"Forty million."
"Forty five million."
"Fifty million."
"Fifty five million."
"Sixty million."
Astronomical sums in US dollars rang out one after another inside the carriage known as the "Mystic Eyes Repository."
After all the turmoil, the auction was finally held on the afternoon of the last day.
Nearly every guest had been invited to gather there, including Shirou, Rin Tohsaka, and the two nuns who had boarded the train on the final day.
Luvia.
Olga Marie.
Yvette.
Reines.
Lord Eulyphis.
The aristocrats of London raised their bidding cards, waging a bloodless war thick with hostility.
Meanwhile, Shirou and Rin Tohsaka, the two country bumpkins from a remote island nation in the Far East, could only sit there and stare at each other.
Half an hour earlier...
Shirou: "What do you mean you didn't bring any money?"
Rin: "I mean exactly what I said. I didn't bring any money."
Shirou: "No, wait a minute... Isn't the Tohsaka Family one of the largest landowners in Fuyuki? Aren't you from a prestigious family of Magi with three hundred years of history?"
Rin: "I don't know why you have that impression, but I'm sorry to say that the Tohsaka Family went bankrupt during the Fourth Holy Grail War, thanks to a certain someone."
"Over the past few years, I've barely managed to keep our income and expenses balanced. There's no way I have money to spend on collectibles."
Shirou: "...Oh."
Rin: "Amamiya, you didn't invite me along because you thought my family was rich, did you?"
Shirou: "H-how could you think that?!"
Rin: "You really didn't? Hmm~ Fine. Either way, I don't have any money."
"It's not too late to borrow some, though. Why don't you go sweet talk Luvia?"
Shirou: "There's no way I'd do something like that for money!"
Rin: "Oh~ You have more pride than I expected."
"Then let's hurry back. There are still ways to enjoy an auction even without money, aren't there?"
And so, Shirou and Rin Tohsaka could only attend the auction as spectators.
What had all his desperate efforts been for?
"Can't you copy Mystic Eyes directly now? You've probably already copied the pair onstage, haven't you? So why are you sulking?" Rin Tohsaka glanced at the dejected Shirou.
She had already heard about his eyes.
Shirou's Mystic Eyes could use Projection to reproduce any Mystic Eyes he had seen before. In terms of rank, they were at the "Rainbow" level.
"I've only 'recorded' them. That's completely different from actually 'possessing' them."
"How is it different?" Rin asked.
Shirou explained, "For example, having an image of Van Gogh's Sunflowers saved on a computer hard drive feels completely different from owning the original painting, right?"
Rin Tohsaka tilted her head. "Sorry, but what's a computer... hard drive?"
"Never mind. Forget I said anything."
She really was impossible.
Only Shiki truly understood his craftsman's spirit.
While Shirou was still brooding, Luvia and the others had already driven the bidding for the featured Mystic Eyes up to one hundred million dollars.
Shirou stared in disbelief. He had never realized they were so wealthy.
He normally had to wait from the end of school until eight in the evening just to buy discounted vegetables.
Although Shirou wanted to purchase one or two pairs of Mystic Eyes for his collection, spending the same amount of money to take everyone on a trip would be far more worthwhile.
"By the way, Amamiya... what happened in the forest?"
"Hm?"
Rin Tohsaka turned to face him. "You've seemed a little down ever since you came back."
Shirou was surprised.
He had thought he was hiding it well, but Rin had still noticed something was wrong.
The Lion King, Artoria's cold words and lonely expression, had remained lodged in Shirou's mind.
She had become that way because of him. He could not simply leave her alone.
"..."
Rin Tohsaka watched his reaction and sighed.
"Forget it if you don't want to talk about it."
"Sorry. It's not that I don't trust you, Tohsaka."
The girl with twin tails shook her head. "It's fine. I understand."
"But Shirou, if you ever run into serious trouble, come and talk to me about it."
"Tohsaka... thank you."
Rin met Shirou's eyes. For some reason, she suddenly froze, then hurriedly turned her flushed face away.
"I-it's nothing! You don't have to be so serious about it."
"I still owe you plenty of favors, and I want to repay them as soon as possible. That's all."
And so, Shirou spent the last stretch of the train journey enjoying Rin Tohsaka's company.
...
After their journey aboard the Rail Zeppelin came to an end, Shirou remained in London for another two days at Rin's request.
Although he wanted to return immediately and treat Caren, he had asked Rin to accompany him, so he could not completely disregard her wishes.
Rin appeared to be planning to study in London after graduating from high school, so they used those two days to tour the Clock Tower in advance.
Luvia had the same goal. She was also preparing to enter the Clock Tower in two years. It seemed the ill fated bond between the two girls would continue.
The Clock Tower's aboveground section was an academic city.
