Illya didn't react. She didn't have to for her maids to understand that Sella was right on the money.
"If this is the last time we'll see you, mistress, then we wish to say a proper goodbye." Sella continued, stepping closer to place her hand on Illya's head. "And that includes tears."
"T-The last time?" If there was a good aspect of the current conversation, then it was that Illya no longer believed that her maids disliked her. That was clearly not so. Instead however, she was worried sick about Sella's strangely final-sounding goodbye. "W-Why are you t-talking as if we'll never see each other again?"
"Mistress..." Sella clearly hesitated to say more, but a withering glare from Illya made her continue all the same. "If you leave, then we will have failed in our duty of keeping you here. Your grandfather will be most displeased."
"…He'll discard you." Illya whispered, her eyes going wide in realisation as the bottom fell out of her stomach. "He'll do away with you, break you down. He'll-"
"Is alright." Leysritt interrupted her with a whisper, pulling back enough to give Illya a tearful smile. "Don't mind it if you are happy."
"Quite so." Sella nodded, giving Leysritt an approving look. "We are your servants, lady Illyasviel. As long as you are happy, it does not matter what happens to us."
"Remember us though?" Leysritt asked hopefully, giving Illya one of the dopey smiles she was so good at.
"Or don't. That is your choice entirely, mistress."
The two maids smiled together, and then both took a step back and away from the door, as if making room for Illya to walk past them and leave the Einzbern-castle forever.
Illya did no such thing however.
Escaping herself but leaving her maids behind to be executed? To slowly rot away in the pit where Old Man Acht threw all 'defect' Homunculi?
What kind of person did they think she was?!
It was ridiculous! Preposterous!
They would have been better off making her believe they did hate her. At least then, she might have actually left without them.
Now that they had shown so clearly that they loved her though? Now that they had confirmed once and for all that they were amazing people with their own personalities, wishes, and wants?
No way she would leave them behind.
Even if she had to make Shirou tie them up, gag them, and drag them along.
"I love you, Sella and Leysritt." She smiled, beaming up at her maids, who both blinked in surprise. "Which is why there is no way I'm going to let you stay here. You'll come along with me even if I have to force you to."
"With all due respect, mistress, I don't think you can." Sella said calmly, keeping her composure even after Illya had basically threatened to abduct her. In fact, there was a trace of a humourless smile on her face now. "You have never been able to remotely match Leysritt in battle, and I am no slouch in combat either."
"Oh, I wasn't planning on doing it myself." Illya laughed, immediately rejecting the ridiculous notion. "Say, Sella, you mentioned that I have always spoken about escaping from this place as something to do in the future, yet that today, I give the impression of being about to leave for real."
"Ah, yes, I noticed this, mistress." Sella nodded, confusion appearing on her face now. "It was hard to miss."
"Haven't you wondered why that is?" Illya continued her questioning, her voice becoming teasing. "Why I have suddenly decided that now is the time to leave?"
"Lady Illyasviel?" Sella was getting more and more confused as the conversation continued, and Illya was loving every moment of it.
"Haven't I been telling you, say, over the last few months, that there was a way for me to escape? That someone would come to save me from this place?" Illya purred, stalking through the room like a cat on the prowl. "Have you already forgotten that I have been predicting a certain someone would arrive to take me away?"
Sella looked confused for a second more, and then the light seemed to go on inside her head.
"You don't mean…?" She gasped, frantically looking around the room. "He isn't… Is he…?"
"Big brother!" Illya called out teasingly, thoroughly enjoying how Sella's mouth fell open and even Leysritt raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Could you help me take these two along with us? They're being stubborn."
"Certainly."
The maids immediately jerked their gazes to the left, both stepping back in surprise, and even Illya almost jumped in shock when Shirou's voice suddenly came from right beside her.
Indeed, when she looked to her right, there he stood, her redheaded big brother, who had apparently made his way over from under the bed to stand beside her, somehow having gone unnoticed by her and her maids as he did so.
"Good afternoon." Shirou began, bowing politely to the maids. "My name is Emiya Shirou, or Shirou Emiya here in Europe. I am the adopted son of Emiya Kiritsugu, and adopted brother of Illyasviel von Einzbern, your mistress. I am pleased to meet you."
"…Sella." The elder of the Homunculus-maids replied after a few moments of stupefied silence, curtsying in response to his bow. "The pleasure is entirely mine."
"Leysritt." The younger maid said, before falling silent, not saying anything more and not doing anything either.
"Charmed." Shirou smiled, before crossing his arms and adopting a more serious expression. "I'm afraid you two will have to come with us now."
Sella gulped, Leysritt's hands twitched towards the halberd on her back, and even Illya had to take deep breath to steady herself, as her big brother suddenly emitted an aura that would have forced lesser men to their knees.
It seemed he was dead serious about this.
"We can't." Sella nevertheless refused, also crossing her arms and adopting a serious expression in an attempt to regain some control over the conversation. "I-If you were present for the last few minutes of conversation, you know it is too dangerous to take us along. We will try to take lady Illyasviel back here, and we might harm you in our attempts."
"With all due respect, you cannot harm me." Shirou said, not unkind but definitely very serious. "And I am more than capable of stopping you from taking Illya back, certainly until I have managed to break that conditioning."
"You are much too arrogant." Sella hissed, peeved by his blunt statement that he was stronger than them both. "We were created as guardians, and our conditioning runs deep. The Homunculus-crafters of the Einzbern are skilled Magi."
"I have met skilled Magi before. Nothing they created has been capable of stopping me yet." Shirou replied in turn, before shaking his head. "But this discussion is pointless. Even if you are correct and I cannot beat you, I must still at least attempt to take you with us. That is what Illya wants after all."
"Yes." Illya nodded, happy that he at least understood.
"…I see." Sella mumbled, studying the redhead for a moment, before she smiled, Leysritt copying her a second later. "I am glad to hear you consider lady Illyasviel's opinion to be so important. If you can manage to remain as kind to her as you are now, I have no issue about turning her over to you."
"Treat her well." Leysritt added, her voice a mixture of pleading and threatening.
"You-!" Illya fumed in frustration. Her maids were being so incredibly stubborn. Of course, it warmed her heart to see how much they cared about her, but this was not the time for them to be all self-sacrificing.
"No need to worry. You can verify for yourself whether I'll treat her well. You are coming along after all." Fortunately, her big brother was just as stubborn as Sella and Leysritt, giving the maids a reassuring smile as he stepped forward. "Shall we get started then? The winner will get what they want."
"Let us move on from this useless talking." Sella agreed, the corners of her mouth turning up ever so slightly in a confident grin. "No need to worry, boy. We'll beat you up a little, but afterwards, you'll still be more than capable of taking lady Illyasviel out of the castle in the same way you entered, even if I don't know how that would be."
"That is kind of you. Unfortunately, I cannot grant you the same favour. I will knock you unconscious as quickly as possible and wake you up again when the rescue is over." Shirou sounded apologetic as he described what he was going to do, before he turned to Illya. "Please step back, Illya. This might become dangerous."
Illya did not have to be told twice –she knew from experience the maids were far better combatants than she was, and she knew from her dreams Shirou could be plain terrifying in a fight– and immediately retreated to hide behind her bed, only the top of her head sticking out above it as she watched.
In all honesty, she didn't quite know what she was hoping for.
Of course, she wanted Shirou to win, that was certain, but whether he should win immediately or only after an awesome fight was harder for her to decide.
