If given the choice, Shinji would much rather spend his New Year's holiday lying comfortably on the bed of a guest room at the Clock Tower.
Doing nothing, thinking nothing—just lying there, taking it easy.
Holidays are meant for rest! If you can't rest during a holiday, can it even be called a holiday?!
Unfortunately, Rin wasn't just Shinji's childhood friend; but also Shinji's debtor.
Now that she was in trouble, Shinji felt at least somewhat obligated to help her.
Reluctantly, he followed Waver into the corridor, despite his deep desire to avoid the situation entirely.
With just one glance, Shinji saw Rin and Luvia magically restrained, unable to move.
"Huh... this is quite the surprise," Shinji remarked with a sly grin, teasing Rin.
"Rin, you've grown up! We haven't seen each other in so long, and now you've even gotten into... bondage play?"
"Shut up about bondage!" Rin snapped. "Shinji! What the hell are you doing here?!"
Originally calm, thanks to the restraints, Rin lost her temper again the moment she spotted Shinji.
If not for two students holding her back, she might've leapt up and smashed Shinji's nose with her knee.
Even so, her face flushed red—whether from anger at Shinji or embarrassment at being seen in such a state was unclear.
"Shinji! You're here just to laugh at me, aren't you?! Admit it! That's exactly why you're here!"
Shinji nodded slowly.
"Of course, that's exactly why I'm here."
"I can't believe you admitted it!"
Shinji found great satisfaction in Rin's fiery outburst. While it didn't entirely dispel his recent frustrations, it certainly alleviated a good portion of them.
As expected, happiness really does come from comparison.
"So, you're Matou Shinji..."
Meanwhile, the other "culprit," Luvia, maintained a demeanor befitting a proper lady.
If you ignored her tattered clothes and wildly disheveled hair, that is.
"Yes, that's me. And you must be... Miss Edelfelt?" Shinji greeted her with gentlemanly politeness.
As long as it didn't involve Rin, this woman was the epitome of a graceful young lady—albeit one with extraordinary combat prowess.
"Indeed," Luvia replied modestly. "I've heard much about the genius of the Matou family, though I've never had the opportunity to meet you. I deeply regret that our first meeting is under such circumstances."
"No, no, the honor is mine to meet the future head of the Edelfelt family. Your family's research into gemstone magecraft has been a great inspiration to me."
"You flatter me, Mr. Matou. Our family's work hardly deserves such praise..."
"Not at all, it truly is exceptional..."
Rin, watching the two engage in polite and enthusiastic small talk, ground her teeth in frustration.
"Ugh, playing the perfect lady now, huh? And Shinji! Have you forgotten that your foundational knowledge of gemstone magecraft came from my family?!"
Sadly for Rin, Shinji and Luvia paid her no attention whatsoever.
Her irritation didn't last long, though, because Waver arrived right behind Shinji, closely on his heels.
Waver spoke with exasperation: "It's you two again!"
The moment Waver heard the explosion in his office, he suspected it was the work of these two troublesome ladies. But upon seeing them and the devastation they caused, his stomach involuntarily tightened.
"Oh dear, how utterly tragic," a voice interjected.
Kayneth had somehow appeared in the hallway. His expression was calm and indifferent, as though none of this destruction had anything to do with the Department of Modern Magecraft he oversaw.
"Lord El-Melloi..."
"It is an unparalleled honor to meet you..."
Both Rin and Luvia looked mortified, realizing their fight had escalated to the point of drawing the department head himself.
Childhood arguments were one thing—no one involved ever thought they were truly in the wrong. But if an authority figure stepped in, it became a moment of utter shame.
Now, kneeling on the floor, the two young ladies experienced exactly that feeling.
Kayneth ignored Luvia's courteous greeting and turned to survey the scene of the incident.
No—this wasn't just a scene of an incident. It was a complete wreck.
The classroom was littered with shattered desks, splintered bricks, and broken windows. Not a single pane of glass remained intact. It looked no different from a war-torn zone in the Middle East.
Even Shinji, who usually had a high tolerance for chaos, was astonished by the sheer destructive power of these two young ladies.
In terms of raw destructive potential, they were no match for the two Sabers who were probably still duking it out in Fuyuki. But Rin and Luvia's destruction carried a different kind of intimidation—because while Saber battles left nothing behind, this was a half-finished mess.
Every broken desk and chair stood as a witness to the carnage.
