Chapter 13

Beta: Worldbringer of Joseun

Cover: LousGndiner


"Eheheh, sorry about that little scene back there," the woman known as Fujimura Taiga apologized. Her feet shuffled beneath the chair she sat on. "That annoying enchanter… can't he keep his mouth shut?"

A sigh came from behind her. "'That annoying enchanter' is still here."

She narrowed her eyes and frowned in an overly exaggerated manner. "Which begs the question, why are you still here? I thought you said you were going to find a place to stay."

"A 'safe' place to stay," he emphasized. "Every single player and Lander that I've met in this city has either openly ignored me or looks to be planning my demise. Frankly, I'm not sure which is worse. I thought you said that this was one of the friendlier cities on this server!?"

"No need to shout!" Taiga argued, unaware of the hypocrisy. "Akihabara is a great place! Trust me, last time I was here people were helping each other left and right! It's not my fault that everyone's acting weird."

As the two of them bickered, the Emiya Family could only look on with hesitance.

Fujimura Taiga, the teacher and caretaker of Emiya Shirou with a larger than life personality, was here in Elder Tale. More specifically, sitting on one of the spare chairs in their guild room.

The Samurai and Enchanter were getting a bit heated in their argument back at Crescent Moon, so Illya decided to break it up between them and drag them back to their guild room. Well, it was more Shirou and Sakura who did that, but Illya was still taking credit for the idea.

"She hasn't changed, has she?" Sakura whispered in honest relief.

"No, Fuji-nee is still Fuji-nee," Shirou agreed with closed eyes. However, they opened in open-minded curiosity. "I'm surprised, though. I didn't know she played Elder Tale… or even had the time to."

She likely shirked her job by spending time in the game.

Elder Tale, as Shirou had no doubt come to understand, was a game that required their player base to put in a load of time to become even the slightest hint of rewarding. Most MMORPG's do, actually, which might explain why MMORPG's – as a game model – have been losing its luster as the years go by. People had other commitments to do rather than spend it on a game like this. Only hardcore nostalgia could bring those players back.

It was sad in a way, Illya supposed. However, while she liked to think about games in her free time, there was the current matter at hand. Namely, what to do about these two adventurers?

Illya naturally white-listed both – they wouldn't be able to enter the guild room otherwise – but when the Tiger of Fuyuki learned that they had all made a guild, she immediately made a fuss about joining. Being white-listed wasn't enough for her, apparently.

While Illya would have done so, there was still a certain… something, that needed to be addressed. Namely, a secret that everybody in this room shared barring her. The so-called 'stranger' Enchanter, couldn't be more obvious as to who he was.

Illya was an Einzbern, one of the oldest magi families in existence, so being taught about Clock Tower politics was a must, even if they told her that her sole purpose was to bring home the grail, which Illya wouldn't do in a million years knowing exactly what lurked within it.

She mentally ignored that it was her family's fault that the grail was corrupted.

Illyasviel von Einzbern recognized that Enchanter's face, and she was sure that Rin did too. A quick glance to the twin-tailed girl let her see that, instead of slouching over her bed in relaxation, she sat like the polite little lady that the students of Homurahara had believed her to be.

They all knew this facade too well. It was a familiar sight whenever one of Shirou or Tohsaka's classmates made an occasional but rare visit. Normally, Rin wouldn't act like this, but due to the fact that these two were here, one of them was her old teacher and the other was her future professor at the Clock Tower, she wanted to make a good impression.

Shame that the Enchanter would know it was a facade instantly. He had no doubt been embroiled in the Clock Tower's constant parade of inter-politics.

"Hey, you two~?" Illya called, a little hint of her previous childishness creeping up her throat. It had been a while since she felt a little playful. Maybe it was the additional magi's presence. "Fujimura-san and mister Enchanter? If you two could stop arguing, that would be great."

"Yes, I believe that would be a wonderful idea," Rin voiced out. It felt unnatural with how she acted literally hours before. "Fujimura-sensei, if you would kindly take your seat and not cause a disturbance like a while ago, we can have a reasonable conversation."

"A-Alright then, Tohsaka-san," the Samurai, who had gotten out of her seat during Illya's monologue to try and smack the Enchanter, sheepishly got back to her seat with a wry smile. "How have you been by the way? All of you?"

"We've been doing well, isn't that right? Shirou? Sakura?" Rin called out.

"Yeah, no problems so far," Shirou said with a friendly smile. No doubt a nostalgic sight to the Tiger of Fuyuki. "We were confused when we first came to, but we're alright now."

"Ah, I see, I see…" Taiga muttered before turning her Wolf Fang eyes – Illya was inwardly glad there was another Wolf Fang – to Sakura and gave her a soft smile. "How about you, Sakura? Any issues with… these?"

Her previously mentioned Wolf Fang ears, which looked closer to tiger ears than a wolf, twitched on demand.

Sakura smiled in turn as her own ears twitched. "I'm doing fine. It was a little odd hearing from a different set of ears, but I don't really notice it unless I pay attention," her tail wrapped around from behind so she could pat out the frizzles. It wasn't eternally smooth like static in-game textures. "This tail was much harder to get used to, admittedly."

The number of times she rolled on her back in her sleep, waking up from bending it in a weird way, or even from accidentally sitting on it, there were too many to count. Illya counted herself lucky that she only had a small tail. In comparison to hers, Sakura's was absolutely ginormous. There was a pun in there somewhere.

"Ah, I get what you mean," Taiga said sagely as she nodded her head. Her tail, which was streamlined instead of wild like most Wolf Fang, twitched up and scratched her cheek. "But once you get used to it, they're fun to mess around with! I don't even need to use my hands sometimes."

