Disclaimer

I own nothing but what I write. All intellectual properties belong to their respective owners, that is Oomori Fujino owns Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou and Fate Grand Order is owned by Type-Moon, Delightworks and Sony.

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AN: I really wanted to portray an angry Soma here for obvious reasons. It will come out later why but for now, let's just leave it at even Soma can get angry. I also wanted to portray Da Vinci in this as a true genius and a sneaky manipulator when she wants something. Final question:- BellxAis only or BellxHarem?

Surfysun95:- Originally I wanted this to be BellxAis but the more I write of it the more I'm leaning towards BellxHarem as well. Especially considering he's living with people who have harems of their own. I wanted to know what everyone else thinks before I decide.

fansora:- Nah no ship there. Kintoki sees her more like a younger sibling. He still thinks she's just a child and yep there are definitely going to be misadventures for the two of them.

Counterfeika:- LOL I looked it up on youtube. It is hella funny. It gave me some ideas. Thanks! Mama Raikou is doing what mama Raikou does best, loving her children in the most twisted way. More to be revealed and it will make sense in her own berserk way. Babbage is coming soon now that freeways have been built and yes holding off on twitter is for the best right now.

worldwonder2.0:- I have to take a refresher on the Orion / Artemis arc as I do remember they had a rather demented yet unique love story. Plus another mascot is always welcome. But I always wanted to add them in somewhere even if their part is small.

ghost777:- Got it in one. Read on and all shall be revealed. It will be crazy and it will be right up mama Raikou's berserk nature.

Shirosaki Kizuro:- LOL Yeah I finally get it now. Thanks for the lead.

Phantom Thief of Hearts:- Thanks for the vote of confidence. Yes I agree, Lefiya in Sword Oratorio is annoying as all hell to me. And yes Freya familia definitely had a reaction to Freya making the papers. It will come out later what they did. Soma is one character I wished they really pushed I canon as he had so much potential (But then again I tend to be a capitalist) but he was made out to be a really weak god. Hopefully after I put him through a bit of pain he will come to see the light. Syr for me is comedy relief only.

LeviathanFall:- I didn't know that but thanks for the heads up. I thought about it and decided for my fic the two shall remain separate. Too much rewrite otherwise.

smatt9411:- Welf hasn't even been introduced yet because with the new path Bell is taking, he hasn't had a chance to run into the smith. He will be coming soon however.

Guts and Toes:- Ruby is always with Illya but due to captains orders he won't be speaking as much till sentient weapons become a more common thing.

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Please read & review as I appreciate any comments made

Fate Grand Disorder

Chapter 40 – Politics

A Denatus was not something that should be called so often. It was an important tool of governance for the gods but yet again another was called. Yet again it was all due to the actions of one Hestia familia.

"I am Ganesha." Ganesha posed as he welcomed all the gods into the hall one by one.

No one would say it out loud but everyone was awaiting the arrival of a certain twin-tailed goddess and what else she would bring with her as everyone found seats and set up their Hpads on their tables. It came as a surprise to them that instead of Hestia appearing it was her captain Caster Leonardo Da Vinci that appeared carrying something similar to their Hpads but bigger. "Hi gods and goddesses!" She waved cheerily at them.

"It's so lovely to see you again!" Goddess Demeter approached Da Vinci as she hugged her. "Could lady Hestia not make it today?"

This was a problem and all those in the room knew it, considering the Denatus had been called due to the spate of things that Hestia familia had been doing lately. "She sends her apologies but she is really busy at the moment and couldn't make it personally. She will be joining us via teleconferencing though." Da Vinci stated ambiguously as she opened her Hbook 1 laptop and tapped a few keys and spun it around for all to see.

A smiling Hestia was on the screen as she waved to all those in the room. Her voice spoke out of the contraption. "Hi gods and goddesses. I'm sorry I couldn't make it today but I sent Caster in my place. I hope you all don't mind?"

Ganesha pondered for a moment and he was left with no choice. The meeting primarily concerned Hestia familia so if they weren't here it would be of little value. Taking a breath he answered, "I suppose we have no choice in the matter. Your captain will be allowed to stay."

"Thank you lord Ganesha." Da Vinci spoke candidly, "I'll try to stay out of your way."

Once everyone was seated, Da Vinci turned the laptop to face the crowd. "I am Ganesha!" Ganesha began to murmurings from the gathering, "as you all know we have gathered here today to discuss various things that are happening to Orario. Namely, things that seem to all be connected to the Hestia familia."

A loud gulp could be heard coming from the on-screen presence of Hestia. "W…W…What have I done this time?" Hestia stuttered.

"Well, firstly," Ganesh tapped at his Hpad for a few seconds and showed everyone a photo of a huge mountain outside Orario, "There's a huge mountain where there wasn't one before."

"W… Well, it's all on my land so it shouldn't be a problem right?"

