Chapter 51: Catching One's Prey
Catching One's Prey
'CRASH'
The Wolpertinger crashed through the underbrush in an almost comical manner, flying into the bushes headfirst after Lorelei nailed it in the side with a clever little spell.
Just like every time before however, it returned almost instantly, shrugging off the hit like it was nothing and bouncing back at her with its massive hindlegs, grunting loudly in anger and lowering its antlers in preparation for a bull-rush.
When Lorelei had first seen the creature, she had compared its size to that of a wild boar. By now, she had learned that size wasn't the only similarity between the Wolpertinger and said creature.
The rabbit-like Phantasmal Beast had various forms of attack, but its undisputed favourite move was to charge headfirst at its opponent, like a bull or indeed, a boar. It hoped to spear Lorelei on its antlers or, failing that, to crush her underfoot or at least knock her back or bowl her over. Exactly like a boar would.
Undoubtedly, it was what had happened to the poachers she'd found earlier, whose blunt-force injuries were now perfectly explained. They had been trampled and crushed by a being that was vastly stronger than them, their guns and knives providing no defence against a Phantasmal Beast.
Lorelei was no mundane poacher however, and she managed to side-step its charge, dodging it with relative ease. With her Reinforcement Magic, her Runes, and several other Crafts, her base speed was slightly greater than that of the Wolpertinger, and in terms of agility, she won by far.
That was not to say that the Wolpertinger was cumbersome or clumsy however. Unlike an actual boar, it was fairly agile on top being strong and fast. It could switch directions in the blink of an eye, jump high or low, stop its charge in an instant and then continue right where it left off, and it could even do that typical rabbit thing where it twisted itself into all kinds of shapes in the middle of a leap.
It wasn't enough to seriously inconvenience Lorelei, but it did mean that she always kept a sharp eye on its movements. Her ability to Reinforce herself made her more durable than most, but she was not eager to test her Magic-Enhanced durability against a creature that might very well be able to either pierce through it or even ignore it entirely.
What further complicated the matter was that the Wolpertinger could attack in virtually any direction. It had its charging attack, its mighty hindlegs that could kick anything behind it to death, and the wings that packed a surprisingly powerful punch when she tried to approach the beast from the side. It had no blind spots she could profit from.
"Achared!"
So Lorelei fell back on a true and tried method of hunters everywhere, and unleashed a wide berth of flames at the beast.
The light and the heat made the Wolpertinger retreat a few paces, its animal instincts forcing it to fear fire, and Lorelei used the few seconds she'd gained to start charging up more powerful spells.
Despite the beast's fear of fire, her flame-spell was no danger to it. Being a Phantasmal Species, the Wolpertinger possessed a great amount of Magic Resistance, more than enough to endure such minor attacks.
Magic Resistance came from innate Magical Energy cancelling out the effects of foreign Magical Energy. The Wolpertinger could not consciously use Magic of any kind, but its very nature as a Phantasmal Beast ensured that it had plenty of Magical Energy circulating through its system to cancel out all Lorelei's low-level spells and weaken her moderate-level spells to the point where they were basically useless.
In order to deal any kind of serious damage, she needed to use her high-level spells right off the bat.
But even with those high-level spells, there was a problem.
"Maihad!" She intoned, finishing the chant for one such high-level spells, firing a beam of pure, concentrated light right at the Wolpertinger. If she'd been a little more aware of pop culture, she would have called it a laser, but she wasn't, so a beam of light was the name she had given to the spell.
"IIIIEEEEE!"
The Wolpertinger let out a displeased screech when the beam hit, piercing through its Magic Resistance and searing into its fur and skin, leaving a significant burn wound on its thigh.
The spell would have vapourised any human and even most Dead Apostles, but in light of the circumstances, Lorelei was satisfied with a second-degree burn in a sensitive place. She'd take what she could get.
But just like every time before that she managed to injure the Wolpertinger, the wound evened out and disappeared in mere seconds, leaving it in top-condition again, as if Lorelei had never landed the hit at all.
On top of the Magic Resistance, it had a healing factor that could rival Fujimaru's, and Lorelei was not too proud to admit she'd scowled when she'd first realised that.
It wasn't as if she had no experience with enemies that possessed potent healing factors –Dead Apostles for instance were famous for their healing and regeneration– but when combined with Magic Resistance, it was doubly as difficult to deal with.
Its injury healed, the Wolpertinger turned back to her, and Lorelei crouched in preparation for another combat roll, ready to continue the game of cat and mouse.
The Phantasmal Beast was quickly proving to be a tedious opponent. It wasn't quite as lethal as some of the Dead Apostles she had fought, and it wasn't anywhere near as deadly as the Ancestors, yet its Magic Resistance, healing factor, and the weight of its Mystery were rapidly proving quite the challenge to overcome.
"Heh."
Which happened to be exactly how Lorelei liked it.
Rather than an insurmountable god-beast that would crush her in the blink of an eye, or a total pushover that would fold at the first attack, the Wolpertinger had turned out to be exactly powerful enough to present a serious challenge to her while still being beatable.
She couldn't drop her guard or treat the creature with flippancy, but at the same time, sufficient focus and a good plan could very well see her to victory.
It was a challenge that was exactly difficult enough to draw out the optimal thrill of the hunt, and far from being afraid or worried anymore, Lorelei was genuinely enjoying herself.
So when the beast charged again, its wings in an attacking stance and the tips of its antlers ready to gore her, Lorelei eagerly received it.
Its charge was dodged by a hair, and Lorelei, who had purposely stuck close to the beast, swept her leg low against its hindleg.
The kick did very little however, barely making it stumble a bit.
The beast retaliated with an attempt to directly jump on top of her to crush her underfoot, seeing that she was only a short distance away now.
A powerful gale of wind aimed straight upwards slowed down its descent however, giving Lorelei sufficient time to throw a lightning bolt into its soft underbelly before she had to get out of the way.
That attack did considerable damage, enough to throw the Wolpertinger completely off its game, and the beast smacked onto the ground, hard, before curling up a bit, releasing another distressed screech at the agony ripping through its inner organs.
Restoring those organs to good health took quite a bit of time, about five seconds, and by the time it got back to its feet, Lorelei was long since ready for it, having cast another high-level spell.
"Nan iChîr Gelair!" She spat out the last words of the chant, and the spell's effects took shape.
The gravity in the area around the Wolpertinger multiplied tenfold, and a dozen ethereal chains sprang up from the ground to further inhibit its movements.
It was a spell that had successfully captured numerous Dead Apostles and other monsters, that had seriously impeded more than one Dead Apostle Ancestor, and that was utterly lethal against any human being.
The Wolpertinger however just snorted, giving Lorelei an almost exasperated look, before it snapped the chains and walked out of the gravity field like it was nothing.
Once more, its Magic Resistance and the weight of its Mystery had prevailed over Lorelei's spells.
From there, a pattern started to repeat itself. The Wolpertinger attacked and Lorelei dodged. Lorelei cast a spell, and the Wolpertinger tanked it. And so it continued, on and on.
At the start, it was amusing and challenging, but as the minutes ticked by, the monotony of it was getting more and more tedious.
Her reinforcements had started trickling in as well, arriving in groups of three or four, but Lorelei had ordered them to keep their distance. This was a prey she wanted to catch herself, and she wouldn't stand for any interference, especially not since she was aiming to capture it alive.
Which was also why she hadn't used her really destructive spells yet.
In her repertoire, Lorelei had spells that were powerful enough to level city-blocks, to pierce through a mountain to hit something on the other side, or to lock thousands of people up inside their worst nightmares. Undoubtedly, there was something in there that could significantly injure the Phantasmal Beast.
However, she couldn't use those spells, not when they might very well kill the creature in one blow.
It would mean breaking her promise to Fujimaru after all.
But now that it had shown itself to be resistant to her lower-levelled Magic, Lorelei felt secure in slowly increasing the power and potency of her spells, carefully taking note of the effects.
