Fate/Bonds Beyond Humanity

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45- The Mage of Swords

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Meditation was always part of Shirou's routine.

Even before he started his path on magecraft he always meditated about something or another; first as a hobby to help him try and find memories of the life he had before Hell and then as something to help him focus.

Over the last few days meditation gained a complete new meaning to him, something that was only possible because he had a whole world to explore. He and everyone he talked about the subject agreed that it was unfair how much his Reality Marble could do.

And they all knew Shirou was only scratching the surface as the power of a Reality Marble was feared and so far they hadn't seen the real reason why. Surely he was strong because of its type but until he mastered it and learned how to manifest its World Egg then most of its power was only in his soul.

But that was already plenty as Shirou had a place to think and practice with his weapons whenever he wanted.

Right now the redhead was moving around his world with Hrunting in his hand fighting against an imaginary opponent. Unfortunately for him his adversary was really imaginary as his world was incapable of creating living things other than blades of grass. Fortunately for him he had all the information he needed for the mental image to be as faithful as it could to the original.

Not that it means he was winning even if his opponent didn't exist, few could claim to ever have defeated someone like the original Beowulf and even as a mental projection Shirou knew he wasn't going to be one of them anytime soon.

Much like his descended Beowulf was a tower of a man practically made of muscle with dark blond hair, his body had far more scars, medals of his adventures that the man had pride in and his strength was so much that Shirou dropped Hrunting and drew Muramasa to keep going with the simulation.

A quirk of this kind of training was that everything that happened was because Shirou believed that it would happen but thanks to his Reality Marble he could see the dozens of moves Beowulf would do if the fight was real.

He usually chose the most savage one as it was the one he was sure the hero would have picked.

While the sword in his hands moved for a block, Shirou knew that if Beowulf was really attacking then Muramasa would break even in its strongest incarnation. He even threw himself back as it was the only possibility he saw to keep himself in the fight even if he knew Beowulf would grab him and kill him then and there.

Amongst the warriors whose weapons he possessed Shirou knew that Beowulf was the strongest physically and there would be no escaping.

'Another loss.' Some people would find it disheartening but Shirou just smiled as the image of Beowulf vanished from his mind. "Then again, he is a legend for a reason. Comparing the power of his muscles to mine and clearly I shouldn't fight him directly." But that was the point of that training anyway, to learn to fight against someone much stronger than him. "Okay, the next one is-"

A presence he grew acquitted quite well over the last few days showed itself, the only other inhabitant of his world; the pegasus.

"Did you like today's breakfast?" Shirou asked as his new ability to communicate with the creature was still something he was working on. There were no words, just impressions but he was getting better. "So can we stop eating that many carrots?" He received a shake of the head. "Come on, that is a stereotype and you know it." The look on the legendary mount's face said plenty. "Fine, less meat, more vegetables. I swear you sound like a kid."

There was no irritation on Shirou's words even as he had to make some concession to the inhabitant of his soul. After using the pegasus' power the redhead learned that apparently the pegasus could taste whatever Shirou ate and that the legendary mount was a little of a picky eater.

Fortunately the mythical horse wasn't aware of everything all the time but always popped on his head by the time of breakfast and insisted he ate more vegetables. At least it was only once a day because not even Shirou thought he could subsist exclusively on carrots. He liked tasting his food too, after all.

However the pegasus' presence was the least of his worries as Shirou had little time to train if he didn't want it to disrupt his routine. Which brought him to focus again on another imaginary opponent; Kokabiel.

While the Cadre wasn't his goal, Shirou had intensified his training to face the White Dragon Emperor first and foremost, he still lacked information to build a proper imaginary opponent from what he observed from Vali.

Kokabiel on the other hand was someone that Shirou watched fighting both seriously and playfully. He also had the memories from Durandal from when it belonged to Vasco Strada to help fill most gaps and because of that he could recreate the Cadre's fighting style perfectly.

The fallen angel was also the closest person he had who came close to the White Dragon Emperor fighting style.

Not power however, in power Vali was still far superior even suppressed. Shirou was sure of it, his nose never lied. That was why he was training with an image of Beowulf before, to get into a rhythm which would put Kokabiel's image a little closer to Vali even if only in the aspect of strength.

A new fight began as Shirou charged against the mental image, Kokabiel's smug smile taunting him as he created a speed to clash against the redhead's sword. Unlike with Beowulf this time there was a competition of strength as they both were closer to each other, Muramasa parried the spear to the side easily and the blade almost touched the fallen angel's neck.

But Kokabiel was a sly fighter and easily avoided the blow before using his size to counter attack. Not that wasn't unexpected, it was a deliberate result from Shirou's attack and an opening he expected to make. The fallen angel was considerably taller than the redhead and a warrior who wouldn't let an opportunity pass by him.

None of that mattered as another sword appeared to parry the spear and the magus used it to slide and attack with both weapons. The long haired man had a face of frustration before dodging the attack but Shirou was sure his offensive would hit, the original Kokabiel wasn't that fast compared to him.

The problem was the reaction after that which would be too difficult to define, personality wise Shirou didn't know what Kokabiel would do. But he knew what he wanted the image of the fallen angel to do. Maybe the original would play around more, maybe he would start like that if he perceived a threat but what he chose was to have the fallen angel take flight, changing the fight completely.

Fighting against flying opponents was still a problem Shirou worked to correct ever since he had to deal with a tengu last year. His first step to solving the problem of reach was archery and that seemed to solve most of the issues. It also saved his life plenty of times so he couldn't complain.

Unfortunately archery wasn't enough and he knew it when he saw how fast Kokabiel could move and how strong Albion's Scaled Mail was. If Yoruichi couldn't pierce that armor then what chance did Shirou have?

Calculating how powerful his own Noble Phantasms were Shirou knew he had some weapons that could help but he lacked the mana to Trace them constantly. They were still part of his training as he called his bow while also preparing Caladbolg as an arrow.

His imaginary opponent didn't let up as he began to attack with a rain of spears similar to how he did against Yoruichi but Shirou was confident he could dodge for a while. At least enough time to prepare his shot and take it as fast as he could. The arrow, if made in Reality, would be brimming with mana and ready to explode so the redhead took that into account.

Kokabiel would still have dodged nine times out of ten which made Shirou grit his teeth before he began to move again. For he knew that if the fallen angel could dodge then the White Dragon Emperor would have even less troubles.

Next the redhead summoned Hrunting, still moving to evade the imaginary strikes before taking the shot. He already knew it wouldn't be enough, his opponent was stronger than it and could shrug off some of the damage if necessary.

Meanwhile Shirou was training, the pegasus watched with middling confusion. Inside his Reality Marble any sword that Shirou ever saw or envisioned could be created but his imaginary opponents were just that; imaginary.

There was no rain of light trying to take him down, no attacker in the sky trying to defeat him, nobody else in the field of swords other than the magus whose soul the place belongs to and an amused legendary mount who found the dance Shirou was doing funny.

Sure the pegasus was intelligent and knew Shirou was training, that didn't make the moves less funny since to the mount's eyes all the redhead was doing was run around doing flips and complicated maneuvers over nothing while shooting at the sky.

A sky that belonged to the magus himself since this was his world so if Shirou wanted he could do much more than shoot at it.

All that just made things funnier for the pegasus and most days the mount didn't mind watching Shirou make a fool of himself. Only that it was starting to get boring for the mythical creature seeing that Shirou was pretty much doing it every single day without much progress.

The creature understood that the imaginary opponent could fly so it was frustrating for the pegasus that Shirou wasn't calling for his power. The legendary mount knew that there was much to be explored when working together with the magus but Shirou wasn't exploring that avenue in the right way.

To be fair the mythical mount also didn't exactly know what were the conditions for them to work together. There was a strong feeling when the White Dragon Emperor showed up but there was just so much that the pegasus could understand.

What the pegasus definitely understood was that Shirou's problem had a solution; himself. The redhead just wasn't noticing it. Not really his fault since much like the pegasus, Shirou didn't understand the nature of their relationship. The mythical mount also wasn't considering any implications of his existence, just that Shirou was being stubborn or stupid as far as the pegasus could understand.

So after watching the magus struggle for a couple of days against imaginary opponents, the pegasus finally lost all measure of patience.

Shirou was so focused on dodging a rain of imaginary spears that he didn't notice the beautiful creature flying behind him faster than the human eye could see.

His senses failed to detect the pegasus until it had grabbed him by the back of his shirt. "Woah!" Shirou let go of Muramasa just in time to avoid harming the pegasus, grabbing the mount's neck instead. "What is wrong with- WOAH!"

Faster than anything Shirou had ever been on, the pegasus took flight and in an instant he was in the skies of his world and still moving.

It was so fast that it took a few tries before Shirou could even open his eyes but eventually he succeeded and when he did the view had only one word; "Amazing."

Traveling faster than any jet the pegasus had ascended to the heavens before starting to slow down. It was only then that Shirou was able to take in the view of his world from his new position; even after moving from what felt like a continent or more there were still swords filling the land, the sun still on the same position besides the distance as a ocean of gold reflected on the grass and blades that seemed to shine.

"I can see why you don't go down more." The pegasus looked pleased with his observation. They slowed down and the pegasus made some quick maneuvers without Shirou understanding why before thinking for a bit. "You are telling me to call you against fliers? You know that isn't how it works, I can't Trace you." The mount looked upset but the magus rolled his eyes. "We already tried that-"

Bakuya showed up in Shirou's hands, making him blink in surprise as he felt an influx of power even greater than before. Easily the redhead deduced it was because of the pegasus but the problem remained.

"Even if, even if, I could Trace a being like you, it would cost more mana than I have in my whole body." An undeniable fact.

Regardless of how the pegasus ended in his soul, Shirou could feel the vastness of the mythical creature's existence. It wasn't a surprise to the redhead when he noticed at first; a legendary mount said to be able to reach the stars and carry Zeus' lightning had to be powerful. There was so much to unpack about what the pegasus was that Shirou himself gave up after attempting to compare the pegasus with Noble Phantasms.

Yet, after hearing what Shirou had to say, the pegasus just gave him a look that said 'So what? Figure it out.'

"Figure out how?" Shirou was really getting good at understanding the legendary creature. "I get that you want to help and that you are powerful but come on, it isn't like the answers are going to fall from the sky. Even in my world!" Things would be simpler if they did. Then he gave out a smile. "But I agree, if I could just call you then I wouldn't have to worry about flying ever again."

Both were of the same mind and their thoughts seemed to resonate with the world itself, Shirou inner and outer thoughts were in sync with the pegasus' and that made something else resonate.

Shirou felt something warm on his chest and looked down- "Ow." Only to snap back to the middle of his classroom, massaging the back of his head while looking up to the teacher.

"Sleeping well?" Fujimura Taiga asked with a strained smile as Shirou massaged his head where she had hit him. "Of all the students I have, I never thought you would be the one falling asleep in the middle of class, Shirou."

Some students laughed at the redhead's situation as the Tiger of Fuyuki looked down on him with a rolled up stack of papers and ready to 'attack' again. "I… have no excuse for that."

"Mou~ You were such a good boy back in Homurahara and now you are sleeping in the middle of the class." The woman sounded sincerely distraught. "Now you can't even pay attention to the lessons anymore. What are your parents going to think? Kiritsugu-san will be very upset with me."

'I very much doubt that.' His father would actually be happy he was being proactive with the threats that may be coming. Still he couldn't tell her that. "I was paying attention. Just focusing on other things too."

"Really? Like what?"

"Meditating about my inner world and having deep thoughts about flying around." Taiga raised an eyebrow and the redhead shook his head. "Resting my eyes because I have been studying too much." Shirou chuckled at some of the faces his classmates had.

"Okay, seems reasonable." Taiga nodded her head and disbelief covered the class. "But you still need to prove you did pay attention or else you are getting extra homework." She opened her book. "Finish the poem we were discussing and we are going to have no troubles. What do you say?"

While it was true that some part of Shirou was still listening to the class, he knew nothing of poetry so there was no reference for him to finish whatever Taiga was talking about even if he had the book in front of him. He didn't even know if he was on the right page.

Salvation came in the form of Xenovia, now dressed in the summer variant of the school uniform. Discreetly she raised her book and made sure to show him the right page. She may not speak or read Japanese fluently yet but she made sure to keep tabs on the lesson as best as she could.

At the distance they were in most people would have troubles seeing the small number but not Shirou thanks to Reinforcement. "Sure thing." He said confidently before opening the book and continuing from the right passage.

Taiga nodded as her student proceeded to finish her poem. "Okay then. Just make sure to rest your eyes after class. Other teachers wouldn't be as nice as I, you know?" In reality most didn't care he zoned out during class. "Now if we go to the next-" She was interrupted by the bell which announced the end of class. "Well, that is it then. See you guys later."

As their teacher departed to have lunch the students began to pour out the class with the same objective while Shirou let out a sigh of relief. 'That was close.'

"Are you alright, Mas- I mean, Shirou-dono?" Xenovia approached respectfully, too respectfully for Shirou's tastes. "Should I get some water? Maybe a towel?"

Seeing how some of the students around looked in their direction, some with jealousy and others with curiosity, almost had Shirou facepalming. "Please, Xenovia, I am pretty sure that I told you to not act like this in school." He whispered carefully.

"But Buchou will be upset if she doesn't treat you with the proper respect." Rin mentioned while sitting down at her desk. The smile on her face showed how much she enjoyed watching Shirou skirm. "Besides it is thanks to her position that she was helping you back there."

That was when Shirou facepalmed. "You noticed."

"Hard not to, Shero." Luvia sat on his desk while giving him her best smile. "Anyone with the right sensibilities could tell that your lights were on but nobody was home." She giggled at the face he made. "Don't worry. None of our classmates are having an awakening or anything like that. It was almost imperceptible except for those with real talent."

"Which surprises me that you managed to do it, Drillhead." Rin sent a smirk in Luvia's direction.

The blonde fixed her hair with her usual elegance. "Huff. Such a thing is easy for anyone with the right upbring, unlike you, Poorhead."

"Must I remind you two that we are in school." Shirou spoke quickly before Rin replied and the situation devolved more. It mostly failed as the rivals looked ready to brawl. "We are going to miss lunch."

Like magic the two separated, Rin marching outside while Luvia smiled in Shirou's direction. "I am going to grab my bento." She skipped to her table while Xenovia shook her head.

"Here I thought my partnership with Irina was… volatile?"

"That is the right word, yes." Shirou replied with a chuckle.

The bluehead nodded in appreciation. "Right, volatile. I wonder how Buchou is going to keep them under control." She moved to her desk and collected two bentos, one was hers and the other was Asia's.

Shirou also had two in his hands. "Mostly by not forcing them to work together. Just because they have the same employer doesn't mean they need to stay close." Yet he sighed as Luvia moved to the door with just one bento in her hand. "Can you please-"

"Get Rin's bento? Already ahead of you, Master." Xenovia quickly popped by Luvia's table and collected a red box. "I still wonder why you let her carry Rin's food. It sounds a little more risky than necessary."

"Because she can't help but look if her food is equal or better." Shirou had to make sure the bentos were equal in size or else the blonde would pout to him all day if hers was smaller or act smug if it was larger. Not that was in his mind at the moment. "I already told you to not call me that."

"Very well, my Lord."

"Neither that."

"Sir, yes sir."

"Not that either."

"But I have to show you the proper respect and calling you sensei in school would be confusing." Xenovia explained with a tilt of her head. "Besides, Liz calls you Master as well."

'Only when you are around.' He tried to explain at least a dozen times before but Xenovia wasn't going to listen. If anything Shirou was impressed by how committed Liz was to that joke. 'This is her payback, I swear. Rias and Akeno also are not helping.'

In the case of his lover she insisted that Xenovia called Shirou by a proper title, even going far and getting him an official noble title just so he couldn't disagree. So now Shirou was considered a minor noble in the Underworld while in the Gremory territory so Rias could gush at Xenovia calling him either Lord or Master.