Illya chose to ignore Sakura's blush as she sneaked a glance towards Shirou, who remained as oblivious as ever. Rin, however, didn't and kept her smile fixed. She had to. Otherwise, she'd be showing something unsightly before their guests.

One would wonder, why was Rin acting with this facade once again? The answer was simple if they stopped skirting around the topic.

Illya saw both Shirou and Sakura mimicking her polite facade, but that was only with the Enchanter. They also wanted to make a good impression on him, for Rin's sake at least. The two of them have enough reasons to dislike magi, Sakura more so than others, but they respected the Enchanter. Not for his status as a magus, but as a teacher.

The Enchanter – who went by the name ConquerorsAdvisor – wore the same face as one of the few, if not the only, respectable Lords of the Clock Tower in London. A magus that had risen and taken his old mentor's position and constantly churned out quality magi from his class like nobody's business.

There was zero chance for coincidence. Even if it was a random fan of his that had used an appearance changing potion to mimic him, there was no denying the way his eyes silently judged the people around him without discrimination.

Lord El-Melloi II, Waver Velvet, the highly acclaimed professor of Modern Magus Studies at the Clock Tower.

That twin-tailed woman just wanted to make a good impression on the guy, or it was just her pride speaking. Before they were all spirited away from their original world and shoved into this one, Rin had a scholarship prepared for her by the very same prestigious lord sitting across from her.

Charity, from a magus, was hard to come by. Charity in the form of a scholarship was even more so. Charity from a very well-known and renowned professor of the Clock Tower, one in a hundred. Rin was that one in a hundred.

"… Tohsaka?" the Enchanter found himself muttering. He stumbled as his fingers grasped for something before letting his hands fall onto his lap in mild irritation. He shrugged it off and continued. "No, don't mind me. Continue reacquainting yourselves."

"I would've done that without you telling me!" Taiga exclaimed with a huff. "Anyway, I truly am glad that you're all okay. However! What are you all doing playing this game? And why are you all in Akihabara in the first place? If I'm not remembering this wrong, Fuyuki's location in-game is in the Nine-tails Dominion. Did you guys travel here too?"

"One at a time, Fuji-nee," Shirou pleaded.

"Nine-tails…?" Sakura muttered with a tilt of her head. "This is the first time I've heard of that. Nee-san?"

"I haven't read much of the geology books here yet. It seems that an explanation could be had. Illya, perhaps you could provide one?" Rin asked politely.

Illya sighed and nodded at Rin's prompt, ignoring the facade once more.

"No, Fujimura-san. They didn't travel here from that place. They're here because of me," Illya started. "I wanted to play Elder Tale with them so we made accounts a month ago. Normally with new accounts, they'd be sent to a tutorial island before being sent back to their IRL counterpart location, which would've been the Nine-tails Dominion. However, because that place is usually gloomy and full of try-hards, I thought that moving them to Akihabara was a better idea."

She ignored the fact that she stayed up all night doing the tutorials for all their characters, individually because she only had one laptop which meant that it took three times longer than normal. By the time she was done, it was nearly midnight. Shirou would've lynched her if he found out.

"Ah, that explains why they look the same as before. Except for you, Illya-chan. You were cute before but now you're beautiful. It's like you're all grown up now!" Taiga commented to Illya's silent glee. "Konkuraruzu Adobaiza over here had a spare appearance changing potion that I could use. I had to take him here as compensation, though."

"Stop butchering my home tongue and call me by my real name…" the Enchanter said with a tired sigh.

"It's great to see you all again," Taiga repeated, ignoring her month-long companion. "Let me tell you, traveling here wasn't fun at all. There were monsters everywhere! They were pretty easy to deal with on a monitor but when they can jump you from behind it becomes a nightmare! If I didn't know Kendo then I'd probably be in big trouble."

Taiga blinked.

"Oh yeah. Do you guys want to learn Kendo? It might be useful if we're stuck here."

"I think we'd be fine!" Shirou hastily spat out with his eyes glazed as if recalling something horrible. Illya could only wonder why. "Besides, Kendo isn't very useful when half of us can't even equip a sword. Illya can, but she's got her axe."

"Which you haven't bothered to tutor me with yet," Illya reminded with a slight glare, but she didn't hold it against him. She'd be a hypocrite if she did, considering she gave him his task in the first place. "Thank you for the offer though, Taiga-san."

"You can drop the honorifics, Illya-chan! It's not like we're in Japan anymore," the former teacher muttered with a hint of sadness.

"True, returning to our old world would probably be out of our current capabilities," the Enchanter added. "There is always a chance that this world has a way so we can't disregard that. I've long since concluded that only something like Magic would help us in that regard."

Illya blinked as a passing suspicion entered her mind. No, it couldn't be.

"Oh right, I didn't introduce you guys yet," Taiga muttered. Her goofy smile returned as she slammed a hand on the poor Lord of the Clock Tower's backside, with an iron gauntlet. "This guy is–"

"I can introduce myself, thank you very much," he said with a wheeze. Taiga probably didn't hold back on that one. "I'm sure you'd just butcher the pronunciation again anyway…" suddenly, his tired gaze sharpened upon looking at the rest of the room. "However, I suppose that you all wouldn't need my introduction. You seem to already know who I am."

Illya's eyes widened. He realized who they were?

"It wasn't hard to notice your subtle gazes, even as this aberrant woman spouted her usual nonsense," he ignored her cry of denial. "Do not worry. I already have an inkling as to who you all are. Tohsaka was an easy guess, considering that there is only one family that holds that name in Fuyuki. Isn't that right? Tohsaka Rin?"

