Chapter 133 - 45.2

"Yes." Tohsaka nodded. "Sakura's Element is 'Imaginary Numbers', or 'Hollow'. It deals with the imaginary realm. She is uniquely adept at fighting spiritual enemies, at the cost of being less effective against living ones. Since the gems are infused with her Magical Energy, they can restrain that Wraith far better than any of my own spells."

"Imaginary Numbers, you say. I have heard of it." Yomaura recalled being told about that particular Element back when she'd been with the family. It was very useful, and highly coveted by many. However, although it could be copied to a degree by skilled Magi, natural-born practitioners were vanishingly rare. "Make sure no one else hears about Matou having that Element."

"Of course." Tohsaka scoffed. "I'm not a fool."

"Good."

"Can I continue my explanation, or do you have any more open doors to kick in?" The girl asked in a somewhat acerbic tone.

"You may continue."

"My own Elements don't work well against the Wraith, as it is highly resistant to Fire, Earth, and Water, it would only grow stronger from Ether, and it apparently has counters against Wind." Tohsaka indeed continued her explanation, casually revealing that she was an Average One. "But fortunately, Sakura was clever enough to remember the tiny bit she'd learned about her own Element, and called me over. After that, it was simply a matter of transferring her Magical Energy into my gems and coming up with an Aria, and then we had a hard counter to that ghost. That cage will keep it imprisoned, and by shrinking, it will crush the scumbag out of existence."

"Hold on! Are you saying that you wrote that Aria only just now?" Yomaura deadpanned at the girl, her brain momentarily blanking out at the notion that anyone could create a Ten-Point Incantation on the fly.

"I had to. With Sakura's Magical Energy involved, my own Arias wouldn't do." Tohsaka nodded, pursing her lips in annoyance for a moment, before smiling again. "Fortunately, she is my sister, which allowed me to somewhat smoothly work her into a pre-existing Aria. I didn't come up with a new one from scratch."

"Even so." Yomaura spluttered. "That was insanely dangerous! One wrong word and you would have blown us all sky-high!"

"I am fully aware of that." Tohsaka frowned at Yomaura's outburst, her body-language closing off a bit. "I just didn't see any other way, at least not one that would have gotten us all out of here in one piece."

"…" The redheaded woman was still not happy about it, but she also saw that the girl had a point. With the way things had been going, they would have lost sooner or later, so Tohsaka had been right to take a risk in an attempt to turn the tide. "Fine. Better a small chance at survival than no chance at all, I suppose."

"Precisely." Tohsaka nodded happily, before grimacing as she looked Yomaura over. "Ah, Yomaura-san, you may have a slight problem."

"If you are referring to my wounds, I am aware of them and I am taking steps to heal them." The redhead nodded. She knew that she was covered from head to toe in scratches and gashes, most of which were still bleeding, but none of them were debilitating or crippling, and her Healing Runes were working on full tilt, so she should be fine soon enough.

"I'm glad to hear that, but it isn't what I meant." Tohsaka's grimace became even more pronounced, and she gestured at Yomaura's body. "Your clothes have been-"

"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Whatever the black-haired girl had wanted to say was drowned out by a sudden, ear-piercing shriek from the Wraith, making everyone in the cavern jump in shock.

For a moment, Yomaura dared hope that this was its death-cry, a last scream to curse them before it disappeared, but that hope was killed in the cradle when she laid eyes on the Wraith.

The cage was still there, fully intact and still shrinking, but the Wraith…

The Wraith was free.

In a not-further-specified place in Finland, far enough North to be covered in snow all year long, an immense, stately manor stood as robust and imposing as a mountain.

Located in the middle of nowhere, with the closest town more than a thousand kilometres away, it should have been a fool's errand to live there, surrounded by polar bears and other dangers, with few natural resources and any emergency aid being over ten hours away by helicopter. Yes, it should have been a complete folly, one that would have deadly consequences.

Yet nothing was less true.

The masters of the mansion had made the landscape their own. They had survived there for hundreds of years and would continue to survive for hundreds more. The environment, as dangerous as it was, was of no consequence to them.

Mostly, this was because of their mind-bogglingly powerful Bounded Fields and Wards, that protected them not only from their enemies, but also from the wildlife and even the cold.

Even though it was the middle of the night, and a relentless snowstorm hammered the surroundings with the fury of an angry god, the manor was not touched by even a single flake of snow.

Even though the temperature was well below zero even during the day, the people in the manor were always comfortably warm, even out in the manor's gardens.

Even though the manor could not possibly be reached by mundane food trucks or ships, the larders were stocked so full that the people inside could have easily survived for another ten years at least, with intricate spells keeping the food fresh and unspoiled.

This was clearly the home of an immensely powerful family, one that had conquered countless enemies and taken those enemies' treasures from their cold, dead hands. A family that was rich even by Clocktower-standards, and was admired as much as it was hated. A family that saw the sky as the limit and spared no expense to end up at the top of the pile.

The most elegant hyenas above ground.

This was the home of the Edelfelt, and woe anyone foolish enough to attack it.

If the previously mentioned Bounded Fields wouldn't destroy the attackers, the countless traps would decimate their numbers, and the combat-Homunculi, Enchanted Statues, Golems, and enslaved Wraiths would pin them down while the numerous members of the family picked them off one by one, before stealing everything they had.

Yes, any invading army would do nothing but add to the Edelfelt's treasury. It was safe to say that aside from a scattered few irregulars, there was nothing and no one in the world who could destroy the manor, let alone wipe out the family.

They were as safe as Magi could be in the Moonlit World.

Yet with that safety came complacency, and with complacency came pride, and pride…

Pride came before the fall.

"The Democratic Faction clearly does not respect us." Mikael Edelfelt said coolly, his young features drawn tight in an expression of insulted annoyance. "First they laugh at us for weeks on end, seeing us merely as the butt of a joke, and now they wish to use us as patsies to gain information on a Sorcerer who has already wiped out several families that displeased him."

Standing inside a large and well-furnished room on the uppermost floor of the Edelfelt-manor, together with several other members of his family, Mikael made his displeasure with the recent actions of the Democratic Faction known. Having taken position just in front of the door, from where he could look everyone in the eyes, he made his argument, struggling to remain composed as he complained loudly.

He did so without worry, for not only was the room located in the most protected part of the manor, very safe against attacks from the outside, but it was also warded by so many Bounded Fields meant to stop eavesdroppers that even someone listening at the keyhole would hear nothing but a deafening static noise.

"To be fair to them on your latter point, Sofia and Eduardo are two of the very few people outside of the Aristocratic Faction who have managed to develop any kind of rapport with that particular Sorcerer." Anna Edelfelt, Mikael's younger sister, said soothingly from her position on one of the couches on the left side of the room. "Trambellio and Valualeta are not wrong to use the tools that they have."

"The Edelfelt are not tools for them to use." Mikael refuted, two red splotches appearing high on his cheeks. "We were promised a position of honour, as well as the standing that a family like ours deserves. That was why we signed the agreement to throw our lot in with the Democratic Faction."

"We only joined them recently." Anna countered, still sounding entirely respectful towards her older brother. "They don't know yet what we can contribute to the Faction, so they test us. This is not abnormal or irregular."

"I agree that it is normal for young, small families to be tested first, but that does not apply to us!" Mikael retorted in a slightly raised voice, which for him was equivalent to shouting at the top of his lungs. "We are powerful, rich, influential, and have proven ourselves in battle numerous times over the last centuries. The Democratic Faction should be thankful we deigned to join them. Frankly, I have half a mind to argue that we should leave them again."

"You seem to have an overinflated sense of ego, boy." Hannele Edelfelt grumbled, glaring at the youth from one of the corners of the room. She was of much lower standing within the family than Mikael, but as she was well over seventy years of age, she could get away with the kind of disrespect that would have gotten younger members severely punished.

Olaf and Helena, both sitting on a couch opposite of Anna, clearly agreed with Hannele, but since they were both lower in standing than Mikael and only in their upper twenties, they didn't voice their agreement. They knew better than to anger Mikael.

"Overinflated?" Mikael's voice had become low and dangerous, but while Anna quickly looked down at the floor, Olaf looked up at the ceiling, and Helena shied away from him, Hannele met his eyes without compunction.

"Yes, Mikael, overinflated." She repeated fearlessly. "The Democratic Faction got by just fine before we joined them, and they will get by just fine if we leave them again. The only ones who would lose after such an impulsive action would be us."

"We don't need the Democrats!" Mikael spluttered, his composure slowly fracturing. "We are powerful enough on our own. We have enough resources, enough knowledge, and our home is unbreachable. We need not fear retaliation, if that's what you're worried about."

"What I am worried about is our reputation." Hannele hissed, her old, milk-white eyes glaring angrily at Mikael from below her bone-white bangs. "Joining a Faction only to leave it again after barely two months will greatly increase the contempt that the Magus Association holds towards us. Far from inviting us, the Aristocrats and the Neutrals will shun us, for we will have shown ourselves nothing but whimsical children who give their word without intention of keeping it."

"They cannot attack us here." Mikael repeated. "No matter how great their contempt is."

"But they can attack us out there." Hannele looked as if she wanted to smack Mikael across the face. "They will pressure and harry us at every turn, until we have no choice but to remain here forever, prisoners in our own home. Is that what you want, boy?"