And Akeno was worse but he was trying to avoid thinking about it, glad the Queen already had recovered after her ordeal with Kokabiel.

Besides, Xenovia looked happy having someone to follow so Shirou at least tried to respect that. "Let's just get to the rooftop."

A nod at what Akeno called a 'respectful distance' later was all Xenovia offered in reply. Honestly Shirou would prefer if the bluehead would act like a friend instead of a subordinate but the girl was more stubborn than him. Try as he might, and with Rias egging her on, the former Exorcist liked acting like a bodyguard.

Looking to the side, Shirou noticed the bento abandoned on a desk and sighed. 'She is still upset.'

"Want me to take it to her?" Xenovia asked after noticing what Shirou was looking at.

He shook his head with a small frown, collecting the box. "She said that until we settled things we weren't friends. I still wanted her to enjoy the food but… Setsuna is too proud sometimes." Opening the box he saw the food he made untouched. "She didn't even take a bite."

"At least Koneko is going to like having more." Xenovia tried to cheer him up. It failed miserably as Shirou seemed to deflate. "I could try and talk to her."

Shirou seemed to panic instantly. "That would only make things worse." The first time Setsuna saw Xenovia she said nothing, just gave the bluehead a glare and promptly moved to interrogate Shirou about the events of the weekend. "She knows you came here because of the Fragments, she is associating you with them… With my failure to not call her for help."

Xenovia could see how bothered he was by the thought. "You know my opinion on that; it was the right call, even if she doesn't like it."

That attempt went better and Shirou smiled sadly. "But she still disagrees." He lamented before starting to leave.

"She is still mad huh?" Rias asked as Shirou and Xenovia were the last to arrive at the rooftop.

"She is not even getting her lunch." Shirou raised the extra box before Koneko nabbed it.

"Insanity." The white haired devil didn't hesitate to get both her own bento, larger than everyone else's, and Setsuna's.

"Fufufu, should you say that when you still reap the rewards, Koneko-chan?" Rias noticed her Rook stop just for one moment before starting to devour her lunch.

"Don't be mean, Buchou. Koneko needs her food to keep growing." Akeno added with a smile.

"I am just afraid she is too eager to get Shiro's food. She had plenty of it for breakfast already." Yet both just giggled as Koneko munched down her food. "Maybe it is because of the training she has been doing these days."

From the side Xenovia started to massage her arms to starve off the phantom pain of said training. To help her develop the best possible fighting style to use Durandal and to grow stronger, Shirou pitted the blue haired girl against the Rook to help them both. While the training the Church gave her built the base, the redhead proved that she had yet a lot to learn.

Before her thoughts were consumed by training, Xenovia noticed a cup from a termos being offered to her. "Tea, Xenovia-san?"

"Thanks, Asia." She took the cup and they both smiled. "Also thanks for the book from Italian to Japanese, it is a great help."

"Buchou gave it to me when I was starting and since you are also from Italy I knew it would help."

"Do you two need some coaching?" Tohsaka Sakura asked as she traded a small bento with Shirou. Both of them didn't cook for each other but traded some recipes whenever they had lunch. "If you need, I can help. Hiragana is my specialty but we practice a lot of Kanji in our club."

"Really? That would be fantastic. Maybe we can schedule a weekend?" Asia turned to Xenovia who looked at Shirou in thought.

The redheads noticed Xenovia's hesitation and Rias elbowed Shirou with a giggle. "You can use the ORC if you want." She offered quickly. "We can have some tea and biscuits."

Xenovia still watched Shirou until he frowned. "You can take some time to hang out with friends, you know?"

"But I have training and you're already letting me help you to make swords."

"Yes and you can polish them later, take some breaks." Xenovia still looked confused. "Fine, I will take a day off too so you can't complain."

"Apologies for being so needy." She bowed, making Rias and Akeno laugh.

The Queen took her cue. "No, no. It is the Master's duty to make sure their Servant is well adjusted." She giggled as Shirou's eyebrow twitched.

"Don't worry too much, Xenovia." Rias grabbed her lover's arm. "I will take him on a date to take his mind off things so don't worry and enjoy your lessons."

Still a little worried she wasn't doing enough, Xenovia still nodded and changed the focus back to Asia and Sakura as they started to trade advice about the best ways to practice Kanji.

"Thanks for the save." Shirou whispered. He didn't want to admit but Xenovia eagerness could be suffocating sometimes.

Rias' smile gained an edge. "By the way, Rin was just mentioning that you were… preoccupied during class today." The twin tailed magus waved cheekly when Shirou frowned at her. "You have been getting lost in your head too much these days, still worried?"

"Between the King of Heroes and White Dragon Emperor? Kinda." Shirou admitted with barely any thought. His hand moved to his neck and he pulled out his newly forged necklace with Medusa's Gift. "Besides our newly recent acquaintance, I still haven't forgotten about when Angelo defeated me." He admired the red jewel, remembering the conversation he had with the pegasus.

"I thought you had forgotten about Gilgamesh." Akeno mentioned with a thoughtful expression herself.

Shirou shook his head. "With my sister in his organization, I can't. If Illya really decided to do something then it is going to be big… We better be ready." His words had an effect as many around him looked concerned. He placed Medusa's Gift back inside his shirt. "Trust me when I tell you that my sister may be even more dangerous than Angelo."

"You are joking… Right?" Rin asked with some incredulity. "More dangerous than the King of Heroes? That has to be a stretch."

"Daughter of the Magus Killer." Shirou chuckled at how Rin paled.

"To be fair, you are his son and you aren't that dangerous." Rias touched his cheek with a smile that had him rolling his eyes.

Akeno joined her King on the magus' other side. "Unless provoked, of course."

"Of course." Rias was quick to repeat her Queen's words just to try and fish for a reaction.

"No reason to allow that to interrupt our lives." Luvia held her hand to her breast confidently. "As a former member of the Clocktower I had to deal with enemies to all sides and dangers on more than one occasion when traveling. If you allow them to disrupt your life then they are already winning."

"They are not really disrupting my life… that much." Shirou shrugged and Akeno shook her head.

"Certainly they are your school life. Should we be worried about your grades?" The Queen got closer to whisper in his ear. "Do you need some special tutoring?"

"I will tutor him if he needs to." Rias commented while pulling Shirou a little away from her Queen.

That didn't deter Akeno who just leaned closer. "I don't know, Buchou. Your chemistry grade also needs a bump." Her teasing failed as her King remained stoic.

"I will be certain to remember to mention that during our date this weekend." She declared proudly but Akeno kept smiling.

"Oh, so we are really going on a date this weekend." Shirou smiled at the idea. "For a second I thought that was just something to get Xenovia to relax." Which worked as the bluehead was busy chatting.

"Any excuse to go on a date." Rias spoke with a small wink, making Shirou laugh and nod.

"Movies?" The magus asked.

"Nothing good right now." The Heiress thought for a moment. "Maybe we can go to…"

They started to trade ideas of places to go on the weekend while Issei watched with a frown before taking a bite of his food.

[Someone is jealous…] Ddraig voiced in his head.

'You can bet I am. The guy is building a harem right before my eyes.' Issei wasn't so dense as to not notice how Akeno was as close to Shirou as Rias and offering her own suggestions or how Luvia had moved to his house after she was Reincarnated into a devil. 'That guy… If we aren't careful he will end up sinking his fangs on Asia too.'

[I would call you blind but you chose to not see.]

'What did you say?' He heard the dragon sigh which made the Pawn even more confused. 'No, seriously, what did you say?'

"You are frowning, Ise-kun." A little away from the group was Kiba, distant enough to be mostly for himself but still present and with his typical smile.

"Yeah, Ddraig is being stupid again." He ignored the dragon's protests in his mind. "Besides that? All cool."

"Cool." Kiba focused on his lunch again.

Which actually made Issei a little more irritable. "Dude, are you… are you fine?"

The blond looked at his colleague in confusion. "Yes, why do you ask?"

"Because… you know, right?"

"No, I don't. That is why I asked." Kiba shrugged before drinking his tea.

There was a lot that Issei wanted to say and if he paid attention he would notice that others were paying attention to their conversation as well. "Want to-"

"No, thanks Ise-kun. I am busy."

"You didn't even let me finish." The Red Dragon Emperor looked frustrated and most people noticed.

Kiba didn't want his friends paying attention to him. "I am still processing everything, you know?" The question was for everyone. The Knight really hated the looks of concern he was getting.

"Doing what exactly?" Shirou decided to ask.

"Stuff." Kiba quickly finished his meal. "Besides, I asked for a break for a reason." He left before anything else could be said.

"I don't like this." Shirou commented with a frown but Rias sighed.

"Any ideas what to do?" She knew what Kiba was doing, they all did but none knew how to help. "Then we can only wait."

"What is wrong?" Sakura, noticing the heavy atmosphere from the ORC members, asked.

Rin looked at her sister before shrugging. "Kiba is taking a break from everything."

"What a crass way to explain things, Tohsaka." Luvia couldn't help but comment.

"Did your new life condition give you any better glimpse of things? Because you are acting like the same blonde bimbo."

"Still smarter than you!"

"In your dreams!"

Shirou turned to Rias. "Aren't you going to stop them?" He already knew the answer but it didn't hurt to ask.

"Why? They are cute when they fight like this." The King of Gremory placed a cupcake in her mouth while watching the rivals struggle. On seeing her lover sigh, she chuckled before swallowing. "Either they fight now without magic or later with it. You know how they are."

"Unfortunately." Shirou couldn't deny as foreheads collided and the two girls began to push each other. Even Sakura didn't move to intercede with her sister, that was how hopeless the situation was. "You do know they will still fight later." He tried to focus his food.

"I already have a plan for that." She whispered in his ear. "I am going to drown them into work until it is time to leave. Luvia still needs to make a proper client base and Rin has no choice but to focus on some files." Rias smiled as her plan was revealed.

The redhead magus was about to voice his approval however Akeno, the dutiful Queen she was, moved to burst her bubble. "And when things start to get more normal?" She grinned at the wide eyes of her King. "When things are stable and we have less work, what then? You can't push Rin to file useless reports and sooner or later Luvia will have a decent base of clients easier to manage."

Shirou was amused by how Rias' calm facade began to crack. "Okay! Stop you two!" The Gremory Heiress stood up in a panic. "As your King I demand that you two start to act properly! You represent the Gremory Household! Act like it!"

""Yes, Buchou!""

Akeno took advantage of Rias controlling her two subordinates to take Shirou's side. "You couldn't help yourself, couldn't you?" He asked her but Akeno occupied herself with her food. "Truly you are a devil."

Shirou liked the smile that Akeno gave him after, full of cheer and mischief.

Three days later and Sona still felt restless as classes came to a close. Contrary to most students of Kuoh it wasn't because of tests, a boy she liked, assignments or a teacher on their shoulder.

No, Sona Sitri's concerns weren't part of her highschool life but her other life, her real life. She intellectually knew those concerns were always there but during the weekend she was forced to confront them.

Because of those concerns she couldn't rest, could barely eat and despite her posture remaining flawless, her Queen could see how exhausted Sona was. "Tsubaki, did Momo deliver my message?"

"Yes, Kaichou…" Both were moving towards the Student Council's office at a brisk pace but that didn't stop the Queen from looking concerned. "Is that… Never mind."

"Say your piece, Tsubaki. I prefer to have someone loyal but not a thrall." The King of Sitri opened the door with her key. They were the first to arrive thanks to their pace and the fact that the office was on the third floor of Kuoh, the floor of the Third Year. "If you have something in your mind, say it."

Tsubaki watched Sona move to the table closest to the window, her table. "Is that going to be enough, Sona?" The pureblood devil began to sort some files. "Making this Pact is going to be enough? Is that going to ease things for you?"

Opening a drawer, Sona began to throw some of the files on her desk. "It will, Tsubaki." The Queen was surprised by the reply as the King began to throw some of the folders on the trash. "What? You expect me to remain obsessed with everything after this?"

"Sona, you haven't been sleeping and even with magic I can see the lines below your eyes." Sona seemed to ignore the Queen but Tsubaki didn't allow that to detain her. "I am starting to consider calling your sister to try and stop you from doing something you might regret."

Despite the possibility of Serafall showing up being thrown, Sona just kept working, which worried Tsubaki more.

The long haired devil shook her head. "Kaichou, you need to stop and think-"

"That is what I have been doing over the last- No, ever since Kokabiel showed up." Sona admitted, her frustration breaking the mask of a composed student she had. "I remembered, Tsubaki. That day when we were being humiliated by Kokabiel I remember an unfortunate truth."

Swallowing heavily, Tsubaki felt a harrowing aura around her King. "What truth, Sona?"

"We are small fish in a smaller pond." Sona separated one folder while throwing the rest in the trash before creating a magic circle above it. Soon the discarded documents began to catch fire. "The world is a big place and we can only trust our own strength to survive in it."

"But we didn't survive by ourselves."

"We got lucky this time." Sona remembered the question Kokabiel asked before his fight with Yoruichi began. "What were the actual odds of a human with a Reality Marble showing up? Or that a King of Kyoto was around to help? At the same time?" She sent a jet of water to put out the fire after the documents turned to ash. "Astronomical, inconcebible. We got lucky." She slammed her table with her fist. "I don't like getting lucky."

Despite Sona's small outburst, Tsubaki remained calm even if still worried. "And this Pact is going to help?" She approached and opened the file. "She isn't like Emiya Shirou; already showing a project that you need. Also, her family is in decline after her grandfather's mismanagement. You know how it will look when you make the Sitri Pact with her."

"I know that." Sona separated from her table and moved to her window. From there she could see Caliburn and some students taking pictures of it while playing around. "Unfortunately I can't make a personal Pact since our own resources are more limited and she was quite explicit in her file that was the main issue with her project."

"Still quite a gamble. What she is proposing is…" Tsubaki failed to find the proper words. Reading the file again, she still couldn't. "I am to believe that Emiya-kun has nothing to do with this? That you aren't trying to find someone with a similar capacity?"

Sona looked back to her Queen with the first smile she had over the last few days. "Potential and possibility." She looked back to the window as some students tried to remove Caliburn. 'I am going to have nightmares that start like this.' She chuckled. "But, if anything, her research will allow us to equalize the field against Shirou, if the necessity ever shows up. No, if she is successful then we are going to be the strongest Peerage of the Underworld."

"That is an optimistic outlook, Sona. You were just speaking about not liking to count on luck." She placed the folder back on the table. "It seems that you will need luck for that to present any results in a timely fashion."

"Fufufu. Not quite." Tsubaki saw Sona's shoulders tremble as she held back a small laugh. "I have checked her math over the last few days… It is sound." With wide eyes, the Queen opened the file again. "You see, Tsubaki, her father's goal was even grander than hers but when he gave up, she picked the pieces and still managed something extraordinary, even if not as great."

Tsubaki read the file two times, trying to make sense of what her King was saying. "I can't see it. She herself admitted that it is a failure."

"Because she wrote there about both her family's goal, her advancements and didn't consider another possibility, a possibility that I only saw when I saw Shirou fixing Caliburn with a missing piece. The real potential of Noble Phantasms."

Those words shocked Tsubaki again as the rest of the Student Council began to make their way inside. "Kaichou?" Saji called for her and Sona turned with a smile.

"Good afternoon to you all. We still have a lot to take care of after the Caliburn incident but today you will have to work without me." Sona collected the file after giving an amused look to a frozen Tsubaki. "I count on all of you to work diligently but feel free to call me if necessary. Tsubaki was already briefed about the areas that need more attention today."

Something odd considering that Sona was usually the one taking point and delivering orders so her Peerage could execute them. All of them found the concept of having minimal guidance strange and their faces didn't hide it.

"Why is that, Kaichou?" Tsubasa was the first to ask.

"I have a meeting later, Momo knows with whom." The white haired devil jumped when most eyes turned to her. "It is scheduled to be in a few minutes so we can get everything prepared and I still have some things I would like your help with." Still confused but ready for anything their King needed, most of her peerage stood to attention.

