Bang!!!
"There are enemies in the forest too. They're not strong, but definitely annoying, huh?"
"You're telling me. Was it always like this for you guys?"
Ritsuka felt tired from the constantly appearing enemy entities, and when Saber Alter asked the question, the group except for Sakura and Ushigozen nodded their heads.
"It's always like this."
"For some reason, there are a lot of enemies. Thanks to that, the Mariners are always carrying guns and explosives. To finish it as quickly as possible."
Mash nodded with an expression that seemed to understand and feel annoyed, and Nemo also sighed and shook his head.
Chaldea's daily routine. It was familiar for enemy entities to appear in useless places and waste time.
[Hey, I'm picking up a very weak Servant response. This reading... is even lower than a Shadow Servant.]
Ushigozen made Sakura step back, and pulled out her unique mechanical spider legs to rummage through the bushes...
Thwack!
"Who's there!"
Kaga gagagang!!!!
Ushigozen swung her sword recklessly, and the being that appeared from the bushes swung a chainsaw in response. And then, a transparent, giant shark appeared.
"A shark!?"
Phewng!!!
Ushigozen collided with the charging shark and was pushed back. Not physical damage, but spiritual damage.
"Well~ good, good~ Since it's not an enemy, that much is enough~ As expected, the power of the Holy Grail is amazing, huh? Even someone like me, who's still half-baked, can handle the power of cinema like this. Very nice~?"
"Wh-who are you...!?"
Mash comes out of the bushes and is surprised to see her handling the ghost shark.
"Long time no see! And a monumental first appearance! Although I was implemented as an accessory to Shub-Niggurath? Actually, here only Shub-Niggurath appears and I'm not even mentioned...!"
"Rider, the White Rabbit of Inaba!"
"This is Georges Méliès, also known as the Udon Rider."
"Mash! Why would you reveal my true name like that!? No, anyway, no one probably knows who I am..."
Her true name is Georges Méliès.... He is.
[Georges Méliès!? The one called the father of SF movies!? As a genius, I can't help but be interested! The father of film who made the first horror movie and the first SF! I don't need to say why she's a woman, we... comrades?]
"It's only like this because it creates demand, you know? Don't you know about my later years? Because of some lion's head."
Georges Méliès. A master who created the first horror and SF genre films, and a genius who first used composite techniques to make films. He filmed over 500 movies in about 15 years, making him a genius of his time.
However, other directors copied his techniques, and with illegal copy films led by Edison, he made no profit while being exploited by major film companies, having all his films taken away at low prices and every creation ruined by illegal copying. In his later years, the man called the father of SF films operated a neighborhood hole-in-the-wall store and fell into ruin.
She, not he, thirsts for popularity and attention. Her greatest enemy is... Edison. Basically, because of his illegal copying, her ruin began.
"But what are you doing here? I haven't heard about you from the Mariners playing with Bunyan."
"Good question, Captain! Precisely, one of the main factors that created this Singularity is right here! The power of my skills [SFX] and [Directing]! This place has winter weather, but it's not cold at all because it all feels like a movie set!"
"For a moment, I thought it was SE■."
"Ritsuka... SFX is an abbreviation for Special Effects, referring to special filming techniques like miniature photography, special makeup, CG, etc."
"Thanks for the explanation, Mash~"
Ritsuka misheard it as that, and Kirielight shook her head and kindly explained.
"Honestly, it's so sudden that it's surprising. Mash, since she's your daughter, take good care of her."
"Huh...? Mash, you have a daughter...!?"
"You had a daughter!?"
"... That version of me?"
"No, no, Scáthach. That would be a misunderstanding..."
"Mom... you raised me with such care, and now you deny it... sob!"
Rider, she is a Servant from some world... in that world, Ritsuka made seven Servants from udon dough using the mud of the Holy Grail, and among them, Rider was raised by Mash until she became a Servant.
For reference, another one of the seven is Bunyan.
"Sigh... for now, when Dumpty arrives, I'll convey it as is... Georges?"
"Ugh, it's okay. If it's Master, he'll forgive me, right? Bunyan is on my side too! If you think of bullying me...? Here, I'll show you Sharknado!"
"It's Christmas, so please focus on Christmas!"
"Yes, yes~ I understand~"
Thus, the group was quite confused by the appearance of Georges Méliès.
Meanwhile...
"Really, when are they coming... this bundle is about to burst. It's unexpectedly heavy, you know... what's with all these gifts to give when they come? Of course, the kids deserve to receive many gifts."
Olga Marie, wandering through the forest alone, groaning as she carries the bundle. She was alone, waiting for the Chaldea group to arrive.
"Sigh, should I take a little break..."
Olga Marie sat on a tree stump for a moment and let out a breath. She stared at the gift bundle...
"... Actually, I haven't prepared anything. While I can't do anything, what kind of Director am I? After the Human Order restoration, giving money seems meaningless... and recently, I've been quite busy with paperwork."
She briefly held a small accessory shaped like the Chaldea logo from her pocket.
It was an accessory that was on her own corpse when she once died in an explosion.
"After this is over, when we return, I'll properly think about what I can do for that person..."
Olga Marie clenched the accessory tightly, put it back in her pocket, and stood up. She stretched for a moment. But... she felt a presence behind her.
Thinking that the group might have arrived, she turned around.
Click.
"... Huh?"
A pitch-black light pistol aimed at her.
Bang!
In the quiet snowy forest, the sound of a gunshot echoed.
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