Meeting the Wizard Martial  

TYPE-MOON Universe, Earth, Japan, Fuyuki City.  

*Crash!*  

"No! This isn't what I wanted!" Illyasviel, after hearing the news that Shirou had backed out of the Holy Grail War, shouted while smashing some of the décor in the Einzbern Castle. "He needs to pay for what Daddy did!"  

"Miss Illya, please calm down." Sella said cautiously. "After the Holy Grail War is over, you will be free to do whatever you want with him."  

Sella's statement seemed to calm Illyasviel slightly. Though, it was clear that her anger had not dissipated completely.  

"Should I bring him here?" Leysritt asked monotonously.  

And that question calmed Illyasviel down the rest of the way.  

"No." Illyasviel replied after taking a few moments to get her composure back. "That would just make both the Mage's Association and the Church start causing us trouble. And if they decide to pursue the issue, I won't be able to do anything to protect you, Leysritt."  

"I am willing to give my life for you, Miss Illya." Leysritt said with little inflection in her tone and no hesitation.  

"I said no." Illyasviel replied sternly. "I will have him pay for Kiritsugu's actions. But I am not willing to sacrifice you to see that happen."  

In response, Leysritt only lowered her head, Illyasviel's tone scaring her more than the thought of being hunted down by both the Mage's Association and the Church.  

"What do you plan to do next?" Sella asked, trying to change the subject for Leysritt's sake.  

"I need to do something to blow off some steam." Illyasviel replied a few moments later. She then smiled widely as she turned to look in the direction of Miyama Town. "And what better way to do that then go out and play? And I think Miss Tohsaka would be the perfect playmate."  

Meanwhile, back in the café, Tatsuo and Elicia were watching Saber pack away cakes at a rate that the café staff was struggling to keep up with. At the same time, Elicia was constantly tapping away on her lPhone to add up just how much this trip to the café would cost her.  

"We really need to end this Grail War soon." Elicia said quietly as she looked at the new total on her lPhone screen. "If we don't, I'm gonna end up broke."  

"Yeah, I've never seen anyone eat like her." Tatsuo said while nodding in agreement. "it's actually kinda scary. It's a wonder her country fell to rebellion instead of economic collapse. I mean, feeding a king with an appetite like hers must really put a strain on a country's coffers."  

Hearing Tatsuo and Elicia's conversation, Saber blushed slightly. Yet, it did not slow down the rate at which she inhaled the food that was constantly being brought up to the private room.  

"Might I suggest not eating out in the future." An elderly male voice said with a hint of amusement in its tone.  

Immediately, Saber stopped eating while she and the other two snapped their heads in the voice's direction. When they did, they saw Zelretch stepping out of a portal filled with kaleidoscopic colors swirling inside.  

"Honestly, I was kind of hoping you would eat at home tonight." Zelretch continued as the portal closed behind him. "I've been wanting to try your cooking ever since I saw you take over the kitchen at Emiya's house, Young Assassin."  

"Mm mm mmm." Saber mumbled while continuing to chew the food in her mouth as she stood up and materialized her invisible sword. Then, after realizing that her words could not be understood, she quickly swallowed her food and tried again. "Name yourself."  

"Stop, Saber." Elicia said while smiling wryly. Then, after Saber lowered her sword while giving her an inquisitive look, Elicia continued while looking at Zelretch. "Fighting the Wizard Martial isn't a good idea."  

Though she had never met him, thanks to the information provided by the Grail during her summoning, Saber knew of the Wizard Martial's identity. So, she understood why Elicia stopped her immediately. As a result, she put away her weapon. Though, she was still wary of the old Magician's presence.  

Also, it should be noted that the term, "Magician," is not interchangeable with Magus, as they are fundamentally different. Seeing as how Magi practice Magecraft while Magicians have mastered a form of True Magic.  

As for the difference between the two, True Magic can be defined as using the power of mystery to achieve a result that cannot be achieved through mundane means.   