It was an approach that would have been unthinkable to any other Magus, whose Magical Energy reserves would be sucked dry in a manner of minutes by this style of fighting, but to Lorelei, it was a perfectly sensible tactic.
Her reserves of Magical Energy were still overflowing, her stamina was top-notch, and she hadn't had any close calls worth mentioning so far. She had all the time in the world to find the precise level of power at which she could seriously injure and then capture the Wolpertinger without killing it.
Not that the creature realised it. It was still attacking her with all the energy and abandon it had shown at the start of the battle, not changing its approach to the fight in the slightest nor showing any signs it was executing a plan of its own.
Most likely, it didn't really have a plan. It was a Magical variant of a rabbit after all, which meant it wasn't a predator. It probably didn't even want to fight and had no idea what to do with an opponent that was too swift to catch.
If it had any sort of plan at all, which Lorelei frankly doubted, it couldn't be much more complicated or sophisticated than wearing her down, forcing her to jump around until she was exhausted and became easy prey.
Not that it would work.
Lorelei could do this all day.
On a bright summer morning, inside the lobby of a decently good hotel in Fuyuki that was located not far away from the Tohsaka-manor, a rather tense meeting was taking place, hidden under a protective dome of anti-eavesdropping spells.
On one side of the table, a black-haired girl was sitting on a comfortable sofa, her legs crossed and her lips curled up in a gentle smile. Behind her, a plum-haired girl was standing guard, while holding a phone to her ear for some reason.
On the other side of the table, a man and a woman were seated on hard-wooden chairs, both looking distinctly uncomfortable with the situation and like they'd rather be anywhere else.
The tense silence dragged on for a few very long moments, and then the black-haired girl spoke up at last.
"Well then. Now that we're all sitting here, would you like to explain to me what you are doing in my city?" She inquired, lifting an eyebrow at the two people across from her. "Without informing me in advance even?"
Gwen and Flash, the mercenaries hired by the Edelfelt to gather information and blackmail material on Tohsaka Rin, the Second Owner of Fuyuki, shifted uncomfortably under the gaze of exactly the person who they had been supposed to stealthily tail, visibly hesitating on what to say in response.
In person, Tohsaka Rin was far more impressive than had been implied in the report that the Edelfelt had compiled on her, and they found it difficult to adjust, especially under their current circumstances.
Said report had stated that Tohsaka was a naïve, sheltered girl with little knowledge about the world, who had lost her parents at a young age and had been raised by a low-level priest of the Burial Agency. As far as Magi went, she should have been well below average.
But that was not what Gwen and Flash had found. The opposite rather. In person, Tohsaka turned out to be an experienced Magus, who ran her territory competently and effortlessly caught all interlopers in her domain.
Even now, sat across from two mercenaries with years of experience in the cesspool that was the Clocktower, she appeared entirely at ease, fully confident in her ability to handle them should they become difficult.
There was not a trace of unease to be found anywhere in her body language, not the slightest tremor in her voice. She had them dead to rights, having caught and cornered them while they were doing something highly illegal in her domain, and they all knew it.
In other words, Gwen and Flash had to come up with some stellar arguments and apologies soon, or they would be in deep, deep trouble.
Hence their hesitation to respond to her inquiry.
"Well?" Tohsaka pushed when they remained silent for too long, her voice becoming noticeably less gentle.
"We are on holiday." Gwen ended up taking the word first, making her voice as pleasant and subservient as she could. "Fuyuki is quite famous for its Grail Wars, and it has a powerful leyline, so we wanted to see it for ourselves. We are experienced travellers, you see, and it is our goal to see the whole world."
"We've already seen everything there is to see in Europe." Flash added, seamlessly going along with the lie. "So we thought we'd try Asia next."
"Well, that sounds innocent enough." Tohsaka allowed, making the mercenaries perk up hopefully, before a shadow passed over her face. "But if that is all you intended, then why did you not tell me of your plans to enter my territory beforehand? As per the rules?"
"A complete oversight on our part." Gwen explained, as the penalty for honestly forgetting to inform the Second Owner of your coming was a lot less than for actively spying. "We deeply apologise for our improper conduct."
"Deeply." Flash agreed, lowering his head.
Being thrown out of Fuyuki by their ears would not be pleasant, but it would be far better than being killed and having their heads sent to the Edelfelt as a warning.
But it seemed Lady Luck was not on their side that day.
"So you are not here at the orders of the Edelfelt to spy on me, to find my new source of gems, and gather blackmail material on me in preparation for taking that source from me?" Tohsaka suddenly nailed a verbal arrow right in the bull's eye, showing a scary amount of insight.
"No!" Gwen kept her face perfectly straight though, adopting an expression of confusion and slight indignation. "We would never do such a thing!"
"Never!" Flash parroted. "We are just travellers!"
"Hihi." The girl standing behind Tohsaka's sofa suddenly giggled, looking deeply amused as she grinned at the Second Owner. "Senpai wants you to know that you were spot on, Nee-san, and that he is sorry for doubting you."
"Of course I was right." Tohsaka preened, her eyes narrowing in happiness and enjoyment, before she turned back to Gwen and Flash with a beaming smile. "You really are quite good at lying. If I'd been alone, I might have had some trouble determining whether you were telling the truth or not. Fortunately for me and unfortunately for you though, I have capable associates who can spot a lie from a kilometre away."
"But we-"
"Don't worry though. I am not going to punish you for your transgressions, provided you cooperate with me going forward." Tohsaka interrupted Gwen swiftly, leaning forward with a smirk that told them in no uncertain terms that she had made up her mind. "To put it more clearly, you can either do as I say, or you can die."
"But we-!"
"One, as soon as this conversation is over, you are going to board a plane back to Finland." Tohsaka interrupted Gwen again, holding up a single finger, which was soon joined by a second. "Two, you will never come back to Fuyuki. Three, you will tell me exactly who hired you, when they hired you, and why they hired you. And four, when you return, you will bring a message to the Edelfelt from me."
"Miss Tohsaka, we honestly have no idea what you are talking about!" Gwen tried again, denying the allegations as fiercely as she could. "We aren't here to spy on you! We never had any contact with the Edelfelt! We only wanted-"
"Could it also be a plane to London?" Flash suddenly interrupted her in a gruff tone, rubbing his temples to stave off a headache. "It would be more convenient for us, as we live there, not in Finland."
"Flash!" Gwen snarled furiously, no longer bothering to pretend to be an innocent woman on a simple holiday, as her expression twisted into something unseemly as she turned to him, grabbing his collar with both her hands. "Shut up!"
"What's the use, Gwen?" Flash countered, giving her a frustrated look, though he didn't lift a finger to defend himself. "They have us all figured out. Continuing to deny the truth will do nothing but waste our time as well as theirs. Can't you just be happy we aren't going to be tortured and killed?"
"Well… Even so!" Gwen didn't relent, shaking her head in denial. "We can't just give in without resistance! We can still fight and escape!"
"We would be facing at least two Magi in their own territory, without any idea what their capabilities are and what tricks they have hidden up their sleeves." Flash pointed out. "Furthermore, please recall the phrase miss Tohsaka just used, that she has an associate who can spot a lie from a kilometre away. I don't believe for a moment that was just an idle turn of phrase. In other words, we have two Magi here and at least one more who can be here in mere minutes at most. We aren't going to win this one, Gwen."
"Ghk." Gwen made a very displeased noise in the back of her throat, and she opened and closed her mouth several times as she searched for counterarguments. When they failed to present themselves however, she looked down, gritting her teeth.
For she too was forced to acknowledge that this was not a battle they were going to win.
The two of them were experienced mercenaries who had encountered and fought Magi from the Far-East on several occasions, and they knew better than to think they were all hicks without any talent at Magecraft.
Moreover, a three-against-two battle in enemy territory was one they were pretty much guaranteed to lose, no matter the nationality of their opponents. Even just escaping with their lives was likely impossible, considering Tohsaka's Bounded Fields.
In other words, taking Tohsaka up on her offer was the only choice they had if they wanted to stay alive and free.
