After a long while, a resentful woman's voice came from the summoning circle.
"Oh dear, I really messed up. I never expected that refusing the summoning would be impossible. How forceful..."
Volume One 029: Flower Magus (1/6)
Late at night, Kirei Kotomine knocked on the door in the basement of Tohsaka Mansion.
This was Tokiomi Tohsaka's workshop.
No matter how many times he entered this place, Kirei Kotomine was always left in awe by the various strange magical devices inside.
His mentor, Tokiomi Tohsaka, was an outstanding magus.
Although the Tohsaka Family's ancestor had once been taken on as a disciple by a True Magic User on a whim, it could not be denied that, until the previous generation, this family had been thoroughly unremarkable.
The person who changed the Tohsaka Family's situation was Tokiomi Tohsaka.
In Japan at the end of the twentieth century, he had used various means to seize control of Fuyuki City's important land.
On top of that, Tokiomi Tohsaka had made many innovations in magecraft. He had amassed wealth by managing magecraft patents and had even become famous in the Clock Tower, the center of the modern magecraft world.
Although he was far removed from terms like "child prodigy," Tokiomi Tohsaka perfectly embodied the meaning of excellence and elitism.
He possessed both an iron will and the pride of a superior man. From the moment he was born, his life's goal had already been decided, and he devoted his entire life to pursuing it.
He never lost his way and never stopped moving forward. He was the exact opposite of Kirei Kotomine.
As for Kirei Kotomine, although he had been Chosen by the Holy Grail, he remained trapped in confusion and pain to this day.
Even the Command Spells on the back of his hand seemed incapable of redeeming his soul.
"What is it, Kirei? It's awfully late."
Tokiomi Tohsaka was reading the latest report sent from the northern island nation when he spoke to his disciple.
"No one saw you enter this house, did they? On the surface, we're already enemies."
"Please do not worry. No familiars or magical devices, tangible or intangible, are monitoring this mansion. I can guarantee that."
Kirei Kotomine and Tokiomi Tohsaka were both participants in the Holy Grail War.
The Command Spells had appeared on Kirei Kotomine's right hand three years earlier, but under his mentor's orders, he had carefully concealed the information. It was only this month that he publicly announced his participation in the Holy Grail War.
From that moment onward, his relationship with his mentor, Tokiomi Tohsaka, had supposedly fallen apart—
Of course, this was merely an act for outsiders.
Kirei Kotomine still belonged to the Tohsaka faction. His task was to secretly help his mentor obtain the Holy Grail.
Their faction even included the neutral overseer of this Holy Grail War—Kirei Kotomine's father.
"I came to report something tonight."
Kirei Kotomine said expressionlessly, "I obtained information on a new Servant from my father."
Father Risei possessed a magical device called a Spiritron Dresser, which could display the attributes of Heroic Spirits summoned by the Holy Grail.
Although a Master's identity could only be confirmed through their own reports, the moment a Servant descended, the Tohsaka faction could use the Spiritron Dresser to track them down, no matter where the summoning took place.
For example, when the Einzbern Family violated the rules and summoned Saber in distant Germany a year ahead of schedule, even Tokiomi Tohsaka had known about it from the beginning.
"According to my father, a new Servant descended tonight."
"Oh? What class?"
"This..."
Tokiomi Tohsaka was surprised to discover that his disciple, famous for his poker face, was displaying an unusually troubled expression.
"The new Servant's information is still unclear."
"What?"
Kirei Kotomine said, "The Spiritron Dresser can only confirm that a new Servant has descended. It cannot identify any information about their class."
Tokiomi Tohsaka frowned at this. "Has it malfunctioned?"
"No. The Spiritron Dresser itself has not malfunctioned. It is still operating normally."
"Then there is something wrong with the Servant who descended tonight?"
Kirei Kotomine nodded. "We cannot completely rule out that possibility."
Tokiomi Tohsaka fell silent for a moment.
When he thought of a problematic Servant, he could not help remembering the Einzbern Family's stunt sixty years ago.
Those rigid homunculi had actually tried to summon an evil god to participate in the war. Instead, they had bitten off more than they could chew, being the first to be eliminated in the Third Holy Grail War and becoming a laughingstock.
Tokiomi Tohsaka smiled. "I understand. It is not a major concern. As long as the Einzbern Family or that old man Makiri is not scheming behind the scenes, it will be fine.
"The Servant of Lord El-Melloi, the most dangerous among the foreign magi, has also been confirmed. It is Lancer.
"At this point, even if one or two problematic Servants appear, they cannot affect the overall situation.
"Kirei, we will be the final victors of this Holy Grail War."
"...As you say."
Kirei Kotomine knew that his mentor possessed an arrogance beyond that of ordinary men, but was this not a little too much confidence? You have not even summoned a Servant yet!
The man soon learned the reason for Tokiomi Tohsaka's confidence.
The magus took the Holy Relic he had just acquired from a drawer, displaying it as though he were showing off. It was a piece of shed skin from a primordial serpent.
