

The meeting was adjourned quickly after the decision to send the Zepter-twins had been made. To continue the discussion any further would be to start debating in circles, and there was nothing that Magi hated more than that.

The second Gladstone declared the meeting to be over, everyone left to head back to their own territory. In the midst of a crisis, no one could afford to be absent from their work for a long time, and to most of them, the meeting had already lasted too long.

Gladstone was one of them. He too walked back to his own territory the moment he had wrapped up his duties as chairman. Yes, he had some ambition to make his place as chairman of the meetings a bit more permanent, so to speak, but that didn't mean he was going to sacrifice his time to it when he didn't have to. He had his own research, and that always came first.

The walk back to Phamrsolone-territory wasn't long, and once had greeted his employees, all twenty-four of them, he headed to the Workshop he shared with his wife and daughter, who were probably hard at work at the moment.

Indeed, once he entered the Workshop, he found his wife, Hermione Phamrsolone, busily writing on numerous sheets of paper, her hand a blur as it raced across the documents, writing down everything her senses could observe.

In the meantime, their daughter was laid out on a metal table, periodically twitching as the treatment his wife had performed on her started taking effect.

The Workshop itself was a large space, well-stocked too, and if one were to spend a minute studying it, one would find that almost all research performed inside was in some way related to Mystic Eyes.

It had been a long-time goal of the Phamrsolone-family to have one of its members develop a Jewel-Ranked Mystic Eye. Not just any Jewel-Ranked Mystic Eye though, but specifically one with the ability to see and communicate with the Sixth Imaginary Factor, or in laymen's terms, with Demons. It didn't matter to the family which individual member obtained this Mystic Eye, whether it was the head or a thrice-removed cousin from a distant branch, as long as someone did.

Jewel-Ranked Mystic Eyes were extremely rare however, and didn't just appear by chance. To obtain one, many generations of careful breeding was required –Gladstone and Hermione were first cousins for instance– coupled with rigorous training once a child with potential was born.

Gladstone's daughter, Ophelia Phamrsolone, was the first child ever to be born to the Phamrsolone-family to hold the potential to develop a Jewel-Ranked Mystic Eye that could interact with Demons, meaning that a lot of expectations had been placed on her from the moment of her birth.

He and his wife had spent countless hours tutoring and training her, and they had paid families specialising in self-improvement-Craft millions of pounds to have them provide means for Gladstone and Hermione to enhance Ophelia to the absolute peak of human ability. Over the years, they had subjected her to numerous treatments, and by now, they were finally entering the final stage.

It was about time too. Ophelia was pushing twenty already, and there had been no sign of any Mystic Eye developing yet. At this rate, Gladstone would die before ever getting to see the family's greatest desire fulfilled.

So when he stepped closer to Ophelia, it was with a hopeful look.

Ophelia herself was nearly naked, save for a towel that had been wrapped around her middle. Her wrists and ankles had been strapped to the table, as had her waist and her head. Long and bone-deep cuts had been made along her limbs, running from her ankles to her upper thighs, from her wrists to her shoulders, and around her breasts and in her abdomen. Additionally, Hermione had carved perfect circles in the skin around Ophelia's eyes.

The cuts had been made to provide easy access to Ophelia's muscles and bones, so that the required concoctions and solutions could easily be injected. Those concoctions and solutions would strengthen her body and her Magic Circuits, elevating her above what a human should normally be capable of.

The empty bottles lying on the floor close by indicated that Hermione had already finished the injections, so the cuts in the girl's body had been stitched shut, and Healing Magic was now slowly taking care of the rest, though it would likely take a few hours longer for Ophelia to be healed completely.

The potions that were supposed to stimulate the development of Mystic Eyes had not been fully applied yet however, and several needles had been carefully inserted into the cuts around Ophelia's eyes, where they slowly injected the potions over a period of about an hour.

Sadly enough, Ophelia herself needed to be fully conscious during the entire procedure, though she had been injected with a paralysing agent beforehand.

That paralysing agent had been something developed by the Meluastea by the way. It was really good, and even though Gladstone hated that family now for their short-sightedness and arrogance, he still took the time to pay them a mental compliment for it.

The reason Ophelia had been treated with the paralysing agent was to prevent her from writhing and screaming during the procedure. She had a high pain-tolerance, but the concoctions she was treated with reportedly felt like liquid fire in her veins, and the fact that she needed to be sliced open to apply them also didn't help.

As such, Gladstone didn't blame her at all for the fact that she writhed and cried if they didn't paralyse her. Other Magi might have been disgusted that their daughter was so weak, but Gladstone was a family-man. He loved his daughter, even if she was feeble, and he had gladly forked over a fortune to pay for the paralysing agent.

In fact, he could almost be proud of the fact that even though she had been treated with the paralysing agent, she was still able to jerk and spasm her body around at regular intervals, which was why she had been strapped to the table too.

His daughter was a little weak, yes, but the signs of strength were there. She just needed a bit of encouragement to blossom into a proud woman. Encouragement he would be glad to give her.

"How are you holding up, little one?" He asked Ophelia, softly stroking her cheek with a finger. "I hope the treatment isn't getting you down?"

Predictably, Ophelia didn't reply, as her facial muscles were completely paralysed too.

"Just a little while longer, and then we are done for the week." He promised her, hoping that the Mystic-Eye enhancement solutions would soon be injected fully. He didn't enjoy seeing his daughter in pain at all, and his fingers itched to pull those needles out. "We are in the final stages of your enhancements too. Just seven more treatments, maybe eight, and then we're done."

"It's better than that, my dear Gladstone." Hermione had finished writing now, and had joined them, tenderly taking Ophelia's hand in her own. "She is responding so well she only needs six more treatments."

"That is wonderful news!" Gladstone exclaimed, grinning down at his daughter. "Did you hear that, Ophelia? Soon, this will all be over, and you will be able to enjoy your new strength."

"I look forward to the amazing things you will achieve." Hermione added, beaming at the girl as well. "You cannot imagine how proud we are of you."

"So proud." Gladstone agreed. "The family's future rests on your shoulders, and I know that you can handle it."

Yes, these past two decades had been hard on poor Ophelia, with the endless training, the treatments, and more, but it would all be worth it in the end, when she fulfilled the goals the Phamrsolone-family had been striving towards for generations.

It had been difficult, it had been a struggle, and Gladstone didn't doubt Ophelia had hated them at some points for being so stern and tough on her, but later, when she was powerful, admired by all, and among the greatest Magi of modern times, she would see the value of the way she had been raised.

She would come to appreciate the work her parents had put into her upbringing, Gladstone was absolutely sure about that.

To be hard on your children in order to raise them into greatness. That was what it meant to be a parent.

At six o'clock in the morning, Shirou found himself sitting in one of the many cafeterias of the Clocktower. His appointment with Lady Barthomeloi and Lady Montmorency wouldn't be until eight, but he had slept enough, he had already memorised the reports Lady Montmorency had given him, and he was too high-strung to do anything productive, so he had ultimately decided to just have himself a long breakfast.

He'd bought six sandwiches with ham and mustard, a large pile of scrambled eggs, a plate full of bacon, ten pieces of toast with butter, a string of sausages, and a glass of orange juice. It should be enough to keep him busy for an hour or so, if he ate slowly.

And if he got bored again after that, there were plenty of desserts available for him to sample.

The cafeteria itself was empty, save for Shirou and a single employee, who, after selling Shirou his food with eyes wide as saucers, was now trying her very best to not look at him and to stay under his radar, fearing to test his mood.

It seemed he had indeed become rather famous, or perhaps infamous, among the general populace of the Magus Association. Shirou wasn't sure how to feel about that, but since it was probably an unavoidable consequence of his need to act heroic, he decided not to let it bother him.

As he was sitting there, alone with his food, with nothing pressing on his mind, Shirou realised how odd his weeks at the Clocktower had been.

He had achieved his main objective perfectly and almost without effort. He had Illya and her maids safely in his Vault, and the Einzbern none the wiser about what had happened. His original purpose for coming to London was fulfilled.

Everything else had gone completely off the rails though. He had planned to remain discrete and unnoticed, but that was a complete and total failure. He had wanted to learn a few things, especially about his strange affinity for blades, but he simply hadn't had the time for that. He had meant to go to the Clocktower for one summer and then leave again and never come back, but now that the Vice-Director herself had demanded he visit the Clocktower regularly, it would be almost impossible for him to get away cleanly from the institution.

It had been hectic from start to finish, from blowing up the engine of the Edelfelt's car and beating up a bunch of young, racist Magi, to storming a hide-out in Germany and conducting a purge alongside the Clocktower's dreaded Department of Policies.

It wasn't that he hadn't enjoyed himself, or that he considered it wasted time, certainly not. The recent events had just been completely unexpected, and they had swept him up like a current. Now he needed to keep swimming and not allow the current to drag him under.

Shirou slowly ate his sandwiches, savouring the taste, and he was just about to start on the scrambled eggs when two people entered the cafeteria. People he both recognised, though he had never seen them together before.

One of them was Eduardo di Stanza, one of Lord El-Melloi's students, whom Shirou had given a lesson on Curses some time ago, while the other was one of the Edelfelt who had been laughing at Lord El-Melloi on Shirou's very first day at the Clocktower, right before he blew up their engine.

Apparently, they knew each other quite well, if their linked arms were anything to go by.

It also seemed they had purposefully sought him out, for they showed no surprise at his presence and walked straight at him without pausing for a moment.

"Fujimaru." Di Stanza greeted him once he stood beside Shirou's table, the Edelfelt remaining slightly behind, though she'd now grabbed Di Stanza's hand after unlinking their arms. "It's been a while."

"Indeed, mister Di Stanza." Shirou replied, before pointing at the chairs on the other side of his table. "Please, have a seat, both of you."

"Much obliged." Di Stanza nodded, before pulling out a chair for the Edelfelt, only sitting down once she was completely settled.

It was a surprisingly gentlemanly gesture from the abrasive young man, but Shirou found it looked rather… fake? As if Di Stanza's heart wasn't in it.

The Edelfelt looked positively delighted though. As much as she tried to hide it, her happiness at Di Stanza's gesture was obvious to Shirou's eyes.

"Allow me to make introductions." Di Stanza spoke up again, before looking at the Edelfelt. "Sofia, this is Shirou Fujimaru, Lord El-Melloi's newest apprentice. Fujimaru, this is Sofia Edelfelt, my fiancée."

"Well met, lady Edelfelt." Shirou smiled at the woman, though his smile was admittedly a bit fake, both because she was an Edelfelt, and thus one of Rin's enemies, and because Di Stanza sounded notably unhappy about the fact that he was engaged to her.

"Well met indeed, mister Fujimaru." She smiled charmingly, which too was fake. "I've heard many things about you."

"I am sure you have."

"I mean it. Tales of your bravery and skill are spreading throughout not just the Clocktower, but the entirety of Europe. Even my family back home in Finland heard all about your exploits." She smiled widely, and Shirou had to admit that if he hadn't had his Sight, which let him distinguish truth from lies, he might have believed that smile to be genuine.

No, scratch that. Knowing himself, he definitely would have believed it to be genuine.

But it wasn't. She wasn't here to praise him, or to befriend him, or anything like that. She was building up towards something, most likely to ask him for information or a favour or the like. Exactly as Lady Montmorency had predicted.

"Everyone is so surprised right now that a Magus from Asia was able to turn the status-quo on its head like you did, it's hilarious." Edelfelt went on, before beaming proudly at him. "Not me though. The Edelfelt-family has always considered racism to be nonsensical, and our allies are much the same."

"I am glad to hear that." Shirou kept his polite smile in place, noticing how Di Stanza seemed to cringe at his fiancée's words. The redhead wasn't sure why though. While Sofia Edelfelt had lied several times already in their short conversation, the part about her disapproving of racism was completely true.

"Ultimately, what matters in the Moonlit World, and in the mundane one too I suppose, is talent. Yes, one's lineage is good and valuable, without a doubt, but lineage too is nothing but a factor used to indicate one's talent." Edelfelt slowly trailed her index-finger over the table, before she took one of the pieces of toast and took a bite, chewing slowly, before she swallowed. "It is nonsensical that some people, people without an ounce of talent, are elevated above those with loads of talent, merely because they come from old families, wouldn't you say?"

"Perhaps." Shirou replied, remaining non-committal.

"Similarly, those from outside of Europe should not be cast aside merely because of where they were born. They too should be judged by their talent and power." Edelfelt was getting fired up, and her speech still rang true, showing she meant every word she said. "To discard those with promise for reasons that might as well be arbitrary, such as racism, sexism, and classism, is a foolish practice that is greatly stymieing the Clocktower's development. That's why it is important that the old families are constantly checked by the new ones, to ensure they do not monopolise all resources and opportunities."

"Indeed." Shirou kept his tone entirely neutral, and Edelfelt, perhaps realising he wasn't going to bite, switched tactics.

"But I realise it is impolite to talk about politics during your breakfast." She made an apologetic motion with her hands, before taking another piece of toast. "Forgive me if I came across as heavy-handed or pretentious. It was not my intention."

Unless Shirou would have responded, then it would have been her intention. It seemed she was trying to find an angle to get under his skin, or at least to make him respond. Trying to get him to complain with her about arrogant, ancient Magi hadn't worked –though it was a good attempt, which might have worked if Shirou hadn't been on guard– and now she shifted to casual conversation.

"Perhaps we should speak about a lighter subject." Edelfelt suggested as she nibbled daintily on the toast, exactly as Shirou had expected. "May I ask where you are from, mister Fujimaru?"

"I come from Japan, lady Edelfelt." Shirou replied, seeing no reason to hide that.

"From any place in particular?" She pushed the matter.

"Do you come from any particular place in Finland?"

"Ahahaha! I suppose not." She grinned innocently, finishing her second piece of toast, before she looked at the place holding the other pieces, clearly wondering whether she'd get away with taking another one.

In response, Shirou took the plate and put it down in front of her.

"Help yourself."

"Much obliged!" The Edelfelt beamed, perhaps seeing his willingness to share as a sign that he was listening attentively to her. She eagerly took another piece, and offered one to Di Stanza as well, though he refused with a shake of his head.

The other man looked distinctly uncomfortable with the current situation, and Shirou got the sense that he didn't entirely agree with Edelfelt's words and actions so far. Nevertheless, he didn't say a word.

"I hear you are a member of Modern Magecraft Theories, and a personal apprentice of Lord El-Melloi II at that." Edelfelt tried yet another topic. "That is quite impressive, considering there are no records of your existence before this summer. You really hit the ground running."

"I suppose I did." Shirou nodded. "It was nothing special though."

"Come now, there's no need to be humble. Sometimes, it is alright to be proud of your achievements." Edelfelt pounced on his answer with a grin like a Chesire cat. "Isn't that right, Eduardo?"

"Being too humble is bad." Di Stanza said obediently.

"Exactly!" Edelfelt nodded, her long, blonde hair swooshing up and down. "Especially if you have accomplished as much as you have in the short time that you have been here. If you don't mind me asking, how long is that exactly?"

"A few weeks now." Shirou responded somewhat more readily, as this was by no means secret information. "In fact, you and I encountered each other on my first day here."

"Did we?" Edelfelt seemed puzzled by his statement, but that was to be expected. She'd been far more focused on Lord El-Melloi at the time.

