Chapter 77: Sombre return.

The lights in the Rayshift chamber flashed as the coffins glowed. The lids hissed as they slowly opened up before Ritsuka stumbled out of his, soon followed by Mash. The Master remained blank faced as he stared down at the ground before he looked up towards the command room.

Exhaling, the Master reached up and rubbed his eyes with his hands before they lowered back to his side. His eyes swept across the Rayshift chamber, falling on each of the Servants as they shambled around - with the exception of Boudica who had returned to Spirit form after Solomon departed - before they fell onto Ash. The Saber was still covered head to toe in injuries before he looked up and noticed Ritsuka staring at him.

Ash looked away briefly before he straightened himself out, slowly limping across the chamber as he stopped next to Ritsuka and stared down at him with a mildly troubled expression. "I…will go to Romani." he replied, then moved again. Right now, Ritsuka had not the energy to try and convince the Saber to move into spirit form and gave him a wave of the hand to spur him onwards.

Ash nodded his head in response as he caught the tail-end of the movement before he continued to limp towards the door, the metal exit opened up and he moved into the corridor while trailing droplets of blood in his wake. Ritsuka released a sigh as he looked around.

"Alright…" He sighed out, reaching up and rubbing his brow once again "I'm going to…" he paused as he failed to finish the sentence, instead just turning away and walking towards the exit of the chamber.

Mash frowned as he retreated before she wordlessly followed after him, the pair moving through the hallway in silence before the door started to close.

Archer and Havel remained behind before the former turned to the latter. "And how did you find your Master?"

Havel remained silent for a few moments before he walked off "Not…bad…" he grunted in response in a quiet tone of voice as he quickly exited the room as fast as he could. Archer remained behind before he exhaled, and shook his head in response.

"...Never an easy job." He muttered to himself before he too made to leave the Rayshift Chamber.

Romani watched as Olga silently departed the room, the woman having long since gone quiet since the arrival and departure of Solomon at the end of the Singularity. Romani similarly remained silent as he stood up from his chair.

"Romani?" Da Vinci sent him a slightly worried expression "Are you alright?"

"Mmh?" The Doctor turned to her in surprise, raising his left hand to rub the back of his neck before slowly nodding his head "Y-yeah…just…a lot to take in is all." he admitted with a hollow chuckle "King Solomon…not…" he sighed "Not what I was expecting…" the Doctor turned away from Da Vinci and made his way towards the door "I think I'll go to the infirmary…if you see Fujimaru-kun could you send him that way? And Mash too. I'll need to give them both a check up."

"I'll do that." Da Vinci nodded her head at him, thinning her lips "...We'll hold the debrief at a later date. The Director seemed pretty shaken up."

"I don't blame her." Romani whispered under his breath as the door to the command room opened, the man quietly slipped out of the room and into the hallway before the door closed behind him.

Da Vinci exhaled and turned back around to face the crew "Alright everyone." she clapped her hands "Lets get those readings on the Singularity finalised." she snapped her fingers "Maxwell, confirm the status of Francis Drake. The prospect of illusionism was brought up, I need to know if she's still alive." her finger turned away "Jingle, scan to make sure the Singularity was restored back to History without issue."

"What about me, boss?" Kerry asked, spinning in her chair to face Da Vinci. The woman stared back at her before she gave a sad smile.

"...Start the evaluation on the Spirit Origin of Solomon." She revealed "...Find out what you can."

"...Yeah." Kerry nodded her head, turning around in her chair "...You got it."

The Caster let out a light sigh as she rubbed under her eyes before she sat herself down in Romani's chair and turned herself to face the monitor. The woman remained silent as the command centre quickly got to work. She wasn't under any illusions though, they were just trying to distract themselves from what Solomon had said.

It certainly gave them a lot to consider in regards to the future of the Singularities.

Either way…It was going to be a rough journey for them.

The door to the medical ward had already been opened by the time Romani got to it, the Doctor let out a light sigh as he built up what little confidence he could manage before he stepped into the room. It took him all of several seconds to spot Ash sat upon one of the beds.

Romani grimaced at the sight - which was far from appealing - of the Saber's wounds. "Hey, Ash." greeting the Saber as he stepped into the room and closing the door behind him. The blonde man's eyes flickered towards him in acknowledgement before he nodded his head in kind.

"Romani." He greeted as the strawberry haired man moved across the room towards the Saber before he started to examine him, taking note of the injuries to the body and the extent of the damage. It certainly looked painful, although he couldn't decide whether the eerie silence of the Saber was comforting or not when faced with these sorts of wounds.

