One month.

That was how long it took the group to reach the city furthest north.

Compared to the slave caravan's 2 month travel time, Shirou's group didn't have to take long breaks each night. Their smaller number allowed them to travel faster. Meanwhile Sakura's caravan had to focus on feeding their slave cargo and giving their horses enough time to rest else they risk extending their travel time.

But to Shirou, travelling a month on foot was insanely long. Not many places in his previous life required the same distance of trekking. Even then, they were able to hitch on some rides from farmers hauling their crops to peddle in distant towns and villages. Shirou estimated that they had walked around 2000 kilometes on foot. It only supported Heinrich and Eugen's testimony of how large the world was.

Just how far was his village from the cities!? This was insane. Luckily, Shirou was saved from despair once the sisters told him that they were finally close to the northern city of Sapo.

Unlike the progressively larger towns they passed by the past few weeks, the numerous farmlands around the city were sighted before the city proper. Naturally, a city would have sufficient farmland to provide for itself.

Seeing the city threw Shirou for a loop. It looked like a Japanese city straight out of history, surprising with how similar some things were. What kind of alternate universe did he land in? It was already a blessing that Japanese was the local language somehow.

"Welcome to Sapo City, Shirou!" Eugen introduced the place while waving her hand. The sister seemed wonderfully eager for some reason.

"Finally. I need a nice warm bath and a real bed." Heinrich stretched excitedly at the idea of comfort after camping and renting out rooms in small taverns.

Shirou could understand how the girls felt. His old world had comfort far beyond the straw bedding he had grown accustomed to in this new world. Travelling to the outskirts of civilization must've pushed the girls to their limits.

But for now, he had to focus on another issue instead of looking forward to a comfortable room and board.

Shirou looked at the small wolf pup on his head, staring wide-eyed at the massive human settlement in front of her. Up until recently, Lunea had been living in forests, only adjusting to towns and villages because of Shirou's insistence. Now that it was a city, he could only imagine how unsettled she was.

It was important to consider why phantasmal beasts usually avoided human settlements. Small towns and villages were fine, mostly because those settlements had none or few mages living in them. Mostly healers and priests heading local shrines. But cities held far more mages, throwing the ambient mana into chaos with the sheer amount of magic they were tossing around.

Lunea had lived her entire life in a peaceful environment, aside from Shirou and Lunulupae's magical aftereffects, she had never experienced being surrounded by so much magical chaos.

Shirou could only imagine how she would react to the disorderly environment they were entering.

He patted her head and whispered a few reassuring words to calm the nervous wolf. "Just focus on me and relax. I won't let you get hurt." Anyong who did try would also have to deal with the sisters. Shirou would pity any person who annoyed them. He doubted the girls would kill people for small things, but a little pain was acceptable in their eyes if people overstepped the boundaries of normal courtesy.

Heinrich and Eugen led the group towards the city in search of lodgings. They walked down one of the main roads, diverting into lesser populated areas in the city. Shirou didn't know the city layout, but could see how unconventional the path the sisters took. Circling some areas and crossing another main road before threading near the city borders.

He observed that the girls were scrambling the route to throw off any pursuers. Shirou couldn't spot any followers with both reinforced sight and mana sight, confirming that the sisters had done a good job. If any had remained, his instincts would've been unsettled, enough for him to notify Heinrich and Eugen.

The accomodation they picked was in some branching alleyway, far away from the hustle and bustle of the other streets. Nondescript and average, it looked like many other taverns he had seen in the area. Perfect for avoiding attention.

The entrance led straight to the front desk, lacking a dining area in between, which deterred any wandering customers from entering this inn for a meal.

Shirou traced the establishment while Heinrich and Eugen approached the old woman manning the counter. Nothing stood out of the ordinary, something he was glad with. He wouldn't be caught slacking on his own security.

Eugen paid the old lady a few bronze coins which Shirou assumed was the price for their stay, followed by a silver coin with a smile. The woman nodded calmly, then gave them the keys for two rooms.

So this is 'that' kind of establishment. Shirou guessed. The woman had a recording book on her desk, but didn't note down their names nor the length of their stay along with the payment. The inn was one of those locations that was willing to house less than savoury individuals for an acceptable price. Good to know.

Which only made his mood drop. He was already mixing with the bad kind of company. With the strength Heinrich and Eugen carried, there was bound to be an attached reputation to them. Even if they sought to keep their identities hidden, the higher ranks of any underworld body would have tabs on them.

Soon, Shirou and Lunea would be connected to their reputation. Which worried him.

Just what was Akatsuki? And why did they need members? Judging from Heinrich and Eugen, this might just be worse than what Shirou imagined. Such an organization with powerful members shouldn't be in need of people. With no information, he could only prepare for the worst, and hope for the best.

Once the group reached their rooms, Shirou was finally able to lay down the baggage they had. To appear ordinary, he had to carry the bags when the group was with other people. Travelers with no belongings were one way to attract attention. Fortunately, most of the time was spent alone on roads, which allowed them to store the bags in the sisters' spatial rings.

"Shirou, I hope you don't plan to do anything that could blow our cover when you're alone in the other room alright?" Heinrich asked while rummaging through her spatial ring.

"Of course not." Shirou replied. His priority was avoiding attention and surviving the ordeals. To do that, he needed to live longer to build on his abilities. Dying wasn't part of his plans, not when he planned to find Sakura.

