First Meeting

In front of a half-abandoned commercial building, the Emiya Family stopped the car.

"This is the place? Compared to the Einzbern estate last time, this doesn't look anything like a proper magus's residence!" Even though he already knew, Shirou still couldn't help complaining.

The building was a complete wreck: bare concrete everywhere—outer walls, inner walls, even the floor. Oh, my concrete, this place had completely given up on itself!

"Yeah, that's right, this is it." Kiritsugu confirmed.

Not every magus family was as well-off as the Einzberns. Magi weren't beings you could judge by common sense. A rundown building was nothing—Kiritsugu had seen worse.

"Is that so? Then let's go in."

"!!!" The moment Shirou stepped into the abandoned building, he suddenly felt a sense of wrongness, like he'd left the gas on at home.

"Old man."

"Mm, you feel it too, Shirou?"

"A suggestive field, a bounded field to ward off ordinary people?" Shirou glanced at Illya, who looked completely unbothered, and couldn't help remarking:

"Ah~ this is the only time I envy the Einzbern homunculi. Double the magic resistance of a normal person."

"Heh heh!"

On the third floor of the derelict building, Shirou and Kiritsugu finally met the person they'd come to see.

A young woman with fiery red hair tied back in a ponytail, a white blouse with a clerical collar, and then orange.

Orange nail polish, orange earrings, orange necklace—even her bag and coat were orange.

"How obsessed with orange is this woman? Is she a maniac?" Shirou silently grumbled.

"Oh my, visitors—and very 'special' ones at that!" Aozaki Touko had no idea what Shirou was thinking; her attention was fixed on Kiritsugu.

Kiritsugu had worked as a bounty hunter for the Mage's Association for a few years, earning the title Magus Killer during that time. He was an oddity, but he rarely failed his jobs. Touko knew a little about him—just his face and name.

And she, Aozaki Touko, was on the Sealed Designation list. Bounty hunters usually didn't target people like her, but if one brought a Sealed Designation target to the Association, they'd be happy to pay up.

"Well..."

"I wonder what brings the infamous 'Magus Killer' to my Garan no Dou?" Touko cut in first.

"Looks like your reputation among your peers isn't great, old man. She's already on guard." Seeing Touko's tense posture, Shirou teased Kiritsugu.

"Hm? You are...?" Shirou's words successfully caught Touko's attention.

"Oh! My name is Emiya Shirou. Pleased to meet you." Shirou replied politely.

If you didn't know him well, you might be fooled by that courtesy. Shirou was very good at putting up a front. If you only dealt with him on the surface, most people would think he was a well-mannered, good kid.

"Is that so? Pleased to meet you too!" Touko responded with a smile. She didn't know his intentions, but basic politeness was still in order.

"As you can see, Ms. Aozaki. Shirou is my adopted son. We're not here to cause trouble." Kiritsugu seized the opening, as if assuring Touko: I brought my own kid, what more do you want?

"Oh? Even if you say that, it's still hard for me to trust you!" Touko wasn't buying it. She took off her glasses and fixed Emiya Kiritsugu with a cold stare, her tone equally icy:

"After all, you're the Magus Killer. They say you'll do anything to achieve your goals. Who knows if this isn't just a trick to lower my guard."

Emiya Kiritsugu was a bit embarrassed. He'd done too many bad things, and now there was no turning back. He pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, hoping to ease the awkwardness by smoking, but the moment he lit it and took a drag, Shirou snatched it away and stomped it out. Kiritsugu looked at Shirou, only to be met with a cold glare. Shirou had never liked Kiritsugu's smoking habit—at least not in front of him.

Kiritsugu scratched his head in frustration and signaled to Sella behind him. She immediately understood and handed him a piece of parchment.

"Does this convince you, Ms. Aozaki?" Kiritsugu unrolled the parchment fully, revealing its true form.

"A Self-Geas Scroll? You're serious, Emiya... Kiritsugu."

A Self-Geas Scroll was a curse technique contract used by magi in the Nasuverse when forging an absolutely unbreakable oath.

There was no trust between magi. The Self-Geas Scroll was the most absolute guarantee they had to prevent breach of contract. The contract was usually written on parchment and included binding formulas, the target of the binding, the formal content of the oath, the conditions for fulfillment, and the signatory's name.

It used the function of one's own Magic Crest to impose a "compulsory" curse on the caster themselves. In principle, no method could nullify its effect. Once a magus signed the scroll and the oath conditions were met to activate it, even if the oath-taker died, as long as the Magic Crest was inherited by the next generation, even their soul after death would be bound.

"But your scroll has a flaw."

"Yeah, there's a flaw."

Shirou and Touko locked eyes again. "I wasn't sure at first, but now I see you're interesting, kid named Shirou."

"The honor is mine, Ms. Aozaki."

"Can you tell me why you say Emiya Kiritsugu's scroll has a flaw? Isn't he your adoptive father?" Touko asked with keen interest.

"Have you ever seen an adoptive father who leaves all the housework to his son? Have you ever seen an adoptive father who sleeps in while his son makes breakfast? And have you seen him?" At the last question, Shirou pointed at Kiritsugu beside him. The meaning was clear.

After hearing Shirou's words, the two adults reacted differently. (Sella and Lizelotte were less than a year old.)

Emiya Kiritsugu, exposed, turned beet-red. If Touko hadn't been there, he probably would have done a facepalm. He shot Shirou a resentful look, but the man had thick skin and didn't care.

On the other hand, Touko burst out laughing: "Hahaha! Interesting, interesting, this is really interesting! I like you, kid. If you weren't with Emiya Kiritsugu, I might try to poach you."

She said "interesting" three times in a row, and the word "delight" might as well have been written on her face.

"Alright, for the sake of this interesting kid, I can't just leave you hanging in this bare concrete room. Follow me up—you're here to make a request, right?"

Touko put her glasses back on, regaining her intellectual air, and led the group of five upstairs.