Interlude 32

Samuel Washington POV

"Really gonna have to thank the kid when he gets back." Cu said, downing the rest of his beer. "Almost makes it worth it to give back my spear if I can get something good to drink like this."

"Isn't it his spear?" I asked.

"Semantics."

"Why'd you give it back then?"

"Hah, that Bitch is probably gonna pop up soon, I just know it. I'm already gonna get my ass kicked when she finds out I was summoned as a Caster. But if she sees that I also have her spear, she's gonna kick my ass twice as hard when I inevitably tell her why."

"Bad breakup?" Pierre asked, swirling his bottle.

Frankly I reckon that wasn't a proper thing to ask a man, but Cu didn't seem to mind.

"You don't know the half of it." He laughed. "There's a reason I'm still surprised that the Kid managed to tame her, apparently, Frenchie."

"Maybe it was problems in bed." Pierre retorted.

"Like hell! She was begging me to bed her in the end." Cu puffed up his chest. "Every woman I've ever laid with was ruined for any other man!"

"So bad they wish only a woman's company, yes?"

"Oh fuck you!"

"We can ask the Boss when he gets back. How 'ruined' is his woman, yes?"

"….God dammit, that's one example. Doesn't prove anything."

"Can ask her when she comes around, like you said."

"Alright, you're becoming too dangerous to let live. For the sake of my continued existence, I think it's best that we have one less master running around."

"Tu veux qu'on s'tape?! Vas-y alors!" Pierre stood up.

I didn't understand French, but it was pretty easy to guess the universal sigh of 'bring it on'.

"Hahaha, you're alright Frenchie." Cu slapped his knee.

"Come on, guys. Don't fight." Ritsuka tried to be the voice of reason.

"Ain't really fightin, Ritsuka." I replied. "If they'd be wanting to go about it, it'd been lookin a lot worse than this. Me and my friends got into much worse when we were just messin around back home."

"Farm boy has the right of it." Cu grunted. "Back in my day, if you couldn't find a good enemy to fight, you'd find your best friend and throw your best insult to get him in a fighting mood. Loser usually bought the drinks after."

"Expected of an uncivilized place." Pierre sniffed.

"Virgin." Cu shot back.

"I have had plenty of women! I am more than capable of finding affection!"

"Prove it."

"How do you expect me to prove it? There are less than a…." He stumbled.

"Probably about a hundred and fifty staff left?" I helped out.

"Merci." He nodded to me. "Majority men."

"Then go for that Witch of yours."

"Casse – Toi!"

"Hahaha, what's wrong Frenchie? Haven't tamed that witch of yours yet?"

"I –"

"Yes, please do answer." His Servant appeared behind him. "Have you tamed me yet, master~?"

"I prefer my balls intact."

"Good answer." Medea laughed.

"And as the Americans say, I do not stick my dick in crazy." Pierre snorted.

"You tell her, Frenchie." Cu laughed.

I just groaned, cause I felt another fight coming on. They were always sniping at each other.

"Oh please, the literal Celt is going to throw stones? Your escapades are well known, mutt."

"Never said I agreed, but any shot taken at you is one I'll back up."

"Charming." She said dryly. "Is this what you boys get up to? Talking behind my back and insulting me, hmm?"

"Actually, Ma'am, I don't think bad of you. I don't put much stock in them stories and what-not. You've been helpful ever since you were summoned." My ma would have slapped me something fierce if I went around insulting women like she thought I was.

"Yeah, I don't know what everyone's been on about. I don't know any stories or anything, but you've been really nice." Ritsuka smiled.

"...I'm speechless because I feel like you two couldn't lie if your lives depended on it, which makes it even worse."

"I think you're a bitch." Pierre unhelpfully added.

Medea's eyes landed on her master, her lips twitching. "….and the honesty is more appreciated than you'd think." She let out a sigh. "Scoot over, Master." She practically pushed him over and sat down.

"Didn't think you'd be someone to come slumming it with us, Witch." Cu grabbed one of the beers out of the cooler and tossed it to her.

"Please, I lived on a boat for years." She caught it and flicked off the cap. "This is nothing in comparison to that."