She certainly liked awesome fights, and it was really cool to see her maids and her big brother square off against each other, but then again, a prolonged fight might attract all sorts of attention that they really couldn't use at the moment.
Shirou seemed to think along the same lines, as he snapped his fingers, making a glow appear momentarily over the four walls of the room.
"What was that?" Sella asked sharply, while Leysritt grabbed her halberd from her back.
"Only a spell that will ensure no sound will escape this room." Shirou explained shortly, before he crouched in a combat position, immediately copied by the maids. "Come at me!"
"Laden Brechen!" Sella wasted not a moment in launching a spell, while Leysritt sped forward immediately after. Their plan was easy to see through, even for Illya, or rather especially for Illya, who had seen them use this tactic numerous times before.
When Shirou would be distracted by the spell, Leysritt would land a melee-attack. In the event that he blocked that melee-attack as well, Sella would fire another spell, and then Leysritt would strike again, and so on, until they hit him. It was a simple tactic, but it was brutally effective.
They had used it before during duels with the Einzbern Mages, to great effect, often taking the Magi down in just those two moves. It was very off-putting after all, having to deal with a constant stream of spells and a berserker at the same time, and most Magi wouldn't know what to do in response.
Illya wondered how her brother would deal with it. The best option for him would be to retreat as far away as he could at once, to give himself some space to work with. That was what she would have done in his position.
Shirou did no such thing.
Shirou dodged the spell so quickly he seemed to flicker before Illya's eyes, and he easily spun out of the way of Leysritt's stab, letting the halberd pass him by, before taking two steps forward and landing a devastating chop on Leysritt's neck, immediately sending her to the ground, her halberd coming down seconds after.
Then, without wasting a single second, he continued towards Sella, appearing to merely be walking yet moving faster than Illya had ever seen anyone move, and before the maid could even lift a finger to defend herself, he neck-chopped her too.
Just like that, the fight was over.
Shirou had allowed Sella and Leysritt to attack first and had then avoided their blows before taking them down with minimal effort, moving as naturally as water flowing down a river.
Illya's maids never stood a chance.
For a few seconds, the young girl could do nothing but gape in shock and awe.
Then, when she regained her focus, she promptly began applauding in admiration, to which Shirou gave a playful bow in return.
"Amazing!" She cheered, not feeling disappointed in the slightest by how the battle had gone. "That was amazing, Shirou! Are they alright?"
"They are." He assured her, kneeling down next to Sella to place a hand on her wrist, before he lifted her in a bridal carry to carry her over to Leysritt, who he also checked for a pulse. "Neck chops are great at taking down opponents without doing permanent damage, as long as you land them right, which I'm sure I did."
"You certainly made it seem easy." Illya smiled widely, already rubbing her hands at the thought of teasing the maids with their swift defeat and making them eat some humble pie.
"It was, for me, but that doesn't mean they aren't good warriors nonetheless." Shirou laughed, before lifting Sella over his left shoulder and Leysritt over his right. "In the list of enemies that I have faced so far in my life, they are definitely in the top ten of strongest individuals."
"A minor consolation." Illya smirked.
"Now, it is time for us to leave." Shirou said once he had the maids safely in his hold, before looking at her. "How long do you need to grab your stuff?"
"Two seconds." Illya grinned, before pulling a small suitcase from one of the closets and adding several small items to it, items that held personal value to her.
Things like her favourite hairbrush, her mother's small mirror, and the brooch that Leysritt liked so much.
In the end, it took longer than two seconds to gather everything she needed, more like two minutes to be honest, but it was still fast enough, if you asked Illya.
"Done." She huffed when she closed her suitcase and picked it up. "Where to now?"
"Come here. Stand close to me." Shirou instructed her, motioning to the place right beside him. "And don't move, no matter how much this might shock you."
"Shock me?" Illya asked curiously, but he just gave her a roguish grin in return. "Aren't we going to fly?"
That was how he'd gotten into her room after all, and she had thought that would also be the way they would get out again.
"No." Shirou shook his head however. "We could fly, but it wouldn't be very efficient if I had to carry you, the maids, and your luggage. No, I have something far better in mind."
Intrigued, Illya made her way over to him, placing herself exactly where he had indicated. Then, after wondering for several seconds whether it was okay, she gingerly took his hand, clasping his index- and middle-finger in her tiny grip.
"Alright, ready?" He asked, to which she nodded, steeling herself for whatever would come. "Then here we go!"
Illya had thought she was ready for anything. She had been prepared for flight, for suddenly sinking through the floor, for being picked up by some flying animal, even for teleportation.
But when her room was suddenly replaced by walls of Rainbow Light, that shifted and twisted with the most magnificent of colours, and she felt as if she was being propelled through space at millions of kilometres per hour, she could not stop her mouth from falling open, and she could not prevent herself from screaming in a mixture of awe, joy, exhilaration, and fear.
Then it was over, and Illya found herself screaming at Shirou, who lifted an eyebrow at the noise.
She shut her mouth immediately, with an audible 'tack', and blushed red when he smirked.
"How was that?" He asked her with a grin. "Much better than flying, wasn't it?"
"Much bet-? I-It was… I don't…" Illya spluttered, before she looked around, realising they were standing in a massive hall that was stuffed to the brim with all kinds of objects. "What was that? Where are we?"
"That, my dear little sister, was the Bifrost." Shirou explained, clearly enjoying how shocked she looked. "You could say it's an interdimensional tunnel that, once I have mastered it, allows me to travel between places, even places that exist in different dimensions. At the moment however, I am limited to transporting myself to this place, my Vault, in which my treasures have been stored."
"Your treasures?" Illya asked, realising as she looked around that most of the objects seemed ridiculouslyexpensive to say the least. "…Are those Mystic Codes?"
"Hm? Oh those, those are-"
"Is that a real Enchanted Egyptian Deathmask?"
"Well, it is-"
"Are those Rainbow-class gems?"
"Illya, let me explain-"
"Are those objects made out of Mithril?"
"That is not-"
"Is it just a trick of the light or are those piles of gold actually as big as the castle?"
"Come now-"
"Is that what I think it is?"
"IILYA!"
The white-haired girl was shocked from her stupor when Shirou shouted her name, and she turned back to him with a glazed expression.
"Big brother, what is all this?"
"I was about to explain." He sighed, before laying Sella and Leysritt down on a large sofa that had been standing nearby and Projecting rope to bind them with. "As I said, this is my Vault. In here, all my treasures have been stored."
"This is all yours?!"
"I inherited it."
"From whom?"
"Well, that is a long story." Shirou sighed again, rubbing the back of his head, before looking around until his eye fell on two comfortable-looking fauteuils standing nearby, which Illya was rather sure hadn't been there before. "Why don't you sit down? I'll explain as much as I can as soon as I have these two secured."
"…Alright." Illya agreed after a moment, before walking over to and taking place in one of the aforementioned fauteuils. From there, she watched as he finished tying her maids up, after which he made his way over to her.
"Well then." He mused after he took place on the other fauteuil. "I suppose this all started several months ago, with this."
A small hammer suddenly appeared in his grip, and he showed it to her.
"This?" Illya asked dubiously, studying the thing that to her looked like a very normal hammer. "What does this hammer have to do with anything?"
"Everything, little sister." Shirou smiled, his face radiating a massive mixture of emotions, ranging from happiness to exasperation to sadness. "Everything."
