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.

One peaceful day, Gray heads by herself to see Reines. With an unexpected turn of events, the two head out to Carnac, an established department store, to go shopping. Not accustomed to shopping in a department store, Gray continually is at Reines' mercy. Furthermore, Luvia coincidentally joins the two midway, causing the three girls to start a tea party.

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.