Ayanokouji’s Guide to Using Tools at Butei High - Chapter 13

The youth’s name was Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

Through simple interaction, Kariya could discover that the other party was not well-versed in the affairs of the world of magecraft. His terminology was clearly that of someone outside the industry.

Furthermore, on the night Kariya saved Ayanokouji, the strangeness and indifference revealed in the youth’s dark gold pupils had left an indelible impression on Kariya.

Combining these two points, one could clearly reach a conclusion—Ayanokouji was not some so-called omniscient and omnipotent ‘God’. He did not have the power to manipulate human destiny.

It was just that in the vast crowd, he had accidentally encountered Kariya in need of help and chose him as a partner for a transaction.

The verse from the Bible that left the deepest impression on Kariya was “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” For Kariya, the moment Ayanokouji appeared in the darkness, he became the light in Kariya’s heart.

As for why he possessed the power to reverse time, if it could not be explained through magecraft, then one could look to other areas. After all, one must know that in this world, not only does magecraft exist, but Ability exists as well.

Kariya believed Ayanokouji might have an ability similar to time regression, with the limitations being it cannot be used on oneself, only on others and it also has an impact on the user. Otherwise, there would be no need for him to regress Kariya’s time, nor would he fail to remember Kariya himself.

As for why Ayanokouji chose him in the past, Kariya probably could not get an answer now. But the fact that Ayanokouji teamed up with him without a second thought now was likely related to Kariya saving his life.

He wondered if that action was the “Cause” or the “Effect” on the timeline? Perhaps it was because he saved Ayanokouji that Ayanokouji, in the future and under certain circumstances, jumped timelines and returned to the previous life to help him. That would be the Cause. Conversely, it could be because Ayanokouji saved him in a previous life that he found himself unable to turn a blind eye or a deaf ear when he encountered Ayanokouji; that would be the Effect.

Discussing whether it was the “Cause” or the “Effect” felt somewhat like the ‘chicken or the egg’ debate.

Setting those aside, just as the original Ayanokouji had unhesitatingly given Kariya hope for life while he was on the verge of death, even in this new acquaintance, Ayanokouji allied with him without a second thought after Kariya made an inexplicable request.

This unreserved trust gave Kariya immense peace of mind and solace.

Whether it was the Kariya of before, who had been completely abandoned by his loved ones, family, and allies, or the current Kariya, who was disillusioned with human nature and perpetually lonely, “Ayanokouji” was the only life-saving straw he could grasp in his turbulent mental river. He was both Kariya’s emotional support and the source of his courage.

Matou Kariya originally wanted to introduce the details of the Holy Grail War and the Three Great Families to the youth in front of him, but because Ayanokouji had work to attend to, Kariya planned to invite Ayanokouji and his friends to the Matou estate as guests to discuss the next steps in detail.

At 5:30 PM, Ayanokouji arrived at the Matou ancestral home with Edogawa and Tanizaki Junichiro.

As a family on par with the Tohsaka Family of Fuyuki City, the Matou house was naturally not luxurious by worldly standards. On the contrary, it was old, accumulating the historical and cultural traces of a prestigious family like an antique.

Vines, withered by winter yet still thick, climbed the outer walls of the Matou house. One could imagine how lush the greenery would be when summer arrived.

However, for some reason, when this scene fell into Tanizaki’s eyes, it felt inexplicably cold.

The house before him actually looked a bit like a haunted house, or rather, the kind of house where deaths occur in horror or mystery novels, exuding a sense of ill omen.

Tanizaki felt that Ayanokouji had been invited by a strange person.

Of course, it wasn’t just the house; Tanizaki also met the host—a man around thirty years old. His features could be described as handsome, but they were marred by a deathly aura. Seeing his grey-white hair and the bulging, cord-like blue veins on his exposed skin, one couldn’t help but feel he suffered from a hidden illness that made him look different from ordinary people, reminiscent of the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch, who painted the sky red instead of blue.

