FATE/CATBOX FICTION
Chapter 5: Disappearances
Several hours after he parted ways with Ritsuka's group, Kiritsugu made his way northeast through the Rio de Madeira until he reached the junction with the Amazon River. Around here was where the Brazilian inland metropolis of Manaus was established – at least, according to the maps available from Chaldea's world. In the Akakor world however, Kiritsugu began to realize that things were drastically different.
Some landmarks were certainly present such as the Amazon Theatre, the Opening of the Ports Monument, and the Meeting of the Waters. However, any landmarks constructed after 1926 such as the Eduardo Gomes International Airport, the Manaus-Iranduba Bridge and Amazon Arena simply did not exist. Even though it was approaching the modern era in the Akakor world, Kiritsugu felt like he had traveled back in time and was staring at the remnants of a city that never advanced past the 1920s.
One could easily imagine the state that this world's Manaus was in if they compared it to New York's North Brother Island, likewise abandoned for 50 years. All of the buildings and roads were overgrown with lush rainforest vegetation, which made the structures crumble under the weight of so much plant life. Given another century or two, and most of these manmade structures would probably not be recognizable. Small animals and birds flocked about, but scurried out of sight once they spotted Kiritsugu approaching the remnants of the Amazon Theater.
The repeated thudding of his boots were perhaps the first sounds produced by a human in 50 years – it was surreal, as if he was stepping on a thin glass pane that threatened to shatter if he took his steps too hard. Truth be told, he wasn't too surprised by the state this city was left in. If Sigurd surmised that Manaus didn't exist in the Akakor world, then Kiritsugu was confident that he wouldn't run into anyone.
However, the reason he never found another living person sent shivers through every cell in his body.
Even before entering the theater, the Assassin knew something was terribly wrong. He found enough evidence to suggest that the streets, parks, and roadways were bustling with life back in 1926. But on a certain day, some sort of unspeakable tragedy occurred that literally decimated everyone living in Manaus. How could he tell?
Piles upon piles of clothes were crumpled all over the ground.
Although long worn from decades of exposure to the weather, the clothes remained relatively intact enough to tell him that these people did not die from violent means. It was like they just suddenly turned into ghosts and disappeared out of their own garments. Kiritsugu looked inside the opera house's rows of seating, discovering more dulled rags draped over the chairs. An elaborate dress clumped into a pile on the stage must have belonged to a singer who was in the middle of her performance when she 'vanished'.
Kiritsugu… didn't know what to say. He had never seen anything so spooky before.
The silence unnerved him so much that he quickly opened a line of communication to Chaldea, and he said, "Assassin here. I've completed my investigation of Manaus."
"What's the situation like?" Roman asked.
"Not good. I'll transmit some photos I took."
He did so, and the doctor took some time analyzing them. The usually carefree doctor became just as disturbed as the Servant, as he uttered, "What in the world…?"
"That's precisely the question I have," Kiritsugu murmured. "What could have caused such an inexplicable phenomenon?"
"Oh man… Where do I even begin with something like this?"
"The bigger question I have is whether or not this is going to affect our present mission."
Roman examined the footage and photos for a short while. He then said, "If you're not feeling any sort of ill effects while inside the city, then I think it's reasonable enough to believe that this was an event contained to the past. I can't come to any solid conclusions without performing a thorough analysis of this evidence though."
"I see. So long as Master will not be affected by this strange occurrence as well, then that is acceptable enough for me. All I can say with certainty is that we cannot rely on any assistance from Manaus."
"Well damn. That's the best place we could have used to establish a base of some kind."
"There aren't any other settlements that I could investigate?"
"Nothing as useful as Manaus. There's Puerto Maldonado in Peru, Magdalena in Bolivia, plus Porto Velho and Rio Branco in Brazil. The problem is that they're either too close to Akakor, or too far away. It's hard to say if those cities have likewise been wiped out."
"Then I should return to Master as soon as I can. Lancer didn't want me to get left behind either."