Not Tsubaki though, she was still trying to figure out what Sona was doing risking her reputation and potential Pacts while failing to come up with an answer. 'She thought about it over the last few days? Since when?' Her eyes never left the King, trying to divine what she had figured out.

However Sona wasn't focused on her Queen. "Tomoe, could you please run to the lunchroom? I requested a few cookies made for the occasion."

"Yes, Kaichou."

"Reya, can you prepare some tea?"

"Immediately." The Bishop moved to the small kitchen besides their office.

Sona was proud of her peerage efficiency, even confused they still stood ready and waiting for orders. "The rest of you can get back to work. Rias already dealt with the Underworld side of things and offered to review some of the protocols applied in the last emergency." Her oldest friend seemed desperate to get more work, much to her amusement. "I would like to have our side finished before the weekend."

"""Hai!"""

Tsubaki finally snapped as the rest of their team began to move. "Kaichou, are you sure about this? It sounds too good to be true."

"It isn't." Sona replied swiftly. "It will only be true if we work for it." When she turned to look at her, Tsubaki saw the determination in her King's eyes.

Without saying anything else, Sona marched towards the double doors on the other side of the Student Council. The meeting room was exactly that, a room designed for meetings between parents and teachers or any other.

Even though it was more spacious than most classrooms, most of it was dominated by a giant desk with enough seats for twenty people. It would also be easy to add or take out chairs from the table or to place them close to the walls. There were two other doors, one connected to the Director's office and another to the hallway.

Letting out a sigh and checking her watch, Sona noticed she had ten minutes before her meeting had to start. With some math she could predict that Reya would arrive with the tea in eight and would probably also bring the cookies. Not as much time as she would like to have but Sona was stubborn and wanted everything done as soon as possible.

It was still enough time for her to unwind a little as she turned on the AC and sat down in a chair. Sona couldn't stop herself from closing her eyes for a moment before snapping herself awake.

'Stupid need to sleep. Why do devils even have that? Aren't we creatures of the night?' The Sitri Heir concentrated and felt her reserves of mana taking another dip down. It was how she managed to sustain herself over the last few days. "Better." She began to massage her temples. 'Still, using magic as a replacement won't cut it out for much longer. I need to rest… Really rest.'

A closed fist hitted her forehead as Sona tried to focus. The comfort of the chair had reminded her how many times she came close to falling asleep during class which made her frustrated. She then used that frustration to fuel her anger against Kokabiel and herself, trying to fight off the impotency of that situation.

Yet she knew that to keep going like that wasn't healthy, the method of trading mana for stamina wasn't something that should be abused and she used it to cover weeks of work in days.

She just couldn't stop as everytime that Sona closed her eyes she remembered facing death and surviving by luck. "Never again."

Once Sona thought she could take her time with things, that she wouldn't rush like Rias did and make a decision out of despair. Fear had a way to crush such thoughts and now she felt desperate even if the danger had, theoretically, passed. All because of the kind of world she lived in and the threats that could still come.

Picking up the folder again Sona opened it up and began to read as she prepared for the meeting. She was tired over the last few days of thinking about the Pact she wanted and then setting things up to make it a reality. In fact she had left most of the work in Fuyuki to her peerage as she tried to rush and cover every angle all at once.

Truthfully she once agreed with Tsubaki's point of view that this venture was risky, rushed and not like most of her plans at all. Yet Sona couldn't help but feel the need to take a leap of faith.

'It is all Rias' fault.' She puffed her cheeks, exhaustion made her thoughts she usually wouldn't have. She quickly shook her head to get rid of them. "Get your head back in the game, Sona. She doesn't know her own potential and it's up to you to make sure you will have a fruitful partnership." Her fingers touch the picture of the girl she would soon have a meeting with. 'I will never underestimate the human potential ever again.'

Luck wasn't the thing moving Sona for while she was gambling on something that hadn't happened yet, it was logic that made her act. For the last few days she separated, quantified, studied and discarded all the information of every single magician requesting a Pact with the Sitri Clan. Those were not only from Kuoh and some of the offers had decades of age.

At the present Sona knew none of them could give her what she wanted for a fact. 'Time will be my ally once again. I shall nurture her, help her reach her potential. If her family has nothing that I need now, they will in the future.' A very close future if her calculations were right.

Sona could only hope they were because if not then the cost of failure would be high, both to her reputation and future. A Pact wasn't something that should be easily given and unlike Rias, who settled the value of hers with immediate results, she needed to wait and see. She knew time would be necessary, specially if her future partner proved to be incompetent.

Not that she ever did as Sona also checked her school work, projects and reputation. Sure while these were not really a measure of how things would be between them it setted a precedent. In those Sona saw a competent, if slightly shy, young woman who was anxious to prove herself.

And the Sitri Heiress was willing to take the chance, if only because the potential profits would be exceptional. If things worked well then in the short term her family would have access to a considerable stock of Noble Phantasm, infinity if things were ideal.

For that future, for her future and her ambitions, Sona focused on reviewing the file again, working in her head everything she would say to make sure things went perfectly. The anxiety was enough to starve off the sleep as the King of Sitri repeated the words in her head again and again.

She barely noticed when her Bishop arrived with the trail she requested, her tired nod was confused with approval instead as Sona was left alone with her thoughts for a few more minutes.

There was a knock on the door a minute earlier than anticipated. "Kaichou, your guest has arrived."

"Send her in." Tsubaki opened the door and Olga Marie Animusphere looked around nervously before getting inside. Sona stood up calmly and offered a gentle smile. "Welcome, lady Animusphere."

Not expecting to be greeted so warmly, Olga Marie barely managed to keep the surprise off her face. "Lady Sitri." She bowed as Tsubaki watched her shake a little. "Good afternoon. What can… should I do for you today?" Already her nerves were starting to get her as she fumbled her words.

Expecting a reprehension, instead Sona just chuckled. "Please, have a seat. There is tea and cookies if you want and I can ask for anything else if you so desire." The white haired girl took a moment for herself before taking a single step and Sona frowned. "Tsubaki, you may go."

The King was considering that privacy may help reassure Olga Marie but instead it backfired as when Tsubabki left the magus felt a deep sense of isolation. Her mind started to play tricks and her insecurities began to crop up. Despite all this her poker face remained steady.

Just not perfect as Sona could tell her guest was even more nervous, she had to hold back a sigh and moved to serve the tea to try and help her relax. "Lady Animusphere…" She paused for some consideration. "Or do you prefer Olga or perhaps Olga Marie?"

Once again the girl was surprised at Sona's attitude. "Ah. Whatever you prefer… Lady Sitri."

"I would prefer to call you by something you are comfortable with." She offered a cup which was quickly accepted. Sona was half impressed that the magus' hands weren't shaking. 'I must remember that she is younger than me. Even if both of us were raised to be nobles, she isn't mature enough for games. A more direct approach may be necessary.' She considered it. "Olga," the single name almost made the girl jump, "understand something; I don't have meetings like this with magicians. Can you understand what that means?"

Before she jumped to answer, Olga tried to dissect what Sona was trying to say. The pureblood was correct in her assertion that she was properly raised to be a noble.

Olga Marie Animusphere could already think like one. "You mean… Are you here…" She shook her head, doing some breathing exercises to calm down. There was a proper code of conduct she had to follow. "Pardon my manners, Lady Sitri. I don't want to impose." She breathed again and Sona nodded in approval at her control. "If this is just a friendly meeting, Olga will just do it. If this still is a meeting of business, but a more relaxed one, Olga Marie will suffice."

She left out the fact that her family name meant that it was exclusively business, even aggressively since that name would imply some distance. "Olga Marie then." Sona chuckled again at how relaxed the girl became. "I have taken a long time to consider who would be the magician I would make a Pact with." Immediately she was alert again but the nervous energy changed from 'anxiety' to 'excitement'. "After my… scuffle with Rias during our tennis match, I started to pay close attention to your file and I noticed some interesting things." Some out of guilt, others out of curiosity.

Knowing that she almost traumatized the young girl before her was enough to make Sona move to make amends and even if a Pact wasn't on the cards at that point, that changed once she investigated further.

When the file was dropped in front of Olga she made sure to not look at it until it was opened for her. "Revealing Family secrets is a thing most magi wouldn't risk, however the Sitri's word is very respected." Respected enough to take that risk. "I can only guess how many Heirs did the same."

"Hundreds." Sona was finding it amusing how much Olga struggled to keep her composure. "Of course I took my time researching all candidates, interviewing them and even their families. That was when none of them had anything to offer." She turned around to look at the window. "Tell me about 'Chaldea'."

Like a deer in the highlights, Olga wanted to bolt from the meeting. "It was a failure." However she chose to hold her ground and be honest. "My grandfather and my father, both of them deemed it as a complete and utter failure."

Sona waved her concerns off. "Humor me, if you will." When she saw the hesitation return, she sighed. "Olga Marie, you are already here, talking to me, in a position most magicians would kill to be." The Student Council President's hand landed on her shoulder delicately. "Trust that I have something in mind and just tell me about it."

Gulping heavily, Olga Marie nodded. "The 'Chaldea Initiative' existed because of a premonition or a possibility that Humanity would be extinct in a close future by a power beyond understanding." She gave the broad strokes, things on her file but Sona just nodded. "It consisted of a system to call forth Servants from Human History, pair them up with proper Masters and send them through Rayshift to deal with the threat."

"And it was canceled… because your family predicted it would fail?" Olga Marie nodded slowly. "Elaborate, please."

"It was…" Olga shook her head. She tried to look at things objectively. "Two things stopped the project from getting properly started; the lack of funds and the system to summon Servants. My father theorized that it was because the Throne of Heroes was more 'distant' than expected; it was impossible to even call for one." She took her time to organize the ideas in her mind. "More details were impossible to acquire as the Einzebern couldn't be contacted. Without someone that understood Heaven's Feel we were stuck, especially since their ritual never got off the ground as well."

"And the gods were no help either since they didn't want humans with that much power." Sona pointed to a specific line in her file and Olga Marie blinked in surprise. "However you didn't give up on the prospect. Care to share why?"

"Because it is possible, just harder than we thought!" Olga Marie noticed she shouted and quickly covered her mouth. Sona just smiled and waved for her to continue. "I want to summon a Servant, one of the Legends from Human History." With a look the Heiress of Sitri showed she knew there was more. "I wanted to prove to my father… that it was possible."

"And you managed to summon, what was that you called? Craft Essences?"

Olga Marie shook her head. "Not Servants, not even close. Craft Essences are powerful reagents, particles of energy that carry their own history and can be used in a number of ways… It is how I have managed to pay my tuition."

"I am well aware." Sona didn't look down on it, if anything it made her respect Olga Marie even more. Despite being the heir of her family, Olga wasn't like Luvia, not the person the Head wanted as the Heir. "And you managed to sell many of those to magicians and pay for all bills since you came to Fuyuki while also funding some of your research. Not bad for someone who showed up here with the bare minimum." The bare minimum her father was willing to give her, that was.

Taking the complement with a blush, Olga turned to focus back on the talk. "Chaldea never is going to happen, my father made sure to bury all evidence he even attempted such a thing… Only for me to dig it all up." It was the main reason why they haven't talked ever since she moved to Japan. "In either case I can't see myself summoning a Servant anymore."

"So it is really impossible?" Sona didn't sound disappointed, far from it. "And what about a Noble Phantasm?" Olga Marie's eyes went wide as the idea had not ever crossed her mind. "At their most basic form, Noble Phantasms are the crystallization of Legends, of their History. That is why it is common that most Noble Phantasms are born from objects deeply tied with those Legends." She commented while looking back outside, Caliburn sitting alone on Kuoh's ground. "While it is true that you failed to summon a Servant, maybe you got close, close enough to touch the mystical Throne of Heroes. Those Craft Essences must come from somewhere after all." Sona shrugged, still not looking back at Olga. "Of course all that is theoretical. Even Counter Guardians may just be things of myth since nobody saw one of them."

Except that the being who spread the knowledge about Noble Phantasm also spread the knowledge about Servants and Counter Guardians. Sona frowned when she realized she had no idea of who started that, who wrote the first thing about such existences.

'Then again, that is just one more thing lost to time.' She shrugged before turning to Olga Marie. "If you-" Her tongue got stuck in the ceiling of her mouth once she saw the face the magus was making.

It was a look of deep concentration and application as Olga Marie took a pencil and paper from her school bag and began to write faster than Sona could keep up with. Soon the page was full but instead of missing her stride the young girl grabbed a notebook and kept writing like mad.

Had Sona known no better she would have claimed that Olga Marie was possessed by the way her hand and eyes were moving frenetically. Page after page was filled with dozens of mathematical formulas and magic symbols, some of them which Sona had no idea what they meant.

After twenty minutes of constant work, Olga finally stopped. "It is possible." She muttered in astonishment.

"More tea?" Sona's voice snapped the girl back to reality as she looked up to the offered cup. "You were drinking while working but had none of the cookies yet. I had to ask for a favor to get some of them." Only then Olga noticed how hungry she was and hummed in pleasure after the first bite. "Astonishing."

Yet Sona didn't focus on the girl but instead on the notes in her hands, on how much work she had done in just twenty minutes.

"Took me days to come to a similar conclusion." From a magic circle Sona dropped papers with her own penmanship and similar equations. Another difference was that Sona used a lot more paper. "And some of the things here… I can't even understand them."

Olga blushed again. "It is based on the Da Vinci theorem that Velvet-sensei taught us." She showed some older notes in her notebook, notes that pertained to similar procedures. "Leonardo Da Vinci was a genius, even as a magus. Thanks to his equations… I think it is possible but… They would need to be bound to people and those people also would need conduits."

"Evil Pieces already filter and help regulate mana." Sona was quick to point out, making Olga Marie's eyes grow wide again. "If you bound the Noble Phantasm to it, then it could remain in our plane of existence. Maybe it will draw a small reserve of mana when inactive-"

"It wouldn't need to, not if we manage to make it shift into a spiritual form. Like a Servant would." The girl was so excited she jumped from her seat. "Sure it would still be impossible to summon a Servant with those augmentations but the crystallization of a Legend would not only be viable but even easier. Galahad's shield can still access the Throne and maybe some heroes wouldn't mind lending their weapons." At that she frowned and began to bite her nail. "But we wouldn't be able to choose the Noble Phantasm either."

A little disappointed but still excited, Sona put her mind to work. "And what would be the criteria then? I read somewhere that for a Grail War, a catalyst was necessary to summon a proper Servant."

Olga Marie shook her head. "No, a Servant could be summoned without one, it would just depend on the summoner." She blinked before snapping her fingers. "That is it! Without a proper method then the Noble Phantasm will depend on the person but with the right preparations it is possible!" She smiled with pride and confidence. "Unless there are some complications then I can assure you to get at least a Noble Phantasm to one member of your peerage."

Sona smiled in return, happy with the progress made. "I can't wait for that. Supposing that our calculations are right then it would take you at least a few years-"

"By the end of this year." Olga didn't even notice she interrupted Sona. "If I have a proper workshop and some help I can do it. Some of the Craft Essences that I already have can be used as fuel."

There was no guarantee that things would really work but Sona couldn't challenge Olga's enthusiasm. She could only match it. "Isn't that a little too fast?"

"Not if I use the 'Chaldea System' as a base. With Galahad's shield, with the Round Table where the heroes garther, there will be some of them ready to help us." At the same time it could fail because of a thousand different reasons but Olga ignored any possibility of failure. She was ready to make things work or die trying. "I may even be able to do it faster if I drop off school and-"

"That I can't allow." It was Sona's turn to take over the conversation. "As the Student Council President I won't allow you to throw away your education for any reason."

"But-but-but this is important. We are going to make History." Olga Marie protested as hard as she could.

Until Sona fixed her glasses and gave the girl a harsh look. "We will do so anyway but your education is more important right now." She placed her hands on Olga's shoulders. "The work can be done at any time, we just need to get there. But you are in an important phase of your life and I refuse to let you waste your potential."

