Chapter Thirty Two
Home To Roost
Come sunrise we had already woken and gathered our things before setting out for the port city of Messina. I didn't want to waste any time so I hurried the others along, seeing as how Jeanne and Mashu were not in a particular rush. Scathach on the other hand had been the first one away, but that was the case even when we were home. We reached Messina hours later with no trouble along the way thankfully, and upon arrival the first friendly face to greet us was the stable master who to the surprise of no one wanted his horses back. We dismounted from our horses and the stable master chased us away, before scurrying the horses back into the stable. The four of us left standing there clinging onto our things as we were barely able to gather our things before having our horses taken from us.
"He didn't even say a word to us. Not even yell at us." I said stunned while watching him disappear into the stables.
"Why bother? We can't speak his language nor can he speak ours." Scathach said to me. "Besides we're just strangers to him, why would he care?" Scathach said before turning her back to me and heading towards the boat.
"I guess you're right." I murmured, giving one last long look at Messin before turning my back to the city and following after the others. Our boat was already waiting to take us back to Rome, and I was eager to get back on track after this minor detour as I made my way up the gangplank onto the boat…
It wasn't several days until we pulled into Portus, and once we were in port I gathered my things and made my way down the gangplank only seconds after it was placed. Not wanting to spend another second longer on that wretched boat.
"God, I really hope that's the last time I have to ride on one of those wretched things." I said with a weary sigh as I placed my hand on my chest. I had gotten lucky on the way there with clear skies and calm seas, but on the way back we had gotten caught up in a heavy rain storm and the waves rocked the ship back and forth violently. There were several times when I had been thrown out of my cot and across the storage area. My back was sore and my head ached from the amount of times I had struck it against something. The storm stuck with us all the way to Portus and even here it was still raining, but I was just glad to be back on solid land now, and to get back to Rome.
"I wouldn't bet on that one." I heard someone's voice from behind me, and turned to meet Scathach's gaze. I narrowed my eyes at her and before I could say a word someone else spoke in my place.
"The ride to Portus was for more enjoyable than the ride back." Mashu said and looked up to watch her come down the gangplank. She was followed by Jeanne whose face looked paler than usual as she brought her hand up to her mouth.
"I feel like I'm going to be sick." Jeanne murmured, clutching her stomach.
"I did tell you that you might change your mind." I pointed out.
"I didn't realize boat rides could be so violent." Jeanne said. "I think I much prefer solid land to traveling by boat." Jeanne stated as she wiped her mouth.
"And what about you Mashu?" I asked her.
"What? You mean riding by boat?" Mashu asked and I nodded my head. "I can't say I hate riding by boat, I still find the sea very calming and getting to see the stars out over the ocean at night was incredible." Mashu answered.
"Fair enough." I said before looking at Scathach.
"I've been through worse storms." Scathach was all she said whilst crossing her arms with a blank expression.
"They get worse?!" Jeanne exclaimed.
"Oh yes, sometimes you'll find your boat practically on it's side." Scathach said and I saw Jeanne's pupils dilate. I couldn't tell if Scathach was deliberately trying to scare Jeanne or just not aware that she was, but my bets were on the former.
"Sometimes they do, but not all the time." I said, trying to reassure Jeanne. "But we made it back to Italy in one piece, so let's not fret about things that didn't happen. We need to get back to Rome and report to the Empress." I said.
"I hope Nero is doing alright." Mashu said.
"I'm sure she's doing alright." I reassured her. "We were only gone a little less than a week so let's hope that the Empire didn't collapse during that time." I said.
"And if it did?" Scathach asked.
"Then we've got bigger problems to worry about." I replied.
"Look, there are some of Nero's soldiers waiting for us with horses." Jeanne pointed out and I turned to see where she was pointing and sure enough some of Nero's men were waiting for us with Four horses ready to go.
"That's a reassuring sign." I said as my eyes wandered the port. Everything seemed to be the same as we had left it, and nothing looked out of the ordinary. "Come on, let's go." I said as I made my way towards the soldiers. The others followed behind me as we made our way up to the soldiers waiting for us. There was a group of them waiting for us with the horses, and as we approached them they directed their attention towards us.
"Prohibere! Dic nomen et negotium!" The soldier commanded, raising his hand for us to halt. The soldiers were blocking our way to the horses and seemingly weren't planning on moving anytime soon, I figured they had been waiting on us to hand over the horses and then would be on their way.
