Act Four: Remedy for Intoxication, Part Two

(Crackle)... Looks like our connection is still hanging in there. I am seeing alcoholic fumes in the air on our end too.

I probably shouldn't be angry at this point, but I can't help it. Today isn't even a holiday!

Just look at all these plates and wine bottles strewn about. Whoever was here must have been holding parties left and right. What a headache!

Are you okay, Master? These fumes should have little effect on us, since we are no longer human, but what about you?

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Well that won't do. As a wet nurse, part of my job is to make sure my charges stay healthy.

Lord Iemitsu used to have a weak constitution too. I'll never forget his brush with smallpox as long as I live...

Anyway, now that you're one of my charges, Lord Fujimaru, I'll have to make sure you stay in good health too.

Please, I implore you not to push yourself too hard.

I know you have a strong resistance to poison, Master, but that makes it more concerning that you're feeling these fumes' effects anyway.

So I'm also going to ask that you please be as careful as you can.

And if you notice any change in your condition, anything at all, please let us know right away, Master.

Alcohol, then? So that will be our next little hurdle...

Have you noticed something, Lady Sessyoin?

Oh, no. It's just that I have almost no experience with alcohol.

So I'm...a touch nervous that I might accidentally become intoxicated and do something...unbecoming.

Not to mention these habits can get so very...steamy. So, if for some reason I start stripping mine off...I do hope you'll stop me.

Normally, I would second that request in the strongest possible terms...but right now, you should pay attention to whatever's up ahead!

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Hm? You know these women?

Yes, we do. I can tell from the analysis that they're probably Servants from Chaldea.

But, something is different about them...

Well hello there, my lords. I'm Mata Hari, and I'll be your otsugi today.

Here, have some of our wine. It's reeeally good, I promise.

And I am Scheherazade, an attendant here at the Ooku. I will also be your otsugi today.

Our job on this floor is to welcome and entertain you. Come, you must be tired...

You need not think about anything here. Just sit back, eat, drink, listen to my stories, and enjoy yourselves.

Do that, and you may even reach your desired destination someday...

I see. Nobutsuna did mention I was not the only Servant that had been trapped.

He said Kama had personally chosen a couple to be her underlings, and assigned them different roles in the Ooku.

This must be who he meant.

Then she must have messed with their memories and behavioral principles at the time, turning them into puppets she could control.

Oh, yes, yes. I can tell at a glance that their minds have been tampered with.

I tried running my Five Approaches to Meditation program to counteract it...but I'm sorry to say the effort bore no fruit.

It must have been a poor match right at the root level.

I have so little to be proud of, and this program is one of the few things to make that list.

So, I'm a little hurt at how completely it was rendered impotent here...

...I didn't know even a woman of your talents could feel like sulking sometimes...

Oh, but this is no time to be caught up in that! What's an otsugi?

Otsugi are the women in the Ooku responsible for the altar rooms, tea implements, utensils, and things like that.

But they also have one other very important job.

So important, in fact, that you can't be an otsugi unless you can do it.

What is it?

...Party tricks.

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Yes, party tricks! Or parlor tricks, or stunts, whatever you want to call them! You know, things like that!

Whenever there's a holiday, or a party, or some other special occasion, it's the otsugi's job to liven it up! Though I'm not entirely sure why that is!

At any rate, that's why my first criteria when choosing a new otsugi is whether or not they can do any tricks.

I, uh... I see...?

That said... While I don't wish to speak ill about your acquaintances...

...I have to say that their particular choice of outfits is much too...provocative.

I don't think I would ever have chosen them to be otsugi myself if they insisted on wearing those, no matter how talented they might be.

The Ooku's attendants are devoted solely to serving the shogun and his wife.

Just being sexy does not qualify one for the job. In fact, I would say it's very possible to be too sexy.

Yes, I'm sure. Those women may be beautiful, but they are also Servants, which is to say, fighters.

They would never be right for your Ooku.

But for this Ookua labyrinth built upon the mistaken belief that it is a place of lust and carnal pleasurethey couldn't be more at home.

Indeed, I would be surprised to learn that they were NOT included in this...peculiar setting.

...

Loath though I am to say it, they are our enemies now.

I am certain, then, that we would be wise to refuse their invitations to eat, drink, and follow them elsewhere.

Yes, of course. Going along with their requests is absolutely not an option. That said...

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Right. I suspect that's why Kama chose them for this role.

And if so, that could make things somewhat difficult for us.

So, um, are you saying these women are extremely talented?

It's no exaggeration to say that both of them went down in history for their skills as performers.

So if they were to try to use their skills to their fullest to entertain all of you...

...it would be an incredibly powerful assault.

What are you waiting for? There's plenty of food and drink. And of course, I'll be glad to dance with you.

I once seduced entire nations and manipulated wars with my gyrating body. Now, you get to drink it in as muuuch as you like.

Yes, I too have plenty of food and drink, and no end of stories with which to regale you.

We can let this banquet stretch on and on into the night. The food, the wine, my stories...all of it can last for eternity.