Roman nodded reluctantly. "I think so too. It's unfortunate, but there's nothing of value we can get from Manaus. In the meantime, Da Vinci and I will organize a separate party to investigate the city and see if we can discover what happened to the citizens there. If we can at least crack that mystery, we should have a better understanding of how the Akakor world operates."
"Understood," Kiritsugu replied and cut the connection. Without another word, he exited the Amazon Theater and hurried out of the abandoned city as quickly as he could. The less he had to see those mysterious piles of clothing littering the ground, the better.
Clock Tower
Late into the third night of his research, Waver tightly gripped a book on both ends and shuddered. His eyes were heavy with sleep, and he clearly had consumed too much caffeine to try and stay awake this whole time. A large stack of books related to Celtic mythology towered next to his desk, all meticulously pored through. He was on the last book he found, and had finally reached the end. Although the lack of sleep and too much reading was getting to him, he was most bothered by what his findings were:
Nothing.
Waver couldn't believe it. Of any records that existed of the Ulster hero Cuchulainn, he couldn't find anything about him siring a child. The spearman certainly possessed an active libido, but surprisingly, his gallivanting with various women never produced any offspring. The young Mage couldn't make sense of it. He was sure he heard 22-S correctly – that Lancer of Akakor was Cuchulainn's child. So then, why were there no records of such a figure existing in Celtic mythology? Was the Enforcer lying about Lancer's identity? What could she gain from saying such falsities? Yet at the same time, where was her proof? There was nothing saying she was telling the truth either.
Waver did pick up one strange thing about all of the books he checked out. Upon examining the date that each volume was published, he noticed that the earliest ones were released around late 1927, just over one year after the Akakor Holy Grail War ended. Nothing prior to that time existed in the library. The whole thing seemed suspicious to him. Celtic mythology was rich in history and folklore, with even an entire branch of the Mages Association dedicated to researching ancient Runecraft. How could they get anything done if the library only had modern records?
Maybe those who study Runecraft would have books older than these?
He thought it was a good lead to pursue. However, he was too tired to even get up from his chair. He was used to multi-day study sessions like this, but for some weird reason, he was feeling particularly exhausted. Perhaps he was getting too old for this? He quickly dismissed the thought – he was only 19, and brimming with plenty of energy. He wouldn't let something as silly as his age get him down. Even so, he was so limp that he couldn't even hobble over to the bed right next to him. His ears started to ring a little. The ambient noise quickly lulled the teenager to sleep, and he slumped over the desk without realizing it.
Deep within his dreaming state, Waver thought he heard someone talking to him.
"… Hm? Could this be?"
The voice sounded soothing, yet possessed a sharpness that could cut down entire armies.
"Ah, it is. A wavelength similar to mine."
His dreams quickly became intense as he witnessed visions of himself standing in front of a Chinese ruler. He was wearing heavy Taoist robes and holding a hand fan comprised of crane feathers. Waver couldn't clearly hear what they were talking about, although it seemed to pertain to some 'Shu Han' warring against 'Cao Wei', and that a 'Longzhong Plan' needed to be put into effect immediately. The ruler listened to his strategist's words with eagerness, then nodded and summoned his charges to spread word of the plan.
"You will have to excuse me," the strange voice said to Waver. It sounded exactly the same as the strategist from the vision. "As a consequence of utilizing you as my physical vessel, you will be susceptible to some of my more… embarrassing moments."
"W-What the hell…?" Waver was trying to utter.
"My True Name is Shokatsu Koumei, better known as Zhuge Liang. I served under the warlord Liu Bei during the period you know as the War of the Three Kingdoms. I don't possess the history nor the means to stabilize myself as a proper Servant, so I decided to occupy your body. We've become a Pseudo-Servant – neither Zhuge Liang, nor Waver Velvet, but a fusion of our strengths and weakness."
Zhuge Liang then chuckled. "I must say though… You are positively brimming with weaknesses, aren't you? A massive inferiority complex, coupled with precociousness that doesn't understand its bounds."
Suddenly, Waver wanted to tell this guy to shut the hell up.