Fully realising that now, Gwen slumped in her chair, releasing her grip on Flash's collar and letting her hands fall by her sides. The taste of defeat was galling to the proud woman, and she effectively removed herself from the conversation, letting her companion do the talking.
"So, about that plane to London?" Flash went back to where they'd left off earlier, turning towards the Second Owner again.
"That should not be an issue." Tohsaka allowed magnanimously, politely pretending that the argument between the mercenaries had never taken place. "Don't you want to report back to your employers in Finland though?"
"We will report back to them, but, said between us, it would be better to be a good distance away from them when they hear we botched the mission." Flash admitted. "They don't like failure, and they like the ones doing the failing even less. If we go to Finland, we might never come back."
"Then yes, it can definitely also be a plane to London." Tohsaka pursed her lips at Flash's words, and pursed them even more when she looked at the plum-haired girl, who nodded to show that Flash was telling the truth. "As long as you get far away from here."
"Thanks a bunch." Flash grinned, relieved to find that Fuyuki's Second Owner was not an unreasonable woman. "Right, what were your other terms again?"
"Tell me who hired you." Tohsaka reminded him. "And I don't mean just the Edelfelt as a whole, but the specific individual."
"We were commissioned for this job by Luviagelita Edelfelt." Flash replied readily. "She is the heiress-apparent of the Edelfelt-family. She pretty much runs the show, as her faction is currently the most powerful within the family."
"The heiress? What about the head of the family?"
"That old crone pretty much stays cooped up in her attic all day, or so the rumours say at least." Flash shrugged. "It's Luviagelita Edelfelt who takes care of most of the day-to-day business. Including hiring us."
"I see." Tohsaka mused, carefully absorbing the information. "I can take an educated guess, but even so, I want to hear why they hired you to spy on me."
"Gems." Flash had his response ready. "What else?"
"What else indeed." A glint of amusement entered Tohsaka's eyes, though it was gone the next moment, as a cold look took its place. "Did your plans involve killing or otherwise harming me or my associates?"
"We only collect information, we are not assassins." Flash explained quickly, hoping that Tohsaka's lie detector would do their job properly. "And I don't think the Edelfelt want you or yours dead either. They just want you compliant."
"To get their grubby little hyena-paws on my gems, just like I expected." Tohsaka surmised, her cold expression shifting towards annoyed. "Thank you for answering my questions."
"Wait, that was it?" Flash blinked in surprise.
"Yes, that was it." Tohsaka nodded with a small smile, apparently deriving some amusement from his confusion. "Unless there's more you wish to tell me?"
"…No, nothing."
"Then all that remains is the message I want to send." Tohsaka concluded, before she sat up straight, throwing her arms wide as if she were a queen bestowing gifts. "Rejoice, mercenaries, for if you promise to deliver my message, I will let you go unharmed and with all your possessions."
"Please dictate, my lady." With a twirl, Flash took out a notepad and a pen, holding them at the ready so as to note down every word she said.
"Tell them that if they are so eager to get their hands on my gems, they can come in person to negotiate a fair price." Tohsaka indeed dictated. "Any spies, mercenaries, assassins, and other hired folk will be returned immediately, with their condition depending on the level of their cooperation. If such attempts persist, I will send my own agent to Finland for retribution. I won't need to send a second."
"Hm." Flash made a humming noise as he wrote the words down, before he nodded in satisfaction. "Got it. I'll make sure this ends up in the hands of the Edelfelt."
"Splendid." Tohsaka beamed, and really, why wouldn't she be happy? Her victory was now total. "Do you have a return ticket to London?"
"No." Flash shook his head. It wasn't practical to buy a return ticket before they had finished their mission, as they would have no idea when they would be returning. They had been planning on purchasing one once they had everything they came for.
Though of course, that was never going to happen now.
"Then take these." Tohsaka handed them both a plane ticket, with on them a text indicating they were for the two o'clock flight from Fuyuki to London. How she'd gotten her hands on them so fast was a mystery, but Flash knew better than to ask about it. "Now get out of here."
"We can leave by ourselves?" Gwen asked, emerging from her dejected funk at the shocking words. In general, it wasn't smart to let your captives out of your sight, and Tohsaka had proven that she was nothing if not smart.
"We'll keep an eye on you." Tohsaka winked, and Flash inadvertently cleared his throat at the reminder that this girl not only had eyes all over the city but was also powerful enough to construct a Bounded Field that covered at least three city blocks and possibly even more.
In the face of such overwhelming power and ability, even the most fired up and warlike Magus would know better than to make trouble.
As such, it was less than two hours later that the duo was seated in the plane back to London, their luggage on hand and their purpose mostly unfulfilled.
The Edelfelt weren't going to like hearing that they had failed. They were going to like it even less that Tohsaka had foreseen their every move and had made suitable preparations before the order to spy on her had even been given.
It was Tohsaka's message that they were going to dislike most of all though, Flash was certain of it, and frankly, he dreaded having to bring those hyenas the news.
Still better than staying in Fuyuki though. Tohsaka had spun a terrifying world of ever-repeating streets as a mere warning, and something told him that her tricks would only have gotten nastier if they'd continued to defy her.
Hyenas were much better, much more pleasant, than that.
"Di 'weriennin anann!"
Yet again, Lorelei cast a spell at the Wolpertinger, and yet again, it inflicted only superficial damage on its skin and its outer muscles. Damage which was healed in an instant when the Phantasmal Beast jumped backwards, out of Lorelei's immediate range.
The brunette didn't pursue though, nor did she follow through with other Magecraft, but instead, she used the few moments of distraction to put in some further work on the trap she was preparing.
The trap that might end the battle at last.
Lorelei carefully kept all traces of satisfaction and anticipation off her face in case the beast was able to read human expressions, but on the inside, she was making all kinds of content noises as the Wolpertinger allowed itself to be led around by the nose.
So far, it had resisted all her attempts to bind it, whether it was with Magical chains, enhanced gravity, or Projected ropes and cables. Its Magic Resistance and its ridiculous strength enabled it to break free every time, ignoring her Thaumaturgy like it was not even there.
She had given up on the matter altogether after the fourth failure, not willing to expand energy on something that was clearly not working, and instead returned to probing the Wolpertinger for weaknesses she could exploit.
While doing so, she'd made an interesting discovery.
As said before, using nothing but pure Magical Energy didn't work on the Wolpertinger. Her low- and middle-level spells had no effect worth mentioning on it, while her high-level spells only inflicted minor damage that was easily healed.
Theoretically, she could go even higher in the quality and potency of her spells, much higher, but those spells might kill the creature outright, which would mean she'd fail in her mission objective. In other words, they were not a valid option either.
For a while, she had thrown an array of low- and middle-level spells at the Wolpertinger, hoping to discover something interesting, before she had, in a momentary flash of annoyance when the creature snorted mockingly at her, taken out her riding crop to give it a good whack.
The effects had been astonishing.
A single blow from her riding crop, which at the moment of striking was infused with nothing more than a simple wind-based Enchantment, struck a wound that was not unlike what she'd expect to see if she'd slashed it with a broadsword.
Knocked back by the unexpected force, the Wolpertinger tumbled through the air, before bonelessly smacking down onto the ground, warm blood splattering every which way from the deep gouge in its flank.
It was without a doubt the most serious wound she'd dealt the creature since the fight began, and when it failed to get up at first, Lorelei worried that she might have inadvertently killed it.
But no, it did get up eventually, slowly and with great effort, as the wound healed, like all other wounds before.
It did not escape Lorelei however that this injury took far longer to disappear than it should have based on the healing factor's previous performance, nor did she miss that it was clearly much more debilitating to the creature than any spell she'd cast so far.
For a while, that had perplexed her, until she had remembered the ancient myths.
According to the legends that she was aware of, Phantasmal Species like the Wolpertinger were almost never defeated with spells. In fact, Lorelei could think of perhaps only half a dozen stories in which the hero had used Magic alone to win against their opponent.
