Fate/Magus Path

Magical energy also known as Mana originates from the earth, flowing smoothly through the layers like a river hidden deep underground.

These rivers of flowing magical energy are typically referred to as ley lines by Magus.

In this world, every ley line is highly valuable; they store immense magical energy, making them the best choice for magus to construct their workshops.

A high-quality ley line can even serve as the foundation for a magus family, and as such, they are usually occupied by various magus families. In London, known as the capital of magecraft, the ley lines scattered throughout have long been claimed by magus aristocrats.

Naturally, the El-Melloi family, led by a Lord, is entitled to have high-quality ley lines. Although their quality is not comparable to those possessed by the British Museum and the Clock Tower's headquarters, the ley lines here can still be considered exceptionally good.

In the outskirts of London, Roy, who was sent back to the real world by Zelretch from the dimensional rift, did not return to the Clock Tower but was instead dropped off in some remote area, specifically the private territory of the El-Melloi family.

After confirming his location, Roy wanted to say to Zelretch, "Well done."

There was no need to think; the Clock Tower was undoubtedly full of people waiting for him to come out. If he were to appear openly through the front door of the Clock Tower, troubles would come pouring in, whether it was various factions trying to woo him or other complications.

After all, the Clock Tower is a place filled with schemes and betrayals among the various factions.

To this group, although they did not know who Roy was or what value he possessed, the fact that he was personally welcomed by Zelretch into the dimensional rift was enough to make them go crazy trying to court him. After all, the title of Magician of the Second Magic carries immense weight. Whoever could win over Roy and bring him into their faction would reap unimaginable benefits.

As for him being Kayneth's apprentice?

That's a joke. Compared to Zelretch's title, what does Kayneth even mean? Wasn't everyone present a Lord in their own right? As long as the offer was attractive enough, there was no corner that couldn't be dug out.

He is Kayneth's apprentice, but he might have only been so before; it doesn't mean he will always be Kayneth's apprentice.

Behind all the factions present stand lords and long-established magus families. Even if you are Lord El-Melloi, you cannot dominate everything; just based on the symbolic value of this young man, they would never give up.

In fact, just as they thought, if they knew that this young man's true identity was the new Magician of the Third Magic, their actions would be even more frenzied.

Upon being teleported to the El-Melloi territory, Roy quickly noticed the bounded fields surrounding him and the lurking familiars nearby.

These are common means used by magus families to prevent ordinary people from intruding, effectively avoiding unnecessary troubles caused by unsuspecting civilians.

Moreover, the ley line flowing beneath this land is of high quality, with sufficient magical energy flowing through it; overall, it can be considered even better than the one in Fuyuki City.

Clearly, this ley line represents the El-Melloi family's important foundation.

As he looked around, he saw dozens of luxurious courtyards of various sizes interconnected, forming a vast family estate, where the arrangement and foundation can only be described as extreme luxury.

Under normal circumstances, the downfall of the El-Melloi family would be due to Kayneth's death in the Fourth Holy Grail War and the damage to the family's inherited magic crest. However, the current situation had allowed Kayneth to survive the Fourth Holy Grail War without incident, so the El-Melloi family still had a Lord at the helm and had not accrued any debts.

Though the few damaged magical furnaces pained him, it was not to the extent that they couldn't afford it.

Thus, they still possessed the foundation and confidence of the upper-class magus aristocracy, allowing them to maintain their previous luxury, and Waver would not have to forcibly take on the title of El-Melloi II to pay off debts.

The direction of the world had changed dramatically; it seemed that he had truly altered many things.

Roy couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia.

The tall gate was made of a special magical alloy, not only hard but also equipped with functions to obstruct peering. Surrounding it were tall walls and large trees, with familiars constantly monitoring everything around.

The El-Melloi family had concealed this place very well; from the outside, there was no sign of anything unusual. The widespread bounded fields successfully separated the mysterious world from the mundane, maintaining the basic principle that magus must uphold to keep their mystery intact.