Rin's polite smile became slightly strained at his tone. "Wow, what superb detective skills. I'm impressed."

"Uwah, gross," Taiga, on the other hand, wasn't impressed.

The Enchanter's brow twitched in irritation.

"Please. Any magus with a vested interest in the Holy Grail War would know about your family," he replied as he ignored her. "As well as the Einzbern family, of which your young guild master is no doubt apart of."

Illya's stomach churned. "How did you–?"

"The hair and eyes give it away. All the Homunculi of that family of recluses share the traits. I remember the representative of the Fourth War quite clearly."

No! Stop! Don't talk about it here!

"Lord El-Melloi II? Perhaps we should–" Rin tried to divert the Lord before he did something he would regret.

"Talk about it at a later date? Very well. I suppose we have all the time in the world."

Rin balked for a short second at the interruption, so Illya took the opportunity to cover for her. They needed to make sure that Taiga didn't figure it out! But before she could even get a word out, Lord El-Melloi II did the worst thing.

He turned to Taiga and talked to her instead.

"Woman, why didn't you say that you were acquainted with the Second Owner?" He inquired with a hint of annoyance. "Had I known, I could've spent our trip doing something useful and learn about my future student."

"Future student…?" Taiga muttered.

"What? Did the Tohsaka fail to mention that I offered her a scholarship?" He asked, just a tad bit confused.

"We haven't been in contact for a while!" Rin shouted with surprising composure to gain his attention, to which Illya mentally applauded. "I was busy studying for my finals. I couldn't exactly accept the scholarship until I finish my high school education."

Everything is fine, Illya thought to herself. All Taiga had to go from were random words with no meaning. Unless someone drew all the dots for her and screamed it into her ear, then all should be fine.

"But… you don't need a high school education for the Clock Tower," he muttered in confusion. "… was there a misunderstanding? A possible translation error in the letter?"

Illya twitched.

There sure was a misunderstanding alright! From you!

"A university in London that doesn't need a high school education?" Taiga muttered with surprise. "Huh, didn't know those existed. Isn't that great, Tohsaka-san?"

"Yes certainly," Rin forced out with relief. Great, they diffused that. All they needed to do now is get the Lord El-Melloi to notice that there was a non-magus in the room!

Seriously, how in the world didn't he notice!? They traveled together for weeks on end!

"Well, not that it's possible now," the Lord continued. "As we are now, in these nigh-indestructible adventurer bodies, we'd receive sealing designations as soon as they even see us. Prana– or rather magic– covers our very forms like skin. By the way, has the respawn mechanic been proven to exist? We've been cut off from civilization so we're a bit clueless if anyone has died yet."

"I hope nobody died," Taiga muttered. "I had a few close calls on the way here."

"That was because you believed we could revive ourselves, even with my warnings, and performed reckless acts of stupidity," the man berated. "What if there have actual adventurers that died? What if you had died on our way here?"

"You don't have to worry about that!" Sakura answered, diffusing the potential argument in front of her before it could whip itself up into a full-fledged storm. They didn't need them to argue again. "A few weeks ago, someone died and came back to life at the Cathedral. So yes, we can revive."

Taiga let out a sigh of relief.

That relief was not shared by the Enchanter.

"… Troublesome. Hiding the mana rolling out of our bodies would've been doable, but add the inability to die into the mix? That's a sealing designation, without question," he groaned. "Even if we tried to explain it to the Vice-Director, she'd still murder us on principle. We resemble Dead Apostles far too closely for her liking."

Taiga's eyes narrowed. "… Murder? Really?"

"She's a feared and respected figure," he provided. "She'd have to be to keep the rest of the magi in line."

Shit! She was catching on!

"L-Lord El-Melloi II, can we please talk about that later!" Rin said in a panic. "Shirou, could you show Fujimura-sensei around? I imagine she hasn't gotten herself familiar with the building yet."

"Y-Yeah, good idea!" He said as he leaped to his feet and grabbed his wayward sister. He was joined by Sakura, who grabbed her other arm. "Come on. We can show you… things!"

"Hey! Wait! My legs are still kinda tired–!"

Her complaints were silenced as soon as they left the room.

The veteran of the Fourth War raised a curious brow. "Was that truly necessary?"

"It is," Illya stated with a sigh of relief. There was only one way that Taiga could hear what was being said in the room, and that was if she knocked. Shirou and Sakura had no doubt dragged her away by now, so she was safe. "Lord El-Melloi. I had heard tales of your achievements but now I can't help but wonder if they were all fabricated."

His eyes narrowed. "Oh? And what prompted this claim, Lady Einzbern?"

His tone came with visceral suspicion, which Illya was thankful for. "The incredibly annoying experience my guild and I had a few seconds ago. How could you let yourself run your mouth whilst we had someone unaware in the room?"

He blinked. "Who?"

"Fujimura Taiga! Your companion! The one who you traveled with for a month!" Illya shouted back. The tenseness of the previous situation already getting to her. Screw decorum. She had nobody to impress here or a reputation to maintain. If he thought lesser of the Einzbern family then Illya didn't care. Bunch of assholes. "Honestly, how could a Lord of the Clock Tower do something so infuriatingly amateur."

His eyes widened in shock. If he had a cigar, it would've fallen out of his mouth.

"You didn't realize, Lord El-Melloi?" Rin prompted. "That certainly does not bode well."

His eyes closed as he rubbed his brow. "Forgive me, that was my mistake. I forgot to mention it."

"As long as you don't do it again, it should be fine," Rin continued with a shake of her head. "Fujimura-sensei might be a little spacey at times, but that doesn't…" she trailed off. A blink followed. "Pardon?"

