This Is That +1

Clock Tower, Department of Mineralogy, El-Melloi Classroom.

Shirou wandered around aimlessly with his hands behind his head. It could not be helped—Natalia had gone to negotiate the commission payment with Lady Reines, and with nothing to do, he could only stroll around!

Just then, a freshly fired magecraft bullet flew in from afar, hurtling straight at Shirou's face. Shirou noticed it too. After judging that the thing could not break his defenses, he simply closed his eyes and kept walking forward.

What? That thing can't even break through defenses. No wonder three third-rate Servants could wipe out the Mage's Association in the game. With that thought, Shirou took the bullet to the face.

"Oh no, I hit someone!"

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

Shirou opened one eye and looked toward the voice. The newcomers were a blonde girl dressed in a Western-style gown, like a doll, and a frail-looking boy wearing black-rimmed glasses.

"Luvia and Caules?"

Shirou recognized the two of them and opened his other eye as well. Since they were coming over, keeping one eye open and the other shut would have been somewhat rude.

Shirou deliberately gave Caules an extra look. Do not misunderstand—it was because Caules's glasses looked a little like Aizen's.

As magi, they were superior to ordinary people in many ways. Before long, both of them had run up to Shirou.

"I'm sorry, um, are you all right?"

The moment she arrived, Luvia asked anxiously. More than anyone, she knew what that attack had been.

Gandr Shot. Originally, it had merely been a technique used by certain Norse magi to cast curses. The original version was not especially powerful, but the version improved by the Edelfelt Family could display considerable force.

Incidentally, she was somewhat related by blood to Rin Tohsaka. In FSN, Rin's Gandr Shot had been brought to the Tohsaka Family by one of Luvia's grandmother-generation relatives.

But this was not the time to discuss that. This red-haired boy had taken one to the face... however she thought about it, that was not normal.

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

Shirou smiled slightly and said to Luvia with impeccable manners, "Nothing at all, my beautiful lady. If you mean me, then I can tell you clearly that I feel~ fantastic right now."

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

Luvia said in disbelief. Unlike Luvia's reaction, Caules wore a thoroughly smug expression. "Haha! Lady Luvia, it seems your family magecraft has failed!"

Hearing that, Shirou took a step back and sighed. Then he said to Caules with great earnestness, "Kid, if I had to describe you with one Chinese character, I'd say it would be 'well.'"

"Why?" Caules asked reflexively.

"Because you're a complete two-bit act no matter which way you look at it!" (Caules, you bastard, die!)

Watching Caules receive Luvia's iron-fisted divine punishment, Shirou could not help thinking that the Clock Tower probably only had this handful of conscientious magi.

"Are you really all right? Gandr Shot is not the Edelfelt Family's primary magecraft, but it still has some power behind it."

After Caules and Luvia left, a man's voice sounded behind Shirou. "But Luvia actually used magecraft in a place like this. That was far too reckless. Should their assignments be increased after all? It's decided—I'll triple their workload. No, make it five times!"

The newcomer had long hair and stood around six feet tall. His face clearly bore the look of someone who had overworked himself to the point of death. He wore a neat suit and had a cigar clenched between his teeth.

Such distinctive traits could not be found in a second person throughout the entire Clock Tower. This man was Lord El-Melloi II. From certain angles, Shirou had only come here because of him.

"As you can see, Lord El-Melloi II, I do not feel any discomfort whatsoever." Shirou gave him a bow. No matter how one looked at it, the man deserved his respect.

"That's good." Lord El-Melloi II—or rather, Waver Velvet—also breathed a sigh of relief at Shirou's answer. If his student caused trouble on his turf, he bore responsibility no matter what.

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

"No. I merely accompanied an elder from my family on business, Lord El-Melloi II," Shirou said neither humbly nor arrogantly. "You may know my adoptive father. His name is Kiritsugu Emiya."

!!!

The moment he heard the name Kiritsugu Emiya, Waver's face darkened so thoroughly it seemed water could drip from it.

On a personal level, Waver had no particular grudge against Kiritsugu. Although Kiritsugu had caused the death of his teacher, Kenneth, his relationship with Kenneth had not been very good to begin with. He had even taken over the El-Melloi position because he owed Lady Reines an enormous debt.

But in terms of position, Kiritsugu Emiya had killed Kenneth, the previous lord of El-Melloi. That made the grudge a serious one. Nothing else was needed—this alone was enough for El-Melloi and the Emiya Family to fight each other to the death.

"And yet you still dared to come to the Clock Tower—indeed, to the El-Melloi Classroom. Do you not know what Kiritsugu Emiya did to El-Melloi?" Waver deliberately lowered his voice. In the end, this was still an El-Melloi disgrace. Publicizing it would bring nothing but humiliation. El-Melloi were aristocrats too; they had their pride.

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

Shirou deliberately put on an indifferent expression. "But so what? War means killing. If you want to kill others, you must be prepared to be killed yourself. Don't tell me a Clock Tower lord, a dignified Color Rank magus, does not understand such rules."

Shirou rendered Waver speechless. Death was perfectly normal when magi came into conflict. After a long while, all he could say was, "Do you know what the name El-Melloi represents?"

"Of course." Shirou curled his lips. "Then do you know that golden bastard currently holed up in Fuyuki City Church?"

"What?"

"Oh, sorry, you do not know that nickname." Shirou explained to Waver, "Then let me use one you are more familiar with: the oldest hero, the King of Heroes of Babylonia, Gilgamesh, who held the Archer class in the Fourth Holy Grail War. That should make it easier for you to understand, right?"

"What do you mean? Or rather, what are you trying to say?" Waver asked with a frown. For certain reasons, merely hearing Gilgamesh's name gave him a stomachache.

"Only those who have witnessed it firsthand can understand how absurdly powerful Servants are. It does not take many—under ordinary circumstances, just three Servants are enough to destroy the Mage's Association.

"I am no great talent. Though I cannot match an exceptional Servant like Gilgamesh, I can still fight two second-rate Servants, such as Hassan, by myself."

Waver's expression changed. The fact that the Gandr Shot had done nothing to Shirou already indicated that something was off.

He activated his Mystic Eyes of Appraisal, only to nearly be blinded by the sheer amount of magical energy surrounding Shirou. With magical energy of that level alone, El-Melloi would not find it easy to deal with him.

Waver took a deep draw on his cigar and exhaled a smoke ring like the Will of Fire. No matter what, he was Lord El-Melloi II, the head of El-Melloi. There were matters he did not wish to resolve.

"Then what is your purpose in coming to the Clock Tower? To provoke El-Melloi?" Waver asked.

Whether Shirou truly possessed such strength or not, El-Melloi would not find it easy to deal with him. If Shirou intended to become El-Melloi's enemy, then El-Melloi would be in serious trouble.

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