5,182A Warm Working Welcome
It was unusually busy in the office of the Vice Director. Busy to the point where the small but functional room was actually getting a bit cramped.
In total, there were no fewer than eleven people present, an unprecedented number, consisting of friends old and new, all of whom were more or less feeling in over their heads.
For Goredolf Musik, heir of the Musik-family, it was the first time he'd ever been invited into the queen's private quarters, the first time that any member of his family had been granted such a massive honour. Rather than feeling actually honoured or flattered however, he was quaking in his boots, trembling in fright under the displeased stare of the office's owner, Lorelei Barthomeloi herself.
Lorelei was a bit irked with Goredolf, who'd dared to brazenly assault someone she cared about. In the end, no one had gotten hurt, which is why she hadn't actually taken any action against him nor planned to, but she still gave him a cross look whenever their eyes met.
What she didn't realise though was that even a mildly annoyed glare from her was enough to make any average Magus quiver in terror. She was putting the fear of God into poor Goredolf, whilst completely unaware of it.
After about a minute though, Emiya Shirou, better known at the Clocktower as Shirou Fujimaru, gently nudged her in the side to get her to stop glaring at the poor man already. He'd long since forgiven Goredolf for attacking him, or perhaps it was more accurate to say that he'd never blamed him for anything to begin with, and it wasn't right to continue subjecting the man to such terror.
Meanwhile, Ophelia Phamrsolone tried to make herself as small and unassuming as possible, hoping fervently no one would pay attention to her. If she'd possessed any kind of Magecraft that rendered her invisible, she would have used it right away to escape any possible probing looks. It wouldn't have mattered much, not with Shirou and Lorelei present, but she would have tried all the same.
Tohsaka Rin on the other hand made no effort whatsoever to hide herself. She'd claimed one of the few chairs in the office from the moment she'd entered and was now looking at the byplay between Shirou, Lorelei, and Goredolf with great interest and amusement.
Waver Velvet had also been invited, and although he had many questions for just about everyone in the room, he held his silence for now, waiting for the Vice Director to speak first, as was proper. Instead of talking, he spent his time observing both Ophelia and Goredolf, the former of whom he was not familiar with and the latter of whom he hadn't expected to ever encounter in lady Barthomeloi's office.
Grey went wherever Waver went, and the office of the Vice Director was no exception. She was standing slightly behind and to the side of him, trying to look just as contemplative and serious as he did, with mixed results.
Kayla, Sidonus, and Jonah were perhaps the most surprising guests of all, considering they were Executors of the Burial Agency and thus not welcome in the Clocktower, let alone the office of its queen, but the situation was so unusual that an exception had been made for them, just this once.
The last and final guest was Mirei Montmorency, and she at least did belong in the office of the Vice Director, considering how often she visited it. She was sitting on the third and last chair, having quickly claimed it for herself, both because she was the oldest person in the room and thus not capable of standing upright for a significant amount of time, and because she would surely have fallen over if she hadn't been sitting down already.
Fallen over from how hard she was laughing.
"Bwahahahahahaha! Hahahahahaha!"
She couldn't help it. The whole situation was just too hilarious, from Ophelia suddenly grassing on her parents to the Phamrsolone's ill-fated attempt at fleeing the scene of their crime to Goredolf completely misreading the situation, which had led to him body-slamming a Sorcerer.
There was nothing dignified about her loud belly-laugh, and many Magi would probably have pursed their lips in disapproval had they been present to see it, but Mirei didn't care. She was too old to care about such irrelevant matters. The situation was hilarious, so it deserved to be laughed about, regardless of what some overly stuffy Magi might think.
Not that there were any stuffy Magi present in the first place. The office was full of mavericks and outcasts, who barely batted an eye at her unabashed expression of hilarity. To some, her laughter was even a bit infectious, and before long, Rin and Jonah were chuckling as well, and even Waver cracked a smile at the plight of his two friends.
As for the objects of ridicule themselves, Shirou and Goredolf, they bore being the centre of such attention with varying degrees of acceptance. While Shirou, who was quite used to being laughed at, mostly ignored it, smiling laconically, Goredolf was slowly turning both red and white, feeling entirely affronted by being laughed at yet not brave enough to say anything about it.
Fortunately for them, lady Barthomeloi's patience had a definite limit, and that limit had just about been reached.
"Enough." She practically barked, her voice bereft of any hint of amusement or approval, and everyone, Mirei included, fell silent right away, not even moving a muscle anymore. "I did not invite you all here for your amusement. Control yourselves, or depart at once."
She coupled her warning with a glare at everyone who had been laughing, giggling, or chuckling, and most of them quickly looked away in submission. Mirei though only held up her hands in mock-surrender, but she did acknowledge that her boss was right.
"I suppose I might as well kick off this meeting then." She said, her demeanour now entirely serious, as she recognised when enough was enough. "To put it bluntly, we have a big mess on our hands again, and once more, we find you at the centre of it all, Shirou. You're quite the troublemaker, aren't you?"
"Not by choice!" The troublemaker in question protested. He'd only intended to travel to the Clocktower and meet up with a few old friends, not to suddenly get involved in yet another dark plot. "I am a victim of circumstance!"
"As you all know, Gladstone and Hermione Phamrsolone were arrested several hours ago by the Department of Policies." Mirei completely ignored him however, as did everyone else, causing him to deflate. "Gladstone for colluding with the Dead Apostle Ancestors and Hemione for aiding and abetting her husband's treason. These are capital crimes, and it is unlikely either of them will be able to avoid the death penalty after they've been interrogated."
As one, everyone present in the room glanced at Ophelia Phamrsolone, the daughter of the individuals mentioned, and they noticed, to varying degrees of surprise, that she looked quite satisfied with that outcome.
"I doubt it will be as straightforward as you claim." Waver couldn't resist being a smartass though, tempering everyone's expectations. "Gladstone Phamrsolone is currently the chairman of the Neutral Faction, and I doubt they will silently accept the capture of yet another of their leaders by the Department of Policies so soon after the Meluastea's downfall. They will claim, with seemingly reasonable grounds, that Policies is purposefully and unjustly targeting them, and that their leader should be returned to them at once."
"It's not our fault they keep picking bad leaders though." Shirou protested, understanding Waver's point of view yet not seeing why they should care.
"Indeed, and let's not forget that Gladstone was actively spying on them for the Dead Apostle Ancestors." Mirei nodded in agreement. "Not on the Aristocratic Faction or the Democratic Faction, but on his own people. He is a traitor of the highest order. It is highly unlikely they'll want to protect him once they learn of that."
"They are Magi. They'll be happy to see him die, the more painful the better." Jonah huffed, which the rest could only agree with, knowing full well of the ruthlessness of those who lived in the Moonlit World.
"You didn't let me finish. I'm not saying that the Neutral Faction will protect Gladstone. I'm saying they'll want to kill him themselves." Apparently, Waver wasn't finished yet with his analysis of the situation, and the room's attention turned back to him. "I imagine that their foremost priority will be to extract their former leader from our hold and kill him before he can reveal any of their secrets. Perhaps they'll even skip the first step and just kill him in his cell."
"I'll double his security." Mirei realised Waver was entirely correct, and that measures needed to be taken immediately, making a note of it in her little agenda. "I'll have my most reliable men keep a sharp eye on him around the clock."
"Why?" Jonah asked, not quite understanding the need to protect Gladstone Phamrsolone. "Is there such a difference between him being executed or murdered? He'll die either way."
"Yes, he'll die either way, but we don't want him to die before we can interrogate him." Mirei explained, with all the patience of a good parent talking to a somewhat dim child. "He probably has a number of accomplices within the Magus Association, and we want to know who they are. To find out, we'll need time to thoroughly put him to the question. Time that the Neutral Faction doesn't want to give us."
"Ah, I see." Jonah nodded in understanding, having really benefited from the calm explanation. "Yeah, you should probably guard him then. He shouldn't bite it yet."
Shirou almost snorted at the reply. So Gladstone being murdered wasn't the problem. It was him being murdered too early. How very typical.
"Shall I go and make the arrangements then?" Mirei proposed, already set to leave, but both Lorelei and Waver shook their head. "Not?"
"No. You should absolutely make those arrangements at some point, but it is not so urgent you have to drop everything you are doing now." Waver assured her, gesturing that she could remain seated. "Unless I am very much mistaken, the Neutral Faction should as of yet be unaware of Gladstone's arrest."
"They are indeed, and I would like to keep it that way for as long as possible." Lorelei confirmed, her icy gaze still sending shivers down everyone's spines. "The only ones aware of his imprisonment are the arresting Enforcers and you all. Hence, to keep the secret, it is of the utmost importance that you are silenced."
"S-Silenced?" Goredolf squeaked out, turning an unhealthy puce. Lorelei didn't reply though, leaving the matter of explaining her reasoning to her right hand-woman.
"I put the Enforcers into a luxury suit in the Department of Policies, with all the booze, food, and amusement they could ever want, and a big pay check for when they leave again, in about a week or so." Mirei didn't need to explain it further. Everyone in the room, and the Enforcers in question too likely, realised that it was a royal bribe for them to stay out of the public eye for a while. "I cannot grant you the same however. Not only because you are important figures who will definitely be missed if you disappear for even a single day, but also because some of you aren't able to sit still for any length of time."
She looked right at Shirou as she said that, and the redhead, who by now was used to being slandered like that, very maturely stuck out his tongue at her in response.
It threw her for a fraction of a second, but then she smirked, as did Rin, which was a victory as far as he was concerned.
"S-So what exactly are you going t-to do with us instead? B-Because I can definitely go missing for a few days, no problem!" Goredolf wiped away a few drops of sweat with his elegant handkerchief, trying his hardest to put on a brave face. "C-Can Toole come with me?"
"I am not going to imprison you. You are free to go." Lorelei's expression could have been hewed from stone, that was how much emotion was visible in it. "Just know that if any of you reveal any of today's events to outsiders, and thereby sabotage the efforts to hunt down and crush the traitors who sold themselves to the Dead Apostle Ancestors, you will feel the full extent of my wrath. They'll be finding your bodies for at least three months, two of which you will be alive for."
Coming from her, that was a harsh threat, and a highly effective one, judging by the reactions from the group.
From Waver and Sidonus, whose expressions had gone completely still, to Grey, Ophelia, and Rin, who looked at Lorelei with a mixture of fear and awe, and finally to Goredolf, who appeared to have fainted where he stood.
None of them would say anything, even under the pains of death. That was certain.
Though frankly, Shirou was pretty sure Lorelei was exaggerating. She was not the kind of woman who would keep someone alive for months just to torture them. Kill them, sure, but she was no sadist. In fact, he was pretty sure she hated seeing people in pain.
Much like himself, actually.
But then, pretty much everyone knew that already, except for poor Goredolf of course.
"Even with our cooperation, it is impossible to keep something of this magnitude silent for long." Waver's voice was entirely steady, with no hint that he'd just been horribly threatened. Likely, he'd gotten so much of that from his own teacher, his Servant, Gilgamesh, and even Kiritsugu that it barely bothered him anymore. "I give you two, perhaps three days before the entire Clocktower knows that you have arrested Gladstone Phamrsolone."
"Then that will have to be enough." Lorelei replied calmly, linking her fingers together beneath her chin as her ominous aura dissipated. "I expect doctor Kix won't need more than one for the interrogation."
An ominous declaration, and while Shirou was a bit concerned for a moment that this doctor was going to use torture, Lorelei suddenly took the effort to give him a glance. To most people, her expression wouldn't have meant anything, but Shirou saw immediately that she meant to reassure him.
She knew about his dislike of torture, and she had accounted for that.
Truly, she was a wonderful person.
"As persons of interest in this investigation, you will all be kept apprised of its progress, although I must admit that I am not certain what to do with you three." Lorelei looked at the three Executors present in her office, her steely gaze changing into a much calmer frown. "While your contribution to the investigation has been invaluable, the fact remains that you are enemy forces on my territory. In light of your accomplishments, I shall extend your welcome at the Clocktower until Gladstone's execution, but I would much prefer you departed immediately."
"We understand, but we cannot leave just yet." Kayla shook her head in the negative, even though she looked like she also wanted nothing more than to go home already. "We started this, and we have to see this through to the end. We're not going anywhere until Gladstone Phamrsolone and all his accomplices have been vanquished. If you say we are still welcome here, we'll gladly take you up on that offer, my lady."
"Very well." Lorelei's nod was minute, but it did not seem overly reluctant. "I will not insult you then by keeping you on the sidelines. I shall treat you like my own people and put you to work again. There is much to be done and more helping hands are always welcome."
"They sure are." Mirei agreed wholeheartedly.
"R-Right. We, uhm, we look forward to our continued cooperation." Kayla didn't sound quite sure of herself, but she looked keen enough to stay a part of the action, just like Sidonus. Jonah on the other hand seemed as if he'd frankly prefer to be locked up in a luxurious suit with Goredolf to laze around for a few days, but he was ignored.
"Leave us then. The remaining discussions are not meant for your ears. Report back to your bishop and tell him about your success. Your marching orders will be given soon."
"By your leave."
The Executors, recognising when it was time for an honourable retreat, quickly left the room as ordered, and the office was left with eight people in total.
"Would you permit me a question before you continue?" Waver spoke up before Lorelei could, and while he normally would have taken a puff of his cigar, he currently wasn't smoking, so he could only rub his chin in a somewhat awkward motion.
"Ask."
"I am still not sure why I was invited. As far as I can tell, there was no need to involve me, especially if secrecy is of the utmost importance, so, why am I here at all?"
"We value your insight, lord El-Melloi, especially in matters of such significance." The corners of Lorelei's lips almost quirked upwards, but no one except Shirou seemed to have noticed it. "Additionally, Fujimaru is still your apprentice, which means you are to be involved in matters that concern him, and you are known to be a friend of lord Goredolf, who also meddled in this sensitive affair, in a rather overt manner."
It was a surprisingly diplomatic way of saying that Goredolf had tried to knock Shirou senseless over a misunderstanding, but since everyone understood what it meant, there was no need to go into any further detail.
"Not to mention that the coming conflict between the Aristocratic Faction and the Neutral Faction will affect you disproportionally, considering your lordship over three of our departments." Mirei added. "It's only fair to give you a warning."
"And so it is." Waver inclined his head, accepting their reasoning. "I have received your warning loud and clear, so if you do not mind, I shall take my leave as well, and prepare for what might come our way. I have much to do and see no reason to stay any longer. Might I be excused?"
"Granted. Take care, lord El-Melloi."
"And you, lady Barthomeloi. Shirou, we shall speak later, when you are finished here."
Waver left the office as well, with Grey trailing behind him, as always.
Then there were only six.
"As for you." Finally, Lorelei turned to Ophelia, who promptly sat at attention. She'd been keeping a brave face for the past hour, much braver than could realistically be expected of her, but Shirou didn't miss how her hands trembled in fright and sweat drops slowly rolled down her temples in anticipation of the coming verdict. "You have my utmost gratitude."
"…Eh?"
"Bringing Gladstone Phamrsolone to justice would have been much harder without your courage and your determination to do what is right. You have done a great service to the Department of Policies and indeed the Magus Association as a whole."
The Vice Director graced Ophelia with a smile of approval, and everyone else in the office nodded or smiled themselves that Ophelia's heroic deeds were being praised appropriately.
The young woman herself was mainly confused however. She'd expected to be scolded or condemned for being a daughter of two traitors, to be sentenced to prison or forced labour at best and to a slow death by vivisection at worst. Never had it even occurred to her that she might be praised instead.
"You're not going to work me to death?" The question slipped out before she could stop it, and although she immediately regretted her audacity, she did find some solace in the confusion that her question generated.
"Certainly not." The Vice Director's response was immediate and clear, and a massive relief.
"Unless you have committed crimes yourself of course." Shirou interjected, drawing her attention towards him. "Have you committed any crimes?"
"N-No."
"Have you aided or abetted your parents' crimes?"
"I-I have not."
"Have you done anything else that demands punishment under the law?"
"I… don't think so." Ophelia was far from an expert on legal matters, or indeed on anything at all, so she couldn't answer with any surety, but she didn't recall breaking any laws.
"Then it's all fine, isn't it." The Sorcerer smiled, apparently taking her at her word.
"It is indeed." Lady Barthomeloi agreed, giving Ophelia a look that the young woman found hard to discern, though it seemed more positive than negative. "Rest assured that you will not be punished for the misdeeds of your family, and that you be royally compensated, sheltered, and shielded from all possible fall-out of your brave deeds."
The elder brunette concluded her promise with a small yet kind smile, one that spoke of appreciation and reassurance, and everyone still in the office nodded or smiled in approval again.
Everyone except Ophelia herself.
"Fall-out?" For a moment, the girl's face was the very picture of confusion, showing she had no clue what the Vice Director was talking about, but when everyone turned to her in surprise, she realised she had just erred and needed to do something, fast. "Oh, yes, of course! T-The fall-out! T-Thank you, my l-lady! F-For shielding me from it!"
It was a brave attempt to salvage the situation, but it was too little, too late. Her ignorance of her situation had been put on full display. It was obvious now that rather than taking a calculated risk, she had reported her parents to the authorities seemingly on impulse, unaware of the consequences she might face for turning on her own family like she had.
She had outed herself as a naïve, foolish girl who had not thought things through as much as she should have, and she knew it, judging by the way she wilted under the stares aimed at her.
"You seem confused. Do you need clarification on certain matters before we continue?"
Rather than mocking her for her ignorance however, Lorelei gave her a gentle and understanding look, keeping her expression open and her voice pleasant to show that Ophelia was entirely free to ask for an explanation. They didn't know her circumstances, so it was unreasonable to have too high expectations of her.
Besides, she was far from the only Magus-scion who'd had a lacking education. Magi who saw their children as tools generally didn't teach them very well.
The fact that the Vice Director could be so gentle seemed a great shock to Goredolf and Ophelia, but not to Shirou and Mirei, who knew her well enough to know that she had a surprisingly big heart, or to Rin, whose knowledge of Lorelei came entirely from Shirou's accounts.
As surprised as she was though, Ophelia seemed to gain heart from that open expression, sufficiently so that she dared to indeed ask a question.
"…I knew, w-when I gave mister Jonah the evidence, that my parents might get angry with me, w-would get angry with me, but they are locked up." She muttered, doing her very best to meet the Vice Director's eyes. "Who else would attack me? I can't think of anyone, except maybe…"
In a sudden flash of clarity, Ophelia realised the answer to her question herself, sucking in a shocked breath when she finally understood who she would need shelter and protection from.
"My family." She breathed out.
"Your family." Lorelei agreed. "The Phamrsolone-family will not forgive you for turning against them, and they will almost certainly try to have their revenge on you should the opportunity ever present itself. Worse than that, the Neutral Faction won't appreciate your meddling either. They will see you as a coward at best and a traitor at worst. Now that you have cost them their chairman, they will be most wroth with you indeed."
Ophelia swallowed audibly, turning an unhealthy pale, but Rin frowned in slight confusion.
"Is there a problem, miss Tohsaka?" Lorelei spotted the frown immediately, and since she was in a talkative mood, allowed Rin to explain herself.
Of course, being addressed so suddenly by the Queen of the Clocktower herself, the very woman who was supposed to become her direct mentor and sponsor, startled Rin something bad. She managed to hide it extremely well though, to the point where Shirou didn't think anyone but him had seen her stumble, and when she replied, her voice was steady as a rock.
"Won't the Neutral Faction see the downfall of their chairman as a good thing? Now that guy is out of the way, his position is up for grabs. They'll like that, won't they?"
It seemed logical to the black-haired girl, who had been raised with the idea that all Magi were ruthless social climbers without any semblance of loyalty or companionship, that the lords and Magi of the Neutral Faction would be delighted with their chairman's sudden bad fortune. However, reality was, as almost always, a bit more complicated than that.
"Had they removed him from power themselves, for clear and valid reasons, I imagine they would indeed see it as a good thing that his position is 'up for grabs', as you put it. It would be an internal matter within the Faction, in which they hold all the power. A game, if you will, though one with high stakes." Mirei took over from her boss to explain the intricacies of Clocktower-politics to Rin. "But he was betrayed by a relative and arrested by the Department of Policies, by outsiders whom they cannot control. They will see it as a dead-serious attack on the entire Neutral Faction, and nothing brings people together faster than a common enemy. They will bend the truth to their will, and turn that wretch Gladstone into a martyr, and Ophelia into a cruel backstabber."
"Right, yes, I suppose I know what you mean." Being a perfect idol, Rin was well-aware of the human tendency to make sharp distinctions between people inside their group and people outside of it, and Magi were still people, no matter how much some of them wanted to deny it. "Yeah, I'm sorry, miss Phamrsolone, but they're going to tear you apart."
"Rin, please do not make Ophelia any more worried than she already is." Seeing that the young woman wasn't looking too healthy, Shirou placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to provide some comfort. "I'm sure Lorelei has a plan to avoid such an outcome."
"Lorelei?" Ophelia muttered, though so quietly that even Shirou didn't hear it.
"I do." The Vice Director confirmed, her obvious lack of worry easing the tension in the room. "The next two days are crucial. We can operate without overt resistance as long as Gladstone Phamrsolone's arrest remains a secret. He shall be put to the question, and meanwhile, Ophelia Phamrsolone will have to disappear."
