Sensei was currently confined in one of Millennium's state of the art medical facilities located in a room in one of the upper floors of Millennium Tower to allow him to recover from his wounds, many of which were self-inflicted due to the backlash from performing a pale imitation of Nine Lives.

After being given a debriefing by Rio and Himari, many students in Millennium who heard about what happened to Sensei went to visit him. Yuuka was one of them, who came in with Noa, sporting a worried look on her face. Once she confirmed that he's alright, she waited until most of the other students left before she began chewing out Sensei.

"I told you this a few times already, but stop doing dangerous stunts like that!" Yuuka was fuming in anger as she glared at Sensei as the man scratched his cheek.

"I'll be alright," Sensei replied as he gestured on his entire left arm, which was encased in a cast. "It's just a few broken bones."

"A 'few'...?" Yuuka's shoulders trembled. "Your entire left arm is broken, your ribs are fractured…THIS IS AFTER THE SHITTIM CHEST AND YOUR OWN MAGIC'S PROTECTION AND YOU CALL THAT FEW?!"

"Deep breaths, Yuuka," Noa said as she gently rubbed her friend's back. "But really, Sensei. You shouldn't worry us like this. While Millennium does have the technology to let you regain the use of your arm sooner, you'll still have to let your body rest for about a week. …I've seen the footage, and the speed of that sword technique was far beyond what a human should be capable of. Surely there were other ways to take down Hod."

"I didn't want the fight to drag on for too long," Sensei said. "I was worried about the stray attacks that might hit other people and the buildings—"

"I understand being concerned about your students. Those buildings on the other hand can just be rebuilt, but not you, Sensei!" Yuuka exclaimed before she took a deep breath. "Didn't you stop and think about what we would feel if something happened to you…?"

Sensei was about to reply, but thought better of it. Yuuka had a point—he couldn't just throw himself into the fray like he was used to. Without the GSC President, much of the city relies on him and Rin doing their respective roles. Rin herself was barely able to keep things going as smoothly as it was as a result of lacking some of the authority of the GSC President, something that SCHALE—or rather Sensei—was able to fill.

If something were to happen to him that would take him out of commission completely, Rin would have to pick up the slack for him, and she was already overwhelmed by her current workload as it was

His well-being would affect not just him, but the entirety of Kivotos. He knew this very well, yet he couldn't promise Yuuka that he wouldn't do the same thing if faced with a similar problem in the future. Or rather, he couldn't. That just wasn't him.

However—

"Sorry," Sensei apologized. "I'll be more careful next time."

"You better!" Yuuka said as she stormed out of the room

"Please rest for a while, Sensei," Noa said as she left the room to follow Yuuka.

Even if he couldn't make that promise, he would try to do better.

"Uwaah…She really let you have it, didn't she?" Neru said. "It's true that it's concerning how much damage it did to you even with your own protections, but I have to say that IT. WAS. AWESOME! Like seriously, you gotta teach me how to do that!"

"Suicidal is what I would call it," Kei replied. "You might have your magic, but you're fundamentally different from the Princess."

Perhaps I should think about how my students would react to such a scene…

It was cool to be honest—Wait, no! That's not it! I wish you'd thought of that before you told me to throw you towards Hod! It seemed that Yume also had mixed feelings about his current condition and was just waiting for everyone else to leave before she'd talk to him.

Kei's eyes changed color, indicating that he was now talking to Aris. "Sensei! That was a dangerous technique that harms its user! You shouldn't use that again!"

"It's not supposed to be dangerous to the user," Sensei said. "I merely imitated the skill of the original user of the technique, but my body couldn't keep up. After all, said user is a hero with a massive body and was famous for having the strength to endure the weight of the entire world. While I used a sword to perform the technique, the original version is actually used with a bow."

"Then why didn't you use it with your bow instead, Sensei?" Neru asked. "You're a crack shot with the bow, after all."

"I never properly learned the style," Sensei scratched the back of his head.

"Sensei…" Aris pouted. "There's a reason why skills in games are locked behind prerequisite skills and levels! If a game allows you to skip over some of those requirements, it's usually because you suffer a drawback in some way!"

"Talk about being reckless," Neru said with a laugh. "Those slashes were so strong the wind managed to leave a cut behind Hod!"

"So Sensei's current state is due to being ill-suited to the original technique and not properly learning it, I see! Perhaps Aris is better suited for the technique," Aris said. "Ah, but the Sword of Light needs a new rapid fire mode to perform—"

Neru placed a hand on Aris' shoulder, causing her to shiver in terror.

"Hey kid, I haven't blown off enough steam yet, so let's continue the match we were having earlier!" Neru said as she dragged Aris out of the room. "You've been avoiding me this entire time by hiding behind Kei, so now that you're out, we're settling the score. See ya, Sensei!"

"Eh? N-No, wait…!" Aris shrieked in terror as the automatic door closed.

…

"We can talk now, Yume," Sensei said as he glanced at the right side of his bed, where Yume was located. She materialized while pouting.