"Now, now, there's no need to be so uppity. If only for my own continued survival as a Pseudo-Servant, I will offer my guidance when you need it most. Judging by this academic environment, coupled with the excess number of Mages congregated into one place, it must mean we are present inside the Clock Tower. I find it rather amazing that a talentless boy such as yourself was allowed into such a toxic institution. It boasts higher learning, yet is actually a political system that hampers with one's progress as much as possible. How repulsive. You can do better than this."
"Ghh… Would you be quiet already?"
"You appear rather fatigued. Were you trying to look for history pertaining to Lancer of Akakor?"
Suddenly, Waver became curious. How did this complete stranger of a Servant know precisely what he was doing before falling asleep?
"Your efforts may have been fruitless as far as direct information goes, but your hunch about the publication dates of these books is most keen. Indeed, if you cannot find what it is you seek, then turn your thinking around and ask, 'Why can't I find it?'. Sometimes, it is the easy-to-miss gaps where the answers truly lie."
"The… easy-to-miss… gaps…"
"You better wake up soon. You fell off your chair just now. I can't exactly have my physical body snoozing away on hardwood flooring now, can I?"
As soon as Zhuge said this, Waver's eyes fluttered open. His head felt like a ton of bricks had been stuffed inside it. It turned out the strategist was right; Waver's cheek was pressed against the cool wood floor. He jolted awake with an irritated snort, then gradually picked himself up. His skin felt so clammy and dirty that he needed to take a quick shower. Once he freshened up, he changed into his night clothes and wearily collapsed into his bed. It barely took five minutes for him to pass out once again. Luckily, he didn't experience any further voices or visions for the night.
At around noon the next day, Waver sauntered through the halls with distinctly baggy eyes and an exhausted disposition. Students who passed by gave him awkward glances or quietly chuckled, but he didn't care. He was more focused on hauling the rolling suitcase full of books, intent on returning them to the library before he could forget.
As Waver rounded the corner, Zhuge Liang chided, "Straighten yourself up, lad. Do you want to be made into a laughingstock?"
"Whose fault is it that I'm so wiped out? It's not every day that people become possessed by Servants."
"No excuses. You need to do something about that lack of professionalism. I can tell that you will become a handsome fellow that every girl in the campus will want to sleep with, but not when you look like some kind of puffed-out jiangshi." †
"Ugh, would you shut up? I don't give a shit about what the girls think of me."
"That's unfortunate. Don't you care about extending the Velvet lineage?"
"Not as much as you think."
Zhuge stopped talking once Waver reached the library, and he returned all of the books he borrowed to the librarian. After taking care of his business there, he walked out and began to head to the cafeteria. He let out such a large yawn that he had to close his eyes and wipe the tears away. Suddenly, he snapped awake when he felt himself bump into someone.
"Ah!? I-I'm sorry!" he blurted while stumbling back.
"It's no problem," a man replied.
The student looked to see who he had ran into. It turned out to be a plain-looking gentleman in a parcel delivery company's uniform. He was carrying a medium-sized box wrapped in brown paper and addressed to someone in the Association. Upon closer examination, Waver caught the name of the recipient; Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald.
"Huh? Is that for Lord El-Melloi?" the student wondered.
"It is. I was given directions to his room, but I've kind of gotten lost," the mailman admitted sheepishly.
Waver swallowed nervously. Zhuge then implored, "Why don't you take it for yourself?"
"Gh!?"
"Come now, what's the harm? It's not like a dead man is going to care about his property being stolen."
"Uh, um…"
The mailman stared at Waver for a moment. "Is something wrong?"
"I-If you don't mind, I'd be more than happy to take it to Lord El-Melloi for you. His room is difficult to find, but I know where it is."
"Really? That'd help me out a lot. I'm kind of swamped with deliveries here, so that'd be great."
The package switched hands, then the man returned back through the halls to the Clock Tower's main entrance. Once Waver made sure he was gone, he took some deep breaths while walking back to his room.
"And now you're too stiff. Try to act as natural as possible," Zhuge lectured him.
"God, what's with you? First I'm too tired, and now I'm too stiff. Are you one of those types who are impossible to please?"
"More like you need some serious practice with your social skills."