"That-that-" Despite being a magus and having specialized education, the look Sona had was enough to leave her with no action.

"My dream is to create a school in the Underworld, a school where any devil can learn and grow regardless of their rank or blood." Sona smiled gently. "I would be a hypocrite if I was to allow you to give up any piece of your education." Olga looked at the pureblood devil in shock. "I suppose that since you know the truth, I shall ask you to share your fate with mine."

Another magic circle appeared and a contract landed on Sona's hands. Olga fully understood what was being implied; the Sitri Heiress had shared her dreams and ambitions and now it was the moment to seal the Pact.

Of course the Animusphere girl could reject Pact. Until she signed it, there were no obligations from her part. After Sona opened her heart it was up to Olga to decide if she wanted it or not.

So she quickly grabbed the paper and a pen before slamming them on the desk. Not wishing to look over eager, Olga stopped just short of signing to look back at Sona who had a grin on her face.

Hesitation born of apprehension had her hand shaking once again. "Are you sure? There is no guarantee that we can make it work. I have nothing ready and even if the math is sound… It may be impossible to reach the Throne of Heroes."

With a small smile, Sona raised her cup of tea like it was a glass of wine. "There is an old saying in the Underworld when it comes to Pacts; your enemies will be my enemies, your allies, my allies and I shall be with you forever, even if you are no longer there." She took a sip of her drink, her expression calm. "I trust that you will deliver and I shall do the same in kind. Sign it."

No longer hesitating, Olga signed her name with a small flourish. 'I did! I got a Pact with one of the Pillars!' She was proud of her accomplishments but she knew the work was just beginning.

"Shall we celebrate? Do you want a party to go with it, Olga?" Sona asked casually and the girl shook her head.

"Not needed. I am just… relieved, I think. I managed to get a Pact with the Sitri!" She jumped from her chair again while throwing her arms up. Every bit the girl she was. "Sorry." Olga's blush was something that was starting to endear Sona. "I mean, I apologize, lady Sitri."

"'Sona'. We are partners now, almost family. Equals in everything." The pureblood devil declared proudly, happy her magician was excited for getting a Pact with her. "So you can call me 'Sona' and you don't need to be shy around me. I won't tell anyone."

Those words were both a tease and a promise but they were told so gently that Olga could just fix her uniform and bow in gratitude.

Which Sona disliked. "Olga, I already told you; we are partners. Equals. You don't need to bow to me." She handed the papers to her new magician. "And once, not 'if' but 'once', this succeeds then we will never need to bow to anyone again."

Maybe she was being too optimistic but between Shirou, Xenovia and Freed's display of power with Noble Phantasms Sona was sure that Olga's research had game changing potential.

And that certainty and assurance spread to the girl who looked much more confident. "I won't let you down, Sona. You will see. All your peerage will have tailor made Noble Phantasms in no time."

"One step at time, Olga." But the idea certainly was appealing. "For now we shall focus on getting you started. I have already begun to set up a budget and locations for potential labs and workshops both in Fuyuki and in Sitri territory." Another reason why the Pact needed to be with the Clan and not just her. "Ah, and don't make promises like that until you know everyone that you have to work with."

"What do you mean? Are you getting a new member?" Olga's quick deduction pleased Sona further.

"I already have. You know him, one of your teachers." Sona could see the wheels spinning on the younger girl's head, trying to figure out who it could be. "Don't try too hard, his attitude barely changed with Reincarnation and he is a private person by nature. I find it hard you will guess." Olga accepted her partner's words easily even if it was clear she was still thinking about it. "Ah, I almost forgot. About that threat your family predicted…"

"After all the prophets lost their 'sight', all everyone could do was prepare." She was, of course, referring to the event of ten years ago. "Even our equations and systems can't predict the future anymore which speaks of something concerning."

"Power. Enough power that whatever it is this threat, it can hide itself." It was common knowledge and another concern that all Factions had. Nobody wanted to start anything because nobody knew what was coming. "Is your family preparing anything?"

Olga looked disappointed. "With the Clocktower… They are all working on the same solutions but whatever it is, we aren't sure." Then she blinked as she remembered something. "However my father still believed we should focus on the 'Chaldea Initiative' despite his own resentment of it."

Such an observation made Sona curious. "Why is that? DIdn't he try to bury the project?"

"Because he didn't think it was possible without him." Pride was Marysbury's downfall and Olga refused to make the same mistake. "Of one thing he was sure; it isn't that the threat Chaldea had to face is gone but it grew."

"'Grew'? He thinks that is the same thing but bigger?" Sona found the notion apaling since Chaldea was supposed to summon Servants, the Heroes of Humanity, to combat the first threat. "What made him so sure?"

"The timing and his equations but only he is sure of that." The white haired magus looked down in shame. "Nobody else believes him and he locked many of our secrets because of it. Because he thinks everyone else would abuse it and ignore the threat."

Certainly many would abuse the power of calling forth Servants. Incomplete or not, the Third Magic was considered a True Magic for a reason and a downgraded version of it would be enough to take over the world.

"And what do you believe?" Sona knew all that but the person who mattered to her was the daughter, not the father.

Olga Marie Animusphere nodded with all the pose, grace and resolution of a noble lady. "That we will be ready, whatever comes."

"We will." The two smiled, the Pact sealed.

…..

"I am going." Kiba announced without ceremony when the ORC gathered together to leave for their club.

"Wait, Kiba." Rias' voice was enough for the Knight to hold mid step. "Can't you at least come back with us for a bit. Even if it is just for dinner."

All members of the club waited for the reply, some even with bated breath and the hope that Kiba would grant the request. They were already surprised he stopped in the first place.

"I…" For a moment it seemed Kiba was going to grant the request only for all hope to be squashed when he turned to the exit. "See you guys tomorrow." His pace was slow but he was going.

"Buchou-"

"Let him go, Ise." Akeno sighed as Rias looked depressed. "He needs some time for himself. Trust me, the ordeals of the weekend were… unpleasant."

Rias agreed with her Queen, in part. "The problem is not giving him space but what he is doing with it."

"We could drag him to the club." Xenovia suggested. "I mean, aren't you his King? Can't you order him to stay?"

Shirou placed a hand on Xenovia's shoulder. "That would only make things worse in the long run."

"Better than before." Liz pointed out. "Not asking for fights everyday."

"He was, wasn't he?" Luvia asked as she barely could remember it, most of her time during Kiba's early struggles was spent hunting the Order of Pendragon.

"Yes and I can't believe that this situation can be considered an improvement." Rias frowned but began to walk to the club. "Looks like I will be attending his clients again."

Her lover looked concerned. "That is not getting in the way of your work, is it?" Shirou saw Rias shake her head but wasn't convinced. "I know you still got a request yesterday."

"An exorcism but I sent Rin to deal with it." For whatever reason the twin tailed magus looked away with a blush and no desire to talk. "And she is also covering most of my paperwork. Makes me tempted to give her a raise."

"You will?!" Rin charged to Rias' side, much to Luvia's amusement.

"Ohoho. Still desperate for money, Tohsaka?"

Asia gave her fellow blonde a sad look. "Can we please not fight again?" Her sad look made Rin hesitate in replying and Luvia saw no choice but to back down.

Their group soon arrived at the club and with a wave of her hand Rias opened the door. "Buchou! Guys! Welcome!" Gasper called from the couch in the entrance, a game controller in his hand.

"Welcome." Medusa greeted as well, much more subdued. Unlike Gasper who stood up and began to fidget, the goddess remained sitting down with a book in her hands. "I see Kiba is out again." Despite saying that her eyes never left the book.

"Unfortunately." Rias patted Gasper's head gently. "How are you, Gasper? No headaches because of the sun? Are you comfortable outside your room? Has Medusa been a good company? Do you need some blood?"

The small Bishop shook his head slowly. "No, Buchou. I am fine. Medusa-san is kind too. She even played a racing game with me."

"See! There is nothing wrong in being a little forceful." Xenovia spoke confidently.

"You barred him from his room…" Koneko reminded the bluehead.

"Even I would call that more than 'forceful'." Akeno added but the former Exorcist wasn't bothered.

If anything she was proud of the little devil. "But he has no problems staying out. He isn't even shaking with me around." Something he always did with strangers. "Keep going like this, Gasper, and you will be walking around in no time."

"Eeee! I don't wanna!" The former dhampir retreated back to the couch, placing Medusa between him and Xenovia.

Rias chuckled a little and Shirou shook his head. "Baby steps, Xenovia. Baby steps." He reminded his follower who nodded. 'Not that Gasper can leave the building without Sirzechs' permission. His control of his sacred gear is still too unstable.'

The members of the ORC began to spread around as Akeno moved to the kitchen to make some tea. In the past their get-together would be in Rias' office but now there were so many of them that they needed more space. Sure business was still conducted in the office and the magic circle was still there but the entrance had more space and was comfortable to everyone.

"We should get a pool table." Issei couldn't help but comment as he noticed a lot of empty space close to the stairs.

He was sitting beside Asia who looked confused at his suggestion. "A pool? Inside the house?"

"No, Asia, he means a pool table." Xenovia moved to explain what pool was while Rias replied to Issei's suggestion.

"No can do, Ise. While having some things on the entrance is fine, this place is the first thing that guests see when they arrive at our base. Considering this is a place of business, that would be slightly unprofessional." She noticed how her Pawn looked disappointed but didn't protest. "However, we have plenty of empty rooms…"

"You wanna make a gaming room?" Shirou asked with contemplative expression. "It's not like we spend too much time around here for it." They pretty much worked in the ORC with the devils using it as a hub for their contracts and Shirou having his workshop and forge.

However Rias had a retort ready for him. "Not like you are using the school for studying these days." He scratched his head but his lover kept going. "How many times has it been this week? Rin, did you count?"

"I managed to catch him 'meditating' at least eight times." Rin sounded proud and Luvia looked to the side with some irritation as she only noticed seven.

Then Rias' turned to Xenovia who was still messing with Gasper a little. "And you, Xenovia?"

Instead of replying to her, Xenovia looked at Shirou who shook his head as quickly and discreetly as possible with Rias by his side.. "Eight times seems right." Shirou's face palmed as Rias giggled.

"More than eight then." The pureblood devil deduced but Xenovia kept her face neutral. "So maybe we do need a game room of some kind since you have been working, constantly, over the last few days."

"Can't help it. I am just curious about my Reality Marble." He shrugged. "Not like it is that much work," Rias' look made clear she didn't believe him, "it really isn't. Most of the time I just talk with the pegasus."

"How has he been?" Medusa asked, finally setting her book down. "I honestly am curious how your relationship works since he is living in your soul."

"Is the pegasus a 'he'?" Xenovia asked with some wonder.

"Yep." He replied without hesitation. "It isn't strenuous or weird. Most of the time he just flies around or wants to hang out."

"Or want you to eat certain foods so he can taste them." Rias found the first time Shirou explained that part very amusing. "At least it is only once a day since carrots all the time could get stale."

Her lover felt he should say something in the pegasus defense. "He likes apples too." The legendary mount voiced his agreement from the Reality Marble.

"Does he shit on there?" Issei asked with a laugh and Shirou gave him a look.

"Does Ddraig do it in your soul?" That shut the brown haired Pawn up as Ddraig was a giant dragon and he didn't even want to think about it. Shirou chuckled a little at the face Issei was making. "It is fine. They don't have bodies so they don't need to do that."

[I would like to enjoy food again, thank you very much.] The glow of the Boosted Gear gem announced Ddraig joining the conversation. [Can't wait for my partner to grow a little more for that.]

Issei blinked in surprise before looking at his hand. "Wait a minute. We get to share our senses too? Why isn't it working then?"

[Because you are still too weak.] Ddraig replied bluntly and Issei felt a sting on his pride. [Usually it happens when my partners unlock my Balance Break, our souls get more in sync. Because Emiya's situation is related to his Reality Marble he doesn't have a sacred gear on the way so the pegasus gets more benefits.] The dragon let out a groan of lament. [A lot of benefits. What I wouldn't give to have a sky to fly around or even some swords to admire.]

"Anyhow, Shirou, don't try to change the subject. I know you are using your Reality Marble to train." Rias recognized her lover trying to hide that fact. "Pegasus or not, you should relax a little."

"I am relaxing right now." It was a weak defense and Shirou knew it. "Look, you know why I am like that but I promised that I wouldn't go overboard and you know I will keep my word."

Rias sighed but relaxed. "Sorry. Just a little worried."

"Nothing more normal than that but I still want to understand more of what you plan to do with the pegasus." Medusa commented. "You even removed my Gift from your armor and while your way to use it makes sense, Reality Marble and all, you have barely practiced with- Ah, that was you trying to relax." The little goddess realized. "My bad. Please continue."

"Is it right to keep calling him just a pegasus when we already know he has a personality?" Akeno commented as she returned with the tea. She placed the trail in the table at the center and everyone moved to get their cups. "Seems kinda… impolite to not call him by his name? Is he even hearing our conversation?"

Quickly Shirou checked. "I think he is but doesn't care. He cared when we talked about apples though." Akeno threw him one. "Thanks."

"Oh, oh, can we name him?" Gasper was jumping on his seat at the idea.

"Dibs." Liz called before anyone else could but Shirou shook his head and turned to Medusa.

"Since he is your 'son' I think you should name him." The little goddess gave him a look of irritation. "Your ghlare may be cute but you are still his mother."

"Legends do say the pegasus was born from your blood." Rin couldn't help but say as Medusa turned her look of frustration on the twin tailed magus.

Rias got in on the joke. "Congratulations, however delayed." And also received a look from Medusa. "But seriously, Akeno is right. A name is something important and that shouldn't be brushed off."

"Ho, I may have some that may be used. During my childhood I had plenty of horses and while I named a few, others came with names that represented their beauty and-"

"We get it! You were rich and probably had an army of ponies and pets while growing up." Rin interrupted with a glare, daring Luvia to continue. "Do you think anyone else here wants to talk about how many pets you had?"

Rias conspicuously avoided everyone's eyes as she also had many pets when little. Not horses though but griffons that her family tended in their territory as one of their many businesses.

Them and her brother's Pawn who didn't mind playing with her.

"I agree with senpai." Koneko said as she summoned food from a magic circle for her and Liz. "A mother should give a child their name."

All turned to Medusa who seemed lost in thought. "He may be my 'son' in a sense but I am not his owner." She pointed to Shirou. "You are the one who ventured inside the monster's cave and returned alive. He is your reward." She shook her head. "No, it is better for the owner to give pegasus a name. Just make sure it is something Greek."

"I thought you hated Greece." Shirou pointed out but Medusa shook her head again.

"I have the gods from my homeland but I never had anything against its people, as foolish as they were." She let out a radiant smile as memories began to flood. "I miss the beaches, those were my favorite places, the sun on my skin after a day of rain. To just sit down and watch the waves."

Her nostalgia was radiating as much as the smile and even someone like Gasper, who never went to a beach in his life, could see himself in that picture.

Shirou then went and patted her head. "Sorry we haven't taken you to one yet." It was never a priority, much to his shame. "We will go on a weekend, maybe next month or so." Medusa was surprised. "What? You could just have asked and would have taken a day off."

"A day at the beach? Sounds like an excellent idea." Rias voiced her approval as many nodded at her words. "We are going to have to schedule some things but a day of vacation sounds nice." She looked at Rin. "Does Fuyuki have any beaches?"

"Yeah, a good one." Rin remembered going there once when she was little. "It is not private or anything but-"

"Doesn't matter. If we want privacy then we just raised a couple of boundary fields." Akeno's words were met with approval and she turned to the little goddess. "Just so people don't stare too much."

With a lecherous smile, Issei thought 'For more than one reason.' As he couldn't help but imagine Rias and Akeno in bikinis. He then felt a hard poke on his side. "Ow!"

"Pervert." Koneko called him out and some people liked it.

"I have never been at the beach either. Sounds fun." Xenovia commented and Rias gave her a look that warned the bluehead that she was planning something.