"Y-You cannot be h-here! T-This is sovereign ground. You have no right to be here!" The small, scrawny Magus cried in outrage, his eyes spitting fire as he glared at the Executors surrounding him. "The Clocktower will be most wrought when they hear about this, Church-scum! You will regret it!"
Even after the leader of the Italian Meluastea-outpost had seen his base burned down around him, seen his underlings be slaughtered or captured, and now had nothing but a brutal questioning by the Church's interrogators to look forward to, he remained the spiteful, blustering man he'd been at the beginning of the confrontation, seemingly entirely unaffected by the events of the past hours.
Even the fact that some of the Executors had already kicked him around, giving him a severe beatdown after they'd discovered how many innocent people had been killed under his command, couldn't douse his spirit. He took the pain in stride and continued screaming his head off at anyone who entered his line of sight, and then screaming at anyone and anything after they'd blindfolded him.
It was almost impressive, in a strangely pathetic kind of way.
Not that his perseverance would earn him any respect from the Executors. No one even acknowledged him outside of what was absolutely necessary, least of all Kayla, who despised braggards like him, and only felt her hatred for the man increase the longer he talked.
At least he was no longer a threat to anyone now that they had destroyed his powerbase and severed him from any lifelines he might have had. Now all that they had to do was deliver him and his compatriots to the Church, for a proper interrogation, and then their mission would be over.
Kayla and her team were currently standing just outside the remains of the Italian outpost of the Meluastea, in a small field located a few kilometres away from Napoli, discussing the past battle while taking stock of everything they'd found inside.
Or at least, they tried to, but the constant screaming they were subjected to by the outpost's former master wasn't making things easy for them. Even if they didn't listen to what he had to say, his voice was loud, shrill, and carried very well.
"Do you think the Meluastea will let this go unanswered?! Do you think Lord Stanley will let you get away with this?! You better release me this instant, or your ends will be long and painful!"
"Can't we just knock him unconscious?" Lily, one of Kayla's closest friends, grumbled in annoyance, balling her fist as she glared at their captive. "It's not like he's going to be of any use now. I say we knock him out and let the interrogators wake him up again. Then they can deal with his screaming."
Kayla opened her mouth to refuse Lily's request, before she stilled, realising that there was no reason not to do exactly as Lily said. They indeed did not need the man for anything else, and him being unconscious would make things far easier for them.
"Go ahead." She thus nodded to Lily, who grinned widely, before she hopped over the bound man, who was lying on his back on the ground, and gave him a right hook to the chin.
The ensuing silence was heavenly, and Kayla could see several of her colleagues letting out breaths of relief.
Lily then came bouncing back, eagerly holding out her hand for a high-five, which Kayla immediately reciprocated.
Kayla was glad she had Lily with her on this trip. The other woman was three years older than she, but very much acted like Kayla's little sister, somehow without making it annoying at all. She was sweet, kind, thoughtful, and always knew the right thing to say.
Furthermore, Lily was skilled at combat, an excellent tracker, had a good head for tactics, she was discrete, capable, and intelligent, and had a great sense of humour.
In short, she was someone you should be glad to have on your side, both as an ally and as a friend.
She was also beautiful to a point where it was almost unearthly, with wavy, brown hair, the softest features imaginable on a human face, and eyes that shone like amethysts; A very sharp contrast with Kayla's own rough features that almost made her seem like a burly man if the light was dim enough, but that had never prevented them from getting along like a house on fire.
That was why Kayla hadn't hesitated to ask Lily to join bishop Dilo's taskforce to deal with the people behind the creation of the mundane Dead Apostles. The brunette was extremely faithful to the Church, meaning that she hated such heretics with a passion, but she was also discrete enough not to start blabbing about it to every person she knew.
Of all the people in their small taskforce, including but not limited to Andrew, Jonah, Antonioch, Mira, and Sidonus, Lily was the one whom Kayla trusted the most.
"What did you find, Lily?" Kayla then got back to business, taking advantage of the absence of noise now that the Mage had been silenced.
"Nothing of any particular interest, I'm afraid." Lily sighed, before she bounced back with a smile. "We managed to save twenty-five people though, and delivered them to a hospital, so that's something at least."
"Indeed." Kayla nodded with a smile of her own. "Protecting people from heresies is our duty."
"As is smiting heretics." Lily's smile turned a touch feral. "We killed fourteen Mages and captured seven more, including their leader. Not that I expect those survivors to last much longer either once we turn them over to the interrogators."
"Good riddance." Kayla huffed. Normally, she'd feel a bit more troubled about condemning people to torture and execution, but in this case, it was really easy. "Maybe Asmodai can make them repent before they die."
"Maybe." Lily nodded, though her expression suggested that she doubted even the Church's chief interrogator could make the Mages feel even the slightest bit of remorse about their actions.
"Did you find anything about Dead Apostles though?" Kayla continued, addressing the main topic of the day.
"No, and nothing about the Alva either." Lily pouted slightly, looking back over her shoulder at the clouds of smoke that were rising from the ruins that had been the outpost a few hours before. "We did find some information, but from what we can see, it seems it's the Meluastea who really pull the strings in these outposts. The Alva are just small fry in comparison, and they didn't have any presence here."
"And you are certain of this?" Kayla asked to verify one last time.
"Jonah, Mira, and I ransacked that place from top to bottom, Kay. There was nothing there." Lily was adamant in her statement, waving her hand at a tanned man and a dark-skinned woman, who approached once they saw Lily's gesture. "Tell her, Jonah. There was nothing in there about Dead Apostles."
"I'll say." Jonah scoffed, joining them where they stood as he puffed on his pipe. "Plenty of other horrible stuff though. When you told us about the mundane Dead Apostles, Kayla, I thought that was the worst thing I'd heard all year, and that very little could top it. Now that I have seen Witches engage in actual Demonology though, my standards have shifted a bit."
"I'm surprised you are still alive honestly." Mira added, also joining them. "When I followed you and saw the papers on Demonology, I half expected to find a Demon chewing on your face when I caught up to you."
"They'd spit me right out." Jonah smirked, before he turned to Kayla again. "Sorry to disappoint, boss, but hey, even though there was nothing about mundane Dead Apostles in that base, we did manage to destroy a lot of heresies, so that's good, isn't it?"
"It is." Kayla nodded, biting her lip in thought. "Really, it is."
"Yet you are not happy." Lily concluded, peering curiously at Kayla. "Had you hoped we would find more on the Alva?"
"Yes." Kayla admitted, before shaking her head, trying to find the right words to express what was bothering her. "It's just that… have any of you ever seen any Magi engage in atrocities on such a large scale before?"
There was a beat of silence following her question, and then it was Jonah who spoke up first.
"No, I haven't. While I have seen many Witches commit foul crimes before, they always did so in small groups that were few and far in-between. It is quite unlike them to gather so many together in a single space just for the purpose of vile deeds. Even for the Witches, that is… quite unprecedented."
"So they got bolder. Is that really a cause for concern?" Lily asked, before raising a fist. "We'll just have to strike them down even harder if that's the case."
"It was a very sudden change." Kayla liked her friend's enthusiasm, but she feared it wasn't quite that easy. "I am more concerned with what, or who, brought it about."
"Do you think there's someone behind it all?" Mira asked directly, looking Kayla in the eyes. "Someone even above the Meluastea, who orchestrated all of this from the shadows? Who emboldened the Mages into forming these 'cabals' of evil?"
