The girl's soft, light body, along with the faint, elegant fragrance lingering in his nose, seemed to weave a sweet web that pulled people in without them realizing it.
However, Alvin had no mind for any of that right now. His eyes were wide open, staring straight at the girl in his arms like he'd just seen a ghost.
'Manaka?'
'Why is she here so quickly?'
After his moment of shock, Alvin soon noticed the stunned looks all around them. He snapped back to his senses and said, "Let's get out of here first."
Without waiting for a response, he grabbed Sajyou Manaka's hand and pulled her out of the corridor.
The afternoon sunlight streamed through the classic English-style windows, warm and gentle.
The two moved through the historic teaching building, quickly leaving the Clock Tower and arriving at a small cafe nearby.
Alvin ordered two coffees, then sat down in a corner by the window.
At this time, most students were still on their lunch break. The cafe only had the owner inside. Outside, leaves swayed gently in the wind, and in the bright white sunlight, a small white cat lazily yawned, looking completely at ease.
Sajyou Manaka rested her chin on her pale hand, smiling as she looked at the boy across from her, "Why did you drag me out so urgently? I haven't even reported to the faculty yet."
"That's exactly what I wanted to ask."
Alvin rubbed his forehead, looking a bit troubled, "When did you get to the Clock Tower?"
From the time he left Fuyuki and returned to the Clock Tower until now, it hadn't even been a full day. Even if Manaka had left Fuyuki that very night and arrived here… there was no way she should have been able to enroll this quickly.
Sajyou Manaka tilted her head slightly as if thinking, then smiled, "I arrived in England about three hours ago. The Clock Tower entrance test took around half an hour, and the rest of the time I spent talking with one of your department's leaders about enrollment procedures."
'Half an hour to pass the Clock Tower exam? That sounds more like she just went through the motions,' Alvin's mouth twitched slightly, "Each exam session lasts three days. Half an hour… at most you just did a magic circuit test, right?"
Sajyou Manaka nodded as if it were obvious, "Before going to the Clock Tower, I met an old man. After he learned that I wanted to enroll, he tested my magical energy."
"After checking my magic circuits, he wrote me a recommendation letter and told me to report to the Clock Tower."
'An old man?'
There were quite a few old monsters inside the Clock Tower. But the Lord of the Department of Law was basically the vice head of the Clock Tower and was famously cold and strict.
'Who has enough influence to let Manaka bypass everything and enter through the back door?'
Alvin instinctively looked at the golden-haired girl, who was clearly enjoying keeping him guessing.
"He's the Lord of the Department of Spiritual Evocation, I think his name was… Eulyphis?"
Sajyou Manaka said.
'That name sounds unfamiliar. I don't think I've ever seen him at the Clock Tower before,' Alvin thought.
But then, he suddenly remembered something important, and his expression froze for a moment.
If he remembered correctly, the King of Mages, Solomon, had two disciples. One was the Gem Mage he had met in ancient Britain, and the other was the Gem Mage's fellow disciple, and that fellow disciple's name was Eulyphis.
The Gem Mage often acted as an advisor to the Clock Tower, occasionally guiding the younger generation. And Eulyphis, that fellow disciple, was the actual head of the Clock Tower.
'It is said that this head rarely shows himself. Otherwise, the Lord of the Department of Law wouldn't be acting head, so where exactly did Manaka meet him?'
As Alvin thought about it, a certain ability came to mind.
'Omniscience!'
As long as it was something Sajyou Manaka wanted to know, she could obtain the information through this special authority.
"You didn't just happen to meet him. You used omniscience to locate the head in advance, didn't you?", Alvin asked.
Sajyou Manaka played with a strand of her golden hair, replying casually, "The requirements to enter the Clock Tower are too strict, and I didn't feel like going through all those tests."
Even without revealing her "Root Link," just Manaka's understanding and control of magecraft alone meant the Clock Tower would never refuse a genius like her.
Rules were barriers meant for ordinary people. For a girl who shined no matter where she went, those so-called rules meant nothing.
Even though Alvin knew Manaka would come to the Clock Tower sooner or later, he hadn't expected her to show up on the very same day the Holy Grail War ended.
If he guessed right, the commotion in the corridor earlier… had probably already reached the ears of some high-ranking figures in the Clock Tower.
Thinking about it, Alvin felt a headache coming on.
Both Kayneth and Aozaki Touko had told him before to keep a low profile. And he had been keeping a low profile, but walking around with someone as dazzling as her, there was no way they wouldn't attract attention.
"What's wrong, Saber? You're not happy to see me?"
Seeing Alvin looking troubled, Sajyou Manaka's expression dimmed slightly, "Did I disrupt your normal life?"
A staff member brought over their coffees.
Sunlight streamed through the window, highlighting the girl's delicate beauty. Her hands were folded on the table, and there was a faint hint of unease in her deep blue eyes.
Alvin picked up his coffee and took a small sip, letting the bitterness spread across his tongue.
"Manaka, you know my identity, right?", His voice lowered slightly.
Sajyou Manaka nodded.
"If the White Dragon furnace core is exposed… if you were one of the higher-ups at the Clock Tower, what would you do?", Alvin continued.