The town consisted of more than forty student buildings, hundreds of academic facilities, and a commercial district that brought prosperity to its residents.
Its brick and stone streets had perfectly preserved buildings dating back to the twelfth century, creating a landscape where medieval architecture intertwined with modern society.
The Mage's Association divided Mystery into twelve fields, and the buildings belonging to each faculty had their own distinctive features.
Over those two days, Shirou, Rin, and Luvia explored the town to their hearts' content.
Olga Marie and Yvette accompanied them on the first day, while Reines joined them on the second.
During the first day's tour, Shirou encountered Waver, now a Third Rank Lecturer, and was stunned.
He looked like a completely different person.
Not only had he grown more than twenty centimeters taller, but his appearance had also become stern and respectable.
Most striking of all was his general air. He looked like an exhausted office worker who had been forced to work overtime for half a month straight.
Despite still being young, deep creases had already formed between his brows.
"What happened to your signature bob?"
"Don't call it a bob!"
"Professor! Did you really use to have a little sister hairstyle?"
"What? Are there any pictures? I want to see!"
The students of the El-Melloi classroom began raising a commotion, while Waver turned pale with embarrassment.
At least some things had not changed, Shirou thought happily as he was thrown out of the classroom.
During the second day's tour, they met Miss Sola-Ui.
She no longer seemed to be working as a Magus and had instead become a full time housewife.
Her former aggressive young lady attitude was gone, replaced by a gentler, more feminine manner.
As for her husband, Kayneth, he was apparently working hard to qualify for the Clock Tower's Grand rank and had barely been seen lately.
According to Mrs. Archibald, however, the truth was that Kayneth was simply afraid to face Shirou.
"Kayneth may always act so forceful in front of other people, but he's actually quite a coward."
"He'd be very hurt if he heard you say that."
"Hehe. I love that cowardly side of him too."
A silver wedding ring adorned Sola-Ui's ring finger, sparkling in the sunlight as though she were deliberately showing it off.
"More importantly, Shirou-kun, you've grown into a wonderful young man."
"You were adorable as a child, but you look very handsome now as well."
"Ahaha... Sola-nee is the only person who ever compliments my appearance."
"Surely not. Shirou-kun, you must be very popular with girls, aren't you? I'm a woman too, so of course I can tell."
As she spoke, Sola-Ui glanced at Rin Tohsaka and Luvia, who were arguing nearby.
"So, what do you think, Shirou-kun? Tonight, without telling Kayneth…"
"Would you like to go have a drink with me at a nearby bar, just the two of us? ♡"
Lady Archibald's eyes gleamed as she stroked the back of Shirou's hand.
"No, that would be... a little inappropriate, wouldn't it?"
Shirou spoke with a guilty expression.
He stole a glance at Reines beside him, only to find her wearing a mischievous smile as well.
"Please don't worry. I'll keep it a secret from my brother."
"Thank you, Reines."
"Think nothing of it, Big Sister."
Reines closed her eyes. "It's about time the Archibald family had a worthy heir."
Sola-Ui smiled. "Oh my, that's just like you, Reines. You're so thoughtful... Very well. I'll do my best with Shirou-kun tonight."
Shirou: "..."
He felt as though the two of them were toying with him.
Realizing this was probably part of Kayneth's daily life, Shirou could not help feeling deep sympathy for him.
Just as he had heard aboard the Rail Zeppelin, Shirou was an extremely famous figure at the Clock Tower.
Whenever he gave his name, the people around him would cast peculiar looks his way.
"Look, look. That's the Aozaki sisters'..."
Those gazes were filled with envy and resentment.
It seemed that despite Aoko being a carefree loafer and Touko being an outright fugitive under Sealing Designation, they were both immensely popular.
"Do you prefer the younger sister or the older sister?"
On the second day, while touring the building of the Archaeological Science Department, Shirou was rudely approached by an unfamiliar man who asked him that question.
The Department of Archaeology, the Eleventh Department and the weakest of the Twelve Departments.
If the Thirteenth Department of Policies was an elite institution for those aspiring to become politicians, this place was a gathering of archaeologists whose work could not earn a cent.
The man who had approached Shirou was a German with an extraordinarily thick mass of hair.
"Lev Lainur Flauros."
Reines, the Clock Tower encyclopedia, leaned close to Shirou's ear and quietly introduced the eccentric man.
"Although he is known as the 'lab bug' and the 'chair bound man who never leaves his room,' he was once a celebrated prodigy who reached the rank of Fes at the age of twenty."
"However, after attaining the Fourth Rank, he spent the next five years in the Eleventh Department, Meluastea, and has remained there ever since, quietly and faithfully carrying out his duties."
In Reines's words, he was a reclusive eccentric.
He had no interest in power or money, dedicating himself entirely to archaeological research that produced no profit whatsoever.
