Chapter 203: The Clock Tower (Bonus)

London, the capital of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, is the largest city in Europe and the biggest economic and financial center.

In the year 50 AD, the Romans established the predecessor of this city, Londinium. For over a thousand years after that, this city has risen and fallen with the tides of time, destroyed and rebuilt numerous times, until it became the London we know today.

The core of the city has maintained the boundaries drawn since the Middle Ages, and it is home to countless historical landmarks and attractions, such as the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and more - some of which have histories spanning over a thousand years. However, compared to the structure that will be mentioned next, all of London's other historical sites are merely "juniors" - that structure is the Clock Tower, the core and headquarters of the Mage Association.

The supernatural world has two major powers - the Holy Church, a secret Catholic organization established to manage the occult and hunt heretics, and the Mage Association, a self-defense group composed of magi of all nationalities and schools, whose mission is to manage (nominally), conceal, and further develop magecraft.

The Mage Association's responsibilities include managing (nominally) and concealing magecraft, as well as advancing its development. To protect itself from threats (the Church, other mage factions, and strange beings that punish those who violate taboos), it wields military force. It also operates research institutions to prevent the decline of magecraft and has enacted laws to suppress magical crimes.

The Mage Association consists of three main divisions: the Clock Tower in London, the Wandering Sea in the North Atlantic, and the Atlas Institute in Egypt.

Of the three, the Clock Tower, as the headquarters, is the youngest, having been founded by many heretical magus who were driven out of the Atlas Institute and the Wandering Sea. There are two schools of thought on when it was established - some say it was before the Common Era, while others say it was in the 2nd century CE. Regardless, its history predates the name "London." To this day, the Clock Tower has become the supreme magical academy, gathering a vast number of magi.

The original headquarters of the Clock Tower was located beneath the British Museum, considered the oldest structure in all of London. However, as the organization and the city grew, it was later relocated to a small town on the outskirts of London. This town consists of over 40 student dormitories and more than 100 educational buildings, with the original school building of the Clock Tower, the symbol of the institution, standing as a literal clock tower at the center.

Shinji now stands before this tower with his suitcase, ostensibly as the heir to a minor magus family from a remote region to pay respects at this holy site. This "Clock Tower" is no longer used as a school, and is only open to the public for a few days each year. Unfortunately, today is neither a commemorative day nor is there a major event, so Shinji can only regretfully stop at the entrance. He takes a few photos of the exterior with his camera and takes some selfies using his magecraft, feeling that this trip was not a complete waste.

This scene is seen by the tower's guards and passersby as the behavior of someone unfamiliar with the world, and they regard him with disdain.

Yet Shinji also looks down on them: "A group that has never weathered any storms, thinking themselves to be the academic elite - of course, I don't fit in with the mainstream of the magical world. I should hurry to Waver's place, at least there won't be such an unpleasant atmosphere."

Though the Clock Tower serves as the power center of the Mage Association, at its core it is a massive magical academy. The headmaster has been the same person since the Clock Tower's establishment, though this individual has long since withdrawn from worldly affairs.

Since the formation of the feudal lord system in the 12th century, the Clock Tower has been composed of thirteen departments: the Fundamentals (I), Individual Fundamentals (II), Spiritual Invocation (III), Mineralogy (IV), Zoology (V), Inheritance (VI), Botany (VII), Astrology (VIII), Creation (IX), Curses (X), Archaeology (XI), Modern Magecraft Theory (XII), and the 13th department responsible for managing magi.

Under these departments are various classrooms, including the one inherited by Waver, the El-Melloi class. Originally under the Mineralogy Department overseen by Kenneth, it was a flagship program, but after Kenneth's "disappearance", the Mineralogy Department fell into power struggles and turmoil, causing the historic El-Melloi class to decline. Two years after Kenneth's disappearance, the class was abandoned by the Mineralogy Department.

At this time, Waver, having accumulated enough credits, became a 3rd level instructor and inherited this classroom. The reason a mediocre magus like Waver could inherit the classroom was that many families opposed to the E-Melloi faction saw it as the ultimate insult to Kenneth.

Once, the classroom Kenneth valued the most has fallen into decline, and has even fallen into the hands of a "mediocre disciple". They wonder how you, the "genius", feel about this.

However, no one expected that this "mediocre disciple" would be able to whip the classroom into shape in a short amount of time. Although initially Waver didn't even have a formal department assignment and was just barely managing to hold classes with only a few students, his exceptionally simple and practical teaching style quickly became a topic of discussion among the new generation (New Age) within the Clock Tower. He even managed to convince a few lecturers who had failed in the power struggle to take the stage, achieving an unprecedented multifaceted educational system.

Although the current E-Melloi Classroom is not exactly thriving, it has gained a decent reputation and stands out among the Modern Magecraft Theory Department.

Shinji casually found a female magus, called her "sister" a few times despite his young age, acted cute, and thus managed to get the directions to the E-Melloi Classroom.

The district of the Modern Magecraft Department, "Norwich", is a road that gives the impression of being patched up. While the scenery on the west side has a historical feel, you can occasionally catch glimpses of modern architecture towards the east side, closer to London. This landscape is less about a lack of unity, and more like using bandages to hide the wound after a major surgery.

There is a strong relationship between the environment and magecraft, which can be seen from the entire town where the Clock Tower is located having a classical style. However, the Modern Magecraft Theory Department is the least valued of the Clock Tower's thirteen departments and does not enjoy the same level of financial abundance as the other departments.

While not entirely, about 70% of this world is determined by budgets, and this applies to the world of magecraft as well. Ultimately, the concept of money, which converts the value of the world into numerical values, also has an element of mystery and is thus inevitable. The continuously inflating assets on Earth are a collective unconscious fantasy created by this concept itself.

"As they say, money isn't everything, but without money, you can't do anything."

Shinji, who had already done his research beforehand, muttered this as he swung around the ivy-covered brick walls, went down the slope, and headed toward the intersection.

Soon, his destination came into view - the smallest teaching building among the thirteen departments of the Clock Tower.

Officially, this is presented as a facility affiliated with a certain university. Incidentally, some major departments, such as the entire Faculty of Basic Sciences, are directly disguised as universities, revealing the stark differences between departments.

The entrance hall of the teaching building is decorated just right, with the solemnity and taste valued by the English aristocracy, yet it also has touches of modern elements, giving a sense of well-balanced comfort.

However, in less than a minute, this comfort was shattered by a sudden, agonizing scream.

PS: The location of the Clock Tower is something Nasu himself is vague about - in Fate/Grand Order Chapter 4, it's said to be under the British Museum, while in Lord El-Melloi II Case Files, it's described as being in the suburbs.

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