Author's note at the end of the chapter. Read it is important!

"Are you still angry?" I ask for the millionth time since we had left the house that morning.

Today is Monday, Miyu's first day of school, and the day had already started off on the wrong foot. For the past few days I thought I had a more or less understanding of how she shows her emotions, and now I could tell she was angry, almost more so than when I tried Archer's class card, if the little cold shoulder she was giving me was any indication.

Last night, as soon as I got home, I collapsed. A magus's body heats up when magic circuits kick in, but I used them so much that I overheated to the point of triggering the Astrea life support system, which kept me cool so to speak, trying to keep my internal temperature stable. It had never happened before, then again, I never had an external source to get mana from to power a noble phantasm; so maybe that's why I didn't realize it soon? Later I have to revise some of the Astrea programs to prevent it from happening again then. I was pretty sure I had calculated well the amount and speed at which my circuits could carry mana units, so that I would be able to regulate myself with my few skills and never reach the point where I would run out completely or overload my circuits to the extent of damaging them, yet I had overlooked the most basic factor? I couldn't help but crack a rather wry smile, realising that the most elementary mistake I could make nearly killed me.

It had taken a couple of hours for the high body temperature caused by the overload to return to acceptable limits, not counting the time to mend all the fractures or torn muscles all over my body, hours that I spent almost entirely unconscious soaking in water with ice, under the watchful eye of Miyu, Sapphire and Jarvis. Yesterday's clash had actually left me with an effect on my skin similar to what Emiya got from using tracing on my right arm, which extended like a very thick crack, reaching my shoulder and pectoral with some marks. A night's rest had worked wonders after treatment, and while I was still very sore, I wasn't really hurt, but Miyu still hasn't got over the scare she received.

She was not ignoring me, she was still responding to me, but her expression now is nothing short of stone, lacking even those micro-smiles or the softness in her features that indicated a serene or generally relaxed state of mind.

"..." the magical girl inhales slightly louder after hearing the same question for the umpteenth time.

[Jack-sama, continuing to ask the same question knowing that she is will only irritate her more] comments Sapphire equally exasperated.

"All right, all right, when in your vast heart you find the strength to forgive me, I'll be here waiting for you" I comment with some sarcasm, seeing that there was no way to converse with her for now.

"There is no vast heart within me" Miyu replied impassively.

"I'll get over it" I say ending the discussion. Out of the corner of my eye I shift my gaze to a building, where someone had been watching us for a while now "Well, we're close to the school; so, you can get there without getting into trouble, right?"

This actually raised an eyebrow at Miyu, who changed her expression for the first time since we woke up this morning.

"Yes, why?" she asks puzzled.

"Someone has been following us for a while. She's been watching us from some rooftops for the last twenty minutes or so" I reply rather relaxed actually "I recognized her presence. It's the woman from yesterday."

"I understand. I'll go with you" Miyu says, extending her hand to take Sapphire, but I stopped her.

"No, you go to school now. It's your first day remember? Enjoy that at least. I can take care of that discussion myself" I admonish her good-naturedly.

[Are you sure you can do it, Jack-sama?] the mystic code asks a little worriedly, and I nod.

"Yes, don't worry. She's just here to talk" I reassure her.

Miyu didn't seem convinced at all, but finally gives in and goes on her way. So I stand still and watch her walk away as she heads toward the school, which was only 300 meters away, in a rather crowded area. The risk of something happening to her was almost zero, especially with Sapphire with her, not to mention that we had enrolled Miyu at Yuuei Middle High, which is located near Yuuei High, which was heavily guarded by pro heroes as well as an advanced surveillance system. Should anything unfortunate happen anyway, unknown to Miyu I had placed a subcutaneous microchip that constantly indicated her location and psycho-physical state to me. If anyone tried to hurt her or mentally control her, I would run to her and rip the would-be suicide bomber to shreds so fast that they wouldn't even know what happened.

"So...this conversation really couldn't wait until the afternoon, Sera-tan?" I ask, not even caring that she was nearby. Even though I am not a master, thanks to senjutsu I had recognized her presence immediately even as soon as she came within three hundred meters of us. It was hard not to notice a nuclear power plant with legs, after all. Her energy levels are almost on a par with Astrea.

"You sensed me? Well done Robo-chan, I was even making an effort to hide myself" Serafall commented casually as she stepped out of the alley ahead of me, sincerely praising my quick thinking "However, it couldn't wait. I'm cutting up my schedule quite a bit by staying in the human world a day longer than planned; therefore, I have to hurry because there are some commitments I couldn't delay."

"Fine, but as you should have heard, today is the first day of school for Miyu so it's just me" I state helpfully, knowing that with her heightened senses she should have heard the conversation "Where are we going to talk?"

"In my office" she replies cheerfully, snapping her fingers.

I barely had time to blink before I found myself inside what was surely a studio of some kind.

There was also another person waiting there, and it was not Sona Sitri.

"Is this the 'Robo-chan' you kept mentioning about Serafall?" asks the man with a raised eyebrow, inspecting me.

He is a charming and attractive young man who appears in his early twenties, with blue eyes and green hair combed back.

"This is not how I pictured your sister" I reply with some amusement, making the Satan of Foreign Affairs snort.

"My lovely So-tan ran away at night to go home, scared that Ruby-chan might come back" she replies with a pout "He is a fellow Satan, Beelzebub Ajuka-chan. He usually takes care of all the technological and scientific stuff in the underworld."

I raise an eyebrow at the presence of the second most powerful devil in the underworld.

"I understand your confusion. Serafall barged into my office this morning yelling something about magical girls and a robot, then dragged me in here without a shred of explanation" He informs me, giving his old friend a slightly annoyed look "So whatever she wants to do or discuss, I'm as much in the dark as you are."

I reinforced my eyes with magic, observing the structure of his body under the skin, and much to my intrigue, it is quite similar to a human. There are obvious differences that I don't have time to analyze in a few seconds; however, being able to see his brain working, I was able to deduce that he was being thruthful. I have observed and done several tests that make me more reliable than a modern lie detector; therefore, I know I can trust what I see. As always, structural analysis was darn useful.

I really don't need further testing to know that the two devils in front of me are out of my league.

"Have a seat, we have a few things to discuss" the woman says a little more seriously, taking a seat at the desk. I do the same, sitting down on one of the vacant couches, in front of Ajuka "To begin with, I would like to inform Ajuka about what's going on: a few days ago, beings from another dimension arrived in town, hunting for cards that apparently have the power to generate real natural disasters with a not inconsiderable amount of deaths if they were to reach the human world."

"Shouldn't you have started with that detail instead of the magical girls?" he inquires with a vein of annoyance and reluctant acceptance.

"But magical girls came from another dimension! How could it not matter!" she asks shocked, completely losing her serious attitude "It has always been my dream to fight with other magical girls threats from other dimensions or worlds!"

Ah, is that why you made that expression earlier?

"I don't envy your position at all" I mutter feeling a sense of pity towards what Ajuka has to deal with often.

"I don't envy myself either" Ajuka replies exasperatedly.

"You guys are mean! Both of you!" she pouts "Anyway, Ruby-chan said she didn't know exactly what the cards were, other than the name they have, which her creator let slip while casting her, after sending Sapphire-chan to her partner; therefore, she was looking for a companion who could help her in the search. I'm too busy, So-tan didn't want to know anything about magical girls and ran away not wanting to listen to anything she had to say; therefore, I have no idea what these 'class cards' Ruby-chan was talking about are, what they can do or anything else" she summarizes "I invited Robo-chan here specifically to know what has come to Musutafu and how dangerous it is, since So-tan and Rias-chan will be coming to study here in April, as well as worth knowing if he has any relationship with the church given the power of the holy sword he used yesterday. Ajuka-chan is here to examine the things I don't understand."

Once again, both Ajuka and I look at her confused.

"Why do you think I have relations with the church?" I ask confused by her conclusion "Only the church uses holy swords?" honestly I don't know. I don't even understand how the DxD and Kaleid merged, so I don't really get what the supernatural should look at this point.

The two Satans stare at me with calculating glances.

