Salem, without any prompt on my part, grabbed my hand as if it were the most natural thing.
It was small, but it really made me happy to see how comfortable she became between us.
Funnily, she barely spared a glance at Ciel, who made her way back onto the train. I knew they fought; I didn't know the specifics. But from just the look she shot Salem, I'm fairly sure I know who 'won.'
But between two 'Immortals,' is there really winning?
I can imagine that Ciel has never had to fight another genuine immortal before. From what I recall, her status as a Burial Agent was almost completely reliant on her not being able to die. Compared to some of the other monsters there, she wasn't that strong. Strong enough, but not one of their aces.
There are humans among their group that could even square up against Father Swole from back home.
Not that her inclusion isn't impressive. There are very few people capable of becoming members of the Burial Agency regardless of any quirks.
Regardless, Salem didn't even spare her a glance, like everything had been settled already.
Rather, we started moving through the compartment train. There were quite a few rooms we had to walk past until we reached our destination.
I politely knocked on the room marked 207.
It only took a moment for it to open and Waver to welcome us. "Lord Schweinorg, Lady Salem." He politely greeted us despite having only seen us a few minutes ago.
Honestly, I think Salem appreciated his attitude. I wasn't so much a stickler for this kind of continuous decorum and social niceties, but Salem seemed pleased, so I didn't say anything.
"Waver, good evening again to you." I returned to him as well. If he was making an effort, it would make me an asshole to roll my eyes and ignore it. "May we come in?"
"Please." He stepped to the side and gestured for us to enter.
The room was nearly exactly the same as our own. At first glance, I don't think there was anything different.
He had his small group in here with him, and it looked fairly obvious that they were 'waiting.'
Again, it was a reminder of the social status I held here with how they treated me.
"Miss Gray, Miss Yvonne, Mr. Caules." I went over each of them before taking the very obviously placed seats available. There was an extra beyond just for myself and Salem, perhaps in anticipation that more than just two would be coming.
"Hey, hey, don't forget about me!" The bag on Gray's side shook violently.
Gray let out a small squeak of embarrassment as she shook it quietly.
"Of course, I couldn't forget my brother-in-law." I smiled.
"Bah, who's your brother-in-law!?" Kay snorted in disdain.
Waver coughed into his fist. "May I ask, have you made any breakthroughs in the murder—" He paused for a moment, as if deciding his next words carefully. "—attempted murder case."
"I have made one discovery." I hummed. "A rather interesting one. But before that, I believe I have to ask. Mr. Waver, you didn't come here for the auction, did you?"
Waver kept his expression neutral. "What makes you believe that, Lord Schweinorg?"
"You outright said that your monetary situation was lacking during the talks with Olga." I held up a finger. "And I know for a fact that you weren't lying even if I hadn't thought much of it until now. But a powerful pair of Mystic Eyes would cost…. I don't mean to be rude, but your department currently doesn't have the money."
Waver grimaced slightly. "Has our financial situation even reached the ears of the Wizard Marshal?"
"Well, you're not wrong. There's not much that Gramps doesn't know about that happens in the Clock Tower; he just doesn't usually get involved. However, in this case, I'm mostly knowledgeable because it's in direct relation to the happenings of the Grail War." I admitted. "The original Lord El-Melloi died during the Fourth Grail War. This set of a chain of events, some of which were in regard to substantial debts he took on in anticipation of winning the Grail War in the first place. And there was compensation that the Archibald family had to pay to the family of his fiancé's family. It wouldn't be wrong to say that in the wake of his death, the Archibald family—who ruled over the department—had to liquidate anything and everything they could get their hands on just to stay above water. And even then, I've heard of some substantial debts that are still placed on them to this day."
"Teacher, is it really that bad?" Caules looked at him.
Waver let out a sigh, pulling out a cigar before lighting it. "I've been slowly paying off the remaining debts."
"Funnily enough, despite the massive debts, Lord El-Melloi II has one of the best reputations. Just using his name alone, he could probably double his current debt despite being completely in the red still." I let out a laugh.
I wasn't making fun of him; he clearly didn't 'like his students knowing his financial situation. So, I said that to alleviate any tension, to let them know that things weren't as bad as they sounded.
And make no mistake, there's a reason that his debtors are 'letting' him pay off the debt slowly. That is not how a normal Magi would operate. They would be enthusiastically squeezing every ounce of profit they could from Waver if the situation were different.