"…Disappear?" That word was often used as a euphemism for killing someone, and Ophelia clearly didn't much like to hear it from a woman who was known for being ruthless and immensely heavy-handed in everything she did.
"Lady Montmorency?" Fortunately for her, it wasn't Lorelei who was in charge of making her disappear, and the Queen of the Clocktower gestured at her right hand-woman instead.
"You will be given a new name and a new identity. You will spend the coming six months as an unremarkable clerk working deep inside the Department of Policies. You will not be mentioned in any official pieces or reports. To the outside world, you'll be declared missing, and if necessary, we'll create a few fake trails for your enemies to pursue." Mirei quickly summed up, and judging from how rehearsed the words sounded, it wasn't the first time she'd done something like this. "Once the six months are over, we'll see about reassigning you to an isolated research base on the other side of the world. You'll be safe there."
"And I'll have to stay there forever?" Ophelia asked, not seeming terribly enthusiastic about that, though at the same time, not entirely opposed to it either.
"That depends on whether your involvement can be kept a secret, and to what extent you will be blamed for your father's downfall. Should we manage to obscure your role entirely, such drastic measures will not be necessary. For now, we will err on the side of caution however, and we hope you'll cooperate."
"I will!" Ophelia didn't have to think twice about that. She was away from her parents and their experiments, she wasn't going to be executed or vivisected, and Policies was going to protect her from assassination. It was a better outcome than she'd dared hope for. "Thank you so, so much!"
"Oh, uh, no problem." The unabashed expression of gratitude took Mirei aback a little, but she soon smiled again at the young woman. "You must keep a low profile, and because of that, neither lady Barthomeloi nor me can be seen speaking with you. Any and all contact between us will have to happen through middlemen. It is still not ideal, but it is the best that we can do on such short notice."
"Reliable middlemen, I hope?" Shirou asked, already able to envision how a single mole could ruin the entire operation with just one wrong word to the wrong person.
"All my middlemen are reliable, although… if you are not certain…" For a moment, Mirei looked pensive, before she nodded. "Yes, it might be best if you took that role upon you."
"Me?"
"Among the Magi of the Clocktower, you are known as a social and friendly individual who speaks to anyone who is at least half-decent. You have a lot of friends and acquaintances in a lot of places, most of whom are around your age. No one would look twice if you got yourself another friend. In fact, it might even grant a layer of protection for Ophelia here, as people are generally disinclined to investigate a Sorcerer's associate too closely."
"Well, if you put it like that, how can I refuse?" Shirou had to admit he was flattered. Hearing that he was apparently considered to be very approachable at the Magus Association was a stark and welcome contrast to his outsider-status at Homurahara.
"I am counting on you then, Shirou." Lorelei nodded. "Hide her for tonight. Tomorrow, we shall have her new identity ready for her."
"Shirou?" Goredolf mimed in shock, though so silently that not even the redhead heard him.
"Well, you heard the lady." The redhead still had his hand on Ophelia's shoulder, and he gave it a light squeeze, grinning widely when she turned to him with eyes full of wonder. "I'm looking forward to getting to know you, my newest friend."
"F-Friend?" Ophelia's mouth fell open in astonishment, and Shirou laughed at the sight, before he turned back to Lorelei with a confident grin.
"Leave this one to me."
"Excellent. With that matter settled, there is only one topic left for us to discuss." Lorelei's eyes had softened over the past few minutes, especially when she looked at Shirou, but now they hardened again, as she turned towards Goredolf. "Lord Goredolf, as a result of your brazen actions, you now hold information far beyond your clearance level or your ability to handle. On top of that, you assaulted a Sorcerer, my ally. This time, I shall let you off with only a warning, but in the future, I strongly advise that you think before you act."
"…"
Goredolf Musik was forgiven for his improper conduct, in large part because Lorelei knew that Shirou didn't want anyone to be punished on his account, but it was doubtful that the moustached Magus had heard that properly, because he had once again fainted where he stood.
It was a very odd contrast, between Goredolf coming to the defence of a helpless girl and bravely fighting with someone so much stronger than him on one side, and him fainting from a stern talking to on the other, and neither Shirou nor Lorelei knew what to do with that.
"I think he got the message." Mirei laughed, while Shirou Projected a chair for Goredolf to sit on. "An interesting man, in more ways than one."
That, Shirou could only agree with.
"Leave us now. Lady Montmorency and I have much to arrange now that the investigation into Gladstone Phamrsolone has reached its final stages. Regrettably, I have no time available to speak with you at the moment." Lorelei explained, with a faint note of apology in her eyes. "I will welcome you properly at the earliest opportunity, Shirou, miss Tohsaka."
"That's alright. We're going to have to unpack our luggage first anyway." Shirou didn't mind a slight delay, and neither did Rin, as she realised very well that Vice Directors had many important matters to see to and sometimes had to prioritise. "Until next time, Lorelei."
"Until next time, Shirou."
Their goodbyes said, they both turned away, and Shirou led Rin, Ophelia, and poor Goredolf out of her office.
Then there were only two.
A much more sensible number.
"Well, that was terrifying." Rin grinned when they were out of the office. She'd kept herself impressively strong throughout the meeting, but now that they were in the clear, she sagged in exhaustion, and when she took Shirou's hand, he could feel how she squeezed harder than she normally would. "Exhilarating too, and funny, but mainly terrifying."
"Was it? I thought it went pretty well."
"Yeah, Shirou, I noticed, and so did everyone else, with you calling the Vice Director by her first name every two minutes." Rin huffed, giving him a cross look. "But for everyone who isn't you, it was scary, alright? Especially when she threatened us to keep us quiet. I thought I'd faint on the spot."
"Right." Shirou inclined his head, accepting the mild rebuke. It was certainly true that Lorelei had been rather harsh during the meeting, and that people who weren't used to her mannerisms might be intimidated by that. When they'd first met, Shirou had been intimidated by her too, so he had no right to speak. Nevertheless, he did feel the need to correct any possible preconceptions about the Vice Director before Rin really got the wrong idea about her. "She's… she's not usually like that, I promise."
"She is though." Goredolf, who had accompanied them so far, gave him a look that suggested he was being ridiculous. "She's always like that. Every time the Aristocratic Faction holds a meeting, she is like that. I don't think she is ever not like that!"
"You exaggerate-"
"No, I do not. Goredolf Musik does not exaggerate. You are simply insane."
"Oi, there is no need to get personal-"
"Everyone else agrees with me!" Goredolf argued, gesturing not only at Rin, but at Ophelia too. "The Vice Director is terrifying, always! No exceptions! She's too powerful and intense and ruthless for us to comprehend! Us common folk can only fear her, and hope against hope that she'll take pity on us poor wretches! The fact that you cannot see that makes you patently insane!"
"Okay, that is simply not true." Shirou frowned deeply in irritation. Not about him being called insane, he couldn't deny that, but about Lorelei being described as some kind of horrid tyrant when she was only doing her utmost to make the best of a difficult situation. "She might come across as such to you, but have you ever seen her actually harm someone? Someone who wasn't a Dead Apostle Ancestor or a criminal?"
"Hehe." Goredolf turned back to him with gravity and aplomb, raising his finger with a smug grin on his face, all ready to give Shirou a long list of names of those who had been killed most brutally by Lorelei, but when he opened his mouth, he failed to produce any sound. For several long seconds, it remained painfully quiet, and soon, it was Shirou who smiled smugly while Goredolf flushed.
The fat Magus quickly glanced to the side, to Ophelia, for aid and support, but even though the young woman honestly did her best to help him think of anyone who had been killed unjustly by the Vice Director, she had no more success than him. In the end, she could only shrug her shoulders.
Rin did not help either. She was having way too much fun looking on as her boyfriend bullied someone, as evidenced by her proud grin.
"Alright, fine!" Let no one say that Goredolf was excessively stubborn to the point of stupidity, and he gave in when he realised he could not think of any acts of overt brutality on Lorelei's part. "Maybe, and I mean maybe, she is not as bad as I said. Still, your girl was absolutely right when she said that the Vice Director is terrifying. Don't make light of our experiences just because yours are different."
"Yes, you have a point. I'm sorry." Though Goredolf was overly dramatic and jumped to conclusions far too quickly, he was right in that Shirou shouldn't deny other people's feelings. "I hope you'll one day see though that there is nothing to fear about Lorelei."
"Unless I suddenly become a Sorcerer myself, that is unlikely." Goredolf basically dismissed the possibility out of hand, brushing it aside without a moment of thought. "You agree with me, don't you, Phamrsolone?"
"H-Huh?" Ophelia started at being addressed so suddenly, but she recovered fairly quickly. "I, uhm, I think she's… nice?"
It came out more as a question than as a statement, but since the Vice Director hadn't tortured or killed her, or even yelled at her or placed her under immense pressure, she could only conclude that the Queen of the Clocktower was a surprisingly nice person.
Goredolf gave her a disturbed look, before he turned to Rin. The black-haired girl had talked before about how terrifying the Vice Director was, so he hoped for some support from her.
"Lady Barthomeloi certainly is terrifying." Rin repeated what she'd said earlier, making him perk up hopefully. "But that doesn't mean she isn't nice. She promised to protect Ophelia when she didn't have to, and Shirou says she's kind. I trust first impressions, and I trust Shirou, so…"
She didn't have to finish her sentence to make it clear what she wanted to say, and Shirou promptly gave her a high-five, one she eagerly reciprocated.
"…You are all crazy." Goredolf concluded, his voice very serious indeed, before he turned around brusquely, clearly done with them all. "Toole, come! We are leaving. There's nothing more for us here."
"As you say, lord Goredolf." His faithful Homunculus-maid, who had waited patiently and discreetly in a corner of the hall while they had their short conversation, bowed deeply in response to his order, and she remained bowed until her master had stormed past. Then, she rose again, to address Shirou, Rin, and Ophelia. "Please forgive his mannerisms, my lord, my ladies. Ultimately, he means well. Even when he attacked you, lord Sorcerer, and even when he insulted you."
"There is nothing to forgive." Shirou shook his head, giving her a reassuring smile. "I know he acted out of the goodness of his heart when he came to Ophelia's defence in the garage, and his insults were born from confusion, not malice. He is… refreshingly honest."
"Refreshingly honest?" The maid cocked her head to the side, before she smiled as well. "Most would have called him rude or insolent. You argued with him to protect the Vice Director's reputation, but you are surprisingly kind yourself as well, aren't you, lord Fujimaru?"
"Call me Shirou, and I do try to be as nice as I can. I don't know if I always succeed though."
"Stop with the false modesty. Of course you are kind." Rin huffed, rolling her eyes, before she blushed a bit when he gave her a warm smile in return.
"TOOLE!"
"I hope you and my master will have a chance to speak again soon." Upon hearing the cry of her lord, the maid made to leave, but not before giving him one last glance. "He has very few friends, you see, while he is actually quite the social person. He could be a valuable and reliable companion if you gave him a chance."
Then she was off too, leaving Shirou standing in the hall with Rin and Ophelia, the latter of whom clearly had many questions she wanted to ask now that they had a moment alone. Questions that soon slipped out.
"Uhm, please forgive my curiosity, but who are you?" She asked Rin, whom she'd never met or even heard of before.
"My name is Tohsaka Rin, Tohsaka being my family name and Rin my personal name." The black-haired girl replied promptly, turning to the girl while quickly plastering on her idol-smile. "It is a pleasure to meet you, miss Phamrsolone. Or do you prefer Ophelia?"
"O-Ophelia, a-and you don't have to smile like that if you don't want to." The young woman might not be very world-wise or academically schooled, but as a child of two Magi, someone who had been involved often in her parents' affairs, she recognised fake smiles when she saw them, and Rin's smile was fake indeed.
"Yes, quite." Putting on her idol-smile had been a reflex more than a conscious decision, and Rin dropped it immediately. "Sorry about that, I meant no offense. I've just been smiling for so long now that it's become second nature to me."
"You say that as if it's a bad thing." Shirou remarked, reaching out and touching Rin's lips with the tips of his fingers. "I like it when you smile."
"Charmer." Rin smirked.
"I like it when you smirk too."
"Oh, stop it."
"And when you blush."
"I wasn't blushing!"
"I even like it when you're grumpy."
"Stop it!"
Rin was just too much fun to tease, and Shirou gladly indulged, thoroughly enjoying how she squirmed under his barrage of compliments.
That the black-haired girl was secretly enjoying this every bit as much as he did was the cherry on the already-delicious cake.
Poor Ophelia only looked confused at their casual flirting though.
"Are you… Are you lovers?" She asked, pure innocence dripping from every word.
"Yes. Rin is my fiancée."
The term 'girlfriend' held little meaning in the Moonlit World, so Rin and he had decided that they would openly announce their betrothal in an official capacity. To make it clear they were in a romantic relationship, and that he would unconditionally support her in her every action.
"C-Congratulations, b-but what about…?" Ophelia gulped once, glancing over at the office they'd just left, before looking back at the redhead, lowering her voice to a whisper. "What about lady Barthomeloi?"
"Oh, for the love of-!"
The fact that even this sheltered girl had heard of his supposed relationship with Lorelei made Shirou cast his eyes to the ceiling in desperation, unable to answer because he had to suppress a massive groan.
"If she can share, she's welcome too." Rin whispered back though, grinning when the other girl turned a beet red. "Anything else you want to know about us?"
"H-Huh? Oh, well, n-not right now, I think." Ophelia stuttered, shying away from the sordid details.
"No? Then let's talk about you. You're supposed to be in hiding after all, and we're the ones who are going to hide you. Isn't that right, Shirou?"
"It is, but you don't have to get involved if you don't want to, Rin. I made the promise, so it's my responsibility and mine alone."
"Oh, you fool." Rin shook her head, smiling fondly at him. "I'm your soon-to-be wife. It's my duty to support you, and support you I will. We can hide her in our room. We do have a room, don't we?"
"We certainly do. The same room I had last time in fact, in the Department of Modern Magecraft Theories. According to Waver, no one has taken or even entered it while I was away. Even my Bounded Fields are still in place."
It was hardly surprising. Very few individuals were brave or stupid enough to willingly enter the supposed Workshop of a Sorcerer without permission, and Waver wasn't going to allow any of those few individuals anywhere near his Department.
With the sole exception of Flat Escardos, but he was an isolated case.
"Then let's go." The black-haired girl ordered. "The journey to London was easy enough, but with everything that happened afterwards, I'm feeling a bit tired. I think I want to turn in for the night."
It was true that the sun had set quite a while ago, and that the fall-out of the sudden fight in the garage had taken a lot of time and energy. Furthermore, Rin wasn't one for complaining lightly, so when she said she was a bit tired, she meant she was exhausted. Hence, Shirou didn't waste any time in taking her arm to escort her to their room, Ophelia following closely behind.
"Oh, wait!" But the black-haired girl stopped again before they left the Department of Policies, turning to Ophelia. "If you're going to be a wanted woman, we can't have you walking out in the open. One moment."
She fished a gem out of her pocket, one infused with her Magical Energy but not yet attuned to any specific purpose, and muttered a quick spell, before handing it over the brunette.
"This will disguise you." She explained, and when Ophelia took it, her appearance changed indeed.
Her hair became a lighter shade of brown, her facial features became softer and more rounded, her eyes narrowed a tad, and her waistline increased a fair bit.
Just like that, she didn't look like Ophelia Phamrsolone anymore, but like someone else entirely.
"Nice work." Shirou complimented his ever-capable girlfriend.
"It was nothing." She humble-bragged, preening at his praise. "Ah, but do continue telling me how awesome I am."
He did exactly that, whispering sweet compliments into her ear on the walk to their room, with Ophelia trailing after them, doing her best not to listen, unsuccessfully.
When his whispers became sexually tinted however, she could no longer bear it, and she brusquely interrupted him with another question, about something Shirou had said earlier but never elaborated upon.
"Uhm, about what you said earlier, lord Fujimaru." She began loudly, drawing Shirou's attention away from admiring Rin's delectable bottom. "About… A-About, uhm, w-when you said… Uh W-When Lady Barthomeloi… T-That is… When she… A-And you…"
She found formulating the question to be most challenging however, stuttering and halting continuously, until she just fell silent in embarrassment.
Since her parents weren't exactly the most encouraging or permissive of people, Ophelia had long since learned to hold her tongue, to never ask questions, and just do as she was told. Hence, being open to other people was anything but natural for her.
Never before had she spoken up so brazenly to ask a possibly intrusive question, and it showed in how troubled she was.
"You can just call me Shirou, Ophelia." Shirou remained most kind however, slowing his pace. "And take your time. Try to formulate your question in your head before you say it out loud. Don't worry about its contents either, I promise I won't bite."
"That's true. He only bites me, when I ask him to." Rin winked at the brunette in a most salacious manner, and although said brunette gasped in shock, it did ease the tension just enough for her to blurt out her question.
"Did you mean it when you called me a friend earlier?!"
And that was the crux of the matter.
Ophelia, like most young people, was desperate for friends, people whom she could trust and confide in, who shared her hobbies and viewpoints in life, and could help her and be helped by her in turn in the journey to adulthood.
She'd never had a friend though. She didn't have anyone. Not a companion, compatriot, or a rival. Her parents had carefully kept her isolated, with such success that most Magi didn't even know that Gladstone and Hermione had had a child together.
So when Shirou called her his new friend, it made a deep impression on her.
To his credit, the redhead swiftly noticed as much.
"Of course I meant it. Anyone who is willing to go as far as you to bring criminals to justice is a friend of mine. Also, you seem nice enough." If he'd managed to befriend people like Svin and Flat, he could definitely befriend Ophelia, who seemed ten times kinder and a thousand times more polite than those two knuckleheads combined.
"I didn't do it for justice." Too honest for her own good, Ophelia promptly corrected him. "I-I turned in my parents for revenge, f-for what they did to me."
"Ah, but what is justice but another form of revenge?" Rin asked philosophically, before giggling when Shirou gave her a light push against her chin.
"Rin is overgeneralising, but she is not wrong. No matter your motives, you really helped a lot of people with your actions. You're definitely brave, and you have been nothing but kind so far, to everyone. I see absolutely no reason why we can't be friends."
Once again, Ophelia's first instinct was to deny it all. To tell him she wasn't brave, or kind, or worthy of being his friend.
"Nonsense." But she hadn't even spoken yet before Shirou huffed, waving his hand dismissively. "That doubt I see in your eyes, it has no place there. You should just believe me on my word. I'm never wrong about these things."
That made Rin burst out in laughter, and she had a hard time suppressing it, even when he gave her an unimpressed look.
"I… I-I…" Ophelia wanted to believe him, she desperately wanted to, and when she met his eyes again, and he nodded at her without a sliver of doubt, she allowed herself to believe. "T-Thank you, f-for having me."
"No thanks needed. It's a pleasure to have you with us. Now come. We have spent enough time in these halls. It's better if we don't linger for too long, considering the circumstances."
Once at their room, Shirou quickly ushered them inside, before he turned around and applied a few more Bounded Fields and Runes, just to be certain. The chambers had already been a fortress, and now they were even more so.
"I don't think anyone saw us together." He then said, looking a lot more serious than before. "Did you spot anyone looking at us, Rin?"
"No one. We managed to stay hidden on our way here." Rin too had lost her smile, as she carefully inspected the defences for any flaws or holes. "I cannot guarantee it of course, but so far, I think no one but us knows that Ophelia is staying here."
"Let's keep it that way, until you can get your new identity." Shirou told the young woman, who nodded in agreement. "I'm pretty sure I can repel anything the Magi here can throw at us, but I'd rather not put that to the test. For now, you'll have to stay inside when you're not wearing your disguise, until we can speak with Lorelei again."
"I understand." Frankly, being confined to a safe haven, away from her parents and together with her new friends, sounded just fine to Ophelia. Better than fine even. "Is… Is there anything I can do to repay you?"
"Don't worry about that. Just sit down and let me prepare a private room for you. Then I'll see about a simple dinner."
Shirou had been referring to his room in the Department of Modern Magical Theories as just 'a room', but it was much more than that. It actually consisted of multiple rooms linked together. There were two bathrooms, two separate workrooms, and no fewer than four bedrooms, all linked to the central drawing room, where they were now.
Plenty of space for the three of them.
"I'll be sleeping with you." Rin said immediately, receiving a thumbs-up from him in return.
Experienced as he was in householding, Shirou did not need long to prepare everything for the two ladies he now shared his chambers with. From the Vault, he took Rin's and his luggage, as well as general items for Ophelia, which he then put in the correct places. He made the beds, aired the sheets, dusted the furniture, and swept the floors, all in a few moments at most.
Before long, he was back in the drawing room.
"Now then, before I get started with the food, I think it is time for proper introductions." He said, turning to Ophelia. "As you know, my name is Shirou Fujimaru. Fujimaru is of course not my actual name, but it will do for now. My hobbies are cooking and messing around with electronic applications. As for my standing in the Clocktower, I am a Sorcerer and an unofficial member of the Aristocratic Faction."
"My name is Tohsaka Rin, or Rin Tohsaka here in Europe." His girlfriend then took over from him, bowing slightly to Ophelia. "I'm a Second Owner, from Japan, and I came here to learn under the Vice Director, who has most graciously agreed to take me on as her apprentice. I'm also this guy's fiancée. My hobbies are research and I suppose also gossiping."