"That sounds like quite a stretch." Jonah said, sounding unsure. "I mean, Witches are notoriously difficult to control, even for other Witches."
"You have a point, Jonah, but think about what Lord El-Melloi told us." Kayla reminded them. "This recent storm of crimes from the Meluastea is threatening to tear the Magus Association apart. I cannot imagine any Magus-family, especially one of the ruling families, would just do that without a very, very good reason. They behaved themselves well enough over the past centuries. What has changed? And why has it changed so rapidly?"
"So someone is pulling the strings from the shadows." Lily gasped, before shaking her head. "No, wait, I cannot imagine any one person could have this much influence on an organisation as powerful as the Clocktower."
"Multiple people then?" Jonah tried. "Perhaps we're dealing with a group who wants to see the Magus Association fall? Or at least crippled enough not to be able to act out in a large way? If it is torn in two, I imagine it wouldn't be able to enforce its laws anymore, which would certainly benefit some people."
"That sounds like something the Church would do." Mira smiled, though there was no joy in the expression. "But the Pope would never allow it, never mind most of the Cardinals."
"The fact that it is 'most' and not 'all' does make me worry." Jonah deadpanned, but he went ignored.
"Then who else would do such a thing?" Kayla asked, looking the other three in the eyes one by one. "Who would stand to gain from crippling the Magus Association like this? And why would they do so now?"
The other three did not have an answer for her.
"I may have a suggestion."
That was when Sidonus appeared. The old, grizzled man, who, despite his age, had the size and strength of a bear, walked up to them with an expression that was even grimmer than his normal one.
Sidonus was the oldest member of their little taskforce, and his age was clearly visible. Unlike bishop Dilo, who had aged quite gently, Sidonus was mostly bald, with the little hair that remained being stark grey, had many wrinkles on his skin, and had a burn scar that spanned the entire right-half of his face.
The rest of his body wasn't visible, as it was clad in a massive set of blue armour, but if it had been, Kayla was sure it would have looked just as aged.
No insult was intended though. Sidonus might have been old, but he was still an immensely valuable member of the Burial Agency. He could bench-press three hundred kilograms, cut three Dead Apostles in half with one swing of his massive sword, and was one of the Church's greatest blade-masters.
Sidonus had been a member of the Church for as long as Kayla could remember, much like bishop Dilo. In fact, just like Bishop Dilo, Sidonus' true age was unknown, just like the number of years he'd worked for the Burial Agency.
Despite this similarity with the bishop however, Dilo and Sidonus almost never interacted. They didn't necessarily dislike each other, but their methods, look on life, and general behaviour was too different for either man to stand the presence of the other for any amount of time longer than a single day.
They were perfectly cordial whenever they met, but they did try to keep those meetings to a minimum.
In her younger years, it had caused Kayla no small amount of grief that the men wanted nothing to do with each other, especially since she got along so well with them both. As time went by however, and Kayla had gained enough wisdom to see that some problems in life just couldn't be solved, she'd accepted that there was nothing she could do about it.
So she had resigned herself to their enmity for each other, and remained very close to both men, close enough to be trusted with a mission by bishop Dilo, and to be able to invite Sidonus on that mission and have him accept immediately.
Sidonus being on this mission did make the power balance a bit wonky though. Technically, Kayla was the leader and Lily was the second-in-command, yet Sidonus had so much seniority over them all that Kayla, Lily, Jonah, and Mira immediately stood at attention when he approached. Sidonus however just scoffed at the show of respect and motioned for them to stand at ease.
"I couldn't help but overhear what you were talking about, youngsters." The old man then spoke in his gruff, booming voice. "And though I must warn you not to poke your nose into matters where it might very well get bitten off, I also know you ain't gonna stop until you get your answers."
"So we were right then?" Jonah asked. "Someone is behind all this?"
"What I am going to tell you now, is some stuff I am technically not supposed to know." Sidonus grunted, making an attempt at lowering his voice, though it still boomed across the small field they were standing in. "Lily, can you make sure the Mage is properly unconscious?"
Lily wasted not a second in going over to the outpost's master and giving him a firm kick in the ribs, testing to see if he was awake. When he remained stubbornly unconscious though, she sped back to the group.
"He's out."
"Good, then listen up and remember to never share this with anyone." Sidonus leaned in, and the rest of the group unconsciously followed his example. "The Dead Apostle Ancestors are planning to conduct the Aylesbury Ritual soon."
"Oh no! Not the Aylesbury Ritual!" Jonah grabbed his head in both hands as he whisper-shouted in panic, before he stilled. "What's the Aylesbury Ritual?"
Sidonus sighed at the question, while Mira knocked Jonah on the head, Kayla facepalmed in exasperation, and Lily giggled in amusement.
Then again, it wasn't as if the other three knew more. Sidonus pronounced the name as if it was something terrible, yet Kayla had to admit she did not know what he was talking about, and neither did Mira or Lily if their expressions were anything to go by.
Fortunately, Sidonus was prompt to explain.
"The Aylesbury Ritual is a very large, very foul ritual that was cooked up by several Dead Apostles Ancestors centuries ago. It serves to awaken the Dark Six, the first Dead Apostle to ever be created by the Crimson Moon. This Dark Six is supposed to be the most powerful of all Apostles, close to Primate Murder even, and most importantly, it is said that it holds the key to resurrecting Crimson Moon Brunestud."
"Resurrecting the Bloodsucker God?!" Jonah hissed, breathing in sharply when Sidonus nodded. "That is… How do you know this?"
"Crown told several of the higher-ups about it when they questioned him. One of those higher-ups is an old friend of mine, who passed the info on to me. I later verified it by questioning a few Apostles."
"Questioning Apostles?" Mira sounded puzzled, and Kayla had to agree. She had never heard of someone being able to extract information from those monsters before.
"There are ways to get them to talk." Sidonus grumbled. "Don't ask me about them, you aren't old enough to know. Let's just say those ways saved my sorry ass more times than I care to count. And yes, Asmodai knows about them too."
"So you are certain?" Kayla asked, feeling the bottom drop out of her stomach. "About this Aylesbury Ritual?"
"Completely. The Ancestors are preparing to bring their Master back from the dead."
"The Crimson Moon returning… It would spell disaster." Lily whispered, turning even paler than she already was. "Humanity couldn't defeat him last time, and we have only grown weaker since a thousand years ago."
"The Wizard-Marshall vanquished it last time. Perhaps he can do it again?" Jonah' mouth twisted as if he'd tasted something unpleasant at the thought of having to rely on a Mage, and one that had become an Apostle at that, but he was practical enough to know they needed the Kaleidoscope if they wanted humanity to survive.
"The Kaleidoscope hasn't been seen in decades." Mira shook her head. "And rumours say he is unreliable to the core."
"Then what should we-?"
"That is enough!" Sidonus cut in, his booming voice silencing them immediately. "I told you this in order to make you cease poking your nose everywhere it doesn't belong. Leave the planning to deal with Brunestud to the higher-ups. Focus on your own tasks."
"That's easy for you to say." Jonah grumbled, before a glare from Sidonus made him shut up.
"The Crimson Moon is not your problem to deal with." The grizzly veteran repeated, before he pointed at the unconscious Mage. "Focus on the Meluastea, and the mundane Dead Apostles. Someone has to."
"Indeed." Kayla agreed, realising they had gone off track. "We only wanted to know what this had to do with the Meluastea anyway."