However, they're scared of Waver's status.
Waver Velvet, a second-rate magus with not much talent or strength at his disposal. Yet, throughout the entirety of the Clock Tower, if he called for help, there would be people in every single department coming to his aid.
Many people are fearful and wary of him because his students have almost all gone on to achieve rather impressive results and have quickly begun climbing ranks.
Waver's actions of teaching any and all students to the best of his ability, never holding back anything, be it effort or knowledge, had pumped out a spectacular number of gifted and, more importantly, thankful students.
Waver gently pulled the cigar from his mouth, letting out a puff of smoke off to the side. "You're correct, Lord Schweinorg."
"Mr. Waver." Gray said quietly, but Waver just gave her a smile.
"It's alright, Gray. At the very least, I don't believe there's harm in Lord Schiweinorg knowing. If he wanted to harm us, be it ourselves or our reputation, it would be a simple matter regardless."
I raised an eyebrow. "Now I'm rather interested."
"There was a relic of certain sentimental and historic value stored within the Department of Mineralogy. Within the Archibald Family's territory—what little remains. It was broken into and stolen under our noses. The thief taunted us—me, leaving a note telling me to participate in this auction."
"How peculiar." I tapped my chin. "That begs the question, was the taunt the purpose of the theft or a misdirection?"
Waver shook his head. "I'm afraid I have not found any substantial clues to answer one way or another."
"The murder attempts then—what do you think?" I asked him.
Waver was silently, clearly thinking through it. "I don't believe in such coincidences."
I nodded. "It would be strange that they weren't connected."
Well, that's good. Now I have a target to direct some anger towards. I didn't lash out before, mostly because I had no one to lash out against. But the sight of Olga screaming and crying—well, that was enough to keep my anger from abating for a long while.
Truthfully, I had no idea either.
It seems like Waver may be a key in figuring out who I need to kill.
"Then I'll tell you something else I just found out. You know the veiled woman on the train?"
"I've seen her." Waver nodded.
"She was attacked in the same way as well."
Waver's eyebrows shot up, and his finger moved to his chin in contemplation. "That's…odd."
I nodded to myself.
It was odd; it seemed entirely random.
"What do you think, Salem?" I looked at her. "Care to give your thoughts?" I had noticed she had actually been listening and keeping up with what we were talking about rather than politely looking interested.
She looked at me for a moment before opening her mouth. "It can be summarized that the person responsible targeted the woman currently being taken care of as a matter of necessity."
"Presumably, Mystic Eyes of such a nature might reveal their identity." Waver agreed. "Which opens the door to question how they knew about her Mystic Eyes when it was not well known."
Mystic Eyes that can see the potential future—if they could even accidentally catch a glimpse of the 'killer,' that would be a huge flaw to the killer's presumed plans.
Salem didn't interrupt him, only continuing when he finished. "The second, the blue-haired girl. From what I understand, you two groups consider each other mortal enemies."
"Salem isn't involved much in the world; the whole Church is rather foreign to her." I briefly explained.
Waver took my explanation at face value. "That would not be inaccurate to say. If there were no reason to the contrary, I would not be surprised if any of that group would begin to kill the other passengers if the chance arose."
There was a reason that the atmosphere became tense with the arrival of the church people the moment they stepped on the train.
"Perhaps the one responsible saw her as a potential threat and decided to strike?" Salem offered.
"He failed." Waver pointed out.
"Because the killer was unaware of Ciel's immortality." I interjected. "It's not fairly well known. Due to some issues with her soul, if she dies, it becomes a paradox, and the world will rewind time for her."
Waver looked at me in surprise. "The killer is most likely a Magi." He settled on. "To know about Trisha's Mystic Eyes but not know about Ciel, it would make sense."
"It's not a bad assumption to make." I agreed. "Which leaves us with the last known victim of the attack."
"The veiled woman." Waver spoke. "What do you know about her?"
"Nothing, to be honest. Other than that, she's dangerous." I crossed my legs with a frown, remembering something when she first got on the train. "She recognized me, though. Whether that means anything is anyone's guess."
I hadn't made very many public appearances around here, but I wasn't exactly keeping my head down either.
No, now that I think about it. She recognized me and also didn't look the least bit surprised I was here.
Maybe I'm overthinking things; maybe she's just very good at concealing any emotions. But that little thought in the back of my head wouldn't go away.
