A thin layer of the first snow covered Fuyuki City. The cold wind made the locals shiver, forcing them to bundle up deeper in their warm clothes. On children's playgrounds, you could see playing kids, which brought smiles to the faces of watching parents and everyone else passing by.
But naturally, there were those who paid no attention to such scenes at all, absorbed in their own thoughts...
"Brr... Why is this winter so cold?" It escaped my throat along with moist vapor as my shivering legs paved their way from school home.
Several months had already passed since Emiya started supplying me with jewels. And it was hard to say how I felt about it. On one hand, I got a stable and relatively cheap source of materials for research and personal use; on the other, there was some uncertainty about the correctness of my decision.
"Emiya Shirou..." I murmured quietly, looking at my bag where, besides school supplies, was the latest batch of jewels worth a significant amount of money even by the standards of a relatively old magus family, but which came to me almost effortlessly.
Rubies, topazes, sapphires, and other precious stones weighing several kilograms. And all of them came to me at least five times cheaper than I could have hoped. And no, I'm not against cheap jewels at all, but it raised various thoughts I'd rather avoid.
On one hand, I was glad to have gotten REAL significant benefit from our deal with Emiya. On the other, the pride of the Heiress of the Tohsaka Family wouldn't let me accept such help without payment. After all, even Emiya's first "installment" was enough to forgive him for hiding his presence on territory under my jurisdiction. The subsequent supplies were simply advantageous, so I wasn't in a hurry to bring up the topic until Emiya himself decided otherwise.
While the golden goose lays golden eggs, you just keep collecting them. Only Emiya is far from a goose—he's a magus just like me. Which means he has his own goals, and I strongly doubt my personal enrichment is one of them.
In other words, his plans were a complete mystery to me, and asking Emiya, another magus, about them personally would be too rude. Especially after all the benefit our "cooperation" brought.
As a Tohsaka, I can't afford to be rude to my partner until he earns such attention. And naturally, that left me with only one possible option.
Investigate Emiya by all possible means short of a direct approach. And I started with the most obvious—his jewels.
Something was found almost immediately. Unlike the first batch, his precious stones had more "flaws" typical of natural ones. Emiya must have realized his jewels were too "perfect." This, in turn, not only confirms that he really creates jewels worth hundreds of thousands of dollars himself, but also lifts the veil of mystery on his abilities.
Almost certainly he's a capable alchemist with transmutation skills. Though, if I recall, when I fired Gandr at him, he deflected it easily with his bare hand. Quite possible he's also skilled in Reinforcement or something similar. I almost regret not doing more...
Honestly, I don't even know what to do with this information.
On one hand, Emiya is a friendly magus who, though previously residing illegally on my territory, turned out to be quite useful thanks to our contract. On the other, he's an unknown element whose goals I don't fully know. So I tried to learn as much as possible about him using all available resources.
In short, after the jewels, I decided to find out who Emiya is. Or rather, which family he's from. A few tricks plus a bit of hypnosis, and I got into the city archives next to city hall, where the main info on Fuyuki residents is stored.
There was little info on Shirou Emiya himself. He was adopted after the previous Holy Grail War. Lost his memory and presumably his previous family in a fire, but the boy was saved by his future adoptive father, listed in documents as Kiritsugu Emiya. A perfectly ordinary story, except for some minor details. Their house was bought before the war by the now-deceased Kiritsugu and later left to Shirou, whose current guardian is Taiga Fujimura, granddaughter of Raiga Fujimura.
Realizing official sources wouldn't give me any important info, I decided to tail him using familiars. Just to make sure he wasn't doing anything strange on my territory. And on the first day of surveillance, I learned something curious.
Sakura was almost always with him.
I'd caught them together before, even seen them walking from school together, but I didn't expect Sakura practically lived at Emiya's house. Outside school, she spent almost all her time with her Senpai. And in the end, if I previously suspected Sakura was in love with Shirou, now I'm absolutely sure.
Because when I said they spend a lot of time together—I meant REALLY a lot. To the point they lived by some joint schedule.