"Yes, in the Clocktower's garage. I arrived with Lord El-Melloi, whom you were laughing at." Shirou helpfully reminded her, smiling inwardly when the blonde girl winced at his words.

"A-Ah, that. That was a most unfortunate incident." She stuttered for a second, but as she was an experienced Magus, she composed herself lightning-fast. "We realised afterwards that our laughter was far more vicious and mocking than we intended. We bore, and still bear, him no particular ill will."

That was the truth, surprisingly, and Shirou thus nodded in acceptance. Ideally, he'd like them to apologise to Lord El-Melloi if they truly felt repentant, but apologising was a massive matter in the Magus Association, not something one did easily, so he didn't force the issue.

There was another issue he had to force after all. Sophia Edelfelt had danced around the matter for long enough now. It was time she told him what she was really after.

"Lady Edelfelt, is there any particular reason you are here at my table?" Shirou cut to the chase, wanting to get this over with, preferably before he had his meeting with the Ladies Barthomeloi and Montmorency.

"A reason? Oh no, certainly not." Edelfelt smiled, her mask showing not a single crack, though Shirou's Sight revealed the lie in her words anyway. "My darling Eduardo and I merely wished to break our fast in this cafeteria, and it was purely by chance that we saw you sitting alone at this table. Now, I won't deny that we may not have joined you if you had been anyone else, but I assure you our intentions are-"

"We want to recruit you to the Democratic Faction, or at the very least, we want an assurance that you won't move against the Edelfelt and their allies, and that you will persuade Lady Barthomeloi to do the same." Di Stanza interrupted her, bluntly revealing the truth. "We are of course willing to pay you for this."

"Eduardo!" Edelfelt cried in a panic, grabbing his wrist as she gave him a shocked look. "What are you doing?!"

"Look, I have spoken with him before. I can tell that's he's not interested in pleasantries at the moment. If anything, it's annoying him." Di Stanza defended himself, and though he sounded confident, Shirou spotted several beads of sweat dripping down his neck, sweat that had nothing to do with the heat.

Was he…?

Yes, the man was terrified.

Shirou could see it clear as day now. Di Stanza was incredibly scared of his fiancée, to the point where he was constantly on guard around her, yet he had still spoken out now, as he was even more scared of Shirou, and he feared that Edelfelt's insincere small talk might anger him.

The man was caught in a very difficult situation, between a fiancée who terrified him and a relatively unknown Magus who terrified him even more. It would have been a perfect example of a rock and a hard place, if it hadn't been for one rather important thing.

The difficult situation was entirely of Di Stanza's own making.

He was deluding himself. There was nothing to be scared of. Shirou himself had no intention of harming anyone, least of all two people who were only talking, while Edelfelt was clearly besotted with him. Shirou dared say she'd rather cut off her own hand than harm Di Stanza.

The man was just being a coward, and Shirou, rather uncharacteristically, found himself wanting to slap Di Stanza over the head.

Nevertheless, he decided to take pity on his fellow man.

"Mister Di Stanza is right, I am not interested in pleasantries at the moment." He thus spoke up, drawing Edelfelt's attention again. "I already know that you had something in mind from the moment you entered, that was obvious. Also, I can tell when you're lying, so don't even think about denying it."

"Gh!" Edelfelt sucked in a breath as she realised she'd blundered, having told multiple lies already, and she opened her mouth, thinking furiously to devise something to salvage the situation, when…

"Forgive my fiancée." Di Stanza spoke up again, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, before turning a pleading look towards Shirou. "She was merely following the standard protocol for meetings between Magi who do not know each other. She meant no harm, and she will be more direct from now on."

"There is no need to ask for forgiveness." Shirou said slowly, keeping his guard up. "I understand how things work in the Magus Association. Nevertheless, I would indeed appreciate more directness."

"Naturally." Di Stanza nodded, before he rose. "Allow me to speak with my fiancée in private for a short moment."

"I have a meeting with the Vice-Director at eight. Please keep that in mind."

"We will." Di Stanza nodded, before looking at the clock that hung on the West-side wall, which showed it was currently five minutes past seven. Then, he guided Edelfelt out of her chair, the young woman looking awfully giddy at his bold behaviour, and pulled her along to a corner of the cafeteria.

In the meantime, Shirou took advantage of their absence to try and decide what he should do next. Di Stanza had already indicated what their goals were, and now he needed to respond to their requests in some way.

Joining the Democratic Faction was out of the question. He wasn't going to join any Factions to begin with, and even if he would, he wasn't going to switch sides now, at such a critical moment. Lady Barthomeloi and he had already fought most of the fight together, and breaking with her now would provide no benefits at all, only detriments, to both of them.

Not to mention that it would be a very scummy thing to do. He would be stabbing her in the back, plain and simple.

On the other hand, promising not to go after the Edelfelt-family or the Di Stanza-family, provided they did nothing illegal and did not attack him first, was something he could very well do. Of course, Lady Montmorency had warned him not to make promises, but he could 'take it under consideration' at least.

As for the payment, he didn't need anything like that.

What complicated the matter however was that the Edelfelt were enemies of Rin. They might not have actively attacked her yet, but if Rin was to be believed, and Shirou did believe her, then they would once she joined the Clocktower as Lady Barthomeloi's apprentice.

It went without saying that Shirou would choose Rin's side in a heartbeat in such an event, and that meant he had to be careful about any promises of non-violence towards the Edelfelt.

Maybe he should just listen to what they had to say, tell them he would raise the issue with Lady Barthomeloi and Lady Montmorency, and do nothing more until he had a better idea of the political landscape.

That would probably be the best course of action.

"Mister Fujimaru." Edelfelt said after she and Di Stanza had returned to his table, though they did not sit down this time. "I shall be straight with you. Are you or Lady Barthomeloi planning to move against the Democratic Faction?"

"To the best of my knowledge, we are not, though I am not aware of everything Lady Barthomeloi is planning." Shirou replied, feeling confident enough in that answer.

"What are your plans for the Neutral Faction?"

"Nothing. We want to deal with those who have committed crimes, but those who have not broken any law will be left alone."

"That is surprisingly passive of you." Edelfelt frowned. "The Aristocratic Faction truly does not plan on taking advantage of the current chaos? The chaos that has made them the most powerful faction by far?"

"I cannot speak for the Aristocratic Faction as a whole. I can only speak for myself, and I do not have plans to take advantage of anything."

It continued like that for a while, with Edelfelt asking increasingly specific questions, and Shirou doing his best to answer them while sticking to the rules Lady Montmorency had imposed upon him.

Eventually, it got to the point that he had nothing left to tell her, and Edelfelt ceased her interrogation, looking cautiously happy with the information she had, yet still disappointed it wasn't more.

"Thank you for answering my questions, mister Fujimaru." She thanked him eventually, before bowing her head. "Now I must request a promise that you will not join any attack on the Edelfelt-family or its allies."

"I cannot make such a promise." Shirou swiftly refused, not because of Lady Barthomeloi and any other member of the Aristocratic Faction, as Edelfelt probably believed, but because of Rin only.

"Is there any way I can make you reconsider?" Edelfelt didn't give up however, leaning forward on the table. "The Edelfelt-family doesn't lack in resources and riches. We can get you almost anything you want if you make the promise. It doesn't have to be material goods either, there are many more things we can do for you-"

"Would you make the promise if we altered it?" Di Stanza cut in again, and unlike the previous time, Edelfelt looked hopeful at the interruption. "A promise that you will never attack us is too broad, I understand, but can you at least guarantee you will not participate in any unlawful action taken against the Edelfelt or their allies?"

"I believe I can do that much." Shirou agreed slowly, carefully. "If you attack me or my allies first however, or if you break the law in some way, I will not hesitate to strike you down."

"We will take what we can get." Di Stanza nodded, before once more pulling Edelfelt away. "We will bother you no longer then. Your meeting starts soon."

With those last words, the duo left the cafeteria again, and Shirou, who realised with regret he couldn't finish his breakfast in time, followed them soon after.

It was time for the meeting, and then the trials.

"I still don't understand why you dragged me along for this." Rin said, effortlessly climbing the stairs that led to the Ryuudou-temple, not a bead of sweat visible anywhere on her face. "I am not interested in meeting a teacher before the schoolyear starts."

Rin, Sakura, and Ayako were currently on their way to the Ryuudou-temple, where they planned to meet up with Issei, before the young monk-in-training would take them to Kuzuki-Sensei, the new teacher who would start working at Homurahara the next year.

Issei had invited them for brunch with the teacher, to get to know him a bit and to let Kuzuki-Sensei get to know some students in turn. It might be a valuable experience for both parties, which is why Ayako and Sakura as well as Kuzuki-Sensei had agreed to it.

And of course, Rin had been dragged along as well, because why not? She was going to attend Homurahara next year too.

Sure, she'd done nothing but complain the entire time so far, about everything from the weather to the trees along the way, but despite her complaining, she was still going along with them instead of walking away and going home.

And since Rin had absolutely no problem walking away from things she truly didn't like, Sakura could only conclude she was tentatively interested in meeting Kuzuki-Sensei as well. Perhaps it was just a morbid curiosity to see if all teachers at Homurahara were like Fujimura-Sensei, but whatever the reason, Sakura was glad she had chosen to accompany them.

When she said that out loud however, her sister just hissed in return, before resolutely turning her face away.

Sakura then shared a look with Ayako, before they both grinned in amusement. Rin could be so cute sometimes, or most of the time, rather.

As the three girls were all in peak condition and more than a match for any stairs, they reached the temple in no time, finding Issei standing just outside the gates, waiting for them.

"Welcome, Mitsuzuri-san, Matou-san, Vixen-san." Issei welcomed them kindly, except for Rin, whom he gave a short glare coupled with his favourite insult to her.

"Nice to see you again, Ryuudou-kun." Ayako casually greeted him in return, patting him on the back a few times.

"Thank you for having us." Sakura added.

Rin barely reacted to Issei's words though, merely sticking out her tongue at him in return for his minor insult.

Issei ignored it however, and instead began leading them inside, into the temple's residential area, and towards a specific room, where Kuzuki-Sensei was staying. On the way there, they met an old monk, who immediately seemed to realise what they were planning.

"Souichirou is really looking forward to seeing you." He said, smiling kindly at them with a mostly toothless mouth. "He has been so very anxious about his new job. It'll do him a lot of good to meet a few students beforehand. Perhaps he'll see that you won't bite his hands off if he shows a single sign of weakness."

"Certainly not!" Ayako declared proudly, puffing out her chest. "You have nothing but top-students here, sir."

Indeed, Sakura, Ayako, Rin, and Issei all had top scores and were generally considered the best students of their respective schools. Not bad for a Fallen Magus, a tomboy, an actual Magus, and a monk.

"Most excellent." The old monk's smile turned a tad brighter, before he motioned for them to move along. "Then you shouldn't keep him waiting."

"So, what do you think Kuzuki-Sensei's going to be like?" Ayako whispered to the rest of them once they were out of hearing distance of the old monk. "A small, nervous, yet kind man? A large hunk who's just a softie inside? Or a thoroughly average fellow who just needs a bit of time to get used to a new environment?"

"That old monk certainly did allude to a level of inexperience and naivety that our new teacher possesses." Rin agreed, having stopped her show of complaining now that something interesting had happened. "I hope that he is a good teacher nevertheless."

"I'm sure it will be fine." Ayako tried to set the black-haired girl at ease, with limited success, before turning to Issei. "You have met him before, right? What's he like?"

"Considering he lives in the temple, I have indeed met him before. It would be odd if I had not." Issei began, before frowning as he scratched at his cheek. "As for his personality and demeanour, I'll let you draw your own conclusions. We are almost there."

Within a minute, the small group reached the door of Kuzuki-Sensei's room, and after Issei had knocked and received permission to come in, they entered the room and came face-to-face with…

The sternest looking man Sakura had ever seen in her life.

Standing upright, wearing a sharp business suit and grey glasses, Kuzuki-Sensei already cut a very impressive figure at first sight. Added to that were his confident, cool expression, his self-assured stance, and his cold, calculating eyes, that made it crystal clear he was not a man to mess with.

He was tall and lean, but with enough muscle that his suit bulged slightly around his upper arms and thighs. Sakura herself preferred her men a little more buff, like Senpai, but she could easily see how a woman who didn't like muscle could consider this man very attractive.

He looked extremely competent, completely fearless, and he had an aura of strictness and severeness around him that, coupled with his stern expression, would probably be enough to strike even the rowdiest of delinquents silent with one look.

In other words, Sakura had no idea what the old monk had been talking about before when he had said Kuzuki-Sensei was nervous. She didn't think this man was even capable of feeling nervous or anxious about anything, least of all handling students.

What really put her, Ayako, and Rin on edge however was the sheer danger that the man seemed to exude. His presence was almost non-existent, yet Sakura still felt her instincts cry out at her to be careful around him.

Kuzuki-Sensei might be a teacher now, but he had definitely been something else in his youth, something much more… dangerous.

Sakura kept her facial expression perfectly kind however, smiling politely at the new teacher, stepping forward and bowing in greeting.

"Good morning, Kuzuki-Sensei. I am Matou Sakura. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Mitsuzuri Ayako is the name." Ayako stepped forward as well, giving a nod of her head, before she grinned roguishly, making it clear from the get-go that she was not a wallflower or perfect princess, but a tough tomboy who wouldn't be cowed easily. "Nice to meet you, Sensei."

"I am Tohsaka Rin." In the meantime, Rin had slipped on her idol-persona again, and executed a perfect bow coupled with an introduction in a perfectly polite and demure tone. "I am honoured to meet you before term starts, Kuzuki-Sensei."

"I am Kuzuki Souichirou." The stern man introduced himself, giving them a nod, as teachers were supposed to give their students. "You are exactly as Issei-kun described you."

"Oh? Issei has been talking about us, has he?" Ayako asked, giving Issei a playful glare. "Only good things, I hope?"

"Naturally." The corners of Kuzuki-Sensei's mouth curled up ever so slightly for a split-second, and then his face was completely neutral again. "Issei-kun told me you were interested in a meeting with me. Why?"

"Mostly because we were curious about you." Sakura admitted frankly, feeling that lying or omitting the truth would not go over well. "Fujimura-Sensei and Issei have spoken about you quite a bit, so we wanted to meet you ourselves."

"You know Taiga-san?" Kuzuki-Sensei didn't look surprised –Sakura didn't think he could be surprised– but he did look curious now.

"Yes, she's the big sister of our friend." She explained.

"I see." Kuzuki-Sensei closed his eyes in thought, before he nodded. "As you may have surmised by now, I have no experience in teaching. As such, I will accept your request for a meeting, and answer your questions about me, provided you answer my questions in turn."

"Do we reserve the right to refuse to answer questions?" Rin asked with her idol-smile still in place.

"Of course."

"Then we gladly accept." Rin seemed to have completely forgotten about her initial reluctance, and eagerly stepped further into the room to sit down opposite from Kuzuki-Sensei. Sakura, Ayako, and Issei quickly followed her example.

"What do you expect from your students in the classroom?" Rin was the first to speak up after that, opening with a general question.

"I expect them to try their best." Normally, an answer like this would have seemed simple and insincere, merely a platitude, but Kuzuki-Sensei somehow made it sound impressive and grand. "They cannot do more than their best, and to ask them to go beyond that would be nonsensical."