However, Tanizaki was not one to gossip, and since Ayanokouji didn’t seem to find the other party strange and had readily accepted the invitation, Tanizaki could only silently follow Ayanokouji’s lead. Just because Tanizaki didn’t mind didn’t mean the also-invited Edogawa Ranpo wouldn’t. As soon as the man appeared before Edogawa, Edogawa called him an old man.

Rude, willful, and outspoken were the impressions this young detective had left on Ayanokouji recently. Just as Kariya was about to cast a cold glance at Edogawa, Ayanokouji spoke up: “Kariya-san is less than seven years older than you.”

“So what?” Edogawa expressed disdain for Ayanokouji’s defense of Kariya.

“I see.”

Recently, whenever Ayanokouji said “I see,” Tanizaki and Edogawa always had an uneasy premonition. Although this unease wasn’t a life-or-death terror, there was a sense of helplessness—as if someone had forcibly stuffed a steamed bun into their mouths, making them unable to utter any rebuttal.

This time was no exception; as soon as he spoke, both of them felt a mysterious chill. But when Ayanokouji didn’t follow up with another sentence, Edogawa and Tanizaki exchanged a glance.

Fishermen living by the sea know it best—The moment before a storm is the quietest. And Ayanokouji was the petrel beneath the swirling dark clouds, saying with his calm actions, “Let the storm rage more fiercely!”

“This is my junior,” Ayanokouji introduced Tanizaki Junichiro, “He works at the same place as I do; his name is Tanizaki Junichiro.”

“Mr. Tanizaki, hello,” Kariya said to Tanizaki Junichiro with the grace of a family head, his voice level and gentle. This voice added a few warm human tones to his cold and pale appearance.

Tanizaki took the opportunity to bow to Kariya.

Ayanokouji then began to introduce Edogawa Ranpo.

“This is Edogawa, a senior from my workplace.”

“Above the heavens and below the earth, I alone am honored?” Edogawa Ranpo strongly demanded that Ayanokouji add a descriptive phrase to highlight his uniqueness as a genius master detective.

But Ayanokouji didn’t even make eye contact with Edogawa, saying in a dismissive tone: “As you can see, this is an old man suffering from late-stage eighth-grader syndrome. Kariya-san, please give him some understanding.”

This address made Edogawa’s eyes widen subconsciously: “I am not an old man!”

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-six?”

“I am nineteen. By your standards, if you aren’t an old man, are you a child who can’t even do math properly?”

“Aaaaaahhhhh!” Edogawa Ranpo grabbed Tanizaki Junichiro’s collar and said angrily, “You teach Ayanokouji a lesson for me; he’s being too much!”

Though Ayanokouji didn’t say it, he felt that whenever Edogawa Ranpo shouted, his voice—influenced by the structure of his vocal cords—was neither sharp nor hoarse, but sounded more like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, frantic with rage.

—It was quite funny.

Tanizaki Junichiro felt he had aged at least seven or eight years in the past few days, and even his tone became pleading: “Ayanokouji, can you stop bullying Ranpo-san?”

Ayanokouji said with a neutral expression: “According to the American Psychological Association’s definition of ‘bullying,’ first, I have not intentionally and repeatedly performed provocative actions against him; second, I have no intention of making him feel hurt or uncomfortable. I am even following his train of thought, this does not count as bullying.”

Edogawa Ranpo couldn’t hold back this time, looking up at Ayanokouji, who was ten centimeters taller, and issued a warning: “Believe it or not, if you keep this up, I’ll call the President and tell him.”

Ayanokouji opened his thin lips and said indifferently: “Please do.”

Isn’t this a real-life example of looking for parents to complain?

The trio was creating a farce. Kariya, seeing that their conversation was likely to go on forever, broke in with a smile.

“It’s inconvenient to keep talking at the entrance; please come into the living room and sit down.”

Kariya walked at the front, leading them through the bright hallway.

The light fixtures in the house had a strong metallic texture, glowing with a warm hue under the orange light. The entire house felt much warmer than it looked from the outside, like a flame that burns but does not wound, wrapped inside cold walls and withered vines.