"I don't know what the hell these guys are saying." I said turning to Jeanne. "Try speaking to them in French, I'd like to get back to Rome as quickly as possible." I said.
"Of course." Jeanne nodded her head and turned to the soldiers. "Excusez-moi monsieur. Nous sommes avec l'impératrice Néron, nous venons de rentrer de Messine. Ces chevaux sont-ils là pour nous ramener à Rome?" Jeanne soldiers turned to one another giving the other as if not understanding what Jeanne was saying and proceeded to whisper amongst themselves.
"Great, none of these guys can speak Gaulish either…" I said, but I was abruptly cut off as I heard the subtle rip and tear of my jacket followed by a burning sensation in my left shoulder and a warm liquid running down my arm. With little time to react I lunged for the man's wrist, grabbing a hold of them. In said same fluid motion I grabbed a hold of the man's collar and pulled him in close, putting my arm up to his throat. The soldier struggled against my vice grip that was latched onto his wrist. Compounded with my forearm pressed against his throat caused us to reach an impasse. Both filled with adrenaline we were locked into a stalemate.
"Senpai!" Mashu prepared to rush to my aid, but before she could get very far there was a resonant sound of metal striking metal and sparks flew as one of the other soldiers stepped out in front of her and caught her off guard. The soldier sent Mashu flying backwards where she hit the ground with a loud thud.
"Mashu!" I called out to her in panic and watched as the soldier who attacked her raised his sword, preparing to strike her when she was down, but I caught a glimmer in the moonlight and the sky was dyed crimson. The man let out a horrified scream that was cut short by a second strike to the throat before he hit the ground with a thud next to his arm. Jeanne stood over Mashu with blood dripping from the tip of her blade. "You son of a bitch!" I said, turning back to the soldier in front of me gritting his teeth. I threw my head back before bringing it forward with all the strength I could muster, striking the man straight in the forehead. Staggering backwards the man brought his hand up to his head as my own throbbing head told me it had been effective in buying me a monterey respite. My hand reached into my jacket where I quickly drew my own weapon from its holster and I readily took aim before squeezing the trigger thrice. Two of the three shots struck their mark and the man took a step forward in surprise before slumping forward and hitting the ground face forward. Out of the corner of my eye I saw another one of the soldiers charging at me, weapon raised, and I turned my attention to him with weapon raised about to fire off several more shots. The man stopped dead in his tracks before I could even fire a shot off, as his body went limp and the cobblestone was painted red as the tip of a spear protruded out his throat. The body flung forward as the spear was yanked out and it hit the ground with a thud. Turning to my side I saw Scathach beside me with her spear at her side, the man's blood still dripping from the tip.
"Thanks." I said to Scathach, who only acknowledged with a slight nod and grunt. I snapped around and rushed over to Mashu who had Jeanne by her side. I "Mashu are you alright?!" I asked worriedly.
"Y-Yes I'm fine, thank you Senpai. My armor absorbed most of the blow, but I got a small nick ." Mashu said, looking down and I saw where her armor was scratched and there was a large tear in the fabric around Mashu's breasts with blood leaking out. "But I'm more concerned about you, are you okay?" Mashu asked, looking up at me and directed her attention at my left shoulder which was now throbbing about as much as my head if not more.
"I'm fine Mashu, it's just a small scratch." I said, shaking my head. "We need to get that wound treated." I said placing my hand over the cut in her chest and closed my eyes as I channeled my magical energy into casting a healing spell. There was a green flash of light and I opened my eyes to see the cut on Mashu's breast had healed, however there was little I could do about the torn fabric.
"Thank you…" Mashu said with a soft smile.
"Don't mention it, now let's get you up on your feet." I said and looked over at Jeanne who nodded her head as the both of us grabbed onto her arms and helped her up onto her feet slowly. "Seriously Mashu, I don't know why your armor doesn't protect more than just your lower half of your body. Your armor is just about as bad as Saber's armor in that regard." I said, shaking my head.
"I didn't choose this armor, it's what I was given when I became a servant." Mashu pouted as she puffed out her cheeks.
"Nor did I!" Jeanne exclaimed.
"Alright, alright." I said, fanning my hand at them. "The important thing is that you're safe, but seriously Da Vinci needs to be useful for once and make you guys some armor that will actually protect your whole torso." I said.
