Disclaimer: FATE does not belong to me, all its history and characters belong to Type-Moon.
Chapter 12, The Rail Zeppelin.
Two weeks had passed since his meeting with Kiritsugu, and that day, he learned an enormous number of things:
To begin with, he learned about events of the present:
Kiritsugu only had half a year left to live, forcing them to rush their plans but, fortunately, most of the preparations were already complete. Kiritsugu was not going to carry out any more missions until, according to him, he finished final preparations for their assault on the Einzbern's castle and, while doing so, he would keep a low profile, keeping to the outskirts of London.
In his stubbornness, Shirou investigated as much as he could about the powerful curse that affected his father. Still, unfortunately, his results had been the same as his father's: the curse was too powerful, and it was already too advanced to be able to do anything.
According to Kiritsugu, it would take a month or two to be ready for their assault on the castle, which Shirou was fine with, as it would allow him to attend the Rail Zeppelin.
However, the most important thing was not what he had learned about the present but about the past:
Kiritsugu had told him all about his experience with the Einzbern family. He told him how, nine years before the war, he was hired by that family to be their representative in what was the last True Holy Grail War. The Einzbern family intended to retrieve the Third Magic, which they had lost centuries ago. But Kiritsugu had goals of his own; although he refused to talk much about them, according to him, those dreams were something he felt he should carry alone.
Through his association with this family, he met the woman he would marry, and a year later, they would have a daughter. This would be his sister, who is older than him by a year, and her name was Illya.
Subsequently, nine years passed, and Kiritsugu prepared to enter the fourth war. It turns out that, two years before associating with the Einzberns, Kiritsugu had taken on an apprentice, Maiya Hisau, after joining the Einzberns, he entrusted all of his gear to her, including his Thompson Contender, just before leaving with the German family. However, both met after nine years to participate in the ritual.
Kiritsugu gave him a list of what he had discovered about the masters and servants of the fourth war based on what he had researched almost a decade ago:
The first was Tokiomi Tohsaka, Rin's father, and he had summoned the Archer-class servant. Kiritsugu described him as an arrogant King fully dressed in golden robes. However, what was really important about this one was his absurd ability to fire weapons from what appeared to be portals. Furthermore, even if it were at a glance, Kiritsugu could tell that each of those weapons was, at the very least, a treasure of the highest quality.
These statements made Shirou want to meet said servant; however, Kiritsugu snubbed him, saying that it was almost impossible, and even so, he warned him never to face someone like him. Above all, since he had been able to face Saber face to face as if it were no big deal.
The second Master had been Kariya Matou, apparently Shinji's uncle, as well as the last member of the Matou family to be born with natural magic circuits. And as observed by Kiritsugu, he was an inexperienced magus and quite an unpredictable Master.
He had been the master of Berserker, a knight in black armor who did nothing but the roar from the rooftops against everything that opposed him, and also, he seemed to have some ability to turn anything he touched into his own weapon.
The third Master turned out to be the former Lord El-Melloi, which traveled with his fiancée and summoned a Lancer-class servant. Kiritsugu told him how this handled two spears, and, according to what his wife had told him, he seemed to have some charm curse on his face.
The fourth Master was Lord Animusphere, who, while he was a magus skilled enough to deserve his title of Lord, what was genuinely troubling was the servant he summoned. Kiritsugu described him as a Caster with brown skin and white hair tied in a braid. The magus killer ranked him as the pinnacle of all magus, someone so skilled and talented as well as mighty, to the point that he could not be less than a Caster from the Age of Gods.
The fifth Master was his teacher, Waver Velvet. Kiritsugu described him as... well, a naive boy who ended up getting involved in a war of legendary heroes and that the only reason he survived was because of the heroic spirit he summoned: Iskandar, the King of Conquerors.
If the Fifth Master was incompetent with the good fortune to have summoned a great Heroic Spirit, then the Sixth Master was his complete opposite. Based on what he had seen, her servant would not be considered extraordinarily powerful, even among Assassin-class servants. However, she was still a servant, an existence far more mighty than normal humans, and Maiya's death due to her touching her poisonous skin was proof of this.
However, beyond that, Assassin did not do greater or greater acts against him, apart from stealing the grail in the last leg of the war. On the other hand, her Master was one of the greatest dangers Kiritsugu had to face during the war, and yet, he was unable to discover her identity. She constantly communicated remotely, and according to her, most of the time was to "playing" with the other Masters.
Lastly, there was Kiritsugu, who had summoned King Arthur. To Shirou's surprise, the servant Kiritsugu invoked during the ritual if he was male, which directly collided with what Shirou had seen with his Structural Grasp; however, after some discussion, they both agreed that it was probably because the grail system had a connection to the Throne of Heroes and that the Throne of Heroes was "out of time and space," therefore, it should be able to summon heroic spirits from other realities.
On top of all this, the Einzbern family activated an emergency system for this war, and thus an eighth servant entered the war, the Ruler class. It is a kind of non-standard servant to preside over the holy grail wars that act when circumstances arise that invade the authority of the grail or that are considered abnormal, the saint grail uses its own logic and, independently of other mediators, such as that of the Church, introduces a Ruler to protect the concept of war. The Rulers do not take any side in the battle and only act in the interest of the grail, and they possess Command Spells that they can use against the other servants. However, perhaps it was because of the corruption of the holy grail or some unforeseen factor that the Ruler of the previous war did not respect his position and wanted to obtain the grail, and utilized all the resources at his disposal to get the cup.
Another thing that affected the war was the mediators of the Church, Kotomine Kirei, and Kotomine Risei. Although initially, they acted impartially, this changed as the war progressed. Apparently, the Church had an alliance with the Tohsaka family, so much so that when Tokiomi Tohsaka died of mysterious causes, Kotomine Kirei was the one who took his place as Archer's Master.
At the mention of Rin's father's death, Shirou couldn't help but ask if he knew who had killed him. For his peace of mind, Kiritsugu denied knowing this fact and told him that they had agreed to a ceasefire between them until they could deal with the other two big problems of the war: Caster and Assassin's master. And, while this pact lasted, Tokiomi was killed.
His father told him that the war was really complicated, and almost all the servants and masters reached it until the last day. The only exception was Lancer, who killed himself before arriving on this day because of Kiritsugu's own plans. But, save for this one exception, all the servants had survived until that day, and, as for the masters, only Rin's father and the former Lord El-Melloi died before reaching this one.
According to the information he collected, his father had already told him about his participation in the final day of the war, and Altrouge informed him that his teacher was defeated on the last day by a very mighty enemy, also Kiritsugu admitted to killing Kotomine on the final war day. However, none of them had any information on how Lord Animusphere died, what happened to the Assassin's master, and ultimately what happened to the other servants at the end of the conflict. These were doubts that not even the Association or the Church had been able to unravel.
