A Moment's Peace

The end of the summer holidays had been received very differently by the various members of the Emiya-estate, and those reactions still echoed even a month after school had begun once more.

Rin for instance was still slightly annoyed that more than half of her waking hours were now being eaten up again by mandatory education. It wasn't that she actively disliked school, but she wouldn't have gone either if she didn't have to. Being what she was, it was just not that important to her. A trivial matter, one could even say.

But Rin had her sense of elegance and duty, so she went to class without protest, as demanded by law and by social convention. As much as she disliked wasting time, she disliked slacking and making excuses even more, so she did what was expected of her.

Ayako on the other hand was one of those people who were eager to go back to school. She couldn't wait to get started at the archery club, she enjoyed practically all her classes, though history and biology most of all, and she loved meeting new people and exploring new places.

In other words, Homurahara High was a very welcoming place for her.

Sakura was decidedly unhappy though. She had remained behind at middle school after all, and considering she had little interest in education and few friends, that rather soured her mood. However, the blow had been softened by the fact that Illya had joined her class, pretending to be a transfer student from Germany who was staying with Shirou for room and board.

Speaking of Illya, it had been a bit of a headache for Shirou to figure out what year would be appropriate for her, considering she'd been very well educated in some fields –language, history, and chemistry– and very poorly in others –physics, mathematics, and home economics– but in the end, he'd settled on Sakura's year.

Time would tell if that had been the correct decision. If it wasn't, he could always change it again, provided Illya agreed with it.

So far though, Illya had no complaints. She was settling in nicely at school and at his house, and despite Shirou's slight fears, she hadn't experienced any complications whatsoever from the Ritual.

Sella and Leysritt hadn't experienced any complications either so far, but unlike Illya, they were not exactly pleased with school having begun again. Not because they had to attend classes themselves, but because that took Illya away from them for hours on end.

Shirou had checked on their behalf, and unfortunately, it wasn't allowed for foreign noble girls to take their maids to school with them, so Sella and Leysritt were out of luck.

Caren had also settled in nicely at his home. She had acquainted herself with her housemates and the house itself, and she was now making a general nuisance out of herself, as he had expected of her. Since she wasn't doing any church-services by a total lack of need, her greatest enemy right now was boredom, but Shirou was working on an idea to remedy that.

And as for Shirou himself, he was doing alright. He was training his abilities, faithfully putting in the little work he had to do to get perfect marks for all his classes and courses, and supporting the others in their endeavours.

In other words, the past month had gone rather well for everyone, aside from some minor annoyances here and there that took some effort to fix.

Currently, the redhead was actually working to fix one of those annoyances, through a mixture of craftwork and minor crime.

Yes, crime.

It was about six o'clock in the morning, two hours before the first classes of the day would start, and he was currently standing, or rather kneeling, in one of Homurahara's locker rooms, to attach a small sign to one of the lockers.

"Emiya-kun, you have always been a good friend of mine, but as aspiring student council president, it remains difficult to stand by and watch you deface school property."

Oh yes, and Issei was there too.

"I requested permission from the headmaster, paid for the damages in advance, and made a donation to the school." Shirou reminded his bespectacled friend, not looking away from his task. "I am allowed to do this now."

"Don't use money to solve all of your problems, you villain." Issei huffed without heat, before putting his hands on his sides, letting out a deep sigh. "Though considering the circumstances, I can hardly blame you for resorting to measures like this. Just make sure no one sees you."

"That's why we came in early, my friend."

"Too early, if you ask me."

Issei was clearly sulking, but he did have a point. They were indeed too early, as evidenced by the fact that there was literally not a single other soul present in the school. Not strange, considering the building was still supposed to be locked at this hour, out of bounds for students and teachers alike.

The only reason they were inside was because they'd broken into the building, something Issei could still scarcely believe.

But Shirou needed to attach the sign to the locker without being seen, while Issei wanted to keep an eye on Shirou while he was doing so. In other words, they had no choice.

"You know, the longer I know you, the more I get the idea that you are a bad influence on me." The monk remarked sternly. "It was bad enough when you were only known for sleeping in class and beating up the odd bully, but now that you're actually committing acts of burglary, I am seriously starting to wonder whether spending time in your presence is a good idea."

"Who else are you going to spend time with then?" Shirou asked curiously.

"…You make a good point." Issei conceded after a moment, realising he had no friends besides Shirou. "Well then, in the spirit of friendship, I suppose I can forgive a few minor transgressions, as long as it does not happen too often."

"Much obliged." Shirou nodded, turning around to give his friend a grateful smile, before returning his focus to the sign.

It was a small plaque, coloured white, with a text written on it in flowing letters that were coloured a deep red. The red on white created an optimal contrast, making it obvious what was written on the sign in one look.

No unsolicited love letters.

Just reading the text again was enough to get a snort of amusement out of Issei, but there was also a slightly sympathetic look in his eyes, as he knew the sign was very much necessary.

"Vixen-san is still being hounded by her admirers then?"

"She is." Shirou nodded sadly. "She hoped that people would be less intense around her at high school, but that hope hasn't come true."

"Never thought I'd be feeling sorry for her." Issei grunted, a complicated expression coming to his face. "But surprisingly, I do."

It had, as said before, only been a month since school had begun again, but Rin had nevertheless already established herself as the school's uncontested, favourite idol, easily eclipsing all the school's other beauties in fame and popularity.

She was beautiful, intelligent, hard-working, kind to everyone around her, and the apple of the teachers' eyes. She radiated grace and elegance while at the same time giving off an air of approachability, a supermodel and a girl-next-door in one sublime package. She was simply perfection personified.

And no, Shirou wasn't biased because he was her boyfriend. That genuinely was her reputation.

As such, it was no wonder her locker regularly overflowed with love letters from admirers. It had gotten to the point where opening her locker could very well trigger an avalanche if she wasn't careful. Sometimes, it seemed as if every boy in school was eager to confess their love for her, and they were determined to write letters until she gave in.

Rin didn't appreciate the flood of letters though. They were a hindrance, especially since her idol-image kind of demanded that she treated them with at least a measure of respect. Every day, she had to spend at least ten minutes just to get all the letters out of her locker and into her bag, which was a lot of effort considering she'd just throw them into the fire the minute she was home.

So after she'd found her school supplies buried in letters for the twelfth time despite her repeated requests to the students to either give the letters directly to her or not write them at all, she had asked Shirou to take measures.

Hence, the sign he was putting up. Shirou wasn't sure how much effect it would have, but it was a decent first measure in his opinion. Something that would show the teachers that they initially tried a peaceful, restrained method of getting Rin's admirers to stand down. It would make the later escalation to harsher methods more acceptable.

It also meant that the letters that did end up in Rin's locker could be burned at once, as they would have been sent by people unable to follow even the most basic of instructions.

Exactly the kind of people Rin hated.

"Done." Shirou then said once the last screw had been fastened, and he rose from his kneeling position. "Now we can see how much effect this will have."

"It will certainly raise a few eyebrows." Issei laughed shortly, imagining how people would react once they saw the plaque. "Though whether it will stop the letters…"

"Likely not." Shirou admitted. "But it was never intended to. It is only the first measure, a warning for those with some common sense to change their behaviour before I do something more... drastic."

"Drastic? Well, that doesn't sound ominous at all." Issei snarked. "Do keep the damage to the school's reputation to a minimum, will you?"

"That goes without saying. Nothing that I will do shall be traced back to you or to the school. You have my word."

The redhead wasn't going to inconvenience people who had nothing to do with the issue at hand. That was no more than logical.

Issei gave him a grateful nod, accepting his promise, before the bespectacled teen changed the subject.

The two friends talked for a while about this and that, catching up a little after a few days of not seeing each other, before they had to hide when the first teachers started to arrive.

Not long after though, students started trickling in as well, and Shirou and Issei felt secure in revealing themselves again, returning to the locker room while pretending to have just arrived.

As luck would have it, they returned just when the subject of their previous conversation also arrived.

"Emiya-kun, Ryuudou-kun." Rin greeted them shortly in a voice that could best be described as distantly polite, as she always did when at school, nodding once at them both.

"Tohsaka-san." Shirou nodded back.

"Vixen." Issei didn't nod though, stubbornly keeping his neck straight.

His refusal to greet her properly only prompted a small smile from Rin however, before she looked at the sign that Shirou had just attached to her locker.

Judging by her twinkling eyes, she liked what she saw.

"Emiya-kun and I were just discussing the effectiveness of such a sign." Issei informed her, also glancing at it. "I rather doubt it will do much."

"Perhaps it won't." Rin acknowledged, familiar enough with her own fans to know that they wouldn't be put off by such a tiny hindrance. "But it is a good first step. If it doesn't work, we can start working on other, more drastic options."

"Emiya-kun said exactly the same." Issei smirked, looking between them. "Though if you ask me, you are making this far more complicated than it has to be. There is an easier option to stop the love letters than attaching signs to lockers."

"Oh? Please enlighten us, Ryuudou-kun." Rin requested sweetly, giving him a bright smile that was full of warning signs.

"Simply go public with your relationship."

"Ah." Shirou gave a pained smile at the suggestion, while Rin's expression flattened. "We did consider that, but in the end, we decided it would be too much of a bother. The downsides outweigh the benefits."

"Of course." Issei nodded, as if that was obvious. "My suggestion was made in jest. If you went public with your relationship, it would create a rather awful mess. I believe it would not be unlike what takes place in some of Minori-kun's anime."

"I don't know what anime you are talking about, but I get what you mean." Shirou sighed.

"My admirers would probably hound Emiya-kun and pester me without end to dump him and select one of them instead." Rin huffed condescendingly at the idea. "Or call me a slut and a whore, before pretending they were never interested in me anyway."

"Or both." Shirou nodded, his eyes flashing in anger at the thought of anyone badmouthing Rin. "Then I'd have to set them straight, which might have all kinds of bothersome consequences. Better to keep our relationship a secret."

"You know, that is the first time I have ever seen you show any kind of anger in relation to my admirers." Rin noted, before she pouted a bit. "We are talking about people who want to steal me from you. Can't you at least be a little bit jealous?"

"I will save my jealousy for the point where you show them anything else than pure contempt." Shirou laughed, stepping closer and throwing an arm around her shoulders to pull her against his chest. "It's hard to feel any kind of possessive anger when all you do is complain about them."

"Is that so?" Rin mused, smiling warmly when he kissed the top of her head. "Perhaps I should give some of them a bit more attention then. Maybe that will arouse your ire at last."

"I wholeheartedly support you." Issei suddenly said, smiling when they looked at him in confusion. "If only to see you squirm as you try to pretend you are in love with someone you normally wouldn't look twice at, vixen."

Rin stared at him for several long seconds, her face expressionless, before she looked up at Shirou again.

"Kiss me." She ordered him, and he was only glad to oblige, knowing that he wouldn't have any opportunity to do so during the school day.

Issei politely looked away of course.

"Alright then." Rin sighed when they let go of each other again, looking both happy and sad. "I'm ready for another day. From here on, Emiya-kun, I do not know you, I do not care much about you, and I will only talk to you if we run into each other by chance."

"Then I'll have to make sure to run into you every hour or so, as I have done before." Shirou promised, referring to the past month, during which he'd regularly visited her to keep her spirits up. "If I pretend that I'm working on the electrics, it shouldn't be that suspicious."

"Maybe." Rin nodded, though she didn't look entirely sure. "Though we'd have to make sure my more ardent followers don't get suspicious when I talk to you more often than I should. They are so… meticulous, about such things."

Meticulous.

Quite the euphemistic term for something that was essentially just stalking and obsessive behaviour.

"Frankly, Tohsaka-san, it's already too late for that." Issei spoke up in a warning tone. "Several of your admirers have noticed that Emiya-kun enters your presence far more often than he should, and they have started to complain about it."

"I've been found out already?" Shirou blinked in surprise. He thought he'd been pretty stealthy in his approach, yet apparently, he hadn't been stealthy enough to fool some lovesick teenagers.

That was… rather embarrassing actually.

"Yes." Issei replied in the affirmative, not batting an eye when Shirou slumped, before he turned to Rin. "Your self-assigned fan-club has its members follow you around the school all day. I know this because both my rivals for the president position are in that club. I have overheard them talking on several occasions, and the main two things they are discussing these days are the colour of your underwear and the fact that the 'spineless fake janitor' is spending more time with you than the lot of them together."

"Spineless fake janitor?" Shirou frowned at the nickname, rather disliking how it sounded. "I have heard them call me fake janitor before, but why spineless?"

"Apparently because you help out the teachers a lot." Issei shrugged, before he too frowned in displeasure. "In all honesty though, 'spineless fake janitor' is one of the nicer names they have for you. As for those other, not-so-nice names, well…"

Issei leaned in closer to them, wary of swearing out loud, and whispered several of the insults into their ears.

"Ouch." Shirou remarked dryly once he was done, while Rin narrowed her eyes, resolving to find out exactly who those two rivals were.

"They really don't like that you are intruding on 'their' territory, Emiya-kun. For now, they accredit it to Tohsaka's 'overwhelming kindness' towards a loser." A roll of Issei's eyes showed exactly what he thought of the idea of Rin being overwhelmingly kind. "But if this continues, they may develop some theory about how you are blackmailing or forcing her."

"Tsk." Rin made a displeased noise, but she couldn't disagree. That was exactly what the more pathetic boys would do if they got jealous. It had been the same at her old school. If she paid more attention than usual to a boy, for whatever reason, there was no shortage of other brats who'd immediately start badmouthing that poor boy.

"I suppose I'll have to keep my distance then." Shirou sighed, rubbing the back of his head. While he wasn't the kind of person to avoid confrontations at all costs, he also wasn't someone who made trouble for the sake of it. "Don't worry, Rin. I'll make it up to you when we get home, every evening."

"…!" Rin froze for the slightest of moments, before she turned towards him with shining eyes. "Promise?"

"I promise, yes." Shirou nodded with a broad grin, again stepping closer and throwing his arms around her to pull her into a big hug. "I will make you squeal all night long-"

"Once I am president, I will certainly take measures to curb your fan-club's more excessive behaviour, Tohsaka-san." Issei interrupted him loudly, adjusting his glasses, which had become a bit foggy.

Shirou froze halfway to Rin's lips, having almost forgotten Issei was there, before he put her down on the ground again, awkwardly clearing his throat.

"Thank you, Ryuudou-kun." Rin was perfectly composed though, aside from her smile, which was a tad more devious than normal. "Stalking me at school is one thing, but if they take it further than that…"

"Quite so." Issei nodded when Rin trailed off. "While I cannot fault teenagers for having an idol, I must draw the line at stalking behaviour, not to mention that a competition about who will 'claim Tohsaka-hime's first kiss' is very much out of line, especially since the winner has already been decided and isn't even part of their group."

Both Rin and Shirou blushed slightly at the matter-of-fact tone he used to say that.

"If my fellow men want girlfriends, they'll have to look for someone else. Tohsaka-san is quite taken already." Issei finished.

"Oh well, choice enough. There are plenty of beautiful girls attending this school for the boys to salivate over." Rin huffed, not mentioning the fact she herself had sometimes taken a second look at some of the third-year beauties as well. "If anything, us girls have it far harder. Handsome and desirable men are in short supply."