"Alright, first things first. We've informed Akatsuki that we have a new member. So we're giving you uniforms to wear during jobs." Heinrich dug out a kid-sized cloak. It was the same design as the ones they wore, which clued Shirou that this must be some sort of identification for their members.

"Slip this on so we can see." Heinrich handed the cloak to him. Shirou traced the clock to check if there was anything special with the uniform. His spell returned with nothing, telling him that it was just a regular cloak. Shirou threw it over his attire and turned towards the sisters.

"Cute. Akatsuki definitely needed something to lighten up the atmosphere." Eugen commented from the side with a smile. "Tobi can finally have someone to play with."

Shirou raised an eyebrow at the comment. The name of another member was a big piece of information. Were the girls really just going to start dropping important details like that? It must've been intentional, they've been part of a navy once, so they should know the importance of secrecy.

"Let's contact Pein. He wanted to see this new member once we got within Sapo city." Heinrich nudged her sister. "Keep track of the area alright? We'll be back shortly."

Eugen nodded. Her ability to control bodies extended to sensing them, allowing her to casually keep track of the thousands of people within range. Something similar to sonar and radar, Eugen could easily tell if any people approached within dangerous range.

Shirou didn't know about the true extent of her abilities, and could only note down the possibilities. He assumed that both sisters could easily track him without effort. This was simply reinforcing the proof.

"Is this really a good place to meet?" Shirou asked. The girls didn't seem to move, which meant it was taking place in this room. So the meeting must be taking place through magical means.

"You're not a full member yet. We're introducing you as a member of our team. Heads up, we're going to meet the leaders of Akatsuki." Heinrich started twiddling around with a ring on her finger.

Shirou could understand the motive. Considering how strong this organization was, it was only natural that their objectives had to be equally important. But for the leaders to directly oversee the entry of new members shot Shirou's nerves to hell. This meant that the organization was very uptight and small if the leaders themselves were checking who the initiates were.

Just what kind of trouble did Shirou land himself into?

Heinrich grabbed his shoulder and his world was whisked away to another place.

Once he opened his eyes, Shirou memorized the details of their meeting place.

The location was an enclosed cave with no apparent entrances anywhere. Shirou looked down and saw himself standing on a finger of an extremely large statue. The statue itself was unnerving, its mouth warped in a grimace, and its face appearing to have ten closed eyes, almost as if it was in pain.

Already, Shirou could tell something was wrong with the place. A slight tingle to his nerves warning him of a threat. His eyes glanced up at the large statue, suspicions arising from within him.

Next, he reviewed his form. His silhouette was a hazy shadow, which slightly calmed his nerves. At least he wouldn't be exposed right away from the first meeting. Unless the leaders had a different kind of access to the meeting place, allowing them to see his body instead.

Shirou looked to his right where Heinrich stood on another finger. He noted that their eyes were still perceptible despite the hazy forms that their figures took. Her red eyes shone brighter, a result of the dark environment enhancing the little color that could be seen.

Outside of those details, nothing else stood out that drew his attention. He tried to see if he could trace the statue from his incorporeal form, but failed. It was as he expected, his consciousness was only being projected into this space.

For the next few minutes, Heinrich and Shirou stood there waiting for the leaders to arrive. He fidgeted on his spot, trying to shake off the nerves from meeting in such a weird place.

Then, three static shapes appeared on the opposite hand, before slowly focusing into hazy figures similar to theirs.

Naturally, being the only perceptible detail, Shirou's eyes gravitated to theirs. Orange, brown, and purple ringed eyes met his gaze. From one look alone, he could already tell that the three were equal in strength to Heinrich and Eugen, if not stronger.

"You weren't kidding when you said he was young." The brown eyed silhouette cheerfully noted. The orange pair of eyes and single ringed purple one darted to him, looking annoyed.

"We're in a meeting, Yahiko. Please take this seriously." The orange eyed figure reprimanded.

"Konan, he's the newest person who's joined in more than a year! Of course I'd be happy! We are few enough as it is." The person replied back at the girl, judging from the voice Shirou heard.

"He's the newest simply because everyone is too busy to vouch for recruits." The figure with ringed eyes answered. "Heinrich, how was the capture of the phantasmal beast?"

"She's safe and sound in our pocket dimension. We have also managed to capture her daughter, and this boy was with them during the fight. So we took the opportunity to capture him after seeing his ability." Heinrich reported to the man.

"I doubt Heinrich would introduce a potential member without securing his cooperation, would you mind telling us his name and abilities?" The woman identified as Konan said.

Shirou gulped. Heinrich had seen his soul, which was already a large part of his repertoire. His other abilities were only secondary to how powerful his reality marble. Was his trump card really going to be exposed this early? There was nothing he could do if that were to happen.

"Shirou here is highly skilled in breaking down magical constructs. He was able to unravel the seals on the phantasmal beast in an instant when our guards were down. Seeing as our organization has lacked any members with breaching capabilities when it came to magical defenses, we recognized his potential." Heinrich answered the woman's inquiry. "Not to mention that he has other abilities that could help us later down the road."

Pein's eyes narrowed. Was Heinrich referring to that problem? If she was, then her discovery was big. Any help against the abomination was going to be vital.

