2.6

If forced to give my honest opinion on religion, I would consider it as something like safety wheels for human civilization. Bereft of education, bereft of reason, human beings did not respond to rational input and logical reasoning. They responded to baser instincts, things such as hunger or desire or fear, impulses that compelled one into instinctive reactions and degraded our capacity for civilization. That was not to say they were bereft of kindness or empathy, but human nature was not instinctively compelled to consider things in the long term. When given over to one's impulses, people acted in the moment, they acted foolishly and they acted out of their own interests over that of the greater whole.

As such, I sought to attack such basic mental weaknesses by the knees. I did not do anything too rash such as outlawing religion, primarily out of my understanding that such decisions were untenable and a disastrously short-term approach more than anything else. Human nature was not inclined towards passive submission when forced to abandon a central cornerstone of their beliefs and personality, and all too often the unity religious institutions offered served as such a cornerstone. They may respond positively to a strong leader heralding such change, but unless properly managed those changes would wither away to nothing in the absence of such a leader. More gentle approaches were required to facilitate lasting change such as a more comprehensive education system, the toppling of the Church from their monopoly on moral superiority and more established social services programs so as to reduce reliance on such charities.

I wouldn't say that I was at war with organized religion per se, and I knew that in the era I lived in, with the tools available to me, that establishing my viewpoint upon my people as a whole would have done less than nothing. In all likelihood, more forceful methods would simply inspire a counter-culture reaction once the next generation would be raised up in such a society. As such, I was determined to establish a more lasting foundation for humanity's amiable divorce from their own superstitious fantasies.

There was the consideration that the superstitious did exist though, as I'd had ample opportunity to observe with Being X. At the same time, there was a difference between knowing such things existed and believing that they existed. I for one knew better than to rely on some vain, megalomaniacal, entity that thought of itself as a god. A less educated person likely would not have, and it is these people I was protecting by establishing my policies so. These supernatural entities may fashion themselves as gods, but if Being X had taught me anything, it was that such creatures possessed only as much power as we allowed them to. I took no small amount of pleasure at the knowledge that my efforts would likely foil Being X's manipulations at finding another patsy, and if I had started the ball rolling towards a society independent and uncaring of mankind's superstitious past then I would be more than content. At times, I privately wondered whether any of the cardinals in Roma celebrated with holy wine when I died. I certainly wouldn't have been surprised if they had.

As such, I wasn't completely comfortable with Ortensia. In fact, as disconcerting as the Priest's company was, I actually preferred his company to the nun's. I think it was due to the fact that Kotomine approached the subject of faith from a more philosophical manner, meaning there was a degree of rational reasoning in his viewpoints, whereas his disciple seemingly did not. It was bearable earlier, when I had a mission to do and an objective to focus on and any irritations Ortensia might invoke could be ignored in favor of that mission. But now that we were walking side by side, the interaction was not so much a mission as it was a social setting, which was something I found to be much less pleasant.

"I must thank you in saving that hopeless pupil of mine." Ortensia sighed, her pace light and without a care in the world. "I've been working on him for the past few years and, while he's certainly been a stubborn one, he's been progressing well enough over the course of his training that I would have been very sorry to lose him."

"Indeed." I commented blandly, secretly hoping the nun would take that as the conversational dead-end that it was. Unfortunately, it was not to be.

"He's rather naïve all things considered, which isn't the worst thing in the world." She mused aloud. "Very focused on his training, a bit of a fascination with blades though, which is rather old fashioned, but it pleased Father well enough. Are you familiar with blades, Your Highness?"

"….not particularly."

She smiled at that, before launching into an explanation on the nature of forged and magically created blades. It was completely and utterly uninteresting and, if truth be told, I would have probably figured out an excuse and been long gone by now if I had my way. Unfortunately, while the information Ortensia was giving me probably wasn't important, it could be, and so I forced myself to listen.

Emiya was undoubtedly the Church's catspaw in this war. Someone trained by one of their own, summoning a Servant in one of the most powerful classes while having a pre-established relationship with the War's mediator? It was obvious that whatever game Kotomine was playing here involved Emiya as a principal chess piece, which meant that almost certainly I was going to have to go against the Church in some way or form, which in turn would prompt a response from them in due course. It likely wouldn't be a large response, not if Kotomine wanted to maintain an image of neutrality, but there were plenty of methods of applying pressure without actually carrying out a direct response. Should Emiya choose to utilize more destructive methods, to be more morally dubious in the execution of his tasks, I was fairly confident that Kotomine would turn a blind eye to his actions. Whether the boy was cold blooded enough to do that was another thing, but considering how many surprises the boy seemed capable of pulling off I wasn't about to write it off. As such, any information I could gain was valuable.

