Section 2: Pulsation

...I'm here to make my regular report, General Amami.

Earlier this morning, June ●, 1945, during the ■th Holy Grail War...

...we confirmed territory boundary conflicts with three Servants.

...Hmm. Earlier than usual.

Given the total number of Servants materialized, this falls within an acceptable margin of error.

We have also confirmed that their classes are Archer, Saber, and Lancer.

Each one established their own territory and started to fight.

Given the other classes' traits, and the fact that they're currently competing with each other...

...we have not yet apprehended them or defined them.

I see. Things got a little out of hand last time, so do make sure things go off without a hitch this time around.

Yes, sir.

Three Knight classes, then? Tell me what we're dealing with here.

The Saber was a modern-day swordmaster.

The Lancer was an old-fashioned samurai warrior wielding a spear.

And the Archer... Well, I have her True Name right here.

...Is this right!?

What is it?

M-my apologies, sir. It seems the Archer is...

...THE Oda Nobunaga.

...What!? Did you say...Oda Nobunaga?

Yes, sir. That's what our scouts are telling us.

...

...Heh.

...Are you all right, sir?

...Yes, I'm fine. What's the latest on our Heroic Spirit Soldier deployment?

We've deployed two garrisons at key points in the Imperial Capital.

They're currently focused on maintaining the peace and conducting force reconnaissance.

I see. Continue to monitor those three Servants. The survival of our Imperial Capital may depend upon it.

Yes, sir!

...You're dismissed.

Understood, sir.

...Hehe.

...Hehahahahaha!

Haaahahahahahahahaha!

At last...!

At last, you have returned...!

Lady Nobunaga!

Aww, he's still alive.

Get away from him.

...Hmph. Another chance to eat him wasted.

...Are you all right, Master?

Well, it looks like you're all right now. Looks like your saliva worked, Oryou.

Hehe, there's nothing Oryou's saliva can't cure. Too bad. If he'd died, I could've eaten him.

...

It would seem you're all right now. She never left your side this whole time, you know.

She never gave me a chance to eat you. Stupid Saber.

？！

To your question, we are in my humble detective agency, tucked away in a corner of Tokyo.

And this is my assistant, Oryou. My apologies for not introducing her sooner.

Yaaay.

She's not a Servant, but she's just as capable as one.

？！

That is a super-classified Oryou trade secret. Still, you're really durable, for a human.

And I'm Sakamoto Ryouma, a Rider. Maybe you've heard of me, if you know any Japanese history?

Haha... I'm honored. I never imagined I would end up in the history books someday!

Yaaay. This calls for sekihan for dinner.

You are very knowledgeable. Maybe even more than Oryou.

A Meiji Restoration hero, huh...

？！

I see. So your name is Fujimaru, and you're the Master of Chaldea.

Nope. Not at all. Far as I can tell, you look to be a visitor from elsewhere.

I know some of them are backups, but to command that many Servants...

Truly impressive.

？！

...As for that Servant who seems quite concerned about your well-being...

...maybe it's time she introduced herself as well?

I'm...a Servant...I think.

...Was I Okita? Do you know me, Master?

So...you're THE Okita? Or maybe, a different aspect of her?

No, I shouldn't be surprised. Anything could happen here.

Short for "alternative," right? When a different side of a Heroic Spirit manifests, if I'm not mistaken.

？！

...Okita. Is that my name? If you say it is, Master, then it must be.

So this is an Alter...

Still, I didn't think this was a particularly common occurrence.

Tell me, do you happen to know any other Altered Heroic Spirits?

？！

That IS a surprise. You really know that many, do you?

You are not just any Master, it would seem.

...

Right, then. Why don't I explain what is happening here.

Oryou, would you make some tea for our guests?

...Oryou?

...Huh!? Tea? Right, tea.

Certainly, Boss. Oryou'll even throw in some saliva, too. Oryou's saliva can cure anything, after all.

？！

That's right. I'm glad I won't have to waste any time explaining Holy Grail Wars, then.

...As you know, a typical Holy Grail War is a battle between seven Servants for the Grail itself.

We are in a sort of variation of that. There are no Masters here, just a...LOT of Servants.

Many of these Servants are forced to fight tooth and nail just to secure one of the seven classes for themselves.

Sort of. Defective Servants are killing each other in an attempt to secure a proper class.

Think of it as a sort of...selections stage preceding the actual battle itself.