Brown eyes widened in surprise along with a whistle. "Even Pein here can't breach magical fortresses from the get-go. That's impressive, and his blessing is bound to be important when you hunt down other beasts."

"Yahiko…seriously." The man known as Pein warned while looking at the offender.

Shirou could easily tell that the three were close friends, judging from the close interactions. But he didn't allow himself to fall into a false sense of security. They sounded lax, but that would change in a heartbeat if he was identified as a potential leak.

They would cut him down, even if Heinrich and Eugen considered protecting him. The two sisters wouldn't be able to stop the three leaders, Shirou guessed.

"Good job Heinrich. Continue your routine with Eugen until further instructions are made." Pein's figure then disappeared from the meeting, followed by the other two.

The next time Shirou blinked, he was back in the inn with everyone. The meeting was fast, only having taken a few minutes of their time.

"Welcome back. How was it?" Eugen questioned while reaching to pat Lunea, who was adamantly avoiding the girl who attacked her mother. Upon seeing Shirou return from the vegetative state he was in, she quickly bounded on his head, escaping Eugen.

"I think they're fine with Shirou, and Pein has told us to get back to work." Heinrich replied. At least their break in the village was nice. Now that they were back in the cities, it was time to resume operations as normal.

"That's it for our vacation I guess. Time to hit up some contracts." Eugen pouted.

Shirou removed his uniform and handed it back to Heinrich for storage. He didn't have a spatial ring to keep it in yet. Hopefully, the sisters would allow him to purchase one later. Provided he got a slice of the payment that is.

"Shirou, we're keeping Lunea in the pocket dimension during work. Too risky to leave her out." Heinrich said while opening up the artifact. He translated the instruction to Lunea and she went off to stay with her mother.

"We're already going? We just got in the city." Shirou would've preferred to scout out the city at least. But going with the sisters was also fine. They obviously had the experience and know-how in conducting the affairs. Probably better than he did considering how long they've been around.

"While you guys were meeting with the leaders, I already hypnotized some drunk bystander into contacting the underground locals. With the code words, he should be able to get the contract lists. All we have to do is collect it later." Eugen reported. "We can hit the Page Sage while the list goes through the other middle-men."

Shirou blinked. Did Eugen just send a civilian to pick up job listings? Even more, she had hypnotized several more to act as in between messengers to muddle the tracks. All in the short time they had been busy with meeting the Akatsuki leaders. He's going to have to review his notes on her abilities again. Controlling bodily functions actively was one thing, being able to subconsciously control others was another. The latter was far more dangerous considering he would never know who the threat could be.

Eugen grinned at him. "Surprised? Thank you, I aim to impress."

Was his self control slipping? Shirou was sure that he didn't show any reactions to the new revelation of Eugen's capabilities. Then again, Heinrich and Eugen were incredibly skilled behind the casual exterior they showed.

Something to dwell on for later. Right now, they were going to this "Page Sage" Eugen mentioned about.

When Shirou heard the name "Page Sage" he was expecting to be some sort of high-ranked information broker related to Heinrich and Eugen's field of work.

Not some magical library that blew away his expectations.

Another floating book passed over his head in a casual display of magecraft that was considered unusual to see back in his world. The clocktower magi couldn't even comfortably replicate the craft for daily use, and here it was practically the norm.

Another cup of tea floated by.

This is ridiculous.

Rin would be tearing him a new scalp if she ever heard of him bringing any sort of liquid near the books and research papers.

"What are we looking for?" Shirou didn't reply when the sisters questioned him about his apparent literary skills. He had quickly jumped to tracing the entire area and browsing through the shelf titles to collect more information about the world.

In his hands were several books about the basics of magic, world history, and languages. Shirou was drawing a lot of stares as the ten year old casually walked around carrying a ton of books while skimming over one.

Let it be said that Shirou had to suffer a lot under Rin to become a capable magus. She wouldn't allow him to slack when it came to learning about theory and application. Even if he couldn't perform the craft, the theory still helped a lot when it came to developing his own.

Shirou was proud to say that it definitely helped more than he expected later down the road.

Rin really was a great teacher.

"We're studying magical beasts." Heinrich replied. She was in her disguise, a red robe along with a staff.

Shirou was starting to see that the sisters had a fondness for the color red.

"What are you planning to do to her?" Shirou could easily tell the intention behind her answer. If it risked Lunulupae's life, then he would stop the sisters once he had the strength.

"Don't worry, a dead phantasmal beast has less worth than a living one. We're not going to harm her." Eugen answered. They reached the area for phantasmal creatures and had started combing the shelves.

Shirou continued to blitz through the books, relying on his enhanced eyesight and quick assimilation skills to absorb the knowledge in front of him.

"At least don't block the hallway when you're reading, go read on the tables." Heinrich dragged Shirou towards the central area while Eugen continued looking for more books.

The sisters joined him later, carrying their own pile of books ranging from monsters, folktales, soul magic, and a weird compilation of other niche magics. Shirou noted down the titles of each book, piecing together clues on what the sisters were working towards, and what they intended to do with the information and Lunulupae.

"Shirou, we want you to start reading these too." Heinrich pushed half their books on him.

He blinked in realization. The books were in one way or another, possibly connected to his reality marble.

An Idiot's Guide to Dimensional Magic. What the hell?