However, that did not mean that I had an infinite supply of patience for that information, and as Ortensia continued to speak I found myself turning to face her. "You mentioned that you wanted to speak to me about something earlier?"

Ortensia looked at me blankly for a moment, before realization flushed into her eyes. "Ah! Oh of course, Holy Kaiserin. I suppose I lost track of myself, hadn't I? My apologies."

I ignored my discomfort, barreling through regardless. "Accepted. Now, what is it?"

"Well, it's nothing quite so severe and I know how forward this may seem" She noted demurely. "But may I presume that you were the cause in the sudden surge of panic everyone seemed to have recently?"

I frowned. "Pardon?"

Ortensia sighed, a thoroughly unconvincing sound, and placed a hand on her cheek. "Well you see, around fifty-seven minutes ago advanced sensors in Kyogamisaki and certain communications arrays in Mikawa detected a spike in magical energy that sent more than a few people nervous. Our assets had to move somewhat more quickly than usual to waylay the military response, and of course the matter was settled before such inconvenient news spread. Nonetheless it was a surprise, and they came worryingly close to sending several outbound reports on the phenomena. Quite problematic, I'm sure you understand."

Ah. Well, at least I knew that I could be sensed then. An interesting bit of information, even if it was a bit concerning that the Holy Church was somehow capable of silencing a major military installation. I wasn't exactly aware of the security and resources invested into that facility, but I couldn't imagine a handful of priests in their silly little robes neutralizing the entire branch. I also couldn't help but wonder if the Church had been up to any such shenanigans in OZEV that we simply failed to catch at the time, though I suppose it was impossible to know now. "I suppose I was then. Nothing too problematic, I hope?"

She shrugged. "The Fifth War has been in the making for some time, and the Holy Church has learned from the disasters of the Fourth War. Father wouldn't quite care about matters of secrecy and the like, but that certainly doesn't mean secrecy is abandoned all the same. I would simply ask that your more…obvious abilities remain in use at night. While we would be capable of maintaining secrecy in those circumstances, operating in daylight is another matter entirely."

I frowned at that. The conventional logic of the war was to operate in the darkness, which while reasonable in the pursuit of secrecy, also largely narrowed one's flexibility on strategic decisions. I certainly wasn't fond of limiting my abilities and operational capacity for the sake of secrecy, but I suppose her words made sense with the information Ortensia was privy too. If nothing else, I could make a token effort not to make too much of a nuisance of myself in public.

"I'll try, though if another Servant chooses to operate in the day with the expectation of a free ride from me, they would be sorely disappointed." I shrugged, thinking back to Saber. Ortensia smiled.

"Consideration is all I ask, Holy Kaiserin."

We continued to walk down the road, silent as the grave, and I tried to hold my tongue. I really did try, I gave my honest, best, effort at it, and I was fairly certain Ortensia meant well. As biased as the Church turned out to be, their actions were still largely beneficial to me so far. There was no value in antagonizing them here and now for some useless formality that didn't matter much anymore. I'd spoken to bishops and deacons, I'd visited Roma and spoken with all manner of Papal seat warmers, I wasn't about to be baited by a little girl with a fancy towards believing herself a nun. It just wasn't worth it.

"Holy Kaiserin?" Ortensia asked again. I felt a nerve fire along my forehead and found my mouth already moving to respond. I sighed, bracing myself as I turned to face her.

"Do not call me that."

I tried to keep my tone casual and non-confrontational, but I probably screwed that up. Isabel already had her helmet back on so I couldn't exactly read her expression, but Ortensia's curiosity was plain enough to see

"That title. Holy Kaiserin. It's inaccurate and I dislike it."

Ortensia tilted her head in confusion. "But the Pope-"

"Whatever Achilles or Eugene or whoever else came after them may say, I never directly accepted their offer." I gritted out as patiently as I could. "OZEV is no more a successor to the Sacrum Imperium than the Ildoan government is a successor to the reign of the Caesars, no matter what else Roma may think."

To be completely truthful, if I'd simply been more alert and aware, I wouldn't have had to deal with 'Holy Kaiserin' this and 'Your Excellency' that. Not too long after the conclusion of the war, and after I'd done the requisite amount of international goodwill visits to the rest of Europe to assure them that we weren't going to annex them or whatever else, I'd made a final visit to Lateran City. Diplomatic efforts had gone well with the Pope at the time, the only thing of note I would have said being that he was rather more interested in personal conversations and the like than discussing matters of state and philosophy, which I merely shrugged and went along with. Eventually the meeting came to an end and I'd left, returning to Germania to have a very long, very well deserved, vacation.

