Those from Chaldea

This is the first village on our list. Get your hoods on and follow me, just like we discussed.

Understood. We're counting on you, Patxi.

Depending on how this manifesto goes over, we might need to make a hasty escape...

Halt! Who goes there!?

Uh... We are the army who will bring the tyrannical Ivan IV to justice!

We're here to deliver a manifesto to you from our leader! We ask that you read it, and give us your response to its call to action!

...You're with the rebel army...!

Okay, come on in!

...Huh. That was easy. I'm actually kinda worried now.

Everything seems to be all right, at least for now. Let's see what they have to say.

...So that's why we're hoping you can help us out with any food and medical supplies you can spare.

Maybe it's because he's grown old, or because someone's talked him into it...or because there's something strange going on in Russia right now...

...but all I know for sure is that the Tsar hasn't said one thing for the past three months, and the Oprichniki have cracked down on us harder than ever.

The only reason this village has escaped their wrath is because we're located far away from the closest highway, and because of how poor we are.

All that said, young ones, the Tsar is still the Tsar.

We Yaga must never forget what he has done for Russia, and for us.

If he hadn't come up with a way to combine us with Demonic Beasts, and turn us into Yaga...we would have died out long ago.

It's only by his grace that we are alive at all. So we cannot lend our aid to the rebel army.

...I see. Then I guess we're done here.

Come on, Fujimaru.

Let me finish.

...That said, the Oprichniki have been out of control. They are neither Yaga, nor the old humans.

If the Tsar refuses to keep them in check, we have no choice but to defend ourselves.

So the question is, are you strong enough to take them on?

That is what I would like you to show me.

...You heard the man.

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Oh, that's easy.

We have a number of strong Yaga here in our village, as well as some domesticated Demonic Beasts.

What do you say to a battle against them? Not to the death, but anything else goes.

...Doesn't seem like we have much choice.

Very well. Then please step outside.

Oho, interesting.

...I don't know who you are, but small as you appear, that seems a rather difficult task.

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I can't say I care to demonstrate my strength in this way...

...but I suppose we have no other choice. Very well, then. Let's give them a good show.

...

...I don't get it... Why must everything in this world be decided by strength alone...?

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I-I'm sorry, it's nothing.

Okay, Master, please go ahead and give Avicebron your orders!

That should do it. As you can see, they are still very much alive.

You mean, you really didn't kill a single one...? Are you...a Servant...?

Why, yes, I am.

I see...

We have heard of Servants before.

They say you are monsters from another world, and that you are terribly powerful, despite looking like humans.

I've even heard that some Servants possess power great enough to rival the Tsar...

...Are you one of them?

No, there is nothing particularly special about me.

I am just a simple scholar and golem keeper. A perfectly ordinary human, as you might find anywhere in the world.

...On behalf of our village, I promise to offer our full support to the rebel army.

Though I'm afraid we can only spare a little in the way of food and medical supplies...

That's okay. Even a little bit goes a long way.

By the way, I trust you'll be delivering your manifesto to the two neighboring villages as well?

Let me write you a letter of recommendation. It should help things go more smoothly when you visit them.

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...Although, I'm afraid we've lost contact with the other two villages recently. They may have been overrun by bandits, or Demonic Beasts.

If they have, could I ask you to give them a proper burial?

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Please store any food or medicine you can spare in this carrier golem, if you don't mind.

Now then, let us head to the next village.

This is terrible...!

Damn, this is definitely a no-go... Let's head to the next village.

...Um, shouldn't we look for survivors?

Don't bother. There aren't any.

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Hello, Shadow Border crew? Are you able to scan the area for signs of life?

We're tuning our equipment to make it capable of scanning for this world's life-forms, using that Yaga's life signs as a base...

...but the Shadow Border's scanner is an older model, so I'm told it will take time to enter the parameters and cross-reference it with the approximation data.

Suffice to say, it will go faster if you just look around, Avicebron.

...Understood.

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Gh... O-over here...

Master!

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Yeah... I was just knocked out for a while there...

What happened here?

Bandits... We fought them off as best we could, but we only lasted four days before they...

...Dammit. Are there any other survivors?

I'm afraid not.

Dammit!

Where'd these bandits run off to?

I don't know for sure, but...probably one of the neighboring villages.

We were just at one of those villages ourselves, so they must have gone to the other one.

I've got a map here. Come on!

I'm afraid we can't take you with us. But I can leave this food and some medical supplies with you.

Thanks. I think I'll be okay once I rest up. As for food, well...I'll figure something out.

If you're gonna go help the other village, then hurry, before they end up like ours.

...Then again, I guess you can't really call this a village anymore...

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Please take one of my golems so we can hurry there, Master. ...I would hate for us to arrive too late.

...Master, the golem I sent on ahead has found the village.

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Not good. They have lit a red signal fire.

Oh crap... That's a distress signal!

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I see shadows in front of us. They're Yaga!

Aaaah! Aaaah!

Outta our way! Outta our waaay!

Move aside, or we'll kill ya dead!

It would seem they are not interested in a peaceful discussion. I believe things will go faster if I simply knock them aside.

Right! Please hurry!

There they go. It would seem there is no need to follow them.

Guess they weren't actually trying to attack us.

...Right. If anything, it looked more like they were running away.

Some of them even broke away during the fight...

I am sure there are any number of reasons why they may have done so, but for the moment, perhaps our time might be better spent making haste to our goal?