Mikael opened his mouth to retort, perhaps with a good argument, perhaps with a bad one, but he never got the chance, as someone else spoke up before he could.

"Hannele is right, Mikael." The new voice said, and Mikael's mouth snapped shut, as the owner of the voice was the highest-ranking person present in the room. "We cannot afford to antagonise the entirety of the Magus Association, no matter how angry you might feel."

The voice was elegant and refined, a perfect fit to its owner. She was a teenage girl, tall for her age, with golden blonde hair done up in elaborate coils, kept in place by adorable, blue ribbons. Her face was beautiful, and her body well-proportioned, which was accentuated by the elegant blue dress she was wearing.

Standing at the back of the chamber, just in front of a window, Luviagelita Edelfelt cut a very impressive figure despite her young age, her presence easily dominating the room. She was the one who'd called the meeting in the first place, and she was the one who held all its reins.

In terms of Magical Energy and talent, she stood head and shoulders above all the others in the room, all the others in the entire manor even, and that, combined with her aptitude for politics and power-plays, was why she was the current heir of the Edelfelt-family.

Only her great-aunt, the head of the family, was above her in standing, but that old shrew hadn't bothered to make an important decision in years, meaning that Luvia was the unquestioned leader.

As such, a single sentence from her was sufficient to strike Mikael silent. At the same time though, she didn't want him to carry a grudge, so she held out an olive branch.

"I will however write a letter to Trambellio and Velualeta to address your concerns." She promised him, making a soothing gesture. "While I cannot abide your drastic measures, you are correct in stating that the Edelfelt are not tools for them to use, at least not without considerable payment."

"Precisely." Mikael nodded, glad that Luvia understood him. "If they want Sofia to create a bond with the Sorcerer and obtain information about him, they should pay her for her efforts. She is taking a massive risk for them, and she should be properly rewarded for it."

"Hm, yes." Hannele agreed, sitting down again. She might not have approved of Mikael's suggestion to leave the Democratic Faction, but she would never say no to a reward. She might be old and weakened, but she was still a hyena. "Though of course, anything she discovers about the Sorcerer must first be relayed to us."

"Naturally." Mikael nodded, smiling at Hannele, his earlier anger with the old woman long forgotten. "Family comes first."

"Is it safe though to allow Sofia to meddle in the Sorcerer's business?" Olaf asked nervously, speaking up for the first time since the meeting had begun, the shaking of his beard betraying his anxiety. "What if she angers him and he decides to punish her whole family? We cannot stop him."

"Don't underestimate our defences." Mikael stated confidently. "We are protected by nature and by our Ancient Magecraft. He will find that assailing us here in the Far North will be far more difficult than wiping out a Ruling Family with its base and all its assets in the Clocktower."

His confidence wasn't shared though, and all the others in the room looked at Luvia, wondering what she was thinking.

"I instructed Sofia to focus all her efforts on establishing good relations with the Sorcerer." Luvia told them, crossing her arms with a pensive expression. "Information gathering is but a secondary objective. First, we must indeed make sure not to rouse his wrath."

"Can we not just leave him alone? Ignore him?" Helena inquired carefully, before promptly falling silent again when Luvia shook her head.

"We cannot ignore him." The blonde stated firmly. "A Sorcerer who involves himself in politics is like a hurricane. You must carefully plan for it and account for its movements, lest you find yourself blown away by a storm you never saw coming."

"Can we bribe him then, to leave us alone?" Olaf suggested.

"It is exceedingly difficult to bribe Sorcerers." It was Anna who countered him. "They usually can get everything they want by themselves."

"Blackmail then?"

"That would be extraordinarily dangerous, as well as difficult."

"What about offering our services as mercenaries to him for a reduced fee?" That was Helena again. "If we show we can be useful, he might be inclined to take our side in political issues, or at the very least refrain from meddling in our business."

"That has some promise, provided he needs our services." Luvia rubbed her chin. "Which we cannot assume lightly. I will keep it in mind however."

"We should just show him we are not to be messed with." Unsurprisingly, Mikael wanted to use a forceful approach. "We should stand up to him and defeat him in a sparring match, to earn his respect."

His suggestion was summarily ignored by all others present.

"All this talk is academic." Hannele groused, the old woman looking very unimpressed by their suggestions. "As long as we don't have any information on the Sorcerer, we cannot make plans to deal with him."

"Gathering that information is a work in progress, Hannele." Luvia said soothingly, giving the elderly woman a smile. "And it's early days yet."

"Well, let's have Sofia continue her information-gathering then, along with Isabel and Nikolas." Hannele said, referring to the members of the Edelfelt-family who were currently at the Clocktower. "It isn't like there is much else we can do, is there?"

"…No." Luvia replied after a moment, having to admit that, despite her insistence on discussing that infamous figure, there wasn't much to say yet. They simply didn't have enough information at the moment to come to any meaningful conclusions.

"Then let us shelve the matter for now." Hannele suggested. "I'm sure there are many other things to talk about now that the Neutral Faction has suffered a terrible blow and the Aristocrats are riding high on their newfound power."

Following Hannele's suggestion, the small group talked for a while about all the recent shifts in the political landscape. They discussed measures to mitigate the damage these shifts would do, as well as possible avenues to profit from it. They were Edelfelt after all, so they needed to make money from the recent upheavals. They had a reputation to uphold.

As they talked however, there was one member of the group who didn't say anything. In fact, she hadn't said anything from the very beginning, not even while they had been discussing the Sorcerer.

With a sigh, Luvia looked over at her twin sister, Marjatta. The girl was seated in a corner of the room with her nose buried in a book. She was completely absorbed in her reading, and had been since the start, and Luvia took some comfort in the fact that even a Sorcerer who'd wiped out a Ruling Family was not enough to draw Marjatta away from her precious books.

Aside from the small amount of comfort though, the sight also filled her with irritation.

Marjatta had always been Luvia's staunch ally, which she dearly appreciated, as it meant they could use the Scales-effect of the family's Crest to its full potential, massively increasing its power, but outside of that, Marjatta wasn't worth much.

It was Luvia who did the politicking, Luvia who organised the meetings, Luvia who did the networking and the gathering of allies, while Marjatta just spent all her time reading. Today's situation, in which Luvia managed everything while Marjatta sat in a corner with a book was par for the course for the siblings, and Luvia didn't know how much longer she could bear it.

It had been alright, in the beginning, when Luvia had been brimming with energy and motivation, but as time went on and she had more and more responsibilities piled onto her, Marjatta's laziness had begun to get on her nerves. Essentially, Luvia was working for two, and after ten years of doing so, without any kind of reward or expression of gratitude, she was starting to wonder why she still bothered.

Was it too much to ask for a sister who was motivated? Who would engage in gem-research as ardently as Luvia herself? Who would make for interesting conversation? A sister whom Luvia could tease and be teased by? A sister with whom she could lie under a tree and talk about boys?

But no, Luvia got Marjatta instead.

The blonde, realising she was getting off-track, shook her head inwardly, before she sighed deeply, though also only inwardly. She wasn't about to show such an obvious sign of weakness to the others, that would only invite trouble.

Yes, everyone in the room was nominally her ally, but only because Luvia was currently the strongest and most powerful person in the manor. If that was no longer so, at least half of them would jump ship without a second of hesitation.

Not because they disliked Luvia –the blonde liked to think she got along with just about everyone– but because that was how things worked in the Edelfelt-family.

The Edelfelt were in any and every way a competitive family. Not just with outsiders, but also with each other, constantly and without mercy. To call the family dysfunctional would be an insult to dysfunctional families everywhere.

Factions within the family were formed and dissolved constantly. Pacts were made and broken almost daily. Two family-members could be fighting together in the morning and at each other's throats, literally, in the evening.

Though deaths were relatively uncommon during conflicts within the family, serious injury was very normal, as were public humiliations, incarceration, theft, bribery, blackmail, and far more.

The manor, which was so safe against attacks from the outside, was often home to veritable battlegrounds as its inhabitants waged their petty wars. Not having to worry about a potential enemy at the gates made them all the more willing to fight each other, so that was what they did.

This constant infighting was mostly caused by the way in which the family as a whole had been structured. Unlike the Valualeta, who had one main line and several branch-families, or the Tohsaka, who practiced the principle of always having only one child per generation to avoid infighting, the Edelfelt had five 'main' lines within the family.

Of course, only one of them could be the actual main line, and that would be the line that had proven itself the strongest in the endless competitions. At the moment, that was Luvia's and Marjatta's line, meaning that the other four were considered branch-lines. That was why she was the heir, and her cousins were not.

If Luvia faltered or failed however, the power could very well shift to another line entirely, leaving her line a mere branch instead of the main line. If that happened, most of Luvia's current allies would abandon her in favour of the new heir without a second of hesitation.

It was a principle that was very reminiscent of an Asian practice called 'Gu'. Gu involved putting venomous snakes, spiders, and other critters together in a big vase and letting them fight to the death. Whatever critter remained at the end would have the strongest venom of them all.

This was also the reason for the Edelfelt's tendency to scour battlefields for everything they could steal. In the battles that were fought at home, every single Mystic Code, Spell, Curse, Enchantment, or piece of blackmail material could make a world of difference.

