A Dimensional Journey Begins with the Dragon Clan

"...The Master doesn't just attack the Master. That's what the priest said. What's going on?"

"It's to win the Holy Grail War. The more people's spiritual magic a Servant absorbs, the more it accumulates. The master's plan in the school was to sacrifice all the students to strengthen his Servant."

"What? Using students as sacrifices, is this guy okay?!"

"Who knows. But the barrier has been set up in the school. It's not complete yet, but once it's activated, all humans within its range will be weakened and die. However, I will never allow this to happen."

Toosaka explained calmly.

...For Toosaka, I think she already knew what I just said a few days ago.

Therefore, I decided what to do, so I told him not to go to school, but I went to school myself.

Even though he knew the danger, he still tried to stop the master who had set up the barrier in the school.

...Emiya Shirou was ashamed of himself.

Seeing herself coming to school as if nothing had happened, it was natural for Toosaka to get angry.

Not only did he not have that awareness, he also calmly wanted to come to school and spend a normal day.

"Hey. What's wrong? You seem to be in a bad mood. Did I say something wrong...?"

She looked at herself with a hint of uneasiness.

...That Toosaka girl must have had another strange misunderstanding about me.

"No, it's not like that. It's just that I don't think I can beat you. That's what I'm thinking."

It always felt a little wrong to say sorry, so Emiya Shirou could only use lines like these to try to convey his feelings.

Toosaka stared at Emiya Shirou's face.

"…What are you doing? What you just said was not about what happened before—"

"I see. By the way, Emiya-kun, should we take a truce first?"

———How sudden.

Shirou Emiya was caught off guard by Toosaka's heart-pounding smile.

"Truce? Me and Toosaka?"

"Yes, the master lurking in the school is too evil. Your identity has been discovered by the enemy. As for me, I want to deal with that guy first rather than you. So should we take a break and search for the master together?"

“————————“

Weighing the pros and cons, Emiya Shirou considered calmly.

No, there is no need to consider it at all.

What Toosaka said was correct, and he could never let that master go.

Originally, he fought to stop the masters who dragged irrelevant people into the situation.

"How is it? I think this condition is not bad."

"Well, if Toosaka is willing to lend me a hand, that would be great."

In response to Toosaka's gaze, Emiya Shirou nodded.

"Wait, I didn't say I was going to help Emiya-kun. I just wanted to conclude a truce."

"...Is that so? 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend' isn't that easy to achieve after all."

"That's right. But I will trust you until the end of the agreement. As long as you don't betray me, I will help Emiya-kun."

Toosaka's voice did not contain any hesitation.

This is really Toosaka's style. To be honest, Emiya Shirou is very grateful for this good fortune.

"——Great, then Toosaka will always be my partner. Please take care of me in the future, Toosaka."

He nodded and stretched out his right hand.

"————Yeah, well, although it's probably only for a short period of time, you should be able to come in handy."

Toosaka is still sharp-tongued.

But, there was no way to deceive him.

The hand that responded to him was also the right hand. No matter what she said, Toosaka held his hand tightly.

"…I see. No wonder I found it strange. So Emiya-kun isn't the official successor. Did your father die before you inherited the Mage Mark?"

"How should I put it? My father never intended for me to inherit the Magic Seal, and he was against me becoming a magician."

"? But he still taught Emiya-kun magic, right? Isn't that contradictory?"

"Maybe. My dad seemed to have no choice but to teach me because I kept pestering him. He also said, 'Don't be a magician at first, be a magician.'"

They had conversations like this that had no central theme.

"Since we are already in a partnership, I want to know more about the Emiya family."

Because of Toosaka's suggestion, they started talking about how he learned magic.

Emiya Kiritsugu is a solitary magus from out of town.

In contrast, the Tousaka family is a family with a long history of managing this land.

Normally, a magician from another place would have to show his sincerity to the magician who was the master of this place in some way, but Kiritsugu did not do so.

Not only that, it seems that he even concealed the fact that he was a magician.

Toosaka Rin, who took over the Toosaka family, is already the manager of this area at such a young age.

It was ten years ago that Tousaka took over the management of the land, and it was only recently that he actually became the person protecting the land.

Therefore, the Tōsaka family did not know about the existence of Emiya Kiritsugu, and therefore did not know that he, their adopted son, was a magus.

"...A magician... Then Emiya-kun is really an outsider. Do you have no knowledge of magic other than the magic you use?"

"Yeah, that's it. I can only use the Strengthening technique. I only know the names and outlines of the other magic. I used the strengthened table as a shield before, but even though it's just that, it's the best magic I've ever used."

“Eh——Are you serious? Why did you leak something like this to me?!”

For some reason, Toosaka suddenly got angry as if it was her own business.

"? What's wrong, Toosaka? Did I say something that irritated you?"

"No, it's not a question of whether or not you have an opinion... Let me tell you, Emiya-kun. Even though we two have joined forces, there are still many things that need to be kept secret. One's secret weapon should be hidden. For a magus, one's own magic should not be made public."

"Really? There's no point in keeping it secret at this point. This kind of thing can't be told to ordinary people, but Toosaka is a magician. So it's okay to tell you. And dad also said that no matter what kind of opponent you meet, there's no need to hide your magic desperately."

“——What is this? Is Emiya-kun’s father serious when he says this?”

"Yeah. Dad just meant to say that we shouldn't be too rigid about the rules. He always says things like 'It's better not to learn magic or something like that. You can always give up if you don't want to learn it'."