"Usually yes, although there are several exceptions. Most of the sacred weapons are mass-produced and not noteworthy; therefore, they are easily available even on the black market; however, the most powerful and renamed ones are held strictly by anyone in possession of them, for obvious reasons" Serafall explains to me. "I contacted Heaven to find out if they had sent someone with powerful sacred weapons to check the distortions, but I received only negative responses. So I decided to confront you before doing anything else. According to my research, you were adopted by a human woman a little over 11 years ago, and after her death your guardianship passed from guardian to guardian until you were taken in by Yahoi Toshinori, who is presumably All Might's assistant. You told me last night that you only interacted with a few elderly Yokai in a nursing home, while your younger sister had never been exposed to the supernatural; therefore, I don't understand how you got such a weapon or when in the first place. There is not even a birth certificate on Miyu-chan, only an ongoing investigation because of her abduction by an unknown cult!"

I thought about what to say for a few moments, deciding how and what. I really didn't have much to hide really, other than my future knowledge. Although should I be surprised or concerned that she already knows about my whole life and found out about Miyu in one night? Does she have connections with the Japanese government or did she do everything in a more ambiguous way? Should I be careful about what I do and make public? Or maybe it's all because of Ajuka? Anyway, I have to think of my words while sharing the most sensitive information with them...

"Yesterday's sacred sword appeared while I was sleeping in my room two nights ago" I reply, unceremoniously omitting everything that had happened with Merlin.

They both look at me skeptically.

"I definitely would have noticed if something like that had suddenly appeared in town" Serafall says, not at all convinced by my answer, although she was maintaining her cheerful attitude rather well "Even unused it exuded enough sacred aura to give me goosebumps, it was literally impossible to miss it even if I wanted to."

"The light that my sword emits is composed of things like gamma rays, UVC, UVB, hydrogen and helium. It almost seems to be emitting solar radiation, but are there also elements that I didn't recognize in the middle, which I think allow the above elements to remain in its tangible form?" I say not too sure, remembering what I had gleaned from my analysis. I had also tried to analyze it with structural analysis, and the result was a rush of information that gave me a horrible migraine. I did not have enough data to make sense of what I had scanned; therefore, I did not pursue it further; however, I had watched with interest the effects it left on the environment "I designed and built my house to withstand nuclear disasters; therefore, it is more than normal that you could not feel the radiation emitted when it appeared. They were blocked by the walls of my laboratory, which is located underground."

At my response she still seemed doubtful, however, Ajuka was a scientist and still looked at me with mild interest.

"This explains why we cannot hear it then. Usually a fallout shelter is made of reinforced concrete, which acts as a containment screen for radiation as well as a load-bearing structure along with the natural strength of the earth, while the interior walls and floors must be covered with special insulating slabs. By doing so, they are able to keep radiation isolated even for years if necessary" Ajuka explains briefly "I doubt that's all there is to it, but I won't ask you to reveal confidential information about your technology. Is that sword kept sealed at home or somewhere else where it cannot be stolen?"

"Some other place where access is not possible without me" I reply without giving too many details.

"Good, so we don't have to worry about it being stolen" he concludes.

"You are unexpectedly confident" Serafall points out rather surprised and perplexed, causing the other devil to shrug.

"I know a capable scientist when I see one, at this point it's simply a gut reaction for me" Ajuka replies with a shrug "If you couldn't perceive such a weapon when it appeared, even if it was so strong that you shuddered when you heard it, then there's a good chance that 90 percent of the beings in this world won't even be able to perceive it, let alone find it" clarifies the super devil "Right now we're not allies or business partners or anything. Just strangers clarifying their purposes for peaceful coexistence. Although now I am a bit intrigued by the nickname 'robo-chan'. Do you have a quirk that turns you into a robot or something?"

Serafall's eyes shone curiously at that.

"Ooooooh! That would be wonderful! Imagine if you appeared in a special episode of my show as an occasional helper!"

"No just pure engineering" I reply, ignoring the wacky idea of the fake magical girl, and also the flash of interest in the super devil's eyes "Anyway, we're straying a little too far from the main topic of the meeting, don't you think?" honestly, if it had been someone else me I wouldn't have been so nice, and not because they were practically on another planet on the level of strength compared to me. They had tried to divert the conversation into a more casual and comfortable one because they wanted me to open up, and reveal more information about myself, perhaps letting out other details that I wouldn't normally tell a soul.

While Serafall seemed to wilt a bit at my call (and for the life of me, I couldn't tell if she really meant to do the damn special or not), Ajuka again seemed vaguely interested in what I wanted to hide.

"The class cards" states the devil, "I know practically nothing about them, since Serafall told me about them practically just now."

"Mn...I found out some things instead, and not good ones unfortunately" I say with a grimace "Do you know about the Holy Grail War? The one the wizards were trying to accomplish?"

"Mn? I've heard about that. It was a wish fulfillment system, right? Although the only thing it's done so far is cause disasters" Ajuka confirmed with a frown "Somehow, despite all the turmoil the magicians caused with that ritual, the details of how it worked never came to light, partly because there was small church group stationed in Shizuoka that helped them cover it all up, until both they and the ritual were dismantled years ago. I don't have a lot of data since someone killed the wizards connected with its creation, as well as any information useful to the investigation" as he spoke, his frown only became more pronounced "Whoever did it was extremely thorough. They left literally no trace of anything which could lead anyone back to their identity, or understand how the ritual worked in the first place. It bothers me to admit it, but I investigated that matter for years, but I couldn't find a single clue that could lead me back to them, or anything like their modus operandi. They are like a ghost..."

"Well, then I will give a brief summary to explain how it works. There are several requirements to participate in the war, but it can all be boiled down to seven summoners labeled as 'masters' who summon Servants, a kind of familiar, who fight in a battle royal to decide who will get the Grail" I begin, causing Ajuka to raise an eyebrow, while Serafall paid attention again "Those summoned are obviously not familiars, but heroic spirits. They are spirits of famous people who have-"

"Oh, oh! What is the criterion that categorizes you as a heroic spirit?" asks Serafall excitedly, no longer holding back her excitement about a topic involving magical girls.

"I was getting there. They must have accomplished great feats in life, perhaps having become objects of worship after their deaths. More ancient examples are: Gilgamesh, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, Heracles and the Argonauts, Siegfried, or more modern ones like Leonardo Da Vinci, Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Helena Blavatsky, Jeanne D'Arc, and so on. Virtually everyone, and I mean literally everyone who has defined history once dead ascends to the throne of heroes, even people like Hassan-i Sabbah, Jack the Ripper, Gorgon, Asterios and the like, who to the world are known primarily as murderers, monsters or anti-heroes."

"Wait, what is the throne of heroes? Were they using a ritual to revive prominent figures and use them to fight? Is that even possible?" asks Serafall a little lost.

"Yes, but not in the world you believe in. Heroic Spirits are beings of a higher existence who become categorically closer to Elementals than to Wraiths. Unlike the way Elementals are granted forms of 'power' using human imagination as a container, they are entirely woven from the ideals of people everywhere. They are freed from the constraints of time and removed from the ring of reincarnation, moved to the throne, a place existing outside both the world and the axis of time." this seems to surprise and wary them a bit "The Pure Heroic Spirits, the 'main body' in the Throne of Heroes, can only be summoned from the World, and evoking even one is considered a miraculous event. Needless to say, it is virtually impossible for a mage to summon them in their entirety. Even the Holy Grail does not have the power to summon a true Heroic Spirit; therefore, the process is facilitated by summoning them in one of the seven vessels prepared before the ritual: Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, Assassin, Berseker. They are classes, in which they can use only a part of their power and abilities they had in life."

The two Satans look at each other, full of questions.

"This...goes against some of the things we know however" Ajuka remarks "It has been proven and confirmed that due to some problems in the reincarnation system of heaven, reincarnated individuals have appeared with the characteristics of these figures, over and over again as a matter of fact."

Think fast, think fast, think fast-

"I don't think that's exactly the case" I respond to the other scientist's doubt "Mine is a hypothesis, but I think what the system perceives as 'reincarnation' are copies of the originals."

"What do you mean by copies?" asks Ajuka curiously, very interested in the direction in which we are going in the conversation.

"When the Grail connects to the throne of heroes, which magicians and heroic spirits in turn confirmed the existence of centuries ago, it does not recall the soul of the original, but copies the information that makes it up and condenses it along with its powers into a core called a 'saint graph,' which regulates all the functions of a heroic spirit, as a CPU would do for a computer, and returns to the original body once it has vanished, allowing the summoned spirit to remember events during its stay as a Servant, more or less. Given that heroic spirits are outside the reincarnation circle, how possible is it that the sky system tried to connect to the throne, to try to reincarnate the figures you were talking about and instead took a saint graph lacking everything that makes a servant...well, a servant?" I ask as the possibilities begin to come to mind "There have been other experiments on servant summoning, even some involving the possession of a host body, with various results depending on the types of rituals. Some, even if only temporarily before killing them, allowed the use of heroic spirit abilities. If they did not die immediately, it is possible that the Saint Graph was completely devoid of power and contained only some data of the recalled spirit...honestly, I can only speculate with the limited information I have now."