After learning about everything that happened, Shirou further investigated the grail ritual, as he wanted to be sure that it would not happen again in Fuyuki. Luckily for him, the conclusion he came to was affirmative, the grail ritual should not be able to take place due to the state of the leylines. However, it wasn't all happiness because although the original war couldn't happen, perhaps a false war on a smaller scale could take place. Shirou shook his head. No, it did not make sense since there were better places to install a false war.
After getting all this information, several days passed, and Shirou was currently in one of the apartments where his father was staying. Inside it, he could see several weapons and equipment that Kiritsugu had obtained from his missions and contracts.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" asked his father sitting in front of him.
"I want you to teach me more about our crest's Temporal Manipulation Magecraft," Shirou said as he reached into his backpack for some papers.
His words surprised Kiritsugu, "What specifically do you want to know? I've already taught you how to speed up your own innate time, and thanks to Avalon, you can even use Triple Accel safely, and as long as you're close to the girl, you can use Square Accel without any repercussions, except for the pain. I guess I can teach you the Time Stagnate now."
"That would be very helpful; however," Shirou pulled out some papers, "I was referring to this."
The magus killer took the papers his son offered him and examined them. "These are the principles of Time Manipulation Magecraft," Kiritsugu had already read them when he set out to create Innate Time Control, "however, managing to employ them is impossible in normal situations, as the amount of preparation required, as well as the huge energy drain, makes it impractical and non-functional."
The manipulation of the flow of time is the type of magecraft that the Emiya family spent generations researching and seeking to control. It is the ability to separate the passage of time from the flow of time in the outside world within a designated space. It is classified as high thaumaturgy in the form of a bounded field that can be thought of as a kind of reality marble in some way. It allows for a "time adjustment" that can only slow down time that has passed or speed up time in the future. It is generally used with large-scale rituals that require a great deal of magical energy and planning to activate.
"I know, but I've found a way."
"What do you mean?" asked the freelancer intrigued.
Shirou looked around, "How good are the barriers surrounding the apartment?"
Kiritsugu gave a slight smile, "Don't worry. I have prepared this place to be undetectable in the same way that I will prepare the defenses of your apartment. Nothing we talk about here will get out."
"Good, because no one must know what I'm going to tell you."
"What?"
Shirou looked at him seriously, "I'm developing a reality marble."
"What!?" Kiritsugu asked, surprised and concerned in equal parts, "Are you serious?"
Reality marbles are taboo in the magecraft world, simply having one means receiving a Sealing Designation.
Shirou nodded, "I've been able to keep it hidden for the past few months. I found out I had it after I started my second year of study, and luckily no one has noticed."
Quickly, the freelancer spoke up, "And no one must notice. If they do, you'll have the Association after your neck."
"I know. It's still developing, so I can't manifest it, but as time goes by will eventually be completed. When I thought about it and remembered the research inside the crest, I thought maybe it would be possible..."
Kiritsugu understood what Shirou meant. The Emiya family's magecraft was impractical for combat, requiring large-scale rituals, which consume a large amount of magical energy to create the designated space where the passage of time is separated from the flow of time of the outside world, however, if that space is formed using a reality marble, then the ritual and all the resources necessary to carry it out become expendable, and the only thing that would remain would be the consumption of magical energy. However, with his magic circuits added to the circuits on the crest, it should be possible that...
Kiritsugu looked at his son seriously, "Shirou, are you planning…?"
"Reaching the goal that the Emiya family has been pursuing for centuries?"
Kiritsugu nodded.
Shirou smirked, "Well, since it looks like I have a chance of getting it, wouldn't it be a waste not to try? Grandpa doesn't mind either."
"It is seldom that things fit together so well, Kiritsugu, so it would be a waste not to take advantage of it," Muramasa spoke.
Kiritsugu sighed, "Sometimes I think that leaving you with the magi could have been very dangerous... in more ways than one."
Shirou replied falsely offended, "Hey, I would never indiscriminately harm anyone to get to the top of my research."
The freelancer smiled faintly again, "I know, and that's why I'm not worried. You may have spent the last few years in the Clock Tower, but luckily, that hasn't changed your core."
"He's as stubborn as steel," Grandpa mocked.
However, Shirou looked worried, "I understand that you don't want to help me with this. I know what happened to your father for obsessing over his research, so..."
"I will, I'll help you get it."
This surprised the redhead, "What? But…"
"Shirou, you said it yourself: you would never think of harming anyone to get your investigation results. If there is one thing I can be sure of, it is that." Kiritsugu then showed a severe expression, "However, we would need a place where we can work without raising suspicions and without being bothered… Thanks to my jobs and the sponsorship of the Valualeta family, we have been able to save a good amount of money; however, properties in London are not specifically cheap."
The redhead nodded, "I know. I've been thinking about it due to a certain accident," as he spoke, he went back to looking for something inside his bag and took out a pamphlet, "what do you think of this? It's not inside the city, but on the outskirts, so its price isn't that high, the leylines have weakened, but it's good enough for what we need."
All of that was true, but the most important thing was the price, "It's pretty cheap. How did you find out about this place?"
"Well…"
In the brochure appeared the image of the Marbury Workshop. The rumors about the reason for the murders inside the workshop had spread like wildfire. That, coupled with losing three family members, forced the Codrington family to ditch the workshop to clear their family name; however, due to rumors, no one had made them an offer, forcing them to lower the price.
"Legislation took it upon themselves to dismantle the mechanism that turned the spirits into artificial fairies. It also doesn't seem like there were any spirits around after the Wild Hunt passed through, so it's just a normal property now," Shirou explained.
"I see… and at this price… We could make them an offer. However, even if we get the workshop and start studying ridge magecraft, as far as your reality marble is concerned, I cannot help you with that."
Shirou smirked, "Don't worry, Rouge is helping me with that; however, I can only manifest it in a very reduced form, so it's really useless for now."
"Are you able to manifest it?"
Shirou nodded, "Yes, but I can't expand it to create the entire bounded field."
"Then, maybe it's not useless…"
This confused the apprentice magus, "What do you mean?"
"Do you remember how my origin bullets work?"
Shirou nodded, "Yes, of course."
"Perhaps we could use the same method together with your reality marble. That way, even if the marble is small, as it explodes from within the body…"
"The damage it would cause would be enormous…"
Kiritsugu nodded, "Besides, thanks to your projection magecraft, you probably won't need to create bullets constantly. But even so, we'll still need the necessary materials… Fortunately for you, Avalon will regenerate anything we use."
Shirou half nodded, even if his father was right, Avalon didn't remove the pain...
"But, if you want to achieve this, you will need the rest of the crest. You will only achieve it with the complete investigation."
Shirou nodded, "Yeah, I'll have to dance in Barthomeloi's palm for a while longer. On the other hand, I think like I'm starting to get used to using the new circuits of the crest."
"How do you know?"
"When I traveled to the Marbury Workshop, I used Neocaliburn twice and still managed to stay on my feet; I think it's due to the new circuits."