It was a terribly cruel and utterly unforgiving environment, and though it created Magi who were brutal, cunning, and willing to do anything to win, one could wonder if the price was worth it.

Many Edelfelt had taken to spending most of their time elsewhere, and some of them had even just plain thrown the towel in the ring entirely.

Sofia Edelfelt for instance, the one who was making inroads with the Sorcerer. She was Luvia's second cousin, and frankly quite terrible at the games that were played within the family. That didn't matter anymore though, as she had successfully managed to snatch herself a decent man and had moved in with him as soon as she could.

Juhani, Luvia's uncle on her mother's side, had done much the same, having married a Chinese Magus with whom he had built a house not far away from Beijing. He too had managed to extract himself from the Edelfelt. He hadn't been home for years, and probably never would come home again either.

Leaving wasn't an option for Luvia though. She had spent too much time and effort on becoming heiress to leave now. Instead, she hoped she could change the system itself.

Rather than the Gu-principle, Luvia would vastly prefer a system like the Valualeta were using, with one main family and several branch-lines who all did their own thing. It would be much more relaxed and also much more fitting for the modern age.

All that infighting might have gone decently well in the old days, but in the modern age, where Magical Power was already sparse, it was downright foolish to constantly engage in a battle of attrition like that. It drained resources they couldn't afford to lose, and was a waste of time and energy that was better spent elsewhere.

Putting an end to the system was Luvia's plan for the future, but a plan was all it was right now. She hadn't yet had the opportunity to even begin implementing it, nor would she for quite some time.

But one day, she would change the family, or she would die trying.

"And that concludes the matter of the Aristocrats' influence on the gold-trade, which has proven rather limited so far." Hannele signed a document with a flourish, before handing it over to Luvia. "You know, now that I look at all these forms, I can only conclude that the damage we have suffered because of the purge is much less than I anticipated."

"It seems we've gotten off rather easily, despite being members of the Democratic Faction." Olaf agreed. "The Aristocrats aren't pushing us nearly as hard as they could."

"The Aristocratic Faction likely doesn't want to ruffle too many feathers during the reconstruction efforts." Anna said, looking at her own golden rings. "The price of gold for instance is extremely important to the markets, and it should not be disturbed merely for a short-lived advantage in politics."

"Lady Montmorency is smarter than that." Mikael agreed.

"What about the gem market?" Luvia asked, being an avid gem user herself and as such, dependent on said market. "How are things there?"

"As we expected, there have been large fluctuations." Helena reported, pursing her lips in irritation. "The Meluastea were one of the biggest suppliers of gems in the market, and with them gone, the available supply has dropped almost forty percent in total, and is still falling fast. Many Magi who study Gemcraft have begun hoarding them, fearing that the supply will soon dry up entirely, and that has driven the price through the roof."

"Will that be a problem for us?" Mikael asked sharply, now really paying attention to the conversation, as it was about money. "We have considerable riches, so we can afford to pay more than the usual price for a while, if the increase isn't too steep."

"These new prices…" Helena hesitated for a moment, which was not a good sign at all, before she held up a report. "We can afford to pay them, yes, but if we continue buying gems at the speed we did before the Meluastea's fall, it will hurt the treasury quite badly. If the new prices persist for longer than six months, even we will be scraping the bottom of our coffers."

"Show me." Luvia ordered, and Helena quickly handed over the report, allowing the blonde to take a look.

She did not like what she saw.

"Judging by your horrified expression, I take it we will mainly be using our own gem reserves in the near future?" Hannele asked dryly.

"Yes." Luvia nodded frantically, returning the report to Helena. "Yes, we will. I'll speak to my great-aunt tomorrow, so we can put limits on both the purchase of new gems and the number of gems we can use in our research for the foreseeable future. The entire family will have to start being sparse, or we will soon have no gems left."

"The situation is that dire?" Hannele raised an eyebrow.

"It is." Luvia confirmed darkly, already thinking deeply about which projects of hers weren't essential and could be paused for an indefinite amount of time, so she could save on gems.

"That is bad news." Hannele grumbled, before letting out a slow breath. "Let us hope then that some brave new merchant will soon fill the hole that the Meluastea left behind."

"If there's no visible improvement in three months, I will address the situation myself at the Clocktower." Luvia promised, not willing to leave something so important to chance. "Surely, there are many more Magi who don't like the current state of the gem market."

"Undoubtedly." Hannele concurred.

"Uhm…" They were interrupted by a soft hum from Helena, who hesitantly raised a hand, drawing everyone's attention back to her.

"What is it, child?" Hannele asked, not unkindly.

"T-There is something else about this report." Helena replied, holding said report up again. "It's a note from one of our spies."

"What does this spy have to say?" Luvia prompted her when she fell silent.

"The Tohsaka aren't buying gems anymore." Helena replied, shrinking in on herself in preparation for a bad reaction.

Indeed, the reaction of the room to the mention of that name could not be called positive in any way.

"The Tohsaka." Mikael let out a breath through his nose, showing his utter contempt.

"Petty thieves." Hannele grumbled, displaying a shocking amount of hypocrisy by daring to dismiss another family as 'thieves'.

"Tsk." Olaf didn't react with words, but he did make a sound that showed how little he thought of the Edelfelt's rival-family.

"Enough." Luvia demanded, cutting off any further expressions of hatred and contempt. "I want to hear this. What do you mean when you say the Tohsaka aren't buying gems anymore, Helena?"

"I-I mean just that." The girl held up the report like a shield, cowering before the angry glares of her family-members. "The number of gems they were purchasing had already steeply declined in recent years, but since a few months ago, they aren't buying any gems whatsoever anymore."

"Maybe the family died off." Mikael suggested in a hopeful tone.

"It could be that they are now fully impoverished." Anna smirked at the thought.

"Or they found another source of gems, one that we are not aware of." While Luvia would love to assume that their rival-family had either ceased to exist entirely or had fully sunken into irrelevance, she wasn't going to believe either theory until she had conclusive proof. "I will instruct our spies to delve deeper into this sudden irregular behaviour. If they are using another source, we may be able to discover it."

And, naturally, take it for themselves.

"To the point of sending those spies directly to Fuyuki?" Anna questioned her sharply.

"If necessary." Luvia nodded coolly, fully aware that they had never gone to such lengths before outside of Grail Wars. "I want to know why they have ceased gathering materials."

Although Magi were generally an unpredictable lot, there was one thing that they all did, without exception. That one thing was gathering resources and materials. They couldn't practise their craft without the required means after all.

For centuries, the Tohsaka had been consistent in their acquiring of materials. They regularly and consistently purchased as many gems as they could afford, together with some other minor materials that were hardly relevant. In this, they were very similar to the Edelfelt-family.

That they showed no more interest in the gem market at the exact time that said market was going through a crisis unnerved Luvia more than she would admit, even to herself, and though it was of course possible that the rising prices had completely finished them off, the mere possibility that they had another source was enough for Luvia to look into the matter herself.

"Perhaps the spies can find some decent blackmail material while they're there anyway." Mikael said hopefully.

"Perhaps." Luvia nodded, agreeing that such material would be good to have, especially if the Tohsaka did have a new source of gems. "I will arrange this later."

"Then let us move on." It was again Hannele who changed the subject. The elderly lady hated idle talk, and when she considered a topic to be wrapped up, she showed no compunction about forcefully starting a new conversation. "We must discuss the recent death of lord Gabsburg, and how we are going to take advantage of it."

From there on, they only discussed topics they'd already discussed a thousand times before. How they were going to take advantage of this, how they were going to shield themselves from that, and so on and so on.

Utterly boring, yet sadly so very necessary.

In the end, it was already three o'clock in the morning when they finally wrapped up the meeting. It had been a productive time, fortunately, so when everyone said their goodbyes, it was in good spirits.

They left the room one by one, until only Marjatta and Luvia remained inside.

But even now, with just the two of them, Marjatta did not acknowledge Luvia's existence. She kept her nose buried in her book, a different one than at the beginning of the meeting, and said not a word.

Luvia was used to that however, and just collected her paperwork, before making to leave to her room.

For a moment though, when she was already standing at the door, Luvia wondered if she should say something, perhaps wish her sister a good night. But as Marjatta continued looking at the book without giving Luvia another glance, she realised that any attempt at conversation would be futile.

Luvia fully left the room to head back to her own chambers. They were on the same floor as the meeting-room, but in the West-side of the manor instead of the East-side. It was not far when compared to the distances the others had to walk to get to their rooms, but any normal person would have considered her travel-time utterly ludicrous.

When she finally arrived at the door of her room, about fifteen minutes later, Luvia stood still for a few seconds to allow the Bounded Fields to recognise her. Only when they had, did she step inside, after which she promptly closed her door again, allowing the Bounded Fields to set themselves back to fully active.

One couldn't be careful enough after all, inside the Edelfelt-manor.

She had Bounded Fields for just about every purpose. To Reinforce her door and walls, to disguise her Magecraft, to suppress sounds coming from inside, to prevent unwelcome guests from entering, to disable or kill unwelcome guests that had come in anyway, and even to summon Wraiths she herself had subjugated over the years.