"It's astonishing that someone like him would put aside his research and leave his office for Shirou-sama."
This was not her usual flattery. Reines genuinely looked shocked.
What surprised Shirou, however, was the inexplicable opening question from this man named Lev.
"Do you prefer the younger sister or the older sister?"
What kind of question was that?
Was he some fanatical admirer of Aoko and Touko?
It made no sense, but the man's expression was utterly serious.
Shirou had the feeling that if he gave a careless answer, Lev would punch him in the face the very next second.
He felt obligated to answer sincerely.
After a brief pause, Shirou said, "Both Aoko-nee-san and Touko-nee-san are women I love more than anyone else. I can't possibly rank one above the other."
Rin Tohsaka and Luvia stared at him in disbelief after hearing such a bold declaration about his harem.
Lev Lainur Flauros looked equally stunned.
He carefully studied Shirou's face, searching for any sign that he was lying, but evidently found none.
"What is Touko to you?" he asked.
"A woman I admire and respect," Shirou answered.
"What is Aoko to you?" he asked.
"The woman I'm in love with," Shirou answered.
"What a hopelessly indecisive and irresponsible man."
Lev glared at Shirou indignantly, as though utterly exasperated.
"I can't blame you for thinking that," Shirou said. "But I can't favor either one of them."
"I now understand exactly what a detestable man you are."
Lev muttered, "And I think I understand, at least a little, why they fell for you."
Leaving those words behind, he turned and walked away.
"What was that about?"
Reines watched Lev's retreating figure and complained, "He stormed over here to interrogate you, then stormed off in a huff. What a rude eccentric..."
Shirou did not see it that way.
Somehow, he felt that Lev Lainur Flauros had finally come to terms with something.
...
"Tohsaka, you didn't get to see your father?"
Shirou asked the question while they were riding in a taxi from their hotel near the Clock Tower to the airport.
After the Fourth Holy Grail War ended, Tokiomi Tohsaka had left Japan and traveled to London.
Rin did not show it, but she must have wanted to see her father.
"No. He happened to be away. Our timing was just bad."
The girl gazed through the window at the receding scenery, looking somewhat dejected.
Shirou tried to comfort her. "Well, you'll be staying in London after graduating from high school anyway. You'll have plenty of chances to see him eventually."
Rin burst into laughter. "Amamiya, are you trying to cheer me up?"
"What's that supposed to mean? Even I know the right thing to say sometimes."
The little devil and honor student of Homurahara covered her mouth and giggled.
"Yes, of course. You really do understand a woman's heart."
"Amamiya-kun, who loudly proclaimed in the very heart of the Clock Tower that both a Magician and a Grand Magus were his women~"
"Ugh...!!!"
The red haired boy's cheeks burned.
And just like that, another story was added to Shirou Amamiya's Clock Tower legend.
...
Somewhere in Western Europe stood a castle.
After completing their reconnaissance mission, Ciel and Noel returned to the Burial Agency's headquarters.
Ciel left all the report writing to Noel and returned to her room.
The Burial Agency had no shortage of bizarre individuals among its members. Compared to them, Ciel was an exceptionally proper Catholic.
Her room could only be described as plain. It contained no unnecessary furniture or modern electronic devices and looked almost like a student dormitory.
Tonight, however, the appearance of a certain person had transformed the girl's modest room into a dazzling and resplendent sight.
A woman dressed in lavish religious garments stood inside.
Beneath the church veil wrapped around her hair was a face beautiful enough to bring nations to ruin. Even her austere clothing could not conceal her full, voluptuous figure.
The woman exuded an indescribable charm. She resembled both a compassionate, gentle Virgin Mary and a delicate, vulnerable young girl.
Yet Ciel's instincts as an Agent warned her that this woman was extremely dangerous. She possessed a uniquely seductive presence that perfectly blended the divine with the demonic.
"Kiara Kissyoin, what are you doing here?"
Ciel watched her colleague warily.
The Third of the Burial Agency, "The Nun," Kiara Kissyoin.
This Japanese woman had converted to Catholicism only a few years earlier. Her origins and background remained a complete mystery, yet it had taken her only five years to rise to the very pinnacle of the Church.
That was meant literally.
Unlike Ciel, who merely served as a weapon of the Burial Agency, Kiara possessed immense authority and popularity among the billions of believers in the public world.
The woman hailed as a modern Savior and Holy Maiden was none other than Kiara Kissyoin.
"Let us have a little talk, Ciel-sama."
"What do you want to discuss?"
Ciel responded with a question of her own.
She had rarely interacted with Kissyoin. This was the first time the woman had approached her of her own accord.
Kiara Kissyoin smiled.
"It concerns my beloved Savior. You met him, didn't you?"