Kiritsugu nodded, "Your magical energy output must have probably increased."
An alarm sounded, and Shirou looked at a watch on his wrist, "It's late, I have to go, or I'll be late for the department. We can make an appointment for surgery in a few weeks after the work on the train is done."
"Be careful since while mages are troublesome almost by nature, those who regularly board that train is often even more dangerous."
"I know. Even Red tackled it back in the day."
…
Since that conversation, a week passed...
Shirou met the homunculus sent by his sister, and he handed her the answer written by Kiritsugu. He didn't know what his father had written in the letter, but he hoped it was enough to make his sister doubt her grandfather's words at least. If Illya were on their side during the infiltration, it would be much easier for them to deal with old Einzbern.
And so, the day finally came when they would have to board the Rail Zeppelin.
Shirou, Altrouge, and Fou had packed their bags and headed for the station, and as they walked, he recalled the information he had managed to obtain about the train...
The train is made up of twelve wagons, of which three make up the locomotive section, including the main one, and the other nine are divided into a wagon that serves as a dining room, another that is used as a lobby, five for guests, and two for burden. The train initially only ran in the heart of Northern Europe, but after being repaired, it began to appear across the continent, including Britain, despite being surrounded by sea.
"Is this the train station?" asked the redhead.
"Yes," Altrouge answered.
Both had reached one of the entrances of the London train station; however, nobody seemed to notice that it was present.
"By the way, Rouge, that's…"
Altrouge nodded with a smile as she showed off her new accessory, "Yeah, they're hard to come by, but I managed to get my hands on a Mystic-Eyes Killer."
Mystic-Eye Killers were magical constructs with the power to block and suppress the ability of mystic eyes. For a train full of Mystic Eyes, this was adequate protection.
Thus, the trio crossed the entrance and noticed how the world changed around them...
Earlier that same day...
The young Lord El-Melloi was at the train station, right in front of the Rail Zeppelin. Next to him was his apprentice and one of his students, Rin. Both he and she were looking at their surroundings...
"This will be troublesome," Rin said.
"What do you mean, Miss Tohsaka?" Gray asked politely.
"Can't you tell, Gray? Take a look around," Rin glanced at several of the people in the station, "this place is full of trouble." She turned to the grave keeper, "And by the way, you can call me Rin if you want. We've already known each other for several months, and we're going to study together for several years, so it's better if we get to know each other better."
Gray smiled, "I understand, Rin then..."
"Rin is right… Be careful, Gray, because this train was created by one of the 27 great bloodsuckers. One of the people who will board it is the one who stole the relic from me, and even if the thief does not appear, the people boarding it are not specifically charitable people."
"That's why you wear those glasses, to nullify the mystic eyes, isn't it, Lord?"
The group turned and could see how a woman approached them.
"Hishiri Adashino, you again? I knew you would mobilize after I analyzed Wills' files."
"Hmn... So, the other Lord rumored to board the train would be the Lord from Modern Magecraft Theory."
The entire group turned to see a young girl approaching.
Like Reines, this was a young teenager. She was a fair-skinned young Lady with long ashen hair and amber eyes. She wore a long black dress with orange and gold details, and she sported an orange bow.
"She is the Lord of Astromancy," Waver told Rin and Gray before addressing the lady, "Nice to meet you, Lord."
"So the Norwich upstart remembers my name, huh?" Crossing her arms and striking a pose that showed her importance, she introduced herself, "I am Olga Marie Animusphere, enchanted. Have you come for any particular mystic eye? Lord El-Melloi II…"
"Who knows?" Waver answered.
"I warn you that this time it will be Astromancy who will win the bid, even if we face another Lord."
"You overestimate me..."
Another woman approached the group. She was blonde, tall, with fair skin and green eyes, and sporting a blue-black formal dress, "My lady, it is time."
"Trisha… Okay, we'll see you at the auction Lord El-Melloi, and for your own good, don't get in the way of the Animusphere family."
Adashino covered her mouth with one of her kimono sleeves and elegantly said, "Scary…Scary…"
With that said, they both headed to another part of the station.
"It's strange that the Animusphere family come out of their mountain," Adashino said.
"It makes sense that it is the Faculty of Astromancy that is most interested in eyes that can reveal mysteries," El-Melloi answered, "besides, considering the situation of the Animusphere family, it stands to reason that their heiress would want to make as much profit as possible from this event."
"What do you mean?" Rin asked.
"That girl's situation has been one of the hardest and most complicated in the Clock Tower."
Waver nodded, "Lord Animusphere died when she was three years old. So for five years, the stability of the Animusphere family hung in the balance. They were represented in the Clock Tower by a provisional Lord, and of course, the disputes within the family were not lacking. When everything was about to be lost due to the disputes, at the age of 8, she assumed the position of Lord and, for the last few years, managed to keep the Animusphere family stable until today."
Suddenly, the lights on the train came on, and the doors of it opened.
"Be careful because this train is basically another world." Saying that, he started walking towards the entrance, "Come on."
The group entered the train, and inside it, Gray was surprised at how big it was, and Rin was also surprised; however, she did not show it.
Waver took a seat in one of the chairs that surrounded one of the tables and, next to him, sat his students. To his dismay, Adashino sat across from him.
Frustrated, the young Lord surreptitiously analyzed the other passengers...
I know half of them, and they are all monsters...
Suddenly, a man entered the wagon through one of its doors. He was a rather elderly dark-skinned man, in his seventies, with a tall and imposing figure, was dressed in Holy Church clothes, and had a prominent scar running across his forehead and right eye, taking up much of his face.
All the mages were on guard...
"Enough, I have no intention of starting a fight," he reached into one of the pockets of his outfit, pulling out an invitation, "I'll be participating in the auction too. Is there a problem?"
"No, excuse me," said the young Lord.
The man shook his head, "Never mind, it's a natural reaction,"
And with that said, everyone was surprised to hear a familiar voice…
"Oh!? It's an honor to have Lord El-Melloi; I've been waiting for you," said an animated young woman entering the same door as the man from the Church.
"Yvette?" Gray exclaimed.
"What are you doing here?" Rin asked.
Excitedly greeting several of the passengers, she approached the group, "My family has mystic eyes, and we are frequent buyers of the eye collector train," she said while holding up an invitation and approached the group and said, "although I didn't expect you to come too, did you get attached to the teacher, Rin?
Rin rolled her eyes, "He asked me the favor of accompanying him since Flat couldn't come due to extracurricular activities, and Svin is preparing for his promotion ceremony." Then, she smiled, "Mystic eyes interest me too, so I decided to tag along."
"Hmn… With two students… both women… wow, wow, don't be unfaithful to me, professor," afterward, she looked thoughtful, "although… no, well, maybe…" smiling she stated, "excuse me, professor, I'm not an expert in multiplayer."
Adashino smiled, "So cute, do you want to be his lover?"
She nodded, "Yes, I usually visit him at night."