"I'm not sure whether she could or not." Mashu stated.
"Then what good is she?" I asked in return, before shaking my head. Imagining her answer to be something along the lines of looking pretty or for moral support. "Anyways, why did Nero's men attack us?" I asked next.
"Probably because they weren't Nero's." Scathach said, as she kneeled down next to one of the soldiers and began rummaging through his pockets. I looked around the docks for any other signs of soldiers, but there were none to be found.
"Alright then, Mashu, Saber, spread out and search for any evidence of what happened here." I ordered them both.
"Right." The two answered in unison with a nod of their head. I watched as the two of them set off before redirecting my attention back to Scathach. Her attention was focused on searching the corpses of the soldiers. "So you find anything Lancer?" I asked. Scathach didn't respond at first, but eventually she looked up at me with a rather unamused expression.
"Not anything of value." Scathach replied before looking back down. She carried on searching through the man's pockets and satchel.
"I really hope Rome hasn't burnt down in our absence." I said, scratching my head furiously.
"... Wouldn't be the first time." Scathach murmured. "Are you ever gonna heal that wound or are you just gonna bleed all over your suit." Scathach asked abruptly.
"I was working on it…" I grunted as I placed my hand over the wound and cast the healing spell on, the burning sensation in my shoulder all but gone now as the bleeding had stopped and the wound closed up. "Are you happy now? It was just a scratch, so minor It could have been covered with a bandage." I said.
"Scratches can become infected." Scathach pointed out and I let out a sigh. Sometimes I couldn't tell if she hated my guts or actually cared for me… I watched as Scathach opened the satchel of one of the soldiers and shuffled through it before withdrawing what appeared to be some brown parchment. Scathach's eyes darted up and down the paper several times before reaching the bottom.
"Did you find something?" I asked with raised brow.
"Some paperwork, but it doesn't do you a whole lot of good unless you learned to read latin in these past few minutes." Scathach said handing me the paperwork.
"I have not." I accepted the paperwork from her and looked it over. Sure enough it was printed in Latin, and I couldn't make out any of it.
"Shocking." Scathach mocked.
"I can't read it, but I know someone who can." I said folding the pieces of paper up and stuffing them into my pants pocket.
"Senpai!" All of a sudden a familiar voice cried out to me and our heads swiveled in the direction it had come from. I saw Mashu rushing towards us at a breakneck speed before eventually coming to a stop in front of us as she grasped her knees and began to pant.
"Woah calm down Mashu, what did you find?" I asked as I placed my arm on her shoulder, trying to calm her down. Mashu seemed to take a moment to catch her breath before looking up at me.
"It would be better if you came and saw for yourself." Mashu said. I locked eyes with Scathach for a moment with a grim expression before looking back at Mashu. "Lancer, you stay here and keep searching the bodies. Mashu, lead the way!" I said with a nod. Mashu turned around and dashed off in the direction she had come from, with me now trailing behind her. Eventually I caught up to Mashu who was waiting outside of the entrance of one of the warehouses. I came to a stop next to her and she gestured inside the building. Turning my attention towards the building I took a step inside where I surveyed my surroundings, and what I found was a grim scene. There were bodies upon bodies stacked inside the warehouse. I found Jeanne already inside checking the bodies for anything of importance or to see if there were any survivors.
"Well I guess this explains some things." I murmured cupping my hand over my mouth. Continuing to scan the room I made my way over towards Jeanne, and hearing my footsteps she looked up at me.
"I'm afraid they're all dead." Jeanne frowned. "They've been stripped of all their gear and clothing, right down to their undergarments." Jeanne briefed me.
"These must have been Nero's men." I said, kneeling down next to Jeanne and looking over the corpse. "The soldiers we encountered outside must have dones this and taken the guards' clothing. They must have been waiting to ambush someone." I said and Jeanne subtly nodded her head.
"Do you think they were waiting for us?" Jeanne asked.
"It certainly looks that way, but we can't know for sure." I replied. "Lancer found some paperwork on one of the soldiers we killed, but it's in Latin." I told her.
"We know someone who can speak and read Latin." Jeanne said.
"Yeah, let's just hope she's still alive." I said standing up. "Come on, let's get back to Rome." I gestured to her to come along as I made my way over towards Mashu. Behind me I heard Jeanne scramble to her feet as she rushed after me. Mashu was still waiting by the doorway as I came
"What should we do about the bodies, Senpai?" Mashu asked.