"The first was a direct threat. The second was a potential threat and a potential happenstance. Which means the third would theoretically have to follow the same vein and be believed by the killer to be a threat." Salem spoke again. "Therefore, there is something about that woman that the killer perceives as threatening to his plans."
Though, that brings up the question of why I wasn't targeted. If the killer was a Magi and went through all this trouble, I want to believe he knew who I was at a glance. But likewise, perhaps he was afraid that by targeting me, he would fail and I would then get involved?
Did they believe that I would be ambivalent to what's happening if I wasn't directly attacked?
Lots of uncertainties here.
Regardless, the veiled woman continues to be an enigma that requires investigation.
"Your observations are astute." Waver responded to her. "However, we now lack any additional clues to start connecting dots. We're unfortunately in a position that we have to wait for the killer to make the next move. Presumably, Trisha was the biggest threat due to her Mystic Eyes; once the killer finds out that she's…not dead, perhaps they would try again?"
"I took precautions." He was there when I drew the Talisman. "If it happens again, I should be able to glean enough clues to trace back, now that I'm prepared."
He nodded.
Well, if there weren't any more clues, there wasn't a point in discussing it any longer.
I glanced towards Gray.
Waver cleared his throat. "Gray, come sit up here." He gestured her forward.
Hesitantly, the young girl inched forward until she was next to him.
"Hello again, Miss Gray." I greeted again as the kids had been very quiet hanging out in the back.
I put up a quick Bounded Field just around us. They obviously noticed what I did, and I simply smiled. "Just to keep things private."
Waver nodded.
"Hey, Gray, put me up; I want to see this bastard while he starts spouting all his nonsense like the flowery bastard." The Mystic Code inside Gray's bag started to shake.
This time, she didn't rebuke him or shake it; she set the cage on the table next to us, and inside was the same Mystic Code as before.
"Brother-in-law." I smiled.
"Who's your brother-in-law!? Huh, you bastard?" The square-shaped mystic code started aggressively bouncing around.
"Well, I don't think Artoria would be against me saying it." I mused.
He stopped making a ruckus. Oddly, there was a sort of 'face' on the Mystic Code, and it could somewhat emote.
His eyes narrowed at me, and I just ignored it.
"I'm sorry this is probably going to be uncomfortable for you, Gray. However, at this point, I don't believe I can reasonably excuse myself from your situation." I informed her.
I would have to be blind to not see how uncomfortable she was.
Waver looked at her, and she was obviously hesitating to say anything. "Gray, if you don't want to say it, I can explain for you." He told her.
"….it's okay, Mr. Waver, I can say it." She looked like she was gathering her courage, and despite this, her voice was still low and shy. "This isn't my face." She said very bluntly. "My family is a family of gravekeepers."
I raised an eyebrow. "How does that correlate to you having Artoria's face then?"
She forced a wry smile. "I was supposed to house the soul of that person."
"That damn witch." Kay huffed, taking over. "She set up everything from the start. The Gravekeepers, their lineage, and their connection to my…sister. She even wanted to turn Gray into a vessel to house her soul. She started to turn like her and stuff, but then it suddenly stopped."
"When did it 'stop'?" That was a lot to digest, but I wanted to ask the most pertinent question.
"About 3 years ago." Gray answered.
"The Fifth Grail War." I tapped my fingers on the table. "Artoria's summon must have inadvertently disrupted whatever spell or ritual was taking place. There can't be two Artorias present."
Waver closed his eyes and sighed. "After seeing Miss Tohsaka's Servant around the Mage's Association, that's the summarization we came to as well."
"So, Morgan Le Fay set in motion a plan hundreds of years ago that finally began to bear fruit, only to coincidentally get stifled by the Grail War." I found that…a little hard to believe.
"Don't say her name; it's bad luck." Kay spoke.
"….Are you scared of it?"
"No, it's bad luck because whoever usually said her name before got punched by someone who had been screwed over by her." He snorted.
"You were created by her as well, weren't you?"
The Mystic Code just grunted. "I'm a Pseudo Personality Matrix based on the human Kay; my designation is Add." He introduced himself.
"Fake or real, if there's no difference between the two, why care?" I hummed. "You're still Kay, aren't you?"
He didn't answer.
"You're a container; I can tell that much. But I can't see what's being hidden inside."
"Hey, stop being a perv and peeping on my secrets!" Kay grumbled.
