"How old are you?"
"From the day I was created... Nineteen."
"How did the two of you meet?"
"Through a game."
"A game?"
"A death game."
"Hum. Death battles... It could bring someone closer." Altera muttered. "I can see why you are the first."
Seeing Cardinal's straight-faced expression, she knew the girl is currently tense. It could fool most people, but not her.
"Let's stop with this interrogation for a while."
"Why..?" Altera tilted her head in confusion.
"You really..."
Castoria was speechless at her lack of social skills.
"You're making her look like a prisoner!"
"Really..? I apologize."
Fortunately, she was quick to amend her actions. Altera still has a sliver of common sense.
"There's no need to apologize. In fact, I expected this interaction to be more... hostile."
"What? Why?" Castoria asked.
"Because that's the opposite of how everything goes in light novels."
Cardinal knows light novels are fictional. Many events that happen are 'idealistic'. In real life, there would be no way things go that smoothly. It would be more probable for things to go sideways than for them to accept everyone within their first meeting.
"Ah!" The caster girl's eyes lit up in realization. "Didn't Shiro tell you about it?"
"He did. It's just... I would like to prepare for the worse."
"At least you didn't have to face that."
Altera continued Castoria's words.
"We would not go back on our words. We trust in his eyes to 'choose' his lovers."
"That's right! It's already a done deal!"
Hearing these two, Cardinal heaved a sigh of relief. Her tension was released. She became more expression upon doing so.
"How about we talk about how Shiro was when you met him?"
Prior to this talk, Shiro was asked to leave for a while. It coincided with the need to settle the matter of his magical girl students.
"I am interested."
"Alright..."
She began telling them his personality upon his 'reincarnation'.
"Shiro... He felt like a robot when he first came into the game."
Due to his amnesia, he lacked his 'self'. He does not have his sense of direction. His intuition and system missions were the only thing that guided him in his earlier days. He only followed his 'self-interest' when intervening in some events. Only when he interacted more with the other chat group members did he regain his sense of self.
"He is more of a 'player' than a real player. But that's what made him interesting."
Just like the sisters Yui and Strea, Cardinal had the freedom to watch over players' actions. Shiro stood out from what she watched over. He broke many rules of the game as well as the supposed limits on it. He's literally a 'bug' that broke the balance of the game. But then, she did not 'report' him to her creator, Kayaba Akihiko.
Instead, she watched over him.
"I didn't expect for him to reach out..."
"It's very like him to do."
Castoria recalled the unpredictable things he did upon their first meeting. Shiro asked if she was willing to become her friend—that their accidental meeting through the mirror is linked to their fate. He was right.
Cardinal continued on telling their stories. From his interactions with the other chat group members up until their stay in Terra. Meanwhile, the two brought back Sayaka and Mami to their respective world.
"It's been two weeks, sensei."
"Two weeks? The time ratio must've been messed up in this world..."
While he was gone, the two fended many troubles on the Emiya Household. The events of the 5th Holy Grail War stirred up the world. Its adjudicator (referee), Kotomine Kirei, died. There are also reports from Bazett, the representative of the Mages' Association, that Kirei had betrayed them with his attempted murder.
There's also the destruction of the Matou Family. With them gone, there are only two magician families left that created the holy grail. Lastly, the holy grail itself going missing. By the time representatives of the other organizations arrived, the Greater Grail was gone. The supposed Lesser Grail, Illya von Einzberg, had also gone missing.
This war stirred up the moonlit world, if not greater, than the 4th Grail War.
"You two didn't face some troubles, did you?"
"None."
"Nope!"
Mami and Sayaka responded.
"Aside from the training, we didn't do much." The latter added.
"It's here, Miki-san."
Shirou went out of the house while holding two cookie boxes.
"These might not suffice as a farewell gift..."
"It does. You don't need to worry about it!"
Seeing the two 'Heroes of Justice' this close, Shiro flashed a smile of his own.
"I'm glad you two found your paths."
"Right!" Sayaka thought of something. "Even if I am not here to watch, you still have Tohsaka-san to do so."
"W-what are you talking about?!"
Rin followed Shirou's back, only to hear these words.
"There's no need to hide it. I mean, everyone knows about your feelings already."
Sayaka looked at Mami and Artoria before responding to Shirou's look.
"I'm not wrong, right?"
"Um. Your actions are quite obvious, Rin."
Their words were met with Rin's blushing look. She averted her eyes, more so when Shirou looked at her with disbelief. An air of embarrassment loomed on top of their heads.
"Now, now... The Emiya of this world is still a womens' favorite." Romani commented from the sidelines. "All I could say is... good luck!"
