Fate: Hammer Time

Chapter 43: The Trials Part 1

"Mister Fujimaru, good morning."

Shirou entered the office of Lady Barthomeloi at eight o'clock on the dot. Inside, he found Lady Montmorency, who greeted him warmly, but as he looked around, he found that there was no sign of the office's owner.

"You are exactly on time." Lady Montmorency continued, getting up from her chair in the corner of the room. "Please have a seat. Lorelei will join us in a few minutes, she had a final matter to take care of."

"A final matter? Is there a problem?"

"No, not at all." She assured him with a dismissive hand motion. "Merely a few last details that unexpectedly turned out not quite right in the end. Lorelei will straighten it out before long. Would you like a cup of tea while we wait?"

"Oh, please, allow me." Shirou stopped her before she could trod off to the tea-can and cups, and then poured three cups himself.

"Do you pour tea often, boy? Your technique is excellent." Lady Montmorency asked as he handed her one of the cups.

"I do it all the time at home, though I normally also add a few snacks." Shirou smiled, thinking back on the hours spent with Sakura and Ayako, drinking tea together as they talked and played games and watched television.

"For any people in particular?"

"My girlfriends."

"Was that a plural?"

"Yes, I have two girlfriends." Shirou admitted it freely, as he was not going to be ashamed of being together with Sakura and Ayako. "They both like my tea, and my cooking as well."

"I see." Lady Montmorency mused, rubbing her chin slowly. "I had heard the rumours of course, but it's good to have it confirmed by you yourself. I think I can still work with that."

"Work with what, my lady?"

"Nothing you need to worry about." She blithely waved his confused question away, before changing the subject. "You know, I really should go and see what is keeping little Lorelei. She should have been here by now."

"There is no need." Shirou shook his head, before motioning to a door in a sidewall of the room. "She's coming now."

Indeed. Less than a minute later, Lady Barthomeloi entered the office from the side-door, and Shirou breathed a sigh of relief when he saw she was no longer wearing the shirt and the skirt that had given him so much trouble during the purge. Instead, she was clad in a formal suit, with black gloves, her hair styled in waves, high heels on her feet, and, for some reason, her jacket carried over her arm, leaving her in only the undershirt.

She was far more covered than she had been during the purge though, especially since she wore trousers instead of a skirt. That helped a lot already.

"Fujimaru." She greeted him shortly, before giving Lady Montmorency a nod, which was returned immediately. "Do you know why you are here?"

"I am supposed to sit with you during the trials and behave in a way appropriate of a man of my position." Shirou replied as well as he could as he offered her a cup of tea. "For that purpose, you had some instructions to give me."

"Correct." The brunette nodded, accepting the cup. "Rest assured, the instructions are not difficult to follow. First, I want you to say as little as possible, and if you do have something to say, to first discuss it with me or Lady Montmorency."

"I can do that." Shirou nodded. Staying silent the entire time was absolutely no problem for him. The less he involved himself in political matters from now on, the better. He did want to extricate himself from the Magus Association at some point after all.