Chapter 132 - 45

45- The Mage of Swords

…..

Meditation was always part of Shirou's routine.

Even before he started his path on magecraft he always meditated about something or another; first as a hobby to help him try and find memories of the life he had before Hell and then as something to help him focus.

Over the last few days meditation gained a complete new meaning to him, something that was only possible because he had a whole world to explore. He and everyone he talked about the subject agreed that it was unfair how much his Reality Marble could do.

And they all knew Shirou was only scratching the surface as the power of a Reality Marble was feared and so far they hadn't seen the real reason why. Surely he was strong because of its type but until he mastered it and learned how to manifest its World Egg then most of its power was only in his soul.

But that was already plenty as Shirou had a place to think and practice with his weapons whenever he wanted.

Right now the redhead was moving around his world with Hrunting in his hand fighting against an imaginary opponent. Unfortunately for him his adversary was really imaginary as his world was incapable of creating living things other than blades of grass. Fortunately for him he had all the information he needed for the mental image to be as faithful as it could to the original.

Not that it means he was winning even if his opponent didn't exist, few could claim to ever have defeated someone like the original Beowulf and even as a mental projection Shirou knew he wasn't going to be one of them anytime soon.

Much like his descended Beowulf was a tower of a man practically made of muscle with dark blond hair, his body had far more scars, medals of his adventures that the man had pride in and his strength was so much that Shirou dropped Hrunting and drew Muramasa to keep going with the simulation.

A quirk of this kind of training was that everything that happened was because Shirou believed that it would happen but thanks to his Reality Marble he could see the dozens of moves Beowulf would do if the fight was real.

He usually chose the most savage one as it was the one he was sure the hero would have picked.

While the sword in his hands moved for a block, Shirou knew that if Beowulf was really attacking then Muramasa would break even in its strongest incarnation. He even threw himself back as it was the only possibility he saw to keep himself in the fight even if he knew Beowulf would grab him and kill him then and there.

Amongst the warriors whose weapons he possessed Shirou knew that Beowulf was the strongest physically and there would be no escaping.

'Another loss.' Some people would find it disheartening but Shirou just smiled as the image of Beowulf vanished from his mind. "Then again, he is a legend for a reason. Comparing the power of his muscles to mine and clearly I shouldn't fight him directly." But that was the point of that training anyway, to learn to fight against someone much stronger than him. "Okay, the next one is-"

A presence he grew acquitted quite well over the last few days showed itself, the only other inhabitant of his world; the pegasus.

"Did you like today's breakfast?" Shirou asked as his new ability to communicate with the creature was still something he was working on. There were no words, just impressions but he was getting better. "So can we stop eating that many carrots?" He received a shake of the head. "Come on, that is a stereotype and you know it." The look on the legendary mount's face said plenty. "Fine, less meat, more vegetables. I swear you sound like a kid."

There was no irritation on Shirou's words even as he had to make some concession to the inhabitant of his soul. After using the pegasus' power the redhead learned that apparently the pegasus could taste whatever Shirou ate and that the legendary mount was a little of a picky eater.

Fortunately the mythical horse wasn't aware of everything all the time but always popped on his head by the time of breakfast and insisted he ate more vegetables. At least it was only once a day because not even Shirou thought he could subsist exclusively on carrots. He liked tasting his food too, after all.

However the pegasus' presence was the least of his worries as Shirou had little time to train if he didn't want it to disrupt his routine. Which brought him to focus again on another imaginary opponent; Kokabiel.

While the Cadre wasn't his goal, Shirou had intensified his training to face the White Dragon Emperor first and foremost, he still lacked information to build a proper imaginary opponent from what he observed from Vali.

Kokabiel on the other hand was someone that Shirou watched fighting both seriously and playfully. He also had the memories from Durandal from when it belonged to Vasco Strada to help fill most gaps and because of that he could recreate the Cadre's fighting style perfectly.

The fallen angel was also the closest person he had who came close to the White Dragon Emperor fighting style.

Not power however, in power Vali was still far superior even suppressed. Shirou was sure of it, his nose never lied. That was why he was training with an image of Beowulf before, to get into a rhythm which would put Kokabiel's image a little closer to Vali even if only in the aspect of strength.

A new fight began as Shirou charged against the mental image, Kokabiel's smug smile taunting him as he created a speed to clash against the redhead's sword. Unlike with Beowulf this time there was a competition of strength as they both were closer to each other, Muramasa parried the spear to the side easily and the blade almost touched the fallen angel's neck.

But Kokabiel was a sly fighter and easily avoided the blow before using his size to counter attack. Not that wasn't unexpected, it was a deliberate result from Shirou's attack and an opening he expected to make. The fallen angel was considerably taller than the redhead and a warrior who wouldn't let an opportunity pass by him.

None of that mattered as another sword appeared to parry the spear and the magus used it to slide and attack with both weapons. The long haired man had a face of frustration before dodging the attack but Shirou was sure his offensive would hit, the original Kokabiel wasn't that fast compared to him.

The problem was the reaction after that which would be too difficult to define, personality wise Shirou didn't know what Kokabiel would do. But he knew what he wanted the image of the fallen angel to do. Maybe the original would play around more, maybe he would start like that if he perceived a threat but what he chose was to have the fallen angel take flight, changing the fight completely.

Fighting against flying opponents was still a problem Shirou worked to correct ever since he had to deal with a tengu last year. His first step to solving the problem of reach was archery and that seemed to solve most of the issues. It also saved his life plenty of times so he couldn't complain.

Unfortunately archery wasn't enough and he knew it when he saw how fast Kokabiel could move and how strong Albion's Scaled Mail was. If Yoruichi couldn't pierce that armor then what chance did Shirou have?

Calculating how powerful his own Noble Phantasms were Shirou knew he had some weapons that could help but he lacked the mana to Trace them constantly. They were still part of his training as he called his bow while also preparing Caladbolg as an arrow.

His imaginary opponent didn't let up as he began to attack with a rain of spears similar to how he did against Yoruichi but Shirou was confident he could dodge for a while. At least enough time to prepare his shot and take it as fast as he could. The arrow, if made in Reality, would be brimming with mana and ready to explode so the redhead took that into account.

Kokabiel would still have dodged nine times out of ten which made Shirou grit his teeth before he began to move again. For he knew that if the fallen angel could dodge then the White Dragon Emperor would have even less troubles.

Next the redhead summoned Hrunting, still moving to evade the imaginary strikes before taking the shot. He already knew it wouldn't be enough, his opponent was stronger than it and could shrug off some of the damage if necessary.

Meanwhile Shirou was training, the pegasus watched with middling confusion. Inside his Reality Marble any sword that Shirou ever saw or envisioned could be created but his imaginary opponents were just that; imaginary.

There was no rain of light trying to take him down, no attacker in the sky trying to defeat him, nobody else in the field of swords other than the magus whose soul the place belongs to and an amused legendary mount who found the dance Shirou was doing funny.

Sure the pegasus was intelligent and knew Shirou was training, that didn't make the moves less funny since to the mount's eyes all the redhead was doing was run around doing flips and complicated maneuvers over nothing while shooting at the sky.

A sky that belonged to the magus himself since this was his world so if Shirou wanted he could do much more than shoot at it.

All that just made things funnier for the pegasus and most days the mount didn't mind watching Shirou make a fool of himself. Only that it was starting to get boring for the mythical creature seeing that Shirou was pretty much doing it every single day without much progress.

The creature understood that the imaginary opponent could fly so it was frustrating for the pegasus that Shirou wasn't calling for his power. The legendary mount knew that there was much to be explored when working together with the magus but Shirou wasn't exploring that avenue in the right way.

To be fair the mythical mount also didn't exactly know what were the conditions for them to work together. There was a strong feeling when the White Dragon Emperor showed up but there was just so much that the pegasus could understand.

What the pegasus definitely understood was that Shirou's problem had a solution; himself. The redhead just wasn't noticing it. Not really his fault since much like the pegasus, Shirou didn't understand the nature of their relationship. The mythical mount also wasn't considering any implications of his existence, just that Shirou was being stubborn or stupid as far as the pegasus could understand.

So after watching the magus struggle for a couple of days against imaginary opponents, the pegasus finally lost all measure of patience.

Shirou was so focused on dodging a rain of imaginary spears that he didn't notice the beautiful creature flying behind him faster than the human eye could see.

His senses failed to detect the pegasus until it had grabbed him by the back of his shirt. "Woah!" Shirou let go of Muramasa just in time to avoid harming the pegasus, grabbing the mount's neck instead. "What is wrong with- WOAH!"

Faster than anything Shirou had ever been on, the pegasus took flight and in an instant he was in the skies of his world and still moving.

It was so fast that it took a few tries before Shirou could even open his eyes but eventually he succeeded and when he did the view had only one word; "Amazing."

Traveling faster than any jet the pegasus had ascended to the heavens before starting to slow down. It was only then that Shirou was able to take in the view of his world from his new position; even after moving from what felt like a continent or more there were still swords filling the land, the sun still on the same position besides the distance as a ocean of gold reflected on the grass and blades that seemed to shine.