Now that I really think about it, I am also very curious about how this thing happened. I don't remember it ever being delved into much in the main series, even when Cao Cao and his minions were involved. This idea seems less and less surreal, considering my knowledge of Fate/Grand Order and the fact that this world is a crossover.

"Mn...if they tried to force it and failed, instead taking these Saint Graphs, it may have caused more problems during the process and would explain why of the reincarnations studied, almost none really had a similar skill set to the original other than a few similarities, in fact, they often tended to be different, even more so when Sacred Gear got involved" the man reasoned, "However, now it makes me wonder how you knew these things, when just now you confirmed that you barely had any contact with the supernatural before your sister was approached by Sapphire."

"Thanks to Archer's class card" I reply without blinking, "Sort of. From what I understand, although I don't know how they created them, they were able to modify the grail ritual and trap the servants in the cards, they used something to forcefully suppress their consciousness and ego, to allow the user to merge with it safely" I explain what Sapphire and I had 'figured out' a couple of nights ago with Archer's card "Since the cards are technically kept inside another dimension within the user's body, you don't risk the usual problems of when two souls are forcibly mixed in the same body. The user is slightly affected by the card depending on the abilities he has and his affinity for it. This is something we verified yesterday when Miyu used Archer...something different happened to me though."

"What do you mean?" asks Ajuka, not looking away from my eyes.

"When I used that same afternoon, I found myself conversing with Archer in a trance-like state, who was unaware of what was going on, although I'm not sure if that was because he used the card without a mystic code to act as a conduit or if the anomaly was really me" I confess, ready to drop the next bombshell "During use, the card gives you access to all the servant abilities it contains. I, however, found myself able to use Archer's abilities even once I removed the class card, as well as having memories in my head that are not mine: like Archer's bow skills, fighting styles, or personal magics. This is also true for some more personal things, like fragments of his life. That's where I got the Holy Grail War information from, he was one of the participants in a past war, Saber's master to be exact" I conclude the explanation "The rest of what I said are my assumptions based on the information I learned."

Again, I decontextualized a lot and altered the chronology of events a bit, but I did not lie. The spirit memories are really put in your head by the paper to help you better use its abilities, and they are later extracted, as someone would do with a USB stick from a PC, without harming the user's mind. Everything else is my speculations and recollections of what I had seen in my previous life.

"...I understand. You gave more information than I expected" commented the super devil.

"As you said, I'm simply clarifying what needs to be clarified for peaceful coexistence, nothing more, nothing less" I reply with a shrug "I really haven't revealed any vital information. If I had not responded, I highly doubt that you would have let me go, and even if you had, you would still have investigated on your own to find out what is going on in Musutafu, which would eventually have caused our paths to cross again, perhaps as enemies. I concluded that it was best to tell it like it is, to avoid misunderstanding and possible unnecessary confrontation."

"Logical and reasonable conclusion" agrees Ajuka "You have answered almost all my questions about the current situation. I still have several things I'd like to verify, but I doubt you can answer them on this matter."

"So Ruby-chan and Sapphire-chan have to fight these Servants? What happens if you don't?" asks Serafall finally, coming back into the conversation once the other Satan and I had finished talking about the technicalities.

"The problem is that whatever they went through coming to Musutafu connected them to the Ley lines, and from there they started absorbing a lot of magical power that made the spirit in the class card manifest incompletely. Sapphire says if they absorb too much power and eventually they will be able to escape from the mirror world, a mirror dimension they somehow ended up in, and get to the real world. I don't need to say what a mess it will be if they arrive appear in Musutafu, do I?" I answer without much ado.

"No, not really" agrees the woman with a frown "Do you think you can collect the other class cards on your own?"

"I think so. We've had some unexpected difficulties with Lancer, but we've managed very well so far" I conclude "Also, Ruby should be joining us soon, I suppose."

"Do you need anything to complete the task faster?" she asks, causing me to raise an eyebrow "Don't look at me like that. I've said it before, So-tan and her friends are coming to study in this town; so, I'd like any potential problems that could harm them to be solved before the new school year. If you need any help or anything like that, please come to this building. I'll be happy to lend a hand to the magical girls and their helper!" she finishes with a wink.

"...I'll think about it" I say, not too sure exactly what she wanted to achieve.

I definitely won't go to her for help if I can help it. Even if she says it to be nice, part of me can't help but be wary of her, after all, even with a cosplay and flamboyant, childish behavior, Serafall is still a satan. I don't want to be indebted to her, for any reason, otherwise in any future negotiations I might have I will be even more at a disadvantage than I already am.

Paranoid thoughts aside, who knows how Miyu is doing at school?

"Take your seats!" orders Fujimura Taiga as she enters the classroom. The students, who up to that point had been buzzing excitedly about their motives fall silent, knowing that it was best for them not to irritate Musutafu's tiger too much "Without the slightest notice, we have a new student with us today!" announces the woman in a cheerful tone "Come on in"

"Yes" Miyu walked into the classroom, walking normally. Honestly, she wished she was more excited about this, but even though Jack told her it would be fine, part of her still had a lot on her mind. She had sensed the strange woman's power the night before, and it was even stronger than the two heroic spirits she had seen recently, by a wide margin she would add, though that might be because the two heroes they had faced had no real mind of their own. Ergo, she was still convinced that it had not been a wise decision to let him go alone "My name is Kurogane Miyu"

The students began to murmur among themselves upon seeing her, but she was not particularly interested. Her mind was still occupied by what Serafall had said the night before. Had she made arrangements with the 'Yokai' and 'Shinto' factions? What did that mean? Also, there was the strange reaction Jack had. She had no way of telling what he was thinking when he saw her yesterday, but somehow, it seemed incredibly strange, and it definitely wasn't because he could see her panties from below. Something more was going on that she couldn't understand. Sapphire had confirmed that the woman's power could correspond to that of an actual heroic spirit, but even she had no answer to the riddle that plagued her.

"Be good" orders Taiga with some annoyance "Miyu-chan has recently returned to Japan. I'm sure she'll have a lot of questions, so give her a hand!" again, the students do as the teacher says and respond in chorus with a 'yes' "Well, as for your desk..." she looks around for a moment, seeing that the classroom was already almost full anyway "The one behind Illya-chan will do!"

The girl in question particularly stood out from the crowd because of her rather unusual appearance. Illyasviel von Einzbern had red eyes and long blond hair so light it looked silvery-white that it reached almost halfway down her back. Unlike her other peers who were entering puberty, just like her Illya was quite petite and looked younger than she appeared.

"Yes"

With her monotone response, she proceeded silently to her seat, slowing her pace for a few seconds after seeing out of the corner of her eye a certain object resembling a magical girl's toy. She honestly wouldn't have paid particular attention to it if it didn't bear a certain resemblance to Sapphire in design. Since the eye contact only lasted a blink, she wasn't sure if her eyes were playing tricks on her or not when she saw it in her hair. After all, the last few weeks had been eventful, and the last few days even more so if possible. She really had no time to mentally recover from the constant succession of events. Hence, she decided to check as soon as possible.

"Oh no! I forgot the register!" gasps Taiga drawing the attention of those present as she began to walk mechanically towards the door "My dear and polite students, you will have to study on your own for a while"

"Yosh! Self-directed study!" someone shouts as the teacher leaves, causing the students to start doing a little bit of what they wanted.

Not that Miyu was really paying attention. In fact, she was quite annoyed when everyone started peppering her with all kinds of questions, ranging from where she was before moving to Musutafu, what it was like to study abroad, and so on. More than the questions themselves, it was the attitude and the mess they caused that annoyed her. They kept talking over each other, making it difficult to start or follow a conversation with the girls, and it was only made worse when some of the boys tried to approach. By then, somehow it had gotten louder and more chaotic as insults, threats, unauthorized quirk use, and so on began to fly, which only added to the chaos. In less than five minutes, the classroom had become a mess, making it impossible for them to concentrate and study the course material as the teacher had told them to do, a fact that only further got on her nerves. It wasn't even that difficult, in fact, it was just basic stuff; however, the noisy shuffling of voices prevented the girl from concentrating enough to keep her attention on the book. She could very well have finished in a few moments what the teacher had assigned them, before turning her attention to Jack's quantum physics studies. She was too interested in quantum physics and the theory behind GN-drive, and not being able to study that material was killing her inside.