"But what if they don't want to try their best?" Ayako ventured carefully, referring to the numerous lazy students that plagued every classroom on Earth.

"Then I must motivate them." Kuzuki-Sensei's voice was indominable, and Sakura already pitied any lazy student who found their way into this man's classroom. "Now, allow me to ask, what is your vision of an ideal teacher?"

"Someone who knows every aspect of the matter they are teaching." Rin responded promptly.

"A teacher who can make their lessons interesting." Ayako added.

"An ideal teacher is one who can control their students and can give them the knowledge they need to succeed in life." Sakura concluded.

"Very good." Kuzuki-Sensei nodded in acceptance, committing their words to memory.

From there on, both parties asked several more questions. The teens mainly inquired about Kuzuki's plans for the coming year, and how he was settling in at the school, while Kuzuki asked them about their experiences at their former schools and about the teaching styles that had worked best for them.

Ayako's questions about becoming a tutor yielded no new information however. Issei had already told her everything there was to know about it, and Kuzuki-Sensei had nothing to add. The school simply had protocols in place for such things, and those protocols were absolute. A teacher, especially a new one, could make no changes in that.

"There are a great many clubs at Homurahara." Kuzuki-Sensei eventually stated. "Have you considered yet which club you will join?"

"The archery-club." Ayako was prompt to respond.

"I will join the archery-club as well." Sakura smiled, placing her hand on Ayako's arm.

"I do not think I will join a club." Rin shook her head. "It is not required, and I am rather busy already."

"I will join the student council, as its president." Issei smiled, before scratching his cheek with a sheepish expression. "Or at least, that's the plan."

"Oh right, you told us about that." Ayako snapped her fingers in realisation, before leaning towards Issei with a smirk. "Doesn't that mean you get to decide the other clubs' annual budget? Do you want me to start kissing up to you now or-?"

"Kissing up to me?" Issei seemed surprised by what Ayako said. "Why on Earth would you do such a thing, Mitsuzuri-san?"

"Well, like I said, you control the annual budget, right? So you can easily slash funding to my club if you want."

"I can do no such thing." Issei scoffed, flipping his hand as if to brush away the idea. "Yes, the student council does the administration and makes the calculations on how much money every club receives, depending on their member-count and material needs, but I cannot arbitrarily lower or increase a particular club's funding. That would be ridiculous."

"But that's how it works in anime." Ayako protested, and Sakura and Rin both facepalmed at her words.

"Is it?" Issei still seemed confused. "But how would that work? Placing students in charge of student money to such a degree? It seems to me that would be a system ripe for abuse."

"Well, the plot of those anime does involve abuse of the system." Ayako admitted. "That the student council president holds back the funding of a particular club because the members of that club angered him."

"How asinine." Kuzuki-Sensei's expression didn't change, but his tone was judgemental, and the teens sat up a bit straighter at the sound of it. "And impossible besides."

"As you say, Sensei." Issei nodded emphatically.

"So you cannot withhold money from clubs that defied you?" Ayako asked again, just to be absolutely sure.

"No." Issei replied promptly. "If I tried, I imagine I wouldn't be president or indeed a member of the student council anymore very soon after, and that is only if they don't expel me immediately. We have very little real authority, frankly."

"So that one anime where the student council kicked out the director of the school was also lying to me?"

"Definitely. The director can only be removed by a majority-vote from the faculty council, and only if they have valid reasons that must be checked by an independent third party." Issei nodded.

"A school is where students learn discipline, where they can safely find the borders of acceptable behaviour, and where they learn to become adults." Kuzuki-Sensei added. "None of that would be possible if students ran the school themselves with no accountability."

"That's honestly a very big relief." Ayako laughed. "It's good to know reality does not obey anime-rules."

"Quite so." Rin agreed, before her lip twitched. "If only because I have no wish to become the student council president's girlfriend, which is generally what seems to happen to school-idols in anime."

"Right back at you." Issei, the future student council president, snipped. "I have absolutely no desire to have you as my girlfriend."

"Are you monks not supposed to be against women anyway?" Rin smirked. "Being Buddhists and all."

"I have nothing against women in general. It is only you who vexes me without end, you witch."

"Witch? Indeed. Ryuudou-kun, if we were married, I'd poison your tea." Rin gave her best witchy smile.

"If we were married, I'd drink it!" Issei retorted hotly, before he froze, and then slammed his hands together, bowing in apology towards the sky.

"Ryuudou-kun?"

"I should not have said that." Issei mumbled, remaining bowed. "Not when someone was actually murdered so close by."

The mood in the room plummeted, and everyone looked down in sadness as they were reminded of the dead body.

"I had nothing to do with that." Kuzuki-Sensei spoke up unprompted, which sounded oddly defensive yet still true, as far as Sakura could tell. "I do not even know the poor soul's name."

"It was Carlton Paris." Sakura supplied helpfully, having remembered the name from the police-interview. "You don't have to worry. I'm sure the police will find the real culprit soon enough."

"…Carlton Paris, you said?" Kuzuki-Sensei gave not a sign of surprise or recognition at the name, yet there was something in his voice now that hadn't been there before. "Then this case will not be solved."

"Uh?" Sakura blinked.

"What?" Ayako appeared equally surprised.

"Carlton Paris was a foreigner and a gigolo." Kuzuki-Sensei told them bluntly, and since all four teens knew what a gigolo was, his remark elicited four blushes. "I knew him, for a month or so, before we went our separate ways again."

"You knew him? As in…?" Rin's voice trailed off leadingly.

"I rented a room from him. Nothing more."

"Of course." Rin nodded quickly.

"So you're saying the police won't do anything because Paris-san was a… a male prostitute?" Ayako asked, less interested in their teacher's connection with the man than in the fact his murder would go unsolved.

"That is indeed what I am saying." Kuzuki-Sensei confirmed calmly, as if it didn't bother him at all. "The police already care very little about foreigners in general, and Carlton-san being a prostitute will not make them any more eager to work on the case. They will perform an investigation, for a week or so, and then they will sweep the matter under the rug."

"No." Sakura mumbled, a very unpleasant feeling rising in her stomach. "They cannot do that."

"They can and they will." Kuzuki-Sensei's voice was final. "They have done it many times before."

"But there must be something we can do." Ayako protested. "Start a petition, or protest before the police precinct."

"All useless." Kuzuki-Sensei was unbending. "They will not listen. There is nothing you can do. The sooner you accept this, the better."

Sakura clenched her teeth in frustration. She understood that Kuzuki-Sensei was trying to look out for them, to make sure they wouldn't be too upset when the police inevitably disappointed them, but his words really angered her.

Perhaps it was Shirou's influence, but there was no way she was going to accept that a murderer would get away unpunished. This had become personal in a way that other crimes just hadn't been, and Sakura could already feel in her bones that if she allowed this to happen, if she didn't take action to rectify the police's mistakes, she'd regret it for the rest of her life.

So she made eye contact with Ayako, and in her brown eyes, she saw her own feelings reflected back at her.

It seemed it was time they engaged in some vigilantism of their own.

Shirou truly was a bad influence on them.

In the outskirts of Dublin, the capital city of Ireland, a house stood silently, covered in the darkness of night. It was an old house, built more than a century ago, and for most of its existence, it had been the property of middle-class families, who worked and went to school in Dublin, yet didn't want to live in the city itself.

It was a detached house, with a lot of grass-covered land surrounding it, and although it wasn't really ornate or luxurious, it was a very decent residence nonetheless, always having been owned by respectable people who treated it with care.

Since about a decade ago however, the house had suddenly been abandoned. From one day to the next, the family that had owned the building had up and left, and no one had come to take their place so far.

The lights inside hadn't been on for more than ten years, and not a sound had escaped the premises for just as long. The few passers-by barely even registered its presence anymore, as it seemed to have disappeared into the background. It was nothing but an empty shell, devoid of any inhabitants. It didn't even have an owner.

Except that wasn't true. It did have an owner. Said owner just didn't visit all that often.

This owner had a massive collection of properties all over the world, and had added the house in Dublin to said collection about ten years ago. All those properties were the same, discrete and unassuming, perfect to hide oneself in.

The owner regularly cycled through these houses in order to remain undiscovered, making sure to keep the order completely random. If his enemies could reliably locate him at any point in time, they would undoubtedly set out to kill him, and though the owner was confident he could fend off most attacks, he still wasn't keen on taking unnecessary risks.

He had been staying in the house in Dublin for seven days and seven nights in a row now, and it was time for him to move on. His pursuers hadn't caught up with him yet, but there was no need to tempt fate by staying put when he didn't have to.

Before he could leave however, he had one last job to finish.

The past week had been filled with events of enormous significance, events that had seen massive changes wrought on the Magus Association, and the ripples of those changes would undoubtedly spread across the globe soon.

With that in mind, he had sent two of his most reliable servants to collect intel and continue building useful alliances, and now, they had both returned to him, to brief him on their progress. Before he could leave the house, he needed to hear their reports.

So the owner, Trhvmn Ortenrosse, King of the Dead Apostle Ancestors and most wanted being in the entire Moonlit World, calmly crossed his legs and looked expectantly at the two retainers who were attending him.

Trhvmn himself was an odd creature. Centuries old, extremely wise and experienced, dangerous like few other things in existence, yet he looked nothing like an old vampire was supposed to look.

For one, he was unreasonably handsome, with long hair coloured blacker than the night, skin white as fresh snow, and eyes of the deepest red. His features were majestic, his form sculpted, and his every movement oozed royalty and might.

Furthermore, the air around him was not at all that of a deranged, blood-thirsty monster. His aura was one of maturity, wisdom, and success, like a man who had built himself a solid career, had numerous friends, a steady place to live, a beautiful wife, a kid, and a second kid well on the way.

Based on his appearance and aura, one could conclude that Trhvmn was a king beyond human measure as well as a grounded man who'd been successful at life through his own hard work and grit. It was a curious mix, but it worked very well for him.

When compared to his looks and aura however, his current outfit fell massively out of tone. Instead of a sharp suit or flowing robes, like one would have expected of him, Trhvmn wore a black T-shirt adorned with Iron Maiden-regalia, torn jeans, a faded black belt, cheap sneakers, and a baseball cap, which had been placed backwards on his head.

His delinquent way of clothing clashed horribly with his air of a mature and responsible man, and it wouldn't be strange to think that this was perhaps a misguided attempt from a man rapidly approaching middle-age to recapture some of his fast-disappearing youth. No, it wouldn't be strange at all to think that, but it would also be dead wrong.

This was a creature with eternal youth after all. The clothes meant nothing to him. They were merely the first outfit he'd come across when entering Dublin, and he hadn't been in the mood to look any further.

Besides, he wasn't the only one in that house who was dressed strangely. In fact, his companions' state of dress was even odder than his.

"Tsula." He addressed one of the two companions, and his voice flowed like the sweetest of honey, perfect without a single blemish. "Tell me, what have you learned in London?"

Tsula'Yurha, the twenty-fifth Dead Apostle Ancestor, obediently stepped forward, bowing deeply in greeting. She was the youngest of the Ancestors, with barely more than a century of living under her belt, but she was strong, cunning, and determined, which had enabled her to claim a place as Ancestor ahead of many other contenders, most of whom were older than her.

She was very capable, and her serious, dedicated nature made her an excellent pick whenever Trhvmn needed to have a problem fixed quickly with the least amount of complications and collateral damage.

Unlike the older Ancestors, such as Merem and Fina-Blood Svelten, who were a little rebellious and capricious at times, Tsula was completely devoted to Trhvmn. She had been changed into her current state by him, at her request, after she'd been beaten half to death by her father and elder brother, and ever since then, she'd been like an extension of his will.

The moment after he'd turned her, she eagerly followed his orders to sever her links with her past by slaughtering her family. Not just her father and brother, but also her little sisters and her mother.

She had then further proven her devotion by unrelentingly pursuing power until she'd been able to take the place of the twenty-fifth, so as to be more useful to him. Many other Apostles looked down on her for it, for attaining such a prestigious position merely to serve someone else, but she didn't care about that one bit. All she cared about was serving him.

When Tsula rose from her bow, Trhvmn took a moment to study her, though he couldn't see much of her. She was covered in clothes from head to toe, with not a single inch of her skin showing anywhere.

From what she had told him, Trhvmn knew that it started with woollen underwear, covered by a thick underlayer, covered by another underlayer, covered by warm clothes, covered by an isolating jacket, covered with a long coat, and then finally covered again by a poncho. On her feet, she wore three layers of socks, topped off by winter boots, while her head was covered by four caps and a hood. The lower half of her face was hidden by three scarves, while the top half had been covered by ski-goggles.

In short, she looked ready to go to Antarctica and study penguins in their natural habitat at night while still comfortably warm.

"Lord Trhvmn." She spoke up, her voice shrill and broken like shards of ice. "It is as you feared. The Meluastea and their underlings have fallen, at the hands of the Barthomeloi girl. Many have died already, and it is expected that many more will die in the days to come."

"That is less than welcome news." Trhvmn replied, his handsome face momentarily expressing deep regret, though neither of the servants could tell if it was sincere. "Many of our agents were hiding among the Meluastea and their Neutral Faction. We have almost certainly lost most of them, if not all."

"With respect, lord Trhvmn, this is not a great loss." Tsula tried to console him. "Those agents were but pawns in your great game."

"Pawns they might have been, but they were useful pawns." Trhvmn gently corrected her, like a loving father would correct his beloved daughter. "Their absence has rendered me blind to the events taking place in the Clocktower. More agents will have to be sent or tempted into our service, and that will take time. Time we scarcely have."

"Of course, forgive my stupidity, my lord." Tsula apologised sincerely. "If it is your will, I will recruit many more agents into your service, in all Factions and departments this time."

"You will not recruit anyone, Tsula, you do not have the required subtlety or the ability to discern what humans desire." Trhvmn shook his head, refusing her offer. Tsula was useful and competent, but only as long as she didn't have to interact with other sapient beings, as her social skills left much to be desired. Sending her to recruit spies would be a disaster. "I have other work for you, which better fits your capabilities."

"What is it?" Tsula gave not a single sign of disappointment when Trhvmn refused her initial offer, merely shifting her attention towards her upcoming mission.

"Our agents in the Meluastea's Neutral Faction were indeed nothing more than pawns, without any information to give to the Clocktower's interrogators." Trhvmn began, crossing his arms slowly. "But there are a few Magi in the Wandering Sea who know more about my plans. They too are my agents, but I fear that the Meluastea's fall might make them disloyal, and tempt them to switch sides, trading the information that they have for a pardon. I do not want that information to get out, much less reach Barthomeloi."

"Shall I retrieve them and bring them to you, or shall I silence them permanently?"

"I have no more use for them. Infiltrate the Wandering Sea and kill them all." Trhvmn said, before looking right into the ski-goggles. A wealth of information then passed from his mind to hers, a spark of pure knowledge beaming across the two metres separating them, and within a nanosecond, Tsula had all the names and images of those he wanted dead.

Telepathic communication sure was useful sometimes.

"It will be done before dawn." She promised him, before she turned around resolutely and left the room.

Neither Trhvmn nor the other servant doubted for a moment that she was capable of performing the job. Tsula was very powerful, and had abilities that made her extremely suited for assassination. Even the Wandering Sea, which held Magi of a calibre far higher than the Clocktower's average, would not be able to stop her unless they specifically prepared themselves beforehand.