It wasn't a lot of information, from either of them, but it was enough for now.
"M-My name is Ophelia Phamrsolone." Ophelia was the last to introduce herself, clumsily trying to mimic Rin's bow. "I am… I was a member of the Department of Spiritual Evocation, but I don't think I am anymore. M-My hobbies are…"
"Yes?" Rin gently prompted her when she fell silent.
"I don't really know." She admitted, realising that things such as 'eavesdropping on her parents' and 'enjoying Monday-morning' weren't actually proper hobbies.
"We understand." Fortunately for her, both Shirou and Rin were aware that children in the Moonlit World were often treated as little better than property, so they didn't pry. Instead, the redhead gently patted her shoulder in encouragement. "You'll have plenty of time to find a few once this whole matter has blown over."
"Which will hopefully be sooner rather than later." Rin added, crossing her arms. "Not just for your sake, Ophelia, but also because Shirou and I will be in a lot of trouble if we stay away from home for more than four weeks at most."
"With some luck, Lorelei will be able to see us tomorrow." Shirou assured them. "Maybe it'll take a bit longer if everything goes wrong unexpectedly, but if she takes too long, I'll go and see what's keeping her. I promise."
"Hm." Rin nodded in approval.
"How… How can you be so casual with the Vice Director?" Ophelia on the other hand appeared quite puzzled by nonchalant attitude towards the Queen of the Clocktower, a woman about whom she'd heard many terrible stories.
"With Lorelei? We're friends." Shirou explained, still ever so casually.
"F-Friends? O-Oh, I see." True friendships weren't unheard of in the Magus Association, but it was still rather rare for someone to openly express their true feelings like that. Furthermore, Shirou's claim actually contradicted a few rumours Ophelia had picked up on recently. "So you aren't… courting her?"
"No." Shirou's smile became rather pained, as if he'd had to deny such rumours far too often already. "I already have three girlfriends, so I am most certainly not courting her, nor is she courting me. Believe me, I have noticed nothing of the sort, so it isn't happening."
"Pfft!" That made Rin chortle again, as her drink nearly went down the wrong pipe.
"Alright, that's it!" Her constant laughing had gone too far, and Shirou rose, snatching the black-haired girl right up from her chair and throwing her onto a nearby couch.
"Kya!" Rin's squeak did not sound particularly intimidated though, which was further confirmed by her grin being as wide as ever.
"You are going to stop laughing." Shirou demanded.
"Or what?" She challenged him brazenly, in a way that would have most other Magi running for the hills in fear of being caught up in Shirou's retaliatory strike.
"Or I'll give you something to really laugh about." He threatened her.
"Huh?" Rin blinked in confusion.
"Huh?" Ophelia seconded that.
"Take this!" Then Shirou seized her by her sides, and began tickling her.
"AH!? AHA AHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHA!" Evidently, the black-haired girl was very ticklish, for she laughed uncontrollably in response, twitching and turning every which way in an attempt to get away from his fingers. "AHAHAHAHAH! S-STOP! PLEAAHAHAHAHAHA!"
But Shirou didn't stop. He pinned her down on the couch and continued without remorse, grinning cruelly as Rin frantically writhed and squirmed beneath him, begging for mercy as well as she could. Mercy that wasn't granted.
As for Ophelia, she watched the spectacle with wide eyes, for some reason unable to look away despite the immense intimacy of the moment.
It seemed Sorcerers really did function differently from what she'd expected.
"Hm? Hrrrnnhhmmm… HUH?!"
When he awoke, the first thing Gladstone noticed was his dull headache. An annoying headache, akin to a hangover yet subtly different in a way. As if some tiny man was softly yet consistently hitting the inside of his skull with a miniscule hammer.
It was far from the worst pain he'd ever felt, or even the worst headache, but still, he tried to bring up a hand to rub his temples, to hopefully provide some relief.
Only to find that he couldn't. He couldn't move his limbs at all.
At first, he was only a little surprised and confused, still too groggy to realise what that meant, but then his clarity began to return, and he realised with no small amount of alarm he was not only sitting up on a chair for some reason, but that he was also bound to that very chair.
"W-What?!"
His wrist and ankles had been strapped to the metal frame, so tightly that he couldn't move them at all, while the chair itself had been bolted to the floor. Furthermore, his Magic Circuits were utterly unresponsive, seemingly paralysed to the point where he couldn't cast a single spell.
Looking around, he found himself in a small, inhospitable chamber that seemed an awful lot like an interrogation room, with nothing and no one in sight that could help him.
Confusion was rapidly replaced by panic when every attempt to free himself ended in failure, and when he finally understood he was completely stuck, his memories of the previous day returned in a flash.
He remembered how his trading with the Dead Apostle Ancestors had been discovered and he'd fled his Workshop with his wife and daughter. He remembered making his way to the garage, and he remembered feeling hopeful when they'd almost reached the car.
But then, the new Sorcerer had appeared, after which everything had suddenly gone black.
One did not need to be a genius to work out he had been captured, and considering how close the new Sorcerer was to the Vice Director, he was now almost definitely in the hold of the Department of Policies.
Where traitors went to die.
Gladstone's heart rate soared, cold sweat broke out on his back, and he began breathing faster and faster, until he came close to hyperventilating in sheer panic.
"Finally awake?"
He froze stiff however when the door swung open and a man walked in, the last few vestiges of his pride not allowing him to show such weakness to another Magus. Even though he was utterly terrified, his very instincts forced him to bury that fear in a flash.
The newcomer was tall and thin, with slightly gaunt features, a prominent nose, heavy eyebrows, and a bald head that had been covered in various blue tattoos. He could have been called handsome by people with below-average standards, but Gladstone couldn't care less about that right now.
"Who are you?" He demanded, with all the natural-born authority that a lord of his stature and importance possessed. "Why have you imprisoned me? I order you to release me at once!"
"I am doctor Kix, head physician of the medical team of the Department of Policies and senior researcher." The bald man replied stoically, not showing any of the deference that Gladstone was due. "You have been imprisoned because of your crimes against humanity. You will not be released."
Gladstone's blood turned to ice in his veins at the dismissive response, but he still didn't let it show on his face. If he showed weakness now, he was doomed.
"I have no idea what you are talking about. I want to speak to-"
"Save your arguments and protests for people who care." Doctor Kix interrupted him most rudely. "Lady Barthomeloi wants me to put you to the question to find out who your accomplices are, so that is what I will do."
It was as if a spike of ice was stabbed right into Gladstone's spine. Policies was famous for their insanely effective methods of interrogation, and to be subjected to those methods was a nightmare come true.
It was almost enough to make him cough up everything he knew, especially since he felt no loyalty whatsoever towards either the Dead Apostle Ancestors or his supposed accomplices. They had been business partners, but nothing more.
However, at the same time, his dislike of Policies ran deep, and his pride remained unbroken, so just rolling over for this gaunt doctor like an obedient dog didn't appeal to his sensibilities at all.
Terror was practically racing through his veins, but for all his faults, Gladstone was still a First-Rate Magus, who excelled at ignoring his own emotions, especially those based on fear. To be a Magus was to walk with death after all.
"If you're going to torture me, do your worst." He said eventually, setting his jaw in a show of conviction. "I am not scared of you. My pride goes beyond any pain."
"A lot of men think that, until the pain starts." The doctor smirked tiredly, continuing to be infuriatingly indifferent. "But I'm not going to torture you. Torture fouls interrogation. I have long disliked it, and fortunately, lady Barthomeloi has come to progressively see things my way. She has given me a lot of freedom for this one, provided I obtain the information she wants."
"I am still not going to give you anything."
"Not even for your family's sake?"
"…?"
"You are going down, Gladstone, that is inevitable at this point. Perhaps you are even fine with that, if you took a calculated risk." Doctor Kix said, ignoring Gladstone's spluttered demand to be addressed by his proper title rather than his first name. "But your wife and your daughter, did you intend for them to go down with you?"
"H-Hermione and Ophelia didn't know anything about my crimes. Never did."
"Normally, that wouldn't matter. I fear that Policies doesn't see ignorance as innocence. You messed up, Gladstone, completely and utterly, and not only have you doomed yourself, but your family as well. Your legacy will soon be nothing but dust." Both men knew that crimes of such magnitude as Gladstone's were enough to get entire families wiped out, to have them consigned to oblivion, and it could not be more obvious that Gladstone's resolve started wavering already. "But it doesn't have to be that way. Lady Barthomeloi is willing to be quite merciful. Your family and your name can still live on, even after you are gone, provided you cooperate."
"The… The Neutral Faction! T-They'll come for me! They won't stand for this blatant tyranny!"
"Come for you?" For the first time, a glint of humour appeared in doctor Kix's eyes. "Yes, they'll come for you and yours alright. I doubt it will be to free you though, once they hear that you sold them out to the Dead Apostle Ancestors."
"W-What?"
"They don't know yet of your capture, but once it does become known, lady Barthomeloi and lady Montmorency will make it very clear precisely why you were arrested. They'll break the habit of a lifetime of secrecy and expose every sordid detail of this affair. Tell me, Gladstone, will your allies still come to free you? Or will I return one day to find you committed suicide by stabbing yourself in the back forty times?"
"T-That won't… It's not like that…"
"I am your only hope, Gladstone. Your family's only hope, and the only way through you can preserve even a sliver of your precious legacy." Doctor Kix stressed once more, before he rose from his chair. "Think about that for a while. I have a few rather demanding rabbits I need to take care of, so I'll return in a few hours, with some food and drink. I hope you'll have made the right choice by then."
"W-Wait! You can't just leave-!"
But he did. The doctor left without another word, closing the door behind him and leaving Gladstone alone in the silent, inhospitable room.
Defiance was his first response. He cursed at the empty room, loudly declaring his will to continue resisting the damned cunt who thought she could jerk him around without consequences.
Anger was present too, anger at Policies for daring to interfere with his business like that, and anger at himself for being so powerless in the face of it.
Worry and fear for his own fate and that of his family only fuelled that anger, and threatened to turn it into an ugly hate. Hate for those who dared to humiliate him.
However, after two hours of being alone and in the dark, both literally and figuratively, that defiance and anger began to reach their end. Gladstone was ultimately a rational person, not an emotional one, so his brain couldn't help but start considering his options.
And when seen rationally, accepting the doctor's offer was far and away the best of those options.
Neither the Neutral Faction nor the Dead Apostle Ancestors would come to free him. The former because he betrayed them and the latter because he was of no more use to them. If they'd bother with him at all, it would only be to kill him.
To kill his family.
Lady Barthomeloi was as good as her word though, everyone knew that, and if she promised to be merciful towards his family in exchange for information, she would indeed be merciful.
His legacy could still endure, even if he wouldn't be around to see it.
Gladstone liked to think of himself as a practical person, though many would have called him mercenary, cowardly, disloyal, and capricious instead. After thinking about it calmly, he saw no reason to die or suffer for the Dead Apostle Ancestors. Certainly not when they wouldn't do the same for him.
Pride was good and well, but it shouldn't get in the way of his goals. That would be putting the cart before the horse.
His dislike of Policies and its dogs was as strong as ever, but as said before, Gladstone was a First-Rate Magus, and more than used to ignoring such inconvenient emotions.
Not long after, he made his final decision.
"I'm back, and I brought some grub." As if sensing the shift in the situation, doctor Kix then returned with a tray full of bread, butter, and cheese, which he placed in front of Gladstone. "You have probably noticed that your Magic Circuits aren't functional here, so don't try anything stupid after I've released you."
With a wave of his hand, the bindings on Gladstone's wrists and ankles loosened, allowing the fallen noble to eat his fill.
Which he did. He promptly started gorging himself on the food, rather hungry after not eating anything for nearly twenty-four hours.
Only when he was done did he look back at the doctor, swallowing his pride like he'd swallowed the bread.
"I gave the information to Stanrobe Calhin, the Duke of Predation." He revealed, and doctor Kix nodded, making a note of it. "I wasn't alone either. Haruri Borzak and a fellow who called himself 'Doctor Heartless' were always there too."
"Haruri Borzak?" Doctor Kix's eyes widened considerably at the name. "And Doctor Heartless?"
His surprise was warranted. Haruri Borzak was the main apprentice of Inorai Valualeta Atroholm, one of the leaders of the Democratic Faction, while Doctor Heartless was the former head of the Department of Modern Magical Theories, which was now headed by Lord El-Melloi II.
These were big names indeed, just like Gladstone's own, and not the kind of people you'd expect to see working with the Dead Apostle Ancestors.
"I can assure you they were with me every step of the way." Gladstone swore, placing a hand on his heart in a mocking show of sincerity. "Why, they should be arrested immediately, just like me."
Even as he said so however, he knew things wouldn't be nearly that easy. Doctor Heartless already had several killing orders against him for various other crimes, many of them quite atrocious, but no one had managed to track him down so far. Haruri Borzak on the other hand was easily found, but was also nearly off-limits, being the apprentice of Atroholm and thus well ingrained with the top-brass of the Democratic Faction. Not like Gladstone, who'd been nothing more than an inoffensive figurehead for the Neutrals, but properly ingratiated with the bigwigs of her faction.
Bringing her to justice would require some extremely careful politicking, especially since some voices in the Clocktower were already whispering that Policies was fabricating accusations against lady Barthomeloi's enemies, which this would just seem to be the latest incarnation of.
Giving out information turned out to be surprisingly fun. Gladstone actually felt in control again as he made his interrogator squirm in response to his revelations, and he could even imagine how he'd give the Vice Director many sleepless nights.
It was a tiny silver lining on a massive, pitch-black cloud, but a silver lining all the same. He should be happy with what he could get at this point.
It made the bread and cheese taste all the sweeter indeed.
"I have more names for you though." He grinned, feeling no compunction whatsoever anymore about spilling his guts. "I hope you've got lots of paper, because you're going to need it."
"This is the cafeteria where I ate most of my meals the previous time I was here." Shirou told his audience, which at the moment consisted of only Rin and Ophelia, both of whom were hanging on his every word, if for different reasons. "They have good food for decent prices, and the staff are very friendly, yet still appropriately professional. Waver and Lorelei, or I should say, lord El-Melloi and lady Barthomeloi, were also quite positive about this place, and let me tell you, they aren't satisfied easily."
It was the day after he and Rin had arrived at the Clocktower, after Gladstone and Hermione Phamrsolone had been arrested and Ophelia had come to bunk with them. They'd all had a good night's sleep in spite of all the hecticness, and Shirou made sure to serve a hearty breakfast in the morning, which was followed by a tour of the Clocktower, just like Grey had done for him when he had first arrived. Just a quick show of the highlights, coupled with his own favourite spots and recommendations.
Since it was Rin's first time at the headquarters of the Magus Association, she eagerly drank in everything he told her, and quite frankly, so did Ophelia. Even though the young woman had lived in the Clocktower for most of her life, she had never gone anywhere except her family's Workshop, office, or living quarters. Everything beyond that was as new to her as it was to Rin.
Of course, since Ophelia could very well be a wanted woman, or was about to become one at least, they couldn't have her go around as herself. As such, she was still holding on to the gem that Rin had given her, which changed her appearance considerably. It should be enough to make her unrecognisable, and on top of that, Rin did her best to place herself between Ophelia and anyone getting too close to them, just in case.
The early hour and the subsequent lack of other people certainly helped with that.
"It also helps that this cafeteria is quite close to the dormitories of the Department of Modern Magecraft Theories, and thus, our room." He went on praising the establishment. "I must warn you though that it is close to a few other departments as well, so you might get several different factions eating here at the same time. That could get a bit awkward."
"Understood. Does that mean that all Magi who stay at the Clocktower have to eat at places such as this?" Rin didn't seem too enthusiastic about that. Even though Shirou, and thus by extension she as well, was very rich, she was still quite miserly, and generally preferred home-cooked meals to food made in a restaurant.
Especially when it was Shirou's home-cooked meals.
"Not at all. Most dormitories have their own kitchen, ours included, and besides, many Magi actually live outside of the Clocktower, in their own houses." He replied, digging into his memory for the precise figures that Waver had given him. "It is actually estimated that Magi own quite a lot of the real estate in London and its surroundings. They travel to the Clocktower when they have business here, and otherwise stay at home. The only ones who do live inside the Clocktower itself are those who come from far away, such as you and me, Rin, and those who have made a permanent base here for convenience."
"Such as the Phamrsolone-family." Ophelia helpfully added.
"Clearly. So that means that if a certain Finnish family were to stay here, they would stay at a dormitory?"
"Correct, and since they are allied with the Democratic Faction, they'd mostly likely stay at the Department of General Fundamentals." Shirou confirmed, not needing any more detail to figure out she was talking about the Edelfelt. "Which is very far away from our dormitory, in case you were wondering."
"I'm glad to hear that."
That settled matters on the topic of dormitories and places to eat, and Shirou then showed the girls the marketplace, where various merchants and families were plying their trade, and the communal garden, which had been planted by the Department of Botany for their own use centuries ago, but had long since been released to the public.
Especially the former was of interest to Rin, who had been looking for a way to sell more of her gems. Shirou's Vault was practically overflowing with the things, and he'd given so many of them to the black-haired girl that even she didn't know what to do with them anymore. Selling them was the most logical solution in light of that.
Eventually, when they'd passed all the highlights, the trio doubled back and returned to Shirou's favourite cafeteria, where he treated the girls to lunch. After that, Rin stood up again to excuse herself for a bit.
"I'll nip back to the market for a moment and see if I can rent a stall." She explained when she saw Shirou's questioning gaze.
"Do you want me to come along?"
"You don't have to hold my hand all the time. I can manage this much by myself." She huffed, though her smile took any possible sting out of her words. "I'll stay in the public spaces, I'll watch my back, and if anything goes wrong, I'll scream as loudly as I can."
"Alright. Ophelia and I will wait here for you. I have a few things I need to discuss with her anyway."
"You do?"
The young woman looked awfully worried again, and while Shirou tried to reassure her, Rin went back to the marketplace, to see if she could find any written instructions on how to rent a stall or perhaps even someone who seemed to be in charge of the place.
She didn't get very far however before her search was rudely interrupted.
Just as she was crossing the main hall, having barely left Shirou's sight, the heavy doors of one of the Clocktower's entrances were thrown wide open, and with a lot of pompous flair, three individuals walked inside, momentarily capturing everyone's attention.
The first of them, walking in front, was a gorgeous girl of about Rin's age, with long, blonde hair, a flowing, blue dress, and haughty features that were even further accentuated by her smug, little smile. Her hair was done up in coils that must have taken hours to style properly, while she carried a small handbag decorated with various gems in her right hand and an ivory umbrella in her left. Both items seemed more valuable than the average house, yet the lady carried them around like they were mere trinkets.
Behind and to the right of her, a large, black man was peering around the hall, evidently looking for anything that might threaten his mistress. With his imposing stature, clean-shaven head, and three-piece suit, he couldn't have looked more like a stereotypical bodyguard if he'd tried. Still, stereotypical did not mean amateurish or incompetent, and he seemed strong enough.
On the lady's other side, Rin could see a smaller, elderly gentleman who looked more like a butler, carrying two suitcases in both hands. His excessive amount of facial hair made it a bit difficult to see his expression, but he seemed to be watching his mistress for any sign that she wanted something from him. By all accounts, he looked rather harmless.
Rin wasn't so easily fooled though. Her instincts, honed after years of living together with Kirei and later Shirou, both of whom also didn't seem very dangerous at first glance, warned her in no uncertain terms that the butler was clearly the most dangerous of the three. Undoubtedly, he was also scanning the hall for any possible threat, just like his younger colleague, and stood ready to take care of whatever problems might crop up. He was just much less obvious about it.
In any case, their entrance was quite flamboyant, and the lady did not make the rookie mistake of looking around the hall afterwards to see if everyone was suitably impressed. Instead, she marched on, like she didn't give a damn about what people thought of her, which brought her straight into Rin's path.
Seeing how haughty the young lady looked, the black-haired girl expected to be brushed aside or ignored at best, but the blonde girl surprised her by stopping right in front of her.
For a moment, Rin considered walking away without a word. She was alone now after all, and although she was hardly defenceless, she wasn't obtuse enough not to acknowledge that without Shirou at her side, the odds were decidedly not tilted in her favour.
Should this devolve into a fight, it would be three against one, putting her at a major disadvantage on unfamiliar territory, surrounded by people who would be indifferent at best and hostile at worst. She did have several tricks up her sleeve, but while those might be enough to avail her against the lady and the big bodyguard if she was incredibly lucky, the butler was a different story. Should this actually end in battle, running away while screaming her head off was definitely her best option here.
But then, she might be making a mountain out of a molehill. The blonde woman hardly seemed hostile after all, and it was unlikely she'd try anything in the middle of the Clocktower's main hall. Furthermore, Rin had been raised all her life to value elegance and politeness. As long as someone hadn't harmed her in some way, it was improper to ignore them or attack them.
It could also not be discounted that the blonde's cleavage was most impressive, and the blue dress was sufficiently tight to hint at all the curves underneath. Appearances mattered, whether people wanted to admit it or not, and the blonde was gorgeous indeed. Gorgeous enough that she deserved a chance to explain herself.