"I said that I had forgotten to mention it," he sighed. "What a blunder. Traveling with that woman must've clogged my mind. Forgive me, Lady Einzbern and Lady Tohsaka."

Illya frowned.

"Let's not dance around the topic, shall we? What is it you forgot to mention?"

He reopened his eyes.

"Fujimura Taiga already knows about the world of magecraft,"

Illya's eyes widened.

"–and it was I who told her."


Sakura sighed as they walked the streets of Akihabara.

Taiga had immediately tried to head back to Crescent Moon Burger for a bite, but when they got there it was closed. The stall was still standing but it was closed tightly.

It sounded dangerous to do, especially considering how lawless Akihabara was at the present, but the Crescent Moon guild took it into account already with a few guild members sticking around and tidying up the place around it.

Sakura had no idea how the night-shifts would work, but that wasn't a priority in her mind right now.

Someone interrupted her thoughts by pretending to vomit. A quick glance showed it was Fujimura-sensei. "What do you mean you can't cook!?"

Her eyes opened reluctantly.

"I can't because the world itself seems to prevent me," Shirou stated with disdain. "Trust me, I tried. I tried with a campfire, tried with a grill, and tried with our guild room's mini-kitchen. It always ends up as black paste. I just don't know how to."

Taiga's eyes were wide in despair as she pointed over at the highly guarded food stall. "B-but, they can! They can cook things!"

"And you think they'll tell us?" Sakura muttered with a bit of guilty hesitance. She had tried to accost the staff for answers earlier… along with Shirou. A lapse in judgment, Sakura would believe. Thankfully, Illya had stopped them. "I don't think they will."

Taiga dissipated a gauntlet and rolled up her sleeve. "They will if I force it out of them!"

Shirou was already there behind her, preemptively holding her back as she tried to force herself free. He was reliable like that.

Glad to see Fujimura-sensei was still the same as ever.

"Let me go!"

"If you calm down, sure."

"I'm calm!"

Shirou raised a brow.

"… Okay, maybe not," Taiga admitted. "But can you blame me? Weeks and weeks of nothing but berries and tasteless meat, I'd sooner kill than do that again! I want to eat something good damn it!"

They all did, but they'd have to wait until Crescent Moon Burger restocked. Otherwise, they could eat ingredients only. At least those had taste.

"Have some bread," Shirou said as he let her go and fished it out of his inventory. "You can eat it with sliced cheese, but don't shove them together. You don't want black paste in your hands. Take alternating bites. It's simple, but it's worked so far."

That was the only workaround that they could find, as much as it pained Sakura to admit. She even tried helping with the ingredient items in Illya's inventory, but no matter what they tried, it always failed. That black paste would haunt her dreams.

What were they missing!? They knew how to cook. They knew how to treat and prepare ingredients. They even knew countless recipes to use. What was it!?

Sakura took a deep breath and calmed down. She shouldn't get worked up, over food of all things, because of a certain… influence. Maybe it was the city's atmosphere? The doom and gloom must've been getting to her.

"I gough it!" Taiga said whilst chewing on her snack, as if she reached some moment of eureka. She swallowed a second later. "We just need that annoying Enchanter over here. He can get them to tell us!"

"And how would that help?" Shirou asked.

"All we need is that guy to pull his magic out and BAM! He'll be spilling his beans out faster than light!" Taiga concluded with gusto. "… or at least, I think it would. I don't know how it works."

"Do Enchanter's have mental skills?" Sakura wondered aloud.

"We'll have to ask them later," Shirou concluded.

"Konkurazu Adobaiza~ said he could as a last resort when we escaped the Nine-Tails Dominion," Taiga said. "Seriously, that place was terrible. Guys were attacking other guys. People running around screaming. Guilds locking themselves in their halls. Complete madness I tell you!"

"It certainly sounds terrible…" Sakura muttered.

"It was!" Taiga confirmed. "Glad that I met that annoying Enchanter though. I wouldn't have made the entire journey here without him, and that other kid."

Shirou raised a brow. "Other kid?"

"We traveled with this blond kid. Rambunctious and pretty arrogant when we first met, but I beat it out of him," Taiga answered. "He should be in the city, but he said he wanted to look for a party so we parted ways. Hey, if I see him again, can I invite him to the guild? Would Illya-chan mind?"

"I think she would," Sakura admitted. "She only made the guild so we could have a safe place to sleep. We slept in tents on our first night."

"That was smart for a child her age…" Taiga nodded sagely but perked up as a question ran through her mind. "Wait, I think the Enchanter has another appearance changing potion with him. Do you think Illya-chan would want it?"

"I don't think so," Sakura muttered. Considering Illya specifically made her nineteen-year-old body because she was mentally nineteen years old, Sakura believed that the albino magus wouldn't want it. She certainly seemed to enjoy not being treated as a child anymore. "She seems to enjoy that body."

"You sure?" Taiga asked with worry. "It'd be awkward if someone made a move on her without knowing she was… huh, how old was Illya-chan again?"

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Shirou placated. "Besides, Illya can take care of herself."

If someone wanted to date her then they'd need to impress her, greatly. That much was certain to Sakura… Speaking of Illya, she hoped that their guild master managed to impart the situation to Lord El-Melloi II. She'd hate it if Taiga ever found out about magecraft.

She also knew that, if Taiga learned about the world of Magi, then she wouldn't be able to keep her past a secret from her. Rin and Shirou would try and convince her to tell, just so that they would no longer have secrets.

She loved Fujimura-sensei dearly, but she didn't want to tell her everything.

The guilt that Fujimura-sensei would feel would crush her.

Without a doubt.