Illyasviell at that point had left the classroom, taking advantage of the confusion to get away from her friends, saying she had to go to the bathroom if she heard right; so, she decides to follow her to get away from the mess.

She also sneaks toward the door, somehow escaping the chaos that had been generated without attracting anyone's attention. Was her peers' focus to their surroundings so low as a rule?

[Well, so much for the cliché...] suddenly Ruby speaks in the hallway.

"A mysterious new transfer student has suddenly appeared, huh?" commented Illya wearily, with slight bags under her eyes. After Ruby had barged into her bathroom, deceitfully forcing her to enter into a contract with her, she was a little elated at the idea of being a magical girl, to the point that she hadn't slept much because she couldn't get to sleep.

[This happens a lot in anime with magical girls, doesn't it?] asks Sapphire rhetorically, making the albino girl wince.

"Uwa?!"

"Ara, Sapphire-chan!" completely unaware of her new master, Ruby greets her sister.

"Seeing you here again is quite unexpected, nee-san" comments the blue mystic code casually.

"N-nee...san?" repeats Illya, really confused by it.

Under the advice of the blue mystic code, the four girls move to the rooftop, tactically avoiding anyone who might disturb them for conversation or send them back to class.

[I offer my greetings, my name is Sapphire] officially introduces herself the floating wand, with a slight bow.

[She is my new master, illya-san] replies Ruby rolling over, a little excited [Isn't she lovely?] she finally asks, causing the eyebrow of the girl in question to twitch.

[I thank you for your thoughtfulness toward my sister, and apologize in advance for all the trouble she will cause from now on]

[How mean! I can be responsible too if I want to, Sapphire-chan!] complains Ruby, making her sister sigh.

[This doesn't really help your cause.]

"Emh...nice to meet you" Illya finally spoke, overcoming the surprise of seeing the second talking wand fluttering around.

Perhaps sensing her mistress' confusion about the current situation, Ruby decides to make herself useful for once and explain something of the situation to her.

[Sapphire-chan and I were created at the same time, which makes us sisters!] she replies helpfully, leaving Illya with a confused nod.

"So you are similar?"

[By the way, Sapphire-chan-]

[Yes, Miyu-sama is my new master] Sapphire confirms without blinking [I met her and her foster brother when the grand master launched us into this dimension. In the past few days we have recovered two of the seven cards]

[Way to go, Sapphire-chan! You got yourself a super cute master, too!] exults the pink wand, completely ignoring that her sister was actually doing the job she was sent to do, unlike her.

"Um...sorry, what are these cards to retrieve?" asked Illya, shyly raising a hand uncomfortably, unsure whether or not asking that question now was the right thing to do.

The two mystic codes and Miyu, who was looking at the other wand with a hint of curiosity and distrust, shifted their gaze towards the second magical girl with a mixture of disbelief and surprise. And a hint of embarrassment on Ruby's part.

[Oh, right, I didn't tell you why I was looking for a master's degree, right?] ruby asks rhetorically, much to her sister's dismay [I forgot to tell you, teehee!]

"How could you forget about the most important part!" asks Illya shocked at the nonchalant attitude of the person who had tricked him into signing a contract and registered as the owner.

[You are always the same] Sapphire comments with no small amount of disappointment, making Ruby wince, as if she had physically struck her [I am sorry for nee-san's attitude. I'll clear up any doubts you have about the situation, Illya-san. Where do you want to start?]

"From the beginning if it's not too much trouble. Ruby simply barged into my house and recorded me alone..." replies Illya, in equal measure annoyed and exasperated at being kept in the dark about a decidedly serious situation that now involves her.

[Once again, I feel sorry for her] comments Sapphire, definitely sorry and a little mortified of the problems she was causing [I will start from the beginning].

And so she did. She told them that they were two mystic codes, magical items created by a very high-level mage who could travel between dimensions, among other things. During one of these journeys, the grand master wanted to have his apprentices retrieve the seven class cards as a test to see how they were progressing as sorceresses, however, they were attacked by a giant dragon. With the situation too far beyond the reach of the two female apprentices, Ruby and Sapphire were sent to this dimension to retrieve the dangerous artifacts, although they initially did not know what they were, while the grand master remained to deal with the dragon. Sapphire's group later discovered that these were cards containing the power of some mythical figures from the past, who manifested themselves in the form of blackened and corrupted spirits, devoid of minds of their own, who rage against anything. To prevent their fury from reaching the real world, they must strike them down before they leave the mirror world, spatial distortions they caused with their arrival. Sapphire concluded the summary by informing of the identity of Archer and Lancer, as well as the hidden functions of the cards.

"And you didn't think it was important to tell me?!" cries Illya upset, roughly grabbing Ruby, pulling her from the sides in opposite directions "You never told me I had to fight! The only thing you made me do were awkward poses! How should I face legendary figures like King Arthur in the first place! Even if they are weakened, they are still real living legends!"

[A-ahi! C-calm down Illya-san! Even I didn't know we were going to fight, or I would have warned you!] Ruby justifies herself, declaring her innocence.

At first she didn't even want to have anything to do with the wand, fearing that it was similar to Kyuubei! And she was damn right to think so!

Miyu looks with a frown at her 'companion' magic girl. Until now she had been overreacting, unable to keep calm when she should in this situation. She is easy to panic and suddenly change her emotions, not to mention that she was completely unaware of the supernatural in general even more than she was. She could not rely on her to fight.

[Illya-san, how about coming home with me and Miyu-sama after school?] suddenly asks Sapphire, making the albino teenager calm down, confused and perplexed by the sudden invitation [Miyu-sama had no training, but Jack-sama still prepared her in a day's training. Compounding the fact that Miyu-sama is very talented and gifted; however, I sense considerable magical potential in her. With guidance, she will surely be a powerful ally, which we evidently need given the situation]

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Sapphire?" asks Miyu in her usual stoic tone, barely letting her confusion show "She has no reason to fight, nor has she been trained to do so. If she has been involved despite herself, then I think she should not meddle with the class card quest at all."

The dry answer made Illya gasp, who had not expected such a cold shoulder from her new classmate in the slightest.

Illya had never specifically asked to fight, nor did she know she had to do so in the first place; therefore, Miyu finds no logical explanation to justify her training.

[That's rather harsh, isn't it?] asks Ruby rhetorically, breaking out of the owner's grip that had loosened suddenly because of the peer's unexpected remark [Fighting and getting involved in this is something Illya-san has to decide. Deciding whether she wants to do it or not is something she has to choose and no one else] concludes the pink wand with a hint of annoyance.

[I agree] Sapphire adds [She also had no training before Jack-sama trained her, nor did she know she was talented as a magical girl. I think we should at least let her try before we advise against getting involved if she wants to. We need allies, while she, even if for a cause-effect reason, has a real reason to do it. Living in this city, she is constantly in danger until the class cards are neutralized, since if we fail, they will break into the real world and run wild for Musutafu. In the worst case scenario, the clash could magnify to the point where it reaches the area where she lives]

Normally, Sapphire would not go against her master's directives or contradict her unless necessary. She had learned very quickly, however, how although Miyu tried to apply logic to everything around her, she ended up being very impulsive and not thinking properly when things got personal, as in the case of class cards. She does not know how they are connected or involved with her master; however, it was obvious from the way she agreed that she had history with them, and she was afraid that if Jack was not around she might end up getting killed. Another person who could have her back was necessary, indeed, mandatory, to make sure her master did not do anything stupid without supervision. Ruby's new master has magic potential comparable to Miyu's, so she hopes that with the right push and discipline she can prevent her bad habits before they do any damage, helping her bearer along the way.

"...I'm still of the opinion that she shouldn't meddle" replies the girl from another dimension, however, after a few moments of consideration "Come on Sapphire. Let's go back to class before the teacher returns."

[All right, Miyu-sama].

The chat with the two satans, after getting the elephant in the room out of the way, had shifted more to explaining to me how the supernatural worked. Serafall had stayed a while longer before returning to the underworld and leaving Ajuka behind to talk with me some more. He had actually wanted to attend the class card event and meet the mystic tails once he learned that their creator was Zelretch, however, the unexpected meeting had not allowed him to arrange his schedule; therefore, after a while he had been forced to return to the underworld as well. Although he is a scientist, he is still one of the leaders of the devil race; he cannot simply get up and disappear as if nothing happened without organizing himself first. However, I already knew many of the things they told me, but I listened attentively and asked questions when I wanted insights into certain topics. The factions that were seen in the DxD canon were still present in the state I remembered, the only significant difference I had found was in the division of mages.

