Prologue
It was thrust like lightning.
A spearhead thrust to pierce my heart. Trying to dodge would be useless. Being lightning, it's invisible to the human eye.
But... the lightning that tries to pierce me... is repelled by the moonlight that tries to save me.
*Clang*
A beautiful sound.
No, the sound before me is heavier than steel. The armor she is wearing is not beautiful at all and as unrefined as the cold night.
The sound wasn't beautiful at all. It was actually the sound of steel. It's just that the knight is beautiful enough to turn it into a charming sound like a bell.
"I ask of you. Are you my master?" she asks in a voice that lights up the darkness.
"I have come forth in response to your summons. From this time forward, my sword shall be with you, and your fate shall be with me. Now, our contract is complete."
Yes, the contract has been completed. When she chose me as her master... I'm sure I swore to help her too.
The moonlight still lights up the darkness. As if following the knight's example, the shed again falls silent.
Time has stopped.
The scene lasts less than a second, but I'm sure I'll remember this scene vividly even when I've gone to hell.
The face slightly turned. The quiet green eyes. The instant becomes an eternity. The blue outfit symbolizing her sways in the wind.
A faint blue light filters in. The golden hair shines in the moonlight...
...
This is a story from ten years ago.
I'm watching someone I know very well. A tall man with a deep-featured face, who to my knowledge has never told a joke, is patting my head.
No, that's not quite right.
I guess he doesn't know how much strength to use. So to be more accurate, he's grabbing my head and mashing it around.
I guess that's to be expected. After all, that's the first time he's ever patted my head.
"I'll have to get going now. You know what to do now, right?"
I answer the deep voice with a polite "yes". The man patting my head nods once, let's go, and stands up.
...So that was it.
If I'd known then that it was our final moment together, I would have made him laugh with my best jokes. I had practiced telling jokes a lot, in hope I could bring a smile to his grave face. I guess you could say I was sad that I couldn't tell him any of them.
"Put the Association in your debt by the time you mature. I'll let you decide what to do after that. You should be able to take care of yourself."
Even though he said such things, I guess he was still worried. He told me about the heirloom jewels, the jewels inherited from the master, and how to manage the basement. As he was telling me all the things I didn't yet know, I realized even as a child.
That most likely he wouldn't be coming back.
A war had started.
Not a war between counties, but a war between people. But the only ones at war were seven people. In a situation like this, the word "war" should be unsuitable, but here it's a different story as the ones in the conflict are magi.
The seven magi, each from a different faction, had started to compete for unknown reasons and killed each other in unknown ways.
The man standing before me was one of them. He too was in a position to kill or be killed. He must have known more keenly than I did that his time was near.
"Rin. The Holy Grail will appear eventually. It is our duty as the Tohsaka family to win it. More importantly, if you want to be a magus, you can't avoid it."
Once more, he patted my head and left. That was the end. That was the last time I saw the man, who entered the Holy Grail War as a master and died. The man who was my teacher as well as my father.
"Take care, Father."
I see him off politely.
I knew I was on the verge of crying, but I shed no tears.
I loved him.
He was a great father and a great magus. Among magi, there are only obstinate people. In the whole world, I don't think anyone had a better character than his.
He taught me as a teacher and loved me as a father.
That's why I decided to choose my path according to what he left me in the end.
"Rin. The Holy Grail will appear eventually. It is our duty as the Tohsaka family to win it. More importantly, if you want to be a magus, you can't avoid it."
In the end, he left me those words as a magus and not as a father. That is why at that moment, my path was determined.
"All right. I'll do my best to be a proper magus."
It's only natural for a student to follow the words of their teacher. Since then, through many twists and turns, I Tohsaka Rin have matured.
It has been ten years since the winter day on which my father went to war.
I haven't exactly been waiting for this moment, but I am excited.
That's only natural. The event I have never forgotten about is about to start.