Beta read by RedRat8.
Ritsuka let out a small sigh as he placed the saint quartz onto the summoning altar. "Alright, let's see what comes to Chaldea today..." Soon, the altar began to light up and, in an instant, multiple blue orbs appeared in the air and connected with each other. They then turned into a light of blue sparks and swirled around with each other, forming a ring that then split into three and continued to swirl around until it turned into a pillar of light. As the light faded, it revealed a gold card showing woman who was carrying the scales of justice in one hand while a staff in the other hand. The card then disappeared as in its place revealed a woman who was wearing a nun's outfit.
"Well, this is unexpected. I did not expect myself to be summoned as a servant..." the woman said.
"Um...who are you?" Ritsuka asked.
"Oh, me? My name is Ciel," Ciel said as she got down from the summoning altar. "Where am I? This place looks like nothing I have ever seen before."
"Here? You're in Chaldea, Ciel."
"Chaldea? Sounds like the name of some organization. What is it about?"
"Yes. Chaldea is an organization that protects humanity. It was founded by Marisbury Animusphere, head of the Animusphere family. Right, the one who is currently running the organization is Olga Marie Animusphere."
"Is that so?" Ciel asked before thoughts came into her mind. "An organization that protects humanity...looks like the church is going to be surprised if they hear of this. And from the Animusphere family? Isn't that a name from the clock tower? Jeez, I would never think to see an organization from the clock tower dedicated to protecting humanity. Normally, those guys would focus on themselves and their magecraft..."
"Um, Ciel, are you alright?" Ritsuka asked, snapping Ciel out of her thoughts.
"Hm? Ah, yeah. Sorry, I was just going through something in my mind just now," Ciel replied.
"I see."
It was then a new person came into the room. "Oh? It seems you have summoned a new servant, Ritsuka."
Both Ritsuka and Ciel turned around to see Da Vinci in front of the door of the summoning room. "Ah. Da Vinci," Ritsuka said.
Ciel was shocked for a moment upon hearing Ritsuka's words. "Da Vinci?! That's Da Vinci?! She looks like the Mona Lisa painting!" she yelled in surprise.
"I get that a lot," Da Vinci said with a sigh. "Anyways, since I'm here, I need to take a look at your parameters...um..."
"Ciel. It's Ciel, Da Vinci."
"I see. Thank you Ciel." Da Vinci then went over to one of the data banks in the summoning room and checked on the data. As she did, she was surprised by what she saw in front of her. "Hm, Ciel. A Ruler-Class servant...what is this? A member of the burial agency. And an executor of all things. And her alignment is lawful evil...well, that's new. I've never seen a ruler whose alignment is lawful evil...this raises some questions..." Da Vinci then went back over to where Ritsuka and Ciel were, which both were in a conversation.
"Eh?! You're telling me that we're in Antarctica right now?!" Ciel asked in surprise.
"Yes. And in case you were wondering, you're not the first person to ask me that," Ritsuka replied.
"Jeez, that is quite the news here..."
Da Vinci cleared her throat, grabbing both Ritsuka's and Ciel's attention. "Anyways, I hope that things don't get too awkward here, considering who you are..."
Ciel let out a sigh. "So...you know who I am? Or what I do?"
"For the most part, yes. You're a member of the burial agency for the church, as an executor."
"Eh? The Burial Agency? An executor? What are those?" Ritsuka asked as he had never heard of those terms before.
Ciel let out a sigh, now knowing that she must reveal some parts of her past. "Well, in short terms, the Burial Agency is a group of special inquisitors gathered by the Church. It consists of seven members known as executors and what we do is that we hunt dead apostles and find holy relics. And in case if you were wondering what dead apostles are, they are vampires."
"So...you're a vampire hunter?" Ritsuka asked.
Ciel let out a chuckle. "Well, that's putting it in a easy term, but yes."
"I see. What are you equipped with?"
"Well for starters, some black keys-"
Ritsuka let out a groan and moved back a few steps as he heard those two words, confusing Ciel for a moment.
"What?"
"I-It's nothing..." Ritsuka replied before turning away and starting to mutter. "Blackkeysblackkeysblackkeysblackkeysblackkeysblackkeysblackkeysblackkeysblackkeys..."
Ciel was confused and creeped out from Ritsuka's muttering. "Um...is there something wrong with him? Should I perform an exorcism on him?"
Da Vinci let out a chuckle. "Let me tell you something. The way you were summoned...servants are not the only things that come out of the summoning altar. Other things appear from there as well like black keys and mapo tofu."
Ciel was even more confused and shocked after hearing Da Vinci's words. "You're telling me that...Black Keys and Mapo Tofu...comes out from that summoning altar?" she asked as she pointed to the summoning altar.
"Yes, and you won't believe the amount we have here..."