"Oh?" Issei raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

"There aren't many boys who can objectively be called handsome at Homurahara, and the ones who are handsome often are insufferably arrogant as well." Rin began, before giving Issei a brief smile. "And those who are handsome and not arrogant often have other… issues."

"Such as?" Issei now looked interested, and Shirou had to admit he too was curious.

"Well, take yourself for instance, Ryuudou-kun. You are considered to be handsome by most of the girls I speak with."

"Me!?" Issei spluttered, his eyes widening to the size of saucers.

"I don't get it either." Rin teased him, though her smile fell when he didn't react at all to her jibe. "In all honesty though, you are considered quite a catch, especially if you manage to become the student council president. You are a monk though, and almost everyone seems to agree you aren't very interested in girls."

"When you put it like that, I indeed don't sound desirable as a boyfriend." Issei inclined his head in agreement, looking relieved he wasn't about to be pursued by multiple girls.

"And then there is Emiya-kun." Rin went on, gesturing at Shirou. "Who is handsome, but the fact he is so willing to help out with school maintenance makes him, and I quite, 'seriously uncool'."

"Hm." Shirou smiled, taking the remark in good humour.

"My classmates all agree that the most handsome boy in school is a third-year called Kohta." Rin continued, before she smirked slightly, leaning in closer towards them. "Anyone with functioning eyes though can see that Kohta is interested in men. He only has eyes for Homura, his boyfriend."

"Good for him." Shirou smiled, rather enjoying the gossip Rin was sharing with them.

"And then there are a few others, all of whom are already taken, most of them by middle-school sweethearts who don't even go to Homurahara." Rin finished her list. "Which means us girls have very little to choose from."

"My heart goes out to you all." Issei said dryly, prompting another amused smile from Rin.

The trio continued talking for a bit longer, but once more students started dripping in as the time for the first class approached, they were forced to disband quickly, lest Rin be seen with them, possibly triggering a riot from her fans.

The life of an idol sure was hard.

Ever since the school year had begun again, the Emiya-estate was far quieter during the day than it used to be during the holidays.

Most of its inhabitants were gone after all, off to school, leaving only three people behind, none of whom were much inclined to make noise.

Sella spent her mornings doing housework, sweeping the floors, cleaning the windows, tidying up the kitchen after breakfast had been made, and several other miscellaneous tasks. As she didn't use any electrical appliances, the work was done in silence.

Leysritt usually tried to pitch in with the housework, but always ended up being distracted by either the radio or the tv. As she didn't want to disturb her sister however, she kept the volume low, wordlessly listening to music or watching various programmes.

Caren, the most recent addition to the household, spent the first hours of her day in prayer, like a proper nun. This too produced very little noise, aside from a soft murmuring that was addressed to God.

So despite their presence, the Emiya-estate still remained rather quiet.

When lunchtime came around however, and they sat down at the table together, a conversation was swiftly struck up.

"How have you been settling in, lady Caren?" Sella asked the house's newest inhabitant, pouring her a cup of tea. "I heard that your relocation into lord Shirou's estate was rather sudden for you. I hope you haven't experienced any problems?"

"On the contrary, my dear Sella." Caren smiled contently, trying to take a sip of her tea but failing, as it was still too hot. "Everything has been perfect so far. I am very grateful that I am allowed to stay here, and I am glad that Shirou invited me."

"Lord Emiya too is very glad that you accepted his invitation." Sella assured the white-haired nun, placing a plate of omurice in front of her. "Though he tried not to show it, he was concerned about the Burial Agency's new emissary. That it turned out to be you was a considerable relief to him."

"Hehe." Caren grinned happily upon hearing that. "That is kind of you to say."

"It is no more than the truth."

"And it is a pleasing truth."

Caren might have a slightly problematic personality, but that didn't mean that she didn't appreciate being welcomed somewhere. It was so unusual for people to be happy to see her that the instances that it did happen were forever stored in her memory and her heart.

Of course, that she was so unpopular even within the Burial Agency was entirely her own fault, she knew that, and the maddening duality of wanting to be loved and at the same time instinctively scaring everyone away was something she still cursed her father for every day.

"But that is enough about me." Because she didn't want to talk about it any further. "What about you, Sella?"

"Me, my lady?"

"Yes, you." Caren nodded, looking the maid over. "You were changed into a human quite recently, were you not? How is that working out for you?"

She was acting rather blasé about it now, but learning that Shirou had changed three Homunculi into humans had actually been a considerable shock to Caren.

Not because it was Sorcery, as Caren cared very little for the complexities of Magus-society and the silly little ranks that they had developed for themselves, but because of the theological implications.

Homunculi, fake humans made by other humans, had been changed into actual humans with proper human Souls. Essentially, true life had just been created out of nothing.

It was an act of God, carried out by a mere Magus, or Sorcerer or whatever.

It had been enough to knock the small nun flat on her back for a moment, but fortunately, it hadn't taken her long to come to terms with it. The Lord and Saviour accepted everyone after all, and she did not doubt that His goodwill also extended to former Homunculi.

And even if it didn't, it was His place to judge, not hers.

That was not to say however that everyone in the Vatican would think that way. Undoubtedly, there would be many who would call for a Crusade if the information was ever leaked.

Caren would be lying if she said that she wasn't sometimes tempted to leak the information herself, just to see the confusion and panic it would cause, but that was a temptation she always ruthlessly squashed. She liked trouble, but not to that extent.

"I am doing well, lady Caren." Sella replied to her question, bringing up a hand to brush her own hair, which now held several red highlights, forming the clearest indicator that she was no longer a Homunculus. "My efficiency in housework has increased considerably, my capacity for emotional support has been greatly expanded, and my lifespan is much greater than before. I am a better servant than I ever was, and I am very grateful to lord Shirou for making it so."

"…That's great."

It was also not what Caren meant.

"I have to admit though that the absence of the restrictions on my mind can sometimes be disorienting." Sella continued. "I am not used to having so much leeway in my decisions. It takes a focused effort to carry out my duties in a consistent manner."

"Right."

"But you do not have to worry about any diminished capacity on the end of me or my sister, lady Caren. Lord Shirou is confident that the disorientation will subside soon, though he cannot say exactly when. It is an unprecedented situation after all."

Sella was really presenting everything in the light of her ability to carry out her duties, and the nun was starting to understand why Shirou sometimes complained about how difficult it was to get straight answers out of the maid.

Nevertheless, Caren did her best to play along. If her efficiency as a maid was what mattered most to Sella, then that was what Caren would also focus on.

"Your work so far has been nothing short of impeccable." She thus complimented her. "I have not noticed any mistakes or diminished capacity from you. If there are indeed any complications, then they have had very little impact."

"Thank you, lady Caren." Sella smiled, and it was a smile that contained a little more heart than usual, showing the compliments had been received and appreciated.

After that, they didn't talk for a while, instead focusing on their food, and the only sounds in the Emiya-estate were those of cutlery and plates being moved about.

"What about you, Leysritt?" Caren moved her attention towards the other sister once she was about halfway finished with her food. "How are you doing?"

"…Fine." Leysritt replied after several long seconds of silence, before she gave Caren a penetrating stare. "Why?"

"Oh, no reason. I'm just interested." Caren replied, half regretting her decision to talk to the withdrawn girl. Somehow, she never seemed to know how to deal with her.

"I'm fine." Leysritt repeated, and with that, the matter was closed.

"Leysritt's experiences have been similar to mine." Sella spoke up in lieu of her sister. "But she doesn't much like talking about it."

"Evidently."

"So instead, perhaps we can talk about you, lady Caren." Sella suddenly also gave her a penetrating stare, uncannily similar to her sister's.

"M-Me?"

"My capacity for emotional support has been greatly expanded upon." Sella repeated what she said earlier. "Hence, I can tell that something is troubling you, lady Caren."

"W-What? No, I-"

"Please allow me to assist."

"…Alright." Caren nodded after a moment, figuring she might as well try. "I'm bored."

The frank and rather unexpected admission made Sella freeze in place, while Leysritt nodded in understanding.

"Everyone has been very kind to me, and I am grateful that I can stay here, that has not changed." Caren hurried to assure them, not wanting there to be any kind of misunderstanding about that. "But I'm bored."

With nothing to do aside from sitting around and trying to chat with two mostly unresponsive maids, Caren had quickly begun to dislike the hours during which the others were at school. Without Shirou and Sakura to tease, there was nothing for her to do, and there was only so much praying she could do to occupy her time.

She had tried to tease Sella and Leysritt, and when that had failed, to just talk with them, but outside of these short conversations during lunch, the maids had perfect poker faces and little inclination for chit-chat.

For someone like Caren, who communicated by trying to find the cracks in someone's demeanour, that was very difficult to deal with.

"I… I understand." Sella nodded after a few moments. "Lord Emiya did indicate that you are someone who likes to be in the company of other people most of the time, and that television, radio, and books are unlikely to capture your attention for long. He also said you needed a lot of personal attention and might behave strangely if you are left alone for too long."

"This is starting to sound like he was talking about the house cat." Caren noted, smiling in amusement.

"O-Oh, no! I am certain that was not his intention!" Sella rushed to say, her eyes widening in shock.

"It's okay. I am absolutely fine with being his cat." Caren purred, holding her hands up in such a way that they resembled cat paws. "Nya."

"…" Now Sella was just staring at her, totally confused by Caren's mannerisms.

"Good girl." Leysritt on the other hand softly pat Caren's head, and Caren's heart skipped a beat at both the sensation and the words.

"…I will relay the matter to lord Shirou once he returns from school." Sella then spoke up again.

In the end, the former Homunculus did the wisest thing and decided to leave it all to Shirou. She, who had only recently become human, was not equipped to deal with someone like Caren Ortensia, so she wasn't even going to try.

"Oh yes, school! Maybe I should try going to school as well." Caren suggested something she had been considering for a while, placing her hands together and adopting her cutest expression. "I could probably pass for a fifteen-year-old girl, right?"

"Yes." Leysritt nodded without a trace of hesitation, continuing the head pats.

"That answer was much too swift!" Caren deadpanned. "You're supposed to be unsure of how to answer my question without insulting me!"

"But I don't care." Leysritt gave her a bemused look. "You look much younger than you really are, so I told you so."

"Ah…"

The nun didn't know what to say in response to that, having no good strategy to deal with people who treated her with such disinterest. Fortunately for her though, the lazy maid turned away after a few seconds, directing her attention at her food again.

"So." Caren then turned back to Sella, who had been far easier to talk with so far. "What do you think about me going to school?"

"Please wait for lord Shirou to return before you take any such drastic decisions." Sella said immediately. "I heavily discourage attending his school without any warning in advance."

"But it will be fun." Caren protested, already able to imagine how vexed he would be if she appeared at his school out of the blue. He'd frown at her, and clench his jaw, and maybe one of his eyes would twitch. She loved it when that happened.

"It will certainly not be fun!" Sella stated with absolute certainty, crossing her arms before her in an X.

"Let's agree to disagree."

"NO!"

Sakura had been worried at first that Illya would have trouble fitting in at her new school.

The former Homunculus had never gone to school before, nor had she ever interacted with fellow students or teachers, or just people who weren't Magi in general. She had zero experience with the rhythm of a day in class, and had no idea how exams, reports, and presentations worked.

All of that together, coupled with the fact that Illya was now suddenly thrown in the deep end, made the plum-haired girl quite fearful that the former Homunculus' first weeks at her new school would be filled with nothing but embarrassment and confusion.

But nothing had been less true.

"And then he swooped to her rescue anyway!" The white-haired girl recounted the tale from her latest anime to an engrossed crowd of classmates, standing on a table and looking around at all the eager faces surrounding her. "Even though it was dangerous, even though his enemies were far stronger than him, he still did it! It was awesome!"

"I loved that scene!"

"It was so romantic!"

"I want to be just like that when I grow up!"

Illya's classmates almost tripped over each other to agree with her, to show how much they valued her opinion, and the white-haired girl lapped it all up, grinning widely at the attention she was receiving.

From her very first day at school, no, from the very moment she was introduced to the class as an exchange student, Illya had managed to win over the hearts of nearly everyone around her.

Her adorable looks, her forceful personality, her earnestness and joy, and her noble manners all combined to make her absolutely irresistible to her classmates, and even her various teachers seemed to like her well enough.

She received over a dozen invitations each day to come over to someone's house for a playdate or to hang out in the city together, and Illya was more than willing to accept them, making sure to have no favourites, maintaining a tight schedule detailing who she would hang out with and when.

This insistence on treating everyone equally only served to fuel her popularity, and before long, she had become as popular at her school as Rin was at Homurahara, an idol in her own right. Unlike Rin though, Illya seemed to genuinely enjoy it, basking in the attention she was receiving, attention she'd never gotten during the last eight years of her life.

At this point, Sakura wondered if being a Magus perhaps also gave one the skills to become popular at school. Both Rin and the white-haired girl seemed to prove that pretty conclusively.

But then again, it hardly mattered. Most Magi never went to school anyway, meaning Sakura's small sample pool would never increase in size. The only way to know for certain was to force more Magi to attend middle- or high-school, and that would be quite difficult, to say the least.

Laughing quietly at the ridiculousness of her thoughts, Sakura turned away from the spectacle of Illya being worshipped by her fans and focused on her lunch instead. There were only fifteen minutes of the lunch break left after all, and she hadn't even started yet.

The plum-haired girl was not a big eater however, and it was after only five minutes that she put her bento down again, her stomach filled to bursting.

The bento was not yet empty however, something that captured the attention of Sakura's neighbour.

"Sakura-san, are you going to finish your bento?"

"I am not, Kurisu-san." The plum-haired girl smiled kindly, having expected the question, before she handed over her lunchbox, which still contained about half of the food she'd come to school with, to the redheaded girl sitting next to her. "Ah, but I seem to have made too much this morning. I am already full myself, but it would be such a waste to throw the rest away. I would dearly appreciate it if you could help me finish it."

"Well, if you insist." Kurisu mumbled, trying to act aloof, though her hungry gaze and eagerness with which she accepted the bento betrayed her true intentions. "I suppose I could help you with it."

It wasn't Sakura's habit to take more food to school than she could finish on her own, but lately, she had taken to making double portions in the morning to put into her bento. Not because she was suddenly much hungrier than before, but because she was sharing it with Makise Kurisu.

Makise Kurisu was a pretty, redheaded girl of about Sakura's age, with eyes coloured a greyish blue and the pale skin that was inherent to all natural redheads. She had moved to Fuyuki with her father over the summer holiday, and as such, was new at school, just like Illya.

Unlike Illya however, who had taken to her new surroundings like a fish to water, Kurisu was struggling to adapt to her life in Fuyuki. She wasn't as outgoing as Illya, nor did she have her confidence or her talent at interacting with people, leaving her struggling to find her place.

It also didn't help that Kurisu was a bit of a loner. She tended to keep to herself, preferring to spend her breaks alone, and usually went home straight after school, refusing to even entertain the possibility of joining a club.

At the moment, Sakura was pretty much her only friend, and that was only because the plum-haired girl had bribed her with food, having noticed that the girl didn't have her own bento nor any lunch money to spend at the cafeteria.

