Not Even The Almighty Hand Can Reach Here

...Rayshift successful, Senpai.

19th Century London. The Fourth Singularity has already started to correct itself.

There's still a great deal of mist, but it's a normal mist. It's not the demonic fog, so it should be safe for the residents!

？！

It should gradually go back to normal. The iconic scene of people and carriages on the streets should return soon enough.

That's all thanks to you. Eventually, we will need to fix all the other Singularities like that, too.

Well, Rayshifting to the Singularities and corrections to the abnormalities are all unprecedented, so it's not that there aren't any concerns...

Enough of that. I'm sure we'll learn more as we go. For now, let's just keep moving forward!

Understood, Doctor.

Fou, foufou.

Oh, Fou. You're with us again? When did you...?

Um, now that we've finished the small talk, can I get down to business?

Can you hear me, Da Vinci? Do we need to prove our existence and adjust Sheba's elevation angle this time?

Actually, are you sure you can leave all that to me and the staff? You can always come back, you know!

Ahahaha! So you caught me already. I guess it was inevitable.

Don't worry so much, Dr. Roman! We're in a Singularity that's already finished correcting itself.

Besides, this place is close to the modern age. It's the 19th century. With the abnormality corrected, proving our existence shouldn't be too hard, even for you!

I know, but...!

I just wanted you to understand what was going through my mind when I turned around and realized you had disappeared. I was afraid! I was petrified!

Hardly half a second had gone by when I thought, "Huh? What the heck is that darn technical advisor doing? Is she playing?"

Relax. Think of this as training in case of an emergency. In case there comes a time when I'm not around.

Okay. It's been a while since I've been in London. Now that the pesky demonic fog is gone... Let's see...

Oh, darn. Things have barely gone back to normal. How disappointing.

And where did we Rayshift to? Soho? We can't have any fun here!

(Seriously? Is that supposed to be a critique?)

...I wanted to go to Hyde Park.

I wanted to go to the department store to shop with all the wonderfully fashionable ladies, and then head over to a club to socialize with the gentlemen...

I'm not asking to get to be a noblewoman, but I had at least hoped to cut loose a little.

？！

How expected, Senpai! This is so like Da Vinci! First, she Rayshifts just to take a break, and now she wants to enjoy herself by flouting the usual gender roles of the time!

Okay, calm down, Fujimaru and Mash. Don't get swept up by that oddball's whimsical nonsense.

Y-yes. U-um, Da Vinci! The reason why we Rayshifted here this time was not so we could go sightseeing, but...

Of course. There's nothing I don't know.

I'm impressed, Fujimaru. You're starting to get me.

？！

Don't worry. Of course I know. I know that a small abnormality was found in this Fourth Singularity.

And I have a general idea of what it is. Our destination is the British Museum in Regent's Park!

That's right, Senpai. But the British Museum is...

Yes, Senpai...

？！

First of all, I was the one who observed the abnormality. Well, there was also something else that bothered me.

And I wanted to see it myself, so that's why I'm accompanying you. Of course I wasn't here to sightsee.

I do not tell meaningless lies. Because such a lie would eventually point towards the truth.

That's why, whenever I make any nonsensical lies, it's to ride along with someone else's lie. Right, Romani?

Uh...um... If you say it that way, I...don't really have a response to that...

Kyu, fooou!

Whoa. I sense some criticism coming from over there. Come on, Fou, don't suspect the pretty big sister like that.

... (Sigh) The nerve on her to call herself "pretty big sister" is rather impressive...

Yes, impressive!

Yep, yep.

Hehe, that's the spirit!

？！

This version of me is the true Mona Lisa! Accept no substitutes! That makes my smile the world's greatest smile. Right?

Fou, kyuu...

Though to be honest... Yeah, I'm in no mood to smile right now.

If only we were at least near Westminster, we could have swung by the National Gallery.

？！

Senpai, I believe it's an art museum in Trafalgar Square.

Correct. It seems some of my work is displayed there. And there's also a piece of work that I was the inspiration for.

Fou, fooou.

...

？！

Oh...my apologies, Master. I was just thinking about what Da Vinci meant.

