The first-floor parlor of the Tohsaka Residence was much as Mayuri had imagined, perhaps even a little more Tohsaka than that.
Walnut paneling stretched from the floor to near the ceiling, polished so brightly that it reflected blurred silhouettes.
The bookshelves against the wall held quite a few magecraft tomes, their spines stamped with gold lettering.
Gem mystic codes sat inside a glass cabinet, along with some ritual implements.
An oil painting hung above the fireplace, depicting part of the dome of some Gothic church, with angels and saints on it.
Mayuri almost laughed aloud when she saw the painting.
In the end, she held it in.
The parlor sofas were upholstered in dark chestnut leather, which made a soft sound when she sat down. Even the sound said they were expensive.
Mayuri sat at one end of the three-seater sofa, keeping her back fairly straight.
Mostly because this Spirit Dress really made it awkward to lean back. The cool sensation when her back touched the leather felt very strange.
Tokiomi Tohsaka sat in the armchair opposite her. A mahogany coffee table stood between them.
Two cups of black tea sat on the table, still giving off white wisps of steam.
The fragrance of tea spread through the room.
Lapsang souchong. Mayuri could tell by the smell.
Although she had been a shut-in guy in her previous life, she could still distinguish a few common tea aromas.
The fact that Tokiomi Tohsaka had personally brewed the tea was rather interesting in itself.
Normally, the head of a prestigious mage family who called himself an aristocrat should have left this sort of thing to the servants.
But now, there was no one else in the residence besides the two of them.
His wife and daughter had long since been sent away, and all the servants had been dismissed during the preparations for the Holy Grail War.
Tokiomi Tohsaka had to do it himself, and his movements were quite practiced.
There was nothing wrong with the water temperature, steeping time, or rhythm of his pouring.
Mayuri lifted her cup and took a sip. The temperature was just right, with very little astringency and a hint of smoky sweetness afterward.
Not bad.
A Servant's Spirit Origin did not need food, but her sense of taste remained.
Being able to drink good tea gave Mayuri a little more to look forward to in the days ahead.
The room stayed quiet for about half a minute.
Tokiomi Tohsaka set his cup back on its saucer with a very soft sound, then spoke.
"Caster."
"Hmm?"
"As your Master, I have already confirmed your basic Servant parameters through the magical energy connection established by the Command Spells-"
Tokiomi Tohsaka's phrasing remained impeccably polite.
"Strength C, endurance B, agility B, magical energy EX, luck B, Noble Phantasm EX."
"As well as the three class skills that come with the Caster class-Magic Resistance A, Territory Creation E, and Item Construction E."
Mayuri listened quietly, her expression unchanged.
Territory Creation E and Item Construction E. Those two were so low that they might as well not have existed.
The reason was simple, too.
She had been a shut-in guy in her previous life, and although she had become a Servant in this one, she had never studied formal magecraft.
The knowledge the Holy Grail had stuffed into her contained plenty of magecraft theory, but knowing was one thing, and being able to use it was another.
Her magical energy EX and Noble Phantasm EX, however, were genuine.
Those two alone should have made up for quite a few shortcomings.
Probably.
"But these figures alone still leave my understanding of you far too shallow."
Tokiomi Tohsaka folded his hands over his knees and leaned forward slightly.
"Would you be willing to share some detailed information about your Servant skills and Noble Phantasms?"
"As your Master, I need this information to formulate the optimal battle plan."
Mayuri set her cup down and thought for a moment.
Telling your Master about your abilities was standard practice in the Holy Grail War.
Tokiomi Tohsaka was her Master, and she depended on him for her magical energy supply. There was no need to hide anything of this sort.
"Sure."
Mayuri adjusted her posture and placed both hands on her knees.
Then she realized that this pose seemed a little inappropriate with the short black pleated skirt she was wearing, and moved her hands to the sides of her thighs instead.
"Explaining my Servant skills in detail would be too much trouble, so I'll just give you a brief rundown of their effects, Master."
Tokiomi Tohsaka nodded to indicate that he was listening.
"I have three Servant skills in total."
Mayuri raised one finger.
"The first lets me continuously absorb ambient magical energy from my surroundings to improve my endurance."
"Simply put, besides the magical energy you supply, Master, I can also draw on the surrounding environment to replenish it myself. That will reduce the burden on your magical energy accordingly."
Tokiomi Tohsaka glanced at her.
This skill was very useful.
In the Holy Grail War, a Master's magical energy reserves were one of the limiting factors to begin with.
Masters of the Berserker class in particular were often exhausted by their Servants' consumption before they even reached the later stages.
If Caster could replenish her own magical energy from the environment, she could fight longer, and the pressure on her Master would be greatly reduced.
"The second-"
Mayuri raised a second finger.
"It can reduce my presence, making me harder for other Servants or familiars to detect."
"It doesn't make me completely invisible, but under normal circumstances, other people will find it difficult to notice my presence on their own."
This was very practical, too.
Tokiomi Tohsaka was already beginning to arrange tactics in his head.
Reduced presence combined with spirit form would make Caster very useful for reconnaissance and surprise attacks.
For a class already unsuited to close combat, this kind of concealment ability could also be used to stay alive.
"The third..."
Mayuri raised a third finger and paused.
"This one's a little more complicated. I can make my Noble Phantasm, Thunder Sanctuary, switch forms."
"Switch forms?"
"Yes. There are four forms it can switch between-lion, human, ox, and eagle."
Her tongue stumbled over the last word, leaving her looking a little embarrassed.
Tokiomi Tohsaka's expression did not change, and he did not mention the slip of the tongue.
The second rule of aristocratic dignity: never leave a Servant embarrassed over a verbal slip.
"Each of the four forms has a different combat support function."
Mayuri quickly continued, skipping straight past that little stumble. "As for the specific differences... I'll explain those in detail during actual combat."
Tokiomi Tohsaka nodded and committed the information to memory.
Three Servant skills. Magical energy absorption, presence reduction, and Noble Phantasm form switching.
Taken together, her endurance, concealment, and ability to adapt to battle conditions were all quite good.
"There's one more thing."
Mayuri's tone grew a little more serious.
"I need to make this clear to you in advance, Master. My ability to fight other Servants in close-quarters weapon combat is practically zero."
Tokiomi Tohsaka's expression shifted slightly.
It was not so much surprise as something he had already suspected finally being confirmed.
"In combat, I rely almost entirely on my Noble Phantasms."
Mayuri spoke very calmly.
"So when you're planning tactics, Master, please don't include 'having me fight other Servants in hand-to-hand combat' among any of your options. That would be no different from sending me to my death."
That was very blunt.
Tokiomi Tohsaka fell silent for two seconds, then nodded.
"Understood. I will take that fully into account in our approach to the enemy."
He did not call it a shame, nor did he say it was all right.
He simply accepted the fact, then incorporated it into his strategic arrangements.
That way of handling things raised Mayuri's opinion of this Master a little further.
At least Tokiomi Tohsaka was not the sort to start complaining because his Servant had shortcomings.
Rational, pragmatic, and very clear about his objective.
"As for my Noble Phantasms..."
Mayuri continued.
"My strongest Noble Phantasm is Thunder Sanctuary, which I mentioned just now."
"Besides those four forms that can assist in combat, it also has a final attack form."
Tokiomi Tohsaka leaned forward a little farther.
"I call it-Sword of Blazing Flame."
Mayuri's voice was level, but those words carried considerable weight in Tokiomi Tohsaka's ears.
His gaze sharpened slightly.
"In terms of type, it's an Anti-City Noble Phantasm with an extremely wide attack range."