"I mean no harm."
As the elderly man from the Holy Church stepped into the train car, he immediately addressed the wary mages surrounding him. He wasn't here on the Mystic Eye Collection Train to hunt magi.
"Everyone, stand down. The auction hasn't even started yet," said Waver, rising from his seat. At his words, the mages—still on guard—reluctantly lowered their hands, showing no intent to fight, for now.
"Black Keys… I forgot about those."
Daniel glanced at the red-hilted items on the man's belt—standard-issue sacramental weaponry for the Church's Executors. Though mass-produced, they were far from weak. As conceptual weapons, their physical damage was negligible, but they were devastating against vampires, capable of harming even one of the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors.
Despite their sword-like appearance, they were used mainly as projectiles. Daniel had always been curious about them, especially given their anti-vampire purpose. He had spent so much time buried in magecraft at the Clock Tower that he'd practically forgotten the Church's tools.
Not that he could easily study them—unlike the Clock Tower, which was accessible to anyone with enough money, the Church was notoriously insular.
The Clock Tower itself hadn't started as a school but as a union of twelve noble mage families—the Twelve Lords. But as mystery dwindled with modernity, the institution gradually transformed to meet the times.
Even Matou Zouken had avoided becoming a Dead Apostle for fear of the Church's relentless pursuit.
"Speaking of which, the Church's main target is vampires, yet they have their own Dead Apostles. And this train is run by Dead Apostles too. Funny they don't lift a finger here—less effective than Aoko Aozaki, even."
Daniel chuckled to himself as he looked at the solitary priest. In theory, any Dead Apostle should have been hunted by the Church without mercy. But the train's backers were so powerful that even the Church didn't dare provoke them.
Take Kischur Zelretch, the Second Magician. After fighting Crimson Moon and becoming a Dead Apostle, the Church hadn't even touched him.
Of course, there had been incidents. Years ago, Aoko Aozaki had boarded the train, and after some conflict, the entire auction collapsed. The next year, the route was permanently changed.
"I didn't expect you to be so knowledgeable about Mystic Eyes."
Yvette looked surprised as she spoke to Daniel. With the auction still three days away, there was little to do aboard the train, so they chatted about Mystic Eyes.
"I'm just curious, is all," Daniel replied, briefly glancing at the pink-eyed monocle over Yvette's right eye. Hers weren't natural Mystic Eyes, but rather gemstones that had been refined into Mystic Eyes—interchangeable ones, even. It reminded him a bit of the Uchiha's plug-and-play Sharingan.
Waver had explained Mystic Eyes to Gray earlier. Among the group, only she had been unfamiliar with them. Though Rin had fended for herself after her father Tohsaka Tokiomi's death, she'd read many books left at home.
Generally, artificially created Mystic Eyes were the lowest tier. But ones refined from precious gemstones using advanced techniques were a different story. In theory, such processes could even produce Gold or Jewel-grade Mystic Eyes.
Yvette's collection consisted mostly of Noble Color–grade Mystic Eyes.
"Fascinating as they are, I find you even more so. I can't see through you at all. I thought my Mystic Eye was broken."
With that, she removed her monocle, revealing a sparkling aquamarine glow—one of her Mystic Eyes, this one capable of reading emotions, similar in effect to Svin's sense of smell.
"I'm just a Modern Magecraft Theory student."
"Is that so? Gray, professor—over here!"
She waved to Waver and Gray, who were walking toward them.
"…Yvette."
Seeing her sweet, innocent smile, Waver felt another sharp pang in his gut. She'd always claimed she wanted to be his mistress, or that she was a spy from the neutral faction. Whether either claim was true was anybody's guess.
"Gray, eat more apples. That priest said it'd be good for you."
Once everyone had sat down, Daniel ordered a plate of apples, based on a suggestion from Father Caleb, the priest from earlier.
That man held a Mystic Eye of Retrocognition. After briefly touching Gray, he had learned her secret—that she was connected to King Arthur.
Aside from him, another passenger held a Mystic Eye of Precognition—Olga-Marie's maid. She was the one who foresaw a Rainbow-Rank Mystic Eye being sold at the auction.
Unfortunately, her Mystic Eye had limited range—only a few days into the future—and was easily interfered with. Based on her later death, it was clear her foresight had been obstructed.
Earlier, Olga-Marie had even proposed teaming up with Waver to win the Rainbow Eye. With two Lords working together, few magi would dare oppose them.