"I can see why you don't go down more." The pegasus looked pleased with his observation. They slowed down and the pegasus made some quick maneuvers without Shirou understanding why before thinking for a bit. "You are telling me to call you against fliers? You know that isn't how it works, I can't Trace you." The mount looked upset but the magus rolled his eyes. "We already tried that-"

Bakuya showed up in Shirou's hands, making him blink in surprise as he felt an influx of power even greater than before. Easily the redhead deduced it was because of the pegasus but the problem remained.

"Even if, even if, I could Trace a being like you, it would cost more mana than I have in my whole body." An undeniable fact.

Regardless of how the pegasus ended in his soul, Shirou could feel the vastness of the mythical creature's existence. It wasn't a surprise to the redhead when he noticed at first; a legendary mount said to be able to reach the stars and carry Zeus' lightning had to be powerful. There was so much to unpack about what the pegasus was that Shirou himself gave up after attempting to compare the pegasus with Noble Phantasms.

Yet, after hearing what Shirou had to say, the pegasus just gave him a look that said 'So what? Figure it out.'

"Figure out how?" Shirou was really getting good at understanding the legendary creature. "I get that you want to help and that you are powerful but come on, it isn't like the answers are going to fall from the sky. Even in my world!" Things would be simpler if they did. Then he gave out a smile. "But I agree, if I could just call you then I wouldn't have to worry about flying ever again."

Both were of the same mind and their thoughts seemed to resonate with the world itself, Shirou inner and outer thoughts were in sync with the pegasus' and that made something else resonate.

Shirou felt something warm on his chest and looked down- "Ow." Only to snap back to the middle of his classroom, massaging the back of his head while looking up to the teacher.

"Sleeping well?" Fujimura Taiga asked with a strained smile as Shirou massaged his head where she had hit him. "Of all the students I have, I never thought you would be the one falling asleep in the middle of class, Shirou."

Some students laughed at the redhead's situation as the Tiger of Fuyuki looked down on him with a rolled up stack of papers and ready to 'attack' again. "I… have no excuse for that."

"Mou~ You were such a good boy back in Homurahara and now you are sleeping in the middle of the class." The woman sounded sincerely distraught. "Now you can't even pay attention to the lessons anymore. What are your parents going to think? Kiritsugu-san will be very upset with me."

'I very much doubt that.' His father would actually be happy he was being proactive with the threats that may be coming. Still he couldn't tell her that. "I was paying attention. Just focusing on other things too."

"Really? Like what?"

"Meditating about my inner world and having deep thoughts about flying around." Taiga raised an eyebrow and the redhead shook his head. "Resting my eyes because I have been studying too much." Shirou chuckled at some of the faces his classmates had.

"Okay, seems reasonable." Taiga nodded her head and disbelief covered the class. "But you still need to prove you did pay attention or else you are getting extra homework." She opened her book. "Finish the poem we were discussing and we are going to have no troubles. What do you say?"

While it was true that some part of Shirou was still listening to the class, he knew nothing of poetry so there was no reference for him to finish whatever Taiga was talking about even if he had the book in front of him. He didn't even know if he was on the right page.

Salvation came in the form of Xenovia, now dressed in the summer variant of the school uniform. Discreetly she raised her book and made sure to show him the right page. She may not speak or read Japanese fluently yet but she made sure to keep tabs on the lesson as best as she could.

At the distance they were in most people would have troubles seeing the small number but not Shirou thanks to Reinforcement. "Sure thing." He said confidently before opening the book and continuing from the right passage.

Taiga nodded as her student proceeded to finish her poem. "Okay then. Just make sure to rest your eyes after class. Other teachers wouldn't be as nice as I, you know?" In reality most didn't care he zoned out during class. "Now if we go to the next-" She was interrupted by the bell which announced the end of class. "Well, that is it then. See you guys later."

As their teacher departed to have lunch the students began to pour out the class with the same objective while Shirou let out a sigh of relief. 'That was close.'

"Are you alright, Mas- I mean, Shirou-dono?" Xenovia approached respectfully, too respectfully for Shirou's tastes. "Should I get some water? Maybe a towel?"

Seeing how some of the students around looked in their direction, some with jealousy and others with curiosity, almost had Shirou facepalming. "Please, Xenovia, I am pretty sure that I told you to not act like this in school." He whispered carefully.

"But Buchou will be upset if she doesn't treat you with the proper respect." Rin mentioned while sitting down at her desk. The smile on her face showed how much she enjoyed watching Shirou skirm. "Besides it is thanks to her position that she was helping you back there."

That was when Shirou facepalmed. "You noticed."

"Hard not to, Shero." Luvia sat on his desk while giving him her best smile. "Anyone with the right sensibilities could tell that your lights were on but nobody was home." She giggled at the face he made. "Don't worry. None of our classmates are having an awakening or anything like that. It was almost imperceptible except for those with real talent."

"Which surprises me that you managed to do it, Drillhead." Rin sent a smirk in Luvia's direction.

The blonde fixed her hair with her usual elegance. "Huff. Such a thing is easy for anyone with the right upbring, unlike you, Poorhead."

"Must I remind you two that we are in school." Shirou spoke quickly before Rin replied and the situation devolved more. It mostly failed as the rivals looked ready to brawl. "We are going to miss lunch."

Like magic the two separated, Rin marching outside while Luvia smiled in Shirou's direction. "I am going to grab my bento." She skipped to her table while Xenovia shook her head.

"Here I thought my partnership with Irina was… volatile?"

"That is the right word, yes." Shirou replied with a chuckle.

The bluehead nodded in appreciation. "Right, volatile. I wonder how Buchou is going to keep them under control." She moved to her desk and collected two bentos, one was hers and the other was Asia's.

Shirou also had two in his hands. "Mostly by not forcing them to work together. Just because they have the same employer doesn't mean they need to stay close." Yet he sighed as Luvia moved to the door with just one bento in her hand. "Can you please-"

"Get Rin's bento? Already ahead of you, Master." Xenovia quickly popped by Luvia's table and collected a red box. "I still wonder why you let her carry Rin's food. It sounds a little more risky than necessary."

"Because she can't help but look if her food is equal or better." Shirou had to make sure the bentos were equal in size or else the blonde would pout to him all day if hers was smaller or act smug if it was larger. Not that was in his mind at the moment. "I already told you to not call me that."

"Very well, my Lord."

"Neither that."

"Sir, yes sir."

"Not that either."

"But I have to show you the proper respect and calling you sensei in school would be confusing." Xenovia explained with a tilt of her head. "Besides, Liz calls you Master as well."

'Only when you are around.' He tried to explain at least a dozen times before but Xenovia wasn't going to listen. If anything Shirou was impressed by how committed Liz was to that joke. 'This is her payback, I swear. Rias and Akeno also are not helping.'

In the case of his lover she insisted that Xenovia called Shirou by a proper title, even going far and getting him an official noble title just so he couldn't disagree. So now Shirou was considered a minor noble in the Underworld while in the Gremory territory so Rias could gush at Xenovia calling him either Lord or Master.

And Akeno was worse but he was trying to avoid thinking about it, glad the Queen already had recovered after her ordeal with Kokabiel.

Besides, Xenovia looked happy having someone to follow so Shirou at least tried to respect that. "Let's just get to the rooftop."

A nod at what Akeno called a 'respectful distance' later was all Xenovia offered in reply. Honestly Shirou would prefer if the bluehead would act like a friend instead of a subordinate but the girl was more stubborn than him. Try as he might, and with Rias egging her on, the former Exorcist liked acting like a bodyguard.

Looking to the side, Shirou noticed the bento abandoned on a desk and sighed. 'She is still upset.'

"Want me to take it to her?" Xenovia asked after noticing what Shirou was looking at.

He shook his head with a small frown, collecting the box. "She said that until we settled things we weren't friends. I still wanted her to enjoy the food but… Setsuna is too proud sometimes." Opening the box he saw the food he made untouched. "She didn't even take a bite."

"At least Koneko is going to like having more." Xenovia tried to cheer him up. It failed miserably as Shirou seemed to deflate. "I could try and talk to her."

Shirou seemed to panic instantly. "That would only make things worse." The first time Setsuna saw Xenovia she said nothing, just gave the bluehead a glare and promptly moved to interrogate Shirou about the events of the weekend. "She knows you came here because of the Fragments, she is associating you with them… With my failure to not call her for help."

Xenovia could see how bothered he was by the thought. "You know my opinion on that; it was the right call, even if she doesn't like it."

That attempt went better and Shirou smiled sadly. "But she still disagrees." He lamented before starting to leave.

…

"She is still mad huh?" Rias asked as Shirou and Xenovia were the last to arrive at the rooftop.

"She is not even getting her lunch." Shirou raised the extra box before Koneko nabbed it.

"Insanity." The white haired devil didn't hesitate to get both her own bento, larger than everyone else's, and Setsuna's.

"Fufufu, should you say that when you still reap the rewards, Koneko-chan?" Rias noticed her Rook stop just for one moment before starting to devour her lunch.

"Don't be mean, Buchou. Koneko needs her food to keep growing." Akeno added with a smile.

"I am just afraid she is too eager to get Shiro's food. She had plenty of it for breakfast already." Yet both just giggled as Koneko munched down her food. "Maybe it is because of the training she has been doing these days."