After having ascertained that they all functioned like they should and that there were no holes in her defences, Luvia turned around again and walked to her bed.

The meeting just now had been extremely tiring, and Luvia was just about ready to call it a day. She stripped off her clothes, neatly folding them and placing them on a chair, before putting on the frilly negligee she used as sleeping wear.

Then, she opened a secret compartment in her bed, and retrieved a plushie from it, setting it down on one of her many pillows. From the same compartment, she also took a pink toiletry bag, containing a set of special brushes and combs.

From the set, Luvia very carefully selected a soft brush and a tiny comb. The rest she set aside. She then laid down sideways on the bed, leaning on her elbow, while pulling up her legs slightly and making sure the plushie was well within her reach.

Then she began grooming the plushie with the brush and the comb, using the brush for the back, the front, and most of its head, while using the small comb for its ears, its nose, its tail, and the space between its eyes.

While the brush was making soft passes through the plushie's fur, Luvia cooed at it, repeatedly kissing it on the top of its head, fawning over it like one would over a beloved pet, at one point even rubbing her cheek against its nose, speaking nonsensical words of love as she did so.

Taking care of her plushie like this was something she did quite often, almost every evening in fact. It was relaxing to her, to spend some time lovingly taking care of something, and she did not care one whit that it could be considered childish and immature.

She'd had the plushie for over a year now, and though she did have others, many others, this one was her absolute favourite.

It was a dog plushie, with red fur, golden eyes, and a sturdy body that was nevertheless absolutely adorable.

It was a character from a kids' TV show. An anthropomorphic dog that liked cooking, but when push came to shove, would become a knight in shining armour. A superhero who protected everyone, from cute little babies and beautiful maidens to toothless old men and even sometimes the villains themselves. Above all else though, he would valiantly protect and serve his beloved princess.

It was truly a thing meant to make little girls' dreams come true.

Luvia loved that show, to the point where she made sure to watch it every single week. No matter what else she had to do, meetings, discussions, projects, or even fights, she would put it all on hold to watch the TV. Similarly, she had spared no expense to get her hands on the plushie.

Perhaps it was foolish of her, wasting so much time on a children's show, but Luvia just couldn't rip herself away from it. The show appealed to her baser desires, and though she'd never admit it to anyone, she felt that if there was a man out there who resembled Sir Dog in character and demeanour, she would instantly fall for him, completely and utterly.

Yes, she was fully aware she was the heiress of the Edelfelt-family, meaning that she'd have to marry a powerful gentleman of standing and wealth, but until the day of her wedding arrived, she was fully entitled to fantasise as much as she pleased.

Luvia was drawn for her blissful state however when someone approached her chambers. It was someone she recognised though, someone she trusted, so with a wave of her hand, Luvia opened the door for him, uncaring that her nipples were poking through her negligee and that said negligee had ridden up so far that her panty-clad bottom was visible in its entirety.

"My lady." The one who entered was Luvia's second most trusted and capable bodyguard, Clown. He was a huge, burly man, with pitch-black skin and combat-skills that made even Luvia take him seriously, making his odd name utterly unfit for him. He wore it with pride however, and no one ever dared mock him over it. "I have a report from Sofia and her husband."

"Fiancé." Luvia corrected him absentmindedly, as Eduardo di Stanza had not actually married Sofia yet.

"Fiancé." Clown repeated obediently. His training had been incredibly thorough and utterly merciless, so no snarky remark about how that was merely semantics came from his lips. "They report that the Sorcerer has tentatively agreed not to attack the Edelfelt if he is not attacked first. They are even hopeful that an actual agreement covering more than just mutual non-aggression can be struck with him in time."

"That is good news." Luvia smiled with some relief. It wasn't that she had doubted Sofia's commitment to the cause, or Eduardo's for that matter, but Sorcerers were unpredictable at the best of times. It seemed this one was calmer and more even headed than most of his peers though. "Clown, you have much improved my evening."

Unlike with Magi, Luvia didn't worry about the Sorcerer's agreement having been a lie. Magi would lie or fudge the truth to gain an advantage, but Sorcerers had no need for that. All ancient records agreed on it, Sorcerers generally meant what they said.

"I am glad that this has put you in a better mood." Clown's eyes softened ever so slightly as he looked at her. "It seems you have been under a lot of stress."

"Oh, why do you think that?"

"Because you only ever groom Sir Dog with such energy and dedication when you are stressed, my lady." Clown replied, pointing at the plushie.

"…Oh." Was she truly that easy to read? "Just… Just leave the report on the desk, and then you are dismissed, Clown."

"Yes, my lady." The man followed her orders, as always, and then excused himself, leaving Luvia alone.

For a moment, there was silence, as Luvia thought deeply about everything she still had to deal with.

The new Sorcerer who had no compunction about making waves, two of her cousins plotting against her, the collapsing gem-market, the rapidly dwindling wealth of her family, the strange behaviour of the Tohsaka, and many, many other matters.

Then…

"Oh yes, Sir Dog! I wuv you! I wuv you so much!"

Luvia energetically continued the grooming of Sir Dog, leaving the report and everything else for tomorrow.

Osaki really missed the time when he hadn't known about the Moonlit World.

It had been a much simpler time, much more reasonable and logical. A time when he would only ever pursue human criminals, with sometimes a dangerous animal added to the mix. A time when he at least still felt somewhat in control of his surroundings. A time when any mention of Magic had been nothing but a joke or a fairy tale.

A sharp contrast with the present, in which he found himself in a cavern under Mount Enzou, trapped by a wall of shadows that blocked the exit, looking on as his partner fought a terrifying Wraith alongside several wizards while he handcuffed a murderer who suddenly seemed not at all relevant to the story anymore.

Hiroko didn't resist as he dragged her behind some rocks for cover, nor did she react in any way when he cuffed both her wrists and her ankles together. She just sat there, looking dazed, unresponsive to any outside stimulus. Not even directly addressing her could get her to pay attention.

Osaki hoped it was just the information-overload rather than a result of having hit her head while falling earlier, but he had no way to check, so he laid the girl down and focused on the fight instead.

For a while, the Wraith had had the upper hand, but fortunately, Tohsaka managed to turn the tables on it, trapping it inside a Magic Cage. The fact that the black-haired girl declared with utter confidence that the Wraith would soon be destroyed lifted a massive weight from Osaki's shoulders.

Then he looked at Yomaura, and his cheeks exploded into a massive blush.

The Wraith claws had done a number on her, yes, and she was bleeding from multiple gashes, which very much concerned him, but those injuries did nothing to hide the fact that it had been her clothes, not her body, that had taken the brunt of the damage.

Nothing was left to cover her upper body, not her shirt, undershirt, or bra, except for some small pieces of cloth that covered parts of her stomach and could thus be considered utterly irrelevant. Her trousers had been torn to pieces too, but fortunately, her panties had mostly survived, as they presented too small a target for the Wraith to hit.

That still left her completely naked except for those panties and her shoes though, so Osaki promptly took off his coat to give it to her, carefully not looking at her breasts, or the nape of her neck, or her shoulders, or...

Basically, he was looking somewhere else entirely.

Before he could give her his coat however, the Wraith suddenly let out a horrific shriek.

Matou, Tohsaka, and Yomaura didn't notice it because of their innate Magic Resistance, but that shriek also carried a debilitating effect, and Osaki was forced to his knees because of it, the coat slipping from his hands. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed that Mitsuzuri also fell to the ground.

"Ayako!" Matou shouted in shock.

"Senpai!" Yomaura cried, turning to look at him, but Osaki didn't look back at her. He could only stare at the Wraith in horror, feeling as if the bottom had dropped out of his stomach.

After its shriek, the Wraith had suddenly expelled a massive quantity of blood from its mouth, as if it were vomiting. The blood impacted the inside of the cage of lightning and light that Tohsaka had so diligently erected, and somehow stuck to it. Then, somehow, the Wraith forced its way through that bloody spot, escaping from the trap.

"That's Paris-san's blood!" Matou cried, her eyes wide in fear. "It holds no spiritual component! My Element can't stop it!"

"Precisely." The Wraith uttered, its voice far weaker than before, and judging from the fact its colour had shifted from a pale grey to a deep white, it had definitely been affected in some way. "I had to sacrifice almost all of the Incubus' blood to escape your trap." 

"To be so willing to sacrifice the source of your power… You are definitely not a normal Wraith." Yomaura narrowed her eyes at the creature. "Are you even a Wraith at all?"

The apparition didn't reply, but there was a hint of a grin on its bony, incorporeal face.

"It's a shame that the cage couldn't finish you off." Tohsaka sneered at the being, a sneer that was definitely among the top ten best sneers Osaki had ever seen. "But since you look weakened, we'll just deal with you the normal way."

"I am weakened." The Wraith admitted with surprising frankness. "But the loss of the blood was worth my freedom. I will just replenish my reserves now."

It moved so fast that it looked like it had teleported. One moment, it was hovering at the edge of the cavern, a good distance away from the group, and then it was in front of Tohsaka, its mouth wide open and its claws primed to pierce her through.

"You will be my feast!" It roared, before biting down.

Right into Matou's shoulder.

