The Tohsaka Family of Fuyuki City

Fuyuki was a fairly peaceful town in the Far East. At least, it was now.

Indeed, sixty and fifty years ago, Fuyuki had seen a string of horrifying incidents: the mysterious fire at City Hall, the mysterious serial killer, the gigantic sea monster that emerged from the Miyuen River, the mass comas among students at a certain school...

Yet as time passed, those horrifying incidents vanished cleanly. As though there had been some strict standard, from a certain day fifty years ago onward, all such terrible events had disappeared. But to the town's residents, none of that really mattered.

The wealthy had long since moved away. Those who remained in Fuyuki could only regard those events as the result of inadequate judicial oversight during Japan's rapid development. As technology advanced, ever-taller buildings seemed to reflect the growing level of safety from the sidelines, and people gradually forgot those events:

What had once been tragedies caused by an inadequate judicial system had been reduced to urban legends unique to Fuyuki City.

Even the elderly gradually began to forget what had truly happened back then. When children asked about it by chance, they could only mumble evasively, wearing down the children's curiosity with long sighs. Once the children turned their attention elsewhere, they would lament that they really had grown old.

Yet standing utterly at odds with the increasingly modernized Fuyuki was a luxurious Western-style mansion. In Japan, where land was scarce, owning such a private estate was an absolute symbol of wealth.

The lawn and vegetation were trimmed neatly, while the mansion, dominated by crimson hues, projected a vivid yet abrupt sense of presence within Fuyuki City.

"Hey! Grandma! I'm amazing, right?"

On the second-floor balcony, a beautiful woman in a crimson velvet gown lay absentmindedly in a wicker chair. She looked to be around thirty, no more than thirty-five at most. Her eyes were long and narrow, her features refined. The crimson dress carried only an air of dignity and composure, and her proper appearance was utterly mismatched with the age-laden title of grandmother.

The sky was particularly beautiful today, and it made her unable to stop herself from recalling bits and pieces from fifty years ago. Back then, she had still been a student, and she had cheerfully stepped onto asphalt roads beneath skies like this countless times.

Beside her, a lively girl's proud voice rang out. The smugness in her words made the beautiful woman reveal a bitter yet indulgent smile.

The young girl held a beautiful glass steed in her hands. Its transparent coloring and powerful limbs fully demonstrated the skill contained within it. Magical energy flowed faintly through her soft, pale palms, gathering into the steed's base and making it seem full of spirit.

"You're still far from good enough."

The beautiful woman raised her hand. Crimson-black magical energy rapidly gathered around her slender, pale fingers. There was no intent to attack; it was like casually teasing a colorful butterfly with a lifted hand. The black mass of magical energy steadily spread its presence.

Under its interference, the magical energy operating between the young girl's fingers suddenly became chaotic. The glass steed shattered with a crash, translucent fragments scattering like fireworks.

"Ah!!"

The girl's proud expression also seemed to be disrupted by that strange black magical energy, cracking apart with a snap. Her neat brows quickly furrowed into deep creases.

This was no movie special effect. It was genuine "magecraft."

Another path of human development that ran contrary to "science."

"Your magical energy was completely unstable."

Ignoring the rapid changes in the girl's expression, the beautiful woman gave her assessment in a stern tone.

The youthful girl's face immediately twisted into a knot of displeasure, as though the words "I'm unhappy" had been written across her forehead. Her unwillingness was obvious. She puffed out her cheeks in displeasure, like a sulking hamster.

Perhaps she felt she had spoken too harshly. The beautiful woman's affection for her granddaughter ultimately won out, and her expression softened somewhat. After considering her words, she said, "For the Tohsaka Family, not even the slightest flaw is acceptable. Do you remember the Tohsaka Family's motto?"

"Yes, yes, yes! I remember! Always maintain elegance!"

"Tch, you child... Where exactly are you being elegant right now...?"

The beautiful woman's brow creased. Her granddaughter's three drawn-out yeses, accompanied by that miserable expression—forget elegance, displaying impatience so openly was practically rude!

Still, rather than "anger," "helplessness" was the best word to describe the beautiful woman's current state.