"Then we have to update your closet again~" Dolling up Xenovia was becoming one of Rias' favorite pastimes. Xenovia couldn't help but shiver as Akeno also had a grin on her face.

After she decided to stay in Fuyuki they went on a 'girl's night' out to buy her clothes and while she was happy to not have to spend the money, that was still one of the most harrowings experiences of Xenovia's life because Rias, Akeno and to some extent Medusa had fun choosing clothes and having the former Exorcist try them.

The pureblood devil ended up getting anything she found appealing on Xenovia which gave her quite a closet for every season.

Medusa didn't partake in the teasing as the idea of going to the beach occupied her mind. "Thank you." Shirou nodded, happy that the goddess was happy. "Just do me a favor, don't call him 'Perseus'." The eyes of the goddess grew fierce. "If you do then there will be war."

"I won't, promise." That was enough for Medusa who nodded once again. "We could go this weekend- no, wait, I have my 'duel' with Setsuna on Monday."

"Is she still set on that?" Akeno asked with a frown.

Luvia frowned and folded her arms in frustration. "More like she refuses to speak with any of us." There was some irritation there as well. "She feels spited because nobody called her about the Excaliburs-"

"That is not it." Shirou interrupted the newly reincarnated devil. "It is more complicated than that." Only he would know the exact contents of their 'fight' or why Setsuna challenged him for a rematch of their first meeting, this time with proper equipment. "She asked for a week to prepare and I will give it to her. I just wish that she would at least talk with us."

Obviously Shirou was bothered by their hanyou friend's attitude but he refused to elaborate on the talk they had, claiming it was private. Even Rias failed to pry any information out of the magus but she felt his pain when he saw the look in his eyes. Whatever happened it was clear it bothered him and that was why he really considered the idea for a duel.

But the subject itself seemed to dig out some naste feelings he had about Setsuna's decision and a change was needed.

"About the White Dragon Emperor…" Medusa began for the relief of many. "Perhaps you should consider training more with the Red One."

Protests immediately came. [You think we are going to help that guy get our kill? There is no way in the universe we are doing that! That bastard is ours!]

However Medusa was undetained. "Think how humiliating would be for the White One if he was defeated by a normal human."

['Normal human' my ass. Just a Reality Marble is enough to throw him out of the category.] Ddraig grumbled something else nobody understood but Issei winced. [Don't worry about my Rival. He is our prey!]

"But training with my Master wouldn't help Issei grow faster?" Xenovia pointed out while some people in the room chuckled. "He certainly is helping me… Even if it is painful."

"You just aren't used to it yet." Koneko earned a nod from Xenovia, both out of respect and appreciation.

"Xenovia…" Shirou felt embarrassed even if Rias and Medusa were giggling by his side.

"What is wrong, Master?" He actually flinched when Liz spoke again, even standing up and bowing in respect. "Would you like more tea? Maybe a shoulder massage?"

Shirou gave a flat look to his maid. "You know something? When we go visit the Underworld and Grayfia drags you away, I won't stop her."

"Whatever Master thinks is best." She bowed again before sitting down, giggles going around as Xenovia kept a straight face.

"Goddamnit." Shirou held back a groan as his back relaxed on the couch as he looked to the ceiling. "Medusa, why does training with Ddraig help me against Albion? They are opposites. Literally."

A little disappointed with Shirou's question, Medusa tried to explain. "There is much that can be said about 'opposites' and how they work with each other. The key is watching their interactions." She pointed to Issei as everyone paid attention. "He has Ddraig, the Welsh Dragon, his ability is to Boost, increase and add." Then she pointed up. "His opponent is Albion, the Vanishing Dragon, his ability is to Divide, reduce and take." Joining her hands, she noted that her protector was paying close attention. "They are connected, both by their rivalry as well as their powers as they are truly opposites. However they also have similarities like that both are dragons-"

[I am more of a dragon than him!]

"-and both can affect the world around them in a similar manner even if one is positive and other is negative." She ignored the Red Dragon Emperor's rant as Issei blocked him. "Since their abilities affect the world in similar ways then discovering how to stop one may be the key to defeating the other."

"'Positive and negative', huh?" Shirou rubbed his chin as an idea began to form in his mind. "Ise, we are going to train."

"Weren't you still resting?" He asked in frustration before turning to his King. "Buchou?"

Rias just shrugged with her hands and shoulders. "If it isn't anything too exhaustive, I see no problem."

"You just can't say 'no' when Shirou-kun is like that." Akeno indicated the expression of determination on the redhead magus' face.

Not even bothering to deny, Rias stayed silent while Issei flinched. "Ddraig isn't liking that idea." And if the dragon didn't cooperate then the odds of them making any strides diminish immensely.

"Ddraig-san, could you please help us." Asia directed her attention to Issei's hand as the gem returned. "I know you don't like the idea of losing your rival but please help. I don't want Issei-san or Shirou-san dying because of him."

[Hmm…] Once again Ddraig found Asia's voice soothing for some reason. [You have a dragon as a familiar, right?]

His question surprised the former nun. "Yes, Rassei. Do you want to meet him?"

After another round of humming, Ddraig's gem disappeared but Issei let out a sigh. "He is in." The Pawn didn't like the idea of training with Shirou. 'I don't want to hang out with the guy who has a harem already.' But he understood it was important for his survival.

Before anything else could be said an annoyed Kiba arrived at the club, much to everyone's surprise. "Kiba?" Rias was the first to react, getting up and looking at her Knight. "What is wrong?"

A little frustrated but not angry, the blond looked at his King. "Shirou has some people who want to see him and I didn't trust them to walk around by themselves."

"Me? Who are they?" Quickly Shirou stood up, Akeno, Liz and Xenovia following suit. If Kiba didn't trust them around Kuoh then they already suspected some kind of foul play.

"They said they just want to talk… And are members of the Order of Pendragon." The Knight glanced at Issei and Asia. "Their knights."

Both quickly understood what Kiba was trying to say. "That woman is here?" And Issei looked ready to pick up a fight.

"Is Sir Gawain here as well?" Nobody could tell what Luvia was feeling, her poker face impeccable. Kiba shook his head. "I see." Her shoulders dropped and she lost interest.

"Are they here for a fight?" Akeno asked carefully, her circuits already getting ready.

However Shirou was calm and even relaxed. "I think I know what this is about." He mumbled while holding his hand up. "Are just the knights, right? No army?"

"No."

"Then they aren't here for a fight." He looked around confidently. "You all can relax if you want. I will go settle this."

"I am going with you." Rias announced and by the way that Akeno and Xenovia were still standing that meant they would too.

Only Liz had sat down again, trusting that Shirou would have no troubles as she didn't see any of the members of the Order as a threat.

Knowing that trying to argue around was a waste of time, Shirou was ready to accept the company. "I am going as well." Only for Asia to surprise everyone by standing up.

"Then I'm going too." Issei nodded to Asia and she smiled.

Shirou saw that Koneko and Rin were getting ready to go and decided to intervene. "Fine but not everyone. Honestly I think with Issei and Asia that is more than enough."

The two girls didn't like being told to stand down but Rias nodded her head in agreement. "We won't be far and you guys can feel if anything happens." The Heiress of the Gremory stepped forward with her Knight. "Let's go meet the defeated, shall we?"

They walked out of the club to find two men in a woman no longer dressed in their armor but civilian clothes; a black shirt and pants that didn't hide the taller one build, a cream shirt with jeans for the other man and a blue summer dress that would look lovely on the woman if she didn't have bandages on her head and eye.

"Lady Xenovia?" The youngest of the three, the one known as Sir Gaheris, called for the young woman with surprise and enthusiasm.

However before he could approach the woman known as Sir Gareth grabbed him by the back of his shirt. "Really? Did you really fall in love with the girl that beat you up?"

"It- it was more than that." Gaheris replied with a blush. It was clear that without his helmet it was easy to read when everyone noticed he was embarrassed. "Also it is not love but admiration. Admiration. Admiration of her skills and beauty and-"

"Aham…" Gareth mostly ignored her colleague but her eyes focused on Issei and especially Asia. "Sup kids. Sorry for what happened before and this clown."

"What exactly happened before?" Rias noticed some remorse in Gareth's tone and the way that Issei was protecting Asia made her think there was something they didn't tell her. "Ise… Was there something you forgot to mention?"

"It is forgiven." Asia talked before Issei could get a word in. "She was just doing her job."

Agravain stepped forward, his eyes focused on Shirou who was looking back. "Doesn't mean we aren't guilty of any misdeeds or horrors our actions brought forth, unintentional as it may have been." The two other knights looked down in shame but the black haired knight remained firm and looked imposing even without his armor. "You kept your promise."

Shirou chuckled a little. "It is a habit."

"A good habit and for that we thank you." In cue with Agravain's words all the knights dropped to their knees and bowed, almost making Shirou groan as he feared something similar with Xenovia was happening. "Had you not acted then the consequences for our mistakes would have been catastrophic. You saved our lives, honor and souls."

""Thank you."" Gareth and Gaheris spoke in sync, their heads bowed as Agravain was the only one who looked Shirou in the eyes.

The redhead magus felt some embarrassment at their posture but everyone else relaxed upon seeing there would be no fighting. "You guys don't need to thank me." Shirou said while holding back his nerves. "I stopped Valper because I wanted to do it. Helping you was just a happy coincidence."

"Yet you saved us all the same. As the temporary Commander of the Order Pendragon at least allow me to express my thanks." Agravain bowed his head again but didn't wait for a reply this time. Instead he turned to Rias with regret in his eyes. "We owe you an apology as well, Heiress of Gremory."

"I honestly thought you all would be in prison at this point?" Rias confessed with some amusement.

It was Akeno who offered an explanation. "With all that happened that day it is clear that the officers couldn't catch them all. That would explain why we have some criminals in our backyard." Her hands began to spark. "Should I apprehend them, Buchou?"

"It was more than that." Gareth spoke quickly, trying to avoid a fight. "Fuyuki's criminal elements were… subdued over the last few years. The jails in the police stations are small and couldn't hold all of us."

Gaheris continued, his eyes still on Xenovia. "Not only that but Luviagelita Edeflfelt had many of us imprisoned but her butler released us." Rias' poker face showed nothing but she was miffed about that revelation and made plans to 'chat' with her new Piece. "After my fight with Xenovia and her brave companions, me and my squad were also left to our own devices."

Sensing Rias' eyes, Xenovia stepped forward to explain herself. "Besides Gaheris, all there were old men and women who couldn't fight anymore. We judged they weren't a threat."

"Understandable." Which meant that Xenovia was off the hook but Rias shall have words for Luvia. "Still you all made some terrible actions that almost spiraled in a war and even if the police were busy, most of you should still be in jail."

Agravain felt more explanation was needed. "Most of Fuyuki's population was… unsettled by the light display on Kuoh." Rias' hand met her face. "Even if the news was suppressed by everyone, that didn't stop the police from having to run around even if just to stop the fear from spreading."

It was clear the pureblood devil didn't like the news but she understood enough. "There were too many of you." The knights nodded and Rias fought back a groan. "WIth so much happening, I can believe we let that detail pass."

"Combined with good lawyers and Fuyuki's streamlined justice system, most of us will be released in no time. I know we deserve the punishment but please, understand that this city can't handle us all." Agravain explained and Rias just nodded. "However a few things need to be said, starting with Sir Gawain… No, former Sir Gawain, last act as the leader of our Order."

The addition of the word 'former' made everyone pay more attention to the man. "What? You guys expelled him?" Issei tried to guess and it was a reasonable deduction.

Gawain's decisions were the ones which took the Order to Kokabiel. Without them the Cadre wouldn't have time to execute his plan without someone noticing something. Had he tried to attack directly that would have given the chance to either Rias or Sona to call their siblings the moment his presence was felt.

Or Xenovia and Irina would have fought him long enough for someone else from the moonlit world to notice. Either way, his plans would have failed faster without the Order of Pendragon, not even counting Yoruichi's presence which would stop anyone from dying.

So everyone was surprised with what Agravain said next. "No, we didn't. He renounced his position and admitted fault for everything that happened that day under the eyes of the law."

"He just… confessed everything?" Rias asked slowly and the knights nodded. "I see. That is why you just needed good lawyers."

"I don't understand, Buchou." Asia commented and Issei nodded to show he also was confused.

Akeno looked pensive while she explained. "If he claimed he was responsible for all the soldiers who popped up in the city, which he really was, everyone else can claim to have been manipulated or tricked into walking around town armed." She looked at the knights, noticing their expressions of depression. "That was it, wasn't it?"

"Yes." Gareth admitted with shame in her tone. "He ordered our men to deny everything while claiming he tricked everyone with the idea of a game in mind."

"Not only our own mistakes but he took responsibility for everything else, including the dead." Agravain spoke next. "I am surprised you didn't receive the news."

Rias wasn't since Sona was the one taking care of the Fuyuki side of things. "I will check later but even if he accepted responsibility by human laws, that doesn't forgive the rest of you from your mistakes."

"That is right. Those are our sins to bear." Gaheris spoke solemnly, his eyes still on Xenovia. "The fact is that all of us agreed and went on with Kokabiel's plan; we stole the swords, escorted Valper, risked the population of Fuyuki, distracted you and hurt innocents." He bowed his head until it hit the ground. "We are here to officially and formally apologize for our misdeeds."

"The Order of Pendragon failed." Agravain and Gareth bowed until their heads hit the ground as well. "Our shame is eternal both for our sins and the misery we almost brought forward in our king's name. There are no words, just no words to apologize enough for any of that." The tall man looked at Rias. "If you desire our lives, we are glad to offer it. Anything to clean the stain in King Arthur's honor."

At such a declaration, Rias found herself stunned. Few times in her life she saw such loyalty in anyone, ready to die for their liege. Things were worse in her opinion because they never met their king and yet here the three were, not running away from the crime scene but offering their heads on a platter.

She sighed as Shirou was giving her a look of expectation, waiting for her judgment. He wasn't going to offer any input and respect her decision but clearly wanted to see what she would do.

And he wasn't alone on this as even Akeno commented nothing and waited to see Rias' choice. It was one of the few times she wanted a joke or some teasing from her best friend but the Queen saw how serious the situation was and how willing the people on the ground were to die for their king.

It left a bad taste on Rias' mouth. "If you were allowed to go away… what would you do?"

The three knights looked at each other, surprised by the question. It was obvious they didn't plan for it but Agravain tried to answer it. "Now that Caliburn is reformed, the goal of the Order is to wait for the king's return." He shook his head. "However, that is no longer viable. This experience proved how weak we became and how out of touch we are with our king's desires." He turned to Shirou. "With the goal of fixing the path for our Order, we would like to recruit the magician who repaired Caliburn."

"Sorry but I don't intend to join your Order." Shirou's reply didn't surprise anyone, not even the knights.

"We aren't asking for you to become one of us but instead to help us in a more consulting fashion." Agravain offered it as an olive branch and Shirou became pensive. "You have a life here, asking of you to leave it, after all you did for us, would just tarnish our honor more. No, what we need is not more knights like us but a 'Court Magician' if you prefer."

"A Court Magician?" The title seemed to interest Xenovia. "Like Merlin?"

Gaheris nodded eagerly at the girl's question. "Exactly right, lady Xenovia. We realized that we lost too many of our traditions and grew weak because of that. The first correction we should do was then to start to recruit magicians to help us grow again." He was grinning as Xenovia nodded in approval, seeing their logic. "Not only that but rumor has it that he saw King Arthur's story in her blade and even spoke about teaching the Camelot fighting style."

And once again Shirou felt the bite that he did that day where Xenovia swore herself to him and he promised to train her. Sure he didn't regret it since he was trying to stop her from living a life of solitude but he completely forgot the fact that dozens of people witnessed him talking to her.

Obviously people talked, nobody swore to secrecy because there was no point. He fixed Caliburn and that would be known to anyone once the Church asked but maybe he should have been more careful when trying to cheer Xenovia up.

Except he wouldn't, there was no way he wouldn't try everything to keep the bright girl from making a mistake which would doom her for eternity.