"There's no time to waste I'm afraid, we need to get back to Rome." I answered, which caused Mashu to frown. "It might be under attack as we speak, and Nero could be in danger." I explained.
"Understood." Mashu nodded her head. With little time to waste the three of us took off back down the dock towards Lancer who was still where I had left her, searching the bodies of the soldiers. No doubt hearing our footsteps her head looked up in our direction. Upon seeing it was us she stood up and crossed her arms.
"Find anything else Lancer?" I asked, coming to a stop in front of her.
"No." Scathach simply replied. "They had nothing else on them. Nothing to identify them either." Scathach explained.
"Right then, everyone mount up. We're heading back to Rome." I said. The others nodded their heads and we proceeded to make our way over to the horses, who had run off during the fight, but hadn't gone very far. Clambering up onto my horse, I got situated and found that the others were already mounted up. "Back to Rome and keep your eyes peeled for any more enemies!" I ordered as I gripped the reins of my horse and gave a slight squeeze with my thighs. I set off down the road leading back to Rome with the others following close behind me.
We dashed back at breakneck speed, pushing our horses to the limit all the way until we reached the gates of Rome. Reaching the gates in record time, our horses were now exhausted as they panted heavily from the journey. I was surprised to find that Rome was still intact as guards were there to greet us by the gate, and found no fires raging or enemy soldiers. After getting through the set of gates and making our way to the center we found the city bustling with nightlife despite what had happened in Portus. It looked like there was no cause for concern, nevertheless we pushed our way through the crowded streets and made our way back to Nero's mansion. Working our way through the city we passed over one of the rivers before reaching the Roman forum where we took a right, stepping onto the road leading towards Nero's mansion, which sat at the other end of the street. Hurrying along down the packed forum, passing the other mansions up on Palatine Hill, and reached the end of the street. Arriving outside of Nero's home we dismounted from our horses and hurried on towards the front entrance where we were stopped outside the doors by some of Nero's soldiers. I was worried at first that these soldiers might attack us too, but a familiar face emerged from within the house, it was Nero's Praetorian who had given us our horses and saw us off at the docks before we left. Jeanne briefly exchanged words with him in French and we were let in moments later. Wasting no time I hurried up the front steps and the soldiers opened the front doors where we entered the atrium where we found our esteemed Empress standing talking to her female servant. Nero was wearing a white dress, that wasn't see through, and wore a golden necklace and high heels. She didn't look like she was in any danger or harm, so I slowed my steps as I approached the Empress with the others right behind me. She must have caught us out of the corner of her eye as she turned to face us.
"Ah you're back." Nero greeted us with a smile. Her smile quickly turned to one of dismay upon laying eyes on us. "... I was about to ask how your trip was."
"Thank goodness you're alright, Empress." I said.
"Y-Yes I'm fine, but I should be asking you that." Nero said, taken aback. "Your clothes have blood on it, and Mashu's chest is covered in blood." Nero said with a look of concern.
"We were attacked at the docks." I answered.
"What?!" Nero exclaimed. Her initial shock gave away the fact that she must not be aware of the situation down in Portus. "You were attacked at the docks? How is that possible? Were they servants?" Nero rapid fired questions.
"No, they were ordinary soldiers dressed as your own." I replied, which raised an eyebrow. "We found a bunch of bodies in one of the warehouses, and we think they were your soldiers." I explained as I dug into my pockets. "This was the only thing we found on them." I said after finding what I was looking for. I offered Nero the pieces of paper that we had found on the soldiers, and she took them silently. "We can't read what it says, but I know you can." I added. I watched as Nero unfolded the paper she had been given and her eyes made their way down till stopping at the bottom. Nero looked over the second piece of paper
"...These are orders to locate and kill a group of foreigners consisting of one male and three females with detailed descriptions." Nero explained. "There also appears to be a significant bounty placed on all of your heads by the United Roman Empire." Nero added as she folded the papers.
"They want to nip the problem in the bud." I said.
"What does that mean?" Jeanne asked, tilting her head. Before I could even answer, someone else did it for me.
"It means they want to kill us before we can pose a threat." Scathach answered as she crossed her arms.
"I'm a bit confused though, why would the United Roman Empire consider the four of you to be a threat?" Nero asked next.