"That's obvious. The Ancestors are planning to conduct the Aylesbury Ritual. I think we can safely assume the Magus Association does not want that to happen." Sidonus began, to which they all nodded. Magi were heretics, but even they didn't want the Bloodsucker God to return. "So the Ancestors pull a few strings, and ensure that the Magus Association is too busy imploding on itself to stop them."
"Are you saying the Ancestors stirred up the Meluastea?" Kayla asked sharply. If that was true, then that information had to be given to bishop Dilo at once, if only because it was apparently directly connected to the return of the Crimson Moon. "We must tell bishop Dilo then."
"I think he's managed to connect those dots himself already. A warning from you would be superfluous." Sidonus replied, crossing his massive arms over an even larger chest. "Besides, I doubt the Ancestors are the only ones who are feeding this conflict. Let's not forget there are many others who would profit just as much from the Magus Association falling apart. Maybe you should focus on those people?"
"I suppose the Ancestors could not have done it by themselves." Jonah agreed, his expression turning pensive. "But then again, any accomplices they have would probably be Witches, and part of the Magus Association themselves. Are we even allowed to start investigating them?"
"We could warn the Magus Association that some of them are likely working together with the Ancestors." Mira suggested. "Or maybe we could ask the higher-ups from the Church to work something out for us so we can do an investigation?"
"No." Kayla shook her head. "It is already a miracle that there are some people within the Clocktower who are willing to work with us to deal with the mundane Dead Apostles. None of them will stand for us poking around in their business. A warning is all we can give them."
"And a warning without proof will be ignored." Sidonus grunted, grinding his teeth.
"So there's nothing we can do?" Jonah asked, frowning in displeasure.
"Nothing except the job we have been assigned." Kayla nodded, trying to put an end to the conversation.
"Can we not gather the proof we need to make the Witch-Association take us seriously?" Jonah nevertheless kept trying. "Like, by infiltrating the Clocktower?"
"Don't talk nonsense!" Kayla barked, now really done with the subject as Jonah began sprouting inane nonsense. "Get back to work, all of you!"
Jonah held up his hands in surrender, before quickly returning to his job. The others followed soon after.
Jonah's suggestion kept playing on Kayla's mind though, not because she was actually contemplating it, but because of how stupid it was.
Infiltrating the Clocktower…
Such nonsense.
"And that is how I ended up in the Einzbern-castle." Shirou finished his story again. This was the second time so far that he'd held a monologue to Illya in the very short time that he'd known her, and if he hadn't become impervious to sore throats, he'd surely be having one now. "In short, this is the real Mjolnir, though from a different universe, and I'm becoming a God. I also have two girlfriends, a big sister who's with the Yakuza, a house in Fuyuki, a career as a vigilante that went nowhere, and I am now an apprentice to Lord El-Melloi the Second."
It was the third time that he'd told someone his life story, with the first time being to Sakura and the second time to Ayako, and Shirou was rather sure it wasn't nearly the last time yet he'd have to do so. He still owed Taiga an explanation after all, and he wouldn't be surprised if he had to come clean to Rin as well at some point in the future, and there was no guarantee he wouldn't meet anyone else who he became close enough with to tell them the story as well.
It was a bit repetitive, having to repeat it all over and over again, not to mention it was getting longer and longer as time went on, but at least he was getting better at storytelling every time. Illya didn't have nearly as many questions to ask as Sakura and Ayako did.
Though perhaps that was less because he was so clear in his retelling and more because she was so gobsmacked that she could only stare at him with her mouth open and her eyes wide as saucers.
It was only to be expected. Unlike Sakura and especially Ayako, Illya had had an actual Magus-childhood, or at least something resembling it, and thus had been properly taught about concepts like Godhood, the True Magics, Phantasmal Beasts, and Divine Weapons. As such, his story had to be much more mind-boggling to her than it had been for his girlfriends.
Rin would probably have a similar reaction once he told her. In cases such as these, having more knowledge could easily be a curse.
"As I said, this Vault is a pocket dimension which only I can enter." He continued when it became clear Illya wasn't going to say anything any time soon. "It is the safest place for you at the moment, and it would be best if you stayed here, at least until we're back in Fuyuki."
Illya still didn't react.
"I will of course visit you as often as I can, and you won't lack anything in terms of food, water, entertainment, or anything else, I promise you that. Sella and Leysritt can stay here as well, though they'll have to be restrained the entire time if I cannot manage to break the conditioning yet."
When Illya remained quiet yet again, Shirou began to get worried, and he reached out to poke her forehead.
"Huh! What?" She spluttered when he flicked her, her eyes gaining a normal look again instead of the glazed one from before. "Uh, yeah, Vault, stay in here, entertainment, Sella and Leysritt. Got it!"
"…Okay. Are you alright though?"
"Peachy." Illya gave a very stiff nod. "I'm great. I'm just… a little surprised, that's all. I mean, mom and dad didn't say anything about Divine weapons, and my dreams didn't say either, so this is coming as a bit of a shock, but I'm sure I'll cope, yes, I'll cope, I'm fine, can't you see I'm fine?!"
"Illya!" Shirou interrupted her when she began rambling, grabbing her shoulders tightly. "Breathe! Calm down."
Illya did as she was told, taking several deep breaths, before she nodded, and Shirou let go of her again.
"…Sorry."
"Don't be, I'm aware that this can be shocking." Shirou assured her, smiling as kindly as he could. "I can barely believe it myself sometimes, even after these months, so I can't blame you for being overwhelmed by it all."
"Right, right." Illya nodded, still looking frazzled. "Please talk about something else now. I need some time to process this."
"Very well." Shirou nodded, before deciding to discuss the plan for the coming weeks with her. "I'll be at the Clocktower for a few weeks more. I still have something to finish there. In about a month though, the summer holidays will end, so I'll return to Fuyuki no matter what."
"Hm." Illya nodded
"When we're back home, you are free to do whatever you want. You can stay with me and the girls, but I completely understand if you would rather go out and explore the world. In the latter case however, you will have to wait until I have removed the conditioning from Sella and Leysritt, so they can accompany you."
"I'd rather stay with you." Illya said immediately.
"I am very happy to hear that." Shirou wanted to laugh, but something in Illya's tone prevented him from feeling amused. "But don't you think that might become boring very quickly? I'm sure you'll be quite done with Fuyuki after a few years."
"I won't be alive after a few years." Illya's voice became clinical as she said those words, her eyes turning dull. "I am a Homunculus. I was made to be powerful, to be an ideal Master. My lifespan was sacrificed in return, and I won't live to twenty. Neither will Sella or Leysritt."
"Ah, good that you mention it." Shirou perked up, realising he'd competently forgotten to tell her about Nasu's ritual. "I have something to help with that."
"Huh?" Illya blinked.
"A ritual." Shirou elaborated. "A ritual that will turn you into a human. Or at least as much of a human as I am."
"W-What are you talking about?" Illya spluttered, looking utterly confused. "Turning Homunculi into humans is impossible. It's an expression of the Third True Magic. It has been lost for centuries!"
"It has been found again." Shirou grinned proudly, before rubbing the back of his head. "Or at least, I have found an analogue."
More like, 'had been handed an analogue by a friendly Space God', but Illya was looking frazzled enough without him telling her that as well.
Plenty of time to fill her in about everything in the coming months. No need to rush it even more than he'd already been doing.