Souls and Spirits. Sounds useful.

A Hundred and One Ways to Discover Yourself. Isn't this a self help book?

Legendary Swords and Where to Find Them. Y-you can't be serious…

The pile was a mixed bunch of hopeful and questionable publications. From the looks of it, the sisters took potshots in the dark and returned with their findings.

But the intention was obvious. They were after his reality marble. His soul.

What was the point of making him stronger? What did they want with his reality marble? It was only increasing the risk of his escape later down the line.

Shirou shot Heinrich with an incredulous glance.

"We'll tell you about it once you're ready. But for now, we need you to learn how to use your soul." Heinrich's tone was serious.

The pair then focused on their own books, leaving Shirou to his readings.

Shirou quietly observed the information Heinrich or Eugen found from the pages they focused on, doubling his work aside from the books he was reading. It was more work, but he was still invested in the protection of his friends. For now, he was as much a prisoner as Lunupae and Lunea were.

Two hours later, the sisters finished up. Which wasn't enough time for Shirou to finish going over the first set of books about magic. The other subjects could take another time, not like he was going to need this world's history anytime soon.

Still, learning about the difference from his old world and this new world opened and closed a lot of roads. For one, technology here was not comparable to earth. The armaments Heinrich and Eugen carried alarmed Shirou with how similar they were to WW2 era naval technology, causing him to investigate the magical technological combination he had seen. Now that he confirmed the girls as outliers, the rest was easier to estimate within medieval standards.

"Our carrier is nearby. We can decide on a contract after picking it up." Eugen updated the two. Heinrich nodded and started cleaning up the pile they had shifted through. Shirou quickly accelerated his reading pace to finish the current book, getting a little bonk on the head from Eugen since he was slowing the group down.

"We have a job to do tonight. You can continue next time."

Shirou pouted. Reading the magics of this world was interesting, something that piqued his interests as a magus.

Then he found out that you could purchase the books when he saw Heinrich and Eugen bring all of them to the librarian.

The trio poured over the available missions. Well, more like Eugen and Heinrich checked the contract lists while Shirou sat on the side. Already, he was questioning the difficulty the girls wanted. Most B-rank jobs and below were discarded, with only a few high paying B-ranks remaining. Only a few A-rank jobs were available, and those were immediately checked by the sisters.

His first operation was already looking to go down the deep end of things. Shirou wasn't even going to get some experience with the safer missions at all. Not to mention that the job listings were all questionable to say the least.

Definitely underground material. Shirou thought as he glanced at another A-rank quest, detailing an interest to kidnap a popular head figure of what seemed to be a wealthy local business.

Yep, the universe was spitting on his desire to perform justice.

Becoming a hero was hard enough, now I'm just going in the opposite direction.

Shirou held a hand to his face, wondering where he had gone wrong. What sort of crime had he committed in his previous lives to earn such a fate. Surely his last life wasn't the source of his doom.

"This looks good. We can finish it tonight and get the payment by morning." Eugen picked up one job from the pile they filtered.

One look at it and Shirou's mood deepened. The contract was looking for capable individuals willing to stage an assault on a high-ranked establishment and steal the records. Considering it was A-rank, Shirou was definitely going to be way out of his depth.

"We can meet the broker and get the details right away." Eugen finished while pocketing the job poster. "Shirou, get ready in your uniform." She tossed him an exact replica of the cloak along with the rice hat Heinrich provided for him earlier. He guessed that their line of job required untraceable clothes if they had multiple copies readily available. Burning the cloaks later on perhaps?

The sisters casted multiple concealment spells on the group before they departed in the dead of night.

It only took them a few minutes of running, surprising even Shirou at how fast the girls were. He was forced to push his reinforcement just to keep up. Why did they take one month to travel from the village to the city then? He'd have to ask later.

They maneuvered around the lit roads, dashing down dark alleys and shady streets before arriving at a lively bar. The business was in a tight street, far away from any of the big roads. The surroundings confirmed that they were in a poverty-stricken section of the city.

Shirou questioned the idea of entering an establishment wearing the uniform. From experience, using any recognizable signs was one detail to avoid at all costs. Unfortunately for him, any idea of remaining anonymous was blown away the moment they entered the dingy establishment.

One look was all it took for Shirou to recognize the tell-tale signs of criminals and rugged mercenaries that filled the bar. Worse, they all hushed when the trio of black-clad individuals entered the place.

"What the fuck? All the way out here?"

"No way. Is it really them?"

"Shut up! Don't fucking drag their attention!"

Shirou's reinforced hearing picked up the whispers almost as if they were being said right next to his ear.

Clearly the uniform carried a reputation, one he wasn't aware of.

Heinrich and Eugen flashed the poster at the nervous bartender. He immediately led the trio down into the basement past the storage and into a hidden pathway that led to more rooms. Once he reached a door, the bartender knocked and informed the person inside of guests. He quickly walked away afterwards.

Similar to the people earlier, Shirou noticed the broker's tense reaction to their appearance.

"Hey there, we're here for the job details." Eugen started the conversation by showing the job posting. Heinrich was content to let her sister lead, while Shirou remained quiet to watch the proceedings.

"U-umm yes!" The man quickly shuffled through the numerous records he had, before picking one out.