Tsula's powers and abilities were focused around Cold. She had a lot of ice-spells, and the ability to call blizzards of varying strength and size into existence, but her most powerful tool was undoubtedly her Reality Marble.

Activating that Reality Marble changed Tsula into a void that absorbed all heat and rendered everything around her frozen and deceased. It made her uniquely suited for killing living creatures, which needed warmth to survive.

Trhvmn had heard somewhere that the universe's natural state was a complete and total absence of light and warmth, a state in which all atoms were locked in place. The longer Tsula kept her Reality Marble active, the more the world around her began to regress to that state.

The name of the Reality Marble, which also doubled as Tsula's title as the twenty-fifth, was 'Void Song'. The ability to return Reality to the Void that was before the universe came into existence.

Of course, to actually continue to the point where the entire universe ceased to exist was impossible for Tsula. Currently, she was limited to affecting a large town at most before her Reality Marble began to take its toll on her, and if she tried to go much further than that, her own powers would tear her apart. Despite that limitation however, Void Song was a nigh-undefeatable weapon at close range.

One would have to be capable of surviving in space if one wanted to fight Tsula. Magi and other Magical Creatures did possess a measure of resistance against her ability –the more power one had, the better they could resist the Void Song– but even with that resistance, fighting Tsula was a nightmare for any living being.

Trhvmn's agents in the Wandering Sea would not be a problem for much longer, that was certain. They'd be ice statues before morning.

As the female Ancestor left to carry out her task, Trhvmn turned towards the other being who he'd summoned that day. So far, that being had remained on his knees, not having spoken a word, but with his king's attention focused squarely on him, he rose immediately.

Marol'Droth was also a Dead Apostle Ancestor, the twenty-second to be precise. He was fairly young as well, though still more than twice Tsula's age. He too had been changed into his current form by Trhvmn himself, and he too had undergone the change voluntarily.

But while Tsula's and Marol's backstories were largely similar, their appearances could not have been more different. Where Tsula had chosen to cover herself from head to toe in clothing, Marol was naked, except for a tiny loincloth that only just preserved his modesty and sandals that protected his feet from irritants on the ground.

It was impossible to tell what Tsula looked like, as she had obscured her form, but Marol completely bared himself to the world, showing his handsomeness without compunction.

Both Trhvmn and Marol were handsome men, but where Trhvmn could be described as noble and regal, Marol was more of a heartthrob.

His face was handsome yet cute, with large, dark eyes that seemed to permanently be set in a pining look, and full, pouty lips that begged for a kiss. His body was muscled, and his hair fell all the way to the small of his back. His hair, teeth, and nails were meticulously kept, and he was shaven all over except for the hair on his head. His tanned skin was shiny, suggesting he'd recently oiled himself.

Add to that the fact that he was an actual vampire, and he seemed like a teenage girl's fantasy come to life.

Not that Trhvmn cared about that. He had long since lost all carnal desire and passionate feelings. All that mattered to him was Marol's power and devotion to him, both of which were beyond reproach.

"My gracious Overlord." Marol said once Trhvmn gave him permission to speak, bringing a hand to his unbeating heart, his voice heavy and throaty. "I bring good news."

"Do you? Excellent." Trhvmn smiled, feeling how a weight was lifted from his shoulders. Marol's mission had been of the utmost importance after all, and though Marol was capable enough to handle it, Trhvmn had still worried quite a bit.

Trhvmn had dispatched the half-naked vampire lord to do two things for him. The first was to find Merem Solomon and 'convince' him to join Trhvmn's faction at last, and the second was to negotiate a truce with Altrouge Brunestud, Trhvmn's adorable little rival.

They were about to commence the grand plan to resurrect the Crimson Moon, which meant the Ancestors couldn't afford to squabble and fight amongst themselves, as they usually did. As such, Trhvmn had decided to let bygones be bygones and reached out to his enemies and rivals to build an alliance.

Merem Solomon had shown himself rather reluctant however to join Trhvmn, and had even gone as far as to tell the Church about the Aylesbury Ritual, during which they would wake the Dark Six from its enforced slumber, which was the first step in the process to resurrect the Crimson Moon.

That was the kind of betrayal that Trhvmn couldn't overlook, the kind of treachery that deserved to be punished with death. Trhvmn had been fully intent on killing Merem himself, if it hadn't been for Gransurg Blackmore convincing him otherwise at the last possible second.

Blackmore had always been eloquent, and eventually, Trhvmn had agreed to give Merem one more chance. He had sent Marol to find and warn Merem though to tell him that it really was his last chance, and to ensure that the boyish Ancestor understood how thin the ice that he was standing on truly was.

"Have you found Merem?" Trhvmn asked.

"I have."

"Did you give him my message?"

"I did, my king, and to my delight, I can tell you that Merem Solomon has seen the error of his ways and deeply apologises for telling the Church about the Aylesbury Ritual. He swore multiple times that his loyalty to the Crimson Moon is beyond doubt, and had pledged to aid you in resurrecting our master in any way he can." Marol reported, and Trhvmn nodded in approval at the news, happy that Crown had chosen wisely. "He is however extremely reluctant to resurrect the Dark Six."

"Understandable." Trhvmn sighed, his good mood falling at the hated name. "Six was most unpleasant to be around."

Marol had never met the Dark Six, as he was too young, but Trhvmn had worked together with that creature back when their Master had still been alive, and he could say with absolute surety and confidence that the Dark Six was an absolute and utter git. A terrible, whiny being with the mind of a child that had been given too much power. A useless waste of space that was only kept around because he was the first Dead Apostle ever to be created, giving him some importance in the grand scheme of things.

Nevertheless, his 'death' had been a widely celebrated event among the other Ancestors, and it was only because Dark Six provided the easiest route to awakening the Crimson Moon that Trhvmn was even considering resurrecting that useless worm, and even then, he too had doubts at times.

Merem, who was still very much an impulsive child himself, could not be expected to think rationally about matters involving the Dark Six. In hindsight, it had been entirely expected he would throw a tantrum and tell the Church about the Aylesbury Ritual in an effort to stop it. It was as much Trhvmn's fault for not anticipating it as it was Merem's for actually doing it. In light of that, Trhvmn could be merciful, just this once.

"And what about Altrouge?" He then prompted his servant to continue his report.

"Princess Altrouge Brunestud had also pledged to aid in the Aylesbury Ritual, though she insists her rivalry with you will continue unabated." Marol replied, bringing more good news. "This was the expected outcome. Most of her Faction's members have already pledged themselves to you, or at least promised their aid in the Aylesbury Ritual, so she could not refuse your offer without losing their support. She did need a way to save face though, so she blustered a bit."

"If you see her again, tell her I take our rivalry most seriously." Trhvmn allowed, the corners of his mouth twitching in amusement. "Make sure her faction is watching as you acknowledge how powerful and influential she is and how seriously I take her. It'll make her happy."

Altrouge Brunestud was an Ancestor with a fourteen-year-old body and a seventeen-year-old mind. If you wanted to work with her, you needed to account for that, and adjust your behaviour and words accordingly. Stroking her ego often yielded the best results.

Really, it was that Gransurg and Van-Fem were cold, rational, and mature, or Trhvmn might feel like his title 'King of the Dead Apostle Ancestors' actually meant that he was in charge of a kindergarten-class.

"Naturally, my King." Marol's approval of Trhvmn being so kind to Altrouge was clear in his voice. "However, Princess Altrouge's pet, Primate Murder, is more ambiguous. When I asked it for its stance on the Aylesbury Ritual, it completely ignored me."

"Primate Murder is a Beast, Marol." Trhvmn sighed, smiling fondly at his half-naked servant. "It cannot speak. The only one who can reliably communicate with it is Altrouge. You should have asked her to mediate."

"I realised that too, my Beloved Despot, and I did ask her, but to no avail."

"She wasn't willing to help you?"

"She was more than willing, but Primate Murder didn't listen to her."

"Pardon me?" Trhvmn sat up straight, the unpleasant feeling of surprise gnawing at the edge of his concentration.

"Princess Altrouge can no longer control Primate Murder." Marol repeated, nervously licking his lips. "She told me it is normally obedient enough, but lately, it has been rambunctious and rebellious. It does not listen to her commands anymore."

"Has it gone on a rampage?" Trhvmn asked, a sense of urgency filling him. Normally, he wouldn't have cared about what the Beast got up to, but now that he had a delicate operation with a tight schedule to run, he didn't want such a loose cannon running around.

"No, my King. The Beast appears reluctant to rampage."

"Reluctant to rampage? Primate Murder?" Trhvmn cocked his head to the side, frowning at the unexpected bit of news.

"We presume something has scared it, though we do not know what it could be." Marol admitted. "Whatever the case though, Primate Murder will be of no help in your scheme, my King, not as it is now."

"Perhaps Zelretch has done something, or Arcueid is on the move again." Trhvmn mused, before he shrugged. "Ultimately, it matters not. Primate Murder is a powerful weapon, but not required for the Ritual. Altrouge herself is far more important right now."

"About that, my king." Marol spoke carefully. "Princess Altrouge has asked for your help in pacifying the Beast again."

"Has she?" Trhvmn considered that for a moment, before he nodded. "Very well, I will help her after the ritual is over. For now, let Primate Murder be rebellious, though make sure to keep it away from anything important. If it regains its desire to rampage, unleash it upon Ohio's countryside. It can play to its heart's content there."

"My King, princess Altrouge wants your help now." Marol corrected him carefully. "Without Primate Murder, much of her personal power has disappeared. For now, her momentum, her Faction, and your acknowledgement that she is your greatest rival keep her at the top, but if Primate Murder isn't brought to heel soon, she will start losing influence fast."

"…Very well." Trhvmn sighed. Altrouge was of no use to him if she was powerless. "I do not know what help I may be able to offer her, but in light of cooperation, I will do what I can."

"Princess Altrouge will be most grateful for every bit of help you can offer, I'm sure." Marol's tone became flattering as he said that. "And I do not doubt you will find a way to help her."

"Your trust in me is heart-warming." Trhvmn said dryly, and both Ancestors laughed together at his little joke.

"With Altrouge accepting your offer of an alliance, your majesty, most of the Dead Apostle Ancestors are under your command." Marol then continued. "Only Zelretch and Sumire have not pledged themselves to you yet."

"There is little I can do about Zelretch, but I don't like that Sumire is being elusive again." She probably meant nothing with it, as it was the nature of Water Demons to be whimsical, but Trhvmn would still rather have Sumire in his grasp. "Send Nrvnqsr Chaos to search for her. His Beast-craft should counter her abilities quite well, and he has been eager to prove himself."

"Most eager." Marol agreed. "I will send him at once, to bring Sumire to you."

"Excellent." Trhvmn uncrossed his legs and rose from the couch. "Is there anything else you wish to report?"

"Not at the moment, my King." Marol shook his head.

"Then I have new orders for you. After you have dispatched Nrvnqsr to search for Sumire, you will send Gransurg to the Amazon rainforest, to search for the blue spider flower. He will know what it means. Then, you will destroy a group of rebels."

"Rebels, my King?"

"Several of the older Dead Apostles seem to have grown tired of having to wait until they are made Ancestors." Not that those Apostles had ever bothered to put their effort into growing stronger, like Tsula and Marol. They had just sat around, waiting for Trhvmn to promote them, though neither their power nor their accomplishments warranted a promotion. "They intend to break with me and create a faction of their own. I cannot have that, not now. Deal with them, Marol. You can find them in the Palace of Versailles, that arrogant lot."

"I will." Marol bowed deeply again, and then hurried out of the room, leaving Trhvmn alone.

The King of the Dead Apostle Ancestors followed quickly though, also leaving the room and then the residence. His business in Dublin was over, and it was time to move on.

The last thing he did before leaving town was burn down the house. It had been a pleasant place to stay in and Trhvmn did feel a bit of regret at having to destroy it, but he couldn't allow anyone to find any trace of him here, whether they be ally or enemy.

His life was lonely, and he had made peace with that long ago.

At the meeting of the Democratic Faction, held in the castle belonging to the Trambellio-family, tensions were rising high.

"Naturally, the solution to the rise of the Aristocratic Faction is to accept the offer of alliance of the Neutral Faction!" Merle Galliastea said loudly, having to talk with a raised voice to make herself heard over the racket of numerous other people also shouting their ideas and suggestions. "We cannot fight the Barthomeloi alone!"

"Make an alliance with those uncaring bottom-feeders?! After they have refused our offers for years?! I will not stand for that!" Robert Eltnam screamed in a high-pitched voice. "They will just drag us down with them, and for what?! They have nothing to offer us!"

"We should have anticipated the Meluastea's betrayal! I told you they would betray us! I told you! But you didn't listen!"

"We're doomed!"

Inorai Valualeta Atroholm, head of the Valualeta, the second most powerful family of the Democratic Faction, shook her head in dismay and disappointment as her faction turned on itself within twenty minutes of the meeting having started.

Yes, they were in a precarious position, having placed themselves in direct opposition to a faction that was now more powerful than ever, but they hadn't lost, not nearly, and a bit of clever politicking should see them getting off scot-free before long. Unlike the Neutral Faction, they hadn't done anything illegal, or at least hadn't been caught doing so, so any suggestion from the Aristocrats that they were going to make a move against the Democrats was nothing more than bluff and bluster.

But panic had taken root in the minds of many of her allies, making them unpredictable and impatient, and that meant she had very few people to rely on right now. Even McDonell, the head of the Trambellio, had lost his head and was contributing to the racket, which meant it fell to her to salvage the situation.

Inorai turned her back on the squabbling lot, and instead focused on the small group of Magi who were standing around her. Most of them were quite young, certainly a lot younger than Inorai herself, but despite their youth, they had managed to keep their cool so far where many of their elders did not.

Haruri Borzak, Inorai's protegee and apprentice, was one of them, but so were Sophia Edelfelt and her fiancé Eduardo di Stanza, Orlocke Ceasarmund –one of the few in the group who were older than her– Garett Frain, Deimlit and Cabik Pentel, Quentin Riedenflaus, and Melvin Weins.

It was not the most impressive group ever, especially since only Inorai, Orlocke, and Haruri were the heads of their respective families and Haruri's family was impoverished on top of that, but it would do for now. After all, it was Sophia Edelfelt and Melvin Weins who possessed the information Inorai was after.

"This has certainly turned into a right mess." Orlocke Ceasarmund laughed, slapping his arm down on the armrest of his wheelchair. "I would love to claim I saw this coming somehow, that a purge would come and that the status-quo of the Clocktower would be upturned so badly, but I didn't. I didn't foresee a single thing. Maybe I really am getting old."

"You are already old." Inorai smirked at her long-time acquaintance, whose weathered face pulled into a boyish grin at her remark. "But I did not see this coming either, and I don't like that at all."

"No one could have expected Fujimaru, madam." Haruri tried to console her, but fell silent when Inorai shook her head.

"Fujimaru is but one of many factors in this disaster, little one. We could not have foreseen his existence, but it is clear now that the Meluastea were up to their eyes in numerous extremely illegal matters, and we had no idea. Not even your mother, Melvin, even though she is usually so well-informed."

"Mother is deeply ashamed of herself for her oversight." Melvin Weins said apologetically, his frail form hunched over in regret. "The Meluastea somehow managed to fool even her. They hid their activities so deep that even her best informants couldn't find a trace of them. She is now slowly discovering how they did such a thing, but for now, she has no news to give you."