It was certainly odd that she didn't have any money, considering her father was a top scientist in the field of physics, the kind that earned big money with conferences, papers, and interviews, but Sakura had refrained from asking any intrusive questions. Instead, she'd just begun to take more food with her so she could share.

She knew a thing or two about difficult family circumstances, and she didn't want to pry yet, not before establishing a strong connection.

Upon receiving the bento, the redheaded girl demolished the food like she hadn't eaten in days, making Sakura very glad that she'd made an extra big portion that morning. Hopefully, it would be enough to fill her stomach, and if not, Sakura would have to confiscate some food from Illya.

It was an emergency after all.

Fortunately, Kurisu seemed quite satisfied after she had finished the bento, meaning that Illya's lunch was safe for today.

"S-Shall I take a look at your homework for our next class?" Kurisu then offered, nervously rubbing her hands together after she handed back the bento. "We still have a few minutes."

"That would be fantastic!" Sakura clapped her hands together, beaming at the redhead. "Your help is always so useful to me."

Kurisu was a very intelligent girl. In all honesty, she was so smart it was almost scary. There was nothing in their current curriculum that formed even a remote challenge for her, and before Sakura had taken to talking with her, she'd been reading books on advanced physics during the breaks, just to have something stimulating to do.

She never had anything less than a perfect score, for any test, including the one that was technically meant for the exams at the end of the year, which the teacher had given to them as a warning. It was something Sakura had only seen before from Shirou, and he was a demigod who had Reinforced his own brain. It was a bit too early to claim that Kurisu was an outright genius, but if she continued like she had, Sakura had no doubt she'd surpass her father, a famous scientist, in no time.

Despite her brilliance though, Kurisu never showed a hint of arrogance. Even though she already knew everything they had to know for their exams at the end of the year, she still diligently paid attention in class and did all her homework. Unlike Shirou, who openly never paid attention to his teachers and barely bothered to do his assignments, Kurisu was a model student, the kind that was every teacher's favourite.

As such, her offer to check Sakura's homework was most welcome indeed.

Of course, if Kurisu hadn't offered to help, Sakura would have asked Shirou for his assistance, which would have worked just as well, but Kurisu looked so glad to be of use that the plum-haired girl did not mention that.

The redheaded girl barely took a minute to go over Sakura's work, and then quickly and briefly explained to the plum-haired girl what mistakes she had made and what the correct ways of doing things were.

Five minutes hadn't seemed enough to go over their every assignment, but in the end, they even had a solid minute to spare before the next class was about to begin.

"Alright, get back to your seats." Their teacher said as he walked into the classroom, signifying the start of the lesson. No one moved though, not until Illya got off the table to return to her chair, which was the sign for the rest to follow the teacher's order as well.

"Well then, class. Open your books on page twenty-four." The teacher intoned, and then, once they all had their textbooks open, he started talking, droning on and on, only pausing sometimes to write something on the chalkboard behind him.

Sakura attentively made notes, doing her best to record everything that was said, but even as she wrote, she saw that Kurisu was effortlessly surpassing her again. The girl's notes were impeccable, and undoubtedly padded with her own knowledge about the subjects that were discussed. Where Sakura had written barely two pages worth of notes, she had already filled six.

Sakura wasn't worried though. Her notes were sufficient for a passing grade, and Kurisu would probably let her copy her notes anyway. She always did, sometimes even insisting on it.

In fact, the plum-haired girl could still remember the first time Kurisu had offered her notes to her, or rather forced her to copy them.

"Y-You really are bad at taking notes." The redheaded girl spluttered, looking disapprovingly at Sakura's notebook, before holding out her own, closing her eyes as she blushed slightly. "S-Since you are so hopeless, I can let you copy mine. B-Be grateful!"

Another Tsundere… Did Sakura attract those types of people or was it just a coincidence that she now had two of them in her orbit?

Well, whatever. Tsunderes were cute, so it was fine.

When Mirei Montmorency, the right-hand woman of Lorelei Barthomeloi and de-facto head of the Department of Policies, entered the office of her boss, she wasn't at all surprised to find Phantasmal Creatures inside.

As the Vice-Director's second-in-command and most trusted advisor, she was usually made privy to the young lady's secrets very quickly, as she had proven many times before that she was utterly reliable and could be counted on to help deal with an immense variety of problems and issues.

So when Lorelei had returned to the Clocktower with four Phantasmal Beasts in tow, which she had captured in the Black Forest in Germany, she had told Mirei about their existence during their very first meeting upon her return, going as far as to show them off to her, like a proud pet-owner.

That was now well over a month ago.

All that was to say that Mirei wasn't shocked at all to find four Wolpertingers inside the young lady's office, and she only gave them a cursory glance as she walked towards the desk to give the brunette the daily briefing, reports in hand.

The mother-Wolpertinger was lying in a corner of the office, stretched out and flattened like only rabbits could. It had its eyes closed contently, basking in the sun that fell through the window, but even though it looked asleep, Mirei had no doubt it was carefully monitoring its surroundings for anything that could threaten its young.

Mirei was an ally of Lorelei and thus got a pass for now, but she was certain that if she made any threatening movements, she'd be bowled over and turned into a smear on the wall before she could blink. Hence, the elderly lady kept her hands to herself.

She wasn't entirely defenceless, but all the same, she did not fancy her chances against a real-life Phantasmal Beast that was fighting to protect its babies.

Speaking of the babies, they too were present in the office, though all at different locations.

The smallest of them was currently lying curled up against its mother's side. It had its eyes closed, and unlike its mother, it was actually asleep. Its chest was rising and falling rapidly, as was proper for rabbits, and it produced small, squeaking snores that were cute enough to make any rabbit-lover's heart melt instantly.

This particular baby really slept a lot, day and night, and even when it was awake, it never strayed far from its mother, looking at the world around it with large, nervous eyes.

A notable difference with the second baby, which was much more enterprising. Currently, it was rummaging around in Lorelei's collection of Mystic Codes on the other side of the room, eagerly sniffing at everything it came across.

This particular Wolpertinger had turned out to get bored easily, and it was always on the move, fiercely resisting any attempt to lock it up or hold it back, whether it was by Lorelei's hand or its mother's. In the end, they'd decided to let it be, and pre-emptively removed everything that could pose a risk to its health from the office.

Those two babies were visible the moment Mirei entered the room, as was their mother, but one of the Phantasmal Beasts remained unaccounted for.

Though perhaps 'unaccounted for' was not the right word to use when the elderly lady knew exactly where to find that last Wolpertinger.

Indeed, upon walking closer to the desk, she found the magical rabbit, right where she'd expected it to be.

In Lorelei's lap.

Curled up and looking both immensely content and unbearably smug, the rabbit was thoroughly enjoying the brunette's petting and stroking, producing an endless array of happy noises, which intensified whenever the brunette would scratch it behind its ears.

Having been a bit cautious of the Vice-Director at first, the one who had captured it and its family, the Wolpertinger had soon learned that Lorelei had no intention of harming it, and, even better, that she also wasn't averse to petting it. Upon that realisation, the brunette had promptly been promoted to its personal attendant.

In Mirei's opinion, the young lady was being too nice to the demanding little monster, but since this was a matter that did not involve her in any way, she had not expressed that opinion.

Yet.

"Lady Montmorency." Lorelei greeted her once she'd reached the desk.

"Lady Barthomeloi." Mirei returned the formal greeting, inclining her head slightly. "I have brought today's reports."

"What are the highlights?" The Vice-Director inquired, requesting a short summary of their contents.

"I have at last established a proper working relationship with the Executors currently inside the Clocktower." Mirei began with the first report, not having to explain what Executors were doing inside the headquarters of the Magus Association, as she'd done that already in a previous meeting. "They have committed fully to our shared cause and have made significant progress in the investigation of Gladstone Phamrsolone."

The mention of the name of the Neutral Faction's current chairman made the Vice-Director grimace slightly, though not because he was chairman of a rival faction. Yes, the young lady was the head of the Aristocratic Faction, and thus nominally Phamrsolone's enemy, but generally, she did not put much stock in such needless rivalries.

The reason she grimaced was because Phamrsolone was currently being suspected of having committed the worst possible crime a Magus could ever commit, at least in her eyes.

Conspiring with Dead Apostle Ancestors.

The very concept that a Magus could sink so low as to work together with those abominations was nearly anathema to Lorelei, something that could happen in theory but never would in practice. She did not believe that anyone with a measure of common sense would be so tremendously stupid, and had initially dismissed the very possibility.

But now that Mirei had brought her solid proof, Lord El-Melloi had started his own inquiries, and Executors from the Burial Agency had gone as far as to infiltrate the Clocktower to investigate, it was undeniable that something extremely suspicious was happening inside the Clocktower, something that seemed to lead towards none other than Trhvmn Ortenrosse himself.

It deserved nothing less than her full personal attention.

"What have you found?" Lady Barthomeloi thus asked.

"It is still early days in the investigation, and nothing concrete has been discovered yet, on Gladstone of the other people of interest." Mirei replied, placing the full report on Lady Barthomeloi's desk. "But we'll continue to look into the matter. I am confident that we'll find something soon."

"Allocate all possible resources towards this goal, if you haven't already." Lady Barthomeloi ordered in response, her tone harder than usual. "If these 'people of interest' are indeed conspiring with mankind's worst enemies, we cannot allow them to spread their corruption. I do not want a repeat of the Meluastea-crisis."

The Meluastea-family were the former heads of the Department of Archaeology. They had once been a big, influential, and respected family, but greed and lust for power had gotten the better of them, and they had started breaking numerous laws over many decades, confident they were too big to fall and too influential to be punished.

Only to be decimated in the greatest purge the Magus Association had ever seen, led by Lady Barthomeloi herself and supported by the world's newest Sorcerer, Fujimaru. They had nearly been eradicated, and only a few dregs of the family remained, trying to build something out of the ashes that the purge had left behind.

But even though that rot had been removed, it had been allowed to spread for far too long. Entire departments had been corrupted as the Meluastea had acted freely for decades, and now, after the Purge, many parts of the Clocktower suffered from a lack of reliable personnel as a result.

It had honestly been shocking just how widespread the corruption had been, and neither Lorelei nor Mirei wanted to see something similar again. They had resolved to take a firmer stance on corruption, and to strike pre-emptively more often if Magi engaged in forbidden activities.

Because the Ancestors, if given enough time, would do worse than the Meluastea could ever hope to.

"I have allocated all the resources I can spare and then some to this project, personnel included." Mirei nodded obediently. "Everyone in the Department of Policies who was not working on something crucial, as many of my bureaucrats as I could spare, and I even managed to borrow some capable personnel from Lord El-Melloi. If something goes wrong, it won't be by lack of effort on our part."

"Indeed." Satisfied for now, Lorelei nodded slowly, leaning back into her chair. "Inform me if there is anything I can do to aid in the investigation."

"Naturally." Mirei wouldn't dream of excluding their strongest combatant from the war-efforts.

"Especially if you have reliably located one of the Ancestors." The young lady continued, her tone becoming heavier, which showed just how seriously she was taking the matter. "Chances to confront them directly are extremely rare. If our efforts to counter their espionage can lure one or two of them out of hiding, it would be our greatest victory in years."

"That goes without saying."

The defeat of a Dead Apostle Ancestor was not something that happened every day after all. They were tenacious opponents, and the fact that they had made it into the ranks of the Ancestors to begin with proved they were old hands at survival.

That was not to say that they were unbeatable however. The Church had killed and sealed numerous Ancestors over the centuries, and Lorelei herself had fought and beaten no fewer than four of those monsters, often during blood moons, when they were at their strongest.

Unfortunately, the Ancestors that were defeated were almost always the bottom rungs, the rabble that ascended quickly and died quickly too, relatively.

The higher-ranked Ancestors on the other hand, such as the sixth, the ninth, or the eleventh, had been alive for centuries, some of them even since the days that the Crimson Moon himself had walked the Earth.

Even Lorelei had never beaten one of those before.

Not by a lack of power or ability though. She might very well be capable of beating them if she met them in fair combat, but precisely that was the issue. She had never managed to corner any of the aforementioned higher ranked vampires and had thus never managed to force a battle.

These Dead Apostle Ancestors had not lived as long as they did by being careless. They were ever cautious, despised personal confrontations, and had such a fear of traps they did not go anywhere until their slaves had confirmed the location's safety at least ten times. There was no way they were ever going to accept a challenge from Lorelei, nor unless the battlefield was fully stacked in their favour.

So any chance to pin one down was a chance that had to be treasured and optimally made use of.

Especially if it was a chance to get at Trhvmn Ortenrosse, the King of the Dead Apostle Ancestors.

Killing him would be a victory that would resound throughout the world. A legendary feat that would forever tip the balance of the battle between humans and Apostles in humanity's favour. A decisive blow that those monstrous vampires would never recover from.

"Patience." Mirei nevertheless urged, having no desire to let the young lady run rampant. "We must move slowly if we want to have the merest chance at catching them. Haste makes waste."

"…It is as you say." Lady Barthomeloi agreed after a tense moment. "Sometimes, a hunter must move slowly to catch their prey, as vexing as it is."

"The value of being slow is that you always see your path clearly in front of you." Mirei spoke wisely, to which Lorelei nodded in reluctant agreement. "More information will come to us in time."

"Very well. Then, what more is there to discuss?" The brunette inquired, shelving the matter of the Dead Apostle Ancestors for now.

"Your planned announcement of the return of Mystery to the World as well as the subsequent return of Phantasmal Species." Mirei replied promptly, finally addressing the matter that she considered the most relevant by far out of all things that were currently going on. "Although it is only you, I, doctor Kix, and your personal guard that are aware of this return, I have no doubt the information will find its way to the public soon. It has been over a month since you brought your new… pets, to the Clocktower, and with every passing day, the chance of discovery grows larger. We need to prepare a statement and a plan of action before this happens, or we will not be able to prevent chaos and disorder from erupting."

"I am aware." Lorelei's tone had become curt, and her grip on the Wolpertinger-baby in her lap tightened a bit. "I have prepared a statement, and I have accounted for any chaos or disruption that might spring from it. However, such a declaration will not be believed easily, and will require proof, but-"

"But you don't wish to show these Phantasmal Beasts as proof, because even though they'd be valuable evidence, you fear it will lead to other Magi attempting to steal them or pressure you into giving them up so they can be vivisected and studied." Mirei finished for her, but even though her tone was a tad acerbic, she didn't disapprove of Lorelei's care for the creatures. "Thus you wish to delay the announcement until Fujimaru has come and taken them away to his secret home, where no Magus will be able to touch them."

"…Quite." The young lady agreed, blinking once at how easily she'd been seen through.

"I understand your reasoning, but we do not have time to wait until winter." Mirei argued, glancing at the adult Wolpertinger in the corner of the office. "With all due respect, you cannot wait longer than a single week with the general announcement, and preferably, you will discreetly inform several key players in the Clocktower's internal politics even sooner than that. Today if at all possible."

"I am aware." Lorelei replied, though her expression darkened. "Although I wish it wasn't so. Valualeta and Trambellio will undoubtedly devise various schemes to turn this to their advantage, and both Atlas and the Wandering Sea will only see the ways in which this situation benefits them."