From the side Xenovia started to massage her arms to starve off the phantom pain of said training. To help her develop the best possible fighting style to use Durandal and to grow stronger, Shirou pitted the blue haired girl against the Rook to help them both. While the training the Church gave her built the base, the redhead proved that she had yet a lot to learn.

Before her thoughts were consumed by training, Xenovia noticed a cup from a termos being offered to her. "Tea, Xenovia-san?"

"Thanks, Asia." She took the cup and they both smiled. "Also thanks for the book from Italian to Japanese, it is a great help."

"Buchou gave it to me when I was starting and since you are also from Italy I knew it would help."

"Do you two need some coaching?" Tohsaka Sakura asked as she traded a small bento with Shirou. Both of them didn't cook for each other but traded some recipes whenever they had lunch. "If you need, I can help. Hiragana is my specialty but we practice a lot of Kanji in our club."

"Really? That would be fantastic. Maybe we can schedule a weekend?" Asia turned to Xenovia who looked at Shirou in thought.

The redheads noticed Xenovia's hesitation and Rias elbowed Shirou with a giggle. "You can use the ORC if you want." She offered quickly. "We can have some tea and biscuits."

Xenovia still watched Shirou until he frowned. "You can take some time to hang out with friends, you know?"

"But I have training and you're already letting me help you to make swords."

"Yes and you can polish them later, take some breaks." Xenovia still looked confused. "Fine, I will take a day off too so you can't complain."

"Apologies for being so needy." She bowed, making Rias and Akeno laugh.

The Queen took her cue. "No, no. It is the Master's duty to make sure their Servant is well adjusted." She giggled as Shirou's eyebrow twitched.

"Don't worry too much, Xenovia." Rias grabbed her lover's arm. "I will take him on a date to take his mind off things so don't worry and enjoy your lessons."

Still a little worried she wasn't doing enough, Xenovia still nodded and changed the focus back to Asia and Sakura as they started to trade advice about the best ways to practice Kanji.

"Thanks for the save." Shirou whispered. He didn't want to admit but Xenovia eagerness could be suffocating sometimes.

Rias' smile gained an edge. "By the way, Rin was just mentioning that you were… preoccupied during class today." The twin tailed magus waved cheekly when Shirou frowned at her. "You have been getting lost in your head too much these days, still worried?"

"Between the King of Heroes and White Dragon Emperor? Kinda." Shirou admitted with barely any thought. His hand moved to his neck and he pulled out his newly forged necklace with Medusa's Gift. "Besides our newly recent acquaintance, I still haven't forgotten about when Angelo defeated me." He admired the red jewel, remembering the conversation he had with the pegasus.

"I thought you had forgotten about Gilgamesh." Akeno mentioned with a thoughtful expression herself.

Shirou shook his head. "With my sister in his organization, I can't. If Illya really decided to do something then it is going to be big… We better be ready." His words had an effect as many around him looked concerned. He placed Medusa's Gift back inside his shirt. "Trust me when I tell you that my sister may be even more dangerous than Angelo."

"You are joking… Right?" Rin asked with some incredulity. "More dangerous than the King of Heroes? That has to be a stretch."

"Daughter of the Magus Killer." Shirou chuckled at how Rin paled.

"To be fair, you are his son and you aren't that dangerous." Rias touched his cheek with a smile that had him rolling his eyes.

Akeno joined her King on the magus' other side. "Unless provoked, of course."

"Of course." Rias was quick to repeat her Queen's words just to try and fish for a reaction.

"No reason to allow that to interrupt our lives." Luvia held her hand to her breast confidently. "As a former member of the Clocktower I had to deal with enemies to all sides and dangers on more than one occasion when traveling. If you allow them to disrupt your life then they are already winning."

"They are not really disrupting my life… that much." Shirou shrugged and Akeno shook her head.

"Certainly they are your school life. Should we be worried about your grades?" The Queen got closer to whisper in his ear. "Do you need some special tutoring?"

"I will tutor him if he needs to." Rias commented while pulling Shirou a little away from her Queen.

That didn't deter Akeno who just leaned closer. "I don't know, Buchou. Your chemistry grade also needs a bump." Her teasing failed as her King remained stoic.

"I will be certain to remember to mention that during our date this weekend." She declared proudly but Akeno kept smiling.

"Oh, so we are really going on a date this weekend." Shirou smiled at the idea. "For a second I thought that was just something to get Xenovia to relax." Which worked as the bluehead was busy chatting.

"Any excuse to go on a date." Rias spoke with a small wink, making Shirou laugh and nod.

"Movies?" The magus asked.

"Nothing good right now." The Heiress thought for a moment. "Maybe we can go to…"

They started to trade ideas of places to go on the weekend while Issei watched with a frown before taking a bite of his food.

[Someone is jealous…] Ddraig voiced in his head.

'You can bet I am. The guy is building a harem right before my eyes.' Issei wasn't so dense as to not notice how Akeno was as close to Shirou as Rias and offering her own suggestions or how Luvia had moved to his house after she was Reincarnated into a devil. 'That guy… If we aren't careful he will end up sinking his fangs on Asia too.'

[I would call you blind but you chose to not see.]

'What did you say?' He heard the dragon sigh which made the Pawn even more confused. 'No, seriously, what did you say?'

"You are frowning, Ise-kun." A little away from the group was Kiba, distant enough to be mostly for himself but still present and with his typical smile.

"Yeah, Ddraig is being stupid again." He ignored the dragon's protests in his mind. "Besides that? All cool."

"Cool." Kiba focused on his lunch again.

Which actually made Issei a little more irritable. "Dude, are you… are you fine?"

The blond looked at his colleague in confusion. "Yes, why do you ask?"

"Because… you know, right?"

"No, I don't. That is why I asked." Kiba shrugged before drinking his tea.

There was a lot that Issei wanted to say and if he paid attention he would notice that others were paying attention to their conversation as well. "Want to-"

"No, thanks Ise-kun. I am busy."

"You didn't even let me finish." The Red Dragon Emperor looked frustrated and most people noticed.

Kiba didn't want his friends paying attention to him. "I am still processing everything, you know?" The question was for everyone. The Knight really hated the looks of concern he was getting.

"Doing what exactly?" Shirou decided to ask.

"Stuff." Kiba quickly finished his meal. "Besides, I asked for a break for a reason." He left before anything else could be said.

"I don't like this." Shirou commented with a frown but Rias sighed.

"Any ideas what to do?" She knew what Kiba was doing, they all did but none knew how to help. "Then we can only wait."

"What is wrong?" Sakura, noticing the heavy atmosphere from the ORC members, asked.

Rin looked at her sister before shrugging. "Kiba is taking a break from everything."

"What a crass way to explain things, Tohsaka." Luvia couldn't help but comment.

"Did your new life condition give you any better glimpse of things? Because you are acting like the same blonde bimbo."

"Still smarter than you!"

"In your dreams!"

Shirou turned to Rias. "Aren't you going to stop them?" He already knew the answer but it didn't hurt to ask.

"Why? They are cute when they fight like this." The King of Gremory placed a cupcake in her mouth while watching the rivals struggle. On seeing her lover sigh, she chuckled before swallowing. "Either they fight now without magic or later with it. You know how they are."

"Unfortunately." Shirou couldn't deny as foreheads collided and the two girls began to push each other. Even Sakura didn't move to intercede with her sister, that was how hopeless the situation was. "You do know they will still fight later." He tried to focus his food.

"I already have a plan for that." She whispered in his ear. "I am going to drown them into work until it is time to leave. Luvia still needs to make a proper client base and Rin has no choice but to focus on some files." Rias smiled as her plan was revealed.

The redhead magus was about to voice his approval however Akeno, the dutiful Queen she was, moved to burst her bubble. "And when things start to get more normal?" She grinned at the wide eyes of her King. "When things are stable and we have less work, what then? You can't push Rin to file useless reports and sooner or later Luvia will have a decent base of clients easier to manage."

Shirou was amused by how Rias' calm facade began to crack. "Okay! Stop you two!" The Gremory Heiress stood up in a panic. "As your King I demand that you two start to act properly! You represent the Gremory Household! Act like it!"

""Yes, Buchou!""

Akeno took advantage of Rias controlling her two subordinates to take Shirou's side. "You couldn't help yourself, couldn't you?" He asked her but Akeno occupied herself with her food. "Truly you are a devil."

Shirou liked the smile that Akeno gave him after, full of cheer and mischief.

…

Three days later and Sona still felt restless as classes came to a close. Contrary to most students of Kuoh it wasn't because of tests, a boy she liked, assignments or a teacher on their shoulder.

No, Sona Sitri's concerns weren't part of her highschool life but her other life, her real life. She intellectually knew those concerns were always there but during the weekend she was forced to confront them.

Because of those concerns she couldn't rest, could barely eat and despite her posture remaining flawless, her Queen could see how exhausted Sona was. "Tsubaki, did Momo deliver my message?"

"Yes, Kaichou…" Both were moving towards the Student Council's office at a brisk pace but that didn't stop the Queen from looking concerned. "Is that… Never mind."

