"Ha ha ha—who would've thought that my identity in that Singularity would turn out to be the village chief?"
"Assuming the hypothetical Singularity only has one village, then I already count as the most respected person there—though of course, that can't be helped!"
Mash had typed out that message.
"Then why not just use the communicator?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka complained.
Singularities hadn't been this cautious before.
And why had she typed out the interjections and laughter too?
"Can I?"
Mash's timid voice came through.
"They'll probably think it's something like a shikigami. Anyway, don't be too restrained. No matter what, they're Sakumura and Hijikata."
Fujimaru Ritsuka said unconcernedly.
".You're right, Master. Sakumura, Hijikata, and everyone else will surely become Master's strength just as they did before." Mash paused, then said with a smile.
That was right. Hadn't it always been like that before?
"So Ritsuka is already inside the Singularity?"
Another voice, sounding somewhat dazed, came through.
It belonged to Lawrence, who had finally awakened from his coma.
"Why were you unconscious for so long? With your traits, shouldn't you have woken up long ago?"
Leonardo da Vinci looked at Lawrence with a strange expression.
"Don't ask me. I don't know either." Shaking his head in frustration, Lawrence rubbed his forehead. "But there's at least one thing I can be sure of: this Singularity is doing everything it can to reject outsiders. Like me, for example?"
"Then why can Ritsuka get in?"
Lawrence muttered to himself, clearly puzzled.
"Leonardo, what's the situation now? Fill me in."
As Chaldea exchanged information internally, Fujimaru Ritsuka, within the Singularity, had already arrived at the gate of Black River Mountain with Sakumura and Hijikata.
"A mountain gate? There's never been anything like this before."
Bear Weaver blinked at the enormous gate.
She had lived in