The system of magic used by humans is classified into two main types, Western magic and Eastern magic, the former being a system of spells and magical knowledge founded in Europe while the latter is a system of witchcraft originating in Asia (developed somewhat later due to discrimination against Asians at the magicians' association). At first it was thought that the magic used by humans originated from the knowledge of the demonic power of the Devil and the miracles of the Gods of different religions, but then the existence of magic circuits and their operation was demonstrated by Merlin; therefore, it began to be subdivided into all the currently known types. In fact, I don't remember much of the more technical side of human magic being shown (other than to say that it was based on calculations), so I wasn't then too surprised that it mixed so well with the nasuverse, from the explanations I received from Ajuka.

However, the most famous groups of current magicians are: Grauzauberer led by Mephisto Pheles, who works closely with devils. The organization is responsible for publishing the ranking of devils who offer to become contract devils for wizards.

The Golden Dawn founded by William Robert Woodman, William Wynn Westcott, and MacGregor Mathers. It deals with modern magic, and is one of the most famous organizations of magicians, but is relatively 'new' as an organization compared to the others.

Rosenkreuzer founded by the famous Wizard; Rudiger Rosenkreutz , who became the Devil Bishop in Lord Mammon's peerage and one of the best Rating Game players in the Underworld.

London Clock Tower. It is the faction belonging to Brishisan, a student of Solomon's, who was one of the people who founded the Wizarding Association during 0AD, along with Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, a fellow student of Solomon's, and other wizards. The Clock Tower was officially established in 500 AD, and is currently under the control of a pseudo-aristocratic elite called the Lords. Each Lord alone holds a great deal of political power within the Association, and there are also those who associate with other talented Magi or an important lineage of Magi in a sponsored-sponsored relationship to increase their influence. There is a distinction between what are called the "big" and "little" Lords of the Clock Tower. The 'big' sense refers to the Twelve Lords who head each faculty. The 'small' sense, on the other hand, refers to nobles called lords, most of whom belong to the Three Great Families. Because of this elitist background, preconceived and discriminatory behaviors are quite prevalent within the Clock Tower. Rune and Witchcraft Thaumaturgy are not very popular in the main branch; the latter is not taught as an academy at all. Enforcers are despised by the upper ranks. Discrimination against Asians is common, which may be a factor as to why so few of them are members of the Association.

I will not elaborate further on the clock tower, since it was exactly like the one in the nasuverse. The only thing that puzzled me was the fact that Zelretch has not been seen for almost 2,000 years, except for a few sporadic appearances in this world; thus, his existence is widely discussed, leading me to wonder what happened to the old Troll.

The Atlas Institute takes its name from the Atlas Mountains, where it is located. Unlike the magi, who lead the practice of rituals and the revelation of knowledge, Atlas alchemists do not practice rituals, but discover them, more concerned with the greater truths of the universe than traditional alchemists. The Temple of Atlas even predates the Clock Tower, which has existed since at least the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, being originally a gathering of those with little magical ability due to having a small number of Magic Circuits. Since Magic Circuits are pathways that connect to the root and magi use them to approach their ideal future, those with poor Magic Circuits could rely only on their intellect to create that ideal future, deciding to take a completely natural approach and proceed as humans to achieve their goals. The result of this is the present Atlas Academy: an organization of alchemists conducting investigations based on Magecraft and the Laws of the World, using mostly their own intellect to make a model for the future. The Atlas Temple is an assembly of geniuses. In that place there are no taboos and sanctions that prevent the creation of even the most immoral of weapons. Their only rule is that the things that are created within it must never leave. This is the founding principle of the Temple of Atlas. They have observed this rule for over two thousand years. They fear people leaving more than they worried about visitors.

The Wandering Sea, also known as Baldanders, is the original foundation of the Association of Mages that was formed together with Atlas in 20 CE. Those in the two organizations were those who disagreed with the third faction led by the Director of the Association, which would later become the Clock Tower in 500 AD. It is not known why, nor is there much information about them, as they completely isolated themselves from the world once the clock tower was erected.

Initially, the mage association consisted only of the clock tower, Atlas, and The Wandering Sea (which is still counted, despite not showing signs of life for nearly 1700 years), but in recent centuries Grauzauberer, Golden Dawn, and Rosenkreuzer have also joined because with the advent of quirks the amount of human mages has dwindled precipitously. It's not really known why, but quirk users permanently lose the ability to use magic through magic circuits, which for the past 200 years or so had reduced the human magic population to what one would expect in a world where the age of the gods is over. That is, incredibly low.

However, Nilrem and Hexennacht were not mentioned, so I suppose Ajuka does not know of their existence. Then again, they mainly emerged when Rivezim began to move events after the peace conference of the three factions if I remember correctly, and officially introduced in later volumes.

The talk had turned out to be very enlightening, giving me a paronymy of the world situation, as well as official explanations of sacred gear. Basically, a cold war and a delicate balance that most did not want to break, lest the conflict flare up again, especially after the turmoil in the human world with the advent of the quirks, which jeopardized the secrecy of the supernatural too many times for anyone's sake. Ergo, not dissimilar to the beginning of DxD and will remain so probably for at least another two or three years, or until Sekiryuutei arrives. I had time to prepare.

"Jack"

I am diverted from my thoughts by Miyu's voice. Shifting my gaze toward her, I can see the discomfort she was trying to hide, mixed with a hint of embarrassment, when a familiar girl follows her a couple of meters away, equally uncomfortable.

"What's going on?" seeing that the tension was so high that it could be cut with a knife.

[We found nee-san and her new partner. We wanted to consult with you about training] Sapphire explains, making me blink as she comes out from behind Miyu's hair, much to Illya's surprise.

"Mn? That's fine with me. What's your name, ojou-chan?" I ask, knowing full well who it was.

"I-my name is Illiasviel von Einzbern, but just call me Illya, Kurogane-san" the girl introduced herself, somewhat uncomfortably, leaning in slightly during the introduction.

Why was she so agitated? Had something happened between her and Miyu? Then again, they didn't get along very well at first.

"The pleasure is mine, Illya. You probably already know this, but I'm Kurogane Jack" I say, introducing myself anyway, nodding "Ruby, if you want to come out. We've introduced Sapphire to the people who know me as one of my somewhat wacky drones; so, we can let you through as well so if you want to flutter around freely."

The mystic code in question looks out for a moment before puffing away.

[No thanks, I don't want to pass as one of your mechanical monstrosities] snorts contemptuously the pink wand [Actually, I want nothing to do with those who pollute the magical girl scene with metal traps]

"Ruby?!" gasps Illya, as the group's attention shifts to her.

I couldn't help but frown as I heard her tone. What the heck is her problem?

"Oh? What do you mean by that, second-rate toy?" I ask trying to be unperturbed, without succeeding too well, I'm afraid.

[Never mind nee-san, Jack-sama. She's a sucker for magical girls, so she hardly ever takes anything seriously that would alter her image of them] sighs Sapphire, already tired of her attitude.

[And for a darn good reason I might add!] shouts Ruby in a huff [Do you really see that ugly, brutish, angular metal monster alongside a cute, scatterbrained magical girl like Illya-san, or with a mysterious kuudere like Miyu-san?! They completely clash! It's simply not possible! I refuse to accept it!]

"Could you please not put me in a worse light than I already am with our allies!" whispers/shouts Illya almost desperately, grabbing and shaking Ruby once she noticed how the veins on my forehead were beginning to contract.

"Ironic isn't it? For someone who can't do anything on her own, who's been holed up who knows where while I was fighting class cards in your place, you really have a lot of guts to say things like that" I say back with no problem.

[Hmm! Just wait and see! Illya-san will be such a cute little witch that there will be no more room for you on the screen!] she replies, releasing herself from Illya's grasp as she points her wing at me defiantly.

"I think you meant 'competent" corrects Miyu, a little confused by the turn the conversation was taking.

[I know what I said!] snorts Ruby, going back to hide in Illya's bag.

[...you haven't changed at all, Nee-san] Sapphire repeats sighing, with a mixture of embarrassment and resignation at the scene.

"H-huge..." murmurs Illya, still quite shocked seeing the big mansion, my private property and then the personal testing ground.