There have been rare cases of Rogue Servants, yes, but nothing like this.

Here, every Servant is acting on their own, without a single Master among them.

In fact, you're the very first Master I've ever seen.

？！

...Then, does that mean I'm one of those Servants?

I'm afraid I can't speak to that...

All I know is that you're the only Servant I've seen here with a Master.

What are you doing here with him, anyway?

...All I know is...when I came to, Master was there.

I feel like I have to stay with him, no matter what.

Hey Ryouma, maybe she imprinted on him?

You know, like when a baby bird thinks the first creature it sees is its mother?

Come now. Just because YOU did that doesn't mean

...And that's my cue!

Senpai! Are you all right!?

？！

What the hell? That scared Oryou.

Hey, what kind of monster are you? A whatmon?

It looks like some of Master Fujimaru's friends have joined us. I'm impressed they managed to slip through the Imperial Capital's quarantine...

Quarantine... Exactly!

We're still figuring out how it happened, but what we do know...

...is that Fujimaru got trapped there during a Rayshift.

Normally, we don't have any issue tracking him, but for some reason, it was tricky this time.

But being the unparalleled genius that I am, I was able to brute-force my way to reestablishing comms!

I'm just glad you're all right, SenpaWait, what happened to your stomach!?

I-I see...

Are you sure you're all right!?

？！

Relax. A little spit and he'll be good as new.

Spit...!? Um, Senpai, can I ask who you are with?

Oryou's Oryou. Just who the hell are you?

Yes, yes, just wait your turn, Oryou...

Let's try that again. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I'm Sakamoto Ryouma, a Rider.

I take it you're Master Fujimaru's friends? You're affiliated with this Chaldea place he spoke of?

So you're the ones who helped Fujimaru out. Thanks for that.

You seem like the sort of Servant with a good head on his shoulders.

How about it, Fujimaru? Has that been your experience so far?

？！

Got it. If that's what you think, I'm willing to give them a chance.

But I do want to make sure of one thing first. What are you hoping to get out of all this, Rider?

I suppose I should've seen that question coming.

...Hmm. There's no sense lying about this, so I'll just be direct.

I want to either retrieve or destroy the Holy Grail. I'd even be happy to let Master Fujimaru have it if he wants.

Hmm, and why is that? I don't see how an arrangement like that could possibly benefit you.

You've got me there... Someone else said something real similar to me a long time ago.

All right, let me put it this way. The Holy Grail is the cause of a lot of suffering for the people here.

I want to help them and put a stop to it. That's all.

You want to help them? That's it? You're really just going to say it flat out like that, in that lovely baritone voice of yours?

Heh... Hahahahaha! You really got me good! Talk about an emergency!

？！

Oh come on, you have to admit it's funny. I mean, this guy couldn't be more suspicious if he tried!

Still... Hmm, I suppose I will take you at your word. I do know Sakamoto Ryouma to be a Heroic Spirit who is certainly worthy of trust.

Huh? Why is that, Acting Director Da Vinci?

Oh, I took a gander at his file, and everything he's saying right now lines up with how he was in life.

He's a very greedy person. He always sought wider recognition more than individual gratitude.

People like that might talk a good game, but they don't lie. Don't you agree, Fujimaru?

？！

I, uh, I see...

All right then, Rider, I'm counting on you to take good care of Fujimaru.

As for us, we're Chaldea, the Security Organization dedicated to the Preservation of Humanity.

You can think of us as Fujimaru's backup team, his operational support, if you like.

I am Leonardo da Vinci. Most people just call me Da Vinci, though!

And I'm Mash...Mash Kyrielight. I'm one of Senpai's Servants.

...Hm.

So, you're...Sakamoto Ryouma.

Even though you're a master of the Hokushin Ittouryu, your greatest achievement did not involve drawing your sword...

...but in helping to negotiate the Satchou Alliance in an effort to restore imperial rule to Japan. You were a hero of the Meiji Restoration.

Wow, Ryouma. Oryou didn't know you were so famous. Yaaay. Now we can have sekihan tomorrow too.

Mmm. How kind of you.

Let's see, Da Vinci, was it?

It seems you've already gotten a good look at what's going on here in Tokyo, yes?

Righto. Honestly, this sorta stuff happens all the time, so it's not really anything new for us. But let me fill you in just in case.