"If you don't mind me asking, Ma'am, but do you need something from us? You haven't made it a secret that you don't like keeping company and prefer your room." I asked.

"'Hmm, I guess I haven't." She replied after taking a sip. "Was just curious to see what a bunch of boys get up to when all alone. Pretty much what I expected. Though, I'd thought you would be more worried about other things."

"Like what?" Ritsuka blinked.

"….are you serious?"

He shrugged.

Medea raised her hand to rub the bridge of her nose. "Everything that happened. The King of Magecraft appearing and running roughshod over all of us, maybe? Maybe the fact that your Boss is, as he said, A Half-Devil. Or his casually throwing out Divine Constructs like they're going out of style."

"….We ain't Mages, Ma'am." I replied.

She opened her mouth and closed it again. "Hades, I keep forgetting that you all are literally new to Magecraft, not just the idiots in this Era who claim to be skilled."

"Eh, they're doing pretty good for being dropped in the deep end." Cu added.

"…I begrudgingly admit that." She shook her head in exasperation. "And you all aren't put off by what you found out about the boyo? That religion based around his race is pretty widespread in your time period."

I shrugged. "Went to Church growin up, but didn't really care much for it. Boss has done good by me so far, so it isn't something I really care about considering everything else that's been happening."

"It's not really that popular over in Japan." Ritsuka scratched his cheek. "Was surprising and everything, but it doesn't really change anything, you know?"

"What about you, Master? I've heard you praying sometimes." She asked.

Pierre frowned and said something under his breath. "Doesn't matter." He shook his head. "And I was not….practicing before this."

Ah, couldn't fault the man neither. Went on my knees a time or two since the world ended and said a prayer when I was feeling overwhelmed.

"Just hope he gets back soon." I muttered.

"Don't count on it, Farm Boy." Cu snorted. "Things would be bad if he suddenly jumped back here. We're no where close to being ready to face that monster again."

"I'm surprised you're admitting that he's that much of a threat. Isn't it your usual prerogative to jump at him with your stick, swinging" Medea responded.

"If I could, I would have already." Cu rolled his eyes. "You know how far up shit creek we are."

Medea scoffed, but didn't deny it. "He blocked my spell far too easily." She grumbled. "Didn't really have a chance to get into it properly, but that is not something that fills me with confidence. And I even had the boyo's staff."

"….how bad a spot are we in?" I hesitantly asked.

Cu and Medea shared an awkward look.

"Farm Boy, even if this place didn't get blown up like it did originally, even if humanity was still here. With all the most powerful people of your era fighting against him, you'd still be in an uphill fight. As it stands, we ain't got anywhere near that kind of force."

"He might even be putting it mildly." Medea added.

"Just means we gotta get better." I replied.

"You are just adorable." Medea giggled.

"I like the attitude at least, but don't expect any Miracles." Cu chuckled. "We can get started on some more things before the next Singularity. Hand me the book behind you."

I reached behind me to pick up one of the books that Boss left for us and handed it to him. "Was lookin over the spells Boss wrote up."

"Oh, one of those books he handed over?" Medea questioned. "Call me mildly interested."

Cu took it, flipping through a few pages. "Hmm, not bad. A lot of basic shit, but it's good from your standpoint...most of it modified to be easier but lacking in the usual power and what-not."

"Hand it over." Medea held her hand out.

"Ask nicely."

"I won't teleport you outside into the snow if you hand it over."

"Bitch please. Pretend to be that good with someone who doesn't know."

Medea rolled her eyes. "Just hand it over, you mutt."

Cu snorted, tossing her the book.

"Runecraft." Medea made a noise of disgust.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cu grumbled.

"It means that I stopped caring." She practically tossed the book away. "Doubt all of the other books he gave were like this. I'll check them out later. But I don't really care about Runecraft, too annoying for me. Good for your brat, though."

"Eh, yeah. Farm Boy over here has some talent for it, so I'll try to get a dozen or so spells under his belt by the time the next Singularity hits."

"I've been practicing a lot in my free time." I nodded.

"Why can't you be like him, Master." Medea poked her own Master.

"Why can't you be like him?" He countered, pointing at Cu.

"Oh my, is that you asking for my help~" Medea's grin grew wide. "I would love to help you."