"Shut your mouth and, if possible, jump out that window right now," the Lord replied.
"Sorry to bother everyone..."
All the passengers turned around, and from the opposite entrance to the one Yvette had entered, two people addressed the rest of those present.
One of those people was a woman with blonde hair combed to the side. She wears a long, vertically striped jacket with a black suit underneath, and the most striking thing about her outfit is the red bandages around her eyes.
Next to her was an older man. If they had to define him, he would be a severe man with a stone face and, apparently, spoke little. He wears a driver's uniform.
She introduced herself, "I'm Leandra, the auctioneer."
"I am Rodin, the driver. The Rail Zeppelin will depart at the stipulated time."
Leandra smiled slightly and welcomed the passengers, "Over the next three days, we will be auctioning off several of our treasured mystic eyes. I hope you enjoy your time on the train…"
Saying this, they both left the train wagon...
The rest of the day, Waver spent watching the passengers, and unfortunately, nothing else happened. At the end of that day, Waver, Rin, and Gray went to their room. Gray asked the Lord if they should actively search for the suspect, but Waver replied that doing so was unnecessary, as whoever invited them would probably have something planned for them.
In another wagon, a few hours ago...
"We managed to arrive on time," Shirou said.
"It would have been troublesome if we hadn't managed to board it at the station," Altrouge replied.
They both sat on one of the train chairs and began to stealthily analyze the passengers...
Do you recognize anyone on the train? Altrouge asked via the link generated by the contract.
Yeah, the girl with the ashen hair, the one who is watching us like a hawk, do you see her?
A little difficult not to see her with the intensity with which she is looking at us. Who is she?
The Lord of Astromancy, Olga Marie Animusphere.
Isn't she too young to be a Lord?
Surely; however, the previous Lord Animusphere died when she was young, and as far as I know, they survived through a proxy for a time, but the stability of the family was in danger until she had to take over at the age of eight.
That's pretty amazing, but why is she looking at you so intently?
The previous Lord Animusphere was her father, and do you remember where he died?
At that moment, Altrouge understood. Do you think she thinks it was your father who murdered hers?
It's possible. There were some mysterious murders in the war, like Rin's father's or Lord Animusphere's, and others only discovered through investigation, like Lord El-Melloi's murder. It's hard not to suspect the man with the title of magus killer.
But he didn't do it, did he?
Shirou shook his head. On the last day of the war, Kiritsugu encountered Assassin, Archer, and his Master. On the other hand, Saber encountered Berserker as well. But neither he nor Saber encountered Lord Animusphere, his servant, or Assassin's Master.
Do you think she will try something?
I doubt it. The magi of the main families of the Clock Tower are proud and 'honorable' aristocrats, at least for the most part. Rituals of the same nature as the Holy Grail War, such as Fake Wars, where the participants can die and they know it beforehand, are not so rare. The act of a family attacking another that has killed a member of this within this type of ritual would tarnish the honor of the said family. In fact, it is more feasible for the aristocrats to blame the ability of that member who died and thus clears their family name than to taint it further by attacking the other magi.
I get it. If she acts like an aristocrat, I think I can foresee what she will do: no alliances or contracts, and she will not make it easy for us if we need something from her faculty, and if we give her the slightest excuse, she will go against us.
She'll probably come for my neck. Yeah, that's most likely. She could also hire assassins so that it is not known that it was her and her family's work, but since she hasn't done so before, I doubt she will in the future.
Do you know anyone else?
Shirou surreptitiously looked around. Yes, do you see that man over there?
That old man who looks like a mobster?
He not only looks like one, but he really is. He is Galvarosso Scladio, and the Scladio family is a mafia organization founded by him, whose roots go back to the Sicilian mafia. And although it is called a mafia, it is not like the traditional mafia. It has absorbed and joined many other organizations, increasing its size. This has created a faceless mafia, which is not limited by national borders, lineages, or ideologies.
Hmm... I'm not very interested in human affairs, so... is it dangerous?
"His organization certainly is, but I don't know what abilities he possesses as a mage. We'd better be careful."
Soon, Leandra and Rodin reached the wagon and informed the rest of the passengers about the departure of the train.
What do you think of the auction on the first day?
It will be bait. Although there is an auction every day, I'm sure the best eyes will be saved for the second and third days. The Princess smiled. I want to see what they will auction besides the rainbow rank mystic eye.
So, will you participate in the rest of the auction?
Maybe, it depends on what they auction... But I won't participate on the first day.
Shirou and Altrouge spent the rest of the day exploring the train, analyzing the passengers, and investigating if anything fascinating or out of the ordinary was happening, but they couldn't find anything. However, when night came...
The duo was in their room inside the train.
"This day was more normal than I thought," Shirou said.
"Coming from old Kaleido, I expected something else too," Altrouge replied.
"Well, it's still two days away. Who knows what could happen."
Altrouge smiled, "Well, from what I've seen of your luck, nothing good…"
"I'm not going to deny that it may be true..."
Toc; toc!
"Hmm, who could it be at this hour?" Shirou took his sword and prepared to open the door, "who is it?"
Lord Animusphere's companion was in front of him.
"Good evening Mr. Emiya, my name is Trisha Fellows."
"Good evening, you are Lord Animusphere's companion, aren't you?"
She nodded, "That's right, I come on behalf of Lord Animusphere. My Lady invites you to dine with us… If you accept, join us in the train dining room in a few minutes." Having said this, she bowed slightly and bid her farewell.
"That was unexpected…" the redhead said.
"The dining room is a public area, so I highly doubt she'll try anything," Muramasa said.
"Did you wake up, grandfather?"
"Yes. I've been keeping an eye open for anything interesting, but since I didn't notice anything, I went back to sleep."
The redhead nodded, "You're right. It would have been easier to eliminate me now." Shirou turned to his partner, "Are you sure you don't want to go to the auction?" But later, the young man was thoughtful, "Although, now that I think about it, I don't think you need other mystic eyes."
"I don't need them. The only ones I'm interested in are the rainbow-rank ones. On the second day though, though I doubt they'll show the jackpot, they'll show better eyes, so I'll probably go."
"If you are only interested in rainbow rank eyes, why will you participate in the second day?"
She smiled, "Who do you think will need all the help we can get to survive what we're going to face, you or me?"
This surprised the apprentice blacksmith, "Wait, you want to buy me some mystic eyes!?"
"Only if they offer something useful."
Shirou looked unsure, "I don't know if that will be good."
This caught the attention of the Princess, "Why?"
"Do you see my eyes?"
She nodded, "They're silver, as always."
He denied it, "No, they were more of a coppery color at first, and they became that way over time."
"Seriously?"
Shirou nodded, "Grandpa and I have a theory…"
"We believe that his eyes were transformed by inheriting my karma. It's not something that hasn't happened before, but it's the first time it's been shown with such force…" the master blacksmith spoke.