Shirou sent a bewildered look at this stranger whom he hadn't met. Knowing the existence of parallel worlds and him being together with Shiro, he knew Romani must've known him in another world.
"Alright. I do hope you didn't make something strange on that school."
"I didn't. How many times do I need to respond to your questionable looks..?" Romani rubbed his forehead. "Really..."
"It's your fault. Who asked you to ask a Magical Girl on a forum... while it is literally a destiny-turning point?"
"Magi*Mari's advice are really reliable!"
"Yes, yes..."
"The others should really try it out later!"
Shiro retorted, "Pass. I don't want a ca—"
Just as he paused, Romani looked at him with confused eyes.
"No, it's nothing."
Romani felt something was going on. Unfortunately, he chose this himself. He erased his memories of that painful day—that time when his oshi turned out to be a guy.
"Alright, we'll be going out." Shiro added, "I'll be coming back within a few hours."
"Good luck, Emiya-kun. You too, Tohsaka-san and Saber-san."
"Farewells."
Sayaka and Mami made their goodbyes before the aurora curtain engulfed the four of them.
*****
Matsuki School.
Taken from the etymology magic (ma) and moon (tsuki), it was recently established on Mitakihara Town. It is an all-girls school consisting of more than 1,500 students. It accepted everyone from middle school to high school (12 to 18 years old). Due to its population, the middle school and high school are separated into two different buildings. Interestingly, Matsuki Middle School was built on Mitakihara Town. Its counterpart, Matsuki High School, was built on Tokyo.
It caused a wave on the town as its direction is a rich and influential person. Moreover, it took in many foreign exchange students. It is also affiliated with many top-level universities on Japan such as Tokyo and Kyoto University.
It proved how popular it was despite only accommodating 1,500 students on both Middle School and High School. It became an elite school in the eyes of many.
What the general populace did not know was that—
"Pyon-chan!"
A white-haired girl ran towards a floating black and white bunny plushy. She pointed her bubble gun towards another girl, only for her entire arm to be entangled with vines.
"You still have a long way to go, Nagisa-chan."
"Mu...!"
—this school only accepted magical girls.
The vines soon removed themselves from Momoe Nagisa.
"You're just too strong, Kaede! I bet you could handle most of the wraiths out there!"
After a part of Madoka became the 'Law of Cycles', the existence of 'Witches' were removed from this universe. Still, the negative emotions condensed on another way—wraiths. The difference was that: 1.) Magical Girls would no longer be corrupted into Witches; and 2.) The Law of Cycles is the one granting the girls their wishes instead of Incubators.
Madoka's wish at that time was simple. She wanted everyone to be happy. Under the others' example, she knew the power to protect themselves is necessary. Other than that, the 'Law of Cycles' provided 'protection' to the new magical girls in the form of two things: mentorship and second chance.
The former allowed them to seek for a mentor—a veteran magical girl with months of experience. The student would gain precious experience while the mentor gains more power. Simply put, it is a mentorship system. As for the latter, it saves a magical girl from peril. It is something that every magical girl could only use once in their career.
These things turned the magical system from harmful into a helpful power system. It is in sharp contrast to the former magical girl system made by the Incubators.
'I would have died back then if not for my strength.'
Kaede and Nagisa are one of the few magical girls that remembered the previous world—the one that contained Witches. Most of the magical girls forgot about its existence.
"You need to practice more if you want to become strong."
"Eh... We already have you and the student council!"
Matsuki Middle School's student council consisted of the strongest magical girls on the school. That included Kaname Madoka, Akemi Homura, Akino Kaede, as well as foreign exchange students like Alina Gray. This only made the students' admiration of the "Headmaster" skyrocket. If the student council are this strong, how strong would he be?
Hence, Romani is known as the enigmatic headmaster in this school.
"He wouldn't fulfill your wish if you laze around."
"Mn..! I see! For the lifetime supply of cheesecakes!"
Nagisa owed a great debt to a certain someone. In exchange for fixing the dilemma she made—which is to wish for a cheesecake instead of healing her mother—she has to show efforts towards being a better magical girl. Undoubtedly, Nagisa is one of the youngest magical girls in this school. It is also the reason why she made a dumb mistake.
Fortunately, Shiro purified her Soul Gem while Romani rectified her mistake by reviving her mother. After Romani showed her mother how she had been, she had a change of heart. From the cruel and irresponsible mother she was, she tried to become better. While these memories are once again wiped in her mind to ensure a normal life, those strong feelings remained.
In short, she owes her current life to these two people.
"The headmaster told me a white-haired man would fulfill my wish... When will he come?" Nagisa asked.
"That..."