Almost every early morning, Shirou with his "dog" the size of a large wolf would run to Sakura, then continue the jog as a trio until they reached the Emiya residence. Then they go to school together, and after classes return home to Emiya as a pair. As far as I understood, Sakura even keeps some of her things there, since she often changes right there. And judging by what I saw, it's far from a couple outfits but a full wardrobe.
I couldn't see more on Emiya's territory. The view was limited by the high fence. And infiltration was out of the question, as Emiya obviously took care of his protection with bounded fields, which I naturally didn't dare disturb without proper reason.
In short, the investigation yielded no suspicious "moves" from Shirou Emiya. He was completely clean or hid it well. And his relationship with Sakura was none of my business. At least, Sakura didn't look like she was being forced into anything. If anything, she looked even better than when at the Matou house.
And that, in turn, somewhat hurt my pride...
Honestly, I never expected my own little sister to find a boyfriend before me. Well, as long as Sakura's happy, I can't object to whatever they're doing. Besides, they're both magi and Sakura looked happy with Emiya. It's quite rare for heirs of magus families to find a partner they genuinely love. Even rarer when both feelings are mutual. After all, magi usually try to strengthen their family bloodline regardless of personal feelings and choose partners accordingly so the new blood flows right.
Such a pragmatic approach is typical of the overwhelming majority of magi both in the Clock Tower and beyond. All I could do was be happy for Sakura and hope Emiya-kun really is as "kind" as he shows in public.
In short, since then I stopped trying to tail Emiya. It just takes too much of my time. And with their schedule... Let's say I'm not a morning person and waking up as early as those two was a real ordeal I don't plan to repeat anytime soon.
Naturally, I still try to keep an eye on Sakura, but from afar, only occasionally making contact.
After all, even if I'm not supposed to communicate with Sakura, I still worry about her.
"Haaah..." A sigh escaped my throat on its own as my thoughts returned to the original question.
The question of paying Emiya for the jewels received.
So far everything's fine. Emiya dutifully hands over jewels every month at a significantly reduced price. The jewels themselves are artificial, but their effectiveness is no less than real ones, allowing use without issues, which automatically turns their producer into a real "Golden Goose." Or rather "Precious Goose."
Anything bad about the above? Definitely not. Can I afford to keep enjoying such benefits? That's the question.
What stops Emiya from ending our deal? Actually nothing. If he decides to stop supplies, all I can do is agree, because the value of the jewels received has long exceeded any possible "fine" for "illegal" presence on my territory. Especially since Emiya wasn't caught in any problematic activities or forbidden research.
The only suspicious thing about Emiya is his reluctance to reveal himself as a magus. But that's easily explained by personal experience with the Moon World and magic allowing creation of high-quality jewels, which people might literally hunt for.
The Edelfelts could easily kidnap such a magus and even give one of their daughters for a reliable jewel supply. And that's one of the better scenarios. I don't even want to talk about others. I'm sure Emiya understands these facts too, so he has no desire to go public.
Then can I blackmail Emiya by threatening to reveal his abilities? Sure, but... Hm, I don't want to act so ungratefully. It simply goes against my beliefs, and if more pragmatic, that action could deprive me of future jewel batches if Emiya decides to run.
This leaves me with one single possible option. And it consists of mutually beneficial relations where I sell excess jewels for Emiya for a share of the profit, while hiding his existence as the guy wanted.
That way we'll both win, and I won't have to worry that Emiya will end our partnership. All that's left is to hope he doesn't refuse my idea.
With such thoughts, the magus family heiress continued on her way in the previous direction.
...Shirou's Reality Marble...
In a dark forest where it would take several people to encircle each tree, a massive beast with a bared grin and satisfied growl watched over its pack.
The beast resembled a lion in appearance, only its hide had a color different from what the human eye is used to. Black fur with red stripes created the look of a truly terrifying creature, especially considering its size that could easily rival an adult hippopotamus. But its paws were an even more unique sight. They were covered in natural bone armor that didn't hinder its mobility at all and provided great protection, like plate armor underneath.
