"Utaha, pour two cups of tea."
"Understood. Where are the tea leaves?"
"Plain hot water is fine."
Roy waved his hand dismissively.
Utaha gave him a strange look before heading to the kitchen.
Plain hot water for guests?
This master of mine really is something else.
Ai Hayasaka, the attendant standing behind Rin Tohsaka, also twitched an eyebrow imperceptibly. But she remained dutifully silent, her expression as neutral as a robot's, not betraying even a hint of emotion.
Rin herself, however, didn't seem to mind at all. She accepted the cup of hot water from Utaha and even blew on it lightly, as if perfectly accustomed to such treatment.
"Is she your attendant?"
Rin's gaze shifted to Utaha, who had taken her place behind Roy, mimicking Hayasaka's posture.
"Mhm. Her name is Utaha Kasumigaoka."
"How rare. You actually went out of your way to choose an attendant—and such a beautiful girl at that. A lone man and woman under the same roof..."
Rin grinned mischievously.
Just one look at her smirk made it obvious what she was thinking.
Utaha frowned slightly.
"The estate is just a bit too large. I needed more hands to help manage it."
Roy took a sip of his hot water, his tone nonchalant.
"Oh? You've lived here for three years already. Only now do you think about hiring help?"
Rin narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing Roy as if trying to peel back his true intentions.
"I've just been a bit busier lately."
Roy smiled faintly, casually waving his right hand as if it were nothing.
For just a moment, the winged emblem of a Command Spells flashed before Rin's eyes.
"Command Spells?!"
All traces of playfulness vanished from Rin's face, replaced by seriousness.
"When did those appear?"
"Last night."
"You're planning to participate in the Holy Grail War? If you didn't have the intention yourself, the Greater Grail wouldn't have granted you Command Spells."
"Something like that."
Roy nodded slightly.
The Greater Grail selected Masters based on two criteria: magical aptitude and willingness to participate.
Fuyuki City was home to numerous magi. If Roy had no desire to join the Holy Grail War, the Greater Grail shouldn't have given him Command Spells in the first place.
"If you're willing to participate, that means you have a wish you want the Greater Grail to fulfill, right? But the current Greater Grail can't grant wishes—it's been broken for ages!"
"Of course I know that."
"Good. Then I won't waste my breath."
Rin quickly realized that Roy, having lived here for three years, was already well aware of the situation.
Knowing his personality, once he decided on something, no outsider's words would sway him. Understanding this, Rin chose not to press further.
Meanwhile, Utaha and Ai Hayasaka stood by in confusion, completely lost in the conversation about Holy Grail Wars, Greater Grails, and wishes.
"By the way, your wish isn't something… antisocial, is it?"
"Hahaha, like destroying the world or something?"
Roy laughed heartily. "Who knows? Maybe I would make such a wish!"
"Don't joke about that."
Rin rolled her eyes in exasperation.
"This world has suffered enough already. We should be thinking of ways to make it better!"
"Do I really sound like I'm joking...?"
Roy's smile remained, but his voice dropped to a murmur.
"What was that?"
Rin didn't catch his words and tilted her head questioningly.
"Nothing."
Roy waved it off casually before taking another sip of tea to warm himself.
"Anyway, as the mayor of Fuyuki City, shouldn't you be swamped with work? What brings you here so early in the morning?"
Utaha stiffened, her eyes widening in disbelief as she stared at the twin-tailed girl across from her.
Mayor?
The mayor of Fuyuki City?
This girl, who looked no older than sixteen or seventeen, was the mayor of one of Japan's last four remaining fortress cities—the person responsible for the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands?
"Official business, of course."
Rin slumped her shoulders in frustration.
"Last night, something major happened at the underground cavern beneath Mount Enzou. Someone slipped in unnoticed, summoned a Servant, injured that famous gatekeeper, and escaped without a trace."
"That happened?"
Roy blinked, feigning surprise.
"Yep. It's already caused an uproar at the Association's branch."
Rin lifted her cup and took a sip, the warmth of the tea dispelling the morning chill.
"That is quite the incident."
Roy clicked his tongue, his expression one of mild interest.
"But why come to me so early? Shouldn't you be busy handling things?"
"Ugh, don't even get me started!"
Rin immediately launched into a rant.
"I told them to wait for the investigation results, but those old fossils at the branch just wouldn't stop panicking. They kept pushing me to come here and ask you for information about her. Seriously, those geezers still treat the Greater Grail like their personal property..."
"The Mage Association—even its branches—are all the same. A den of snakes."
Roy nodded in complete agreement.
"Unfortunately for them, Aoko hasn't returned yet. And even if she did, she'd never listen to those old fools. If anything, she'd probably burn all their beards off."
"Let them dream a little longer."
Rin didn't seem bothered. She had expected this outcome before coming.
Her visit was purely procedural.
"You're way too restricted as mayor."
"Right now, just keeping this position is already taking everything I've got."
Rin fell silent for a moment, a trace of frustration flickering across her face.
She had become mayor of Fuyuki City for one simple reason: Fuyuki had always been the Tohsaka family's territory. After her father's death, she was the rightful heir.
Though it was already the late 20th century, the power structure had regressed to something resembling feudalism—a fact that drew criticism. But Fuyuki's leylines had always been under the Tohsaka family's control. Only they could harness the leylines to protect the city, so the magi had no choice but to accept her rule.
The only problem was the Mage Association's branch in Fuyuki.
Fuyuki housed the Greater Grail—the root of all evil.
After the global catastrophe ten years ago, the Greater Grail's existence had been fully exposed.
Various factions of the Mage Association had sent representatives to establish a "Japan Branch" in Fuyuki, many of them from ancient families with millennia of history. Their influence and resources far surpassed the Tohsaka family's.
***
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