"I'm sure." Pierre drawled.

"Alright, alright. Less kidding, it's a pretty crappy situation, that can't be denied. So I'll swallow my pride and teach you something. Pick one thing you want to be good with and I'll help you with that."

"Pardon?" He responded. "One thing?"

"No point in rounding you out like the mutt is doing to the budding Druid over there. He's not going to master anything fantastical, but he's going to be very well rounded in most situations. You though….I'm going to teach you one thing really well, and you're going to master that by the time we're finished." Medea responded.

"…not a bad approach. If they're all just average at a bunch of things, that has its own problem." Cu rubbed his chin.

"So choose, Master."

Pierre went silent for a few moments. "Teach me how to…how do you say –" He started gesturing with his hands, but I think I got the meaning.

"Explode?" I offered.

"Yes." Pierre smiled. "Teach me to explode things very well."

Medea's eyes widened and her grin grew further. "Well Master, I do believe this relationship will become much more enjoyable for me."

"What about you, Ritsuka? You've been practicing too?" I didn't want to keep him out of it either.

"Well… I've been practicing a little but I've been focusing on some other stuff."

"What's more important than practicing your Magecraft." I almost said Magic.

"Well, I've been spending time with Mash to get better coordinating with her." He replied.

"That's true, she's going to need a little extra help there." Cu nodded.

"And I've been with Saber too. She's intent on….training us." He smiled awkwardly. "I've also been trying to get her to open up a bit. She's always been a bit stiff, and I wanted her to relax around us."

Well, I guess that makes sense too. He has more Servants than us, he needs to spend time building that trust.

"And then I've been seeing Da Vinci too. She's been telling me a lot of interesting things and helping me with –"

"Wait, have you just been spending all your free time with the girls around here?" Cu interrupted.

"I….guess?" He blinked.

"Beat him up." Cu commanded.

"Wait, what!?" Ritsuka squeaked.

"Even I feel a little jealous." Medea added. "Proceed."

"Wah!?"

"Sorry, Ritsuka, take your punishment." I apologized, but he deserved to get a few shoulder punches.

"I didn't do anything!"

"You've been flirting with all the women instead of training." Even Pierre grumbled. "Deserving of a beating."

"It wasn't flirting! I promise!"

"Let's go ask Mash, she's a kind girl who wouldn't lie." I offered. "She'll tell us all about what you've been doing in private."

"In Private, hmm? What have you been doing to that adorable little girl?" Medea's eyes narrowed.

"Nothing!"

"Alright, alright." Cu was somehow the voice of reason. "I guess it makes sense in his case. They did say he had stupidly high compatibility with Servants. Instead of wasting his time on Magecraft, he'd honestly probably be better spent getting more familiar with his Servants since he's probably going to end up with a lot more than you two."

"Can we still beat him up?" Pierre asked.

"No!" Ritsuka vigorously shook his head.

"I'll allow it." Medea overruled.

"Um….did I come at a bad time?" Roman peaked his head through the door.

"Roman!" Ritsuka acted like he was saved….for now. There's a bro code, Ritsuka. There will be a reckoning.

"I just came over to tell you all to gather in the Servant summoning Room. We're going to attempt a few summons."

"Um…" Ritsuka looked a bit nervous.

Probably because everyone was looking at him.

[***]

Olga Marie Animusphere POV

I fiddled with my hat, but it felt off for some reason. Maybe because my rabbit wasn't with me anymore.

…his Rabbit, not mine.

"Director, They should be arriving momentarily. They were just cleaning up before coming over." Roman returned.

"Wonderful!" Da Vinci clapped her hands. "I can't wait to see if we get the data."

"….yeah."

"Roman, are you okay? You've been….kind of off since Wilhelm left." Da Vinci looked at him.

"Um, yeah. Just tired I guess." He awkwardly smiled. "Don't worry, I'll get some rest after we wrap up for today."

I couldn't blame him, I was utterly exhausted myself. Barely a day after the Singularity, and still I just wanted to curl up in my bed and pretend that everything was going to be okay.

There was so much to unpack from a single conversation with Schweinorg.

He was a Half-Devil, whatever the hell that meant.