"Blackkeysblackkeysblackkeysblackkeysblackkeysblackkeysblackkeysblackkeysblackkeys..."
Ciel looked at that spectacle with a chuckle on her face. "How long is he going to be like that?"
"Honestly, I have no clue. Also, your status interests me. It says that you are a ruler-class servant, but your alignment says lawful evil."
Ciel let out a sigh, knowing what could make her alignment like that. "Is there a problem with that?"
"Not quite exactly. Chaldea never had this type of thing before. Can you explain?"
"Well, I guess it's because when I do my duties as an executor, I become a cold-blooded machine to fulfill my objectives if necessary, and I mean I will do anything to achieve it."
"I see...anyways, since you're an executor, do you have any weapons beside those Black Keys?"
"Yes," Ciel replied as she raised her hands and in a instant, a object appeared in front of them. "Normally, I would not show anyone this, but I guess I have no choice in this case. This is the Seventh Holy Scripture, an anti-vampire weapons platform that can assume six weapon forms."
"Wow! That is interesting! Let me take a look at it later! I want to see how it works!"
"Sorry, but no."
"Aw..."
"Hm, I wonder what will happen here today..." Caren thought to herself as she was walking down one of Chaldea's hallways, minding her own business. As she was doing that, it was then she came across Ciel and Ritsuka, and it interested her. "Oh? Is that I think who she is?" she thought as she noticed Ciel in the distance. She decided to get a closer look to confirm her suspicions, and as she did, her suspicions were confirmed upon seeing them. "Yup, it is Ciel. I never thought I would see her here...I'll give her a visit."
And that was what she did when she got closer to Ciel and Ritsuka.
"Hey, Ciel," Caren said, grabbing both Ritsuka's and Ciel's attention.
"Caren?" Ciel said, not expecting to see her on her first day in Chaldea.
"In the flesh."
Ciel quickly left Ritsuka for a moment and greeted Caren. "Caren! It is good to see you again!"
"Yes. It is great to see you again. You have not changed since the last time you met," Caren replied.
"The same as you. You still have that creepy stare of yours."
"Heh. That's harsh to say. And I bet you still love curry, right?"
Ciel didn't say anything but nodded in reply, making Caren let out a smirk. "Figures she would say that."
"You two know each other?" Ritsuka asked.
"Yes. Me and Caren knew each other for a short while when we were in the Church. However, we did not talk that much to each other because we were sent to separate locations for our jobs. You might even say we were friends," Ciel replied.
"Eh, I think we're more like acquaintances," Caren said.
Ciel let out a small sigh. "You're such a party pooper..."
"Wow. I did not know you two have a history together..." Ritsuka said in awe.
"Hey. You learn something new every day, master," Caren said before turning her attention to Ciel. "Speaking of which, you won't believe the number of servants here in Chaldea."
"Really? Like whom?"
"Well, there's Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, Jeanne D'Arc-"
"Jeanne D'Arc?! The Holy Maiden of France?! She is here?! Along with Amakusa Shirou Tokisada as well?!" Ciel asked in surprise.
"Yes. And unbelievably, she has two counterparts."
That got Ciel confused. "Counterparts?"
"Yup. Counterparts," Caren repeated. "Speaking of which, there's also someone else here you won't expect to see."
"Who?"
Caren let out a smirk again. "Well, find out and see. And trust me, you will not expect this..."
"Another helping, Shirou!" Arturia yelled as she held up her empty plate towards Shirou, who was in Chaldea's kitchen.
"As you wish, Arturia," Shirou replied as he grabbed Arturia's empty plate before filling it with rice followed by covering half of it with a giant ladle of curry. He then gave the plate back to Arturia, who quickly devoured it like a hungry lion. Shirou let out a small chuckle as she saw her action. "Even now, Arturia still loves my curry...and this reminds me of another person who loves curry. Speaking of which, I wonder how she's doing right now..."
"More Shirou!" Jaguar-Man yelled as she held up her empty plate.
Shirou let out a small sigh, remembering that he also had to feed a tiger as well. "Yes, yes, fuji-nee..."
Right now, Shirou was in the cafeteria along with Arturia, Ishtar, Parvati, Sitonai, Astraea, Jaguar-Man, Irisviel, Kiritsugu, and EMIYA, and everyone was doing their own things.
Arturia and Jaguar-Man eating their plates of curry rice with ease.
Ishtar and Astraea with their usual arguments against each other while Parvati tries to calm both of them down.
Sitonai spending time with Irisviel and Kiritsugu.
And EMIYA was helping Shirou in the cafeteria.
All and all, everything was normal in the cafeteria.
However, everything was going to change soon as Shirou was starting to hear a certain voice in the distance.
And he was not the only one who recognized the voice as well.
"Hey. Did you hear that?" EMIYA asked.
