If there is one thing that came out of this that worked out in my favour, it’s the fact that Rin Tohsaka will be in the hospital for who knows how long. That extended my original timeframe and allowed me to prepare some precautions.

  When I set out, it was the dead of night. I wanted to minimize the number of people who saw me, so I reduced my visibility. My all-bck outfit helped in that regard, covering any noticeable details. I packed a bag with all the possible tools I would need and set off.

  I leapt and bound across Japanese-style houses. The Emiya manor is in the traditional district, while the Tohsaka mansion is in the foreigners’ district. Since it was all just houses, I merely jumped with Reinforcement from pce to pce and didn’t need to flex my parkour skills.

  The Tohsaka residence. One of four evocation sites of the Holy Grail. Located on the southern end, where the western houses are. Known throughout the neighbourhood for being a haunted house. The mansion has been home to the Tohsakas for at least two generations. It is also protected by a strong Bounded Field. I don’t know much beyond that, and that worries me.

  40-60 years is already a lot of time to prepare defences. Add more time to that, and who knows what can happen? I haven’t tried to learn what the field does lest it trigger or worse.

  ‘Then again, what I did beforehand was to ensure I didn’t brute force anything.’ I pull out my Projected key and unlock the front door.

  Slowly walking through, I keep all my senses on high alert. I doubt there is an electronic security system, but there is a high chance of there being a magical one.

  The furniture all shares a dark oak look with a light beige on the walls and the cushions. With a keen eye, you can see what items are being used and what aren’t. That happens when a small number of people live in a house meant for more people. They don't have any magical textbooks lying on the main floor, so I head up to the top floor.

  The first room I enter is what I assume to be Rin’s bedroom. While trying to keep her privacy, I search thoroughly and minimally. I managed to find some magic textbooks without crossing any lines I wouldn’t want to.

  “Trace-” I said, ready to Trace the book before a thought went into my head. ‘What if the defences trigger when I cast a spell?’

  If something happens when I use magic, who knows what can happen if I take something valuable out of the house? Damned if I do and damned if I don’t, and I’ve come too far to get nothing.

  For now, I put the textbook in the living room. I’ll pce the rest of what I find on the table to organize what is necessary. I then go into the master bedroom.

  This is Rin’s bedroom. That I am certain of. The dark oak theming of the furniture has spread to the walls and created a darker atmosphere. This room feels more lived-in than the previous one. So I use the same level of scavenging I did before. The same amount turns up.

  This was Rin’s parents' bedroom. Tokiomi died during the Grail, while Aoi suffered permanent brain damage. To lose your parents at such a young age...

  Stop that; you have a job to finish.

  I clear out Tokiomi’s study easily. There is a desk that I practically pull apart to see what’s inside. The bookshelf would be perfect in a library with how many old books. I skim through them and take what I assume will be worth my time.

  Finally, I reached the basement. While there are many things I want to do, I should stick to my objective. Maybe some other time I can be more thorough. That said, I notice a chest tucked away.

  I might not be taking anything, but it would be a good red herring if I opened it.

  Since I don’t want to set off anything, I have to do this the old-fashioned way. Thankfully, I already have a pick and tensioning tool.

  I’m using a wire coat hanger, but I also have a bobby pin and paper clip in case. With some careful finagling, I get the lock off. However, there is an additional lock on the case. Thankfully, I’ve dealt with simir items.

  I take out a fthead screwdriver and push it at an angle until it turns 90 degrees. When I can move it no further, I pull the whole assembly out. With that, all that's needed is to flip the switches and open the top.

  As I thought, nothing in here will be that useful...

  I gently take a piece of paper out of the box and inspect it. It’s quite old, so I can’t be rough with it.

  ‘This Formalcraft sigil would make my pn much easier,’ I thought, taking it with me. I end up back in the living room, where I look at my dragon’s horde. Instead of gold, its knowledge is worth its weight in gold.

  Now that I’ve gathered everything I found useful, I need to find a way to transport this to my home.

  Stealing is a no-go. Not only will that hinder Rin’s learning, but when we team up, I’d rather not have to hide the fact that I stole from her.

  Using any magecraft will cause a reaction, so if I need to use it, I must make it count. Hopefully, all I’d need to do is copy everything and make a mad dash before things get out of hand.

  “Trace On,” I said. And then it happened.

  The arm that glowed thanks to channelling mana started to get crushed.

  The soft hum from my arm got cut off by a loud crunch.