With attentive golden eyes, it watched as its pack's hunters brought another kill in their jaws. The horned four-legged creature with sturdy but blunt single claws was a good source of sustenance. There was plenty of such prey, and it was fairly easy to catch.
At least any hunter in HIS pack was capable of it. Especially when the prey couldn't resist their claws and fangs.
Smelling fresh meat, the young immediately approached the food, and with the females' permission, they began their little feast on the carcasses laid out on the ground. By then the Hunters were already full, and the females would start once the offspring was sated. No one in his pack would go hungry.
At some point, his keen sense of smell—the sharpest in the entire pack—caught a new scent. The scent of an outsider. The scent of danger.
The pack leader rose on his four paws and peered toward where he assumed the outsider was. A quick glance at his pack told him he was the only one who caught the foreign scent. And memory reminded him it was familiar...
Aaah... The beast remembered. Recently he'd encountered two-legged, small, soft creatures. He remembered their scent because they surprised him. Despite their weakness, they didn't flee like other beasts but grouped together, brandishing their strange but sharp claws. He couldn't reach them without getting wounded, so he had to leave, as his own pack was far away then.
This scent was similar to those two-legs but different too. While the first had the smell of dangerous prey, this one had power.
It was the scent of a true hunter with many dangerous fangs and claws.
Finally, after some time, several of my pack's hunters started sniffing, detecting an unfamiliar scent approaching the camp. Soon every hunter in the pack raised its head, and the young were hidden behind the females' backs.
My sense of smell has always differed from my brethren's. They easily distinguish the most varied scents, but I could sense something more too. The scent of power, the scent of the juiciest meat, or the scent of danger. I was always the first to find prey during hunts.
And the scent approaching us now has power. And with every breath, it grew stronger.
Then, without any warning, the sharpest fangs I had ever seen in my life shot out from the forest. In the first instants, these long claws knocked down several edge hunters, easily piercing through their thick hides. Immediately the entire pack was thrown into confusion, as none of them were used to fighting an invisible enemy. Almost immediately many proud hunters turned into frightened kittens, though I couldn't blame them for it. Even I had never encountered anything like this, but we had no time to be afraid.
Behind us were the females and younger kin—we couldn't allow a hunter from the forest's darkness to kill pack members with impunity!
"Rr-r-RAAAGH!" A wild roar echoed through the entire forest. A loud roar. The Chieftain's roar. My roar.
Summoning my kin to the hunt, I cast aside my fear and leaped forward, straight toward the strange scent. My brethren followed me.
These flying claws were a nuisance. They seemed to know where the prey was and pursued it regardless of whether you dodged or not. To reliably stop a projectile, you had to shatter it with your own claws and fangs. I could see one of my kin fail to extend his claws in time, and a long fang pierced his leg clean through, getting stuck.
In the next instant, several more long claws followed, killing him on the spot.
"r-rA-A-a-A-rgh!!!" The roar came from both me and the other hunters. Losses weren't foreign to us, but they were never something we could forgive. And now this unseen foe from the darkness dared to kill our kin? None of us could forgive that!
With even greater fervor, we charged forward, weaving between trees, tearing through small bushes, and batting away long claws. Many ran ahead despite terrible wounds, knowing they wouldn't survive their sprint, trying to cover the others.
I managed to break ahead without taking any damage. The long claws were fast, but I was faster. My claws and fangs were stronger than those of the hunter from the darkness, and soon I would taste his flesh and blood. The entire pack would avenge the fallen by savoring his blood!
I didn't look back, merely roaring again to call my kin into battle. My claws clashed with another attack from the forest's dark hunter, bending and shattering the projectile into shards of vanishing light. My paws began to ache dully bit by bit, and cracks formed on my claws, but I didn't slow down, and in a surge of rage another roar burst from my throat:
"r-RAA-A-rgh!" ...Which wasn't supported by any of my kin.