"Hm, most concerning." Inorai tapped her chin in thought. "If the Meluastea were that capable of keeping secrets from us, then their fall was perhaps a blessing in disguise."

"I wouldn't go that far, my lady." Quentin protested, pursing his thick lips in distaste. "The fall of a Ruling Family is never good news. Even if we stand to profit in the short term, we will all lose in the long term."

"Not if we play our cards right." Sophia Edelfelt corrected him with a purr, her hand holding that of her fiancé Eduardo, as always. "Chaos creates many opportunities if one knows where to look, and our current situation is not short of fertile chaos."

"The famed Hyenas are looking for a quick profit, I hear." Orlocke sneered, though his tone was still light-hearted. "Are you sure you can pull this off correctly after your entry into this faction ended in a spectacular failure?"

"Our car broke down!" Sophia hissed, looking extremely tired of that incident being brought up time and again. "That is hardly a spectacular failure, it was just bad luck!"

"Of course." Orlocke held up his hands in surrender, giving her his best innocent look. "I didn't mean anything with my remark. It was indeed nothing but bad luck. Undoubtedly, it won't happen again… Until the next instance of bad luck that is."

"Why you!"

"Can we really afford to argue after we have lost so much-" Quentin asked hotly, before Inorai decided to step in.

With a lot of flair, Inorai took a cigarette out of her pocket, accepted the fire Haruri offered her, took a long drag from it, slowly blew out the smoke, and only then focused on her group again.

Her gesture of smoking had been very theatrical and demonstrative, and both Sophia and Orlocke looked suitably chastised by it. As such, she took the lead again.

"The Democratic Faction has lost nothing over the past weeks." She told them sternly, wanting to make sure they understood that, and that they understood panicking or worrying too much was unneeded. "We still have our resources, we still have our riches, and we still have all our pieces in place. The Aristocratic Faction is riding high currently, but they will come down again, soon, and we will be ready to meet them when that happens."

"There is nothing the Aristocrats can do to us, even now." Cabik Pentel agreed with her. "They might have a great amount of momentum at the moment, but the levels of actual power of both the Aristocratic Faction and the Democratic Faction have not changed. If they couldn't destroy us before, they still cannot do so now."

"They won't even try." His brother Deimlit gave a self-assured nod. "Even in the Aristocratic Faction, there are many who dislike Barthomeloi. They consider her a tyrant, and think Policies are blasphemous heretics. They won't look favourably on any attempt she makes to continue her self-proclaimed war against the rest of the Association, and they will undermine her if they even so much as suspect that she will."

"Mother says some Aristocratic families are already working hard to undermine lady B right now." Melvin smirked, winking slyly. "Lady B has become a little too powerful, even for them."

"In that case, let us help them out a bit." Orlocke grinned, and his suggestion was met with a round of agreeing nods. "I'm sure Inorai and I can arrange a few things to ensure the Aristocratic Families can burst Barthomeloi's bubble easily enough."

"You will not use any direct attacks on her, I hope?" Eduardo inquired carefully, as he licked his lips in nervousness.

"Do you take us for fools, boy?" Orlocke scoffed, frowning at Eduardo. "Inorai just told us that the reason we are still in a good position is because we have broken no laws. Attacking the Vice-Director is a good way to ruin that, especially since we're never going to succeed in our attacks, no matter how hard we try. She was always more powerful than any of us, but now that she has Fujimaru too, she has become unbeatable."

"Speaking of Shirou Fujimaru." Inorai said leadingly, looking at Melvin and Sophia. "I heard that you are somewhat acquainted with him?"

"Yes, through Waver." Melvin grinned widely. "Shirou has always been nice to me. We spoke a few times, though I have not been able to get hold of him since the purge."

"I have spoken with him once, which was after the purge, but it is actually Eduardo who has interacted with him for a significant amount of time." Sophia admitted, gesturing at her soon-to-be-husband. "The only reason Fujimaru agreed to speak with us in the first place was because of Eduardo."

"Lord El-Melloi II arranged for Fujimaru to help me with a project on Curses a while back." Eduardo explained, not looking entirely happy with being put on the spot. "We worked together for an hour or two. I interacted with him a few more times in Lord El-Melloi's class, and then spoke to him again this morning, with Sophia. That is it."

"Limited as they may be, your interactions with him could provide valuable information. Even if you have only a little knowledge, do share it, for it is more than I currently have." Inorai replied, before throwing her spent cigarette into a nearby ashtray. "Tell me everything you know."

"He's very powerful." Melvin said immediately. "Comparing him to the Vice-Director is entirely justified. Waver told me even lady B herself acknowledged that he is definitely in her league."

"He has a wide range of abilities too." Eduardo added. "I have seen him use multiple kinds of Magecraft in class, often without any apparent effort, without an Incantation even."

Sophia then decided to put her own two cents in regarding Fujimaru. "He likely has some type of Mystic Eyes related to seeing through things, even in the non-literal sense, considering he can tell if you're lying."

"That aligns with what Waver told me about Fujimaru being able to see through walls and Magical Barriers of any kind." That was Melvin again. "He can also smell Magecraft from a hundred meters away, and easily discern its type through its scent. Additionally, his Healing Abilities are out of this world."

"Very interesting." Orlocke nodded, busily making notes on a piece of paper, before he looked up again. "But do you perhaps have any personal details on him? Where he lives? Whether he has any family?"

"Aside from his name being fake and him coming from Japan? Nope." Melvin didn't even have the decency to look apologetic as he said that. "Shirou's careful about those things. I tried to trick him into revealing more of his past a few times, but he always figures me out pretty quickly."

"Smart of him." Inorai approved of Fujimaru's caution. "If you are going to make such a large impression, better do it while no one knows who you are."

"I'd have preferred it if he were a little less smart." Haruri grumbled. "We can handle the Aristocratic Faction and the Barthomeloi-family, but if we fail to get any grip on Fujimaru, he will be able to act with impunity and we will be unable to do anything about it."

"Nah." Melvin shook his head. "You don't have to worry about that. Fujimaru's pretty soft, really cares about people, you know? He would never do anything that puts innocent lives at risk, nor would he act in any way that will cause trouble to Waver or lady B."

"That is not very Magus-like of him." Orlocke remarked, his eyes shining in interest.

"He has no problems admitting he is more of a spell-caster anyway." Melvin shrugged, taking everyone aback, as 'spell-caster' was considered to be quite an insult in the Clocktower. "I mean, I don't understand at all why he chooses to be like that, it seems like an awful lot of trouble to me, but that's simply how he is. I heard from Grey his life's goal is to become a 'Hero of Justice'."

Everyone in the group except Melvin blinked in stupefaction, as their brains temporarily refused to process what they'd just heard. Then most of them scowled in some way, while the rest looked pensive.

"We can work with that." Cabik piped up, his pensive expression turning hopeful, before his face fell when Inorai shook her head.

"I know what you are thinking, but no. You should be very careful with those hero-types." She admonished him, and with him the rest of the group. "They can be extremely unpredictable. If you are planning now to use innocents to try and blackmail or otherwise manipulate him, you might as well forget it. All you will achieve is that Fujimaru will refuse to take part in your little play, and then will be out for your blood for the rest of your life, which will then be significantly shorter."

"That is completely true." Orlocke nodded, his wealth of life-experience allowing him to see the truth in Inorai's words. "Those hero-types don't think like you or me. They are extremely random and whimsical, and since they act with the conviction that they are heroes, they can excuse almost any monstrous act they commit. You can manipulate selfless people, or people who try to be good, but heroes? Heroes are too much for simple Magi like ourselves."

"I am placing Fujimaru out of bounds." Inorai announced, now more certain of herself than ever. "I forbid any of you from trying to strike at him, directly or indirectly. The potential gains are not worth the inevitable risks."

Haruri nodded immediately, as did Sophia, Melvin, and Eduardo. The others looked a bit more recalcitrant, but the fact that everyone who'd met Fujimaru for even a short while agreed with her so strongly vindicated Inorai's decision.

"As I said, even the problem with Fujimaru will sort itself out." Melvin piped up again after a few seconds, trying to set everyone at ease. "Waver and lady B will keep him on a short leash, and as long as we don't do anything to challenge him, he will not act against us."

"I got that idea as well." Eduardo nodded. "We can just do what we planned earlier, use politicking and stuff, and then Fujimaru will back down as well."

"We'll see how it goes." Inorai said neutrally. "We should remain cautious nonetheless."

"Do you want me to gather more information on him?" Melvin asked, still looking very laid back even as he offered to spy on a man whom he himself had admitted to be roughly the Vice-Director's equal.

"If you can do so without arousing suspicion." Inorai decided to allow it. Any information on the newest player on the block was welcome, especially if it came straight from the horse's mouth.

After that, the small group talked a bit more about the precise actions they would take to limit the fall-out of the purge, and how they were going to ensure that the Barthomeloi wouldn't continue their rampage, and then they disbanded again.

Coincidentally, at about the same time that their little group disbanded, the meeting of the rest of the Faction also came to an end, with the families' representatives storming out of the hall, all of them angered in some way, without exception.

Only McDonell Trambellio Elrod, the head of the Trambellio-family, remained seated in the hall, slouched in his chair, covering his eyes with his hands in a gesture that was clearly meant to stave off a massive headache.

Feeling something akin to pity, and a desire for a good talk about the future, Inorai sent Haruri back to their shared office, before making her way over to McDonell.

"McDonell." She greeted him kindly when she'd gotten within hearing distance, and his shoulders stiffened for a fraction of a second, before they relaxed again. "How did the meeting go?"

"Terribly." The silver-haired man grunted, lowering his hands and looking her in the eye. "Magi have a reputation of being cold-blooded and always in control of themselves, but we didn't live up to that reputation today."

"Oh dear."

"You saw it yourself. Everyone was shouting and screaming in panic, trying to find out if it would be better for them to act as a group or hole up alone until this matter blows over. I don't think we discussed anything useful or came up with any good plans at all. All I can do now is hope that this meeting allowed them to get the unrest out of their system so the next meeting goes better, because if not, then I just wasted three hours of my life I'll never get back."

"That bad, huh?" Inorai asked rhetorically, smiling when McDonell groaned pathetically. "Fortunately for you, I do have a plan, and even better, we don't even need most of our Faction's families to set it in motion. All we need is you, me, Orlocke, and a few others."

"You have a plan?" McDonell looked up hopefully, before he smiled wryly. "I am happy to hear that you did spend these three hours productively, unlike me."

"Heh."

"Well then, let's hear your plan."

Inorai then spent the next twenty minutes explaining the plots she'd hatched with the others of her group, to undercut Lorelei Barthomeloi and drag the Aristocratic Faction down again by using their own arrogance and infighting, with McDonell commenting here and asking further explanation there. It had already been a reasonably good plan, but with McDonell's input, it became even better.

Inorai and McDonell were very old friends, who were as close as Magus-Society allowed them to be. McDonell was the leader of the Democratic Faction, but Inorai was his close second, and neither of them felt any compunction about telling the other the plain truth. They were the whetstones that sharpened each other's swords, and after seventy years of working together, their teamwork was a thing of legends.

In other words, whenever they combined their strengths to work towards a common goal, the entire Clocktower held its collective breath in anticipation of what they would get up to.

"But that's enough about the downsides of this recent happening." McDonell said eventually, once the plan had been made as perfect as they could get it. Then, his previously serious expression suddenly turned into a wide grin, taking Inorai aback by its intensity. "The existence of Fujimaru is extremely good news for us, Inorai."

"Oh?"

"He is a Magus from an extremely young, virtually unknown family, with a Crest that is probably nigh-worthless, who nevertheless is every bit as strong as the Vice-Director with her 'impressive and royal lineage'." McDonell's grin was so wide it threatened to cut his face in two. "It proves that we, the Democratic Faction, were right all along. It is not the bloodline or the Crest that matters, but the talent. Couple that with the meteoric rise of Lord El-Melloi II, whose family is as average as average can be, and our philosophy is suddenly a whole lot stronger."

"Good gracious." Inorai mumbled, not even having considered that yet. "You are right, McDonell, this is beyond excellent! Numerous younger families will flock to our banner once they see living proof of our philosophy."

How could she have missed this? The fact that a Magus from an absolutely minor family had made such waves was a dream come true for the Democratic Faction. They could finally stop arguing in hypotheticals and use the actual example that the Aristocrats had just served them on a silver platter.

"But is it not inconvenient then that the boy is with the Aristocratic Faction now?" She asked, her good mood dimming when she remembered Fujimaru was not on their side.

"The side he is on is irrelevant for our purposes." McDonell was quick to set her at ease however. "If he joins us, we can use him as a figurehead and as an example that our view on Magus-Society is the correct one. If he stays with the Aristocratic Faction, we can use that to show that even the Aristocrats acknowledge that a member of a young family deserves to be at the top if his talent is great enough. Either way, we win."

"The Aristocrats might try to spread rumours that his family is actually ancient, and only unknown because it is Asian." Inorai warned him, well aware that Magi didn't put much value in being truthful.

"Even then, we can use it to show how nonsensical racism is, which Asian families both in our Faction and outside of it will appreciate." McDonell had an answer ready right away. "Which is also to our advantage. No matter how the Aristocratic Faction tries to spin this, Fujimaru's very existence shows that their lineage-focused and race-focused outlook on the Moonlit World, and on Magi in particular, is deeply flawed. They are vulnerable now."

"So the man who lifted them so high can also bring them crashing down." Inorai giggled, though the realist in her acknowledged that this would not be enough to seriously hamper the Aristocrats. At most, they would get a bloody nose, but unless another dozen Fujimarus appeared in the next decade, it would go no further than that.

"Not to mention Lord El-Melloi II, who is becoming more powerful with every year that passes." McDonell laughed. "He was already a good example for us, with his amazing talent at teaching that has seen him become reasonably powerful at a political level, but now that he rules over two departments, he can become as great a figurehead to us as Fujimaru."

"Though once more, he is not on our side." It stung a bit that neither figurehead was actually a member of the Democratic Faction, but on the other hand, seeing the Aristocratic Faction struggle with aligning their deeply classist beliefs with the existence of both Lord El-Melloi and Fujimaru in their ranks promised to be deeply amusing.

Inorai and McDonell spoke for a few minutes more, to hash out the precise details of what they were going to do over the next months to ensure the Aristocratic Faction was pulled back down to its original level of power and influence, and then some more about what they were going to do about Fujimaru and Lord El-Melloi, before their ways separated again.

They would have liked to talk for a bit longer, not just for work but also to catch up, but they were both frightfully busy. McDonell had to attend another meeting soon, with his own family this time, while Inorai had noticed something out of the corner of her eye, something, or rather someone, that demanded her immediate attention.

With long strides, the elderly woman left the hall, finding herself in a rather small –by Clocktower standards– hallway. The person she'd come to see was nowhere in sight anymore however, and Inorai, rather uncharacteristically, hesitated, wondering if her eyes had played a trick on her.

"Hey, teach."

Nope, no trick.

Inorai turned around upon hearing the purring voice, coming face to face with her greatest and most powerful apprentice ever. A woman who had studied under her for years, who had rapidly risen above her in power, who had gotten herself Sealed, and then had been released from the Sealing Designation again a few years later. Someone who'd reached the highest rank of Magus possible at just twenty years of age, whose name was so well-known that only her sister's name eclipsed hers in fame, and who had received a coloured title for her mind-boggling achievements and might.