"Say your piece, Tsubaki. I prefer to have someone loyal but not a thrall." The King of Sitri opened the door with her key. They were the first to arrive thanks to their pace and the fact that the office was on the third floor of Kuoh, the floor of the Third Year. "If you have something in your mind, say it."

Tsubaki watched Sona move to the table closest to the window, her table. "Is that going to be enough, Sona?" The pureblood devil began to sort some files. "Making this Pact is going to be enough? Is that going to ease things for you?"

Opening a drawer, Sona began to throw some of the files on her desk. "It will, Tsubaki." The Queen was surprised by the reply as the King began to throw some of the folders on the trash. "What? You expect me to remain obsessed with everything after this?"

"Sona, you haven't been sleeping and even with magic I can see the lines below your eyes." Sona seemed to ignore the Queen but Tsubaki didn't allow that to detain her. "I am starting to consider calling your sister to try and stop you from doing something you might regret."

Despite the possibility of Serafall showing up being thrown, Sona just kept working, which worried Tsubaki more.

The long haired devil shook her head. "Kaichou, you need to stop and think-"

"That is what I have been doing over the last- No, ever since Kokabiel showed up." Sona admitted, her frustration breaking the mask of a composed student she had. "I remembered, Tsubaki. That day when we were being humiliated by Kokabiel I remember an unfortunate truth."

Swallowing heavily, Tsubaki felt a harrowing aura around her King. "What truth, Sona?"

"We are small fish in a smaller pond." Sona separated one folder while throwing the rest in the trash before creating a magic circle above it. Soon the discarded documents began to catch fire. "The world is a big place and we can only trust our own strength to survive in it."

"But we didn't survive by ourselves."

"We got lucky this time." Sona remembered the question Kokabiel asked before his fight with Yoruichi began. "What were the actual odds of a human with a Reality Marble showing up? Or that a King of Kyoto was around to help? At the same time?" She sent a jet of water to put out the fire after the documents turned to ash. "Astronomical, inconcebible. We got lucky." She slammed her table with her fist. "I don't like getting lucky."

Despite Sona's small outburst, Tsubaki remained calm even if still worried. "And this Pact is going to help?" She approached and opened the file. "She isn't like Emiya Shirou; already showing a project that you need. Also, her family is in decline after her grandfather's mismanagement. You know how it will look when you make the Sitri Pact with her."

"I know that." Sona separated from her table and moved to her window. From there she could see Caliburn and some students taking pictures of it while playing around. "Unfortunately I can't make a personal Pact since our own resources are more limited and she was quite explicit in her file that was the main issue with her project."

"Still quite a gamble. What she is proposing is…" Tsubaki failed to find the proper words. Reading the file again, she still couldn't. "I am to believe that Emiya-kun has nothing to do with this? That you aren't trying to find someone with a similar capacity?"

Sona looked back to her Queen with the first smile she had over the last few days. "Potential and possibility." She looked back to the window as some students tried to remove Caliburn. 'I am going to have nightmares that start like this.' She chuckled. "But, if anything, her research will allow us to equalize the field against Shirou, if the necessity ever shows up. No, if she is successful then we are going to be the strongest Peerage of the Underworld."

"That is an optimistic outlook, Sona. You were just speaking about not liking to count on luck." She placed the folder back on the table. "It seems that you will need luck for that to present any results in a timely fashion."

"Fufufu. Not quite." Tsubaki saw Sona's shoulders tremble as she held back a small laugh. "I have checked her math over the last few days… It is sound." With wide eyes, the Queen opened the file again. "You see, Tsubaki, her father's goal was even grander than hers but when he gave up, she picked the pieces and still managed something extraordinary, even if not as great."

Tsubaki read the file two times, trying to make sense of what her King was saying. "I can't see it. She herself admitted that it is a failure."

"Because she wrote there about both her family's goal, her advancements and didn't consider another possibility, a possibility that I only saw when I saw Shirou fixing Caliburn with a missing piece. The real potential of Noble Phantasms."

Those words shocked Tsubaki again as the rest of the Student Council began to make their way inside. "Kaichou?" Saji called for her and Sona turned with a smile.

"Good afternoon to you all. We still have a lot to take care of after the Caliburn incident but today you will have to work without me." Sona collected the file after giving an amused look to a frozen Tsubaki. "I count on all of you to work diligently but feel free to call me if necessary. Tsubaki was already briefed about the areas that need more attention today."

Something odd considering that Sona was usually the one taking point and delivering orders so her Peerage could execute them. All of them found the concept of having minimal guidance strange and their faces didn't hide it.

"Why is that, Kaichou?" Tsubasa was the first to ask.

"I have a meeting later, Momo knows with whom." The white haired devil jumped when most eyes turned to her. "It is scheduled to be in a few minutes so we can get everything prepared and I still have some things I would like your help with." Still confused but ready for anything their King needed, most of her peerage stood to attention.

Not Tsubaki though, she was still trying to figure out what Sona was doing risking her reputation and potential Pacts while failing to come up with an answer. 'She thought about it over the last few days? Since when?' Her eyes never left the King, trying to divine what she had figured out.

However Sona wasn't focused on her Queen. "Tomoe, could you please run to the lunchroom? I requested a few cookies made for the occasion."

"Yes, Kaichou."

"Reya, can you prepare some tea?"

"Immediately." The Bishop moved to the small kitchen besides their office.

Sona was proud of her peerage efficiency, even confused they still stood ready and waiting for orders. "The rest of you can get back to work. Rias already dealt with the Underworld side of things and offered to review some of the protocols applied in the last emergency." Her oldest friend seemed desperate to get more work, much to her amusement. "I would like to have our side finished before the weekend."

"""Hai!"""

Tsubaki finally snapped as the rest of their team began to move. "Kaichou, are you sure about this? It sounds too good to be true."

"It isn't." Sona replied swiftly. "It will only be true if we work for it." When she turned to look at her, Tsubaki saw the determination in her King's eyes.

Without saying anything else, Sona marched towards the double doors on the other side of the Student Council. The meeting room was exactly that, a room designed for meetings between parents and teachers or any other.

Even though it was more spacious than most classrooms, most of it was dominated by a giant desk with enough seats for twenty people. It would also be easy to add or take out chairs from the table or to place them close to the walls. There were two other doors, one connected to the Director's office and another to the hallway.

Letting out a sigh and checking her watch, Sona noticed she had ten minutes before her meeting had to start. With some math she could predict that Reya would arrive with the tea in eight and would probably also bring the cookies. Not as much time as she would like to have but Sona was stubborn and wanted everything done as soon as possible.

It was still enough time for her to unwind a little as she turned on the AC and sat down in a chair. Sona couldn't stop herself from closing her eyes for a moment before snapping herself awake.

'Stupid need to sleep. Why do devils even have that? Aren't we creatures of the night?' The Sitri Heir concentrated and felt her reserves of mana taking another dip down. It was how she managed to sustain herself over the last few days. "Better." She began to massage her temples. 'Still, using magic as a replacement won't cut it out for much longer. I need to rest… Really rest.'

A closed fist hitted her forehead as Sona tried to focus. The comfort of the chair had reminded her how many times she came close to falling asleep during class which made her frustrated. She then used that frustration to fuel her anger against Kokabiel and herself, trying to fight off the impotency of that situation.

Yet she knew that to keep going like that wasn't healthy, the method of trading mana for stamina wasn't something that should be abused and she used it to cover weeks of work in days.

She just couldn't stop as everytime that Sona closed her eyes she remembered facing death and surviving by luck. "Never again."

Once Sona thought she could take her time with things, that she wouldn't rush like Rias did and make a decision out of despair. Fear had a way to crush such thoughts and now she felt desperate even if the danger had, theoretically, passed. All because of the kind of world she lived in and the threats that could still come.

Picking up the folder again Sona opened it up and began to read as she prepared for the meeting. She was tired over the last few days of thinking about the Pact she wanted and then setting things up to make it a reality. In fact she had left most of the work in Fuyuki to her peerage as she tried to rush and cover every angle all at once.

Truthfully she once agreed with Tsubaki's point of view that this venture was risky, rushed and not like most of her plans at all. Yet Sona couldn't help but feel the need to take a leap of faith.

'It is all Rias' fault.' She puffed her cheeks, exhaustion made her thoughts she usually wouldn't have. She quickly shook her head to get rid of them. "Get your head back in the game, Sona. She doesn't know her own potential and it's up to you to make sure you will have a fruitful partnership." Her fingers touch the picture of the girl she would soon have a meeting with. 'I will never underestimate the human potential ever again.'

Luck wasn't the thing moving Sona for while she was gambling on something that hadn't happened yet, it was logic that made her act. For the last few days she separated, quantified, studied and discarded all the information of every single magician requesting a Pact with the Sitri Clan. Those were not only from Kuoh and some of the offers had decades of age.

At the present Sona knew none of them could give her what she wanted for a fact. 'Time will be my ally once again. I shall nurture her, help her reach her potential. If her family has nothing that I need now, they will in the future.' A very close future if her calculations were right.

Sona could only hope they were because if not then the cost of failure would be high, both to her reputation and future. A Pact wasn't something that should be easily given and unlike Rias, who settled the value of hers with immediate results, she needed to wait and see. She knew time would be necessary, specially if her future partner proved to be incompetent.