Shirou reinforced his eyes to read the document, only seeing it as a collection of scribbled nonsense. Clearly, there were hidden details that required specific cryptic information which the broker carried. It was a shortcoming from the broker's part to memorize details. But nonetheless was addressed by having the mission written in a code only he knew.

"The request came a year ago. I don't know who, but my guess was that he came from another rival establishment…" The broker began.

Shirou raised a brow. The request had been sitting around for a year? How has this mission stuck around? Even in his world, jobs were quickly gobbled up, always changing due to the fast paced nature of the criminal underworld.

"The mission is to infiltrate the Black Fortune Guild and steal information. Data, records, anything that can be used from their archives. It's not specific what information they wanted, but I assumed they must be hunting for the sources of the auction wares."

Competition sure was tough huh?

Shirou didn't know what this Black Fortune Guild was, but it must've been dabbling in a highly contested market if jobs like this appeared.

"That's it?" Eugen questioned. Even by her standards, this job was too cut and dry. Usually, the missions had more specifics. There had to be more. "Is there any more?"

"No, the listing didn't have any more instructions when it was posted."

"Alright then. Contact the source and tell them Akatsuki will hand the information tomorrow morning. Does the request include any meeting place?" Eugen asked. Handing the goods directly would be preferred. Once they got their payment, they were going to leave Sapo City.

"N-no. I'll ask once contact has been made."

"Good. We'll be finished soon."

With the mission directives collected, the trio left the bar. Exiting the silent bar slightly relieved Shirou, the stares reminded him of the uncomfortable atmosphere he experienced in the Clocktower.

'We'll hit the Black Fortune Guild now. But we'll take the slow route through the streets.' Heinrich's voice resonated from within him

The message appeared in his mind. No, rather it seemed to arrive somewhere else inside him, before appearing in his mind.

Shirou glanced at Heinrich. Ever since that day of the bandit massacre, he had puzzled about her ability to send messages. She had an ability to seemingly control souls, so it wouldn't be too far to assume that sending messages spiritually was also possible.

Was sending a message back possible? Shirou tried to imagine throwing a reply back, thinking about the advantages.

Heinrich didn't answer back. He gave it one more try before confirming his suspicions that it was related to her spiritual ability. Something which he didn't have.

Maybe he could find some book that helped in that regard later down the road.

The roads were less crowded now, since it was becoming late. But the group still continued at a relaxed pace, heading towards the Black Fortune Guild.

The concealment spells the girls had were impressive, considering not once have they been looked at by the other people who were traversing the roads. Shirou noted to ask the girls for the spell once he had finished the easier ones.

Damned cleaning spell could burn for all he care. Nothing could beat the satisfaction of rubbing out the dirty splotches in clothes.

At least, the city was peaceful. The streets were alight with lamps, magical crystals and other mundane methods like fire lighting up the road in different shades of orange and yellow.

The cobbled path was akin to some old roads Shirou had seen in remote European villages, increasing his fascination about the city and the world. Living in the village was something he got accustomed to, but seeing an ancient Japanese style city in the flesh felt like he had travelled through time.

A clatter of hooves brought his attention to the white horse pulling along a beautiful carriage. It was followed by two more, which Shirou assumed was a group travelling together.

Similar sounds echoed from a place further up ahead coming from a tall three storey establishment, higher than most one and two storey buildings around.

The sector was clearly a high-class area judging from the looks of things. Which should've tipped off the people from the odd group walking on the road, instead of riding carriages or other transports.

Not unless they were workers of the only establishment in the street.

Shirou eyed the large stylish facade of the building identified as Black Fortune Guild. The white marble and polished granite exterior looked far too new for the establishment. Especially when you considered the fact that the job they took had been sitting around for a year.

Nobody had taken the job. No, it was more likely that nobody had finished the job. So it had stayed there for a long time, free for how many mercenaries to try. Everyone else would stop attempting after the others failed.

"I think we should make a plan first." Shirou asked. The girls were heading straight for the guild without even discussing ideas. Did they already hash it out without informing him?

"Yeah. We're going in now while they're still busy hosting the departure of guests. Easier to slip in no? Besides, if we take any longer, any information about us taking a job would leak, putting everyone in the city on high alert." Eugen replied.

Shirou looked at Eugen in surprise. Was this really the same girl? Heinrich had seemed to be the leader of the two. It was clear that he had played again. The sisters were equally competent at the very least.

Her plan was a gamble. Infiltration right now would be a risk, not with the heightened guard the establishment had. But it also made sense. Striking before the guards knew what the threat was.

Later, everyone would be on the look out for a trio of Akatsuki members under concealment spells. Then it would be near impossible to move around quietly.

"We're just going straight in?" Shirou asked incredulously. This was mad. No information, no preparation, and straight off the deep end.

"Why not? You scared?" Eugen smirked at him.

"Shush. No more speaking. Eugen, just tell me and I'll pass it along to Shirou if needed. Shirou, you're with me. We'll be the ones grabbing the archives." Heinrich ordered the two.

"Black Fortune Guild" read the sign over the large entrance streaming with people. Their group was already in front of the establishment, yet nobody had paid them any attention.

The amount of guards watching the crowd was concerning, but the girls diverted away from the crowd, moving towards a side entrance that was equally as chaotic. Numerous workers ran around moving wares and boxes, some people stood waiting and checking their purchases before collecting into spatial rings, judging from how they disappeared into thin air.