Sajyou Manaka paused, then said thoughtfully, "I'd become interested in you?"
"If it were just interest, that would be fine… but it's probably not that simple."
Alvin shook his head helplessly.
A White Dragon that had lived from ancient Britain to the present, and still possessed a complete White Dragon furnace core, any magus would be interested. Not to mention the researchers in the Clock Tower who were always conducting experiments.
Alvin didn't think they could truly threaten him. But even if he could escape trouble when it came, what about Kayneth and Reines? What about his friends at the Clock Tower?
"So you don't want me to interact with you too much?", Sajyou Manaka quickly understood the deeper meaning in his words.
She frowned slightly. She had come to the Clock Tower specifically because of Alvin. If she couldn't interact with him, then there was no point in coming at all.
"But it's already too late, isn't it?", She continued, "There were plenty of students in that building who saw what happened just now."
"We don't need to deliberately reduce how often we meet. And I don't want that either,".Alvin reached out and held one of the girl's soft hands, looking at her seriously, "If anything, I just hope that our relationship stays a secret from everyone else."
Since she hadn't officially enrolled yet, Sajyou Manaka wore a beautiful, elegant long dress. A sash tied at her waist accentuated her slender figure, and her budding form was quietly captivating.
Her face was like a porcelain doll, flawless from every angle. She lacked the mature charm of an older woman, but had the pure, fresh beauty unique to girls her age.
Sajyou Manaka instinctively wanted to pull her hand back, but she couldn't quite bring herself to. The warmth of his hand made a faint blush spread across her cheeks, and her blue eyes shimmered softly as she said in a small voice, "Our relationship hasn't reached that point yet."
Girls at this age often held romantic, dreamy expectations about love. To Sajyou Manaka, only after Alvin formally confessed would they truly become a couple.
"But since you want to keep it a secret for now, we'll just maintain things as they are," She continued.
'Done!'
Alvin let out a quiet sigh of relief.
What he truly feared wasn't just the exposure of the White Dragon secret.
After all, he still had two "little fish" at the Clock Tower. And he had only recently managed to grow closer with Gray. If they ran into Sajyou Manaka, or worse, if she learned about everything that happened during the Holy Grail War, it would be like a collision between Mars and Earth.
'This damn CG system! If not for it, things wouldn't have become this awkward.'
'Good thing Morgan and Lily aren't here, otherwise I'd better start picking a good burial spot somewhere in England.'
After chatting for a while, Alvin paid at the counter, and the two returned to the Clock Tower together.
———
It was already 2:30 in the afternoon. In the large lecture hall, a tall man with blond hair and blue eyes had already started roll call.
The Lord of the Mineralogy Department, Kayneth.
Since Sajyou Manaka was a transfer student, Kayneth first introduced her identity to everyone, then began arranging a seat for her.
Meanwhile, Alvin was already sitting in his seat.
Reines, sitting beside him, immediately glanced over, studying him with interest, "I heard about what happened this afternoon. When did you meet that transfer student?"
Gray, sitting nearby, said nothing.
Normally, she would have looked at him with curiosity just like Reines. But today, for some reason, she kept her head lowered, looking a bit down.
Alvin cleared his throat, "It's a long story…"
He briefly explained how he had met Sajyou Manaka in ancient Britain, and how they ran into each other again later in Fuyuki.
Of course, he didn't mention that he had been summoned as a Servant by her.
"So she's basically your friend?"
Reines let out a small "oh," giving Alvin a meaningful look before her lips curled into a slight smile, "But I heard that when she saw you at noon today, she ran straight into your arms?"
"Because we ran into danger back in Fuyuki, you could say we've been through life-and-death together," Alvin's expression didn't change.
That wasn't exactly wrong. A Servant and Master in the Holy Grail War did share a life-and-death bond, since their fates were tied together.
"Is that so?"
Reines suddenly reached out and poked Alvin lightly in the waist, her eyes full of suspicion, "But in Japan, don't people usually only call each other by their first names when they're especially close?"
Normally, even if they were on good terms, it should be "Sajyou," not "Manaka."
Calling someone by their first name between a man and a woman was quite rare.
"That's because neither of us really cares about that sort of thing. Why are you asking so many questions today?", Alvin sighed.
Reines turned to Gray beside him, smiling, "Gray, don't you think this is a bit suspicious too?"
After waiting a moment, there was still no response.
"Gray?"
Reines called again, puzzled.
Ever since they walked into the classroom, Gray had been like this, absent-minded and distracted.
'What's going on with her?'
"Reines…"
From the front of the classroom came a man's authoritative voice.
Seeing that she didn't respond, Kayneth raised his voice.
"Reines!"
Many students turned to look. Only then did Reines snap out of it and quickly stand up.
"Br-Teacher, what is it?"
Kayneth glanced at his sister calmly, "Switch seats with Sajyou Manaka."
Reines froze, instinctively looking at Kayneth again, her mouth opening slightly.
Though she wanted to say something, under Kayneth's imposing and authoritative presence, she ultimately lowered her head in defeat.
"Yes."
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