In Rin's office at Chaldea, Sakura, Fujino, and Olga Marie were gathered together.
Fujino angrily slapped the coffee table in front of her and cursed.
"Where on earth did this rumor come from! If I ever find out who started such a malicious rumor, I'll definitely twist them into a pretzel..."
Sakura, looking at Olga Marie who was sitting on the sofa dazed and hugging her knees, stood up to stop Fujino from continuing. She then sat down beside Olga Marie and gently hugged her to comfort her.
"Olga Marie, you have to pull yourself together!"
"I'm fine, it's just that Father..."
As she spoke, Olga Marie lowered her head even further.
At that moment, Fujino also walked up to Olga Marie and spoke.
"Olga Marie! You must pull yourself together now. The Team A left behind by your father is already starting to get restless because of the rumors. At the same time, the rumors are causing panic within Chaldea. Moreover, Master is not here right now; this is exactly the time when you need to come forward and stabilize everyone's hearts!"
The gentle Sakura frowned upon hearing Fujino's words, but she did not refute her. Instead, she helped Fujino by saying to Olga Marie,
"Olga Marie, although what Fujino said was a bit harsh, she is right. As the descendant of the Animusphere family, you must step forward and fulfill this role now."
Olga Marie sat blankly holding her knees for a long time. It wasn't until Fujino began to show signs of impatience that she finally raised her head, revealing a determined look in her eyes.
"I understand! Thank you, Sister Fujino, Sister Sakura!"
At Marseille Airport in France, Rin looked at the group of Magus blocking her from boarding and asked with suspicion,
"Everyone, what exactly is the meaning of this?"
"Pardon us, Miss Rin Tohsaka. Please allow me to introduce ourselves; we are Enforcers of the Mages Association. You are currently implicated in the murder of the Astronomy Branch Lord Marisbury, and we need to temporarily detain you."
"Huh?"
At the El-Melloi Faction manor in London, England, Kayneth and Waver looked at the news Lorelei had brought with furrowed brows, taking puff after puff of their cigars.
"Lorelei, those fellows really sold Rin out just because of a rumor!"
"Hahahaha, yes! The Democratic Faction and the Neutral Faction joined forces this morning to notify the Mages Association to temporarily seal Rin's position as the Astronomy Branch Lord. They even went as far as to sue Rin!"
Waver flicked his cigarette ash and then asked in confusion,
"For something as major as the temporary sealing of a Lord's status, why did none of us in the Aristocratic Faction receive even a hint of it?"
Lorelei shrugged and threw a document in front of Waver.
Waver picked up the document and looked at it; his pupils instantly constricted. On the document, out of the thirteen departments, every single one had signed except for the Astronomy, Modern Magecraft, and Mineralogy Lords or Department Heads.
"That's right! This is a conspiracy! I've been almost completely sidelined by my own uncles and elders, and you in the El-Melloi Faction didn't hear anything either. I think you should understand what's going on now!"
Kayneth flicked ash onto the document with complete indifference and spoke,
"Do they want to use this to carry out a comprehensive exclusion of our El-Melloi—no, of Rin's influence within the Clock Tower?"
Lorelei looked at the calm Kayneth and Waver in surprise and asked in amazement,
"Oh? Kayneth, you aren't worried in the slightest?"
Waver stood up from his chair, walked to the window, and cautiously drew the curtains to prevent anyone from lip-reading his next words before speaking.
"Lorelei, I remember you also witnessed Servants in the previous Holy Grail War, didn't you?"
"I did. What about it?"
"What did you think of those true Servants?"
Hearing Waver's words, Lorelei recalled the Servants she had seen during the Holy Grail War years ago.
"They were truly the great heroes and kings of their respective eras!"
"Then, what if I told you that Rin has quite a few Servants with her? And that she can use certain means to bring in even more at any time? What would you say?"
"The kind that come out of those fake Holy Grail Wars? Tsk, that sort of thing can usually be defeated by an average first-rate Magus. There's nothing special about them."
"What about the kind from Fuyuki City?"
Lorelei took a sharp breath and looked at the sincere-faced Waver in disbelief.
"Are you saying that the strength of Rin's Servants is the same as those that appeared in the Fuyuki City Holy Grail War?"
"Yes!"
Having received Waver's affirmative answer, Lorelei could no longer sit still. She stood up abruptly and headed for the door, muttering to herself as she walked.
"No! I must go and stop those idiots! The Clock Tower cannot fall because of this!"
Unlike Waver and Kayneth, who were firmly allied with Rin, Lorelei was a political novice. This resulted in her being perennially sidelined within her family regarding political matters. Furthermore, as a traditional Magus, Lorelei had a sort of frenemy relationship with Rin. Although her personal relationship with Rin was good, Lorelei would certainly not hesitate to stab Rin in the back if interests were involved.
Precisely because of this, Lorelei, who controlled two-thirds of the Clock Tower's military power, had initially held a spectating attitude toward the various departments joining forces to trap Rin. However, Lorelei no longer held that mindset. Now, she only hoped she could stop those fools before the situation deteriorated further.
But things never go as one wishes. Soon, while driving to the Clock Tower, Lorelei received almost the worst possible news.
Lorelei gripped her phone tightly and asked into it in disbelief,
"What! Rin killed all the Mages Association Enforcers at Marseille Airport in France? And she's currently flying toward England?"
"Yes, Head of House. That terrifying magical energy on Rin Tohsaka has been detected by observation stations across more than half of Europe. Given her flight speed, she will arrive in London in ten minutes at most!"
"What are those idiots doing right now?"
"After receiving the news, those lords seem to have sent out a large number of Magus to attack the Animusphere castle, hoping to capture her parents before Rin Tohsaka returns."
"Damn it! A bunch of idiots!"
Hearing the decision of those fools, Lorelei angrily threw her phone out the window with force, then stared blankly at the starry sky pattern on the car's ceiling.
Although Lorelei and Rin Tohsaka were collectively known as the Twin Queens of the Clock Tower, Lorelei knew that as early as six years ago, during the Holy Grail War period, she was already no match for Rin Tohsaka. However, she had still confidently believed she could defeat Rin by relying on the Choir. But today, after learning that Rin actually had quite a few Servants in her hands, that confidence had long since been tossed into a deep-sea trench.
After sitting blankly for a long time staring at the car ceiling, Lorelei pulled a key from her pocket and gripped it tightly, murmuring,
"Those idiots! If they want to die, then let them! Just Rin... please, don't destroy the Clock Tower..."
Book Recommendation: "Crossing the Starry Sky with Max-Level Gundam"
Gundams from a VRMMO game and sixteen hundred AI lieutenants cross into a new universe and begin their conquest.
Sleep in Gundams when free, use AIs when busy.
From a single battleship to a planet, and from a planet to the Lord of the Galaxy.
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