Magical mature women are cute too

Through the Mystic Eyes of Replication, Rin could see that Ryuudou Temple —no, the entire mountain—was shrouded in countless intricate Magecraft Bounded Field, with each barrier forming Workshop comparable to a [temple]. Even the least talented Magecraft could hold their own against the high-ranking members of the Clock Tower with such a protective barrier.

However, Jizi's steps were swift yet agile. She perfectly avoided all traps and defenses as she walked along the mountain path. Carrying Rin, she arrived at the mountain gate with almost no obstacles.

"Asashin!"

Seeing the unnatural magical energy surrounding the mountain gate, Rin spoke up to offer a reminder.

"Don't worry, we are specially invited guests by the host, the gatekeeper won't give us any trouble."

Just as Jizi had said, the magic did not react at all when they broke through the mountain gate.

Once inside Ryuudou Temple's territory, Jizi put Rin down. The latter was suddenly separated from that familiar embrace, and a sense of loss welled up inside her for no apparent reason.

Hey~ Anyone there?

Jizi put his hand to his mouth as if calling out, and loudly beckoned in the courtyard of Ryuudou Temple.

"SF Express ~ Please sign for this package!"

"Your Saber figure has arrived!"

"Dear customer, if you don't receive the goods and leave a positive review, you won't be eligible for the cashback promotion!"

"Are you out of your mind?" Rin smacked Jizi with a hammer. "We're in the enemy's headquarters right now!"

"So what?" Jizi shrugged. "What's there to be afraid of? It's just a Caster. Ten years ago, that was also a Caster, and you weren't afraid then. Why are you being so cautious now?"

"..." Rin was speechless for a moment. She slapped her forehead and thought about it. It was really true. Back then, it was her who insisted on courting death, and Asashin protected her with all her might. Now it was the other way around. She was being careful, while Asashin was courting death.

Moreover, they were all Casters—Rin couldn't help but recall her experience that night: the disgusting tentacle Sea Demon, the ugly man with his eyeballs bulging out of their sockets, and the terrifying grimoire made of human skin.

"Don't worry, don't worry," Jizi reassured Rin, as if she had read her thoughts. "This time, the caster is a beautiful older sister, and she's even more attractive than the two of us!"

How did you know? — Rin didn't ask the question aloud, because she sensed the magic that had suddenly appeared in the center of the courtyard.

"Oh my, little girl," accompanied by a purple, misty effect, a slender woman wearing a hood appeared in Jizi and Rin's line of sight, "Even praising me won't do you any good."

"Just telling the truth." Jizi nodded to the newly appeared servant—who was basically confirmed to be the caster—as if he had met an acquaintance.

Rin, however, felt a surge of displeasure at Jizi's inexplicably familiar attitude. She looked Caster up and down, and deliberately said in a disdainful tone:

"This is the beautiful older sister you were talking about? I can't believe it at all!"

"Take off your hat and you'll see, she's an absolute stunner."

"You've explained it so clearly, have you perhaps seen it?"

"Of course I've seen it." Jizi thought to himself, "I not only saw his face, but I also know everything else about him from some of the books."

The two of them chatted like playboys on the street, whistling and gossiping about girls passing by, completely oblivious to Caster's presence. It wasn't until Caster realized the conversation had gone a bit off-topic that he coughed twice to bring them back on track.

"Let's put my personal matters aside for now—what brings you two to my position so late at night?"

"Huh?" Jizi didn't answer, but instead asked back, "You were the one who invited us here, and then you asked us what we wanted."

"I don't recall sending out any invitations."

"They were clearly monitoring us that night, and making no attempt to conceal the flow of magical energy collected from those buildings, were they? Most importantly, there was no obstruction when we passed through the mountain gate."

"Oh," Caster tilted his head, "That's true... but I didn't think you'd come tonight, at least not after you'd stabilized your new base."

Her words made no attempt to conceal her intentions, directly revealing that she was monitoring Rin and her group's actions.

"Surprise attack is a fundamental principle of military strategy!"

Jizi arrogantly shook a finger, and although she seemed to have a profound meaning to her expression, Rin had no idea what to do and, like Caster, didn't know why she was here tonight.

"Military strategy?" Caster scoffed. "May I take this as a declaration of war against me?"

"That depends on your attitude," Jizi neither admitted nor denied. "You've been monitoring us for so many days, what are your thoughts on that?"

"For Magecraft of this era, the little girl in red certainly possesses a rare skill." Caster first praised Rin, then shifted his gaze to Jizi. "And you, I originally thought I could see through you, but now I dare not say that—can you tell me who you really are, or rather, what you really are?"

"Sure," Jizi nodded. "You heard how Rin addressed me just now, didn't you?"

"Assassin... but--"

"But you clearly know the real Assassin, right?" Jizi glanced towards the mountain gate out of the corner of her eye. "So, to prove that—"

"!"

Before Jizi could finish speaking, he vanished from Caster's perception, as if he had merged into the plants and stones of the courtyard.

"Presence Concealment!" Caster reacted instantly, and this level was definitely A-rank.

"You can tell, can't you~" When Jizi's voice came again, she was already behind Caster, holding a blue and white light blade to her neck with one hand, and wrapping her arms around Caster's waist with the other, blowing into Caster's ear.

"Indeed, only an assassin could possess such a technique." Despite being at someone else's mercy, Caster remained calm and composed, offering his assessment.

"It'll be much easier if you believe that..." With Jizi Ziruan in his arms, he couldn't help but want to take advantage of her, completely oblivious to Rin's increasingly dangerous gaze in the distance, and continued to whisper in Caster's ear, "I'm actually a servant left over from the Fourth Holy Grail War ~"

"!"

Caster was startled again—a servant left over from the last Holy Grail War, that meant...

"And I didn't actually win; I remained in this world through another method."

Another method... Caster couldn't help but ponder the meaning behind those words, but then she suddenly stopped abruptly and shouted:

"Who are you?!"

Why would she tell me these things? Does she know my identity, or what I'm seeking in this war?

"I'm just a nobody," Jizi Zi chuckled mischievously. "The point is, do you even want to know the method, my princess?"

Duang!

Purple magical light emanated from Caster, but in the next instant, Jizi flashed back to Rin's side, and the two sides returned to their standoff.

Who exactly are you?

The final "Your Highness" made Caster realize that this person, who claimed to be a survivor of the last war, truly knew her identity, but he knew nothing about her.

"Well, that's a question..." Jizi blinked, pointing her weapon at Caster, "It's not that I can't tell you, but—"

"You've been secretly observing us for so long, but have you ever considered that while you're evaluating us, we're also evaluating you?"

Jizi twirled his Twin Blades twice, assuming an offensive stance.

"Come on, Caster, prove to us that you are worth the intelligence!"

------------------ps-----------------------------

P. S. 1. I've started a new book on Shuke, titled "The Elf King's Ambition." It's basically a port of "A Certain Scum Top's Itsuka Shiori," but I've made many changes. Also, I haven't wasted any space on A Certain Scum Top's Itsuka Shiori " either; I'm updating other things there, and the update frequency on both platforms seems much better than this one. I hope everyone will support it!

Ps2. Be tolerant of typos.