Fuyuki City.
A coastal city in Japan's Kansai region.
On the surface, it's no different from other small and mid-sized Japanese cities.
Cherry trees line the streets.
Come in spring and you'll see pale petals drifting like snow.
Shops crowd the commercial district—everything from old-school wagashi confectioners to modern electronics stores.
Far off, the Mion River flows quietly, splitting the city into its old and new quarters.
The Fuyuki Bridge over the river is like a span linking past and future.
Yet beneath that calm façade, Fuyuki hides secrets few know.
It sits at a nexus of leylines.
A node where the Mystic and the mundane intertwine.
Deep underground runs a rich wellspring of mana—which has drawn magi here to settle, research, and vie with one another.
Most important of all, every sixty years the leylines amass enough power to support a miracle said to grant any wish—the Holy Grail War.
…
The Tohsaka residence stands on a hillside in Fuyuki—a grand estate blending Japanese and Western styles.
Behind tall walls, a meticulously kept dry-landscape garden showcases traditional aesthetics.
Inside, the Western magus's touch is everywhere—towering bookcases crammed with grimoires, and workshops stocked with all manner of occult instruments and devices.
As one of Fuyuki's leyline custodians, the Tohsaka family has lived here for generations, guarding the city's occult balance.
The Tohsaka family creed is "Always remain elegant."
It's not just about outward poise,
but about meeting any situation with composure and grace.
Just then, two figures were peeking into the parlor through the crack of a door.
One was Tohsaka Rin, the elder daughter of the house.
Even at a young age she already showed remarkable aptitude for magecraft and a fierce sense of duty.
Her signature twin-tails framed crimson eyes bright with curiosity and a hint of mischief.
A petite nose and firmly pressed lips revealed the Tohsaka brand of stubborn pride.
The other was Tohsaka Sakura,
Rin's younger sister.
Softer by nature, with short, silky black hair and violet eyes.
More reserved and gentle than her sister, she curled her fingers into the hem of Rin's sleeve, uneasy yet curious.
"Sis, if we get caught, this isn't going to look good, right?"
Sakura whispered, voice soft and milky.
Hands on her hips, Rin put on a mock-grown-up air.
"It's fine. Worst case, Dad scolds us."
Then she pulled a face, troubled.
"But we can't hear anything—just that Dad looks really worked up. Did something happen?"
What the sisters didn't know was that they were eavesdropping on a discussion between their father, Tohsaka Tokiomi, and his disciple Kirei Kotomine—about the Holy Grail War that was about to begin.
As head of one of Fuyuki's three great magus families, Tohsaka Tokiomi naturally intended to win the Grail War.
Not to realize some personal wish, but out of devotion to magecraft—to reach the Root through the Grail, the ultimate goal of all magi.
The Grail War began as a decisive ritual known as the "Heroic Spirit Summoning," originally meant to save the primate world.
Seven Heroic Spirits standing at the apex of seven attributes—the Grand-class Servants—would appear to annihilate disasters that hinder humanity's advance.
For their own convenience, humans downgraded that ritual into a summoning system—the Holy Grail War.
About every sixty years, the spiritual power in Fuyuki's leylines accumulates to the point that the Grail can descend.
Then, in Fuyuki, the Holy Grail appears—the power to grant any wish, no matter what it may be.
And now another sixty-year cycle had come around.
Through the door crack, Tohsaka Tokiomi did look unusually animated.
He gestured repeatedly as he spoke with Kotomine—something rare for the ever-proper head of House Tohsaka.
But the distance, and the adults' deliberately lowered voices, left the two sisters unable to make out a word.
Suddenly, Rin froze.
She stood stock-still, eyes wide.
Sakura noticed and asked, worried, "Sis, what's wrong?"
Rin's finger trembled as she pointed ahead, her voice full of disbelief. "Sakura, did you see anything?"
Sakura followed her line of sight.
There was nothing but the door and, beyond it, the parlor.
She shook her head honestly.
"No, just Dad talking."
Rin sucked in a sharp breath and muttered, "Sakura… I think I just ran into something paranormal."
A translucent screen had appeared before her eyes, and a mechanical chime echoed in her ears:
[Ding! You've joined the Trading Chat Group!]
Right then,
the door on Rin's side swung open. Tohsaka Tokiomi's stern face filled the doorway.
"Rin, Sakura. What are you doing here?"
There was displeasure in his voice.
He certainly hadn't taught his daughters to eavesdrop.
Startled, Rin saw the screen vanish in an instant.
She straightened in a fluster. "F-Father! We were just… just passing by…"
Tohsaka Tokiomi narrowed his eyes, plainly unconvinced.
But he had no time to scold them now; the matter of the Grail War was more pressing.
"Go back to your rooms. Don't come out without my permission."
"Y-yes…"
Rin lowered her head, tugged Sakura along, and beat a quick retreat.
Back in their room, Rin shut the door in a hurry, heart pounding.
Silently, she tried thinking the words "Chat Group"—and sure enough, the screen bloomed into view again!
~~~
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