In the end, Rin made a split-second decision to hear the other girl out, though she kept her spells and a cry for help ready on her lips. If the worst came to the worst, Shirou was only one call away.
"Good morning." The blonde girl smiled, still looking quite haughty, though not unkind, before she looked around the hall with a discerning look, as if passing judgement on the place. "So this is the famous Clocktower, headquarters of the Magus Association? How… quaint."
"Isn't it just?" Rin smirked, recognising the subtle taunt for what it was. "Yes, you successfully managed to find your way here. Well done, you big girl, you. Have yourself a lollipop."
"Oho ho ho, nice." The noble lady evidently approved of Rin's verbal counter, grinning widely as she held out her hand in greeting. "Luvia's the name. Savour it when you say it out loud."
"Rin." The black-haired girl introduced herself in turn, not as bothered by the lack of family names as she was by the outstretched hand. She was far from familiar with the proper European decorum, but she got the sense that just shaking it was probably not the correct response. In the end, she decided to play it safe and copy what she'd seen people do on tv. "Charmed to meet you."
She took the hand and brought it up slightly, lowering her head to brush her lips against Luvia's knuckles, as was proper when meeting noble ladies.
It turned out to be the wrong response though, she saw that immediately in Luvia's surprised look, but fortunately, the other girl let it pass without comment, even if her bodyguards had tensed at the unusual behaviour, seeing a possible threat.
"Tell me, Rin, are you familiar with the Clocktower?"
"I'm afraid not, Luvia. I only arrived yesterday. I can't help you with anything but the most basic layout."
"Perhaps that is enough. I am looking for the Department of General Fundamentals or, alternatively, the marketplace."
"I haven't found the Department of General Fundamentals yet, but I was actually on my way to the marketplace myself." Rin wasn't quite sure whether she should help this girl, whom she didn't know at all, but she was so polite and pleasant to talk with that she couldn't bring herself to lie and dismiss her. "You can come along if you want. It's not far from here."
"Capital!"
The next moment, they were on their way already, and Rin found herself nearly swept up in the blonde storm.
"You have probably figured out by now that this is my first time visiting the headquarters of the Magus Association. I am really quite excited to be here. Of course, I mainly came to advance my Magecraft and do some research into this and that, but I have a few great plans to reach the Root too, and if I can make a few alliances here and there, I won't pass them up either. Ah, but since you're bringing me to the marketplace, I guess it's not a secret anymore that I want to trade some stuff as well. There's really so much to do in so little time. What do you think?"
"What do I think?" Rin blinked once, before she narrowed her eyes at the other girl in irritation. "I think you talk and talk and talk, but you say very little. You give the illusion of openness so that I feel obliged to respond in kind, but you actually keep your cards close to your chest. You're a shrewd one, Luvia."
"Ho ho ho! Right back at you, Rin." Luvia grinned, the thin pretence of blonde innocence falling away at once as she didn't even bother to deny it. "I'm glad to see the first person I met here at the Clocktower is no fool."
"And I'm glad to see you're enjoying yourself. However, if everything that comes out of your mouth is just going to be idle chatter and mind-games, I'd prefer it if you stayed silent. I'm not in the mood, nor do I have the time, to match wits right now."
"Can't match what you don't have." Luvia quipped, before holding up her hands in surrender when Rin glared at her. "Sorry, sorry, that was the last one, I promise. I won't say anything anymore."
"Don't exaggerate. I'm not saying you can't talk at all. I just don't want any more games. Play them with the other politicians if you want, but I have no stake in this. You say you came here to do research and to learn? So did I, and I intend to take it seriously."
"Of course." To her credit, Luvia seemed to understand Rin's point, inclining her head in acceptance. "I apologise. I let my nerves get the better of me and treated you like a potential enemy when I should have treated you like a potential friend. Will you give me another chance?"
"Of course, you seem pleasant enough, as long as we keep our conversation at least mostly sincere."
"Understood. Allow me to be frank then. Why are you going to the marketplace? I'm not asking for some kind of ulterior motive, I'm just curious."
"I want to see if it's possible for me to open a stand there myself for a few days. What about you?"
"I know a few people there, people I want to talk to." The reply was a bit vague, but that was fine. Rin didn't mind vague, as she understood that Luvia had secrets of her own. "Also, I want to see for myself what the stands have on offer. I'm looking for a few specific resources."
"Which resources?"
"Mind your business." Luvia's smile didn't shrink in the slightest after the rebuke, nor did Rin's. "Ah, but I suppose I can tell you one of them is gems."
"Gems?"
"Hardly surprising, I know. Everyone and their mother is looking for them these days, though you can't find them anywhere anymore." This time, Luvia's smile did fall, making place for a hint of frustration, a frustration that Rin knew very well and instantly made her feel a kinship with the girl. "I have to try though. Ah, but please don't tell me we are going to be rivals now? Are you after gems too?"
"Hardly." Rin huffed, rather amused at the sheer coincidence. "Rather, we might be able to do business together."
"Business?"
"You want to buy gems, I want to sell them." Rin explained, before taking a small pouch out of the pocket of her sweater. "I have some right here-"
The black-haired girl suddenly realised she was talking to an empty space, as Luvia had frozen stiff a few paces back, her bodyguards stopping accordingly, and she turned back to face the noble girl.
"Luvia?"
"How much?" The blonde didn't waste time on pleasantries, instead going straight to the negotiation.
"Uhm, let me see." Rin had already done some market-research, determining a fair sum in accordance with the prices from before the gem-crisis, and she fished a pre-made price tag out of the pouch, showing it to the blonde. "This much for the lot of them."
"Deal."
The next moment, Luvia placed a huge pile of cash into Rin's hands, a fair bit more than the actual price, before snatching up the gems like they were a worm and she was a starving bird, smiling like she'd found water in the desert.
It seemed a bit excessive to behave like that, but Rin understood. She knew like no other how vexing and despair-inducing it could be to search for gems and not find any. Still, there was one thing that did confuse her.
"Why do you carry this much money around?" It really was a lot, to the point where she almost struggled to keep hold of it all.
"For emergencies." Luvia replied as if it were only natural, taking one of the gems out of the pouch to admire it in the light, before she turned back to Rin. "Are you selling these because you are in financial trouble?"
"Certainly not. I am selling them because I recently obtained a huge number of them and decided to sell the ones I don't use."
"Tch. So I can't get more of them out of you for lower prices."
"Oi! You could at least try to hide your disappointment that I'm not bankrupt!"
"Tch."
"Oi!"
Rin shook her head in sheer disbelief over how much of a handful the blonde seemed to be, and then shot her bodyguards a pitying look, which they both expertly ignored.
"If you have any more gems, sell them to me directly." Luvia implored her, looking ready to grab her by the shoulders.
"I refuse. Others should get a chance as well to obtain the resources they need."
"Is this about the price? Because I can pay you more than this if you want, more than almost anyone else. No need for some kind of public auction."
"It's not about the price, it's about fairness."
"Fairness? Why should we Magi care about fairness?"
"You don't have to care if you don't want to, but I certainly do. If you want more gems, you can buy them at my future-stand at the marketplace, just like everyone else."
"…Fine." Rin drew a line in the sand and she maintained it, and to her credit, Luvia understood quickly that Rin wouldn't budge. "I look forward to visiting your stand then. Keep a few gems back for me."
"That at least I can promise." Rin laughed, before she gestured to the side with her head. "Now come on. We have to get to the marketplace and we've wasted enough time already."
She was of course entirely right in saying that. What should have been a quick trip to obtain some information had turned into a right mess the moment Luvia had appeared, taking close to half-an-hour while it should have taken no more than a few minutes.
The black-haired girl couldn't bring herself to get mad about it though. Luvia was an amusing person, someone whom Rin felt a surprising connection with, so the time they'd spent together didn't feel like wasted time at all, in spite of what she claimed.
There were limits though, so Rin quickly dragged the blonde along to their destination, where they soon parted ways again.
The black-haired girl managed to obtain a leaflet detailing everything she should do to open a stand of her own, while Luvia managed to find her allies, who were going to take her to the Department of General Fundamentals.
"Thank you for your help, Rin." Luvia professed her gratitude, as she well should after everything Rin had done for her. "I look forward to seeing you again."
"Good luck with your business, Luvia. Until next time." Rin smiled back, but after Luvia turned around and left, she didn't yet leave herself, but lingered a bit, to watch the other girl walk away.
The sway of the blonde's hips was simply divine, and the fact that she didn't even seem to realise it only made it better. She was a bombshell, there was no doubt about that, and Rin did indeed wish they'd meet again, if only to subtly oogle her further.
She was a terrible pervert after all.
"I'm finally back!" Caren practically cried as she stormed into the Emiya-estate, dropping her suitcases the moment she crossed the doorpost and generating the kind of racket in the late evening that would have made the neighbours angry if the Bounded Fields hadn't smothered all the noise.
"Welcome home, lady Caren." Sella stood ready to catch the luggage however, smoothly scooping them up before they even hit the floor, with a grace that was simply inhuman. "Lady Ayako and lady Sakura are currently in the drawing room."
"And Shirou?"
"I am afraid that lord Shirou and lady Rin have departed for London already. They left yesterday."
"Bummer, though I suppose I can't say it comes as a surprise." Caren had already known that yesterday had been the departure date, but it didn't cost anything to hope there might have been a slight delay in their plans. No such luck though. "I'll be in the drawing room too then."
"Very good, my lady."
Though she'd lost most of her initial momentum, Caren still zipped into the living room with considerable speed, practically bursting inside. Neither Sakura nor Ayako seemed surprised to see her though, probably because they'd heard her coming.
"Welcome back, Caren." Sakura happily greeted the white-haired nun, smiling beautifully at her. "How was the conference?"
"Horrible, though perhaps not quite as bad as I feared." She'd met up with Ciel there after all, whom she hadn't seen or spoken to for over a year, and seeing the adorable Executor again had been a welcome distraction from the dull slog that otherwise permeated the summit. "I met an old friend, whom I still get along with quite well, so we spent most of the week together."
Amusingly enough, Ciel had been just as happy to hang out with Caren as vice versa. The formerly immortal Executor wasn't exactly popular in the Burial Agency either, being too different for most of them to accept. Hence, she had agreed to stick with the white-haired nun, despite being the frequent target of pranks, jokes, and teases at her hands.
Normally, Caren would have made an effort to tone down her bullying, if only because she tremendously appreciated Ciel's presence, but the news that the prickly, grumpy, and moody Executor had actually managed to get herself a man had been so surprising and wonderful that the floodgates of teasing could not possibly be closed anymore.
Looking back, she'd definitely been excessively cruel to the poor girl, but Caren felt bad about it now, and that made it okay. The doctrine of the Church said so.
"That is good to hear." Sakura was blissfully unaware however of the cruelties that Caren had heaped upon her poor friend, so she let out a small sigh of relief that the nun hadn't spent the whole week alone. "And did they discuss anything interesting at the conference? Anything of note?"
"Oh, you know, the usual. Hell and damnation, our shared hatred for all inhuman beings, death to Magi and Sorcerers, and our plans for the massacres we're about to commit. After that, we spent a while talking about how much we despise Shirou Fujimaru in particular, how the Moon Princess should die a fiery death, and whether we'll have forty or forty-one Holy Days the coming year."
The near-banality of the last talking point made Sakura blink in confusion, but Ayako seemed rather wroth with Caren's colleagues. Justly so, of course.
"No offence, Caren, but I think I like your coworkers even less now than I did before." The brunette frowned, getting up from the couch, where she'd been resting her weary head on Sakura's lap. "Unless you're just winding us up?"
"No offence taken, and no, I'm not winding you up at all. Hatred and vile were spewed everywhere and the xenophobia was off the charts."
"That must have been terrible." The brunette muttered, a note of pity appearing in her eyes.
"It was truly excruciating, but it could have been worse." Caren did her best to smile laconically like Shirou always did, showing that she endured despite the pain she'd suffered. "The rank and file were… zealous, as always, but at least the bishops and Cardinals made an effort to present a more reasonable front."
"Remind me again, the bishops and Cardinals were the bigwigs in the Church, right?"
"Yes. They are the spiritual leaders, who direct the flock in the name of the Pope, who is God's voice on Earth." Caren explained patiently. While this was all common knowledge in Europe, it wasn't so in Japan, so a quick reminder was never amiss. "They are aware of the Burial Agency's existence and often contribute to its cause, but they are proper Catholics too. They practice and preach moderation, even towards the hated enemy."
"Oh, well, that's something at least, right?" Sakura perked up hopefully, and Caren was almost sorry, and shamefully delighted, to crush that hope again.
"That doesn't mean you should tempt fate. Based on previous experiences, I'd say that Shirou should avoid associating with them at all costs if he doesn't want to be burned at the stake. It really would be for the best if he kept his distance from Vatican City, or Italy in general, for the coming… forever, basically."
"Noted." Sakura was evidently disappointed, largely on Shirou's behalf, as the redhead had often expressed the hope of maintaining at least a cordial relationship with the Burial Agency, but she didn't let it bother her too much. "Did you learn anything else while you were in Tokyo?"
"No, not really. Just some stuff I already knew." They had been summoned to the meeting in order to discuss the Night of the Broken Moon after all, an event that Caren knew more about than even the highest ranking members of the Burial Agency, purely by virtue of being close to Shirou.
"Wait, so if I understand you correctly, you spent an entire week at the conference, just to hear things you already knew?" Now Sakura looked at Caren with clear pity too, and the nun froze in fear and alarm. "Forgive me for saying this, Caren, but it rather sounds like you've had a wasted week."
"Whaaaaat?! No, not at all, silly! I have… I've had…"
Caren did her utmost to think of something worthwhile, anything useful she'd learned or done at the summit, anything that would mean she hadn't lost an entire week of the happiest time of her life for nothing, but she came up short at every angle.
Lord Above, Sakura was right!
Nothing of value had been discussed, no interesting facts had come by, and she'd learned absolutely nothing new. It had just been a lot of petulant complaining and murderous grumbles from supposedly devout types that could be summarised in three sentences at most.
"…Ahahahahaha."
The realisation came paired with a wave of exhaustion suddenly washing over her, and she sagged, all remaining strength leaving her limbs in a flash, and the only reason she didn't fall flat on her face was because Ayako quickly caught her.
"Whoa there!"
"Alright, you're getting dinner and a bath, and then it is off to bed with you." Sakura ordered as she got up and made for the kitchen, taking charge of the situation. "Ayako, can you take care of the bath? Ask Sella to help you if needed. I'll prepare something light to eat."
"Sure thing." The brunette nodded, shifting the nun's body until she was half-supporting and half-carrying her.
"You don't need to do that." Caren shook her head, trying to get back to her feet. "It was just a… a…"
"A sure sign that you've pushed yourself to exhaustion." Ayako finished for her, frog marching her to the bath hall. "Come on. We can talk more tomorrow. For now, you have deserved your rest, surviving that ordeal intact. From what I heard, you've been working hard."
"…I have indeed been working hard." Listening to endless complaining and hatred without blowing her top was hard work indeed, no one with any sense would deny that, least of all someone as actively-minded as the brunette. "I also didn't tell anyone about Shirou. I've kept everyone's secrets, I promise. I didn't have to lie to my superiors, because they didn't talk to me, but if they had, I would have lied to them, definitely."
"You are a marvel, Caren." Ayako grinned at her, meaning every word she said, and the heartfelt compliment pleasantly scratched a certain itch in the nun's brain. An itch she very much wanted to have scratched again.
"Please compliment me more." She almost demanded without an ounce of shame.
"You're a star for making it back here in one piece." The brunette indulged her. "You're an excellent spy. I bet they never suspected your true allegiance for a second."
"Of course not." Caren would have puffed out her chest in pride had the situation allowed it.
"You're the woman of the hour. Your steadfastness is only matched by your wit and guile. It is clear we can rely on you when it counts."
Especially that last compliment really hit the spot, and Caren almost shivered in delight, the strength leaving her legs again for a completely different reason than exhaustion.
Ayako continued to whisper sweet compliments into her ear while helping her into the bath, and she even assisted Caren with washing her back and combing her hair. Together, it made for an outright divine experience, which was a term that the nun did not use lightly.
The meal Sakura had prepared for her in the meantime was simply divine too, just the right balance between fat and healthy that she'd craved after seven days of mass-produced sandwiches and cheap salads. A home-cooked meal that would make any of her coworkers green with jealousy.
She really was being spoiled, and if this was the reward she could expect after attending a conference, she might have to attend a few more. She was a glutton for punishment, mainly because of her inborn talent, but there was nothing wrong with being pampered either.
After she'd been put to bed, Caren only had a few seconds of thought left before sleep claimed her. In those few seconds, she prayed, thanking the Lord for the blessings He'd suddenly heaped upon her.
She didn't know what she'd done to deserve them, but she hoped they would never end.
After completing the tour of the Clocktower with Ophelia and Rin, Shirou had brought the girls back to their room, where they both chose to stay. Ophelia was still supposed to be in hiding after all, and frankly, she'd had enough of open spaces for one day, while Rin wanted to prepare for the impending meeting with Lorelei and had thus shut herself away in one of the vacant rooms to practice her Magecraft a little bit more.
Shirou had gone out again though, not because of any pressing issues or impending disasters this time, but because of something much more pleasant.
He wanted to see some old friends again.
Granted, it had only been several months since he last saw them, which wasn't terribly long in the grand scheme of things, but it was long enough to miss them, and now that he had the opportunity to visit them, he wasn't going to pass it up.
Naturally, the one at the top of his list was none other than his first ally and now greatest confidant in the Clocktower, the only man to know his real name and all the history that came with it.
Waver Velvet.
If someone had told Shirou a year ago that he'd become fast friends with one of his father's enemies from the Fourth Holy Grail War, he'd have been surprised and confused, unable to envision how such a thing could possibly happen.
It had happened though, through a series of events even he was hard-pressed to fully recount, and he was all the happier for it. Sufficiently so that he highly anticipated seeing Waver again, in no small part because he wanted to see how the man was doing.
Over the past months, while Shirou had been fighting Ancestors and lounging around at school, Waver had faced his own challenges, which were no lesser than Shirou's own. He was now the lord of three Departments, two of which were infested with enemy infiltrators, was betrothed to a woman he barely knew, and played a central role in the Aristocratic Faction as one of its most important members. He was probably busier than ever, and had more responsibility piled onto him than he ever wanted or asked for.
Knowing him, he was handling it well nonetheless, albeit with a lot of groaning, complaining, and grumbling, but even so, it was only polite to check in every once in a while. That was what friends did for each other.
Actually getting to Waver was harder than expected though. Shirou had already been proud of himself for remembering that the lord had moved from the Department of Modern Magecraft Theories to the Department of Mineralogy, mostly out of political considerations, but he failed to account for the fact that being more important also meant having more guards in place.
A veritable host of them stood between the entrance of Mineralogy and Waver's office, and although his rank of Sorcerer and friendship with Waver made it easier for him to get past them than for most, they still caused considerable delay.
Not that he was angry about that. It was wonderful that Waver had managed to find people who'd even block a True Magician's way for the sake of their lord's safety. Those were exactly the kind of guards one needed to stay alive in this shark pool. The redhead wholly approved, and allowed himself to be searched for weapons or other dangerous tools without protest.
The only thing he was a bit sorry about was the fact that he wouldn't be able to surprise Waver anymore, as the guards had undoubtedly sent word ahead, but that was a minor matter. Nothing worth getting upset about.
"Is Waver in a meeting right now?" Shirou asked when several guards halted him again, not ten metres away from his destination.
"No." One of the guards responded, while doing a cursory check for weapons or active curses. "He is expecting you."
"Very good." Once he was cleared for the final time, Shirou walked on to the door of the office, and although he was apparently expected, he nevertheless still knocked, if only to make sure that Grey wouldn't pull out Rhongomyniad and blast him for being an intruder.
"Enter."
He immediately received permission to come inside, from a voice he recognised right away as Waver's, and he opened the door, unable to suppress the smile on his face.
"Shirou!" The first one to greet him wasn't Waver however, or even Grey, but Flat Escardos instead. The boy looked as frail as ever, with his unhealthily pale complexion, his excessively thin limbs, and his pale blonde hair that only made him look even more emaciated, but there was no denying the wide grin that appeared on his face when he saw Shirou. A grin that honestly alarmed the redhead a bit. "You're back!"
"And you retain your talent for stating the obvious, Escardos." Svin Glascheit, also present in the office, sniped at his friend in response, before nodding at Shirou in greeting. He was still as handsome as ever, to the point where he made every other man in the vicinity look plain in comparison, and he seemed to have put on a bit of extra muscle over the summer, making him even more dreamy.
It seemed the eccentric duo were still part of Waver's retinue, despite the lord's recent rise into pre-eminence. They'd clearly made themselves at home in the office already, and were undoubtedly driving Waver to despair with their every action.
It was good to see that some things never changed, and Shirou responded to their greetings with a quick nod and a kind word, before he turned towards the man he'd come to see.
"Waver! It is good to see you again."
"And you, my friend. Welcome back." Waver had already risen from his chair when Shirou had entered, ignoring Flat and Svin's interruption, and although the smile on his face couldn't be called big or wide or beaming by any meaning of the words, for his doing, it was quite happy. "It has been far too long."