In the vast majority of legends and tales, Phantasmal Species were defeated with swords, spears, axes, maces, nets, or even fists. The hero had to get up close and personal, trading massive blows, in order to achieve victory.
Magical weapons helped of course, as did Divine Blessings and auxiliary spells during battle, but winning through naught but Magic was often a hopeless endeavour, unless your name was Merlin or Medea or the like.
In light of that, it was perhaps only logical that using her riding crop yielded much better results than just slinging her spells.
It was an interesting little tidbit, and a confirmation that the tales of old held a surprising amount of truth in them. Lorelei could already think of more than a few people who would be happy to hear about her findings on the subject of Phantasmal Species purely out of theoretical interest, never mind its practical value now that Phantasmal Species were returning.
Her riding crop was far from the only 'weapon' that Lorelei used however. Throwing rocks also worked perfectly well to put the Wolpertinger on the backfoot, and hitting it with trees she'd just ripped out of the ground seemed particularly effective for some reason. Lorelei wasn't shy about using that move as often as she could, knocking the beast around.
She did not use her rapier though. If she did that, then all she'd be able to present to Fujimaru would be a crate of minced rabbit meat.
The discovery had also prompted her to change her approach to trying to capture the beast. Purely Magical means had proven ineffective, but with that weakness to physical weapons, she might have more success if she included some natural focus points.
In other words, she was building a trap out of the materials that she found lying around in the forest. A trap which she would use to capture the Wolpertinger once and for all, far more effectively than any purely Magic-based alternative.
It wasn't easy, building that trap while fighting, especially not since she had to hide it from the Wolpertinger, which had shown itself to be unsettlingly intelligent, but she managed to stealthily prepare it while still pressing the creature hard enough to render it unable to focus on anything but her.
The first step of the process was creating the trap's physical component. For this, Lorelei wove together several bundles of twigs, each about a quarter of a metre long, consisting of as many different species of tree as she could find in her surroundings. By using those natural resources, she could use the strength of the land to her advantage. It was a little trick out of Shamanism, which she had picked up during a trip to America.
She had woven together twigs of oak, birch, fir, pine, beech, and spruce. Each bundle contained three twigs of every species, and there were seven bundles in total.
Three and seven were very important numbers in Magecraft after all. Stable, secure, reliable, and pretty much universally applicable to any form of Thaumaturgy, they had been a staple in European Mystic Arts since the very first Celts.
They might not give the overwhelming sort of results that could be achieved with maverick numbers such as five and thirteen, but at the same time, they weren't liable to blow up in your face either.
Especially that last part was important while trying to create an elaborate spell in the middle of a battle.
With the physical component of the spell prepared, the next part was preparing the Magical component. To this end, Lorelei placed the bundles in a heptagonal pattern below a young bush, before she used the blood that she had spilled during battle so far to draw a Magic Circle around the bundles.
It wasn't her best Magic Circle ever, but the vitality and hunger for growth of the young bush coupled with the blood she had shed during honourable battle would go a long way in making up for that.
That the Magic Circle was actually sufficiently complex to qualify as a masterpiece to any Magus except Lorelei and a handful of others was something the brunette remained blissfully unaware about.
Lastly, she provided a power source by channelling Magical Energy into it whenever she could, priming the Magic Circle and making it ready for deployment.
With that, the trap had been set, and all that remained was getting the Wolpertinger into position.
It was more than a little amusing to Lorelei that she had spent multiple minutes on preparing the Magic Circle and that in all that time, the Wolpertinger had noticed precisely nothing of what she was doing.
Intelligent it might be, but it certainly wasn't very observant.
"…?"
As if to punish the brunette for her hubris however, the Wolpertinger chose that exact moment to suddenly freeze in place.
Perhaps it had seen something in her expression, perhaps it had smelled the blood that Lorelei had used to paint the Magic Circle, or perhaps it was instinct.
Whatever the reason, the Wolpertinger suddenly ceased its reckless pattern of attack, and instead grunted lowly, glaring at Lorelei with a cautious gaze.
"My lady?" One of her followers called out to her, requesting instructions.
"Remain where you are." Lorelei replied shortly, holding up a hand to signal that no one but her was allowed to attack the creature.
The Wolpertinger stood still for a moment longer, but then, perhaps deciding it couldn't do nothing while Lorelei was still in its territory, came at her again.
Unlike before however, it no longer stormed forward as fast as it could, which would give the brunette ample opportunity to dodge and draw it towards her trap. Instead, it stalked forward at a pace that was more brisk than racing, cautiously approaching Lorelei from an angle.
Just like Lorelei had foregone purely Magical means in favour of building a trap out of physical components, the Wolpertinger gave up on frontal charges and instead tried the controlled approach.
With it advancing so slowly, there was no way Lorelei could just jump out of the way. If she tried, it could just follow her, and if she tried to ward it off with fire, it could adjust its course to avoid it.
Then it just had to get close, and it could calmly break all of Lorelei's bones.
That sudden calm didn't suit the brunette's purposes at all, and she huffed in annoyance. Drawing the beast into her trap would be far more difficult if it refused to overextend anymore.
So she drew a quick Rune on the ground with the tip of her boot, before she took several steps back. The Wolpertinger followed her calmly, and the moment it passed over the dormant Rune, Lorelei activated it, resulting in several spikes of rock erupting from the ground, stabbing right into its vulnerable underbelly.
As she had hoped, that enraged the beast sufficiently that it resumed the high-speed chase, having learned that handing control of the battle's pace to her was a very bad idea.
Now the time had come to spring the trap.
Lorelei dodged a swipe of a mighty paw, which would have turned her organs to mush and her bones to pulp had it connected, and then another, and another, backtracking all the way, until both she and her opponent were in position.
She and the Wolpertinger were now standing near the edge of the small clearing in which they'd done battle so far, with the Wolpertinger between her and the forest, right in front of the young bush underneath which she'd hidden the Magic Circle.
All she needed to do now was push it backwards a few steps, and then, with some luck, the battle would be over.
Which was going to be difficult, as rabbits in general didn't do backwards and the Wolpertinger in particular didn't seem to have any intention to do anything except charge at her again, away from the trap.
So in the split second she had available before the beast would jump away again, ruining the perfect positioning she'd worked so hard on, Lorelei took action.
She charged at the beast.
Forgoing any spells or tricks, as they would take too long to deploy, she chose the frontal assault, essentially copying the Wolpertinger's favourite method of attack.
Whatever the beast had been expecting of her, that was clearly not it. It was so surprised that it forgot to jump away or brace itself, and it just stood there, watching her with wide eyes.
Right up until she slammed into it, her head smashing against its head in a headbutt so perfect that Shirou would have gasped in admiration.
The Wolpertinger was sent flying backwards, and then it tumbled down, right on top of the Magic Circle.
Seeing that, Lorelei snapped her fingers, and the trap activated.
The twigs in the bundles melted together into seven branches, which then elongated quickly, increasing in length and growing in a specific shape. The branches grew in straight lines, twisting and turning at ninety-degree angles, thickening and hardening more and more, until they had encapsulated the Wolpertinger in a square cage, with the bars so close together that only a single human finger would fit between them.
In the blink of an eye, the Wolpertinger had been trapped.
"IIIEEEEEEEHHHHH!"
The Wolpertinger did not take its imprisonment well, and it screeched angrily, ramming and kicking against the bars in an attempt to break free.
It was no use though. The cage held strong against the blows, and even the Wolpertinger's Magic Resistance did not influence it. Through the mixture of Shamanism, Blood-Magic, Formalcraft, and Celtic Arts, the Phantasmal Beast had been overcome.
Lorelei had won the battle.
"My lady!" The moment it became certain that the battle had ended, the head tracker approached her at a brisk pace, holding out an orb-shaped Mystic Code of Healing for her to take. "Please tend to your wounds!"
"Hm." Lorelei hummed in agreement, accepting the Mystic Code and using it to mend her injuries, complementing it with several healing spells of her own.
