The Horror! A Corporate Spy Sneaks In! (Probably)

Hey hey.

Oh, if it isn't the president of Secret Assassin Inc. Do you have a report for me?

Something like that, yeah.

Very well then. You may not have an appointment, but I will hear you out anyway.

A good CEO knows how to be flexible with her schedule, even in the middle of an intense crunch time.

The thing is, we couldn't find anything. Not one single, solitary thing.

What? But then

But it's not like we were slacking off. We did our job to the best of our ability.

So I think the fact that we couldn't find anything might just mean something, if you know what I mean.

？！

Well, one thing I can now say for sure is that whoever's behind this isn't from the Servantverse.

And while I'm at it, here's a little bonus info.

You know this weird place we're in now? I think it's called a Singularity? Anyway, we know for a fact that it showed up right at the same time your employees went missing.

That doesn't make any sense. If that's true, why did we only see it after we'd handled the delivery backlog?

I knew it.

It might not seem like it, Mash, but it actually does make sense.

This was just the information I needed to solidify the hypothesis I've been mulling over. Now I know for sure that there's only one possible answer as to who could be behind all this.

So who is it then?

Well, since I expect they'll be showing up soon anyway, I don't see any need to beat around the bush Holmes-style.

If the mastermind isn't from the Amazones CEO's universe, they'd have to come from Chaldea.

Fou!?

That also explains why we didn't see this Singularity sooner: because they, or someone helping them, tampered with our observation equipment.

It's not an easy thing to do by any means, but it's definitely possible if it was an inside job.

That said, there aren't many people capable of pulling the wool over my eyes, even if only temporarily.

To pull that off, they'd need to have top-notch intelligence, resourcefulness, and decisiveness.

Someone like an expert tactician, a scholar, an inventor...or a clever general

Come on, give me a break here. How am I supposed to show my face now that you've hyped me up that much?

Huh? Master?

That's...Hektor and Paris.

Although based on the way Paris is looking around, it seems he's as much in the dark as we are.

What's going on?

I have no idea what's happening, but I know it isn't what I expected when you told me to come with you.

Oh yeah, guess I forgot to fill you in, didn't I?

Basically, I've been on the enemy side all this time. Like, right from the start.

Majiwhaaa!?

No way! Really!?

Okay! In that case, I'd be glad to help you!

You just want me to stand in Master's way here, right? Okay, I'll do my best!

？！

I'm still not sure what's going on here...

...but if this is what Big Brother decided, he must have a good reason for it.

He always makes the right decision about everything, so I'm sure it's no different here.

He kept Troy safe for all those years, after all. I have every faith in his judgment.

So as his brother, I'll go along with that judgment now and ask him why he's doing this later!

Man, there's something to be said for being a little TOO understanding... Not that I don't appreciate it.

What's going on, Hektor? Why are you doing this?

You were a conspirator from the start!? Even when you went there to inspect the relaxation facilities!?

Sure was. As for why this old man's doing this... I don't think it's my place to tell.

When you get right down to it, this is really just a personal issue for me, the boss, and the CEO there.

So, uh, what now? Would it be better if I signed for the package first?

Or would it get you more fired up if I refused to sign? Probably the latter, right?

You...you stink of Greek men... And what's worse, you are a traitor! A corporate spy!

Uh, no, I can promise you that business has nothing to do with this.

Industrial spies have been an irredeemable evil ever since the dawn of the galaxy!

They are the indelible ink that stains healthy business ledgers everywhere.

If left to their own devices, they will turn a company's focus from sound business practices to devious scheming.

And no matter how advantageous we Amazons may be in talks where my CEO Morning Star speaks louder than words...

...we cannot stand by and let such a wonderfulI mean, barbaric and irrational postapocalyptic economic landscape become the order of the day!

Apart from that Freudian slip I'm going to pretend I didn't hear, we're in lockstep. Such spies are terrible!

Huh? What about my company's intelligence network? Hohoho, pay no mind. That's just marketing jargon.

Yeah! And we're basically shadow all-rounders-slash-marketers or something now!

Man, I can already tell it's gonna be a huge pain getting Hektor to talk now that he's made up his mind not to.

I'm betting his lips are sealed just as tight as his guard. And we can't be sure he'll spill the beans even if we win.

That said...we definitely won't get anywhere if we don't even bother to fight.

Fujimaru, you have my full permission to give him the "talking-to" he's clearly got coming!

？！

Fou fo fou, fooou!

Raaaaaah! At last, I no longer have any need to hold back!

!!!

