1 Mystery man
Len Raito is a strange individual.
Looking to be in his late teens with short dark hair, dull green eyes, fit and athletic physique, 189 cm (6'2") in hight and always in casual wear — he has a wild charm to his appearance.
While knowing how to read the mood and approach sensitive topics, he prefers to cut short any useless chatter and immediately get straight to the point.
He doesn't have any "true friends," as he says, only acquaintances.
Even among people who regularly speak with him, no one knows his true age, if he has any relatives or where he works. And absolutely nobody finds it strange. Why would people care how an orphan makes ends meet? He seems to be doing well.
This is exactly what is strange about him. He is a mystery that can vanish for an indefinite amount of time, and no one would notice.
• • •
Today was another quiet day in Kasuga City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Such a small place held Japan's western Air Self-Defence Force western regional headquarters and surprisingly many temples. It was spring, so many cherry blossoms in full bloom made scenery very artistic.
Walking near the large lake in the Shirozu Park, a young man in a white t-shirt with printed across his chest paited black word unknown, light blue jeans, white sneakers with blue details, and with a grocery bag in left hand was busy enjoying the view when a sudden call from behind made him halt his steps. Turning around, he saw a pretty looking young woman. She had slim figure, shoulder-length black hair, and warm brown eyes. White blouse, black jacket, black skirt, silver case in one hand, high black socks, and matte black high heels.
"Sorry to stop you like this. My name is Nushinu Mei. I am new here. Can you tell me if there are any notable places to visit or not to go to? The first night I arrived here, there was a loud noise coming from local ASDF headquarters. Does it happen a lot, or is it only a lately occurrence? I wasn't able to sleep due to that damn noise..."
'Here goes my quiet day... "Shinu meinu" means "die female dog"... Wow! Her parents must have really hated her... Her scowling expression and fierce remarks really look like an angry dog barking... and from the looks of it, if I don't stop her, she will continue to do it forever...'
"... I am a proud Japanese magus! I will file a complaint to the Association!.."
'And here she goes slipping to a normal citizen existence of magic. Or magicraft as they call it. I doubt she will even notice it. Should I tell her?.. Nah, not worth the trouble. I don't remember her surname. She must be from a minor family.'
"Nushinu-san, I understand your concerns. I assure you that noise yesterday was a one-time thing. It was announced that they caught an intruder. I don't think any more pitiable people will try to infiltrate there any time soon. About places not to go to. Don't enter ASDF uninvited, and you will be fine. We have a lot of different temples here, and one of the festivals is just around the corner. You can join in the fun. That being said, I must leave now. Enjoy your stay in Kasuga City. Goodbye."
After showing his grocery bag and bidding her farewell, the young man decisively turned around and started walking home no longer in the mood for a walk. From behind, he heard an annoyed humph and then clatter of high heels moving away.
'So it is already time for their new second owners announcement meeting. Well, the Tohsaka family is going strong, so there is no way for them to lose Fujuki ownership. It doesn't really matter to me how the rest change.'
With such thoughts, he proceeded to move further away from the city center towards the two-story building he owns.
Opening front door with a key in one hand and groceries in another Raito entered his house and locked the door behind before pulling out his phone. Display showed 13:43. '47 minutes left' with such thought he took off his sneakers and proceeded to unpack.
His house had an aura of comfort and peace. For him, it was a place to relax, so all furnishing was done with this goal in mind.
It took some time to make tea, but despite being on schedule, Raito showed no haste in his movements. His relaxed approach while slowly enjoying jasmine tea made it look like an incoming meeting held to him no significant importance.
His phone left on the dining room's table showed 14:22 when he was done and entered his study.
What came into his view were bookshelf on the left, a desk under the window leading into a backyard garden and a wardrobe to his right. Proceeding to move next to wardrobe, Raito inserted the ring on his middle finger of his right hand into carving with a matching ornament. There was no light or sound, but when he opened the door, he was greeted with an arsenal of different firearms and rows of different shades of dark gray pants, suits, and coats. After getting dressed and with weapons concealed, his hair turned white and eyes vibrant red.
Satisfied with his get-up, he disappeared from the room.
• • •
Barthomeloi Lorelei is the assistant director of Clock Tower and Marshal Wizard. She is a strict, ruthless, and prideful woman, a perfectionist. It takes a lot for her to be this shaken, but the white-haired magician now sitting in front of her manages to do it every time.
Their first meeting, she would never recite to anyone. Ever. In her version of events they made a deal where his existence remains a secret but he helps when recieves a call for help from her, while in return she provides access to her resources, be it knoledge or materials.
They have already made several transactions of this kind. During their hunt for Dead Apostle, after some time of fighting, Raito grew annoyed, and while saying, "we are wasting time," he deleted him from existence. That day, Lorelei made a mental note to not annoy 1st True Magic user.
As always today, he appeared as soon as clock hand showed 6:30 am and after simple greetings without wasting time got straight to business.
"Show me the relics."
Taking out several boxes from a safe besides her desk, she opened lids and presented their contents.
One of the scariest parts of the individual known as Ray to the female Marshal Wizard of Clock Tower hailed as someone closest to True Magic in her magecraft is that he doesn't emit Prana at all. Actually, she was never able to sense anything from him. By all observations, he should be a normal person, but the thing is... he is not. It gets even worse in battle situations. There, he loses absolutely all presence. If she wasn't looking at him at that time, she wouldn't even be sure if he was there or not.
Now, she was confident that he used magic to check the validity of the relic, but there were no actual signs of it. As for where that confidence came from...
"Good. I am taking this one. Pleasure to do business with you, Miss Lorelei."
"Pleasure is all mine, sir Ray."
After hesitating a little, she asked:
"Sir, are you going to participate in the 4th Holy Grail War in Fuyuki?"
Despite getting slightly surprised that she asked this question, he decided to reply nonetheless:
"I am not interested in the Grail. No cup can fulfill my wish no matter how magical it is... But I would gladly borrow some wisdom from any heroic or not so spirit."
With those parting words, he disappeared from her office.
Putting away relics that Raito identified can become catalysts for summoning of: someone from the Round Table, one of Argonafts, an indian hero, a greek hero, some famous writer, and a roman gladiator — Barthomeloi murmured:
"Mystery man."
