"Alright, alright~ I'll stop teasing you."
Noticing the atmosphere had grown awkward, Sola-Ui dropped the playful sarcasm. Following "Professor Kayneth's" instructions, she stood up and moved to sit beside Waver, beginning to explain the details of the nonstandard contract to him.
As for Lancer—
Between a dead Heroic Spirit and a living Lord of the Clock Tower, the answer was obvious.
Sola, born into the prestigious Sophia-Ri family of the Clock Tower's Department of Summoning, understood perfectly which one mattered more.
In truth—
She had always possessed the ability to resist Diarmuid's "Love Spot" charm.
However, because she resented her family for treating her like a political bargaining chip—betrothing her to Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald without her consent—she had deliberately allowed herself to fall under Diarmuid's charm as a form of rebellion.
Yet after spending time with Kayneth, she gradually realized something.
The political marriage may have been forced upon her…
But Kayneth's love and indulgence toward her were genuine.
After all—
Who wouldn't like a man who was loving, promising, powerful, well-connected, and intelligent?
Although the word "strategic genius" might be slightly debatable now, given his defeat in the first battle.
And besides—
If Lancer were still alive, Sola suspected she might be thinking very differently right now.
Of that much, she was absolutely certain.
"…The Threefold Mana Furnace?!"
"That supreme Mystic Code once belonging to the El-Melloi family before Professor Kayneth created Volumen Hydrargyrum?! It's here?!"
Waver suddenly shouted in shock.
"Master, why are you yelling so loudly?" Iskandar complained, digging his ear while sitting cross-legged on the sofa reading manga.
"Is that… what was it… some kind of barbecue grill?"
"Of course not!"
Waver excitedly began explaining as if reciting a sacred scripture.
"That's the complete form of a magical energy furnace, capable of producing almost endless mana! Every magus in the world would want one!"
"Oh~ I see."
Iskandar slapped his palm with the manga book.
"So it's like alchemists using better and better furnaces for refining pills. That 'mana furnace' is basically the legendary top-tier furnace, right?"
"It's called the Threefold Mana Furnace!" Waver corrected loudly, snatching the manga out of Iskandar's hands.
"What kind of manga are you even reading?!"
"'Fairy Training'?"
After reading just a page or two, Waver's face turned bright red—but he still didn't put it down.
Before long, Sola snatched it away.
Grabbing Waver by the ear, she lectured him in a sweet yet terrifying tone:
"Children aren't allowed to read naughty things~"
"I'm not a child anymore…!"
But seeing Sola's increasingly dangerous smile, Waver's voice quickly shrank into silence.
He became as quiet as a mouse.
Thunk!
Sola tossed the manga into the trash with perfect three-point accuracy.
"No—!"
"My fairies!"
Iskandar wailed dramatically.
But he recovered quickly and pulled another manga out of his coat.
This time the cover showed a blonde twin-tailed girl wearing a bathrobe, long legs exposed, with cute whisker-like markings on her cheeks.
The title read:
"Hot Spring Paradise."
On the sofa—
Iskandar existed in his own carefree world.
Waver was being tutored by Sola.
Meanwhile, Kayneth stood before the window with his hands behind his back, overlooking the nightscape of Fuyuki City.
"Waver."
"Yes!"
"You should have noticed it already."
"You mean…?"
"This entire hotel has been transformed into a perfect Magecraft Workshop."
"Twenty-four layers of bounded fields."
"Three Mana Furnaces."
"Dozens of malicious spirits acting as watchdogs in place of hounds."
"Countless traps."
"And parts of the corridor have even been converted into pocket-dimensional spaces."
"Hahaha!"
The more he spoke, the prouder Kayneth became.
In the modern world—
Aside from someone like him, who possessed a hereditary mana furnace, almost no magus could construct such a grand magical fortress.
However—
The base had been completed…
But the Servant had already died.
A truly tragic story.
Elsewhere—
"I'm back, Ryuunosuke."
"Ah~ welcome home, Caster."
Inside a dark room—
Bluebeard (Gilles de Rais) phased through the wall in Spirit Form.
What greeted him was a horrific sight.
Five children had been nailed to wooden pillars like crucifixions.
Their fingers were twisted, their bodies drenched in blood, their heads hanging limply.
A young man with orange hair—wearing a purple shirt and torn jeans—was carving into the body of the middle child with a craft knife.
Clang.
When he saw Caster return, Ryuunosuke Uryuu tossed aside the knife and excitedly showed off his work.
"Ta-da!"
"'The Bleeding Mona Lisa'!"
"A masterpiece among masterpieces!"
"…Ah… yes…"
Caster's voice sounded unusually low.
Gone was the excited enthusiasm he normally shared with Ryuunosuke.
"Something wrong, my friend?"
Ryuunosuke walked over to him curiously.
"Didn't you go to see your dream girl?"
"So? Did you meet her?"
"I'd love to show her my masterpiece too!"
"Hehehehehe…"
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