Hoo boy, I am reeeally not looking forward to this. And hey, for what it's worth...

...I'm only doing this out of pity and obligation, and this old man does feel bad about stabbing you all in the back.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still doing this, but my heart won't really be in it. Ready, Paris?

I am Hektor of the Shining Helmet, wielder of Durindana. If we're gonna do this thing, then let's do this thing!

Hey hey.

Oh, if it isn't the president of Secret Assassin Inc. Do you have a report for me?

Something like that, yeah.

Very well then. You may not have an appointment, but I will hear you out anyway.

A good CEO knows how to be flexible with her schedule, even in the middle of an intense crunch time.

The thing is, we couldn't find anything. Not one single, solitary thing.

What? But then

But it's not like we were slacking off. We did our job to the best of our ability.

So I think the fact that we couldn't find anything might just mean something, if you know what I mean.

？！

Well, one thing I can now say for sure is that whoever's behind this isn't from the Servantverse.

And while I'm at it, here's a little bonus info.

You know this weird place we're in now? I think it's called a Singularity? Anyway, we know for a fact that it showed up right at the same time your employees went missing.

That doesn't make any sense. If that's true, why did we only see it after we'd handled the delivery backlog?

I knew it.

It might not seem like it, Mash, but it actually does make sense.

This was just the information I needed to solidify the hypothesis I've been mulling over. Now I know for sure that there's only one possible answer as to who could be behind all this.

So who is it then?

Well, since I expect they'll be showing up soon anyway, I don't see any need to beat around the bush Holmes-style.

If the mastermind isn't from the Amazones CEO's universe, they'd have to come from Chaldea.

Fou!?

That also explains why we didn't see this Singularity sooner: because they, or someone helping them, tampered with our observation equipment.

It's not an easy thing to do by any means, but it's definitely possible if it was an inside job.

That said, there aren't many people capable of pulling the wool over my eyes, even if only temporarily.

To pull that off, they'd need to have top-notch intelligence, resourcefulness, and decisiveness.

Someone like an expert tactician, a scholar, an inventor...or a clever general

Come on, give me a break here. How am I supposed to show my face now that you've hyped me up that much?

Huh? Master?

That's...Hektor and Paris.

Although based on the way Paris is looking around, it seems he's as much in the dark as we are.

What's going on?

I have no idea what's happening, but I know it isn't what I expected when you told me to come with you.

Oh yeah, guess I forgot to fill you in, didn't I?

Basically, I've been on the enemy side all this time. Like, right from the start.

Majiwhaaa!?

No way! Really!?

Okay! In that case, I'd be glad to help you!

You just want me to stand in Master's way here, right? Okay, I'll do my best!

？！

I'm still not sure what's going on here...

...but if this is what Big Brother decided, he must have a good reason for it.

He always makes the right decision about everything, so I'm sure it's no different here.

He kept Troy safe for all those years, after all. I have every faith in his judgment.

So as his brother, I'll go along with that judgment now and ask him why he's doing this later!

Man, there's something to be said for being a little TOO understanding... Not that I don't appreciate it.

What's going on, Hektor? Why are you doing this?

You were a conspirator from the start!? Even when you went there to inspect the relaxation facilities!?

Sure was. As for why this old man's doing this... I don't think it's my place to tell.

When you get right down to it, this is really just a personal issue for me, the boss, and the CEO there.

So, uh, what now? Would it be better if I signed for the package first?

Or would it get you more fired up if I refused to sign? Probably the latter, right?

You...you stink of Greek men... And what's worse, you are a traitor! A corporate spy!

Uh, no, I can promise you that business has nothing to do with this.

Industrial spies have been an irredeemable evil ever since the dawn of the galaxy!

They are the indelible ink that stains healthy business ledgers everywhere.

If left to their own devices, they will turn a company's focus from sound business practices to devious scheming.

And no matter how advantageous we Amazons may be in talks where my CEO Morning Star speaks louder than words...

...we cannot stand by and let such a wonderfulI mean, barbaric and irrational postapocalyptic economic landscape become the order of the day!

Apart from that Freudian slip I'm going to pretend I didn't hear, we're in lockstep. Such spies are terrible!

Huh? What about my company's intelligence network? Hohoho, pay no mind. That's just marketing jargon.

Yeah! And we're basically shadow all-rounders-slash-marketers or something now!

Man, I can already tell it's gonna be a huge pain getting Hektor to talk now that he's made up his mind not to.

I'm betting his lips are sealed just as tight as his guard. And we can't be sure he'll spill the beans even if we win.