Except the vacation never properly appeared. That Pope I talked to, Achilles I think, died not too long after that visit and for some blasted reason proclaimed me Kaiserin on his death bed. If that was the end of it the aftermath could have been managed well and his proclamation merely the final words of a dying man, but then his successor properly ratified it as well, claiming OZEV as the proper successor of the Sacrum Imperium and all that entailed, whatever that meant. It was a ridiculous assertion anyway, the underlying foundations between the alliance I'd built a far cry from the bureaucratic horror show that was the Imperium, but people didn't seem to care. In their view, the woman that had defended everyone from the Communist menace had been properly recognized by the Holy See, and that was more than enough for them to start calling me Empress.

I'd spoken to Achilles's successor not too long after, reasoning that perhaps this was an ill-advised attempt to bully me into concessions like the Church taking half of Ildoa or something. But as it turned out, that wasn't the case. He merely considered it a matter of course, and more a sign of divine intervention and the like. I'll admit that after he said that his reasoning wasn't very clear to me from there as I'd simply assumed that Being X had somehow gotten to the Church. I'd also never returned to Lateran City, since I was convinced that me arriving there for a third time would prompt those cardinals to host an ambush coronation. I'd privately considered whether this was a means for Eugene to participate in political pageantry against me and thought that by crowning me like they did with Buonaparte they'd be able to grab some political brownie points, but as far as I was aware that was never the case. The man, and all his successors, simply proclaimed me as such and then went about their business.

Whether by a last man's dying whim or calculated political stratagem or even interference by Being X, the conclusion was heartrendingly clear. Decades of having to endure a long list of titles that concluded with nonsense like 'by the Grace of God, the Holy Kaiserin, ever Augustus', etc. etc. and it was the most painful thing I've ever endured every time it came up. It was as though they found more and more obscure titles to pin to the end of my name at every available instance, and I'd had to endure and grit through it all, because even I wasn't so foolish as to give up such easy political good will. But that was business, and having to endure that was a necessity of the position I'd taken by leading OZEV. I really rather not be referenced as such every time I was summoned in the same eternal battle that was likely to be my afterlife.

Ortensia looked at me curiously and for a moment I wondered whether Ortensia would continue playing the fool, saying she wouldn't understand or whether she would pretend ignorance or some other nonsense. Thankfully the moment passed, and the nun inclined her head slightly.

"As you will, Caster." She said, bowing her head in response. "Is there anything else you would like to ask of me?"

I sighed in relief, too satisfied by an opportunity to end the conversation quickly to consider how to use Ortensia's ear tactically and merely shook my head. "No, no. Nothing else for the moment. Now if you'd excuse me, I'd like to speak with my Master now and-"

She smiled. "Of course, of course, say no more. Goodnight Caster, I hope you well with the wars to come."

I waved her off, happy to be rid of her as she began walking back up the road. I wasn't particularly worried about her safety, we were so close to the Church that only an idiot would try anything against her. Nonetheless, I waited until the nun had passed out of sight before turning towards Isabel. "I presume that you have some understanding of the situation?"

She hesitated before nodding. "Somewhat, Your Excellency. Something to do with a hidden society of mages and a contest for a wish? The Priest didn't go into very much detail, owing to the fact that the girl quickly put up a fight with the boy and the Priest after….well, you know."

I frowned internally though I nodded at her summary. Kotomine would doubtlessly be aware of the fact that Isabel wasn't my Master; Lancer had noted my Master's gender as a male last we spoke, and the fact of the matter was that Galliasta likely came up to Kotomine when he was to register as a participant in the war. That the Priest hadn't blown Isabel's cover to the other two was curious, more an indication of intent than anything else. I suppose I could see it as him following through with his precept of neutrality, but I already knew that he was invested in this war. He wouldn't have covered for me if he had nothing to gain by it.

That idea prompted another thought, and I turned to Isabel. "Did you see anyone else in the Church? A guy in blue spandex? An injured woman?"

Isabel blinked, before shaking her head. "No, ma'am. Should I have?"

I paused at that. So, the Priest had kept his word to allow them refuge within the Church for only as long as Saber had yet to be summoned. My gaze scanned our surroundings before shaking my head.