It had gone mostly unnoticed during the fierce battle, but Lorelei had in fact been injured by the Wolpertinger. Flying debris and glancing blows had managed to cause bruises and grazes, and if she was interpreting the stinging pain in her chest correctly, some hairline fractures in her ribs as well. She might also have broken a finger at some point, but she didn't recall when exactly that had happened.
In short, it was nothing to be concerned about. Lorelei had experienced much worse in the past, on many occasions, without flinching, so a few bumps and bruises were not going to be the end of her.
Fighting was a risky thing to do, and no matter how strong Lorelei was, it was impossible even for her to completely avoid being injured. Combat was nothing if not unpredictable, and there were a plethora of beings out there who were more than capable of landing a hit on her in the heat of battle.
As long as she could keep on fighting though, she hadn't lost. The Wolpertinger might be in perfect condition because of its healing factor while Lorelei required medical assistance to patch her up again, but it was the brunette who had won all the same.
She had achieved a flawless victory in her first ever fight with a real Phantasmal Species. It was a feat worthy of celebration, and one that clearly astounded her head tracker, who was looking at the creature with his mouth agape.
"My lady." He eventually breathed out, sounding mystified. "Is that a Phantasmal Beast?"
"It is." She confirmed. "A Wolpertinger, I have been told."
"You have trapped a rabbit-like Phantasmal Beast, in a rabbit cage." He continued, his tone shifting from mystified to almost scandalised. "My lady, is that not too cheeky?"
"To the vast majority of the people currently alive, the first image to come to mind when someone mentions a rabbit is that of a rabbit in a square cage." Lorelei explained a bit of the motivation behind her choice. "I admit that it is slightly rude to use such a concept against a creature of legend that is clearly sapient, but the beliefs of close to seven billion people should never be underestimated. It is a vital part of the Incantation."
"If you say so, my lady." The head tracker inclined his head, accepting her explanation. "Congratulations on your victory."
"Thank you." She nodded at him, before she shifted gears. "Give me your report of the situation."
"Everyone of the team is present and accounted for, Vice-Director." He promptly responded, snapping at attention. "Your message and the signal of your honing beacon were accurately transferred to us all, and we all responded to the summons at once."
That they had turned out to be unnecessary for the battle itself was not worth mentioning, as that was by no means unusual.
"A perimeter has been created, and several scouts are carefully monitoring the movements of your rival." The head tracker continued, diplomatically referring to Ariadne Lissenbaum, who was still prowling the woods in search of the Wolpertinger, though she didn't know to call it that. "Can I assume that you do not wish her to learn of the creature's survival?"
"You assume correctly." Lorelei nodded. Lissenbaum and her followers would never stand for letting a Phantasmal Beast live, so it was vital that she believed the threat to have passed. Lorelei would have to spin a story about finding a Chimaera and defeating it so thoroughly that no traces were left, but that should not be too difficult. The agents of the Burial Agency already thought she was a mindless Berserker after all, so Lorelei would lean into that. "I will convince her that I have won our competition by slaying the 'Chimaera' before she could."
"As you say, my lady." The head tracker appeared more than a little relieved it wouldn't be him who would have to inform Lissenbaum of her loss, but he quickly patched up the cracks in his professional demeanour. "Transport for the creature has been arranged at the nearest airport."
"Already?"
"Your intention to capture the Phantasmal Beast was evident. As such, while you were fighting, I took the liberty of arranging an unmarked cargo plane to transport it back to the Clocktower. I assume it is your intention to bring it there?"
"Indeed." Lorelei was pleasantly surprised by his show of initiative, and as a reward, she entrusted him with a bit more information. "I will have Doctor Kix study the creature, to discover its properties."
"Study?"
It was clear what the head tracker was implying with his question, and Lorelei shook her head in response.
"It is imperative that the creature is not harmed." She told him, her voice firm. "I have promised to give it to Fujimaru, and I will not present him with anything that is in less than pristine condition."
"The Sorcerer?!" The head tracker froze for a moment, before he looked around, as if searching for something. "He is here?"
"No, but he contacted me before I encountered the Wolpertinger." Lorelei replied, before holding up a hand to stave off further questions. "Enough. There is still much to do. Obscure the Wolpertinger to ensure none can see it and transport it to the airport. I will contact Fujimaru again and then deal with Lissenbaum."
"It shall be done." The head tracker nodded, and with a few commands, he arranged for the cage to be covered by a white blanket and taken along, to the airport.
At about the same time, Lorelei finished patching herself back together, and she handed the Mystic Code of Healing over to a passing Enforcer.
After that, she started looking around for a private place to contact Fujimaru again to update him on the situation.
She'd barely started her search however before the next problem already presented itself.
"My lady!"
It came in the form of Eleonora, one of the senior Enforcers in Lorelei's team, who rushed towards Lorelei as fast as she could. She was normally a very composed woman, some might even say dispassionate, so the fact that she was now running towards the brunette like the hounds of hell were on her heels was enough to raise a few eyebrows all around.
"There are more Phantasmal Beasts at the cage!"
Her words though made it clear immediately why she behaved the way she did.
"What?!"
The head tracker let out a cry of surprise and dismay, but before the sound had fully left his mouth, before his lips made their last movement, Lorelei was already gone, rushing past Eleonora so fast that the woman didn't even have time to blink.
She did shout something else, something that sounded like warning, but Lorelei couldn't hear exactly what. The only thing she sort of picked up on was a word that sounded suspiciously like 'babies', but that couldn't possibly be what Eleonora meant.
'Or,' Lorelei amended once she arrived at the cage and saw the Phantasmal Beasts that were pawing at it. 'Or it could be that 'babies' is exactly what Eleonora meant.'
Because the creatures that were now scratching at the wooden bars, either trying to get in or trying to get the beast out, were undoubtedly…
Wolpertinger babies.
And in that moment, everything made sense.
Why the creature had so doggedly defended a specific area in the forest. Why it had chased off and killed predators and poachers while leaving prey animals alone. Why it had refused to flee once Lorelei had proven to be a match for it in battle.
It had been guarding its young.
The Wolpertinger babies were about as big as the average adult rabbit, with tiny stumps instead of antlers and a few feathers where the wings should be. Their hair was short and dark, their eyes half-closed, and their ears were flopping around as they moved.
There were three of them, and they were all making soft noises of complaint, groaning and squeaking in protest as the bars prevented them from reaching their… mother?
In the meantime, the adult Wolpertinger was looking sadly at its… her offspring, its one visible eye exuding so much pain that any rabbit-lover would instantly have opened the cage to reunite mother and children.
Lorelei couldn't do such a thing though. She couldn't release this Phantasmal Beast, partially because it was a dangerous creature that had already killed over a dozen people, and partially because it would swiftly be hunted down by the Burial Agency if she let it walk free.
So instead, she did the opposite.
"Come here." She ordered the baby Wolpertingers, gathering them together in her arms, before she grabbed one of the cage's bars.
The mother Wolpertinger glared at her with suspicious eyes, audibly grinding its teeth.
"Calm down." Lorelei ordered her, giving her a hard look in return. "And sit still."
The grinding became even louder, but the creature followed instructions, sitting still even when Lorelei bent the bar she was holding to the side, creating just enough room to let the baby Wolpertingers through.
Lorelei then placed the little beasts into the cage, before bending the bar back.
And just like that, she had captured the entire family.
"My lady?" The head tracker, who had caught up with her by now, spoke up in askance, clearly requesting both an explanation and instructions.
"We'll take them all with us." Lorelei said, her tone allowing no protest. "With some luck, Fujimaru will be happier with four than with one."
She really hoped that was the case. She was not equipped to keep Phantasmal Species in her office, or anywhere else for that matter. If Fujimaru didn't want them, all she could do was kill them swiftly before an enterprising Magus would claim and vivisect them.
She would hate that.
"My lady! Executor Lissenbaum is coming this way!"
She couldn't think about the matter for long however, as yet another problem cropped up.
"When it rains, it pours." The head tracker commented, and everyone around nodded in agreement.
