In the control room.
After hearing the announcement, Ritsuka and Mash rushed over without even touching the lunch Mash had prepared.
Seeing them arrive, Roman and Naoki—who were already in the control room—waved them over.
"Chief, why did you suddenly call me here? Did something happen?"
"You could say that. First, take a look at this."
Naoki pressed a button on the console in front of him, dimming the lights in the control room and projecting a screen into the air. On it appeared CHALDEAS, now glowing entirely in bright red.
On the surface of CHALDEAS, seven points of light were scattered across various regions.
"Fujimaru, Mash—like I mentioned earlier, King Solomon created seven Singularities in the past, distorting the foundation of human civilization and making the Incineration of Humanity possible. To save civilization, we must correct all of them."
"Yes, we understand, Chief. So you called us here because of these Singularities?"
Roman nodded. "Although we've gathered various information from Natsukawa, as a precaution, we've been re-examining the Singularities. Now, we've finally identified the one with the weakest distortion wave among the seven."
After operating the console, Roman zoomed in on the European region of CHALDEAS. Two points of light appeared—one over France and another over England.
"The first Singularity is located in France. The timeframe is confirmed as the year 1431, right in the middle of the Hundred Years' War between England and France."
The eras and locations of the Singularities were always periods of immense historical significance. In this case, the Hundred Years' War between England and France clearly qualified as such. After all, it was this war that allowed France to unify internally, laying the foundation for future expansion across Europe. On the English side, the conflict sparked the rise of nationalism.
If something went wrong with this war, the impact on European history would be profound and far-reaching—and European history itself played a pivotal role in human civilization.
"Fujimaru, Mash—this will be the first Singularity you experience, and Chaldea's first mission. This isn't like Fuyuki, where Rei already eliminated nearly all the enemies. So when correcting the Singularity, the first thing you must keep in mind is your own safety. Understood?"
"Well, even so, you two can relax and don't need to stress too much. After all, if anything goes wrong, we'll handle it for you. Don't worry."
Unlike the serious Roman, Naoki calmly reassured them. "Let's go over what you need to do in the Singularity. First, investigate the cause of its formation. Why did this Singularity appear? What's abnormal within it? You must uncover and correct these irregularities. That's your top priority."
"And second, retrieve the Holy Grail. The reason the Singularity formed is because King Solomon and the 72 Demon Gods sent the Holy Grail to each of these seven eras, causing anomalies. Only by retrieving the Holy Grail can the Singularity be completely erased."
Correct the anomalies and retrieve the Holy Grail.
That was the mission when fixing a Singularity. Despite their prior experience in Fuyuki, both Ritsuka and Mash still felt tense.
"So… do we leave right away?" Ritsuka asked.
Roman shook his head. "No, this is just a notification. To ensure the quantum transfer doesn't fail, Chaldea still needs some preparations. And you two need time to get ready as well. The actual departure will likely be the day after tomorrow."
"I'll inform you when it's time. Until then, make sure you're in good condition."
They would depart for the first Singularity in two days.
After leaving the control room and walking down the corridor, Ritsuka still felt slightly tense—like being told the final exam was in two days.
"Fujimaru."
Naoki's voice came from behind. Ritsuka turned to see her Chief approaching, holding two cans of drink.
"Chief? Is there something else?"
"No. I just saw you walking off looking uneasy, so I came to talk. Here, have a drink. Then let's sit down and have a proper chat."
Seeing Naoki already sitting on a corridor bench, Ritsuka, holding her coffee can, had no choice but to sit beside him.
Naoki opened his coffee can and took a sip before beginning. "Still feeling nervous?"
"Yeah… a little."
"I thought so. It's natural to feel nervous when doing something you've never done before. But this is only the first Singularity—the one with the weakest distortion. The anomalies inside likely aren't very strong. With Senior Hinako around, I doubt you'll face any major danger."
Hinako would be joining them too.
Hearing Naoki's implication, Ritsuka felt slightly relieved. "By the way, Akuta-senpai wasn't summoned this time. Does she already know?"
"More or less. Besides, she doesn't need mental preparation."
"R-right…"
Ritsuka recalled how Hinako had fought in Fuyuki. She seemed completely accustomed to battle—definitely not the type to need to mentally prepare like Ritsuka did.
(So I'm the burden here… I need to change that quickly.)
"By the way, how's your training going?"
"Euh—!"
The sudden question made Ritsuka, who had just started feeling better, immediately slump. "That… training… Well… In terms of results… decent, I guess? Hmm… I think so."
"Is that so? I was also trained by Merry. I have great faith in her abilities—hopefully it's effective for you. Though, she does have a rather… unusual sense of humor. It might give you some trouble. If it does, let me know."
(Don't say 'might'—it's already been incredibly troubling!)
Ritsuka took a deep breath. "Then… can I tell you now? About the difficulties Miss Merry has been giving me?"
"Huh?"
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
A few minutes later.
In the training room, Merry—enjoying her masterpiece of the past few days—immediately sensed a giant "DANGER" sign flashing above her head as Naoki stormed in with a murderous glare.
And when she saw Ritsuka following behind him, she instantly understood what had happened.
"T-that… sweetheart, I can explain—wait, wait! Don't draw Excalibur! If you attack me, the Round Table will definitely agree to execute me! I'm not married to you yet—I don't want to become a Heroic Spirit right now!"
*THUD!*
Naoki slammed the scabbarded Excalibur against Merry's head. She instantly passed out. Naoki then grabbed her legs, slung her over his shoulder, and muttered, "What a troublesome woman… Sorry, Fujimaru, let's talk tonight instead. I need to take her back and teach her a lesson."
"Tonight, maybe during dinner, come to my room. See you then."
"O-okay… Huh?! Tonight?!"
Only after Naoki disappeared from sight did Ritsuka finally grasp what he had said.
Go to the Chief's room at night? Huh? Seriously?
(C-could it be…?)