Chapter 11
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"Can't be helped. I already told you the truth, and you still don't believe me. What else can I do?" Haruka Kasugano couldn't help but grin.
"Ughhh—!" Circe puffed up her cheeks, holding her breath in frustration. She became even more annoyed.
The more Haruka Kasugano refused to tell her, the more she wanted to know. The more mysterious he acted, the stronger her curiosity became.
She almost couldn't resist feeding him her barley porridge—turning him into an obedient little piglet and digging out all his secrets.
"Stupid piglet!"
After cursing him, Circe flew off.
Haruka Kasugano scratched his head, having absolutely no idea what she had been thinking.
"Hey, don't run around! We've still got a mission tonight!" he called out.
"I know!" Circe shouted back angrily.
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That afternoon, Haruka Kasugano arrived at their second base—the one they had set up earlier.
It was an abandoned bar.
Since it had gone bankrupt, no one had come here for months.
It had originally been covered in dust, but the irritated Circe had already cleaned everything spotless.
Honestly speaking, Circe would actually make quite a good wife.
In one corner of the bar, several children were tied up. However, since Circe had hypnotized them, they were all quiet.
When she saw Haruka Kasugano approaching, Circe snorted and flew up onto the bar counter, crossing her legs and glaring at him with puffed cheeks.
Haruka Kasugano shrugged and went to check on the children. Fortunately, none of them seemed seriously harmed.
"Piglet, I already sent the children back to Saber and the others last night. Why are we still capturing these kids?" Circe asked.
Haruka Kasugano smiled.
Among the children, he looked at a little girl named Kotone.
She was Rin Tohsaka's good friend.
In the original storyline, Rin would sneak out tonight and rescue Kotone.
He was imitating Ryūnosuke's methods and capturing Kotone to lure Rin out.
Although Rin wasn't exactly part of his system's designated targets, as someone who appreciated beauty, how could he possibly ignore such a promising beauty?
Of course, he wouldn't actually do anything to her—she was too young. That would be a serious crime.
He simply wanted to raise Rin's favorability toward him.
For example, by staging a scene where he helps her rescue her best friend.
Hahaha!
That way, he would transform from the originally annoying teacher into the most reliable teacher in her heart!
Heh heh heh!
Besides, tonight was the so-called "Three Kings' Banquet."
Artoria, Iskandar, Gilgamesh, and that Assassin would all gather at the Einzbern Castle.
And since Kayneth had already been crippled by Kiritsugu, Diarmuid wouldn't have the chance to fight.
In other words, aside from Kariya Matou's Lancelot, no one would interfere with his plan.
Heh heh heh~!
Speaking of Kayneth, though, he still needed to build loyalty points on that side. After all, he wanted to gain Sola-Ui's favor as well.
So Haruka Kasugano made a phone call.
"Hello, is this Miss Sola-Ui?"
"I've already heard about Lord Kayneth's condition. I'm very sorry. I didn't expect the opponent's methods to be so despicable. This was a failure in my intelligence work!"
"Lord Kayneth can't move? I know of a solution!"
"In Misaki City, there's a puppet maker named Aozaki Touko. You can contact her—she can help Lord Kayneth regain mobility!"
"It's the least I can do! I'll visit you tomorrow! I just discovered that Rider went to attack Saber's castle, so I'm going to check on the situation!"
"Alright! Good evening!"
Beep—
After hanging up, Haruka Kasugano couldn't help but laugh.
Now he would just wait for the adorable Rin Tohsaka to deliver herself to him tonight.
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### Chapter 15: Rin Tohsaka Gets Completely Fooled!
At the same time—
Rin Tohsaka sat in her classroom, her gaze drifting toward the window from time to time, hoping that familiar figure would appear.
However, her best friend Kotone still hadn't come to school. A trace of unease crept into her heart. Kotone was her closest friend.
Since the Holy Grail War had begun, Tokiomi Tohsaka had sent his wife and daughter to Zenjo City for safety.
