The Wicked Dragon Hundred Years' War had thus come to an end.
The Phantasmal beasts and Fafnir, once manipulated by Flat Snark, were all forced to de-manifest by Siegfried's Balmung. The remaining Wyverns, upon the recovery of the Holy Grail, twisted their bodies unnaturally and vanished, leaving behind nothing but the occasional Reverse Scale or dragon fang.
As the scorched Foundation of the Human Order began to return to its proper course, the Servants summoned by the grace of the Counter Force of Alaya began to fade away. Finally, Jeanne d'Arc herself, handing over a handkerchief she had personally consecrated, vanished into a flurry of light.
"I pray that God's blessing be upon your path!"
"Thank you, Saint of Orleans. I hope we can meet again soon!"
After a heartwarming farewell, there was always the inevitable cleanup required to match.
The general suppression of stray Phantasmal beasts would be left to the humans of this era, but more serious matters required our direct intervention. Thus, after spending a full day hunting Wyverns across the French countryside, we were finally able to return to Chaldea.
"So this is a Holy Grail... It certainly possesses the output of a magical reactor core directly crafted by one called the 'King of Mages.'"
"Hey, don't look so greedy. We already have one."
"I was too busy fixing the one that exploded. Seeing one again like this is a miracle in its own right."
As the Holy Grail emerged from Mash's shield, the entire staff gathered at once to behold the reactor core.
Even Aoko-nee and Manaka, who seemed like they wouldn't care for such things, were no exception. In Manaka's case, knowing exactly what kind of absurdities she could pull with such a reactor made my anxiety spike. Meanwhile, she was busy trading banter and nonsense with her soulmate, Seleuke, completely oblivious to my inner turmoil...
"Any other business?"
"...Me. First, return Flat Snark and Thames. I need to modify the additional armament sections."
"Understood, Alice-san."
In the final moments of the battle, Alice's Flat Snark played a monumental role in making Gilles de Rais's life miserable.
And... this is just my personal speculation, but if we encounter a background based on grim fairy tales and the Industrial Revolution—say, the Demonic Fog City of London—Alice's Mystic Codes will likely prove incredibly effective. Especially Flat Snark in a fog-bound environment, and Thames Troll given the local fame of London.
"Any word from the Wandering Sea?"
"Nothing. The Rail Zeppelin barely managed to escape the Incineration of the Human Order as it is; expecting them to act as mail carriers is asking a bit much, don't you think?"
"The Atlas Academy relocated their entire library, though."
"...I can't deny that."
As the small talk wound down, Ritsuka, who had been quietly resting her chin on her hand in a corner, raised her hand to speak.
"What about the Saint Quartz?"
"Ah! Allow this ultra-beautiful Da Vinci-chan to explain!"
Pulling star-shaped Saint Quartz from a bag that looked like a fortune pouch, she carefully arranged them in rows of ten to ensure their brilliant radiance didn't fade.
"Thirty in total. Since it takes three for one summoning, that means we can perform ten summons."
"We also received a catalyst from Jeanne d'Arc this time, right? A Saint of the Ruler class with a defensive Noble Phantasm would be an immense help for future Restorations of the Human Order... Her Lawful-Good alignment is also impeccable."
"Well... even without that, Chaldea already has plenty of catalysts."
Beginning with our raid on the Isemi family, and moving through the warehouses of the Clock Tower, the Adjudication Bureau, and Prelati's personal storage, the catalysts we've pillaged were stacked neatly in the Chaldea storage, covered in dust and ready for Heroic Spirit Summoning at a moment's notice.
And if we didn't want to go that far, we had Mash's shield (the catalyst for Galahad) which draws in heroes, or the trio of Rin Tohsaka, Sakura Tohsaka, and Shiro Fujimaru, who were practically living catalysts... and even Gae Dearg, which I held ownership over.
"How are we dividing the gacha pulls?"
"Five for Ritsuka-san, and five for the Third Mage-kun—"
"Ah, wait a second. Don't summon right away; hold off for a bit. And if possible, it's best to minimize the number of times I perform the summon."
"...Why?"
There were several reasons.
"First of all. The Heroic Spirit Summoning System FATE isn't fully operational due to the aftermath of the terror attack orchestrated by Yagami-Kyubey-Kyaru. The person who summons the Servant is the one who forms the contract, right? We should concentrate the contracts on Ritsuka if we can."
