A pair of translucent black stockings wrapped voluptuous, slender legs under the skirt, the left leg crossed over the right, lazily leaning on the sofa. Beneath the hem, a small delicate foot gently swayed.
"Ah! What a nuisance. How could this kind of crap happen."
The moment Alvin entered, Aozaki Oriko began to complain in a string of voices, sighing, "Britain in the Age of Gods, even I would get a headache experiencing it firsthand. I can't believe you managed to survive that place."
When she had been wearing glasses earlier, the woman had given a gentle and charming impression, but after taking them off, she was practically a different person.
To be precise, it was a different personality.
After removing her glasses, Aozaki Oriko would switch into another persona. This second personality emerged after the year her grandfather passed the family headship to her sister.
"What are you standing there for? Come over and rub my shoulders. Injecting the special runes that imitate Age-of-Gods magic circuits into every ceremonial outfit in just a few days, whoever wants to do that job next time can do it themselves. I'm not helping again."
Alvin couldn't help but say helplessly, "If you don't change that awful personality of yours, no one will dare take you as a mentor in the future."
In fact, when Alvin first crossed into the Type-Moon world, Aozaki Oriko was supposed to be his teacher.
Only, before she could take him on, Kayneth had already taken Alvin as his disciple.
For magi, "mystery" is supreme.
The more mysterious something is, the more it attracts magi's interest.
When Oriko first saw Alvin, she immediately noticed his magic circuit was very unusual.
Of course, it also had to do with Alvin's own efforts. After Alvin came to the Clock Tower and happened to meet Oriko, he resolved to cling to this woman's leg.
"This awful personality hasn't been seen by many people, and I believe you won't blab—Mm~"
Under Alvin's moderate shoulder massage, Oriko closed her eyes with pleasure. Her ample chest trembled slightly as her body relaxed.
"How many people from the Clock Tower crossed into Britain this time?", Alvin suddenly asked.
"According to the Law and Administration folks' first count, about three hundred, but we can't guarantee some haven't hidden their identity as travelers," Oriko's voice seemed to carry a hint of seductiveness.
This Britain crossing was extremely dangerous, but it also brought huge opportunities.
Actually, the crossings didn't start today. Months ago, the Clock Tower had already had several scattered travelers appear.
At first it didn't draw the attention of the upper ranks.
Only after many students crossed collectively this time did the high-ups realize the seriousness, which is why they specifically requested Oriko's involvement.
"But I still feel something's odd."
Oriko enjoyed Alvin's shoulder massage, and beneath her skirt her black-stockinged foot idly hooked a high heel, "Why did King Arthur's attitude toward the travelers change so quickly?"
"As far as I know, Old Britain's initial policy was to indiscriminately capture travelers."
'This woman might be a bit of an otaku, but she is really sharp,' Alvin said, "Maybe King Arthur realized that continuing like that wasn't workable?"
"If this trend continues, more and more travelers will arrive. It's better to manage them than to block them. Arthur must understand that."
"I know, but I heard Morgan le Fay personally went to the palace this time and even fought an Age-of-Gods battle with King Arthur, right?"
"Morgan, who had been missing for years, why did she return to the palace precisely when a large number of travelers appeared? Are these things related?"
Alvin kept his expression unchanged and said, "Maybe it's just coincidence?"
"But if it's not a coincidence, I thought of a possibility."
Oriko said slowly, "I heard Morgan has been carrying out experiments to revive the White Dragon, right?"
"I'm thinking, maybe among the travelers there's someone Morgan is looking for? For example, a descendant of the White Dragon, a traveler who possesses the White Dragon core?"
"..."
Silence settled between them.
After a long while, Alvin broke the silence in a calm tone, "A descendant of the White Dragon, even if such a person exists, the travelers are scattered all over the world. Finding them would be like looking for a needle in the ocean."
Oriko's lips curved into a seductive smile, "Alvin, why would Morgan le Fay, who has been running the White Dragon revival project, return to the palace at all costs this time and even face King Arthur and the Round Table knights alone?"
"The answer is simple…"
"Maybe the one Morgan is looking for was in the palace at that time."
A faint smile flashed through Oriko's beautiful eyes.
"There are soul-possessed travelers in Camelot Palace. According to their intelligence, the travelers who were 'possessing' bodies and were in the palace at that time numbered only four."
"Reines, Gray, Kayneth… and you."