Lorelei herself let out an almost imperceptible sigh, realising that contacting Fujimaru would have to wait even longer.
Hopefully, he wouldn't worry too much.
Or maybe… She did want him to worry?
She couldn't entirely explain what she felt, but if she had to try, she'd say…
That it was nice to know that someone was worrying about her?
How odd.
There were times when Eduardo di Stanza almost forgot how scary the family of his fiancée, Sofia Edelfelt, could be.
Sofia was a beautiful woman after all. He'd said it before and he'd say it again, she was an absolute stunner. She was almost ethereal in her beauty, at least three steps above the average, and Eduardo had to admit, to his slight shame, that his passionate Italian blood never let him forget it either.
In addition, her demeanour was impeccable. She was always polite, always cheery, and whenever they were talking with others as an engaged couple, usually in a political environment, she always knew what to say, even when Eduardo had no idea. She'd cover for him time and again with a bright smile on her face, saving his reputation without fail.
That she usually acted quite lovingly towards him also helped considerably, and even knowing that it was all an act did not stop his body from relaxing whenever she would rub his shoulders, or comb his hair, or when she would place his head on her lap.
During times of peace, when nothing of particular importance happened, Sofia and the Edelfelt-family were, dare he say it, almost pleasant to be around.
But then something bad happened, something that seriously disadvantaged Sofia or her family, and Eduardo learned all over again why the Edelfelt were terrifying.
"You were caught as soon as you entered the city?!"
Sofia didn't quite shout as she asked the question, only raising her voice a bit to show how agitated she was, but there was a weight in her voice that sent shivers up Eduardo's spine, and not the good kind.
Sofia was pissed, that was clear as day, and Eduardo was doing his utmost to make himself as small as possible, so as to escape her wrath.
They were currently in a tiny office in the Department of Lore, together with two mercenaries who were pretty much permanently in the Edelfelt's employ, though based on the current situation and Sofia's mood, their state of employment might change drastically very soon.
Apparently, they had been sent on a mission recently by Luviagelita Edelfelt herself, to go to Fuyuki, a city in Japan, in order to gather information on Tohsaka Rin, the city's Second Owner.
A mission they had royally botched.
"Embarrassingly enough, we were indeed caught as soon as we entered the city." 'Flash' admitted. The mercenary appeared rather blasé about his own failure, which of course ticked Sofia off even more. "Don't know how she did it, but Tohsaka had us in her sights from the moment we left the plane. She trapped us in a Bounded Field, and only let us out when we promised to get the hell out of her city."
"You did not think to take measures?" Sofia demanded. "To hide your Magical signatures and your country of origin?"
"That was all taken care of." 'Gwen' protested indignantly against the notion that they had taken their assignment lightly. "Our preparations were no worse for this job than they normally are."
"Then clearly, your 'normal preparations' aren't good enough!" Sofia fumed. "This operation depended entirely on Tohsaka remaining unaware of our movements and our intentions to move against her. Because of your bumbling actions, we have completely lost the element of surprise."
"You never had it." Flash countered easily, making Eduardo more and more jealous of how composed and relaxed he looked, even while Sofia was glaring at him. "Tohsaka was expecting us all along. That's why she could nab us so easily mere minutes after we arrived. I gather she's been expecting the Edelfelt to try and pull one over on her from the moment she put her gems up for sale, perhaps even before then."
"O-Oh…" That piece of information made Sofia deflate a bit.
"I suppose it was a rather predictable action to begin with." Flash continued mercilessly, leaning his face on his fist with a bored look. "Anyone with even a passing familiarity with your family, perhaps the most well-known blackmailers in the world, would have known you'd try something like this. It is no more than obvious that someone as powerful as Tohsaka would take measures to prevent you or your lackeys from invading her territory. If she had been any less merciful or in a slightly worse mood, you would have sent us straight to our deaths."
"Are you saying we're predictable?!" Sofia asked with no small amount of horror, completely disregarding the complaint about having sent their mercenaries to their deaths, before turning to Eduardo, who only just managed to suppress a start at her sudden movement. "Eduardo, are we predictable?!"
"Well, yes." He nodded with nary a thought, having found that being honest was usually the best policy when it came to his fiancée. "I too saw your operation coming from a mile away. A new source of gems in the hands of one of your enemies is not something you would ever ignore. Everyone knows that."
"Ghk!"
"But that doesn't have to be a bad thing." He quickly continued, wary of causing a tantrum. "That everyone knew that you were going to try something in relation to Tohsaka doesn't mean that you have no chance of succeeding. It only means you have to be clever about it."
"Lady Luviagelita told us she was fully aware that Tohsaka was likely to expect an action from the Edelfelt." Gwen provided helpfully. "That's why she hired outsiders like us and had us arrange new identities for ourselves. I don't think we were ever meant to have the element of surprise, at least not in the sense that Tohsaka remained fully unaware that your family is planning to make a move against her. We just needed to slip beneath her vigilance, like we have done to so many other Magi in the past."
"Luvia said that?" Sofia asked, wincing slightly.
"Pretty much." Flash nodded. "We still failed big time, no doubt about it, but it's not like we told Tohsaka anything new. Hell, her response after we fessed up pretty much came down to 'just as I expected'. Which is why I don't get why you're tearing us a new one over supposedly tipping Tohsaka off. We didn't, nor did anyone say we did. That's just your assumption."
"Forgive me for saying this, lady Sofia, but your focus today seems… slightly off." Gwen agreed, giving the young woman a concerned look. "Were you even informed about this mission?"
Sofia stilled completely, her face becoming expressionless.
To Eduardo, this spelled certain doom. Sofia had been challenged now, her knowledge had been questioned, and it was only a matter of time before her anger would change into apoplectic rage.
In the privacy of Sofia's own mind however, something completely different was taking place. Rather than enraged by the mercenaries' comments, she was…
Utterly embarrassed!
She had done it now! She had gone and made all kinds of assumptions and had now embarrassed herself in front of the family's employees as a result. Undoubtedly, Gwen and Flash now thought of her as a fool.
Worse, this was not the first time that something like this had happened either.
It was well-known among the Edelfelt that Sofia wasn't the brightest bulb in the family, to put it mildly. That was why she was pretty much at the bottom of the family's hierarchy, and why her father had been so quick to agree to marry her off to a veritable nobody like Eduardo.
Because of her less-than-average intelligence, her relatives had never taken her seriously. Not even her older sister, someone whom Sofia looked up to and admired, saw any worth in her. She had trouble completing even the simplest of tasks, and it hadn't taken long before she had been told to sit down and shut up for the rest of her life, so as not to embarrass the family any further.
It had taken her months of begging to be allowed to go to the Clocktower with Isabel and Nikolas, to convince her father and Luvia that she wouldn't make a fool out of herself, and even then, it had been a close thing. In fact, the only reason she had succeeded at all was because her father and Luvia had eventually taken pity on her.
To put it shortly, nobody respected Sofia, and she'd pretty much given up on ever finding anyone who did hold her in any sort of regard.
Enter Eduardo, not a bright light himself, who had no clue that was the case. He believed with all his heart that Sofia was an evil genius, like all Edelfelt, and constantly saw double meanings in everything she said or did. In his eyes, she could do no wrong, and every mistake or gaffe she made was a cunning ruse to trap her opponents and gain an advantage.
He treated her with the utmost respect, no matter what, and had continued to do so even after they had gotten engaged.
In light of that, was it any wonder that she had fallen for him so hard?
It was tragic, really. A foolish girl and a blind boy, trapped together in a cruel world that simultaneously sustained and destroyed them.
But whatever the circumstances, Eduardo rushed to his fiancée's defence again, like a knight in shining armour.
"Lady Luviagelita did not think it necessary to fully inform Sofia, Isabel, or Nikolas about her intentions regarding Tohsaka's source of gems." He hastened to explain, trying to appease Sofia before she exploded. "Because of operational security, we were indeed left uninformed."