"Yeah. I can't believe she's here..." Shirou replied.
And at that moment, Ritsuka and Ciel walked by the cafeteria. "And over here is the cafeteria, where both the staff and servants eat their meals."
"Eh? You are telling me that heroic spirits eat here as well?" Ciel asked.
"Yes. Speaking of which, there are some here right now," Ritsuka replied.
Both Ciel and Ritsuka turned around to see the cafeteria. While Ritsuka was used to seeing heroic spirits in the cafeteria, Ciel had a different reaction.
And the same can be said about Shirou and EMIYA in the cafeteria.
For a moment, both Shirou and EMIYA stopped what they were doing and looked at both Ritsuka and Ciel in the distance, while Ciel did the same thing, only to Shirou. At that moment, nothing happened while everyone watched.
"Shirou?"
"Emiya-kun?"
"Senpai?"
"Onii-chan?"
"Sherou?"
"Ciel?"
It was then both Shirou and Ciel raised their arms and pointed at each other.
"Ciel?! Is that you?!"
"Shirou?! You're here as well?!"
Naturally, everyone besides EMIYA were surprised at their reactions towards each other. "Eh? You know Shirou, Ciel?" Ritsuka asked.
"Yeah!" Ciel replied while looking back at Shirou. "So, this is what Caren meant. No kidding! This is not what I was expecting!" Soon, Ciel began to head towards the cafeteria right where Shirou was, not noticing the gazes that she was receiving. "Hey Shirou, long time no see!"
"Hey Ciel. It's been a long time since we last met," Shirou said.
"You can say that again! You completely went missing for a long time! Even the Church couldn't find any clue about your whereabouts! It is like you disappeared from the entire world! Just where were you?! And what is with the new outfit?!" Ciel exclaimed.
"Well, I've been to...well, various places. As for the outfit...it's a long story," Shirou nervously replied.
"Shirou, you know this person?" Arturia asked.
"Yeah. Everyone, this is Ciel, one of my friends from the Burial Agency," Shirou said as he introduced Ciel to everyone in the room.
"Eh?! That is Ciel from the Burial Agency?! And she is your friend?!" Ishtar and Astraea yelled in union.
"Y-Yeah..." Shirou stuttered.
"Um...what is the Burial Agency?" Arturia asked.
Ishtar turned to Arturia. "The Burial Agency is a group of special Inquisitors gathered by the Church, which their role is to exterminate unnatural beings such as dead apostle ancestors, and they will do anything to exterminate them all."
"Eh. So they are like vampire hunters in general?" Sitonai asked.
"You could say that...eh..." Ciel replied as she was turning towards Sitonai.
"Sitonai. My name is Sitonai. So, you're onii-chan's friend?"
"Yes. Are you his sibling by any chance?" Ciel asked.
"Indeed."
"I see." Ciel then turned to everyone else. "And you are..."
"Ishtar."
"Parvati."
"Astraea."
"Jaguar-Man!"
"Irisviel!"
Kiritsugu and EMIYA were the only ones who did not say anything. Ciel didn't mind and shrugged it off. "So, I take it all of you know Shirou in any way?" she asked, which everyone nodded in reply. "I see. Anyways, my name is Ciel. It is a pleasure to meet all of you," she greeted before she started to smell the curry Shirou made. "Is that curry I smell? And not just any curry. This is your curry, isn't it?"
"Hm? Yeah, why?" Shirou replied.
Ciel let out a sigh. "Phew! I was getting hungry for a moment! And I really need some curry right now!" she exclaimed before she went to the countertop where Arturia and Jaguar-Man were. "Hey mister! One curry rice please!" she said to EMIYA.
"As you wish," EMIYA replied before giving her a plate of curry rice. "Here."
"Thanks!" she said before she began to dig in.
EMIYA let out a small sigh. "So, even master managed to summon Ciel of all people...that's a surprise."
Meanwhile, Ishtar and Astraea were looking at Ciel with interest. "So that's Ciel from the Burial Agency...not what I was expecting," Ishtar said with caution in her voice.
"Indeed. Executors from the Burial Agency do not act like that. Do you think her behavior is an act or something?" Astraea asked.
"Probably. After all, I have been under guardianship with a certain sadistic mapo tofu loving priest who used to be an executor. He does not act like that, and I do not want to imagine him acting like that," Ishtar said with a shudder. "Anyways, let's talk to her, shall we?"
"For once, I agree with you. Not to mention the fact that Sherou said she is his friend, which is worrisome if you ask me. Even though she may be her friend, the fact that she is from the Burial Agency creeps me out," Astraea replied.
"Um, is there something wrong?" Parvati asked.
"No. There is nothing wrong Parvati. We are just going to talk to Ciel for a bit. You do not have to get involved in this..." Ishtar replied.