For example, using mana to create a fire falls under the category of Magecraft. And the reason for that is simple. There are many ways to create fire without the use of maana. However, True Magic is different in that no matter how hard you try, the phenomena they create cannot be replicated by mundane means.  

And the True Magic Zelretch commanded was known as the Second Magic, Kaleidoscope. And its domain is the operation of Parallel worlds. Meaning, Zelretch, with the use of the Second magic, has the ability to observe, draw power from, and travel to parallel worlds. Yet, those abilities only work on worlds connected to the TYPE-MOON Universe. Otherwise, with is mischievous personality, Zelretch would have been causing trouble all over the multiverse by now.  

"So, I was right." Tatsuo muttered to himself while watching Zelretch with a raised eyebrow. "But why would you watch me give Emiya an impromptu cooking lesson? Are you some kind of weird uncle?"  

*Smack!*  

"Hohoho!" Zelretch laughed uproariously at Tatsuo's question while the sound of Elicia face palming echoed through the room. "No, no, no. I assure you, I'm not that kind of old man."  

Reaching that point, the jovial smile on Zelretch's face suddenly disappeared. Then, the pressure of his vast magical energy washed over the room.  

"I've lived for thousands of years and seen countless worlds." Zelretch said, his tone much more solemn and weighty than before. Then, while pointing at Tatsuo and Elicia, he continued. "But in all my years, I've never seen the two of you before."  

Higher Dimension, Void Empress' Palace.  

"Your Majesty, I think we have a problem." Samsara, the God of Reincarnation of the Void Multiverse, said as he quickly entered the Void Empress' throne room. "During His Highness trip to the TYPE-MOON Universe, he encountered the Kaleidoscope."  

Hearing her subordinate's report, the usually impassive expression on the Void Empress' face changed slightly, her brows furrowing just enough to be noticeable.  

*Flash!*  

The Void Empress then waved her hand after setting her current project aside. And when she did, a screen appeared in front of her throne. In the screen, she saw Zelretch sitting with Tatsuo, Elicia, and Saber in the private room at the café.  

"Oh, they managed to bring Saber onto their side." The Void Empress commented off-handedly as she assessed the situation. However, she frowned a little more when she noticed that Zelretch was releasing his magical energy to intimidate Tatsuo and Elicia.  

"What should we do, Your Majesty?" Samsara asked in a concerned tone. "As powerful as His Highness and Mrs. Taylor are, they're not ready to face an opponent the caliber of the Kaleidoscope yet."  

"Be calm, Samsara." The Void Empress replied calmly. "This is a good opportunity for them. Not every problem can be solved through force, after all."  

Although the Void Empress' words calmed him down, the concern was still present in Samsara's expression. However, after hearing her next words, Samsara could not help but shudder.  

"And if that old kid decides to take things too far, I'll just pull my son out of that world before I destroy it." The Void Empress declared in an icy tone. "That was one of the throw away worlds created for my son's trials, after all. There will be no harm if it's lost."  

While what the Void Empress said was true, the fact that she was willing to discard Elicia, one of the souls he chose for reincarnation in an alternate world of Fairy Tail, Samsara really hoped that they were able to get through this encounter without things coming to that.  

TYPE-MOON Universe, Earth, Japan, Fuyuki city.  

"Well, it doesn't surprise me that you've noticed something different about us." Elicia said calmly, never losing her smile in front of Zelretch's immense magical energy. "I mean, we're nothing like what you've seen before, after all. But I have one question for you, too, Wizard Martial."  

Intrigued by Elicia's tone, Zelretch nodded his head, indicating for her to continue.  

"So what?" Elicia asked, her smile fading from her face. "Does the fact that you've never seen or heard of us before mean anything?"  

Dumbfounded by Elicia's blatant defiance, Zelretch was slow to react. So, Elicia took the chance to continue.  