Glancing back briefly, I saw none of the pack's hunters. It didn't take me long to realize what had happened to them.
And I began running toward the scent even faster.
Long claws flew at me in even greater numbers, causing me to start taking rare scratches on my hide. It didn't take long before the cracks on my paws grew larger and blood began to flow from them. But that only fueled my hatred, and soon I found the source of the scent.
It was a biped, like those I'd seen before. But he was different. He was a hunter who had already caught many kin. His hide had a black-red coloration, and he stood in the space between trees, clearly awaiting my arrival.
Without thinking, I lunged at him intending to tear the foreign hunter apart with my claws, when my assault met an obstacle.
The dark-red claw in the biped's paws instantly blocked the path of my right forepaw's claws. I tried to press further, but the biped hunter didn't resist and slipped out from under them to my side. A sharp jerk, and my left paw hurtles toward the opponent's body, but he doesn't dare take the attack and leaps over it.
"r-rA-RA-Agh!" In a surge of rage, I lunge toward him, trying to sink my fangs into the opponent's body, but all I caught in my jaws was his dark-red claw. Refusing to give up, I leap forward, slamming the biped hunter into a tree. My ears caught a faint groan from my opponent, who was straining with all his might to halt my assault, and I tried to finish what I'd started, killing the biped. But just as I was about to do it with my claws, I heard something else...
"Kha... It's too early for me to face ones like you... Only with my own strength..."
...And immediately, as if on command, a multitude of various claws and fangs appeared around me. Each differed from the others, but they all shared one thing...
Each reeked of power.
And in the next instant, before my claws could reach the biped hunter, the entire world turned red...
...From Shirou Emiya's perspective.
"I thank you from the bottom of my heart, Lord Emiya!"
"No need, I've already received my payment, so you have nothing to worry about. Besides, the King would surely have sent one of his knights to help you by now."
"Yes... Our king is undoubtedly that kind of man, but! You came to help, and quickly at that. No one in our village suffered irreparably from the beasts that appeared, and that's only because you arrived so soon!"
"Even so, I didn't do that much..."
"No-no, don't you dare downplay your contributions, young man. Each of us is deeply grateful to you. Right, lads?!"
"Yes! / Of course!" The gathered people began to shout.
I'm currently in a village far to the east of Avalon. Yesterday, a messenger from an acquaintance in the Trade Coalition arrived, reporting activity from dangerous magical beasts in the local area. Naturally, I decided to check the information, and as expected, it proved more than true.
The Trade Coalition has always cared for its trade routes. And since this settlement lay right on one of them, it was important for the staff to secure the road and help the locals.
In the end, it's worth understanding that though the Coalition is called a trade one, fulfilling functions befitting its name, they also relay messages from all corners of the kingdom. Often faster than Avalon's official channels. No need to say how useful that is. Cellular-like communication is widespread only in the capital and nearby territories, so until then the Trade Coalition still relays messages from places without easy connections.
In short, to this day it's not uncommon to hear the Trade Coalition calling on adventurers and even Avalon's Knights for help when the situation demands it. So a situation like this one is routine, and folks are used to thanking all participants in the "salvation triumvirate" as a single whole due to their usual close cooperation.
"Well then! Lord Emiya, please, here's your reward!" The middle-aged man with thinning gray hair, who was the village's chief manager, had a pouch of precious metal coins brought to him. He immediately handed it to me, grinning with all thirty-two of his teeth.
"Thank you for the payment." Without inspecting the pouch's contents, I simply transferred it to my "Pocket Dimension" and smiled.
"Is there anything else we can offer you, Lord Emiya? To be honest, we didn't expect there to be not just one beast as we saw, but so many... I can't even imagine what we would've done without your timely help." The village elder said, looking with no small fear at the massive body of one of the strange beasts whose hunt I'd finished a little over an hour ago.
"No need. The reward I've already received is plenty." I refused, shaking my head. "But, if you don't mind, I'd like you to do one thing for yourselves..."
