Kiritsugu Emiya: Maiya, It's Not What You Think!

But first, she needed to come up with an excuse to fool the old bastard across from her, and luckily, she had one.

"Do you think the Einzbern Family's research would be slower than ours? Besides, who knows how long they've been researching it already." Touko presented an argument he could not refuse.

After all, once they caught them, a Magus's methods could extract information regardless of how tight-lipped someone was.

And she could ask to be put in charge of this matter. When the time came, the old bastard could handle that whoever-it-was, while she handled this Little Fellow.

Whips, candles, steel wool!

Anyway, with the old bastard's magecraft, he would definitely succeed in interrogating them. She would not need to worry about that at all; when the time came, she could have her fun!

A young girl in the prime of adolescence, corrupted by certain unhealthy things, Touko perhaps believed everyone had Stockholm Syndrome.

It seemed everyone who liked reading those strange novels had such thoughts.

"Mm, that makes sense."

Old Man Aozaki thought it over and felt Touko was right. Then let's do it!

The Magecraft World had always been this plain and unadorned!

Kiritsugu Emiya: Maiya, It's Not What You Think!

Once he finished thinking, magical energy erupted instantly. Yet faster than him were Touko's Mystic Eyes. Though they had not reached their later level, using Lenses to reflect them several times over was still possible.

The beams formed from magical energy instantly enveloped Fu Yuan, but to Fu Yuan, it merely felt a little heavy.

The most useless Mystic Eyes indeed lived up to their reputation!

See? This is what other women are like. If they aren't after your body, they're after something else of yours. Su Mei suddenly spoke upon seeing this, as if the incident had nothing to do with her.

But even without Senior Sister stirring things up, the two opposite them would certainly have acted this way. There was no helping it; wealth moved people's hearts.

Fu Yuan felt the nearly negligible gravity on his body and tilted his head. As long as Senior Sister was happy, that was enough.

As for everyone else, who cared if they died!

He tilted his head and dodged Old Man Aozaki's magecraft trajectory. Then—

Divine Grace Barrier.

The originally powerful magecraft was instantly weakened by several levels. The remaining magical energy in the air began to disappear, followed by that within their bodies and their magecraft tools.

Fu Yuan looked at their stunned gazes and suddenly laughed. How could mortals like them understand the power of a god?

But since they had offended a god, they should be punished, shouldn't they?

He charged forward at high speed, then threw a Short-Range Force punch. The wind from his fist sent ripples through the air as it struck Old Man Aozaki's face first.

Demonic Possession made him forget all his skills. How should he put it? It was rather interesting. This Spirit Core was truly garbage. Short-Range Force probably had not appeared because the Spirit Core really was not working.

Inch Punch: Skull Splitter.

Old Man Aozaki felt the emptiness in his body and the fist wind rushing toward his face.

Though flustered, he still instinctively dodged to the side.

And walked straight into it. What a joke—if I let you dodge that, how could I keep calling myself a fighter?

Fu Yuan's full force landed squarely on him. With A-Rank Monstrous Strength combined with A-Rank Short-Range Force, Old Man Aozaki's face instantly caved in.

But he did not die. He was merely sent flying backward, nearly faster than Fu Yuan could run.

Ah! This feeling of fists striking flesh was still the most satisfying, especially when the other person had no ability to resist.

Fu Yuan then looked rather unfriendly at the stunned Touko while sweeping his gaze over the dolls gathering around them.

Then his fist shot straight forward. Touko seemed frozen, not even trying to dodge.

Bang!

Her little head burst like a smashed watermelon, scattering everywhere in an instant, while the Chain dutifully blocked everything for Fu Yuan.

Fu Yuan tilted his head. Was it really that easy?

Then, as though he had suddenly remembered something, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

So she had already known how to do it back then! What superb doll-making skill!

Worthy of Crimson of Pain!

Where was she hiding? Not easy to find!

Then A Yuan wouldn't bother looking!

He would simply bombard the entire area!

"Big Sister, make sure you survive!"

As his words fell, the sky instantly turned golden. Layer upon layer of golden ripples filled the heavens, and Spears of Constraint covered the sky.

No need to aim.

Just bombard them!

With a light hook of Fu Yuan's slender finger, the Chain behind him obediently protected the two white-haired ones behind him. Including himself, that made three.

This was—Conviction.

Meanwhile, Kiritsugu in Fuyuki had been making coffee in the living room when his entire body suddenly went limp. All the magical energy in his body was drained away, and even the hand holding the coffee loosened at once.

Smack!

"Kiritsugu, what's—" Maiya rushed over upon hearing the sound. Then, seeing Kiritsugu trembling as he held himself against the wall, her concerned words abruptly stopped. And that on his pants was coffee, right? It had to be coffee, right? It could not be something else, right? Definitely not, right?

She silently closed the door, then blocked Kariya Matou, who was coming toward her.

"What happened?" Kariya Matou asked in confusion. They were friends, so it was only natural for him to show some concern. Besides, if something happened to them, what would happen to his revenge?

"Nothing, really, nothing! Stop asking. You should go check on the child!" Maiya spoke somewhat flusteredly. This could not be said! This would be a social death!

Then Maiya silently thought to herself that she needed to pay more attention at night from now on. The lady of the house probably would not be back at noon today, so wolfberries, chives, and sea cucumber it was!

"No, listen to my explanation! Maiya."

Kiritsugu weakly watched Maiya silently close the door. He gradually turned to stone, despair filling his heart.

Saber!

"A Heroic Spirit!" Old Man Aozaki, covered in blood, slowly climbed to his feet, shocked and confused.

"Oh, you're still alive."

He had to admit it—surviving an attack like that meant this old bastard had some skill.