"Nearly five months." Shirou agreed, ignoring the fact that they'd seen each other not twelve hours ago in Lorelei's office, as that had hardly been a proper meeting.
"That long already? Time does fly when you're not having fun."
Waver's remark got him a funny look from Grey, who realised he'd used the idiom wrong, but she didn't say anything about it.
"You look well." Shirou noted, truthfully, as Waver did seem a little healthier than when Shirou had left. Like he ate better, and perhaps did some regular exercise too. Not a lot, but enough to get a little more meat on his bones.
"I could say the same about you. You're even taller and bigger than last time." Waver's lips curled up in a tiny smirk, barely even there, which nevertheless conveyed a wide berth of emotions.
The two men approached each other confidently, intent on exchanging proper greetings, but when they stood across from one another, they suddenly fumbled, uncertain of what to do.
Thumping each other on the back hardly seemed appropriate for their station, and a bit too familiar for either a British lord or a Japanese teenager, but awkwardly keeping their distance would not be satisfying either.
Eventually, Waver tried to settle the matter by holding out his hand for a shake, judging it fitting enough, unaware that he was only making the situation worse.
As a Japanese citizen, Shirou wasn't used to shaking hands, or touching others in greeting at all. While in England, he always had to consciously force himself to take someone's hand every time when offered, because his first instinct was always to bow instead.
Bowing was not the correct action to take here though, but neither was doing nothing. Shirou had to do something quickly, and when he spotted Waver's outstretched hand, he fell back on the only instinct he had that held a solution for his current problem.
Thor's instinct.
His hand shot out and grasped Waver's forearm rather than his hand, in a typical Asgardian greeting. A greeting that was usually done between fellow warriors.
Waver seemed a bit thrown by it, but he recovered with admirable speed. It was only a minor mishap, barely worth mentioning, so the lord quickly adjusted and reciprocated the gesture, clasping Shirou's forearm in turn.
That was his second mistake.
Shirou was still running on Thor's instinct, trusting the Asgardian's far greater experience with social interactions to see him through the situation. However, when an Asgardian was faced with a brother-in-arms who clasped forearms with equal enthusiasm, there was only one thing he could do.
Before Shirou realised it, he'd suddenly pulled Waver into a strong, manly embrace.
"We're hugging now?" To his credit, Waver adjusted with lightning speed again, awkwardly patting Shirou on the back. "Right, yes, we're hugging now. Very good, very good."
It wasn't good though. It was horribly wrong!
Realising that his behaviour was utterly beyond the pale, Shirou immediately crushed the foreign instincts, letting Waver go again as if the man had burned him.
"Ah! I'm sorry! I apologise for… That should never have happened!" Blood rushed to his cheeks, and he almost looked down in shame, cursing Thor in his mind. Whatever compromise they'd been searching for, a hug hadn't been it.
"Yes, well, pay it no mind. We're… We're all victims of our own… enthusiasm… sometimes." Waver made an admirable attempt to brush it aside, but he too looked rattled, nearly more so than if Shirou had taken a swing at him.
Truly, it was British prudishness at its finest.
But as rattled as he looked, he was already recovering quickly, straightening out his suit with a deep breath. Meanwhile, Shirou forced down the blush, and soon, they both seemed ready to leave the odd incident behind them.
At least until Shirou heard a very familiar giggle, one that made him wish for the ground to swallow him whole, as he remembered that Waver wasn't alone in his office, and that his companions were not limited to just Svin and Flat.
"Was that a manly greeting between manly men?" Bazett Fraga McRemitz asked, apparently still employed as Waver's foremost bodyguard. She was holding a hand over her mouth to hide her grin and stifle her laughter, but she wasn't successful at either purpose. "Because it was very manly. Honest."
"Y-You can't just hug Sir!" Grey on the other hand seemed outraged, or as outraged as the normally reticent girl was capable of being. "That isn't…! It's not…! You can't…!"
She didn't seem capable of expressing just what she thought of his brazen act, too shocked and affronted to form coherent sentences, and Shirou actually found himself a little grateful for the fact. Had she been any less proper and composed, he would undoubtedly have been on the receiving end of an epic rant.
"I never would have imagined you to be capable of such familiarity, mister Fujimaru." Svin also had an opinion he wanted to convey, but at least his opinion was rather mild. "I suppose you learn something new every day."
"Don't worry about it, Shirou." Flat even seemed to be trying to cheer Shirou up, looking surprisingly supportive. "I also hug Waver sometimes. He doesn't mind."
The twitch in Waver's brow suggested he very much did mind, but he didn't speak up, perhaps recognising a lost battle when he saw one.
Yes, the peanut gallery had a lot to say, as always, and it instantly made Shirou feel like he was back in his home away from home. It was like nothing had changed since he left, which was oddly comforting despite him being the target of their teasing.
The gang were almost all here, hanging out in Waver's office as if they had nothing better to do. A few were absent, such as Reines and Melvin, but Shirou could only be grateful for that. Knowing those two, they'd just have revelled in his embarrassment.
There was however one person in the office whom he wasn't that familiar with, someone who had only joined Waver's retinue when the redhead had been about to leave the Clocktower. A relatively new addition, one might say.
Even so though, there was no mistaking Marianne Archelot, the head of the Department of Botany and, if Shirou remembered correctly, Waver's soon-to-be wife. A great beauty by any measure, she was sitting at Waver's desk, to his left, leaving little doubt about their relationship. For the record, Grey had claimed the place on his right.
"Mister Fujimaru." The blonde lady had refrained from commenting on his faux-pas so far, and now, she gave him a cautious yet reassuring smile. "I don't know if it is my place to say this, but please do not worry about any suggestions of impropriety over your chosen method of greeting. You are Waver's friend, whom he appreciates very much, so I must agree with young master Flat. He does not mind."
She spoke without a hint of mockery or scorn. Instead, kindness and gentleness permeated every word, and she finished by giving them a hesitant yet warm smile, setting both men at ease immediately.
Even better, after hearing such a warm and sincere declaration, Bazett and Grey quickly closed their mouths, recognising that more jokes and complaining would only make them look bad. Svin and Flat on the other hand, rascals that they were, seemed too obsessed with Marianne herself to continue making smart remarks.
She was astoundingly beautiful after all, and they were hapless teenage boys.
It resulted in a moment of blissful silence, which Waver then quickly filled by moving the conversation along, away from the moment of awkwardness.
"How have you been?" He asked, partially to distract from Shirou's earlier mishap and partially because he was honestly interested. "I heard nothing from you, but since that was always the plan, I assume nothing untoward happened while you were away?"
"That depends entirely on your definition of untoward." Shirou huffed. A lot had happened over the past months, ranging from him getting another girlfriend to killing a Dead Apostle Ancestor, but ultimately, he hadn't been hurt, he hadn't lost someone dear to him, he still had his house, and he was still rich. "But I'm doing fine. Certainly no worse than when we last saw each other. What about you?"
"I've been drowning in more work than ever, and I've become more important than I ever wanted, but I've been as well as can be expected too." Waver's reply was as guarded as Shirou's own, mentioning barely any details, but both men understood. Magi and supposed Sorcerers could not afford to be open in an impromptu meeting. Certainly not in a location where the walls had ears. "I wish I could tell you that I completed a long-held goal, or that I achieved something momentous, but that would be a lie."
"That's not true!" Grey suddenly interjected, ever willing to be Waver's cheerleader when he was being too hard on himself. "Sir has managed to take control over both his new Departments without killing anyone and he has helped to create peace in the Magus Association."
"A fragile peace." Waver smiled thinly, referring to the fact that Gladstone Phamrsolone's arrest could very well tear it apart again.
"But Grey's point about establishing your control over both the Department of Mineralogy and the Department of Botany in virtually no time at all was well-made. It was a great achievement, and you know it." Bazett argued, coming to Grey's aid. "Cease your self-pity and excessive humility, my lord. It is misplaced and unnecessary."
Harsh words, but Shirou agreed. It was exactly what Waver needed to hear.
"I'm sure you did very well." He decided to add himself, giving the man a broad grin. "Don't be too hard on yourself."
"Do I really want to hear this from you?" The lord sniped, before he sighed, inclining his head. "Yes, very well, I did achieve a few things of note. Most of it however was due to the hard work of my allies and underlings. One must give praise to whom praise is due."
While speaking, he gestured at the other people in the office, even going as far as to include Svin and Flat, and he clearly had many more individuals in mind too. It was a nice gesture, only slightly undercut by the fact he was obviously trying to deflect attention again.
But Shirou didn't point that out. He wasn't here to put the man on the spot. That would be very bad form and served absolutely no purpose.
"Do you have any idea when the wedding between you and Marianne will be?" He asked instead, as that was something he'd been wondering about for a while now. "I've been waiting for the invitation you'd send me, but I haven't received anything yet."
"Right, yes, apologies for that. The wedding has been… delayed, slightly." Waver seamlessly went along with the shift in topics, pursing his lips in slight displeasure. "You have not been passed over. There have simply been no invitations to send at all yet."
"I… see." Shirou hesitated for several very long moments, creating an almost awkward silence, as he wondered whether he could ask about the cause for the delay. Were it almost any other kind of event, he would have asked without compunction, but weddings could be sensitive affairs, and romance could drive even the most reasonable of people quite mad.
Fortunately, he didn't have to ask.
"We've been trying to set a date for months now, not in the least because our allies keep insisting how important it is that we are married quickly, but current events are… not ideal."
"What Waver means is that continuous developments in the political sphere keep changing the terms and conditions of Botany's impending alliance with the Aristocratic Faction, terms and conditions that need to be put in black-on-white before the contract is finalised." Marianne added helpfully. "And when I say that the contract is finalised, I mean that we are married."
"It also does not help that we have been frightfully busy, as I alluded to earlier, dealing with emergency after emergency." Waver's hand twitched, as if he wanted to grab a cigar but couldn't, for some reason. "I wish I could say that the troubles are arriving one after another, but I'm afraid they come in battalions. You will notice that yourself very soon, if you haven't already."
"That's not ominous at all!" Shirou deadpanned, eliciting a small smile from Marianne. "And I'm sorry to keep pressing the issue, but is there any chance your wedding will take place within the next four weeks? It would be really convenient if it did."
Shirou was on a very tight schedule after all, with an unforgiving deadline.
"It is unlikely, though not, I suppose, impossible." Waver paused, glancing at Marianne, before looking back at Shirou. "It depends on how things progress from here."
"Though we believe that the arrest of Gladstone Phamrsolone will likely cause another large delay." The blonde lady casually admitted that Waver had told her all about Phamrsolone's fate, despite Lorelei's orders not to, but Shirou pretended he hadn't heard a thing. "Within the next four weeks would be ideal, but it's not terribly realistic, so please, don't count on it."
"I understand." In that case, Shirou would have to make do with what he could get. "You'll let me know if there's anything I can help you with?"
"Of course, and you will be one of the first to know when a date has finally been set." Waver promised.
"That goes without saying." Marianne agreed wholeheartedly.
"Then I'll do my best to attend." Shirou promised in turn, before he dropped the matter of their wedding, recognising there was no more to tell.
It shouldn't be too difficult to get another week off from school when the time came. As long as he maintained his perfect grades and his university-cover story, the principle and the faculty board would be more than happy to facilitate his unusual schedule. The girls might be a little harder to convince, but if he told them he'd be attending a friend's wedding, they'd likely be more inclined to agree than if he went for work. They might even want to come along.
"But that's enough about Waver's love-life. What about yours, Shirou?" Flat decided to interrupt, claiming the limelight again.
"Mine?"
"We heard from Waver that you brought a girl to the Clocktower this time." Flat wiggled his eyebrows meaningfully, his grin nothing less than salacious. "Is she your fancy woman?"
"Fancy woman?" Shirou had heard the term before, and knew what it referred to, but it was rather surprising to hear such an old-fashioned term come out of Flat's mouth, especially since he said it in a tone that suggested he thought he was being uncouth. "In a way, I suppose. Rin is my fiancée."
He didn't think it was that much of a reveal, but he was proven wrong when all eyes in the office went wide in shock, up to and including Flat's.
"Fiancée?!" Bazett gasped, her mouth falling open.
"Y-You're going to get m-married?" Grey squeaked, her piercing blue eyes round as saucers.
"Since when?!" Svin spluttered, wholly taken aback by the news.
"With whom?!" Flat added, so surprised he couldn't even think of a teasing remark. "I didn't think you liked women at all!"
"W-What? I told you I have several lovers." Shirou nearly blushed at Flat's insinuation. "I-I just decided to marry one of them."
"And the others? Will they be your concubines?"
Yet again, Flat was wholly sincere, but his question was nevertheless enough to actually make Shirou flush a spotty red.
"Leave it, Flat." Waver came to his rescue though, curbing Flat's curiosity with a hard glare, before he turned to Shirou with a lop-sided smile. "I believe congratulations are in order then, and I take it I shall be invited to the wedding?"
"That… That goes without saying." The almost banal question returned a great deal of sense to the conversation, sufficiently so that the excited atmosphere calmed down a bit.
"What is her name?"
"Tohsaka Rin."
To most people in the office, that name meant very little, as evidenced by their slight frowns as they attempted to remember whether they'd heard the name anywhere before. To Waver however, the family-name was a real blast from the past, again, though his only response was a minute widening of his eyes and a measured comment.
"I look forward to meeting her someday."
Shirou was grateful for his restraint. The last thing he needed was for Flat to get the idea that he was keeping secrets of any kind.
"Yes, congratulations." Marianne gave him another beautiful smile, followed by a curious look. "Have you been engaged for long?"
"No. Only for a couple of months now. Actually, we got engaged soon after I returned from the Clocktower."
"Oh, so that's why you didn't tell us last time." Flat nodded as if everything made sense now. "Can I ask why you got engaged to her?"
"Why?" It seemed an odd question, one that Shirou didn't immediately have a reply to. "What do you mean?"
"Is she very powerful?" Flat clarified. "Or is she very rich?"
"Ah." Now Shirou understood. In the Moonlit World, marriages were basically transactions between individuals or families, meant to benefit both parties in some way. If love was involved, that was fine, but it was certainly not a priority. The betrothal between Waver and Marianne was a good example. Because of that, Flat wondered what exactly Rin had to offer for Shirou to agree to marry her. A question that was of course easily answered. "We got engaged because I love her."
"Love?" As expected, most people in the office were rather taken aback again, Flat most of all.
"Yes, love. There's nothing more to it. I love Tohsaka Rin, and I want to spend the rest of my life with her."
Shirou wasn't ashamed of his feelings in the slightest. He bluntly laid out his motives and goals, uncaring about what others might think of them.
"Now I really look forward to meeting her." Waver huffed, cocking his head to the side and narrowing his eyes slightly. "I wonder what kind of woman can have such an influence on you."
"The best kind." Shirou jested, and he was rewarded with a minute smile in response.
"I… I am very pleased to hear that, but…" Marianne looked a tad confused now, wringing her hands in a clear sign of anxiety. "But what about… What about the Vice-Director?"
It took the redhead a full three seconds to understand what she meant, and then he had to firmly sit on the desire to throw his gaze to the ceiling and scream in despair.
Was there anyone who hadn't heard those blasted rumours!? Or at the very least, didn't take them so seriously?!
"Lorelei and I are not in any sort of romantic relationship!" He repeated his old line, injecting as much energy as he could, hoping against hope that it would be enough.
"…Lorelei?"
"Damnit!"
He'd only managed to fuel the fire.
Again.
Damn the Moonlit World and its backward notions of romance and interpersonal closeness!
And while the office was once more consumed in a storm of questions and remarks from the peanut gallery, Shirou met Waver's eyes, seeing in them his own tiredness reflected. A tiredness with how slow every conversation seemed to progress once more than four people were involved.
In a split-second, they wordlessly agreed to meet again somewhere else, away from all the racket, to have a proper talk.
There was much to discuss after all, from the personal matters to the great emergencies that threatened the entire world. Hopefully, those discussions would take place a little more efficiently than they were managing right now.
In the wake of the Night of the Broken Moon, both the Burial Agency and the Magus Association had feared retaliation of some kind, a strike of revenge from the Dead Apostle Ancestors to show they wouldn't take such a defeat lying down.
They needn't have worried. Most Dead Apostle Ancestors had gone even deeper into hiding than before, spooked badly by the fact that three of their peers had been slain so quickly and easily by a positively tiny taskforce. Revenge had been the furthest from their minds, as they ran away like skittish critters.
It wasn't often that they were reminded of their own mortality, of the fact they were not gods but flawed beings that could barely be called immortal, so it was definitely an unpleasant experience to have their fallibility shoved into their faces so brutally.
This went for Elder and Upstart alike. Whether young and brash or old and weathered, none of them were willing to look death in the eye. As the late Spider Queen had already remarked upon, they were terrible cowards, who felt no compunction about fleeing and hiding at the first sign of trouble.
It was how they'd survived for as long as they had even though literally everyone hated them. The only exceptions to the rule were the few Ancestors without much sapience to speak of, such as the Forest of Einnashe, which barely possessed a conscious mind at all, and utter mavericks such as Sumire, whose motivations were a complete mystery to everyone, including her peers.
Trhvmn Ortenrosse on the other hand, the King of the Dead Apostle Ancestors and the Burial Agency's number one enemy, was no exception at all. The moment the news broke that three Ancestors had been slaughtered in a single night, he'd abandoned his previous shelter and fled to the Southernmost tip of South-Africa, barely bothering to find out which of his subjects had perished before going underground.
King he may be, but his courage and valour were severely lacking. Truly, any ancient king worth their salt, such as Arturia Pendragon and Rama, King of Kosala, would have been greatly disappointed to see how this wretched creature, which dared to call itself a king, abandoned his subjects without a second thought. How unwilling he was to risk himself for the sake of those he claimed to rule.
Not that Trhvmn cared about that. The opinions of humans, even Demigods, were of little interest to him. He had nothing to prove and nothing to lose, as long as he managed to stay alive. That was his highest priority, taking precedence over absolutely anything else, up to and including his power, his authority, his dignity, and whatever Earthly goods he had in his possession.
Yes, the King of Knights and the Avatar of Vishnu might disdain him for his lack of courage and chivalry, amongst many, many other things, but in turn, Trhvmn looked down on them for only having managed to stay alive for a few decades at most. Their ages, even when put together, didn't even come close to a single century, whereas Trhvmn was over three millennia old already.
It went to show just how much that valour and bravery was worth in the end. How useless it was to pretend that good people would have good fates.
A Dead Apostle Ancestor shouldn't be valiant and self-sacrificing. They should be old. As old as possible. The older the better. Which, of course, meant avoiding anything and everything that could possibly pose a serious threat.
It was a case of completely different worldviews. Priorities that simply weren't compatible in the slightest. Trhvmn had spent many a night philosophising about the nature of kingship, wondering if he could perhaps learn something from the Ancient human kings, but every time, he'd arrived at the same conclusion.
He couldn't. There was nothing to learn from mortal creatures who had thrown away their lives at a whim for no personal gain whatsoever. They had blinded themselves with their obsession for legacy, honour, and chivalry, and while humans might appreciate that in a ruler, Dead Apostle Ancestors did not.
They only cared about survival.
So Trhvmn hid like the coward he was. He abandoned his subjects to whatever fate awaited them and took refuge far away from the civilised world, in a place where humans hadn't come for many centuries. A place that even his fellow Ancestors did not know about, which was an advantage that Trhvmn had gone to great lengths to maintain.
Which made it immensely vexing that one of his subjects had managed to track him down anyway.
"Your Majesty! So this is where you've been hiding! It took me almost three days to find you!"
Trhvmn was roused from his musings by the voice of said subject, and he scowled in displeasure, having to suppress the curse that wanted to pass his lips. Though normally a very composed individual, Trhvmn had definite limits to his patience, and unfortunately, his current conversation partner was someone who very much enjoyed finding those limits.
"What is it, Crown?" He spat at Merem Solomon, somehow managing to not make it sound too hostile. While he had very little patience for the likes of Solomon, barely being able to tolerate the nuisance on a good day, the little louse was a fellow Elder, so he deserved at least a measure of respect.
Not trust though. Trhvmn didn't trust that church-lover as far as he could throw him.
"My most glorious king, I return to you triumphantly!" Merem proclaimed bombastically while throwing his arms wide, his acting so over-the-top that it was clear he was doing it just to annoy Trhvmn. "The mission that you bestowed upon your humble servant, me, has been completed. I bring to you the Idea Blood of the Spider Queen."
He knelt, bowing his head deeply, while holding out an orb-shaped object wrapped in a handkerchief.
"Ah, yes, that." Now Trhvmn remembered. He'd given both Solomon and Chaos the order to obtain said Idea Blood by any means necessary just before going into hiding. An order they had apparently followed with impressive speed.
"You'll find it in mint condition." Solomon promised, still keeping his head bowed, likely to hide the fact that he was rolling his eyes or something similarly disrespectful. "I was exceedingly careful in its handling."
"Hm. Lift your head and be proud. You did well." The report of a successful mission did wonders for Trhvmn's mood, and he praised Solomon's hard work as he accepted the Idea Blood, leaving it wrapped in the Enchanted handkerchief for now. It should be powerless without a wielder, but even so, there was no reason to tempt fate. There was no telling what the Spider Queen might have done with it, so Trhvmn was only too happy to keep the piece of cloth in place. Once he'd found the time to completely reset and cleanse the Idea Blood, he could bestow it upon someone worthy.