Not that she ever did as Sona also checked her school work, projects and reputation. Sure while these were not really a measure of how things would be between them it setted a precedent. In those Sona saw a competent, if slightly shy, young woman who was anxious to prove herself.

And the Sitri Heiress was willing to take the chance, if only because the potential profits would be exceptional. If things worked well then in the short term her family would have access to a considerable stock of Noble Phantasm, infinity if things were ideal.

For that future, for her future and her ambitions, Sona focused on reviewing the file again, working in her head everything she would say to make sure things went perfectly. The anxiety was enough to starve off the sleep as the King of Sitri repeated the words in her head again and again.

She barely noticed when her Bishop arrived with the trail she requested, her tired nod was confused with approval instead as Sona was left alone with her thoughts for a few more minutes.

There was a knock on the door a minute earlier than anticipated. "Kaichou, your guest has arrived."

"Send her in." Tsubaki opened the door and Olga Marie Animusphere looked around nervously before getting inside. Sona stood up calmly and offered a gentle smile. "Welcome, lady Animusphere."

Not expecting to be greeted so warmly, Olga Marie barely managed to keep the surprise off her face. "Lady Sitri." She bowed as Tsubaki watched her shake a little. "Good afternoon. What can… should I do for you today?" Already her nerves were starting to get her as she fumbled her words.

Expecting a reprehension, instead Sona just chuckled. "Please, have a seat. There is tea and cookies if you want and I can ask for anything else if you so desire." The white haired girl took a moment for herself before taking a single step and Sona frowned. "Tsubaki, you may go."

The King was considering that privacy may help reassure Olga Marie but instead it backfired as when Tsubabki left the magus felt a deep sense of isolation. Her mind started to play tricks and her insecurities began to crop up. Despite all this her poker face remained steady.

Just not perfect as Sona could tell her guest was even more nervous, she had to hold back a sigh and moved to serve the tea to try and help her relax. "Lady Animusphere…" She paused for some consideration. "Or do you prefer Olga or perhaps Olga Marie?"

Once again the girl was surprised at Sona's attitude. "Ah. Whatever you prefer… Lady Sitri."

"I would prefer to call you by something you are comfortable with." She offered a cup which was quickly accepted. Sona was half impressed that the magus' hands weren't shaking. 'I must remember that she is younger than me. Even if both of us were raised to be nobles, she isn't mature enough for games. A more direct approach may be necessary.' She considered it. "Olga," the single name almost made the girl jump, "understand something; I don't have meetings like this with magicians. Can you understand what that means?"

Before she jumped to answer, Olga tried to dissect what Sona was trying to say. The pureblood was correct in her assertion that she was properly raised to be a noble.

Olga Marie Animusphere could already think like one. "You mean… Are you here…" She shook her head, doing some breathing exercises to calm down. There was a proper code of conduct she had to follow. "Pardon my manners, Lady Sitri. I don't want to impose." She breathed again and Sona nodded in approval at her control. "If this is just a friendly meeting, Olga will just do it. If this still is a meeting of business, but a more relaxed one, Olga Marie will suffice."

She left out the fact that her family name meant that it was exclusively business, even aggressively since that name would imply some distance. "Olga Marie then." Sona chuckled again at how relaxed the girl became. "I have taken a long time to consider who would be the magician I would make a Pact with." Immediately she was alert again but the nervous energy changed from 'anxiety' to 'excitement'. "After my… scuffle with Rias during our tennis match, I started to pay close attention to your file and I noticed some interesting things." Some out of guilt, others out of curiosity.

Knowing that she almost traumatized the young girl before her was enough to make Sona move to make amends and even if a Pact wasn't on the cards at that point, that changed once she investigated further.

When the file was dropped in front of Olga she made sure to not look at it until it was opened for her. "Revealing Family secrets is a thing most magi wouldn't risk, however the Sitri's word is very respected." Respected enough to take that risk. "I can only guess how many Heirs did the same."

"Hundreds." Sona was finding it amusing how much Olga struggled to keep her composure. "Of course I took my time researching all candidates, interviewing them and even their families. That was when none of them had anything to offer." She turned around to look at the window. "Tell me about 'Chaldea'."

Like a deer in the highlights, Olga wanted to bolt from the meeting. "It was a failure." However she chose to hold her ground and be honest. "My grandfather and my father, both of them deemed it as a complete and utter failure."

Sona waved her concerns off. "Humor me, if you will." When she saw the hesitation return, she sighed. "Olga Marie, you are already here, talking to me, in a position most magicians would kill to be." The Student Council President's hand landed on her shoulder delicately. "Trust that I have something in mind and just tell me about it."

Gulping heavily, Olga Marie nodded. "The 'Chaldea Initiative' existed because of a premonition or a possibility that Humanity would be extinct in a close future by a power beyond understanding." She gave the broad strokes, things on her file but Sona just nodded. "It consisted of a system to call forth Servants from Human History, pair them up with proper Masters and send them through Rayshift to deal with the threat."

"And it was canceled… because your family predicted it would fail?" Olga Marie nodded slowly. "Elaborate, please."

"It was…" Olga shook her head. She tried to look at things objectively. "Two things stopped the project from getting properly started; the lack of funds and the system to summon Servants. My father theorized that it was because the Throne of Heroes was more 'distant' than expected; it was impossible to even call for one." She took her time to organize the ideas in her mind. "More details were impossible to acquire as the Einzebern couldn't be contacted. Without someone that understood Heaven's Feel we were stuck, especially since their ritual never got off the ground as well."

"And the gods were no help either since they didn't want humans with that much power." Sona pointed to a specific line in her file and Olga Marie blinked in surprise. "However you didn't give up on the prospect. Care to share why?"

"Because it is possible, just harder than we thought!" Olga Marie noticed she shouted and quickly covered her mouth. Sona just smiled and waved for her to continue. "I want to summon a Servant, one of the Legends from Human History." With a look the Heiress of Sitri showed she knew there was more. "I wanted to prove to my father… that it was possible."

"And you managed to summon, what was that you called? Craft Essences?"

Olga Marie shook her head. "Not Servants, not even close. Craft Essences are powerful reagents, particles of energy that carry their own history and can be used in a number of ways… It is how I have managed to pay my tuition."

"I am well aware." Sona didn't look down on it, if anything it made her respect Olga Marie even more. Despite being the heir of her family, Olga wasn't like Luvia, not the person the Head wanted as the Heir. "And you managed to sell many of those to magicians and pay for all bills since you came to Fuyuki while also funding some of your research. Not bad for someone who showed up here with the bare minimum." The bare minimum her father was willing to give her, that was.

Taking the complement with a blush, Olga turned to focus back on the talk. "Chaldea never is going to happen, my father made sure to bury all evidence he even attempted such a thing… Only for me to dig it all up." It was the main reason why they haven't talked ever since she moved to Japan. "In either case I can't see myself summoning a Servant anymore."

"So it is really impossible?" Sona didn't sound disappointed, far from it. "And what about a Noble Phantasm?" Olga Marie's eyes went wide as the idea had not ever crossed her mind. "At their most basic form, Noble Phantasms are the crystallization of Legends, of their History. That is why it is common that most Noble Phantasms are born from objects deeply tied with those Legends." She commented while looking back outside, Caliburn sitting alone on Kuoh's ground. "While it is true that you failed to summon a Servant, maybe you got close, close enough to touch the mystical Throne of Heroes. Those Craft Essences must come from somewhere after all." Sona shrugged, still not looking back at Olga. "Of course all that is theoretical. Even Counter Guardians may just be things of myth since nobody saw one of them."

Except that the being who spread the knowledge about Noble Phantasm also spread the knowledge about Servants and Counter Guardians. Sona frowned when she realized she had no idea of who started that, who wrote the first thing about such existences.

'Then again, that is just one more thing lost to time.' She shrugged before turning to Olga Marie. "If you-" Her tongue got stuck in the ceiling of her mouth once she saw the face the magus was making.

It was a look of deep concentration and application as Olga Marie took a pencil and paper from her school bag and began to write faster than Sona could keep up with. Soon the page was full but instead of missing her stride the young girl grabbed a notebook and kept writing like mad.

Had Sona known no better she would have claimed that Olga Marie was possessed by the way her hand and eyes were moving frenetically. Page after page was filled with dozens of mathematical formulas and magic symbols, some of them which Sona had no idea what they meant.

After twenty minutes of constant work, Olga finally stopped. "It is possible." She muttered in astonishment.

"More tea?" Sona's voice snapped the girl back to reality as she looked up to the offered cup. "You were drinking while working but had none of the cookies yet. I had to ask for a favor to get some of them." Only then Olga noticed how hungry she was and hummed in pleasure after the first bite. "Astonishing."

Yet Sona didn't focus on the girl but instead on the notes in her hands, on how much work she had done in just twenty minutes.

"Took me days to come to a similar conclusion." From a magic circle Sona dropped papers with her own penmanship and similar equations. Another difference was that Sona used a lot more paper. "And some of the things here… I can't even understand them."