"No, it should be fine." I mused aloud, waving her concern off. "That would be what I expected, all things considered."

"Unfortunately, I'd need for you to keep everything you've learned tonight secret." I sighed regretfully. "Such information should fall neatly within the nondisclosure agreement between Galliasta and the rest of the Tresillo, but I'd like to make it clear that I would personally want you to keep talk of such things secret and the like. Believe me, it'd be significantly troublesome for both of us if such information were to leak."

For her more than me really. I was aware that Magi were incredibly particular about the secrecy of their rituals and society. If Galliasta was made aware of just how much Isabel had been privy to, I could easily see him ensuring such information wouldn't spread. At the very least, a memory wipe of all relevant details, with the worst-case scenario involving him removing the poor girl via far more permanent methods. Far simpler for her to simply keep her mouth shut and keep everything she's learned to the grave.

Isabel hesitated at my words, frowning for a moment before she spoke. "Your Excellency-"

"Stop that." I said, irritated. Isabel clapped her mouth shut instantly. Her expression was difficult to tell with her helm on, but I could sense the same sort of hurt confusion one might get by accidentally stepping on a dog's tail. I sighed.

"I'm sorry. You were saying?"

"Ah it's oka-, that is to say um." Isabel gathered her words before eventually regrouping and looking at my general direction, her gaze seemingly avoiding mine. "The other Tresillo members. They saw your fight with the red Servant. I don't know if I can keep it secret from them, ma'am."

I paused. Ah, that was true wasn't it? I mused for a moment before speaking. "Do people still remember the Kavan Trials?"

"Uhh…"

Evidently not. I mused again. "What about the Zanxi Facility? "

That one seemed to hit the mark, and she began nodding vigorously. "The Jiuzhounese experiment right?"

The nature of mage training, the scientific development into the computation devices, the military training coupled with academic excellency demanded of its force, was a naturally expensive one. The European powers had the advantage of an established industrial base and a wealth of both scientific and monetary resources to pursue it, though this was all without even mentioning the necessary infrastructure to standardize the process and keep it as safe as possible. The Francois themselves had noted that conscripting personnel without the necessary conceptual framework and education then subsequently pushing them into the role of a combat mage merely resulted in wasted resources and dead personnel. Mages were a highly costly resource, one that demanded much from the State, but had shown their overall potential in so many different fields that it was folly not to utilize them. From military professionals to specialized scientists to generalized construction work, computation devices and the Mages that used them were the future. And other countries without those same resources knew that too.

The Zanxi Facility was an attempt by Jiuzhou in expanding and developing their mage program, though one that was brought about by paranoia and regional politics. From what I recall of the situation, China in my original world had suffered through an on-again off-again civil war that had only paused after the Japanese invasion and resumed only after its defeat in the Second World War, whereupon the numerous factions within China subsequently went back to fighting itself and from then on turned communist. In this world, Akitsushima was never sufficiently weakened enough for the multitude of factions in control of Jiuzhou to be comfortable enough to resume their little fight and therefore remained largely united in an effort to deal with the perceived threat that Akitsushima posed. Hence, Jiuzhou's government became a rather schizophrenic, hateful, little marriage between multiple factions of what used to be the Nationalist and the Communist blocs from then on. Internal policies were largely deadlocked, the domestic climate almost resembling that of multiple fiefdoms forced to collaborate. Yet despite all that, possibly through spite, they still maintained a unified foreign policy that was largely hostile to what they believed was foreign meddling.

Part and parcel of this was a determination to never be invaded by a foreign power ever again. While they were vaguely cooperative with the West, and vaguely paternalistic to the rest of Asia, they maintained a paranoid fear and anger towards Akitsushima that propelled a significant amount of their development towards military and computational technology. Of primary concern was that Akinese experience in both the Rus-Akitsu War and the Second War, as well as knowledge in Mage technology and methods therein, would quickly lead to them dominating East Asia as a whole. An existential threat as far as Jiuzhou was concerned.

The Zanxi Facility was but one of multiple organizations bent towards closing the gap between Jiuzhou Mages and that of Akitsushima. Other organizations approached this in a much more reasonable way, such as through trade of military resources from OZEV, expounding further on computation orbs inherited from the Rus and a push towards a highly brutal education regimen that actually developed fairly competent mages. Zanxi, on the other hand, was bent on the idea that there existed some hitherto undiscovered aspect of the human genome, and that a combination of applied science and Jiuzhounese mysticism would be sufficient in unlocking that potential.

