Chapter 274: Rin: This Is the Most Embarrassing Thing Ever!
"Pffft—HA HA HA HA HA!!"
Aoko clutched her stomach, doubled over with laughter she couldn't control.
"No way—seriously?! Are those two actually also like that in real life? They started a full-blown fight over a spat? And ended up putting half a classroom in the hospital?! That's hilarious!"
Hearing Aoko's exaggerated laughter, Alice clenched her fists.
She had a sneaking suspicion she was being passively mocked.
"I heard it's all true," Shibamatsu chimed in, his voice full of secondhand gossip straight from his Clock Tower contacts.
"What? What?!"
Aoko rubbed her jaw—still sore from how hard she'd been laughing—and leaned in, eyes sparkling with interest.
"What exactly is true?!"
"The fight between Tohsaka-san and Edelfelt-san," Shibamatsu said. "Word is, ever since they enrolled at the Clock Tower, those two have been constantly at each other's throats—petty squabbles, magical duels, the whole package."
Aoko's eyes widened in disbelief.
"You're kidding me. They actually dared to throw down on Kayneth's turf?!"
For context, in Shinji's adaptation of Magical Illya, he had reallocated a key supporting role—originally intended for Zelretch—to Lord El-Melloi Archibald (Kayneth).
This wasn't a major shift; Kayneth hadn't appeared in the main timeline of Illya anyway, so giving him the role of secret overseer fit just fine. Plus, it was a great excuse to spotlight the Department of Modern Magecraft.
But Aoko wasn't shocked about Kayneth appearing—she was shocked that Rin and Luvia had the gall to cause a scene in his classroom.
Kayneth might not be quite as arrogant as he once was—thanks to the decline of mystery in this world—but his strictness remained legendary.
Even his favorite disciple Waver, and his most indulged student Shinji, never got special treatment when it came to academics.
His reputation was so fierce that even someone like Aoko, tucked away in the Far East, had heard of his iron discipline.
So for students to brawl under his nose? It was almost unthinkable.
"Maybe look at it from a different angle," Alice suggested. "Maybe even Kayneth couldn't stop them."
It wasn't impossible.
Some people are just natural-born rivals—walking powder kegs that explode the moment they cross paths.
"Ahem. The fight isn't even the best part," Shibamatsu interrupted, barely able to contain his excitement.
"What really matters is… they got into another massive fight just last year. At the end of the year, no less. Supposedly it was so bad they had to completely renovate the classroom."
"For real?"
Aoko instinctively glanced at the TV screen. Her expression twisted into something between amusement and disbelief—like she wanted to laugh but thought better of it.
"And get this," Shibamatsu went on. "Shinji Matou just happened to be at the Clock Tower during that very fight. Saw the whole thing go down. Even got a bit injured, they say."
"…Huh?"
Even Alice looked up now, her curiosity piqued.
"Apparently, after that brawl, Shinji just straight-up dragged Tohsaka-san and Edelfelt-san back to Fuyuki City to cool off."
"That's it?" Aoko asked.
Shibamatsu shook his head with a dramatic sigh. "Not even close. The moment they landed, they started fighting again—right there in the airport!"
Aoko and Alice both turned to look at the TV screen—right on cue, the show was playing the airport scene. Rin and Luvia were locked in a furious staredown, hands interlocked, shouting at each other in front of a stunned crowd.
"Some people are saying that whole mess is what inspired Shinji to make this tokusatsu series."
Aoko's eyes lit up.
"So it's based on real events? Incredible..."
Even Alice was taken aback by the gossip.
Originally, she hadn't been very excited about Magical Illya.
It wasn't entirely Shinji's production, after all. The magical girl genre wasn't something filled with deep magecraft knowledge.
And because it was a TV series rather than a film like Super 8, it lacked the high-end magic-based cinematography she enjoyed analyzing.
In short, as a magus, Alice had little interest in the show.
But now—hearing all this?
Her curiosity had been thoroughly awakened.
The reason for turning on the TV to watch this tokusatsu series—aside from it being a club group activity—was simply because things had gotten too boring lately.
However, Shibamatsu's words had just opened the door to a whole new world for Alice.
If the beginning of the show was based on real events, didn't that imply there might be more content drawn from reality?
"According to Shinji Matou's own promotional statements, Magical Illya is a show meant to portray a harmonious and loving Fuyuki City. It's a story created especially for Illya, who never gets a happy ending in other timelines."
Alice lowered her head, deep in thought.
"That being the case, it means much of the show is probably adapted from real-life events—and could even contain metaphors for the real Fuyuki City... I'm definitely following this series now!"
If it were just a pure fantasy story, Alice wouldn't be all that interested.
But if it had connections to the real Fuyuki?
Well then, the esteemed Kuonji Alice was wide awake now.
To magi, modern-day Fuyuki is a place both familiar and mysterious.
Thanks to the Fate stories, everyone knew of Fuyuki and the Three Founding Families like the back of their hand.
But what was Fuyuki City really like now? Outsiders had no way of knowing.
Under the tight control of the Servants and Shinji's management, not a single scrap of information that Shinji didn't want to leak could escape to the public.
"Using a TV series like this to learn about Fuyuki... not a bad strategy. Even vague hints could help me better understand the city—and Sir Matou's attitudes on certain topics."
Alice stared at the screen with laser focus, analyzing in earnest.
"Take, for example, this 'incident' Sir Matou personally witnessed. If he's depicting it with such humor and lightness, that means he didn't take it to heart. That woman, Rin Tohsaka, is clearly someone he dotes on."
At the end of that line, Alice even sounded a little jealous.
"Sigh... When will Sir Matou start telling stories about other magi families outside Fuyuki?"
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"Achoo!"
Rin, sitting in the Matou residence watching Magical Illya with the others, suddenly sneezed.
"Ugh, who's bad-mouthing me right now? Wait—why am I even asking..."
As she watched herself and Luvia bickering on screen, Rin shook her head in helpless disbelief.
She had no idea what kind of rumors had spread among the magi, nor did she realize that her "legendary tales" from the Clock Tower had already gone viral.
She didn't even know that Shinji had—via word of mouth—somehow become the "victim" of that incident.
But one thing Rin did know very clearly—
She had just lost a ton of face.
Normal viewers might not pick up on it, but the magi at the Clock Tower? They'd recognize the subtext instantly.
Especially those who had studied there—they'd know Shinji was totally throwing shade.
"I thought I was just playing some magical auntie on screen, but there was this intro scene too?! Why didn't Shinji warn me?!"
"Isn't it obvious?" Sakura said calmly.
"If he warned you, this intro would've never aired."
"MATOU↑ SHINJI↓!!!"
Late at night, a tragic cry rang through the Matou estate—Rin Tohsaka's wail of embarrassment.
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