"Oh yes, getting them to appreciate the seriousness of the situation will be a chore and a half." Mirei agreed, adopting a tense expression, though on the inside, she was pleased to see that Lorelei was treating the matter with the regard it deserved rather than trying to escape responsibility. "In fact, I fear it will take either a considerable number of casualties or a direct attack on their interests before they will start to consider it an issue that they need to tackle with everything they have."

Inorai Valualeta Atroholm and McDonell Trambellio Elrod were the heads of the Valualeta-family and the Trambellio-family respectively. They led the Democratic Faction together, and were in some ways Lorelei's most formidable opponents.

Old, cunning, devious, and absolutely ruthless, they were most adept at turning every situation into their favour. Multiple times, they'd pulled the wool over Lorelei's eyes, and it had only been a generous application of violence and intimidation that had salvaged those disasters.

They weren't infallible though, nor were they omniscient. The return of Mystery would shock them every bit as much as Lorelei and Mirei, and there was a chance that they would honestly commit to working together to mitigate the damage.

But Lorelei couldn't be sure of that. The cunning old bats might as well decide to profit from the return of Mystery, and if that happened, her task of safely managing said return would become vastly more difficult.

Atlas and the Wandering Sea on the other hand were unlikely to try and get any political or military advantages from the situation. They were branches of the Magus Association, smaller but no less important than the Clocktower, but rather than being mired in internal politics, they were focused on research above all else.

Essentially, the two branches consisted of Magi who had willingly isolated themselves from the world at large so they could focus better on their Crafts. Trying to use any situation for some kind of advantage would go against every action they'd taken so far.

Still, the brunette did not expect much help from them. Focused on their research as they were, they'd just celebrate the return of Mystery and not care in the slightest about the people who would be hurt by it.

While not necessarily destructive, they were selfish to the very core. It wouldn't even be beyond them to try and accelerate the return of Mystery so they could better enjoy the spoils.

Yes, telling Valualeta, Tambellio, Atlas, and the Wandering Sea about the return of Mystery could have terrible consequences.

But then, not telling them would be even worse.

"You must tell them." Mirei urged again, knowing very well what damage secrecy could do. "Not just because treaties have been signed that demand such critical information be made public, but also because more Phantasmal Species might return at any moment. Both the Magus Association and the Burial Agency need to be able to prepare. Can you imagine what will happen if our world is caught unawares?"

Lorelei didn't react much to the urging, but there was a slight tightening of the left side of her jaw that showed that Mirei was getting through to her.

"You need not be concerned about your Wolpertingers either." The elderly lady pushed a bit more. "I will increase the defences of the department and I will prepare our legal teams. Even if outside factors try to obtain them, we shall make sure they fail miserably."

"Even our best efforts will not guarantee that." Lorelei pointed out.

"Secrecy won't guarantee it either." Mirei countered.

"…"

The brunette remained reluctant, going as far as to pull the Wolpertinger closer against her as if to protect it, before she let out a soft sigh.

She wasn't dumb, nor was she unreasonable, so in the end, she could only agree with Mirei.

"I will visit Valualeta and Trambellio, and send missives to Atlas and the Wandering Sea." She conceded, relaxing her grip on the Phantasmal Beast. "I will release the statement I prepared for the general public after that. It will be done before the end of the week."

"Thank you, my lady." Mirei nodded, relieved and happy that the girl was seeing sense, even if that caused her some grief.

As if sensing Lorelei's current bad mood, the baby-Wolpertinger in her lap rose to a standing position, before it began rubbing its head against her hands, periodically licking her fingers.

Mirei wouldn't claim to be an expert on rabbits, but she did know that such behaviour was meant to be social, and that the little beast was likely trying to cheer the brunette up.

It seemed to be working too, for Lorelei's expression quickly broke out into a smile at the Wolpertinger's behaviour, and she repaid it with scritches behind its ears.

"Preferably, you will inform Valualeta and Trambellio as soon as this meeting is over." Mirei was aware she was starting to nag like an overbearing mother, but this really was too important to leave to chance.

"Very well." Lorelei nodded, not looking away from the Wolpertinger.

"Good. Then there's only one item left on the agenda now."

"Which is?" Lorelei inquired, and she did look up this time.

"The reports I have compiled on every eligible bachelor in the Clocktower." Mirei struggled not to grin as she revealed the pile of reports, and had to struggle harder when Lorelei froze in surprise, her eyes widening ever so slightly at both the subject and the size of the stack. "As you requested, I have thoroughly investigated all possible husbands for you. The results of the investigation, you see here."

"…It's a lot." Lorelei said after a moment, her face remaining perfectly expressionless. "How many are there?"

"Four hundred and twenty-three." Mirei huffed.

"Squee?!"

The sudden squeaking sound did not come from Lorelei, but rather from the Wolpertinger, who found itself suddenly being squeezed uncomfortably as the brunette's hands tightened in shock.

"A-Ah, sorry." She quickly apologised, releasing her hold and resuming the scritches, and the little beast, after a moment of indignant anger, forgave her, lying down again to optimally enjoy the pampering.

"I could barely believe it myself, that we had so many single men in the Clocktower." Mirei politely pretended she hadn't seen anything, tapping on the pile of reports with a single finger. "It was a lot of work to put it all together, let me tell you, but at least you have plenty of choices for your future husband now."

Well, she spoke like it was no big deal, but Mirei understood that even the unflappable Lady Barthomeloi, the Greatest Magus of the Modern Era, wouldn't be able to stay entirely unaffected by the prospect of choosing the man whom she'd spent the rest of her life with.

Or, alternatively, long enough to conceive an heir and a spare. After that, the husband could be kicked to the curb if he was unsatisfactory.

Still, it was a big choice, as evidenced by the fact that when the words 'future husband' were mentioned out loud, Lorelei's fingers actually balled into fists, before relaxing immediately after.

"Because of your rather broad specifications, a great variety of men are present here. I took the liberty of ordering them from worst to best, though it is entirely possible my opinion and yours differ." Mirei informed the brunette. "Please have a look at them yourself and decide."

"I will look at them, and then I must choose?" Lorelei asked, appearing almost overwhelmed. "From four hundred and twenty-three?"

"It might be better if you divide them into groups first." Mirei advised, thinking about her own method that she used when she had to make some kind of choice and there were a lot of options. "A group of those whom you consider to be worthy of becoming your husband, a group of men that are not ideal but still more than good enough, a group of those who would not be your first pick but whom you would be able to live with nonetheless…"

"And a group of those I wouldn't accept under any circumstances?" Lorelei finished for her.

"No, you can throw those reports directly into the hearth." Mirei huffed with a smile, and there was a twitch in Lorelei's lips as well. "Now, start reading already. Remember, I ordered them from worst to best."

With a nod, Lorelei pulled the pile towards herself and looked at the first report, detailing the bachelor that Mirei had designated as the worst possible husband for her.

"Francis Frey." She read out loud, never stopping her pampering of the baby-rabbit in her lap. "Age: twenty-three. Occupation: Apprentice-Magus. Department: Zoology. Characteristics: Lazy, entitled, spoiled, racist, cruel, incompetent, from a terrible family, and unsightly."

"There are many men here in the Clocktower who should never be considered for marriage by any woman, but even among those men, Francis Frey is a special kind of undesirable." Mirei explained, her face twisting into a grimace at the thought of that unwashed pig. "He had a certain animal cunning about him, which is why his family keeps him around, but that is his only use and virtue, though I honestly am not sure about calling it a virtue."

"It is not." Lorelei was prompt to answer. "I have no use for animal cunning."

"Into the fire with him then." Mirei laughed, before giving a sly wink. "Unless you feel inclined to give your family an aneurysm by pretending you are considering him?"

The look that appeared on Lorelei's face was one of pure revulsion, and with a quick wave of her hand, she lit a fire in the hearth, after which she crumpled the report on Francis Frey and threw it into the flames.

Then she looked at the next report.

"Keep in mind that the men in the next ten-or-so reports are all about equal in terms of compatibility with you. Their order is random." Mirei added some extra information, to which Lorelei nodded once in understanding.

"Benjamin Crowlam." She then read out loud again from the report she had before her now. "Age: twenty-two. Occupation: Apprentice-Magus. Department: Zoology. Characteristics: Rude, spoiled, unreasonably stubborn, petty, vindictive, close-minded, and of average talent."

"He is leagues better than Francis Frey, but that doesn't mean much." Mirei provided a bit more background information, before reaching out and tapping on the report. "Also, I didn't put this in the report outright, but several girls whom he has slept with have made it known that he is also hopelessly inconsiderate in bed."

"So, he snores?" Lorelei asked confusedly, and Mirei almost fell over backwards in shock, though she managed to recompose herself at the last second.

Then, she wracked her brain for a proper response, before deciding to just go with the flow.

"…Yes, let's go with that. He snores terribly, kicks around in his sleep, and often claims the whole bed for himself." She answered glibly.

"I hate that."

The report on Benjamin Crowlam followed that of Francis Frey into the hearth.

"Frederick Calquhoun-"

"It's pronounced 'Cahoun', apparently." Mirei supplied.

"-Frederick Calquhoun." Lorelei started again, this time using the correct pronunciation. "Age: Thirty-two. Occupation: Magus. Department: Lore. Characteristics: Arrogant, conceited, believes himself above the rules, not nearly as capable as he believes, loyal only to his brothers Henry and Edward, incapable of conversing with anyone for longer than five minutes, and of below average talent in Magecraft."

"A total and utter bore who believes himself to be God's gift to mankind." Mirei scoffed, glaring down at the report as if it was Calquhoun himself. "As I said, about the same level as Benjamin Crowlam."

This time, Lorelei didn't say a word as she chucked the report into the flames.

"Henry Calquhoun…"

Another report into the flames.

"Edward Calquhoun-"

Again the fire flared up as some new fuel was added.

It continued like that for a while. Lorelei calmly went over every report, giving every option a fair chance, but the first forty-one of them only described men who were so bad and worthless that they would become better marriage material by dying immediately. They went into the flames at once, exactly as Mirei had expected.

At report forty-two however, things finally began to change.

"Constantine Cadwin." Lorelei read out, and for the first time in seventeen reports, Mirei felt prompted to make a remark again.

"From here on, we're entering the range of men who are bad picks, but not hopeless." She informed her superior, receiving a nod of acknowledgement in return.

"Age: twenty-seven. Occupation: Professor. Department: Botany. Characteristics: Full of himself, but not cripplingly so. Passable as a teacher. Prone to bouts of unreasonable anger, though easily cowed into submission. Intelligent, but not impressively so. Not great in bed."

"Basically, he's just below average on every quality that determines one's desirability as a husband." Mirei nodded. "It is his inability to change and be flexible however that puts him at such a low position."

"Hm." Lorelei did not seem to like it, and the report went into the flames as well.

Mirei observed that action with suspicious eyes. It was one thing to dispose of hopelessly inadequate men, but she would have to make sure the girl didn't just throw every report into the flames, because then they wouldn't have made any headway at all in the end.

Fortunately, she had saved multiple copies of every report, but even that would be useless if Lorelei wasn't even willing to so much as consider them.

It would mean her efforts to gather those reports, as well as all the hours spent on judging and cataloguing them, had been utterly wasted.

As Mirei watched, Cadwin was followed into the fire by Lionel Jouvereu, Bartholomew Crossmore, Henry Mettersticht, and several others.

"Horus von Stahlen-Frobrecht." Was the fifty-second name that Lorelei read aloud. "Age: twenty-two. Occupation: Apprentice Magus. Department: Mineralogy. Characteristics: Often impatient. Easily distracted. A good head for business. Youthful in mind, but not overly so. Family is unimpressive."

The report was picked up…

…And placed on the left side of the desk.

"I'll consider it." Lorelei announced, before moving on to the next report, and Mirei heaved an inaudible sigh of relief as someone was finally accepted.

It had seemed like a good idea, placing the worst ones on top of the file so they could be discarded swiftly, but it had turned out to not be good for her poor heart to see how over ten percent of the possible picks were burned from the get-go.

But now Lorelei had finally allowed someone to pass her first selection, which gave Mirei enough hope to continue smiling even as the next three reports were burned again.

"Jacob Edelfelt…" That name was spoken with some hesitation, followed by a look at Mirei, demanding she explain what an Edelfelt was doing on her pile.

"He met all your requirements." Mirei shrugged. "So I added him. Whether marrying him will be worth the political upheaval such a move will cause is a decision I leave to you."

"…" The file was placed on the left side of the desk.

From there on, more reports were accepted than refused, and the pile on the left side of the desk grew steadily in size, even though the flames did flare up regularly still.

One pile soon became two, and two became three quickly after, with pile one containing the borderline acceptable cases, two containing the acceptable cases, and three containing the worthy men, those who Lorelei would seriously consider later.

A long time passed like that, and rather predictably, both women began to grow bored with the vetting-process. Lorelei stubbornly refused a break however, wishing to finish up as soon as possible, and she kept ploughing ahead.

In all honesty though, Mirei also had a sneaking suspicion that she was curious about the top reports, but she didn't dare say so out loud.

With a working pace that fast, it didn't take long before they arrived at the reports on the men whom Mirei had designated the best possible marriage candidates for the Vice-Director. The top of the pile, so to speak.

"Alec Fargo." Lorelei's voice contained a bit more excitement now that had reached the last stage of the ordeal. "Age: Thirty-one. Occupation: Magus. Department: Astromancy. Characteristics: Patient. Capable. A good sense of humour. Loyal to the bone. Politically savvy. Quite handsome."

"He used to be a hopeless disappointment, fit for the very bottom of the pile, but recently, he turned his life around quite significantly." Mirei told her as extra information. "I could not find out what happened exactly, but whatever it was, it seemed to have had a very positive effect on him."

Lorelei nodded, and placed the report to the right, on the pile of potential husbands whom she would seriously consider.

"Raphael Umbridge." She read the next name, and then her face contorted in distaste.

"He is not to your liking?"

"I met him. I did not like him." Was the short answer, before the report was crumpled and thrown into the hearth.

"A mistake." Mirei had expected something like this might happen once or twice, so she didn't bat an eye. "My apologies for placing him so high on the pile."

"No need. Let's continue."

And continue they did, working off the remaining files one by one, until they finally arrived at the top ten.

"Domhnal Eulyphis. Age: Twenty-nine. Occupation: Head-Professor. Department: Spiritual Evocation. Characteristics: Capable, honourable, loyal, well-connected and well-liked, described to be good in bed."

"He would be a good choice, if only because he is a member of that family." Mirei informed her calmly, and Lorelei nodded in response, placing the report on the pile of husbands to seriously consider.

The Eulyphis were some of the Barthomeloi's most staunch supporters, and a Ruling Family themselves at that. Forging an extra link with them through marriage would not be a bad idea.

"Mordigan Growchester. Age: Twenty-four. Occupation: Associate-Professor. Department: Zoology. Characteristics: Loyal, capable, shrewd, politically savvy, described to be good in bed."

"Once more, being a member of such a prestigious family that is allied to yours already gives him a head start." Mirei shrugged. "Other than that, he's acceptable enough, though not particularly special."

Another report on the pile of serious consideration.