"A huge mountain appearing outta nowhere should be a problem." Loki intervened. "And how did you even build a damned mountain anyways?"

"I… I don't know," Hestia honestly answered, "My children said it was possible and that it was an en…engine… enginethingy…"

"Engineering feat." Da Vinci answered for her.

"Right." Hestia continued. "And apparently we need it."

"What would you need a mountain for?" Ganesha asked genuinely curious.

"Well um… ice forms at the top and then melts and forms rivers and then runs down the mountain to the sea." Hestia tried her best to remember every detail that Da Vinci had explained to her. "Then we build dams and use it to supply fresh water to the city and then the dams produce hyro… hydra… no um… hydratic…"

"Allow me to explain," Da Vinci curtly bowed as she sought to alleviate the stress from Hestia. "Firstly as Hestia explained, it will produce fresh water for the city." Da Vinci started counting off all the advantages on her fingers as if advertising to the crowd of gods. "Secondly, a mountain there will act as a cloud stop, trapping rain cloud which would otherwise drift off to parts unknown and force it to rain closer to the city. This will help agriculture for the surrounding areas."

Goddess Demeter nodded her head as she understood this. It could only benefit her farms, especially those closest to the mountain. She would look into purchasing more land around that area.

"Thirdly," Da Vinci continued, "It will produce a natural and proper water cycle in Port Melen where we will channel the rivers towards." Da Vinci put her finger on her chin as if in thought, "I never understood how a freshwater lake could be open to the sea and not turn saline without a tributary to flush more fresh water in." Shrugging she continued. "With this the water cycle is complete."

More nods around the room meant that the gods understood the water cycle and they could see the logic of what was happening. "Fourthly, we intend to dam the river as a source of Hydro-Electric power and use it to power our city so we are not reliant on monster crystals. That will be a huge energy burden off the adventurers."

Murmurs ran around the room. What Hestia familia was doing would essentially devalue the crystals themselves if an alternate source of power was available. So far everything Hestia familia said they could do, they did. It left everyone gaping at a horrible realization. If Hestia could produce cheap power and all Orario had access to it, Hestia familia's importance and worth would skyrocket… again. They would monopolize control over energy.

"You would take control of all power in the city for yourselves?" Dionysus slammed his hand on the table. "What about all those adventurers out there who rely on selling monster gems to make a living?"

"Well, times change." Da Vinci shrugged, "Besides, stones are still important. They are a great source of power for portable things and they make great raw material for batteries. Much better than Lithium Ion."

"Lith…wha!" The other gods could only guess.

"With that said, Hestia familia would happily buy all the monster gems any adventurer brings in if the guild feels it is no longer profitable. We will use it to start manufacturing batteries."

More whispers ran around the room. Foremost of this was that Hestia familia was seeking to leverage control of the monster gems market away from the guild itself. The economic upheaval this would bring. "Can you even afford it?" A lone voice in the background asked.

"Yes." The definite answer came from Hestia herself. "Although right now the price I've set for exchange is lower than the guilds, so it won't affect the market as such just yet." However, everyone knew the sly smile that spread across Hestia's face. She knew something that they didn't.

"Moving on," Da Vinci continued, "We're also in the process of road building and building of public facilities on the mountain itself. We plan to have ski lodges, hot spring onsens, barbeque and picnic areas and camping facilities installed by the end of the month. We are also planting Sakura blossoms and various trees all along the mountain so it will be a spectacle come autumn. It should prove to be a popular holiday spot come next year." Da Vinci smiled at the crowd, "We didn't build a mountain for nothing you know."

The gods were stunned but the thought of more attractions and more interesting places to visit was an irresistible lure to them so they kept their thoughts to themselves to ponder more on the situation. "It looks like we have much to think on." Ganesha echoed the sentiments of the gods.

Moving on, Ganesha brought up the second item on the agenda, "Hestia, it has come to our attention that you have built a wall, stretching almost four hundred kilometers around the front of the city.

"Well, yes." Hestia casually replied. "It's to protect my property."

"Our city is stuck behind a wall behind your city!"

"What seems to be the problem?" Hestia asked. "I would've thought Orario would be happy to have two lines of defense."

"We're stuck behind your city!"

"Look, I don't charge them a toll to get in and out of my side of the city, everyone still has to do paperwork and pay a toll to get into Orario and that's your problem." Hestia pointed out.

"But you charge a toll for entering your city at your gate from Port Melen!" Ganesha complained. "People are having to pay a toll twice just to get into Orario."

Da Vinci stepped in as Hestia looked flustered. "Allow me to explain." She said sweetly. "The toll we charge is a road toll for using our freeway."

"Freeway?" The gods all muttered to themselves.

"It's a long road, six lanes wide, three in each direction with an additional two lanes on the outside of it for our buses…"

"Buses…" more whispers.

