Shinji Matou at Your Service

"So, I'm the last one?" the graceful figure said after ordering her attendants to wait behind.

If Heine was the standard noble son, then this one was undoubtedly the perfect young lady.

Her sapphire blue dress, the ribbon of the same color, and the ivory-handled parasol were already gorgeous enough, but they were only a foil to the beauty of this young lady.

"Ooh," Jiroubou exclaimed in admiration. This time, no one bothered to say anything, because it wasn't just him. Even Gray and Rosalind, who were also women, showed varying degrees of amazement.

The young girl, only seventeen or eighteen years old, had captured the attention of everyone present.

"...As expected. Were you lured here by the scent of beautiful treasures?" the old man in the wheelchair said with disgust.

"Is there a problem, old man?"

The girl responded to his provocation with a smile. The way she walked over was as if she were the master of this castle.

A sound like the churning magma of hell erupted from the old man's throat.

"...Oh, oh, I was talking about your greedy blood. Luviagelita Edelfelt."

"What an honor."

The girl in the blue dress, Luviagelita, responded to his words with a smile.

This was an invisible contest. If the brief exchange between Shinji and Jiroubou was considered a physical fight, then this was a battle of wits, using expressions, words, and aura as weapons to strike at the opponent.

Generally speaking, the older party had the advantage in this kind of battle. However, even when facing Orlocke, who was old enough to be her great-grandfather, Luvia refused to be outdone, displaying the unique grace of a natural-born prodigy.

"Instructor."

Gray instinctively looked up at Shinji. When in doubt, ask the teacher. This was the habit Gray had developed since coming to London.

Shinji was also used to answering the questions of his mystical novice student, Gray:

"The Edelfelts is a prestigious magical family from Finland, known for their jewel magecraft and being treasure hunters."

"Treasure hunters, I like that term."

"What treasure hunters? They're nothing but hyenas!"

Luvia nodded her head slightly, while Orlocke snorted coldly.

Shinji continued, "The current head of the family is currently in semi-retirement, leaving his daughter to travel around. That's Miss Luviagelita. It's said that she's the most outstanding successor in the history of the Edelfelts. Like our professor, she also has various nicknames, such as Finland's Rising Star, Forklift Lady, World's most elegant hyena - ah..."

By the time he realized he had misspoken, it was already too late.

If you were to ask any Fate fan about Luvia, the first thing they would think of would be Rin Tohsaka's rival, a hot-tempered rich girl who would pick a fight at the drop of a hat. How many people would remember that Luvia wasn't usually like that at all? As long as she didn't encounter Rin Tohsaka, she was always the epitome of a lady, an elegant noblewoman.

Shinji was no exception. Especially after witnessing the bickering between her and her rival in a parallel world, Luvia's fiery image had already taken root in his mind. Even when he saw her looking like a goddess, he couldn't help but associate her with the image in his mind.

"Hahaha, hyena, Forklift... How fitting."

Orlocke laughed out loud unkindly, and the others present couldn't help but chuckle as well.

Luvia's smile froze on her face, and an astonishing amount of magical energy gathered around her. Similar to Rin Tohsaka, they were perfect young ladies most of the time, but when their taboos were touched, they would transform into tyrants.

Unfortunately, Forklift Lady was Luvia's taboo. As it was a public occasion, Luvia barely managed to maintain her ladylike image and didn't immediately explode. She just stared at Shinji, saying word by word:

"This, gentleman, may, I, ask, where, did, you, hear, this, nickname?"

"This, that, I can't remember for the moment."

Shinji scratched his cheek awkwardly, trying to bluff his way through. However, Luvia wasn't willing to let him off so easily.

"You can think about it slowly if you can't remember. Or should I take your actions as a provocation against me?"

"I didn't mean it that way," Shinji said with a wry smile.

"Then what did you mean?"

"It was just a slip of the tongue."

"A slip of the tongue? So you're saying that's what you think?"

Magical energy gathered at Luvia's fingertips, forming a pressure that filled the air.

"..."

At this point, Shinji wanted to slap himself. Why did he have to say so much?

"You've slandered a lady. Are you ready to face the consequences?"

The atmosphere changed. A spiral began to accelerate in front of Luvia. It was Gandr, a classic Nordic curse-based attack spell and Luvia's most frequently used.

An ordinary Gandr would damage the target's health, lower their resistance, and make them sick. But when used by an expert like Luvia, it could cause direct harm.

In the next second, a dark curse bullet shot out.

Judging from the location the curse bullet was aimed at, Luvia didn't want to take Shinji's life, just teach him a lesson.

Unfortunately for her, Shinji's body had been strengthened by the Golden Apple. Magic of this level was deflected by his Magic Resistance before it could even get close.

Luvia didn't believe it and increased her magical output, but it still had no effect.

"So this is the so-called most outstanding successor. No wonder people call you a nouveau riche family," Orlock sneered, adding fuel to the fire.

The others weren't as calm as the old man. Everyone in the hall was a first-class magus and could naturally see the destructive power contained in the curse bullet. Yet, such a bullet was easily deflected by Shinji. Perhaps this was a genius no less talented than Luvia. They had to re-evaluate the intentions of the El-Melloi Classroom. They were not here for a simple visit.

After several failed curse bullets, Luvia's expression gradually became serious. A sapphire, the same color as her dress, appeared in her hand.

"Call! (Awaken!)"

With a whisper from her delicate lips, the sapphire burst into light. Magical energy ten times stronger than the curse bullet swirled around the girl's body, accelerating.

This was magic powerful enough to break through an enemy's Magic Resistance. Luvia was finally getting serious.

Shinji sighed.

"It's about time to stop, Miss Luvia. I apologize for my slip-up. Please don't escalate this conflict."

Luvia didn't respond and repeated her previous chant.

"Call! (Awaken!)"

Seeing this, Shinji shook his head helplessly. Not only was the type of magecraft she used similar but her hotheadedness and stubbornness were also very much like Rin's. They were truly worthy rivals and relatives.