The next three reports were pretty much the same. Decent men with powerful backgrounds and high positions, who might not make for a dream-husband but would be acceptable enough to Lorelei, the Barthomeloi-family, and the Clocktower as a whole. Even before she had been assigned the task of gathering these reports, Mirei had known that those men would have a massive leg-up when it came to their eligibility to marry Lorelei, and judging by the girl's face, she'd known that as well.

The fifth report however clearly shocked her.

"Waver Velvet." She read in a, for Lorelei, stupefied voice. "Age: Twenty-seven. Occupation: Lord of the Archibald and Head of the Departments of Modern Magical Theories and Mineralogy. Characteristics: Honourable, intelligent, shrewd, a good teacher to his students, kind, helpful, and sensible. Drawback: There are many other women vying for his hand in marriage."

"Don't look at me like that." Mirei huffed when Lorelei turned to her with a look that demanded answers. "He's an eligible bachelor from the Aristocratic Faction who meets your requirements and is objectively one of the best of the bunch. Do with that what you will."

Lorelei looked at Mirei for a few more moments, and then quickly placed the file aside without looking at it again. She didn't cast Lord El-Melloi's report into the hearth, as Mirei had half expected, but she didn't look like she was going to seriously consider him as an option either.

Probably for the best, considering how heated the battle for lord El-Melloi's hand was already getting.

The fourth, third, and second to last reports were reviewed quickly. Just a few more people who were decent, focused, and honourable men with good backgrounds, prompting Lorelei to place them on the pile of serious consideration.

Then she looked at the very last report, detailing the man whom Mirei had designated the best possible choice for her.

The brunette did her best to seem uncaring and detached as she picked up the piece of paper, but there was an air of anticipation about her nevertheless as she reviewed the report.

"Number one would be…" She began, before she froze stiff, and then gave Mirei a bewildered look. "Him?!"

"Of course him." Mirei scoffed, crossing her arms defiantly, daring Lorelei to protest. "He is the only man I have ever met who managed to draw emotional responses from you, the only one who confidently challenged you and almost defeated you in a match, and the only person whose absence is clearly bothering you. What could I do but place him on top?"

"…You are misreading the situation." Lorelei stated clearly, looking away pointedly. "I assure you that I feel nothing for him."

"You were never very good at lying." Mirei smirked upon seeing the almost childish gesture, and the smirk got wider when Lorelei audibly grinded her teeth. "But, I cannot force you into choosing a particular man. You have filtered out those who you absolutely do not want, and now you must pick from those whom you kept around."

"I will think about it."

"You should do more than think, girl. Go out and meet them is what I would do. Talk with them, interact with them, see how they behave when you are around and when you are hidden. Form a picture of your own, for only you can decide who fits best with you."

Mirei could try to give pointers and create a general picture of every man, but she would never be able to decide for Lorelei who her best possible husband was. The girl would have to decide that for herself.

The brunette seemed torn about Mirei's advice, her ministrations of the Wolpertinger's fur increasing in intensity, but as always, her intellect and common sense prevailed over her emotions, and she nodded slowly.

"Very well." She took a deep breath after those words. "I will attempt to reach out to them, and then decide. I shall start at once."

"After you have spoken to Valualeta, Trambellio, and the representatives of Atlas and the Wandering Sea about the return of Mystery and Phantasmal Beasts." Mirei reminded her. "That has priority for now."

Privately, she wondered idly what task Lorelei disliked more. Having to speak with eligible bachelors or telling her rivals about the return of Mystery.

The answer remained unclear however, as Lorelei merely nodded stiffly, her expression not changing one bit.

It seemed she had resigned herself then, to both tasks.

She then placed the Wolpertinger back on the ground, ignoring its soft whine of protest.

The piles of reports she had made for herself were placed into one of her cabinets, at a sufficient distance that reports couldn't fall from one pile and end up on the other, and notecards were placed on top of them detailing what every pile was.

Mirei didn't miss however that the last report, about the man whom she had designated as the best possible husband for Lorelei, didn't end up on one of the piles, but was instead carefully folded up and placed in an inner pocket of the girl's jacket.

How interesting.

"…And then Kiboku-chan asked me what the physical properties of a water molecule were, and when I answered correctly, she looked so impressed! Kakeida-kun was a bit jealous of course, since he has a crush on her and studied very hard to impress her, but then I helped him talk with her, so we're all good now. You see, I asked Kiboku-chan to walk with me to the store next to school during the break, and then I had Kanchi-kun bring Kakeida-kun there as well, before we left them together. We didn't spy on them of course, but we did watch them for a bit, and they hugged, so I think it went well! Kamaru-chan and Tsuino-chan, they are the girls sitting next to me, laughed about it, but I thought it was sweet. Oh, and Matsu-kun said he might come to me for dating-advice too when he gets a crush!"

"Is that so?" Shirou smiled indulgently as Illya chattered non-stop about her day at school, faithfully committing all the names to memory, knowing she appreciated that.

They were sitting in the living room of the Emiya-estate together, having both just returned home, and the redhead was now patiently listening to his little sister's stories, noting that she clearly had had a much more interesting day than him.

Flushed a spotty red, with tangles in her hair and stains on her clothes, beaming as brightly as the sun, Illya looked like a stereotypical tomboy teenager, and Shirou could not be happier to see her like that.

"Yes! Even the teacher, Ruriho-san, said that I knew a lot about dating! I don't think it's dating myself though, it's more about interpersonal relationships, but if it helps them get together, then who cares about that?!"

"I agree completely." Shirou nodded, giving her a headpat in praise, encouraging her to continue.

"School is just so amazing!" The little sprite practically cheered, almost bouncing off the walls in her enthusiasm. "I am really, really, really, really glad you made me go! Thank you!"

"No problem." Shirou grinned, glad that having Illya go to school had paid off so well that even after a month, she was still deliriously happy every time she returned home. "It's good to hear you are settling in nicely with your classmates."

Quite an understatement there. If Illya was to be believed, and he did believe her, not in the least because Sakura always backed her up, then those classmates were practically worshipping her. She stood at the very top of the hierarchy in that classroom, unquestioned and unchallenged in her authority.

It wasn't without its downsides, as she seemed to be paying more attention to the wiles and wants of her friends than to her lessons, but Shirou couldn't find it in himself to scold her for that. After eighteen years of suffering at the hands of the Einzbern, she deserved a nice, long period of unbothered fun.

If the teachers started to complain, he might have to take action, but as long as they didn't seem to mind Illya's enthusiasm, he wouldn't say anything either.

"When's dinner?" Illya then suddenly changed the subject.

"Dinner?" The sudden change took him by surprise a bit, but Shirou soon recovered. "Why? Are you hungry?"

"No." She denied instantly, before, as if on cue, her stomach started rumbling loudly, vehemently disagreeing with her.

"Let me check." Shirou carefully kept his face straight, making sure not to laugh at her red-faced expression of mortification, before he turned towards the kitchen, which was out of his view but not out of the range of his voice. "Sella, how are you doing over there?!"

"It's going well, lord Shirou!" The former Homunculus maid replied immediately, and he could almost imagine how she straightened her back as if saluting, pausing in her stirring of the curry. "I need no more than fifteen minutes!"

"Very well. Thank you." He called back, before lowering his voice as he turned to Illya again. "There you have it. Fifteen minutes."

"Right." Illya nodded, before also glancing in the direction of the kitchen, pursing her lips a bit. "I'm surprised you're just letting Sella cook though. Normally when I come home, you are always fighting over the kitchen with her."

"Not tonight." Shirou shook his head however, as he was not in the mood for arguing with the stubborn maid today. "Sella can cook tonight."

"O-Oh." Illya clearly didn't know how to react to that, and she awkwardly fiddled with her fingers a bit. "Why?"

"I'm just not in the mood." Shirou explained shortly, crossing his arms, hoping she'd drop the matter. "There's nothing strange about it."

"Not in the mood? Ah! I see!" Illya appeared confused for a moment, but then her eyes cleared up, and she reached out and placed a supportive hand on his arm, patting it a bit. "You miss Sakura."

"Miss Sakura? I don't…" Shirou began to protest, but he fell silent when he saw Illya smug, confident smile, realising his denial was just making him look foolish. "…Yeah, I miss her."

Sufficiently so that he couldn't even muster the energy to argue with Sella.

Ever since school had begun again, requiring Shirou to spend many hours away from home every day, Sella had taken over much of the housework. She regularly mobbed the floor, dusted off the furniture, cleaned the windows, refreshed the bedsheets, and indeed, cooked their meals. It wouldn't be entirely inaccurate to say that Sella had largely taken over the house.

Of course, Shirou hadn't just let that happen, and he often clashed with Sella over the dominion of the kitchen and the stove, often assisted by Sakura, who had a similar dislike of being forced away from her favourite hobby.

But today, the plum-haired girl wasn't present to assist him, and that impacted his motivation more than he'd expected.

In fact, it was worse than that. None of his girlfriends were present today.

Ayako had returned to her family's home, as they had all agreed. Her parents had already given her a lot of leeway in getting to spend the entire summer holiday at his house, and they shouldn't take it too far. Not when Ayako was still a minor.

Rin had also returned to the Tohsaka-manor, and for much the same reason as Ayako. Her mother had been released from the hospital, and as a proper and faithful daughter, Rin had every intention of watching over her as she got used to a normal life again.

Sakura had not joined Rin however, having no desire to return to her former home. She'd made it clear that she considered the Emiya-estate to be her home now, and Rin had accepted that.

Tonight was an exception though. It had been a week since Aoi had returned to the Tohsaka-manor, and at Rin's request, Sakura had come over for dinner, partially to celebrate the milestone, and partially to see how it would go to have the remnants of the Tohsaka-family in one room again.

It was a very daring choice to host such a dinner, a choice that could very well blow up in Rin's face, but the black-haired girl had been willing to take the risk. She seemed strangely determined to patch the strained relationships within her family, and was willing to go to serious lengths in the pursuit.

In the face of such conviction, Sakura had capitulated, reluctantly agreeing to come to dinner that evening. She had entrusted to Shirou though that she wasn't at all sure that she'd be able to last throughout the entire meal, and that she wouldn't be home late even if everything went well.

She was going to try her hardest to be polite and well-meaning though, if only out of pity for a woman who had suddenly woken up to find that her husband was dead, her oldest friend had been murdered, and that her daughters had both grown up without her.

In other words, Shirou would be eating with only Illya, Leysritt, Sella, and Caren tonight. Still quite the crowd by Japanese standards, but still notably fewer people than he'd actually wanted.

In light of that, it did not feel like a large sacrifice to give up on cooking dinner. It wouldn't be as much fun without Sakura anyway.

"It's only for tonight, Shirou." Illya piped up again, somewhat hesitantly patting his back in an attempt at reassuring him. "Sakura will be back by tomorrow, I'm sure of it."

"Perhaps." Shirou mumbled, before he shook his head, realising he was moping around for no reason. "I mean, yes, you're right. Sakura will be back tomorrow, so I shouldn't sulk."

"Quite." Sella agreed, her arms crossed and a frown parked between her eyebrows.

"Sella?" Illya blinked in surprise at the maid's sudden appearance in the living room. "What are you doing here?"

It was a reasonable question. The maid was still wearing her beautiful, elaborate apron depicting a scene from the Pirates of Penzance, she held a wet wooden spoon in her hand, and judging from the sounds coming from the kitchen, the stove was still on. She seemed to have walked away in the middle of cooking dinner, which wasn't at all like her.

"I came to request your assistance with setting the table, as Leysritt seems to have vanished." Sella explained, and with that, everything made sense again.

"I'll get right to it-" Shirou began to say, before he stopped when Sella held up a finger.

"But then I heard you wallow in misery, lord Shirou." She continued, her frown becoming deeper. "While it might not be my place to say this, such behaviour is wholly unbecoming of you. I do not think lady Sakura would approve, and I must insist that you get a grip."

"Of course." Shirou agreed humbly, fully realising she was right. "I am sorry, Sella."

"Hm." Sella nodded, letting out a soft sigh herself. "Very well. Please set the table then."

Her piece said, the maid turned around in a flourish, and she marched back into the kitchen.

"I'll help too." Illya offered, getting up from the couch, before she offered him a hand, as if he was an old man.

"I'm still young, Illya, my legs haven't gone stiff yet." He complained, but all he got in return was an impish smile. "Need I remind you that you are older than me?"

"La la, setting the table, la la!" Illya promptly began singing loudly, drowning out his voice as she turned around and rushed into the kitchen, pressing her hands over her ears. "Hum dum, I so enjoy being fourteen, hum dum!"

The redhead scoffed at first at her blatant denial of reality, but his amusement at her antics got the better of him, and his reproachful expression involuntarily turned into a smile again.

He couldn't help it. Seeing her in such a good mood, free and unbothered by any worries about the future, was just too amazing. There was no way he could stay angry at her if she was so happy.

The brother and sister duo quickly set the table together, with Leysritt, who had reappeared at some point, pitching in about halfway through, and Caren, who had finished her evening sermon, helping out at the end.

Sella then served the curry, and after the customary proclamation of gratitude, they all dug in.

Reluctant as Shirou was to admit it, Sella was every bit as good a cook as he was, and she proved it yet again today. The curry was excellent, and he didn't find any issue with it that he might have improved upon had he been the one cooking instead.

"This is excellent, miss Sella." Caren worded out loud what he was thinking, and Shirou nodded to show his agreement. "You truly are a wonderful cook!"

"It was nothing." Sella replied humbly, a small but pleased smile on her face. "With lord Shirou's recipes to help me, preparing today's dinner was a simple matter."

"Don't humblebrag." Shirou scolded her. "You followed the recipes, yes, but you clearly added your own touch as well. Caren was right when she called you a wonderful cook."

"Oh, well, if you are so adamant." Sella appeared mightily pleased by the compliments, and even more so when Illya nodded furiously in agreement. "I'm happy the results of my efforts are so appreciated."

"It might even be better than Shirou's cooking." Caren teased, before quickly holding up her hands in surrender when Shirou gave her a dry look. "Never mind, I take that back. You are equally good."

"Thank you." Shirou nodded firmly, before patting Caren's head, to her clear delight. "Oh, and Sella? You can leave the dishes to me today."

"There is no need for that-"

"It is only right." Shirou insisted. "You cooked, so it is natural that I do the dishes."

"…Of course." Sella accepted after a moment, and although she tried to hide it, she did look a bit pleased. She had never much liked cleaning up after a meal after all. In fact, it was the one chore she disliked.

"Also, once I'm finished, it's time for the weekly check-ups again." The redhead added, looking at Sella, Leysritt, and Illya in particular.

"Has it already been a week?" Illya's eyebrows went up into her hairline, before she looked at the calendar, which confirmed what Shirou had said. "Huh."

The weekly check-ups were, just as their name implied, check-ups that Shirou performed every week on Sella, Leysritt, and Illya. They served for him to verify that there were no complications from the Ritual he'd performed on them, to ensure that they wouldn't be surprised if a problem cropped up at some point in the future.

He was pretty sure that the Ritual had been carried out properly, that there were no complications, but he couldn't be entirely certain, so it was better to play it safe.

Perhaps it was overly cautious of him, but in this instance, it was better to be overly cautious than not cautious enough.