"If you say so," Taiga muttered, still a bit unsure at the previous inquiry, but that only showed that she cared. "Oh right! I can't believe I forgot this."

The Samurai flickered her eyes around the rather empty street they were on. Sure, there were a few Landers still around, but since it was nearly evening, a bunch of adventurers would be deciding on a place to sleep. Sakura's guess was proven right when she saw an adventurer sleeping on the side of the road, out like a light.

"Hey! Wake up!"

Sakura blinked as she saw her dear teacher make her way towards the adventurer.

"Fujimura-sensei, what are you–?"

In an instant, the Samurai grabbed the sleeping adventurer's shoulders, shocking him awake, and dragged him up via his underarms onto his feet with apparently zero effort.

"Fuji-nee!?" Shirou panicked.

"Sensei!" Sakura shouted.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing you crazy bit–!"

Taiga growled and squeezed his armpits. The lack of armor there made it quite easy.

"Stop! Stop! Ow– Stop! Stop it!"

"Watch your mouth young man. What do you think you're doing sleeping on the side of the damn road!?"

The adventurer blinked. "Sleeping?"

It was the wrong answer apparently, seeing as the former teacher squeezed down once more, but harder. Even as a string of curses followed, she didn't stop.

"Damn it woman, that hurt!" He cried out. "Where the hell are the guards!?"

"Listen here young man, I'm going to tell you exactly what you're doing wrong," Taiga started. "You're sleeping on the side of the road, hugging a bottle of alcohol like some drunkard. I know for a fact that these things don't taste anything remotely similar to the real thing, so you're faking it."

The player blushed at being caught out. His embarrassment ended when he was shook like a doll.

"Why are you sleeping on the side of the road?"

"I was sleepy?"

"Is that a question or an answer!?"

"I was sleepy! I was sleepy!"

"And why didn't you go to an inn?"

"Uh…" He started strong. "I'm saving money?"

"That's a lie and we both know it."

It was absurdly easy to get money in this world, at least for adventurers. Sakura had a fair amount from their short monster-hunting sessions. She had also earned some gold from her time working at the Eve-Marrow inn, but it paled in comparison to the amount she got on the hunting sessions. Around a hundred gold came from the inn, but a thousand at the very least from monster slaying.

The adventurer's cry of panic, from being shaken again, brought Sakura back to the situation.

"Why aren't you sleeping at an inn!?"

"I was lazy! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"Get your sorry ass to an inn and sleep in a bed!" Taiga berated. "What would your parents say if they knew you were off on the side of the road like a bum?"

His panicked expression faded. The usual doom and gloom that surrounded adventurers returned. "It's not like I'll ever see them again…"

Taiga twitched.

"… Are you going to give up here?" She asked him, drawing some confusion. "Are you going to sit back and let yourself waste away? Do you hate your parents that much?"

"Huh!?" the adventurer cried out. A vicious and outraged growl escaped his throat. "Hell no! What the hell!?"

"It sure as hell seems like it!" Taiga shouted, shaking him again, but he wasn't crying about it in a goofy manner like before. This time, he gritted his teeth and glared at her. "Your parents didn't raise a bum that'd sleep on the side of the road! You're spitting on them! On the blood, sweat, and tears that they shed when they raised you!"

She let go of him, but he landed fine on his feet after a stumble. "Look at yourself. Would your parents be happy at what they'd see? Are you happy at what you see!?"

At the scolding, the adventurer reluctantly stared down as if he was a student being scolded.

Sakura blinked.

A student being scolded? Was Fujimura-sensei…?

The adventurer flinched at the sight of the bottle in his hands.

Taiga noticed it as her arms sheathed themselves on her hips. "Don't like what you see? Your parents wouldn't either. Do yourself and them a favor and take care of yourself more."

Fujimura-sensei reached out and the adventurer flinched, protectively folding his arms over his armpits. However, his eyes widened at the hand on his helmet-less head.

"Think about what your parents would feel, okay? They wouldn't want to see you like this."

The adventurer fell silent. He huffed in frustration and cast the hand atop of him away. A few heavy footsteps later and the adventurer walked away.

Sakura smiled. She had lived in this town for a month now and recognized that he was going towards an inn. Not the nearest one, seeing as that one would be full by now, but to another inn further away.

The bottle of alcohol lay forgotten by their feet.

"Honestly, has everyone gone crazy in this city?" Taiga muttered to herself. She shook whatever she felt away and turned back to them. "Alright, short sight-seeing time is over! Let's head back to the guild! Chop-chop!"

Her beloved Shirou simply smiled and nodded. "Alright, follow me. You've probably forgotten the way."

"N-No! I didn't…"

"… I meant that as a joke, Fuji-nee."

Sakura trailed along behind them. All the while she snuck glances at the few adventurers who were there to watch. She saw them, with their mouths shut and their jaws tightened, likely thinking to the words Taiga had imparted.

When they walked away with a huff, Sakura smile to herself.

Those words affected more than one adventurer…

The few Landers that watched from afar also walked away. Sakura was glad that none of them seemed to look at Taiga with mild disdain as they had before.

And earned the respect of some locals.

"Something interesting, Sakura?" the teacher asked with a slight grin.

The plum-haired Foxtail shook her head. "Nothing at all, Fujimura-sensei."

"If you say so…"

Sakura had nothing to say.

Because what was said was enough.


"…– and that's what I told her," the Enchanter ended. From the corner of her eye, Illya could see Rin biting her thumbnail in irritation.

"Then why didn't Fujimura-sensei mention it earlier?" the twin-tailed magus questioned hastily. "If she already knew, then why didn't she say anything? She just acted normally."

