(24) Matters of the Heart

"Damn you, Romani. You could have rayshift us into a more secluded place!"

("That was supposed to be the plan, but I don't what happened!")

After venting his frustration, Alexander focuses on the current task at hand. The rayshift was considered a success. The only problem was... they were rayshift in the middle of a military camp.

With their sudden appearance, the soldiers went on a panicked. With their current outfit,(Clothes they usually wear), the soldiers know that they were not citizens and immediately prepare for battle as they began to question their purpose while aiming weapons in their direction.

"Who are you, people?!"

A man who seems to be the one in charge questions Alexander and his group mates.

"We are travelers, sir. As you could see..." Alexander said as he sneakily grabs a folded tent from his portal and shows it to the soldiers.

Unfortunately, the soldiers were not convinced about his small tricks as it only made their hostility more apparent. Seeing his plan failed, to which he expected, he clicked his tongue.

"I guess we have no choice but to fight."

Seeing how he easily gives up convincing the soldiers, Mash and Ritsuka were speechless while Tamamo only giggles.

"Fight? do we have to fight them?"

"Don't ask an obvious question, Ritsuka. Unless you have any other plan, my ears are all open to suggestions."

"Um, how about we run?" Mash meekly suggests.

"...That's brilliant! let's run!" Alexander's eyes brighten at the idea.

The thought may seem retarted at first but avoiding confrontation this early at the singularity is a wise choice. Not only are they going to conserve energy, but they were also avoiding any conflict with the locals.

Without further ado, Alexander and the others retreated without giving the soldiers to respond. Due to all of them excluding Ritsuka, we're not ordinary mortals, they easily escaped the situation they were in.

They soon stopped after reaching the nearest forest and decided to rest upon the shades of the trees.

"...It seems- those running I did in Chaldea, finally paid off," Ritsuka said as lay on the grass below as he tried to catch his breath.

"You did great, senpai."

"Fou! Kyu!"

Mash's with you on her shoulder covered his field of vision as she smiled while looking at him.

"I don't know what I did that deserves your praise... but thank you, Mash."

"Anyway," Their attention then shifts towards Alexander who seems a little too at ease about the whole thing, "Our plan immediately went out of the window due to that situation. Romani, explain to us what happened back there."

Flipping his right wrist, Alexander calmly said to the white bracelet that Romani inform him earlier about its purpose for communicating through Chaldea...

("Honestly, I'm confused as you are. We did and double-check all the procedures and everything should have worked as planned. But I am not sure what happened that made the rayshift gone wrong...")

From the way he speaks, Alexander could feel that he was speaking the truth.

"Well, that doesn't matter for now." Alexander decided to change the subject, "Our first course of action is to find a leyline for better communication. We could also use that leyline to summon Medusa and Emiya in the Singularity... Romani, Tamamo, we will need your help with that."

"Of course, Master. These fox senses of mine will be a great help for doing so." She answers enthusiastically as she cutely curled her small hand into a fist on top of her bosom.

("I'm already on it.") Romani also replied, albeit with less enthusiasm.

"Before we do anything. Romani, do you have any idea what the hell is that thing in the sky?"

Lifting his head, Alexander saw a giant ring of light covered the vast majority of the atmosphere.

"What the..." Everyone's eyes widened. They did saw the anomaly when they were running but they were too busy to care... But looking at it now...

"Doctor, I'll send you visuals."

Mash used the same white bracelet on her right wrist and started pointing it at the sky.

*Clicked*

("...A ring of light... No, is it some form of magecraft cast over the satellite orbit?")

While Romani was having his monologue, Alexander felt some movement over his sleeves. Turning his head, he saw Tamamo with a serious expression on her face.

"Master, I don't know why, but I felt my senses telling me that light in the sky is dangerous. It's making me uncomfortable."

Seeing that her whole body was tense, Alexander slowly patted her head to calm her down.

"I know, Tamamo. Thank you for telling me..."

("In any case, that thing is gigantic. Its size is at worst the size of North America... This may also seem obvious but no such phenomenon was recorded in 1431.")

"Safe to say that this "thing" is perhaps one of the reasons for the disappearance of our future."

("I have to agree with you on that one.)

"Anyway, give that picture that Mash sent you to Da Vinci and see what could she deduced. Maybe she could come up with an answer knowing her intellect."

("Yeah, that's a good idea. We will analyze it on our end.)

"Great, for now, let's scout the surroundings for any potential enemies. Let's split into two groups. I and Tamamo will scout the North and the west. While you two will scout the South."