I will never bore you, nor let you kill me. All I ask is that you drink in my stories.

Though food and drink may be essential for living a full life, we have no need of them now. Stand back.

But you have to get intoxicated. The Ooku won't let you move on if you aren't.

If you don't get intoxicated now...you will come to greatly regret it.

If it were me, I could never bear to face the end from which you can never return....

So please. Please drink, and enjoy yourselves, as you listen to my stories.

The sooner you do that...the sooner we can take you to an even greater paradise...

I'm not so senile that I need your help getting anywhere, young lady. I'm still more than capable of getting where I want to go on my own two feet!

...Well, Lady Par's feet, in this case, but you know what I mean!

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(Crackle)... I thought you would say that. I still have yet to do a detailed analysis, but...

Grrr, our connection is still unstable... (Crackle) Okay, for now, you need to incapacitate them.

We cannot do anything else to help them until you do that!

(Crackle)... Master, Mata Hari and Scheherazade are both part of the reason we came here.

They're two of our precious Chaldea companions. We have to rescue them from this Ooku!

Please... Please try to help them!

Worry not. I struck with the back of my blade.

You seem to be unusually afraid of death...but you have no cause for concern here.

My hands shall lead you to an ecstasy deeper and more titillating than death could ever offer...

(Huff, huff) They may not have great physical strength, but they're exceptionally skilled at striking their opponents' weak points.

Thank goodness we somehow managed to neutralize them.

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Fortunately, it seems only their minds have been tampered with. The rest of their Spirit Origins appear to be intact.

Now we just... Oh?

(Hiss... Crackle...)

Uh oh. It looks like we're finally losing our connection...

(Crackle)... I guess you will just have to handle this on your end...

...ster, Master! Can you hear me!?

It's the same...rules as with Yagyu! So you need

Oh my, they've gone completely silent. As they say, all things in this world are transient.

N-n-n-now what do we do? Don't we need to keep that connection going!?

How are we supposed to figure out how to save those two now!?

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Got it! I just have to do the same thing I did back then, right!?

Okay, I'll draw out the power in the card and use it to cast the spell.

Here goes nothing...

Nnn...

Huh? You guys... Good morning! It feels like forever since I last saw you!

...What was I doing until now...? I think I was...

Aah! Y-you scared me. And where did you learn to do such a beautiful dogeza!?

I don't remember it very well, but I have the impression that I made a great deal of trouble for you. I may not deserve your mercy, but please, whatever you do, don't kill me...

It would seem they're back to their old selves. Wonderful.

They do not appear to have any memory of the time they spent under Kama's control. I suggest you fill them in, Master.

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I see. It's all coming back...

Yes, me too. I remember I was watching a story from the Far East in the library right before I lost consciousness...

Specifically, I was watching the feel-good movie "Abaren-Boy Yoshimune" to learn more about authentic Japanese dogeza.

The next thing I knew, I was in a place that seemed like it could be a scene from that very movie. At first, I thought I was dreaming...

So Da Vinci, Holmes, and everyone else were also abducted just like we were, huh.

And they might not have been turned into pawns. They might be locked up in the innermost sanctum, or

Or they could be turned into the materials used to build this Ooku. What a horrible fate.

But, I suppose the fact that Par and Kiara are the only other ones here must mean that all my acquaintances...my comrades in arms...the benevolent kings...

All my dear friends from Chaldea must have been captured.

I am terrified of dying, yes. I cannot abide the thought of it.

But neither can I abide the notion of losing something so irreplaceable as my precious friends through my own inaction.

So... Please, Master, let me help you.

Count me in, too. I might not be much help in battle, but I can at least act as a decoy.

Go ahead and use me however you see fit, Master. I'll do whatever it takes to save everyone.

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It is a mark of my own failure that I must ask for your help, even knowing how depleted you both must be from your own capture.

But right now, the lives of Lord Iemitsu and everyone else are at stake.

We need as much help as we can get. You have my thanks for offering yours.

It looks like our connection to Chaldea isn't coming back anytime soon.

I'm afraid we'll have to try and make our way through the rest of the Ooku without Mash and Sion's help.

It is worrisome that we can no longer contact them, but we have gained two capable new companions in their place.

Let's do what we can to keep our spirits high.

...Oh? Is that still not enough to allay your concerns, Lady Kasuga?

Forgive me. I wish I could tell you everything will be all right, but I still have a great deal to learn myself...so I'm afraid that a single sermon will not suffice to dispel all unease.

S-sorry about this, Kasuga-no-Tsubone. I know I'm not exactly the strongest Assassin around...

Oh, no, it's not that! I would never say anything so rude to anyone willing to help me save Lord Iemitsu!

I'm immensely grateful to have you and Lady Scheherazade on our side!

My only concern is, well... It feels silly to even mention it under these circumstances, but...

...as the one in charge of the Ooku, I just can't help but feel a bit uneasy about...

?

Aah! I'm sorry, I just can't ignore this feeling that the Ooku's very dignity is at stake!

Um... Do you think you could at least wear something on top? Anything at all?