As one of the Lords of the Clock Tower as well as the department head of the Modern Magecraft Theories department, Lord El-Melloi II holds yet another lecture for his diverse array of students. After the post-lecture meeting with other Clock Tower nobility, he throws out a few insults at the fellow Lords that are interested only in their internal power struggle, but he quickly receives a counter-curse in retaliation. On the following day, while in transit with his apprentice Gray, he notices a cat ran over by a car. It's the stray cat that frequently visited his room as of late. Lord El-Melloi II realizes that this was an attempt to take his own life, and commences a perpetrator hunt along with Gray, Flat and Svin.

Waver Velvet, who fought side by side with Iskandar during the Fourth Holy Grail War, receives a visit from Reines El-Melloi Archisorte and Melvin Weins. Reines asks Waver to help her with something as payment for the debt.

The difficult issue Reines and Melvin brought up with Lord El-Melloi II was a case involving a former student of his, Mary Lil Fargo. Mary is the only daughter of the Fargo family, a branch of the Animusphere family that rules over the Astromancy division. Responding to Mary who felt she needed her former mentor's assistance, Lord El-Melloi II and Gray visit the Fargo estate to witness the dismantled corpse of Mary's father, Ernest Fargo. Disjoined from traditions of Astromancy, the crime scene is representative of Modern Magecraft. Lord El-Melloi II dives in to elucidate the matter.

Primary Lecturer Wills is an authority in the Spiritual Evocation division. His father, Sir Trevor, owned the Marburry Workshop that utilizes an entire wasteland to operate as a Magical Workshop. However, the Workshop went out of control, causing many casualties including that of Sir Trevor himself. Lord El-Melloi II, seeking assistance from Spiritual Evocation in order to participate in the Holy Grail War, begrudgingly accepts the request to solve this case. However, what awaited the entourage who arrived at the mansion was Hishiri Adashino, a member of the Policies Department that investigates and enforces rules within the Clock Tower.

As the investigation in Marburry Workshop continues, lightning strikes yet again to create a new victim. Lord El-Melloi II and Hishiri Adashino once again are on opposing grounds concerning the perpetrator of this case. Lord El-Melloi II seeks the help of the Necromancer Kairi Shishigou to reinvestigate. Gray and Shishigou are assaulted by a fierce beast, the Black Dog, that suddenly appeared before them. Based on the fact that the Black Dog reacted to Gray's Mystic Code, Lord El-Melloi II elicits a certain conclusion. He then starts preparing for a ritual with the assistance of all Mages who were gathered at Marburry Workshop.

An incident occurs where Trisha Fellows is murdered by someone aboard the Rail Zeppelin. Lord El-Melloi II undertakes the investigation for the case, but Olga-Marie has doubts about his way of life as it is far from how a Mage should act. Meanwhile, Shishigou and Luvia, under Reines' orders, are conducting their own investigation. The Mystic Eyes Collection Train begins its procession once again, and a mysterious figure appears before Lord El-Melloi II and Gray. The assailant who descends upon the pair with overwhelming power is the materialization of a Heroic Spirit engraved into human history... A Servant.

As Adashino's deductions are playing out, Lord El-Melloi II makes his comeback. He sees a clue to the identity of the true perpetrator of Trisha's murder from Gray's testimony, and requests Melvin to delay the Mystic Eyes Auction from starting. His objective is to seek assistance from Olga Marie, and grasp conclusive evidence to overturn Adashino's deductions. Meanwhile, in London, Shishigou gathers up Flat and Svin in order to proceed with certain preparations. As each of them reflect upon their own ideas, the fated Mystic Eyes Auction finally begins.

Several days after the incident on the Mystic Eyes Collection Train, there was a solemn ritual at Modern Magecraft Theories for Svin's ascendance to the rank of Pride. Lord El-Melloi II looked upon the ritual full of emotion as this ascendance to Pride was while his student was still in his teens. Meanwhile, Gray could not shake off the uneasiness that Lord El-Melloi II would depart for distant lands to participate in the Holy Grail War. While in thought, she bumps into Melvin in the streets bustling with the approach of Christmas.