"This is the Round Table from the Knights of the Round Table???"
Tohsaka Rin jumped up upon hearing this and exclaimed, "Wait... this can be a table?"
"The conditions were primitive back then; we had to temporarily use a large shield as a table," Artoria stated frankly.
"Wait, Saber, you're King Arthur?" Tohsaka Rin was full of disbelief. "How could King Arthur be a girl!"
"Merlin's Magecraft disguised my gender," Artoria nodded. "In the eyes of others, I was indeed male."
"No, King Arthur being a girl or whatever..." She looked as if some cherished illusion had been shattered.
"Ha, it's actually normal," Fujimaru Ritsuka cut in from the side to smooth things over. "Mordred is a girl too, after all."
"Hmm? How do you know that?" At the mention of that name, Artoria whipped her head around to look at her.
"We met in London," Fujimaru Ritsuka didn't plan on hiding it anymore. She smiled and said, "Oh, it was there that we were companions with her. We went on a crusade against the legendary Wild Hunt King; that seemed to be an existence formed by the fusion of yourself and European mythology."
"Wait, such a thing happened in London?" Tohsaka Rin snapped her head up. "How come I didn't know?"
"That... it's normal not to know, right?" Fujimaru Ritsuka left them hanging, waiting for them to ask her more.
"It is indeed normal," Artoria nodded, recalling what Xia Yu had told her. "The King of the Wild Hunt? Compared to Goddess Rhongomyniad... forget it, neither is a good choice."
"Um, isn't Rhongomyniad your lance?" Mash couldn't help but ask. "Why call her a goddess?"
Artoria replied, "In a place called the Sixth Singularity, because Bedivere did not return my Holy Sword to the Lake..."
"Wait, the Sixth Singularity?!" Hearing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka couldn't sit still. She jumped to her feet. "You're talking about the Sixth Singularity?"
"What, you know what this Sixth Singularity is?" Tohsaka Rin looked suspiciously at these two dubious people.
"Apologies, we can no longer remain silent," just then, a light screen popped up from the device on Mash's person. A red-haired man inside said with a serious expression, "Pardon me, but regarding the intelligence on the Sixth Singularity—how did you obtain it, Miss Artoria?"
"Pardon you?" Tohsaka Rin instantly got prickly. She stepped in front of Artoria. "Hey, I've said it before, you two are suspicious enough! If it weren't for not wanting to cause more trouble in Fuyuki, I wouldn't have brought you back."
"And now you're bringing a third party to eavesdrop on our conversation." She narrowed her eyes. "How about you give us an explanation first?"
"It was our intrusion, apologies," the Doctor gave a sheepish smile and said. "Allow me to introduce ourselves. We are from the Organization for the Preservation of Human Order, a subordinate of the United Nations and the Mages' Association—Chaldea. Ritsuka and Mash are the Master and Demi-Servant we dispatched."
"Because CHALDEAS observed an anomaly capable of threatening Human History, we used Rayshift technology to come to this city."
"Ah, the Mages' Association..." Hearing this, Tohsaka Rin instantly went quiet. She had so many reports she hadn't turned in yet; she was feeling incredibly guilty.
After all, judging by the well-ordered organization behind the man on the screen and the technology far beyond her understanding, she knew they were definitely a big deal.
"But... is the problem here really that big?" she asked weakly.
"The London I mentioned just now was in the year 1888," Fujimaru Ritsuka explained. "That was the Fourth Singularity."
"And we just finished resolving the Fifth Singularity, located in North America in 1783. The enemies ranged from a Mad Enhancement version of Cu Chulainn to the great hero of Indian mythology, Arjuna, and even a Demon God from the myths of Solomon."
"The threat to Human Order in the Fifth Singularity was A+," Fujimaru Ritsuka's expression was grave. "But here in Fuyuki City... CHALDEAS displays it as EX, unmeasurable."
"Not to mention the information Miss Artoria just spoke of regarding a Sixth Singularity that we haven't even visited yet."
"Wait, wait, wait, first explain to me what a Singularity is," Tohsaka Rin said, waving her hands repeatedly.
So, the Doctor's side gave her a crash course in science from the very beginning.