It has been more than one and a half years since the fight against the Walpurgisnacht. Since then, nobody in this world has seen Shiro. Although, Romani did mention that he will be coming back soon.
As to when it was?
He never gave a specific date.
"Romani-san told me that it would be—"
Suddenly, an orange-haired man emerged from their sights. Along with him are two girls—a tomboyish blue-haired girl and an elegant blonde-haired girl.
"A school for us..."
"This is... new."
The sight of this school made a huge impact to Sayaka and Mami, especially to the latter. She never had any comrades nor acquaintances that knew her secrets.
Most of the time, she rarely meets magical girls. Only when a magical girl from another district visits would she interact with them. This is attributed to the fact that magical girls are scarce.
In a town, there are only three to four magical girls. Meanwhile, there could be six to seven magical girls in a district. Overall, there are few thousand magical girls in Japan, and the majority of them could be found in Matsuki.
Currently, Kaede, Homura, Madoka, and Alina Gray attends Middle School.
"An oath has to be taken right after enrollment to ensure its secrecy. There's no need to worry about confidentiality and stuff."
Romani shut down Mami's question before she could even ask.
"Wraiths will become stronger if humans feared it more. Of course, it is not that troublesome."
He knew a lot about magecraft that could do such purpose. Geass is an example of it. By signing the enrollment form (printed and modernized), they could not divulge the school's secret to anyone else. On the off chance someone manages to do so, their memories regarding this school would be wiped out.
"Headmaster!"
"Romani-san."
"Oh? How rare it is for Nagisa to be this active."
"Did the cheesecake guy arrive?"
"Cheesecake... guy?"
Romani's mind processed these words for a while before recalling how he used Shiro's name to resolve this girl's 'wish'.
"Ah. He did come along with me. He's just touring around the school. I'll go tell him later."
"Finally!"
When Nagisa was brought away by Kaede, he was met with Sayaka's facepalm and Mami's deadpan.
"Romani-san... I guess I should tell my sensei about this."
Sayaka sighed as his serious image collapsed on her mind.
"When did he promise something like that?"
Hearing Mami's question, Romani replied:
"Well... I suddenly blurted out his name when I thought of food. To be honest, I never expected for her to remember this until now..."
Meanwhile, Shiro's nose slightly itched.
"Romani? What did he do this time..?"
Creator-level powers works this way.
"How old are you?"
"From the day I was created... Nineteen."
"How did the two of you meet?"
"Through a game."
"A game?"
"A death game."
"Hum. Death battles... It could bring someone closer." Altera muttered. "I can see why you are the first."
Seeing Cardinal's straight-faced expression, she knew the girl is currently tense. It could fool most people, but not her.
"Let's stop with this interrogation for a while."
"Why..?" Altera tilted her head in confusion.
"You really..."
Castoria was speechless at her lack of social skills.
"You're making her look like a prisoner!"
"Really..? I apologize."
Fortunately, she was quick to amend her actions. Altera still has a sliver of common sense.
"There's no need to apologize. In fact, I expected this interaction to be more... hostile."
"What? Why?" Castoria asked.
"Because that's the opposite of how everything goes in light novels."
Cardinal knows light novels are fictional. Many events that happen are 'idealistic'. In real life, there would be no way things go that smoothly. It would be more probable for things to go sideways than for them to accept everyone within their first meeting.
"Ah!" The caster girl's eyes lit up in realization. "Didn't Shiro tell you about it?"
"He did. It's just... I would like to prepare for the worse."
"At least you didn't have to face that."
Altera continued Castoria's words.
"We would not go back on our words. We trust in his eyes to 'choose' his lovers."
"That's right! It's already a done deal!"
Hearing these two, Cardinal heaved a sigh of relief. Her tension was released. She became more expression upon doing so.
"How about we talk about how Shiro was when you met him?"
Prior to this talk, Shiro was asked to leave for a while. It coincided with the need to settle the matter of his magical girl students.
"I am interested."
"Alright..."
She began telling them his personality upon his 'reincarnation'.
"Shiro... He felt like a robot when he first came into the game."
Due to his amnesia, he lacked his 'self'. He does not have his sense of direction. His intuition and system missions were the only thing that guided him in his earlier days. He only followed his 'self-interest' when intervening in some events. Only when he interacted more with the other chat group members did he regain his sense of self.
"He is more of a 'player' than a real player. But that's what made him interesting."
Just like the sisters Yui and Strea, Cardinal had the freedom to watch over players' actions. Shiro stood out from what she watched over. He broke many rules of the game as well as the supposed limits on it. He's literally a 'bug' that broke the balance of the game. But then, she did not 'report' him to her creator, Kayaba Akihiko.
