In the snowy night, Matou Shinji sat by the window and sighed, lamenting in the quiet room.
The girlfriend who had promised to spend the night with him at the Matou family home never showed up. She had stood him up outright, leaving the wealthy and willful Shinji thoroughly annoyed.
He treated his friends well enough, but he had no patience whatsoever for a new girlfriend who was "just for sex, not for feelings."
"Whatever. I'll break up with her at school tomorrow."
He turned off the lights and went to sleep. It was already eight at night, and with nothing else to do, he might as well sleep.
She was already an hour late. There was no point waiting any longer. He had definitely been stood up by a woman he had only met recently...
Outside the Matou residence, an opening was torn into the unseen magecraft barrier. A man in a Hogwarts Academy uniform rubbed the dark circles beneath his eyes.
Behind him, the golden-haired girl with twin ponytails carried the person she had ambushed and knocked unconscious over her shoulder. They had not come here to slaughter indiscriminately; it was more reliable to knock out Passersby like this and send them away.
"Beatrice, take this woman back."
"Yes."
Having received her orders, the red-haired little loli took the unconscious maiden and immediately turned around, vanishing into the snowy night.
The gloomy man's blue pupils abruptly changed, scarlet light shooting from his eyes. He slowly walked toward the Matou residence as black mist churned in his hand.
A Strange Day
In the morning, the residence was exceptionally quiet. It was still early before school, so Sakura and Miyu were both still asleep.
A sizzling sound echoed through the kitchen as Ritsuka held a spatula and fried eggs for breakfast.
"Hi hi, Ritsuka, I'm here again!"
Bang!
The wooden rice spoon struck her forehead, sending Taiga, still wearing her motorcycle helmet, straight to the floor. Without even turning around, Ritsuka took bacon from the refrigerator.
"Ritsuka... let's duel!"
Taiga took her Tiger Bamboo Sword from her back and swung it down with great vigor, striking pose after pose.
Ever since she had been defeated by Ritsuka in just a few moves during their swordsmanship match years ago, she had finally issued another challenge. She was ready to wash away her humiliation. While Ritsuka had been immersed in part-time work and housework, Taiga had never stopped training for even a moment!
"Today, I'm going to..."
"Taiga, hand me the spoon."
Without looking back, Ritsuka looked at the rice that had already finished steaming and transferred the fried eggs from the pan onto a plate.
She reached out, took the spoon Taiga handed over, and carefully washed it by the sink. Ritsuka effortlessly brushed aside the sudden incident...
Fried eggs, bacon, and a bowl of piping-hot rice. Taiga forgot everything and sat smiling at the table, waiting for breakfast. Her eyes curved into crescents, and her mouth formed an M shape.
"Teacher, you still need to prepare your lessons, so go ahead and eat first. I'll call Miyu and Sakura for breakfast."
"Okay!"
Taiga stared at the table and began enjoying the delicious breakfast. She casually tossed her Tiger Bamboo Sword aside while Ritsuka left the living room.
She passed through the slightly chilly hallway and arrived outside the washroom, where two different voices came from inside.
Ritsuka paused, curled her small hand into a fist, and gently knocked on the door—
"Miyu, Sakura, finish washing up properly and come eat. Don't waste time."
"You both got up late today. You'll be late."
Behind her stood the snowman Taiga and the others had made in the courtyard last night. Ritsuka looked at the sky; it truly could no longer be considered early.
Classes started at eight-thirty. If they were late, Teacher Taiga would definitely take the chance to deal with them. After all, that woman absolutely loved messing with people.
Because of its student population and other factors, Hogwarts Academy in Fuyuki City was fairly relaxed when it came to managing students.
Rustling sounds came from the washroom, and the door slowly slid open. Miyu merely poked her head out. "Okay, Sister, we understand."
"Hurry up."
After confirming that the two were no longer sleeping in, Ritsuka yawned.
When she returned to the living room, Taiga had already almost finished eating like a whirlwind. Used to it by now, Ritsuka began clearing the table.
"Oh, right, Ritsuka. I went to call Shinji. That guy surprisingly didn't sleep in today."
"I'm telling you, when I went to find him this morning, those dark circles under his eyes were ridiculously bad."
Blah blah blah...
Taiga went on and on, excitedly recounting what she had seen that morning. Shinji's situation really did seem a little strange.
Ritsuka rubbed her chin, her expression growing slightly serious as her gaze flickered. Had he run into a honey trap? Did she pull out something bigger than his?
So he was scared sleepless?
Still, Taiga had failed to witness Shinji's legendary scene, which left her somewhat regretful. After all, she had finally caught such a rare opportunity. Maybe Taiga would beat Shinji up in embarrassment and rage, and that would count as Taiga helping Sakura vent some anger.
After letting her thoughts run wild for a while, Ritsuka shook her head and looked at Taiga. "Teacher, don't you need to prepare your lessons today?"
"Hmm...?"
Taiga froze, then immediately picked up her Tiger Bamboo Sword and rushed outside.
Before long, just as Ritsuka began serving rice for the other two, Taiga hurried back, grabbed her helmet, and ran off again.
"Ritsuka, see you later!"
"Okay."
Taiga Fujimura rushed out of the Emiya Residence like the wind, speeding away on her little motorcycle and leaving a trail of dust behind.
A little while later, the two somewhat bleary-eyed girls came to the dining table and began eating breakfast.