Olga blushed again. "It is based on the Da Vinci theorem that Velvet-sensei taught us." She showed some older notes in her notebook, notes that pertained to similar procedures. "Leonardo Da Vinci was a genius, even as a magus. Thanks to his equations… I think it is possible but… They would need to be bound to people and those people also would need conduits."

"Evil Pieces already filter and help regulate mana." Sona was quick to point out, making Olga Marie's eyes grow wide again. "If you bound the Noble Phantasm to it, then it could remain in our plane of existence. Maybe it will draw a small reserve of mana when inactive-"

"It wouldn't need to, not if we manage to make it shift into a spiritual form. Like a Servant would." The girl was so excited she jumped from her seat. "Sure it would still be impossible to summon a Servant with those augmentations but the crystallization of a Legend would not only be viable but even easier. Galahad's shield can still access the Throne and maybe some heroes wouldn't mind lending their weapons." At that she frowned and began to bite her nail. "But we wouldn't be able to choose the Noble Phantasm either."

A little disappointed but still excited, Sona put her mind to work. "And what would be the criteria then? I read somewhere that for a Grail War, a catalyst was necessary to summon a proper Servant."

Olga Marie shook her head. "No, a Servant could be summoned without one, it would just depend on the summoner." She blinked before snapping her fingers. "That is it! Without a proper method then the Noble Phantasm will depend on the person but with the right preparations it is possible!" She smiled with pride and confidence. "Unless there are some complications then I can assure you to get at least a Noble Phantasm to one member of your peerage."

Sona smiled in return, happy with the progress made. "I can't wait for that. Supposing that our calculations are right then it would take you at least a few years-"

"By the end of this year." Olga didn't even notice she interrupted Sona. "If I have a proper workshop and some help I can do it. Some of the Craft Essences that I already have can be used as fuel."

There was no guarantee that things would really work but Sona couldn't challenge Olga's enthusiasm. She could only match it. "Isn't that a little too fast?"

"Not if I use the 'Chaldea System' as a base. With Galahad's shield, with the Round Table where the heroes garther, there will be some of them ready to help us." At the same time it could fail because of a thousand different reasons but Olga ignored any possibility of failure. She was ready to make things work or die trying. "I may even be able to do it faster if I drop off school and-"

"That I can't allow." It was Sona's turn to take over the conversation. "As the Student Council President I won't allow you to throw away your education for any reason."

"But-but-but this is important. We are going to make History." Olga Marie protested as hard as she could.

Until Sona fixed her glasses and gave the girl a harsh look. "We will do so anyway but your education is more important right now." She placed her hands on Olga's shoulders. "The work can be done at any time, we just need to get there. But you are in an important phase of your life and I refuse to let you waste your potential."

"That-that-" Despite being a magus and having specialized education, the look Sona had was enough to leave her with no action.

"My dream is to create a school in the Underworld, a school where any devil can learn and grow regardless of their rank or blood." Sona smiled gently. "I would be a hypocrite if I was to allow you to give up any piece of your education." Olga looked at the pureblood devil in shock. "I suppose that since you know the truth, I shall ask you to share your fate with mine."

Another magic circle appeared and a contract landed on Sona's hands. Olga fully understood what was being implied; the Sitri Heiress had shared her dreams and ambitions and now it was the moment to seal the Pact.

Of course the Animusphere girl could reject Pact. Until she signed it, there were no obligations from her part. After Sona opened her heart it was up to Olga to decide if she wanted it or not.

So she quickly grabbed the paper and a pen before slamming them on the desk. Not wishing to look over eager, Olga stopped just short of signing to look back at Sona who had a grin on her face.

Hesitation born of apprehension had her hand shaking once again. "Are you sure? There is no guarantee that we can make it work. I have nothing ready and even if the math is sound… It may be impossible to reach the Throne of Heroes."

With a small smile, Sona raised her cup of tea like it was a glass of wine. "There is an old saying in the Underworld when it comes to Pacts; your enemies will be my enemies, your allies, my allies and I shall be with you forever, even if you are no longer there." She took a sip of her drink, her expression calm. "I trust that you will deliver and I shall do the same in kind. Sign it."

No longer hesitating, Olga signed her name with a small flourish. 'I did! I got a Pact with one of the Pillars!' She was proud of her accomplishments but she knew the work was just beginning.

"Shall we celebrate? Do you want a party to go with it, Olga?" Sona asked casually and the girl shook her head.

"Not needed. I am just… relieved, I think. I managed to get a Pact with the Sitri!" She jumped from her chair again while throwing her arms up. Every bit the girl she was. "Sorry." Olga's blush was something that was starting to endear Sona. "I mean, I apologize, lady Sitri."

"'Sona'. We are partners now, almost family. Equals in everything." The pureblood devil declared proudly, happy her magician was excited for getting a Pact with her. "So you can call me 'Sona' and you don't need to be shy around me. I won't tell anyone."

Those words were both a tease and a promise but they were told so gently that Olga could just fix her uniform and bow in gratitude.

Which Sona disliked. "Olga, I already told you; we are partners. Equals. You don't need to bow to me." She handed the papers to her new magician. "And once, not 'if' but 'once', this succeeds then we will never need to bow to anyone again."

Maybe she was being too optimistic but between Shirou, Xenovia and Freed's display of power with Noble Phantasms Sona was sure that Olga's research had game changing potential.

And that certainty and assurance spread to the girl who looked much more confident. "I won't let you down, Sona. You will see. All your peerage will have tailor made Noble Phantasms in no time."

"One step at time, Olga." But the idea certainly was appealing. "For now we shall focus on getting you started. I have already begun to set up a budget and locations for potential labs and workshops both in Fuyuki and in Sitri territory." Another reason why the Pact needed to be with the Clan and not just her. "Ah, and don't make promises like that until you know everyone that you have to work with."

"What do you mean? Are you getting a new member?" Olga's quick deduction pleased Sona further.

"I already have. You know him, one of your teachers." Sona could see the wheels spinning on the younger girl's head, trying to figure out who it could be. "Don't try too hard, his attitude barely changed with Reincarnation and he is a private person by nature. I find it hard you will guess." Olga accepted her partner's words easily even if it was clear she was still thinking about it. "Ah, I almost forgot. About that threat your family predicted…"

"After all the prophets lost their 'sight', all everyone could do was prepare." She was, of course, referring to the event of ten years ago. "Even our equations and systems can't predict the future anymore which speaks of something concerning."

"Power. Enough power that whatever it is this threat, it can hide itself." It was common knowledge and another concern that all Factions had. Nobody wanted to start anything because nobody knew what was coming. "Is your family preparing anything?"

Olga looked disappointed. "With the Clocktower… They are all working on the same solutions but whatever it is, we aren't sure." Then she blinked as she remembered something. "However my father still believed we should focus on the 'Chaldea Initiative' despite his own resentment of it."

Such an observation made Sona curious. "Why is that? DIdn't he try to bury the project?"

"Because he didn't think it was possible without him." Pride was Marysbury's downfall and Olga refused to make the same mistake. "Of one thing he was sure; it isn't that the threat Chaldea had to face is gone but it grew."

"'Grew'? He thinks that is the same thing but bigger?" Sona found the notion apaling since Chaldea was supposed to summon Servants, the Heroes of Humanity, to combat the first threat. "What made him so sure?"

"The timing and his equations but only he is sure of that." The white haired magus looked down in shame. "Nobody else believes him and he locked many of our secrets because of it. Because he thinks everyone else would abuse it and ignore the threat."

Certainly many would abuse the power of calling forth Servants. Incomplete or not, the Third Magic was considered a True Magic for a reason and a downgraded version of it would be enough to take over the world.

"And what do you believe?" Sona knew all that but the person who mattered to her was the daughter, not the father.

Olga Marie Animusphere nodded with all the pose, grace and resolution of a noble lady. "That we will be ready, whatever comes."

"We will." The two smiled, the Pact sealed.

…..

"I am going." Kiba announced without ceremony when the ORC gathered together to leave for their club.

"Wait, Kiba." Rias' voice was enough for the Knight to hold mid step. "Can't you at least come back with us for a bit. Even if it is just for dinner."

All members of the club waited for the reply, some even with bated breath and the hope that Kiba would grant the request. They were already surprised he stopped in the first place.

"I…" For a moment it seemed Kiba was going to grant the request only for all hope to be squashed when he turned to the exit. "See you guys tomorrow." His pace was slow but he was going.

"Buchou-"

"Let him go, Ise." Akeno sighed as Rias looked depressed. "He needs some time for himself. Trust me, the ordeals of the weekend were… unpleasant."

Rias agreed with her Queen, in part. "The problem is not giving him space but what he is doing with it."

"We could drag him to the club." Xenovia suggested. "I mean, aren't you his King? Can't you order him to stay?"

Shirou placed a hand on Xenovia's shoulder. "That would only make things worse in the long run."

"Better than before." Liz pointed out. "Not asking for fights everyday."

"He was, wasn't he?" Luvia asked as she barely could remember it, most of her time during Kiba's early struggles was spent hunting the Order of Pendragon.

"Yes and I can't believe that this situation can be considered an improvement." Rias frowned but began to walk to the club. "Looks like I will be attending his clients again."