"An analogue…?" Illya blinked rapidly, before looking around, at the Vault, the pocket dimension, in which she was still present, and then she laughed weakly. "If you say so, big brother."
"And I do say so." Shirou grinned, before he rose from the sofa. "Alright, I don't want to be rude, but I need to get moving again. I'll just take a look at Sella and Leysritt to see if I can break their conditioning, and then I need to be off."
"Where will you go?" Illya asked, fortunately sounding more curious than sad.
"Unfortunately, I can only exit the Vault at the place where I also entered it." Shirou explained, frowning in thought. "That means I'll be getting out of the Vault in your room. Hopefully, no one has entered it yet and noticed you missing, but in case that they did…"
Shirou then Projected his vigilante-outfit and his mask, putting both on and raising the hood, making himself unrecognisable.
"Oh?" Illya made a curious noise once she saw the disguise.
"This is my Rakurai-outfit." Shirou sighed, feeling almost nostalgic, though not in a fond way. "If there's anyone waiting for me in your room, this will make sure they don't recognise me at least. They'll still suspect it was Emiya Shirou, but they won't be quite sure."
Upon receiving Illya's nod of understanding, Shirou made his way over to the maids, placing his hands on their foreheads. The knots representing their mental conditioning was easily found, and removing the worst of that conditioning turned out to be a total breeze.
He couldn't remove everything, not without critically damaging their psyche, but he doubted they would mind if he didn't completely remove their compulsion to protect and nurture Illya. From what he had seen, they would have done so even if that compulsion hadn't been present.
Not that he planned to leave those traces of compulsion there forever. He would perform the ritual on them too, and that would remove any remaining locks on their minds.
All's well that ends well.
"Alright, I removed the compulsion." He told Illya, who promptly deadpanned at him in response. "I'll let them sleep for now. Can I count on you to explain things to them when I return?"
"Uh, yes, you can." Illya nodded, her expression now turning into one of complete and utter resignation.
"Good. I will return soon."
With those final words said, Shirou transported himself out of the Vault again, right into Illya's room. Fortunately, it seemed no one had noticed yet that she was missing.
Getting outside was even easier than it had been to get in, and before the clock struck five in the afternoon, Shirou had disappeared over the horizon, leaving behind a castle that now lacked three of its previous inhabitants.
"Trisha, Trisha!" A young, excited voice called out, the sound echoing through the halls of the mountain base. "Trisha, wait!"
Trisha Fellows, the one called upon, turned around when she heard the voice, and smiled ever so slightly when her young charge came in sight. The small, white-haired girl was practically skipping through the hall, her bright grin only enhancing her adorable features as her long hair waved behind her. In her right hand, she held a few notepapers, which she was eagerly waving around.
"Lady Animusphere, you shouldn't run and shout like that. It isn't lady-like." She lightly chided the girl, though it fell on deaf ears. After all, Olga Marie Asmleit Animusphere had never been someone who would let her enthusiasm be stemmed by mild scolding.
"I completed the spell! I did it." Olga Marie announced proudly once she'd caught up with Trisha, eagerly showing her a few papers on which an array of complex formulas had been written.
"You did? Already?" Raising an eyebrow at the genuinely impressive feat –she knew the spell Olga Marie was talking about, and it was not something a ten-year-old should be able to complete on her own– she bowed down until she was approximately at the girl's level, before patting her head. "Excellent work, young lady."
"Hehe, thank you!" Olga Marie beamed in pride.
"However." Trisha continued, ceasing her headpatting in favour of pinching the girl's cheek, receiving a squeak of pain and surprise in return. "That does not mean you should run and shout in the halls of your home."
"Ow ow! Ah'm sowwy, Tri'ha." Olga Marie whined, and she pressed both hands against her cheek when Trisha let go again, whimpering softly.
Trisha did not feel guilty though. Olga Marie needed to learn to control her emotions, preferably before she was allowed to leave the Animusphere-estate on her own. If another Magus ever saw her display so much sincerity, they could do a lot worse than pinch her cheek for a moment.
Then again, maybe Trisha was being unduly concerned. It wasn't as if Olga Marie ever acted like that in front of anyone but Trisha and Marisbury. In front of anyone else, she was as cool and guarded as any other Magus, and perfectly capable of holding her own in a conversation, even with a Lord.
Though only if everything went according to her plan. Olga Marie couldn't deal very well with surprises, and it usually only took a few unexpected happenings for her to lose her composure completely.
It fell to Trisha to make sure Olga Marie gained the ability to think on the spot, to not let herself be paralysed by her plans going awry.
Trisha Fellows had been taken on as Olga Marie's personal attendant and tutor six years ago, and in that time had basically raised the girl into who she was now.
It went too far to say that they were like mother and daughter –Trisha was only twenty-four after all, way too young to be a mother– but Trisha loved Olga Marie like a younger sister, and Olga Marie loved Trisha like a big sister in turn.
They were definitely closer than they were supposed to be as tutor and student, much closer than Trisha had planned to become with the girl when she had originally taken the job, but considering Olga Marie's situation, that had been entirely unavoidable.
Trisha Fellows liked to pretend she was a hard, strict woman who took no nonsense and had no time for sappy feelings, and most of the time, she managed to pretend that perfectly well. When she had been presented though with a neglected, love-starved girl who had latched on to her from the moment she had been introduced, well…
Her dormant big sister-instinct had activated.
"Trisha, do you think I can show this to father?" Olga Marie asked eagerly after she'd rubbed away the pain in her cheek, waving the research in Trisha's face. "He'll be happy, right? He'll want to see me."
"…"
Trisha couldn't stop herself from frowning, knowing very well that Marisbury Animusphere did absolutely not want to see his daughter. He never did, no matter how well Olga Marie behaved or how much she pleaded.
Not because he was in a bad mood, or because he was in an important meeting, or even because he was busy, no, nothing that benevolent.
Marisbury Animusphere just didn't give a damn about Olga Marie, and couldn't be bothered to spend a single moment on 'that useless girl'. To him, Olga Marie might as well not exist.
His words, not Trisha's.
In fact, Trisha had just returned from a short meeting with Marisbury, to give him an update on Olga Marie's progress, and though the man had listened politely, he had not given her a second longer than was absolutely necessary and hadn't said a word in return.
The blonde-haired woman searched for the correct words to let the girl down gently, to tell her that her father was busy, but it seemed her prolonged silence was all the answer Olga Marie needed to draw her own conclusions, as her face fell, and she slumped in disappointment.
"…Hey, Trisha." She whispered, giving the woman a pleading look that cut straight to Trisha's heart. "Do you think my work is good?"
"Of course I do!" About that, Trisha did not have to think for a moment. Olga Marie was one of the best students she'd ever seen, far better than Trisha herself had been at that age. "You are doing great!"
"Then why doesn't father acknowledge me?" Olga Marie asked, and Trisha stilled for a second, before deciding to go with the usual excuse.
"Your father is simply very, very busy, lady Animusphere." She explained, only half-lying, since it was true that Marisbury had been working non-stop for all the six years she'd known him, only stopping to eat and sleep. "Ever since that event six years ago, when something went wrong, he's been desperately trying to fix it."
"But I won't take much of his time." Olga Marie tried, though everything in her stance and voice indicated that she had already given up. "Only a few minutes."
"No, my lady." Trisha derived no pleasure from denying her ward, and she felt another stab in her heart when Olga Marie's eyes grew misty, but to her credit, the white-haired girl managed to regain her composure before a single tear fell from her eyes.