I snorted at his demeanor, but from the stories Artoria told me, this is about how he would act.
"How much does Artoria know?" I asked. "She hinted to me that things had already been settled when I brought it up to her in the past."
They shared a look, and Waver cleared his throat. "I believe she knows the barest details and did not pry further."
"…..does she know about Kay?" I looked at the mystic code. "Because I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have been so detached if she did."
There was a silence.
"Did you hate her that much in the end?"
"You got some nerve!" He immediately exploded. "Don't you dare talk about things you have no right talking about! Who even are you to bring up Arty, huh?!"
"Well, in the context you're familiar with, Artoria and I are courting. I love her very much, and I intend to marry her in the future."
That was also met with a beat of silence. It was something neither Waver nor Gray knew either. Maybe they were wondering why I was so focused on this issue when my relationship with Artoria should have been friends at best.
Gray blushed for some reason.
"Hey Gray, hit me a few times; I think I heard something absurd about Arty." There was another silence, and then he spoke again. "Is that why you've been looking at Gray, huh? Do you have a type? Well, let me tell you—"
"Shut up!" Gray grabbed his cage and started violently swinging it around with a bright red face.
"You were the one who told Gray not to reveal your existence to Artoria, weren't you, Kay?" My words caused his torture to stop.
He bounced around his little cage a few times before landing upside down.
Gray looked at him with a strange expression as well. Like, she didn't know why things turned out that way either.
"Were you afraid that Artoria would take you away?" I added on.
Kay was silent for a few moments, and the playfulness from a moment ago was gone. "Gray needed me." His response was concise and explained everything enough.
I could see Gray's eyes widen, and maybe the faint illusion of tears swelled up for the briefest of moments before being forced back down.
"Hey, unless you prove to me that you aren't making stuff up, I'm not going to answer any more questions." Kay spoke with a noticeable hint of firmness.
"Prove it?" I mulled over his words. "Do you want to see pictures of us together? Maybe, Lewd pictures?" I leaned in and whispered the last part.
Kay started bouncing around again. "Gray, kill him. He can't be allowed to live; he's even worse than that flowery bastard!"
Okay, I would be serious.
"She told me one of her fondest memories from her childhood before she pulled the sword. She told me that when she was young, she got sick and almost died. Sir Ector was out of the house at the time, visiting somewhere else, and it was just you two."
"That…"
"She told me how her brother carved a lion for her when she said that she wanted to see lions in her feverish haze."
"….dammit, Arty." Kay whispered. "But that doesn't prove—"
"She also told me that it looked absolutely nothing like a lion."
"It looked exactly like a lion!" Kay immediately defended. "My sculpting skills were the best!"
"Like your dueling skills? She said you were the biggest sore loser and would make up all sorts of shameless rules when you lost to turn it around on her so that you 'actually won'."
"That's bullshit! I'm undefeated, undefeated!" Kay shouted.
"Right."
Kay looked like he sighed. "Stupid Arty, couldn't you have picked someone better?" He whispered. "He's just like the flowery bastard."
I smiled because I knew at this point, he accepted my claims.
"She doesn't go around calling herself 'Arthur' anymore, does she?" Kay had clear disdain in his voice.
"No, she prefers to live as a woman." I responded. "Aren't you going to say something, though? Maybe about the woman I have at my side despite her claiming to also be with your sister?"
Kay took a look at Salem and then back at me. "If I met a woman with that kind of dumptruck, I'd probably be bold enough to swing both as well."
Everyone stared at him.
Even Salem looked utterly surprised by what he just said, and she's used to me groping her whenever the desire pops into my head.
"What? Gray lets me play on the internet when we're at home and I'm bored."
"….it keeps him quiet." Gray looked away in embarrassment.
"…I knew we were brothers-in-law." I said proudly.
"Brother!" Kay exclaimed.
Salem pulled on my cheek, and Gray swung Kay around violently.
"If you want a serious answer from me. Do you think after everything that you would escape being castrated if she found out you were double-timing her? And believe me, she would find out. Especially with how blatant you are about it." Kay said rather casually.
"Fair."
"She's a big girl; she can take care of herself. I'll be there to kick you while you're down after she pummels the shit out of you when you mess up somewhere, though."
Also fair.
"…..she said that you two didn't part on good terms at the last battle."
"Don't." Kay responded. "I can't get drunk enough to even come close to talking about that. Just…Arty is still my stupid little sister; that's all you need to know."
