Rin Tohsaka was reborn.
She was reborn back to that afternoon in February 2004.
At that time, she was still a greenhorn in the world of magi.
Inheriting her father Tokiomi Tohsaka's dying wish, she wanted to restore the glory of the Tohsaka family, yet she harbored a naivety towards everything that was unlike a magus.
One had to admit that period of time had a truly significant impact on Rin Tohsaka's life. Perhaps it was for this very reason that she would later firmly decide to head to the Clock Tower for her studies, walking the path to become a magus.
But now, as this high school girl's body welcomed a partially mature magus soul from the future, Rin Tohsaka actually felt some apprehension.
What happened in February 2004?
The corrupted Holy Grail War, the Heroic Spirit Gilgamesh lurking in Fuyuki, Kirei Kotomine who murdered her father, and her own sister Sakura, who was tortured deep within the Matou household...
Rin Tohsaka's memories were still extremely vivid. If not for this Holy Grail War, perhaps many secrets would have been kept from Rin Tohsaka for her entire life.
If she had never gone to the Clock Tower to study, Rin might have naively thought this was the heavens taking pity on her, granting her a chance to change some of her regrets.
But having already entered that deceitful world of magi, her first reaction was that someone was setting a trap for her!
It was not a hallucination, nor a Bounded Field, and there were no magical fluctuations.
She had heard from a lecturer in the El-Melloi Classroom that the Lord of the Astronomy Department was recently developing a technology called 'Rayshift,' which was said to be capable of projecting humans into past history, but it had been delayed due to a lack of funding.
'Could it be that he actually succeeded in developing it?'
Rin Tohsaka was somewhat uncertain and suspicious. Looking at the familiar scenes within the classroom, rather than feeling a sense of intimacy, she felt more unease.
It was too real.
Oh no, it was reality. Whether it was the familiar classmates in the room or the environment, it didn't differ a bit from her memories.
But one must know that 'Time Travel' is a miracle that can only be achieved by the legendary 'Fifth Magic'.
Did that Lord of the Astronomy Department truly become so outstanding as to successfully fuse technology with Magecraft, achieving a feat that only 'Magic' could touch upon?
'Let's wait and see for now.'
Things having reached this stage, Rin Tohsaka had no choice. After all, she didn't know how to return to the future.
'I remember that according to the current timeline, the Holy Grail War has already begun. According to what I did in the past, I will summon the Servant Archer at two o'clock tomorrow morning... oh no, one o'clock...'
Rin Tohsaka looked down at the back of her right hand, where three Command Spells were clearly visible.
It was funny to say, but with time starting over, she was actually hesitating whether to summon that red Archer just like she did in the past.
Although the past her had aimed to summon Saber from the start, she dropped the ball halfway due to various reasons, causing that red Archer to respond to her summons instead.
It wasn't that she thought Archer was weak. She was just wondering: assuming she didn't drop the ball, what would be the result if she summoned a Servant at 2:00 AM when she was in peak condition?
'So conflicted!'
Rin Tohsaka didn't even consider the possibility of a 'Grandfather Paradox.' She was already in the past, so what paradox was there to speak of?
Although the Holy Grail in this war was already corrupted, it was ultimately a ritual of the Third Magic with a chance to contact the 'Root'.
How could Rin Tohsaka, now a mature magus, not be tempted!
That is the gold standard of the two words: 'The Root'!
"Rin, did you know? A new student is coming to our class today~"
"A new student?"
Immersed in her fantasies, Rin Tohsaka was stunned. If she remembered correctly, no new student came to her class on this day in 2004?
But a moment later, a girl with black hair and red eyes, her long hair cascading down to her waist like a Yamato Nadeshiko, walked into her class just like that.
"Hello everyone, I am the new transfer student, Nikaido Hiro."
"Please take care of me."
The girl bowed elegantly on the podium. That graceful and dignified appearance clearly indicated she came from a traditional, prestigious family that taught aristocratic etiquette.
"Wow, so pretty, just like a rich young lady!"