That said...we definitely won't get anywhere if we don't even bother to fight.

Fujimaru, you have my full permission to give him the "talking-to" he's clearly got coming!

？！

Fou fo fou, fooou!

Raaaaaah! At last, I no longer have any need to hold back!

!!!

Hoo boy, I am reeeally not looking forward to this. And hey, for what it's worth...

...I'm only doing this out of pity and obligation, and this old man does feel bad about stabbing you all in the back.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still doing this, but my heart won't really be in it. Ready, Paris?

I am Hektor of the Shining Helmet, wielder of Durindana. If we're gonna do this thing, then let's do this thing!

Guuuh, I'm exhausted. I can't move another muscle...

Man, I knew she'd be packing a hell of a punch, but it's still hard dealing with so much unchecked power.

Sure, there are ways to hang in there against it if you have to, but they all hit diminishing returns real quick.

I guess I could've tried setting a few traps, but I get the feeling she'd just smash clean through 'em...

So yeah, I think I've done more than enough to hold up my end by now. You win! We surrender.

Grrr! (Special Translation: You're a dead man...)

Uh, guys? Think one of you could tell her we surrendered before she ends up killing us!?

Sure, you might've surrendered, but you're still not gonna tell us anything, right?

Well, no, I'm not.

I promised I'd keep my mouth shut, and besides, I think it's better that way for all of you, too.

Besides, you've only got ten floors left to go, so you might as well keep going and see her for yourself.

Her? So the mastermind behind all this is a woman then?

...

...

？！

What? Why is no one saying anything?

I'm guessing it's 'cause the pieces are starting to fall into place for them. Hell, maybe some especially sharp people managed to figure it out from the start.

Well, good luck. As for me, my poor old knees and back gave out a while ago, so I'm gonna give them some much-needed rest. Oof...

...

While part of me would like nothing more than to continue teaching this industrial spy the error of his ways, time is of the essence.

So I will leave him to you, my subcontractors, to do with as you wish. I don't care which of you gets him.

Yaaay! Can I stab him? Can I?

？！

So you've got some kind of weak-point-targeting torture in mind for him? Brutal! He's all yours then!

Yes, that's right. Our enemies deserve neither pity nor mercy. I am glad to see you are starting to understand the harsh rigors of the business world.

Um... Just to make sure I'm reading between the lines correctly, you want me to make an appointment for him at the sauna, right?

All right, let us keep going.

There are only ten floors, and ten deliveries, left to go before our showdown with this depraved mastermind.

That said, it is the final deliveries when exhaustion-induced accidents are most likely to happen, so remain vigilant!

Guess nobody's coming to pick us up, huh... I'll just have to do it myself, then. Hup.

I still can't move a centimeter. I'm sorry.

Guess I'll just have to look after you too, then.

Ah well, guess it is my fault you got mixed up in this. And hey, at least you're pretty light right now.

A piggyback ride!? Yaaay!

It's been ages since you last gave me a piggyback ride, Big Brother! This is gonna be fun!

Man, nothing ever gets you down for long, does it?

You know, I do feel bad for involving you in this, but you DO realize you're partly to blame too, right?

Huh? What do you mean?

Did I do something wrong?

Nope. Not at all.

Then again, in another sense, you kind of did, even if you didn't realize it. Then things just kept snowballing from there, and the next thing you know, we're forty stories up in this tower...

Hmm. Now that I think about it, minus the tower part, it's a lot like what happened with Troy. I guess you're just unlucky when it comes to this sort of thing.

???

Ah, don't worry about it. Master and co can handle it from here.

And speaking of Master, what do you say we take him up on his kind offer and go take a nice hot bath?

Sure thing! I can even wash your back again for the first time in forever!

Yeah? That'd be great. I never thought we'd get a chance to do that again.

I gotta say, there're some things about being a Servant that are really

Hektor? Are you okay, Hektor!?

Ghh... Maybe it was a mistake to give my little bro a piggyback ride right after a tough battle!?

No, wait. I just realized I forgot to account for the sheep!

All right, Paris, this is as far as I go. Just leave me behind and go on without me.

Huh? No way! I'm not going anywhere without you!

Ugh, would you just listen to me andHm?

...

Ooh, this is that masked Caster's golem. I think it's going to take us back to the facility!

Master must have sent it to come get us.

Good grief...

Well, thanks for going way out of your way to pick us up, pal. I appreciate it.

If you don't mind carrying us, I'm happy to take you up on it. Just don't let go of us on the way back, 'kay?