"Sensei," she started, "what you did was really cool, but I know you have other swords capable of defeating Hod! Like the sword in the oasis!"

"It was already a miracle I was able to trace and stab it on the ground to make use of its ability to generate water, but it's another story entirely to use its True Name. I'll die if I swing that one," Sensei said with a chuckle.

"Oh, really? Then that's no good either." Yume was a little surprised before she shook her head. "Wait, no! You know what I'm trying to say! Surely you had something else that's safer for you!"

"Setting that sword aside, I do have a few others," Sensei said. "But like I told Yuuka earlier, they do way too much collateral—"

"No, you have another reason," Yume said with worry. "Is it because of me?"

"...I was worried about running out of magical energy," Sensei admitted. "It might end up disrupting our connection."

"You were worried about running out of magical energy to supply me, so you used a physically taxing technique instead." Yume's voice was barely louder than a whisper.

"I...I can't deny that it's a huge factor on why I did what I did," Sensei said with a smile. "Please don't feel guilty about my current state."

"Then promise me you'll take better care of yourself, Sensei," Yume said with a heavy smile. "And please rely on your students more."

"I...I'll try. I promise," Sensei said. "Sorry for worrying you. I know it's irresponsible for an adult to have my student feel responsible for my current state."

There's also Yuuka's words earlier… Sensei was aware that Yume heard his thoughts just now as she smiled.

"Yes, it's really irresponsible when you have a lot of responsibilities as our teacher!" Yume said with a slight giggle. "Then again, you're not that much older than me so I guess your youthful habits are still there."

"Old habits die hard," Sensei said as he scratched his cheek. "I doubt I'd ever get rid of it completely."

"By the way, Sensei," Yume said. "Can you teach me how to be a magus?"

"No." Sensei quickly shot her down.

"Ehhh?!" Yume was shocked. "I thought you'd actually agree there!"

…

…

…

The sky was slowly being dyed orange as Yume made herself comfortable by listening to Sensei's lecture on what being a Magus entailed.

"Yume, I just want you to know just what it is you're asking from me," Sensei said. "In the World of Magecraft there is a saying, 'To be a Magus is to walk with death'. It can be taken literally as the process of activating Magic Circuits for the first time generates pain that doesn't really completely disappear even after you get used to it. My old man actually didn't want me to learn Magecraft either."

"But Sensei, I'm already a ghost! I might as well be walking with death already," Yume said with a cheerful smile.

"Hoshino will be really angry if she hears you say that," Sensei said with a chuckle.

"Um, please don't tell her I said that…" Yume made an awkward laugh.

Sensei merely smiled in response.

"Sensei!"

After a bit of banter, they went back to their discussion.

"You have your halo which is quite similar to a Magic Core. If a Magic Circuit is a small generator for magical energy, then a Magic Core is an entire power plant. In any case, unlike me, you can actually practice Magecraft without the pain that comes with it as long as you have the right knowledge because your halos are a natural part of your body," Sensei said. "Someone who studies Magecraft is called a Magus. With that said, by the standards of my world I'm a third-rate Magus."

"Huh?" Yume said as she tilted her head. "I don't get it. You seem really skilled at it."

"That's because Magi are researchers who want to reach the 'Root' or 'Akasha'. As for me being a third-rate, while I do have proper training since Tohsaka, my teacher in Magecraft, insisted that I at least have the knowledge to be a proper Magus, I'm really no good in using most Magecraft. It has something to do with my Origin and Element, but that's another topic altogether," Sensei replied. "And another thing, I wasn't inclined to do Mystery-related research beyond what was needed in a fight."

"I still don't buy it," Yume said. "Based on what I've seen you do, you're still incredibly skilled."

"To put another way, a first-rate Magus is expected to be proficient in the use of many spells. I'm more of a Spellcaster—a user of Magecraft—rather than a proper Magus," Sensei explained. "Spellcasters like me tend to have a low overall skill when it comes to Magecraft, but are extremely proficient with the few spells we do know. Spellcasters also don't concern themselves with research and are more focused on the practicality of our spells."

"So a Magus can use many spells with skill, while a Spellcaster can only do a few spells," Yume muttered. "And you got really good at making magical blades that have their own abilities! How come you're not ranked higher?"

"That's because I'm actively hiding my abilities in my world," Sensei said.

"I think I heard you mention this to Hoshino once," Yume said. "'That the Clock Tower enforces secrecy as strictly as possible to preserve the remaining Mystery in the world.'"

"I'm surprised you remember my words and recite it verbatim."

"Listening is really the only thing I could really do back when I was intangible so I guess I got better at it," Yume said as she wrote on the notebook with a pen that she both pulled out from her pocket. "Oh, and writing on this notebook, I guess!"

Sensei chuckled a little before continuing his conversation.

"Life as a Magus can be cutthroat. Another Magus knowing too much about what you're capable of can backfire," Sensei said. "You're starting to understand why I don't want to teach you how to be a Magus, right?"

Yume nodded a little before frowning. "But we're not in your homeworld, so we don't really have to follow that custom, right?"