The purple-haired girl had jumped in front of her sister in the blink of an eye, forcefully pushing her out of the way and taking the attack herself.

"Sakura!" Tohsaka cried as Matou screamed in pain, blood streaming over her arm and torso as the cruel teeth mauled her flesh.

"You bastard!" Mitsuzuri yelled, glaring furiously at the Wraith even though, just like Osaki himself, she still couldn't get up from her kneeling position. "I'll kill you!"

But even as the girls screamed in fear and rage, the Wraith too screamed.

"It burns!" It cried as it rapidly detached itself from Matou, writhing as the purple-haired girl's Magical Energy was absorbed into its incorporeal body, where it seemed to change into ethereal purple flames that slowly but surely consumed its form. "It burns!"

It tried desperately to stop the flow of Magical Energy, to stop absorbing the painful flames, but for some reason, it was unable to. Matou's essence seemed to force itself upon the creature, entering its body on its own accord.

Then Matou herself took action.

Somehow, she managed to grab the Wraith with her bare hands, taking hold of its spindly arms, pulling it towards herself, as if she was hugging it.

"GET OFF!" The Wraith was now truly panicking, thrashing about as it desperately tried to dislodge Matou, but the purple-haired girl didn't let go. Even with her left arm mauled, she clung to the creature, forcibly feeding it more of her Magical Energy, weakening it further and further. "GET AWAY FROM ME!"

As the Wraith pulled and pulled however, she was forced to compensate to prevent herself from falling over, and she stumbled forward to the far side of the cavern, step by step, closely followed behind by Tohsaka and Yomaura, the former racking her brain for something she could do to help and the latter trying and failing to grab the Wraith herself.

Further and further they went, this ridiculous looking group, until they had come within mere metres of the ominous looking Magic Circle that the Wraith had gestured towards at the beginning of the confrontation.

The Magic Circle that represented the Greater Grail.

The Wraith Mordegai now saw its chance. It wasn't ideal, having to enter the Grail while unprepared for battle with the being already occupying it, but it was better than being chipped away by the Matou piece by piece until nothing remained.

Mordegai had no idea what was happening, why the girl's Magical Energy was such poison to it, but it did know that it needed to break free before it would be too weakened to resist anymore. If it didn't, the Matou would slowly grind it into oblivion.

So it vomited out every last bit of Incubus-blood it still possessed, using it as a catalyst to trigger a spell that blew the women away.

With the blood gone however, and the purple flames still eating away at it, Mordegai needed to act fast.

Without another moment of hesitation, Mordegai entered the nearby Magic Circle, forcibly integrating itself into the Greater Grail, hoping furiously that Angra Mainyu was every bit the pushover that he was described to be in the ancient books and the reports of the Third Holy Grail War.

The Wraith entered the Grail, and inside, it found…

Power.

Endless golden fields full of Magical Energy and Divine Might.

It was Power beyond belief. The kind of power that could reach to the Throne of Heroes. The kind of power that could fulfil decently limited wishes. The kind that would allow an angry god to wipe out humanity in an instant.

Mordegai instantly forgot all about its troubles. The purple flames were long gone, Gaia's influence was no more, its weakness was forgotten, and the women standing outside of the Grail were helpless now that Mordegai had achieved its purpose.

So the Wraith feasted on the power, absorbing it as fast as it could, feeling itself grow more powerful by the second as it consumed and consumed and consumed.

It was everything the creature had hoped for and more. It was paradise. With this power, it could finally make its dream come true! It could rise in the rankings! It could finally make the master notice it! It could evaporate humanity in its entirety! It could-

"A little morsel?"

Sakura looked on with wide eyes as the Wraith fled straight into the Grail. She might not know much about Wraiths or Grails, but she understood perfectly well that that couldn't possibly be a good thing.

"Damnit." Rin's hiss of fury only was more evidence to support that, as the black-haired girl looked at the Magic Circle with fearful uncertainty even as she frantically tried to heal Sakura alongside the female detective. "Why didn't the creators of the Grail make countermeasures against Possession?"

"Maybe they did." Sakura muttered in response, before gritting her teeth when Rin placed a hand on her wounded shoulder, sending another wave of agony flowing through her. "But Angra Mainyu destroyed those measures."

"Tch." Rin made a discontented noise, before looking at Sakura with an awfully worried expression, dropping two empty gems on the floor next to her, where they disintegrated into ash. "That wound is nasty. I think I managed to stem most of the bleeding, but this is all I can do for now."

The black-haired girl had done her very best to fix the mauled flesh on Sakura's shoulder and upper arm, but she wasn't very adept at Healing. It had cost her two gems to just stop the blood from flowing out, and she wasn't willing to use more now that the Wraith could very well return at any moment.

"My Healing Runes will take care of the rest of the wound." Yomaura assured her, before she rose to a standing position. "Come on, Second Owner. We must prepare to face that Wraith again."

"T-Take as much of my Magical Energy as you need." Sakura held out her right hand, activating her Magic Circuits and forcing them to make as much Magical Energy as they could. "It seemed effective against the creature."

"Strangely so." Rin nodded with a frown, this time out of confusion. "The last time I checked, the Element 'Imaginary Numbers' doesn't cause such an adverse reaction in spiritual beings on its own. Or at least, nothing I read about it suggested that it would burn them with purple flames."

"I… suppose so?" Sakura agreed hesitantly, as she didn't much about her own Element herself.

"Hold on!" Rin's eyes suddenly went wide, and she looked at Sakura with a strange mix of suspicion and concern. "Emiya-kun didn't do anything weird to you, did he?"

"Uh?!" Sakura drew a blank for a moment, the question throwing her for a loop.

"Sakura?" Now Rin looked really worried, taking Sakura's lack of a denial as a confirmation.

"He didn't-" Sakura started to say, but then she suddenly remembered.

When Senpai had told her about that night, when he had saved her from Zouken and vanquished the worms inside her, he mentioned that he'd had to absolutely drench her in his 'Cleansing Power' in order to safely destroy the worms around her heart.

According to him, a part of the Cleansing Power had mixed with her Magic Circuits, and though she hadn't yet noticed anything amiss about her body, he had warned her that his power mixed with her Magical Energy may lead to some esoteric effects.

Apparently, they had just discovered one of those effects.

"That… That bastard!" Rin was indeed taking her continued silence as a confirmation, and her face turned bright red in a mixture of anger and embarrassment. "I'm going to kill him-"

"Talk about killing your boyfriend later." Yomaura snapped before Sakura could try to explain to Rin what had really happened. "Right now, prepare for battle, and for Heaven's sake, get miss purple-hair away from the battlefield."

"Leave that to me." Ayako chose that moment to appear, like a knight in shining armour, and she knelt next to Sakura. "You go and fight that thing, Rin."

"Ah, yes." Rin nodded, quickly working through her confusion to find her resolve again. "I will-"

Then it happened.

The Magic Circle representing the Greater Grail turned pitch-black. At the same time, an immense aura of unimaginable evil filled the entire cavern, almost making Sakura hurl from how powerful and deeply unsettling it was.

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Sakura had thought that the Wraith was the evillest thing she'd ever encountered, the darkest, most malicious creature, but now, she was forced to acknowledge that she'd been wrong, completely and utterly wrong.

The Wraith's aura had been evil, yes, but it had been a personal kind of evil, one that suggested they were dealing with a sadist who was driven by ambition and filled with a sense of purpose. For all that the creature hadn't been human, its 'presence' was very much like a human scumbag, though dialled up to fourteen.

This new aura however was more like a force of nature. It was the entirety of humanity's evil poured out into the world to destroy without will or intent. Absolute, uncaring evil, far beyond human comprehension. An evil that could and would swallow the Earth whole.

For a moment, Sakura wondered if the Wraith had succeeded in drawing power from the Grail, and that this was its new aura now that it was incomprehensibly more powerful, but that theory was rejected immediately. This was nothing like the Wraith.

"Angra Mainyu." Someone whispered, and Sakura was shocked to discover that she had been the one to say it.

Then, a massive crunch sounded through the cavern, as if a giant had bitten into the world's largest cracker. It was followed by another crunch, and another, as if the giant was chewing calmly, thoughtfully.

And in-between the crunches, Sakura could faintly hear screams of absolute panic and torturous pain, as the Wraith was slowly eaten alive by the creature that had already inhabited the Grail, consumed by a darkness that was in any and every way superior to it.

The cries continued for several long, excruciating minutes, as the Wraith begged, pleaded, and cried for mercy, yet received none of it, until it was fully consumed.

Then everything went silent again, and the evil aura disappeared like it had never been there.

"Say, Kuzuki-Sensei?" Issei spoke up in the middle of sweeping the footpath through the garden, pausing with his work as he noticed something amiss.

"Yes, Issei-kun?" Kuzuki-Sensei looked up from where he was removing weeds from in-between the tomato plants with almost surgical precision, his long, thin fingers still clasped around a poor plant that was about to be destroyed.

"Did you also get a very dark and foreboding feeling just now?" Issei asked, looking down at the ground, tightly holding his broom, prepared to use it as a weapon should the worst come to pass. "As if a massive evil was gathering nearby?"

"I can't say I did." Kuzuki slowly shook his head, casting a look around, as if searching for this evil. "Where is it coming from? Can you still feel it?"