They were currently in the eastern part of the wilderness. Well, according to Romani anyway

"Is there a reason why we have to do this?" Mash asked.

"We could use the wilderness as a temporary base of operation. We could also use this as an opportunity to find a possible leyline existing somewhere in this area."

"I see..." she nodded.

"We will meet in this exact spot in 3 hours. Avoid any confrontation from any enemies. We don't want any accidents to happen... Does everyone okay with that." Alexander asked to which everyone nodded their head.

"Alright everyone, be careful."

"You too, Alex, Tamamo-san."

Shortly after, the group then split with their respective partners and went their way...

*

In the command room, Da Vinci and Romani were busy checking Alexanders and co's physical condition to see if there are any issues. Finding there is none, Romani turns his head away from the monitor as he faced Da Vinci who is in deep thought while holding a tablet in her hands.

"Well, find anything?" Romani asked.

Day Vinci glance at him for a moment before she shook her head, "The data is not sufficient to come up with a valid conclusion. I do have a few theories but most, if not all of them were ridiculous theories."

"I see. But in those numerous theories, which do you think is the most plausible?"

"Based on the appearance of the ring of light, my number one guess is that it is similar to a black hole. The difference is that rather than consuming all matter like a typical black hole, it's consuming large quantities of mana instead that is abundant in the atmosphere..."

Romani does not know what to feel about that theory. Just as Da Vinci said, that theory of hers is absurd to think about. But remembering Humanity's possible extinction in the future, the notion of that ring of light gathering mana as Da Vinci believes, then the theory is not bizarre as it appears to be.

"If what you are saying becomes the truth, then we are in deep trouble."

Day Vinci, seeing the tense-looking on Romani's face, burst out laughing as she slaps his back and said, "Why are you so serious all of a sudden, even if that were the case, we still have Alexander, remember?"

"Alex?" Romani asked in surprise. "Why Alex? You seem to put a lot of trust in Alexander. Don't tell me you-"

*Smack*

The sound of a face being smack spread across the command room interrupting the staff as they looked at them in surprise.

"Aw! What was that for?!" Romani rub the left side of his cheek trying to lessen the intense pain he is feeling at the moment.

"If you finish that sentence, not only are going to receive a slap to the face, but you will also receive a smack of my beautiful wand in your family jewels. Do you understand, Romani?" Her sweet-sounding voice was heard by not only Romani but all staff including the males... you should guess what is their reaction will be.

"Yes, Ma'am!" Romani jolted out of his seat as he raised his right hand in his forehead to form a salute while the other hand is used to cover his jewels. His actions are an imitation of a soldier that is ready for war. Unfortunately for him, his posture combine where his left hand lay only makes him look pathetic as a result.

Day Vinci giggled at his actions, she seems so innocent that makes one wonder whether the words she said moments ago were nothing but an illusion.

She put her on his shoulder as she giggles one last time before ultimately leaving the command room.

Romani watched her back disappear from his view as he sighed in defeat. He slouches back on his chair, confuses about what just happened.

'Wishing for my memories as Solomon to be sealed when turn back to ordinary human bite me in the ass... If only I have those memories which will come in handy to situations like the matters of the heart...'

"Uh, Doctor? are you alright?" One of the staff asked.

"Yes, I'm alright, no need to worry. Let's go back to monitoring Alexander and the others."

""Hai!""

In the hallway, outside the command room. Da Vinci could be seen leaning against one of the pillars. Her hands were on top of her bosom where her heart lay. It's beating at a fast rate as she grits her teeth in frustration.

"You fool..."

*

On Alexander's side, he and Tamamo were quietly strolling through the forest at a mortal walking speed. Their stroll was peaceful like any other stroll they did back on Chaldea.

"Master, what do you think of Mash and Fujimaru?" Tamamo asked, breaking the silence between them.

"Hm? what's with the sudden question?" He calmly replied

"It's just that I want to understand how Master thinks and behaves to the people around you."

Alexander halted at his tract making Tamamo stop beside him.

"Why?"

"It's because I want to understand Master. I want to understand Master for me to love you and serve you as the best wife I could be."

Her sudden confession made Alexander flinched.

"I see..." He only responds with two words as he continues to walk again, seemingly trying to escape the situation he was put in.

Tamamo sighed, similar situations happened in the past with identical results. Although the results of her effort to win the affection of her master failed. She would not give up until the day her master respond with similar devotion.