Things that she directly worked on or things that she was the inspiration for remain years after...

To have your work preserved in museums, and have it receive praise and admiration from those who see it...

I assume many people have seen it and been affected by it...

...I just thought that must be a very wonderful thing.

Foufou, fooou...

Yep. It's one of the perks a cultural Servant like her can enjoy. Most heroes make a name for themselves through the legend of their battles and victories.

But it's truly rare to leave a lasting imprint on the world through your work alone. In that sense...

...Leonardo da Vinci has left an indelible mark on this world. She truly earned the title of "universal genius."

It's the absolute truth, and Da Vinci is still considered to be the personification of that genius.

Heh heh. Keep praising me, Romani. Yes, I am not only a helpful and a beautiful big sister, but I am a true genius to boot.

The "beautiful big sister" part is a bit much. By the way, the work of yours exhibited in the National Gallery is a painting, right?

Yep. A laaarge painting. Hehe, did you think it was some mysterious code?

No, not really. That would have been interesting, but I only thought that for a second, okay?

What about the piece that you were a model for? Is that a painting too? A portrait?

Fooou!

Wrong. Verrocchio, my mentor in painting, used me as a model to paint a legendary being.

Legendary... What was the theme?

？！

Well, it was the archangel Raphael.

!!

Fooou!

Eh...! The archangel Raphael...!? Isn't that angel almost always depicted as male?

The archangel Gabriel is usually the one who is frequently depicted as female.

Oh, but wait. If the male Da Vinci was the model...

It doesn't matter which gender I was back then...

My mentor Verrocchio modeled the angel after me. Besides, it's up to the artist to decide how to depict his subject...

Fou...

In other words, the angel was not drawn to look like Da Vinci...

But the angel was drawn based off of Da Vinci's way of life... Is that what you mean?

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Hahaha. Thanks for those interesting reactions, Fujimaru, Mash, and Romani.

Well, however I looked, I was extremely beautiful. Archangel or not, bring it on!

？！

Oh I see. Are you thinking of my portrait as an old man?

Well, I won't deny that. That was, after all, how I looked at one point.

But, you know, changing one's appearance is like changing clothes.

...You say that so casually, but I can't really imagine that.

Hehe, you think so?

...We've managed to get to the basement.

Fou!

Yes, Fou. That's right. The Mage's Association hasn't been completely fixed just yet.

Most of the British Museum itself has been restored, but this area is still the way it was before...

Thank goodness. If the correction of the Singularity had progressed much further, we wouldn't have been able to infiltrate the place so easily.

Especially for a place so labyrinthine. This place is the Mage's Association's ultimate secret.

This place is like a type of armory. It stores a bunch of rare and extremely precious books.

And yet, we got in so easily...

That's also made it easy for shady characters to sneak in. Do you feel it, Mash?

Yes, I sense some magical energy up ahead. Senpai, please be careful.

Fou!

I suspect they are spellbook-type enemies! I thought the effects of the demonic fog were no more!?

Thick clouds of Mystics naturally lay dormant in Britain. Even without the demonic fog, if we are in the time when reality is correcting the age itself...

...the fact that there are man-eating books around isn't surprising to me at all. Here they come!

That sounded completely crazy, but she said it like it was normal... Anyway, yeah, it's time to battle!

All enemies defeated. Good work, Senpai.

...Thank you.

Not at all. Actually, this is fun! My job normally doesn't let me accompany you like this.

？！

To freely walk around, huh...

Since we are shorthanded at Chaldea, it somehow became my job to build up the anti-infiltration program.

It's not a particularly taxing job, but day and night, it's just been work, work, work.

Buuut, ever since you formed a contract with me, I've been able to get involved in battle...

Now that you mention it... It is rare for you to be with us from investigation to battle.

Right? That's why I'm really happy. I'm excited! If it was fieldwork, it would have been even better.

Fieldwork...?

If I'm outside, I can go all-out. Making a bonfire in a place like this is frowned upon, you know.

(I didn't think it was true, but Leonardo really seems like she's out camping.)

I heard that, Romani.