"I don't know exactly where it came from." Issei muttered. "It's gone now though."

"Let me know if it comes back." Kuzuki instructed his student, before returning to his job after Issei nodded. Unlike before however, when the teacher had been almost relaxed, he was now alert and watchful, ready to take action should something threaten his new home.

In the end though, the feeling didn't come back.

The rest of the night was entirely quiet and undisturbed.

Shirou sighed in relief and happiness as he fell backwards into his sofa in his room in the Clocktower. Not just because he'd gotten through another days of trials, but also because he'd received a call from Ayako that morning, telling him that Sakura, Rin, and the brunette herself were safe, that they had found and apprehended their murderer, and that they had fought a Wraith of all things.

Apparently, their mission had become very complicated very fast, and Shirou had listened with a mixture of concern and amazement as the brunette recounted everything that had happened to them over the past two days.

She was doing so alone, as Sakura was currently sedated and Rin was busy healing her.

Shirou had not at all been pleased to hear that she had been mauled by the Wraith, but after Ayako had told him about the Wraith's ultimate fate, his anger had quickly changed into a feeling of distinct discomfort.

Yes, he was angry with the Wraith for hurting Sakura and threatening Rin and Ayako, and he did think it deserved to be punished for it, but being slowly eaten alive by Angra Mainyu…

That went too far in his opinion, something Ayako agreed with.

But that was what had happened, and there was nothing they could do about it now.

What they could also do nothing about was the fact that Rin now knew that the Grail was corrupted. It was something Shirou had wanted to bring gently, yet it seemed the cat had been let out of the bag by the Wraith already.

According to Ayako, Rin wasn't really angry anymore about being kept out of the loop, understanding that there hadn't been a good time to tell her about the corruption of the Grail yet, but she would probably still yell at him at least a bit when he got home.

Shirou could live with that though. Right now, he was very happy Rin was able to yell at him at all.

They'd discussed a few more things, mainly about Maita Hiroko being the murderer, Carlton Paris being the descendant of an Incubus, and about the fact that it was confirmed once and for all that Angra Mainyu had survived an attack from the world's most famous Noble Phantasm and was still inhabiting the Grail.

Yet another thing to deal with when he got back home.

Then, Ayako told him the truth about Grover Meluastea, about what he truly was, and although Shirou was a bit surprised to learn the man had been a Wraith similar to Mordegai, he had to acknowledge it made sense.

It also confirmed though that he wasn't going to find Grover, or Belisarius rather, in the Clocktower, no matter how hard he searched. Undoubtedly, the creature had long since fled, recognising that there was nothing for it anymore in the Magus Association.

He would still have to tell Lady Barthomeloi about it though, even if only to make sure she understood what she was dealing with and wouldn't be caught unawares a second time.

After wrapping up the conversation with Ayako, Shirou put away the phone, before preparing to head to the main cafeteria. According to Emmanuel, today was the last day that Shirou's help was even remotely needed, so the redhead planned to make the most of it.

Before he could leave however, he was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Waver." Opening the door, Shirou was surprised to find it was the lord himself who'd come to visit him, something that had never happened before. Usually, it would be Grey, Svin, or Flat who came to visit him, as it was beneath Waver, the lord of the department, to personally visit a mere student's room. Evidently though, the man had made an exception. "Please come in."

"Much obliged." Waver nodded, stepping into Shirou's room for the first time ever. "I hope I'm not interrupting something?"

"I was about to head to the cafeteria to work in the kitchen, but since they don't really need me anymore, I'm not in a hurry." Shirou replied, offering the lord a seat, before sitting down himself as well.

"I am glad to hear it." Waver nodded. "I wish to discuss the last items that you wanted to be sold, as well as your imminent departure from the Clocktower and its consequences, if that is alright with you?"

"Of course it is." Shirou nodded. "I'm all ears."

"Thank you. First of all, the items that we held back from the open auction have now been sold as well." Waver began, fishing a report out of his jacket. "Mostly through private channels to 'special buyers', like old man Eckhard."

Old man Eckhard was the man whom Shirou had sold his Enchanted Knife to. The elderly Magus was eccentric and reclusive, but largely harmless, and one of the very few people in the Moonlit World who were guaranteed not to use any Enchanted Knives they obtained for unsavoury purposes. He just wanted it for his collection of blade-shaped Mystic Codes, nothing more.

"The open auction already resulted in a profit of 4.5 billion pounds, and the private sales added another 2.34 billion pounds on top of that." Waver continued his report. "Plus the unusual reward you requested of old man Eckhard."

Said unusual reward was that Shirou could take a look at the old man's collection, which he'd done a few days before. Old man Eckhard had allowed him into his home and let him browse through the assortment of blades he kept in there, though under strict supervision of course, so he wouldn't steal anything.

Not that Shirou would ever bother stealing the weapons. He didn't need to. He had the ability to copy them after all, even the Magical ones, which meant that he only needed a look to add all the weapons in Eckhard's collection to his armoury.

Not that those weapons had been especially remarkable or something –the Vault had far better weapons– but they were still nice to have, if only because they added to Shirou's own 'collection'.

"I really appreciate that old man Eckhard allowed me to see his collection." Shirou decided to say after Waver remained quiet for a while. "It was worth much more to me than the money."

"I gathered as much." Waver smiled wryly. "In any case, the second sum has been split evenly between the two of us, and I have put your share in your bank accounts already. You can withdraw or otherwise use it whenever you please."

"Thank you." Shirou expressed his gratitude, though he was unlikely ever to touch that money, barring sudden emergencies. "Have you been able to put your share to good use as well?"

"Not yet." Waver shook his head, before his lips formed an eager smile. "I'm still waiting for the perfect moment to spring it on Reines and Melvin."

"I hope you find it soon." Shirou smiled back, also quite eager for the day that Waver would shake himself free from his debtors and blackmailers.

"So do I." Waver's eager smile became a bit wider, before he became serious again. "Let us not lose ourselves in pleasant daydreams though. We must quickly discuss the matter of your departure, and then you can go and help the cafeteria again."

"Ah yes." Shirou nodded, before digging into his memory for his planning for the coming week. "As things are now, I will take a plane back to Japan in four days. Lady Montmorency assured me that the trials would be over by then, and since you have sold my items already and all my other objectives have been completed, my business in England is done."

"I am happy to hear that. You often mention how much you miss your home." Waver smiled kindly, looking genuinely happy for Shirou. "I do hope it won't be a final farewell though."

"Certainly not." Shirou immediately shook his head. "Lady Barthomeloi wants me to return regularly, and even if she hadn't, I'd still come to visit you."

"I am glad to hear it." Waver seemed satisfied with Shirou's promise. "Not just because you have become so important, but also because there are many people here who would be greatly saddened if they never saw you again."

"Ah, yes, it's good that you mention that." Shirou snapped his fingers, as Waver's words had jogged his memory enough for him to remember there was another thing he'd been wanting to discuss with the lord. "I have to ask another favour of you."

"Ask away." Waver nodded immediately.

"Well, as you said, I have become quite important here at the Clocktower, and I have met many people who I have come to like."

People such as Grey, Mary Lil Fargo and Claire, Marianne and her grandmother, Emmanuel and the rest of the cafeteria-staff, and perhaps even Lady Barthomeloi and Lady Montmorency.

"As such, I do not think it would be responsible of me to disappear completely over the coming months." Shirou went on, and Waver nodded in agreement. "That is why I want to ask you to serve as my liaesonne, here in the Clocktower."

"Liaison." Waver corrected his pronunciation, before cocking his head to the side. "In what sense?"

"I will not make it publicly known where I live or who I am." Shirou explained, as that would be a horrible idea in many ways. "But, Waver, you are a trustworthy man, and reliable to the bone. Discrete as well, and you know how to keep secrets."

"Oh, stop, you're making me blush." The lord scoffed, though Shirou didn't miss how he turned his head to hide the fact that he was actually blushing.

"I want to entrust you with my contact details, so if there is ever an emergency, big or small, people can contact me through you." Shirou finished his explanation, before folding his hands together uncertainly. "If that is not too much to ask?"

"It isn't." Waver promptly assured him. "In fact, it would be my honour."

"Thank you." Shirou grinned widely, relieved that that particular issue had been resolved so easily. "I'll definitely repay you for this."

"Is it not me who is repaying you here?" Waver huffed in amusement, before he shook his head. "Whatever. Now, can I have your contact details?"

"Of course. Though before I give them to you, I have something to confess." Shirou said seriously, drawing a curious look from Waver. "You are of course aware that Fujimaru is not my real name."

"Of course." Waver agreed, the corners of his lips twisting upwards. "I think just about everyone knows that. Please don't feel ashamed about it, it is entirely understandable that you wish to protect your family."

"It was partially to protect my family, that is so." Shirou nodded, rubbing the back of his head as he tried to decide how to word the next part of his reveal. "But also because my father was a very renowned man, whose name would have made my task of getting into the Clocktower discretely a lot more difficult, to say the least."

"Oh?" Waver lifted an eyebrow, a note of interest appearing in his eyes. "That is quite the claim. Are you sure he is that infamous?"