"Pure Eyes of silver color? That makes sense. I wonder what they'll do...? This makes your eyes quite valuable, especially when you use them to analyze any weapon in fine detail through structural grasp, which is quite a useful skill for a blacksmith." Altrouge smiled, "Don't worry, the mystic eyes are related to the body, the pure ones to inherited karma, so they won't cause problems if you combine them unless they have terrible compatibility. So, shall we go?" "Will you give me another option?"
"No, it looks like fun."
Shirou smiled a bit wryly, "I think few people would find it fun to go out to dinner with a person who probably wants to kill you."
"In fact, there are more of us than you think, you just haven't met them."
"By the way, brat, wake me up when it's time for the auction."
"Huh? Are you interested in the mystic eyes, Grandpa?"
"Not specifically, but we might find something good…"
After saying this, both of them walked to the dining wagon. This one had several tables and chairs side by side. In one of them, Trisha and Lord Animusphere were.
They both approached the table.
"Good night…" Shirou said.
"Emiya. Please both of you have a seat," Lord Animusphere spoke.
Shirou and Altrouge sat down, and suddenly the menu appeared out of nowhere.
"I'm honest, I didn't expect you to call me directly, Lord Animusphere."
They both ordered and the letter disappeared.
"I admit I was rather hesitant about this approach, but any major altercation inside the train that jeopardizes the auction will result in those involved losing access to it, and I imagine you, like the rest of the passengers, are here to get a mystic eye, isn't it?" Olga Marie spoke.
"It's possible…" the boy answered, "by the way, this is Rouge, my apprentice."
"Delighted," the Princess spoke.
Marie nodded in acknowledgment.
The food came to the table out of nowhere.
"If you have sent for me, I must assume that you want something from me, how can I serve the Lord of Astromancy?"
"Trisha…"
The woman nodded, "I understand." Trisha got up and, using her finger, traced a circle around the table. Suddenly, the area changed.
"A pocket of imaginary numbers, it's the first time I've seen one. It's a strange way to use it…" Shirou exclaimed in surprise.
"It's much more practical than creating a barrier so they can't hear us," Marie said.
"Certainly. So, what do you want?"
"Information. Of course, I'm willing to pay for it. It's about a common event between our families," she said before handing him a contract.
A Geis? It prevents me from lying about the information given, but in exchange, it forces Lord Animusphere to reward me, although it doesn't specify how. Too vague, but the information I'll give her isn't especially significant, so I won't lose anything and may be able to gain something. He took the contract and passed it to Altrouge for her to examine since, after all, not for nothing was she the Master of Contracts. Altrouge looked at it for a few moments and, with a gesture, told him that there were no tricks in the small letters, so he accepted it, "I see. The previous Holy Grail War, isn't it?"
Marie nodded, "That's right, I'll get right to the point: Was it your father who killed the previous Lord Animusphere? Or do you know how he died? As much as we've researched, we couldn't find the answer. If not because my father transferring our crest before participating, our family would have fallen into disgrace, just like the El-Melloi family."
Shirou shook his head, "No, although my father was the assassin of the previous Lord El-Melloi, he had nothing to do with the death of Lord Animusphere; however, there are things that I can confirm for you."
"Tell me…"
"Your father made it to the final day of the war and only died at the height of it."
"But how? We didn't even find the remains of his body," Marie asked, and for a moment, her expression faltered and showed a brief hint of weakness.
"I have a theory: it is now common knowledge that the grail of the ancient war was corrupted, but what many ignore is the size of the corruption. The accumulation of curses spread like blackish mud that devoured everything without exception. And though the Church, the Association, and the government covered it up like a fire caused by a gas leak, it couldn't be further from the truth."
"And what else?"
"Said corruption emanated from the grail itself, and if your father was near it, it's possible that the corruption, well…"
Marie gulped, "You mean… the grail mud…"
Shirou nodded, "Almost certainly, around five hundred people died that way, and it's likely that your father was near the grail. That would explain why they found no trace of him."
She looked down, "I see…"
"Forgive me for not being of more use."
Marie shook her head, "No, even if I had the exact information about his death, it wouldn't change a thing."
"In that case, I think there is nothing more to talk about."
Marie nodded, "If you need anything from the Astromancy faculty, then you can come to my office, and as long as it's reasonable, I'll see what I can do. Trisha…"
The woman eliminated the pocket of imaginary numbers by writing a password in the air.
"Valuay, will you participate in the auction?" Marie asked.
"Probably…" Shirou replied.
"In that case, I warn you that we plan to win it, so it wouldn't be wise to get in our way," she said with a smile.
"Oh?" Is that a challenge?" Altrouge asked.
She shook her head, "Not at all. I don't think you have enough money to compete against us."
The princess smiled, "Well, we'll see..." Altrouge said before walking away.
Shirou smiled wearily as he shook his head, "You shouldn't have done that."
"Let's just say I'm very confident…" Marie replied.
"I know, but she has that and more, probably," he said before leaving, following his partner.
Thus, the first day on the Rail Zeppelin came to an end for its passengers, but outside the train, in one of the London establishments.
Kairi Sisigou walked through these streets looking for a particular establishment, and on his way, several people quickly moved away from his side, fearing his appearance. Finally, he reached a door, on which it had hung a small sign: closed for an event.
He smiled, "So it's here," he said before opening the door and entering the establishment.
"Welcome, Kairi Sisigou…"
"I didn't expect you would make me come to such a refined place, although I doubt you'd like it, Miss Reines," the necromancer answered with a certain irony.
The Lord's sister smiled, "My brother loves this place, and its sandwiches are delicious."
Kairi sat up, "And what does a Lord's sister want from me?"
She took a cup of coffee, "You know that my brother participated in the previous holy grail war, right?"
Kairi nodded, "That's what's rumored."
"Well, the catalyst he used was stolen."
"The item used to summon the Heroic Spirit?"
Reines nodded, "Iskandar's cloak was taken."
Kairi hissed, "It's no small thing."
"No, it's not, Kayneth got it by a miracle."
"The King of Conquerors' cloak must be able to form a bond with him or one of his vassals."
Reines nodded.
"Any Evocation magus would want it."
"That's right, and my brother went on the Rail Zeppelin to retrieve it."
This surprised the mercenary, "Wait, are you going to ask me to get on the train to help him?"
She shook her head, "No, you can't come in uninvited. And I need leads on who's responsible."
"I see, then I have to play detective."
"It must be someone capable of stealing from a Lord and I need someone who can take care of himself."
Kairi nodded, "I understand, but why doesn't someone from the Faculty of Modern Magecraft Theory sort it out?"
Reines smiled, "Because the closest ones are the first suspects. I was going to ask two of my brother's students to investigate the case, but one of them was already compromised; however, she should be here soon."
A few minutes later, the heiress to the Edelfelt family came through the door.
Thus, the first day ended in its entirety.
The next day…
Gray had just entered the dining car.