"Caules."
While the others remained in the lounge, Daniel approached Caules, binding him with Runes the moment he was about to speak.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
"Nothing malicious. I just have something to say. I came to buy Mystic Eyes. I'd prefer it if nothing stopped me. Also, I know Olga-Marie. I'd rather not see her servants get killed. If someone annoys me, I don't mind smashing their plans—even if they have a Servant protecting them. There's a huge difference between Servants."
Daniel activated a magical device, momentarily exuding a Servant's aura before deactivating it.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Good. Let's keep it that way. One last thing—Caules is a quiet, hardworking guy. After entering the Clock Tower, he's barely left even once. Isn't it odd that someone like him would suddenly be interested in this train?"
With that, Daniel removed the binding spell and walked away. Even if this wasn't the Olga-Marie he knew, he'd help her out while he was here. No need to let her retainers die.
"We are now entering the territory of the Son of the Forest of Einnashe. Please remain alert."
The next afternoon, the train suddenly accelerated, then quickly slowed. Many passengers lurched forward, but no serious injuries occurred.
"What the hell? Why are we entering that territory?"
Once the train stopped, one angry magus demanded answers from the conductor. The Forest of Einnashe was dangerous—even its 'children' were far beyond what ordinary magi could handle.
"Apologies. The route changed unexpectedly."
The conductor said the words, but showed no remorse. This only made the other magi angrier. Still, none of them dared to act out. Everyone on this train knew exactly what they'd signed up for.
"At this rate, the auction might be delayed."
"You saying we should deal with it ourselves?"
A few magi tried to resolve the issue with magecraft, only to be immediately skewered by the forest's vines and dragged into the trees.
"Forest of Einnashe's child... shame it's not the real deal."
Daniel looked toward the snowy forest on the train's right. Despite the title "child," this wasn't truly Einnashe's offspring—just a blood-born offshoot, formed from a single drop of blood, adapting to the local environment over time.
Had the seed landed in a volcano, the forest would be fire-themed. On stone, it would become a rocky woodland.
Daniel's regret was that killing the offspring yielded no benefit. The real Einnashe, however, was rumored to bear fruit that granted immortality, possibly by turning one into a Dead Apostle.
He had no intention of eating it—but it would be valuable to study. The Forest itself only appeared every fifty years to hunt. Even the Church had tried—and failed—to eliminate it.
Legend said the tree was once a vampire that was executed by Arcueid. Its blood was absorbed by a vampiric plant, creating Einnashe.
"Old friend—it's been too long!"
Bloodied from head to toe, Melvin approached Waver, practically in tears. Waver, alarmed, healed him with magecraft before asking what had happened.
"You boarded this train without telling me!"
Melvin had learned of Waver's trip from Lainis. Intrigued, he'd bought an invitation at great cost and chartered a helicopter to chase the train down. But as he approached, the snowy forest appeared from nowhere and destroyed his helicopter.
Only his arsenal of magical tools—and the fact that this was just an offspring of Einnashe—saved his life.
Despite his near-death experience, Melvin didn't seem to care. Even as he spoke, he continued coughing up blood.
Strictly speaking, Melvin was Waver's dearest friend—and biggest creditor. It was thanks to his funding that Waver had entered the Holy Grail War in the first place, and later bought Kenneth's old classroom.
He was wealthy, eccentric, and driven by amusement. If your reason for borrowing money entertained him, he'd lend it—even if you had no way to pay it back.
Daniel knew the man's reputation. Melvin was called the Clock Tower's biggest sucker, giving out loans to anyone with an interesting enough story.
"The murders from seven years ago... all the victims had Mystic Eyes."
Melvin also brought word from Lainis. When Waver called her, he learned of an old case linked to the stolen Holy Relic. Seven years ago, a Lord had declared that the Greater Grail was tainted and could no longer grant wishes. Around the same time, Olga-Marie lost favor with her father.
Not that she lost her position as heir—but her father stopped involving himself in the Astromancy Department. Outsiders assumed she'd fallen from grace. That was why she wanted the Rainbow Mystic Eye: to prove her worth.
"He gave up because he couldn't build Chaldea..."
Daniel quickly understood what had happened. For Marisbury Animusphere, not even the Root mattered more than building Chaldea.
When the Grail no longer met his needs, he turned away. Some magi pass their ambitions to the next generation. Others must see it through themselves.
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