That their methods were haphazard, ill-conceived and self-destructive was obvious and need not be dwelled on, but their damnable paranoia meant that their experiments weren't discovered until the early nineties. Once the news got out, it didn't take long for an international hearing to be established, and that took the better part of a decade. A portion of the staff were imprisoned for life, but the vast majority of the resources and personnel simply disappeared. The Jiuzhonese government had denounced those responsible, the Facility shut down and people executed, but I saw it less as them taking out the trash and more them making sure no troublesome paperwork would lead back to anyone within the government.

The worst part was that such developments were largely fruitless anyway. Whatever benefits that Zanxi had uncovered in their experiments paled in comparison to the human cost, and whatever developments they did make could arguably be said to have happened naturally with the development of modern medicine. Overall it was an expensive, tiresome, fruitless waste of human life and another addition to the many monuments to mankind's irrationality.

But one that was ultimately useful in cases like these. Rumors to the development of super mages had gone back since the outbreak of the Great War and while the rumors never really had any weight to it, they were sufficient to mask the deployment of spec op teams. Misinformation had its uses, though it behooved one to use such strategies only when necessary considering possible media attention and paranoia. However, as Elya had helpfully pointed out long ago, if we weren't making use of the rumors in some way, then we can be assured Albion or Jiuzhou certainly was.

"Tell your people that he was some Jiuzhonese agent." I shrugged. "I'm betting that some among your number already think of me as some Germanian agent, right? If Archer is to be seen as a foreign agent then things will more or less work themselves out."

Isabel nodded and I noted a degree of stiffness from her, which I supposed was reasonable enough. "Soldiers gossip amongst themselves, the story will develop a life of its own, and they'll fill in the gaps easily enough. It's unfortunate, but we have no choice." I said as I tried to comfort the girl, though I wryly noted that I was as useless at it now as I ever was at it in life. "The amount of trouble we'd likely stir up if the entire company knows versus them writing this off as some sort of espionage thriller gone wrong means we'll have to do it."

"I understand perfectly ma'am." She nodded, still strangely stiff. I shrugged.

"Good. Once you get back, I'll want you to tell the rest to be ready for a debriefing in the morning and prepare for another round of operations afterwards. Another busy day, I think."

She blinked. "You're not going back to base yet, ma'am?"

I gave her a placid smile. "No, not yet. A few things to take care of for now, you go on ahead."

My tone was light but brooked no possibility of disobedience, a skill I'd needed to master once the baffling vitality of youth gave way to the grouchy disdain of old age. Isabel nodded dutifully, seemingly uncertain before speaking up once more.

"May I speak my mind, ma'am?"

My eyebrows quirked at that "Of course."

It took a longer moment for her to find her words, but eventually she did. "I know you won't be here forever, it doesn't seem like that's how these things work. But I'm glad you're back. It just hadn't been the same without you."

I frowned. "I'm sorry, did I know you when I was alive?"

She stammered at that. "N-no, not at all ma'am. It's just-well, I grew up on stories of you ma'am. My parents worshiped you, and I think nearly every girl my age did as well. I-I did too."

Her next words were a bit of a murmur, not so much that she was whispering to herself, but a definite decrease in her own volume. "I….I'm happy that you live up to their stories."

The next few moments were filled with silence, and I couldn't quite know what to say to that. I was aware, of course, of the hero worship that my people indulged themselves on in regards to me. I was always at least somewhat distanced from it though, given a general awareness that people liked what I was doing and how I was handling things, not so much caring on just how extensive such feelings were.

Isabel couldn't have been older than her mid-twenties, she might have only been a teenager when I died. Her parents' generation, or her grandparents' generation, their hero worship would have been understandable. I was at least somewhat more active during the time after all. By the time I died I would have been a shattered, sad old thing at my deathbed. Not exactly something to be impressed about in any case.

Nonetheless, unhealthy though it may be, breaking her of her delusions simply wasn't feasible at the moment. As such, I gave my best politician smile and settled my hand onto her shoulder. I wasn't so short now that such an action would have been humorous at best, but I was still shorter than she was regardless. Despite that, she seemed to quail at my touch while I figured out something appropriately to say to get her out of here.

"I'm happy I live up to those stories too." I lied easily. "Now you should get going and return to your squad. I'll need you to settle them down, understand?"

She nodded energetically at that, her hesitation gone as I took the first step away from her. A few moments later the mage was in the air, disappearing into the night as she took a fairly circuitous route back to base. I watched her go, waiting until the glint of magic around her form faded into the general light pollution of the city and all I could sense from her was the dull throb of my magic still circulating in her gear.