"Nikaido-san, with a surname like that—a direct descendant of the Southern House of the Fujiwara clan—did you come from a big city like Tokyo? So amazing~~..."
The classmates around Rin Tohsaka were clamoring noisily.
After the appearance of this girl named 'Nikaido Hiro,' of whom she had absolutely no impression in her memories, the entire class seemed to revolve around her.
If such a girl really existed in the history she experienced, it would be impossible for Rin Tohsaka not to remember.
After all, during her high school days in her memories, the most popular girl in school had always been her, Rin Tohsaka.
She was the 'Flower on a High Peak,' excellent in both academics and athletics!
Although Rin Tohsaka wasn't a vain person, she maintained this image mostly to uphold her status as the outstanding heir of the Tohsaka family.
But after Nikaido Hiro appeared, this dazzling temperament made even her feel a trace of pressure in the atmosphere!
'Something is wrong.'
'There's a problem!'
With things reaching this point, Rin Tohsaka was immediately alerted!
She almost instantly regarded the other party as a magus potentially related to the Astronomy Department of the Clock Tower.
Could it be that those people from the Astronomy Department learned from somewhere that the Holy Grail War was related to the Third Magic, and wanted to start with her, a descendant of the Tohsaka family who constructed the Holy Grail War, using Rayshift to send themselves to the past?
"May I sit here?"
"Hmm? Uh, suit yourself."
Rin Tohsaka watched as Nikaido Hiro walked to the empty seat next to her in the classroom and set down an object wrapped in bandages, which Rin initially mistook for a musical instrument carried on the girl's back.
Although curious gazes were cast upon this new transfer student from time to time in the class, given that it was during lesson time, most people suppressed the urge to interact with Nikaido Hiro.
"Hello Nikaido-san, I am Rin Tohsaka. Nice to meet you."
Out of politeness, and also out of suspicion, Rin Tohsaka intended to probe the background of this girl who did not exist in her memories.
"May I ask a curious question? Student, what is that thing you were carrying on your back just now?"
"Nothing, just a sword."
"A sword?"
"Yes, is Tohsaka-san also interested in Kendo? I heard that there is a formidable teacher in the Kendo Club of our school who has produced many excellent students, so I came specially to learn."
A formidable teacher? Was she talking about Taiga Fujimura?
Rin Tohsaka almost immediately thought of the school's English teacher and Kendo Club advisor, Taiga Fujimura. Her terrifying strength as a 5th Dan in Kendo was indeed not to be underestimated.
But simply because of an interest in Kendo, she carried a sword with her? What a weirdo.
However, through that brief contact just now, Rin Tohsaka discovered she did not sense any magical fluctuations or characteristics of a magus from Nikaido Hiro.
The other party never even mentioned 'Rayshift,' as if Rin Tohsaka was just scaring herself.
She seemed completely like an ordinary high school student; nothing special could be seen...
Could it be that this is a parallel world?
High school classes were filled with boredom, especially for a magus as excellent as Rin Tohsaka.
Time passed quickly, and soon it was the noon break.
Rin Tohsaka planned to skip the afternoon classes and hurry home to arrange the things she absolutely had to do after her rebirth.
Since no magi related to the Astronomy Department appeared, she no longer intended to delve deeply into why she was reborn into the past.
The current Rin Tohsaka only wanted to do two things: one was to properly prepare for the Holy Grail War opening tomorrow, and the other was to save her own sister, Sakura, who was trapped deep in the devil's den of the Matou family!
"Wait, Tohsaka-san."
However, just as Rin Tohsaka had packed her things and was single-mindedly thinking about her next actions, having let down her guard amidst the class dismissal bell, she completely ignored Nikaido Hiro sitting at the desk next to her.
"?!"
It wasn't until the other party suddenly grabbed her wrist and fixed her gaze on the back of Rin's right hand that she became alerted—
"As expected, you are also a 'Master'."
The girl glanced at the Command Spells on the back of Rin's hand. Under Rin Tohsaka's shocked gaze, she likewise revealed the back of her right hand hidden in her sleeve and spoke calmly:
"Do you want to cooperate with me, Tohsaka-san?"
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