  As far as I can tell, there’s nothing physically trying to ftten my limb, so I assume it's the defences. I don’t know where it's coming from, and it's more trouble than it's worth searching for.

  Thankfully, my hoodie is soaking up all the blood my arm’s leaking. It's best if I burn this and buy a new one…

  That gives me an idea. I take off the article of clothing. My arm glows once more with its partner accompanying it. The pain returns as well.

  “燃やす(burn),” I said, aiming my hands at the top. Slower than normal, a ball of fire formed. Once it reached a good enough size, I unched it.

  The spell from the Muramasa Crest is intended to be a fire starter, but all types of fires are great for burning shit. I would know.

  With the remaining strength in my arms, I throw them into the papers. They scatter wildly.

  Satisfied with the mess I had made, I walked out of the house. It was only when I was out of range that I Reinforced my legs to go home.

  (The Next Day...)

  If I had to describe my current surroundings, it would be an organized mess. To the outside eye, this would look like something from a mad scientist’s b or something, which isn’t too far from the truth.

  Currently, I’m in Ryuudou cavern underneath Mount Enzou. I’m seated on a bnket in the centre of the three-kilometre cave, whereas my rightfully acquired notes are piled around me.

  The approach of loud footsteps alerted me to another presence. I silently prepare my Magic Circuits for an attack.

  “Is that the way you greet a king?” The visitor asked. Turning around, I see the visage of the King of Heroes.

  “My apologies, your majesty. I did not know when you would arrive. Had I known, there would be a greater dispy,” I answered honestly and calmly, having composed myself.

  “Do not insult me with such a phrase. All mongrels should be able to sense the approach of their king and always be prepared for his arrival.” I decided not to answer that for my safety.

  “I hope those scraps were worth your arms. You cannot fulfill your purpose as my smith with broken arms.”

  “They were,” I replied simply. "Thankfully, this works in my favour. It would be suspicious if I went through such a dangerous situation without so much as a scratch. And as for the spell...”

  A piece of chalk floated to my side and spun around. “My Projections can levitate on my command, so I thought, ‘Why can’t this trait be transferred to non-Projections?’ It's spotty and still relies on my connection to swords, but it will be immensely useful.”

  “I see. It seems you are not as limited in your capabilities as I thought,” Gilgamesh praised?

  “Here are those gems you wanted.” He threw the bag in his hand at me. With both my arms in casts, it wasn’t easy to catch them.

  “Thank you, your majesty.” With that, I began the operation. The chalk danced around the cave, drawing symbols, lines, and circles.

  With the frame of the spell made, I take out the gems from the bag. It's a random assortment of high-quality jewels that would make anybody jealous. Well… almost anybody.

  Regardless, the crystals are pced in a system that would best store the mana.

  “Aren’t you forgetting something?” Gilgamesh asked. I looked back at him, and his eye twitched.

  “When I did this favour for you, it was under the assumption that I would be given something in return.”

  “Of course, your majesty. I shall do whatever you ask of me, so long as it is within my power,”

  “While you speak sincerely, I doubt you will follow through with that. Nevertheless, my request is simple,” Gilgamesh said, pausing for dramatic effect.

  “Give me a portion of what you collect from the leyline.” I paused what I was doing.

  That... could be very helpful or very harmful to me. Probably both.

  On the one hand, a stronger Gilgamesh on my side can tear shit up. Plus, it would be more effective than the orph-

  “Stop using the orphans then,” I said before realizing and immediately covering my mouth with my hands.

  “Hmm. I forget that you know things that no mongrel should,” Gilgamesh simply responded. “Very well, I hated using them to begin with.”

  I exhale in relief, knowing the King of Heroes will not sign my casts with his treasury.

  With all the prep work done, it's time to activate the spell.

  “Звоните. Рисовать. Поток. (Call. Drawing. Flow.)” I said, using the Matou magecraft I learned to start the system. Next were the gems. “ Fluss. Gie?en. Halten. Bewahren. (River. Pour. Hold. Preserve.)”

  The lines of chalk glowed as if they were Magic Circuits. I could see the mana flow into the gems. The jewels shone brilliantly. It's a bit too brilliantly, actually. Shouldn't it…

  BOOM

  With incredible speed, I Reinforce the casts before the bst goes off, and I am not damaged by it. However, I am pushed back by it.

  “Looks like this is going to take a lot of time,” I said, letting my head rest on the ground afterwards.

