[This is something you don't know.]
[Tohsaka Rin, with her secret intentions, secretly began her own Servant summoning.]
[However—]
[Perhaps as the price for this dishonesty, this summoning was not as easy as she had imagined.]
[Or rather, it was full of unexpected turns.]
Tohsaka Rin was quite serious about the Holy Grail War that had claimed her father's life. After realizing that the most powerful Saber had already been summoned by her younger sister, Tohsaka Sakura, she immediately began to look for corresponding solutions. Finally, she came up with the following plan: to resummon from the three knight classes, choosing a different class.
The so-called three knight classes refer to the three relatively powerful classes in the Holy Grail War. These include Saber, Archer, and Lancer (i.e., Sword, Bow, Spear). Now—since her sister, Tohsaka Sakura, had already summoned Saber, her best course of action would be to choose between Archer and Lancer for her own summoning. Otherwise, if they were to face each other directly, with equal strength, she would suffer a class disadvantage.
For this purpose, Tohsaka Rin had been diligently preparing related Holy Relics recently. Fortunately, her parents' family connections truly helped. Tohsaka Rin quickly acquired the desired Holy Relic—a hunting bow, said to be quite ancient. Concerned that another Master might claim the spot, the girl decided to complete the Archer summoning as soon as possible. After all, this was also a good class; although slightly inferior to Saber, it also possessed decent combat power.
However—as soon as she walked down the stairs, Tohsaka Rin saw an unexpected figure. It was the instructor of the Spear Arts Club, Reiroukan Misaya. Why would she be here? The Spear Arts Club's training ground wasn't in this location. Despite this doubt in her mind, given her position as student council vice president, Tohsaka Rin knew she couldn't pretend not to see her. That would be incredibly rude and also contrary to the Tohsaka family's teachings. Although—she genuinely didn't particularly like this Spear Arts Club teacher.
"Hello, Teacher." Tohsaka Rin proactively greeted her.
However—what the girl didn't expect was that the normally rigid Spear Arts Club teacher seemed out of sorts at the moment. Facing her greeting, she even paused before realizing there was a student nearby.
"..."
"Mm." Misaya, regaining her composure, nodded. "Hello."
"..." This abnormality made Tohsaka Rin somewhat concerned. This was completely unlike how Reiroukan Misaya usually behaved. And frankly, this building was now a bit "dangerous"—after all, her sister and Servant Ian might still be "fighting" fiercely upstairs. She decided to ask a few more questions.
"Teacher, what's wrong?" Tohsaka Rin continued to ask. "You look preoccupied."
"Hm?" Misaya, caught off guard by this comment, immediately became conscious of her image. "Am I?"
"Yes."
Tohsaka Rin nodded. "Have you encountered any problems? I... might be able to help you."
"..." Scathach glanced at Tohsaka Rin, then frowned. She could feel that the girl in front of her was subtly trying to get close to her, so she quickly shook her head. "No. No problems at all. I was just here for a routine inspection."
After saying this, Misaya looked at the stairs Tohsaka Rin had just descended. "Do you have anything else? If not... I need to continue my inspection."
"..." Following Misaya's gaze, Tohsaka Rin quickly realized she wanted to go upstairs. This, of course, was not acceptable! Her sister and Ian were still up there! If Misaya caught them red-handed—leaving Tohsaka Sakura aside, Ian definitely wouldn't be able to continue as a "teacher" at this school. While in some ways this would be very beneficial to herself, Tohsaka Rin hadn't forgotten what her mother, Zenjou Aoi, had said. No matter what, she had to be good to her sister—because the Tohsaka family owed her too much.
Tsk. Tohsaka Rin never dreamed she'd one day have to cover up that kind of thing. But realizing it was unavoidable, the girl could only take "action" immediately.
"Yes." Tohsaka Rin put on a very serious expression and replied to Misaya. "Teacher Misaya, you've come at just the right time. I actually have something I wanted to talk to you about; let's go to the student council office to discuss it!"
"..." Misaya looked at the stairs, then at Tohsaka Rin, and finally nodded. "Alright, I understand."
A few minutes later, in the student council office. Because of the approaching start of school, the student council office had already been cleaned by Tohsaka Rin alone in advance. As the student council vice president, Tohsaka Rin also had the authority to enter and exit [this office]. Everything seemed perfectly reasonable. The girl brewed a pot of tea, poured a cup, and respectfully presented it to Misaya, who was sitting nearby.
"Teacher."
"Mm." Scathach nodded, then picked up the cup and took a small sip of tea. Having lived in Fuyuki City for nearly ten years, she had gradually gotten used to some things here—like tea. She, who rarely drank it before, now occasionally enjoyed a few sips.
"Teacher, does it taste alright?" Tohsaka Rin asked.
"Not bad," Scathach replied. "I can tell it's good tea. However—" The Spear Arts Club teacher's gaze fell on Tohsaka Rin. "You called me here... it's not just for tea, is it?"
"Of course not." Tohsaka Rin waved her hand in denial—she had to admit, she felt she and Misaya really didn't see eye to eye.
"Alright then." Scathach placed the teacup on the table. "If you have something to say, say it quickly."
"Uh..." Tohsaka Rin secretly pondered for a moment, then an idea struck her. "Teacher, how's the recent training for the Spear Arts Club? Is it very troublesome, or rather, very tricky?"
"No," Scathach answered without hesitation. "These students are quite obedient. It's not troublesome or tricky for me." Scathach wasn't boasting—after all, her students were indeed very obedient. As for those who weren't, they would probably become obedient after running a few more laps.
"I see." Tohsaka Rin nodded. "So, for Teacher Misaya, the current training in the Spear Arts Club is indeed not a difficult task, right?"