...Hm?

What is it, Holmes?

It took some time to register the Yaga biosignals, but I've managed by using Patxi's as a base.

That said, at this point all I can do is use this data to determine if any Yaga are in the direction you're headed.

For example, at this moment, I can tell you that there are several hundred Yaga along your current path.

I rather doubt they are all bandits, so it would seem that there is still an opportunity to stop those who are.

Come on, Fujimaru, let's hurry!

What... What's going on...?

Oh, hello there.

Are you the people from Chaldea?

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Did you say Chaldea...!?

Is that a no?

N-noI mean yes, we ARE from Chaldea, but...

Ahh, thank you so much for all your help. I'm so sorry I couldn't thank you properly back then.

Oh, I didn't realize we'd left the distress signal burning. Hey, somebody put that fire out!

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What do you mean? Aren't you the ones who picked up our signal?

Sorry. We don't know what you're talking about.

How about you begin at the beginning, Gramps?

Yes, yes, of course. It was the second day of the bandits' attack.

We erected a barricade and did our best to hold them off from within the village, but none of us here are strong enough to defeat even a lowly foot soldier.

Nor, unfortunately, were the bandits.

Things may actually have been better had they clearly outmatched us.

Had they done that, they likely would have just made off with our possessions and spared our lives.

But unfortunately, they were just as desperate as we were.

A number of them were injured. I imagine they must have run into some fierce resistance at the last village they attacked.

So for them, things had reached a point where it was either kill or be killed.

Of course we lit a distress signal soon after the attack began, but we didn't actually expect anyone to respond.

The Oprichniki certainly wouldn't. They only exist to serve the Tsar, after all.

At best, we held out a sliver of hope that one of the nearby villages might send someone to help.

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Exactly.

...They were human, just like you, so at first, I thought they were a mage.

...I was certain we were holed up safely, with no way for anyone to get in. But suddenly, without any warning at all, they were just...here.

Then they approached the bandits, and asked them why they were doing something so foolish.

That enraged the bandits, so they turned their fury on the human, but whoever the human was, they defeated all of the bandits at once!

Though they were completely surrounded, the human used some kind of weapona thin sword or somethingto cut off a few of the bandits' limbs.

I couldn't tell if it was magecraft, or a trick you might see from a street performer in a big city.

And then, there was that frightening bloodlust.

It was like an immense...pressure emanating from this human. I think even a Krichat' would turn tail and run from it.

The bandits were clearly shocked. They must have realized they were facing an opponent they couldn't possibly defeat.

The ones who remained began to panic, scrambling to get away. They fled in the direction you came from.

We were still dumbfounded by what we'd just seen when the human audibly sighed and said:

"...What a headache. Once again, I have cut something worthless."

To me, their sigh sounded more than a little weary, but also...kind, and comforting.

Then, after treating the injured Yaga's wounds, they headed off into the mountains.

By this point, I had relaxed a bit, so I called out to them and asked their name. Their only reply was...

Then they clicked their tongue and went on their way.

... May I ask you a question?

Can you tell us what this person who claimed to be from Chaldea looked like?

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Well, strangely enough...nobody can seem to remember them clearly.

We do know their clothes were worn and they looked like they had been wandering for a long time.

And while their face was covered up by a hood...

...I distinctly remember they didn't have any fur, just like you, so I knew they weren't Yaga.

Then, there's another human here besides us...? Or maybe another Servant...?

Hmm. If this person is claiming to be from Chaldea, they must be an acquaintance of yours.

They may be one of the Heroic Spirits in Chaldea's records, like Atalante.

At any rate, the important thing is that they're not our enemy. In fact, they even seem to be improving our reputation.

... What do you make of this, Holmes?

Had Mr. Fujimaru summoned this Servantassuming that is what they areit would make sense for them to say they are from Chaldea.

But the only Servant we have summoned here is Avicebron.

...Another possibility is that it's a Servant summoned here by the land itself, like Ms. Atalante, but that too seems highly unlikely.

In which case...it may truly be another survivor from Chaldea.

One who simply happened to wander into this frozen version of Russia, much like us.

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Oh, I almost forgot. This is the rebel army's manifesto. Mind taking a look at it?

Ah, now I see. So Chaldea is allied with the rebel army...

Well, I certainly can't refuse after you've saved our lives. We will gladly support you in any way we can.

Great. That's two out of the three villages on our side. Not bad.

There's nothing we can do about the one that was wiped out before we got here, though...

Oh, right.

There was a single survivor at the village that got wiped out. Can you send someone there to pick him up?

If you can, it'd be nice for you to give him some work here. I'm sure he wasn't hurt too badly.

Well now, a survivor, you say... All right, I'll send someone out right away.

Great! Then that takes care of our mission.

Excellent. Now then, Patxi.

There is one more place we need to stop, so here is where we must part ways, though temporarily.

Huh? You want me to go back by myself?

Wouldn't it be quicker for you to return without us, since we won't be slowing you down?

Are you kidding? Avicebron's golems move way faster than I can.

...But, okay. I'll ask the village chief to help me snag a bicorn.

All right, I'll give our report to Atalante. Just make sure you get back to the stronghold as soon as you can.

...Man, it still feels weird, having people being so kind like this.

Great. Well, guess this is goodbye for now.

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Anyway, I doubt you guys're gonna betray us or get cold feet all of a sudden, but don't take too long coming back, you hear?