Prologue

Yes, I'll gladly pray for you.

And if I may ask something in return, could I take a picture of you holding your chocolate?

Ah yes, that's wonderful. All right, say cheese.

You want me to bless your chocolate?

I applaud your initiative. The only problem is, I'm a little less saintly than usual in this Spirit Origin.

Then again, I suppose there's no harm in trying. Okay, I'll give it my best shot!

H-how was that!?

... ...

That's strange. By all accounts, I should be synonymous with Valentine's blessings.

I've been steeling myself for this all week.

I expected to be swarmed by an endless throng of people clamoring for me to bless their chocolate, but...

... ...

Very well. May your chocolate be blessed with happiness.

And may it bring you exactly the joy you wish for!

Phew.

... ...

Wow, Johanna. I can't believe you've been at this since this morning.

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Oh, if it isn't Master and Mash. Yes, of course I'm okay!

Really, I would expect nothing less from an event celebrated all around the world.

As pope, I love having something meaningful like this to pray for. And it makes everyone so happy, too!

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(Gasp) They saw me!

Oh, no you don't!

Eep!

Teehee, hello, Your Holiness. Your smile is as lovely as ever.

Hehe, it's a little embarrassing to hear that, but thank you, Nursery Rhyme.

And you must be Jeanne d'Arc's little sister.

Not exactly.

It's a little complicated to go into now, but suffice to say, I'm a younger version of Jeanne! Call me Lily, please!

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Now I get it! Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Lily.

So, um, do you think it would be okay for me to get a blessing on my chocolate even though I'm Santa!?

Yes, of course! All right then, here goes.

May this chocolate bring its recipient even the tiniest amount of joy.

Yaaay! Thank you, Your Holiness!

You're very welcome!

(Sigh...) I really am nothing like my older self, am I?

I wish I could be a little more...imposing...

Why would you wanna be imposing? Your whole thing's being little and cute.

Oh! Older me!

... ...

...? Y-yes? Can I help you?

Jeanne Alter?

... ...Well, well...

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Nothin'.

What's with that creepy smile? Cut it out! You're being rude to Johanna!

Oh, wait, I see. Is this about getting your chocolate blessed?

Me? C'mon. Couldn't care less about that crap.

No, I just thought this was...interesting.

...Interesting?

Yup.

But hey, if you're gonna just do it, I'm not gonna try to stop you.

Hmph. I can't believe she was all cryptic like that and then just left.

Ugh, I can be so obnoxious sometimes!

Did I do something to offend her?

Me too.

If you had, she wouldn't have been subtle about it.

I hate to say anything in my older self's defense, but that's true.

I don't think you did.

Jeanne Alter isn't exactly one to hide her disdain.

That's for sure! When she hates something, you'll know!

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？！

Then I suppose this was just what the stars had in store for us.

Anyway, would you like a blessing too, Nursery?

Uh-oh. It looks like we have an emergency call, Master.

？！

Right!

Come on, you two. We should go with them.

'Kaaay!

You guessed it: it's a minute Singularity.

I see. How big is it, and where is it located?

As Singularities go, it's...well, minute. But the location is a bit, um, vague.

We can't pin down its exact location, and what we do have is pretty...soft.

Soft!? No Singularity should ever be described as "soft"! Though at this point, I guess I shouldn't rule anything out!

There's only one real problem area: we've detected a ton of magical energy.

We think it's most likely a Holy Grail.

I see. Then we should collect it as soon as possible.

Luckily, there are quite a few Servants who are compatible for this Rayshift.

Mash, Johanna, Jeanne Lily, and Nursery Rhyme all fit the bill.

And there's even one more we're calling as we speak.

Got it. I'll go suit up as soon as this briefing is done.

Understood.

Leave it to me!

Oh, am I going, too? That's fine with me, of course!

But what sort of Singularity is it? If it's calling for me, does that mean it's like a fairy tale?

I'm afraid we just can't tell, even with Sheba observing it.

Hmm, I see.

It almost seems like...an old timey European town?

Exactly.

It looks like a perfectly ordinary town you could find just about anywhere.

It does seem very peaceful. If there's a war going on here, I don't see any sign of it.

That's just it.

We've been looking at this place from several different perspectives, and it always seems completely uneventful.

There are no Demonic Beasts roaming the streets, no signs of war, nothing.

That's good! Peace is good!

And yet, it's still a Singularity...

Well, the good news is, it doesn't seem like it's having a huge effect on the Foundation of Humanity.

So, I'm not going to say you can just take it easy in there, but I think you'll at least have opportunities to relax a bit.

Oh, it looks like I'm the last to arrive. Sorry I'm late.

And there's Rama, the last of our Rayshift-compatible Servants.

I see. With a lineup like this, we should be ready for anything.

I am a bit concerned about sending children there, but

We're not children! We're Servants!

Yeah!

Yes, of course! Sorry about that!

Johanna, Rama, I'm counting on you both to keep those two safe!

Yes, of course.

Absolutely! You'll have nothing to worry about!

Hmph, hmph!

Okay then Fujimaru, as soon as you and Mash are ready, we'll get this Rayshift underway!

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