Waver wiped the tea from his lips, glaring at Shinji with a mixture of irritation and disbelief.
"You... where the hell do you get all this information? How do you even know about something like this?"
Now it was Shinji's turn to be surprised. He gave Waver a once-over, then teased, "So it really is true that she's your fiancée? I always thought you'd end up married to magecraft instead."
Waver snorted. "What, you think I'd just spend my life alone and miserable?"
"Fair enough."
Shinji nodded in understanding.
As the academic heir to Kayneth and the current steward of the Modern Magecraft Department, it was inevitable that Waver would marry. And, naturally, his spouse would have ties to the El-Melloi lineage.
What surprised Shinji, however, was that Waver ended up connected to Reines.
Reines, while part of the El-Melloi family, was only distantly related to Kayneth. If Kayneth were orchestrating a marriage for Waver, surely there would have been better matches within the family.
It was worth noting that, unlike in the original Fate timeline where Kayneth's death had led to the El-Melloi family's decline, in this world, Kayneth was alive and well. The El-Melloi family was thriving, bolstered by their collaboration with Shinji.
"My mentor doesn't think the other women in his family are suitable for me," Waver said with a touch of resignation. "He says I'm too honest."
Shinji smirked. "You are pretty honest. Otherwise, I wouldn't be bossing you around so easily."
"Gee, thanks."
A cross-shaped vein bulged on Waver's forehead.
"But why did you go for such a young girl?" Shinji pressed, eager to continue teasing. "Don't tell me you're into loli—"
"It was Reines who approached me!"
Waver cut him off, clearly alarmed at where the conversation was headed.
"Her branch of the family is too far removed from the main line. She knew it would be hard for her to rise on her own, so she sought me out. I saw that she had talent, wasn't malicious, and her magecraft skills are decent. So, I didn't reject her."
"Didn't reject her?" Shinji raised an eyebrow.
"Obviously, I wouldn't be so hasty about something as serious as marriage. But at the same time, I couldn't just turn the girl away."
A trace of helplessness crossed Waver's face.
"Things have been tense at the Clock Tower lately. Someone like Reines, from a fringe family branch, wouldn't have it easy right now."
"What's going on? Are the Aristocrats planning to make a move on us?"
Shinji straightened his posture, his tone turning serious.
Waver shook his head slightly. "It's not the Aristocrats. It's the rising magus families."
Hearing this, Shinji's expression darkened with disdain. "They dare?"
"They do, because the Aristocrats have been encouraging them. So you wouldn't be wrong to say it's the Aristocrats stirring the pot."
Waver's tone grew grave. "You know how these upstarts are desperate to curry favor with the noble families."
"Risking their lives for a mere bone to chew on. How pathetic," Shinji remarked with a mocking tone.
The so-called "rising magus families" referred to magus families only two or three generations old.
They were called families, not lineages or houses, because they lacked the legacy and members necessary to earn those titles.
These upstarts had always longed for recognition from the old noble families, but it was laughable to think the Aristocrats, entrenched in their centuries-old traditions, would ever take such people seriously.
"Lapdogs don't get to make choices."
For once, Waver's words were laced with uncharacteristic sharpness, his disdain for the situation clear.
"The Aristocrats have been dangling bait in front of them, offering promises of benefits to get them to cause trouble. You know how they dream of marrying into the noble families."
"Do they really believe this will 'improve their bloodlines'?"
Shinji used air quotes as he spoke, his expression dripping with scorn.
Waver set down his teacup calmly, his face impassive.
"I doubt any noble family would willingly marry into such riffraff. At most, they might throw them a couple of untalented, unimportant illegitimate daughters."
The disdain on Shinji's face deepened. "And they're willing to be used as pawns just for that? Truly domesticated, aren't they?"
The rising families had originally been nothing more than a loose collection of individuals. It was the Aristocrats who had deliberately cultivated them into a force, albeit one meant to be manipulated at will.
Almost every parallel world's Clock Tower faces conflict between new magus and Old Noble magus families
In most parallel worlds, however, the old noble magus families hold such overwhelming advantages that the new commoner magus pose no real threat.
After all, not everyone can become a mage-killer like Kiritsugu Emiya or possess the cheat-like abilities of Shirou Emiya.
Even the Emiya duo, at best, could deal with a non-combat-oriented mage like Kayneth. They would stand no chance against the true monsters of the Clock Tower.
Thus, in most worlds, the aristocrats' dominance remains unshaken.