"So you guys want training." Akeno giggled as that brought back some happy memories. "Then I can say for certain that Shirou-kun is the best teacher I ever had."

"Aaaaand I am kinda busy training this one." Shirou embraced Xenovia with one arm, practically using her as a shield. "Besides, I am only passable as a teacher. Not that grand or anything like that."

Agravain understood his hesitation, even if he misinterpreted it for the wish to not leave his hometown. "Going with us and training everyone would be too much but a guide would help." That got Shirou's attention again. "If you give us the instructions that will be more than enough, even if our lives were forfeited. Once such blessings are delivered to the other members, our deaths wouldn't be in vain."

The redheads didn't like that statement at all but Issei spoke first. "I don't think that training works like that. Usually I have to take a beating before learning anything."

"That is normal for most people." Xenovia spoke in full agreement with Issei.

Even the knights agreed in some way however, "If we have a place to start, surely our men will figure something out." Agravain spoke with confidence, sure that even if he wasn't there his people would be fine. "Maybe it will be slower without a teacher but they will succeed. I would bet my life on it."

Eyes turned to Rias again who sighed. "I guess we don't need to kill any of you." All the knights stared at her, shocked. "Good grief, is my reputation that terrifying? Guess I am doing a great job." She bragged a little with a smile. "However there are some conditions."

"Of course, we were already planning to offer plenty of concessions." Agravain revealed with a smile as all three were relieved they weren't going to die. "Besides asking Emiya Shirou to be our consultant we are willing to give him full authority on any important decision and movements of the Order. In this case he won't need to be up to par with our day to day activities but will be informed if similar operations like this one happen again and will have the power of vetoing it."

Rias was pleased by that condition. "If that is the case then you can't step over the line again, at least not our line." She turned to Shirou with a pleasant hum that told him he was taking the job.

Not that he minded. "Okay, so far so good. Anything else I should know?"

Agravain nodded again. "We also are willing to give up any rights over the Green Knight Mantle, the original Sir Gawain prized Noble Phantasm, to the Gremory clan to do with whatever you see fit."

"We already confiscated that but I am pleased you won't make a fuss about it." It was the first thing Rias got Koneko to do after Yoruichi departed, a useful distraction for the younger devil and an important job that needed to be done. "However, Shiro said that its use is extremely conditional."

"It is all about the name, the user's name." Shirou replied and Agravain nodded again.

"Correct. That is why the leader of our Order was always 'Gawain'. The Green Knight Mantle can only be used by 'Sir Gawain of the Round Table' and inheriting the name was the only way to keep the Noble Phantasm usable." It was one of the reasons why the names of the knights were important for the Order.

Disguising that secret from their Noble Phantasm and helping them organize around their leaders' names gave the Order of Pendragon a personality that lasted for centuries. Pattern recognition also helped to settle the idea that they were a real organization when they separated from the Church.

But that secret was irrelevant to Rias. "So we can't even use it? Bummer." She pouted playfully and Shirou chuckled.

"We may not be able to use it directly but the Green Knight made that sash and it was special even before it became a Noble Phantasm. Maybe I can do something with it, given time."

"That is fine, which brings us to another subject; the choosing of the next Commander." Gareth spoke with some irritation, glaring at Agravain. "Technically speaking, we shouldn't even be having this conversation until the next leader is chosen."

Yet they were doing it anyway because of Agravain. "We expected to die here, in case you forgot. Our organization also committed too many crimes to just leave without giving proper compensation." His firm tone left no room for argument even if his position is temporary. "Regardless, there is supposed to be an election once all the members of our Order are reunited again and that will take time."

"Isn't an election a bit contradictory to your organization which follows a king?" Akeno commented off handedly.

However none of the knights batted an eye. "His majesty's position is absolute." Gaheris spoke eagerly.

"But until she returns we have to make due in some way." Gareth said next, with the same emotion.

"You all still have faith King Arthur- Artoria Pendragon will return?" They all nodded and Xenovia was impressed by their loyalty.

"The sword was restored, as it should be." Agravain bowed in thanks to Shirou again. "Now we just have to wait and make sure that we survive until our king raises again. We must recover and grow stronger." He raised his head proudly. "That is why we need you to show us the path to become knights worthy of King Arthur."

Scratching the back of his head, Shirou debated revealing Caliburn's conditions for ownership before baking down. He didn't know Artoria personally but he had the impression she wouldn't want any more people to fight for her sword.

However there was something he could do for her legacy. "You do realize that you need more than power to earn Artoria's respect, right?"

"That is why we are entrusting our lives to your guidance." That was the only decision Gareth didn't fight on. She fully agreed with the suggestion that they needed a consultant and he was their best candidate. "While we believe most of our operations don't need to change, we must avoid falling into another trap like the one Kokabiel drove us in." The other knights nodded at her words.

The Heiress of Gremory was amused by their eagerness and complete surrender, ready to accept their offer. "Before anything else, would one of you mind explaining what happened between you and my dear Asia?" Her sweet tone hid a hint of danger.

Things were made worse by the fact that Rias noticed how nervous Asia looked and how protective Issei was acting with her. Even Kiba, who wasn't in the right mental state, was positioned close to the former nun in a defensive manner, his eyes never leaving the woman knight.

Before her companions could speak for her, Gareth shot to her feet. "I stabbed her-"

Dread and murder filled the area as a dark aura covered Rias and her eyes promised the most painful experience possible. Shirou knew it wasn't an idle threat either and quickly gestured with his hands for Gareth to say something.

She didn't need her sacred gear to know that if she said the wrong thing Rias would erase her. "I missed on purpose!" Suddenly the area felt brighter even if the devil energy around still roared. "She was the healer, taking her out-" Shirou's gestures became more intense and Rias' aura grew stronger. "I didn't want to kill her so I missed every vital and made sure to not hit anywhere important! I swear!"

Rias studied Gareth's face for a minute, the other knights unable to even look at her as the fear of the demise they had escaped had settled in. They had come to Kuoh ready to die and receiving the chance of survival gave them new hope. The pureblood devil's fury killed that hope but the effect was the birth of despair.

"Buchou, please stop." Asia stepped forward and the knights were glad Rias' attention wasn't on them anymore. "Gareth-san… She didn't want to fight either. She tried to have us leave because of Kiba-san and even made sure that I wasn't that hurt." The former nun smiled sincerely. "She is a good person, even if she committed a mistake."

That was enough for Rias to stop and think, Shirou taking a chance to try and calm her down a little more as he held her hand.

He moved without fear and by instinct Rias retracted her power just in time for her lover to not get hurt. "They came to surrender, Rias. Killing them now helps no one, especially since they know they made a mistake."

"Shirou-san is right." Asia moved closer to her King and held her hand as well.

"Once you leave…" Rias started after a pause. "Once you leave Kuoh I want you, your Order and anyone associated with you that isn't behind bars, gone and never to return. We can set a place to deliver Shiro's instructions on a later date but if you dare to try to stay, for whatever reason, I am going to destroy you all. Atom by atom." They would find no favor with the Heiress of Gremory. "Was I clear?"

"""Yes, ma'am!""" The three applied in a single voice.

"Good." Rias let go of Asia's hand, who stepped back with a smile, but held on Shirou's. "Now, is there something else?" The knights looked at each other before turning to Shirou.

Agravain swallowed his fear and stood up. To his credit the man wasn't shaking much. "If Emiya Shirou accepts our offer then we need to work on the details."

Shirou and Rias traded another look and she nodded. "Fine but only to make some instructions, like Rias said. Most of Camelot's fighting style is personal anyway."

"'Personal'?" Gaheris was obviously asking for clarification.

"Most of it is 'the focus on the self so the weapon can be a weapon'." Shirou rolled his eyes at the phrase. "Sorry, was quoting Artoria and some context may be needed; Artoria, or King Arthur, was raised by Sir Ector and Merlin, it was from them she developed her philosophy." Stepping forward, he Traced a Muramasa. "This is a Noble Phantasm, not as powerful as Caliburn or Excaliburn but in Artoria's hands it could be as lethal as both. Why? Because the power of the sword only mattered if the opponent mattered. The important thing is the power of the knight."

When he pointed to Xenovia, she didn't hesitate to step forward and continue. "My sword is a Holy Sword like Excalibur, Durandal." The knights were surprised. "Using its aura I could keep up even with the strongest devils. That is a characteristic that all Holy Swords have… It's the wrong approach for a fight." She saw their surprise grow and didn't blame them, she was shocked the first time Shirou explained it. "Some of the sword's power can be used to compensate for the weakness of the owner; I can make myself more resistant, stronger, faster, just by channeling Holy Energy in my body."

Those were the basic benefits of a Holy Sword as many knew and exactly how Xenovia was trained to use Durandal and any other Holy Sword. It was mostly the Church's belief that it was their power that their agents could fight on pair with the moonlit world inhabitants. They were, following their teachings, the manifestations of the Will of God.

And that was completely wrong with what Shirou knew. "That is actually a fact that can be applied to any weapon, even Noble Phantasms. However the Church had the belief that the human body needed to depend only on the swords to keep up with devils and angels." He paused, letting the notion sink in. Already the knights were understanding where he was getting at. "However that train of thought is flawed because any of the power the sword is investing in protecting their owner isn't being used on defeating the enemy."

Gaheris raised his hand, doubt in his eyes. "But what is the point if the enemy can just kill us with a thought." He looked at Rias as a great exemple who was about to kill them all with barely any effort.

"Which is true, even if you surpass the human limits, most of the training will be about that anyway since that is the most basic step of Camelot's fighting style… And the secret the Church took from you." Shirou knew their story and the knights nodded. He didn't feel bad giving them those secrets anyway. It belonged to them in the first place.

More precisely they were Arturia's gift for her people but she wasn't the only one to discover those secrets, just their version. That was what Shirou was going to do for the Order even if they didn't make him a consultant of some kind, return to them her legacy with the condition they used it wisely.

The job was just a way for him to keep an eye on them. "The stronger the user is, the less the swords need to invest on their defense, that is the key to the style and the reason why the Round Table was so strong." The magus noticed how the knights' spines were straighter. "Every member of the Round Table had broken the human limits but they also learned from Artoria a single fact; growing strong didn't stop there."

"It doesn't?" The notion confused Agravain and his companions.

Xenovia had the same doubts once but now she spoke without doubts. "No, it can't. We're the weakest sentient species of the world but we can find new ways to always grow. New limits to break." She smiled proudly, standing beside her Master. "You can learn new things to help you grow, to make you stronger. Things that the Church rejects, of course."

"Magic." Gareth realized. "You are learning magic."

Close but incorrect so Xenovia shook her head. "Unfortunately my talent for magic is zero. Even using magic circles ends with them blowing up with my face." She still sounded proud. "But there are other things to learn like Senjutsu."

"To be more exact, Xenovia is learning Ki control, first with Touki." Shirou placed his other hand on the bluehead's shoulder as she nodded wisely. "Even her use of mana without Durandal is subpar but her fighting spirit and determination is proper for someone trying to learn Touki. From there she can practice Senjutsu and other forms of Ki. If she has the patience for it." He chuckled as they spoke about Senjutsu but not Youjutsu. "That gives her space to use Durandal however she pleases in combat."

"From what Master explained, the reason why Cardinal Strada was so strong was his body and determination. 'He was the type of man who was born to fight and had the will to do it, Durandal barely had to work on his defense.'" Xenovia remembered the conversation well and repeated it word for word. "I wasn't lucky like the Cardinal who had a perfect body for combat but Touki can help me compensate. To one day surpass him." Which she was still determined to do.

"Let me see if I understood correctly;" Agravain asked for permission which Shirou granted. "After we manage to break the human limits, we must seek other methods of growth?" Shirou and Xenovia nodded. "Are there any exceptions?"

Bakuya came to Shirou's hands immediately. "Some swords give benefits to the owner passively or have only indirect powers that have no need of prompt to be used." The white twin disappeared. "Those swords are few and far in between but you have to remember; that ability is passive. In a way it is the same thing for dragon slayer weapons." Wyvern Muramasa took Bakuya's place. "This katana doesn't give me anything extra, it isn't strong enough for that. But if I face a wyvern or even a dragon its edge will be stronger than most of my weapons, even some of the stronger ones."

Agravain studied the weapon, remembering the one Shirou used against him. "Out of curiosity, what was King Arthur's speciality besides sword play? I imagine with Merlin as a teacher she was quite skilled with magic."

"Not really." Shirou's amusement was clear for all to see. "Personally, from what I can get from Caliburn's history, she had more mana reserves than… anyone that I ever met." He threw a grin at Rias who pouted. She didn't like losing. "But being a magician takes a lot of study and she preferred the path of the sword. Because of that she didn't learn any spells from what I can get. On the other hand she got so efficient with using mana and her sword that she could use Caliburn to shoot beams of light easily and decimate armies if they were unprepared. Remember that Caliburn is supposed to be mostly defensive."

"Makes me wonder how powerful she would really be with Excalibur." Gareth commented with awe and a desire to grow stronger.

She wasn't alone, that fire was lit in all the knights' hearts as Agravain wanted to know more. "I see… Does the same apply to sacred gears?" The question surprised the members of the ORC. "What is wrong?"

"You don't know something so… basic?" Akeno had some wonder in her voice. "Truly… that is sad."

"Real sad." Issei was looking at the knights with pity, his hatred forgotten. "Even I know that a sacred gear grows with the owner." The knights all turned to him. "What? That is it. Same thing really; the stronger you are the better your sacred gear is."

"Kinda." Rias recognized with a giggle. "Unlike a Noble Phantasm, a sacred gear also changes with the owner."

Xenovia fixed her eyes on Gaheris. "Shouldn't you know that since you can at least control yours a little?"

"We just use strategy to cover their flaws." The bronze knight commented. "I mean… isn't that something obvious?"

"It makes no difference." Shirou concluded. "You guys were using sacred gears correctly; creatively finding ways to use its power. Now you have to focus on yourselves and grow on your own." All three knights nodded at him with respect.

"So henceforth you shall be our Court Magician?" Agravain asked just to make sure.

Releasing Muramasa's existence, Shirou crossed his arms with a chuckle. "Hard to be a Court Magician without a 'court' but sure, I already said that I will take the job."

"Then it is settled!" Agravain announced outloud, startling the students. "From this day onwards you shall be known as Merlin, Mage of Swords!"

"Saywhatnow?" Shirou was sure he misheard while Rias barely held back a giggle. Her shaking shoulders weren't helping him.

Agravain didn't notice the Heiress reaction or Shirou's bafflement. "You are a member of the Order of Pendragon now and tradition states that you shall receive the name of the person who held the post before you." That was the cue Akeno needed to let out a small laugh but the knight's focus was on the stunned redhead. "We never had a consultant before and while King Arthur had other consultants, Merlin was by far the most famous and skilled." Rias was holding her stomach at this point. "So it is only logical that in your function as the consultant or Court Magician that you use his name to take his position."

Gareth stepped forwards, bowing slightly to show respect. "Therefore you are now Merlin, second only to the King herself. Welcome to the Order of Pendragon."

"Welcome." Gaheris also bowed in respect while Shirou still looked stunned.

Finally Shirou's mind managed to catch up with the events. "Merlin? Merlin? Are you kidding me?! Merlin was a known leacher, pervert and insane! He may have been Artoria's teacher but the number of messes that she threw her in can be compared to the number of helpful advice he gave!" His face began to grow as red as his hair but none of the knights looked affected by his outburst.

"Is tradition." Agravain felt it explained everything.

"Then pick another name!" He could hear the usually composed Akeno laughing out loud, Issei finally understanding what was happening joining her. Asia, the kind girl she was, seemed to pity him while his own lover, Rias, barely controlled herself. "There must be other names I could take!"

"I don't believe there are, Master." Straight faced, Xenovia spoke with reverence. "Merlin may have been… problematic is a fair word I suppose, but he also saved Camelot more times that I can remember." The knights, especially Gaheris, nodded at her words in approval. "There is also the fact you stopped me from pulling the sword," wide eyes turned to her and judged she wasn't lying, "giving me the warnings I needed to make the right decision. Add to the fact you reforged Caliburn and your accomplishments are truly on par with Merlin's."