"It's likely that the outsider from our timeline has instructed them." I explained. "Like we told you before Empress, this isn't the first time we've disrupted his or her plans." I said.
"They're taking a rather direct approach. I would have had your food poisoned or killed you while you slept instead.." Nero stated bluntly.
"... Thanks Empress." I said.
"Umu, don't mention it!" Nero exclaimed.
"Well anyways, whoever is running the United Roman Empire wants to kill us because they either recognize the threat we pose or because an outsider informed them of our mission and instructed them to prioritize killing us." I said.
"It's what I would do if I was in their shoes." Scathach said.
"I would be surprised if you don't already have a plan to kill me." I said, which earned me Scathach's ire as she narrowed her eyes at me and a vein popped on the back of her head. Before she could say anything however, another voice interjected.
"Regardless, this just means you'll have to take extra steps out there. Be on your guard from now." Olga interjected.
"Of course, Director!" I said. "We won't let them take us by surprise again." I nodded my head.
"I'd also recommend having someone stand watch at night." Olga said. "The enemy might send an assassin class servant to attack you in the middle of the night." Olga explained.
"Even here in Rome?" I asked.
"After the attacks on Chaldea, I would figure you should know by now that nowhere is safe from servants." Olga scolded me and she was right of course.
"I'll take it into consideration." I said.
"At the very least one of your servants should stay in your room. Enemy servants will target the Master first." Olga instructed. "I'd recommend Lancer, since she should already be used to bunking with you." Olga suggested, and I saw Scathach give me an angry glare.
"...I'll have Lancer stay with me." I hesitantly said.
"Well that's settled then." Olga said before turning her gaze to Nero. "What say you Empress Nero, do you have anything else to add? You've been unusually quiet." Olga pointed out. Nero had just been standing there with her head resting in her hand for the past few minutes as we talked, but at the mention of her name her head shot up.
"I was debating on whether or not to launch an offensive into Gaul, but this settles the matter!" Nero exclaimed, smashing her fist into her hand. "I know you only just returned, but we're launching an expedition to Gaul!" Nero proclaimed.
"Wait, let's not be rash Empress…." I protested putting up my hand, but it was cut off.
"I won't hear any objections." Nero said, raising her hand to stop. "Besides it's to aid and give encouragement to my fellow subordinates. Of course if I don't go, there's little point." Nero said. "You'll come with me, won't you?" Nero asked next.
"It seems like we have little choice in the matter." I said with a sigh.
"Excellent! An Imperial expedition! Prepare at once, we head out at daybreak!" Nero proclaimed. "But first let us feast to celebrate your safe return!" Nero said with a smile.
It was several hours later before finally returning to my room as I made my way over towards the seat in the corner and turned around as I plopped down in the chair, completely exhausted. It had been a tiring past few days and I was just glad to be back in the Roman capital. Empress Nero had insisted that we have a feast on our somewhat safe return, even though I had wanted to lay down upon getting back, getting to eat some properly cooked food wasn't bad either. Although I'm not sure if I could say it was better than modern cuisine. Either way it was done and over with and now I could sit back and relax. I laid my head back against my chair and sunk into the chair letting my muscles relax and began to phase everything out….
"Senpai?" Mashu's voice dragged me back to reality. I looked up to see Mashu sitting across from me on the edge of my bed with Four curled in a ball sleeping on one of my pillows.
"Hmm? Yes, what is it, Mashu?" I inquired.
"Senpai, I was just wondering what exactly is the person behind the Rome singularity trying to accomplish?" Mashu asked and I sat there thinking for a few moments until I finally answered.
"Well I guess that really begs the question: What is the significance of Rome and why is it so important to Human History? What would happen to humanity without the Roman Empire?" I said as I ran my hand through my hair. As I said that, the Director appeared off to my side with her hologram flickering to life.
"The Roman Empire is the very foundation of European civilization, the Roman Empire gave rise to the Kingdoms that would eventually become the states of Europe. And without Europe there would be no United States and so on. Our Governments, our language, and our cultures all have roots from the Roman Empire. The English language roots itself are from Latin." Olga explained as she usually did.
"Well isn't the United Roman Empire still Roman? So it's still Roman, so wouldn't it still you know spout the Kingdoms and states that would lead to European Civilization?" I asked and Olga crossed her arms.