What he said was mostly true. Sofia had indeed not been informed about the mission to obtain Toshaka's new source of gems, and since Eduardo couldn't possibly fathom it was because Sofia was too dumb for anyone to bother informing her, he reasoned it had to be because they were compartmentalising the information.
In his mind, it wasn't Sofia's fault, but Luvia's.
"But even if that is so…" Flash frowned, clearly not convinced, and Eduardo hastily switched to another diversion tactic before the mercenary could say something to anger Sofia even further.
"In the first place, you weren't meant to come here at all, were you?" He asked accusingly, almost crying in relief when the mercenaries both winced, confirming his suspicions. "If your intentions were to report back about your failure, then why are you here in the Clocktower? You should be in Finland, talking with lady Luvia herself."
Throwing blame elsewhere was a great tactic to distract people from your own mistakes, or your fiancée's in this case, and it proved successful yet again when the mercenaries both fell silent, refusing to meet his gaze.
That would teach them to question Sofia's intelligence! Did they have a death wish or something, to challenge her like that?
Eduardo closed his eyes in relief over his success at defusing the situation, and so completely missed how Sofia shot him a look full of gratitude and loving appreciation for getting her out of that mess.
"I may have spoken too soon when I accused you of revealing our hand to Tohsaka." Sofia then said, her tone conciliatory. "And I apologise for it. Now, if you continue your report and give me all details on Fuyuki's layout and defences, as well as everything you have observed and deduced about Tohsaka herself, I would be willing to speak with cousin Luvia on your behalf."
"As far as Fuyuki's layout goes, it is not much different from other Japanese cities." Gwen replied promptly, not about to refuse such a generous offer. "Accurate maps are sold at various points throughout the city, and it does not appear like Tohsaka changed anything in her immediate surroundings to suit her tastes."
"We didn't see much in the way of defences, aside from the Bounded Field she captured us with." Flash took over. "It trapped us in a sort of pocket dimension, as we told you. No matter what corner we turned, we always ended up back on the same street. We didn't get out until we surrendered. Then Tohsaka let us return to the hotel."
"Tohsaka herself was quite young. About the same age as lady Luviagelita, if I had to guess." Gwen picked up again. "She had black hair, blue eyes, she was rather small, though that is not unusual for the Japanese, and she appears to have a confident personality. At the very least, we inspired no fear whatsoever in her."
"She also had a companion, possibly her sister." Flash delivered the most interesting piece of news yet, and Sofia fully turned towards him. "A younger sister, with purple hair and purple eyes."
"As well as another accomplice who remained at a distance." That was Gwen again. "I'm sorry to say that with the three of them, they completely dominated the conversation. They learned far more about us than we learned about them."
"That was probably inevitable once you were caught in her Bounded Field." Sofia sighed, having expected no different. "Is there anything else you can tell me about that sister you mentioned?"
"Her name was Sakura, I think." Flash replied ponderously, scratching his head. "But that could just as easily be a fake name. She mostly remained quiet, as she was in contact with the accomplice who remained at a distance."
"Hm." Sofia made a contemplative noise, before she shook her head, letting the matter of Tohsaka's possible sister lie for now. "Is there anything else you have to tell me?"
"Yes." Flash nodded, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out an envelope. "Tohsaka wanted us to give this letter to the Edelfelt."
He then handed the piece of paper over to Sofia, who curiously turned it over in her hands, studying it from all angles.
The envelope itself was blank, revealing nothing new, and there were no visible Enchantments or Curses on it. The contents could not be discerned, but logic dictated it was probably indeed a letter.
"Will you open it?" Eduardo asked, and Sofia would be lying if she said she wasn't curious too.
"Better not." She nevertheless shook her head, suppressing her interest. "I'll give this to Luvia. She is the head of the family after all, and the one who hatched the plan to deal with Tohsaka in the first place. Undoubtedly, whatever Tohsaka wrote was meant for her and her alone."
The concept of not opening Luviagelita's personal mail was one that Eduardo could absolutely get behind, and he nodded in agreement.
"Pardon me, but would it be possible for us to leave now?" Gwen raised her hand as she asked the question, drawing their attention back to her. "This job was a bust, and we'd like to find another soon. We have told you everything we know, so there's no reason for us to stick around."
"You can go." Sofia nodded, waving them off. "Though make sure to submit a written report about the mission to Luvia before the end of the week."
"Of course, of course." Flash nodded, already halfway to the door. "See you around, Soof."
"Her name is Sofia." Eduardo said by reflex, his voice harder than he'd intended.
"See you around, lady Sofia." Flash corrected himself, holding up his hands in a gesture for peace.
"Come on." Gwen said irritably, before pulling him along, out of the room, leaving Sofia and Eduardo alone.
The door closed behind them, giving the duo some privacy, and Eduardo let out a sigh of relief.
"All things considered, I think that went pretty well-"
Then a yellow-white blur suddenly slammed into him, almost giving the poor boy a heart-attack, and he had to fight to remain standing when he realised it was Sofia hugging him again.
She was really pressed up against him, her soft body his to embrace as he liked, and Eduardo wondered what he had done for the World to curse him with such a beautiful yet terrifying fiancée.
"Thank you for covering for me." She whispered against his chest, so softly that he almost didn't hear it, otherwise occupied as he was. "I really didn't know what to do when they surprised me like that. Luvia never tells me anything."
"W-Well, uhm…" Eduardo had only caught a few words of what she said, and he struggled to formulate a proper answer. "I-It was not your fault. Y-You had no choice but to make your own valid plan."
"That is kind of you to say." Sofia spoke a bit louder than before, allowing him to hear her properly. "But you don't have to try to make me feel better."
"But I want you to feel better, for both our sakes." He replied, a sliver of his true intentions leaking through. "You mustn't let it get to you. It isn't like you to look so sad, my dear."
"…My dear?"
Damnit!
Eduardo almost froze when he realised what he had said. He'd given her an affectionate nickname! He'd never done that before, always addressing her by name, but this time, it had suddenly slipped out of his mouth before he'd realised that it was coming.
"My dear." Sofia repeated, straightening her back and bringing her hands to her cheeks, which, to Eduardo's surprise, were suddenly a flaming red. "I-I am your dear?"
"…Yes." He nodded, unable to take it back now.
"I am your dear." She whispered, and she started moving in patterns that looked suspiciously like happy wiggles. "I am your dear!"
Wait. Did she… Did she like it?
"O-Of course you are." He confirmed, wondering if, by some miracle he probably didn't deserve, this was perhaps a good thing after all.
A thousand emotions flashed across Sofia's face at his confirmation, all of them too swift for him to make out, and then she stepped away from him, her face determined and her gait strong.
"You were right, Eduardo, I mustn't let this get to me." She said strongly, having suddenly regained some courage. "I can easily deal with minor setbacks like this."
There was not a trace left of her earlier morosity and shame, and although Eduardo had no idea what had caused the sudden change, he was nevertheless pleased to see her in a better mood.
Mostly for his own sake, but there was a small part of him, so small he didn't even know of its existence yet, that was also happy that the beautiful woman, his beautiful woman, was no longer sad.
"This is no time to lose myself to such negative thinking. I will report back to Luvia and inform her about the latest developments, as well as give her the letter. Then she and the other executives can decide what to do."
"…Right." Eduardo agreed after a moment, licking his lips. "Luvia will know what to do. We should tell her."
"And then we'll wash our hands of this matter." Sofia said imperiously, turning her nose up slightly. "Luvia clearly does not want us to get involved, so we won't. We have plenty of things to deal with here, at the Clocktower, without adding her pet-projects to the list as well."
"Isn't that the truth." Eduardo huffed before he could stop himself, agreeing fully with his fiancée. "I'm getting exhausted by the thought alone."
"It is quite a list, yes." Sofia sighed, before she started counting off on her fingers. "The Purge, the fall of the Meluastea, our ill-timed decision to join the Democratic Faction, and even the rise of a Sorcerer."
Of course, the Edelfelt were not directly involved with most of those matters, but that didn't mean they could safely ignore them. They had to network, to limit the fallout, to try and piece together their broken plans, and somehow find the time to perhaps profit from the situation as well.