Although Alvin already knew this woman was terrifying, deducing this result in such a short time confirmed Oriko truly was a monster-level genius. On the surface Alvin remained calm, but inside waves were already raging.
Knock! Knock!
At that moment there was a sudden knock at the door outside.
'Oriko's workshop usually didn't receive visitors, what could it be now?', Alvin withdrew his hand from kneading her shoulder.
"I already called the other three to come meet me," Oriko said, seeming to read Alvin's thoughts as she turned to him, "After conducting a mana test, we'll be able to verify whether my guess is true or not."
'Mana test?'
The White Dragon's mana is extremely special; if a test were actually conducted, Oriko would likely detect it immediately.
While Alvin was mentally racing, someone pushed open the door.
"Alvin?"
The first to appear was Kayneth with his slicked-back blond hair. He glanced at Oriko lazily sitting on the sofa, then at his disciple and frowned slightly, "What are you doing here?"
"I called him here ahead of time."
Oriko had already put her glasses back on, returning to her usual gentle and charming demeanor.
She rose and took out a prepared white doll.
"Four of you, please touch this doll and channel your mana. If there is abnormal mana, it will act directly on this doll."
Kayneth did not hesitate and immediately reached out to touch the doll's body.
A very gentle silver light spread over the doll's surface, then quickly vanished.
"As expected from the El-Melloi family genius. Your strength seems to have improved since before," Oriko said with a smile.
Kayneth snorted, "Your praise doesn't make one feel happy at all, Miss Aozaki."
A crown-rank mage praising a color-rank mage and calling them a genius, it sounded more than a little grating.
While they conversed, Reines stepped forward and touched the doll's surface.
Also a member of the El-Melloi family, her magic circuit resembled Kayneth's.
Oriko sized them up and nodded slightly, "Their magic circuits are not bad. It seems the El-Melloi family will have successors—"
"Eh?"
As Oriko spoke, Gray had already moved forward. When her small hand touched the doll, she silently activated the mana in her magic circuit.
At that moment, the doll's exterior emitted mana different from the ordinary.
"What's wrong?", Kayneth asked.
Oriko narrowed her eyes and said meaningfully, "This child's magic circuit is very special."
'Gray,' This magic circuit differed from any magus she'd seen before, 'Could it be her?'
Oriko gathered her thoughts and looked at the boy who had been standing there since the beginning.
"Alvin, your turn."
Alvin reached out and gently touched the surface of the magic doll.
At the same time, everyone present instinctively looked toward the boy.
Oriko's eyes held some interest. After all, one big reason she once wanted Alvin as a disciple was that special magic circuit of his.
In her view, if Alvin studied seriously, he could at least reach the Classic rank in the future, maybe even Color rank.
What level had his strength reached after these years of training?
Not only Oriko looked on with expectation; Kayneth beside her did as well.
The man folded his hands behind his back and watched the boy calmly. Though his expression was composed, inwardly he was quietly curious.
This magic doll could test a magus's magic circuit and also reveal whether the test subject's mana had improved.
He too was curious what level Alvin had reached under his tutelage.
Meanwhile, the creature in Gray's lantern was also staring in Alvin's direction.
Gray's lantern was a ceremonial magecraft item she had brought from her village.
Add. Its full name was Rengomyniad. That is King Arthur's holy spear.
From the moment Add saw Alvin, it had sensed something unusual in his aura.
"This brat definitely has issues," Add muttered to itself, also looking at the boy with expectant eyes.
Reines glanced at her brother, worried by the heavy expressions of the two Clock Tower rulers present.
Though she didn't know Oriko's purpose, the fact that a crown-rank mage had been stirred meant something very important must be happening.
So far the three who had been tested had revealed nothing related to the White Dragon, had Oriko guessed wrong?
Kayneth and Oriko exchanged a glance, and the latter briefly frowned unintentionally.
'That shouldn't be.'
'Based on my intelligence, Morgan le Fay's trip to the palace must be related to the White Dragon, and the recent mass arrival of travelers to Britain should logically be connected to that as well'.
'Have I really guessed wrong?'
'Or… is it her?'
Oriko's gaze casually drifted to the silver-haired girl.
A magic circuit is a magus's second life. Each magus at birth is essentially born with a predetermined level of magic circuit.
Magi, in some sense, are deceivers; disguises are easy for them.
That is why Oriko never simply trusted her eyes.
She usually confirmed someone's identity by examining their magic circuit.
Yet Gray's magic circuit was simply too special.
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