He'd never forgive himself if his carelessness caused someone to get hurt.

"Here I go." Shirou announced, before he placed his hands on Illya's head.

It had been about an hour since dinner had ended, and currently, Illya was sitting on the sofa in the living room while Shirou was standing right behind her, almost as if he were a hairdresser.

He wasn't going to cut her hair though. As announced, he was going to check whether her new body was experiencing any problems, issues, or complications as a result of his Ritual.

For that, he'd use various forms of scanning Magecraft to form a picture of what was happening with and inside Illya's body, ensuring that nothing out of the ordinary was going on.

For a given value of ordinary of course.

"Tell me if you feel any discomfort or pain anywhere." Shirou instructed, before carrying on when he felt her nod.

First, he did a preliminary check on her Magic Circuits and her brain, which were of course the most complicated parts of the entire body and thus the ones most vulnerable for any possible complications.

As he did so, he also asked a few questions.

"How have you been feeling, Illya?"

"O-Oh, uhm…" Illya hesitated for a moment, before she nervously licked her lips. "Fine, I suppose."

"Fine?" Shirou huffed. "That is a meaningless term. It's not good, it's not bad, it's nothing."

"Yes, alright." Illya groused, her nervousness visibly lessening as her annoyance at his remarks rose. "I'm feeling well, alright? Perfectly well."

"Good." Shirou nodded in satisfaction while closely examining her prefrontal cortex and the sensory folds. "Have you experienced any discomfort or pain anywhere over the past week? Any dizzy spells or sudden emotional outbursts?"

"You sound like a doctor, Shirou." Illya scoffed, before shaking her head again. "Nothing like that. I feel perfectly fin- well!"

"Indeed." Shirou nodded, relieved to hear that was the case.

Nevertheless, he continued his examination, and it was only several minutes later that he felt safe to conclude that there was nothing wrong with her Magic Circuits or brain.

Then, he went lower, to her torso, where he carefully verified the good condition of her heart and lungs, two organs that were of immense importance in mysticism, as well as in real life.

After that, her intestines followed, as well as the liver, her stomach, the kidneys, the spleen, and practically all other organs. The way these organs interacted was carefully checked too.

Lastly, he looked at her muscles and bones, before he returned to the head, tracking her nervous system as he did.

It was all in tip-top condition.

"You're all good." He told Illya once he'd finished, eliciting a wide and relieved smile from her. "Nothing seems to be wrong with your new body."

"Of course not." She beamed, as if that kind of result was only natural. "You made it after all. There's no way you would do a bad job."

"Heh." Shirou grinned, giving her head a small push in appreciation, before he ushered her off the sofa and turned to Sella. "Alright, it's your turn now. Please sit down."

Sella wordlessly obeyed his command, taking Illya's place on the chair, and she promptly closed her eyes when he placed his hands on her head, letting out a very deep breath, sagging into the sofa as she did so.

Unlike Illya, who had been a bit jumpy and tense during the check-up, Sella was completely relaxed, to the point where she almost seemed to be dozing off. When he asked her the same questions he did Illya, she barely responded at all, which was nothing like her.

It would have made him worry, in case she was in fact experiencing complications, if it hadn't been for the wide smile on her face and the small happy noises she made. They gave away the actual reason for her sudden lethargy.

Apparently, Sella rather liked the weekly check-up procedures.

There was nothing wrong with that of course. Many people also liked to go to the hairdresser after all, or to a masseur, or to have their hair checked for lice and other irregularities. That Sella liked having her new body inspected for any unfortunate complications was very similar to that, and nothing out of the ordinary.

In fact, it was good that the overly serious maid was finding things to enjoy, so Shirou made sure to stretch the examination for a long while, really being unnecessarily thorough in his efforts to verify her good health.

Leysritt on the other hand remained completely neutral throughout the whole examination. She wasn't nervous, like Illya, or content, like Sella, or any other emotion. She just sat through the entire process without saying a word or moving a muscle.

She had been a reserved person before the Ritual, and that hadn't changed much after.

She was in excellent condition though, just like her sisters.

"Alright, I'm done." Shirou said once Leysritt had left the sofa again, putting his hands in his sides as he turned to face his three patients. "Once again, I couldn't find any complications or issues. You all appear to be in perfect health."

"Of course." Illya nodded, puffing out her chest in pride.

"Thank you, lord Shirou." Sella sighed a bit in relief.

"Hm." Leysritt hummed noncommittally, though she did give him a grateful nod, tiny as it was.

It seemed like a general success…

"My turn!"

…But then Caren, who had been quite well-behaved so far, suddenly stepped up, sitting down in the sofa and giving him an expectant look.

"…Your turn?" Shirou repeated after a moment, wary of what the nun was intending.

"Yes." She nodded happily, still looking at him with hopeful eyes.

"Your turn for what?"

"For you to do lewd things to me of course."

"L-Lewd?!" Shirou wished he could say he wasn't surprised anymore after a month of living with the nun, but that would be a lie. Once more, her shamelessness caught him unawares. "That was a medical procedure! There was nothing lewd about it!"

"Then I too need medical attention." Caren insisted imploringly. "Can't you see how frail I am?"

"I did that with Sella, Leysritt, and Illya because they recently underwent a change in their lives! I need to make sure it hasn't adversely affected them! That's what the regular check-ups are for!"

"But you need to do regular check-ups for pets as well." Caren argued, as if that was a perfectly logical argument to make. "Nya."

"I told you not to mimic a cat!" Shirou scolded her, flustered and off-balance by her insistence on being his 'pet'.

"Then, please?" She tried instead, giving him her most hopeful smile yet. "Pretty please with a cherry on top?"

Despite being older than all others in the room save for Illya, the nun was blessed with adorable looks and large dewy eyes that seemed tailor made to look pleading. Denying her now would be like kicking a puppy, and despite knowing he was being overtly manipulated, Shirou found himself walking towards her anyway.

"…Fine." He gave in, to her obvious delight, though he did hold up a finger the next moment, his tone becoming stern. "But the clothes stay on. That's unnegotiable."

He wouldn't put it past her to strip completely naked under the pretence of a medical examination, and he tried to head that off at the start.

"Boo." Caren pouted, confirming she'd indeed been planning such a thing, and Shirou felt relief wash over him that he'd managed to avert a disaster.

"We'll be in the dining room, Shirou." Illya then said as the redhead went to stand behind Caren's sofa. "There's this new card game I heard about at school, and I want to teach it to Sella and Leysritt."

"Of course, have fun." Shirou nodded, waving them off, before he placed his hands on Caren's head, commencing the examination.

Her reaction was much the same as Sella's. Almost immediately, she relaxed fully, and unlike the maid, she wasn't afraid to give voice to her enjoyment too.

"Aaaah." She groaned in approval, happiness radiating from her. Fortunately though, there wasn't anything lewd about the sounds. They were just expressions of happiness. "Hmmm."

For a while, Shirou worked in silence, just randomly picking areas of her body to inspect, before he tried to strike up a conversation.

"Sella told me you've been feeling bored."

"Huh?" Relaxed and entranced as she was, it took Caren a moment to process what he'd said, but once she had, she nodded cautiously. "Ah yes, I am, a little, maybe."

"I see."

"Please don't take it personally. I am not saying you or the others are boring. It's just that I don't have anything to do." Caren rushed to explain, wary of causing offence.

"I understand." He assured her, not offended at all. "You are definitely not the type of person to quietly read a book or watch tv after all. You are an agent of chaos."

"…It feels as if you just insulted me."

"Your imagination, surely." Shirou said confidently, before he pursed his lips in thought. "What you need is something that will allow you to interact with people. Maybe some volunteer work, or perhaps an actual job."

"You don't think I can pretend to be your age and go to school as well?" Caren asked, before placing her hands under her chin, adopting an adorable expression. "I am confident in my youthful appearance. Even when I reached adulthood, paedophiles and predators worldwide pursued me with great vigour."

"That is a strange thing to boast about!" Shirou deadpanned. "What on Earth even happened?"

"Several Executors took me on a world-trip when I turned seventeen and had me walk through dark alleys in bad towns at night. When the aforementioned paedophiles and predators came after me, they cut them to pieces, rather gleefully."

"…Aha."

"It is a common thing to do for the more sadistic agents of the Burial Agency, so they can let off some steam and indulge a bit." Caren continued. "The Pope himself sanctioned it."

"…Did he now?" This was getting weirder and weirder, and Shirou quickly returned to the previous subject before his sanity started to erode. "But anyway, I don't think passing you off as a student is going to work. Taking a job would be better."

"I do not have many marketable skills though." Caren warned him. "Exorcising spirits and annoying people are pretty much all I'm good for."

"I don't believe that." Shirou huffed, lightly swatting her head. "You are an inquisitive, bright woman. I am sure that you have many talents. Don't put yourself down like that."

"O-Oh." Caren muttered, lowering her head slightly, before she took in a deep breath. "I do speak eight languages, quite fluently."

"That's an excellent and marketable skill." Shirou said encouragingly. "What else?"

"I am also very adept at interrogating people." She continued, sitting up a bit straighter. "Without any torture whatsoever, I might add."

"That's a bit niche, but certainly good to have."

"I have completed every first-aid training course the Burial Agency offers and received training as a nurse."

"A nurse?" Shirou stilled, his hands pausing the kneading of her shoulders. "You have received training as a nurse?"

"I have, yes." Caren nodded, turning her head around as far as she could, clearly sensing he had an idea. "What are you thinking about?"

"Homurahara High happens to have an open spot in the infirmary." Shirou replied, having heard so from Issei. "The previous nurse retired, and they haven't been able to find a replacement yet. I heard they're getting quite desperate by now."

"…I do not have the necessary papers." Caren tried not to get too enthusiastic, raising a practical concern.

"You will by tomorrow morning." Shirou promised, as he was fairly adept at forging such papers with enough skill that a school principal at least would not be able to see through the ruse.

"I specialise in treating magical injuries, not normal ones." She raised a second concern.

"Normal injuries are exactly like magical ones, but easier to treat."

"I am not good with children. I will definitely make them cry."

"Now that is just plain untrue." Shirou huffed. "You are wonderful with children."

Caren opened her mouth, perhaps to refute him, perhaps to raise another concern, but she did not speak. For a few seconds, she sat in silence, before looking Shirou in the eyes again.

"Is it really alright?"

"Absolutely." He assured her, confident that Homurahara would never reject a skilled nurse, no matter her young looks or slightly problematic personality. "The job is yours if you want it."

"I want it." Caren mumbled, before shaking her head and strengthening her voice. "I want it!"

"Then I'll make sure you get it." Shirou grinned, before taking his hands off her body. "I finished your examination by the way."

"Oh, right." Caren blinked, having almost forgotten he had been examining her. "Found anything interesting?"

"You are in excellent health, aside from your inborn… affliction." Shirou replied, not quite certain how he should refer to her body's Curse-like property.

"My Masochistic Spiritualist Constitution." Caren provided the proper name. "A genetic trait that is activated when I come near a Demon-possessed person, causing me to suffer injuries similar to those that the Demon will cause on the poor soul it has possessed."

"I see." That sounded like a strange power to have, but Shirou decided not to comment.

"Thank you for the examination." Caren then spoke formally, as if he were an actual doctor, before she gave him an angelic smile. "Now it is your turn."

"My turn?" Smelling trouble, Shirou took a small step back.

"As a nurse, I will sometimes have to do examinations myself, right?" Caren asked.

"I… I suppose." The redhead nodded cautiously.

"It's been a while though since I have last examined anyone. I think it would be best if I practised now, to get a feel for it again." Caren explained further, sounding quite reasonable all of a sudden, before she grinned at him. "Please be my patient?"

"W-Well, I-"

"Thank you!" Caren didn't even wait for a proper reply, and she promptly set out examining him, not shy about pushing his clothes aside as she did so. "So, as a school nurse, I will probably have to check for light injuries. That means bumps, bruises, bite-marks, ticks, paper cuts, signs of allergic reactions, and signs of common diseases. None of that is particularly complicated."

The white-haired nun went over his body with alacrity and skill, demonstrating that she really knew what she was doing.

"R-Right." Shirou replied, feeling a bit uncomfortable with being manhandled like this, but putting up with it since Caren really did seem to be taking it seriously.

"I imagine though that some children might have more serious injuries." Caren mused, retracing her hands for a moment to crack her knuckles. "That calls for a more in-depth examination."

"In-depth? What exactly does that- HEY!? W-Where are you touching?!"

"I fully intend to become a professional and serious nurse at your school." Caren replied in a sincere tone, before she grinned widely, lowering her voice to a salacious whisper. "But for you, my dear Shirou, I shall gladly be a naughty nurse."

"Wha? OI! D-Don't touch there! Stop that!"

"Ufufufufu."

"STOP!"

"Should we do something about that, mistress?" Sella asked, looking worriedly at the adjacent room, from where Shirou's screams were clearly audible.

"No." Illya replied bluntly, frowning when another cry interrupted her explanation of the card-games' rules. "It's his own fault for getting that nun so worked up about him. He can deal with that hellion himself."

"Right." Sella mumbled, still looking uncertain.

"If it really concerns you that much, you should tell Sakura about it when she returns." Illya suggested when she saw that Sella was still worried. "She'll straighten miss Ortensia out, surely."

"Oh no, I couldn't." Sella shook her head however. "Lady Sakura already has so many problems to deal with, I do not wish to add to them needlessly."

"I don't think this qualifies as 'needless'." Illya deadpanned, and her claim was supported when Shirou screamed again in the adjacent room.

"…Once lady Sakura returns, depending on her mood, I might inform her about this."

"Alrighty!" Illya grinned, before returning to her explanation of the card-games' rules.

But then she was interrupted again when they all heard the sound of the front door opening.

"Did you hear that?" Illya asked, turning her head around.

"I did." Sella nodded, appearing a bit puzzled. "Is lady Sakura back already?"

"No." Leysritt shook her head however, not looking up for a moment. "It's Ayako."

"Ayako?"

"I am back!"

Barely two moments after Leysritt confidently stated the identity of the person having entered the house, they came barging into the living room.

It was indeed Ayako.

"Did you all miss me?" She grinned widely, putting her hands to her sides. "I managed to convince my folks to let me spend the evening here, provided I'm back before midnight. I heard Sakura was gone so I thought Shirou might need some moral support."

"He does need support, yes." Illya nodded promptly. "And I mean, right now."

"Huh? What do you mea-?"

"KYAAAAA!"

The high-pitched scream tore through the dining room, making Ayako jump like a startled hare.

"What the hell?!" She squeaked.

"Lady Ortensia is doing all kinds of unspeakable things to lord Shirou." Sella was quick to report, relieved that someone was present now who could deal with it.

"Unspeakable…?" Ayako needed a moment to process that, but when she had, her eyes widened in outrage. "Oh, I think not!"

Then she stormed off, ready to teach the lascivious nun a lesson, leaving the former Homunculi alone again.

It had been many years since Sakura had last stepped foot in the Tohsaka-manor, since she had been given away by her own family, yet even so, its lay-out and interior were still frightfully familiar to her.

