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Anna’s mother laughed. "Aw man, Japanese people are really small, huh?" She was a very tall woman, making most of the passing civilians look quite small beside her. A few Japanese n glanced at her while blushing, perhaps drawn to her mature, tomboyish charm, but they quickly looked away and continued walking.
"M-Mom, don’t say that out loud..." Anna sighed.
"What? They don’t understand anyway," her mother laughed loudly.
While touring, sightseeing, and taking lots of selfies together, Elena and her friends reached a restaurant called Ise Sueyoshi—a renowned kaiseki establishnt known for its exquisite sake pairings. It was farther from the airport than expected, so they had to fly there using brooms and illusion magic to hide from prying eyes.
"Gulp, gulp, phew!"
"Woow! Now that’s so good beer!"
Olivia and Anna’s mother laughed while blushing, having downed both sake and cold beer together. They raised their cups in cheerful toasts.
Elena and her friends watched with bored expressions, already a little tired of the adults always finding excuses to drink alcohol. She kind of wanted to try wine too, but she was still not an adult.
She and her friends did enjoy the place, though. There were all kinds of dishes, so they had never tasted before. In the middle of their al, Olivia finally spoke about their destination.
"So anyway, we’re moving to the heart of Tokyo, Chiyoda City! That’s where our destination is located—the Amaterasu Clan of Tokyo, part of the branches within the Magus Society affiliated with the Clock Tower. There’s an Onmyōdō School you will be joining!" she said.
"What the hell are Onmyouji?" Anna asked.
"Japanese magicians! But they also deal with spiritualism, Buddhism, and a sprinkle of feng shui. My Formations have been mastered and grown a lot in this country when I visited it in my younger years," Olivia said after finishing a bottle of sake. "Usually they are exorcists and the like and create bonds with Shikigami... you will learn all of this and more! Exciting, right?"
"Ooh!" Elisa seed excited. "It doesn’t sound bad...!"
"Hm!" Monica nodded. "Though I hope they don’t try to exorcise ..."
"Hahaha, silly Monica, that’s not happening," Anna laughed. "What do you think, Elena?"
"I guess that sounds fun..." Elena said. "Though I never thought we would join a clan..."
"Don’t worry, the people there are kind," Olivia assured her. "It’s part of your new exchange scholarship. They also sent so of their students abroad. I hope the people of the Clock Tower treat them well."
"I doubt it. Now that we aren’t there, I would like to say out loud that they are all assholes!" Anna’s mother declared. "Hic...! And... that they’re all sons of bitches... fucking bastards...! Hic...! Ugh, I think I drank too much... heheh..."
"Haaa... I do agree with you, but please refrain from saying it out loud. I am also a mber of the Clock Tower higher-ups after all," Olivia sighed. "Anyway, if we are done here, shall we get going? I believe there must be a mber or two from the clan waiting for us outside by now."
"Outside?" Elena tilted her head.
The group quickly paid for their al and walked outside. Indeed, two mbers of the clan were waiting. They wore mostly normal clothes, though each had a sun insignia on their chest.
The first to greet them was a young man with dyed blonde hair and golden-brown eyes, a slender fra, and a handso face. "You must be Master Olivia Coyett, is that right?" He was also incredibly fluent in English.
"Yes dear, and these are my students," Olivia said. "Ah, I rember seeing you sowhere years ago! You have to be little Matsuo, right? You’ve sure grown up!"
"A-Ah, I thought you wouldn’t rember ," Matsuo laughed. "It’s an honor to have you as our guest for this year’s student exchange, Lady Olivia Coyett. The sa goes for your students. As she said, my na is Matsuo. Nice to et you all. Oh, and this is my younger sister..."
"Na’s Otoi!" The girl was an adorable young woman with long clear brown hair and the sa eye color as her brother. She wore a white dress and a white sumr hat. "Sorry for not coming in more formal clothes. We were in a hurry... we didn’t expect you would co so quickly."
"Ohoho, is that so?" Olivia chuckled. "Anyway—Ah, this is Anna’s mother. She will also accompany us."
"Nice to et you," Anna’s mom nodded. Matsuo saw her appearance and took a step back, visibly stunned by her beauty—his expression practically scread "she’s just my type."
"Hm? Sothing the matter, boy?"
"N-Nothing..." Matsuo muttered. "It is nice to et you too, ma’am...! Anyway, uh, yeah, right, let’s get going then. I have brought a teleportation talisman, so it should be easy to reach the clan headquarters right away. Co with to this alley first. We don’t want to be seen."
After walking into an alleyway and making sure nobody was watching, Matsuo placed a talisman on the ground and activated it. Japanese letters rose into the air, ford of golden light, creating a golden portal. "Through here, please. Jump inside."
The girls jumped first, followed by Anna’s mother and then Olivia. Once they were through, Matsuo’s sister went next, and finally Matsuo himself. He made sure to deactivate the talisman and vanish. The paper left on the floor slowly faded into ashes.
Although they didn’t realize soone was watching them.
A pair of red eyes.
"Fufu, so they are here—the last mbers of this war. The holders of the catalysts for Archer and... Hm? There’s two catalysts?"
Her long purple hair waved in the wind as her gleaming eyes narrowed for a mont.
Within her, sothing powerful and nefarious was slowly awakening—channeling ancient, malevolent forces from the root of this world’s history and myth.
As she analyzed the holders of the catalysts, she sighed softly and waved her long, purple fairy wings. She flew higher into the skies.
"An eighth Heroic Spirit may be summoned from the Holy Grail... this is certainly an unexpected variable. Just what are they planning? Well, regardless, I should tell father."
FLASH!
As she disappeared, she left behind small red petals fluttering in the air.
.
.
.
Elena’s eyes widened at the sight. She was quickly teleported to the center of Tokyo, in a territory not far from the Imperial Palace itself. She stood in the middle of a beautiful Japanese garden—several ponds, bamboo forests, and cherry trees decorating the paths, alongside old traditional houses with bright red roofs.
"Welco, everyone, to Japan’s most prestigious clan of Onmyouji."
Matsuo gently welcod her and everyone else to the Amaterasu Clan Territory—the oldest clan of magicians in the entire country, founded centuries ago, which had watched over Japan’s supernatural world for ages.
"This is the entrance. Follow ."
As they walked deeper, Elena gasped when she saw a tall red gate ahead. It exuded a powerful spiritual and divine aura.
"W-What is that door?" she asked.
"That’s the entrance to our territory," Matsuo’s sister explained. "Our Domain!"
"...!" Elisa, Elena, Monica, and Anna quickly realized what it ant.
"Just like in the Clock Tower, large organizations and families have their own Domains which they control," Olivia explained. "Sotis, if they’re ancient and resourceful enough, they can grow as big as Realms."
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