"I am." Shirou nodded, smiling wryly at Waver's scepticism. "I even got confirmation about that on my first day here, during my conversations with you, with Grey, and with Reines. You all mentioned my father after all, on at least three separate occasions."

"We did?" Waver blinked in surprise, before the gears in that mighty brain started to turn. "Hold on, let me think."

"Let me save you some time. My father's name was Kiritsugu Emiya."

Shirou bluntly revealed the truth, ready for any reaction, and he wasn't disappointed.

"…"

Silence.

Complete silence.

Waver was gaping at him like a fish, his eyes wide as saucers, his hands slack at his sides, and his face pale as a sheet.

"I am Shirou Emiya." Shirou introduced himself by his real name for the first time in two months, feeling it was best to get it over with quickly. "Son of the Magus Killer."

"T-That… I-I… B-But that's…" Waver stammered, his eyes still so wide it looked as if they could roll out of their sockets at any moment. "Y-You are… his son?"

"That is correct." Shirou nodded, before he bowed. "I apologise for all the grief that my father caused you, both during the War and after it, by killing your teacher. I know that it has been a source of much misfortune to you."

Once more, it remained silent, and when he rose again, Shirou saw that Waver was thinking deeply, so deeply that smoke was almost coming out of his ears.

"I… I don't blame that man for what happened, not really." Waver ultimately brought out after a minute or so, some colour returning to his face. "We, that is, Kayneth, your father, and I, all participated willingly in the Grail War. The losers cannot complain to the victor, and it is ridiculous to blame a competitor for competing."

"Really?" Shirou was surprised by his words. "But I thought you hated my father."

"Yes, I do, and I hate that Servant of his too." Waver admitted frankly. "And I'm also terrified of him. But I don't really blame him, and I especially don't blame you, if that's what you're wondering. Our agreements still stand, I still consider you my friend, and I will not tell anyone else about your identity."

"…Once more, I thank you." Shirou said after a moment, smiling warmly as Waver once more showed that he was a good man.

"Well, yes, you can repay me by telling me what your father is getting up to these days." The lord replied curtly.

"Not much. He passed away several years ago." Shirou told him again, before placing a hand on his heart. "And that is the truth."

"I see." Waver had a complicated expression on his face, as if he wanted to be relieved that the Magus-killer was dead, yet at the same time, didn't want to be too happy, considering that they were discussing the death of Shirou's father. "And your business here at the Clocktower?"

"I needed to retrieve something from the Einzbern. Something my father left there and never got the chance to take back from them."

"So that's why you wanted to go to Germany." Waver realised, snapping his fingers. "I see. Now a lot of things make sense again. I had been wondering why you were so fixated on that country."

"Your powers of observation astound me." Shirou smiled, before giving Waver a curious look. "I have to say you are taking this much better than I anticipated. I expected you to run out of the room the moment I mentioned my father's name."

"Yes, well, at this point, it's hard to keep getting surprised by your actions and circumstances anymore." Waver huffed with some humour. "In fact, I'd say I was more surprised than I should have been. Of course your father would be someone as infamous as the Magus-Killer, it fits right up your alley."

"Right." Shirou tried not to get depressed at hearing that, but only partially succeeded. Then he handed the lord a piece of paper. "Here are my contact details. I have Enchanted the paper so that only you can read it, but I would still appreciate it if you kept careful watch over it."

"I will." Waver promised, putting the paper into an inner pocket of his jacket. "I'll keep it on my person at all times."

"Then, Waver, I wish you the best." Shirou said, getting up from his chair and holding out a hand towards the lord.

"Hm? Why the hurry? I thought you weren't going to leave for another four days?"

"That is correct, but considering this will likely be the last time we'll have some privacy, I wanted to say a proper goodbye now."

"Fair enough." Waver also got up, and he took Shirou's hand. "Shirou Emiya, it would be a lie to say that having you as my student was always a pleasure, but you left the Clocktower a better place than when you entered it. You have greatly helped my department, my family, and myself. I am happy to have met you all those months ago, in that castle in Japan."

"As am I, Waver." Shirou nodded, noting that Waver's grip was much stronger now than it had been back then. "As am I."

"Only two days left, and then Shirou will return!" Ayako chirped, a huge and eager smile on her face. "I can't wait!"

"Neither can I." Sakura was a lot calmer than her girlfriend, but she too was smiling brightly in anticipation. "The past months have been long, but they are almost over now."

"I just can't wait to see him again!" Ayako bounced in place, before stopping as something occurred to her. "Do you think he's changed much?"

"In character?"

"No, in appearance." Ayako said seriously. "I heard teenage boys can have massive growth spurts over the summer. What if he's become a full head taller than us now?"

"Would that be such a problem?" Sakura smirked slyly, seeing nothing wrong with that particular picture.

"No." Ayako shook her head after a moment of thought. "Not at all. I'm just curious."

"You'll find out soon enough anyway." Rin cut in with an irritated voice, though she didn't sound as acerbic as she usually did whenever the other two were discussing their boyfriend. "Now, are you going to get a move on or what? I'm waiting here."

"Right away, Rin."

"We're coming, Nee-san."

It was a nice evening in Fuyuki, only two days after the Wraith had been defeated, and the trio was back at the Emiya-estate.

After the Wraith had 'died', consumed by Angra Mainyu, the haze of shadows in front of the cavern's exit had fallen away, allowing the group to leave the mountain again, taking Hiroko along with them.

According to detective Osaki, Hiroko would not be prosecuted for the murder of Carlton Paris and the attempted murders of Ayako and himself. Not only would they have a hard time proving it, but it has also been mostly the Wraith's manipulations that had brought her to that point.

The detective had had a harder time though deciding what to do with the fact that Hiroko had willingly and consciously murdered her own father several years ago, without any influence from the Wraith, but in the end, with some prompting from Sakura and Ayako, he'd decided not to do anything with that either, or at least, nothing official.

He would however be informing Maita Rei of everything what had happened, up to and including the fact that Paris had been the descendant of an Incubus, that her daughter, influenced by a Wraith, had been the one to murder him, and that Hiroko had murdered her own father, Rei's husband, as well. He was even going to include the Magecraft-related parts.

Rin hadn't been very happy with the prospect of yet another person in her city knowing about Magecraft, but considering the Maita-family was apparently strangely magic-resistant, indicating they had already a relation with the Moonlit World of their own, she'd accepted that Rei had a right to know.

That Yomaura had promised to take responsibility and keep an eye on the Maita-family had completely pulled the black-haired girl over the line.

Through the combined efforts of Yomaura and Rin, Sakura's injuries had already mostly been fixed. Not fully, as the bones hadn't yet healed properly and there were still gashes in her flesh, but enough that the wounds weren't too debilitating. With enough time and rest, she would eventually recover completely.

Well, it would only take two days and then Shirou would be back to heal her, but still.

As for the Grail, it had completely settled down again, and was once more passively absorbing Magical Energy from the leyline running below the mountain. There was no trace left of the fact that there was an evil god hiding in there, yet even so, none of the girls would ever go near the cavern again if it wasn't absolutely necessary.

To put it very mildly, they had been spooked badly by what they had seen there.

The good side of the whole episode was that Rin no longer had any problem with the prospect of dismantling the thing. In fact, if she'd known a way to do it, she would already have been working on it, heritage or not. The Grail was just too evil now to be allowed to exist anymore.

Unfortunately, there was no way to dismantle the Grail outside of a Grail War. To try and mess with the construct while it was on non-active absorbing mode would be the same as messing with an overcomplicated bomb that was one wrong tap away from going off.

Perhaps Shirou would be able to think of something, but even with his powers, the chance of that happening was low. If they wanted to do something, it would have to be during the next Grail War.

Fortunately, they still had around fifty years to prepare.

However, despite the fact that Rin had now come to see that dismantling the Grail was indeed very necessary for the safety of the world, she still wasn't happy that Sakura and Ayako had kept its corruption quiet from her for so long.

The girls had properly apologised already, and they had genuinely good reasons for their silence, so Rin wasn't too angry, but she'd still demanded some form of recompense from them.

Which was why she was currently seated in a chair at the dining table in the living room of the Emiya-estate, a rich assortment of plates and cutlery in front of her, while Ayako and Sakura were wearing their maid outfits, made to serve her every whim.

One evening during which the girls had to do everything Rin said while wearing those outfits. That was the compensation Rin had demanded, something the other two girls had complied with without fuss.

Of course, Rin had first made several 'adjustments' to the maid outfits. For one, she had used Alteration to make the skirts briefer, a lot briefer. As they hadn't been very long to begin with, that meant they barely came past the girls' hips now, giving Rin an excellent view of their panties –they had been made to wear the sexy ones– with every other step.

Furthermore, the bodices were a lot looser, greatly enhancing the girls' cleavage, especially when they reached out to grab something off the table, which Rin thus made them do as often as possible. The fact that they didn't wear bras –those didn't go with the maid outfits to begin with, as the bodice was supposed to fulfil that role– made it even worse for them.

Lastly, as a coup de grace, Rin had made them wear collars around their necks and wrists, giving the scene an even more erotic tint that it already had.

Frankly, Sakura was deeply impressed by her sister's creativity, and had made copious mental notes, while Ayako was smiling naughtily at the thought of serving Shirou like this. Both agreed that they should have Rin take a look at their other outfits too.

