"So at least someone is able to control some of those kids makes it a good thing. Also, you are a beautiful young woman, so you get extras."
I only smiled at his blatant attempt to flirt with the female exorcist on the spot. There was a small bet going around town that he would eventually get slapped by one of the women he would meet on occasions.
...
"Hamada-san, you might want to control yourself, otherwise your daughter might catch word of this." My comment made him drop his smile and go pale at the implication. I merely chuckled as I walked away from him with my groceries, the exorcists following shortly after thanking him for the buns.
"This town area is rather peaceful." Griselda nodded in light approval as she looked around the area. "There was a report about the increasing numbers of Stray Devils entering the town, but it seems to be dealt with quite well."
"It helps that the two caretakers are willing to go out and take care of the problems themselves." I commented as I eyed a decently priced fish from one of the stores. "Most supernatural creatures would not go out of their way to protect the common folk. They would usually just feed off whatever came into their area or hightailed it out of here."
"Perhaps it is true for the devils here, but I believe you are being too modest by not mentioning your own efforts." Griselda leveled her eyes at me. "I have collected all the information I could get on you, which admittedly wasn't much, but basically you helped to clear the town of those strays and maintain the secrecy of our work, especially with Regeis. If anything, it seems you have done this before."
"Many times over." I rolled my eyes at that bit of information as I thought back to all the missions I have ever done as an Enforcer for the Clock Tower. "It is extremely annoying to have to do damage control after each major mission, not helped when one out of ten magus decides to announce to the world about the supernatural in the most explosive manner possible."
"Sounds like a lot of work." Irina commented as she listened.
"Yes, so much memory-wiping spells and at least a day's worth of paperwork." I sighed at the memories I had on all my missions. "It gets repetitive to the point that I needed a whole cabinet just for the documents alone, and another for all the memory-alteration spells in the event I needed them."
"That's… rather extreme." Xenovia blinked as she took in my story.
"When you dealt with your fifth bombastic magus, you start to prepare for such things." I answered back in a heartbeat.
"Well then, I guess you will need to prepare that paperwork now."
The fours of us stopped at the same moment upon hearing that voice and turned as one at the young man who was standing in front of us with a loose but notable stance of combat.
"Lyle Wallner!" Griselda's eyes went wide while the two apprentices got into a battle stance. I took a quick glance of the area and noted that the streets were unusually empty. Seemed like a spell was cast to keep people out and our conversation private.
"I am not here to fight. I am here to have a talk with the magician." Lyle said calmly while eyeing the weapons that were to be reached by the exorcists.
"Like we would let some traitor be standing around and spreading lies with his mouth." Xenovia grabbed Excalibur Destruction just short of drawing it out. "I will cut you down right here and then we can talk about where you have hidden the other Excalibur Shards."
"I would imagine that you would enjoy that, but I would ask that you refrain from your actions. First point, I won't be able to talk after you cut me down. Second point, we are in a very public area and I believe you know better than to initiate a fight in the open. Lastly" Lyle pointed a finger at me as he talked. "Unless I am much mistaken, the magician over there has placed a spell in this area to ensure no one with bad intentions try to fight here otherwise they would suffer some sort of feedback." That got them to pause for a moment while looking at me for confirmation.
"I'm impressed. I think you are the first one who has seen through the wards." I replied easily to confirm their thoughts and to get a read on the fellow in front of me. "Granted they were low grade versions, but even the devils living here wouldn't be able to detect them."
"That is true, I myself can't feel them. But there were signs that there was some sort of spell to deter any with violent intentions." Lyle motioned with his thumb at some high school delinquents slumped on the wall and looking a little dazed. "Earlier on, those guys tried to stir up some trouble at the market place, but something shocked them and the majority dropped on the spot. The bigger guy took a longer period but eventually went down as well. This has happened a few more times with other people when I was observing the area."