Her lover looked concerned. "That is not getting in the way of your work, is it?" Shirou saw Rias shake her head but wasn't convinced. "I know you still got a request yesterday."

"An exorcism but I sent Rin to deal with it." For whatever reason the twin tailed magus looked away with a blush and no desire to talk. "And she is also covering most of my paperwork. Makes me tempted to give her a raise."

"You will?!" Rin charged to Rias' side, much to Luvia's amusement.

"Ohoho. Still desperate for money, Tohsaka?"

Asia gave her fellow blonde a sad look. "Can we please not fight again?" Her sad look made Rin hesitate in replying and Luvia saw no choice but to back down.

Their group soon arrived at the club and with a wave of her hand Rias opened the door. "Buchou! Guys! Welcome!" Gasper called from the couch in the entrance, a game controller in his hand.

"Welcome." Medusa greeted as well, much more subdued. Unlike Gasper who stood up and began to fidget, the goddess remained sitting down with a book in her hands. "I see Kiba is out again." Despite saying that her eyes never left the book.

"Unfortunately." Rias patted Gasper's head gently. "How are you, Gasper? No headaches because of the sun? Are you comfortable outside your room? Has Medusa been a good company? Do you need some blood?"

The small Bishop shook his head slowly. "No, Buchou. I am fine. Medusa-san is kind too. She even played a racing game with me."

"See! There is nothing wrong in being a little forceful." Xenovia spoke confidently.

"You barred him from his room…" Koneko reminded the bluehead.

"Even I would call that more than 'forceful'." Akeno added but the former Exorcist wasn't bothered.

If anything she was proud of the little devil. "But he has no problems staying out. He isn't even shaking with me around." Something he always did with strangers. "Keep going like this, Gasper, and you will be walking around in no time."

"Eeee! I don't wanna!" The former dhampir retreated back to the couch, placing Medusa between him and Xenovia.

Rias chuckled a little and Shirou shook his head. "Baby steps, Xenovia. Baby steps." He reminded his follower who nodded. 'Not that Gasper can leave the building without Sirzechs' permission. His control of his sacred gear is still too unstable.'

The members of the ORC began to spread around as Akeno moved to the kitchen to make some tea. In the past their get-together would be in Rias' office but now there were so many of them that they needed more space. Sure business was still conducted in the office and the magic circle was still there but the entrance had more space and was comfortable to everyone.

"We should get a pool table." Issei couldn't help but comment as he noticed a lot of empty space close to the stairs.

He was sitting beside Asia who looked confused at his suggestion. "A pool? Inside the house?"

"No, Asia, he means a pool table." Xenovia moved to explain what pool was while Rias replied to Issei's suggestion.

"No can do, Ise. While having some things on the entrance is fine, this place is the first thing that guests see when they arrive at our base. Considering this is a place of business, that would be slightly unprofessional." She noticed how her Pawn looked disappointed but didn't protest. "However, we have plenty of empty rooms…"

"You wanna make a gaming room?" Shirou asked with contemplative expression. "It's not like we spend too much time around here for it." They pretty much worked in the ORC with the devils using it as a hub for their contracts and Shirou having his workshop and forge.

However Rias had a retort ready for him. "Not like you are using the school for studying these days." He scratched his head but his lover kept going. "How many times has it been this week? Rin, did you count?"

"I managed to catch him 'meditating' at least eight times." Rin sounded proud and Luvia looked to the side with some irritation as she only noticed seven.

Then Rias' turned to Xenovia who was still messing with Gasper a little. "And you, Xenovia?"

Instead of replying to her, Xenovia looked at Shirou who shook his head as quickly and discreetly as possible with Rias by his side.. "Eight times seems right." Shirou's face palmed as Rias giggled.

"More than eight then." The pureblood devil deduced but Xenovia kept her face neutral. "So maybe we do need a game room of some kind since you have been working, constantly, over the last few days."

"Can't help it. I am just curious about my Reality Marble." He shrugged. "Not like it is that much work," Rias' look made clear she didn't believe him, "it really isn't. Most of the time I just talk with the pegasus."

"How has he been?" Medusa asked, finally setting her book down. "I honestly am curious how your relationship works since he is living in your soul."

"Is the pegasus a 'he'?" Xenovia asked with some wonder.

"Yep." He replied without hesitation. "It isn't strenuous or weird. Most of the time he just flies around or wants to hang out."

"Or want you to eat certain foods so he can taste them." Rias found the first time Shirou explained that part very amusing. "At least it is only once a day since carrots all the time could get stale."

Her lover felt he should say something in the pegasus defense. "He likes apples too." The legendary mount voiced his agreement from the Reality Marble.

"Does he shit on there?" Issei asked with a laugh and Shirou gave him a look.

"Does Ddraig do it in your soul?" That shut the brown haired Pawn up as Ddraig was a giant dragon and he didn't even want to think about it. Shirou chuckled a little at the face Issei was making. "It is fine. They don't have bodies so they don't need to do that."

[I would like to enjoy food again, thank you very much.] The glow of the Boosted Gear gem announced Ddraig joining the conversation. [Can't wait for my partner to grow a little more for that.]

Issei blinked in surprise before looking at his hand. "Wait a minute. We get to share our senses too? Why isn't it working then?"

[Because you are still too weak.] Ddraig replied bluntly and Issei felt a sting on his pride. [Usually it happens when my partners unlock my Balance Break, our souls get more in sync. Because Emiya's situation is related to his Reality Marble he doesn't have a sacred gear on the way so the pegasus gets more benefits.] The dragon let out a groan of lament. [A lot of benefits. What I wouldn't give to have a sky to fly around or even some swords to admire.]

"Anyhow, Shirou, don't try to change the subject. I know you are using your Reality Marble to train." Rias recognized her lover trying to hide that fact. "Pegasus or not, you should relax a little."

"I am relaxing right now." It was a weak defense and Shirou knew it. "Look, you know why I am like that but I promised that I wouldn't go overboard and you know I will keep my word."

Rias sighed but relaxed. "Sorry. Just a little worried."

"Nothing more normal than that but I still want to understand more of what you plan to do with the pegasus." Medusa commented. "You even removed my Gift from your armor and while your way to use it makes sense, Reality Marble and all, you have barely practiced with- Ah, that was you trying to relax." The little goddess realized. "My bad. Please continue."

"Is it right to keep calling him just a pegasus when we already know he has a personality?" Akeno commented as she returned with the tea. She placed the trail in the table at the center and everyone moved to get their cups. "Seems kinda… impolite to not call him by his name? Is he even hearing our conversation?"

Quickly Shirou checked. "I think he is but doesn't care. He cared when we talked about apples though." Akeno threw him one. "Thanks."

"Oh, oh, can we name him?" Gasper was jumping on his seat at the idea.

"Dibs." Liz called before anyone else could but Shirou shook his head and turned to Medusa.

"Since he is your 'son' I think you should name him." The little goddess gave him a look of irritation. "Your ghlare may be cute but you are still his mother."

"Legends do say the pegasus was born from your blood." Rin couldn't help but say as Medusa turned her look of frustration on the twin tailed magus.

Rias got in on the joke. "Congratulations, however delayed." And also received a look from Medusa. "But seriously, Akeno is right. A name is something important and that shouldn't be brushed off."

"Ho, I may have some that may be used. During my childhood I had plenty of horses and while I named a few, others came with names that represented their beauty and-"

"We get it! You were rich and probably had an army of ponies and pets while growing up." Rin interrupted with a glare, daring Luvia to continue. "Do you think anyone else here wants to talk about how many pets you had?"

Rias conspicuously avoided everyone's eyes as she also had many pets when little. Not horses though but griffons that her family tended in their territory as one of their many businesses.

Them and her brother's Pawn who didn't mind playing with her.

"I agree with senpai." Koneko said as she summoned food from a magic circle for her and Liz. "A mother should give a child their name."

All turned to Medusa who seemed lost in thought. "He may be my 'son' in a sense but I am not his owner." She pointed to Shirou. "You are the one who ventured inside the monster's cave and returned alive. He is your reward." She shook her head. "No, it is better for the owner to give pegasus a name. Just make sure it is something Greek."

"I thought you hated Greece." Shirou pointed out but Medusa shook her head again.

"I have the gods from my homeland but I never had anything against its people, as foolish as they were." She let out a radiant smile as memories began to flood. "I miss the beaches, those were my favorite places, the sun on my skin after a day of rain. To just sit down and watch the waves."

Her nostalgia was radiating as much as the smile and even someone like Gasper, who never went to a beach in his life, could see himself in that picture.

Shirou then went and patted her head. "Sorry we haven't taken you to one yet." It was never a priority, much to his shame. "We will go on a weekend, maybe next month or so." Medusa was surprised. "What? You could just have asked and would have taken a day off."

"A day at the beach? Sounds like an excellent idea." Rias voiced her approval as many nodded at her words. "We are going to have to schedule some things but a day of vacation sounds nice." She looked at Rin. "Does Fuyuki have any beaches?"

"Yeah, a good one." Rin remembered going there once when she was little. "It is not private or anything but-"

"Doesn't matter. If we want privacy then we just raised a couple of boundary fields." Akeno's words were met with approval and she turned to the little goddess. "Just so people don't stare too much."