"Good morning, you troublesome girl." Inorai greeted, smiling brightly at the woman whom she still saw as a daughter in all but blood. "You are looking rather harried today."

"Right back at you, hag." Touko Aozaki greeted back, her red hair shining like blood under the light of the hallway's lamps, fitting perfectly with her cruelly playful expression, which was almost witch-like. The fact that her hair was unkempt and that she had large bags under her eyes only added to that witch-like image. An image that was wholly unlike the prim-and-proper girl that Touko had been under Inorai's tutelage. "I heard you got yourself in a spot of bother, so I came to take a look."

Inorai kept her immaculate smile plastered on her face, even as the gears in her mind were spinning rapidly, desperately trying to devise a way to get the girl to leave the Clocktower again. Yes, she did see Touko as a daughter, but she was very much the kind of daughter you'd rather see and praise from a distance, a large distance. She could be very troublesome, and the fact that she was part of the Neutral Faction did not help at all.

Touko was blunt and outspoken, and had the kind of influence that could increase the current chaos in the Magus Association even more. She was also impatient, and she hated being driven into a corner. The current state of her Faction could very well prompt her to do something unwise.

That, coupled with the fact that she looked quite frustrated and stressed, meant that Inorai had to be exceedingly careful with what she said, lest she trigger some kind of rampage.

On the other hand, Touko's remark about 'a spot of bother' clearly showed she had an incomplete understanding of the situation, and as her former teacher, Inorai could not accept that.

"A spot of bother?" Inorai thus repeated incredulously, playing up the angle of a confused old woman. "To the contrary, the Democratic Faction just had a massive windfall, as our view on the Magus Association has finally been validated. It is your own faction that is in trouble currently."

"They'll manage." Touko gave a disinterested wave with her hand, her eyes locked onto Inorai's. "I don't actually care about Factions or politics right now."

"You don't?" That was news to Inorai, and while it was a relief that Touko wasn't about to make trouble to help the Neutral Faction, it did beg the question what else could have made her look so harried.

"I don't. I'm only interested in Shirou Fujimaru. The Neutrals had no information to give me, so I came here, to you, hoping you'd have more."

"I see..." So things had circled back to Fujimaru, and Inorai wondered what it was about that boy that had the Red looking so unnerved.

"Naturally, I am willing to pay for any information you can give me." Touko took off her glasses, and her expression became almost pleading. "I need to know more about him, teach."

Now Inorai truly was baffled. Touko was going as far as to plead? With her glasses removed even?

Those glasses, which were actually Mystic Eye Killers, were Touko's way of Hypnotising herself. If she wore them, she was dedicated, serious, and in complete control. If she wasn't wearing them however, she was subjective and emotional, and indeed almost unable to control herself at all.

Inorai wasn't sure which was the real Touko, but she suspected the truth was somewhere in the middle.

That Touko was willing to engage the glasses-off mode to practically beg for information was completely unexpected though. Inorai had been completely unprepared for such a thing, and in her confusion, decided to indulge the girl for now.

"Shirou Fujimaru is a 'Third-Rate' Magus from Japan, who is currently apprenticed to Lord El-Melloi II, and has been for several weeks. He has red hair and golden eyes, and is quite tall for his apparent age. He is said to be almost as powerful as the Vice-Director, despite the fact his family is unknown." Inorai started out with commonly known information, before also adding the things that had been told to her by Melvin, Eduardo, and Sophia. "Other than that, I know that he is a fundamentally kind person, who-"

"I don't care about his personality or his origins!" Touko interrupted her loudly. "I want to know about his abilities!"

"Then you should have said so." Inorai huffed, not letting herself be intimidated. "I believe it is well-known among the Clocktower that he can destroy Bounded Fields in seconds. Sophia Edelfelt believes he has a type of Mystic Eyes, and Eduardo reckons he has an aptitude for nearly all Crafts in existence. According to Melvin Weins, he has a confirmed aptitude for Storm-Craft, for Runes, and for Healing."

"Healing?" That word seemed to hit Touko like a punch to the gut. "W-What kind?"

"His Healing is of an incredibly high level. I heard it can heal just about everything except death. Why? Why is that so important to you, Touko?" Inorai asked, wondering if the girl was perhaps ill herself.

"So you have not heard the most unbelievable rumour of all?" Touko answered her question with another question, before she shook her head. "No, I don't think anyone would know. I myself only heard about it by total coincidence, because I happen to know those three girls."

"What are you talking about?"

"They said that Fujimaru changed a Dead Apostle back into a human."

Inorai's mouth fell open in shock, her pristine self-control breaking in an instant, as the entire world seemed to be turned upside down and vertigo struck her like a hammer.

"Yes, that was pretty much my reaction as well." Touko laughed, before giving Inorai a grin that was filled with both amusement and absolute terror. "Someone who can mess with Souls to such a degree is not someone I want to face. I don't know if my puppeteering has done anything to my Soul, and I do not intend to find out by getting anywhere near that monster."

"…"

"Got nothing to say, old hag?"

"…The Materialisation of the Soul." Inorai whispered. "The Third True Magic."

"Pretty much." Touko nodded, before putting her glasses back on, switching back to her controlled personality. "It seems there is a third Sorcerer on the block, besides the old vampire and my sister. Do with that what you will. If you don't have anything else to tell me, I will be leaving now. With my own Craft, I must stand out like a beacon to him, and I am not going to wait around for him to decide I annoy him enough to warrant my immediate destruction."

"Do not tell anyone else about this!" Inorai commanded her former apprentice with all the authority she could still muster. "I will look into this myself. If I discover anything, I will let you know, but don't expect miracles."

"I won't tell anyone else. I'm not that much of a fool." Touko huffed, before looking away. "And thank you, old hag. It was nice seeing you again. If you discover anything interesting, you know where to find me. One tip though, try to speak with Fiore Forvedge. She might have more to tell you about Fujimaru."

Then she disappeared out of sight, leaving Inorai alone.

Inorai barely noticed her former apprentice leaving however. She was too absorbed by what she'd just learned.

Fujimaru had changed a Dead Apostle back into a human. Essentially, he'd Resurrected someone, brought them back from the dead.

Inorai's first instinct was to deem it impossible, a lie, but that would not be true. It wasn't impossible, it was a miracle.

It was True Magic. The domain of the Third.

Shirou Fujimaru was a Sorcerer.

Then Touko was right to worry. Her own Craft, that of transferring her Soul between puppets, was something that encroached on the Third Magic, and if there was anything that both Magi and Sorcerers hated, it was amateurs who encroached on their Craft.

Did Lorelei Barthomeloi know about this? Was that why she had taken Fujimaru into her Faction, despite his utterly lacking lineage? Had she somehow managed to get herself a pet-Sorcerer?

If this got out, the status-quo wouldn't just be upturned or damaged, it would be obliterated beyond repair! Never before had a Sorcerer gotten involved with Clocktower-politics, and the consequences of that rule being broken would be disastrous.

Zelretch was a True Sorcerer, but he didn't involve himself in anything, least of all feeble politics. Aoko Aozaki was not really a Sorcerer yet, though she had the potential, and she too much preferred tending to her own matters to getting involved in someone else's problems.

Fujimaru however clearly had no problem meddling in the business of the Magus Association, and if what Touko said about him changing a Dead Apostle back into a human was true, he was more of a Sorcerer than Aoko.

All Inorai could do at this point was hope that Melvin had been correct about Fujimaru being a goodhearted person who hated needless conflict, and that Lorelei Barthomeloi had no interest in wrecking the Magus Association. Because if not, then…

It didn't even bear thinking about.

She needed to discuss this with someone. Someone wise but discrete, who would not immediately spread the word. Someone who had already proven to be able to keep secrets.

Her mind made up, Inorai cast a look around the hallway, even going as far as to use Magecraft to ensure no one had eavesdropped on them. Only then did she depart as well.

"What was Millicent thinking?!" Gladys Archibald Archisorte snarled, smacking her hand down on the table. "Did she take complete leave of her senses?!"

"Come off it, Gladys!" Reines spat, glaring at the girl who looked so much like her that she could have been her twin, if it hadn't been for the darker skin she possessed. "You knew precisely what Millicent was doing! You just couldn't be bothered to give a damn until it became a problem for you personally!"

It was the morning of the trials, and the Archibald-elders were holding a meeting. It had been quite a while since they last held one, considering nothing much had happened recently, but today, they had convened to discuss an urgent matter.

One of their own was about to be put on trial for treason, as well as numerous other crimes. Millicent Archibald had been caught consorting with the Meluastea, and there was so much evidence of her crimes that she was sure to be found guilty.

On itself, that wasn't much of a problem. None of the other Archibald-elders liked Millicent, and it was undeniable that she had in fact committed the crimes she was going to be sentenced for. However, having one of their own be convicted publicly could result in a massive loss of face for the entire family, so they needed to find a way to limit the damage.

Finding such a way was difficult however, and before long, Gladys lost her patience, throwing a small tantrum as she expressed the wish for Millicent to have been wiser. Reines wouldn't have it though, and slapped her down.

"Calm down, both of you!" Dominic Ralpha Archibald, a portly man with a double chin, snapped, his gut swaying slightly as he moved. "Arguing between ourselves solves nothing."

"I can't disagree with Gladys though." Frederique Archibald grumbled. "This should have been a joyous occasion, considering we gained back the Department of Mineralogy, but instead, we are desperate once again because Millicent let herself be tempted into joining the Meluastea, the brainless twit."

"That is why I keep saying that we should cut Millicent out of the family now. If we distance ourselves from her, we may very well be able to nullify the bad effects that her conviction might have on us." Rampusa Lopez Archibald repeated something he'd said multiple times already. "She knew the risks. Now she can pay the price for her foolishness, alone."

"Waver won't have it." Reines shot the suggestion down again, like she'd done every time before. "He is not going to abandon a family-member in trouble, even if he doesn't like them. As the lord, he has a responsibility to take care of us, even if we are idiots. That's what he said at least."

"Why are we listening to anything that fool has to say anyway?!" Frederique spluttered, clenching her frail hands.

"Because young Waver is now truly our lord and master." The ancient Chairman, oldest member of the Archibald-family and chairman of the meetings between the elders, explained calmly. "Now that he controls Mineralogy as well as Modern Magecraft Theories, it is safe to say he has gone from our figurehead to truly the most important member of the family. I am afraid we need to listen to him from now on."

"Absolutely not!" Dominic blustered, sweating profusely, though whether that was from fear or from the strain of having to move so much, no one knew. "I refuse to listen to the upstart who got Kayneth killed."

"That kind of attitude will get you into trouble soon." Reines said 'kindly', smiling brightly at the fat fool. "Waver pulled one over on us and won. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you can profit from the family's new and improved standing."

In the privacy of her own mind though, Reines acknowledged that it was exceedingly unlikely that Dominic would accept the fact Waver was now above him. Gladys would accept it, eventually, the Chairman had already accepted it, and Reines was of course the first one who'd given Waver her support, but Rampusa, Dominic, and Frederique would never acknowledge Waver's new place in the hierarchy.

That was fine. Reines had kept the three of them around because she couldn't afford challenging the elders of her family while the Archibald were in such a precarious position, but as soon as Waver had solidified his hold over Mineralogy, it was time for the trio to retire early.

It was up to them whether they would enter their retirement alive or dead.

"To get back on point." The wheezing voice of the Chairman cut through her thoughts. "Young Waver will stand by Millicent, no matter what we do. I think it would be best if we support him in this. Revealing to the Clocktower that we are divided is a terrible idea after all."

"…" Rampusa looked like he wanted to argue, but after gaping like a fish for ten seconds, unable to find words, he just sneered and ran away, quickly followed by Dominic and Frederique.

Just like that, peace was restored.

"…I will support Waver in his actions then." Gladys said eventually. "As long as you can promise it won't have us end up on trial alongside Millicent."

"Thank you, Gladys." Reines grinned, before waving goodbye when the girl left as well, leaving her alone with the Chairman.

"Much has changed over the past weeks." He said once Gladys had closed the door behind her. "And I fear much more will change, not all of it for good."

"Then we will have to prepare for the worst." Reines sighed, not about to argue with a creature that was centuries older than her. "It's going to be difficult without a Crest."

"Hm." The Chairman didn't argue with that, as it was true. "We should at least make sure young Waver will remain on our side. Now that he has reclaimed Mineralogy, he might feel that his debt to us has been repaid. If that happens, we have nothing left to tie him to us."

"I'm working on it." Reines grumbled, her mood souring as the Chairman touched on a topic that was rather sensitive for her.

"Are you still trying to tempt him into marriage? How is that going?"

"…Not well."

Reines had done her best to make her interest clear, but so far, Waver had refused her every advance. Even when she told him that she was willing to share with Grey, he shook his head, if he didn't just outright ignore her.

Reines knew that he considered her to be annoying, and she knew that he just wasn't very romance focused, not to mention that he was still hung up on his Servant, but that couldn't be all. It just didn't fit.

So she'd done some digging, and eventually, she'd discovered that Waver's main reason for refusing both her and Grey was because they were too young.

Reines admitted that there was indeed an age-difference. She and Grey were both seventeen, while Waver was twenty-six. Nine years was not a negligible amount of time, especially not when one party was underage.

On the other hand, Reines was more than willing to wait until the age difference didn't matter anymore. If Waver was more comfortable with her being twenty-two or so, she'd gladly wait five years, more even, as long as she had his guarantee that he would wait for her too.

But there was no guarantee that he'd wait. Not only was the Chairman right that he might leave the Archibald-family once he considered his debt paid, there was also Marianne intruding upon Reines' territory, to say nothing of Adashino and Bazett.

She needed to pull out bigger guns, and more of them, if she wanted to be successful in her advances before Waver either left or got hitched with someone else.

"If marriage is your chosen solution to tie him down, might I offer a piece of advice?" The Chairman interrupted her thoughts.

"What is it?"

"Please be upfront about your intentions. Men like Waver Velvet don't play games of love. You would have more success if you clearly spelled out your plans and intentions than if you made the thousandth remark about how you will take him as your husband later."

"You mean…?"

"Cease with your teasing, Reines, and conduct this like a business deal from now on. When dealing with men like Waver, that is the most efficient way."

"I can never tease him again?!" Reines could scarcely think of anything worse.

"Of course you can, but only after you have reached an agreement with him." The Chairman corrected her. "Don't sell the hide before you have shot the bear, and I think it is high time you started taking the hunt seriously."

"Oh, phew." She wiped some imaginary sweat from her forehead, before she began pondering. "Alright, I'll offer it like a deal. He gets to stay part of the Archibald while I retain him and his competence. As I am clearly profiting more from that deal than he is, I'll sweeten it for him by allowing Grey into the relationship as well. I'm not clear about Marianne, but if we hash that out properly, I might be willing to think about it if that also means Waver gets control over Botany. Adashino and Bazett can be side-pieces, and Lehrman can be a concubine."

Reines muttered rapidly as she spun her plans, and the Chairman sighed in exasperation.

The modern generation really was hopeless in matters of the heart.

Then again, he didn't have any right to talk. He still hadn't been able to work up the courage to approach the lovely Mirei, even just to invite her for a cup of coffee.