"Those Kingdoms and states of Europe came out of the downfall of the Roman Empire Operative." Olga said and before I could comment, then shouldn't we let the Roman Empire crumble, Olga continued. "And with Servants in charge of the Roman Empire it would never come to ruin, for a Servant does not age and no man or woman could ever face them." Olga added.
"Well would humanity really take such a downward spiral if the Roman Empire continued?" I asked and the Director narrowed her eyes at me.
"If the Roman Empire continued on indefinitely I believe that would have a major impact on Humanity… However the continuation of the Roman Empire is not the goal of the one behind all this I believe." Olga said.
"If they do not wish for the Roman Empire to continue, that can only mean that they hope that Nero's Rome and the United Roman Empire destroy itself in the process." I said after a moment.
"Yes this is what I believe to be their intention. With the destruction of the two Roman Empires will come the destruction of the Culture, language, and Governance that Rome introduced to the world. With the destruction of both empires will come with it the complete collapse of European civilization as the lands will be completely ruined and the death count would be beyond repair." Olga said.
"Didn't you say that the Kingdoms and States of Europe came from the collapse of the Roman Empire? So shouldn't the destruction of the Roman empire still lead to the same outcome?" I asked.
"Were you not listening?" Olga exclaimed angrily. "This war, if continued, will completely ravage Europe into complete and utter collapse. The Roman Empire collapsing this early will send people back into a tribal way of living, this will set humanity back hundreds of years with the loss of Roman teachings and culture." Olga snapped at me. "Rome originally fell due to German Invaders on their borders fleeing from the Huns, but that was not on the same level of collapse that we are looking at." Olga said as she sliced her hand through the air.
"Would it really be that bad if Europe fell back into tribalism? I mean Humanity would still endure would it not?" I inquired.
"Yes Humanity would still endure, but our timeline would be completely gone. Chaldea, Me, You, Mashu, the Doctor here. None of us would exist, and everything we know would be changed. Technology would not even be close to the current level it is at right now." Olga went on. "Do you know how many important figures have come out of the Roman Empire? For all we know some Roman Soldier or Civilian who gets killed in this war is the great descendant of Plato or Aristotle. That would set us back in the field of mathematics and science for sure." Olga said as she placed her hand on her chest to catch her breath.
"Were the other people before the Roman Empire really so ass backwards they couldn't do what the Roman Empire did? Who came before the Roman Empire?" I asked. "With the collapse of the Roman Empire, wouldn't the people who originally inhabited Europe before the Romans conquered them, just move back in and take over?" I probed the Director.
"The people who inhabited most of Europe before the Romans took over?" Olga said. "Well the Roman Empire was not even at its peak during Nero's reign, but North of Italy are the lands of Gaul, Germania, and Iberia. There's also Britannia." Olga said. "The Romans consider the people of these lands to be savages and barbarians…. These people in question are called the Celts." Olga said, as soon as she finishes her sentence Mashu and my eyes go directly towards Scathach who is seated on the other side wiping down her spear with a cloth. Scathach glances up at the two of us and then glances at Jeanne who is standing by the open windows looking outside.
"If you two continue to stare at me with such eyes, I'll stab them out." Scathach murmured with narrowed eyes. "What? Did you think that Celts only existed in Scotland and Ireland?" Scathach said and before Mashu or I could say anything, she continued. "Scotland and Ireland are not even the home of the Celtic people, the Celtic homeland is located in Southern Germany and Austria. I cannot help that you two are ignorant of the fact that the Celtic people once controlled most of Europe." Scathach murmured.
"Alright, Alright you don't need to get so defensive." I said in a hushed tone and Scathach narrowed her eyes at me.
"I don't care what you or the Romans think, so I'm not getting defensive if I don't care." Scathach murmured.
"You're getting defensive right now." I replied in hushed tones.
"Do you want me to throw you off of that balcony?" Scathach exclaimed as she pointed the tip of her spear towards the open windows.
"No, your Highness." I replied.
"Then show up. Now why don't you and Mashu go back to your conversation and leave me out of it." Scathach said in a hushed tone as she reverted her attention back to cleaning her spear.
