The leather back seats in the luxury car are very soft.
Origami leaned back in her seat, looking at the receding street scene through the tinted car window.
The daytime and nighttime in Snowfield City are pretty much the same.
The sun was shining brightly, the streets were clean, and the pedestrians looked normal.
Eight hundred thousand citizens were completely subdued by hypnotic Magecraft, utterly unaware that their city was almost wiped off the map the night before.
" Origami- sama, the city center business district is just ahead."
Tiné sat opposite the Origami, her hands neatly placed on her knees.
Today she wore a white dress, her brown skin glowing warmly in the sunlight, and her long black hair was simply braided into a side ponytail.
The driver was one of Tiné's tribesmen, and another tribesman was in the front seat to provide navigation.
The extended luxury car is nearly ten meters long, attracting a lot of attention on the streets of Snowfield City.
But what passersby saw was just an ordinary luxury car with privacy film on the windows, so the passengers inside couldn't be seen from the outside.
" Origami -sama, where would you like to go first?"
"Casual."
"Well..."
Tiné paused for a moment.
"Then... shall we take a drive around the city first?"
"Um."
What about lunch?
Let's find a lively place to eat.
"A lively place?"
Origami looked out the window and passed by a food street.
The restaurants lining both sides of the street had increasingly brighter signs, and the lines outside each one seemed to grow longer.
That one.
Origami pointed to one of the restaurants with the longest queue outside.
Tiné looked in the direction she was pointing.
It was a barbecue restaurant that looked very lively, with the queue stretching all the way to the corner of the next block.
That place... seems to have a queue.
"Let the driver go queue."
"Huh?"
"Otherwise, what's the point of having a driver?"
Tiné was silent for two seconds.
"... Yes, Origami- sama."
The driver stopped the car half a block away from the barbecue restaurant, then quietly walked over and joined the queue.
Tiné and Origami were taken to a nearby dessert shop to wait for a table.
Origami ordered a matcha parfait.
Tiné ordered a lemonade, nothing else.
When the parfait arrived, Origami picked up a long spoon and began to eat quietly.
Tiné watched from across the way, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
This Servant is taking eating dessert way too seriously.
It's like they're carrying out some kind of intricate mission.
" Origami -sama has excellent taste in desserts."
Tiné said it cautiously.
"Um."
Origami ate another spoonful.
"This stuff tastes delicious."
Did you eat this often before?
The Origami spoon paused for a moment.
"... I don't remember."
Tiné didn't ask any further questions.
After finishing the parfait, the queue for drivers was almost full.
The two returned to the barbecue restaurant and were led to the innermost private room.
Origami ordered Wagyu beef, pork belly, beef tongue, diaphragm, and beef ribs.
Tiné was in charge of baking.
" Origami- sama, this piece is finished."
"Um."
"This one's good too."
"Um."
"This piece."
"I'll take it."
Origami used her chopsticks to pick up the slice of meat.
Tiné realized she might have been too attentive and quickly withdrew her hands.
The private room was quiet for a while, with only the sizzling sound of the meat on the grill.
After lunch, the two continued to drive aimlessly around the city.
It was at this time that...
Origami noticed the first person.
On the roadside, on the sidewalk.
A girl wearing black-rimmed glasses.
She has medium-length blonde hair, with a thin braid on one side and straight bangs.
She was wearing a navy blue sailor-style school uniform, a gray short pleated skirt, and black pantyhose.
He was carrying a paper bag filled with the things he had just bought.
An ordinary female college student.
But her sense of Origami told her...
The magical power within this girl is clearly a level higher than that of an ordinary person.
Although it can't compare to the two monsters from last night, it's still far beyond the realm of ordinary people.
They are likely someone involved in the Magecraft world.
I glanced at the Origami a couple more times.
Then she discovered something strange.
This girl's face.
It gave her a strange feeling.
I feel like I've seen this somewhere before.
But upon closer reflection, it doesn't quite match up.
The facial features overlapped by 70-80% with someone in my memory, but the remaining 20-30% were completely different.
It's similar, but not entirely.
It's hard to say it doesn't resemble them, but it definitely does.
This feeling is very uncomfortable.
Origami stared at the girl for three seconds.
The girl was unaware of Origami's gaze from inside the luxury car; she simply walked with her head down, as if lost in thought.
" Origami -sama?"
Tiné noticed Origami's gaze.
Is there something wrong with that girl?
"... have no idea."
Origami looked away.
"But I've already memorized her magical fluctuations."
The extended luxury car continued driving forward.
Origami leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.
Who does that girl's face resemble?
I can't remember.
never mind.
I'll go see her again tonight to confirm.
3 PM.
A limousine slowly drove near the central park in Snowfield City.
Origami saw a second person through the car window.
A young man with short, curly blond hair.
She looked to be about eighteen or nineteen years old, wearing a dark gray striped vest over a white shirt and black trousers.
Her fluffy, soft hair shimmered with a pale golden light in the sunlight.
The young man was handsome, with regular features and a smile on his face.
But Origami's gaze wasn't drawn to his face.
It's magic.
The concentration of magic power within this young man was significantly higher than that of the bespectacled girl from before.
If the girl with glasses was "a level above the average person," then this young man was "several times better than the average Magecraft."
He's considered a genius among Magecraft.
Origami just turned her gaze to him.
The young man suddenly turned his head.
We were separated by half a street, through tinted car windows.
Their eyes met.
One second.
The young man's smile froze on his face.
His pupils contracted sharply, and the color drained from his face in an instant.
It was as if he had seen some monstrous flood or beast.
I saw something I absolutely shouldn't have seen.
Then.
The young man turned his head back with almost maximum force, quickened his pace, and walked away without looking back.
His back looked frantic, as if something was chasing him.
"..."
Origami watched his retreating figure and tilted her head.
Feeling guilty?
This reaction was even more obvious than directly admitting that he was the Master.
In Origami's opinion, this person is very likely one of the Master participated in this Holy Grail War.
But it's daytime now.
It's not the right time to take action.
So the Origami simply remembered the young man's magical fluctuations.
I plan to go find those two again tonight to test their mettle.
" Tiné."
"Exist."
"Make a note of both of them. The girl with glasses and the blond youth I saw on the street today."
"Yes, Origami- sama."
Tiné took out a small notebook and wrote down the physical characteristics of the two people and their approximate location.
The extended luxury car continued to drive slowly through the city.
Central Park, in a deserted corner.
Flat Carl leaned against an oak tree, hands on his knees, panting heavily.
My forehead was covered in cold sweat.
Sweat streamed down his cheeks, dripping onto the collar of his white shirt.
My heart was pounding wildly in my chest, each beat like a drumstick striking my ribs.
"Hahaha..."
He was panting, his mind replaying that one second in a row.
Half a street away.
Through the tinted car windows.
But he saw it.
Those ice-blue eyes.
There was nothing in those eyes.
There was no murderous intent, no curiosity, and no hostility.
But just one glance from those eyes felt like an invisible hand had gripped his throat.
Every single Magic Circuits in his body was screaming.
"Run!"
"Run! Run! Run! Run! Run! Run!"
That feeling was so vivid.
He was just a hair's breadth away from death.
That white-haired woman.
It is very likely the culprit that caused the ten-kilometer-diameter crater south of Snowfield City last night.