Except in the world Shinji found himself in.
Here, the decline of "mystery" has eroded the old families' superiority. While the nobles still retain certain advantages, the sheer number of new-generation magus makes up for the gap.
To maintain their rule, the old families cultivated a group of lapdogs—what Waver and Shinji call the "rising faction."
These people, though only one or two generations into magecraft, believe in the noble bloodline theory and look down on magus of common birth.
They think that, after a few generations of magus marrying each other, their descendants can also be considered "mage nobility."
Ironically, they look down on commoner magus the same way the noble families look down on them.
The aristocrats, recognizing this mentality, gathered these people to act as enforcers and preserve their power.
That's the polite way of putting it. In truth, they're just a group of lapdogs—ones even despised by their masters.
One aristocrat summed it up bluntly:
"These so-called 'families' that can't even fill a single sheet of paper with their members dare to call themselves 'houses'? Pah! Who would associate with such filth? They have no shame, but we nobles certainly do!"
Shinji was no stranger to these rising families. Back when he spent most of his time at the Clock Tower, he often mingled with their daughters.
The Matou name alone was enough to make these rising families practically throw their daughters into Shinji's bed.
The Matou family, after all, descended from the Zolgen lineage, a bona fide old noble mage house.
Even someone as strict as Tohko Aozaki might call Shinji a "traitor," but never question his bloodline or origins.
Technically, Waver himself could be considered part of the rising faction.
But his fortunes changed when Kayneth took him under his wing as a disciple and brought him into the El-Melloi family.
Although not related by blood, Waver's bond with Kayneth was like that of father and son. At the Clock Tower, Waver's influence rivaled or even exceeded that of several minor Lords.
As such, the rising faction had always dreamed of recruiting Waver to their side.
But all they ever got in return was Kayneth's curt "Get lost!"
What puzzled Shinji was why the rising faction now dared to challenge old families led by himself and Kayneth. Even with the backing of other aristocrats, they were far from qualified.
"They don't have the guts to target core families directly," Waver explained. "They're going after fringe figures like Reines instead."
"But that's their goal—to provoke us into intervening. Then the aristocrats will have an excuse to interfere as well."
"Such petty schemes," Shinji said with irritation. "If they truly dared to confront us head-on, I might actually call them 'good dogs.' But this sneaky behavior? Utterly beneath notice!"
"Indeed, nothing but clowns." Waver rubbed his temples with a sigh. "Still, sometimes even scoundrels can succeed. That's why I hope you can take a team back to Fuyuki City. Officially, say it's for recruitment by your company. That includes Reines as well."
"No problem, I'll handle it."
While it might be a hassle to relocate so many people, gaining a fresh group of talented magi for his company was well worth it in Shinji's eyes.
"Oh, and one more thing." Waver added.
"What is it?"
Boom!
A deafening crash sounded from outside. Waver sighed deeply.
"Please take your childhood friend with you as well. The Modern Magecraft Department can no longer handle her destruction."
Shinji's expression froze.
Wait a minute. Haven't I seen this script before? Damn it, Waver, do you think I came to Britain for fun?!
Shinji's face twitched involuntarily.
The reason he'd chosen to spend the New Year in Britain instead of celebrating with his family was simple: he needed to get away.
Back home, things had become unbearable thanks to two overly rowdy King of Knights.
The two women, who couldn't stand each other, seemed physically incapable of going a day without fighting.
In just a few days, they had turned Fuyuki City into their personal battleground: on open fields, rooftops, snowy landscapes, riverbanks, forests, employee break rooms, bedrooms, even the bathhouse.
Every place Shinji could imagine being suitable for romance—or a heated fight—had been used as their dueling grounds.
Keywords included but were not limited to: outdoors, horseless jousting, beauties, sparring, ripping clothing, and, of course, shattered knightly pride.
While the spectacle was certainly eye-catching, it came at a cost. The two King of Knights were so destructive that every fight ended with the battleground utterly wrecked.
Money wasn't the issue. After all, Shinji had long been accustomed to his group of Heroic Spirit-turned-house-wreckers causing mayhem.
But the sheer chaos and noise had made it impossible for Shinji, who just wanted to relax at year's end, to get any peace.
Forced to seek refuge, Shinji fled to Britain.
And yet here he was, now facing another round of destruction.
At this moment, Shinji only had one heartfelt thought:
'Damn it! Refund my money!'
<+>
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