Just what kind of concealment spells did the sisters have? Shirou was having trouble grasping how smoothly their infiltration had gone. They weren't invisible, judging from how some people looked at the girls, treating them as if they belonged in the area.

Shirou was drawing connections to the memory wipe his village underwent. What if this was similar? Like their memories being replaced? But surely Heinrich and Eugen would have a harder time replacing memory rather than deleting them.

Then, Eugen went and straight up asked one of the workers where the archives were.

"Hey, do you mind if we ask where Black Fortune Guild keeps the archives?" She casually questioned a passing grunt.

"We don't have permission to know that. You could ask the higher-ups instead." The man pointed to an older person that was watching the area from the room corner.

"Thanks, hope today ends already." Eugen replied with a nod.

The man actually smiled back. "Yeah, can't wait to get this week's pay after the guests leave."

Eugen headed the group towards the supervisor and did the same. This time she was successful and they were off walking through the grand hallways of the guild. The man must've told her specific instructions because she walked confidently down the halls, as if she knew the place.

Again, none of the guests nor the guild's people questioned their appearance, nor their motives.

Not until they entered the basement area.

The moment they entered the basement, alarms started ringing. Guards and mages started pouring out of the rooms and halls. Unlike the others, these people recognized the intruders.

Instantly, several mages launched spells at them, while the guards moved in close to attack.

"Oh well, it seems they actually thought of adding a mental defensive ward down here. Too bad you're up against us." Eugen remarked before snapping her fingers, causing the new arrivals to crash to the ground. Groans came from the victims, their bodies throbbing in pain from her power.

'Quick. We need to steal everything while she's facing the rest of the guild.' Heinrich's message popped up in Shirou's mind.

The alarms had rung across the whole establishment from the sound of things. Soon, the rest of the guild would be collapsing on the trio.

Heinrich handed Shirou an empty spatial ring, along with the instructions to store objects within. Then they dashed in opposite directions to empty the floor as fast as possible.

Shirou had emptied half of his side before running across a section with a concerning collection of records.

Slaves.

His eyes widened, darting around the shelves. No way did they record every person they got their hands on. He reached out to check the last folder regarding the latest batch of slaves. One paper was scanned. Information about the person's name, their picture, magical ability, and the buyer was shown.

Disgust and anger raged within Shirou, crumpling the record in his hand. These people were dipping their hands in kidnapping people from the countryside, selling them off as merchandise for profit.

People with lives, dreams, families. All taken away by the Black Fortune Guild then sold to masters who couldn't be assured to take care of them properly. Such was the fate of slaves.

All this information…shouldn't reach the hands of anyone else.

Shirou traced a small knife engraved with a fire rune and started slashing across the shelves, burning the documents in rows.

The guild's lack of fire wards would be their undoing. The flames spread across all the records, smoke beginning to condense on the ceiling above him. The barrier may have been designed against intruders, but they didn't account for any attacks on the records. The guild must've assumed nobody would destroy the priceless stack of purchases and their sources, thinking that stealing them was the only reason for an assault.

He would make sure none of these files reached the light of day.

As Shirou left the room, one box caught alight, its contents soon to disappear into ashes.

Sakura's record shortly vanished from this world. Along with her new master.

He quickly checked the last few rooms, gathering the information not related to slaves before returning to the rendezvous point. Once he arrived, Eugen had already incapacitated whole groups of people. Not one person even reached close to an arm's length of the shipgirl. Heinrich was already beside her, helping in the defense.

"Took you long enough." Eugen shot at him.

The sound of burning documents hadn't reached the girls, nor had any smoke left the room yet. Shirou made sure of that. The flames were silent and the fires were small enough that it wouldn't suddenly begin spouting smoke before their escape.

"Yeah well it's my first time using a spatial ring alright?" Shirou replied.

'Both of you, stop it. Talk later, get out now.' Heinrich commanded telepathically.

The trio exploded from the basement stairs, breaking through the encirclement erected to trap them below.

But one more obstacle blocked their path to freedom.

The A-rank head mage of the entire guild shook in terror at seeing past the concealment charms that hid their true identities from everyone.

"W-why?! What could Akatsuki possibly want with a small establishment at the corner of the kingdoms…" He was practically pissing himself from shock and fear.

"Oh? You see through our spells? It took us quite a long time to be this good, you know." Eugen clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Sorry, it's just business."

Shirou's eyes widened. The girls didn't want any witnesses. There was no way this man would be leaving the place alive.

He was right.

Eugen dashed at the mage, who frantically tried to cast some earth barrier between him and the life-threatening intruder. Nothing could stop the warship from breaking through the measly shield, a lesson Shirou learned the hard way from his own fight with the two destructive weapons.

One snap reached his ears, followed by the man's dead corpse dropping on the floor.

Eugen turned to him and her sister with a smile. "I think we're done here."

Shirou didn't whisper a silent prayer for the departed soul. The mage actively partook in an establishment that catered to slavery. Such actions were not in his book of morals.

Just as quickly as they had come, the trio disappeared into the night. The Black Fortune Guild left chaotic in the wake of their mission.

A few streets away, a person held binoculars to his eyes, watching the assault from afar.

"Hmmm…I wonder how much Jiraiya would pay for this information. It's not everyday you see Akatsuki with new members."