Ordinary people must never know about or touch the world of magecraft, which is an ironclad rule that all magus families must adhere to.

Within the Clock Tower, the struggles between different factions of magus are exceptionally brutal, with schemes and resource competitions never ceasing. They all await the opportunity to bite off a piece of meat from either their opponents or allies, ruthlessly swallowing it to strengthen their own power.

Although the two factions that have always been at odds with each other usually fight to the death, once the issue of protecting the mystery arises, their methods and ideas are surprisingly consistent.

To prevent the leak of secrets, they resort to hypnosis, memory erasure, or even directly killing someone to cover up the truth. In short, these magus have a myriad of means at their disposal and spare no effort; the so-called kindness and morality are completely disregarded in their eyes.

Before doing these things, they even give themselves a grand justification... to concealment of mystery.

They have formulated many related guidelines and plans, requiring every magus involved with the mystery to adhere to them.

They grandly state, "To prevent the balance between the two worlds from being disrupted and affecting the order of the real world, and also to protect the stable lives of ordinary people."

Thanks to them, eliminating ordinary people who have seen the mysterious has become a duty of magus.

Roy sneered at this.

When it comes to the moral judgment of magus, although it cannot be entirely dismissed, it certainly doesn't differ much from that.

If all magus were to be killed, there might be some innocent victims, but if eight out of ten people were killed, there would definitely be many who escaped.

These guys operate with an extremely self-centered mentality; modern laws and human moral and ethical concepts cannot restrain them.

As he observed the scenery around him, Roy walked past each lurking familiar, eventually arriving in front of the luxurious main gate of the El-Melloi family, raising his hand to ring the golden doorbell hidden in a corner.

This golden doorbell was concealed with special magecraft; although it hung on the door, it was invisible to those without magical power.

Thus, ringing this doorbell indicated a visitor from the magical community, and the El-Melloi family usually responded promptly to such visitors.

Soon, an elderly voice came from the other side of the door, "Who is knocking on the door of the El-Melloi family?"

As the door trembled slightly, a magnificent bird familiar resembling a canary flew out from the high wall and landed in front of Roy.

This canary was a special communication familiar raised by the El-Melloi family.

In response to its inquiry, Roy answered politely.

"My name is Roy and I am the disciple of the current Head of the El-Melloi Family, Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald. I have come here to visit my mentor."

"You are the master's disciple?"

The voice on the other side sounded a bit surprised, clearly unaware that Kayneth had taken on an apprentice.

However, upon hearing this news, his attitude immediately became courteous, and he replied in a low voice, "Please wait a moment; I will inform the master right away."

"Thank you very much."

Roy nodded and stood outside, waiting for the attendant's reply.

He did not have to wait long; the attendant was quick, and within a few minutes, the door opened. Kayneth was waiting for him in the hall of his residence.

"Please follow me, Mr. Roy."

After confirming Roy's identity, an elderly attendant dressed in a costume reminiscent of a medieval butler emerged from beside the door, bowing respectfully as he led the way.

This butler was not an ordinary person; he was a magus with four generations of heritage and served as the chief steward of the El-Melloi family. As a magus, he was naturally proud, but that pride could only be directed toward those Muggles who had never touched the mysteries or to mediocre magus with fewer generations of inheritance.

Faced with the new disciple of the master, he had no basis for pride and needed to maintain the humility that he ought to have while respectfully leading the way.

As the magnificent door opened completely, Roy was greeted by the astonishing garden concealed behind it.

Unlike the simple castle of the Einzbern family, which was covered in snow and wind, the residence of the El-Melloi family was equally extravagant.

The highly ornamental garden was enclosed within circles of low tree clumps, featuring a variety of ornamental plants crafted by famous horticulturists, shaped into forms such as horses, chariots, gems, and eagles.

And that was not all; as they continued deeper.

He saw a pathway in the center of the garden, paved with exquisite cobblestones, easily dividing the garden in half. Tiny artificial streams flowed along both sides of the pathway, and beautiful sculptures created delightful splashes in the artificial waterways, the gentle sound of flowing water calming anyone passing through.