"You're saying that in 2015, the world was destroyed?" Tohsaka Rin found it hard to imagine.
"At least for us, that is the case," Fujimaru Ritsuka nodded.
"And then you, as the last sparks of humanity, began to save the world?"
"Exactly."
A flash of doubt crossed Tohsaka Rin's eyes.
"I don't think this world is in any danger of destruction!"
"It might be hidden in the shadows," Fujimaru Ritsuka tried to explain, but Artoria spoke up instead: "No, Rin. If we're talking about a crisis that destroys the world, it might actually exist."
"Hmm? What is it?" Tohsaka Rin's eyes widened.
"Miss Firefly."
"Uh, Miss Firefly is very strong, sure," Tohsaka Rin still couldn't understand. "But she wouldn't go as far as destroying the world, would she?"
"You still don't know her origin," Artoria sighed and said. "I must tell you about it."
She then relayed her conversation with Firefly from earlier that day in its entirety.
"Oh, a Heroic Spirit from tens of thousands of years in the future," back at Chaldea, the Doctor took a sip of coffee and then slammed the cup down. "How could such a thing be possible!"
"An Empire spanning tens of thousands of light-years, a Swarm that devours stars... it sounds like a total fairy tale!"
"But Miss Firefly is physically right here," Artoria said calmly. "Living right across the street. Her power is not fake."
"And the technology on her person isn't fake either," just then, a voice came from outside the door. Emiya Shirou opened the door to see the mysterious Caster draped in her robes and her Master standing outside.
"Good evening, everyone," Xia Yu tipped her hat with a smile. "I hope I'm not interrupting."
Look what I've found, a wild Savior!
"This is..." Fujimaru Ritsuka looked at her curiously.
"This is Miss Furina," Tohsaka Rin introduced. "The Master of Caster in this Holy Grail War."
"Oh, hello, Miss Furina," Xia Yu winked at her and walked into the room with Medea. "Yo, everyone's here."
"By the way, hello to you too, Miss Savior," she sat down directly next to Ritsuka. "What, don't recognize me? We were just fighting side-by-side in the Faerie Britain not long ago. I rushed over the moment I sensed your aura."
"If it weren't for me uniting Morgan for you, heaven knows how big a price you would've paid to deal with the Horned God."
At this point, she looked left and right. "Why is it only you and Mash? Where's Da Vinci-chan? Is the order I placed with her last time ready yet?"
"Faerie Britain?" Fujimaru Ritsuka was full of confusion.
"Morgan?!" Artoria snapped her head up.
"Horned God?" The out-of-the-loop Tohsaka Rin blinked.
"Called for me?" In the Chaldea screen, the Great Da Vinci poked her head out.
"..." Seeing this, Xia Yu blinked and then looked at Fujimaru Ritsuka.
"Pardon me, let me ask first," she asked tentatively, "Looking like this... you haven't fought at the Grand Temple of Time yet, have you?"
"What temple?" Fujimaru Ritsuka looked completely baffled.
"Then the Seventh Singularity?" Xia Yu asked again.
"..."
"Sixth?"
"..."
"You've at least been to North America, right?"
"Oh, we've done that one," Fujimaru Ritsuka nodded.
"Such an early timeline..." Xia Yu sighed and reached out to rub Fujimaru Ritsuka's head. "No, you guys... I thought there was hope, but it turns out it's the naive version of you."
"What are those two at the Counter Force even doing? Faced with a crisis of this level, why didn't they send the veteran version of you? Just finishing the Fifth Singularity... you haven't even encountered a Beast yet. What can you do against her..."
"Wait, wait, wait, Miss!" The Doctor on the side was now wide awake. "You mean... you know a Ritsuka from much later?!"
"Ho, Romani Archaman," hearing that voice, Xia Yu turned to the screen. "It's been a long time."
"Or rather, should I call you Sol—tks, forget it, forget it."
She shook her head and shut her mouth.
The Doctor on the other side shut his mouth simultaneously.
"Miss Furina!" Fujimaru Ritsuka grabbed her hand, her eyes sparkling. "Since you know the future me, you must know a lot of information about me!"
"I know what you want to ask, but I won't say a thing," Xia Yu shook her head. "I can only tell you that you will succeed. As for the details? I won't tell you."