A smile creeped up on his face.

"Those girls were a damn sight to look at. I'm going to have to keep this one in a memory orb."

He glanced at the broker's secret location. The bar people were all slumped asleep, probably a delayed effect of the sisters' combined magic. None of them would remember seeing Akatsuki come morning.

"Heh, I think I'm starting to lose my own memory of their entrance in the bar earlier. I should really copy this memory now."

Luckily, he had not wasted the orb to store the Akatsuki's appearance in the bar, opting to scribble himself a message and stay on the lookout for a few days, hoping to catch the legendary criminal organization in action. But he didn't expect them to immediately do whatever job they picked up.

But damn they were fast.

The witness pulled out an orb designed to contain copies of memories and started focusing on embedding the night's events within.

"Spill it. You've been moping since the raid." Eugen pointed out. Beside her, Heinrich scarfed down the breakfast in front of her. The night was spent circling the city to muddle their tracks and bunkering down at some businesses that remained open.

Shirou's young body should be feeling tired, but his mind was too busy recalling the tens of thousands of records he burned.

Each and every one of those represented one slave that the Black Fortune Guild kidnapped and sold.

It was enough to shake the fatigue that creeped up on him during the hours after the assault. Shirou didn't even bother hiding the disgusted sentiment he held. The guild was just like the unethical magi he hunted down when they broke the laws of the Clocktower. At first, the sisters were content to leave him alone, believing it was only his reaction to his first crime. But once again, they proved to be more intuitive than Shirou desired.

Might as well explain his side of things.

"The guild had records of slaves…thousands of them. They reminded me of the people who kidnapped my childhood friend." Shirou murmured darkly. The memories were not as painful as they used to be, but Sakura's screams were still as unforgettable as the day he lost her.

Heinrich paused from her meal. Eugen had already finished quickly, leaving Shirou and his untouched plate as the only one standing out.

"The reason I started studying magic was to find her. I don't even have a clue what happened to her, much less where she had gone." Shirou's hands pressed against his face, he had kept all his emotions at the back of his mind, using them as a motivation to train all this time.

Thinking back on it, could he have stolen all those records instead? Checked the contents of the thousands of slaves, hoping to find Sakura's file? Now that Shirou was calm, he really missed an opportunity there to dig around. His emotions really screwed him over from thinking critically.

"A name and description would be nice for a start." Heinrich cleaned up the last few bites on her plate. The least she could do was give Shirou her full attention.

"Her name was Sakura, one year younger than me, with matching purple hair and eyes. Nothing else stood out from her, except for her incredible circuits, the only reason those bastards kidnapped her for." He gritted out in anger, finally stabbing his fork into the sausage in front of him. Something to take his stress out on.

Heinrich's eyes widened as something clicked. She knew exactly who Shirou was talking about. Meeting Garamm at the Page Sage was an unlucky step on her part, the sisters had been laying low in the city for the past year, using it as a base to explore the far borders of civilization in their hunt for Lunulupae. During that time, she had been studying phantasmal beasts in her disguise when she ran across the little apprentice and the powerful S-rank mage.

She had even handed the girl a book about phantasmal beasts.

That was one year ago.

As dirty as it was, Heinrich could use this information to her advantage. They had practically kidnapped Shirou, and had no means to confirm his cooperation. But what if he had an incentive to actively work with them? Forcing him to do crimes was one way to bite them in the ass later on.

"What would you do if we helped you?" She asked him quietly. "What would you do in return if I told you that I met this Sakura you spoke of."

Shirou froze. His eyes turned sharp and locked on to Heinrich like a wolf. "Explain."

"We can't always force you to cooperate, and rather than making enemies, I'd rather work on an agreement between us. Help us, and we'll help you."

The intention was damning. Shirou was being drawn into a trap, using Sakura as bait to get his participation in their work.

Shirou sat there for a few minutes, contemplating his decision while finishing the food on his plate. Heinrich was content to wait until he made up his mind. She could drop more hints if he thought she was lying.

"How do I know you're not lying? I'm not going to agree until I'm convinced." He bit his lips, anxiously hoping that Heinrich didn't have any details about Sakura's appearance. Like the small pink head ornament she had, a gift from Taiga that Sakura always wore.

Heinrich held out her hand, casting a small spell to bring forth a memory from her mind. In front of his very eyes, a scene of Sakura being handed a book.

"Even if you tried to search for her now, it would be too late. Her master had brought her along with him before winter ended. They had left this nation months ago." She commented, watching Shirou's face shake from the many emotions running through him.

She ended the spell, bringing her hand back down. "So, will you work with us? After everything, we'll even help you track her down. We can even update you about the news of your friend."

"Fine! I agree to working with you! Now tell me who is her master!" Shirou snarled after catching a hold of his emotions. It may have come off as demanding, but he couldn't care less.

He had assumed that it would take him years, if not decades to find Sakura judging from how large the world was, based on the stories he heard. This was the best chance to find her, and he would be damned if it meant doing some crimes, as long as they didn't involve murdering innocents.

Shirou could pay for the damages to the innocents he would hurt. But he couldn't pay for the time used to track down Sakura.

Eugen smiled. "You're as good as ever sister."

Heinrich shot her an annoyed glance. "It's not like I intended this to happen. But it was important to guarantee his cooperation for what we need."