I sighed, feeling much, much, older than I actually was before taking a look around me. We'd made enough distance from the church that we were now at the base of the hill, though still sufficiently distant from some of the main roads that Isabel's departure wouldn't be given too much notice by the local populace. Nonetheless, that the regular people didn't notice her disappearance wasn't the same as no one having noticed it.

"I wouldn't bother trying to kill her." I noted aloud. "I'm sure you could still tag her from this distance, but she's not my real Master, so it's not like it'll hurt me. All that it would accomplish would be you needlessly aggravating me."

There was movement in the nearby trees and my gaze snapping towards the sight of the spandex clad Servant falling to the ground. Lancer stepped away from the shadows with a casual, nearly lazy, step as he held his weapon lethargically by his side. There was an amused glint in his eyes as he took me in, and I couldn't help but feel a supreme degree of irritation at it.

"I was wondering whether you'd introduce me to her, she seemed cute." He commented as he spun his lance idly. "Of course, if you want her all to yourself that's fine too. We've all got to find something to do to fend off the boredom after all."

"You know, if this is your way of trying to bond with me you're not doing very well." I noted as I folded my arms. "Then again, if you start every conversation from appearing in the bush and skulking in the shadows one becomes inclined to treat you with at least some suspicion."

He laughed. "Aww, no need to be suspicious Caster. I guess I just wanted to get to know you without that freak priest listening in on our conversation, we're supposed to be allies after all."

He paused at that, strangely crimson eyes affixed onto me. "We are allies, aren't we?"

I shrugged. "That's what our Masters decided after all, and I don't suppose you're inclined to go against them?"

Externally I kept my voice and mannerisms as settled and impervious as a mountain fortress, a calm front to the feral behavior of the Servant in front of me. Internally, my mind was racing.

Of the Servants in the war, Lancer was likely to be the biggest problem. Unlike Archer and Saber, the last remaining representative of the knightly classes was directly allied to my Master. If I'd decided that working with Galliasta was the most feasible way forward Lancer would likely have been my greatest asset, a swift and capable combatant capable of some degree of synergy with my talents. I imagine that if we'd positioned ourselves well and forced the enemy to come to us, we'd have been able to repulse nearly any foe.

There were two problems with that though. The first is that, as per the mechanics of the Holy Grail War, the most logical alliance is one with another Servant that you could easily counter. In a situation where Lancer and I would be forced to fight against the other, I was fairly certain he would win. Lancers were renowned for their agility, hit and run strategies as well as a proficiency to engage at range if necessary. If he got the drop on me, odds were good that I'd lose and even if I managed to survive the initial ambush and fly away, retreat was not the same as victory. Lancers possessed magic resistance as well, not to the degree of a Saber mind you, but significant enough to impose restrictions on how I would have to engage him.

The second problem was the matter of the alliance with Galliasta himself. They were both members of the same organization, they both held ties to the other, and when the other Master had failed to report in I was sent to ensure that they were alright. There was likely a degree of closeness between the two that meant a betrayal of my Master meant a betrayal towards Bazett and Lancer.

All things considered, it meant that conflict with Lancer and her Master was an inevitability. Something I'd have to actively work towards neutralizing more than anything else, and because of that I suppose feeling restless in his presence was a direct consequence of that. I'd fought against Archer and Saber, found their measure as combatants, and while odds weren't all that good I'd remain on good standing with them for very much longer I'd at least know what I was getting into. But Lancer? He was still an unknown, and it was that uncertainty that was the most unsettling thing for me at the moment.

Lancer chuckled. "Oh no, not at all. I like my Master actually, she had the balls to go into battle with me even when it made more sense to keep her distance. She's cute too, and even if she got beaten up a bit that's all right. Scares can be just as sexy, wouldn't you say?"

I didn't quite know how to respond to that, so I merely shrugged. Lancer smiled widened even more and he continued.

"Still, I can't help but say I'm a bit jealous. Not of your Master, hell no, more from the company you kept earlier. Saber and Archer huh? Judging from how quick you got out of here earlier, you fought with some of them, didn't you? That's pretty brave for a witch, braver than I thought you'd be."

His eyes seemed alight with an excitement he could barely contain and, for the first time in a while, I wondered just how different Lancer was to me. Perhaps I'd gotten used to talking to Archer who, all things considered was actually fairly easy to talk to, but this one seemed different even from him. More feral, more instinctive, his every essence suffused with aggression and the need to fight. More animal than man, which I found rather off putting. Still, he was my ally for the moment, and part of being a good ally was putting up with things you found unpleasant.