Perhaps he too was hopeless when it came to love…

Inside the Emiya-estate, Ayako and Sakura were wrapped up in an important discussion, even if one might not immediately conclude that from the way they looked at the moment.

Both of them were clad in nothing but their panties and a shirt, the latter actually belonging to Shirou, who had left them behind when going to London. These shirts were long enough to fall below their hips when they were standing, but if they sat down or bent over, it would become clear immediately that they only wore panties underneath it.

As they were the only ones present in the house however, neither girl had any issue with that.

Currently, Ayako was sitting on the couch, leaning against the backrest as she watched the news on the television. Her shirt had crept up a bit, enough that her legs were bare in their entirety and a hint of red cloth was poking out from underneath.

In the meantime, Sakura had laid herself down on that very same couch, resulting in her equally bare legs lying across those of Ayako. In other words, Sakura's thighs were lying on top of Ayako's thighs, and both girls were very happy with that situation.

The only thing missing was Shirou. He might have been away for more than a month already, but his absence was still extremely noticeable in the house. Both girls wanted him home already, and they were counting down the days until he would come back to Japan.

Fortunately, it was now known when he would come home. As Shirou still called them every day, they were well aware of everything that was happening in the Clocktower. They knew about the purge of the three departments, they knew about the trials, and they knew about the schedule that Shirou had been given by Lady Montmorency.

Just two more weeks, and they would be able to hug their boyfriend again. Just a little bit longer now, and the ordeal would be over.

Though it would by no means be the end of it.

"I can't believe the Vice-Director made Senpai promise to come back regularly so they can experiment on him." Sakura grumbled, her face set in a thunderous expression. "So typical of those Magi."

"Well, Shirou did do some things that were supposed to be impossible, so I sort of get why she demanded such a thing." Ayako sighed, before she tenderly stroked Sakura's thigh with a finger. "There, there."

"He better not be gone for more than a month again." The plum-haired girl muttered, enjoying the ministrations of her girlfriend, her expression mellowing. "I have to draw a line somewhere."

"Definitely." Ayako agreed, pinching Sakura's thigh with her thumb and index finger. "I don't want to nag, but neither do I want to have our boyfriend spend most of his time on the other side of the world."

"Yes, exactly that!" Sakura pointed at Ayako, before clenching her fists. "I don't want us to become like those anime-wives who raise their children alone and keep saying their husbands are working abroad. That's such a stupid plot device."

"I completely agree with you. It's stupid, convoluted, and plain weird honestly." Ayako nodded, grabbing a handful of Sakura's plump thigh and squeezing tightly, enjoying its softness between her fingers. "Their husbands are never present, they never even mention them, yet when a super kind and charming man appears, who is like an actual father to their children, they mutter about how they're married and stuff."

"Are you thinking about All Might and Inko Midoriya?" Sakura asked, before smiling when Ayako nodded fervently. "Yeah, it's pretty maddening, especially since her husband never appears."

"They didn't even need to cut out Izuku's father!" Ayako's voice rose in passion, causing Sakura to laugh out loud. "They could have just kept him in, and nothing would have changed. Or they could have just killed him, instead of this half-hearted 'working overseas'-nonsense."

"Though that is just fiction, determined by the writer, who has absolute power. On the other hand, we have to make sure ourselves that it doesn't actually happen to us." Sakura rose up to pat Ayako's head, before lying back down again. "We'll have to tell Senpai that we don't want him to stay away for too long."

"Unless it is absolutely required of course." Ayako allowed, before grabbing Sakura's thigh with both hands to firmly massage it. "But even that has limits. He is our boyfriend, so I want him to be with us for at least ten months of the year."

"Or we could come with him next time he leaves for another country." Sakura suggested, her toes curling involuntarily when Ayako's nails ghosted over the inside of her upper thigh. "That way, we can be with him all the time."

"That is a good idea, though we'll also have to ensure we don't cling too much." Ayako argued, deliberately letting her nails stroke over the inside of Sakura's thigh some more to elicit another cute reaction. "I mean, we don't want it to look like we suspect him of cheating."

"Senpai would never cheat. He is avoiding it so hard that he even reports back to us about everything that happens to him that could be vaguely related to cheating." Sakura's eyes glimmered in amusement, making the brunette's heart beat faster. "Though I must say I enjoyed the story about how the Vice-Director accidentally flashed him."

"Oh yes, that was hilarious." Ayako grinned, remembering how they'd made Shirou tell them every detail of that incident, down to the Vice-Director's choice of underwear. "I do like stern, powerful women who are also sexy."

"You took the words right out of my mouth." Sakura nodded. "The lacy black panties were also a nice touch. Maybe we should consider buying some of those as well."

"I don't know." Ayako mused, before lifting Sakura's shirt and taking a look at the underwear she was wearing. "I really like purple as well."

"Purple lacy panties then." Sakura amended. "And red ones for you, so we can give Senpai a heart-attack when he gets back."

"Going from the hot Vice-Director to his hot girlfriends. That sounds like Shirou will have nothing to complain about." Ayako's grin showed nothing but complete confidence in her own beauty. "Might convince him to stick around a bit more too."

"Oh, the Vice-Director is hot, is she?" Sakura asked teasingly.

"I mean, Shirou did manage to send us a picture of her." Ayako held up her phone, on which a pretty good image of the Vice-Director in her normal state of dress was visible. "So yeah, I can say with full confidence she's hot."

"Even hotter when wearing a shirt and a skirt." Sakura grinned, lifting up her own phone, on which a picture of the woman in her purge-outfit could be seen. "Tell me, after you saw these images and Senpai told you about the skirt-incident, did you imagine anything naughty? I certainly did."

"Oh? What did you imagine?"

"I asked first."

"Fine." Ayako sighed, before smiling pervertedly. "I imagined the Vice-Director wearing nothing but that skirt while bent over a desk."

"Nothing else? Not even the famous lacy black panties?"

"Fine, they can be around her ankles."

"How wonderful!"

"What about you?"

"Something similar, though she was only wearing the shirt instead of the skirt, and the panties of course, and she would be sitting on my lap."

"She's a lot taller than you though."

"So? I like tall women, especially if they have a big butt."

"You're right, her being tall only makes it sexier." Ayako nodded, before both girls fell silent. After a few seconds though, they burst out in laughter, giggling hysterically at their own thoughts.

"Good Heavens, I'm glad we are alone." Sakura snickered after a minute after their laughter died down again. "Can you imagine how Nee-san would have reacted if she'd heard us? Talking about the Vice-Director like that?"

"She'd be scandalised, though also tentatively interested." Ayako replied, wiping away a tear. "A more important question is what Shirou would have thought of our discussion."

"Oh, that is harder to guess." Sakura scratched her temple in thought, but ultimately came up blank. "I don't know. I guess there's only one thing to do."

"Repeat our discussion when he's back?"

"Precisely."

That prompted another round of laughter from the girls, as they tried to imagine how their prim and proper boyfriend would react to the Vice-Director of the Clocktower being the subject of their perverted discussions.

Eventually, the laughter died down again, and then Ayako's eyes turned hard.

"Sakura, what do you think about the Paris-case?"

The sudden shift in subject sobered the plum-haired girl up immediately, and she looked at her girlfriend in askance.

"I mean, if what Kuzuki-Sensei said is true, and his case will never be solved, then certainly we cannot just stand by and do nothing." Ayako argued carefully, not sounding entirely convinced of her own words, yet unwilling to stop. "I mean, Shirou would never have let that happen. We have to do something to catch the murderer like he would, or we can't call ourselves his girlfriends."

"I don't disagree with you. I want to do something too." Sakura admitted, removing her legs from Ayako's lap and sitting up straight next to her. "But I am unsure what we can do. We are not Senpai, Ayako."

"No, of course not." Ayako nodded, rubbing the back of her head in a very Shirou-like motion. "We don't have all the cool powers that allow him to fight criminals on his own. But even so, I don't want to use that as an excuse to do nothing."

"Can you really call it an excuse when it's a perfectly valid reason?" Sakura deadpanned with a metaphorical sweat drop appearing on her temple. "Without Senpai's knowledge and abilities, we are completely stuck. I mean, we don't even know where to start looking for clues."

"You see, that's the thing. I do know of a possible clue." Ayako admitted suddenly, and Sakura turned to face her in surprise. "I have met Carlton Paris before, at a big fundraising event at the town's hall."

"You did?"

The brunette nodded.

"Why didn't you tell that to the police?"

"Because I wasn't sure, and I didn't want to look like a fool if I was wrong." Ayako said, her voice tinted with frustration. "But the more I think about it, the more I am convinced it was indeed him. You have to believe me."

"Of course I believe you, that goes without saying." Sakura tenderly bonked her head against Ayako's in a gesture of affection. "What happened that day?"

"My father had been invited to this big fundraiser, and he had to take mom, and since they couldn't arrange a baby-sitter, Minori and I had to come along too." Ayako explained.

"And that's where you met Carlton Paris?"

"He was with judge Koyama Junko, as her date for the evening." Ayako scrounged her face as she thought deeply, trying to dig up as many details as she could. "I remember because she was an extremely impressive woman, and he was black-skinned, which I had never seen before."

"How long ago was this?"

"I don't know, a few years maybe. I'd have to ask my parents."

"Please do that." Sakura made the request urgently. "If it really is the same Carlton Paris, then we might have a lead for our investigation."

"So you want to investigate too?" Ayako asked hopefully.

"I am willing to give it a try." Sakura nodded. "Though I cannot guarantee that we will succeed, or even get anywhere at all."

"I know." Ayako had already accounted for that when she started their discussion. "But we have to make the attempt at least."

"Naturally." Sakura agreed wholeheartedly. "And besides, even if we don't get anywhere, Senpai will be back in two weeks, so he can help us then."

"…" Ayako pursed her lips at Sakura's words, before she looked away shyly. "I'd, ah, I'd prefer it though if we could solve it ourselves."

"Ah." Sakura smirked at her girlfriend, who turned red in response. "Feeling a little proud, are we?"

"…Maybe?"

"Well, alright, let's try to solve it before Senpai gets back." The plum-haired girl then placed a finger against her lip in thought. "Should we ask Nee-san to join the investigation? It's always better to have more people, and her Magecraft might come in handy."

"Do you really think she would agree?"

"We can always try." Sakura shrugged, before she rose from the couch. "But that's enough about Carlton Paris. We will talk with your parents and Nee-san tomorrow. For the rest of the evening, there's something else I want you to do."

"Oh? What would that be?"

Sakura smirked as she went to stand before Ayako, before she bent down, placed her hands on the brunette's shoulders, and brought their faces close together.

"Kiss me."

It was a command Ayako eagerly complied with.

Gideon woke up feeling supremely satisfied.

Still a bit drowsy, he looked around, registering that the sun had already risen above the horizon, and that he had neglected to close the curtains the previous evening, meaning that his room was now fully lit.

The room itself was the bedroom of his apartment in London, where he slept when he was between missions. It wasn't a luxurious apartment, but since Gideon usually worked abroad for the better part of the year, he found it more important that the bathroom was functional and the bed was soft than that he had a lot of expensive stuff.

This apartment ticked both boxes, so he was content.

What truly made him feel satisfied however was not something that had come with the apartment, but something he'd taken with him the previous evening. Something that had made that evening most enjoyable indeed.

That something was his girlfriend, Rit, who was lying flush against him at the moment, completely naked, just like Gideon himself, allowing him to feel every curve and slope of her divine body.

From what he could see, she was still asleep, her adorable face completely relaxed and her breathing soft and steady. Her head was lying on his shoulder, so her breath tickled Gideon's neck, a feeling he quite liked.

She should be waking up soon though, as they hadn't gone to bed very late the previous evening. They'd gone out for dinner together, after which they'd returned to Gideon's apartment, where Rit had taken a shower before they both went to bed.

Of course, the fact that she had emerged from the bathroom as naked as the day she was born, with her eyes hooded and full of desire, meant that going to bed didn't mean they went to sleep immediately. On the contrary, they'd remained quite busy for a while.

To put it bluntly, they'd had sex.

It was hardly the first time, or the tenth, or even the hundredth, but it still felt as amazing as the first time, or rather, better, since they actually knew what they were doing now.

Alas, they'd been quite tired after a busy day, so they both conked right out after less than an hour. Neither of them had woken up after that, up until Gideon had been roused by the sun.

Rit awoke only ten minutes after Gideon did. She opened her eyes, blinked blaringly several times to get used to the light, and then focused on her boyfriend's face. As soon as she realised what she was looking at, she smiled brightly.

"Good morning." She chirped, with not a trace of drowsiness in her voice. "Did you sleep well?"

"I certainly did." Gideon smiled back, also fully awake.

"Was it because of me?"

"Yes."

"Good, because I also slept well because of you." Her voice was as sweet as honey as she dealt the critical blow to his heart.

Gods, did he love this woman.

They tenderly pressed their foreheads together, though they didn't kiss yet. Kissing while you were still suffering from morning breath wouldn't make anyone happy after all. Kissing could come after they had drunk some water and brushed their teeth.

"The trials are today, aren't they?" Rit asked, slowly letting her hand slide up and down over Gideon's abs a few times. "Of the Meluastea, I mean."

"They are." Gideon nodded, retaliating by gently squeezing her firm butt. "Do you want to attend them?"

"No." Rit was entirely honest and upfront about her intentions, and Gideon almost laughed out loud at the blasé answer. "I don't particularly like seeing Magi squeal. It's distasteful."

"Hm, right you are." After almost thirty years of living, Gideon no longer had any illusions about Magi being 'great', 'always in control', or 'beyond reproach', but that didn't mean he liked to watch as one broke down when they were sentenced to death. He didn't take pleasure in misery at all, nor did anyone else in his team. "In that case, let's go to the zoo today instead."

"Excellent idea!" Rit agreed wholeheartedly, sitting up in bed, her full breasts swaying slightly from the motion as she didn't cover them at all. "It's been quite some time, and I heard several animals have had babies."

"…Yes." Gideon agreed, not bothering to hide his staring at those divine boobs. "Yes, I'm sure it will be great."

"Hehe! Then I'll go and prepare for a day out." Rit swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. Then, she took the time to thoroughly stretch her muscles, giving Gideon numerous long seconds to study her backside in detail, before she walked into the bathroom, injecting such a swing into her hips that it had to be on purpose.

Gideon was almost disappointed when the door closed behind her, but since there would be plenty of opportunities in the future to study her entire body in great detail again, he quickly got over it.

Then his phone rang.

Frowning at the unexpected noise, Gideon scooted over on the bed until he could grab the phone, which was lying on the side table.

"Gideon speaking. Who is this?"

"Gideon!" The person on the other side of the line cried enthusiastically, and Gideon recognised the voice a second later. "You old witch! How are you doing?"

"Jonah." Gideon greeted back, certain that it was indeed Jonah, both because of the voice and because Jonah was the only one who ever addressed him as 'witch'. "What do you want?"

"Getting down to business immediately? Can't you ask me how I'm doing first?"

"How are you doing, Jonah?" Gideon asked, his voice deadpan. "And how is Mira doing?"

"We're doing great, thank you!" If Jonah had noticed Gideon's exasperation, he made no mention of it, and his voice remained enthusiastic. "How about you? How have you been holding up? How's the team?"

