Clock Tower, Department of Summoning
In Naoki's original world, the Department of Summoning was a discipline that received little attention. While it couldn't be called declining, its status wasn't particularly high either, sitting in an awkward middle ground—neither too prominent nor too insignificant.
However, in this world, due to the frequent occurrence of subspecies Holy Grail Wars across various regions in recent years, the Department of Summoning's status had risen dramatically, almost becoming the most esteemed discipline in the Clock Tower at present.
And today, the Department of Summoning welcomed a rather special guest.
*KNOCK!* *KNOCK!*
Walking through the familiar corridor unchanged even in this parallel world, Naoki stopped in front of the office of the head of the Department of Summoning and knocked on the door.
"Come in."
"Excuse me."
Pushing the door open, Naoki immediately saw an elderly man seated behind a desk, leaning toward the window as if waiting for him.
And indeed, he had been waiting for Naoki's arrival.
"Pleased to meet you, Moonfall. I'm the head of the Department of Summoning, Belfeban Rocco."
Moonfall.
This was the title the Clock Tower had given Naoki since the incident involving the fall of the moon. Though it wasn't an official title, with no ceremony or formal announcement to Naoki himself, most Mages in the industry now referred to him as such.
Sitting on the sofa across from Rocco, Naoki looked at the old man, and memories of their past encounters automatically surfaced in his mind.
Years ago, because Kayneth had always intended for Naoki to marry into the family, he frequently—whether intentionally or not—brought Naoki to meet key figures from the Department of Summoning or the Department of Mineralogy. Rocco was one of them; they had met three or four times and could be considered acquaintances.
Of course, in this world, the two were complete strangers.
"You must already know the purpose of my visit, right?"
"The Grand Master has already explained. Regarding the upcoming Holy Grail War in Romania, one of the seven slots on the Red Faction has been registered for a Master here. Moving forward, the Master will nominally represent the Clock Tower in the Holy Grail War."
This was the reason Naoki had come to the Clock Tower.
Though he grumbled slightly about being forced to work by the Counter Force, Naoki cared far more about Gray's safety than his own inner discomfort. As Manaka had said, he was, in the end, a foolishly doting older brother to Gray.
So, after agreeing to Jeanne's request, he contacted Zelretch through Rin and Luvia, asking him to help secure a slot at the Clock Tower.
In the world of magic, the Clock Tower was the official authority. While Naoki didn't care much for formalities at the moment, having an official title could save him a lot of trouble. If he got involved personally, the Clock Tower might come after him again, causing issues.
But now, with a nominal position at the Clock Tower, he was considered one of their own. Even if he caused trouble, it would be the Clock Tower's responsibility—you're the ones who sent me here!
"Additionally, though we're unsure if you'll use it, we've prepared a holy relic for you."
Rocco opened a drawer beside him, pulled out an ebony wooden box, and opened it to reveal its contents to Naoki.
It was a piece of processed wood.
"This is a fragment of the Round Table, said to have been used by King Arthur and his knights. If used as a catalyst, it should accurately summon one of the Knights of the Round Table, or perhaps even King Arthur himself. As a 'card' in your hand, it's quite extraordinary."
Even without Rocco's explanation, Naoki already knew the value of this fragment.
The Knights of the Round Table… I have plenty of connections to them.
Naoki himself was a Sub-Servant who had merged with Arthur's Saint Graph. He might be able to summon Arthur just by calling his name while standing in the summoning circle. Additionally, Gray possessed King Arthur's holy spear, not to mention her own unique condition, and Naoki had Avalon within his body.
What is meant by the Round Table connection!
Compared to Naoki's circumstances, the fragment before him was practically useless.
"I'll handle the holy relic myself. You can take this fragment back."
"Planning to summon based on compatibility? Understood. I look forward to seeing you summon an exceptional Servant. Oh, by the way, the other five participants besides you have already left for Romania some time ago. Would you like us to arrange a plane for you, Sir?"
"No need. I only required the slot at the Clock Tower. Excuse me."
Naoki stood and left the office.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
An inn near the Clock Tower
After leaving the Department of Summoning, Naoki headed straight here, finding Gray and Caren, whom he had arranged to stay at the inn.
Yes, Caren came along too.
As Naoki's overseer.
Though Caren herself had said that, if possible, Naoki only needed to call her daily to report his schedule, this time there were Church members involved in the Holy Grail War. If they found out she, as his overseer, wasn't by his side, they'd likely label her as ineffective and cut her salary and bonuses.
That was a very serious matter.
So, for the sake of her living expenses, Caren followed Naoki to the Clock Tower.
"Is everything settled?" she asked.
"Yes. The slot at the Clock Tower is secured. I'll start preparing the Servant summoning tonight, and we'll head to Romania tomorrow." Naoki replied.
Gray nodded slightly. "Sorry, Brother, for causing you trouble because of me—Miss Jeanne also says thank you so much… ah!"
Naoki suddenly flicked his finger, making Gray let out a small yelp.
Ruffling her hair, Naoki smiled. "There's no such thing as trouble. Your problems are my problems. Helping you is only natural—just leave it to me."
Pulling her hood down slightly to cover her face, Gray's cheeks flushed as she nodded.
"Natsukawa-sama."
At that moment, Angelica's voice rang out. She approached Naoki and said, "The hotel has been arranged, and the luggage has been settled. We're ready to escort the three of you anytime."
Angelica was there as Caren's caretaker. A lot could happen during a Holy Grail War, and since Caren was defenseless, Naoki thought it best to assign her a bodyguard.
By the way, Angelica now held the Gilgamesh Class Card. After all, Rin only needed to hand over seven Class Cards, and the Gilgamesh, Siegfried, and Magni cards were still at Luvia's residence. So, before leaving this time, Naoki had taken the Gilgamesh Class Card.
It was convenient, as they were short on someone with divinity to deal with Achilles.
As for Pandora, who didn't come along, Naoki had asked her to stay temporarily at Luvia's residence.
Let's fight to wrap this up quickly… By the way, I wonder if Arthur will respond to my summoning this time.
If he could be summoned, that would be ideal.