The thought of what that devious girl would be able to do with their teacher outfits, nurse outfits, and office lady outfits was extremely appealing.

"You know, I had expected you two to be a little more embarrassed now." Rin groused after a few minutes, during which Sakura and Ayako had served her a few cups of tea, the appetisers, and the first course of the meal. "But you aren't even blushing."

"Why would we be embarrassed? These outfits are amazing." Ayako laughed, twirling in place, allowing her skirt to flip up for several long seconds, giving the other two a perfect view of her maroon-coloured panties. "Besides, the only others here are people I love, so it's no problem at all."

"O-Oh." Rin was visibly taken aback by that, before she smiled wickedly. "Then would you mind getting me something from the store real quick? I just noticed I forgot to buy soap yesterday."

"Ah, n-now that would be embarrassing." Ayako muttered, her hands promptly pulling her skirt down, as the thought of strangers seeing her like this quickly doused her enthusiasm. "Please don't make me do that."

"Nee-san." The glare Sakura gave her sister was utterly withering, and more than enough to get the girl to relent in an instant.

"I was joking of course! I'm not going to share this sight with anyone else!" She immediately held up her hands in surrender, and Ayako let out a sigh of relief. "A-Anyway, h-how is your arm, Sakura?"

It was a desperate attempt at a distraction, but it proved successful.

"My arm is fine." Sakura said, before rotating her shoulder a few times, proving that she could still move it. "A little stiff, and it does hurt a bit, but nothing I cannot handle."

Most of her upper arm and shoulder were still encased in bandages, hiding the fact that the skin underneath looked like someone had taken a cheese grater to it. Rin and Yomaura had, as said before, done their very best, but there was a limit to what Magical Healing could do for a wound caused by the bite of a Phantasmal Creature.

Sakura was dealing with it as best as she could, and she tried to stay positive, but those bandages were still a very clear reminder of the fact that she could have died if her Magical Energy hadn't proven to be a poison to the Wraith.

That it was crystal clear that Sakura was massively downplaying the pain she was feeling only made it worse, and every time Rin and Ayako saw her wince in discomfort, it became a little harder to feel bad about what had happened to the Wraith.

"Don't strain yourself." Rin cautioned her, having already completely forgotten that her question was only supposed to be a distraction. "If the wound opens up again…"

"I won't strain it, Nee-san." Sakura promised, giving her sister a reassuring smile. "I carry all weight with my right arm, and nothing with my left. It's a bit inconvenient sometimes, but I'll manage somehow."

"Just two more days and then Shirou will be able to fix it." Ayako said, in an effort to comfort Sakura as well as herself, before she almost automatically picked up her phone, which she had placed in a nearby closet, as her current outfits had no pockets.

"Emiya-kun is at the trials now, you cannot call him." Rin admonished her, before holding out her hand. "Give me that thing."

Ayako meekly obeyed, stepping closer and placing the phone in Rin's hand. Rin studied it for a moment, unable to hide the glimmer of interest in her eyes, before she turned towards Sakura…

And inserted the phone into her cleavage.

"O-Oh." Sakura blinked in surprise, looking down at the phone, which was now securely held between her boobs.

"You might as well make those honkers useful somehow." Rin groused, as Sakura had by far the largest breasts of the three of them. "That thing stays there until the end of the evening."

"I-I understand." Sakura smiled uncomfortably, before holding up a finger, trying to rally herself. "But remember, Nee-san, it's not about their size, it's about the person they are attached to."

"That's easy for you to say." Rin snapped, before taking a deep breath to calm herself down. "Whatever. I finished eating the first dish you cooked for me. What else do you have?"

"Ah, right." Sakura perked up, before she rushed to the kitchen, where the main dish, a hearty stew with beef and various vegetables, was being kept warm on a low fire.

From there on, the main course was served, along with a few bite-sized snacks. It was followed eventually by the dessert, and lastly, a final, sweet drink. Then, Sakura and Ayako cleaned the table and washed the dishes, before they came to stand in front of their temporary mistress again.

"Is there anything else you'd like us to do?" Sakura asked, puffing out her chest, showing that she'd managed to keep Ayako's phone safely tucked away in her bosom so far.

"Nothing immediately comes to mind…" Rin trailed off, her face set in a pensive expression. Sunken in thought, she took a coin from her pocket and rubbed a few circles on it with her thumb, before, in a particularly bad show of acting, she 'accidentally' dropped it on the floor, where it rolled several metres away before coming to a stop. "Ah, drat. Sakura, can you pick up that coin for me?"

"Of course, Nee-san." The plum-haired girl nodded with some confusion, exchanging a quick look with Ayako, who shrugged, showing she didn't understand either.

She then walked up to the coin Rin had thrown on the ground, before preparing to pick it up…

"No bending your knees, Sakura."

"Huh? B-But, N-Nee-san-"

"No buts! More butts!" Rin cut her off. "Pick up that coin for me!"

"Oof." The plum-haired girl muttered, before she wrapped her arms around her midriff to ensure the phone wouldn't fall out from between her boobs, and then bent down, keeping her legs perfectly straight as she did so.

This had very predictable results for her skirt and the amount of coverage it could provide to her bottom.

Namely, no coverage at all, something Rin and Ayako eagerly took full advantage of, to the point where Sakura could almost feel their gazes burn into the flesh of her rear.

"Uhm, Nee-san. The coin is stuck." The plum-haired girl complained after a moment, futilely trying to pick up the coin, which for some reason refused to part with the floor.

"Of course it's stuck, I Enchanted it to remain glued to the ground." Rin huffed, the smug smile clearly audible in her voice.

"What?! But Nee-san-"

"It's nothing you can't pry loose with some effort. Just apply yourself a bit more." Rin instructed her, keeping her voice as innocent as possible. "Oh, but make sure the phone doesn't fall."

"Uuuh." Sakura whined, desperately trying to both keep the phone between her boobs and pry the coin off the floor, all while her panty-clad bottom was completely exposed to leering eyes.

"Now that is a sight for sore eyes." Ayako let out a soft whistle of appreciation, her tongue slowly wetting her lips as she studied her girlfriend's shifting rear end in great detail. "You are a depraved genius, Rin."

"Yes, I am." Rin agreed with an arrogant smile, also very much enjoying the sight. "What a view indeed. I'd say that if any boy from either of our schools saw this, they'd die in an instant."

"From the stimulation?"

"That, or because I'd kill them for staring at Sakura with their lustful eyes." Rin nodded, clenching her fist.

"This is indeed a sight we should hog to ourselves." Ayako was so absorbed in the wonderful view she didn't even react to Rin's violent rhetoric. In fact, she wholeheartedly agreed. The sight of Sakura's defenceless butt was not one to be shared with anyone but Shirou.

Eventually, it took Sakura another ten minutes to get the coin off the ground, ten minutes filled with numerous lecherous comments from the other two girls. By the time she put the coin back in Rin's hand, her face was completely red in embarrassment and her eyes were glowing with the desire to get even.

It was a glow that made goosebumps break out all over Rin's skin, and she suddenly deeply regretted pushing her sister that far.

"Now that you are here anyway, Nee-san, we have something for you." The tone of Sakura's voice was very dangerous, indicating there would be no negotiation, and Rin's eyes flitted to the door, wondering if she could make a break for it. Unfortunately, Ayako saw her look, and placed herself in the way, smiling innocently. "It's a gift you will like very much."

The plum-haired girl then retrieved something from the kitchen, a bundle of cloth, before she brought it to the table and laid it out before Rin.

It took the black-haired girl two seconds to realise what it was.

It was another copy of the maid outfits Sakura and Ayako were wearing, completely similar to theirs, down to the shortened skirt and the loose bodice. It even had the collars, as well as a set of lacy, red panties included.

It was also very clearly meant for her.

"When Shirou comes home in two days, Sakura and I want to wear these outfits to give him a proper first dinner back home." Ayako purred into her ear. "We would be honoured if you would join us."

"I-I…"

"Don't even think about refusing." Sakura purred into her other ear. "You always talk so much about wanting to pay him back for everything he's done for you, you would be a hypocrite and liar to skip this wonderful opportunity."

"You know you want it, Rin." Ayako giggled, and Rin almost jerked when the brunette stroked her cheek with a fingertip. "You want it badly."

"Just a try won't hurt, would it?" Sakura agreed. "Just wear it for Senpai, and see how it makes you feel. I promise you will love it."

"Not to mention we are his girlfriends, Rin." Ayako smirked like a cat on the prowl who'd just seen a mouse. "Yet here you are, doing perverted things to us without even asking for his permission. Are you not ashamed of yourself? How are you going to repay Shirou for this, Rin?"

"I-" Rin still desperately tried to come up with something, anything, to assert herself again, but as the other two smirked confidently at her and her mind remained blank, she slowly came to a horrible conclusion.

The battle about whether she'd have to wear the costume or not…

She had lost it the moment she failed to reject the idea from the very beginning.

Instead, she had listened to them, allowed them to make argument after argument as they wore down at her resolve, and now, it was all over for her.

"Glad you see it our way, Nee-san." Sakura smiled beautifully once she saw Rin had capitulated. "I have no doubt you'll look beautiful in this."