"Please proceed this way."

Following the elderly butler through this beautiful garden, they soon arrived in front of the largest mansion of the El-Melloi family, Kayneth's exclusive residence. A huge three-story building made of white stone exuded the style of a bygone era, with its facade adorned with splendid marble carvings, standing majestically in this garden area.

This building showcased an imposing, luxurious, and ancient aura.

"Please come in."

The butler opened the door to the residence for Roy, revealing the front courtyard inside, with a red carpet leading directly to the second floor of the El-Melloi mansion, right in front of the rest area of the head of the El-Melloi family, where Kayneth typically lived.

This largest courtyard and this private residence were solely for Kayneth's use; his magical workshop and resting area were established here. Typically, besides the worker Waver who came to report his tasks, his close niece Reines, and his fiancée Sola, no other servants were allowed to set foot here.

Even his relatives had to inform Kayneth in advance before entering the magical workshop.

Today was also the butler's first time stepping into this place, and it was all because of Roy.

"Mr. Roy, the head of the family is waiting for you on the second floor. I shall take my leave now."

After escorting Roy into the mansion, the butler bowed respectfully and then left.

This was the master's residence; his task was merely to bring Roy inside, and there was no need to handle anything else. Leaving now was the best choice.

Maintaining caution and prudence at all times was his successful motto for becoming the chief steward of the El-Melloi family step by step. In this circle, one should not be overly curious; it is sufficient to do one's job well. Doing too much would only annoy people.

"I understand, thank you for your trouble."

Roy nodded, indicating for him to leave, then raised his head to look at a room deep on the second floor.

The moment he entered the door, he had already sensed Kayneth's location, who was waiting for him upstairs.

...

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

The door to the room was knocked on, and Kayneth, sitting in a chair, tapped on the table and called out to the outside, "Come in."

It was clear he was getting impatient.

"Understood."

With a response, Roy pushed open the door and walked in. Upon seeing Kayneth, he still wore a faint smile, pretending that nothing had happened.

"Hmm?"

Roy's pretentious demeanor caused Kayneth's brow to twitch. He suppressed his anger and said, each word deliberate, "Now that you're back, don't you have anything you want to explain to me, my dear disciple?"

After the Holy Grail War ended, he had been worried for so long, and once he received news of Roy, he introduced him to study at the Clock Tower.

But the moment he arrived, he had been playing big shots on his own? While he had become a prominent figure in the Clock Tower, he had also suffered significant repercussions.

He couldn't recall how many important figures had visited him or invited him out for detailed discussions.

Clearly, Kayneth wouldn't let Roy leave until he clarified the matter today.

"I understand, Professor Kayneth."

Roy sighed. Seeing Kayneth's serious expression, he knew this matter couldn't be covered up, and he was prepared to share some of the reasons with Kayneth.

After all, he felt he had caused a lot of trouble for Kayneth.

"Give me some time to organize my thoughts, and I will explain it to you clearly."

He then pulled out a chair and sat down opposite Kayneth, asking, "Where would you like me to start?"

"From the very beginning."

"Tell me everything you experienced. Can you do that?" Kayneth looked at him seriously.

"Alright, then I'll start directly from what happened when I first entered the Holy Grail, if that's okay?"

"…"

Kayneth nodded and replied, "That's fine."

Before starting his story, Roy glanced around and slowly raised his index finger in front of Kayneth as a signal.

"Don't worry. This is my magical workshop; no one can intrude here. Even other Lords wouldn't be able to sneak in undetected. No one will hear our conversation, so just go ahead and speak."

Understanding Roy's intent, Kayneth confidently said, then placed his hand on the table to activate the workshop's barriers, completely isolating the entire residence from the outside world.

"Then I will begin. It was after I held the Jeweled Sword and broke into the Holy Grail."

Roy nodded and began to recount his story.

"My connection with Zelretch and all the changes happening now all started from that moment. At that time, I…"

As Roy began his narration, the two quickly fell into memories of that time.

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