There might be many Servants who could be called the "strongest Heroic Spirits," such as the Great Hero of Greek mythology or the King of Knights of Britain.
But there was only one Servant who could be called the "Heroic Spirit Killer."
Late at night, the warehouse was shrouded in desolation.
The bright moonlight streamed through the skylight, completely enveloping the two people inside.
On one side stood the young Master, Command Spells appearing on the back of his hand.
On the other side sat the female Servant who had appeared within the summoning circle.
"Ow, ow, ow..."
The silver-haired woman rubbed her backside on the floor, her brows slightly furrowed as she muttered, "Oh dear, I really messed up. I never expected that refusing the summoning would be impossible. How forceful."
Shirou stared blankly at the Servant in the summoning circle without blinking.
Her long, wavy hair shimmered with a dreamy rainbow hue beneath the moonlight, its luster surpassing that of nearly any fairy in Britain.
Her exquisite, flawless features could no longer be described simply as beautiful. She was beautiful to an almost abnormal degree, making Shirou wonder whether he had entered a dream.
The woman wore a pure-white outfit that unmistakably symbolized a magus. It blended perfectly with her slender, shapely figure, while her pale, bewitching legs were wrapped in black stockings.
And then there was the most important point.
Although this was a rust-filled warehouse, the moment she appeared, colorful flowers had begun to bloom all around them in a manner that was utterly inexplicable.
Shirou recovered from his daze and spoke stiffly.
"Are you my Servant?"
According to Makiri's explanation, one of a Master's privileges was being able to immediately see a Servant's six parameters after a successful summoning.
Strangely, however, Shirou could not read the woman's abilities. He could not even see her class, let alone her abilities.
"Hmm... I would like to say no, but that clearly would not work, would it..."
The Servant, presumably a Caster, patted the dust from her backside, then stood up without a care and took a deep breath.
Next, she crouched down in front of Shirou and put on an intensely professional smile.
"Nice to meet you, my adorable Little Master."
Shirou: "..."
Why was that?
Shirou felt as if there were a familiar aura about her.
Volume One 030: Merlin's Self-Proclaimed Sage Sister (2/6)
They left the cold, dark warehouse and returned to the warm, brightly lit living room.
Taiga Fujimura had already gone to sleep. The huge room now contained only Shirou and the mysterious silver-haired beauty.
"Hehe, so this is where Master lives..."
The unknown Servant knelt on the tatami, excitedly looking around with her beautiful, jewel-like eyes.
"Tea's ready."
Shirou entered the living room, placed a cup of steaming green tea in front of the mysterious woman, and then returned to his seat.
"Delicious."
The mysterious woman took a sip of hot tea, then revealed a smile capable of making any living creature in the world lose itself in a daze.
"Hehehe, thanks to Master, I have calmed down a little.
"But I was startled too. I never expected the one who summoned me to be such a cute little boy~
"Big Sis is full of energy now~ Can you tell Big Sis your name?"
"Shirou."
"Shirou... May I call you Shirou-kun?"
Shirou's reply was neither warm nor cold. "Just keep calling me Master."
The silver-haired beauty pressed a finger to her lips and smiled. "It seems I have not earned my Master's trust."
Shirou neither confirmed nor denied it. "Sorry, but could you tell me your true name as well?
"This is a little embarrassing to admit, but even now I still cannot determine your class or parameters."
Normally, when a Master and Servant faced each other, the Master should be able to obtain a certain amount of information.
This included parameter ranks such as strength and endurance, as well as details like Personal Skills.
A Master had to understand their Servant's abilities and condition before considering how to handle the battle and arrange a strategy.
Yet Shirou could see nothing.
Her status screen had clearly appeared in his mind, but whether it was her six parameters or Personal Skills, everything was shrouded in fog.
Moreover, it was not only his privileges as a Master that had failed. His Boundless Mage's Eye had not worked either.
This was absolutely unprecedented. Shirou was actually unable to obtain any useful information from her whatsoever.
The red-haired boy's gaze swept over the mysterious woman's long, beautiful legs, slender waist, and full breasts before finally stopping on her peerlessly beautiful face.
"Would it be more appropriate for me to address you as Caster, Big Sis?"
The mysterious woman answered with a gentle smile. "My class is not Caster, nor am I any of the seven knights. It would be more accurate to call it... Hmm, Extra should be suitable."
Extra... an additional class?
Shirou was stunned. Hey, Makiri! I never heard anything about this!
The stat monster with powerful Magic Resistance, Saber.
The warrior renowned for agility and tenacity, Lancer.
The Archer skilled in long-range combat and Noble Phantasm battles.
Shirou had spent the past few days cramming knowledge about the seven knights.
After studying for so long, she was now telling him that there was also an Extra class!?
"What are the characteristics of the Extra class?" Shirou asked.
The mysterious woman replied, "Extra is not a single class type. It is a general term corresponding to the seven knights. Can you understand?"
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