Not a Demon, specifically a Half-Devil.

If the Church found out he even stepped foot here, we'd be burned down in their righteous anger. Granted, they would have to deal with an army of Angry Servants with my express approval, but that didn't diminish the threat on their end.

Then to come to find out, not only he validates the existence of God, but turns into an Angel and talks about him as if they'd had casual conversations.

Not to mention the Longinus, one of the Church's supposed most Holy relics and power weapons just….there.

Nearly Broken because he did something to save our behinds again.

And here I wish this was back in time to when I found out here was merely the Grandson of the Wizard Marshall.

Back when things were simple.

The thought made me mentally scoff.

He was gone, again, that was what mattered in this moment. And he left to protect us. We were too weak to have him by our side in this conflict for the moment.

I couldn't argue with him either.

We all saw first hand how Solomon just….went right through our teams and could have easily ended us before we ran.

And that is to say, he could have even killed Schweinorg, a literal Magician who was wielding Divine Weapons and powers I couldn't even begin to comprehend.

It almost felt pointless to continue.

Yet….for all the self-depreciating thoughts, the fact that he for some reason thought we could continue without him was…motivating. It made me feel embarrassed for even thinking about throwing in the proverbial towel because things….got too hard.

So, we will press on.

It didn't change anything, the world already ended, what's the worst that could happen if we fail? It stays ended?

At least there would be no Mages Association to point fingers at me and throw their insults and criticisms.

Even after that entire disaster that was Orleans….we were in a mildly better place.

We had much more abundant resources because of Schweinorg once more. Enough that we could splurge on luxuries such as Alcohol.

I wanted to shout in frustration that he included something like that….but giving it more thought, it would be a good morale boost.

Things were already teetering, allowing some staff and even Servants a moment to unwind and relax with the help of alcoholic substances would go to easing the atmosphere around here.

Besides that, and the other plethora of resources that would allow us to press on for many more months with room to spare, we now had one particular item of value.

"Da Vinci, what are the readings on the Grail?" I asked.

"Everything looks good so far." She threw a thumbs up.

"No signs of failure?" I questioned, skeptically.

"You don't trust my genius!?" She looked offended, but I ignored her attitude.

"I don't trust the Grail that we acquired from a dubious source."

"Alright…that's fair." She grumbled. "But the machines I build look to be harnessing the residual power properly without tapping into the underlying mechanisms."

"Good, that's good." Despite the benefit, I couldn't help but bite my thumb.

I did not like using the Grail as a….power source, but to deny the usage of it under these circumstances was the height of foolishness.

This was the best use of the object, however. Our Power supply had been found wanting, at best.

Now….we were in the green, so to speak.

Many more of our subsystems were coming back online, and with that, it meant Servant Summoning was not something to be used sparingly. Now….we could probably try every few days…..if we were lucky.

And looks like they arrived.

I reached over to press the intercoms button. "Caster and…..Caster, you both are on guard duty. And Is Saber and Mash present?"

"I'm here, Director!" Mash looked out of breath as she ran into the roof looking a bit scuffled as Saber followed in behind her.

I would not chide her in this circumstance as it appears she was busy training. Good, such dedication should be commended and this was short notice anyways. We didn't actually need her Shield physically here anymore anyways.

"We will proceed. Samuel, you will be up first followed by Ritsuka, then Pierre, and lastly Hinako. These will be the only summoning attempts today as we evaluate the new parameters we're operating under." I removed my finger from the intercoms.

This wasn't their first time, so I needed not to hold their hands.

Samuel went first.

"Systems look good…" Roman monitored.

"Power supply is steady, no unnatural spikes, no strains on any other systems either." Da Vinci added.

"Let them proceed as normal then." I breathed out, watching from behind a screen.

"Energy spikes!"

"Problem?" I snapped my head to Roman.

"No…it's just a Servant with a noticeably powerful Saint Graph being pulled!"

"That's good!" I felt myself relax. "Don't meddle, let's see how the systems handle it."

We were lucky, a Servant summoned on the first try!

The Room was engulfed in the familiar light as their outline appeared amidst the magical phenomenon.