"It was a bit of a necessity honestly. In addition to my own private experiments, I usually work on a lot of costumes and support equipment for pro heroes, and I often need space to do testing" I explain as I stop in front of one of the sheds in the testing area. "Being here, it's easy to make changes, adjustments or reconfigurations on the spot, rather than taking other days to do more testing. Some people just don't have a lot of free time, and it's hard to match schedules sometimes."

"If you're so busy is it really okay to take time to train me?" asks Illya a bit skeptically, before realizing how the sentence came out, "N-not that I'm not grateful! It's just that I feel like I'm taking an important person's time like this, so..."

[Don't worry Illya-san. All Might-san gave Jack-sama a week off; therefore, he has time for now] Sapphire reassures her.

"I see-eh? S-Sapphire, did I misunderstand, or did you d-did you say All Might?" froze the red-eyed girl as she answers, with some reverential awe.

"No you didn't. I made the costumes he's been using for the past two years" I confirm, trying not to make my amusement too obvious when I see her jaw drop "Actually, I'm the head of the research and development division of Might Tower. Half the reason I had this whole facility, or my house, built is not only because I have a lot of money to spend, but also because in order to test All Might's costumes we have to be somewhat isolated, otherwise we risk doing major damage to the property during testing."

"Isn't that, like, a super important thing you just pulled out of thin air?!" asks Illya shocked, not expecting such a revelation all of a sudden

[Mph. braggart] snorts Ruby.

"So what have you already started practicing your powers, or is this the first time?" I ask, ignoring the pink wand.

"Huh? Ah, no, Ruby only made me turn once yesterday, when she burst into the bathroom while I was washing..." she replies with a grimace, decidedly uncomfortable.

"No need to be so uptight, we have time for you to get a grip on your powers" I reassure her, hoping internally too that Raider was not another monster like Artoria.

Honestly, in fgo good or bad all playable characters become 'powerful' with the right team, but some perfom significantly worse than others. For Artoria, in almost all of her available forms she is quite pathetic honestly, despite the fact that in theory she should be powerful enough to be one of the best summonable sabers, and in her lancer form she became a goddess in her own right, even if for a short time. The logic of the game doesn't fit in this world at all; therefore, I have to cross my fingers that a case similar to last night's doesn't happen, since it seems that class cards tend to manifest every day, despite having had only a few days to load up instead of weeks as in kaleid. Perhaps it is because the era of the gods here never ended?

[Well, in that case, let's begin the transformation sequence-] announced Ruby cheerfully, coming dangerously close to the hand of her temporary mistress.

"And this is where I stop you before you go any further" I reply, stopping her before a situation like the one two nights before occurred.

[Why?!] complains the wand [Transformations with all the lights and colors are the basics of magical girls! A sacred passage!]

"If you would stop interrupting me and complaining about every single thing, I would have informed you in advance that I wear contact lenses that adjust the light, making it impossible for you to try to blind me when you do that 'sacred' passage of yours" I reply sarcastically, "Translated: if you turn Illya before you give me time to turn around, I will see her practically naked since you dematerialize her clothes during her choreography, and I don't think she likes the idea of giving me such a show right now very much."

The magical girl in training shakes her head rather vividly, her face crimson with embarrassment at the idea.

[Tch, annoying metal monster...] she grumbles, making my eye twitch [Well, I'll skip the transformation sequence so you can't peek, happy? Mecha-lolicon!]

My frown grows at the free insults of that shitty wand.

However, she does exactly what she says as she slips into Illya's hand. Although I could see perfectly through the pink flash that covered her, I saw her clothes alter and become her iconic pink and white dress, rather than disappearing and doing everything Sapphire did with Miyu.

[Nee-san, what have you done? We can do this? Why didn't I know I could do this?!] confused and rather lost Sapphire asks, having definitely seen Illya had switched from her school uniform to her magical girl outfit in an instant.

[What do you mean Sapphire-chan? Of course we can do it, all we have to do is use the jump button!] replies Ruby, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, which only confused everyone present more.

[I don't follow?]

[Alright, let your big sister explain how it works!] she announces cheerfully [It's actually quite simple, you just have to visualize Miyu-san before and after the transformation, then force the world to accept that we skipped the transformation sequence! Simple, right?]

[What you said doesn't make the slightest sense!] cries Sapphire, exasperated that she couldn't understand what was going on around her half the time.

[That's because magical girls don't need meaning, silly!] shouts back Ruby [The power of magical girls depends entirely on imagination! If we can imagine the outcome, we can skip the whole process! If you don't get rid of all that common sense, you'll never be able to use all your power, Sapphire-chan!] and that's how the conversation keeps losing more and more sense [You have to believe it's possible! In that case nothing is impossible!]

[...no, no matter how much I think about it, it is impossible-]

[Stop thinking and do it!] shouts Ruby exasperatedly to her sister, who did not seem convinced at all, as did the rest of us.

[...I will try]

There was a blue flash, but instead of the usual fairy-like dress she wears as Magical Sapphire, out into the world came Miyu, naked as she was born, with only the cloak on her shoulders.

"J-j-j-jack, don't look!" stammers Miyu, covering herself with her arms, a nuclear blush on her face.

I couldn't help but sigh as I look away.

"Did it really become a thing in the end?" I ask no one in particular as I pinch the bridge of my nose.

Illya temporarily looked away to give her peer a moment of privacy as she recomposed herself, feeling pity for her but also some relief that she did not end up in that position.

"Sapphire, what happened?" whines Miyu a little, dropping her wand and returning to her school uniform.

[I am truly mortified Miyu-sama. My attempt to advance the transformation quickly ended in that failure...] she explains downed the wand, with a very depressed aura [I am programmed to be able to do this, yet I failed in such a miserable way...]

The girls look at the wand a little ruefully, feeling a little pity for her.

[Don't get depressed Sapphire-chan, it was just the first try!] says Ruby, trying to reassure her sister [You know what humans say: practice makes perfect!]

The response was just an unidentified sound.

"Maybe you're just looking at things the wrong way" I propose to the depressed wand, who had turned toward me, looking at me as if I were her lifeline "Sapphire do you have a microscope function?"

[It is among my gadgets, why?] she asks curious and a little hopeful that I would give a solution to the problem as she moved on to the required form. I used gradation air to create a piece of pyrite and show her [Pyrite?].

Miyu and Illya also look on curiously, not that the latter really understood anything about it.

"Yes. Look now though" I use alteration to change pyrite into gold "Magic doesn't create anything out of nothing. With thaumaturgy I made a simple projection, converting the prana particles coming out of my circuits into pyrite, before altering its properties and adding other elements to create something else, like gold. This is possible because I have altered the structure of the basic object at the molecular level, adding other particles when necessary"

[This is an impressive level of mastery of the alteration process and gradation air, but how can it be useful to me?] confused Sapphire asks.

"Ruby did the same thing by altering Illya's clothes into magic girl clothes" I say, trying to be as clear as possible about the point of the matter.

[?!] Sapphire gasps at the realization [Then it means that-]

"Yes, there was no grand imaginative mechanism as Ruby made it out to be, it was simply you not seeing things from the right perspective" I confirm the wand's hypothesis which muffles "People refer to magic as something they cannot explain, and magus do the same by identifying as 'real witchcraft' things they cannot understand, but reality is much less abstract than it seems. Everything can be solved with the right equations if you have the data, because nothing works by chance. The biggest difference between Ruby and you lies in the fact that, like Miyu, you cannot perform certain operations without having a clear idea of what you are doing, even if you have the skills to skip those parts. My advice is to put key points when you make certain moves with the outcome in mind, which allows you to get to the end by jumping from one step to the next without dwelling too much on all there is to think about in between."

[...I see, everything is clearer to me now] says Sapphire, now calmer and more restrained than before [Miyu-sama, do you want to try the quick transformation again? I think I can do it now]

With a nod, the sorceress in purple grabs her wand, and as had happened with Illya, her clothes warped, becoming her magical girl's dress after a few seconds.

"It worked!" says Illya, clapping her hands in surprise.

"You took 6 seconds, but that's still a vast improvement over the 30 it usually takes to change clothes and choreograph" I compliment the duo in my own way.

[Yes, thank you for your help Jack-sama. It's really a relief to have her on our side] thanks the blue wand.

"Yes. Definitely" Miyu agrees, glad she didn't end up naked in front of the audience again.

[Tch, as I thought, takes all the fun out of it] grumbles Ruby, this time with less rancor though.

"Emh...Kurogane-san, how did you figure out Sapphire-san and Miyu-san's problem so quickly?" asks Illya curiously, causing me to raise an eyebrow at the sudden curiosity.