"That's rich, coming from a guy living inside my head."
"Oh ho ho. Keep talking like that and I might show you the horrors of my Stone Sentinel Maze. Even an upstart like you will learn a thing or two about humility after such a harrowing experience."
"Whatever."
Waver reached his room and stepped inside, making extra sure to turn every lock and bolt so that his theft wouldn't be so easily discovered. He shut the curtains and holed himself in his dorm bedroom so that no one could possibly hear him. Once he was satisfied with his level of privacy, he eagerly tore through the package's wrapping. Beneath the copious layers of brown paper was an ornate wooden box affixed with a hefty padlock. The key was included in a separate envelope inside, and Waver anxiously used it to unlock the box. A musty smell hit his nostrils as he pried open the lid.
"W-What is this…?"
For all he could tell, it was just a mangled and torn piece of red cloth. That was it. The student grew disappointed in this discovery, yet couldn't forget that it was being delivered to one of the Clock Tower's prominent Lords. What in the world could Kayneth want with such a withered piece of fabric?
"Oh ho. Interesting," Zhuge commented.
"Huh? Do you know what it is?" Waver asked with renewed hope.
"Hmm… It appears to be the torn piece of a mantle. It is not Chinese in design, so I cannot ascertain its origin. Still, it has that 'ancient' smell. If it was being delivered to El-Melloi, your former spiritual evocation teacher, then perhaps he planned to use this as a catalyst for summoning his own Servant."
The young Mage nearly dropped the package. "A-A-A catalyst!?"
"Don't raise your voice! Do you want to ruin the precautions you took to hide this!?"
Waver clenched his teeth and seized up, fearing that someone heard his outburst.
"Good grief. What an unbelievable turn of events this has become," Zhuge said.
"You sure don't sound like you're too bothered. I'd wager you're actually having fun with this."
"Why shouldn't I? Not only are you functioning as my Pseudo-Servant body, but now you have the means to summon a Servant of your own. Isn't that the kind of luck that even the Twelve Lords would sacrifice the entire world for?"
"Uh…"
"I suppose you're still too immature to understand this lofty situation you've been thrown into. Perhaps ignorance isn't necessarily a bad thing in this case; your average Mage would literally be crushed under the weight of suddenly possessing such immense power."
"Immense… power?"
"Well, that depends on the Servant that can be summoned from this catalyst. I can't ascertain who would emerge from the ritual, but considering that this belongs to a Lord of the Clock Tower, it has to be someone of great fame. I highly doubt he would want to purchase a catalyst if he didn't know who was going to summoned from it."
Waver pondered Zhuge's advice, then murmured, "That's true."
"In any case, I can't wait to see what happens when you eventually put it to use."
"Hey, I never said I was going to summon a Servant with this! I just wanted to get back at El-Melloi for him embarrassing me earlier!"
"Really? You're just going to cast this pearl back to the swine?"
"This is way too big for me to handle! I don't think I'm ready to perform any kind of summoning rituals until I've finished my studies! There's no way I'd be able to hide this from the Association for very long either!"
"Hmm… I see. It certainly takes courage to admit one's own immaturity. I suppose it would be troublesome to have an unprepared youth attempt to reign in some sort of famous figure. In addition, just because you use a catalyst to summon a powerful Servant doesn't necessarily mean you two are going to be compatible with each other. Even the most powerful of Master-Servant partnerships can fall apart if their personalities are not in harmony."
"Oh," Waver contemplated. That was something he would want to remember for his studies.
"If that is how it's going to be, then I will accept the loss. The trouble is that you committed theft against one of the Lords. Is there any way you can return it without arousing too much suspicion?"
"Well… I suppose I could ask 22-S to help me out."
"Who is that?"
"One of the Enforcers who works here. She answered some questions I had before, so I think I can trust her."
"You 'think'? That sounds a little unreliable to me."
"I also want to ask her some questions about Lancer of Akakor. She was the one who told me that her True Name was the Child of Cuchulainn."
"I see. So you want to take care of two things at the same time. I would very much like to hear what she has to say as well."