"'She got used to it' is the simple answer," he replied. "She often tried to understand the ideas and methods behind magecraft, but after a while, she simply didn't care. If I even mention something magus-related, she doesn't pay much attention. It didn't help that our other companion also ignored me and labeled it as mad ramblings…"

Illya politely ignored the fact that the Clock Tower Professor cursed under his breath, mostly because she could relate to the idea of it. Herding her guild was easy because they listened to her, and Illya imagined that someone like Taiga around would probably not. She got shivers just thinking about it.

"It didn't help that we also ignored it. She probably thought that we did as your companion and dismissed it," Rin muttered in frustration. "That's a stretch, isn't it? Even someone like Fujimura-sensei would surely realize? As much as I hate to admit it, we weren't exactly subtle about it."

"You'll have to ask her when she gets back," the elder magus said as his fingers reached for a non-existent cigar. "Frankly, I'm just as astounded as you. I didn't know that woman was this dense."

When she gets back… Illya frowned. It wasn't going to be a pretty affair, at all. With Fujimura in the know, it would be a moot task to hide what they were. Their history as magi might as well be spilled. And speaking of history…

"Does she know about the Holy Grail War?" Illya prompted.

"She knows that the gas leaks eleven years ago were because of the war," the Lord of– she was just going to call him Waver because it got annoying to treat him with mental reverence. The guy deserved respect but Illya was starting to run out of descriptions for the guy. Waver replied with a deep-set frown. "However, she doesn't know about the fifth."

"I could tell that from how she didn't immediately scold us," Rin muttered. "This is… a problem. What are the chances that Fujimura-sensei won't go into an emotional roller-coaster when we break the news to her? Wait, I already know the answer. Zero."

She groaned into her palm. "… and Sakura's going to be absolutely thrilled. This is going to be a long night."

As much as Illya wanted to put up a strong front, she mirrored the Tohsaka's unease. A lot of secrets, carefully kept and maintained, were being broken out without a second of rest.

"I'm surprised that you even told her," Illya said to the Enchanter. "Fujimura-san does not seem like the most… trustworthy person to keep a secret."

"It was either that or attempt to make it here alone," Waver replied. "That in itself is a monumental task, especially considering I would be without a guide."

"Didn't you have that other companion of yours?" Rin prompted. "I believe you mentioned one."

The man snorted. "That other companion of mine is a child. If I left him alone, he would've done something stupid. He got lost and made his way back enough times that I question his absurd luck. No, as much as I abhor that woman, she was helpful in getting here."

He grimaced. "Though, perhaps I ought to find another city to reside in. This city has problems. Not as many as the Nine-Tails Dominion, but it is noticeable enough."

Illya grimaced in turn. "We're… kinda working on that. Improving the situation in this city is our priority at the moment, but if you want to leave, then I suggest you do it before the end of the month."

"And the reason for that?"

"Something along the lines of a minor civil war, which would most likely result in all the Landers in this city dying a meaningless death," Rin piped up.

"I shouldn't have asked."

Illya shook away the frown on her face and got up from her bed.

"Where are you going?" Rin asked.

"The lady's room."

Rin frowned a bit. "You're going to have to use the communal one. Our personal toilet is out of order."

Illya stopped and blinked. "How?"

"T-That's not important." Rin had the decency to blush and cough in embarrassment. Now Illya was really curious. "More importantly, Lord El-Melloi, what drove you to reveal it? Other than the need for a guide. That doesn't seem like a plausible reason for someone like you."

"Second. I'm Lord El-Melloi, the Second. Don't forget that," The Enchanter sighed deeply. "And for the real reason… I mentioned a sealing designation, correct? Returning to our world would earn it, unless we get the Second Magician himself to grant us his protection."

"Which is a stretch," Rin admitted. She would know, seeing as her family dealt with him in the past. She sighed in equal frustration. "Well, I guess that's fine. None of us want to truly return anyway."

He blinked.

"… I assume the reason behind that is personal?"

"Yes, sir," she replied. "All we need is each other, as our guild name implies."

His eyes narrowed. "The Emiya Family… well, a bold name to be sure."

"You don't like it?" Rin challenged. Feeling as if it was an attempt at slander.

"Considering who I faced in the Fourth War, I feel to be justified in that belief."

Rin nodded somewhat and let it go. After all, most magi would think only of one person with the name of Emiya. All the more reason not to return to their old world.

"Illyasviel, aren't you supposed to be in the lady's room?" Rin said once the silence in the room became slightly awkward.

Illya simply smiled. "Forgive me. The conversation was quite interesting, particularly the topic of a certain Emiya. Perhaps we can continue it at a later date?"

Waver Velvet, the survivor of the Fourth Holy Grail War, simply nodded.

With that settled, Illya opened the door and left–

"–and that is why you need to be careful when we go in! I don't know Illya-chan, but Tohsaka-san is definitely one of those weird magi guys! Just trust me on this, okay? When we go back in, act natural."

Illya blinked once more.

Rin blinked from behind her.

Shirou's mouth gaped in surprise.

Sakura's mouth widened in horror.

Lord El-Melloi II just sighed.

"What? I'm telling the truth! I really don't like that Waver guy, but I do trust him," the woman continued on. "He told me about how these magi guys would eat babies if it'd benefit them. Not even joking! I might not be the brightest, but even I could tell that Tohsaka-san was one. That enchanter only teaches other magic dudes and he offered her a scholarship! That's evidence if I ever saw it."

Well… at least she wasn't as ignorant as Illya thought she was. A quick glance behind the Samurai showed Shirou nervously flickering his gaze from Taiga and to Illya herself.

Sakura, on the other hand, was close to panicking.