She remembered the couches and tables, where she and Rin had played so many games. She recalled the portraits of past triumphs, that had been such a point of pride to their father. She still knew the way to the bathroom, to Rin's room, to the master bedroom, and even to her own former room, well enough that she'd be able to walk them blindfolded.

Despite her best attempts to forget, her memories of living in this once-happy place were still crystal clear in her mind, seared in there during her years at the Matou-estate.

It also helped that neither the living room nor the dining room had changed one single bit since she'd left, and she was willing to bet the rest of the house hadn't either.

Frankly, it was almost as if she'd never left at all.

Which was exactly the air that both her sister and her mother were trying to maintain right now.

"You really have made a lot of progress on your crafts, Rin." Aoi praised her eldest daughter in a voice that was as happy as she could make it. "You are a true prodigy."

"It was nothing." Rin huffed, brushing a lock of hair out of her face with practiced ease. She did a pretty good job of hiding how much the compliment meant to her, but Sakura wasn't deceived. "But yes, you are correct that I am a prodigy."

"You certainly have no lack of confidence." Rin's smug remark prompted an actual smile of amusement from Aoi, which looked a lot better than the plastic smile from earlier. "My prideful little girl."

Rin nearly preened at the endearing term, which made Sakura smile a bit as well, despite her best efforts to keep a neutral expression.

The three women were sitting at the dining table together, eating the meal that Rin had worked so hard on to prepare. It was a dinner that Sakura had been dreading ever since she had accepted the invitation, envisioning all kinds of horrors and awkward situations.

But now that she was actually sitting here, she found the atmosphere to be… calm.

Unexpectedly calm.

It wasn't perfect of course. Sakura herself hadn't said more than ten words since they had all sat down, and the conversations between Rin and Aoi were not nearly as casual and pleasant as they tried to make it seem. So far, it all seemed rather staged.

It was jarring to Aoi to find that her daughters had grown up in her absence, and it was jarring to Rin to suddenly get her mother back out of nowhere. It left them confused and helpless, which was difficult for people who normally liked to have complete control over every single facet of their lives.

But there was no control to be had. The sad fact was that they were essentially strangers to each other after nine years of not truly interacting, and no supposed 'mother-daughter bond' was going to make it any easier to reconnect.

Even after a week of living together again, their conversations were stilted and awkward, and they were both walking on eggshells around each other, desperately trying to find points they had in common.

The situation wasn't completely hopeless though. Far from it in fact.

Both Rin and Aoi were trying their hardest to make it work between them. Neither of them let the current awkwardness deter them, and they worked hard on getting to know each other again.

It was still early days, but considering the progress they'd already made in a single week and the amount of goodwill they had towards each other, Sakura got the feeling that they'd be alright in the end.

If only she herself could muster some of that goodwill as well…

But no, all of this just irritated and annoyed her. The calm she had spoken about earlier, the pretence that nothing had changed since their early childhood, vexed her greatly, and despite her best efforts, the resulting deterioration of her mood was starting to reflect in her demeanour.

Something Rin picked up on, but Aoi did not.

"Sakura." Apparently deciding that the time was right to try and talk with her youngest daughter, the woman turned to the plum-haired girl, before she hesitated, struggling to find something to say. "H-How… How was… How was school?"

"It was alright." Sakura replied truthfully, suppressing her irritation for now in order to play along, as she didn't feel like arguing. "Nothing much happened. We're preparing for the upcoming exams, so Sensei made us take a few practice tests today."

"Ah, and how did you do?" Aoi inquired, gaining some courage from Sakura's swift response.

"Sensei is still checking the tests. We'll hear the results next week. Everyone with an insufficient grade will have to take supportive classes and make supplementary assignments, but I am confident I did well."

"I see." Aoi nodded as if she understood perfectly, though that wasn't true. She was the wife of a dedicated, traditional Magus after all, someone who had never enjoyed any form of formal education herself. The terms 'supportive classes' and 'supplementary assignments' might as well be Greek to her. She did understand though what 'doing well' meant, so she gave Sakura an approving smile, before she turned to Rin. "Did you do something similar, Rin? Take these… tests?"

"I did them last year." Rin nodded, heaving a small sigh of relief that the conversation was going well so far. "The final exams in middle school. I had to take them, just like everyone else. I did alright."

"What Nee-san means is that she aced them." Sakura huffed, rolling her eyes slightly at her sister's misplaced humbleness. "Best scores in the school, or so I heard."

"Hm, well, yes, Sensei might have said something like that." Rin nodded, looking pleased as pie with the acknowledgement of her excellent scores.

"Oh, very good!" Unfamiliar though she might be with the school system, Aoi did recognise when one of her daughters had done something extraordinary, and she was quick to praise Rin as well. "I am proud of you, my dear."

"…Yes." Once more, her mother's praise clearly meant the world to Rin, though she still hid it quite well as she gestured at Sakura. "Though Sakura didn't do bad either with her most recent exams. She was in the top ten percent of her year."

Aoi turned her proud smile to Sakura next, and the plum-haired girl found, to her surprise, that she too felt strangely happy to receive that smile.

"Neither of us can beat Shirou though." Rin continued, her tone becoming a bit frustrated as she pouted slightly. "He's just too good, that cheater."

"Senpai does not cheat. He uses his natural advantages." Sakura promptly corrected her sister, as having an alien and Magically Reinforced brain was generally not considered cheating by any definition of the law or school-rules. "As you well know, Nee-san."

"Tsk." Rin made an unhappy noise, but she didn't refute Sakura. She had actually gone over the school rules, and she indeed hadn't found anything about aliens or Magic being forbidden. Apparently, whatever fool wrote that book hadn't considered that a necessity.

"Shirou-san must be very intelligent then." Aoi spoke, her tone very careful and cautious. She hadn't really met the redhead since the time he'd healed her, aside from a few short glimpses here and there, but she did know that he meant a lot to her daughters.

She might not have enjoyed any official education, nor was she particularly well-read, but she did have enough empathic sense to know that a careless comment about this boy could very well land her in trouble with both Rin and Sakura.

Something she wanted to avoid at any cost. Hence, her care when talking about him.

"I suppose he is a little clever." Rin huffed, turning her nose up at her boyfriend's feats. "In some ways. Though that goes to show that clever people can still be idiots."

"Of course, Nee-san." Sakura agreed kindly.

"Insensitive too." Rin continued.

"Indeed."

"He never thinks before he acts."

"Never."

"He is just so infuriating!"

"Right, Nee-san."

Seeing her sister act all Tsun again did wonders for Sakura's mood, and she struggled to hold back laughter as Rin overcompensated in an attempt to not seem like a love-struck girl.

The struggle became that much harder when she saw how Aoi looked utterly confused at Rin's grumbling, having no experience with Tsunderes herself. She had tried to be nice to her daughters by praising the man they seemed close to, yet now, Rin seemed to be bitterly complaining about him.

"Rin?" The woman ventured carefully, her tone still hesitant. "Could I ask you something?"

"Of course." Rin nodded quickly, breaking off her complaining to pay attention, eager to help her mother out.

"Who is Shirou-san to you, exactly?" Aoi inquired carefully, before looking at Sakura as well. "To both of you?"

"…Why do you ask?" Sakura replied with a question of her own, quickly composing herself again, noting from the corner of her eye that Rin did the same.

"Because you have been so vague about him." Aoi explained softly, fiddling with her fingers and already looking like she half-regretted having asked the question. "S-So I was just curious. It… It really feels… He hasn't visited you once, Rin, a-and I get the idea that that isn't normal. I don't want you to feel like you cannot see him b-because of me, so I wanted to tell you that… I just wanted to talk about it, about him."

Sakura and Rin exchanged a surprised glance at their mother's words, as they realised, simultaneously, that the woman was much more observant than they had expected.

"I… I might be overstepping some boundaries here, e-especially after I've been gone for so long, b-but I can see that he is very important to you." Aoi continued, nervously licking her lips. "S-So, I was wondering, if he was perhaps…"

"Romantically involved with us?" Rin finished for her when she fell silent.

"Y-Yes." Aoi nodded, and the fact that she blushed at the rather innocuous words showed once more just how reserved she was about all matters related to romance.

"Well." Rin huffed, scratching her head in thought, before she turned to Sakura. "How are we going to reply to this?"

They had agreed beforehand that the polyamorous relationship they were in was not something they should lightly share with Aoi. Being both a Magus-wife and Japanese, she was as traditional as they came, and might have trouble accepting their… arrangement.

Now that she was actively asking about it however, remaining quiet was no longer a viable option. Neither Rin nor Sakura were keen on lying to their mother's face, and denying to say anything would only make the woman more curious.

Which left them little choice in the end but to fess up now.

"Truthfully, I imagine." Sakura thus replied, sitting up straighter as she made up her mind.

"Agreed." Rin nodded, taking a deep breath. "So, it's fine if I tell her?"

"...Yes. Boyfriend-matters are one of those things you have to be honest about to your parents, right? As much as possible at least."

"That's what it says in the books." Both girls had actually tried to read up a bit on proper mother-daughter relationships, and although most of it was a bit abstract and not applicable to their situation, some of it had seemed valuable.

"B-Boyfriend-matters?!" Aoi gasped, having of course listened along. "S-So one of you is romantically involved with him?"

"Yes." Rin confirmed, gesturing at the plum-haired girl. "He is Sakura's boyfriend."

"Sakura's. I see." Getting some clarity in the situation did wonders for Aoi's state of mind, and she relaxed a bit. She might not be very familiar with the concept of boyfriend, having never had any romantic involvements before her arranged marriage to Tokiomi, but she knew enough to try and be supportive of her estranged daughter's choices. Boyfriends were essentially just marriage candidates anyway, and that was something she could work with. "H-He seems like a nice-"

"And he's my fiancé." Rin bluntly interrupted her.

"…Huh?"

It took several long moments for Aoi to catch up with what Rin had said, and even when she had, she still didn't quite process it.

"And he's also Ayako's boyfriend. You remember Ayako, she's the girl who was with us at the hospital." Sakura nevertheless continued mercilessly.

"…What?" Their mother still didn't quite comprehend what they had said, blinking blearily as she looked from one sister to the other.

"The four of us are in a relationship, together." Sakura summarised the situation as concisely as she could. "A romantic relationship."

That seemed to do the trick, and Aoi's mouth fell open in shock.

"H-H-He is courting all three of you?!" She gasped. "H-How scandalous! T-That is like a ha-"

"We have a sort of relationship that is commonly known as polyamorous, or so I have been told." Rin corrected her sharply, unwilling to show any weakness at this point.

"Yes." Sakura agreed with the sentiment. They had all decided together that they wanted to enter a romantic relationship for nothing but love, so there was nothing harem-like about it.

"B-But he has seduced b-both of you!" Aoi protested, still looking entirely overwhelmed. Having never been more than the traditional wife of a traditional Magus, she had no idea how to handle the idea of her daughters being in love with the same man, never mind the fact that they were both acting on it too.

"You make it sound like Senpai forced us to be with him." Sakura huffed, crossing her arms in a show of displeasure. "We had agency too, mother, and we wouldn't be in this relationship if we didn't want to be."

"B-But… That is…" Aoi fumbled with her words, trying to find something to argue with. "He could be manipulating you."

"I don't want to hear that from a woman who was forced into an arranged marriage herself with someone who had no problem destroying his own family." Sakura's tone had turned unnecessarily sharp at this point, and she threw out the mean remark, unable to keep her calm as Aoi cast doubt onto her relationship with Shirou.

She'd known that Aoi would be confused by the nature of their relationship with Shirou, predicted it out loud even, but even so, it stung badly to hear how the woman tried to paint her Senpai as a manipulative playboy.

Fortunately, her remark was enough to strike Aoi silent. The woman looked baffled by her words, perhaps even slightly impressed.

Not that Sakura paid any attention to that.

"We are in a relationship, mother." The plum-haired girl then dictated. "And I-"

"We." Rin interjected.

"-We would appreciate it if you stayed out of it. If you cannot, I will break off all contact with you again."

"…!"

That seemed to do the trick. Aoi's protests ceased immediately, and she froze in her seat.

Though she might be traditional, she was not a fool, nor was she unreasonably stubborn. In fact, based on her past record, it could be said that she was a total pushover.

Hence, her daughter's ultimatum gave her considerable pause.

Sakura had now laid out her terms, and when faced with the possibility of losing her daughter again, mere weeks after getting her back, the woman was forced to think things through properly, and weigh what was more important to her.

To her credit, that choice was an easy one.

"I understand." She nodded, and even though she clearly didn't, she did a good job at acting like she did. "I… am happy that you both found someone whom you can love."

"Thank you." Sakura let out a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding, daring to relax again. She still held many mixed feelings over her attempts at reconnecting with her mother, but even so, she was relieved that it wasn't necessary to cut her out of her life again already.

"Glad to hear it." Rin grinned, also relaxing at the diffusion of the situation, before she puffed out her chest. "And if it still worries you, perhaps it'd help if you thought of this as my harem rather than Shirou's."

"Hehe." Sakura laughed politely, even though it was a joke Rin had already made a thousand times before to every inhabitant of the Emiya-estate.

At least, she was pretty sure it was a joke…

This time however, it was the wrong thing to say.

"Y-Yours?!" Aoi started again, her eyes becoming wide as saucers once more, and her voice rose several pitches. "B-But…! T-That… I-I don't…!"

"Mom?" Rin blinked at the unexpectedly strong reaction. "What's wrong?"

"It can't be your harem!" Aoi demanded shrilly, not a single shred of doubt in her voice. "It can't be!"

"What? Why?!" Rin protested, looking honestly affronted. "It is because I am a woman-?!"

"Sakura's in it!"

"…Right." Aoi's very reasonable point of protest took all the wind out of Rin's sails, and the black-haired deflated again, blushing slightly. "Yes, that does make things a tad awkward."

"A tad awkward?!" Aoi's voice sounded outright strangled by now, and Sakura was pretty sure that this was not what the doctors had in mind when they prescribed total rest for the woman. "It's unnatural! S-Sisters don't go together!"

"We were raised apart for most of our lives." Rin gently reminded her, gaining some steam again. "And it's not like we can have a child together, so it's not as big a problem as you think."

"Tohsaka Rin!" Aoi promptly pulled the full name-card, something parents used when they wanted to be stern, and it spoke to just how off-balance she was that Aoi resorted to it. "D-Don't even joke about that!"

"Did you know I once made Sakura service me in maid-lingerie?" Rin asked glibly, as if she hadn't even heard her mother's scolding.

Aoi now looked utterly flummoxed, her mouth opening and closing without a sound, and Sakura wondered why Rin was laying it on so thick. Yes, they were closer than sisters were probably supposed to be, but that didn't mean they had to rub their mother's face in it with such blatant exaggerations.

But then she made eye-contact with Rin, and she saw the sparkle in her eyes. A very familiar sparkle, that instantly made the situation clear.

The black-haired girl was teasing their mother, purposefully driving her up the wall.

Seeing that, Sakura couldn't help but laugh, and Rin quickly joined in as well.

"Y-You are jesting!" Aoi concluded with a mixture of relief and outrage when she saw how her daughters were laughing at her.

"Of course we are." Rin grinned, clearly amused by her mother's put-upon expression.

But that was a half-truth.