The peaceful daily routine continued. Dark clouds gradually gathered in the sky, making the atmosphere somewhat oppressive, as though a torrential downpour was about to arrive.
The Crystal Dice rolled across the desk. Ritsuka was terribly bored during lunch break.
It looked like it might rain soon outside, but because the temperature was rather low, there was still a good chance it would snow again instead.
Sakura had gone somewhere. After eating the lunch that had been prepared in her bento box, Ritsuka had nothing to do and started fiddling with the Crystal Dice. It was a die, after all, so there was no problem tossing it around a few times, even if it could not roll a number.
A figure draped in something like a sheet, carrying a massive bow over his shoulder, appeared at the top.
"It rolled an 'Alcides'?"
Ritsuka smiled. Actually, it would have been nice if there were a woman inside the Crystal Dice. As long as she was pleasant to look at, Ritsuka might have stared at her all day.
Spacing out could greatly wear away boring time.
"Did Sakura go looking for Shinji? That guy, honestly. He actually didn't come to school. Taiga will definitely scold him to death when she finds out."
Shinji had not come to school. That guy had vanished outright today, and his seat in the classroom had remained empty. When Sakura learned about it during lunch break, she too disappeared.
"Julian isn't here either. Why has everyone vanished one by one?"
Everyone she knew had disappeared, and everything had suddenly returned to absolute quiet. Miyu was the only one left beside her.
It felt just like how she had felt when she had first lost Kiritsugu...
"Forget it. I'll go look too."
There was still quite some time before lunch break ended. Ritsuka, whose grades were decent, decisively chose to skip class and left the classroom through the back door.
With the keys in hand, Ritsuka first went to the Kyudo Club to see whether that guy was slacking off there.
Unfortunately, the Kyudo Club was extremely quiet. The teacher had not lent out any other keys capable of opening the Kyudo Club's door, so Ritsuka could only leave the tightly locked door behind and go elsewhere.
Crossing the field and easily climbing over the academy wall, Ritsuka arrived at the elementary division of the neighboring Hogwarts Academy. She then left the school through the wall on this side and walked along the streets of Fuyuki City.
The sky was an oppressive gray, with thick dark clouds blanketing the city overhead.
Her tied ponytail swaying, Ritsuka watched snowflakes drift down from the sky, mixed with traces of rainwater. She immediately ran to an abandoned park and stood beneath a pavilion.
"Hmm hmm hmm..."
Suddenly, a tiny figure entered her field of vision, and a cheerful little hum drew Ritsuka's attention as well.
It was a golden-haired girl around elementary school age.
A loli with golden drill twin-tails, about Miyu's age, glanced at Ritsuka standing in the pavilion before hurriedly running off to the side.
On the other side, a red-haired loli with twin ponytails ran into the park and happened to come face-to-face with the golden-haired girl.
They clearly knew each other, and the red-haired loli had been searching for the other one. The two began talking, and the girl who had arrived later wore a helpless expression.
"Erika..."
"What is that...?"
For some reason, a strange feeling made Ritsuka's entire body stiffen. Her gaze remained fixed on the two girls.
They were clearly just two girls who looked foreign, yet one of them made her skill, Mind's Eye (True), issue constant warnings, while the other...
Made the Crystal Dice react violently.
She instinctively pressed down on her right hand. An image appeared directly within Ritsuka's vision: Alcides. Two lines of text appeared below it.
... Alcides (Archer/Avenger) Synchronization Value (3%) ...
The Synchronization Value rose by a chunk and continued climbing slowly, increasing by roughly 1% every ten seconds.
What was happening?
Ritsuka stared intently at the two little ones, a bead of cold sweat sliding down her cheek.
"Hey! Big sister over there, what are you doing?"
Suddenly, an extremely dangerous presence rose from the red twin-tailed girl. She turned her head toward Ritsuka, who had been staring at them the entire time.
At the same time, she revealed an innocent smile.
"I'm taking shelter from the rain. Where are your families? Do you need me to make a call for you?"
Taking out her phone, Ritsuka suppressed the trembling sensation and pretended to be calm. She felt as though she were being watched by a ferocious beast, making her smile somewhat stiff.
It was like the first time she had encountered a lion, when she had only been seven years old.
It was the feeling of being targeted by an apex predator.
What exactly is that thing?
Ritsuka glanced at the image in her vision. The Synchronization Value had already reached 9%.
"Thank you for your kindness, Sister, but there's no need to trouble yourself."
With a bright smile, the other girl waved her hand. The two little ones then left together, running along the street outside the park until they vanished from sight.
Ritsuka clenched her fingers tightly, then let out a breath of relief.
"Why does that girl's presence... feel a little like Alcides...?"
Enzō and the Class Cards
The two vanished together around the street corner, and Ritsuka stood beneath the pavilion watching them depart.
With the danger gone, she raised a hand to wipe away her cold sweat. The value on the Crystal Dice had also stopped, settling at around 14%. That was already no small number.
After all, "Emiya Shirou" had only increased by 8% over five years before a certain opportunity let it break through to 30%.
Yet now, just from staring at a little girl, the Synchronization Value of "Alcides" had surged forward at an astonishing pace. It was truly an unexpected development. Of course, that earlier encounter had also been dangerous.
"Wait, could it be... Alcides is a loli con?"
Scratching her head, Ritsuka started making things up.
Before you continue