Instead, she watched over him.
"I didn't expect for him to reach out..."
"It's very like him to do."
Castoria recalled the unpredictable things he did upon their first meeting. Shiro asked if she was willing to become her friend—that their accidental meeting through the mirror is linked to their fate. He was right.
Cardinal continued on telling their stories. From his interactions with the other chat group members up until their stay in Terra. Meanwhile, the two brought back Sayaka and Mami to their respective world.
"It's been two weeks, sensei."
"Two weeks? The time ratio must've been messed up in this world..."
While he was gone, the two fended many troubles on the Emiya Household. The events of the 5th Holy Grail War stirred up the world. Its adjudicator (referee), Kotomine Kirei, died. There are also reports from Bazett, the representative of the Mages' Association, that Kirei had betrayed them with his attempted murder.
There's also the destruction of the Matou Family. With them gone, there are only two magician families left that created the holy grail. Lastly, the holy grail itself going missing. By the time representatives of the other organizations arrived, the Greater Grail was gone. The supposed Lesser Grail, Illya von Einzberg, had also gone missing.
This war stirred up the moonlit world, if not greater, than the 4th Grail War.
"You two didn't face some troubles, did you?"
"None."
"Nope!"
Mami and Sayaka responded.
"Aside from the training, we didn't do much." The latter added.
"It's here, Miki-san."
Shirou went out of the house while holding two cookie boxes.
"These might not suffice as a farewell gift..."
"It does. You don't need to worry about it!"
Seeing the two 'Heroes of Justice' this close, Shiro flashed a smile of his own.
"I'm glad you two found your paths."
"Right!" Sayaka thought of something. "Even if I am not here to watch, you still have Tohsaka-san to do so."
"W-what are you talking about?!"
Rin followed Shirou's back, only to hear these words.
"There's no need to hide it. I mean, everyone knows about your feelings already."
Sayaka looked at Mami and Artoria before responding to Shirou's look.
"I'm not wrong, right?"
"Um. Your actions are quite obvious, Rin."
Their words were met with Rin's blushing look. She averted her eyes, more so when Shirou looked at her with disbelief. An air of embarrassment loomed on top of their heads.
"Now, now... The Emiya of this world is still a womens' favorite." Romani commented from the sidelines. "All I could say is... good luck!"
Shirou sent a bewildered look at this stranger whom he hadn't met. Knowing the existence of parallel worlds and him being together with Shiro, he knew Romani must've known him in another world.
"Alright. I do hope you didn't make something strange on that school."
"I didn't. How many times do I need to respond to your questionable looks..?" Romani rubbed his forehead. "Really..."
"It's your fault. Who asked you to ask a Magical Girl on a forum... while it is literally a destiny-turning point?"
"Magi*Mari's advice are really reliable!"
"Yes, yes..."
"The others should really try it out later!"
Shiro retorted, "Pass. I don't want a ca—"
Just as he paused, Romani looked at him with confused eyes.
"No, it's nothing."
Romani felt something was going on. Unfortunately, he chose this himself. He erased his memories of that painful day—that time when his oshi turned out to be a guy.
"Alright, we'll be going out." Shiro added, "I'll be coming back within a few hours."
"Good luck, Emiya-kun. You too, Tohsaka-san and Saber-san."
"Farewells."
Sayaka and Mami made their goodbyes before the aurora curtain engulfed the four of them.
*****
Matsuki School.
Taken from the etymology magic (ma) and moon (tsuki), it was recently established on Mitakihara Town. It is an all-girls school consisting of more than 1,500 students. It accepted everyone from middle school to high school (12 to 18 years old). Due to its population, the middle school and high school are separated into two different buildings. Interestingly, Matsuki Middle School was built on Mitakihara Town. Its counterpart, Matsuki High School, was built on Tokyo.
It caused a wave on the town as its direction is a rich and influential person. Moreover, it took in many foreign exchange students. It is also affiliated with many top-level universities on Japan such as Tokyo and Kyoto University.
It proved how popular it was despite only accommodating 1,500 students on both Middle School and High School. It became an elite school in the eyes of many.
What the general populace did not know was that—
"Pyon-chan!"
A white-haired girl ran towards a floating black and white bunny plushy. She pointed her bubble gun towards another girl, only for her entire arm to be entangled with vines.
"You still have a long way to go, Nagisa-chan."
"Mu...!"
—this school only accepted magical girls.
The vines soon removed themselves from Momoe Nagisa.
"You're just too strong, Kaede! I bet you could handle most of the wraiths out there!"