Kayneth's gaze moved from the ruined classroom back to the students.
"Well then... Can someone explain to me how this disaster happened?"
The room fell silent.
No one wanted to speak up in such a public setting—it would be seen as tattling, which could lead to social isolation from their peers.
"Ahhh..." Kayneth sighed, tapping his forehead. Realizing his wording wasn't ideal, he rephrased, "All of you, come to my office later and explain everything. Don't worry; just tell the truth."
With that, Kayneth left the scene, taking Waver and Shinji with him, leaving no room for rebuttal.
"Quite unexpected," Shinji muttered as he followed. "For you to hold back your temper like that..."
Kayneth replied gently, "Leigh told me to be kinder to the students."
"Pfft." Shinji didn't know how to respond.
A man in love... how utterly nauseating.
"And besides," Kayneth added with a sly smile, "they won't be my problem for long. Isn't that right, Matou Shinji?"
"..."
Shinji didn't respond and silently prepared to flip him the bird.
<+>
The events leading to the destruction of the classroom weren't complicated. After speaking with the involved parties, the department quickly pieced together what had happened.
"It all started during a practical lesson on dual-attribute gemstone magecraft," said Student A, a victim with their arm in a sling and face blurred out in the retelling.
"The cause was a minor, almost trivial mistake. Miss Edelfelt lost control while processing a gemstone, and a small shard hit Miss Tohsaka in the face."
"At the time, Miss Tohsaka glared at Miss Edelfelt, who just laughed it off, saying it was unintentional."
Student A hesitated before adding, "And honestly, I believe her. That kind of magecraft processing is incredibly difficult—I've had similar accidents myself."
"This should have been the end of it. But then, a few minutes later, Miss Tohsaka made a mistake."
Student B, face also blurred and wearing a bandage, explained, "Miss Tohsaka's magecraft is always a bit rough. This time, her error caused a piece of the gemstone to embed deeply—physically and painfully—into Miss Edelfelt's forehead. There was even blood."
Student C, trembling, added, "Whether Tohsaka did it intentionally or not didn't matter anymore—Miss Edelfelt was convinced it was revenge."
"So, during Tohsaka's next critical operation, Miss Edelfelt fired a Gandr shot straight into her face."
"This not only caused significant harm to Tohsaka but also ruined her entire practical."
Student D sighed deeply.
"Of course, Tohsaka wasn't going to take that lying down. She retaliated immediately... and soon, the two of them were exchanging Gandr shots wildly across the classroom. By the time anyone realized what was happening, it had turned into an all-out firefight..."
"After that, I'm not sure. We were all too busy running for our lives to look back."
Waver paused the interviews and stared at the repair bill in his hands. His expression was that of a furious lion.
"Classroom completely destroyed, all equipment rendered unusable, multiple holes in the ceiling and floor, and 25 injured students... The damages are estimated at no less than three million pounds."
Taking a deep breath, he turned to Rin and Luvia.
"You two have truly outdone yourselves, haven't you?"
The two ladies shivered at his words.
"Well..."
"We're sorry..."
Rin and Luvia wanted to pin the blame on each other, but neither could bring themselves to say it.
"That's enough, Waver," Kayneth interrupted, rising to his feet.
Looking down at the two troublemakers, he said, "Do you two realize what you've done? The injuries, the destruction of research materials—never mind that. Just the repairs for the classroom alone will be staggering."
"Keep in mind, the Clock Tower is the sacred ground of magecraft. That classroom is older than your grandfathers—it's a genuine historic landmark."
"This isn't something you can resolve just by throwing money at it." Kayneth stroked his chin and smirked. "And considering this isn't your first offense... Even if Leigh asks me to be lenient, some rules cannot be overlooked."
"Yes, we're deeply sorry. We know we were wrong," the two mischief-makers murmured, lowering their heads in anticipation of punishment.
"Expelling you outright might be too much—the aristocratic factions could use that as leverage. After all, you two are both exceptionally talented and come from prestigious lineages..."
Kayneth thought for a moment, then pointed at them.
"Here's my decision: you two will be assigned to the Type-Moon Corporation on behalf of the Department of Modern Magecraft!"
"Wha—?!"
"You can't be serious!"
Rin and Luvia both exclaimed in shock, their jaws dropping in disbelief.
But neither noticed the moment Kayneth turned away, wearing a smile identical to Shinji's—one that said, everything is going according to plan.
<+>
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