C314

"Hmm, I see. Anything interesting happen while I was away, Ritsuka? No? Alright, got it... Hmm. Well, I'm gonna hang up then."

Shirou ended the call and stepped out of the phone booth.

The night had taken over, and the streets were bustling with people.

It was already past 9 o'clock in the evening, while in Fuyuki City on the other side of the planet, it was just past 6 o'clock in the morning.

Well, there was no way around it; the time difference between London and Fuyuki City was more than nine hours.

After wrapping up his phone call with Sakura and discussing the situation, Shirou joined Arcueid for dinner. She had patiently waited outside the phone booth for quite some time.

It had already been a week since they arrived in London, and they had managed to explore most of the city. However, Zelretch had yet to return from his investigation into the parallel worlds, so he had no choice but to remain in London for the time being.

When it came to food, he didn't have any specific preferences. As long as it was edible and didn't taste too terrible, he was satisfied. After all, having survived in the Age of Gods, he didn't hold high expectations for flavors. However, Arcueid seemed to have a particular place in mind and guided him to a modestly decorated home-style restaurant.

The waiter approached their table and handed him the menu, but without even glancing at it, he passed it on to Arcueid.

"This one, and this one, oh, and also this one..." she enthusiastically placed an order for several dishes. Then, she turned to him and asked, "Shirou, is there anything specific you'd like?"

He shrugged and replied, "I'm not picky, so feel free to order whatever you like."

"Hmm... In that case, I'll go with a dish called 'Stargazy'," she decided, handing the menu back to the waiter.

With their order placed, the two of them settled in and patiently awaited their food.

Despite being a True Ancestor, Arcueid didn't require sustenance like food or blood. Even her blood-sucking impulse had been mostly subdued by Shirou's Vampiric Evil. However, she still experienced a strong desire for tasty treats and snacks. She had a notable sweet tooth and wanted to indulge in all the foods she had missed out on before.

Originally created as a weapon to counter the Dead Apostles, she was given the honorary title of princess by the True Ancestors. However, in reality, she had been treated as a mere tool.

She resembled a playful cat, always brimming with energy. Sitting quietly and patiently wasn't her strong suit.

Growing restless from waiting, she rummaged through her backpack and pulled out a stack of cards, scattering them across the table. With an earnest expression, she began shuffling the cards, occasionally glancing up at Shirou.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm doing a divination for us."

"Tarot cards... I can't believe that as a True Ancestor, you would actually play with these," he said. "Most magi don't believe in this kind of thing."

"Interesting," she remarked, pulling out a card from the deck. The card showed a sword with the Roman numeral "I" on it.

"Sword I, I remember the meaning of this card..." she pondered in frustration.

Suddenly, a familiar and gentle male voice chimed in from beside them. "It symbolizes misfortune, bad news, or even news of death."

"Exactly! That's it!" Her eyes brightened, and she readily agreed.

Shirou glanced to his side and noticed a young man with chestnut-colored short hair and black-framed glasses sitting at the adjacent table. It was Caules, the same person he had encountered briefly before.

It was only at that moment that he fully registered Caules's ordinary presence, sitting mere inches away from their own table.

"Hello, Fujimaru-sama," Caules greeted him with a slightly awkward expression.

"Hello, Mr. Caules."

"I'm just a student under my teacher, so the 'Mr.' isn't necessary," Caules quickly waving his hand.

"Fair enough. Caules it is then. I recall that the Forvedge family specializes in summoning magecraft, so I didn't expect you to have knowledge about Tarot cards as well."

"Tarot cards are actually pretty common. It's like the most basic kind of mysticism. So, I've picked up a little something about them," Caules explained. "Honestly, I didn't expect to run into you here, Fujimaru-sama."

Shirou raised his hand and pointed at Arcueid. "I was just planning to grab a bite casually, but she insisted on tagging along."

Caules glanced at Arcueid and asked, "Is this lady your partner, Fujimaru-sama?"

Shaking his head, he replied, "No, she's just a friend of mine."

"A good friend!" she chimed in, her expression filled with concern. "Shirou, what should we do? I drew the Sword I card, which means we're in for some serious bad luck today!"

"Take it easy, Arcueid. We're causing a scene while others are trying to enjoy their meal."

She glanced around and, sure enough, many people had turned their attention towards their table.

She pouted and protested, "But the reading clearly predicted a day filled with bad luck!"

"Ms. Arcueid, while Tarot cards can have divinatory qualities, they're not always accurate. So there's no need to worry too much about it," Caules reassured her.

She turned towards Caules and asked, "Really?"

Caules nodded in confirmation.

Shirou glanced at him and commented, "Speaking of which, I recall Waver mentioning that you're the heir to the Forvedge family. You shouldn't have to settle for dining in places like this."

Caules sighed, "The financial support from the family isn't as generous as one would think. Besides, I need to save up for purchasing the research materials I need. And for some strange reason, the cost of materials at the Clock Tower has skyrocketed in recent years. So, I try to cut down on unnecessary expenses whenever I can."

"I see..." Shirou nodded, grasping the situation. He then asked casually, "By the way, what has Waver been occupied with recently?"

"My teacher? He has undertaken a rather important mission."

"An important mission?"

Caules nodded and, glancing discreetly at the regular people dining nearby, he lowered his voice and asked, "Fujimaru-sama, have you ever heard of the Castle of Separation, Adra Castle?"

"I haven't heard of it, and honestly, I'm not particularly interested."

Arcueid's eyes lit up, and with excitement on her face, she exclaimed, "I'm very interested! Merem told me that it's a city of angels!"

Shirou groaned, feeling a headache coming on, "Arcueid, be mindful of your identity!"

"I'm a True Ancestor. What's the big deal?" she asked, genuinely puzzled.

"T-T-True Ancestor?" Caules looked utterly bewildered. "M-Merem?"

Shirou shrugged it off. "Don't worry about it. Nowadays, things like vampires and all that have become pretty common in anime and manga."

"Oh, I see! I've come across plenty of manga like that too," Caules remarked.

However, he couldn't shake off a strange feeling, especially regarding the name Merem... It happened to be the name of one of the Dead Apostles.

It must be purely coincidental!

Just then, the waiter arrived with their food.

Among the dishes, the most visually striking one was the renowned British delicacy called "Stargazy."

Using only flour, sardines, salt, pepper, diced onions, and eggs, they crafted a sizable egg tart.

She purposely slid the dish in front of Shirou.

Shirou: "..."

Caules broke out in a cold sweat, thinking that Fujimaru-sama had rather peculiar taste. Despite spending a considerable time at the Clock Tower, he had never once seen anyone order this dish.

But right at that moment—

Arcueid's smile froze, and her hand halted abruptly in mid-air.

"What's the matter, Ms. Arcueid?" Caules asked.

Shirou turned his head and directed his gaze towards the entrance.

A young man with a fair complexion, clad in a blue overcoat, strolled in calmly through the door.

Caules turned to Shiro again, "What's going on, Fujimaru-sama?"

"Dead Apostle..." Shirou uttered, his eyes fixed on the young man, his words coming out slowly.

"Dead... Dead Apostle?" Caules was taken aback.

The young man scanned the surroundings before fixing his gaze upon Arcueid, "Target identified. The True Ancestor, Arcueid Brunestud!"

A surge of dark, chaotic energy surged from him, similar to Shirou's "Evil."

"Ah—!"

The other diners exclaimed in shock at the sudden turn of events.

Arcueid locked her eyes on the young man, her expression shifting from playful to serious. She furrowed her brows, "Nrvnqsr Chaos... I see. Have they come to hunt me down again?"