Oh, sorry... Wait, that wasn't all bad. Was it?

Fou...

Anyway. So, is this labyrinth the source of London's abnormality?

Da Vinci seems to be convinced that it is, and the fact that we encountered demonic books is all the proof we need.

But the readings on my side aren't all that clear.

The Mage's Association bounded field that was originally there has reappeared, and it's interfering with our ability to gather information.

Who knows? Man-eating books hardly seem strange to me.

And besides, I might have made a mistake. I was still human, after all.

...Da Vinci...making a mistake?

...

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Ahahaha. You saw through me. You're right.

Like you said, I probably don't make mistakes. I'm almighty! While many desire to be so, I truly am!

That's why I'm a bit saddened. I didn't want our reunion to be like this.

During my time, I had not a single equal.

I was a genius, after all. And not just any genius. A universal genius.

The talents that I was born with were not limited to any single field. Painting, sculpting, architecture, carpentry, anatomy, natural science...

Ah yes, and magecraft. All fields of human knowledge were my playground.

There was nobody who was equal to me. Everyone trailed behind.

...

...Leonardo.

But still. There were a few who could match me in a handful of fields.

For example, yes... You.

Guuu... Uuuuuuuuu...

...!!!

...Magical energy detected! From what I'm seeing, it looks like a ghost-type enemy!

Shall we do this? I came here to see you...Michelangelo.

...

...

Goodbye, Michelangelo.

While it was only where the arts were concerned...my dear friend, you had a gift that was comparable to my own.

But I wonder. Why were you hanging around the Mage's Association library?

Or perhaps... Did the abnormality of the Singularity cause any lingering spirits lurking around the British Museum...

...to fall underground? Haha, perhaps the truth really is something silly like that.

Fou, fou.

Either way... Michelangelo... I'm a little relieved.

I'm glad you didn't end up in the Throne as a Heroic Spirit. At least your soul should rest in peace now.

Rest in peace...the other uomo universale.

...

...Da Vinci...

Fou...

？！

Hm? Well, it's hard to say...

He really was somebody truly special to me, but I'm not sure how I can express our relationship.

I'm a genius. He was a genius. I'm sure you know the name Michelangelo.

Y-yes. Michelangelo is a widely known artist, also known as a Renaissance man.

Especially his sculpture, paintings, and designs were considered the work of a true genius.

Yep, yep. Right. I'm a big fan of his "David" as well.

...Well, yeah. I guess I did like him. I'm not sure if you'd call it love, though.

...

？！

...Well, maybe not that much.

Fo, fou!

That was a quick answer.

Hmmm, I pity Michelangelo. Well, I don't know what he was thinking while he was wandering around.

I died before him. Maybe it's this? His feelings just...accumulating here...

And a lot of things happened to get them all twisted and warped. Something like that.

Y-yeah. If you're satisfied with that, then I'm fine with it too.

The fact that you were acting different than usual... Well, I'll just say that was my imagination.

Anyway, the minute abnormality in the Singularity seems to have stabilized now.

Okay, let's prepare to head back. Good work everyone!

Yes, Doctor. Good work.

Hehe. Okay Doctor. Can you Rayshift us back without my help?

I can. I can! I've always done it... Wait a minute, have I done it properly!?

Usually I make adjustments in the background... Ahem. I'm joking. You've always done it fine.

Ah, wait. Wait, wait. Have I never done adjustments on my own!?

Ahaha, that's fine! You're not alone! I'm here, and so is the staff!

And of course, Fujimaru and Mash!

If I say it, there's no mistaking it! It's lonely doing it all alone. Let's have some fun!

Uh, that's not what I mean!

Fou, kyuuu!

...That happened a while ago.

It was sometime after fixing the Fifth or Sixth Singularity. Yeah. It was right before going to Uruk.

(Sigh) ...That brings back some memories.

That was supposed to be a lesson for you, but that message came right back to me.

Yeah...right. It hit me hard.

I can understand Michelangelo's feelings now. I see. I can see why he would turn into a troublesome ghost.

(Sigh) It sure is painful having to continue to work even after being left all alone.