"Those guys do not know anything else other than wreck the stores around here, so I had to incorporate a spell that would discourage them depending on the level of ill-intent they have. More often than not, that always seems to be the default state they would get in. At the very least, the residents do not have to worry too much about them." I shrugged easily.
"That type of spell sounds like it would be ideal for prison riots rather than a shopping district." Xenovia remarked in a disbelieving tone.
"Technically speaking, the spell is designed for hot-headed idiots who like to plunge headfirst into battles without considering the lives of the innocents around them or trying to uphold the masquerade of normalcy, all the while ignoring the advice of people who know better." I answered her statement with that and an expression that left little doubt of who I was referring to and what I meant. I turned back to find Lyle with a raised eyebrow at the interaction. "Long story."
"… Okay." I would give Lyle props for quick recovery from weird conversations. Said person motioned with his hand to the side. "May we continue this conversation elsewhere? Preferably with chairs because I believe this conversation would take a while." I looked at the corner of my eye at the trio of exorcists before turning back to him.
"I might know a place."
...
"This is not what I had in mind when you said you knew a place." Griselda remarked while Irina and Xenovia blinked as they looked around at the half-furnished bar they were in.
"Well, it's not like we can talk in the open with everyone else dressed like there is some carnival going on. We would probably need some place private, and this place was the closest." I replied as I placed a small tray of refreshments on the table. "This is supposed to be a sister shop to be used by my boss to sell pastries and other snacks, so it is undergoing some repairs. No one would find us here." I placed one of the drinks in front of our guest. "Here, one for you."
"My thanks." Lyle bowed his head lightly before taking the drink and starting a very odd ritual of taking out a pouch, taking several vials and charms out and slowly test the drink. After a few drops from the vials and checking his charms, he nodded and took a sip of the drink.
"… You know, if it wasn't for the fact that I had a similar habit of checking for poisons, I would be greatly insulted by your actions." I sat on my chair while raising an eyebrow. "When it comes to the kitchen, the role of the chef is to make sure nothing goes wrong with the food."
"My apologies, Shirou Emiya. It is a habit, and I am in enemy territory." Lyle replied easily as he took another sip of the drink. "If it is of any comfort to you, this drink is very nice. A touch of Darjeeling with a hint of cinnamon?"
"Close." I shrugged back at him before taking a seat and drinking my brew. "There is another ingredient that helps to control the cinnamon."
"Hmm, I believe nutmeg is added to this." Lyle took a whiff of the drink as he pondered. "It certainly helps, though I believe something a little more citreous would be appropriate."
"Hmm, tried that, nothing seems to fit." I answered as I tasted my brew thoughtfully. "Any suggestions?"
"Perhaps a few drops of grapefruit and a couple of pomegranate juice? That might help with the cinnamon while boosting the nutmeg." Lyle commented as he took another sip. "Though you probably need to hold back on the cinnamon in the end."
"Hmm, that would be quite an interesting combination. Thanks for the suggestion."
"No problem."
"Are you two kidding me?" Xenovia growled at the odd conversation we were having. "What happened to the important message you want to tell us?"
"She's a big ball of sunshine, ain't she?" I rolled my eyes at her expression.
"Indeed. A big ball that is in need of an attitude adjustment. But she has a point." Lyle looked at us slowly before opening his mouth.
"We will be conducting a ritual tonight at Kuoh Academy to merge the Excalibur Shards into one sword, during which Lord Kokabiel and the Archbishop will be attending. Your comrade Kiba Yuuto is currently under the control of Galilei's device, so you will end up fighting three of us in total before you can deal with Kokabiel himself. If you do not stop the ritual in time, this town will likely be destroyed and the very big possibility of the different factions fighting each other in another Great War."
"…"
A silence descended in the shop as the rest of us took in what he said while the speaker himself took another sip of the drink, lightly nodding in approval. Then Xenovia slammed her hands on the table and said the one thought that was likely in all our heads.
"Bullshit!"
I was thinking something with less cursing, but yeah basically that.
...
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