After a part of Madoka became the 'Law of Cycles', the existence of 'Witches' were removed from this universe. Still, the negative emotions condensed on another way—wraiths. The difference was that: 1.) Magical Girls would no longer be corrupted into Witches; and 2.) The Law of Cycles is the one granting the girls their wishes instead of Incubators.
Madoka's wish at that time was simple. She wanted everyone to be happy. Under the others' example, she knew the power to protect themselves is necessary. Other than that, the 'Law of Cycles' provided 'protection' to the new magical girls in the form of two things: mentorship and second chance.
The former allowed them to seek for a mentor—a veteran magical girl with months of experience. The student would gain precious experience while the mentor gains more power. Simply put, it is a mentorship system. As for the latter, it saves a magical girl from peril. It is something that every magical girl could only use once in their career.
These things turned the magical system from harmful into a helpful power system. It is in sharp contrast to the former magical girl system made by the Incubators.
'I would have died back then if not for my strength.'
Kaede and Nagisa are one of the few magical girls that remembered the previous world—the one that contained Witches. Most of the magical girls forgot about its existence.
"You need to practice more if you want to become strong."
"Eh... We already have you and the student council!"
Matsuki Middle School's student council consisted of the strongest magical girls on the school. That included Kaname Madoka, Akemi Homura, Akino Kaede, as well as foreign exchange students like Alina Gray. This only made the students' admiration of the "Headmaster" skyrocket. If the student council are this strong, how strong would he be?
Hence, Romani is known as the enigmatic headmaster in this school.
"He wouldn't fulfill your wish if you laze around."
"Mn..! I see! For the lifetime supply of cheesecakes!"
Nagisa owed a great debt to a certain someone. In exchange for fixing the dilemma she made—which is to wish for a cheesecake instead of healing her mother—she has to show efforts towards being a better magical girl. Undoubtedly, Nagisa is one of the youngest magical girls in this school. It is also the reason why she made a dumb mistake.
Fortunately, Shiro purified her Soul Gem while Romani rectified her mistake by reviving her mother. After Romani showed her mother how she had been, she had a change of heart. From the cruel and irresponsible mother she was, she tried to become better. While these memories are once again wiped in her mind to ensure a normal life, those strong feelings remained.
In short, she owes her current life to these two people.
"The headmaster told me a white-haired man would fulfill my wish... When will he come?" Nagisa asked.
"That..."
It has been more than one and a half years since the fight against the Walpurgisnacht. Since then, nobody in this world has seen Shiro. Although, Romani did mention that he will be coming back soon.
As to when it was?
He never gave a specific date.
"Romani-san told me that it would be—"
Suddenly, an orange-haired man emerged from their sights. Along with him are two girls—a tomboyish blue-haired girl and an elegant blonde-haired girl.
"A school for us..."
"This is... new."
The sight of this school made a huge impact to Sayaka and Mami, especially to the latter. She never had any comrades nor acquaintances that knew her secrets.
Most of the time, she rarely meets magical girls. Only when a magical girl from another district visits would she interact with them. This is attributed to the fact that magical girls are scarce.
In a town, there are only three to four magical girls. Meanwhile, there could be six to seven magical girls in a district. Overall, there are few thousand magical girls in Japan, and the majority of them could be found in Matsuki.
Currently, Kaede, Homura, Madoka, and Alina Gray attends Middle School.
"An oath has to be taken right after enrollment to ensure its secrecy. There's no need to worry about confidentiality and stuff."
Romani shut down Mami's question before she could even ask.
"Wraiths will become stronger if humans feared it more. Of course, it is not that troublesome."
He knew a lot about magecraft that could do such purpose. Geass is an example of it. By signing the enrollment form (printed and modernized), they could not divulge the school's secret to anyone else. On the off chance someone manages to do so, their memories regarding this school would be wiped out.
"Headmaster!"
"Romani-san."
"Oh? How rare it is for Nagisa to be this active."
"Did the cheesecake guy arrive?"
"Cheesecake... guy?"
Romani's mind processed these words for a while before recalling how he used Shiro's name to resolve this girl's 'wish'.
"Ah. He did come along with me. He's just touring around the school. I'll go tell him later."
"Finally!"
When Nagisa was brought away by Kaede, he was met with Sayaka's facepalm and Mami's deadpan.
"Romani-san... I guess I should tell my sensei about this."
Sayaka sighed as his serious image collapsed on her mind.
"When did he promise something like that?"
Hearing Mami's question, Romani replied:
"Well... I suddenly blurted out his name when I thought of food. To be honest, I never expected for her to remember this until now..."
Meanwhile, Shiro's nose slightly itched.
"Romani? What did he do this time..?"
Creator-level powers works this way.
