In the dead of night, most of the lights in the Loki Familia had been extinguished, and everyone had fallen into deep sleep.
"This really is a nice place," Ritsuka thought as she sat on the roof of the tower, looking up at the sparse starry sky and sighing in her heart.
During the banquet, in front of all her future companions, Loki had introduced her grandly, saying it was a custom of the Loki Familia, and everyone had responded positively, expressing their anticipation for the new member.
Except for a certain cocky werewolf, she had met many nice people on her first night in the Loki Familia.
Her loosened hair fluttered in the night breeze; Ritsuka hugged her knees, buried her face in her legs, and kept her gaze on the starry sky above.
'That day, what exactly was Kiritsugu thinking about while looking at the starry sky?'
Ritsuka pondered.
To be honest, the feeling of joining the Familia was quite good; all the seniors had a sense of parental generosity that allowed her to feel at ease subconsciously—a feeling she hadn't experienced in a long time.
Even during those five years of wandering the world, the pressure that had surged after Kiritsugu's death had never existed before.
"If I became strong enough, could I change Father's ending?"
Reversing time, rewriting fate...
It sounded far too fantastical; even these gods of Orario probably couldn't do something so exaggerated, or at least the incredibly powerful Loki couldn't do it.
Ritsuka clenched her fists toward the sky.
At this moment, the crystal dice reacted, making her pause slightly.
[Ais Wallenstein (Sword Princess)]
[synchronization value (15%)]
What is going on?
Ritsuka's brain short-circuited for a moment, then she laughed subconsciously, having guessed a regrettable possibility.
That beautiful, slight figure flashed before her eyes for an instant.
"So,'Sword Princess' Ais Wallenstein is also searching for something."
"Searching for what?"
"Whoa!!"
The sudden voice from behind gave Ritsuka a big fright; her balance faltered, and she almost slipped off the tower roof.
Someone pulled her, dragging her back onto the roof.
"Riveria—"
Ritsuka stared with dead fish eyes, turning to glare at Riveria, who was covering her mouth and giggling behind her. This person had deliberately snuck up to scare her; she was quite mean-spirited.
Riveria made a fist with her right hand, brought it to her mouth to cough, and then put on a serious face, "I see you aren't sleeping in the middle of the night, staying here alone. Is something on your mind?"
"If you don't mind, I would like to be a listener for once."
As the veteran senior of the Familia, the 'Mother Riveria' in Loki's words, although Riveria didn't mentally identify with it, she always subconsciously interacted with the younger members of the Familia like a mother.
Ritsuka scratched her head, suddenly feeling somewhat ashamed to speak, feeling embarrassed in her heart.
The way she had just clenched her fist toward the sky must have looked incredibly stupid...
"Do you really want to hear it? My story might be very boring."
"Mm-hmm, I am very interested. Your heart and will are very strong; you must have gone through unimaginable hardships, right?"
Riveria grinned and extended a finger to poke Ritsuka, who was pouting; her puffed-up cheeks were very elastic.
"My story has to start with a certain man..."
The crystal dice flickered slightly. Ritsuka took out an exquisite box, and after opening it, a short gun appeared in Riveria's line of sight. This gun was somewhat similar to the magic stone firearms she knew of.
Ritsuka gently took out the Mystic Code; this could be considered a relic of Emiya Kiritsugu.
"My hometown doesn't use the kind of magic found here in Orario, but rather something called Magecraft, and mana is provided by special mimetic organs."
Ritsuka took a deep breath, and azure traces slowly appeared on her cheeks, "Consuming life force, converting it into the necessary mana, and then you can use Magecraft."
"People who can use Magecraft are called 'Magicians' and 'Mage Users'. My adoptive father, Emiya Kiritsugu, was a 'world-famous' Magus Killer."
Magus Killer wasn't exactly a glorious title. Ritsuka smiled awkwardly, but suddenly noticed that Riveria was listening very intently.
That's right, this world and her world are not the same.
Not knowing what a Magus Killer is is perfectly normal.
"A Mystic Code, the Thompson/Center Arms Contender; you can understand it as a staff used by mages to assist with magic. The two are similar in nature."
"They are both tools powered by mana."