"It's not like you know every person and every possibility in each timeline, or parallel world, you've seen, right? Elicia asked sharply. "So, why does what you've seen even matter in the long run. From what I've heard… Oh, and don't ask how I know this, because I'm not telling… You don't look too deeply into parallel worlds because it could cause the timeline to be set. And I'm sure that includes this one, right?"  

Losing his momentum, Zelretch began to slowly reel in his magical energy. But Elicia was not done.  

"Besides, are you even from this version of Earth?" Elicia asked as she leaned towards Zelretch slightly. "Do you even have the right to question us about it. Because, this is where I was born and raised. So, how dare you come here, wearing that tired old white robe, looking like a wannabe, low-budget, Merlin without the flowers or any of the charm, trying to question us about our origins? And don't get me started on that scruffy hair and beard. Maybe you should try heading to a barber shop before you try intimidating someone next time."  

What first started as Elicia trying to push back Zelretch's momentum through words, quickly turned into her complaining about every aspect of Zelretch's fashion sense. And unfortunately for everyone involved, once Elicia got started about poor fashion sense, it would take a while for her to stop.  

Meanwhile, Saber was thoroughly confused at the moment. Elicia had just told her not to engage with the elderly man sitting at the table. However, almost as soon as she said that, Elicia, in Saber's mind, at least, started insulting him continuously. And when she looked over to Tatsuo to see what he thought of the situation, she found herself even more confused.  

As for what confused Saber so much when she looked in Tatsuo's direction. Currently, Tatsuo was using his smartphone to discreetly record Elicia's tirade and Zelretch's embarrassment at being called out so blatantly.  

"Just what is wrong with these two?" Saber asked herself quietly.  

"You know what?" Elicia said as she stood up. "I've had enough. You!"  

Reaching that point, Elicia pointed her right index finger directly at Zelretch's nose. Then, she turned around and started walking towards the private room's door.  

"You're coming with me." Elicia said. "I can't stand to see someone with such an illustrious title dressing like some magical hobo. We're going to get some fabric and I'm going to make new clothes for you. Oh, and Assassin, go back and start making dinner. I'm getting hungry and I really didn't eat much here. Plus, the old man said he wanted to try your cooking, too."  

Shrugging his shoulders, Tatsuo ended the recording, put his smartphone away, and stood up from his seat. Then, on his way out of the room, he patted Saber on the shoulder, signaling for her to follow him.  

After a few moments, Zelretch was left sitting in the room, still reeling from the verbal onslaught he just received. He then looked down at what he was wearing before touching his hair and beard.  

"Do I really look that bad?" Zelretch asked himself. "And did she really know that I was fashioning myself as a modern-day Merlin or just talking trash? No, it must be the latter. No one from this era should have any idea what Merlin looks like at all. Yes, that must be it."  

"What are you waiting for?" Elicia asked, shouting back up the stairs of the café in an authoritative tone. "We don't have all day. The shops will be closing before too long."  

Hearing that, Zelretch smiled as he was pulled from his musings. He then stood up and straightened his robe as he stepped towards the still open door to the private room.  

"Well, at least I'll get what I originally came here for." Zelretch said to himself as he reached the door. "I'll be able to taste that young Assassin's cooking for myself and see just how good he is. At the same time, it seems that I'll be getting some new free clothes out of this trip, too. And who doesn't like free stuff? Especially when it comes in twos."  

Shortly afterwards, Zelretch met up with Tatsuo, Elicia, and Saber at the café's front door. Then, Elicia handed Tatsuo the money he would need to get groceries for dinner. After that, the two split into groups of two, with Saber accompanying Tatsuo to Miyama town to get ingredients from the store with the best quality ingredients in Fuyuki, in Tatsuo's opinion, and Elicia leading Zelretch to a nearby fabric store to pick out the materials she would use for his new wardrobe.  

At the same time, Illyasviel had just finished getting prepare to go out and play at Rin's house. So, she would soon be leaving with Berserker, as well.