Although Rin still attended elementary school in Fuyuki during the day, she would be picked up by the family driver and taken back to Zenjo after class.
Her life was safe and stable—but she couldn't forget her friend.
She tried calling Kotone's house, but Kotone's parents refused to reveal anything.
Rumor had it that a series of child disappearances had occurred in Fuyuki. Even the police were helpless.
As a member of a mage family, Rin knew clearly—this had to be the work of some evil magus.
She could ask her father for help, but Tokiomi was a participant in the Holy Grail War, and her mother had strictly forbidden her from disturbing him.
Rin was trapped in frustration.
In the end, she decided to find Kotone herself.
All along, Kotone had been the one she protected. Whenever Kotone was bullied at school or forced to clean the classroom alone, Rin would step in to help.
That sense of being relied upon filled Rin with pride.
She believed Kotone must be waiting for her to rescue her.
So she disobeyed her mother's orders and sneaked out into the night.
She brought along the mana compass her father had given her and two precious gemstones.
Carefully, Rin made her way to the nearest station and boarded a late train bound for Fuyuki.
An hour later—
Under the cover of moonlight, Rin arrived in Fuyuki City.
She had no choice but to embark alone on her search.
If the culprit was truly a magus, strong magical fluctuations would accompany their actions—and her compass would detect it.
Holding the mana compass tightly, Rin began searching through the night.
The streets were lively with nightlife.
Even a mad magus wouldn't commit crimes in public.
With that in mind, she turned into the dark alleys.
As she ventured deeper, the compass in her hand began spinning violently.
Finally, she arrived at the entrance to an underground bar.
Dark. Dirty. Sinister.
The compass spun wildly.
Rin's heart trembled.
This had to be the magus's hideout!
But staring at the damp, shadowy underground bar, she hesitated.
No matter how brave she was, she was still just a little girl.
Suddenly, a large hand tapped her shoulder.
"Ah!" Rin let out a small, frightened cry.
She reflexively stabbed backward with her gemstone.
Haruka Kasugano immediately grabbed her hand. "What are you doing? Trying to murder your teacher?"
Rin snapped back to her senses—it was the teacher she disliked the most.
"Teacher Haru? What are you doing here?" she asked, finally relieved but still annoyed.
"I live nearby. Came out for a late-night snack. Is that strange?" he shrugged.
"But you—you… why are you here?"
"It's not safe here at night. Where's your mother?"
The barrage of questions made Rin's little face turn red.
She had sneaked out—and now this annoying teacher had caught her.
If he notified her mother, she'd definitely be scolded.
"You—you don't need to worry! I'm here to save Kotone! If you teachers won't save her, then I will!" Rin puffed up angrily.
Haruka Kasugano smiled slightly.
The fish had taken the bait.
"You want to save Kotone? What happened to her? Oh, she didn't come to class today, did she…" he pretended.
"Yes! She hasn't come for two days! Her parents won't say anything!" Rin was on the verge of tears.
"Oh? But her parents said everything was fine… How do you know something happened? And how would you know she's here?" he pressed.
"I…" Rin froze.
She didn't want to reveal she was a magus.
Magus society demanded secrecy. If an ordinary person learned her identity, she would technically have to eliminate them.
She disliked this teacher—but not enough to kill him.
What should she do?
"…I can tell you. But you must keep it secret. Otherwise, you'll die horribly!" she warned.
"Of course, of course! I'm very good at keeping secrets!" Haruka Kasugano smiled.
You don't even know about me and your mother.
"Fine! I'm a magus. My detection tells me Kotone was likely brought here. And the enemy must also be a magus!" Rin declared seriously.
"I see. Then let's go rescue her," Haruka Kasugano said with a smile.
"Huh? You just believe me like that?"
"You're my student. Why wouldn't I? Saving someone is more important than doubting you."
Rin's cheeks turned red.
Maybe… he's not that annoying.
He's kind of reliable…
So Haruka Kasugano took Rin's hand, and together they stepped into the damp, shadowy underground bar.
They quietly entered.
Soon, they found Kotone and the others.