Nonetheless, there some things that went beyond simply 'putting up with' and required an actual response. "Why do you keep calling me a witch? You called me that last time we talked as well."

He paused at that, frowning. That sense of bloodlust disappeared for a moment, his hand reaching over to his cheek to scratch at it. "Isn't that who you are? Medea, Witch of Betrayal? That's what Galliasta said he'd summon, or at least that's what Bazett said he'd summon."

For a moment, I found myself rather lost for words and I had to take some time to compose myself. Lancer continued to look at me, the aggression in his stance not nearly as evident, his gaze now filled with a sense of curiosity.

It seemed clear now that Galliasta had not been entirely honest with Bazett, or at the very least hadn't informed her of all the relevant facts. That Lancer was under the impression I was Medea put a bit more of his attitude into context. If I was him, and I was told to ally with some woman called the Witch of Betrayal, I'd be feeling particularly wary as well. There were some cases when one's reputation did not necessarily indicate a propensity for the truth, hell if there's anything I would have learned in all those years of politicking it would be that at least, but there were also plenty of cases wherein such a reputation would be more than earned. After all, someone deranged enough to murder her own children over some flighty little man didn't seem like one with a solid grasp over their own rationality.

Regardless, this information did mean I had a decision to make. That Bazett and Lancer was under the impression that I was some other Servant entirely meant that there was a possibility for disinformation. I already knew that one day I'd have to fight Lancer, one that would definitely not be in my favor considering all the advantages that he'd have on me, and so any mistakes in their assessment of me would be worth their weight in gold. Of course, pretending to be a master of old magic long lost to the modern world when I was far, far, less capable of that wasn't exactly doing myself any favors. Magic was a strange thing however, and if they would prepare to negate advantages I did not possess, it might leave them vulnerable to my own strengths and thus allow me an opportunity that I could exploit. Archer's surprise in my capability for hand to hand combat sprung to mind, though I was fairly certain that if I tried that against Lancer I'd be smeared all across the ground for my hubris.

Continuing the deception would, thus, be the obvious move if the only consideration was to remove them in combat. However, there were multiple dimensions here, and the fact that Galliasta had lied to them meant there existed a possibility to break the bonds of trust between the two magi. If I offered up information that would indicate that he'd lied, while also showing that I myself had no problem with being truthful towards them, it might buy me a degree of leverage when the time came to turn against Galliasta. On top of that, any deception I'd have in obscuring who I really was lasted only as long as it took for both Lancer and I to engage in combat at the same time. It's not as though I could warp reality to the same degree as the Witch after all.

"Ah, I think you're mistaken." I admitted to the other Servant. "I'm not Medea of Colchis, sorry to disappoint you."

Lancer blinked at that, frowning, before leaning in closer. "Well you know I was starting to expect that, you're not exactly very Greek ya know? That and from the way you were talking to those girls earlier, you don't exactly sound like you were that old. But then again I'm not a Caster, magic works in strange ways, and I was thinking that if you were some kind of Witch, you'd be able to disguise yourself as someone else if absolutely necessary."

I shrugged. "Well, if Galliasta did summon Medea, I'm sure the war would be over by now. I'm not that accomplished really and if the two of you were allied together I'm fairly certain you'd have both made good gains in winning the war by now."

The man's frown disappeared, shifting into an amused smirk once more. "Oh? That's pretty humble of you."

"Merely realistic." I replied easily. "One has to have an accurate assessment of one's abilities, otherwise one would be prone to mistakes in battle. Ego has no place on the battlefield after all."

Once again, Lancer's frown appeared on his face, and I was given the impression of a oscillating see-saw what with how mercurial the man's mood seemed to be. "You're a pretty strange Caster aren't you? I thought your kind was more about stabbing people in the back and lurking in the shadows and all that. And yet here we are, chatting all friendly like. Hell the only thing missing would be drinks and food, though I'm not sure a little lady like you could handle your alcohol."

I shrugged. "I didn't in life, so I probably won't now. Appearances can be deceiving though Lancer, after all, if we're gonna talk about who exactly is lurking in the shadows here, that would be you wouldn't it?"

For a moment I thought I'd made a mistake, the man's eyes widening as his frown took on a more thoughtful look. Thankfully the moment passed, with Lancer letting out an uproarious laugh that echoed across the empty street, his voice loud enough that I was seriously worried people would come out looking for a demon of some sort. Eventually his laughter receded, and he looked at me with glinting scarlet eyes.