"Yes, buses." Da Vinci patiently explained. "Buses are vehicles used to transport people at up to one hundred kilometers per hour from the beginning of our freeway to the city gates. We had to end it just short of the gates until the guild decides one way or another to either knock down the old gate to build wider ones allowing us to extend the freeway all the way into Orario itself or if not, we'll just end it outside and let the commuters walk the final distance. Freeways like this will expedite transportation and thus trade between various places so much more efficiently. It is about time Orario's transport system was upgraded."

"And you charge a toll to use this super road?" Ganesha asked.

"Of course. It's just to recover costs." Da Vinci added. "We don't get into governance so there's no paperwork or checks to enter our city, just pay the toll if you're riding a horse or vehicle of some sort. It's free if you walk but we charge a fee to use our bus service. It cuts down a two-day long walk into the space of just over an hour."

"But you can't just do that…" Ganesha wanted to complain. Generally, he represented the guild's interest when Ouranus wasn't around. How he wished he was right now though as he felt a migraine coming on.

"Yes we can." Hestia stated confidently. "I checked with my legal department and the laws of Orario don't extend past your wall. We're outside of your jurisdiction. Unless, of course, you declare us as part of the city of Orario, but then we wouldn't need to do paperwork or pay your tolls anymore if we are already inside Orario."

More things to think about and more whispering among the gods. Hestia was actually throwing around her considerable political clout and it seemed she was able to do so effectively. Even more reason not to mess with Hestia familia. Awe, interest and envy spread out around the room.

"We'll have to think about it." Ganesha finally conceded. "Moving on… I believe lord Soma has something he wishes to ask of you."

"Yes!" The god of wine slammed his hand down on the table as he held up a newspaper. "I have a few questions that need answers… Goddess Hestia."

Hestia nodded and she gulped as she was informed by Da Vinci this would most likely come up. "Firstly, this article about my familia!" He pointed to a large headline which read, 'Familia out of control! What is Soma thinking?' Soma glared at Hestia. "What is the meaning of this article?"

Funnily enough, it was Hermes that answered that question. Indignantly he stood up and almost yelled. "I worked hard on that article and every word of it is true!"

"But it is my familia and none of your business!" Soma snapped him a hateful look.

"The public has a right to know!" Hermes began his rhetoric, "As long as it is the truth we have freedom of press and it is in the public interest to know. I mean how long will it be before Soma members start robbing non-adventurers or the innocent. It is bad enough they are robbing each other and other adventurers. Surely you know of it. Yet you do nothing! I think that justifies the article."

"How I run my familia is none of your concern." Soma was usually a calm god but the article plus the stress of the past week had started to build on him and now his name was actually being dragged through the mud as people had started to whisper horrible rumours about him. "Lord Ganesha, surely they can't print such scandalous material."

"Well…" Ganesha hesitated. Even he knew of Soma's shortcomings as a familia god and even he did not approve of what was happening within his familia. Even still this was unprecedented and he didn't know what to do. "I'll discuss it with lord Ouranus and see what we can do."

"Really," Da Vinci huffed, "You're a public figure who affects the well being of the public. Surely you don't think you are above the law? Or above public scrutiny? Look, we even print stuff about ourselves just because the public have a right to know." She pointed to another article on the same paper that read, 'Hestia familia plans to boost economy, wealth for all.'

Da Vinci crossed her arms over her ample bosom. "If you want, I can send lord Ouranus a copy of our proposed 'Freedom of Press' bill and guidelines to the 'Ethics of Journalism' for his perusal. Like lord Hermes said, the public really has a right to know."

Losing this battle, Soma decided to focus on something else. "One of my children, Liliruca Arde has gone missing for weeks. I feared the worst. Then one day I find her picture in your paper, partying with your familia. Please explain?"

Hestia rolled her eyes as she tapped something on her laptop. A phone dial was heard before the face of Lily appeared on-screen smiling at Hestia. "Hello, lady Hestia. What can I do for you?"

"Hi Lily. You're on a conference call right now. Lord Soma is here and he wants to know why you have been gone missing. Is there anything you wish to say to him." Hestia smugly asked.

"L…Lord Soma!" Lily had looked closely to those on the screen and had seen her god there. Taking this opportunity she gulped before she began. "Lily is staying with Hestia familia because she wants to. Lily is sick of being robbed and bullied by Soma familia all the time. Lily just wanted to see you and ask to leave Soma familia. Lily has had enough of Soma familia. Please… please lord Soma, please let Lily leave Soma familia." She pleaded with wet eyes.

"But… but… Is it really that bad?" Soma could only ask.

"Worse." Came Lily's instant reply. "Captain Zanis Lustra said that it costs ten million valis just to see you and ask. Lily tried really hard to save that money but Lily kept getting robbed and bullied. Lily can't take it anymore."