The girl swiftly noticed this as well. At once, faster than the weather changing, she adopted the pose of an obedient young lady. Pinching the hem of her skirt, she gave her grandmother an old aristocratic curtsy. Her posture was commendable enough, but the timing was a little awkward...

Because of that, the beautiful woman could only sigh inwardly: Had her own father once taught her with the same conflicted feelings?

This really was...

The beautiful woman could not help falling into reminiscence again. People got like this as they aged; if they were not careful, they would start dwelling on sentimentality. Seizing the opportunity, the girl beside her quietly edged her black-stockinged feet toward the door. After a few small steps... she spun around, tossed out, "Today's lessons are over, Grandma! Bye-bye!" and slipped away in a flash.

"Mina! Hey... That child! I'll definitely teach her a proper lesson next time!"

The only remaining resident in the room sulked.

However, this was not the first time she had said that.

Every time she said it, she would be swayed the next time by the girl's lively personality and a face so much like her own in her youth, forgetting all about teaching her a lesson.

The beautiful woman was the owner of this house. Whether in ordinary society or in the Mage World, her bloodline was famous.

Tohsaka.

The managers of Fuyuki City's Leyline. A Magus Family passed down through generations, a family of mages renowned far and wide for developing countless excellent forms of magecraft.

At the same time, they were one of The Three Families of the Holy Grail War. The previous five Holy Grail Wars had all unfolded in Fuyuki, which was managed by the Tohsaka Family.

The beautiful woman was the current Family Head of the Tohsaka Family, Tohsaka Rin.

Having personally participated in the Fifth Holy Grail War, she should have been an old woman in her sixties. Yet judging by her appearance, she was no more than thirty-four or thirty-five. Where was there even a trace of "old" about her?

Skilled at maintaining herself, along with the aid of magecraft, Tohsaka Rin had aged far more slowly than people her age. Only the steadiness and majesty revealed in her every gesture proved that this beauty had truly lived through long years. It was the dignity of a Family Head that could never arise without lengthy accumulation.

However, even the Family Head of the Tohsaka Family had something she could not handle.

That was her granddaughter, Tohsaka Mina.

Tohsaka Rin had only one daughter. In theory, she should have taken in a son-in-law to continue the Tohsaka Family bloodline... Yet Tohsaka Rin's daughter fell in love with a German exchange student in her year, and after graduating, the two actually eloped for love!

This enraged Tohsaka Rin greatly. If not for her husband repeatedly soothing and persuading her, there probably would not have been a Tohsaka Mina today.

With her husband acting as mediator, Tohsaka Rin's relationship with her daughter finally eased somewhat. However, her daughter had no desire to inherit the family's magecraft. Compared to the mysterious path of magecraft, she preferred to live as an ordinary woman, supporting her husband and raising children. After much discussion, the final result was that Tohsaka Rin's granddaughter returned to Fuyuki, Japan, as the Tohsaka Family's heir and changed her name to Tohsaka Mina.

Fortunately, Tohsaka Mina had not disappointed Tohsaka Rin. First of all, as a Magus, she possessed aptitude in both earth and fire. Though it was not a once-in-ten-thousand rarity, it was still exceptionally good.

Secondly, unlike her mother, Tohsaka Mina loved the world of magecraft very much.

Unfortunately...

Before Tohsaka Rin's evaluation could fully take shape in her mind, she felt a warm sensation spreading through it. It was as though a slow, gentle stream was gradually soaking her brain.

This was a "greeting." She understood immediately.

The Tohsaka Family was a family of mages, so the house they lived in naturally possessed powerful magical defenses comparable to a fortress. As the Family Head of the Tohsaka Family, who managed this fortress-level Magic Workshop, she naturally had her own sensory system.

Judging from the sensation, someone had used their own magical energy to transmit a message through the defensive system to the Family Head. In essence, it was a polite way of requesting a meeting.

And...

Tohsaka Rin's eyes narrowed slightly.

Among the mages she knew, there was probably only one person capable of making a "greeting" this subtle.

"Abner? What was he doing here?"

Muttering this, Tohsaka Rin flicked her finger. Her magical energy swiftly fed back into the defensive system, making it ignore Abner. The front gate creaked open, as though welcoming a travel-worn guest.