"You're a funny one ain't cha? Okay I'm alright with this, bring us to your boss."

He turned around, jumping up a bit and returning to the underbrush, leaving me somewhat perplexed. "Uh, what?"

"Well you see, I got to thinking." He called out from the darkness. "My Master's injured, probably gonna be in a bad state for the next few days, which as far as the war's concerned is a bit of a death sentence. If we go back to her base she won't really be able to fight so well, and if someone smart like the Assassin gets to her that's game over for us."

The brushes rustled a moment later, the Lancer walking out of it as my eyes widened. In his arms was the bandaged, still unconscious, form of his Master. Absurdly, there was a large backpack now strapped to his back, what I presumed was his Master's belongings, and his spear was strapped to his back like some kind of radio tower. The absurdity of such a fight would have been funny in any other circumstance, but I was simply struck dumb by my own confusion.

"So, considering all that, the most obvious thing to do would be to go to our nice and steadfast allies and shack up with them." He grinned as he dropped down back onto the pavement, the woman nestled close to him. "I had some reservations, what with me thinking you were some untrustworthy witch, but now that we're past that misunderstanding this move makes the most sense dontchathink? You're a Caster, you're more oriented towards defense, and it'll be the safest place for her. On top of that, with me there, it'd be an even harder nut to crack and I could probably take a look at your defenses for ya. People don't really think about it a lot, but I'm not too bad with rune magic y'know."

This was not at all ideal. If I were to abandon my partnership with Galliasta, the odds of my survival rested squarely on whether my Master would be able to respond to my betrayal in time. I had no intention of murdering in his sleep or anything like that, it was far more likely Interpol would do the job for me, but should I join another Master in the war I doubted he'd respond genially to my change of employer. Ideally, the moment he'd have any inkling towards my impending abandonment should occur only with the disappearance of our link, and he should be confused enough and powerless enough to do very little about it.

Such a strategy would obviously change if Lancer and his Master were within arm's reach. In such a situation he could simply ask Lancer to check up on me and thus place my activities within a tighter timeframe. Of course, I'd already have to move quickly once the exchange was done, but in cases like this every moment counted. In addition to that, I doubted Interpol would make a move on Galliasta with the protections they'd spot, both from my own abilities, Galliasta's and the murderous looking Servant that would likely serve as the Tower's guard dog. That meant a delay on their ability to respond and, thus, an unknowable delay in just how smoothly I'd be able to change employers.

"Won't your Master be upset that you made that kind of move without her input?" I replied weakly, my mind racing to find an appropriate counter to his arguments. "She's your Master so you'd know her best but-"

"Yeah she's probably gonna be mad." He shrugged. "Scratch that, she's definitely gonna get mad. But hell, let her be mad at me then, at least she'll be alive. All of us are already dead, have been dead for a long time. It'd be a shame for young idiots like her to get themselves killed too pathetically in a battlefield filled with ghosts."

Now that he was closer, I had a better view towards the girl. The darkness of the church hadn't really given me a very good look at the Master, but in the flickering lights of fluorescent street lamps I had a better view. She was unnaturally pale, the bandages and gauze scattered throughout her body barely noticeable against her skin. Sometime between the last time I'd seen her and now, she'd been changed out of the professional looking suit before and dropped into some floofy little hospital gown that only served to make her look even more vulnerable. She was young, too young, and my eyes found themselves straying towards the ragged remains of her arm only barely covered by the generous layer of medicinal gauze and cloth surrounding it.

That she was still alive at all was testament to her vitality and stubbornness, as well as Lancer's quick thinking. If it had been anyone else, I was fairly certain they would have died, and I found myself cursing internally. Dammit. "Fine, fine. But if my Master asks, you'll be the one talking to him. I'm not going to go to bat for you and your little miss."

"Go to bat hmm?" Lancer smirked, though there was less of an edge to it now compared to before. "I weird turn of phrase, but I think I get the gist of it. Don't worry about your Master, I'm sure I can convince him to let us stay."

There was a strange glimmer of barely restrained violence in his eyes and I found myself placing my hand upon my brow. I could already feel a migraine coming.

Author's Note: As per the conventional naming system, city names have changed. Sasebo is now Kosaza, Kyotango is now Kyogamisaki and Mikawa is Iwakuni. In addition, Vatican City is now Lateran City.

Also, I was greatly distracted over the last week and thus will be making up for it. Expect another chapter within the next few days, after which regular scheduling should resume.