She returned her gaze to Shirou. "Are you sure? There is no backing out once you commit to our demands."

"Just tell me who it is. I'll do whatever you want me to do." He growled, annoyed at the information being withheld from him.

"The last news of Sakura was that she and her master, Garamm El-melloi Archisorte, had embarked on the journey to the Archibald ancestral family home in the Albion Isles."

Shirou's eyes widened at the familiar family name. El-melloi? The Clocktower family?! There was no way for it to be a coincidence, it was the exact same names, Archibald and Archisorte were both subfamilies of the El-melloi clan. What were the chances of them being in this world?

"Good to finally have you on. We can't let you go burning merchandise behind our backs. You didn't think we wouldn't notice the archive room you burned? We're designed based on ships, we have special abilities to track down magic being used in a radius around us." Eugen shot at him. She was particularly annoyed at his silent betrayal. Such actions would cost them further down the line if they didn't control him now.

"As per our agreement, I won't do it again." Unless you do any outrageous acts left unsaid. But the girls knew that, since he was willing to defend bandits from them.

He was now going to be a criminal. Damned he may be, but Shirou still had standards.

Little did Shirou know about the trouble he would be dragged in. Behind Akatsuki lay a larger threat, one he had no idea about.


In a large room, a magical artifact rang, notifying the lone person inside about an incoming call.

The head of the Einzbern family tapped the artifact's receive function, allowing the conversation to begin.

Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern noted the identity with interest. Only a select group of people could possibly call this number, the number being specially made for the homunculi masterpieces they made to serve their homeland.

"What a surprise to receive a call from the both of you. Still stuck working in that criminal organization?"

"Unfortunately yes, not until we have dealt with the problem." Eugen answered. "But this is not the intention of our call."

"Remember that I'm interested in this so-called "threat" you have come across. I sure hope the both of you could bring back some materials or specimens about it."

The girls had mentioned of a creature unlike any other. One nearly unrecorded in the annals of time. They didn't leak any further details, saying that they would pass everything along to the Einzberns once their job was complete.

"This is the second time I'm getting a call from you both, aside from the yearly updates all of you shipgirls need to report. So am I right to assume that this is just as big?" Justeaze smiled. It was always good to hear from her many adopted daughters.

The Kriegsmarine shipgirls were adopted the moment they were created. The Einzberns were the ones to help cover their escape while Deutschland fell. Now, the girls were busy discovering themselves, something which the Einzberns were happy to support.

The Einzberns of this world cared about their creations, seeing as they were pretty much the same make as the other homunculi members in the clan. The complete opposite from Shirou's first world.

Anyone could tell the similarities between the Einzberns and the Prinz sisters if they bothered to pay attention. White hair, and eye colors within the red spectrum, aside from the others who were designed to vary from the usual white-red theme.

"We have found someone who could help us deal with the problem. But for his cooperation, we need to uphold our side of the deal." This time, it was Heinrich who answered her.

Justeaze nodded. That was good. Heinrich and Eugen had been worried ever since the discovery of the threat hidden within Nihonn. For them to find assistance would mean a great deal of burden removed from their shoulders.

"So you're calling for a favor? I'll see what I can do."

"News travels slowly from the central continent to the east. Could you have some people send us regular updates about Garamm El-melloi Archisorte and his new apprentice? That's all we need." Heinrich continued.

"Consider the favor done. But in exchange, come visit us once you're done over there ok? I'll order you to come if you refuse."

"Fine, fine. You never stop trying to call any of us home. Maybe it's time we visited after so long." Eugen responded to Justeaze's demand.

The call ended and Justeaze was left alone in the silence of her room.

A few moments later, she rang a certain mercenary's number. There was only one person who could tail an S-rank mage like Garamm without tipping off the New World Association. The El-mellois would have a field day threatening everyone and everything if such a respected elder like Garam was found being stalked by incompetent mercenaries.

The other end of the call accepted her call.

"Kiritsugu? Sorry for interrupting your bonding time with Arturia and your family, but we need to talk."


Author's Note

DID YOU GUYS ENJOY THE PLOT BOMB?

I made sure to make this chapter bigger than normal since it was a late release. Been busy the entire week and couldn't finish this on time as I'd hoped. So I might as well give everyone a heads up that the next chapters will be updating Sakura's side of things. But don't worry, this is only a little insert for the timeskip Shirou will have with Akatsuki. Then, I have a wonderful surprise for all of you ehehe.

YES LET THE CHAOS BEGIN! Well, in a few chapters at least.

URGENT Author's Note#2 (DONT SKIP)

I SHOT MYSELF IN THE FOOT. I didn't mean to confuse everyone that I shipped Kiritsugu x Arturia. I specifically separated "Arturia" and "his family" because they count as two different things, we wouldn't have Illyasviel in this world if I shipped the two. Irisviel would come from the grave to murder me for NTR. The plot bomb was more like the introduction of Einzbern connection to the sisters, and that Saber has already been summoned into this world by Irisviel (remember that they are summonable legends now, no need Holy Grail War).

I'm not that evil I promise!

As compensation for the big misunderstanding, I'll drop a big leak myself. Einzbern-Kriegsmarine connection will play a major role in Volume 6 later on. (YES! I have a plot developed that far ahead!)