The Clock Tower.
Its headquarters is located on the outskirts of London. It is the highest institution of Magecraft, consisting of eleven disciplines. This place is also regarded as the center of the Mage's Association since the 13th century and can be said to represent the Mage's Association itself. Ninety percent of Magus born in Western Europe will eventually choose to join the Clock Tower.
As a school, the Clock Tower has school regulations but no human societal laws, and each individual is responsible for their own safety. After all, Magus themselves are a group of outsiders with little moral concept, and expecting them to abide by the law at all times is nothing more than a fantasy.
To enroll in the Clock Tower, one must pay tuition fees and pass an entrance exam, which is relatively easy, but if you are a first-generation Magus or a Magus with a relatively short lineage, it is still a significant challenge.
However, if you are invited by the Mage's Association, you can be exempted from the exam and granted the privilege of bringing one participant to study for free.
The reason Naoki could enroll was that Kayneth El-Melloi, one of the twelve Lords of the Clock Tower, gave him a special invitation, allowing him to register directly.
And now, a month after graduating from high school.
After more than ten hours of flight, Naoki finally set foot on London soil.
He exited the airport carrying a suitcase and stretched his body.
"Hmm! I feel much better now. My butt went numb after sitting on the plane for over ten hours. By the way, the person picking me up should be here by now."
Naoki muttered to himself while glancing toward the roadside. Before coming, Kayneth had informed him that someone would be waiting at the airport to take him to the Clock Tower.
"Ah...."
"You..."
At a glance, Naoki recognized the person Kayneth had arranged to pick him up at the airport—Waver Velvet.
"You... Rider Master? Are you... picking me up at the airport? As far as I remember, you weren't planning to..."
A year ago, after the Holy Grail War ended, Naoki and Waver were actually placed in the same ward, but when Naoki woke up, Waver was about to leave.
After leaving the hospital, Naoki recalled that the other party had no plans to return to the Clock Tower immediately but intended to retrace the route of Iskandar's eastern expedition before returning.
Waver returned after just one year?
"Did you finish your journey to the East?"
"Yes, I came back half a year ago, though I was eventually caught." With a wry smile, Waver opened the car door behind him, "Alright, let's get in the car first. We're quite far from the Clock Tower here, so we'll talk on the way."
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The airport wasn't close to the Clock Tower, so during this time, Waver briefly recounted his experiences from the past year to Naoki, as he had mentioned before getting in the car.
"After the Holy Grail War ended, I left Fuyuki City. Although I was acknowledged by the king and became his follower, I didn't know much about the king, so I started traveling in the opposite direction of the route he conquered."
Actually, there was another reason. He felt too embarrassed to return to the Clock Tower. After all, he had borrowed travel expenses to Japan from his classmates in exchange for "definitely bringing back interesting stories" to participate in the Holy Grail War. In the end, he still accomplished nothing.
Considering all these factors, Waver decided to travel.
After leaving Japan, he first went to India, then from India to Persia, and then to Macedonia. He used his own eyes and feet to see all the sights Iskandar had seen and walked through every inch of land Iskandar had tread.
"The journey wasn't all that exciting. There were gangsters, thieves, bandits, and robbers... Every time I encountered them, I felt like I was going to die there. After finally managing to escape, I realized I hadn't recovered my belongings. The trip was truly filled with bad memories."
Waver smiled bitterly as he spoke, but there was no complaint or dissatisfaction in his eyes. Being able to retrace the footsteps of the King of Conquerors, he must have gained what he wanted.
"And you came back?"
"No, I was caught by Teacher Kayneth."
When mentioning this, Waver sighed helplessly.
"My last stop was the ruins of Babylon in Iraq. The city was built by Gilgamesh and was the place where Rider died of illness. I wanted to make it the end of my journey. However, on the third day after I arrived there, Teacher Kayneth blocked my path and said I was at risk of not completing all my credits for the semester because I had been absent for so long, so he came to force me back to class."
A Lord actually went out of his way to capture a student and bring him back to class?
Naoki was stunned, then he couldn't help but laugh and said, "HAHAHA, is this for real? Teacher Kayneth really cares about you? He went all the way to Iraq to find you? No way!"
"Right? You think it's outrageous too."
At that moment, the traffic light turned red, so Waver just leaned back on the steering wheel.
"I was caught and brought back to the Clock Tower half a year ago. Now I've obtained a Level 3 instructor's license. I work as a substitute instructor in the El-Melloi classroom and as Kayneth's assistant, helping him with some things."
"Assistant? You?"
"
Before participating in the Holy Grail War, to ensure the Holy Grail War was safe, Kayneth borrowed many Mystic Codes from other Lords. Any one of these could have been sold for a sky-high price—but they were all blown up by Kiritsugu.
As a result, Lord El-Melloi was burdened with an enormous debt, and it's unknown how many more years it will take to pay it off!
Patting Waver's shoulder, Naoki smiled and said, "Come on, Waver, I'm sure Teacher Kayneth will be kind to you, don't worry about it."
"You say that... HAHAHA..."
Waver let out a long sigh.