Chapter 62 It's the Early Hours, and a Certain Faldeus Is Still Brooding Over Intelligence
Late at night.
At this hour, when the normal younger generation is fast asleep, only one diligent young man remains awake. Faldeus leafed through the parchment-like dossiers at his side, his expression shifting frequently.
"Traveling the world constantly... huh? The superficial explanation is ordinary enough, but in the places he travels, droughts bring rain, floods vanish, and wars subside... This guy and those around him definitely did something."
For instance, stopping a war might involve cleverly applying Suggestion to both sides simultaneously to halt the killing; changes in climate might involve adjusting spiritual foundations. Furthermore, looking closely, quite a few powerful local magus families in the investigation—originally vast in influence and deeply rooted—suddenly became well-behaved and withdrew from the public eye after their arrival.
Faldeus had ample reason to suspect those magi all tripped up because they overextended their reach. At the very least, no one successfully stopped Emiya Shirou from continuing his journey; he left behind only the faintest traces for Faldeus to investigate before moving on.
...It was almost like the prime of the Magus Killer.
No, saying it rivaled the Magus Killer's prime isn't quite right.
This person was actually more exaggerated than the Magus Killer who caused such a massive stir nearly twenty years ago.
Faldeus didn't believe Emiya Shirou's widespread activity was unrelated to his father's activity twenty years prior, but their methods were entirely different.
Emiya Shirou traveled everywhere like an ordinary tourist, yet subtle changes occurred wherever he went. A small portion was related to magecraft, while most was unrelated; these accumulated subtle changes often resulted in the entire situation developing in a positive direction.
Small matters were hard for Faldeus to collect, but regarding recorded major events that could be investigated, the way macro-level events shifted was far too "convenient." He couldn't help but ask himself—wait, what happened to the Principle of Concealment?!
While things were indeed inconspicuous enough that even Faldeus had to use deep connections to realize they were related to the deeds in the report, the scope of influence was completely out of bounds. It wasn't something that could be glossed over with just basic concealment.
The travel history of Emiya Shirou's group was so colorful that Faldeus repeatedly doubted if he was misreading it.
Most importantly...
Before tonight, the story he had heard was simply that Emiya Shirou, the winner of the Fifth War, had been traveling (the "winner" intel came from Francesca). Faldeus hadn't heard that the closed-door disciple of the Second Magician was with him.
Nor had he heard—that the noble female magus would shield him to such an extent.
The reason no magus had looked too deeply into it was that countless clues pointed only to one person mentioned in the reports.
Tohsaka Rin.
She was a genius of the Clock Tower. But her more famous title was—disciple of the former Marshal of Magic, the Second Magician.
With her traveling along the entire way, no one dared to criticize her methods, because attempting to slight her was equivalent to attempting to provoke Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, the Wizard Marshall himself.
Faldeus's mouth twitched. He realized he had misjudged a severe issue.
First was the influence of the companions around Emiya Shirou. The power that could be mobilized was a bit too terrifying. Second, the degree to which this woman protected the winner of the Fifth War... was frightening.
'I mean, miss, Emiya Shirou is supposed to just be your attendant, right? And Emiya Shirou supposedly snatched your Grail, didn't he?
You're the disciple that even a Magician took the initiative to recruit! Why are you hanging yourself from this one tree?!
Does Emiya Shirou have some kind of magical value that makes him so favored by you—the one who even researched and produced that supreme Mystic Code, the Jeweled Sword?'
As Faldeus was clutching his head and questioning the void, a dedicated telephone in the monitoring room rang. He took a deep breath, pretending to be a calm plant, and reluctantly picked up the phone.
"Hello."
"Faldeus, I've finished cleaning up the concealment for the Holy Grail War following the shooting. Now, right now, give me an explanation."
The voice on the other end was bone-chillingly cold. A questioning tone, so cold it was actually calm, spread from the other side—only a step away from killing intent.
Faldeus sighed, having expected this. "Orlando..."
Orlando Reeve, the Chief's real name.
Faldeus recited a string of long, complex sentences to him almost without thinking: "This was merely a counterattack necessitated by the opponent's utter recklessness—a necessary sacrifice. If such work weren't done, the observing magi would think the downtown area is a safe zone where they can act boldly without suppression, further disrupting order. Therefore, deterring them is conducive to maintaining the peace of the city. Thus, everything I have done is for the sake of peace. Please be patient; there are only seven days in total. Everything will improve after seven days. On behalf of the nation, I acknowledge your dedication and urge you to remain calm."
"Is that so."
The Chief on the other end of the line smiled "kindly."
A beat later, the Chief roared in fury: "Faldeus, do you think I'm blind? If you pull another shooting like that and terrify the citizens again, I really will lead Clan Calatin right into your face!"
"Are you saying that knowing full well I have a True Assassin?" Faldeus asked, stunned.
"Whether you want to assassinate me is your business. At least as nominal partners, stop dancing on my finish line!"
...Fine, a hard-boiled guy like Orlando was also a pain to deal with. His troops had been thrashed and came crawling back, and now he was getting his head chewed out. If anyone could see Faldeus's face, it would be crumpled into a ball.
But in the end, Faldeus gritted his teeth and gave a temporary promise: "I won't do anything like that again, I guarantee it. Just don't get in our way."
After swallowing the defeat of the negotiation, he really wanted to hang up immediately. However, the Chief asked a question Faldeus never expected him to ask.
"...You aren't still thinking of dealing with them, are you?"
Did he know who Faldeus had targeted?
The drone screens monitoring the police department personnel had been fine a moment ago but suddenly went black; the footage captured before they broke showed nothing unusual. Thus, Faldeus didn't believe it was the work of anyone other than the Chief, yet he didn't understand what means the Chief had to know about the incident.
Faldeus blanked for a moment. A few seconds later, he spoke as if he were burnt out: "It's already over."
"Huh?"
A nameless fire ignited in Faldeus's heart. He could only rub his temples, muttering under his breath through the stabbing pain in his head:
"I have to watch my words and actions now; how could I still think of dealing with them? Do you know who those guys' connections can reach?"
He answered his own question: "Zelretch the Wizard Marshall."
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