  (…)

  Tohsaka Rin was thrilled when she was discharged from the hospital. Not being able to move your body has a way of infuriating people.

  The visits didn’t help. Most of them were good-natured, but she hated keeping up her persona. And don’t even get her started on her interactions with the fake priest. If she didn’t know any better, she’d think he dedicated his entire existence to pissing people off.

  There was someone who was... tolerable. Emiya Shirou. Kid Genius, survivor of renowned tragedy and world-famous author. If you met him without knowing his name, you couldn’t tell.

  He made it a habit to always visit after school with her homework and offer help should she need it (which she never did). Whenever she compined about something about her stay at the hospital when he was around, it would be fixed one way or another.

  But enough about him; finally she would be in her house again and sleep in her comfortable bed...

  ‘What the hell happened here?’ Rin thought as she walked into her mansion.

  The first thing that caught her eye was the burnt hoodie. Next was the spread of studies and tomes on Jewelcraft in her living room. That was when she decided to investigate everything.

  She spent more time than she probably needed, but her status as a Magus was being challenged. As head of the Tohsaka family, she needed to respond in kind.

  She scoured every room, checked every tome and study paper owned by the family, and opened chests and lockboxes to see if anything was stolen. She even inspected her fridge and closet to see if anything happened to them.

  The only things taken were the papers on Jewel Craft, all in the living room. That begs the question: What happened?

  The defence system was set up before she left, so the thief might have triggered it before they could escape. Rin has never seen the system against someone, so she wouldn’t know what happened.

  The thief is a Magus, no doubt. Going for what they did is something only a Magi would do.

  However, the only Magi family in Fuyuki other than the Tohsakas is the Makiris. But they have long since lost their capacity to cast spells and changed their names to the Matou.

  So if not a family, then just a single Magus. But that would take forever to find.

  Heh. It’s funny. When Shirou visited for the second time, he had casts on both arms. It's a strange coincidence, but he could never be the one who broke into her house...

  Right?

  (…)

  When you hear the term criminal underworld, your mind gravitates to a fictional setting, right?

  Why wouldn’t it? The idea of assassins, spies, and the like is too outrageous to be anything but make-believe. But there are many things people tend to overlook.

  The hardest thing to kill is an idea. Because once it is thought of, it can only spread. If 99% of the world doesn’t believe something, then that leaves 1% of the Earth’s popution. With how many people there are, that's a lot of people thinking the same thing.

  With that, it's only time, skill, and money. For some, all it takes is the tter's promise to do anything.

  This waste disposal pnt is a perfect example. To the average person, it’s nothing more than where garbage and the like are taken care of. However, the service changes slightly for those who peek behind the curtain.

  The rotting smell persists throughout the area. The fmes produce smoke and smog that flows outward. While trash disposal is still happening, the trash becomes more organic after standard hours.

  A man is seen driving a truck into the pnt. The truck is used for shipping storage containers from pce to pce, not waste management.

  Everyone who sees him proceeds as if nothing strange is going on. Some ask for ID, and another guides them into the parking lot.

  “What’s inside?” someone asked.

  “Bodies. Children. Unsure if dead or alive,” the driver answered. The workers open the container to see the bodies of children in a state that can be considered both dead and alive.

  “Christ! How the hell did that happen?” Someone shouted.

  “I’d pay not to know,” another dismissed. The bodies are transported into an inconspicuous building.

  “Who was the poor sod who was asked to take care of this?” Someone asked.

  “That was me,” a worker answered. “It was two people. One felt like he could pay for everything I ever wanted. The other felt like someone who could manifest every nightmare I’ve had.”

  “That doesn’t matter.” Someone said, “What matters is that the bodies need to be disposed of.” With that, the workers went on with their business.

  “Hey! Before someone does anything with the bodies, I need to make a call.”

  “With your client, I assume?”

  “Yup!” The man grabbed the phone and dialled the number.

  “Hello?” someone on the other end asked.

  “Mr. Gravehill? I have something you have to see!”

  “Oh really? Well, if you say it like that, then how am I to say no?”

  (Three years ter…)

  As you may have noticed, this was a two-parter. This and eleven were originally one chapter, but midway through writing, I realized how massive it became.

  Something that also could have been noticed was the ending bit. Yes, there is going to be a time skip. Sorry if that ruins the surprise.

  Regardless, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I would like to thank my editors for there help. (One of them I'm pretty sure being my first commenter on this site.)

  This is FmingHotGarbage, signing off.