"Speaking of Fujimaru, has there been any new information on him recently?" Sofia asked.
"None." Eduardo replied promptly, having stayed on top of the matter since the day they had first approached the wielder of the Third. "Which suits me perfectly well."
Eduardo didn't like scary things after all, and Sorcerers were one of the scariest things out there. Frankly, he'd rather marry every woman in the Edelfelt-family than make an enemy out of Fujimaru.
"I agree." Sofia gave a firm nod, before scratching the side of her head. "I do wonder what he is doing right now though. He left the Clocktower in a hurry a few weeks ago, and I haven't heard from him since."
"Undoubtedly, he is working on all kinds of Sorcerous matters." Eduardo replied, his mind automatically conjuring images of Magic beyond his belief and understanding. "Experiments that are far beyond mere Magecraft."
"Probably." Sofia nodded, looking rather excited at the thought of what a Sorcerer might get up to in his spare time. "I mean, there's no way a Sorcerer would ever waste his time on trivial matters."
Eduardo almost laughed at the thought.
Sofia was right. There was just no way.
"Sit still, Senpai."
"Are you still not finished?"
"It's difficult! Your hair is almost as tough as you are. If you'd just sat still since the beginning, it would have been done already!"
Shirou sighed at Sakura's response, but as always, his heart melted at the sight of her pout, and he did his best to sit perfectly still, even as she drew a razorblade across his cheek with a hand that he could not possibly describe as steady by any meaning of the word.
Did he appreciate that she was giving him a hand with shaving his beard? Yes, absolutely.
Could he have done it himself in less than half the time and without coming perilously close to cutting his own throat? Also yes, without a doubt.
But Sakura had insisted on helping him during his first ever time shaving his stubble, and he had accepted, blissfully unaware of what was to come.
Once more, it had been Taiga who had alerted him to the fact that he was growing a beard, and although it was no more than stubble right now, barely visible to anyone aside from Tigers, it still seemed prudent to shave before school would begin again.
Hence the fact that Sakura was now fumbling around with a razor blade made out of a metal that had been mined from the core of a broken planet. It was a bit fancy, but since normal razors were not capable of cutting his hair, Shirou had no choice but to dig it up from the Vault.
Unfortunately, it was also more than capable of cutting his flesh, which was why he was sitting as still as possible, so Sakura's hand wouldn't slip.
It was a lot harder than he'd anticipated.
Taken on the whole though, his current situation was by no means an unfavourable one. He and Sakura were both sitting in the main hall of the bathhouse that had replaced his bathroom during the great makeover, in the corner with the benches, showerheads, and abundance of toiletry articles. They were both naked aside from the towels they had wrapped around their bodies, but the steam rising from the hottest bath in the hall ensured they were still comfortably warm.
Though even if that steam had not been present, Shirou would still have been plenty warm from the sight of Sakura sitting naked in front of him, covered only by a towel that was a size too small to properly cover all the important bits. It left both a massive amount of cleavage exposed, to the point where he could see the upper halves of her areolae, and teasingly hinted at the tip of her womanhood every time she shifted the tiniest bit on the bench.
It wasn't the first time he'd seen Sakura half-naked or even fully naked, but by the golden spires of Asgard, she somehow managed to make herself maddeningly enticing every time again, without fail.
So yes, he sat perfectly still, even as the plum-haired girl clumsily made passes over his skin with the razor blade, every time only being a hair away from cutting into his flesh. He had his healing factor after all, and pain was temporary and insignificant anyway.
This sight was more than worth some minor blood loss.
In the end though, it turned out that he'd been too negative. By some miracle, Sakura managed to finish her self-appointed task without cutting or nicking him a single time.
He could scarcely believe it, yet when she made a last pass over the right side of his throat and then retracted the razor entirely, he was forced to acknowledge she'd done a good job.
Sakura then carefully wiped the remaining shaving cream off his face and throat with a wet cloth, her gentle fingers not missing a single spot, before she leaned in and pressed a loving kiss to his lips.
Then, she rubbed her left cheek against his, nuzzling him gently, before repeating the process on the other side. While she was doing so, her rather sizable breasts also pressed into him, and Shirou was now really starting to get uncomfortably hot.
"Hm, perfectly smooth." Sakura hummed, her voice throaty and satisfied, before her pink tongue darted out from between her purple-red lips to lick his jawline, after which she made another satisfied noise. "Seems like I did a good job."
"Yes." Shirou agreed breathlessly, inadvertently letting out a sigh.
"…Was that relief?" Sakura pulled back a little at his sigh, giving him a suspicious look. "Senpai, are you relieved about something?"
"…No?" He tried.
Something in his expression must have revealed his guilty conscience however, as Sakura pouted angrily at him, stomping her foot in frustration.
"Senpai! I told you I do it without cutting you! Why didn't you believe me?!"
"Ah, no, I-"
"Stupid Senpai!"
Sakura rose from her bench, her fists balled and her face set in a fierce pout, before she resolutely turned around and marched towards the warm bath, not giving him another glance.
He made to call out to her, to apologise, but then she suddenly removed her towel, exposing her beautiful back and flawless bottom, thereby striking him silent until she had lowered herself into the bath, to the point where only the top of her head was still visible above the surface.
"Ah." Shirou let out another sigh at that point. It seemed he'd hurt her feelings and made her angry.
He better make it up to her then.
He looked around for a bit, and then he picked up a comb. It was apparently made of sterling silver and rose gold, fitting in with the rest of the ludicrously expensive items lying around, but Shirou didn't care about that right now. It just seemed to be the right size for his hand.
He then walked over to Sakura, who was still immersed in the warm bath, grumpily blowing bubbles in the water and refusing to acknowledge him even when he sat down on his knees behind her.
Even when angry, she was adorable, and Shirou struggled not to coo out loud as he placed his free hand on top of her head, before arching his fingers into her hair, scratching the skin beneath with the very tips of his nails.
Like her sister, Sakura absolutely couldn't resist being pampered, so in order to cool her temper, he'd have to spoil her a bit.
Slowly and carefully, Shirou weaved his fingers into her hair, before slowly moving his hands in circles, making sure to ever so slightly scratch his nails over her scalp.
Then, he began the combing in earnest. He checked for tangles and knots with his fingers, the digits ghosting over her skin, before gently pulling them loose, while he used the comb to make smooth passes over her scalp.
For now, he could only reach the top of her head, as the rest was hidden under water, but he did his best nonetheless.
As expected, Sakura very much liked having someone play with her hair, and the angry bubbles soon stopped emerging as his pampering cooled her temper.
Shirou pretended not to notice anything though, knowing that making a comment now would only set her off again. He just continued to comb her hair and massage her scalp, gently and wordlessly.
Beckoned by the promise of more pleasure, Sakura then slowly started to emerge from the water. First, her head rose above the surface, and when he adjusted the range of his ministrations accordingly, it was followed by her slender neck and her pale shoulders.
Shirou didn't need to be told twice, and he extended his gentle pampering to include massaging her neck and shoulders. He kneaded her supple skin, and whenever that would tussle her hair, he switched back to using the comb, straightening the purple silk.
A quick spell then summoned a tray full of shampoos and soaps from the corner, and he selected an odourless shampoo which he knew to be Sakura's current favourite. He opened the bottle and poured a generous amount onto his hand, before he rubbed his hands together to activate it.
He then placed his hands on the sides of Sakura's head, just above the ears, and started working the shampoo into her scalp with gentle, circular motions. He began with the sides, before he brought his hands together at the nape of her neck, and then moved to the crown of her head.
He used more force than during the combing, really weaving his hands into her hair, and Sakura let out a small groan of enjoyment, which became louder when he outright began massaging her scalp with his fingertips.
He then worked the shampoo downwards carefully, making sure not to damage the strands by pulling or rubbing too hard, and when it was all covered in soapy suds, he combed her hair with his fingers from her scalp to her upper back, just for fun.