“Hmm——————”

Click, Toosaka made a sound of gritting her teeth.

What exactly is she dissatisfied with? Toosaka showed a hostility that was so clear that she hadn't shown it just now.

"——Don't be ridiculous. Your father is not a magician. I will never admit that you are a magician even though you were trained by such a guy!"

"Tousaka? Calm down. Why are you so angry? Um, compared to you, I'm not really a magician, but Kiritsugu (father) is an excellent magician, right?"

"——That's not it. That's not what I want to say. What I can't allow is, that——"

  what is that?

As soon as he said this, Toosaka seemed to have returned to normal and eliminated his hostility. "...I'm sorry. I just felt a little...I don't know what happened. Training methods do vary from person to person. I have my own methods, too. I really have no right to say anything about Emiya-kun."

"...I don't understand. What on earth made you so angry? Was it dad's education method, or was it me who was just too bad?"

"Yes. I just have a problem with Emiya-kun's shortcomings. For example, he has been training in magic for many years but doesn't know anything except strengthening. And he revealed this weakness to me."

Toosaka smiled with a deeper meaning.

...Emiya Shirou felt a chill down his spine.

"Yeah... yeah, now that I think about it I really regret it. But there's nothing I can do. I'm only good at strengthening, and after my dad died, there's no other way to learn."

"Well, this is the limit of a single magician. A magician cannot predict when he will die. Because of this, in order to leave a magic mark, he can only join forces with the association."

"…What makes me angry is that your father didn't make any effort in this regard. A magician's 'magic' doesn't belong to the magician alone. Magic is the 'fruit of life' passed down from parents to children and passed down through countless generations. This responsibility is no longer just one's own."

"Therefore, teaching magic becomes the first condition for passing on one's magic to the next generation. Children born into a magician's family become successors and inheritors the moment they are born - we are born for this, and we die for this."

"A magus' child is no longer considered a human being from the beginning. Rather, it is the duty of a magus family to replace the 'thing' born as a human being with another 'thing' after years of rigorous training... So, Emiya-kun's father was not a magus. Your father chose to be a father rather than a magus."

Instead of looking at Emiya Shirou's face when speaking, Toosaka turned her face away.

"……………………"

Honestly, Emiya Shirou couldn't understand why Toosaka was angry.

What did Toosaka think about being raised in this house?

How much training did she have to do as the daughter of a magician, and how much she had to sacrifice herself for.

Even if he could imagine these, he was not Toosaka after all.

"————Hey, Toosaka. Is this why you regard me as a thorn in your side? Because I'm not mentally prepared as a magus?"

"...That's right. I don't hate you, but I don't admit that you are a magus... So, I don't have to blame you, but I just want to do this! Is that not okay!?"

"That's right. It may not sound nice, but thank you for your advice. If it weren't for what happened today, I wouldn't have noticed the school's Master, and I wouldn't have been able to join forces with Tōsaka."

"Really?" He asked her with his eyes.

Toosaka hummed, then mumbled as if embarrassed.

"I can't stand it. Why would a guy like this be Saber's master?"

He kept saying things like this that were incomprehensible.

During the time they were talking, it was already completely dark outside.

It was almost seven o'clock in the evening... Saber would be angry if I didn't go back.

"So that's it, Toosaka. Will the search for the Master be carried out in the school?"

"Yeah. Let's meet in the hallway after school tomorrow. Oh, take Archer with you on your way back. I have things to do so I can't take you there, but it'll be okay if Archer comes with you, right?"

“Eh——?”

Having said that, I totally forgot about it.

Since this is Toosaka's home, it's not surprising that Archer is here.

“————————“

The knight in the crimson coat, Archer, materialized.

"……………………"

Come to think of it, this was the first time they had met face to face like this.

That night, the man who fought with Saber and was nearly beheaded.

The man who ignored Saber who was fighting Berserker and tried to bury them together.

"……………………"

There have been such things before.

Emiya Shirou felt it when they looked at each other face to face like this.

He hated this guy.

Maybe I can't accept him no matter what.

“————————“

Archer was probably the same in this regard, staring at him with hostile eyes.

...Humph, that’s exactly what I wanted.

If the other person also hates you, you can also hate him clearly.

"Please take care of Archer. We are already in a cooperative relationship, so please don't attack him."

"——Understood. I will follow the Master's instructions."

Archer disappeared just like that.

Since you can't go out in that state, you should first transform into a spirit and then be your own bodyguard.

……

Walking in a residential area at night.

It's not even seven o'clock yet, and you can still see a few people nearby.

In this case, there is actually no need for guards, but Toosaka's kindness cannot be wasted.

“————————“

However, maybe it would be better to refuse in advance.

...The nerves are also crooked.

I got goose bumps all over my body, and if I wasn't careful I would even vomit gastric juice.

“————————“

Like a thorn in the side of hostility.

Among the invisible guards, the one who was most alert was Shirou Emiya, who was supposed to be the person being protected.

...I can't stand it. What kind of guard is this?

The hostility that almost frayed his nerves was released by the man behind him.

"That's enough. If you get too close, the same thing as last time might happen again."

Speak to the breath behind you.

Archer did not answer.

Instead, he simply accepted his opinion and prepared to leave.

"Wait. Don't you have anything to say?"

Emiya Shirou glared at the invisible man.

The breath that was about to leave suddenly stopped and materialized hostilely.

"I have changed my mind about you. It seems that you are quite good at sensing murderous intent. Oh, I thought you must be a pacifist who dares not even kill insects." (End of this chapter)