"Hey! Apprentice, this way, this way," Yvette said from one of the tables; she had just had breakfast.
Gray walked over to the table and sat down across from the girl.
"Why don't you order something?"
"No thanks, I'm not feeling very well."
"I see... Where is the teacher?"
"It's not ready yet..."
Crossing her arms on the table, Yvette said, "I'm sure he asked to sleep for five more minutes…"
"Ha ha ha, you know him very well..."
She smiled, "Of course, I want to be his lover after all."
"Do you want to be his lover?" From the Sir?" Gray asked as if she wasn't very familiar with the word, not that she didn't know what a lover or a love relationship meant, but it wasn't something she related to much.
"From that reaction…" Yvette sighed, "it seems you're not my rival."
"Hmn?"
She raised her eyepatch, "My mystic eye reads emotions, my magecraft consists of carving jewels and transferring them to my mystic eye, so I see people's feelings."
"I see…"
"Sorry, I shouldn't have gotten upset since you don't have feelings for the teacher..."
Gray shook her head, "No, I'm very fond of him, but I don't have those kinds of feelings for him."
"Yes. So, you're not worth competing with." Yvette put her arms on the table and her head on them, "You don't have that kind of feelings for him…for him…Hmm? For him…?"
"Is something wrong?" Gray asked confused.
Yvette started to smile, "Gray…?"
"Hmm? "
"You said you don't have those feelings for him, but maybe for someone else...?"
At first, she didn't understand her question; however, after thinking about it for a bit, she blushed slightly. She had met men she considered very handsome, like Melvin, but if she thought about love, the image of another person would fleetingly come to her mind...
"Oh!? A reaction…"
"Huh?" Gray exclaimed.
Yvette looked excited, "It's small, like a flower in the process of blooming."
"What?"
Yvette happily clasped her hands together, "I'm rooting for you, Gray. I'm sure you'll make it!"
"Okey?" Gray replied as she lost the thread of the conversation.
Suddenly, the door opened, and the young Lord entered through it.
"Welcome, teacher!"
Waver's face showed discomfort as he noted the girl, "Yvette..."
She stood up, thus leaving him a free seat next to her, "Sit here, teacher! Your apprentice is here too!"
But to her misfortune, Waver preferred to sit next to Gray.
"How did it go, Sir?" Gray asked.
"I went to question the driver about the invitation I received. It is an invitation without a signature, the kind that is distributed to several people. It seems that he does not know who received it either."
"I see…"
"They give out several of those invitations," Yvette said.
"Seriously?" Gray asked.
Yvette nodded, "If they don't add new people, the auction gets boring. They must give out around ten each year."
"So, it's impossible to follow the trail," declared the Lord.
She nodded, "You should have asked me about the train and not brought Rin."
"Ask yourself why I didn't do it last night," he replied sulkily.
Yvette started kicking, almost like throwing a tantrum, "You're a bad, professor!"
From a distance, Adashino watched them with a smile, "Play your role as bait well, detective."
And in another part of the train…
"Shirou!?" Rin asked walking towards the end of the last car on the train.
Shirou was leaning on the railing, looking at the horizon, but when he heard his name, he turned to see a familiar face, "Rin...?"
She nodded.
"I didn't know you boarded the Rail Zeppelin…"
Rin walked over to the railing to feel the wind hitting her face, "It wasn't something I planned. The professor came a day earlier and asked me for help. He offered to give me private lessons, so I didn't turn down his offer, and besides, I'm interested in mystic eyes too. How about you?"
"I got a message, and Rouge is also interested in the mystic eyes."
"Hmm… Mystic eyes are extremely expensive…" Rin smiled, "do you think you can compete in the auction?"
He shook his head, "Not at all, but Rouge does."
"Really? I'm not going to deny that she bought especially costly things the last time we went shopping, but…"
"She's amassed money over the years."
"Oh, so her family is from quite a long lineage; does she have magical patents like me?"
Well, I'm not going to deny that her lineage is ancient, but I didn't mean her family. Shirou shook his head, "No, I think they've just kneaded it over the years."
"Hmm... though, I never thought she needed mystic eyes..."
She doesn't really need them. Then, he walked over to her, "By the way, Rin…"
"E-Eh?" Rin exclaimed when she saw how the boy got so close.
"Since when do you wear glasses?" Shirou asked, looking curious.
"Oh, these… they are not ordinary glasses, you see, they serve to nullify the mystic eyes," she held them in her hands and showed them to him, "I imagine you brought something similar, right?"
Hmm...so they're Mystic-Eyes Killer like Rouge's. Shirou nodded and showed her his gloves, "Look…"
"Runes, a combination that momentarily averts people's gaze. It's simple but effective," his partner analyzed.
"Yeah, I just need to activate it with a bit of Od, and that's it. I wouldn't be capable of something much more complicated."
"Hmm, now that I think about it…?" Rin placed her glasses on him, "Pfff, yes, you're right, you better keep wearing the gloves."
Shirou rolled his eyes, "Are your glasses; did you expect them to fit me?" But before she could reply, the boy changed the course of the conversation, "Actually, now that I see you, there's something I need to talk to you about."
"About what?"
"About what you asked me last time."
Rin looked serious, "Did you find out anything?"
Shirou nodded, "Yes, I spoke with my old man, and thanks to that, I uncovered a few things. You see, my father did not kill yours, but instead, both of them were in a ceasefire agreement until they could deal with other dangerous magi."
"I see…"
"But what seemed strange to me was what happened after his death. Rin, does your family have ties to the Church?"
She nodded, "Around 200 years ago, we were hidden Christians living inside Japan when the country was intolerant of foreigners. Thanks to that, we have good connections with the Church."
"I understand. When your father was killed, an executor from the Church took his place, and he was Archer's Master for the rest of the war."
"What!?"
He looked at her strangely, "Didn't you know that?"
She shook her head, "For a few years now, getting information about the war has been very difficult, as if someone was covering it up."
"And the professor? Why didn't you ask him?"
She looked uncomfortable, "Shirou, did the professor invite you to play video games?"
"Yes, I am not an expert, but we have played several games. I have also played some with Flat and with Caules. From time to time, the professor invites us all to play."
"Well, I'm not good at those things... When he asked me to play with him, I refused him, and he said something like: Damn! You're the worst Japanese in the world," she explained while imitating her teacher's voice, "and then he said something like: I won't give you an ounce of instruction. Huh... Well, at least I'll send letters of recommendation to the other departments."
"Seriously?"
She nodded, "I don't know how the two of you, you and Ayaka, get him to want to help you both."
"W-Well I think it's because of our similar conditions..."
"Similar conditions?"