With a lecherous smile, Issei thought 'For more than one reason.' As he couldn't help but imagine Rias and Akeno in bikinis. He then felt a hard poke on his side. "Ow!"

"Pervert." Koneko called him out and some people liked it.

"I have never been at the beach either. Sounds fun." Xenovia commented and Rias gave her a look that warned the bluehead that she was planning something.

"Then we have to update your closet again~" Dolling up Xenovia was becoming one of Rias' favorite pastimes. Xenovia couldn't help but shiver as Akeno also had a grin on her face.

After she decided to stay in Fuyuki they went on a 'girl's night' out to buy her clothes and while she was happy to not have to spend the money, that was still one of the most harrowings experiences of Xenovia's life because Rias, Akeno and to some extent Medusa had fun choosing clothes and having the former Exorcist try them.

The pureblood devil ended up getting anything she found appealing on Xenovia which gave her quite a closet for every season.

Medusa didn't partake in the teasing as the idea of going to the beach occupied her mind. "Thank you." Shirou nodded, happy that the goddess was happy. "Just do me a favor, don't call him 'Perseus'." The eyes of the goddess grew fierce. "If you do then there will be war."

"I won't, promise." That was enough for Medusa who nodded once again. "We could go this weekend- no, wait, I have my 'duel' with Setsuna on Monday."

"Is she still set on that?" Akeno asked with a frown.

Luvia frowned and folded her arms in frustration. "More like she refuses to speak with any of us." There was some irritation there as well. "She feels spited because nobody called her about the Excaliburs-"

"That is not it." Shirou interrupted the newly reincarnated devil. "It is more complicated than that." Only he would know the exact contents of their 'fight' or why Setsuna challenged him for a rematch of their first meeting, this time with proper equipment. "She asked for a week to prepare and I will give it to her. I just wish that she would at least talk with us."

Obviously Shirou was bothered by their hanyou friend's attitude but he refused to elaborate on the talk they had, claiming it was private. Even Rias failed to pry any information out of the magus but she felt his pain when he saw the look in his eyes. Whatever happened it was clear it bothered him and that was why he really considered the idea for a duel.

But the subject itself seemed to dig out some naste feelings he had about Setsuna's decision and a change was needed.

"About the White Dragon Emperor…" Medusa began for the relief of many. "Perhaps you should consider training more with the Red One."

Protests immediately came. [You think we are going to help that guy get our kill? There is no way in the universe we are doing that! That bastard is ours!]

However Medusa was undetained. "Think how humiliating would be for the White One if he was defeated by a normal human."

['Normal human' my ass. Just a Reality Marble is enough to throw him out of the category.] Ddraig grumbled something else nobody understood but Issei winced. [Don't worry about my Rival. He is our prey!]

"But training with my Master wouldn't help Issei grow faster?" Xenovia pointed out while some people in the room chuckled. "He certainly is helping me… Even if it is painful."

"You just aren't used to it yet." Koneko earned a nod from Xenovia, both out of respect and appreciation.

"Xenovia…" Shirou felt embarrassed even if Rias and Medusa were giggling by his side.

"What is wrong, Master?" He actually flinched when Liz spoke again, even standing up and bowing in respect. "Would you like more tea? Maybe a shoulder massage?"

Shirou gave a flat look to his maid. "You know something? When we go visit the Underworld and Grayfia drags you away, I won't stop her."

"Whatever Master thinks is best." She bowed again before sitting down, giggles going around as Xenovia kept a straight face.

"Goddamnit." Shirou held back a groan as his back relaxed on the couch as he looked to the ceiling. "Medusa, why does training with Ddraig help me against Albion? They are opposites. Literally."

A little disappointed with Shirou's question, Medusa tried to explain. "There is much that can be said about 'opposites' and how they work with each other. The key is watching their interactions." She pointed to Issei as everyone paid attention. "He has Ddraig, the Welsh Dragon, his ability is to Boost, increase and add." Then she pointed up. "His opponent is Albion, the Vanishing Dragon, his ability is to Divide, reduce and take." Joining her hands, she noted that her protector was paying close attention. "They are connected, both by their rivalry as well as their powers as they are truly opposites. However they also have similarities like that both are dragons-"

[I am more of a dragon than him!]

"-and both can affect the world around them in a similar manner even if one is positive and other is negative." She ignored the Red Dragon Emperor's rant as Issei blocked him. "Since their abilities affect the world in similar ways then discovering how to stop one may be the key to defeating the other."

"'Positive and negative', huh?" Shirou rubbed his chin as an idea began to form in his mind. "Ise, we are going to train."

"Weren't you still resting?" He asked in frustration before turning to his King. "Buchou?"

Rias just shrugged with her hands and shoulders. "If it isn't anything too exhaustive, I see no problem."

"You just can't say 'no' when Shirou-kun is like that." Akeno indicated the expression of determination on the redhead magus' face.

Not even bothering to deny, Rias stayed silent while Issei flinched. "Ddraig isn't liking that idea." And if the dragon didn't cooperate then the odds of them making any strides diminish immensely.

"Ddraig-san, could you please help us." Asia directed her attention to Issei's hand as the gem returned. "I know you don't like the idea of losing your rival but please help. I don't want Issei-san or Shirou-san dying because of him."

[Hmm…] Once again Ddraig found Asia's voice soothing for some reason. [You have a dragon as a familiar, right?]

His question surprised the former nun. "Yes, Rassei. Do you want to meet him?"

After another round of humming, Ddraig's gem disappeared but Issei let out a sigh. "He is in." The Pawn didn't like the idea of training with Shirou. 'I don't want to hang out with the guy who has a harem already.' But he understood it was important for his survival.

Before anything else could be said an annoyed Kiba arrived at the club, much to everyone's surprise. "Kiba?" Rias was the first to react, getting up and looking at her Knight. "What is wrong?"

A little frustrated but not angry, the blond looked at his King. "Shirou has some people who want to see him and I didn't trust them to walk around by themselves."

"Me? Who are they?" Quickly Shirou stood up, Akeno, Liz and Xenovia following suit. If Kiba didn't trust them around Kuoh then they already suspected some kind of foul play.

"They said they just want to talk… And are members of the Order of Pendragon." The Knight glanced at Issei and Asia. "Their knights."

Both quickly understood what Kiba was trying to say. "That woman is here?" And Issei looked ready to pick up a fight.

"Is Sir Gawain here as well?" Nobody could tell what Luvia was feeling, her poker face impeccable. Kiba shook his head. "I see." Her shoulders dropped and she lost interest.

"Are they here for a fight?" Akeno asked carefully, her circuits already getting ready.

However Shirou was calm and even relaxed. "I think I know what this is about." He mumbled while holding his hand up. "Are just the knights, right? No army?"

"No."

"Then they aren't here for a fight." He looked around confidently. "You all can relax if you want. I will go settle this."

"I am going with you." Rias announced and by the way that Akeno and Xenovia were still standing that meant they would too.

Only Liz had sat down again, trusting that Shirou would have no troubles as she didn't see any of the members of the Order as a threat.

Knowing that trying to argue around was a waste of time, Shirou was ready to accept the company. "I am going as well." Only for Asia to surprise everyone by standing up.

"Then I'm going too." Issei nodded to Asia and she smiled.

Shirou saw that Koneko and Rin were getting ready to go and decided to intervene. "Fine but not everyone. Honestly I think with Issei and Asia that is more than enough."

The two girls didn't like being told to stand down but Rias nodded her head in agreement. "We won't be far and you guys can feel if anything happens." The Heiress of the Gremory stepped forward with her Knight. "Let's go meet the defeated, shall we?"

They walked out of the club to find two men in a woman no longer dressed in their armor but civilian clothes; a black shirt and pants that didn't hide the taller one build, a cream shirt with jeans for the other man and a blue summer dress that would look lovely on the woman if she didn't have bandages on her head and eye.

"Lady Xenovia?" The youngest of the three, the one known as Sir Gaheris, called for the young woman with surprise and enthusiasm.

However before he could approach the woman known as Sir Gareth grabbed him by the back of his shirt. "Really? Did you really fall in love with the girl that beat you up?"

"It- it was more than that." Gaheris replied with a blush. It was clear that without his helmet it was easy to read when everyone noticed he was embarrassed. "Also it is not love but admiration. Admiration. Admiration of her skills and beauty and-"

"Aham…" Gareth mostly ignored her colleague but her eyes focused on Issei and especially Asia. "Sup kids. Sorry for what happened before and this clown."

"What exactly happened before?" Rias noticed some remorse in Gareth's tone and the way that Issei was protecting Asia made her think there was something they didn't tell her. "Ise… Was there something you forgot to mention?"

"It is forgiven." Asia talked before Issei could get a word in. "She was just doing her job."

Agravain stepped forward, his eyes focused on Shirou who was looking back. "Doesn't mean we aren't guilty of any misdeeds or horrors our actions brought forth, unintentional as it may have been." The two other knights looked down in shame but the black haired knight remained firm and looked imposing even without his armor. "You kept your promise."

Shirou chuckled a little. "It is a habit."