"Your Foxy Wife has arrived!" The Servant declared, a tail swaying behind their back, and fox ears upon their. "Caster Servant, Tamamo-no-Mae is here!"

Frankly, we all exchanged looks.

"Um….nice to meet you, Ma'am." Samuel awkwardly greeted.

"Kyah! My husband's accent is so charming~"

"….she is eccentric." Da Vinci blinked. "And another Caster Servant…"

What's with all the Casters!? This is starting to get ridiculous.

"Are we not bothered by her identity?" Roman asked, sounding concerned.

"Roman, the leader of B-Team is literally the son of Satan, I think we're past the point of caring about this sort of thing." I sighed, pressing the intercom button. "Prepare for the next summoning."

"Um, Caster, could you please step back? We're going to summon more Servants." Samuel tried his best to wrangle his new Servant.

"Anything for my new hubby~"

Okay, maybe he'll be able to handle her well.

Ritsuka stepped up next.

I had expectations for him, his stats as a candidate were utterly absurd. Perhaps the highest in the entire world...I guess that meant more when there still was a world outside these walls.

"Systems operating properly again….and another spike!"

"Another Servant!?" Even with my expectations, I was surprised. A welcomed surprise, but one nonetheless.

"Everything is still stable." Da Vinci confirmed.

"Good, just watch then."

This time, it was a Servant we were familiar with.

"Berserker Kiyohime greets her Anchin~" The Servant from the previous Singularity reappeared. A Berserker…..better than a caster I suppose.

"Welcome back, Berserker." Ritsuka smiled.

"It must be fate, to reunite with my dear Anchin like this! Please take care of me, Husband."

"um…..alright."

"…..Roman."

"Yes, Director?"

"Please get started on the guidelines for Master and Servant relationships that I asked you about yesterday."

"I'll get started on it after –"

"Prioritize it, Roman. I have a feeling they're going to need help very soon."

I'm cursed, that's the only explanation.

"Proceed with the next summoning." I stated over the intercoms again.

"Please stand over here with me, Berserker." Ritsuko gestured.

"Of course, my dear Anchin~" She skipped over to his side. "Oh, and if you ever lie to me, I'll burn you to a crisp~"

"…..I'll get on that right after the summonings are finished, Director."

"Thank you, Roman." I strained a smile.

It was now Pierre's turn.

And I didn't actually know if I wanted this summon to be successful or not.

"…..Energy flare up."

….here we go.

The summoning proceeded without issue.

And another familiar face greeted up.

"Accepting your summons, It's Marie again!" Marie Antoinette appeared. "I'm so happy to see you all again and you can count on me!"

She recalled the Singularity?

Should that be possible? Is it because we're using the Grail or something else? The Normal Grail War was supposed to take in the defeated Servants before they returned to the Throne, did something similar happen and we're simply pulling from the 'stored' data, and Samuel was simply a 'normal' summoning?

So many questions and I doubt I would find an answer, nor was it particularly important right now.

"At least we have a normal one." Roman sighed in relief.

And I felt similar.

"Oh, it looks like you're my Master now, cutie~" Marie cooed, walking to Pierre's side.

"I will gladly fight by your side, your Highness." Pierre bowed his head.

"…..Does God hate us?" I asked.

"...I wouldn't be surprised." Roman muttered. "Let's get the last one over with."

"Oh you two, so dramatic." Da Vinci giggled. She took the opportunity to press the intercoms button. "On to the last one, guys! Hinako, you're up."

They all stepped to the side and Hinako began.

"Oh, a massive energy spike!" Roman's eyes widened. "Wait, the System is struggling, something's wrong!"

We both glanced over, but Da Vinci even looked panicked and ran over. "This isn't right? Wait, what's going on? We're getting a surge of power from….outside? Something commandeered the summoning!"

I ran over and quickly pressed the intercoms button. "Prepare for a battle!" I quickly called out.

There were enough Servants present that I wasn't too worried, but they should be prepared for the worst case.

All eyes fell on the forming vessel of the oncoming Servants and I think all of us were speechless as she appeared.

She seemed to ignore the tension in the summoning room and opened her mouth. "Servant Avenger, Jeanne D'Arc answers your summons."

[***]

A/N

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