This is That +1

Clock Tower, Mineralogy Department, El-Melloi Classroom.

Shirou had his hands behind his head, wandering aimlessly. What could he do? Natalia had gone to negotiate the commission fee with that Lady Reines, leaving him with nothing to do but stroll around.

Just then, a freshly fired magical bullet flew from a distance, heading straight for Shirou's face. He spotted it, judged that it couldn't break his defense, and simply closed his eyes, continuing forward.

"What's this? Something that can't even break through—no wonder in the game, three second-rate Servants could take down the Mage's Association." Shirou thought to himself, then took the bullet to the face.

"Oh no, I hit someone!"

A girl's panicked voice came from the direction the bullet had flown from, but the footsteps approaching were those of two people.

Shirou opened one eye and looked toward the sound. Coming his way were a blonde girl dressed in a Western-style dress like a doll, and a boy with black-rimmed glasses and a somewhat bookish air.

"Luvia and Caules?"

Shirou recognized them and opened his other eye. Since they were coming over, keeping one eye shut would be a bit rude.

He deliberately glanced a bit longer at Caules—don't get the wrong idea—it was because Caules' glasses resembled Aizen's.

Being magi, they were faster than ordinary people in many ways. In no time, both had reached Shirou.

"Sorry, are you alright?"

Luvia asked nervously as soon as she arrived. She knew better than anyone what that shot had been.

A Gandr Shot. Originally a curse technique used by some Northern European magi. The original version wasn't very powerful, but after improvements by the Edelfelt Family, it could pack a decent punch.

Incidentally, she was distantly related to Rin Tohsaka. In FSN, Rin's Gandr Shot came from one of Luvia's grandmother's generation, who brought it to the Tohsaka family.

But that wasn't the point now. This red-haired youth had taken a Gandr Shot to the face... That couldn't be normal.

What surprised Luvia even more was that Shirou was completely unharmed.

Shirou smiled politely and said to Luvia, "Not a thing, my fair lady. If you're asking about me, I can tell you clearly—I feel great right now."

"What? How is that possible? It shouldn't be!"

Luvia said incredulously. Unlike her, Caules looked smug. "Ha! Lady Crane Luvia, looks like your family's magic has failed you!"

Hearing that, Shirou stepped back, sighed, and said to Caules with great gravity, "Kid, if I had to describe you with one Chinese character, I'd say it's 'well.'"

"Why?" Caules asked instinctively.

"Because you're a two-bit no matter how you look at it!" (Caules, you bastard, go die for the lady!)

Watching Caules get subjected to Luvia's iron-fist justice, Shirou thought to himself that the Clock Tower probably only had a handful of magi with a conscience.

"Are you really alright? Even if the Gandr Shot isn't the Edelfelt family's main magic, it still has some power."

After Caules and Luvia left, a male voice came from behind Shirou. "But for Luvia to use magic in a place like this—too reckless. Should I increase their assignments? Yes, triple them. No, quintuple them."

The newcomer had long hair, stood about 180 cm tall, with a face that clearly showed signs of overwork—a classic burnout look. He wore a neat suit and had a cigar clamped between his teeth.

Such distinctive features were unique in the entire Clock Tower. This was none other than Lord El-Melloi II, and from a certain angle, Shirou's presence here was thanks to him.

"As you can see, Lord El-Melloi II, I feel no discomfort at all." Shirou gave him a bow. From any perspective, the man deserved his respect.

"Good." El-Melloi II—or rather, Waver Velvet—breathed a sigh of relief at Shirou's answer. If his student caused trouble on his turf, he'd bear the responsibility.

"I've never seen you before. Are you new here?" Waver asked.

"No. I'm just here on business with an elder of my family, Lord El-Melloi II." Shirou replied calmly. "You might know my adoptive father. His name is Kiritsugu Emiya."

!!!

At the name Kiritsugu Emiya, Waver's face darkened, practically dripping with gloom.

On a personal level, Waver had no grudge against Kiritsugu. Sure, Kiritsugu had killed his teacher, Kenneth, but Waver's relationship with Kenneth wasn't great either. In fact, he'd only taken the El-Melloi seat because he owed Lady Reines a mountain of debt.

But from a positional standpoint, Kiritsugu Emiya had killed the previous lord of El-Melloi, Kenneth. That was a huge grudge. Nothing else mattered—that alone was enough for El-Melloi and the Emiya Family to fight to the death.

"And yet you dare come to the Clock Tower, even to the El-Melloi Classroom? Don't you know what Kiritsugu Emiya did to El-Melloi?" Waver deliberately lowered his voice. In the end, this was El-Melloi's shame. Spreading it would only bring disgrace. El-Melloi was a noble house; they had their pride.

"In the last Holy Grail War, my old man's Servant, Saber, killed the previous El-Melloi. That's what you're talking about, right, Lord El-Melloi II?"

Shirou put on a deliberately indifferent expression. "But so what? War means killing. If you want to kill someone, you have to be ready to be killed. Don't tell me a Clock Tower lord, a Color Rank magus, doesn't understand that rule."

Waver was left speechless. Among magi, conflict and death were perfectly normal. After a long pause, all he could say was, "Do you know what the name El-Melloi represents?"

"Of course," Shirou smirked. "Do you know about that golden bastard holed up in the Fuyuki church right now?"

"What?"

"Oh, sorry, you don't know that nickname yet." Shirou explained to Waver. "Let me use a name you're familiar with: the oldest hero, the King of Heroes of Babylonia, Gilgamesh. He served as the Archer class in the Fourth Holy Grail War. That should make it easier to understand, shouldn't it?"

"What are you getting at? Or what are you trying to say?" Waver frowned. For some reason, mentioning Gilgamesh made his stomach ache.

"Only those who've witnessed it can understand how absurd a Servant's power is. It doesn't take much—under normal circumstances, just three Servants could wipe out the Mage's Association.

I'm not much, I can't match a top-tier Servant like Gilgamesh, but against second-rate ones like Hassan, I can handle two at once."

Waver's expression shifted. The fact that the Gandr Shot had no effect on Shirou already hinted at something.

He activated his Mystic Eyes of Perception, but was nearly blinded by the sheer magical energy radiating from Shirou. With that level of power, El-Melloi would have a hard time dealing with him.

Waver took a deep drag on his cigar and blew a smoke ring shaped like the Will of Fire. Regardless, he was Lord El-Melloi II, the lord of El-Melloi. There were some things he didn't want to deal with.

"So what's your purpose in coming to the Clock Tower? To show off to El-Melloi?" Waver asked.

Whether or not Shirou actually had that strength, El-Melloi would struggle against him. If Shirou wanted to be an enemy of El-Melloi, the house would be in serious trouble.