The next day, at the temple on Hestia Island.
From the village's high platform, the temple already looked abandoned. Getting closer only made that impression stronger.
"This temple… looks about the same as the temple ruins I saw back when I traveled in Greece," Sakura said first.
Baobhan Sith stood beside a stone column and adjusted her glasses. "Judging by the weathering on these limestone pillars, it's been abandoned for at least several hundred years. Maybe even longer. I've never seen Greek ruins from Proper Human History myself, so I can't say for sure."
"Who knows? At least we can trust these pillars won't crumble halfway through, right?" Caren said, extending a finger and giving one a push that looked fairly forceful.
Ritsuka Fujimaru hurried to stop her. "Don't push it! What if it actually falls over?"
"It's fine. I'll protect everyone," Mash said earnestly, as if the pillar truly might topple.
The girls traded comments back and forth about the columns, while Olga Marie wore the faintly pained expression of someone developing a headache.
"…We're not here for a spring outing…"
Since the temple was visible from the village, the party they brought along was relatively relaxed.
But everyone's mood was relaxed too, to the point that Olga Marie honestly felt like she couldn't keep up.
"This isn't so bad. We've confirmed there are no enemies around, so letting your guard down a little is fine," Shiomi said, turning to Skadi at his side as if asking her to back him up.
Skadi ran her hand over a pillar worn down by time. "But I can tell these weren't built purely by human labor. Perhaps they're ruins left behind by the gods of Atlantis before they retreated to Olympus?"
"Ruins left by the gods…" Shiomi muttered, reminded of the "inheritance" and "remnants" they'd heard about earlier.
On the sea chart, the islands near Hestia Island were all named after Olympian gods.
Heracles Island was the same.
And according to Bartholomew, the Heracles of this Lostbelt was a full god, not a demigod hero.
"Is something bothering you, Teacher?" Olga Marie asked.
"No. I'm just thinking about when exactly this Lostbelt diverged from Proper Human History," Shiomi said with a shrug. "It's not especially important, but it's still a useful foundation for understanding this Lostbelt."
Skadi chuckled softly at that. "For the gods to abandon Atlantis and retreat to Olympus, the City of the Gods, it couldn't have been a simple matter."
"Something about it feels off," Shiomi said with a nod. "It's supposed to be an Olympian Lostbelt, but I've got this strange sense of déjà vu."
"Could it be… connected to the white giant that ravaged the planet fourteen thousand years ago?" Baobhan Sith turned back to ask him.
"Maybe," Shiomi said, nodding. "According to Proper Human History records, when the white giant tore across the land, the gods of the entire planet became, you could say, helpless. Only the Holy Sword, forged from the planet's hope, could defeat that predatory wandering star from beyond the cosmos."
"It's a similar record on the Scandinavian side," Skadi said with a nod. "So later, when I heard from you that there was a history where the Holy Sword of the Planet wasn't even forged, I was shocked as well."
Even in a Lostbelt, history remained largely consistent with Proper Human History up until a certain point of divergence.
Shiomi fell deeper into thought, only to be pulled back by Olga Marie's voice.
"Teacher—"
She tugged on his arm, looking genuinely worried.
"Sorry. Daydreaming here won't accomplish anything. Let's go inside the temple first," he said, smiling helplessly.
Skadi laughed with him. "They're all waiting for you. Don't waste time here."
So, with Sakura and the others watching, Shiomi started forward and entered the temple first.
The outside was ancient Greek in style, but the inside felt more like a laboratory, or even a research institute.
From the walls to the floor, everything was clad in metal. Straight lines were engraved into those surfaces, not flashy at all, but only making the interior look cleaner and sharper, and the level of technology more advanced than Proper Human History.
In the very center of the temple stood a cylindrical mechanical apparatus.
The contrast between the outside and inside stunned everyone.
Skadi reacted differently. She moved quickly to the front of the girls, taking position behind Shiomi and preparing to protect them.
At the same time, Shiomi lifted an arm, stopping the others who were still craning their necks to look around.
"Stop," Shiomi said quietly, a warning under his breath.
"What is it?" Olga Marie asked.
Ritsuka frowned as well. "There shouldn't be anyone here."
"No, there is someone," Baobhan Sith said, having noticed it too. "Someone arrived here before we did."
"That's right." Shiomi nodded once, then raised his voice. "Who's hiding in the shadows? If you're not an enemy, show yourself now. If you are, then so be it. I'll make this temple your tomb."
A figure deep within the temple slowly stepped forward. Crisp footsteps echoed through the vast, empty hall.
The person clearly had no intention of concealing himself, emerging openly from the darkness with an unapologetically confident air.
When he came fully into view, everyone except Skadi and Baobhan Sith showed varying degrees of strange expressions.
"Long time no see. I trust you've all been well?"
One by one, the girls relaxed their guard. Baobhan Sith looked puzzled.
"You all know him?"
"He's Holmes," Mash explained. "He assisted Chaldea at the Atlas Institute during the Sixth Singularity, and later in the Shinjuku Sub-Singularity as well."
"That about sums it up," Holmes said. He remained at a careful distance, close enough to speak but far enough not to appear threatening or deliberately intrusive to Shiomi. "At present, I am acting as a Servant dispatched by Proper Human History, conducting investigations across the various islands of Atlantis."
"I see." Shiomi walked forward slowly until he stood before Holmes, meeting his composed gaze head-on. "Still, I didn't expect a Servant to repeatedly retain memories from other Singularities. Which god lent you that kind of support?"
"I'm afraid I don't know myself," Holmes replied, shaking his head.
"If you don't know, then never mind," Shiomi said, letting the matter drop.
After all, there were precedents, Mordred being one of them. If a god of Proper Human History had secretly opened a backdoor in the Heroic Spirit Summoning system to preserve records, it wasn't entirely implausible.
"Even so, I've been meaning to meet you for quite some time, Mr. Shiomi."
Holmes then offered his greeting in a courteous, almost formal tone.