Having nothing left to say Soma settled for, "Come ask me in person and we'll talk."

Lily nodded then hung up. Hestia gave Soma an angry look as did most of the other gods. Seeking to take the heat off himself he brought up another paper and pointed to the photo of Shuten and Freya. "Hestia," he demanded, "This is the demon that stole my wine."

"Oh… Okay." Hestia shrugged.

"From my investigations, apparently she's an acquaintance of yours," he glanced over to look at Freya who was idly playing with her hair, "or at least with your children."

"I don't know the person."

"She was at your party!"

"Must be a party crasher."

"She was handing out Soma wine!"

"A generous party crasher."

"Is she a part of your familia or in any way associated with your familia?" Soma was boiling over again.

"No." Hestia snapped back at him.

Looking to make peace, it was Da Vinci who spoke up. "As lord Soma said, she's a demon and an unknown species. She can't join a familia. No one would take her anyway."

Surprisingly it was Freya who spoke up next, "You know, she seemed like quite the intelligent and calm lady. I don't know why the guild wouldn't let her join one. I'd be more than happy to take her."

Soma glared angrily at Freya, "Her species is not registered with the guild. Who knows if she's dangerous or not."

"But if she could receive a falna then doesn't that mean that we could effectively control her?" Freya asked.

"Do you intend to recruit her?" Soma snapped back. "If you do, are you willing to compensate me for my stolen wine?"

"How much?" Freya dared back.

"M'lord and ladies." Da Vinci interrupted them, "I think all this argument could be settled with a minor law change. The way I see it, a list of species isn't capable of covering all the aspects of what could potentially be out there in terms of who can or can't receive falna's. In fact I don't believe there's even a proper definition in your lawbooks about what constitutes a sentient species or not."

Turning to Freya, Da Vinci gave her one of her best disarming smiles, "In fact, with lady Freya's passionate endorsement of this new species and her, obviously, compassionate view towards other sentient species, I vote we all leave the amendments in law to someone as open-minded as lady Freya."

The compliment took Freya by surprise as she narrowed her eyes at Da Vinci. She knew she was being maneuvered by her but for what reason and why was beyond her. There were nods of agreement and whispers bandied about the room. Freya didn't want her familia caught in a fight between those opposed to the idea and those for it, so she decided to palm it off as best as possible. "But I must decline," Freya dryly smiled at Da Vinci, "I have very little experience in lawmaking. Perhaps it would be better if someone who was more experienced in these kinds of matters take responsibility for this. What say you lady Hestia?"

"Well… I suppose I do have my own legal team now." Hestia thought on it.

"Are you saying you're thinking of allowing untamed monsters the same rights as citizens?" Ganesha spoke up because it seemed to involve untamed monsters and he was the house of tamers.

"Monsters?" Da Vinci closed her eyes and shook her head. "I'm not talking about monsters. No, what I'm thinking about is more along the lines of sentient beings, with intelligence, thoughts and feelings. Beings capable of knowing right from wrong. The mere existence of this… Oni… has proven that they can and do exist. What is wrong with amending laws to take into consideration new facts and information as it comes to light?"

No one really had an answer to that and most agreed that something had to be done. Especially if a spate of new sentient beings was slowly being discovered. It was Soma who broke the whispering again with a question, "Then are we in agreement that whoever familia this… demon joins, should she be able to join or if she decides to join… Do we agree that I can seek out her god or goddess for compensation."

"Retroactive justice?" Da Vinci smirked, "How petty. But never mind. I will ensure that should it happen, you will be duly compensated."

Turning her lazy gaze fully on Freya, Da Vinci continued with her line of thought. "So, lady Freya. Do I have it then, through your words of wisdom and the compassion you have shown that you would be fine supporting these law changes to encompass all sentient beings, seeing as you are more than willing to have this… demon… among your ranks, should she chose?"

Freya grit her teeth, her eyes half-closed as she clenched her fist. Through a forced smile she answered, "Why of course… I am the goddess of Love after all. I love all sentient life."

"Ahh! Truly an understanding goddess," Da Vinci sighed, "If only all were as open-minded as you." Eyeing the room Da Vinci asked one more question, "Does anyone wish to object to Hestia familia drafting these laws up for lord Ouranus' approval? Would any other god or goddess wish to champion this cause instead?"

No one looked her in the eye as no god wanted to be given this heavy burden. Done wrong, it could spell the end of their familia should it step on too many toes. Everyone had to quietly concede yet another political victory to Hestia familia.

"Well then." Da Vinci happily clapped her hands together once. "I believe we have a lot of work to do and I do believe that concludes today's Denatus, right lord Ganesha?"

"I am… Ganesha." Ganesha held his hands to his forehead. "Yes… I suppose so."

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Now please review or make any comments or even ideas on more craziness that I could add. I'd appreciate it.