[Even if you show utmost kindness to evildoers, their wicked nature won't change.]
...
A reunion after so long.
After the meal, Roy had slightly closed the distance with Aozaki Touko.
He knew she was likely only cooperating for the money, but that didn't matter to him.
Whatever her motives, as long as she completed his task, it was fine.
Watching her leave, Roy, fresh from the meal, tucked a pound note worth far more than the bill under the plate, left the fast-food joint, and began searching for a certain mysterious figure in the city.
By magecraft world rules, as an outsider magus, Roy should report to the local leyline-managing family, as he did with the Tohsakas in Fuyuki.
But compared to Fuyuki's Tohsaka managers, the Ryougi family, Mifune's leyline overseers, was in poor shape. Due to declining mystery and lost traditions, the once-proud demon-hunting clan lacked a successor. Though they retained some magecraft records and knowledge of that world, they were detaching from the mystic realm, nearing the status of a mundane family, unable to govern Roy.
As for Mifune...
It was a remarkable city. Though less infamous than Fuyuki, with its frequent "gas pipe explosions," its hidden secrets were no fewer, a key stage in the Nasuverse—[Kara no Kyoukai].
Despite being a vital part of Nasuverse, Kara no Kyoukai was far less known than the Holy Grail War. Even many FGO veterans were unfamiliar with its stories.
Though less famous, its protagonist, Ryougi Shiki, was wildly popular.
With Nasuverse's top-tier Mystic Eyes of Death Perception and her gallant figure, paired with her iconic line, "If it's alive, I'll kill it, even a god," She won countless fans, including a younger Roy.
By this timeline, Ryougi Shiki was likely just a middle schooler, and with Root Shiki's attitude toward him unknown, Roy had no plans to approach her, turning his focus elsewhere.
"Better find the Mother of Mifune first..."
Compared to the uncertain Ryougi Shiki, the legendary Absolute Clairvoyance would be more useful.
Roy had a hunch he might gain unexpected insights from her.
"The Mother of Mifune, a self-proclaimed fortune-teller granny, is truly a hidden wielder of Absolute Clairvoyance. Selflessly, she divines fate, careers, and love for passersby, helping avert tragedies—a near-urban legend."
While every fortune-teller boasts accuracy, compared to frauds or half-baked divination magi, the Mother of Mifune's predictions were in a league of their own.
Her eyes likely held this era's true Clairvoyance.
Though unclear how her Absolute Clairvoyance compared to Merlin, Solomon, or Gilgamesh's EX-ranked Clairvoyance as [Grand Casters], it undoubtedly surpassed standard [Prediction] or [Clairvoyance], a cheat-like ability.
Absolute Clairvoyance... even in the Age of Gods, such power would make her a priestess or prophet. Its presence in the modern era was miraculous.
Knowing of such an intriguing figure, Roy had to meet her.
...
Walking alone through snow-covered alleys littered with fallen AC units and debris, Roy sidestepped murky puddles from melted snow, pressing forward.
At a fork, he casually knocked out two delinquents tailing him, ambushing from ahead, and continued without a glance.
Even during the holidays, these alleys spawned delinquents.
What is this, an RPG?
Fixed spawns of thugs dropping wallets or something?
The trope was fitting, though.
"Caught us, huh?!"
"Hey, outsider! Hand over your cash if you don't want to lose a few parts!"
Seeing their ambush fail as Roy exposed their companions, the delinquents dropped the act, the rest jumping out.
Four of them, wielding knives, flanked Roy in the alley, two in front, two behind, shouting for his money.
"..."
Sizing up the thugs boxing him in, Roy found the situation novel. His first robbery—and by clueless mundanes, no less.
He had no interest in playing along, ignoring their pointless taunts and turning to leave.
"Hey! What's with that attitude? Didn't you hear me? Hand it over—"
"Aaaah!!"
Seeing Roy ignore him, the lead thug cursed, lunging with his dagger to teach him a lesson.
Buzz—!!
A sharp, piercing sound rang out. A massive force hit the thug, hurling him into a garbage pile.
"Shh. Didn't anyone teach you to stay quiet when someone's thinking? It's basic courtesy."
Roy raised a finger, glaring at the approaching delinquents.
"It's a bit wasteful, but I don't have time for games. Let's make this quick."
Ignoring their thoughts, Roy opened a pocket on his coat. Under their puzzled gazes, he pulled out a special vial containing mercury-like liquid and crushed it.
—Bang!!
"Boil, my blood."
[Fervor, meus sanguis.]
With a sharp crack, silvery liquid flowed from the vial, dripping onto the ground.
As he chanted softly, the Volumen Hydrargyrum on the ground swelled before Roy, floating in his palm, transforming per his will.
Volumen Hydrargyrum, a magecraft tool created by Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald, Lord of the Clock Tower's Mineralogy Department, in his twenties. Hailed as the El-Melloi faction's supreme tool, it boasted auto-attack, auto-tracking, and auto-defense functions, exceptionally versatile. Beyond combat, it served as a top-tier computational device for magecraft support.
Even in the Clock Tower, few tools matched its utility, its value astronomical.
Only the El-Melloi faction's elite could obtain it.
Roy's vial was a gift from his mentor upon reaching the [Pride] rank.
As an alchemist, with mercury—known as alchemical blood—being a key component, the tool was perfectly suited to him, kept close at hand.
"What the hell is that?"
"Monster! He's a monster!!"
Under Roy's control, the mercury swirled in midair. Seeing their comrade blasted into a wall and witnessing such an unnatural scene, the remaining delinquents lost their bravado. Lacking even the courage to drag their unconscious allies away, they scrambled toward the alley's exit.
"Hmph, trying to run?"
Roy coldly eyed their retreat, raising his hand. A faint magical ripple pulsed through the floating Volumen Hydrargyrum.
At his command, the swollen silver liquid exploded like a bomb, splitting into sharp spikes shooting forward.
"Bang—!!"
Piercing cracks mixed with sharp blasts.
"Aah!!"
Amid agonized screams and shattering sounds, the delinquents, pierced by mercury, slammed into walls, some breaking ribs and passing out, utterly defeated.
Though they were cowardly scum, Roy wasn't bloodthirsty. Unless their crimes were heinous, he wouldn't take lives lightly, so he spared them.
But that didn't mean he'd indulge evildoers or expect their natures to change.
—Even if you show utmost kindness to evildoers, their wicked nature won't change. The only way to stop them is to strip their ability to do harm.
This time, he'd sever an arm or leg each, ensuring they could no longer prey on others. Let them spend their remaining lives as cripples, feeling the pain of those they once harmed.
Acting on his resolve, Roy flicked his fingers. The Volumen Hydrargyrum trembled, a dazzling silver arc flashing through the alley. Amid hysterical screams, blood stained the snow, delivering due punishment to the villains.
"That's better..."
...and his thoughts felt clearer.
"As for you lot, try being human for the rest of your lives."
Ignoring the groaning delinquents and scattered limbs, Roy stepped through the blood-stained snow, continuing down the alley.
"Since I'm here, you wouldn't make me waste my trip, would you? After all this searching, it's time we met, old lady."
He murmured to the empty sky, as if addressing someone absent.
"...Sigh."
After a long pause, a faint, lingering sigh echoed from the darkness nearby.