"Why?" Mash asked.
"There's a saying: if a program can run, don't care how many bugs it has, you'd better not touch it," Xia Yu said. "From my perspective, you saved the world. That's enough."
"If I tell you things here and change something we can't predict, causing the story to walk the path of ruin, that wouldn't be good, right?"
"But..." Fujimaru Ritsuka wanted to say more, but the Doctor interrupted.
"Miss Furina has a point, Ritsuka," the Doctor sighed and said. "Since we already know the result, just work hard in that direction."
"Don't do anything that creates unnecessary complications."
"...I understand, Doctor," Fujimaru Ritsuka lowered her head. Though reluctant, she knew the Doctor was right.
"Mhm, that's the way," Xia Yu patted her head with satisfaction. "Don't be discouraged; you're the Savior who saves the world several times over."
"Several times..." Hearing this, the Doctor narrowed his eyes and exchanged a look with Da Vinci.
Is this... some kind of reminder?
"Wait, wait, wait, the more I listen, the less I understand!" Tohsaka Rin was currently completely dazed. "Isn't this just a matter of a Holy Grail War? How did it get serious enough to destroy the world?"
"Indeed, is it really that serious?" Emiya Shirou also asked.
Although this was his home, he hadn't been able to get a word in until now, as the topic grew increasingly absurd...
"Tohsaka-kun, Emiya-kun," Fujimaru Ritsuka said. "Apologies. It might be hard to accept, but the current Fuyuki City is just an abnormal historical node separated from the normal timeline—a Singularity. It isn't a complete world; it's just—"
"Wrong," Xia Yu shook her head upon hearing this. "I probably know why the version of you from this time period came, Ritsuka."
She looked out the window. "The Counter Force is really heartless. It couldn't order around the future you, so it could only pull the current you to fill the hole. Heh, this isn't some special node independent of history; this is a real, authentic world!"
"They completely have the mindset of using you until the wheels fall off, throwing you into this Parallel World to fill the hole!"
"What? It's not a Singularity?" Fujimaru Ritsuka jumped up. "Such a thing..."
"It is not impossible, Ritsuka," the Doctor's voice was a bit bitter. "Apologies. During measurement, no anomalies were found, but once you entered this world... all data became inconsistent with a Singularity. I just hadn't found an opportunity to tell you."
"Wait, so you're saying you're an organization from a Parallel World currently saving the world, right?" Tohsaka Rin breathed a sigh of relief. "As long as it's not our side that's about to be destroyed, it's fine."
"Um, Tohsaka-kun," Emiya Shirou smiled helplessly and reminded her, "our world... seems to be in a very bad spot too."
"Exactly," Xia Yu said seriously. "After all, they are professional world-savers. What else would they be sent to this world for? Or do you expect the Counter Force to have a sudden discovery of conscience and find them a place to vacation?"
"..." Tohsaka Rin lowered her head.
"I still find it hard to accept," she whispered. "Destroying the world... is it that serious?"
In truth, what she couldn't accept was how she would write the report to the Mages' Association once this threat was resolved...
Did we save the world once under the leadership of a Savior from a parallel world?
To put it simply, it wasn't that she didn't believe it. After all, the Tohsaka Family's lineage was taught by Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, the Sorcery user who controlled the Second Magic of Parallel World travel. Even if others didn't believe it, the Tohsaka Family couldn't not believe it.
She was just in a state of pure ostrich-like denial; the recent succession of events had been quite a blow to her.
"Actually, it is," the Doctor said, unaware of her thoughts. "Didn't Miss Artoria say it? That Miss Firefly personally stated that the power of the Iron Cavalry of Glamoth comes from their enemy, The Swarm."
"If this power once goes out of control, according to the terrifying capabilities of the so-called Swarm in her words... destroying the world would not be difficult, would it?"
"Furthermore, Miss Furina," he looked at Xia Yu, "Chaldea is also quite curious about your origins."
"What, you Chaldeans can even cooperate with the larvae of a Beast," Xia Yu said with a smile. "And now you can't tolerate me, a mere traveler?"
===
T/N: The dihh wizard himself, Merlin