"Everyone is doing well. We just finished a mission, got paid, and now we're taking a short break before going back to work." Gideon replied, somewhat eager to get the small talk over with. He didn't want to be rude, but he already had something planned for the day. "Can we now get to business?"

"Absolutely. To put it simply, I need a favour." Jonah didn't beat around the bush anymore. "Not a hard one though. I just need you and the rest of your team to pretend over the coming months that you don't know me and Mira. If you see us, just keep walking, that's all I want."

"Are we going to meet somewhere?" Gideon asked with a frown. It would not be difficult to pretend he didn't know Jonah and Mira, and his team wouldn't have an issue with it, but he did wonder what the other man was planning for such a thing to be necessary.

"We're coming to the Clocktower." Jonah told him, and Gideon froze in shock. "Please don't ask for more details. It's Church business."

"You want me to stay silent while you infiltrate the Clocktower?" Gideon couldn't believe his ears. Yes, there were Church-spies in the Clocktower, everyone knew that, but those were Magi who had been bribed at some point. It was unheard of for Executors, the warriors of the Church, to try and sneak into the Magus Association themselves.

"While who infiltrates the Clocktower?" Having emerged from the bathroom a moment ago, freshed up but still completely naked, Rit leaned against Gideon's back, but even the feeling of her breasts couldn't distract him from Jonah's sudden request.

"Is that Rit?" Rit's voice must have carried across very well, for Jonah both heard and recognised her instantly. "Hello, Rit, it's me, Jonah!"

"Jonah!" Rit cried happily, leaning forward even more, wrapping her arms around Gideon's chest for stability. "Are you really going to infiltrate the Clocktower?"

"That's the plan, if you can get your boytoy to agree to pretend you guys don't know me or Mira." Jonah replied. "There's some stuff going on with the Dead Apostle Ancestors and we're pretty sure your Association is involved somehow, and me and my team need to check it out. We were all ready to go and pretend we were witches, but then I remembered you guys could very well blow our cover, so I called ahead."

"The Dead Apostle Ancestors?!" Gideon spluttered, his heartrate skyrocketing. "What on Earth-?!"

"Like I said, don't ask me for details." Jonah cut him off. "Just let us deal with it, okay?"

"Even if you say that…" Gideon muttered.

"Things are rather chaotic at the Clocktower right now though." Rit warned, her pale face showing that she had been very shocked by the mention of the vampire lords as well. "Won't that be a problem?"

"Not at all. In fact, it may work to our advantage. Don't worry, we have everything arranged, we only need you lot to stay mum."

"Well, I have no problem staying silent." Rit grinned, before slyly making her way around Gideon, perching herself in his lap while facing him, and pulling his face into her breasts. "And neither does Gideon, right, dear?"

"…No problem at all." Gideon squeaked.

"Great! Thank you very much, Rit. I owe you."

"If you have time, please come 'meet' us." Rit chirped.

"We will. Thank you too, Gideon, even if you only agreed because of Rit's boobs."

"Urgh!" Gideon flinched at being seen through so easily, before composing himself. "Ahem, that is, I look forward to seeing you again."

"Seeing them for the first time, you mean." Rit corrected him.

"Yes, for the first time."

"Thank you again. Okay, gotta run now, bye bye."

"Bye." Rit made a cute little handwave even though Jonah couldn't see her.

"Be well, Jonah, and take care." Gideon said, before the line went dead.

The black-haired Enforcer placed the phone aside, before looking back at his girlfriend.

"I suppose we'll have to tell the rest of our team as well." He remarked, brushing a lock of hair out of her face.

"Definitely." Rit agreed, before hesitating for a moment. "Is that enough though?"

"What do you mean?" Gideon asked, not sure what else they could be doing.

"Well, don't you think we should help Jonah?" Rit pressed the tips of her index fingers together, looking down as she made her case.

"Help them?"

"The Dead Apostle Ancestors are serious business, Gideon." Rit said, reflexively looking around to check whether there were any bloodsuckers hiding in their room at that moment. "I know the Church and the Magus Association don't get along, but we need to work together in the face of such foes."

"You are correct of course." Gideon nodded, already convinced. He too knew how terrible the vampire lords could be, and how important it was to accept any allies you could find in the battle against them. "Do you have any suggestions on what we could do to help?"

"I think we should discuss that with the entire team. We shouldn't be making decisions on behalf of the others without consulting them." Rit said, before she looked down. "Besides, there's something else that demands my immediate attention right now."

Gideon was confused for about two seconds, before he realised what she meant, and he felt himself blush heavily. She was still sitting in his lap after all, and since they were both naked, little Gideon appreciated her presence very much indeed.

"Ah, Rit…"

"Why don't you take your turn in the bathroom now, to freshen up? When you're done, we can take care of the little issue down there." Rit gave him a salacious grin, before looking down again. "Or the big issue, rather."

Gideon stared at her for a moment longer, still blushing, but then he composed himself, shaking off the confusion. He was a grown man, and he wasn't about to be embarrassed because his girlfriend was looking at his manhood. Once he was in control again, he calmly lifted Rit off his lap and rose from the bed.

Then he gave her butt a good smack as revenge, ignored her shocked squawk, and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

He didn't take long to freshen up, ten to fifteen minutes or so, and then he emerged from the bathroom again, ready to take on the day.

Only to be greeted with the sight of Rit's bare butt poking into the air, as the girl was sitting on the bed on her hands and knees, turned away from him, as she searched for something behind the bed.

It was such an inviting sight that Gideon couldn't resist giving her bottom another smack, and he didn't regret it for one moment, not even when Rit turned around with a very scary expression on her face.

Ultimately, the two had to take another shower before they could leave the apartment, which was well over an hour later.

It didn't escape Gideon's attention though that Rit never resumed the search behind the bed for what she had supposedly lost, and when he checked himself that evening, there was nothing there.

There, that should do it for today.

So, this is a really big chapter, in which a whole lot of stuff happens.

Osaki and Yomaura search Paris' house, and they find out that he was a gigolo, and a very good one. I do not know if it is really possible for a gigolo to earn that much, so maybe you should see him as more of a sugar baby for a lot of different sugar mommies, who all want to spoil him. It isn't the life I would choose, but each to their own and all that.

Shirou and Illya also reunite, and they talk about various subjects as they each try to get a feel for what the other is like. Maybe you felt it was a little awkward, but that's the two of them getting used to each other.

They also talk about giving Waver something in return for his help, and to repay him for what Kiritsugu did. Fortunately, paying off his debt won't be very difficult with the riches Shirou has at his disposal now.

Shirou also gets a lesson in politics from Lady M, and he immediately applies it against Sophia Edelfelt and Eduardo di Stanza, while eating his breakfast. His meeting with the ladies B and M will be next chapter.

For the Enforcers, we have Gideon and his team making sure Sisigou doesn't go for Darnic Prestone's offer, saving him from joining the Yggdmillennia. At the end, there is one more scene of Gideon and Rit being boyfriend and girlfriend, before they are called by Jonah. Do you guys remember Jonah? He is part of Kayla's team, who are going to infiltrate the Clocktower in order to find the minions of the Dead Apostle Ancestors, like you saw for yourselves in this chapter.

We also know though that Trhvmn is going to send more minions to the Clocktower, so in other words, it becomes a game of cat and mouse between the King of the Dead Apostle Ancestors and a bunch of Executors undercover in the Clocktower. I don't know how many words I am going to spend on that, but I will at least make some passing mentions of it.

About Trhvmn, I hope I presented him well. I had to take many liberties with his personality, as little is known about him. His two servants by the way are OCs, made by me. The real 22 and 25 are dead or Sealed away in canon.

Trhvmn succeeds in getting his alliance with Altrouge, only to be surprised by the fact that Primate Murder is afraid of something. That something is Shirou, or at least, the Divinity that he is pumping into the World again. Don't forget, Asgardians are not human or any other sort of primate, so Primate Murder is very weak against them.

The Neutral Faction and the Democratic Faction both have meetings to discuss the recent developments. Maybe the Aristocratic Faction will also have a meeting next chapter, but I'd have to see if that has any added value.

I knew that mentioning the Phamrsolones meant that I had to include Ophelia as well, so hereby. I decided to go the route of Magus-parents who do genuinely love their daughter (or at least feel a twisted version of it) but because they are messed up in the head, that love means they are torturing her to make her strong. Basically, the overly pushy helicopter-parent trope taken to eleven.

Some of you already mentioned wanting to see Touko Aozaki, and here she is, but she isn't going to stay. Her puppet-craft is an approximation of the Third True Magic after all, and she doesn't want to find out whether a True Wielder of the Third would be insulted by her paltry attempts at copying their Sorcery. She might approach Shirou later, but only when she is sure he won't hold a grudge against her.

And no, Shirou cannot actually use the Third Magic, he is still using the Mysterious Power, which is the Odin Force.

I hope you enjoyed it. I'll see you next time, and no, I don't know how long that will take.

Omake

When Waver found that Iskandar's artefact had been stolen, he wasted no time in pursuing the thief. The invitation for the Mystic Eye Collection Train that had been left at the spot where the artefact used to be was a good clue, and before long, Waver was onboard said train, together with Grey and Caules.

Of course, Waver had seen immediately that Caules wasn't actually Caules, but he'd pretended to be ignorant so far, curious what the pretender was up to.

Then they met Servant Faker.

"I really find myself hating you." The woman spat, drawing her sword and making to stab it right through him. "All that fascination and loyalty to a man long dead. Why don't you have an original thought for once!"

"I simply consider him to be worthy of my loyalty, even in death." Waver huffed, before batting the sword aside with the back of his hand. "And you won't change that."

Then he punched her so hard the stomach she was launched off the train entirely, while Grey gave him a cute little cheer.

The Caules-pretender was sweating though, and Waver discreetly enjoyed how the figure's plans were clearly falling apart at the seams.

"Get him!" Altrouge Brunestud screamed shrilly, pointing at Waver with immense urgence. "Tear him apart!"

Primate Murder immediately made to follow her instructions, rushing at Waver with its mouth wide open, to bite him in half, and Waver braced himself.

"Bad dog!" He shouted, before smacking the Beast right on the jaw, sending it careening onto the ground.

Then, Waver seized it by the scruff of its neck, and pressed it down, like it was a normal dog that needed to learn manners.

Primate Murder roared and screamed and twisted, but Waver held on, easily withstanding its attacks, until it became exhausted. He slammed it against the ground once more, just to be sure, and then he let go of it.

It did not try to get up again.

"No!" Altrouge Brunestud screamed, rushing forward with her claws outstretched. "I'll kill you!"

Then Waver grabbed her at the scruff of her neck, easily holding her at arm's length.

"What works for the pet seems to work for the Master as well." He remarked, enjoying how Altrouge became a furious red.

"I do not think it in any way appropriate for a single man to control so much of the Clocktower!" Mario Brishisan spat out from between gritted teeth. "It is dangerous, not to mention it goes against many ancient traditions."

"If you have a problem with a single person ruling multiple departments, you should have spoken up when Stanley Meluastea claimed Mineralogy in addition to Archaeology." Adashino smiled beautifully from where she stood next to Waver's chair. "Since you didn't, your complaints ring hollow, lord Brishisan."

Waver kept his expression perfectly neutral, but he gave a grateful nod to Adashino for her rebuttal.

They were in the middle of a conference between the Ruling Families of the Clocktower, and both the Neutrals and the Democrats seemed to have it out for Waver.

It was hardly surprising. After all, Waver controlled three departments at the moment, Modern Magecraft Theory, Mineralogy, and Botany, which was sure to make anyone nervous or jealous, especially his opponents.

Sure, Reines might sit in the chair reserved for the head of Mineralogy, and Marianne held the seat of the ruler of Botany, but there was no one present who didn't know that they answered to Waver in the end.

The glares he received from his opponents were burning in their intensity, and it was only his recent power-up at Fujimaru's hands and the presence of Bazett and Adashino on either side of him that allowed him to keep his cool.

Not that anyone noticed his nervousness. To all outside eyes, Waver was unshakable, indominable even, looking on coldly as his enemies desperately tried to hurt him in some way, only to fail miserably.

Sat in his throne-like chair, with two beauties on either side and two other Department-heads under his direct control, with an expression that could only be described as regal, Waver almost looked like a king.

Not that he would ever acknowledge that himself of course.

"I think the conference went rather well, all things considered." Adashino smiled, calmly milling about in Waver's office, doing nothing in particular. "Wouldn't you say, Marianne, Bazett?"

"Definitely, Hishiri, definitely." The blonde agreed as she meticulously ordered the files in the lowest drawer of a file-cabinet.

"Even I could see that Lord El-Melloi easily dominated the conference." Bazett laughed, standing guard next to Waver, as always.

"I am glad you agree." Adashino's smile was positively glowing. "And would you say that the three of us made our own contributions to the conference?"

"I did my very best." Marianne said, turning her head slightly to look at the others.

"So did I." Bazett nodded.

"And I as well." Adashino purred, before her lovely smile turned a tad devious and she turned to Waver, who was sitting in his chair with his eyes closed. "Yet our beloved lord refuses to even look at us. What have we done wrong, my lord, that you turn your eyes away from us?"

"You know perfectly well why I am not looking at you." Waver snapped, still keeping his eyes closed, as he knew perfectly well what he'd see if he opened them.

Adashino was wearing a kimono, as always, though this particular one was different from the ones she normally wore. This kimono was transparent and entirely see-through, which made it very obvious that she wasn't wearing a single thing underneath it as she sauntered around his office, making absolutely no attempt to cover herself.

In the meantime, Marianne wore a set of green lingerie coupled with stockings, a garter belt, and nothing else, accentuating how good it looked on her butt by bending over the entire time.

Even Bazett was in on it, wearing thigh-high boots, a set of small white panties, a corresponding small white bra, and white detached sleeves connecting to a collar around her neck. She stood at attention next to Waver, her back straight and her breast pushed out. It was a very erotic picture, that nevertheless still gave off a martial air.

Now, did Waver think they all looked beautiful?

Yes, certainly.

Did he want to look?

Yes, definitely.

Was he going to look?

Not if he could prevent it. They would surely tease him without end if he looked, and he'd rather avoid that.

It had turned into a battle of will and patience, and unfortunately for Waver, the women had more than enough of both.

In the end, he managed to hold himself back for an extremely impressive twenty minutes, and then his eyes opened anyway.

In the end, the sight turned out to be more than worth the teasing.

"Die, mongrel!" The golden Archer roared, firing off Noble Phantasm after Noble Phantasm at Waver, his face twisted into an expression of hate. "You will die like your king!"

His words inflamed Waver's own hate, and he continued his approach, dodging every Noble Phantasm as he ran towards the golden demon.

"Impertinent runt!" Gilgamesh was so infuriated by this that he actually used a different swearword than 'mongrel', something that was almost a victory on its own, but Waver continued running closer and closer. "Don't think close range is safe for you!"

The rain of Noble Phantasm ceased falling, and when Waver came within arm's length, Gilgamesh swung a fist with enough strength to knock over a tank.

Waver dodged the blow, and stepped forward to tightly grasp the Servant's middle.

"How dare you touch me-?!"

Then Waver took a page out of Luviagelita's book, and supplexed Gilgamesh, ramming him head first into the unforgiving ground, burying him up to his middle.

It felt so incredibly good!

Ted rushes away to his hole in the ground.