"If the three of you are finished with your hushed conversation. I'd like to continue." Olga said and Mashu and I's attention returned to her. "The Roman Empire took several Generations to even build up, it didn't just happen in one generation. They had spent many centuries working their way up, and there are several times where it could have never even come into fruition. I don't know why our mysterious adversary choose this specific time in Roman History to try and plunge Europe and the Roman Empire into ruin, it could perhaps be because this was when the Roman Empire was not quite at it's full power, but then again it would have been simpler to go back to the point and time and stop it from ever rising in the first place." Olga said as she rubbed her chin with a perplexed look on her face. "But I suppose a massive war that sends Europe into ruin would be more damaging to civilization than if they just stopped the Roman Empire from existing." Olga murmured.
"Director, you were talking about the Celtic people?" I said, attempting to get her back on track. "Wouldn't they just come in after the Roman Empire and Europe went into ruin and continue civilization? Couldn't they do what the Romans did?" I inquired as my eyes glanced at Scathach once more out of the corner of the eye, Scathach paid me no mind. The Director stood there for a moment as she rubbed her nose before answering.
"Well it's a bit hard to say whether or not the Celtic people could build the foundation of Europe like the Romans did, they were mostly made out of tribes and city states across Europe and in Scotland and Ireland." Olga said. "However there's a problem that is posed by this hypothetical, the Celtic people in Europe by this point have mostly adopted much of the customs of the Roman Empires, while the ones in Scotland and Ireland have not. Now the problem with that is, they are in Europe. And like I said earlier more than likely the goal of our enemy is to emboil Europe into war that will eventually lead to collapse, and with that collapse will come the Celtic people as well who are embroiled in this war." Olga said. "I have no doubt that a large majority of the United Roman Empire's forces are made out of the Celtic people of Europe. You could say the Celtic people probably were easily convinced to rebel against the Roman Empire in Rome." Olga said as she put her hands behind her back.
"And why is that?" I asked.
"There is this thing called the Gaelic wars, it's really complicated and I don't want to get too much into it. However let's just say a lot of people died in a seven year long war, one third of the Celts were killed, one third were enslaved, and the last one third are now under Roman Rule." Olga said. "It was basically a genocide so that's why I believe the Celtic people might still feel resentful and take this opportunity to as they "stick it to the man". Not that I think they liked the United Roman Empire more, it's more like they hate the United Roman Empire less than they do the Roman Empire." Olga explained. "However I don't think Julius Caesar was really in the spotlight, since he kind of, you know, committed that Genocide." Olga said, waving her hands. "Anyway, like I was saying. The Celtic people who won't be dead will more than likely be in Ireland and Scotland, where they never adopted the Roman customs. I also find it very doubtful they would push into Europe again any time soon, they would remain up there. Now where does that leave us?" Olga said as she crossed her arms across her chest. "Well there's not really anyone left who could do what the Romans did, The Romans at this point have absorbed most of Europe, Greece, and even parts of Northern Africa." Olga went on. "All that remains is the Germains and the Barbarians in the East, and well the Germans maybe could do it, but like I said the Roman Empire set the foundation for Europe. However there is no chance the Barbarians could do it. Growth will slow down immensely, and the world will not be the world as we know it. North and South America would still more than likely not have been founded, all of us wouldn't even exist, not even Jeanne." Olga said. "So I believe I've gotten my point across by now." Olga added.
"Yes Ma'am." Mashu and I said in unison.
"Good I'm glad, so don't treat this singularity as any less important than the others." Olga said as she put her hands behind her back. "In fact this singularity would have the most harmful and devastating effects to humanity, so treat it with the utmost importance. Not even Fuyuki or Orleans can compare to Rome. This is the very foundation of Western Civilization, for better or for worse." Olga said.
"I understand Director, I'll continue to commit one hundred percent to this operation." I said.
"Director, you sure know a lot about History!" Mashu exclaimed.
"Well I'd like to think so given my background." Olga puffed out her chest proudly, before putting her hands behind her back. "Now I'll leave you to your rest Operatives, you still have much work ahead of you." Olga said and gave us a dismissive salute before her hologram disappeared.
With Olga now gone it was just the four of us in my room and I sank back in my chair with my head back into the chair. Before I could even relax or drift off to sleep I was once again interrupted.
"If you're going to fall asleep, don't you think you should go to bed." Scathach said.
"Alright Mom, I'll go to bed." I said which earned me a scoff as I pushed myself up out of my chair. Mashu stood up from the bed holding Four in her arms before proceeding to walk up to me and coming to a stop.