Alexander sneakily glance at her only to find out that she was not discouraged at his lack of response. Instead, she looked even more determined than ever.

He could shake his head and let nature takes its course.

(An: His reasons will be explained in the future)

"You asked what I think of Ritsuka and Mash right? Well, both of them are good lads. Ritsuka's with his heroic tendency and Mash's gentle and caring personality. I believe that both of them are going to achieve something great within their lifetime. That's what I think about them." He explains as he continues to walk once again to survey the surroundings.

"Master, you seem to see the both of them in high regards."

"Those are just based on my observations in the past month. Whether they will stay the same throughout this difficult journey will be up to fate."

"Hm." Tamamo agreed. "This journey will be indeed difficult... But master, with you by their side. I'm sure they will turn out fine in the end." A smile blossom on her lips as she looked at Alexander proudly.

"You overestimate me too much, Tamamo."

"Fufu, it the opposite for you master, you underestimate yourself too much."

He could only shake his head and smiled wryly as they continues their peaceful journey in the wilderness.

*

A few hours later, they soon rendezvous in the same place as they plan. As soon as Alexander meets up with the two and their adorable pet, Fou. He observes them for any possible sign of injuries. Thankfully, he found none.

"Did you guys encounter any danger?" Alexander asked the two. It's a pointless question to ask since he already knows the answer...

"No, we didn't encounter any opposition when traveling. We did saw the same soldiers we encounter before." Mash replied.

"Uh-huh, they seem to be looking for us," Ritsuka added.

"It's great that both of you were okay. Well, we have great news. Thanks to Tamamo, we found a leyline situated in a cave near a lake which is also a perfect spot to build a temporary base."

"Really?!" Both shouted in excitement.

"Yep," Tamamo confirmed.

("That's perfect then. It will be a great idea for you guys to head there right away. The sun was about to set about an hour from now. It will a great idea to camp as soon as possible.")

With the help of Tamamo and Romani, they were soon able to arrive at their destination without any mishaps.

Arriving, their sense of sight was greeted by a breathtaking view of a large lake that seems to shine under the moonlight. The water is crystal clear with an abundance of marine life. Alexander could tell this by using his clairvoyance to observe the lake.

(Image)

"This lake..." he murmured.

"What is it, master?"

"I did not bother thinking about it too deeply when we first saw this lake, but this place... Don't you think that it seems isolated?"

"Now that you mention it..."

"With how big this lake is, the French soldiers or any scout should have noticed this lake beforehand but yet, there is no sign of any human activities."

"Could it that we are just lucky to discover this lake first or they just ignore it?" Ritsuka guesses.

("That's a possibility but I doubt it. This lake has an ecosystem full of marine life, it will be a waste to let this place be unoccupied.) Romani who is listening to their conversation, denied his guess.

"Then what should we do?"

Everyone unconsciously glance at Alexander and waited for him to make the decision. Alexander notice this, of course, as he began to think more carefully.

They could either go back and camp the night in the wilderness or keep to the original plan and camp inside the cave. Both choices have their advantages and disadvantages. But thinking about carefully, the answer is quite obvious...

"We will camp the night in the forest. This place is too suspicious for us to rest in peace. At least in the forest, we could assume that it is considered safe based on the lack of enemies. Anyway, we could investigate this place tomorrow... Well, what do guys think?"

They could not find any reason to argued about his suggestion so they all agreed and began to return where they come from

They soon set up a camp a few kilometers away from the lake. With Alexander as a walking vault, he provided everyone with high-class tents from his Treasury. They were shocked at first but soon recovered as living with Alexander for the past month has already made the group somewhat immune to the surprises he brings.

After setting up the camp, they then began talking about the job of a lookout. Although the forest is considered safe, they did not want any chances for an unexpected enemy to ambush them while resting.

Alexander was the first one to be on the lookout follow by Tamamo, Mash, and lastly Ritsuka. Mash was first against the idea of Ritsuka being on the lookout but soon gives up convincing him because of his stubbornness and his desire to be useful.

They enter and sleep in their respective tent, as Alexander began his job as the lookout.

With his experience of living in the wilderness in his past life, he is not worried that he will be attacked unexpectedly so he mostly spends his time stargazing and reminiscing about his past life...

Soon, time passed and the night ended uneventfully.

*******

(An: Surprise mothafakas I'm still alive! I caught a severe flu that's why this chapter is "quite" late. Anyway, seen I'm alive and kicking, I will post more chapters frequently.)