All was said without teasing, provocation or the slightest bit of confusion. Xenovia was direct and sincere, in her eyes Shirou was all the bit of magician Merlin was. Someone worthy of the title of 'Mage'. He disagreed but that was what she believed wholeheartedly.

It was embarrassing for Emiya who felt like if he tried to disagree or fight against the titles he was giving any longer he would make that honest woman a liar. The deep respect she had for him was enough that his anger and frustration turned to smoke.

"But Merlin…" He still said weakly, still fighting the name.

Only for Rias to bring his head into her chest for a hug. "Ah~ don't be like that. It isn't so bad. At least it is just with the Order. Nobody else needs to know, right?" She caressed his head as Shirou lamented his fortune.

"Indeed. It would be best if his identity was concealed to avoid attracting unwanted attention." Agravain recognized that their endorsement may bring problems in the future.

Akeno, never losing a chance to get more ammo, stepped forward. "What I don't get is the Mage of Swords part. Is that because of Caliburn?" Her smile was sweet as Rias consoled Shirou more.

"Not only that but his deeds are similar to one of the legends about Merlin." Gareth was happy to explain. "It was said that wherever Merlin went, flowers would bloom under his feet. Emiya Shirou managed to create a forest of swords by sheer force of will to save his city. He truly deserves the name and title of 'Mage'."

Issei noticed Shirou flinched at hearing that. "Yeah, totally." He said with his best smile, turning to Asia. "He saved our asses back there and it's only fair he gets a cool name out of it. Don't you agree, Asia?"

"Uhum." The former nun nodded eagerly, not noticing that Shirou was definitivally against the name.

"Yeah, let's call him 'Merlin' from now on." Yes, Issei was jealous that Shirou got to rest his head on Rias' breasts.

Fortunately for Shirou, Xenovia came to his rescue before Issei's idea took hold. "The goal of an alias is to disguise the true identity of the person. Using the name outside of the right instances would prove it ineffective."

"We can still call him Mage of Swords. It is a title warranted to him." Shirou had no clue if Akeno was trying to tease him more or cheer him up.

"But Merlin…" He only moaned more and lamented as Rias caressed his head.

"There, there." The Heiress of the Gremory gave her Pieces a look. Fun was all and good but Shirou was already distressed enough. "Only we will know about it and only the Order will call your 'Merlin', nobody else. Right?" Her eyes held a threat. 'These knights better speak something to help or else…' Again her concern for Shirou overwrote everything else.

Even the concept of mercy.

So it was much to everybody's relief that Agravain nodded eagerly. "Of course! We would never endanger someone so honorable and who did so much for the king. Just the idea of endangering him makes me sick." Shirou actually stopped from shaking as relief began to spread in his chest. "Indeed, lady Gremory, if anything were to happen we would hope he called us for help."

Already recovered from the mental attack and fearing something worse coming, like Xenovia's situation, Shirou quickly turned. "That won't be-"

"It would be an honor to have King Arthur's followers as reinforcements." Rias saw a chance to secure more allies to defend Shirou and her territory and took it. Her lover still had a Reality Marble and until he grew stronger they may need help even if she didn't respect the Order of Pendragon at the moment. "But only after you guys grow a bit."

"Of course." None of the knights protested at her observation.

Shirou wanted to protest but Rias' eyes told him to let her handle this. He didn't like it but since it was clear the Order was leaving Fuyuki anyway he was willing to let the matter slide.

Just so he didn't have to remember he was 'Merlin'.

"Besides, the name Mage of Swords doesn't need to be associated with the 'Merlin' part." Rias saw how Shirou's eyes began to shine and finding it cute she kept going. "We can just make sure it is spread around without any association with the Order of Pendragon and it will be safe to use even in the place of 'Merlin'." Once again she directed her eyes to Agravain.

And once again he didn't hesitate to nod. "Of course. It would be another layer of security. As far as anyone is concerned Merlin is only the Mage of Flowers."

Patting his back, Rias noticed how relaxed Shirou was. "See?"

"Okay, I can live with that. Better be the Mage of Swords than be compared to the original Merlin." He knew it would happen anyway but he was trying to cope.

Regarding that, it meant Rias had more work to do. At least this one didn't need paperwork. "Then it is settled." She looked at the knights with some skepticism. "Since we are going to have to… establish some methods of communication, I invite you for tea." The members of the Order were surprised.

Akeno, seeing the fun was over, turned back to the club. "I will separate more cups for everyone."

"Let me help." Shirou voluntaried quickly, anything to stay away from the Order and Xenovia was right behind.

The knights were still surprised by the invite but another surprise came when Asia approached Gareth. "Would you like me to heal you?" She offered, already manifesting Twilight Healing.

The blue knight was shocked and in disbelief. "Even after I… I did that?" She pointed to the place where her spear had pierced Asia.

Gareth wouldn't blame the former nun if she held a grudge of some kind or another as the wound had been huge at that moment and the fright that Asia and her friends had felt was still recent even if she was healed.

Instead of scorn, or even fear, Asia shook her head and smiled with kindness. "It is fine. We are all here now and it would be wrong to let you suffer."

"We should do this inside." Issei spoke quickly, still not trusting anybody from the Order of Pendragon.

"I…" Gareth hesitated but Asia's kindness broke through her defenses. "Sure, if you don't have any problems with it… And I am sorry that we had to fight… That I stabbed you."

For a moment it seemed the former nun would waver. "Just…" Then she smiled again. "The Lord teaches us to forgive those who seek forgiveness." Asia spoke with more confidence. "So just don't do this kind of thing anymore and I will consider everything forgiven."

'This girl…' Gareth's smile was small, almost invisible but her visible eye showed respect. "Of course. I swear on my honor as a knight that mistakes like that will never be repeated. Neither with you or with any innocent that is in the middle of the crossfire."

Asia nodded and both women began to walk inside the building, Gaheris right behind while Issei followed closely to keep an eye on them.

Everything was starting to settle down and Rias started to make plans. 'Who knows? Maybe one day the Order of Pendragon can be useful for something.' At least she was willing to invest in them if only to avoid another world ending misunderstanding. 'They are good people, just misguided. Give them knowledge and they may do the right-'

"Buchou." Kiba's voice stopped Rias from stepping back inside and Agravain looked at the blond who had been silent until now. "Since there won't be a fight… I will be going."

Concern colored Rias' face. "Wait, Kiba." The Knight stopped and looked back to his King. Her worry was clear. "Don't you want to stay for today? You don't need to work if you don't want to but… just to chat. I am sure the members of the Order have much they want to discuss under a banner of peace."

"Indeed we do." Agravain spoke both to help Rias and because it was the truth. He may not know what was wrong with Kiba but by the concern Rias showed before he would help if able. "There are many things that we should talk about if possible." He saw Kiba flinch and took a step back. "Nothing bad, I assure you, and if you want we can even do this more privately but-"

"Are you ordering me to stay?" Kiba cut off Agravain and forced Rias to make a decision. "I will if you order me to."

'But you don't want to stay and that could be worse.' She sighed. "No, Kiba, I won't order you to stay."

With her response the blond turned to look ahead again. "Then I will be going. I am already late."

Agravain turned to look at Rias with a look of worry but she shook her head. "Same protocols in place. I wish you stopped going there."

Without saying anything else or even turning back, Kiba began to walk away at a fast pace before running. As a Knight his speed had him out of the woods in seconds and Rias let out another sigh.

She looked at the knight who was looking at her in the direction her Piece departed from. "Let's go inside. I will be giving you some contacts so we can establish a network but I hope the Order of Pendragon already has something because I would prefer keeping this away from my family." Especially other devils. 'Kokabiel knew about my Rating Game even if just the bare minimum. My brother also said some devils were coluting with a suspicious organization.'

"Lady Gremory." Agravain once again sounded respectful but this time he also was more hesitant. "If you wouldn't be offended could you please tell me what is wrong with Yuuto Kiba?"

She looked at him closely before sighing again. "No offense but I don't know if you can help with this."

The black knight shook his head slowly. "Depends on what the problem is and trust me when I say this; his eyes reminded me of a friend a long time ago. The eyes of a lost man." Rias was surprised and her expression showed, her poker face falling. "If it is what I think it is then maybe I can help."

Thinking for a few moments, Rias debated the merits of telling Agravain what was bothering her Knight. She didn't know the man but Shirou spoke well of his character and he was sensible enough to recognize the need to explore other alternatives and inform the general location of his Commander.

Essentially this was a man who betrayed his comrades but did it because he believed in doing the right thing. An act that inspired both trust and suspicion.

"First; we talk about your Order contacts and what you will need so I can send you Shiro's instructions. After that I may tell you about Kiba." Rias decided to talk to the man and judge him herself.

Something the knight didn't realize but respected her choice anyway. "Very well. While not having a network as big or powerful as a Faction and espionage is not our way but we can be discreet."

"We shall see." Because if Rias found their network and precautions lacking she will have to revamp the whole thing to make it function.

Which meant more paperwork but Shirou wanted to make them into something good or he would have rejected them outright and Rias was willing to work more for him.

'The things I do for love.'

…..

Kiba walked through the streets of Fuyuki at a fast but still relatively normal pace. Dusk was still in full swing and the orange of the sky slowly gave place to the stars.

None of that mattered to Kiba as he made his way around the busy streets of the week day where people also moved constantly to either eat, home or work. It was the beginning of the and many couldn't say they had a break from work. Many couldn't but he could.

His steps were precise where before they had been shaky and he almost stumbled the first time he took the route for his destination. After a few days of walking the same way nobody would tell the young man was doing something that made him uncomfortable.

And it made him uncomfortable for reasons that Kiba himself didn't know, it was just something he felt needed to be done despite his King and friends' protests. He couldn't stop because stopping meant something that he didn't want, even if he didn't know what that 'something' was.

Instead of facing those fears or trying to figure out what he was going to lose, Kiba focused on the familiar feeling of rage.

Even as the flames were mostly put out the embers remained and they pushed his feet forward one at a time. Kiba no longer needed to check the instructions to know where he was going, the familiar path, stores and buildings took him to the center of Fuyuki.

All around him the growing metropolis was like a nest of ants as people rushed in constant movement to their jobs or business. Night had settled when he had to stop to wait for the signal to turn green for pedestrians. Many cars passed, far more than should be for a small city but soon Fuyuki won't be called small.

If anything it already could not as the city brimmed with the night life combined with the many entertainment centers already open. The colorful lights of pachinkos, neon signs, bright light bulbs that demanded attention, maids from cafes trying to attract clients, all of it were examples of the night life in Fuyuki.

None of that could distract Kiba; the girls calling for him weren't there, the people in the way had no face as he dodged them, classmates didn't exist, there was nothing but the road and his goal.

A goal that he grew intimate over the last few days as he already had been in that building more than once. Its history was growing as the hotel building owned by the Gremory was where Rutal once made his deen.

Where Kokabiel slaughtered two Peerages of devils in cold blood for his plan.

As the automatic doors opened for him, Kiba wasn't greeted, the employees didn't know why he was there but they had orders. All of them received a picture and instructions to leave him be.

Kiba had to wait a few moments for an elevator and there were some people who looked at the highschooler strangely but let it slide. As far as they were aware Kiba was just another guest or was visiting someone, nothing much. However some noticed the somber look he had on his eyes and just chose to not comment.

After he was inside one of the elevators Kiba discreetly pressed an invisible button that would take him to the floor he wished to reach. It would also activate magic circles discreetly outside the elevator to stop anyone else from getting in until he got out. Already the blonde felt his mana slip away but made sure to not show it on his face.

Hiding the feeling of those boundary fields taking his mana wasn't easy but Kiba was determined to not be interrupted. A well meaning person could make him lose minutes since his hypnosis was bad so he made sure that his face was like stone; cold, calm and giving nothing away.

When he was finally alone in the elevator it moved up to the last floor. Sometimes Kiba regretted that he couldn't just fly to the top but this was the only entrance he was authorized to use.

After Kokabiel many measures of security were added to make sure it would never happen again by the siblings of the Heiresses themselves. And if they felt it wasn't safe then they would get more involved.

What Kiba didn't know, mostly because Rias also did not, was that Sirzechs wanted constant communication between the Underworld and the base in Fuyuki, something which would cost a huge quantity of mana just to start.

The man had this whole idea of powering it himself from the Underworld but his Queen, Grayfia, shot the thing down before it even began because it would be a terrible idea if the leader of devils wasn't focused on leading.

So a system was put in place, built on the previous one; 24 hours shift once a week for 14 Peerages from Gremory and Sitri. Two teams per day before they returned to the Underworld for other work or for breaks depending on the day.

The reason why there were so many teams was because one person of each, most likely a Bishop, would be in constant work to set up communications with the Underworld. The process was so exhaustive that they would be the only people getting exclusive three days of rest after that job before going back to work next week.

Nobody complained because their cause was noble, their leaders just and the salary more than good.

Regardless of what other new precautions were put in place, Kiba didn't know most of them, he didn't care. He also wasn't surprised when the door opened and he didn't recognize the devil looking back at him, a hulking man with broad shoulders and a loose orange hair going until his lower back.

"Kiba Yuuto?" The devil asked, not bothering with Japanese convention. Not that the Knight did either as he just nodded. "You are late."

"I had obligations to fulfill with my King." The tall man then nodded as he wouldn't challenge Rias' authority on anything.

Still the giant raised a hand and formed a magic circle above Kiba's head. "Please stay still." The blond did as requested, mana passing through his skin. "Hmm… What is today's password?"

"There isn't a password system in place." The reply came swiftly but the magic circle still studied his body.

Every King following the Gremory always asked one thing or another while studying him to make sure he wasn't an impostor. "And the reason for your visit?"

Both already knew what he was going to answer. "To check the prisoner."

The older devil made a face of discontent but nodded. "All seems in order. Since you are truly Kiba Yuuto, Knight of Lady Rias Gremory, you have full authority to do as you please with the prisoner, per our instructions. Please, follow me."

"I know the way." Kiba spoke swiftly, knowing it was in vain.

"Per our future Head's instructions we must accompany you to the cell while also repeating the points she lined up for us." He picked a paper from his pocket, a piece of paper the first devil who began the new guard received from Sirzechs. Clearing his throat the man began. "'Kiba, you are free to do whatever you please with the prisoner. You may torture him, kill him, insult him, break his bones, rip off his eyes or anything you desire. Per the law and due to his many crimes, his life is yours to do as you see fit'."

Despite knowing everything it was being said, Kiba didn't tune it out like he did everything else on the way to the hotel. He did however ignore all other devils that tried to talk to him or were just working as they made their way to the center of the floor.

None of that mattered to the giant King of Gremory who kept going. "'His accusations were already judged twice, both by your King and another court. Any allies this man may possibly have had didn't manifest and nobody spoke on his behalf'." The man had to stop for a second as one of his Pieces offered him a report. "Yes, thank you. Tell Faladu that she can consider her job done for the day."

When he began walking again, Kiba was right behind as he read all the accusations and crimes the prisoner had committed and every single sentence individually. If there was one thing devils could be through with, it was when it came to documents and trials. Sirzechs made sure the man had no recourse to escape.

However it all ended in the same way. "'... for those matters all the other sentences are suspended until you, Yuuto Kiba, decides to either take the man's life or relinquishes it'." He stopped and turned. "Do you understand these terms?"

"I do."

The giant nodded again and continued his way, flipping his piece of paper around. "'For that Lord Sirzechs Lucifer also informs that upon his death, all gods and pantheons had agreed to not call the man's soul, his crimes too many. The Church's first inquiry on the subject has already traced the man's fate; Hades, the prison to all criminals thanks to the Accords of 158 DC.'"

While explaining how one person could go to one after life or another despite their faith was frowned upon, everyone agreed from the get go that some criminals deserve punishment after death and only one god took reins of that, volunteering immediately.

