Chapter 17: [17] The Mage Killer
In a dimly lit room specially constructed in London, England, a figure with an obscured face sat in the shadows.
"Sir, do we have enough people?" A man knelt before him, half-bowed.
"Not enough," The figure with the obscured face replied. "To summon our god, we need more sacrifices, ten more young boys and girls."
"Yes, I understand, God's Envoy," The man said. The man before him possessed a peculiar ability. It was said that he was a magus and, at the same time, rumored to be a messenger of the gods. However, most often, they simply referred to him as "God's Envoy."
...
"The missing persons case in London..." A man named Emiya Kiritsugu muttered quietly within a hotel room as he looked at the newspaper in front of him. "All the missing individuals are boys and girls under the age of fifteen. However, it has nothing to do with me."
If it had been his former self, he would have rushed to eliminate these kidnappers.
However, he didn't have the time now. The Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City, Japan, was only a few years away, and he had been preparing and gathering information since then.
Although he had people inside the Clock Tower and the support of the Einzbern family behind him, there was some information he had to obtain on his own.
"It's about time."
Standing up and placing the newspaper on the table, Kiritsugu slowly walked towards the door. He glanced back at the newspaper on the table.
"It's almost time... three years from now!"
In three years, he would surely obtain the Holy Grail, and at that time, once he fulfilled his wish, events like this would never exist in this world again.
He... intended to save this world!
With his determination renewed, Kiritsugu left the room.
...
"We've arrived... is this the British Museum?" Kazuya remarked with nostalgia. "Having a camera is really convenient..."
"Onii-chan, let's go." Kazumi, holding Kazuya's hand, smiled and said, looking around.
"Ah, let's go inside." The two of them walked in, beginning their first day of the journey.
...
After a day of exploration, Kazumi, his sister, was tired and had returned to the hotel to rest. However, Kazuya decided to take a walk and explore London in this era.
"Hmm? That man..." Kazuya hesitated for a moment. This man seemed oddly familiar. Perhaps he should approach him and find out more.
"It's about time..." Kiritsugu checked the time.
The person who was supposed to deliver him information hadn't shown up. It seemed he had been stood up today.
"Wait a moment, sir." Just then, a young man walked up to Kiritsugu and took a seat. He looked at Kiritsugu, who was about to stand up, and said, "Sir, could you tell me your name?"
"Hmm? What's the matter?" Kiritsugu frowned and reached beneath his clothing, ready to act. It seemed this man didn't want him to leave. There were quite a few people around, so the man probably wouldn't make a move, but Kiritsugu wanted to be prepared just in case.
"Actually, I'm a mangaka, my name is Kurokawa Kazuya. I'm here in England for tourism and inspiration. I felt a sense of inspiration from you, like you have an interesting story to tell. So, may I have a conversation with you?"
"Are you Japanese?" Kiritsugu furrowed his brows and switched to Japanese. Until then, they had been speaking in English, but the last sentence was in Japanese. Kazuya, surprised, switched to Japanese as well.
"Oh, you're also Japanese?" Kazuya seemed a bit surprised. Earlier, they had conversed in English, but Kiritsugu had suddenly switched to Japanese. He handed over his business card to Kiritsugu, placing it on the table, then rested his hands on the table.
Kiritsugu frowned slightly but didn't use his hand; instead, he used a nearby coffee cup to turn the business card around. "I apologize, but I have a bit of a germ phobia."
"Ah, it's okay," Kiritsugu nodded and looked at the business card, but most of his attention was still on the man in front of him.
Indeed, he couldn't sense any magical energy from the man, but Kiritsugu was a mage killer who had encountered numerous people like this.
Besides, who knew if this man was a magus skilled enough to hide his magical energy? He couldn't be too careful.
His Origin Bullet-loaded pistol was in the backpack by his feet. In England, the headquarters of the magus, he couldn't afford to be without his most powerful magecraft equipment.
Just now, even with a business card, there could have been some magical spell inscribed on it. Using the coffee cup to touch it would provide some protection.
Although Kiritsugu was a magus, he wasn't particularly skilled in complex spells.
As Kiritsugu made his judgment, Kazuya was also trying to assess the situation. Was this man...
"Well, I see. So, what do you want to ask?" Kiritsugu said this and slowly let down his guard. Indeed, there was no magical aura emanating from this man, and it wasn't concealed in any way.
In this case, there were only three possibilities: one, he was so powerful that his vigilance meant nothing; two, he was so weak that he didn't need to be cautious; three, he wasn't a magus at all, as he claimed, just an ordinary person.
Given the current situation, the third possibility seemed more likely, and regardless of which possibility it was, there was no need for him to continue being on guard.
"Well... as you can see, I'm a mangaka, and the one thing a mangaka lacks the most is stories... I just took a quick look from afar and was pretty sure that you're someone with a story. So, may I hear your story...?"
"Hmm..." Kiritsugu let out a sigh and said, "Is that so... Well, then, I'll tell you a little..."
Maybe he wanted to vent, or perhaps it was some other reason... Kiritsugu himself didn't know why, but he was preparing to talk about his past.
"My name is Emiya Kiritsugu... Huh? What is it? Have you heard of my name before?" Emiya Kiritsugu looked at the expressions on Kazuya faces and became cautious once again!
Although... Kazuya were trying hard to suppress his expressions, there was still that split second— his pupils contracted ever so slightly.
'Was this person really Emiya Kiritsugu?'
And then, in that split second— Emiya Kiritsugu noticed it, and this assassin noticed it!
In that split second, Kazuya minds flashed with two thoughts—
One, does this world contain a hidden world unknown to ordinary people?
Two, this guy is starting to get cautious!
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