"Fine, but try not to pester me. No one else can hear you, and I don't want to be looked at as some kind of mental case."
With that, Waver unlocked the door and left to search for the Enforcer. He knew she worked in the archives most of the time, so he headed there and asked the secretary if he could see her. As he was talking, he spotted the white-haired young woman emerging from the basement with a stack of papers in her arms. He quickly stepped over and blurted, "There you are!"
"Hm? Were you looking for me?" 22-S asked.
"Sorry, but there were a couple of things I wanted some clarification about. Do you have some time to spare?"
She paused a little, suspecting that she knew exactly what it was he wanted. Even so, she answered with a light smile, "When it comes to the students, I always have time. I'm a little busy with an assignment for one of the teachers right now, but I'd be happy to visit you later this evening."
"That's no problem. Same room as before."
"Certainly."
In the foyer of the Clock Tower, Enforcer 22-Q was busy heading from the classroom back to her office on the other side of the campus. As she was about to walk past the large ornate glass doors though, she found the mailman hurrying back to his truck. She flagged him down and said, "Excuse me. I had passed by Lord El-Melloi's office just now and noticed that his package had not been delivered yet. My understanding was that it was supposed to come in at around this time."
"Ah, sorry about that," he told her. "I kind of got lost, but one of his students said he'd take care of it for me."
"One of his students? What did he look like?"
"Probably about 18 to 20, with short black hair cut into a bob, and he wore a dark green suit with a striped tie. I didn't see him wearing a crest though, so I couldn't tell you which family he belongs to."
"I see… Thank you very much."
She watched him get into his delivery truck and drive away. Based on that description alone, she knew exactly who intercepted the package.
Good grief. He would go that far to spite his dead teacher over a torn thesis? Boldness is one thing, but this is downright criminal.
22-Q shook her head and continued walking. Once she finished with her current business, she knew she could have to perform some 'dirty work' afterwards.
Later in the early evening hours, the door to Waver's room knocked. He practically jumped out of his skin in anticipation for the meeting, and he ran so quickly to the door that 22-S could hear his frantic footsteps from the opposite side. He opened the door and saw her perplexed expression, so he yelped, "E-Excuse me for being in such a hurry! I know I should be more professional than this, but-!"
"It's okay. Take some deep breaths and calm down already," 22-S implored.
"Right… Hoo haah… hoo haah…"
She entered his room and took the same seat as she did before. A cup of tea was already prepared for her, and she gently took a sip. She noticed that it was brewed much better than last time.
"Well, a fine cup of tea is a good way to get acquainted with the ladies, but you need to learn to pace yourself, lad," Zhuge chided Waver as he paced around the dorm anxiously.
"I already told you not to pester me!" the student snapped in a half-whisper to the Pseudo-Servant.
"I can't blame you for being so flustered though. This Enforcer lady is quite a sight for sore eyes."
"Now you look here-!"
22-S stared at Waver awkwardly, then asked, "Who are you talking to?"
The embarrassed young man turned to her and barked, "Ah, it's nothing! I must be so tired that I've been mumbling to myself lately!"
"That's not good. I know you've been studying really hard, but you shouldn't forget to take care of yourself."
"Yes, I know. I'll be more careful."
Waver sat on the sofa directly across from 22-S. His eyes locked on to hers, and she grew increasingly confused with his stern glare, which poorly masked his overexcitement.
"F-First of all, I kind of… need to admit to doing something really bad," he murmured shakily. He took the opened box that was next to him and showed it to her while explaining what he did this afternoon.
"Good gracious!" 22-S gasped. "Don't you know the consequences of committing theft against a Clock Tower Lord!?"
"I know, I know, I'm sorry! I know I shouldn't have done it! But I… couldn't help it… after how he humiliated me in front of the class…"
"You worked so hard to get to where you are. Don't jeopardize your efforts on something so petty, okay? You need to learn to toughen up and not let others get to you so easily."
"Yeah…"
22-S took the box and asked, "So you want me to take care of returning this to the El-Melloi estate?"