"Mn? I had many similar problems in the beginning, and it took me a long time to solve them since I am self-taught" I confess smoothly "I can only use the basic thaumaturgies and a couple of variants, but I was able to push them to such a high extreme only after I understood how I had to think while using them. The most glaring example is projection. As a rule, it requires only three steps and does not allow you to create things that are too complicated. I use an alternative version that takes place in seven and allows me to create things like this. "I reach out, and create a perfect replica of the Astrea, which hums for a few moments before activating. "My armor is composed of hundreds of thousands of pieces of various sizes, not to mention the amount of data it has inside the programs that run it. A normal projection could never replicate such a thing, but I can recreate such an efficient version that would allow me to fight a class card even on my own, with the right conditions and in a short time, precisely because by knowing the steps I have simplified them to key points to get to the result. After that it's all a matter of how fast you're able to jump from one point to the next," I dispel the projection and turn my attention back to the girl in pink, who seemed to be fumbling for words "Well, that, and working with quirks I often have to deal with people with similar problems; so, it's literally my job to deal with those cases. Do you have any doubts about your chances?"

"Was it...was it that obvious?" she asks hesitantly.

"We all ask this question at some point, or if we are not sure where to start. All Might is no exception, either." I reassure her "I won't say anything is possible because such a thing doesn't exist in heaven or on earth. The question you have to ask yourself is, do you have the mental strength and willpower to commit to it?"

"I...don't know, but I'll try!" she replies after some initial hesitation.

Strange, how come her affection rises so quickly? Doesn't she already have a crush on her older brother? Or is it just because she is an impressionable young girl?

[I'm glad to hear you are motivated Illya-san, but please don't fall in love with him, otherwise you put me in a difficult position] snorts Ruby, breaking the rather relaxed and pleasant atmosphere that had formed.

And that is how all of Illya's determination disappears, giving way to a blushing mess.

"W-what are you saying Ruby?!"

"What can I say..." I mutter to myself, observing the numerous amount of craters, large and small, around the Astrea projection, which I had then decided to use as a moving target.

[Illya-san, your aim still leaves quite a lot to be desired, you need to concentrate more] Ruby announces without much ado.

"So sorry..." she grumbles, her cheeks slightly puffed out in an adorable pout.

After some initial difficulties, stemming more from the way Ruby explains things than anything else, Illya had managed to manipulate mana thanks in part to the help the kaleido stick gives. The problem? It is that, in no uncertain terms, her control is simply pitiful. Unlike Miyu who has a hard time reaching the end result if he does not know the move; Illya jumps straight to the result without much thought; however, his complete lack of any experience whatsoever with magic makes the said result so abstract about the move to be performed that it not only makes it difficult for him to control it, but also definitely weaker than it should be.

Granted, I did not expect her to become a war machine with a couple of hours of practice, nor did I expect her to be able to seriously destroy Astrea given her resistance to magic, even with her parameters lowered, but unlike Miyu she still has a lot of work to do on control. She has definitely improved from when she first fired, but she will not be even close to doing serious damage to a shadow servant at her current level, not without help. She does not have a suitable fighting style at short range although she does manage to condense mana into a very sharp blade that would surely be capable of wounding a manifestation.

By this I am not saying that she is incompetent. Astrea gradually increased her movement speed when Illya reached a certain standard to speed up her progress, but the speed and agility she used was drastically less than that of a rider like Medusa. She will definitely have a hard time fighting the next servant at her current state if she only equipped Ruby, but it is definitely possible for her to make it if she puts in serious effort. She may not even need the class card with the right conditions. Of course, if the rider class card is still that is meant.

"...I'm still of the opinion that she shouldn't bother fighting" Miyu says, having watched her in silence since we started.

That comment further lowered Illya's mood.

"In her current state I agree with you. She can't fight as a magical girl alone, she would be overwhelmed easily" her shoulders slump at my blunt analysis "However, we have two class cards. She can use Archer to adapt a bit to any situation with her versatility. If the fight goes longer than it should and the card needs to cool down, she can still provide support from the long distance by flying away"

Kuro could try to break the seal as soon as she senses the class card, as she did in the canon, and if she can manifest herself, all the better, we have an additional ally who can help. I am more than sure I can convince her to assist us rather easily since she is good in fact, if a bit chaotic, even skipping all the preteen drama she had with Illya, especially if I take time to talk to both of them face to face when it happens. In case it doesn't happen, Illya will get her first experience in battle, perhaps actually improving what she can't currently do, since there are things that practice alone simply cannot teach you.

Miyu still looks doubtful, while Illya looks at me a little confused, almost relieved that I had not decided to relieve her of the class card hunt.

"Yes, I think I can do it if I just have to fly" the girl nods.

[Illya-san, flying is a rather advanced skill, isn't it-] before Sapphire could finish the sentence, the girl in pink began to float, and rose a couple of meters off the ground.

"It's flying" Miyu comments.

I glance at Miyu and much to my amusement in her eyes run so many emotions that even she doesn't seem capable of analyzing, even as I could practically see the equations in her head running just as fast, trying to figure out how she could do it from a logical standpoint.

[...Yes, it is flying very easily] confirms Sapphire usefully, not even trying to question what has happened at this point.

[Extraordinary Illya-san!] cries Ruby exaltedly [Flying is an advanced skill, but you managed it so easily!]

"Is-it really such a great thing?" asked Illya confusedly, not understanding why everyone was so shocked.

[Even just getting off the ground is difficult without a strong mental image] Sapphire explains, at this point somewhat resigned to the fact that she almost expects the next answer [Honestly, I don't even know if it makes sense to ask, but I will anyway: how?]

"Emm...I don't understand the question actually" replied Illya confused, "Isn't it normal for wizards to fly?"

"Wow, so much for convenient prejudice" I say amused, as the blue wand let out a sigh as she felt her partner wince as if she had done something wrong.

[Yes! Illya-san completely ignores reasoning and logic! That's why hollow pumpkins like her are the best magical girls!] exults Ruby enthusiastically, much to Illya's annoyance.

"To me that sounded more like an insult than a compliment!" complains the magical girl in question.

Miyu looked skeptically at her peer, not understanding whether or not she should take Ruby seriously.

"Well, I'd say let's call it a day for now. It's almost 6 p.m., maybe we should walk you home before it gets dark" I propose, noting that the sun was already setting on the horizon.

"Y-yes. I warned Sella that I was going to a classmate's house, but I think she'll still be upset if I'm too late" Illya agrees as he dismounts, dispelling the transformation as soon as he hits the ground.

I waited for everyone to arrive, and it wasn't long before Illya arrived. This time, the battle would take place in the schoolyard of the two peers. I decided to loop the cameras to prevent anyone from seeing us, and avoid any hassle later. Of course, I had drones cloaked in the area to replace them in case anything happened.

"Oh, here she is" I say, seeing Illya running toward us, wearing clothes a little heavier than her school uniform.

"Sorry for the wait" says the girl so pretty she looks like a doll, "Have I kept you waiting-?"

"No, not really. We flew here as soon as we sensed the sprain," I say waving at her, before raising an eyebrow seeing how she was staring at me and squaring rather intently, "What's going on?"

"Huh? Ah, nothing, just...I had seen Kurogane-san's armor from Sapphire's footage, but seen in person it looks much cooler," she admits embarrassed, making me smile rather amused.

[Tch. It doesn't seem that impressive at all] as always, Ruby has to put in her two cents, but I ignored her, not touched in the least by her shenanigans this time.

"I really appreciate the compliment," I say honestly, "Also, you can stop calling me 'Kurogane-san.' Since we will fight the remaining class cards together, just call me Jack."

She nods, a little hesitantly.

"Ver-good, Jack...san"

"One step at a time I suppose" I murmur, seeing how uncomfortable and a little embarrassed the new magical girl was to be so informal with me.

The two 13-year-olds quickly transformed, although Ruby was not very happy to skip the transformation sequence unlike Illya, who found it too embarrassing to do it in front of me, even if I was not wearing my gear.

Sapphire, ignoring her sister who complained about when I was off topic, sets up the magic circle and takes us all to the mirror world. Just in time to see the card manifest I might add.

"Illya ready for your first battle?" I ask as the girl gives me a stiff chin "Good, because I want you to try to fight this class card on your own"

"EH?!" she looks at me shocked and panicked at my sudden exit "B-but didn't you say I wasn't ready?!"

The spike in mana attracts everyone's attention and a reddish-black vortex forms, signaling that the corrupt servant was taking shape.