A brief talk about the "mobile communication" used in Avalon, and the settlement elder immediately wished to acquire devices allowing instant contact over vast distances. Later I connected him with my Trade Coalition acquaintance and let them discuss the price for the "miracle devices." In the end, the village got a significant discount, causing the old man to shower me with thanks for a while longer, not letting me leave in peace.
Gotta admit, sometimes it's tiring to get so much attention, but the main thing is they're no longer threatened by such obvious danger.
"All the best to you, Lord Emiya!" The elder and a small group of gathered residents, who hadn't tired of thanking me yet, waved as I left.
During all the time I've lived in my Reality Marble, I've become quite well-known. I remember Russell listing the "titles" I'd earned. Among them were all sorts: "Monster Hunter," "Steel King," or "Jack of All Trades." I got the last one due to the variety of commissions I take.
Russell teased me for a long time about how after helping with wedding preparations, I immediately rushed off to kill another magical creature, then without any rest started forging a blade commissioned by Gavis from the royal knights. After more than a day of nonstop work, I looked scary. Since then, I try not to take more than one commission a day, as even my stamina has limits.
Here in the Reality Marble, I'm more soul than body, and time flows four times faster on these plains than in the real world. Though my real body rests, the soul is under constant strain. How do I rest then? Simple: at night, in sleep, my body rests. During the day, at school and such—the soul.
The Reality Marble is already a very unique bounded field, and with Russell's changes, it gets even more complex.
"Time for a ride..." Leaving the village onto the road, with a wave of my hand I pulled my ride from the "Pocket Dimension." After a brief space distortion, a majestic "steed" appeared before me.
Preparing for the Holy Grail War, I'm trying to prepare in every possible way. Saber, the Servant I plan to summon using Excalibur's scabbard, has a B-rank Riding skill, allowing use of any non-magical mount.
Even if it's an airplane...
It took me nearly half a year to create something fitting the King of Knights, but the results were worth all the effort.
Huge by standard human model standards, the steel motorcycle gleamed with metallic sheen. The model I made for myself was dark-red, like most of my personal gear. The "Steed" itself could carry three people. The engine ran on enhanced fuel produced in Avalon. Its wheels seemed made of thousands of scales that could crush any obstacle at will. The most powerful engine, adapted for normal mode or prana-blast acceleration, easily accelerates this wonder of engineering to insane speeds. And the hull, reinforced in every possible and impossible way, can withstand massive damage before failing.
And even with all that listed, the "Steed" has a Regrowth module allowing the motorcycle to reassemble from nearly any state via supplied prana. The only downside—huge consumption—is offset by supplies from the Reality Marble.
Recalling how much effort this "Steed" cost me, I could only smirk at my success. Even Russell said I'd outdone myself when he saw my creation. Then he started critiquing the numerous design flaws... Well, the model before me now is the finished one. Though there are still plenty of ways to improve it... I'm currently working on a "Temporal Accelerator" module to boost the motorcycle's speed even more.
It even has my invented crest... Golden scabbard and a sword slightly drawn from it. A mark that the product came from my hands, a guarantee of quality. At least, no one's complained yet.
My Reality Marble is a pretty strange place overall. From a simple, almost unremarkable wasteland, it turned into a green valley with what seems an endless number of blades, and the rest grew into a whole kingdom—Avalon. Even those who were once mindless "constructs" became living people. Russell really put in the effort, "reviving" this world.
"Eternal utopia?.." Not sure if I can call my world a utopia, but it's definitely a nice place.
If Russell used to roughly understand what was happening with my Reality Marble, now he's not so sure. I remember the Mentor saying it'd look roughly like the "Age of Gods." Just without gods, who, from what I know, wouldn't be welcome personalities in my world.
Suddenly, as I mounted the "Steed," someone called my phone. Looking at the screen, I saw Trumpier's number—my Trade Coalition acquaintance...
Probably another commission. I still have a few hours before I wake up...
It won't hurt if I help someone else, right?
***
Read the story months ahead of the public release — early chapters are available on my Patreon: Granulan