After a night of careful investigation, Rin discovered that there were six suspected distortions in the ley lines throughout Fuyuki City. However, she couldn't pinpoint the exact cause yet.
Since these distortions hadn't affected the real world and she currently lacked the ability to resolve these unknown anomalies, Rin decided to monitor the situation for the time being.
Rin placed surveillance familiars at the six suspected locations, ready to respond at the first sign of trouble.
From the phone call she received from the Mage's Association, it was clear they were investigating and had some leads. If Rin wanted to find out what was happening, she could simply have Archer follow their agents discreetly when they arrived in Fuyuki.
That's what you call leveraging resources.
...
Days passed peacefully amidst the daily squabbles between Rin and Luvia, who seemed to have forgotten her primary mission, and the nightly tutoring sessions with her sister. More than a week flew by.
One notable event was that Illya visited the Matou residence every day during this period, but was always turned away by Rider with various bizarre excuses.
The most absurd excuse given was "today is my period, so it's not advisable to receive guests for two weeks."
Do boys have periods? Well, it turns out they do... sort of.
Ultimately, Illya gave up trying to get any information from Shinji and shifted her focus to Miyu.
Claiming to be a "friend," Illya stuck close to Miyu every day, hoping to uncover something.
She even invited Miyu to her castle during the weekends, introducing her to Sella, Leysritt, and Berserker.
In the Einzbern Forest, Illya felt something was off as she watched Berserker show kindness towards Miyu, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"Miyu, have you hidden yet?"
Miyu, who had counted to a hundred with her eyes covered by a tree, called out.
"Wait, wait! Give me three... no, ten more seconds!"
Illya's sense of unease came from the fact that she always forgot her original goal when playing with Miyu and became fully engrossed in their games.
"Illya, found you..."
Leysritt, who had appeared behind Illya, pointed at her.
"We haven't even started yet, Leysritt! And although this is a team hide-and-seek game, aren't you my maid? Even if you see me, you should pretend you didn't!"
"Is that so?" Leysritt tilted her head in confusion.
"That's called colluding, Illya-chan."
Floating by, Ruby helpfully chimed in.
"Illya, found you..."
Seeing Miyu standing in front of her, eyes wide and staring, Illya clutched her head in frustration. "I said we haven't started yet!"
"Didn't Illya say we'd start in ten seconds?" Miyu tilted her head, her innocent eyes blinking at Illya.
Leysritt, looking up thoughtfully, added, "So, it's just Sella and Berserker left..."
"Berserker... found you!"
Seeing Berserker, standing like a pillar by a tree, Illya felt even worse.
"Berserker, this isn't even proper hide-and-seek! You're way too easy to find! And it's not fair!"
Boom!
Leysritt, pulling out an axe and chopping down a tree, pointed at Sella, who fell with the tree.
"Sella, found you..."
"Leysritt, you're amazing," Miyu said, clapping lightly.
"Victory goes to Illya-chan!" Ruby announced cheerfully, floating around Illya.
Fu—
Illya took a deep breath, then shouted in frustration, "This isn't the hide-and-seek I imagined!"
"What kind of hide-and-seek does Illya want to play?" Miyu asked, tilting her head. She wanted to fulfill her friend's wishes as best as she could.
"Of course, the kind where..."
Before Illya could finish, Sella and Leysritt's sparring accidentally bumped her, making her fall forward and feel something soft against her lips.
Seeing Miyu's wide-eyed, stunned face right in front of her, Illya quickly pulled back, standing up.
"This... my first kiss..." Miyu's eyes darted around, her face turning red. She stammered, "I've never heard of this kind of hide-and-seek, but if Illya likes it, I'll... I'll endure it..."
"It's not like that!" Illya was in total despair, pulling her hair and screaming in embarrassment.
"What happened?" Leysritt, noticing the commotion, stopped sparring with Sella and asked, tilting her head.
"Oh hohoho... not bad," Ruby chuckled mysteriously, having captured the moment with perfect timing.
The development of this story between a tsundere loli and a kuudere loli was truly satisfying for gentlemen.
"Leysritt, this is all your fault!"
"My fault?" Leysritt tilted her head again.
"Yes, it's your fault! The master says it's your fault, so it's your fault! We maids have no right to argue!" Sella said sternly.
"Why do you make it sound like I'm a dictator?!"