I nodded, decidedly not bringing it up again. "It's not just Artoria. Mordred is back home too. They're getting along very well."
"Hmm." Kay seemed kind of unperturbed about that. "I didn't really hate Mordred, not like the others. I wasn't blind to all the times Arty messed up, you know? And Merlin told me some things; I was one of the few people he could genuinely confide in. Even if he never admitted it, he would ask me for advice sometimes. He had a lot of trouble acting 'human' at certain times. He said that I was the most 'human' out of all of the Knights."
"I'm of the mind that if I ever see Merlin, I should kick him square in the balls."
"That's a good thought to have." Kay said happily. "Regardless of if you have a good reason at the time, he deserves it."
He didn't ask for clarification on Mordred.
There's clearly still some distance that developed between him and Artoria at the end.
"Did you really mean it before when you said you loved her?"
"With all my heart." Was it sappy? Of course, but it also expressed how I felt.
"She can be really stubborn."
"It took me a long time to convince her that she's beautiful." I chuckled.
"She has a surprising temper."
"I've seen it."
"She is very competitive."
"I've experienced that too."
"She doesn't really know how to act like a girl either. Pops was…well, he cared, but he also did his best to raise her as a 'boy.'"
"She has people to lean on."
"She's also an idiot." He stated.
"I'm pretty sure I'm the bigger idiot."
"She has a stupid appetite. Pops would always complain about the portions she would scarf down when he wasn't looking. When she thinks she's right, it's really hard to change her mind. She expects everyone to live up to her standards, and it made a lot of people hate her. A brick would be better at reading the mood than her."
He didn't come right out and say it. Maybe he feels like he doesn't have the right to say it. So, I would say it in his place.
"I'll take good care of her." I promised.
I seemed to hit the nail on the head.
"Since you call me Brother-in-law, can I ask you a favor?"
I raised an eyebrow. "If you want a body—"
"No, we'll wait. A body?" He seemed surprised. "No, rather, do you have a way to fix Gray? They said you're some big-shot wizard, right? Comparable to Merlin? Can you fix her?"
"Add?" Gray said softly.
"Alright." I answered easily. "I might be able to figure something out. Rather, I know a few people who may be able to help."
"Y-you would help me?" Gray looked surprised. "Why?"
I blinked. "Why not?"
"Is it because I look like her…?" She pulled on the hood wrapped around her head.
"I would be lying if I said that wasn't partially the answer. Maybe even Kay asking me wasn't the deciding factor. Either one of those would probably get me moving, though. Maybe, I can sympathize a little."
"Are you also a vessel for my long-dead sister?" Kay asked with a 'shocked' expression on his face.
Gray quickly started swinging him around again, clearly for ruining the mood. Though, it was obvious he was saying that to stop her from sinking into a depressed state.
He really cares about her, doesn't he?
"Mr. Waver." I looked at the man who had silently been sitting there while we talked in his presence. "Let me ask you a question: have you ever heard about Zelretch having a son or daughter, let alone a grandson?"
Waver hooks his head. "It shocked everyone to hear the news."
"I'm not his grandson. I'm not even related by blood to him."
"Adopted?"
"In a manner of speaking. It's just easier to slot into that role. I'm not his grandson; I am Zelretch."
It took a moment for them to contemplate what I just said. Their confusion switched to realization at that secret being revealed.
"You could say that I'm his future reincarnation. I have a lot of his memories, and they've shaped me a lot as a person. I can't claim that it was as intrusive as what you're going through. However, I can sympathize with some of your feelings."
"Do you feel out of place? A Stranger? Fake? Like you're filling out someone else's spot?" I can't lie and say that I didn't have these kinds of thoughts when I was younger.
Gray seemed to look at me with a newfound expression, like she may have found a kindred soul.
I reached over and put a hand on her head. She looked startled, but she didn't pull back. "So, I'll help you. I can't agree to it right away, but give me a bit of time; I'll talk to some people."
She nodded her head vigorously.
Salem snuck her hand over mine under the table.
"Thanks." Kay said it simply, but that was all that needed to be said.
"What are brothers for?"
Artoria will be very excited to hear that Kay is still around in some capacity.
Now, I wonder if I can find Morgan and have some words with her.
Well, first things first, I need to find out who to kill for making Olga cry.
[Line Break]
A/N
If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone
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