"Old Britain! Sounds so appealing. If we could bring back some items from that era, maybe they could be treated as 'holy relics' in the future."
"Still thinking about relics? Britain is issuing decrees to hunt down travelers. Surviving in that era would already be good enough. I think the Clock Tower called us together this time to explain that."
Someone in the crowd guessed.
Amid those discussions, a black-haired boy had just slipped in through the church's back door and sat down beside a blonde girl.
Reines, on seeing him, immediately spoke with a trace of helplessness and grievance, "Alvin, where on earth did you run off to during this crossing?"
She remembered meeting Alvin in the royal city, then soon after King Arthur appeared in person, and after that Alvin disappeared.
During that time Reines had worried this guy might have...
Seeing Alvin bouncing back to life before her, she let out a breath of relief, but the noble girl's face also gained a little resentment.
"A lot happened. Long story," Alvin smiled, trying to brush it off.
Reines propped her cheek on her hand. Under her skirt, a pair of black-stockinged legs crossed as she examined the boy with suspicion, "Merlin said King Arthur was discussing serious matters with you. Did you later go with King Arthur?"
"But I was in the palace the whole time and didn't see you at all."
'Merlin even said that?', Alvin kept his expression calm, "I did return to the palace with King Arthur but our movements were restricted, so it wasn't convenient to meet you."
Artoria wanted to send Alvin to the basement the first day she saw him, and Morgan le Fay needs no further mention. If Alvin hadn't planned well and suppressed the witch by force, he'd probably already be in the imperial chamber playing naughty games with Morgan.
Reines didn't seem to overthink it; a little worry showed on her pretty face.
"Originally my brother had agreed to cooperate with King Arthur, but now Morgan rules. More complications will probably arise."
Morgan le Fay, the witch of Britain, in the tales she's a scheming, ruthless woman.
Britain under her control would likely be extremely unfavorable to the travelers.
While they talked, Alvin suddenly smelled a distinct, fresh fragrance.
He glanced instinctively and saw a gray-haired girl in a gray robe, carrying a lantern, quietly seated beside them.
Although the gray robe looked bulky, from Alvin's viewpoint he could still see that pure, pretty face.
She looked so much like Morgan in her girlhood. Alvin smiled and greeted proactively, "Gray, you came too?"
The girl looked up at Alvin once and said softly, "It's good to see you again, Alvin."
"That sounds like you almost got into trouble."
Reines beside them heard it and couldn't help a mild joke.
The girl quickly smiled, "But I want to say it's really good to see you all safe."
Only those who had been to Britain in the Age of Gods knew how dangerous it was.
Even the Clock Tower's rulers faced life-threat in that era, let alone students like them.
Seeing her friends safe made Reines breathe easier.
Alvin caught the blonde girl's thoughts and half-jokingly said, "Britain's dangerous, but I'll protect you. Don't worry."
"Yeah, right. You protecting yourself would be enough."
Reines gave the boy a faintly exasperated look, propped her white chin with her hand, and lazily turned her gaze toward the cathedral's dais, though a faint smile played at her lips.
Sometimes girls don't need grand vows, just sincerity. Even a short sentence can easily warm someone's heart.
Of course, that assumes there was already some feeling to begin with.
And it helps a lot if he's a little better looking.
Gray glanced at her friend, then quickly shifted her gaze back to Alvin and leaned in to whisper in his ear, "Alvin, are you one of the travelers this time too?"
Alvin thought for a moment, leaned close to the girl's ear and murmured, "I am. Are you?"
"Mm~"
Maybe because her earlobe was too sensitive or something, Gray shivered, her head reflexively pulled back, and even her earlobe seemed a little flushed.
"Sorry, excuse my rudeness," She soon realized her mistake and bowed her head, whispering in a small voice.
A faint red remained on her cheeks.
Seeing her like that, Alvin grinned with an amused smile.
Although she looked like Morgan, Gray's personality was the complete opposite.
A pure, blank-paper girl like Gray makes one pity her, and then, can't help wanting to color that paper.
Morgan, on the other hand, makes people kneel at her skirts.
'Pretty cute,' Alvin casually touched Gray's soft little hand with the back of his fingers.
At the instant of skin contact, Gray's body stiffened slightly.
She didn't pull away, which meant she wasn't strongly opposed. Alvin thought, wondering if he could take things further, when a peculiar jeering laugh sounded.
"You brat, why does your aura smell so strange, been up to mischief?"
Alvin looked toward the voice and his eyes fell on the lantern in Gray's hand.
More precisely, it wasn't a lantern but a cage, and inside was kept some creature of unknown nature.
At the moment that mysterious creature spoke, Gray snapped awake like from a dream and lowered her voice, "Add, don't speak nonsense here!"
Today the cathedral was packed; if they made too much noise it could bring trouble.
"But this brat's aura is really strange, I think I smell a witch," Add muttered.
Alvin glanced at the cage without changing expression and said, "Is that a magecraft ceremonial item? It speaks, interesting."