Old Man Aozaki truly had not expected him to be a Heroic Spirit. As the head of one of the greatest magecraft families, Old Man Aozaki likely understood more than those fellows at the Clock Tower.

During the Holy Grail War, it was uncertain how Heroic Spirits were restricted, but Masters definitely could not leave the designated area. Kanbuchi City was beside Fuyuki City, yet it was absolutely outside the boundary.

That was why, despite knowing they were participating in the Holy Grail War, he had still intended to rob them.

That was also why he had set the trading location here. But now, this boy was a Heroic Spirit.

That meant Kiritsugu Emiya, the feared Magus Killer, had actually sent out his greatest safeguard.

Had he gone insane?! Did he really expect the other Masters to follow the rules?! Did he truly think fighting was forbidden during the day?!

And what exactly was this thing?! Unlike that Old Worm from the Matou Family, who could only deal with third-rate Heroic Spirits, he was the current head of one of the most powerful magecraft families. Even against a first-rate Heroic Spirit, he could stall for some time.

But this opponent was not human!

On this side were a Sixth-Rank Mage and a Sixth-Rank Support. On the other side was an eighteenth-level character with six god-tier items, and his ultimate even inflicted silence on everyone. How were they supposed to fight that?!

"Cough, cough!" Touko crawled out from a pile of rubble, covered in dust and dirt, watching that lecherous Little Fellow warily.

Then her thoughts began to wander. He should not be underage, right?! Which meant he was legal!

At that thought, her gaze inexplicably became heated again.

Hit them harder! Su Mei noticed this but did not care. What kind of state was this? She suddenly spoke coldly.

Fu Yuan tilted his head, seemingly accepting the order, then looked at the two opposite him.

Since they had not died, then he could keep fighting. Fu Yuan thought this with some delight.

"Your Excellency, we surrender—" Before Old Man Aozaki could finish, he was sent flying again.

Then Fu Yuan charged toward Touko amid her horrified gaze.

Fu Yuan seemed to think of something, and the fist originally aimed at her head turned into a sweeping kick at her abdomen.

Though much of its force had been reduced, Touko was still flung away.

It hurts! The friction between her back and the jagged stones left a bloody mark. Yet the broken remains of the dolls she had cursed as useless actually lessened some of her pain.

But as soon as she stopped, she felt an added weight upon her body, pressing against her—or rather, sitting on her chest.

Fu Yuan sat calmly on her chest, one leg folded beneath him while the other rested casually to the side.

With a somewhat bored expression, he stroked her face. Feeling Senior Sister's anger within him, his previously calm expression suddenly broke into a smile.

"So why did you do something so foolish, Big Sister?" Fu Yuan said these words with an unknowable emotion, then silently waited for the old bastard's reaction.

At the same time, he canceled Divine Grace Barrier. After all, if they died, the deal could not continue.

Miss Touko felt the burning pain in her back and looked fearfully at the boy sitting on top of her.

Fuck, this had left a shadow on her!

She felt like she would never love again.

Old Man Aozaki felt magical energy gradually return to the air and quickly healed his body. He looked at Fu Yuan, his eyes shifting twice before he ultimately did not dare act.

"Your Excellency, we surrender. Could you get up first?" Old Man Aozaki looked at Touko, who had already put on a mask of pain, and finally spoke with a somewhat twisted expression.

"Then pay up! My fee for taking action!" Fu Yuan said with a cheerful smile, then floated directly into the air.

What a joke! If a Herrscher could not fly, would he still have the nerve to call himself a Herrscher?

"What does Your Excellency want?" Old Man Aozaki looked at Fu Yuan, who still seemed to have strength to spare. He was unwilling, but he had no choice.

Hah! I can only hope he doesn't know about the Magic.

Touko quickly got to her feet. Feeling the pain in her back, she somewhat resignedly stood beside the old bastard and waited for him to treat her.

"Fire, earth, water, and Imaginary Number magecraft tomes. That's not excessive, is it?" Fu Yuan calmly voiced what should have been a rather playful request. Though it was a lion's share, the other side could accept it.

Su Mei frowned, her expression turning unpleasant. He had not asked for the Magic. This was troublesome. She still had not found a reason! What kind of reason could make someone want to live?!

"Isn't Your Excellency being too excessive?!" Water, wind, earth, and fire were the four foundational magecraft attributes. Fu Yuan had asked for three-fourths of them in one breath, along with the extremely rare Imaginary Number.

Magecraft tomes differed from ordinary books. Under normal circumstances, original copies possessed a mysterious power, while copied versions sometimes could not even record their contents completely. Even if forcefully transcribed, they would disappear for various reasons.

In other words, in the Magecraft World, copying books was a very troublesome matter.

Though the Aozaki Family mainly researched the Magic and wind, they had considerable involvement with the other attributes as well.

A major loss. A truly massive loss.

"Then should we add a Magic?" Fu Yuan looked amusedly at Old Man Aozaki, who was still bargaining. He did not mind revealing what the Aozaki Family was researching.

Old Man Aozaki's pupils suddenly shrank as he stared at him in surprise. Yet he quickly calmed down and spoke in a self-mocking tone.

"Your Excellency must be joking. How could our family be qualified to research the Magic?"

Fu Yuan did not wish to keep entangling himself with the matter, so he simply followed his words.

"Then my fee?"

"We accept Your Excellency's demands. However, we hope Your Excellency will not spread rumors carelessly."

Old Man Aozaki said with a bitter smile. What else could he do? The current head and the chosen heir were both here. They had no room to choose.

"Mm, then sign a contract!"

Fu Yuan yawned, covering his mouth with one hand, looking somewhat bored.

A bit of explanation.

Modern magecraft was the residue left behind after the Age of Gods vanished and all ether particles dispersed. This was no exaggeration; it was roughly the use of magecraft particles in the air, channeled through one's own Magic Circuits.