Encounters and Chance Meetings

Romani's amused and exasperated voice came through the Chaldea communicator on Ritsuka's wrist, clearly having heard the girl's sentiments.

"Ugh... Doctor, you've really gone too far."

After a long silence, Ritsuka slowly uttered some rather hurtful words.

"Huh? What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"

Inside the control room, Romani Archaman looked at Mash beside her with pleading eyes, but received the same finishing blow in return.

"Master is right, Dr. Roman really doesn't understand a young girl's feelings at all."

"..."

The Romani Archaman is reportedly heavily damaged.

Ignoring the antics of Romani Archaman, Olga Marie walked to the control panel and gave instructions into the communicator:

"Fujimaru, now that you've arrived at the Singularity, let's begin our investigation. Investigate this era."

"Um..."

Ritsuka nodded, but before she could finish speaking, Olga Marie's voice came through the communicator again.

"You've been cooped up in Chaldea for so long, so enjoy the process as long as it doesn't interfere with the investigation."

"Clear!"

Meanwhile, inside the Chaldea control room—

"How gentle you are, Chief."

Looking at Olga Marie hanging up the phone beside him, Romani Archaman subconsciously sighed. But before he could finish speaking, Romani Archaman felt a sharp gaze pierce him.

Instead of spouting nonsense here, you should pay attention to Fujimaru's current situation!

"I... I understand!"

Romani Archaman, who instinctively shuddered, quickly got into work mode.

Mash, who had been observing the entire interaction between the two giants of Chaldea, couldn't help but curl the corners of her mouth into a smile. However, despite this,

Mash's thoughts were still preoccupied with the girl far away in Fuyuki.

"Really..."

After successfully knocking out Romani Archaman, Olga Marie turned her gaze to the constantly flashing light on [Chaldeas] and sighed silently.

Perhaps most of the time, they overlooked the fact that... this savior, who had gone through seven Singularity journeys to save the world from the Incineration of Humanity, was actually just an underage girl.

"Yahoo--!!!"

At the top of a building in Fuyuki City, a bear plush toy excitedly gazes at the modern city, sunlight reflecting an unusual light in its button-shaped black eyes.

"Whose heart will Orion capture today? How exciting!"

[Oh? We have guests visiting...]

In a silent stone chamber, Circe, who was kneeling on the ground praying, suddenly opened his eyes.

[Although he's an acquaintance, at such a crucial moment... However, resorting to extreme measures wouldn't be good either. Circe, go and invite the guest over.]

Inside the stone chamber, a voice gave this instruction.

"Clear."

Having given his answer, Circe turned and left, leaving the stone chamber silent once more.

Mmm, it smells delicious!

As evening approached, Ritsuka, holding a silk fish- Ritsuka in her hand, walked along the street where the crowds were thinning, her eyes sparkling with happiness.

Ritsuka spent the entire day exploring Fuyuki City while conducting reconnaissance.

Just as Ritsuka was munching on her food and looking around, the communication bracelet on her wrist suddenly flashed—a timed communication from Chaldea.

"Did you find anything?"

Having found a secluded corner, Ritsuka connected to the communication and saw Romani's image appear before her eyes.

"As for the harvest, I learned that before we arrived, there was an explosion caused by a gas leak in the suburbs of Fuyuki City."

"Gas explosion? Let me check."

After listening to Ritsuka's words, Romani began to use [Sheba]'s permissions to observe the location Ritsuka mentioned. Perhaps because Ritsuka had already arrived in Fuyuki and established an anchor point, this observation by [Sheba] proceeded exceptionally smoothly.

But the moment Sheba displayed the image of the intelligence she had observed on the control room screen, all the staff who saw the image instinctively stopped what they were doing, and the temperature in the entire control room seemed to drop several degrees.

Even Romani gasped.

"Are you kidding me?"

The narrow tunnel, tens of meters in diameter and about ten meters deep, seems to divide the entire forest, leaving its mark on the land on the outskirts of Fuyuki City like an ugly scar that is difficult to heal.

"What kind of Servant could possibly produce such an effect?"

This is different from previous Singularity. If this were in the Age of Gods, even a large-scale battle wouldn't have surprised Romani this much. But if this battle were set in the modern era, where the Great Source has withered, and the background is a Holy Grail War...

That would mean it's not just Servant; the Master commands this Servant is likely an extraordinary Magecraft as well.

Thinking of this, Romani suddenly remembered what Ritsuka had said before.

"Gas explosion? What a flimsy excuse..."

This left Romani both amazed and somewhat amused.