Shirou nodded, "Sometimes I've heard Gray, or Svin, say that, despite being one of the best teachers in the Clock Tower, the professor resents not having achievements of his own as a magus. This is due to his lack of talent, and maybe that's why it gives us a little leeway." Although, to himself, he thought: It also has to do with the fact that I taught Ayaka how to play the games before he asked her to, but how was I to know that Rin didn't know about video games? I mean, it's Rin, and she always knows everything. "Anyway, the name of the person of the Church who took your father's place is Kotomine Kirei, an executor."
"So it was him…" Rin said showing some hate in her voice.
"Did you meet him?"
Rin nodded, "For some reason, my father left me in his care. I've known his family for a few years now."
"His family?"
"They run the church in Fuyuki, and it's made up of three people: Kotomine Kirei, Hortensia Caren, his daughter, and..."
"And?"
"Shirou…"
"Yes?"
Rin shook her head, "No, I mean the last person's name is Shirou, Kotomine Shirou. You could say he's Kirei's adoptive brother."
"Oh, I understand."
"The three of them take turns around the year to maintain the church, so-"
Rin was going to continue, but Shirou stopped her, "Wait, Rin, why are you talking like Kotomine Kirei is alive?"
This surprised the young blonde, "Because he's alive, obviously."
Concerned, the redhead exclaimed, "That's impossible…"
Young Tohsaka looked at him as if she didn't understand his words, "What do you mean?"
"My father told me that he killed Kirei on the last day of the war."
For Rin, this was like a bucket of cold water, "T-That doesn't make sense. I've seen that fake priest for almost the last ten years! Are you sure your father killed him?"
The apprentice magus nodded, "He was shot in the head. My father checked it out, so there's no way he survived."
"But, if so, who is the Kirei that has been taking care of me?"
The boy scratched his head, trying to understand the situation, "I don't know, I don't even understand how they allowed a member of the Church to replace a magus in the middle of the war, although, I suppose it makes some sense... they must also want the grail."
"Even so, this is too strange…" Rin looked thoughtful as she analyzed the situation.
"I didn't want to go back early, but… Shirou, the next year, would you mind coming back to Japan with me? It will serve for several things, like making your stay in Fuyuki official, and it will be quite short."
The boy caught on, "And it will allow us to find out what the hell is going on, I get it, but do you mind waiting a few months?"
"I don't care, but… is something wrong?"
The redhead shook his head, "No, nothing, but in a few weeks, I have an important trip to make, and I can't miss it."
This piqued Rin's curiosity, "Where to?"
"Germany. I have a business to deal with there..."
She narrowed her eyes, "I see, I understand. Then we'll plan it after you get back from Germany."
"Thank you. By the way, have you learned anything about the person who stole the relic from the professor?"
Rin shook her head, "No, nothing so far."
Suddenly, all the passengers on the train heard a warning:
"The train will stop for two hours, and the passengers can stay inside it or go for a ride if they prefer."
"The auction will probably start later... I think I'll go down for a walk," Rin said.
"I'll go and wake up Rouge, she's not very good with mornings."
Rin nodded, "I'll probably stop by my room before I go out..."
With that said, they both parted ways.
On the other hand, a few minutes ago...
"Lord El-Melloi II..."
Waver was still in the dining car, but he was no longer with Yvette. The one who approached him was none other than Lord Animusphere.
"Can I talk to you for a moment?"
Lord El-Melloi stood up, "I don't know if I can offer you what you are looking for. I am not here specifically to participate in the auction."
"You're the best man in the Clock Tower to hear it," Marie declared.
Waver sighed, "Fine, I'll listen to you…"
With that said, Waver and Gray escorted Marie and Trisha to their stateroom.
"Well, what does Astromancy want of me?"
"We are behind an astronomical object..."
This caught the Lord's attention, "Here? The Rail Zeppelin only has mystic eyes. I didn't think the Animusphere would be interested in such mundane matters."
"Both looking at the earth, and looking at the planets beyond the sky, is the same, in both cases you look at celestial bodies," answered Marie.
"We had the idea that you had boarded the train to obtain a powerful mystic eye and use it to increase his power inside the Clock Tower. On the other hand, we also think you are being supported by the Sophia-Ri family to get it. Are we wrong?"
Concealing his intentions, Waver replied, "You're not far from the truth; however, the El-Melloi and the Sophia-Ri don't get along as well as they used to. I thought you would know."
Marie smiled, "I heard that Princess El-Melloi had an argument with Lord Sophia-Ri, and the grudge still lingers, but since they didn't sever connections, I figured it wouldn't be serious." Then, she was serious, "I'm going after the star item of this auction: Rainbow rank mystic eye."
This surprised the Lord, "Rainbow? The ultimate heavenly controller of the human body."
"Rainbow? Is it that good, Sir?" Gray asked.
The Lord nodded, "As I taught you, mystic eyes have ranks, and within this classification, the high-level ones are gold or jeweled rank, and the rainbow ones are the highest rank." Waver looked impressed, "So they really exist…"
Marie smiled, "Even in the Clock Tower, not many have seen one."
The train lurched, and Gray covered her mouth with one hand.
"If they're going to auction off that mystic eye, don't you think I'll buy it?"
"I doubt you have enough money," Lord Animusphere declared confidently.
"From what I see, you're not beating around the bush," Waver stated as a small drop of cold sweat ran down his hundred, "I take it you're sure they're going to auction off that rainbow eye."
"Show him, Trisha, we'll speed things up if we reveal some of our cards."
"Understood, my Lady." Trisha began to take off her glasses, "I saw it myself," and as she spoke, her eyes began to glow violet, "Lord El-Melloi II, can you raise your right hand?"
"Thus?"
She nodded, "Three, two, one."
Gray couldn't hold back her nausea, "Excuse me, I'll be out for a bit," however, as she ran out of the room, the train swayed, causing her to fall onto the Lord's arm.
"A mystic eye that sees the future…" the Lord whispered.
Trisha put her glasses back on and said, "I watched those mystic eyes get auctioned off."
Gray wasted no time walking out of the room, "Excuse me."
Waver addressed the two, "And what do you want me to do?"
"When they bring out the Rainbow Rank Mystic Eye, if any other fools bid on it, I want you to bid on it too," Marie answered.
"Oh...? Weren't you the one who said I didn't have enough money?"
"There is no magus stupid enough to take on the houses of two Lords," Marie said with a smile, "if you retreat at the same time as the rest, the damage will be minimal."
Waver pondered for a few seconds, "Hmm... For now, I accept your proposal."
"Thank you. I'm glad this was a constructive conversation. If you cooperate, I'll reward you accordingly." Marie smiled, "This makes me calmer."
"Is there anyone willing to bid against you?"
"I doubted it until yesterday, although I highly doubt the Emiya family has enough money to challenge me... but... your student's apprentice gives me a bad feeling."
"Emiya? Are those two on the train!?"
Marie nodded, "I thought they were with you…"
"No, they must have come on their own..."
With Gray...
The young grave keeper was sitting in one of the wagons looking at the landscape, just as a man approached her...
"Are you okay, miss?"
