Reborn in Type-Moon: Starting by Adopting Sakura - Chapter 13

Mage's Association, Tokyo Branch.

Yuu had received the letter two days earlier, a formal request for his expertise in authenticating some relic that had been dug up somewhere in Central Asia. The timing wasn't ideal, but then again, it never really was with these Association jobs.

There was one thing about Yuu that anyone who worked with him learned pretty quickly though—he absolutely refused to work on weekends. It didn't matter if the world was ending or if someone was offering him twice his usual rate. Weekends were for himself and the people who mattered to him, and that was non-negotiable.

So here he was on Monday morning, wearing a comfortable white shirt and blue jacket, walking through the front entrance of the Association's Tokyo headquarters. The building always felt a little too sterile for his liking, all polished floors and fluorescent lighting that made everything look slightly artificial.

"Oh thank god, Mr. Yuu, you're finally here!"

A woman with shoulder-length red hair practically jogged across the lobby toward him, and Yuu could tell immediately that she was stressed about something. Her usually composed demeanor had cracks in it that were pretty hard to miss.

"What's going on, Miss Saijou? You look like you haven't slept."

Elza Saijou was one of the more competent researchers at the Tokyo branch, a half-Japanese, half-German mage who had that particular brand of efficiency that came from growing up between two very different magical traditions. She appeared to be in her mid-twenties, though Yuu knew she was pushing thirty. The stress lines around her eyes today weren't doing her any favors.

"Please, just follow me and I'll explain everything," Elza said, already turning to lead him deeper into the building. She was wearing one of her usual fitted business suits, but today she kept adjusting her sleeves nervously as they walked. "I actually went by your bookstore yesterday afternoon trying to track you down, but the place was completely closed. Then I tried calling your phone about six times, but you never picked up. Honestly, we've all been going a little crazy here waiting for you to show up, and on top of everything else, I promised my son we'd go to Disneyland this weekend and now I'm not sure if that's going to happen."

"Wait, you have a son?" Yuu found himself genuinely surprised. Elza had never mentioned having kids before, and somehow it just hadn't come up in their previous professional interactions.

"He just turned five last month," Elza said, and despite all the stress she was clearly dealing with, her whole face transformed when she talked about her child. There was this obvious warmth in her voice, the kind that only came from being completely devoted to someone.

They made their way through what felt like an endless series of security checkpoints and bounded fields, each one requiring different credentials and scanning procedures. The Association took their security seriously, especially when it came to potentially dangerous artifacts. Finally, they reached a room at the very end of a long corridor, the kind of place where natural light never quite managed to penetrate and everything felt a little too quiet.

There was a simple wooden box sitting on the examination table, looking almost mundane in the sterile environment of the authentication lab.

Elza pulled on a pair of white cotton gloves and opened the container, handling it like someone who'd learned the hard way that ancient magical artifacts didn't always play nice with people who got careless around them.

"This arrived from our contacts in the Middle East yesterday evening," she explained as she lifted the lid. "Apparently the higher-ups at the Clock Tower are extremely interested in getting it properly authenticated, and they specifically requested that we bring you in for the evaluation."

Inside the box was a piece of fabric that had clearly seen better days. It was deep red in color, with intricate gold threading woven throughout the material, though time and the elements had definitely taken their toll. The edges were frayed and there were several places where the fabric had torn completely, but you could still make out what had probably once been part of an elaborate cloak or ceremonial garment.

"The preliminary analysis from our team suggests that this belonged to Iskandar, the King of Conquerors," Elza continued, watching Yuu's face carefully for his reaction. "Though obviously we need someone with your particular expertise to confirm whether that's actually the case."

Yuu leaned in to get a better look at the artifact, a slight smile playing at the corners of his mouth as he examined the workmanship. "So one of the Clock Tower bigwigs is personally interested in this thing? That's definitely not something you hear every day. Any idea which one we're talking about?"

"The head of the Archibald family himself, actually. Lord El-Melloi—Kayneth.”

"Huh?" Yuu frowned, genuinely confused. "Kayneth is interested in this? Why would he care about anything related to Iskandar's cloak?"

Saijou just shrugged. She clearly had no idea either. "Your guess is as good as mine. But whatever his reasons are, we need to be absolutely certain this thing is authentic before we send our report back to London."

Yuu nodded and turned his attention back to the fabric. His dark eyes began to emit a faint glow as he activated his abilities, and he spent a few moments examining the relic's history, tracing back through all the hands it had passed through over the centuries.

After what felt like barely any time at all, he straightened up and the light in his eyes faded. "Alright, we're done here. It's the real deal."

"That's it?" Saijou stared at him in disbelief. "Mr. Yuu, seriously, that's your entire appraisal process?"

She'd definitely heard plenty of stories about Yuu's reputation in the Department of Archaeology over the years, but she'd somehow expected the actual authentication process to be a bit more... involved. Maybe some complicated ritual or at least a few more minutes of examination.

"Look, let's head back upstairs and I'll sign whatever guarantee paperwork you need," Yuu said, already heading toward the door. "Wire five hundred thousand pounds to my usual account, and you can get out of here in time to take your son to see Mickey Mouse."

Saijou still looked skeptical about the whole thing, but she didn't really have grounds to argue. If Yuu was confident enough to put his signature on an official authentication guarantee, then that was good enough for the Association. And honestly, the idea of not having to work late tonight was pretty appealing.