"Of course, the Spider-Clan has been disposed of as well, in its entirety, as you commanded." Solomon continued, the corners of his lips pulling down slightly, undoubtedly in disapproval over the massacre of his fellow Apostles. "It was a most… brutal, spectacle."
Trhvmn wasn't surprised to see that the boyish Ancestor disapproved of assassinating the Spider Queen and her followers. He had always been soft-hearted, towards humans, animals, and especially his own kind. In fact, if it hadn't been for Solomon's advanced age, nearly equal to Trhvmn's own, he might have suspected the fool lacked a killing-instinct altogether.
"Brutal, but necessary." He chose for a diplomatic answer, storing the Idea Blood away safely in a small chest inscribed with hundreds of seals and markings. "They will be replaced with someone more competent."
"Someone more obedient, you mean. Obedient to you." Solomon countered brazenly, and Trhvmn inclined his head, for it was true. "Are you sure it was the right decision though?"
"You disapprove?"
"Not necessarily. I'm perfectly fine with a bit of murder, and I was never that attached to the Spider and her ilk, but I do worry about the greater picture. I have to ask whether her death won't cause any problems for the Ritual."
"Ah yes, the Ritual." Trhvmn nodded understandingly, now seeing what Solomon was driving at. "I am so glad to hear you are taking it seriously now."
"What are you talking about? I always took it seriously." Solomon lied so brazenly and confidently that lesser men might actually have believed him. "Which is why I'm concerned about your recent… decisions, my liege."
"My decisions? Such as?"
"To have the Spider Queen killed for instance. No matter who you give her Idea Blood to, they will not be prepared in time to aid with the Aylesbury Ritual. Can Dark Six still be awakened with our ranks depleted even more than they already were, now that we have lost three of our own? Will we still be able to execute the Aylesbury Ritual?"
The Aylesbury Ritual.
A term that inspired nightmares in even the hardiest of Executors. A ceremony that served to awaken the Dark Six, the first Dead Apostle Ancestor to have ever been created and the only creature that held the means to resurrect the Crimson Moon.
Awakening it had been Trhvmn's foremost priority for many centuries now. He'd laboured endlessly in the pursuit of that goal, sometimes to the point where he almost risked his own life. Even when several of his fellow Ancestors dismissed his efforts as misplaced, he'd bravely continued on. As such, when Solomon, who until recently had been one of the Ritual's greatest detractors, worried about Trhvmn's commitment to the plan, the king had to suppress a bark of incredulous laughter, so as not to hurt the brat's feelings.
"I understand your concern." He chose to say instead, making a show of nodding seriously. "But you worry needlessly. To execute the Ritual and awaken our dear senior, we only need as few as six of us being in the right place and working together. Even without the Spider Queen, we more than meet that criterion."
"You, me, Gransurg, Van-Fem." Solomon began counting on his fingers, listing the Dead Apostle Ancestors who had already agreed to aid in the Ritual's completion. "Stanrobe, Rizo, Fina, Altrouge, Nero, little Rita, and of course your three pets, though since you now have the Spider's Idea Blood, I guess you'll have four pets soon enough. That makes fourteen Ancestors in total, enough to leave us with a comfortable margin."
"It should be, though I ask that you not refer to your fellow Ancestors as 'pets' again."
"Why not? It's basically what they are. You practically handed them their positions among the Twenty-Seven every time Barthomeloi killed one of us and you had an Idea Blood to spare. They owe everything to you. They are, and will always be, yours. Your pets."
Trhvmn pursed his lips, once more reminded sharply of just why he disliked dealing with the Daemon-master. Solomon was technically correct in his accusation, sufficiently so that it was hard to deny his words, and that made it difficult to properly chastise him.
"I may have… 'stacked the deck in my favour', as they say these days." He admitted, minding his words very carefully. "But they all earned their positions nonetheless. You will find them no weaker than their predecessors."
"Oh, I fully expect them to be stronger. They have your full backing and support after all. I would be more surprised if they weren't more powerful." Solomon laughed, taking another stab under water for good measure. "I don't think lord Brunestud will be very happy though. He established the Twenty-Seven to be independent from one another. Your puppets may well find that their existence won't last long past the Aylesbury Ritual."
"If that is our Master's will, it shall be done." Trhvmn replied with a shrug, though personally, he rather thought that Solomon was exaggerating. "But we shall see, once the Ritual has been completed, what our Master's will truly is."
Solomon evidently had a rose-tinted view of the Crimson Moon, one in which their Father was infallible and fair, but that was not how Trhvmn remembered him. The Crimson Moon was, as all gods, a hypocrite, who said one thing and did another. If Trhvmn's actions benefitted him, he wouldn't care one whit whether it went against some rules he'd set up thousands of years before.
It was hardly Solomon's fault though that he didn't understand that. He'd been but a child when he'd been turned, and he had barely matured since. His intelligence had greatly increased, and he'd even gained wisdom, but he still lacked a great deal of common sense and the ability to see nuance.
"I look forward to seeing what Crimson Moon Brunestud will do with the Idea Blood of your pets. Undoubtedly, it will be grand." Adhering entirely to expectations, Solomon fired off a last taunt, before his countenance turned marginally more serious. "Speaking of Idea Blood, I have yet been unable to determine what happened to that of the Nineteenth."
"Vlov Arkhangel?"
"Yes, him. His Idea Blood should have passed on to his Successor, or, if he didn't have one in place, to a compatible Dead Apostle, but there's no trace of it anywhere. He's been dead for a while now, but no new Nineteenth has risen to take his place."
"That is… interesting." As he'd fled for his life after hearing about the Night of the Broken Moon, Trhvmn was less well-informed about current events than he'd have liked to be, so this was entirely new to him. "I hope you plan to elaborate."
"I'd love to, honestly, but there's not a lot I can say. I searched high and low, even asked around at the Burial Agency, but I can't for the life of me figure out where it has gone. For now, the theory is that it has yet to reform, though the cause for the delay is unknown." Solomon reported, for once not cracking any stupid jokes. "Apparently, the Church can't even make a new infernal device for the next Nineteenth, simply because there is nothing to work with."
"How fortuitous." Trhvmn allowed himself a thin smile, at the message rather than the messenger, enjoying how Solomon's face scrunched up in confusion.
"Fortuitous?"
"It is a synonym for fortunate, meaning that something happened by a lucky chance." Trhvmn explained glibly, pretending to completely misunderstand the question.
"My king!" The boyish Ancestor complained in a rather whiny tone, showing he couldn't take nearly as much as he could dish out.
"It is fortuitous because it means that the Burial Agency does not possess the Nineteenth Idea Blood either." Trhvmn conceded. "My greatest fear was that they had hidden it away or converted it into a weapon, like they did the Twenty-Fifth Idea Blood. In that case, it would have been lost to us for the coming century at least. However, if it is only missing, it will reemerge again in due time. We only need to keep our eyes open and wait."
"You don't think the Magus Association might have it instead?"
"I am certain they don't." It was a good question, as the Magus Association was a powerful and resourceful organisation too, but Trhvmn confidently shook his head. "For all that Magi like to keep their secrets, their precious Association is as leaky as a sieve when it comes to such information. If they'd possessed or sealed away the Idea Blood of the Nineteenth, we would have heard all about it by now. Their bragging would have reached the far ends of the Earth and beyond."
"Then, my king, what do you think happened to the Idea Blood?" Solomon let his curiosity get the better of him, but Trhvmn allowed it, for a short discussion would allow him to straighten out his thoughts as well.
Frankly, he'd rather have had said discussion with Stanrobe or Van-Fem, but they were busy, not to mention unaware of the location of his current hideout, so he'd have to settle for Solomon.
"I have my theories, but none of them are proven. If it is the absolute truth you want, you likely won't find it here." He cautioned his fellow Ancestor, who responded with a shrug. "Very well then. As you know, the transference of Idea Blood from one person to the next is a very intense and strenuous process, both for the receiver and the Idea Blood itself. It takes time to recover from. As the time between the demise of Arkhangel's predecessor and his own was very short however, only a few decades, if I remember correctly, it could be that too great a strain was placed on the Idea Blood when he perished as well, causing it to go into hibernation."
"Hibernation? Idea Blood can go into hibernation?" The doubtful frown was entirely warranted, and demanded explanation.
"I don't mean that it goes to sleep for the winter. I mean that it disappears for a while to regain its strength. It has happened before. Not often, but certainly once or twice. In such a case, it will reappear by itself once it has healed. We only need to be patient in the meantime."
Solomon still didn't look convinced, but that hardly mattered. Trhvmn wasn't here to convince him. The truth was the truth, and all things ended there.
"…What other possibilities can you think of, your majesty? Are there any options that are a bit more… convenient, to us?"
"Even more convenient?! Crown, hibernation is the most innocent and beneficial explanation for the disappearance of the Idea Blood that I can think of! Any other explanation involves a third party absconding with it following Arkhangel's death!"
"Impossible!" Solomon dismissed the possibility out of hand. "The Burial Agency doesn't have it, and neither does the Magus Association. Any individual Magus would never be able to control it, and any Executor would have tried to destroy it on the spot, before bringing it to their masters when they failed. No one else can possibly possess it."
The sheer arrogance on display nearly drove Trhvmn to despair. Solomon was a fellow Elder, almost as old as he was, yet he displayed all the naivety of a child. Granted, he was a child, but even that should have limits.
"Don't be a fool, Solomon. The world is a vast place, filled with horrors and wonders that are beyond even us. Humans are frail and short-lived, that is true, but they are crafty, ingenious, and persistent. That goes doubly so for Magi. I imagine there are any number of means by which even our own Crowns can be rendered invisible to our eyes."
Trhvmn might be one of the oldest and most powerful beings on Earth, but that didn't mean the world didn't hold many secrets from him anyway. No single being could know everything, with the sole exception of the Christian God, if the Burial Agency was right about His existence.
"Tch." The sound that came in response conveyed very clearly what Solomon thought of that though, how ludicrous he considered the very idea that mankind might have 'pulled one over on him', so to speak. "Humans cannot reach such heights."
"Then have you considered that the culprit, the thief who absconded with the Nineteenth Idea Blood, might not be human at all?" Recognising a lost cause when he saw one, Trhvmn attempted a different approach. "There are a myriad of other beings out there who might have stolen it instead and claimed it for themselves."
Lingering Phantasmal Beasts, Wraiths, Ghosts, Gremlins, and even other Dead Apostles. They could all have decided to claim the masterless Idea Blood for themselves. It was a source of great power after all, and if there was one desire that all the aforementioned creatures, including humans, shared, it was the desire for power.
"The Idea Blood was made by lord Crimson Moon for Dead Apostles only." Solomon was quick to refute him however, his face rapidly losing all expression. "No other creature would bother stealing it, for they cannot use it. It rejects them utterly and completely. Only humans would bother trying, with only marginal success. Brunestud's designs were flawless."
"The Crimson Moon is not…" Trhvmn suddenly halted, sensing trouble ahead if he finished his sentence and said out loud that their creator wasn't infallible. "…He couldn't have foreseen every possibility. He only had a limited amount of time before he was cowardly ambushed by the Kaleidoscope, so he might not have been able to make all the preparations he wanted."
To say that much was almost sacrilege, and Solomon wordlessly shook his head, his expression alarmingly stoney.
Seeing the boyish Ancestor so serious for once was not nearly as pleasant as Trhvmn had always imagined, and he found himself almost wishing for the insolent prankster to return.
Which was a weird experience indeed.
"Glare at me all you like, but even you cannot deny my words. Do you not remember the Fifth? The Elder who was just a few decades younger than you and I? Do you not remember what happened to him? To his Idea Blood?"
"Of course I do. He was killed when he tried to mess with…"
Realisation struck like thunder, and Solomon froze mid-sentence, his mouth still hanging open, but not a sound escaping it anymore.
It seemed the boyish vampire had been completely caught off guard by the flash of inspiration. For a single moment, he had no idea what to do or say. He was too baffled, his earlier seriousness having been shattered into nothingness.
"When he tried to mess with…?" Trhvmn prompted him gently, gleefully stretching out the moment as much as he could. Solomon was normally always so annoyingly composed and laconic, so to see him looking so vulnerable, a vanishingly rare occurrence, was a sight for sore eyes.
"W-With…" He was even stuttering now, a sound that was like music to Trhvmn's ears. "Y-You mean to say that…? N-No, that is impossible! There is nothing like…"
"Nothing like…? Like what?" This really was a surprising lot of fun, bullying the troublemaker, and Trhvmn played dumb, acting like he had no clue what Solomon wanted to say, letting him stew for a while longer.
But all good things had to end, and the Daemon-master was too old to be off-balance for long.
"There is nothing like it! That thing is a complete and total fluke!" Solomon clearly wanted to sound confident, but his assertion came out more as a wish than anything else. "An outlier! It doesn't count!"
"Of course it counts." Trhvmn countered immediately. "You wanted to know what could have happened to Arkhangel's Idea Blood to make it vanish, so I gave you an example from the past. An actual example, which actually took place. It is entirely possible that something similar happened again, no matter how much you dislike the idea."
"No!"
"If something happened once, it can happen again."
"No! I can accept hibernation, or being Sealed away through means unknown, but your third example involves ORT!"
Indeed it did. The alien god was the only being to have ever claimed an Idea Blood for itself without being a Dead Apostle beforehand or becoming one afterwards. It had claimed the Crown of the Fifth after the Fifth had foolishly attacked it, which was why it currently held a position among the Twenty-Seven despite not being a Dead Apostle.
Though no one could be certain whether ORT was even aware of that. It didn't communicate with the outside world, except by killing everything and everyone that came close with extreme prejudice.
Which, as far as communication went, was perfectly clear.
"Yes, I do speak of ORT." Trhvmn confirmed. "As I said, if it happened once that an alien god claimed one of our Crowns, it can happen again, can it not? Lightning does, after all, strike twice every once in a while."
"Lightning does, but ORT doesn't!" Solomon practically snarled. If he were a cat, his fur would be standing on end, which was a marvellous sight indeed. "I will not… I cannot believe- That is, it cannot have happened again. It is impossible!"
"Improbable." Trhvmn corrected his poor, confused servant. "Perhaps another Type, or something of a similar nature, has arrived on Earth recently, and now made its first mark by claiming an Idea Blood for itself. We cannot discount the possibility and we should prepare accordingly."
Solomon practically flailed for a few moments, utterly overwhelmed, while Trhvmn did his best to look serious and sincere, and not at all like he was very much enjoying his fellow Ancestor's distress.
"…Do you really think that might have happened?" Solomon eventually ended up asking, his voice very small and rather befitting his young appearance.
Trhvmn almost nodded in response, but at the very last moment, decided to take pity on the other vampire lord instead.
"No, I do not. It is possible, but the chance is so infinitesimally small that it borders on non-existent. It's far more likely that the Idea Blood is hibernating or that some ordinary rogue has attempted to claim it for themselves. Or perhaps it is something I have never seen before. That too remains a distinct probability."
"I will keep looking." Solomon promised, looking pleasantly serious again. "I will make sure to reclaim it. I don't even care anymore if it ends up with another pet of yours, as long as we have it back. By your leave, my king."
"Good luck." Trhvmn kindly waved the boyish Ancestor goodbye, watching as the small form scurried away in a manner not unlike his rat-familiar.
It certainly was an odd situation, with the Nineteenth Idea Blood being missing, but Trhvmn wasn't too worried. It would turn up sooner or later, and then the Ancestors could just reclaim it again. These things had a way of working out by themselves in the end.
And if the matter kept Solomon on his toes, it was ultimately more advantageous than truly problematic.
Though Trhvmn was a bit confused that the smaller vampire seemed so ignorant of past events. Certainly, he had to have known that an Idea Blood going missing for a while wasn't unprecedented?
Ah well, it hardly mattered in the end.
Alone once more, and left in blissful silence, Trhvmn put the matter out of his head and returned to his musings from before.
Would Julius Ceasar have approved of his style of ruling? Or Oda Nobunaga?
Certainly, at least one Ancient King would?
True to her word, Lorelei Barthomeloi summoned Shirou, Rin, and Ophelia back to her chambers only a day after she'd previously dismissed them. The most pressing matters concerning Gladstone Phamrsolone had been dealt with for now, so she had some time to properly welcome her old friend and her new apprentice, and to give Ophelia the details on her new identity.
The trio in question had been waiting for said invitation, and they responded promptly. By now, Shirou was such a familiar sight in the Department of Policies that no one bothered to get in his way or even look twice at him, so they reached Lorelei's office quickly enough.
They were invited inside just as quickly, and found lady Barthomeloi leaning back against her desk in a surprisingly casual stance, while lady Montmorency sat in the corner, as usual. It seemed like they had just been waiting for the trio to arrive, but knowing these practical women, they probably had been discussing various matters of importance right up until Shirou knocked on the door.
"Lady Barthomeloi." The redhead took point, and bowed to the Vice-Director in greeting, doing his best to remain formal, so as not to feed the rumour mill about their supposed relationship any further. It only got him a strange look from her though, so he rose again and amended his words. "Lorelei, it is good to see you again."
Referring to her by her first name was an excellent way of further feeding the rumour mill, and Rin gave him a very meaningful smirk, but if Lorelei was fine with that, he was too.
"The pleasure is entirely mutual, Shirou. Please don't stand on formalities here." The strange look disappeared and she gave him a warm smile, one that made Ophelia gasp softly in surprise, before she pushed herself off her desk and held out her hand.
It was an almost exact replay of Shirou's meeting with Waver the day before, only now with someone far prettier, and just like the day before, the redhead's reaction to the outstretched hand was awkward to say the least.
After the regrettable incident with Waver, and knowing that it might be repeated with Lorelei, he'd prepared himself thoroughly to shake her hand properly in a normal, British way. If he made the same mistake as before, he didn't think he'd be able to live with himself anymore.
However, just as he reached out and looked Lorelei in the eyes, he suddenly remembered that proper European decorum had different rules for men and women, and that shaking a lady's hand might be the height of impropriety.
He very nearly panicked, like the idiot Rin always claimed him to be, and he almost fell back on instinct again, only just stopping himself from making such a colossal mistake.
It was that instinct, mixed with Thor's, that had brought him to embrace Waver. Undoubtedly, it would move him to embrace Lorelei as well if he allowed it any leeway whatsoever.
In fact, it might bring him to do something even worse. Waver was a good friend, but Lorelei was a comrade-in-arms, and a beautiful and honourable one at that. Shirou did not want to know what an Asgardian might consider a proper greeting for her.
In the end, he just shook her hand up and down a few times, choosing the simplest option. It certainly wasn't very gentlemanly, but since the alternative was much, much worse, it would have to do for now.
Lorelei herself didn't seem to mind, not batting an eyelash at the handshake and gripping his hand with equal strength, so ultimately, it hardly mattered at all.
"Shirou, you idiot." Rin on the other hand let out a weary sigh, before she gently pushed him aside. "That is not how you should greet a lady, much less the Vice Director. You have to greet her properly, like this."
She turned to Lorelei and took her hand, the one the brunette had held out to Shirou before, before she lowered her head and brushed her lips over Lorelei's knuckles, in a greeting that did seem rather familiar to Shirou.
Oh, right, he'd seen that before in films.
"Your method is indeed more formally appropriate, miss Tohsaka, but I already told you not to stand on formalities-" Lorelei began to assure them, but then Ophelia stepped forward as well and copied Rin's greeting, though a bit clumsily, outright kissing the back of the Vice Director's hand, which, ordinarily, would be quite a faux-pas.
"Incredible." Mirei whispered, looking half-awed and half-amused by their antics. "What a fantastic train-wreck I am seeing before me."
She was summarily ignored by everyone present.
"…Welcome." Lorelei considered correcting the rampant misconceptions, to bestow upon the teens a short course on actual decorum rather than the bastardised version they'd learned from the television, but after a split-second of deliberation, she decided time was too short. The trio hadn't done anything too egregious anyway and there was too much else that needed to be done in far too little time. "Take a seat."
There still weren't many chairs in the office, but Shirou Traced a few more, allowing them all to take place at her desk. Then, Lorelei immediately tried to get down to business.
"There have been quite a lot of developments-"
"How have you been?"
Shirou wouldn't have it though, bluntly interrupting her with a personal question. Another violation of proper decorum, though this one was entirely deliberate.
"How have I…?" Though surprised at being interrupted, which certainly didn't happen to her every day, Lorelei showed barely a hint of shock on her face, remaining wholly composed as she turned towards Shirou. "I do not see how that is relevant."
"It is relevant to me." He insisted however, meeting her gaze without compunction.
"Why?"
"You are my friend." Though they had never officially acknowledged it, Shirou considered Lorelei a friend at least, and he hoped she saw things the same way. "I know we have much to discuss, but first, I want to know if you are doing alright. I missed you."
That made her eyes widen, if only ever so slightly, and for a split-second, he thought he saw a hint of a blush on her cheeks, though it was gone so quickly he might as well have imagined it.
"Aw." Rin cooed, though both Shirou and Lorelei stoically ignored her.