"I guess I'll be getting to bed too." Mashu said.
"Goodnight Mashu." I said as I wrapped my arms around Mashu and pulled her into an affectionate hug. Mashu was taken by surprise for a moment before dropping Four to the ground and wrapping her arms around my back, and squeezing me affectionately. After a few moments we broke off our warm embrace and Mashu proceeded to kneel down where she picked up Four off the ground. Standing up Mashu gave Four a head pat before squeezing him tightly between her arms and returning her attention back to me..
"Goodnight Senpai, sweet dreams." Mashu smiled before taking off. I watched her make her way out of the room before turning my attention to the footsteps coming from my side and saw Jeanne standing besides me. She stood there gripping her arms tightly with the moon to her back.
"I best be going as well Chris, we have a long day ahead of us by the sounds of it." Jeanne said and I nodded my head.
"Goodnight Jeanne, pleasant dreams." I said.
"Bonne nuit. Bien dormir." Jeanne said. Without warning Jeanne threw her arms around me and hugged me tightly for a moment, before letting me go and heading off. I scratched my head as I watched her leave and turned back to Scathach, who only rolled her eyes in response. Proceeding to get ready for bed, I began unbuttoning my jacket before pulling my arms out and throwing it onto the headpost. Next up was my vest which I undid the velcro on the sides and pulled it over my head before leaning it against my nightstand. I slipped out of my shoulder holster and placed it on top of the nightstand before sitting down on the bed and began untying my shoes. Once my shoes were untied I slipped my feet out and swung them around underneath the covers of the bed. Across the room Scathach was making her way over to the bed where she proceeded to unzip her sleek white jacket which revealed she was wearing a thin black military turtleneck underneath. Scathach placed her jacket on the adjoining bed post and sat down on the bed opposite of me as she pulled her boots off one by one and placed them down next to the bed, her feet covered in black socks.
"Nice to see your clothes are still in one piece." I said.
"Maybe your clothes wouldn't be in tatters if you didn't do stupid things." Scathach replied as she placed her second boot down on the ground. "Which you told me you've told me time and time again you're not gonna do."
"I haven't been going looking for danger!" I protested.
"What would you call that incident with Nero?" Scathach asked.
"You're gonna bring that up again?" I asked in reply.
"Yeah I am, you don't have the Director or Blondie this time to bail you out." Scathach replied and I let out a groan.
"If I didn't save Nero, then we would have been screwed at the start." I said. "And what about that thing at the docks? Why didn't you know that those soldiers were enemies who were trying to kill us?" I asked.
"I had my suspicions, but didn't say anything because you never listen." Scathach answered. She then proceeded to swing her body around, lifting her legs up onto the bed, where she pulled the sheets up over her legs and up to her chest.
"So the alternative was to let me and Mashu get hurt?!" I exclaimed.
"Sometimes it's best to let people learn things the hard way." Scathach simply replied as she laid her hands on her stomach. "Besides I wasn't going to let any major harm come to you or Mashu." Scathach added.
"That runs completely counterintuitive to what you just said about wanting me to stay out of harm's way." I exclaimed once more. Scathach let out a deep sigh in response before turning on her side and facing her back to me.
"Here I was enjoying having a bed to myself for once." Scathach murmured.
"You have the bed to yourself all the time when we're home, while I ruin my back by sleeping on the couch." I said. "So I don't want to hear any complaints." I added.
"You were the one who insisted on letting me sleep on the bed." Scathach pointed out.
"Is it too late to swap?" I asked and received no reply. "…I'll take your silence as a yes." I said and returned my gaze upwards at the ceiling. We laid there in absolute silence, the time ticking away, until I decided to ask Scathach another question.
"So do you actually have a plan to kill me?"
"Go to sleep."
I wanted to get this chapter out back in December, but December was a busy month for me at work. So I want to apologize once again for the delay and If you want to know when the newest chapters come out, make sure you follow Fated Destiny on Fanfiction to know when its updated and hop on over to my Discord. Anyway, Thank you for reading and for your continued support! If you enjoyed the chapter, please consider leaving a favorite/like. Feel free to leave feedback and reviews in the comments below or tell me what you think I need to improve on. Just a reminder that new chapters of Book Three release every two weeks on Friday or Saturday, assuming nothing happens or holds me up. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and look forward to seeing you next time.
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