"..." Scathach was silent for a moment, then once again told the other party what was on her mind. "I don't like beating around the bush. Rin, if you have something to say—you can speak directly, I won't mind."
"Uh..." Tohsaka Rin walked to a nearby table, found some documents from a drawer, and placed them in front of Misaya. "This semester, Homurahara Academy plans to expand the scale of some clubs. I've already witnessed the strength of the Spear Arts Club. So—" Tohsaka Rin carefully looked at Reiroukan Misaya. "I've decided to give the first opportunity to the Spear Arts Club, to make it the flagship of Homurahara Academy. What do you think, Teacher?"
Tohsaka Rin's words were half-truths. Expanding club sizes was indeed true, but becoming the flagship of Homurahara Academy was false. She was just a student council vice president; she had no right to decide the future direction of Homurahara Academy. Of course. Strictly speaking, Tohsaka Rin knew she could indeed pull strings to promote the Spear Arts Club. But that wasn't necessary. At least not now. The reason she said this was to mislead Misaya.
And Tohsaka Rin's plan seemed to have yielded good results—Misaya seemed very interested. "Rin, are you serious? You want to give the first opportunity to our Spear Arts Club?"
Feeling that Misaya cared about this deeply, Tohsaka Rin quickly nodded in response. "Yes, I'm serious. The first opportunity is indeed intended for the Spear Arts Club."
"Then—" Scathach looked at the girl in front of her and spoke about what mattered most to her. "This means more people will come to the Spear Arts Club to learn, right?"
"Yes." Tohsaka Rin nodded—after all, that was indeed a possibility.
"Then may I make a request?" Scathach then asked.
"Uh... Of course you can!"
"Good." Scathach nodded. "If you really intend to expand the Spear Arts Club, you'll have to find a way to keep Ian."
"Eh? This..." Tohsaka Rin never imagined that after all her roundabout efforts, she would end up back on that man.
"Is that not possible?" Scathach pressed.
"It's not that it's not possible," Tohsaka Rin's throat moved slightly. "But Ian has only been with you for a month, Teacher Misaya. How could he just..."
Facing Tohsaka Rin's confusion, Scathach didn't hesitate and immediately brought out her prepared explanation. "Although he has indeed only been here for a month, his performance has been excellent—at least, I am very satisfied. So you must keep him. Otherwise—I don't think I'll be able to continue working for the Spear Arts Club."
"..." Although she had heard that Ian and Misaya seemed to have a special relationship, Tohsaka Rin hadn't expected her to value Ian so highly. Despite feeling that something was amiss, she immediately agreed: "Teacher Misaya, I understand. I will faithfully report your request!"
"Mm, I'll leave it to you then."
A few hours later.
Feeling that her sister and Ian must have finished, Tohsaka Rin quickly ended her awkward conversation with Misaya. After parting ways with her, the girl looked at the clock on the wall, her expression incredibly anxious.
"Damn it!"
"It's so late already!"
With that, Tohsaka Rin hurriedly locked the student council office door. She picked up her prepared Holy Relic and other items and began searching for a suitable place to set up a summoning circle at Homurahara Academy.
It must be said, when a person is anxious, they tend to make mistakes. And when they make mistakes, it fuels more anxiety. This repetitive cycle forms a terribly vicious loop. Unfortunately—Tohsaka Rin was currently deeply caught in it.
She searched Homurahara Academy for a long time but still couldn't find a satisfactory location. In reality, there were many places that could serve as summoning locations. However, the girl was so desperate to summon an Archer who could contend with Saber that she wanted to find an absolutely perfect place—which was naturally quite difficult.
Until night fell, Tohsaka Rin still couldn't find a location that met all her requirements. And what was worse, the meteor shower appeared earlier than predicted.
"How could this happen!" Looking at the streaks of meteors across the sky, Tohsaka Rin felt some regret. She shouldn't have covered for her sister and Ian—she should have first diligently done her own thing. That way, things wouldn't have become so tricky!
That being said, Tohsaka Rin knew that complaining was meaningless. She had to act immediately; every little bit helped! Since the meteor shower had already begun—looking at the empty ground in front of her, the girl bit her lip. There was no other way. Although this place didn't meet her requirements, she had to immediately start setting up the summoning circle.
The girl placed the pre-prepared bow and arrow to the side, then diligently drew the necessary magical symbols. This process wasn't difficult. After all, Tohsaka Rin had practiced countless times. Soon, a complete temporary summoning circle appeared on the ground.
Tohsaka Rin looked up at the sky—the meteor shower was still ongoing tonight. She breathed a sigh of relief, then quickly placed the pre-prepared hunting bow in the center of the summoning circle. The girl silently chanted the incantation she had long memorized.
Silver-blue magical energy particles continuously overflowed from the summoning circle, flying towards the sky.
However—the Tohsaka family's hereditary talent for messing things up at crucial moments activated in an unexpected way. A cute little cat ran out from the side and came to Tohsaka Rin, letting out a "meow." Hearing the cat's meow, Tohsaka Rin, who already liked cats, accidentally became distracted for a moment. Her subconscious thought, born at that moment, was invisibly incorporated into the summoning.
This was a very special summoning. Despite the presence of a Holy Relic, Tohsaka Rin's will still influenced the summoning itself. This was a miraculous situation that only occurred when the magical energy wavelengths achieved a perfect match.
The summoning circle surged a blue light towards the sky, then dimmed. A Servant appeared within the circle, one who met the Holy Relic's conditions and also conformed to Tohsaka Rin's subconscious.
"Archer, Atalanta, summoned forth."
"Please guide me, my Master."