"Yes, however I am not going to make you do all the work" I reply calmly, while both magical girls look at me confusedly, waiting for explanations "I will watch your back and guide you through the entire confrontation. If you don't make it you have Archer's class card, and if it's still not enough we'll step in and give you a hand" despite my 'reassurances' she didn't sound at all convinced "Unfortunately, there are some things that training simply isn't enough to learn, and must be acquired through experience. It will also help give you a better understanding of your new powers; so unless you are in real danger, we will not lift a finger to physically help you in the endeavor."

That, and I honestly hoped that Kuro would break the seal soon, because an extra ally would have really come in handy, since Saber and Berseker are coming soon.

[Well, isn't that great Illya-san? Now we don't have to share the screen with that piece of junk!] says Ruby enthusiastically [Let's get on with it!]

Illya still looks at me decidedly hesitant, not sharing his wand's enthusiasm in the least as a woman crawls out of the black mist. She is tall, with long dirty purple hair, and a rather short black dress, as ruined as the gloves and long boots she wears. Her blindfold, Breaker Gorgon, has changed considerably. It now appears to be made of flesh, with one eye in the center.

"Dodge" I order a few moments in advance, bringing the magical girl in pink out of her stupor.

"Graah...HAAAAAAAAAAAH!" with a shout, Rider lunges toward us, swinging one of his daggers to try to nail one of us with them.

Miyu and I jump away immediately, but Illya needed an extra second.

"Yaah?!" she jumps away before she can be hit, and the servant's stake crashes to the ground, foiling a small crater with its force, which also raises a dust cloud almost as high as the school itself.

"Don't get distracted and hit her now Illya, she's full of openings!" I order, making the girl blink.

"D-did I really have to take care of that?!" she asks still horrified, thinking that maybe I was playing a bad joke, but she obeyed my command anyway, and swung her wand, forming an arc-shaped attack of pure magical energy, which struck the corrupted Servant in the middle of the back, too unprepared and uncovered to defend herself properly.

The pink explosion resonates in the rather noisy night, but it did not stop Medusa from throwing one of her chain poles at him anyway, which fortunately Illya managed to dodge, even though it grazed his snow-white pink cloak.

"D-did she almost hit me?" she asks confused and alarmed, seeing the physical barrier activate "How-did she graze me when she passed me?!"

[Stay focused Illya-san] Ruby encourages her while keeping calm, as if it were the most normal thing in the world [Fighting hand-to-hand with her is too dangerous, keep your distance and try to hit her with magic attacks!]

Seeing that it was flying and was out of his reach, Rider throws his chain again, which Illya again easily dodges. The metal stake crashes into the building, piercing it as if it were made of glass sending dust and debris flying everywhere. Unfortunately, the magical neo-girl was too busy looking at the devastation caused by the attack and completely ignored the fact that the servant, still with the ability to maneuver his weapon, swings the chain as he retracts it and hits her with it. Fortunately, Ruby saw it coming from a mile away and moved her partner's arms on her own, parrying the blow with her grip, thus avoiding any damage, thanks in part to the physical protection.

"T-thanks Ruby!" gasps Illya, frightened and nervous as she regained control of her body in the air after almost being thrown off by the enemy.

[Don't let your guard down, Illya-san] admonishes her Ruby.

"I'll-I'll pay more attention" swallows Illya nervously, turning her attention back to the servant, who in the meantime had taken up his weapon again.

The sorceress summons energy into her wand and fires a pink ball the size of a bowling ball at the enemy, but this time Rider was paying attention and easily dodges.

"Huh?" Illya blinked in confusion upon seeing the sudden agility of Rider, who until now had attacked with sheer brute force.

[She dodged it] states the obvious Ruby [Now she is alert; therefore, she will pay attention as a stray animal would to its prey. She continues to strike]

Following her partner's suggestion, Illya continues to fire more magic bullets in bursts; however, none of them even come close to the manifestation of the class card, which is too agile to really get hit by such blunt attacks.

Seeing that she was starting to get nervous, I decide to make a suggestion to Illya, when rather than successive shots she opted for a barrage.

"So you're not going anywhere, limit her movement capabilities and then shoot so you can hit her better!" I say from above the battlefield. With the speakers, I really didn't need to shout.

"H-how do I do that?" asks Illya, dodging another lunge of the chain.

"Just like you used to form shields during training" I remind her when she tried to form pink star-shaped shields to block Astrea's projectiles "Create so many around her to limit the paths she can take, maybe even try to block her by making some appear on her body! After that shoot the strongest attack you can execute at her!"

"I-I will try!" she stammers, focusing again on the enemy.

She dodges yet another of Rider's attacks and as I told her, creates walls made of mana and shoots them toward her. The servant dodges every incoming wall, but as they keep coming from all angles in her vicinity, she was forced to change direction constantly, which reduced the speed she could get. With some extra effort, Illya in addition to the walls around her that gradually formed a kind of corridor leading straight toward her, also started trying to physically block her with pink stars near her limbs, and after almost two dozen attempts she managed to block his leg.

"Now, shoot!"

Illya did just that. Without thinking too much, she formed a magic circle nearly twice as large as her and fired. The pink mana stream practically passed through the jagged tunnel Illya had previously formed and hit the corrupted spirit, causing a large explosion that scattered the pink walls. The dust cloud caused by the shockwave swept over the entire school, forcing us to rise in altitude to avoid being swept over as well.

Was that Quintett Feuer? No, it was too weak compared to the one she had used on Gilgamesh, then again, she wasn't using both mystic codes, plus she's had Ruby for a couple of days; so, she still didn't have the ability to summon all that power at once, let alone use it.

"D-did I make it?" she asks hesitantly, panting a little from the effort, seeing the damage she had done as the dust slowly settled.

"Not yet!" I warn her, before I feel a surge of mana and see a dirty-red light between dust and earth.

[Illya-san something dangerous is coming, retreat!] Ruby informs her alarmed, startling her by the sudden urgency in her voice.

"She's using the smoke screen to use her noble phantasm! Hit her again before she can do it!" I order her quickly, making her gasp "She can't m

ove while activating it, hurry!"

Illya panics and shifts her gaze between Ruby and me, unsure of which order to follow.

"!" After a few moments of hesitation she freezes and gasps, much to my confusion. I see her eyes light up slightly and change to a shade more orange than red.

[Illya-san? What's going on?] asks Ruby worriedly, seeing that the 13-year-old had suddenly calmed down and lost any hint of emotion.

Ignoring Ruby completely, she points her wand at the servant. There is another surge of energy, this time coming from Illya, on a completely different level than anything emitted during this battle, as it forms a magic circle.

"Belle-"

"Feuer" she says in a monotone voice.

A torrent of magical energy rained down on the Rider before she could announce the true name of her noble phantasm. She did not even have time to scream as she was completely obliterated by the attack. There was no explosion or anything. Illya's magical attack was so concentrated and compressed that it was a real laser, which dug into the ground and continued deep into it. After a few seconds, the energy emitted in the magic circle ran out, leaving the battlefield rather silent.

"What happened?" asks Miyu surprised at what she saw.

"It seems that our new partner has more power than she initially seemed" I comment a little surprised.

Her magical power tripled for a few moments. How did it happen though? The first time, the seal broke because Excalibur had practically wiped out Rin and Luvia with Ruby and Sapphire, virtually burying any chance of victory for the group during the hunt for the unexpected class card Saber. At that moment, the seal was drained and weakened enough to loosen enough for Kuro to emerge while Illya was unconscious for a few minutes, but now? Was she so scared that she did it anyway? No, wait, Illya is 3 years older now, maybe the state of the seal on the grail is much more degraded than it was in kaleid. If so, then she just needed a strong enough stimulus to let it happen? Interesting.

Should I let her use the class card in training to break it completely and get her out?

Two chapters in one month. The beauty of summer I suppose? Luckily, WhiteDragonSky is on vacation now, so maybe she can translate the chapters more frequently if she has time... and I've finally (maybe) found a job. tomorrow I'll start the test and if it goes well, this month I'll finally be able to build myself a decent PC to write and play with, rather than do it from a phone. If that works out, maybe I'll write less frequently, but this summer I shouldn't have any problems as I have three chapters ready to be translated and an eighth in the works.

On a side note, I was honestly conflicted and didn't know exactly who to use between Illya and Nejire for Ruby (thus taking Kuro off). let me know what you think with a review!

Ps: I will open a poll for a servant to be summoned later, please go and vote as soon as you see it.