"By the way, Milady..." Sella noticed something, looking at the blushing, dazed Miyu. "What's wrong with Miyu? She hasn't said a word since a moment ago."
Illya: ...
...
As Illya struggled with her embarrassment, Fuyuki Airport welcomed the return of Bazett and her Servant after almost two weeks.
Shinji was the first to get the news, followed by Rin, who heard it from Archer patrolling the streets.
After some simple reasoning, Rin deduced that Bazett was the Mage's Association's agent sent to investigate and resolve the disturbances in Fuyuki's ley lines.
Since they were acquaintances, Rin promptly found Bazett's hotel and proposed a collaboration.
Though the Mage's Association didn't want interference, Rin helping as a half-acquaintance should be fine. They wouldn't mind that, right?
Officially assisting while secretly gathering information to understand the situation sounded like a good plan.
After hearing Rin's request, Bazett thought for a moment. "Having Fuyuki's guardian help could indeed improve efficiency, but..."
She frowned, looking at Rin. "It might be dangerous..."
Rin felt Bazett was a genuinely kind person, worrying about her safety. She scoffed at those who said Enforcers were cold-hearted and inhuman.
Cold-hearted? Inhuman? Who said that? Come forward and see if I don't refute you!
"Don't worry, I'm a mage too. And I have Archer to protect me."
"Alright, I'll agree to your help. The Mage's Association also has another task for me."
"Another task?" Rin asked, puzzled.
Bazett nodded. "Yes, I detected seven distortions in Fuyuki's ley lines, but one vanished when I returned to the Association. They suspect someone intervened."
"Someone intervened and resolved a distortion?"
Rin furrowed her brows, thinking. Only she, Shinji, and possibly Illya knew about this in Fuyuki.
Those two acted as if it didn't concern them, but it was uncertain if they had done nothing.
Especially that seaweed head!
Given his personality, he likely investigated thoroughly and was now enjoying the show.
"That bastard..."
Rin clenched her fists, cursing through gritted teeth, but had no intention of confronting Shinji.
He was like a sticky, stubborn glue, always denying everything.
...
At night, Rin accompanied Bazett and Lancer to the pier under the guise of assisting. Upon using a special method to enter the Mirror World with Archer, she finally understood the problem.
"I see, if it's not the real world, it's hard to detect..." Rin sighed, but then heard Bazett's warning.
"Be careful! There's a strange magical energy!"
Rin became fully alert, and Archer summoned his twin blades, ready for action.
But the next scene puzzled Rin. An all-too-familiar figure, much like the Lancer present, emerged from the darkness!
"Fight, Lancer!"
Bazett shouted, and she and the eager-to-fight Lancer charged forward.
"Fighting myself? This is exciting!"
Lancer's excitement was palpable as he twirled his spear.
...
"Ya-re ya-re, just a mindless brute with power."
Lancer sighed, disappointed with the battle.
Though powerful, the enemy lacked intelligence. Bazett distracted it, and Lancer swiftly dispatched it with a single thrust from behind.
Bazett picked up the card dropped by the defeated enemy. Rin asked, "Ms. Bazett, what is that card...?"
"I don't know, but..." Bazett turned the card towards Rin, "It has 'Lancer' written on it."
"What...?!"
...
With the first battle being too easy, Bazett and Rin, barely worn out, headed to the next distortion point.
This time, the Mirror World presented them with... Archer!
Seeing a blackened, mindless version of himself, Archer felt things were diverging significantly from the original course.
"Archer, ready!"
Just as an aberrant knight needed to be dealt with using a knight's power, Rin ordered Archer to attack.
In short, these mindless, corrupted Servants weren't too difficult. They lacked the cunning of real Servants.
With teamwork, Archer quickly dispatched "himself."
...
After exiting the Mirror World, Rin asked, "Ms. Bazett, can I temporarily keep the Archer card?"
"Well..." Just as Bazett was thinking, her phone rang.
For the next three minutes, the Mage's Association, having monitored the situation, ordered Bazett to return immediately with the two collected cards.
Understanding Bazett's position, Rin didn't press for the card. Instead, she kindly called a taxi to take Bazett to the airport.
Of course, paying for the ride was Bazett's responsibility; Rin just called the cab.
As Bazett sat in the taxi, she felt troubled.
Just arrived and already leaving?
I didn't even get to meet that person!
...
My hand is sore...