"I have been well." The Vice Director replied after a moment, a single moment that was nevertheless just a bit too long to be entirely casual. "The past months have been fraught with troublesome news and impending perils, but so far, things have not spiralled out of control yet. There have been no major upheavals in the Magus Association or within the Aristocratic Faction since your departure, nor have we suffered any losses in personnel or resources. In briefer terms, all has been quiet."
"Aha." It didn't escape Shirou's attention that she was still mainly focusing on her work and her position as Vice Director, thereby barely answering his actual question. "And on a more personal level?"
"My personal life is entirely irrelevant."
"Inexistent, more like." Lady Montmorency suddenly scoffed, giving her boss a look that Shirou found hard to discern. "And aren't you going to talk to him about the you-know-what?"
"I will, at a later date." Lorelei's expression turned unreadable as well, as the two women stared each other down for the briefest of moments, before they both focused on Shirou again.
There was definitely something going on between them, something that ran deep, but since Lorelei didn't continue and lady Montmorency had fallen silent, Shirou knew he wasn't going to get any answers today.
"Have you done anything fun lately?" He tried instead, hoping against hope that Lorelei hadn't only been working.
"No." Once again, her reply was short and to the point, and also rather saddening. It honestly made Shirou seriously consider inviting her on a daytrip soon, just so she could relax for a while.
It would fuel the rumours something fierce, and Rin would never let him hear the end of it, but even so, he didn't entirely dismiss the idea. Friends had to look out for one another.
"What about hunts? Have you hunted anything lately?" He tried as a last-ditch attempt, knowing that was a subject that Lorelei liked talking about.
"No." Rather than igniting enthusiasm however, his question seemed to irritate her for some reason, as her tone suddenly turned icy and she gave him a glare that he was sure he did not deserve. "I have not been on any hunts since my last one, over two months ago."
"I… see?" There was a strange emphasis on the word 'I' in her sentence, as if she wanted to tell him something, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what that could be. "W-Well, if I had known that, I could have invited you on my own hunt."
"Oh?" The icy glare wasn't just icy anymore now, but also fairly inquisitive. "Would you have?"
"Of course. I would have loved to take you along, had circumstances allowed it. You are the best Apostle-hunter I know. Maybe even the best in the world. If you'd had my back, it would have made all the difference. If I'm ever going to hunt Dead Apostles again and it is at all possible to take you along, I definitely will."
If he'd had Lorelei with him in Misaki Town, he didn't doubt they would have crushed Vlov Arkhangel in the first round, and that they would have hunted down both the Spider-Queen and Roa far earlier, preventing many more deaths in the city. In general, Shirou didn't think any Dead Apostle would be able to fight them if they teamed up, not even the Ancestors.
"Hm." Lorelei seemed to be in an immensely fickle mood today, for she was already smiling again. Not broadly, she wasn't that expressive, but the corners of her lips were definitely curled up in approval, and the icy glare had disappeared without a trace. "Good."
Apparently, he'd given her the right answer, and he'd now passed some kind of test, though he couldn't for the life of him figure out what he had or hadn't done.
Rin was right. He truly was slow sometimes.
"You mentioned a hunt two months ago." He recalled, moving the subject along, towards a topic he'd been meaning to ask about. "Was that the hunt in which you encountered the Wolpertingers?"
He remembered the Magical Rabbits that Lorelei had managed to capture alive, and this seemed to be a good time to ask about them.
"It was." Lorelei confirmed, still looking oddly content. "I wish I could have taken you along for that hunt. It was… unexpectedly glorious."
"And it would have allowed you to take those hell-rabbits back to Japan immediately, rather than storing them here for two months." Lady Montmorency grumbled under her breath, looking quite cranky indeed. "You promised to take them off our hands when you returned, boy, so I suggest you do so at once."
"Lady Montmorency." Lorelei turned to the older woman with clear disapproval. "Enough. It was no chore to take care of the Wolpertingers."
"Not for you perhaps. Those beasts throw themselves at your feet whenever they lay eyes on you. For the rest of us though, they've been a pack of right little demons."
"…No."
"Yes!"
"I will gladly take them with me." Shirou hastily assured the ladies. "You caught them at my request, so it's only right I take them off your hands as soon as possible."
"Quite." Lady Montmorency agreed, calming down now that she'd achieved her purpose.
"Very well then." Lorelei seemed oddly reluctant to part with the beasts, but she did not protest. "Doctor Kix has finished his research on them, so you are free to take them with you whenever you please. I believe your Sakura will be most satisfied with them."
It was a bit disorienting to hear the Vice Director of the Clocktower address one of his girlfriends by her first name, but then, Sakura was indeed the one who'd requested Lorelei to capture the Wolpertingers alive, and as far as he knew, Lorelei only had her first name.
In any case, this was wonderful news.
"Thank you so much, for capturing them and for giving them to me, also from Sakura." He bowed his head in gratitude, doing his best to show his utmost sincerity. Lorelei was giving him an enormous gift, one that she likely would never have given to any other Magus, and it was only right that he gave it the appreciation it deserved. "If there is anything I can do to repay you, now or in the future, anything at all, just let me know."
"Noted." A less scrupulous Magus might have smirked, or given some other sign of being darkly amused at receiving such a broad favour from a supposed Sorcerer, but Lorelei treated his promise with respect and appreciation. "I won't ask for anything that will compromise your values. You have my word."
Truly, she was a splendid woman, and Shirou gave her a broad smile.
"It's almost scary how well you get along." Rin suddenly felt the need to say, taking them both aback while lady Montmorency let out a bark of laughter. "Ah, but don't mind me. Please continue."
"…You can find the Wolpertingers in the Medical Wing of the Department of Policies." Lorelei did indeed continue, once more showing her impressive poker face. "As I said, they are currently in the care of doctor Kix, so you'll have to speak with him. He has taken a bit of a liking to them however, so you might find it difficult to have him part with them."
"I'll talk with him about it." She didn't sound overly concerned, and her warning was given in a fairly light tone, so Shirou assumed doctor Kix wouldn't actually be much of a problem. "Thank you again, also for sparing them in the first place and for keeping them safe until now."
"Think nothing of it. There is honour in protecting vulnerable little creatures."
"There is indeed."
They were in complete agreement, nodding confidently in perfectly similar motions, which greatly amused Rin again.
That just about concluded their casual chitchat. The ice had been broken, the mood was a little more pleasant, and they could move on to business. Once again, Lorelei took the initiative.
"Speaking of protecting vulnerable little creatures, miss Phamrsolone."
"E-Eh? O-Oh, yes?" It took a few moments for Ophelia to realise that she was being addressed, and a few more to realise Lorelei had just cracked a small joke.
"Your situation is actually a bit more advantageous than we'd hoped. Gladstone Phamrsolone has already confessed to his crimes and has given up the names of his accomplices. His cooperation isn't enough for him to avoid the noose, but it is enough for his wife and his daughter to be granted limited clemency. Hermione Phamrsolone will still be incarcerated and lose her position and her wealth, but Ophelia Phamrsolone will be acquitted fully, in part because of the services she herself rendered."
There was the expected sigh of relief from Ophelia, and both Shirou and Rin also smiled at the fact she was now definitely off the hook, at least as far as the Aristocratic Faction was concerned. It didn't solve everything yet though.
"What about the reprisals from the Neutral Faction you mentioned yesterday?" Shirou asked.
"They have been deemed unlikely. Now that Gladstone has confessed and is willing to publicly declare his involvement in high-treason, there is no need to even mention Ophelia here, in any context. Since very few people were aware of her connection to Gladstone's arrest to begin with, it should be relatively straightforward to bury the matter entirely and pretend his arrest was executed through the normal channels."
"Will it really be that simple?"
"Nothing is ever that simple." Lady Montmorency scoffed, fixing her gaze on Ophelia. "A small chance is not the same as no chance, and we're taking no risks with your safety. That is why we will continue with the plan to provide you a new identity, here at Policies."
"Y-Yes." Ophelia nodded, visibly steeling herself for what was to come. "I am ready."
"I doubt that, but we'll hold your hand as we guide you through the process." The elderly woman rose from her chair, wincing every time one of her bones cracked, before waving Ophelia over. "Now come. No time like the present. I'll brief you on all the details in the adjacent office."
"N-Now? B-But what about…?" Ophelia hesitantly looked at Rin and Shirou, clearly loath to leave them behind.
"Give them a moment with the Vice Director. They have a lot to discuss too. Don't you worry, I'm not going to eat you." Lady Montmorency gave Ophelia a toothy smile, showing that her teeth were still in excellent condition, especially for a woman of her age. "We'll be back here in less than an hour, and then you can fill them in on everything I have told you."
"Oh, uhm, w-well." Ophelia was still hesitating, looking at Shirou for advice. When he nodded at her in assurance though, she capitulated. "A-Alright."
"Capital! Let's go!"
Ophelia obediently trailed after lady Montmorency, with all the air of a girl not quite heading towards her own execution, but certainly towards an execution, leaving Shirou and Rin alone with Lorelei.
The redhead seriously considered going after her anyway, to offer moral support if nothing else, but if he was reading the room correctly, his girlfriend was about to need moral support as well. So, with a quick mental apology to Ophelia, he remained where he was.
"Tohsaka Rin." Lorelei addressed the black-haired girl, looking her over with an almost judgemental gaze. "Are you still willing to become my apprentice?"
"I am." There was no hesitation in Rin's voice as she replied. All her awe and fear of the Vice Director, all her nervousness over coming to the Clocktower, all her doubts about whether she was ready or not, were shoved to the very back of her mind, leaving nothing but grim determination. She was ready for any test or trail that Lorelei would throw at her, ready not only to pass, but to excel.
"Very well. Then, as of now, you are my apprentice."
"…Eh?"
"Was I not clear?" Rin's confusion confused Lorelei in turn. "As of seven seconds ago, you are officially my apprentice. I do not believe it is such a difficult concept to grasp."
"J-Just like that? I-I mean, don't you have any tests or examinations or anything for me?"
"Tests?" Lorelei's confusion continued for a moment longer, but then cleared up. "Ah yes, I heard that other lords often do examine the skills of any potential apprentices before they accept. I do not however. Instead, your entire apprenticeship will be a test. As I have told you before, I expect nothing less than your full effort and excellent results at all times. Should you fail to meet my standards, I will not hesitate to dismiss you again. Do you find these terms satisfactory?"
"…Of course." Let no one say that Rin didn't adapt quickly, and she nodded strongly again. In fact, she even seemed excited, to have a master who had exacting standards and would push her to be the best she could be.
"I must also warn you that you are my very first apprentice, and more notably, the first apprentice that any member of the Barthomeloi-family has accepted in over eight centuries. All eyes will be on you, miss Tohsaka, and any failure, no matter how slight, whether perceived or real, will be magnified and used against you. Naturally, I will do my best to shield you from the worst of it, and I have little doubt Shirou will do the same-"
"You got that right." He scoffed, not about to let anyone make too much trouble for Rin.
"-But the brunt of the negative attention will fall on you either way." Lorelei finished as if he hadn't spoken. "Should this, at any point, prove too much, I will allow you to temporarily retreat to your own home and resume your apprenticeship at a time of your choosing. I wish to be your ally, not your enemy."
"That is very gracious of you." Rin was yet again surprised that the Vice Director could be so accommodating and kind, even though Shirou had told her so a thousand times already, but although she appreciated the gesture, she shook her head resolutely. "But it won't be necessary. I am not here to quit. I have only four weeks after all, so I need to make the most of it."
"Very good." Something in Rin's words or demeanour must have pleased her, for Lorelei smiled at her new apprentice with clear approval. "We shall start as soon as this meeting is over. You will show me your capabilities and talents, and I will help you improve them."
"Really? Are you sure you can help me with my crafts? They are quite specific, you know."
Rin was doubtful, and for good reason. Different Magi had different talents after all, and a teacher who did not share their student's abilities was fundamentally limited in what they could teach. There were the basics of course, and some universal forms of Magecraft that pretty much anyone could learn, but generally, only Magi with the same specialisations could effectively teach one another.
Which made it a real shame that one had to be extremely fortunate to find a mentor with exactly the same talents as oneself.
Instead, most people tried to find a teacher like Waver Velvet, whose deductive skills and immense intellect allowed him to master the theory of nearly any Magecraft in existence, even if the practical side remained far behind. It was better than nothing, so to speak.
But Lorelei was a breed apart, and when he saw the glimmer of amused confidence in her eyes, Shirou already knew what she was going to say.
"Miss Tohsaka, I possess the Trait of the Almighty. I can learn and master any type of Thaumaturgy in existence, including yours."
There it was. Lorelei had already told Shirou about her Sorcery Trait, so he wasn't too surprised, but Rin had no idea, so she was positively blown away, her mouth falling open as she was struck utterly silent by the sheer impossibility of that claim.
To be talented at everything, to have the potential to learn any Magecraft in existence, was the stuff of legends, not real life. It was almost Divine in its own right, every bit as amazing as Shirou's own ability to mimic the True Magics.
Every person only had a limited amount of talent at their disposal, and to divide that talent among infinite fields meant every field only received an infinitesimal amount. To try and master everything was the same as mastering absolutely nothing. Even the most well-rounded Magi stopped at ten fields at the very most.
But not Lorelei.
"That… That is amazing!" Rin croaked, her voice raw and her eyes bright from sheer admiration, something which pleasantly stroked Lorelei's ego. "I-I can't even… Wow…"
She was completely overwhelmed, every bit as much as she'd been when Shirou revealed his true nature to her. She was in awe of the woman before her, and Shirou was pretty sure she'd just found her new role model.
"Simply tell me which Crafts you want to be taught in, and I shall endeavour to raise you to mastery." Lorelei promised, before, with a flick of her hand, she conjured up several gems, which were so full of power that they shone like miniature stars. A show of Gemcraft that stood far above anything Rin had managed so far. "Before your four weeks are over, I'll have you on this level at least."
"!"
Rin looked utterly delighted, practically frothing at the mouth to get started, while Lorelei also looked rather eager to teach such a keen student. Teaching was after all one of the core tenants of being a Magus, even if most Magi were rather incapable of it, and as unorthodox as Lorelei could be sometimes, she was still a Magus. The greatest Magus of the modern era even.
Shirou was quite a dense person, but in this case, even he could read the room, and he made to get up, to leave them to their business.
"Shirou?" Neither Rin nor Lorelei were so absorbed however that they didn't see him try to leave, and they turned to him in askance, with expressions that were remarkably similar.
"I'll go and see if I can find Ophelia, and maybe speak with doctor Kix as well about the Wolpertingers." He offered by ways of explanation. "Please don't let me interrupt you. It seemed you were gaining steam quite nicely."
"Don't be an idiot. My first lesson can wait." Rin huffed, motioning for him to sit down again.
"It can indeed." Lorelei concurred. "Though your intention to give us time and opportunity for a first lesson is certainly appreciated, it should not come at the expense of efficiency. There are many pressing events and details we have yet to discuss."
"And I'm sure all of it can wait." Shirou wasn't so easily talked down, especially not when he could see just how eager they were to get started. "We have already spoken about a lot of heavy stuff today, and I'm sure we have a lot more still in front of us. We could really do with a break, and it seemed like you were having a lot of fun just now."
"Time is a precious commodity." Lorelei argued, not incorrectly. "The disasters that threaten us now are utterly unprecedented, and need to be handled with the utmost alacrity."
"Haste makes waste." He argued back, also not incorrectly. "Really, girls, just take the afternoon to get to know each other and work out a training plan. I promise we can talk more tomorrow. If any disasters occur before then, I will handle it or let you know about it. You have my word."
He was as stubborn as a mule, and though Rin and Lorelei gave as good as they got, their own desire to do as he said won out in the end.
"Will you not join us?" Rin did make a final attempt to get him to stay however, blinking her large, pretty eyes at him with a small and hopeful smile. "You are quite gifted too. It would be a waste if you didn't practice and develop your talents."
"Nonsense. I have only three things I'm good at, and that's Projection, Runes and True Magic." He scoffed in response, which was true, provided one swapped 'True Magic' for 'Divinity'. "At anything else, I'm hopeless."
"Oh yes, definitely. I was just baiting you." Rin grinned, propping her hand up on her chin to give him a very smug smile. "But I like how simple you are. Aren't you fortunate?"
Her words were a bit mean, but her smile took every bit of sting out of her words.
He was most fortunate indeed.
Once he was out of the office, it didn't take Shirou long to track down Ophelia and lady Montmorency, who had only gone down the hall for a bit, to a small, secluded room of which the purpose wasn't entirely clear.
There, he found them in the middle of pouring over a small pile of documents, and he noticed, with some surprise, that Ophelia had undergone some kind of metamorphosis. A different haircut, a different outfit, her skin seemed a bit less pale somehow, and she even carried herself differently. It wasn't as drastic a change as when Rin had Magically disguised her, but anyone who wasn't very closely acquainted with her would never be able to tell this was Ophelia Phamrsolone.
Which was probably exactly the point.
"Greetings, mister Fujimaru." Lady Montmorency was the first to spot and greet him, before motioning with her head at Ophelia. "Allow me to introduce Josephine Toulouse, junior clerk at one of Policies' many subdivisions. Her pedigree is nothing remarkable and her skills leave something to be desired, but her work ethic is rather fine. She is currently nineteen years of age and possesses neither a crest nor a discovered Sorcery Trait. In short, she is an utterly unremarkable figure among many other unremarkable figures."
"Well met." Shirou nodded at her, playing along for a bit. "How are you doing, Oph- that is, Josephine?"
"It feels weird." She admitted without compunction, though there was not a trace of actual displeasure or a hint of reluctance on her face. Rather, there was curiosity and slight wonder. "But… I think I can manage, if I practise enough."
"That's good to hear. You also seem to be coping rather well."
"Coping?"
"I don't think I would be as calm as you if I had to pretend to be someone else." Shirou admitted that frankly. He wasn't entirely unskilled in stealth or subterfuge, but he couldn't imagine having to live with an identity that wasn't his own. A different name alone wouldn't be so bad, but having to spend his days without his girls, having to behave in a way that wasn't him…
He couldn't do it. Not for any significant amount of time anyway.
Actually, now that he thought about it, he suddenly found himself pitying Ophelia a bit, for she would really have to live undercover for months, if not years. She had to become someone else entirely, abandon all that was familiar, and all because she'd made the morally righteous decision.
They said no good deed went unpunished, and Shirou had never seen that more clearly than now.
"I rather like it."
But it seemed Ophelia didn't agree.
"You like it?"
"Yeah. Not being Ophelia Phamrsolone for a while is… good, I think." She nodded slowly, raising her arms to study her new blouse and her darker skin tone. "Josephine Toulouse is… someone new. She can be anyone she wants. She doesn't have a past, or a family, or anything to get in her way. Instead, she has a job, a position, and she has friends. She… She does have friends, r-right?"
She looked at him for confirmation, her expression one of pleading and hope, and even if he'd wanted to say no, which he most certainly didn't, Shirou could do naught but agree in the face of it.
"She does." He nodded, playfully bumping her shoulder with a broad grin. "Or rather, you do."
"…" The smile that appeared on her face was a truly happy one, and contained hints of satisfaction and triumph besides, as if she'd succeeded at something she'd been wanting to do for a long time. "Thank you! I… I've never had friends before."
"Which is nothing to be ashamed of, and actually an advantage right now." Lady Montmorency stated, and it didn't sound like it was just an attempt to make Ophelia feel better. "Most people in witness protection who are killed despite our best efforts were discovered because they slipped up themselves. They couldn't resist revisiting their old life again, despite all my warnings. They contacted a friend from their past for instance, or returned to their old home. At first, it's just an isolated incident, but after the first time, it gets easier and easier to try again, until they are caught and murdered in the end. That you don't have such attachments is a relief to be sure."
"Oh… Okay." Ophelia had no idea what to say in response, and Shirou completely understood. He didn't either.
"How long does she have to stay undercover?" The redhead asked. He was pretty sure they'd said it would take a few months to a year, but such schedules could easily change by the day.
"Ideally, forever."
"…Forever?" Now that was a radical change indeed.
"That would be the absolute best, but whether it will be necessary depends entirely on what Ophelia will do from here." Lady Montmorency raised a finger. "Her first possibility is to stay within the Department of Policies forever, in which case it would be advisable for her to stay Josephine Toulouse for the rest of her life. Second, she could try to return to her previous life once the heat dies down, probably after a year or so. It would be risky, but it is possible as long as her involvement in the Gladstone-affair stays secret. Third, she could leave England and perhaps even Europe entirely, in which case she can assume her old persona as well, since I doubt anyone will care enough to send mercenaries or assassins after her."
Shirou and lady Montmorency then both looked at Ophelia, to see what she would prefer, but the young woman looked so overwhelmed that they soon understood that no answer would be forthcoming yet.
"You have a lot of time to think about it. A few months at least." Lady Montmorency kindly assured her. "And don't forget that your choice doesn't have to be permanent either. If you pick the first option, you can still choose to leave after two years, or three. You're not a prisoner after all."
"R-Right." The pressure Ophelia was experiencing seemed to ease slightly, as she realised that she was indeed not a captive. "T-Then, uhm, I should… What should I do now?"