That place you're in now? Tokyo is the only thing that exists there. Basically a self-contained island.

？！

It's shut in by a series of invisible walls, which makes it impossible to get in or out using conventional means.

It's a bit like a Singularity in that it's quite separate from regular human history.

？！

A Singularity, huh... Yeah, that sounds about right.

...You're spot-on.

Nobody, whether human or Servant, is able to set one foot outside the Imperial Capital's limits.

It's completely isolated, even from history itself.

Then, how is Senpai supposed to get back?

Oh, don't you worry about that, Mash.

The fact that we're able to communicate like this means there should also be a way to Rayshift him out of there.

Though we'll need a lot more information and a much more stable connection to improve our odds of success.

Fortunately, since I'm such an amazing genius, I've already mapped out the Singularity's structure.

Near as I can tell, it's erecting a Bounded Field around several different points to maintain the whole area's integrity.

I've narrowed down a few points that seem like likely candidates, but I can't say anything for sure without seeing them for myself...

Not to worry. What you've said has been a big help, believe it or not.

I already planned to investigate this place myself anyway.

Sorry, the simulation we're using to observe you there just went kinda haywire.

It looks like somebody's jamming our signal. Whoever it is, they must have some kinda jerkwad engineer working for them.

It's going to take us a while to sort all this out, and we'll have to disconnect while we do it.

I'm afraid this is all we can do for now. Let me send you the points to investigate before we go.

...All right, Fujimaru.

We'll keep an eye on things from here as best we can, but make sure you watch your own back too.

Yes, please be careful, Senpai!

B-by the way, is that Okita there with you? She seems...kind of different...

I was too busy with my analysis to pay much attention, but now that you mention it, she DOES have a different air about her, doesn't she.

It's not just the air. Her whole color palette is

Who was that...?

？！

...Hm.

...I see.

What's wrong? You hungry or something?

...You're more than a little clueless about some things, aren't you, Oryou.

Anyway, we don't have any time to waste. I need to find out what the other Servants are up to.

Since your wound still needs time to heal, can I ask you to stay here and watch the place while I'm gone?

He means weaklings should stay put. Sit... Stay! Good small fry.

？！

...I'll keep Master safe.

Yes, please do. That will be a big help.

Say, I have an idea. If you have the time, maybe you'd like to help me a bit with my work?

Things have kind of piled up while I've been away from the office, you see.

I'll be happy to pay you, of course, and you wouldn't have to go far out of your way. Just handle whatever you're comfortable with. That should be fine.

Since this area is a good ways away from the three Servants' territories, it should be pretty safe.

？！

Ah, yes. It's a sort of additional rule specific to this Holy Grail War.

As long as a Servant with an official class is inside their own territory...

...they receive special support from the Holy Grail.

...I don't have any support.

That's why I specified they have to have an official class.

Only once a Servant has won a battle for a class, and then been registered as that class...

...will the Holy Grail begin to support them.

You can't compete with other Servants over territory until you've done that much.

？！

Essentially. All of the contestants are competing for territory.

Incidentally, since I'm a Rider, I have some leeway to ignore the other Servants' territories and go where I please.

Luckily for me, that's a handy thing to be able to do when you're conducting an investigation.

I'm glad you catch on so quickly. I've never been part of a Holy Grail War quite like this either.

There are still a lot of things I'm unsure about, and the only way to find out more is to do the legwork.

You mean those strange creatures the Archer was commanding? It seems so, yes.

The effect seems to differ depending on the Heroic Spirit and class, so in the end, it still comes down to investigating matters directly.

？！

All right then, I'm going out for a while. Thanks for keeping an eye on my office in the meantime.

Oryou will bring you back a frog.

？！

See you soon.

Hey, Ryouma. Are you sure about them?

You mean the Master? I think we'll be fine. He seems like a perfectly nice person.

I do consider myself a decent judge of character, you know. Plus, it seems like his friends are rather capable as well.

No, Oryou meant to ask if those weaklings will be okay watching your office alone.

...I'm shocked. I never thought you would ever worry about a human.

Have you taken a liking to him?

Yes. He looks yummy.

Ah, I see...

Don't worry, they'll be fine. If I'm right, then that Servant is...

What? Does your stomach hurt?

No, no, I'm fine.

Anyway, this certainly isn't the first time, but...

...it looks like this Holy Grail War is going to be quite a pain in the neck.