Abnormal Moon

"...Let me tell you."

Kasumigaoka Utaha couldn't guarantee anything, she could only promise to give it a try.

Ultimately, she herself was just a refugee.

back home.

Kasumigaoka Utaha put down the food and found Roy looking through documents in the living room.

"Lord Roy, there's something I'd like to tell you."

"What's the matter? Tell me."

Kasumigaoka Utaha recounted her conversation with Aki Tomoya in detail, including when she left home, when she met Aki Tomoya, and when they parted ways, leaving no detail overlooked.

She was also worried that her lack of knowledge might lead her into a trap set by other magicians, causing trouble for Roy.

"This is a very troublesome matter."

Roy wasn't angry, which relieved Kasumigaoka Utaha.

But hearing Roy use the word "trouble" surprised her greatly.

It wasn't that she was unhappy with Roy's words, which sounded like a refusal. She was just a refugee and had no right to be unhappy. Even if Roy refused her request, there was nothing she could do.

In the limited knowledge she had formed in the few days since she transmigrated, the Aozaki family was an extraordinary family, they knew Mayor Rin Tohsaka, and the two sisters in the family were also important figures in the Mage Association.

Roy, who comes from the Aozaki family, found this matter troublesome, which was beyond her expectations. In her mind, there shouldn't be many things in Fuyuki City that the Aozaki family couldn't control.

Chapter 19 Utaha Kasumigaoka's Request

"It's troublesome, how so?"

“I don’t think I’ve told you this before, but I’m not a member of the Aozaki family. I’m just a guest here. I’m essentially an outsider.”

Roy directly answered Kasumigaoka Utaha's question, frankly revealing his own reality of being dependent on others.

"The reason he gave me face at the refugee camp last time was not because of me, but because of the true master of the Aozaki family. He just wanted to get in touch with the sisters through me."

Roy is not the true owner of this house; he was merely placed here by the owner of the mansion.

The magicians of Fuyuki City were outwardly very friendly to him, but that was only on the surface.

They only refrained from causing trouble for him out of respect for the owner of the mansion and in the hope of establishing a connection with that person through him.

There are countless people in the association who despise him and are jealous of his favor with the head of the Aozaki family.

“If I go to Atram to ask for a servant, he won’t refuse to give it to me.”

Roy paused, then continued, "But you should also be aware of the costs involved."

What's being consumed is, of course, goodwill.

It was not only a favor from Roy, but also a favor from the head of the Aozaki family.

Kasumigaoka Utaha was caught off guard by this turn of events.

The price wasn't huge, but it wasn't small either, especially since it involved the Aozaki family head, who wasn't even here and held a very special position, and who, without her knowledge, used her name to stand up for a refugee in her absence.

This refugee wasn't even a servant of their own household, but merely a friend of their servant.

To put it bluntly, where do you get the nerve?

"Shiyu, do you know what your friend went through at Atram's house?"

Seeing Kasumigaoka Utaha's furrowed brows, Roy knew her concerns and, after thinking for a moment, asked.

"...No, he just wouldn't tell me the truth no matter what."

Kasumigaoka Utaha snapped out of her daze, recalled the situation, and shook her head.

She actually pressed him for details several times, since she was helping him with something and needed to find out the situation clearly.

However, Aki Tomoya refused to say what he had gone through, and whenever the topic came up, he would remain silent, only pleading for her help with a look of fear on his face.

She also found it a bit strange, but seeing Aki Tomoya's terrified expression, she ultimately didn't press him for details.

"Is it life-threatening?"

"I don't know, she just looks very haggard."

"Um……"

Roy pondered for a moment.

"Fuyuki City also has protective measures for refugees. As masters, magicians are prohibited from harming refugee servants without cause, but there are quite a few magicians who outwardly comply but inwardly defy them... Since he is only haggard, it means that his life is not in immediate danger."

The decree was issued by Rin Tohsaka, the mayor of Fuyuki City, who was known for her compassion and kindness towards refugees.

"How about this, I'll take a look at how Aki Tomoya is doing right now, and then we'll make a decision, okay?"

"So much the better."

Kasumigaoka Utaha's eyes lit up, and she nodded quickly.

"What should we do? Go to his house to investigate?"

"No need to bother."

Roy smiled slightly and made a light gesture in front of him.

Suddenly, a thin silver line appeared before him, opening like a pocket to reveal a chaotic, dark space within.

He put his hand into the space, and after groping around for a while, he took out a motionless yellow bird.

Kasumigaoka Utaha looked closely and realized that it wasn't a real bird, but a lifelike bird model made of brass, with a pair of lenses serving as its eyes.

Roy wrote several runes on the brass bird and then infused it with magic. The brass bird immediately flapped its wings and flew out the window.

The moment it flew out of the window, the bronze bird's figure disappeared completely.

"This is?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha looked out the window at the spot where the brass bird had disappeared and asked with a hint of envy.

"This is a simple familiar I made."

Roy replied, "I inscribed invisibility runes on it. Because it's made of metal and has no life force, its eyes are like cameras, making it very useful for infiltration and tracking."

As soon as he finished speaking, Roy snapped his fingers.

The next instant, a transparent image appeared in front of the two of them, floating in mid-air.

The image shows an aerial map of Fuyuki City, and it's shaky, which is exactly what the Brass Bird sees.

The brass bird flew in the air for a while, and soon found its target, aiming at a luxury residence in the villa area, and swooped down towards it.

"No wonder they're Middle Eastern nouveau riche; they can afford luxury homes even in a place like Fuyuki."

Roy clicked his tongue in amazement, his face showing obvious envy.

"Just go straight in like that? Won't there be some kind of barrier or something?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha was terrified. The Aozaki residence was covered by a barrier, and other houses must have one too.

Moreover, it was only at this moment that she realized that Roy was just a junior magician, while her opponent was a senior magician. In terms of magical skill, Roy was no match for her opponent at all.

If we sneak in like this, won't we get caught?

"Haha, nothing."

Roy waved his hand and chuckled dismissively.

"Atram's family was originally a nouveau riche in the Middle East. Before the Great Cataclysm, they only used magic as a pastime and a means of self-defense. It wasn't until after the Great Cataclysm that they began to seriously study magic, but they only studied it for ten years. Their magical skills were only third-rate. I could walk into their family's barrier with my eyes closed."

"Wasn't he opening the position?"

"It was bought with money."

"..."

Kasumigaoka Utaha was at a loss for words.

Is this also possible?

Magicians are supposed to fight monsters and be important figures in removing curses. Their combat strength and magical skills are more important than anything else, and the possibility of encountering danger is also very high. Why would a magician spend money to suffer?

And why can something as important as a magician's rank be bought with money?

"The Mage's Association is like this. It has been deeply mired in the vortex of interests for a long time and cannot extricate itself. On the contrary, they have an inflated sense of self-importance. Rin Tohsaka said it before, right? The association has long been corrupt."

While talking to Kasumigaoka Utaha, Roy controlled the brass bird to precisely evade the barrier's detection and sneak into Atram's Great House through a loophole.

He's right.

The barrier at Atram's house was of subpar quality, with huge flaws. It was nowhere near as good as the thirteen-layered, fully-covering barrier of Yuanzang Mountain. If Roy were there, he could have easily infiltrated the barrier with his eyes closed.

"Found it, the underground chamber, uh..."

Roy piloted the brass bird to infiltrate the Big House. Although the House was large, it was also small, and it was easy to find Atram's magic workshop, which, unsurprisingly, was located in the basement.

As soon as Roy entered the basement, he couldn't help but feel ashamed.

Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was standing next to her, also suddenly looked grim.