Gray's pretty face showed a hint of apology as she lowered her voice, "Sorry, this child lacks manners, it's sharp-tongued, but essentially it's kind."
'No problem, can't compare its sharp tongue to Morgan's anyway,' Alvin thought.
While they spoke, the cathedral's main door was slowly pushed open.
For an instant the noise in the hall fell silent.
Because at the door the various subject 'rulers' began to enter one after another.
Ten of the Clock Tower's Twelve Rulers had come.
At the end of the procession, a gentle-tempered woman wearing glasses walked in.
At her chest hung an orange ornament.
A Crown-rank mage, Aozaki Oriko!
Alvin watched her thoughtfully.
'She actually came too.'
'Looks like the Clock Tower really took this crossing seriously.'
Seeing Aozaki Oriko, not only Alvin but Reines beside him also showed surprise.
In the Clock Tower, mages are assigned ranks according to their power.
Youngest, eldest, open, festival, law, color, and crown rank, these are the Clock Tower's tiers.
Normally the strongest are assumed to be color rank, because crown-rank mages are never seen within the Clock Tower.
But as a member of the El-Melloi family, Reines had heard that crown-rank mages did exist in the Clock Tower.
Aozaki Oriko. There's no doubt that the mages entering the Clock Tower are prodigies, but Aozaki Oriko stands at the pinnacle of genius.
In some sense, she shared a very similar past with Morgan le Fay.
She should have inherited the Aozaki house as the eldest, but at eighteen her grandfather suddenly declared her younger sister, Aozaki Aoko, the successor.
From then on, Aozaki Oriko cut ties with her sister and family, went alone to the Clock Tower, and entered the crown rank before she turned twenty-five.
A monster of a genius.
That was Alvin's initial impression when he first saw Aozaki Oriko.
Surface personality gentle and charming, but inwardly extremely solitary and odd. Which is why Alvin was so surprised to see her.
'Even this peculiar woman has come, apparently the mass crossing of mages to ancient Britain has drawn the attention of many high-ups,' Alvin thought.
The rulers mounted the dais one after another, then a woman with a ponytail stepped forward.
The Law and Administration ruler, Barthomeloi Lorelei.
As the person in charge of the Clock Tower's management and operation, she naturally had outstanding ability.
Over the two thousand years since the Clock Tower's founding, many great events had occurred, yet it was still rare to see so many rulers gathered.
Barthomeloi's expression was grave as she slowly said, "I believe everyone knows why this emergency meeting was called?"
No one answered, but many present were travelers, so they already had an idea.
Barthomeloi looked seriously at the students below the dais, "If you don't know what 'Britain in the Age of Gods' means, I'll give an example."
"In one-on-one combat, most modern mages, at least among those present, could not defeat a mage from the Age of Gods. This time, many mages from around the world crossed to Britain in the Age of Gods; among them, ten from the Clock Tower are confirmed dead, and two are missing."
Those two were probably the 'soul-possessed' mages.
"In addition, nearly a hundred were injured by monsters and Age-of-Gods mages."
Those words made the mood in the hall immediately heavy.
Although they had vaguely guessed some deaths would occur, when it happened close to home, it still felt unreal.
Seeing this, Barthomeloi continued, "I've confirmed there is just over a day until the next crossing. To ensure your safety, I ask that after the meeting those already confirmed as travelers visit the Law and Administration office."
"Special magecraft ceremonial outfits have been prepared for you. They are dolls that can mimic Age-of-Gods mage circuits."
'Magecraft ceremonial outfits?'
'They found a countermeasure so quickly? '
Whispers rose among the crowd.
Previously, ancient Britain's mages could precisely identify travelers because the mage circuits in travelers' bodies differed greatly from Age-of-Gods circuits.
'And yet the Clock Tower has already produced ceremonial outfits that mimic those ancient circuits?'
Alvin's mind moved and he glanced at the orange-haired sensual woman standing in the corner.
Aozaki Oriko had many achievements in the Clock Tower, but two were particularly notable. She had reconstructed two already-declined Age-of-Gods magics in the modern era.
One of them was the lost Twenty-Four Rune script.
'So it seems she might have made these ceremonial outfits.'
As Alvin thought this, a paper slip floated lightly to his feet.
["Come to my workshop after the meeting."]
When Alvin picked up the slip, he heard a woman's voice in his ear.
'Oriko's mage doll, why does she want to see me?', Alvin's heart stirred. He glanced once at Aozaki Oriko on the dais, then calmly withdrew his gaze.
———
After the meeting, Alvin found a reason to bid farewell to Reines and Gray, then left the cathedral by the back door.
Following a quiet path behind the cathedral, he soon arrived at a rather hidden small wooden house.
"Come in. The door's unlocked."
A lazy voice came from inside.
Alvin opened the workshop door and found the crown-rank mage Aozaki Oriko in the simply furnished room.
Her long orange hair flowed down, and she wore a dark-green formal dress decorated with simple, tasteful patterns.
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