It was indeed true that Rin and Sakura hadn't gone as far with their relationship as the former had implied. At the same time however, suggesting that theirs was a normal sibling relationship, like Rin was doing now, was also not true.

To put it in the simplest terms possible, it was complicated, and Rin and Sakura were still trying to figure things out themselves.

In light of that, it would be best to not tell their mother too much about it, though at the same time, they had to let her get used to the idea as well.

Actually, Rin was handling this pretty suavely, now that Sakura thought about it.

"But we were telling the truth about dating the same man." Sakura nevertheless decided to add, feeling there shouldn't be any ambiguity about that. "Together with Ayako."

"That is indeed true." Rin agreed.

"W-Well, if that is all, i-it shouldn't be a problem." It spoke to how much they'd overloaded their poor mother that she already considered a four-person polyamorous relationship to be 'all', but since it worked in their favour, both Sakura and Rin were happy to hear it. "I hope he makes you happy, both of you."

"We have nothing to complain about on that front." Rin grinned, putting her hands on her sides. "He is an idiot, and not very good-looking, but he's rich, powerful, and surprisingly savvy politically. I imagine he'll make quite a decent husband."

The black-haired girl was going full Tsundere again, and Sakura rolled her eyes with a fond smile. This time though, Aoi too smiled unsurely, as if she was getting used to her eldest daughter's mannerisms.

"I… I think your father would have approved as well." She remarked after a moment, and she unconsciously started fiddling with her wedding ring. "If he'd gotten past… the polyamory, he would have liked Shirou-san."

"…"

Undoubtedly, her remark was meant as a compliment or perhaps a reassurance. To let the girls know that their father would have approved of their boyfriend too.

But neither of her daughters took it that way.

Especially not Sakura.

"The fact that Tokiomi would have been satisfied with our arrangement is in fact a downside." The plum-haired girl said bluntly, unable to hold back the scathing remark. "I care only for his opinion insofar I can disappoint and anger him. Nothing else. Do not speak of him to me."

The sheer hate she still harboured for her father slipped out before she knew it, without her intending too, and she already regretted her words before the last sound had left her lips. Neither her mother nor her sister were anything like her father, and they didn't deserve her vitriol.

"Sorry." She apologised, accurately aware of the pain in Rin's and Aoi's eyes.

It remained quiet after that, as the women looked everywhere but at each other, but just before the situation became unbearably awkward, Rin made a brave attempt to get a conversation going again.

"R-Regardless, my engagement to Shirou is indeed advantageous to the family." She boasted as best as she could, going as far as to put on her idol mask to look happy and content. "Which is very much needed, considering that the fake priest pretty much ruined us."

The mention of that man, of Kotomine, instantly eradicated the awkward atmosphere, replacing it with unhidden anger and hate. All three women had been hurt by the man, and none of them were the type to be shy about such feelings.

"I cannot believe he would betray us like that." Aoi whispered, her hands clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white. "We trusted him. Tokiomi treated him like a son."

It was easy to forget, but for the first few decades of his life, Kotomine had actually been a decent, dutiful, and polite man, sufficiently so that everyone around him couldn't help but like him. He was charismatic and strong, an ideal apprentice aside from sometimes being a bit slow, and to the Tohsaka-family, he'd been an immensely valuable asset and family-friend.

As such, the news that it had been Kotomine who had killed her husband had been a massive shock to Aoi, perhaps even bigger than hearing that her daughters were members of the same polycule, and a true stab in the back.

Denial had been her first reaction, denial and grief, but it hadn't been long though before she too was filled with hatred for the priest. By now, she had joined her daughters in despising the man.

"May a thousand spiders eat his eyes." Aoi cursed him, though she knew her curse would never reach its target. Kotomine was too crafty, too slippery.

"We'll get him." Sakura promised, and then, by impulse, placed a hand on her mother's arm. "I'm sure we will."

Aoi stared at the hand for a moment, baffled by the affectionate gesture, but then she looked back at Sakura, and she nodded.

"Yes." She agreed. "We will."

And just like that, mother and daughter had gotten a bit closer again.

Nothing united people like a common enemy after all.

"So I hold the bow like this?"

"Almost, but your left hand needs to be a little higher, and your right hand a little lower."

"That feels unnatural though."

"Only for a short while. You'll get used to it soon enough."

Ayako and Shirou were standing together on the archery range in the dojo of the Emiya-estate. The brunette had just freed her boyfriend from the claws of the perverted nun, and they had chosen to retreat to the dojo, as Caren never came there.

Apparently, she was allergic to physical labour, or so she said, which meant any form of sports or exercise was anathema to her. Hence, the dojo was a fine place to hide from her.

And since they were in the dojo anyway, Ayako had chosen to ask Shirou to help her train her archery-skills.

Let it be clear though that she was not bad at it. To the contrary, she had already proven herself to be one of the best archers in the Homurahara Kyudo club, which itself was one of the best clubs in the country. According to her Senpais, national competitions were well within her reach.

Shirou was better though, much better, and although Ayako was not the type to get jealous over such things, she did find in it the motivation to improve herself too.

So she asked Shirou for some tips and hints, which he obligingly tried to provide.

"You have to hold the bow like this and place yourself almost parallel to the direction you're shooting in, though not entirely parallel, because that will interfere with your line of sight." He explained, demonstrating the form that he used with his own bow and arrow. "Don't hold your breath when you shoot and try to release the arrow when you're in the middle of breathing out."

Perfectly following his own advice, he drew the arrow back and released it, hitting the bull's eye yet again.

All while maintaining eye-contact with Ayako, not giving the target a single glance.

"Okay, now you're just showing off." The brunette huffed, prompting a guilty smile from him, before she lightly swatted his chest to get him to move aside. "My turn."

Having said so, Ayako took up position on the lane, facing him. She raised her bow, picked up an arrow, and nocked it, though she did not draw it back yet. She placed her body almost parallel to her bow, and shifted her hands on the bow until they were roughly at equal height, with her left hand being a tad higher than her right, aiming the arrow slightly upwards.

"How's this?" She then asked.

"Your hands are still too far apart in height." Shirou responded promptly. "Also, you need to angle your hips forward a bit more and bend your torso backwards a tiny bit. Your shoulders are too squared, your feet are too far apart, and-"

"Alright, alright! Hold on!" Ayako interrupted him quickly, fumbling with the bow as she tried to follow his instructions but failed. "I can't keep up with that!"

"Sorry." He apologised, realising he'd indeed been talking too fast. "Do you want me to repeat it?"

"…I think it would be best if you taught me in a more practical way." Ayako replied after a moment of thought.

"Practical? You mean, another demonstration?" Shirou raised his bow again, more than willing to shoot another thousand arrows if that would help.

"I was thinking more along the lines of you correcting my posture yourself." Ayako suggested instead, her smile turning a tad naughty. "Physically. You say I have the wrong stance? Come and make it better."

For a few seconds, Shirou remained still.

"…Very well."

Then, he put his bow down, and walked towards the brunette, a sense of anticipation settling in his stomach.

In response, she assumed her stance again, before giving him an expectant look.

"Are you sure?" He nevertheless asked, his hands crossed behind his back for now as he stopped about half a metre away.

"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't." Ayako grinned, cocking her hips to the side appealingly. "Besides, you already gave Rin a massage while she was half-naked, and you washed Sakura's hair in the bath. It's my turn now."

"Your turn?" Shirou blinked at the use of those words, before he made a soft sound of realisation. "This was always your intention."

"That you would physically correct my posture, your body pressed against mine, as we shoot arrows together?" Ayako blinked innocently at him, though her flush and her grin of anticipation rather ruined the effect. "That is exactly what I intended. That's why I'm not wearing any underwear right now."

That remark made Shirou freeze completely, and his eyes automatically flitted over her body.

She was wearing the traditional kyudo-outfit, consisting of the Yukage, the protective glove, the short-sleeved keiko-gi, which was essentially a kimono-like shirt, a navy-blue hakama, which was an angle-length skirt, and the tabi, the split-toed socks.

It all looked perfectly proper and appropriate, on the outside.

But now Shirou couldn't look at her without knowing that beneath them, Ayako was wearing absolutely nothing.

Then he noticed that the obi was missing too, the traditional belt holding the outfit together, which made his anticipation increase so much his stomach contracted almost painfully.

The keiko-gi and the hakama didn't have any buttons or zippers to keep them in place. To make sure they stayed where they belonged, a kyudo-practitioner used the obi to tighten and secure them.

Without it, the outfit was liable to fall apart during rigorous training, leaving the practitioner in their underwear.

Or in Ayako's case, naked.

Already, the keiko-gi was coming loose slightly, baring Ayako's collarbones, and it threatened to reveal even more if she continued jostling it.

The hakama too was slipping down without a belt to hold it in place, and already, he could see the upper part of her right hipbone. Undoubtedly, if she turned her back to him, he'd be able to see the upper part of her bottom as well.

She looked awfully enticing like that, enough to banish all thoughts of archery from his head, and Shirou almost wished she had less raw sex-appeal, if only to still the raging feelings in his heart.

Not really though. He loved her very much the way she was, sex-appeal and all, and he wouldn't change her for the world.

"So, are you going to help me or what?" Ayako pressed, as he'd stayed silent for rather long already.

"Ah." Shirou blinked once, looking her in the eyes again. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely." Ayako grinned, before her expression turned almost challenging. "Don't tell me you're going to chicken out now? Rin was topless when you massaged her, and Sakura was naked when you washed her hair. Compared to that, am I not almost decent?"

"You know an awful lot of details about what I did to Sakura and Rin." Shirou noted, dodging the question for now.

"Of course. They told me all about it." Ayako revealed casually, as if it was no big deal. "I've been searching for something sexy and original to do with you for a while now, for my turn, and I think this is it. This is what I have chosen."

"…I like your choice." Shirou commented after a moment.

"I thought you would." Ayako looked awfully pleased at his words, before she smirked, her voice becoming low and throaty as she pulled slightly on the cleavage of her keiko-gi, leaning forward enticingly. "So come and correct my posture, Shirou."

In a split second, before he even realised it himself, Shirou had moved behind her, stopping only mere millimetres before he fully pressed his chest against her back.

As he had expected, her hakama had slipped down enough to expose the upper part of her delectable butt, and he took a moment to admire the sight before he got to work.

"You need to angle your hips forward." He whispered into her ear as he placed a hand on her butt, applying some pressure until her hips were angled just right.

"Oh, now I see." She whispered back, her smirk becoming wider when he didn't remove his hand.

"Your torso on the other hand needs to lean slightly backwards." He continued, outright cupping one of her breasts with his other hand, pulling her upper body towards him. Her claim about not wearing underwear was proven too, as he could clearly feel her hardened nipple press into his palm, even through the fabric of the keiko-gi.

A sensation that inadvertently made his hand tighten its grip.

"I-I understand." Ayako gasped slightly, a sound that was like music to Shirou's ears.

"Lower your right hand." He instructed her, and though he did not manually correct her this time, she did follow his instructions to the letter. "Good. Now try hitting the bull's eye."

"R-Right." Still a bit breathless, Ayako obediently took aim, drawing the arrow back.

Immediately, her body tried to fall back into its ingrained, faulty stance, but Shirou kept a tight grip on her butt and her breast, forcibly holding her steady in the correct form.

Like this, reliably hitting the bull's eye should be easy for her.

But Shirou suddenly felt a bit naughty himself, and he blew into her ear at the very last moment.

"Kya?!" Ayako squeaked in shock, and the arrow went wide, flying off onto a different track, where it clattered uselessly on the ground.

"Hahahahahaha!" The sight was just too amusing, and Shirou couldn't help but laugh.

"Shirou?! What the hell?!" Tearing herself out of his grip, Ayako rounded on him with a furious expression, dropping her bow so she could ball her fists. "Why did you do that?!"

"Because it was funny." He replied with a beaming smile, as if it was obvious.

"Y-You!" With an angry snarl, Ayako launched herself at him, hitting his chest with her fists. "Meanie! Bully! Saboteur!"

Her strikes didn't contain any real strength though, and Shirou felt secure in continuing to smile at her, only reaching out to pat her head.

Of course, the wild movements made it impossible for her half-baked kyudo-outfit to stay proper. Her keiko-gi had come undone completely, hanging uselessly from her arms and covering precisely none of her upper body, while the hakama had long since slipped over her hips and ended up around her ankles.

She was technically still wearing them, but for all intents and purposes, she was as naked as the day she was born.

Naked, and gorgeous.

There was no other word that Shirou could use to describe her. Her beautiful skin, her shining hair, her charming face that was set in a furious expression, and her defined musculature that did not detract from her feminine appeal in the slightest but rather added to it.

Simply gorgeous.

It wasn't long before he could no longer bear it, and he caught her in a hug, squeezing her tightly in his arms.

She was undoubtedly the strongest of his girlfriends, beating Rin by a comfortable margin and Sakura by a veritable mile, yet even so, her body was incomprehensibly soft, like a plushie.

Hugging her was an amazing feeling, and Shirou indulged eagerly.

"Hmpf." Her anger dropping, Ayako soon relaxed in his grip, and eventually, she surrendered fully, pressing herself against his chest. "Enjoy it while you can."

"I intend to." Shirou replied happily.

"Fine, but in return, you will help me seriously with my training later." She dictated, as it seemed her pride was still stinging over the completely missed shot. "I mean it, no more blowing in my ear."

"Of course." Shirou agreed. "It was funny once, but it won't be a second time. Do you want to, uhm, correct your outfit again?"

"Should I?" Ayako asked, looking up to innocently blink her eyes at him. "Do you want me to?"

"Not particularly, no." Shirou replied honestly.

"Then no." She concluded, before huffing. "I understand the purpose of a protective glove, but really, who needs a traditional outfit? Not me."

"Certainly not." Shirou agreed completely.

"Then let's get back to it."

The redhead obligingly let her go, and the brunette picked up her bow again, before throwing aside her ruffled clothes, leaving her bare aside from her gloves.

From there on, it was a very fun training session for the both of them.

Again a bit of an interlude. There were some things I had to wrap up, I had to show that school begins again, and make sure to include Aoi somewhere as well. I can hardly ignore her from here on after all.

The first part of the chapter is a bit of fluff. Just our main cast dealing with going back to school again. Largely, it's seen as a bother, though Ayako and Illya are having a good time.

Caren is bored at home, but that might be resolved soon, if she manages to get the nurse position at Homurahara. Good for her, but for the students… Not so much.

Lorelei and Mirei discuss a few things, some serious, and others about the former's possible husband candidates. She's made a small selection, and she's going to browse her options a bit more, but she definitely has a favourite already.

Sakura, Rin, and Aoi have dinner together, and it goes surprisingly well, especially once a common enemy has been found. It is well-known in the teacher-community and in the army that having a common enemy is the best way of uniting a group, even when members of that group are radically different. Naturally, Kirei is the best common enemy one can have.

Lastly, there is some sexy action between Ayako and Shirou. It was her turn after all, and she didn't want to wait any longer.

Next chapter, we return to the action. The Tsukihime Arc will begin (please keep in mind though that it is going to be a short arc. In and out, no complications, and not too much interference with the main plot).

Until next time.

Ted leaves the classroom.