"Well then." The girl sighed, her voice as casual as she could make it. "I will continue my research. There were a few parts I struggled with though. Could you help me with them, Trisha?"
"Of course." Trisha nodded, rising from her kneeling position to give a short bow. "That's what I'm here for."
"Thank you." Olga Marie smiled, before she jerked around, with enough speed that Trisha just knew that she was hiding the pain that was now probably apparent on her face again.
Damn that Marisbury! Even if he was busy, or angry, or whatever he was feeling, certainly he could spare a few seconds for his own daughter?! Certainly, he could at least pretend to care about her, out of duty if nothing else?!
Or failing that, he should at the very least explain why he ignored her. Why he behaved the way he did. Why he had suddenly hired Trisha as a tutor and attendee for Olga Marie six years ago before summarily ignoring the girl from then on.
Something had to have happened at that point. Something had impacted Marisbury enough for him to suddenly discard the daughter he had been at least cordial with before. Trisha didn't know what that something was, but she sure as hell intended to find out.
And once she knew, she could perhaps help Marisbury resolve it, so that he could focus on his daughter again, or she could at least give Olga Marie some actual answers instead of guessing at her father's motives all the time.
Trisha had already started making inquiries from several sources. She didn't know if the event that had changed Marisbury had been personal or something related to his work and research, but it couldn't hurt to try and find out if something monumental had taken place six years ago.
Her inquiries had come up empty though. Nothing especially noteworthy had taken place back then, and certainly nothing related to the Animusphere or even Astromancy in general.
So Trisha had narrowed her search down, and had started going over Marisbury's personal history. It was difficult, especially since she wasn't particularly well-connected or skilled at gathering information, but eventually, through liberal applications of bribing, begging, and threatening, she had gathered enough pieces of the puzzle to form the beginnings of a picture.
And a grim picture it was.
There were rumours, rumours that, if true, could very well spell the end of the Animusphere entirely. Rumours that could very well explain why Marisbury was being so secretive.
If Trisha was interpreting the picture correctly, if Marisbury had indeed done what she thought he'd done, then he, Olga Marie, and Trisha as well probably, would be summarily executed the moment it got out.
Marisbury, that utter and complete fool, had associated himself with Doctor Heartless, who was the previous head of the Department of Modern Magical Theories, and a feared criminal who was suspected in numerous murders of very important people.
Marisbury had to have gone mad, that was the only explanation. The only explanation why he would involve himself with that monster, who had received a killing order from the Barthomeloi-family itself and had a bounty on his head that would be enough for a hundred people to live comfortably for many decades.
Trisha herself had been shocked enough to temporarily put a hold on her investigations, to immediately distance herself from her search and pretend she knew nothing. That was how terrifying Doctor Heartless was to a simple Magus like her.
Recently however, prompted by Olga Marie's increasing depression and insecurity about her father ignoring her at every turn, she had begun looking again, having decided to brave the dangers and bear the consequences.
Though at this point, she was no longer sure whether she wanted to help Marisbury deal with his issues so he could focus on Olga Marie again, or whether she wanted to gather enough evidence to have the man sentenced to death so Olga Marie could get out from under his shadow.
It was something to carefully think about.
Nothing was going to happen though until she had gathered enough knowledge to form a coherent picture, so that was the first thing she should focus on. Or rather, the second thing, since the first thing was of course her job.
With that in mind, Trisha put on her stern teacher-expression and followed behind Olga Marie. She had been hired to teach and guide the girl, so teach and guide her she would.
Not that it was a chore. That girl was a delight.
When they had found the file in the hide-out of the Meluastea, Waver had seen immediately that it was the metaphorical jackpot.
The file was basically every cop's dream, containing not just entire lists of names of people who were in league with the Meluastea, but also their locations, their future plans, the resources they had available, the passwords they used to communicate, and many other secrets the Meluastea probably didn't want anyone to know.
It was everything they needed to finally deal with that rotten family once and for all, and Waver had expected Lady Montmorency and Lady Barthomeloi to be quite happy upon receiving it.
Even in his wildest dream however, Waver had not foreseen that the file would make Lady Montmorency cackle like a madwoman.
"Kekekekeke! Hahahahahahahaha!" The woman had been laughing for almost a solid minute now, and she showed no sign of stopping any time soon, only pausing every few seconds to take a breath, before she continued cackling. "Bwahahahaha! Mwuhahahaha!"
On and on it went, while Waver stood at attention, not daring to move a muscle, and Fujimaru shuffled his feet, more relaxed than Waver yet clearly uncomfortable with the situation all the same.
Even Lady Barthomeloi looked puzzled and didn't seem to know what to do with the behaviour of her underling, sitting still behind her desk as she waited for Lady Montmorency to stop laughing and get to business.
Honestly, Waver understood that the woman was happy, but she should stop laughing now. It was getting really uncomfortable to stand here and listen to the laughter, while his apprentice exchanged confused looks with the Vice-Director, like they were old friends or something.
It was common knowledge that one didn't just stare one's betters into the eyes, but apparently, no one had told Fujimaru or Lady Barthomeloi about that. He appeared to have no problem staring that woman straight in the eyes, and she appeared to be unbothered by that in return.
Well, fine, they could gaze into each other's eyes all they wanted. Waver would just stare at the wall and pray this would all be over soon.
"Hahahaha, hahahaha, haha, ha." As if his prayer had been heard, Lady Montmorency's laughter came to an end a few moments later, and she panted for a short while, trying to regain her breath. Then she looked up again, giving them an approving smile. "Excellent work, boys. We were actually going to wait until all task forces returned from their missions to attack the nests, but with this, we can go on the attack immediately."
"And when you say immediately…?" Fujimaru asked leadingly.
"Tomorrow." It was Lady Barthomeloi who answered, in her characteristically sharp voice. "I already have my forces on stand-by. I shall give them the signal to start preparing for the purge as soon as this meeting is over."
"Great, you do that. I presume you don't need us anymore?" Waver asked, eager to get out of the office again.
"Your services are no longer needed, Lord El-Melloi." Lady Barthomeloi nodded, before turning to Fujimaru. "But your talents very much are, mister Fujimaru."
"Of course." Fujimaru nodded. "And they are at your disposal. We had an agreement, and I plan on keeping it."
His answer seemed to satisfy Lady Barthomeloi very much, and the brunette leaned back in her chair ever so slightly, content to let Lady Montmorency take over again.
"Your job isn't very difficult, boy." Said elderly lady explained, waving her hand in a dismissive motion. "It's very simple actually. We take you along with us to various places in the Clocktower, and you point us towards any secret rooms, hidden panels, and trap doors you can find."
"Yes, I expected as much." Fujimaru nodded.
"Do you have any idea how long that will take?" Waver cut in, his honour and pride demanding he get involved with this matter, if only because his student was. "I assume he'll be working with you all day, which means he can't do any school work. I need to know how many lectures he will miss."
"That is hard to say, Lord El-Melloi." Lady Montmorency frowned. "It will take as long as it needs to. We have to investigate the entire Departments of Archaeology and Mineralogy after all, which are immensely big complexes."
"Don't forget the Department of Botany." Fujimaru suddenly added, before blinking when three pairs of eyes turned towards him in a flash. "What?"
"The Department of Botany? Why?" Lady Barthomeloi asked, cocking her head to the side. "To the best of our knowledge, nothing illegal is taking place there."