"I understand that. But summoning and contracting are separate; couldn't you cancel the contract and transfer it to Ritsuka?"
"We don't know how the Heroic Spirits would react to that. To put it bluntly, if we summoned someone like Medea, the Witch of Colchis, and did that, her trust in us might plummet because she'd think a Master used another as a meat shield."
"...Hmm, but isn't that a bit of an extreme view?"
"Heroic Spirits generally have extreme personalities. Jeanne d'Arc was like that, and Gilles de Rais was also quite extreme in his own way, wasn't he?"
"I can't argue with that..."
"If we get Lawful-Good or simply Good-aligned Servants, we might get away with such tactics. But we are strictly in a position where we need their cooperation. We should do everything we can to win their favor."
"So, it's about building rapport!"
Ritsuka summarized it perfectly.
"Then... what's the second reason?"
Olga Marie spoke up.
Just as I was about to voice the second reason, an announcement began over the PA system in the command room.
[Reporting from the command room. Current duty staff, Jingle Abel Meuniere... It seems an anomaly? Or rather, an intruder has appeared in the command room. An unidentified envelope... no, something like an invitation has manifested. Please dispatch a research team for immediate verification... What is this? 'To my dear little fox, announcing the opening of a wonderful Halloween party?' What the heck is this, is someone playing a prank...]
The somewhat absurd broadcast, sounding like a prank call, piqued everyone's curiosity. They all stood up and headed for the command room, while I muttered softly from the back.
"...That would be the second reason."
I figured that if any event were to appear after the end of the First Singularity, it could only be the Halloween event.
*
[To my dear little fox and my little piggie manager.
I am pleased to announce the holding of a magnificent Halloween party.
My Prison Castle Ceyte has been renewed!
I'm going to devour you in a classic and dragonic way~
Elegantly, and in true Elden Ring fashion.
I invite you to a one-night-only Gensokyo.
At the party venue, there will be wonderful pumpkin dishes from all over the world and a banquet!
A marvelous serenade sung by a beautiful idol—
A heart-pounding concerto sung by a graceful lady—
And a serenade sung by the ultimate songstress, the diva, awaits you.
Ah, a wonderful ball that will make everyone's spirits soar—
Will make your heart 'Bite the Dust!'
It's truly a body and soul 'Deluxe-Bomber!'
Won't you join us for a nightmare-like escape from the everyday?
The password is Sweet & Blood & Marchen & Torture.
I look forward to your speedy participation~!
Ps. You. Better. Come.]
"...Now then, how should we handle this?"
Opinions were largely split into two groups.
The Immediate Restoration faction, led by Ritsuka and the Director; and the Anti-Restoration faction, led by Romani and Team A.
Ultimately, they decided to follow democratic principles and vote, though the staff seemed equally divided on how to treat this Singularity.
Sellenike and Manaka voted for the restoration because it sounded fun. Efficiency-minded individuals like Waver and Kayneth voted against it, but surprisingly, Sola-Ui-san voted in favor, as if it was her cup of tea. Even the Ryougi couple seemed split on the matter, and Alrueid and Shiki Tohno chose different options.
"Exactly 5:5... only Karma-kun's word is left."
"Third Mage, which side are you on?"
For me, obviously...
"We restore it."
"...I thought so."
"But is there really a need to restore such a Sub-Singularity?"
"If we're lucky, there might be a Holy Grail in that Singularity."
Considering the value of each individual magical reactor core, a Singularity with almost zero threat to life was a perfect destination. Why wouldn't we go?
When a reactor on par with the Great Grail—the prize that had repeated the Holy Grail War four times—is just sitting in a Singularity, of course you go pick it up. Right?
"And the time period of that Singularity is within 100 years. It's a good chance for Team A to test their skills."
"True... as much as they are an elite team, they haven't experienced actual combat yet. It's a fact that they aren't fully prepared to show their worth."
"Mmm..."
"I'll have Mash and Ritsuka accompany them, though. Those two need to gain more experience with Rayshifting."
"Wait, you're not planning to go?"
"I'm... considering it. Honestly, if I step into a Singularity like that, there won't be anything left for the others to do, will there?"
The other Crypters nodded, seemingly accepting my reasoning.
Just to be clear, it's absolutely not because I don't want to die alone from Bathory's singing. Absolutely not.
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