"Aw, don't look at me like that! Trust me, Waver's some top dog around them or something, didn't really listen much, but he can definitely protect you guys!" She went on. "And I can do that too! Don't worry, you can rely on me!"

She ended that off by raising her arm in some macho manner. Unfortunately, all that accomplished was landing the fatal blow on what must've been the already worried mental state of the youngest member of their guild. Sakura's eyes rolled back as Shirou caught her before she fell.

"Eh, Sakura!? What's wrong!?"

Illya decided to fake out a cough for her attention. It worked, seeing the former Emiya caretaker turned to face her.

"Uwah!? She's here! Did she hear me? Quickly, run away Shirou! Grab Sakura with you!"

"You imbecile of a woman! If these two wanted to experiment on your little juniors then they would have already done that! Stop embarrassing yourself and get back in here!" Lord El-Melloi II shouted from behind her.

The Fujimura frowned warily and held her arms up in a way that could be perceived as threatening... if it weren't for the fact that her arms mimicked some poses in a martial arts movie. In other words, wild flailing.

"But… Didn't you say that all Magi are sociopaths or something? That they'd torture a puppy for fun?"

"If it'd benefit my magecraft to dissect a puppy, then perhaps," Illya admitted. She wasn't a saint by any measure. "However, before you jump to any conclusions, you should know that the two behind you are also magi, albeit third-rate ones but magi nonetheless."

Shirou didn't flinch at that, having long accepted that fact. He also didn't flinch at the questioning look his former guardian sent him. "Sorry, Fuji-nee. She's telling the truth."

The look of shock and confusion from his caretaker though, that, he flinched from.

"Fujimura-sensei," Rin called from within. "Perhaps if you come in then we can all have the explanations we want. I don't know about you, but I'm certain that my sister needs some rest."

The aforementioned teacher spared but a single glance towards the plum-haired Foxtail and nodded. She turned towards Illya and gave the sternest expression she could muster.

She might act like a goofball all the time, but Illya knew she was a reliable woman, no doubt about it.

"I want that explanation."

"You'll get it, now get inside please."

When they finally did, Illya shut the door with only one thought running throughout her mind.

What a day.

And the rest of the night was only going to be longer.


From atop the moss-covered concrete buildings, overlooking the dead of the night and the city that sat beneath it in peace and tranquility, an Enchanter curiously looked on.

Unlike their old world, this one did not have an active nightlife. When the sun set, shops closed and people retreated into their homes, whereas the endless hustle and bustle of Earth's cities continued without end. The people grew tired and sought rest. There was little purpose to staying awake at this time.

In the dead of night, you could not earn money. The ability to steal from homes was essentially shot down from the fact that rooms could only be entered from the designated entrance. He had tried and nearly invoked the Royal Guards. A novel experience that bequeathed an equally novel piece of information, but he didn't want to attempt it again.

However, the only exception to this world's lack of nightlife was the discordant bunch known as adventurers.

Unlike the Landers, who sought normalcy and stuck to social norms, the despair-riddled adventurers could care less. From the past few weeks alone he could see some players who would sleep on the sidewalk or some alleyway out of sheer laziness. It was honestly an incredibly pathetic thing to see.

Which was why Shiroe was surprisingly pleased to see the streets somewhat barren and empty. There were a few who still slept of course, but they seemed to at least use sleeping bags. Little improvement, but an improvement nonetheless.

What prompted this change though?

This could mean something… or nothing at all. There was little use dwelling on the thoughts, so Shiroe simply shoved the odd occurrence aside. It wasn't relevant to his current plans, but he kept a note on it. Just in case.

Just a little longer…

Shiroe flipped open his inventory and withdrew a piece of parchment.

"News of Crescent Moon Burger should have spread across the entire city by now…" he mused. However, he sighed and put it back in his inventory. "… No, not enough time has passed. Interest is only starting to rise. One more day and then we can get the crafting guilds to listen."

The night wind picked up and died as quickly as it came.

"Akatsuki, report."

"Yes, milord. I have managed to obtain all the usernames of the Hamelin members," she declared. "I have not seen any more that aren't on the list."

"Excellent," Shiroe said. "However, there is always a chance that they haven't left their guild room yet. Keep an eye on Crescent Moon Burger. Chances are if you haven't found some yet, then they'll appear there to buy a burger out of curiosity." or hunger, either way.

"This one understands, milord."

Outwardly, Shiroe maintained a calm demeanor. Inside, he was flushing. Was she still treating him as her lord? Maybe his initial peg of her as a role-player wasn't too far off.

"Ah, that's right," the Enchanter suddenly stated as he turned back to face her. "Did you manage to learn anything from our mysterious third party?"

She shook her head and frowned, her hair tussling about as she did so. "I'm afraid not, milord. Today, Hamelin had forgone to meet with the combat guilds so there wasn't a chance to encounter each other."

Shiroe nodded. "That's fine. Just… be careful, Akatsuki."

"Yes, milord!"

Turning away, Shiroe stared back out at the silent city. The sound of rustling wind indicated that Akatsuki had already left.

After having a day to process his thoughts, Shirou reconsidered all the evidence he had on this third party and all parties in general.

Hamelin was a guild that had a monopoly on EXP potions. This meant that they were highly valuable to combat guilds. He didn't question that for a second.

They were making trade deals with the Black Sword Knights, but Shiroe didn't know if they were making transactions with any other guild. If they were, then they'd have to be a combat guild. Production guilds might want to purchase the potions, but Shiroe couldn't see a reason why.

He imagined that someone with an alchemist subclass could, perhaps, reverse engineer those potions, but with how adventurers acted, it was close to impossible. Everyone else still thought of the world as Elder Tale, the game, not as Theldesia, the living and breathing world.