"Really? Because I have someone who swears that they met with a Meluastea to discuss forbidden matters in the Department of Botany, behind a fake wall that is covered in cursed ivy." Fujimaru protested, sounding very certain of himself. "That is exactly what he said, and I am confident he was not lying."
"Really? The Department of Botany?" Lady Montmorency asked again, before shaking her head. "No, that's impossible. Lady Raquel Archelot, the former head, would never have stood for anything illegal taking place there."
"I concur." Lady Barthomeloi agreed. "She was honourable to a fault. She never would have allowed the Meluastea to infest her department."
"Yet that is what happened." Fujimaru was adamant however, and didn't back down even when the two most important people of the Clocktower tried to deny his words. Waver admired his bravery, even if he himself would never have done it out of health-concerns.
Lady Barthomeloi frowned at the redhead for a few moments, before coming to a decision.
"I will speak with Lady Archelot in the morning." She announced, taking Waver aback by the fact that she would do so herself, instead of sending someone else, which was the usual procedure. "Fujimaru, you will be joining me. You may present your tale to her, and we shall see how she reacts."
"Ah…" Fujimaru was clearly taken aback by that, and Waver completely understood. This was getting weirder and weirder. Not only would the Vice-Director talk with someone accused of crimes herself, but she was also going to take the accuser with her so they could have a demented debate of some kind?
This Raquel Archelot had to be really special to get this kind of preferential treatment, and it really, really concerned Waver that he didn't have the slightest inkling as to why that woman was so special.
"It won't take long, boy." Lady Montmorency assured Fujimaru kindly, completely misunderstanding why the teen had a difficult expression on his face. "Lady Archelot is retired, and lives outside of the Clocktower, but if you leave through the main entrance, her house is only a five-minute walk away."
"I… see." Fujimaru nodded after a moment, visibly resigning himself to his fate, before turning to Lady Barthomeloi. "Where shall we meet tomorrow? And when?"
"Meet me at the main entrance at eight o'clock sharp." As expected of the Vice-Director, it was not a suggestion, but an order. "The purge will start the moment we return from her residence. Do not be late."
"Certainly not." Fujimaru nodded.
"As for you, Lord El-Melloi, I assume you still want to join the purge?" Lady Montmorency took over from her boss again, looking at Waver.
"I do." Waver nodded. "If my student is present, I must be present as well."
"Naturally. Be present at the main entrance of the Department of Archaeology at nine o'clock tomorrow. As Lady Barthomeloi stated, we will attack only when she returns, but I estimate that to be at nine."
"Is it not unwise to let the Meluastea know that we are onto them and that we are going to attack? I mean, will they not flee?" Fujimaru asked with a frown, but unlike before, Waver could actually answer this question.
"Not at all." He replied. "Once they notice the Department of Policies is after them, they will assume all exits are sealed, and then they will burrow in their Workshops, hoping to outlast us."
"Outlast us?"
"Wait until we make a mistake that will allow them to slip past our guards." Lady Montmorency explained. "As Lord El-Melloi said, they will hide under their Bounded Fields, hope that we cannot enter, and wait us out."
"…That sounds like wishful thinking." Fujimaru huffed, but he was taken aback when the others, Waver included, shook their heads.
"It is, unfortunately, quite effective." Lady Barthomeloi said, a hint of a pained expression on her face. "If the Bounded Fields are old and strong, it may take us months to get past them. More than enough time for the guards to grow complacent."
"I will post killing-teams at every exit of the Clocktower of course, but even that is no guarantee." Lady Montmorency added.
"And there is no one who can break through Bounded Fields faster than that?" Fujimaru asked, before his lips twisted into a wry grin. "Or would such a person get an immediate Sealing Designation?"
"…I cannot give a definite answer to that." Lady Barthomeloi answered after a second of thought. "It would depend on what type of Magecraft they used to bypass the Bounded Fields. If it is especially innovative and powerful, it would be remiss to let the wielder leave."
"Don't get us wrong by the way, we can actually get into the Department of Archaeology easily enough." Lady Montmorency clarified. "The Bounded Fields in the more public parts cannot be too strong, or they wouldn't be able to receive visitors. It is the more secluded and personal spaces, especially the Workshops, that will be more difficult to penetrate."
"And find." Lady Barthomeloi added. "They are often hidden well."
"Yes, but finding them will be my task." Fujimaru nodded, and the wry grin turned into an honest, reassuring smile. "I intend to succeed."
"Excellent." Lady Barthomeloi returned Fujimaru's smile with an approving nod.
"Do you have any more questions?" Lady Montmorency asked.
"I don't." Waver shook his head.
"Neither do I." Fujimaru added.
"Then you are dismissed." Lady Barthomeloi said.
And with that, the meeting was over, and Waver and Fujimaru were promptly shooed out of the office by Lady Montmorency. Waver was only too happy to leave though, and Fujimaru also seemed relieved to be out of there again.
Lady Barthomeloi and Lady Montmorency weren't evil or unpleasant or anything, but they were way too intimidating for a coward like Waver to be near to for any significant amount of time.
"Lord El-Melloi." Fujimaru spoke up once they had left the hallway in which Lady Barthomeloi's office was located, and Waver gave him a curious look, prompting him to continue. "Should I not have said anything? About the Department of Botany?"
"No, you did well." Waver immediately reassured the redhead. "If we want to take down the Meluastea completely and not leave some parts of them to fester, it is necessary to have all the information. The Vice-Director might not have liked what you told her, but that is no reason not to tell the truth."
"Right, I figured as much." Fujimaru nodded with a vaguely relieved expression on his face. "It was a bit strange though, that she decided I'll be going on a trip with her tomorrow, all of a sudden."
"Yes, that was unexpected." Waver grunted, pulling a cigar out of his pocket and gratefully accepting the flame that sprang from Fujimaru's thumb to light it. "Lady Archelot must be quite a woman if Lady Barthomeloi will visit her in person."
"Do you think it's related to blackmail?"
"No." Waver was quick to conclude. "If it was, I imagine lady Archelot would long be dead. It can't be something negative. It has to be based on her merits."
"A personal relationship perhaps?" Fujimaru suggested, before he shook his head himself. "No, that doesn't make any sense either."
"At the risk of sounding callous, you'll have to find out tomorrow." Waver sighed, reaching out and patting to boy's shoulder once. "I shall help you hope that it is something relatively innocuous."
"Thanks." Fujimaru sighed in return.
"Oh, before I forget to ask, did you succeed in your secret endeavour in Germany?" Waver asked, realising he hadn't inquired about that yet. "If you want to tell me of course."
"I was successful, yes." Fujimaru nodded, some light returning to his expression. "Very much so."
"Will you be leaving the Clocktower again soon then?" Waver continued his questioning, not sure how he would feel about that. On one hand, the boy had caused no end of trouble. On the other, he had also been of great help on various matters, was genuinely kind to everyone, and Waver might even have become a little fond of him.
"I won't be leaving just yet." Fujimaru was quick to reply however. "That would be suspicious, so I'll be sticking around for a few more weeks."
Suspicious? Oh dear.
Waver wondered for a few moments whether he should inquire about that as well, before he decided that it wasn't worth it. No need to wake sleeping dogs when he could just as well return to teaching his classes again, or visit his favourite tearoom.
He was a simple man with simple needs, and kicking over a bee's hive was not one of those needs.