"If you can. If at all possible, could you possibly keep this incident a secret from them? I know what I did was wrong, and I promise I won't do it again. I'll take whatever penalty you give me. Just please don't tell the El-Mellois or the other Enforcers about this, or my life will be over!"
She nodded lightly. "I understand. I'm not responsible for handing out infractions to students, but I will think of a suitable punishment for you. Still, I find it kind of odd that the delivery company wasn't informed of Lord Kayneth's passing. You'd think they would have redirected it to his successor instead."
"That's a good point," Zhuge murmured to himself.
She paused, then shrugged, "Oh well. Must have been a case of miscommunication."
"I guess so," Waver agreed. Once he was sure the package was safe with 22-S, he could finally concentrate on the other matter he wanted to discuss. His expression grew stern as he said, "I think you know why I really asked you to come, though."
"…"
"You knew I wasn't going to find anything about Lancer of Akakor in the library."
22-S sullenly looked away from him, continuing to refuse saying anything to him. He urged, "You made me waste my time on a false lead, and I don't appreciate it. What were you thinking, telling me such a blatant lie?"
She bit her lip. Then she declared, "It's not a lie. Lancer of Akakor was the Child of Cuchulainn."
"How can you be so sure? You have access to the same books as I do, and nothing related to Celtic mythology prior to 1927 exists. There's no way the Association would want to discard an entire branch of mythology on a whim, but neither is there an obvious reason to do so. Are you sure Lancer is not some other figure from the Ulster Cycle?"
"Of course not. It's just that her actual legend wasn't as significant as her father Cuchulainn's. It was a simple matter for the Mages to erase any traces of her from existing records."
Waver huffed and folded his arms. "Are you saying that the older documentation still exists somewhere? Did they actually keep it hidden, rather than actually destroy it?"
"Something like that. They decreed that while Lancer's identity should be sealed away, it would be a problem if Celtic mythology as a whole was completely deleted. That would cause an uproar with the Irish Mage families, along with those from the Thule Society."
"Thule Society?"
"A branch of the Wandering Sea dedicated to understanding ancient Runecraft."
"So these Thule people should know the truth?"
"I believe so. The problem is that the Wandering Sea is open only to the elite of the elite, and cannot be found anywhere in the world. I highly doubt even 2-F has been there, and she has the most privileges among all of us Enforcers. Of course it would be impossible for me to have seen it, especially since I'm the youngest existing Enforcer at the moment. I only know of the Thule Society's existence from sorting through old documentation they left behind."
"That reminds me," Waver murmured, "you're the Enforcer mainly in charge of the archives, aren't you?"
"Mm," 22-S nodded. "I do some teaching and clerical work, but my primary job is keeping the records organized."
"Do you know if any pre-1927 documents on Celtic myth still exist here?"
She exhaled a small sigh and closed her eyes, as if contemplating on what to say next. He didn't want to pester her, so he patiently waited for her answer.
"Well…" she finally murmured. "There was… one poem…"
"A poem?"
"It was tucked far in the back corner of the facility. I figured no one would notice if I kept it for myself. I've been holding on to it for a few years, and I like to read it every once in a while."
She shuffled through her short jacket until she produced an envelope. Inside were a few pages stapled together, covered with lines of Gaelic writing. Attached to the back was a series of pages translated into English that 22-S wrote herself. Since Waver couldn't read Gaelic, he went through the English translation instead.
"The Death of Aife's Only Son?" he murmured. "If I recall correctly, Aife was one of the women that Cuchulainn had an affair with. The books I read stated that she never produced a child with him."
22-S shook her head gravely. "That's the part that was altered. She's the only woman whom Cuchulainn successfully got pregnant with his 'son', who was actually his daughter."
Waver's heart pounded uncontrollably upon realizing what he was reading. "So this is supposed to be… Lancer of Akakor's real legend?"
He wasted no time perusing the poem. Everything about the Child of Cuchulainn's original story was there – the circumstances of her birth, her upbringing, the three cursed geasa, her confrontation with Cuchulainn, her death at his hands, and the despair he experienced upon learning he had slain his own child. Most importantly though, Waver finally had a True Name he could attribute to Lancer of Akakor:
"Connla…"
22-S appeared even more forlorn than usual. He heard her sniffle a few times, and looked up to discover that she was tearing up. He nervously uttered, "W-What's wrong?"