“The elder of the house is unwell and it’s inconvenient for him to see guests, so it’s just me and another child.”

Pushing open the door to the living room, a soft-looking girl subconsciously looked at Kariya, then curiously sized up the guests.

“Sakura, come meet the guests.”

“Hello, I am Matou Sakura, Sakura as in cherry blossom.” The girl was only about five years old, her voice as delicate as her appearance. “Uncle Matou, who are they?”

After a brief introduction, Kariya handed the task of attending to the guests to the little girl, saying: “Sakura, please take care of the two guests for a moment. Do you know where the snacks and tea for guests are kept?”

“I know…” Although Matou Sakura agreed, she was still a bit afraid of strangers, looking up at Kariya after saying a word or two.

Tanizaki, knowing she was nervous, waved at the child in a friendly manner and said: “I’ll help you, okay?”

Matou Sakura replied timidly: “Okay.”

After ensuring Matou Sakura began to adjust to the new guests, Kariya took Ayanokouji to the study, leaving Matou Sakura to host the two people Ayanokouji brought.

Matou Sakura was the daughter of Zenjou Aoi, Kariya’s childhood friend and first love.

Just like in the previous life, Zenjou Aoi had given birth to two children with extremely high magus aptitude for another prestigious family, the Tohsaka—the elder sister Rin and the younger sister Sakura. According to the rules of magus families, only one person can inherit the family’s Magic Circuits. Thus, Tohsaka planned to let Sakura be adopted by another family in need of a magus heir.

Matou Kariya originally didn’t intend to take her in; after all, the Matou magecraft was not suitable for Sakura.

The Matou’s magecraft was Water-attribute, while Sakura’s was Hollow, which fell outside the Five Elements. If Tohsaka Sakura were sent here, her fate would inevitably be like her previous life—forced modification of her Magic Circuits, which would only increase the child’s pain.

But Aoi Tohsaka, who had married into the family, still specifically came to ask if he could take her. She also said that, after all, both children and Matou Kariya were very well-acquainted.

“For them, rather than going to a family of strangers as a stepchild, it’s better to live with Kariya.”

Hearing those words, Kariya could not leave them be.

However, at that time, Matou Kariya still remembered Sakura’s misfortune from the previous life, so he suggested sending Tohsaka Rin over instead. Tohsaka Rin had supreme talent for all five elements, and learning the Matou magecraft wouldn’t require extra effort.

But in the end, it was Tokiomi Tohsaka who made the decisions; Aoi Tohsaka was just a messenger, and she had no way to change the fact that Tohsaka was sending Sakura away.

“So, you didn’t let her learn the Matou magecraft?”

“I am not her savior; I cannot save her forever. But the only thing I can do is give her as much protection as I can while I am able to,” Kariya said calmly. “As long as ‘that person’ exists in the Matou family, there will be no peace or tranquility. Sakura… I will have to send her back sooner or later.”

Ayanokouji said calmly: “So, your idea is to make Tokiomi Tohsaka’s ending ‘death’?”

After all, the root of Matou Sakura’s problem lay with Tokiomi Tohsaka; either his mind had to be changed, or he had to disappear from this world entirely.

As Ayanokouji spoke, he played with the pieces representing the seven Servant classes on Matou Kariya’s chessboard, simulating the battle situation of this competition.

The moment his words fell, Kariya looked toward Ayanokouji. It wasn’t because he felt Ayanokouji’s words were shocking, but because Kariya didn’t understand why he accepted what Ayanokouji said as a matter of course and without doubt.

Kariya didn’t know where this feeling came from.

Ayanokouji was clearly someone he had only met a few times, and he was still a member of the clergy, yet this attitude of manipulating others’ lives like pieces on a chessboard didn’t cause him any discomfort.

Seeing Kariya remain silent, Ayanokouji subconsciously looked up and asked: “Did I say something wrong?”

A strange yet gentle smile appeared on Kariya’s lips: “You said nothing wrong.”

He paused and said: “Then, what should we do?”

“Let’s cooperate with Tokiomi Tohsaka first.”

“…Hm?”