"What happened?"

The sound of the control room door opening interrupted Romani's thoughts. Olga Marie, who walked in from outside, came to Romani's side and asked him a question.

"These are images previously observed in Sheba."

Romani explained the images on the screen to the director.

After a moment, Olga Marie pressed the communication button on the control panel to communicate with Ritsuka.

"Fujimaru, unless absolutely necessary, absolutely avoid conflict with those Magecraft participating in the Holy Grail War."

"Understood."

Ritsuka nodded; having also received the image, she understood the difficulty of this Singularity.

"Secondly, find a suitable ley line for Servant as soon as possible, and then..."

"Eh, Shirou- senpai?"

Before Olga Marie could finish speaking, Ritsuka's surprised voice suddenly rang out from the control room.

"Shirou? Where is he?"

Before she could react, Olga Marie instinctively asked a question.

Not only her, but even Romani was somewhat bewildered.

"Didn't Shirou go back to the Mage's Association to report for duty?"

"It's the young Shirou- senpai!"

Ritsuka quickly explained,

"Oh right, Shirou's hometown is also Fuyuki City. Given the timeline of the Singularity, it wouldn't be surprising to run into him during his student days."

Romani suddenly remembered the file of the employee sent by the Mage's Association.

"Then the mission is changed. Go to that guy's place in the name of Chaldea and request his assistance!"

"Is this alright?"

After hearing Olga Marie's words, Romani's expression was indescribable; he clearly hadn't understood his director's order.

"As an employee of Chaldea, what's wrong with assisting Chaldea in its work?"

Olga Marie's answer was quite confident and assertive.

"That's what makes the problem so big."

Romani complained loudly.

"It's okay."

Olga Marie waved her hand, her expression one of utmost confidence.

"He lends a helping hand to those in need, and on this one point alone, I have absolute faith in him."

Finally, he didn't forget to add one more sentence:

"No matter when!"

Chapter 411. Encounters and Chance Meetings

"Shirou- senpai!"

The sudden sound from behind made Shirou stop in his tracks. Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw a girl running towards him.

Are you friends?

"No..."

The voice in his ear made Shirou subconsciously answer. But when the girl got closer, the words he hadn't finished saying turned into surprise in his heart.

"Hey, Master, that girl isn't your long-lost sister, is she?"

The teasing voice rang in Shirou's ears again, but this time, Shirou did not answer.

With her reddish-brown hair and brown eyes, plus her similar face... even knowing that the other person was a girl, Shirou still felt a strange sense of looking in a mirror.

"Shirou -senpai. Nice to meet you. I am Fujimaru Ritsuka from Chaldea, from the future."

While Shirou was distracted, the girl who had already walked up to him said this.

"Chaldea...?"

In a cold drink shop, Shirou looked at the girl sitting across from him, his expression thoughtful.

"Have you heard of him Shirou- senpai?"

Ritsuka, who was battling with the ice cream in front of her, looked at Shirou with a hint of surprise in her eyes when she saw his reaction.

"Sorry, no."

"All right."

Shirou's answer made Ritsuka sigh; she had thought she could save herself some trouble. She then put down her spoon and began explaining the Chaldea organization to Shirou—

"Chaldea, whose full name is [Phineas Chaldea, the organization that ensures the survival of Human Order], is a research and observation institution established with the aim of "enabling the long and resilient continuation of human history."

Although Chaldea was nominally established with joint funding from various countries, 70% of the funds came from the London -based Mage's Association — the Animusphere and El-Melloi families..."

"El-Melloi?"

Shirou paused slightly upon hearing the familiar term.

"That's right, the Chaldea base in Antarctica was proposed by Mr. Kayneth, the former head of El-Melloi, and Mr. Marisbilly, the director, and was built under the supervision of Lord El-Melloi II."

"Mr. Lord El-Melloi II..."

Thinking back to how Lord El-Melloi II always looked like he had a stomachache, Shirou couldn't help but laugh and cry. He hoped that his future self would have fewer worries.

"Yo, Master!"

A sudden voice from the side interrupted Shirou and Ritsuka's conversation. Ritsuka turned her head and saw a blonde girl standing next to the table.

"Hey, Mordred?"

Mordred, who had shoved her Master deep into the seat and unceremoniously claimed the ice cream for herself, immediately turned her displeased gaze toward the prime suspect when she heard the unfamiliar girl across from her call out her real name.

After receiving a look from Shirou that seemed to defend her, Mordred turned her gaze back to the girl in front of her who resembled her Master.

"Do you know me?"