He didn't really know if that was possible, though. He wasn't a chemist, so he'd have no idea where someone would even start. He only had one example to form that hypothesis. The chef subclass and the tasteful dishes that came as a result.

Before, all the chef subclass did was meagerly increase the bonus stats provided by the auto-cooking, and was thus neglected and treated as a role-playing class.

Now, a chef subclass was necessary if one wanted to cook something with actual taste. No matter the sort of dish they tried to make or how easy it would be, it would only result in black paste if they didn't have it.

At times like these, Shiroe praised the Chief.

He didn't doubt that the way to cook food with actual taste would've eventually been found in time, but Shiroe was glad that their resident Were-Cat discovered it first, at least on the Japanese server. With that, he obtained the ability to make the first step. The ability to catch everyone off-guard.

Hmm… perhaps his subclass of Scribe could perform something similar? Something to ponder about, to be sure.

Oh wait, he lost his train of thought. Though he wouldn't say no to a bit of curry…

Shiroe shook his head and recounted the facts again. Where was he? Hamelin and combat guilds, right.

If the combat guilds were all vying for the EXP potions in some leveling race to the level cap, as most combat guilds would do whenever the level cap is raised, then it would be very, very bad. Shiroe knew what would come from it. Just from imagining the power struggle between even the weakest of the combat guilds currently in Akihabara, the result was incredibly horrifying.

If conflict erupted, all possible ideas and efforts for a peaceful Akihabara, a truly safe haven. A place for adventurers and Landers alike. A place for those waiting, trapped with nowhere to go… It would fade like ashes to the wind.

At this rate, Shiroe was considering asking for help. The Crescent Moon Alliance had a high-level Foxtail assassin named Hien, with the rogue subclass. He wasn't as stealthy as Akatsuki but he could help her in identifying them. Rogue's were better at eavesdropping so it was plausible to gleam information once Akatsuki located the summoner from afar.

However, Hien was busy helping out Naotsugu hunt for ingredients. His presence was probably necessary due to the Rogue's penchant to craft traps. Something to consider, perhaps. He might need some pointers though, seeing as eavesdropping on possible members of combat guilds was not an easy or ideal task.

… Wait, what if it was from a different guild? What if the third party was after something else, not the EXP potions? That'd be an odd thought, mostly because Hamelin was a guild with, frankly, not much worth. The only thing of value that the guild had was the EXP potions–

How were the potions being made? They came from lower leveled players.

What if they wanted to save those players? What if this third element sought their salvation? Perhaps they knew one of the players kept captive there? It would make sense if they were searching for them, employing such a rare and unknown summon.

But that was just a guess. Another guess, out of the hundreds and hundreds of guesses he made about them. It was a positive one, sure, but Shiroe was still open to the other possibilities. At least he could confirm it by having Minori talk with her fellow captives. See if any of them had befriended high-level players, particularly summoners or druids.

Their motive, missing. Their methods, mysterious. Staying passive during the duration of their plan, that was Shiroe's best bet. Acting out could prove detrimental. Perhaps they'd take offense and be provoked if he did. Perhaps they'd change their plans and Shiroe would find himself back at square one.

Perhaps, but, maybe, what-if, could they, how, what. There were too many questions. Too many variables.

Shiroe stared into the city once more.

Quiet, peaceful, and tranquil. He wanted the city to feel like its night. Where people would argue less out of fear and desperation and cooperate with comfort and fulfillment. A place that he, and many others, could and would call home.

Risks were needed. He had taken one by initiating this frankly absurd plan.

Perhaps it was time to take another.


A/N: Haha. Late again. It's always this story, isn't it?

I'm sure you'll all notice things and I'll try to prune the questions before they rise up. Yes, Waver told Taiga. But, it came mostly from necessity. He was mysteriously stuck in a world where his usual magecraft knowledge would barely help him. He needed a guide to go somewhere safer. Taiga was that guide. Lord El-Melloi Case Files anime helped a bit with his characterization, but I need to watch more of it. I want to get a good grip on Waver's personality. I probably don't but I hopefully will in time.

He also told her because he had nothing to lose. If they found a way back, he'd get slapped with a sealing designation unless Zelretch stepped in, which is unrealistic because if Waver found a way back, then everyone else would come along with him. That's like, half of Japan's– Oops, I mean the world's – player occupation coming back talking of going into another world. If the Mage's association doesn't notice that at first, they will sooner or later. Then they'll all get K.O.'d by some trigger-happy magi.

I could have written something else and just have Magecraft revealed on her in this chapter, but the longer I wrote the less I liked how it turned out. I rewrote it until we got this here. The old one was smothering and got in the way of the tone I wanted for the story. Granted, it ended up becoming somewhat comedic, but I feel it's truer to Taiga's character like this.

Also, you would not BELIEVE how many mistakes I made in this chapter while writing. Unfinished sentences I forgot to get back to. You're and your. Talking about a character as if he's in the area when he's not. "Lazy Tohsaka" instead of "Lady Tohsaka" are but to name a few.

Anyway, I know I missed some mistakes so if you spot them, just go ahead and tell me. I'll try and fix it if I can think of a way to do so. Either through review or PM, I'm not picky. In the meantime, I'll be farming FGO JP, Gundam Gunpla Warfare, and Pokemon Masters. Why am I playing three gacha games and another farm-heavy game called Warframe, you ask? Idk. I felt like it.

Until next time,

Kappa.

A/N 2: First, I wrote Shirou instead of Shiroe. Oops. Second, I didn't Bold the author's note section as usual. Oops, x2. Thanks to 'windall' for pointing out the error.