"For now? Nothing. You are going to hide until Gladstone's trial is over. This is the most dangerous period, during which your former allies might very well try to track you down, for any number of reasons. Any appearance in public, whether disguised or not, might put you at risk, so I want you to pick a hiding place and stay there for the next month at least. Fujimaru, are your chambers available?"
"They are." Shirou didn't hesitate to accept the implied request. He would never close his door to a friend, new or old. "I made sure to secure them properly. It'd be a shame if all that effort went to waste."
"You're a life-saver." Lady Montmorency grinned, tapping her cane on the ground once to accentuate her words. "Don't worry by the way. I'm sure the worst of the heat will have died down by the time you leave again."
"Don't worry about that. There's no reason Ophelia can't stay in my chambers even after Rin and I have left. Like I said, it'd be a waste to leave the room empty for so long."
"R-Really?" Ophelia boggled at him with eyes as wide as saucers, so shocked and surprised at his offer that it almost made Shirou feel awkward. You'd think he'd saved her life and given her infinite wealth from the way she was looking at him, rather than just being kind to a friend.
But, when he thought about it some more, he had to admit it wasn't really surprising. He'd seen that kind of reaction before, in pretty much any Magus he'd treated with a measure of respect and dignity. Mary and Clair had been exactly the same, as had Rosaly and Fiore, and even Eduardo di Stanza, if to a lesser extent.
"Really." He confirmed, as casually as he could, to make it clear it was no big deal.
"I-I won't touch anything, I swear!" The brunette rushed to promise him, working off the assumption that Sorcerers were just as reluctant as Magi to let others touch their possessions.
"Don't worry about that. I keep anything secret or dangerous with me at all times." He assured her however, hinting at but not mentioning his Vault. "Frankly, the biggest problem I can foresee is boredom. Spending a month in one single room all by yourself will get very old, very fast. I'll have to get you a lot of books, puzzles, and games, and even then, you will get bored."
"…" Ophelia didn't look convinced, probably because spending a month mostly alone, without people intending to experiment on her, sounded far, far better than her life had ever been so far, but she did not protest out loud.
She didn't need to of course for Shirou to notice she disagreed, but he didn't press. If she really wouldn't get bored, all the better.
"Excellent. That settles the matter of your residence. Now we can move on to your profession. Naturally, you'll be working directly under me." Lady Montmorency took over the instructions again, jabbing a thumb at herself. "You'll be joining a team of like-minded individuals, all of whom I personally scouted and brought together. They will help you with everything you need to get started. Don't worry too much about what exactly you'll be doing, you can figure that out as you go."
Her words heavily implied that said team held more people who were under Policies' protection, implied it to the point where Shirou was all but certain, but that was none of his business, so he held his tongue on that.
"When can Ophelia meet them?" He asked instead, focussing on the details. "And can I be present?"
"Why? To put the fear of God into them?" Lady Montmorency accurately guessed his motives, her lips quirked up in amusement. "You need not worry. They are good people, if a bit reclusive and distrusting of outsiders. I told them about Josephine yesterday, and I have no doubt they are already preparing to smoothly integrate her into their group."
"So I can't come along." Shirou managed to read between the lines and surmise that lady Montmorency would rather not take him to meet the team. Not too surprising if his suspicion about some or even all of them being in hiding was correct. However, lady Montmorency's opinion was not the one he cared about right now. "What do you think, Ophelia? Do you want me to be there when you meet your new colleagues?"
Yes, he respected people's right to privacy, especially when they were hiding from potential assassins, but at the moment, it was more important that his newest friend felt safe and secure. If she wanted him to come with her, he would. End of story.
"You… You don't have to come with me." Ophelia shook her head however, putting on a brave face. "I-I can manage by myself."
Shirou studied her for a moment, trying to judge whether she said that because she believed it or because she didn't want to be a bother, before he ultimately settled on the former.
"Good luck then, and if you encounter any difficulties, let me or Rin know at once, okay?"
"Yeah." She nodded, looking faintly relieved, before she turned to lady Montmorency. "W-When can I meet the team?"
"You can visit them at your own convenience. In fact, you might as well go now."
"N-Now?" Ophelia squeaked, clearly not having anticipated any unscripted social contact today.
"Now." Lady Montmorency confirmed airily, keeping her voice so innocent that it was obvious she was enjoying this very much. "Say the word and I'll take you to them."
"E-Eh… W-Well, I-"
"No time like the present. Let's go."
And without another word or a by-your-leave, lady Montmorency walked out of the door again, not pausing for a moment to see if Ophelia was following.
"Ah?! Oh, uh, s-see you later, Shirou."
"See you later."
The redhead watched as his new friend hastily took off, going after the elderly lady, silently wishing her all the best, before he nodded to himself and left the room as well.
He had a few Wolpertingers to retrieve from one doctor Kix. Evidently, they were bothering lady Montmorency something fierce, so the sooner he picked them up, the better.
When he confidently marched towards the nearest set of stairs however, he suddenly stilled, realising that he had no idea where to find this good doctor.
The Department of Policies was quite large and rather maze-like in its design, so he didn't like his chances of finding Kix on his own. Fortunately, there were always several people walking around the halls, going from one destination to the other, so it shouldn't be too difficult to flag one down to ask for directions.
Shirou promptly approached one of those aforementioned people, with only the kindest of smiles on his face and not a thought of hostility in his mind, unaware that he was inadvertently scaring the life out of them.
Partially because he was a known companion of their frightening boss, but mainly because most of them had ample experience with encountering Zelretch, the master of the Kaleidoscope, and had witnessed, often firsthand, what could happen to those who caught a Sorcerer's eye and failed to live up to expectations.
As a result, they were unusually accommodating to Shirou's request for directions, and although the redhead did notice they were nervous, he failed to draw the correct conclusions from that observation. As such, he could only note how much more helpful the Magi from the Department of Policies seemed to be in comparison to their colleagues from elsewhere.
A fact he was pleasantly surprised with, and which he wholly attributed to Lorelei and lady Montmorency.
At the end of a long day filled with trials and tribulations, most people wanted to unwind a bit before they went to bed. This was true for Magi every bit as much as for mundane people, and even Demigods were no exception.
Shirou, Rin, and Ophelia had been working hard all day, so right now, after many hours of training, meeting new people, or searching for wayward Phantasmal Beasts, they needed a moment for themselves, to blow off some steam and relax without constantly being in the presence of other people whom they didn't know and couldn't trust.
Hence, they had secluded themselves in their room for the evening, hiding behind extremely potent defences, to have a few hours in which they could do as they liked.
It should come as absolutely no surprise that Shirou was cooking dinner. Making food for others was his surefire way to relax, so when he and Rin had been preparing to leave for the Clocktower, he'd swiftly assumed the responsibility of preparing their meals.
He'd had no argument from Rin on that one. The black-haired girl did know how to cook after years of living on her own, but she didn't derive pleasure and satisfaction from it in the way that Shirou did. She was more than happy to let him have his way in the kitchen while she set the table and lounged around for a bit.
That Ophelia would join them in their room was a tad unexpected, but Rin easily rolled with the punches, striking up a merry conversation at the dining table with the brunette, which quickly evolved into an animated discussion about lady Barthomeloi's many virtues and talents.
Though perhaps it would be more accurate to say that Rin was holding an animated speech about said virtues and talents, while Ophelia just nodded along without saying much at all.
"My family's records have always claimed that imbuing gems with class three Enchantments was impossible, that it couldn't be done, but lady Barthomeloi managed it with just a wave of her hand!" The black-haired girl professed, her eyes shining in admiration. "She is just so incredibly clever! No, more than that, she is a true genius, Ophelia! An absolute genius!"
"Right."
"Ah, but even though she's more brilliant than anyone else I've ever met, she still stays humble. She works very hard, even though she has an abundance of talent, and never stops trying to improve! She's definitely the best Magus I have ever met!"
"That's impressive."
"Yes, it is! I don't know how I'm ever going to reach her level, or even half of her level, but I'm going to practice and work until I drop! It's the least I can do for her in return after she taught me so patiently!"
Rin was positively lyrical about her new teacher, singing Lorelei's praises without compunction. Apparently, the brunette was a lot better at teaching that either she or Shirou had anticipated, and the redhead could not be happier with that.
Rin had been looking for ways to get into the Clocktower for years now, far longer than Shirou had known her, in order to further develop her Magecraft, and it would be terrible if it failed to live up to her expectations now.
It didn't though. It met her expectations and then some, if he could believe her ravings about how much she'd learned already.
Her day had certainly been more successful than his.
"Say, Shirou?" Once she was able to get her head out of the Lorelei-shaped clouds, Rin turned her attention to her boyfriend next, suddenly noticing that things weren't as they should be. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm not seeing any rabbits around here."
"Well spotted, Rin." Shirou pursed his lips, annoyed at his own failure but also amused at how long it had taken her to notice. "There are indeed no Wolpertingers here."
"So you don't have the rabbits yet?" Rin lifted an unimpressed eyebrow at Shirou, one he could practically feel despite not actually looking at her. "What happened? Did a few bunnies get the better of you?"
"Doctor Kix and the Wolpertingers were not present in the laboratory." He explained while continuing to stir the cheese sauce for the mixture of broccoli and cauliflower he was about to serve, unable to stop a bit of grumpiness from leaking into his voice. "It took me quite a while to find the place, and then they weren't even there. I suppose it's just bad luck. I'll try again tomorrow morning. Want to come along?"
"I would, but I have scheduled another lesson with lady Barthomeloi then, so I'll have to give it a miss."
"I see. What about you, Ophelia?"
"Me?" The brunette started a bit at being addressed, but she quickly composed herself again. "Uhm, I promised I'd meet my team again, so I can't come. Sorry."
"Don't worry about it. It was just a suggestion." Shirou waved away her apology with one hand, while the other continued stirring the sauce, making sure it wouldn't burn and get all stuck to the pan. "Good luck, to both of you."
"And to you of course." Rin forewent the teasing to sincerely return the well-wishes, but she didn't manage to stay serious for long before she started snickering again. "Pffft, I'm sorry. I mean, it's rabbits, but at the same time, Phantasmal Creatures. I don't even know what to think."
Her amusement was infectious enough to make Shirou chuckle too, and even Ophelia couldn't suppress a smile.
The atmosphere improved even more when the redhead served dinner. Today, he'd gone for a simple, European meal, consisting of baked potatoes, fried sausages, and a mixture of cauliflower and broccoli covered in a cheese sauce.
It wasn't anywhere close to the most complicated meal he'd ever prepared, but it was perfectly satisfactory.
Rin and Ophelia clearly agreed, for they dug in with gusto. Perhaps a little bit too much gusto even.
"You have some sauce on your cheek." He pointed out to Rin, carefully keeping the smile off his face. She looked adorable like that, but he probably shouldn't say that out loud.
"Do I?" Rin raised a hand to wipe it away, before she stilled, and lowered the hand again. Then, she leaned towards him with a sweet smile. "Please remove it for me."
She clearly meant for him to wipe it away, as boyfriends did, but Shirou's hands were a bit full at the moment, so he leaned towards her too and licked the sauce from her cheek instead.
"Bwa?!" Rin started as if he'd given her an electric shock, flushing a soft red, while Ophelia, by now more than used to their by-play, politely looked elsewhere. "W-Wha?! What was that for?!"
"You wanted me to remove it, so I did." Shirou pretended to be completely clueless though, giving her a disarming smile, a smile that got even wider when she puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. "Did I... do something wrong?"
"You are so shameless." She hissed, conveniently ignoring the fact that she would probably have done exactly the same had the roles been reversed.
Then, she resumed eating, stuffing her mouth full while resolutely looking away from him.
She was trying so hard to project an aura of anger and wrathfulness, and Shirou almost felt bad that he wasn't the least bit intimidated, but rather found it endearing.
The urge to cuddle her was high, but she was evidently not in the mood, so he resisted that urge and turned to Ophelia instead.
"What time do you have to meet your new team tomorrow?" He asked. "I'm not asking for any specific reason. I'm just curious."
"Five o'clock in the morning. I have to be at the entrance of the Department of Policies at half-past-four." She replied promptly, before nodding minutely when Shirou winced in sympathy over the ridiculously early hour. "It's really quite early. That way, I can avoid most of the crowds, and hopefully, whoever is wandering the hallways will not recognise me with my changed appearance."
"The chance that anyone will recognise you is small. Nevertheless, I'll come with you. I don't have much use for sleep anyway, and I can distract those wanderers with my presence."
"Y-You don't have to bother for my sake-"
"It's no trouble at all. Frankly, it'd make me feel better too, so please accept it."
"O-Oh, in that case, uhm, thank you?"
That settled the matter, and for the rest of the dinner, they talked about lighter topics, subjects that did not involve Ophelia's family or the fact that she was currently in hiding. They played a few games together, and Rin even started combing Ophelia's hair, which was a gesture of friendship if there ever was any. It was actually quite a companionable time, and with the seriousness of the situation firmly pushed to the background, it almost resembled an innocent sleepover.
However, once they had all eaten their fill, the dishes had been done, and they'd had their fun, it was time for Ophelia to go to bed.
Rin didn't have to be at Lorelei's office until eight in the morning, so she could sleep until seven at least, but Ophelia had to get up at four. To still get the proper amount of sleep, she needed to turn in early.
"I need at least eight hours to function properly, so I'm going now." She was surprisingly strict about it, not budging even when they tried to convince her to play one last game with them. "I wish you a good night. Please only wake me up before four in case of an emergency. If you do wake me up…"
"Death?" Shirou guessed jokingly, which got him a playful shove from Rin.
"I won't be happy." Ophelia didn't let his remark unbalance her, which was good, and after bidding them a good night, she left for her room.
Which left Rin and Shirou on their own.
"Considering we've had a long day, it might be a good idea to catch up on some sleep ourselves." He suggested, though it was more for her benefit than his.
"Sleep?" Rin scoffed, glancing behind her to make sure Ophelia really was gone, before quickly using one of her gems to erect a Bounded Fields meant to suppress sounds. "Well, yeah, I suppose we could go to bed, but it's still early. Is there nothing else you can think of?"
"Like what? Study and prepare for the coming weeks?"
"No, you dunderhead! Take a hint. Now that we are finally alone, we can have some fun." Knowing he was being deliberately obtuse, Rin rolled her eyes, before unzipping her skirt and letting it slide to the floor, exposing her long, luscious legs and bright-red, rather sexy panties. "We have to properly celebrate our success, and I can think of only one way to do so."
"Only one?" Shirou asked with a wry smile and a long-suffering sigh, which were completely at odds with his next action, which was to remove his shirt. "You have become quite the lascivious witch, haven't you?"
"Oh yes." Rin nodded emphatically as she leaned in, coming close enough that their noses touched. "And I don't see you protesting. In fact, either you are carrying a knife with you or you are happy to see me, and I don't think you of all people would consider it necessary to physically carry a knife."
"Certainly not." He gently placed a hand on her cheek and captured her lips in a short, teasing kiss, well aware of his increasing erection. "I am in fact very happy to see you."
"Prove it."
"Gladly."
He grabbed hold of her to kiss her again, longer and deeper this time, and he let his hand slide down towards her left breast, to gently cup and squeeze it.
However, her sweater, her inordinately annoying sweater he suddenly discovered he hated with a fiery passion, had the temerity to get in his way, and he reached for the hem instead, to pull it over her head.
"Y-You can rip it. I can always fix it later with Magecraft."
Her suggestion sounded a whole lot better however, and he did just that, grabbing the offending piece of clothing with both hands and tearing it right off her body.
For a split-second after, he couldn't help but wonder whether that had gone too far, whether he'd been too aggressive, but then Rin reached down and did exactly the same with his trousers, tearing them apart with gusto, and that hesitation disappeared again.
Touching her all over was much easier now, but not easy enough yet, and soon, her bra suffered the same fate as the other pieces of clothing that had gotten in their way, ending up in tatters on the ground. His boxers followed a moment later at her hands, leaving him naked and exposed to his girlfriend's hungry gaze.
Her panties were now the last hindrance in his way, but just as he slid his fingers underneath the waistband on her hip, he hesitated, suddenly wondering whether they couldn't still serve a purpose before he tore them apart.
"Just rip them." Rin hissed impatiently, clearly eager to continue, but Shirou didn't listen. He had another plan.
With both hands, he grabbed hold tightly of the waistband, but rather than jerking his hands to the sides to rip the panties, he gently moved them upwards, pulling her underwear up and into her, rubbing it against her most sensitive spot.
"Nnngghh?!"
The surprised and ragged gasp she let out in response was like music to his ears, and he experimentally moved his hands around a bit, creating a delicious friction that drew another wonderful sound from her lips.
"W-What are you-?!"
He pulled a little higher, cutting her off by forcing her to gasp again, and then noticed that Rin's body also came up, as she stood on her toes in an attempt to escape the worst of his unexpected ministrations.
"S-Stop-!"
Naturally, his response was to pull even higher, moving his hands up bit by bit, until Rin stood on the very tips of her toes, as high as she could, while she had arms wrapped around him to keep her balance.
"D-Don't do that!"
It was a surprisingly vulnerable position, one that didn't allow for much movement on her part. For now, that was satisfactory, so he didn't pull her panties any higher, instead only moving his hands from side to side a tiny bit, never giving her a moment of respite from the wonderful friction in her nether regions.
"Mmm, nngghh."
Her underwear was pulled completely taut, wedged into her slit and between her butt cheeks, where they could rub all her sensitive spots, and Rin only made it worse for herself by clenching her buttocks.
"Just relax." He teasingly whispered into her ear.
"F-Fuck you." Was the hissed response.
He promptly raised his hands a fraction more, pulling the string even more taut, eliciting a whine of protest from her.
"Relax." He repeated, a little more forcefully.
For a few moments more, she resisted, her lower body trembling from the strain she put on it, before she broke at last, letting herself relax.
Shirou lowered his hands immediately, enough that she could stand properly on her feet again, though he maintained a little pressure, just enough to continue teasing her.
"Good girl." He smiled at her, before gently kissing her neck.
"…Nnnnnggghhh!"
Suddenly, Rin jerked her hips forward, slamming them against his hips, and her hold on him tightened considerably while she bit down on his shoulder, her whole body trembling violently for several long seconds, her hips shaking most of all.
"Khhhcccchhh! Nyaaa!"
Then she sagged, suddenly losing all strength in her legs, and Shirou quickly caught her in his arms, realising with shock and surprise that he'd inadvertently brought her to orgasm already.
He… He hadn't even meant to. He'd just played around a bit, exploring her body as he determined what made Rin hot and bothered.
Yes, he might have gotten a little carried away, but he'd had no idea she was so close to the edge already.
Quickly, he placed her on the sofa, propping her head up with a pillow and doing his best to make her as comfortable as possible while she came down from her post-orgasm bliss.
She did so with admirable speed, and Shirou soon noticed that she didn't seem very happy with him.
"Y-You went too fast." She grumbled petulantly, giving him a cross look as her eyes came back into focus after they'd rolled up into her skull. "You… You need to take things slower next time. Slower!"
"Of course." He agreed quickly, well aware he'd been too enthusiastic, and he resolved to thoroughly map out Rin's body as soon as he could, to make sure he could flawlessly control her level of arousal. "I'm sorry. It wasn't intentional. I'll pay more attention next time."
"See that you do." She nodded sternly, before she stilled, cocking her head to the side as her gaze strayed down, towards his penis, which was still ramrod straight after all the titillation. There was a moment's pause, before she shot into action, seizing his member with both hands. "Hm, maybe I should return the favour, and not be gentle about it either."
Her hands were immensely soft, she was still naked, and despite her claim that she was going to be harsh, she was exceedingly careful, so it wasn't long before Shirou finished as well, nearly going cross-eyed from the sheer rush of pleasure coursing through his veins.
This really was a lot of fun, and it was safe to say that a proper night's rest was delayed by a considerable time.
They very much did not regret it in the morning however.
We're back at the Clocktower and we're heading straight into the thick of things. There's a lot of talking in this chapter, most of it rather important and some of it not at all. I'm very much setting stuff up here, hoping that it'll pay off sooner or later.
Most of the greetings and the welcoming have been done now, fortunately, so we can move on to the meat of the matter.
I'm gonna play open card here and tell you that Ophelia won't have such a large presence for much longer. I just had to set up her circumstances and establish the fact that she exists in my story and has a link to Shirou. I do need someone to summon a certain Saber after all.
Goredolf continues to be himself. He is the glorious and brave coward whose intelligent stupidity can see him through almost every crisis. I included him mainly because of his legendary status among most of the fandom, and because I want to summon a certain Lancer.
I know I have royally screwed with the timeline of both Fate Stay Night and Fate Grand Order, not to mention Apocrypha. Some characters are older than they should be, others are younger, and some just straight up shouldn't exist in the same world. That has mostly been deliberate, but if you spot some kind of egregious mistake, please go easy on me. It's fanfiction.
Shirou and Lorelei meet again, and don't worry, they'll have a lot more screentime together shortly. Certain truths will be revealed, and it won't be long before it is time for the glorious showdown between the Greatest Magus of the Modern Era and the Successor of Thor.
I have also not forgotten Shirou's mission. He is to descend into the Tomb of Albion and find the weapon he has been instructed to claim. That too will happen shortly.
Shirou is a busy man, who has to juggle countless balls. Let's hope he doesn't drop one.
Arrivederci, amigos, and thank you for reading.