"That's true," Sensei said. "If being a Magus was strictly about learning Magecraft then I would have no problem teaching you how to be a Magus, as I do have knowledge of different spells even if I can't use most of them with any level of proficiency myself."

"So if I were to ask you to teach me a spell so I can become a Spellcaster, would it be fine?"

"Yes." Sensei paused before he continued. "In the end, my reluctance is out of caution as I haven't completely rid of my worry that you'd somehow attract the attention of another Magus if I were to teach you something that couldn't be passed off as an application of your Mystic to the trained eye."

"Is this related to the earlier saying about Magi?"

"Yes," Sensei said. "I'm worried about Gematria."

"You mentioned them in passing a few times. Are they really bad?"

"I only encountered one of their members so far, but he reminded me too much of the Magi in my homeworld. Magi on average do not conform to the same ethical standards while pursuing Magecraft that researchers of the Scientific fields hold themselves to. As long as it does not risk exposing Magecraft to the general populace, any research is permissible, with a few exceptions."

"Why would they be interested in me?"

"Yume, you might be my student, but your current form of existence can be classified as that of a familiar that can manifest a physical form," Sensei said. "In the Magecraft World we call such beings 'Ghost Liners' or 'Servants', the highest form of Familiar," Sensei said. "Trust me, they're very interested in you."

"I...I'll keep that in mind!" Yume exclaimed as she nodded her head furiously a few times before she tilted her head. "On another note, you mentioned exceptions. Are they like banned or something?"

"Yup."

"Like what?"

"...Like a Reality Marble." Sensei hesitated a little before he gave an example.

"Reality Marble?" Yume tilted her head. "What's that?"

"It's an advanced topic that is better explained once you have more knowledge of Bounded Fields," Sensei said as he cleared his throat. "What I'm trying to stress out here is the fact that in my world, the Mage's Association believes that Magecraft must be kept hidden from the general populace to prevent its Mystery from dying out. Of course, not every mage agrees with this stance. There was actually a famous physician-alchemist a few centuries ago who tried to share his knowledge of Magecraft to the general public as he believed that the masses can benefit by having knowledge of Magecraft, but he ended up getting in trouble and was eliminated by the Association."

"Your world sounds incredibly harsh, Sensei," Yume said.

"Kivotos isn't the same as my world. The burden that comes with the history of Magecraft doesn't exist here, which is why I'm much more open to discussing Magecraft and teach those who show an interest. At the very least, the basics, or at least the Mystic version of Reinforcement, is something that students can already do, but…" Sensei trailed off as he took a deep breath. "I guess I'm worried what will happen if I go beyond the basics especially since Gematria exists."

Sensei sighed as he slowly got up from his bed.

"Wait, you're not supposed to move around yet!" Yume exclaimed as she tried to stop Sensei.

"It's fine, I just want to get closer to the window," Sensei said with a smile.

Yume pouted as she supported Sensei on his right shoulder so he could avoid straining himself as they headed towards the glass window.

"Thank you, Yume," Sensei said as he looked outside. He and Yume had a clear view of the district and its sky that had turned orange. He could see students leaving after participating in their respective clubs. Then he turned his attention to the halos in the city's skyline. Sensei took in the view as he continued to talk. "Kivotos' environment is really refreshing. I don't have to hide the fact that I can use Magecraft, which allows me to help more people."

"You know, most people that have heard you call yourself a Mage think that it's the term you call for Mystics in your home. At least that's what Ibuki and Hina told me, Yume said.

"While I did have a hand on it, it's not entirely wrong either. Magecraft is based on Mystery, while Mystic is a word related to Mystery. From the outside, that makes it seem as if Magecraft is a derivative of Mystic that doesn't use a halo," Sensei said.

Sensei remained silent for a while after that, causing Yume to look at him in concern.

"Sensei?" Yume asked. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Sensei said with a smile. "I was just reflecting on a few things back in my world. Well, no use worrying about it now."

"Do you miss them?" Yume asked. "The people you knew in your world."

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't. I'm a little worried about the people I've left behind, especially Tohsaka," Sensei said. "With that said, Kivotos has also grown on me even if I haven't been here for too long."

"I'm glad you're enjoying your time here, Shirou-sensei," Yume said with a smile.

There were a lot of questions regarding Kivotos that still needed answers—but for now, he would just enjoy the unique scenery of Millennium with Yume.

Author's Note:

Yup. Shirou's entire left arm is out of commission for about a week. Thankfully it's just a broken arm and fractured ribs instead of what HF Shirou experienced. Naturally, as some of you commented last chapter, he won't be able to cook as well as he can until he fully recovers. More than a few of his students won't be amused by this. Thankfully Aris and Kei are there to pick up the slack, yeah?

The latter half of the chapter is some good ol' exposition regarding Magi and Sensei's reluctance to teach Magecraft past the basics as a result. It also alludes to how far Shirou has progressed in his Magecraft studies. He still sucks with Magecraft in general, yes, but that doesn't stop him from learning the general theory even if he can't actually use it with any measure of skill much like a certain Lord.

As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.