Hearing the voice, Gray was put on guard since it was the agent of the Church who was speaking to her. He raised his hands as a sign that he didn't want to do anything wrong.
"Excuse me. I got dizzy."
"This train doesn't run along normal tracks," taking a few steps toward a fruit bowl, the man picked up an apple as he said, "Rail Zeppelin travels along magical tracks. Tide if you're not used to it," stretching out his hand, he offered her the apple, "drink water and eat something with sugar, it will improve a little."
"Thank you very much."
Gray reached out her hand to take the apple, and the moment he touched the man's hand, his mystical eyes activated, causing him to stagger back.
Gray got up and rushed to help him, "Are you okay?"
Between gasps, he said, "I didn't mean to look... so you're not a magus. You're the spitting image of that King, aren't you?"
"H-How do you know?"
"Sorry, my mystic eye can see into the past, even if I don't want it."
The man staggered, but Gray caught him.
"Thank you. I'm fine now…"
"You're right… I'm not a magus, being a disciple of the Sir is only in title."
"That's why you worry if you can be of use to him."
"Yes…"
"Don't worry, you're the kind of person he needs. I assure you."
The man started to walk away.
"Did you use magecraft again?" Gray asked as she watched him walk away
"No, I speak from experience because I met someone like him... a long time ago. A person obsessed with the past needs someone who tries to move forward into the future."
Saying this, the man walked away and got out of the train wagon.
In another of the train cars...
The young Lord was in front of a small bar.
"Can I sit next to you?" Trisha asked.
"Do you want something else?"
A drink appeared in front of the woman, "When I investigated the Holy Grail War, I met a young man named Waver Velvet."
"That must have been a tough read."
"Not much. I couldn't find much information, but from what I did learn, he was a third-generation magus and not a particularly promising one. However, he survived the war and, upon returning, inherited the title of El-Melloi, and became a Lord with a purpose."
Waver lit a cigarette, "It's just a title."
"During the war, something happened that changed his life. For example, an encounter with an ancient hero," she said, glancing at him surreptitiously.
Waver exhaled smoke from his cigar, "Interesting deduction."
At first, neither of them noticed that Gray had entered the wagon...
"And I have more. If he were to summon the same Heroic Spirit again, that servant might not retain the memories he formed with him."
"I'm surprised that someone from Astromancy is interested in things like that, it has nothing to do with the stars..."
"It is said that connections are like the stars themselves..."
"I also want to ask you something: what kind of rainbow rank mystic eye did you see?"
Trisha averted her gaze, "I don't think it's necessary to share that information. Even the Rail Zeppelin couldn't offer two rainbow-rank mystic eyes at once."
"I see… It makes sense." Waver continued to smoke, "Humans depend on information during their life and die bound by it. And sight is the one that gives us the most information... sight was humanity's first form of magecraft, and gaining information is the basis for all magecraft, and that's why memories and information control us. Having a mystic eye will mean accepting that it will bind you, and if you decide to buy one, keep this in mind."
"Thanks for the warning." With that said, Trisha got up and walked away.
"The train will stop for two hours, and the passengers can stay inside it or go for a ride if they prefer."
Gray stared as she listened to the entire conversation, she didn't know what to say to her teacher. But finally…
"Sir?"
"Did you hear anything about me and the holy grail war?"
"No, but…" Gray replied.
"Even if there is a new war, the servants do not retain their memories of previous summons, I have known for a long time..."
"But when you appreciate a person, it's normal to want them to remember you!" Gray replied.
"You're right, and it's not that I don't care if he forgets me. But still, there is someone I want to see. I want to check something… I want to finish it and thus move forward after almost ten years. That's all, a simple mania."
Gray looked down.
"If both of us could keep the memories and share them, it would be the ultimate happiness. It would be one that I could never pay for. Not in my entire life."
"Sir…"
After a few minutes, Rin walked through the door. She walked past Gray and approached the Lord.
"Professor, I found this under our stateroom door."
"Hmm?"
Gray walked over to the two.
The Lord read the letter, "It is an honor that you received the invitation and came."
"I see... stay tuned you two, it looks like they'll start showing themselves soon."
In a stateroom...
"Altrouge, are you awake?"
"Five minutes more…"
Shirou pulled the covers off his partner and opened the curtains, "It's been daytime for a long time and you need to get up."
"Is breakfast ready?" Altrouge said, curling up on the bed, refusing to get up.
"We're on the Rail Zeppelin, there's a dining car."
"I will not eat your food for breakfast?"
"No, they didn't let me in the kitchen."
Altrouge grumbled, "I've lost 50% of my motivation. Has the second-day auction started yet?"
Shirou shook his head, "No, not yet."
"Now I've lost the other 50%."
Shirou smiled, "I'm fine with it being a very smooth trip."
Lazily, the Princess got up and began to get ready, "Enjoy yourself while you can since, if I know Kaleido well, then I'm sure he wouldn't send us here if something weren't going to happen. Also, Rita hasn't contacted us yet."
"Do you think she knows you're here?"
"Undoubtedly."
Suddenly, a loud shout was heard, "AAAAHHHHHH!"
"Do you hear that, Shirou?"
Concerned, he replied as he opened the door, "Of course, it's impossible not to hear a scream like that!"
They both left the room, heading for the source of the scream.
"I wasn't talking about the scream, but Kaleido's laugh after saying something like: Let the show begin!"
Shirou was going to answer, but if he knew anything about the old ancestor, it was that he, in fact, could do things like this and worse.
When they arrived at the origin, several people were outside a room. But the most important thing was what was going on inside, and making a space for themselves in the crowd, they both entered...
Trisha had lost her mind... literally, her slit body was lying on the ground painting the floor with her blood. Beside her was Lord Animusphere, the professor, and Gray…
Author Notes:
Hi everyone, well, this chapter is already complete. The next one... is the chapter I liked writing the least, and I probably don't enjoy translating it very much, but hey, once we finish this stage of the fic, one of my favorite parts will begin.
Well, now I will answer the questions you asked me in the last chapter:
Moose master5543: I could not tell you. Beyond the time factor, there are other factors, such as the length of the chapter, or the vocabulary used, all of which can speed up or delay the translation. Also, after translating, I have to go through everything a second time to try to remove as many errors as possible.
Zeroo: I won't go into details, but I will tell you that your idea has already been mentioned in future chapters of the fic.
TheSlySage: I could do it if any member asks me. As for the chapters, we are in chapter eleven. The fic has eleven chapters plus the three prologues. That is to say that chapter eleven is part fourteen.
Freedmoon: I think you read it wrong. I didn't write: in the first two years. I wrote: for two years. That is, I never said that those two years were the first. On the other hand, I don't know where it is said that the crest was one of the first things eroded by the curse, but in the first chapter, Kiri transfers it to Shirou.
Without more to say, I thank all the readers, the patrons for whom the chapters are ready a week before, and all those who comment on each chapter of the fic, we will not see in the next chapter.