Soon, both Ishtar and Astraea headed towards Ciel was. Ciel noticed them and stopped eating her curry for a moment. "Can I help you two?" she asked.
"Yes. We would like to have a talk with you, Ciel," Ishtar said.
Ciel let out a small sigh. "Is it because of my status as an executor from the Burial Agency? Or is it because of my history with Shirou?"
"Yes," Ishtar and Astraea said in unison.
Ciel sighed again. "Okay. First, in case you were wondering, I do not have any plans to harm Shirou or abuse that friendship in any way possible. And secondly, we are friends as mentioned earlier, and that is all. Nothing more."
Both Ishtar and Astraea felt relieved. "Okay. So then...how did you know Shirou?" Ishtar asked.
"Ah. It is a long story from a long time ago. You see, what happened was that the Church had one mission that even they themselves could not handle, so we had to get some backup from a certain magus."
"You mean Sherou?" Astraea asked.
"Yes. And you will not believe who introduced him to us."
Ishtar and Astraea were silent until Ciel gave the answer.
"Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg."
It was then Ishtar and Astraea made a spitake upon hearing that name. "Him?! He's the one who brought over Emiya-kun as back up?!" Ishtar yelled.
Ciel nodded in agreement. "Yup."
Ishtar let out a small groan. "What the hell?! Why is the master of the second magic always involved with certain aspects of Emiya-kun's life..."
"Anyways, after that mission was over, we became friends, which is quite funny considering he's a magus, and I'm a executor. Life can be pretty ironic sometimes..."
"I see..." Ishtar said.
For a moment, Ishtar and Astraea were quiet until Astraea continued the conversation. "So, how was it working with Sherou?"
"Sherou? You mean Shirou?" Ciel asked, which Astraea replied. It was then Ciel let out a smile. "Let us just say he makes hunting dead apostles easier. I swear, he is a natural at hunting them down! You should have seen him do it! Not only that, but he is quite resourceful as well! He is also a great cook as well!"
"That I can agree on," Arturia and Jaguar-man said in unison and agreement as well.
"And you are?" Ciel asked as she turned to Arturia.
"King Arthur of Britain, or just Arturia now," Arturia said in response.
Ciel was surprised to hear that. "Really? You're King Arthur? The King Arthur from British legends?" she asked, which Arturia nodded in response. "Wow. I never knew King Arthur was a girl."
"Yeah. Not to mention the fact that she has multiple counterparts, including a male counterpart," Shirou said.
Ciel nearly dropped her spoon. "You're kidding me."
"That's what I thought as well."
"Wow. It feels like everyone here seems to have a counterpart of some sort. Just kind of place Chaldea is..." Ciel said as she continued to eat her curry. "By the way, there's been something that I want to ask for a while now actually," she said before turning to Shirou. "Just what have you been doing actually while missing from everyone's sight?"
At that moment, everyone stopped doing what they were doing for a moment, confusing her for a moment. "Did I offend you or something?"
Shirou let out a small sigh. "No. It's just that...well, are you sure you want to know?"
"Yes."
"Really?"
"Yes!"
Shirou sighed again. "Alright. Let me tell you," he said before whispering to her at ear level.
After a few seconds, it was her turn to be surprised.
"What?! Are you saying you became a pseudo-servant vessel to Sengo Muramasa who happens to be your ancestor, fought off against multiple dead apostle ancestors, corrupt magi, and an evil immortal interdimensional space god that can control the Akashic Records from another universe, and you now possess two noble phantasms in which one of them is a reality marble while the other is a copy of a divine construct?!" she yelled in disbelief.
"Yup."
Ciel felt shocked upon hearing Shirou confirming her question. "Jeez, to think that all of this happened while you went missing...it's just...I can't believe it."
"You are telling me. Imagine our surprise the first time we found out about it," Ishtar said.
"Yeah. And to think he did it alone..." Astraea said.
"Wait, you're saying he did it alone? Without any help?" Ciel asked, wanting to make sure she was hearing things correctly.
"Yup," everyone said in unison.
Ciel turned back to Shirou. "Jeez Shirou, you are the craziest guy I have ever met, and that is saying something."
"I get that a lot. Pretty from much everyone here," Shirou replied.
"I see. Anyways, another serving please!" she said as she held up her empty plate.
"Okay."
As Ciel was waiting for her second plate of curry, it was then she looked at EMIYA and felt something familiar about him but was not able to figure it out. "Hey mister, you seem...familiar. Have we met before?"
"Well...in a way, yes. Not in your time though..." EMIYA replied.
Ciel was confused for a moment but shrugged it off. It was then Ritsuka sat next to her. "So, what do you think of Chaldea so far?" he asked.
"Well...it's crazy, but I like it," Ciel replied with a smile on her face.
"In that case, welcome to Chaldea, Ciel."