...And so, I arrived.
In the place famous for that very name: the Malignant Heroic Spirit City, Fuyuki.
'Posing as a mage scion suffering from dwarfism? You really do strange things.'
'I have to do at least this much to deceive him.'
In Misaki City, Alice-san already knew me, but Fuyuki was a completely different story.
First of all, the owner of the land was a completely different person named Tohsaka Tokiomi, and somewhere in this city, a worm named 'Zouken' had cast his net and was lying in wait beneath the surface.
"Welcome. I heard about you via familiar... You are Akabane Karma, correct?"
"You don't need to use honorifics. I am younger than you, Mr. Tokiomi."
"Ho, then I shall do so. You wish to reside in this city?"
"Yes. I‘ve reached the age where I should become independent as a magus... and above all, isn't there a ritual taking place in this city? The Holy Grail War."
"Hmm. A participant in the Grail War. There are still about two years left until the ritual takes place; you're applying for residency sooner than I expected."
Tohsaka Tokiomi looked at the red-haired male with the diminutive stature standing before him.
He could be using magecraft to hide his build or camouflage himself, changing his appearance however he pleased. Or, he could genuinely be someone suffering from dwarfism, just as the information Tokiomi had investigated beforehand suggested.
"However, I cannot simply accept another magus without good reason. The ritual has not even begun yet. Wouldn't accepting an outsider before the start of the ritual be an action that goes against fairness?"
For a moment, I almost lost my temper and snapped back.
'If you want to talk about fairness, the Three Families start with a home advantage... forget it, what's the point of saying it.'
"Of course, I am not making this proposal empty-handed. I have a story that will be of benefit to your side as well."
"...To our side?"
"...I heard there is an issue regarding your daughter. Is that correct?"
In an instant, his atmosphere changed completely.
He slipped one hand into his pocket and began fingering a ring with the other. Before I knew it, he was staring at me with eyes that had hardened like stone.
However, instead of reacting to that killing intent, I simply handed him a letter sealed with wax.
He took out a gem-encrusted knife, opened the letter, and began to read. Soon, a strange expression crossed his face.
"The Witch of the Fairytale? What is your relationship with her?"
"Haha, it would be troubling if you tried to dig up all my secrets. We don't have a particularly grand relationship; she simply owes me a debt from the past. You know better than anyone just how great a Mystery the Magic of the Fairytale is, do you not?"
"...It‘s not a bad offer, but approaching me so suddenly actually raises suspicions. Do you have proof that your proposal is not a trap?"
"If you are that concerned, why not draft a Self-Geas Scroll?"
"What?!"
A Self-Geas Scroll.
The item Alice-san had once tried to use on me. It is a type of oath where one must absolutely never violate the contents signed on the scroll.
...If you break it, you‘ll suffer a fate worse than death, so naturally, you cannot break it...
"...If it is that, then I welcome it."
"Good. Then shall we write it here?"
I took out the Self-Geas Scroll I had prepared in advance and handed it to him. He pondered for a moment before he began writing down the terms.
The content was simple.
[1. Assist Tohsaka Sakura in learning magecraft from the Witch of the Fairytale.
2. The magecraft mentioned here includes the oral traditions and secrets passed down to the Witch of the Fairytale.
3. Allow access to Misaki City at least once a month so that the father may visit his daughter.]
There were no particular issues with the content itself, so I added my own terms to the Self-Geas Scroll.
[1. Permission for the undersigned to reside in Fuyuki City.
2. Permission for the undersigned to participate in the Great Heroic Spirit Magecraft Ritual—the Lesser Holy Grail War—taking place in Fuyuki City.
3. The undersigned shall not be involved in any affairs conducted in Fuyuki City, excluding anti-humanitarian crimes and actions related to the exposure of Mystery.]
"Let us settle on this."
"Not bad. Then, shall we check the detailed regulations?"
Aside from a few added remarks, the treaty remained unchanged, and Tohsaka Tokiomi and I finished signing the Geas Scroll.
"You may send your daughter whenever you wish to send her. She is still young, so spending a little more time here wouldn't be bad either."
"...Thank you."
Good. With this, I have obtained the justification to legally (?) stay in Fuyuki City. Next is... the catalyst?
[Base64 String Omitted]
The fact that I had made a deal with Tohsaka Tokiomi was immediately known to Alice-san, and she quickly sent a reply to Tokiomi.
She introduced her relationship with me as a sort of equal business partnership. Upon hearing that, Tokiomi showed signs of trusting me a little more.
Although Alice-san was slightly troubled by the request to take one of Tokiomi's daughters as a disciple, she accepted it. She also didn't seem to care much about the secrets of the Fairytale.
"Without a Magic Crest, it's a difficult magecraft to perform properly anyway. You can handle it because you have the Samsara Eye (Rinnegan) and insane output... but without a Mystic Code, isn't it hard for you to even cast it?"
"...I have nothing to say to that."
"Tohsaka, that old man, doesn't actually think his daughter will properly learn the Magic of the Fairytale either. He's likely sending her just to grow as an ordinary magus and build a foundation. Simply put, he's sending her away as a branch of the magus line. More importantly, here is the item you asked for."
"I didn't expect you to get it this quickly... And you even helped with the identity forgery. Thank you so much."
"I should be the one thanking you. Thanks to you, the funding I receive from the family and various other aspects have improved."
To leave Misaki City and settle in Fuyuki City, three conditions were required.
The first was the direct permission of Fuyuki City's owner, Tohsaka Tokiomi.
The second was the creation of a 'legal identity' and various documents required for residency. For this matter, I received assistance from Aoko-nuna and Alice-san.
The third was... my parents' permission.
"Enrolling in Homurahara Academy... That is a very 'you' method. I didn't know you could use your head like this."
"Well, the academy has both a middle school and an elementary division, after all."
Alice-san's family, the Kuonji family, possessed enough wealth to be called the Kuonji Group. They were a group that financially supported various educational institutions, including the private Misaki High School.
Naturally, through 'a little negotiation,' they could send my enrollment application to Homurahara Academy and have it easily approved. I feel sorry for my parents, but what is important to me is not three years of education, but preventing a future destruction that might occur.
"You will have to persuade your parents yourself. You aren't planning to move to a place where such a magical ritual is taking place with your parents, are you?"
"...Are you crazy? Absolutely not. I plan to deceive Mom and Dad by saying I'm going to live on my own."
Aside from that, all preparations were perfect.
Starting from forging my documents, Alice-san perfectly prepared the 'Round Table Catalyst' I had requested, and even provided the funds needed to purchase a house.
Feeling like I was accumulating a debt, I asked about it, but the answer was simple.
"The most basic materials for making a Flat Snark cost the price of eight brilliant-cut diamonds. Is that explanation enough?"
"...Yep."
Hmm, right. I have nothing left to say about the economic sense of magi anymore.