History doesn't explain what Hades gained with that except the guarantee his realm would always be full even if his Pantheon were to fall one day. As the strongest God of the Underworld, also God of Death, there weren't many willing to challenge him, less even when they realized what the Greek god gained for it; the worst of the worst.

Those were the criminals so bad that even their gods wouldn't forgive. In Valper's case it was final that the Church, or better yet Heaven, had already casted the man aside.

It wasn't strange to have people like that because they were usually those gunning for eternal life but that won't be the case for the man who Kiba was visiting.

Much like Kuoh, the hotel had been completely fixed after Kokabiel's rampage, out of Serafal's own pocket no less. It was noticeable because of the new additions like pictures of the Leviathan herself in her magic girl outfit, pink curtains in some of the windoms, TVs around the place for entertainment and some paintings of cute dogs and cats.

Not a single devil complained about their Maou's preferences but even her more cheerful decor didn't erase some of the unease of the place. Before Kokabiel, guarding the Heiresses was considered an easy job. It was important and all knew it but in general there were no risks and lots of rewards.

Now everyone was a little on edge, waiting for the next time someone would try to use Fuyuki to start a war. The mood around the area was guarded and everyone was on high alert.

As they walked deeper on the floor, even Serafall additions made way to a gray hallway leading to an expecifc door. Kiba knew that door intimately at this point but was surprised when the giant devil opened it without a key. "Why is it unlocked?"

Grunting a little, the man opened the door to reveal a small room with a giant glass window with a chair in front of it and another door. "Because there is no point in keeping it close. Or so the Kings from yesterday's shift told me."

"Is at least his door locked?" Kiba remembered that it wasn't before.

"No, it isn't." The information almost had the Knight panicking. "Oh, please. If you want to execute the man then it makes no difference and the boundary field is enough to stop him from walking out. Not that he would anyway." He studied Kiba's face before chuckling. "You should know that."

'Yes, I should.' Kiba thought, some of the old fury still there as he looked through the glass. "Was he interrogated today?"

"Yes, he certainly has." This time the older devil's tone was more respectful. "Lord Asmodeus' men even regret the lack of a challenge, something they expected with a monster like him." Both approached the glass, a one way mirror. "They arrived early today, instead of their usual 6 AM they came with us at the beginning of our shift at 5. It was still easy since he isn't resisting." Both saw the figure sitting in his bed, a dead expression in his face. "Apparently they were concerned you would kill him today when the job is just half done."

"How many sessions do they need?" Kiba stared at the figure of Valper Galilei with hatred. He couldn't even bother with a glare.

Once the old man could be confused with the typical grandfather with a generous smile and jolly disposition. Now, inside a room with just a bed, a sink and vase, he looked lost. All the former Archbishop did was look up with unfocused eyes and a completely bald head and face. His glasses were also missing and the only thing he had besides the empty bed were dirty clothes.

His eyes showed indication he hadn't slept for days, ever since his failure if Kiba would have to guess, and his body already seemed to be missing some body fat. Not a surprise for the knight since he was informed his prisoner didn't bother to eat by himself.

"Hard to say." The tall devil spoke with respect. "While we understand that you may want to kill him, they asked me to-"

"I can wait." Kiba interrupted the man, his eyes still stuck on Valper's dead expression. "I can wait."

Looking at Kiba with even more respect for his 'restraint', the older devil nodded. "Of course you can. Considering all he did I don't know if I could." Admitted the older man. "Some of my men even wanted to kill him themselves, had to rein them in and explain that you have more right than us." It was a compliment.

One that Kiba didn't need nor cared. "Is he suffering in there?" He asked no one out loud.

But the older man thought it was for him. "Hard to say, really. The interrogators don't even need to torture him, his mind is so fractureded, so weak, that the weakest hipnoses has him singing like a parrot every secret the Church had. Ha! Makes me wonder if they thought the man would resist." The former Valper, still obsessed with Excalibur, would. "Either way, the man isn't bothering on trying but he has so much that it is taking too long to write everything." He approached Kiba's ear. "Including the Fake Holy Light, as they called to his face."

"Let me guess, he didn't react?" When the older devil shook his head with a smile, Kiba felt the embers of his rage grow weaker. "Pathetic."

"True. If it wasn't for the knowledge that he had, I would incentivize you to just kill him. Spare us some work on checking now and then to make sure he is alive. Hahaha!" The giant laughed for a few seconds before it slowed down to a chuckle. "That is why there is no point in locking the doors. That bastard won't even try to leave and prefers to just sit there in his own piss and shit." A frown came to his face. "Thank Goetia there are spells to keep the smell back, Yuuto, because that cell skinks a lot. Hahahahaha!"

It was clear the man was taking enjoyingment out of Valper's suffering and Kiba closed his hand tightly. 'Why am I not feeling the same?'

The older devil noticed the gesture and misinterpreted it. "Patience, young one. It may take some time but soon you may have his head. Hehehe." He placed his hand on Kiba's shoulder, actually trying to cheer him up. "I know you hate him-"

"More than anyone and anything." Kiba told himself more than the man beside him.

"-but allowing him to live a few more days is doing us all a favor. Can you imagine how horrible it would be facing that Fake Holy unaware?" The tall man shivered. "I have faced some angels in the past and from what I heard it isn't nearly as potent but anything that comes closer to their power… Is more than concerning." He slapped the Knight's shoulders. "So thanks for waiting on your revenge, for the sake of all devils."

Kiba was aware enough to not say his next thought out loud. 'I could care less.'

Fake Holy or not, just before Kiba saw Valper's expression he was ready to kill the old man. Even Rias was on board and Sona didn't disagree, that was why he had so many privileges. The reason he could just march inside the small room Valper was and cut his head and no one, devil or otherwise, would stop him.

Still with an emotionless expression, Kiba said nothing for a few seconds, worrying the older devil. "Please keep holding your anger for a bit longer. I am sure Lord Asmodeus' agents will be done with him soon enough." He then smiled. "Besides, not like that man is living much anyway; he only eats or drinks hypnotized, barely moves or even speaks outside interrogation. That man is practically an undead without the moans of suffering."

'Not that he is able to suffer.' Kiba thought with a dark expression. It was obvious to him that Valper's mind wasn't working properly anymore. "I won't kill him." He moved to sit in the chair already ready for him.

The Gremory King studied Kiba carefully; the younger devil's posture was tight, almost like a caged animal ready to lash out at the slightest provocation. 'Who is the prisoner here? Then again he is holding back from killing the person he hates most. I shouldn't insult him for that.'

With that thought the older devil patted Kiba's shoulder one more time and left. It wasn't his decision if Valper would live or not, only the blond's.

So Kiba was left alone with his tormentor, looking at his bloodshot eyes through the one sided mirror. He took note how miserable Valper was and managed to crack a smile. However it was short as there was no real joy behind it.

Just watching his old caretaker, the man responsible for the death of all those he called family, Kiba's eyes didn't leave the man even as Valper kept looking at nothing.

Nothing but the mirror showing him his failures and miseries.

…..

"I see…" Agravain cupped his chin as Rias finished explaining where Kiba was. The same place he had been going every single day ever since the Fragments Incident. "And you didn't order him to stay because that would only make matters worse." He nodded to show he agreed with the decision.

Shaking her head, Rias glanced at Rin with concern, fearing an explosion at any minute. "Kiba's situation has always been delicate but now…" Both stand around silently as Gareth and Gaheris kneeled before the sword in the middle of Kuoh.

After their business was concluded there was just one thing the knights of the Order of Pendragon asked to do; to show their respect to the sword that began King Arthur's Legend.

It wasn't a hard request, there were less students at that time and Rias could deal with any teachers. That was because she wasn't fully willing to allow the knights alone in her territory any more than necessary despite Shirou trusting them to not do anything.

"They are good people who made mistakes and learned from them." Was what he said when Rias asked if she should allow them that favor.

That advice was accepted but that didn't mean Rias was trusting them by themselves. Deciding to keep an eye on them, Rias sent her familiar to inform Kiba's clients and that there would be no contracts that day.

They didn't complain, understanding the blond needed time to himself and while Rias' presence was helpful they missed the Knight.

With that done, Rias and Rin escorted the leaders of the Order of Pendragon towards Caliburn as the other devils left for their contracts. Shirou insisted that she shouldn't bother but respected her decision, taking Liz and Xenovia to his workshop.

The former Exorcist wasn't learning how to forge swords per say but she was the one in charge of cleaning them up after Shirou finished the main work. Liz still helped him with his projects while Medusa waited outside. The purple haired goddess didn't like the heat of the forge and neither did Gasper who liked her company.

Rias didn't need Rin to accompany her either, it was more than obvious they had no chance of beating the Heiress even in a 3 vs 1 fight.

Making matters even clearer was the events from a few hours earlier, her intimidating aura when she was ready to annihilate them for hurting Asia. Rias' power was something that the knights couldn't compete even with their sacred gears and revealed the reality that if she had met them in the battlefield then they would all be dead. She was ruthless like that.

Indeed, Rias didn't need a bodyguard against the members of the Order, Rin was there because she was facing her greatest challenge; technology.

As an employee of the Gremory, sooner or later Rin will find herself in a situation where she will have to use the most modern equipment to do her job. With the goal of preparing the girl, Rias bought a tablet so the magus could work away from her desk and get used to more modern means.

Unfortunately the tablet in Rin's hands at the moment, which she moved with great care using protective glasses and making sure mana was far away from her hands, was the seventh one. The six prior to it had already blown up, some in spectacular fashion, others just had let out smoke and stopped functioning forever.

So while Rias talked with Agravain and shared Kiba's problem, Rin made a face of absolute concentration as her trembling finger clicked another button to write a letter for one of Fuyuki's most influential citizens.

She still didn't understand enough of technology enough to be confident with it, but Rin herself would admit she was stubborn. Rias still feared an explosion of some kind at any moment but she respected the fact her secretary was trying so hard.

It was either that or her salary getting cut since the Heiress made clear she wasn't paying for any new tablets or computers, or laptops. Pretty much Rias lost her patience somewhere between the six explosions, eight breakdowns and the fire that almost ate the whole ORC. At least Rin was learning.

Regardless of her secretary's challenge with modernity, that wasn't Rias' focus at the moment as Agravain only took a few seconds to pay his respects before asking her about Kiba again. "I never needed that long for I always respected King Arthur." So he had claimed.

"It has been hard to balance my position as Kiba's King and his 'older sister'." Rias admitted, even throwing in a joke despite the fake smile she wore. "I just don't know what to do about him… That is practically a theme with me."

She racked her brain, asked for advice, tried to talk with Kiba, confronted him, asked others to do so to no avail. Nobody could reach the blond because he had closed himself completely to any attempts of an honest conversation. All he did was nod, pretend to agree or outright request that people leave him alone, all with a smile Rias was starting to hate.

That fake smile he threw around in school that had dozens of girls falling for him had become the thing she hated about her Knight to the point the redhead Heiress was ready to punch him in the face.

Sure most of the advice she received was to give him time and space but her family hadn't seen how Kiba was isolating himself while everyone on the ORC, even Medusa, agreed with her that something needed to be done. They just don't know what.

Agravain absorbed everything Rias had said with a pensive expression. "His state of mind isn't unexpected. In fact, I know someone who acted very similarly once." Rias folded her arms, waiting for the man to continue. "Lady Gremory, if you may allow me to explain why we were so insistent on turning Valper to Kiba once the sword was complete, then you will see I am your ally in this situation."

An elegant eyebrow was raised, the Heiress expression not moving beyond that. "Wasn't that because it was 'just'." Not that Rias disagreed with that opinion.

The knight nodded slowly. "Yes, it was. But there is more." Looking to his companions, Agravain noticed they were still kneeling before Caliburn, leaving the conversation to him. It wasn't a subject anyone liked to talk about. "There is a reason why our leader wanted to have Valper killed from the beginning. Also, if I may offer an idea that may help, then you can decide to apply it or not."

Curiosity was beginning to take root on Rias' head as the man looked sure she was going to approve of his plan. "Very well, let me hear it." Five minutes later, Rias' face was pensive once again. "I see, that is why your leader planned to betray Valper from the beginning but not Kokabiel."

"We believed the Fallen of the Stars was really a friend of King Arthur. We were naive." Agravain admitted as the other knights approached with ashamed faces. "However we always wanted the best for Isaiah."

"Because our Commander had a similar Fate." Gareth added as Gaheris nodded. It was enough to convince Rias they weren't lying even if she was still cautious.

Rin, who had heard everything, noticed her boss's indecisiveness. "We could hear his intentions directly. One way or another we will get the truth."

'With Truthbearer, we can.' Rias recognised what the magus was trying to say and liked the idea. "Fine, I shall give your Commander a chance to redeem himself." She raised a hand before they could speak anything else. "But before anything I will hear from the horse's mouth myself." Her dark aura returned. "And if you are lying-"

"I am not." This time there was no fear in Agravain's expression for he was speaking the absolute truth.

Rias nodded again. "Then your business here is done. Leave Fuyuki as promised and in a couple of weeks I will have Shiro's manual sent to you."

"Of course." The three knights bowed again, Agravain still acting as their voice. "Thank you for indulging us, lady Gremory. And for believing that our Commander- that our former Commander has Kiba's best intentions in mind."

Rias didn't reply as she and Rin escorted the knights outside the school property. 'I can see what Shiro meant; you all look a little too honest and too foolish.' She thought with crossed arms as the trio departed, Rin silently waiting for when they would get back to the club. 'However that doesn't mean your ex-leader is the same. I shall judge him before sending Kiba in.'

If things were different Rias wouldn't be trusting in a stranger but she was admitally desperate. Every single other method she tried failed and so she was left with this, a last light at the end of the tunnel.

Massaging her temples, she made sure the knights were out of sight before starting to walk back. "Sometimes I wish that Shiro had let Kiba kill Valper."

Rin wasn't surprised by the admission but had her own thoughts. "Then Kiba would still be isolating himself but we would have no idea of where he would go." Both knew that the old man's life was irrelevant. Broken as he was, Kiba definitely got his revenge. "He is just lost."

"And we can't bring him back." Rias sighed. "But maybe this Sir Gawain can… Are you in the mood to check Fuyuki's jail?"

"Is this an invite or an order?" Rin asked with a chuckle.

"Invite."

"Do I get a break from work?" She held the tablet higher to show exactly what she was talking about.

After a pause, Rias laughed. "Sure. Tomorrow then. The sooner we get Kiba help, the better." And she was ready to do anything for her family to be happy again.

…..

Yes, both Shirou's talk with Setsuna and Rias' talk with Agravain were cut because of pacing and to avoid repetitions. There was a plan to have another couple of scenes where we saw the beginnings of Xenovia's training, Setsuna's conversation and other slice of life things but when it was being written there were too many pauses and things which would be expanded in other chapters so off they went for the sake of time.

Aside from that we also have some development on Sona's side, how she was reminded that there are bigger fish in the ocean of the moonlit world. Some of you are probably wondering 'is he really going to bring FGO's system to this story?' The answer is kinda.

Since it isn't the exact same thing and can't really summon Servants there are going to be other limitations and rules in place.

Yes, Sona is about to enter the Hell that is Gacha! Bwahahahaha!

Except she won't as rules are going to be a little different and there are going to be limits. No getting lucky and rolling a five stars with that week ticket… if only.

We also have Kiba still dealing with quite a lot of trauma as his vengeance is fulfilled… Now what? That is a legitimate question, killing Valper accomplishes nothing and Kiba is left without purpose. It is kinda the curse of those that only lived for vengeance; once it is done do they know how to live past it? Or is it done in the first place?

Either way Valper is beyond broken to the point he doesn't care about anything and is spilling all he knows. Even if his Church's secrets are outdated, that is still something that spies would want and his research is legitimate and dangerous so, by sparing him for a couple of days, Kiba is doing the devils a favor.

He just doesn't know what he will do once time is up.

P a treon

Apprentice of Life or

P a treon . com (slash) ApprenticeofLife

Until next time.