"Ah, I'm sorry. It's just… this is the first time I ever got to talk about this with anyone. I've spent so long keeping it a secret, fearing of the consequences that could befall those who discovered the truth."
"But now you don't mind telling me?"
"Of course I mind! I'm absolutely terrified of what could happen to you! But… you're the first person I've met… who actually cared enough to learn more about Lancer. You didn't mind the sin she committed 50 years ago, and focused on discerning what her True Name and living history are like. My goodness, it's been so long since anyone actually said her name that I… couldn't help myself."
She wiped her eyes with a tissue and eventually calmed down. "Please excuse me. The other Enforcers lecture me for being too sensitive and emotional. That's a bad habit I need to work on breaking."
"No, I don't mind," Waver said. "I kind of find that more endearing than acting like some kind of robot."
"En… dearing?"
"Ah, well… I-I didn't mean it on a personal level!" he cried out, and his cheeks flushed pink. "I just… Sometimes it gets annoying to deal with the more stoic Enforcers, so seeing one actually have emotions is a relief for me!"
"Is that so?"
"Don't worry about it. Just keep being who you are. I think a lot of students like me will be able to trust you more than the other Enforcers."
"Hmm…"
"Ugh, never mind that. Do you think you could answer a couple more questions for me instead?"
"That depends."
Waver showed 22-S a passage from the poem and wondered, "Aife sent Connla to Ireland when she reached seven years of age, right?"
"Mm-hmm," she nodded.
"And only a few days later, Cuchulainn killed her with Gae Bolg."
"That's right."
"Does this mean that as a Servant, she can only be summoned as a child?"
She widened her eyes and tilted her head, surprised that he would ask something like that. He explained, "Lord El-Melloi taught us that Servants are often summoned at their prime, when their abilities had reached their peak in life. But if Connla died at seven years old, that means it's precisely what her prime was. Pressuring Cuchulainn into using Gae Bolg had to have been no easy feat, yet such a young girl was able to do it."
"I see. That would be a reasonable conclusion to draw from this. As you say, Lancer of Akakor was summoned in her prime, and since that was achieved when she was seven, that means she was a child Servant during the Akakor Holy Grail War."
Waver instantly shot to his feet. "That's insane! You're telling me that such a young child was responsible for that terrible cataclysm!?"
"…"
"Ridiculous! I refuse to accept it!"
"But there was plenty of evidence found implicating her."
"I'm not saying she didn't do it! I absolutely agree with the evidence! But I can't imagine that someone so young would possess enough intelligence to understand what she was doing! There's no mistaking it now – my theory has to be right! Lancer had to have been forced to do it with a Command Spell! There's no way this can be explained otherwise!"
"M-Mr. Velvet, you really need to calm down," 22-S implored. "This is supposed to be a confidential discussion, remember? What would happen if one of the top Mages or Enforcers heard you just now?"
"This is just… insane…" the young man gripped his head in frustration. "This isn't right… This isn't right at all! They should have accused her Master, instead of shoving all of the blame onto her! Or is it that the Master wanted to cover up their own crime by using their Servant as a scapegoat!?"
"Mr. Velvet…"
SMASH!
Suddenly, the door was blasted off with a burst of fire magic from the opposite side! The burning plank of wood pummeled across the room several feet away from the pair, and they got to their feet in total shock. 22-S instantly got in front of Waver in case she needed to protect him, and summoned a long leaf-bladed boar spear that he had never seen her wield before.
Standing in the hall was a stoic and thoroughly unamused 22-Q, who had her hand raised with an Ansuz Rune shining over the palm. She glared at 22-S… then shifted her eyes to Waver… then glanced at the two items sitting on the table – the stolen catalyst, and the old Celtic poem.
Her eyes narrowed sharply as she demanded to the other Enforcer, "What is the meaning of this?"
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
† - The Chinese hopping zombie/vampire.