The fact the left side of his body was burnt black and metal had been fused into his skin made him quickly decide that it was mildly uncomfortable. "...Rough time down there…" Romani continued on in an odd tone, Ash titled his head at the man slightly before he hummed in response.

"It was…difficult." He admitted "The arrival of the sorcerer at the end was unexpected."

"...To you and me both." The doctor gave a hollow chuckle "...He called himself Solomon." he grimaced "Which - if true - means that this is going to be a lot harder."

"Is Solomon dangerous?"

Romani paused, looking at the Saber for a few moments before he replied "He basically created the entire system of Magecraft that we use." the man gestured around himself "Everything in Chaldea is made possible by what he achieved. As for the Demon Gods…" he sighed "King Solomon was said to have been the pinnacle of mages in regards to summoning and the Demon God's would be familiars to him." the man gestured to the wounds on Ash "You saw what one did to you…could you imagine fighting seventy-two at once?"

"...I see." Ash quietly replied, slowly nodding his head "...He called it pointless."

"Just trying to get in your head is all." Romani dismissed, giving the Saber a calming smile which even he didn't quite believe "It'll work out somehow…hopefully."

"Hmm."

The two fell into a silence before Romani moved and sat down into the bed opposite Ash, resting his hands on his knees. "Listen…Ash." the man started in a hesitant tone "I need to ask you something."

The Saber stared at him in silence before he gestured for him to continue on.

"Thanks…" Romani swallowed "When you infused the Holy Grail in yourself I noticed something strange about the readings." he went on "And I've been thinking about it for a while and when I heard about your reluctance to go into Spirit Form…"

Ash stared at him, his eyes briefly glimmered with worry before they returned to their usual stoic dullness.

"For a few moments - when you had the Grail - your Spirit Origin vanished entirely." Romani revealed, looking up and staring at the Saber with a searching expression "You didn't register as a Servant for a few moments…You registered as a life-form."

"...Really?"

"Yeah." Romani nodded "And I looked over some of the logs since then while you were in the Singularity, I couldn't do it for long because of-" he waved his hand "-what came next but I got the gist of it…You haven't returned to Spirit Form once since you were summoned."

"I have not." Ash affirmed with a nod of his head.

"Ash…" Romani rubbed his hands together "...How did you die?"

Ash stared down at his hands for a few moments, the Saber moved them to rest on both of his knees as he continued to avoid looking Romani in the eye before he gently exhaled. "I didn't."

Romani's eyes widened "You…didn't?" he whispered out.

"No." Ash shook his head "I…was summoned immediately after I had completed my task." he explained "I have died many, many times…but I have never had a final death. That much I do know."

"Ash…that means the Holy Grail wasn't burning through your Spirit Core…" Romani's skin turned ashen "It was burning through your soul."

Ash nodded his head "I know."

"Ash!" He hissed at him, then looked over his shoulder at the door to the medical centre before looking back at the Saber "Ash, you could have-" he cut himself off, then looked down "...You're a being that's been summoned into a Servant Container without actually being a Servant. You're registered as one…" he stared at the Saber with wide eyes "Ash…you're still alive."

The Saber's lip twitched "A strange thing to say to an unkindled."

"You're making jokes!?" Romani gaped at him, his expression quickly shifting from shocked to mildly angered "Ash, if you hadn't removed the Grail when you did, it would have burned your soul into nothing. Without a Spirit Origin, we wouldn't have been able to summon you again. Ash…" the Saber stared at him with an unflinching gaze "You could have died. Permanently."

"...Most likely."

Romani stared at him flabbergasted at the casual dismissal of his condition before he steeled his expression, throwing himself off the bed and back onto his feet. "I'm going to inform everyone." he turned away from the Saber, barely making it a few feet before the Unkindled grabbed his arm and stopped him. Romani turned to him in surprise as Ash stared up at him with a troubled expression.

"I…do not believe you should." Ash replied, Romani's brows furrowed.

"What?"

"Ritsuka has…" Ash bit his lip "He seems to display a great deal of concern for me and of the Servants in general. Even with the knowledge they can be summoned again he is…reluctant to allow them to perish."

"What does this have to do with-"

"If he learns that my death would be permanent…" Ash frowned "I am concerned that he would not be as willing to utilise me to the best of my abilities. His concern for my well being would hinder my ability to function properly."

"Because he cares about you!" Romani exclaimed "And because if that stunt you pulled in the Singularity has any bearing on you as a person, you have absolutely no sense of self-preservation!"

"It was a risk." Ash agreed "But I weighed the cost of my life against the death of Ritsuka and decided it was worth the risk. Even if I had died against Heracles, it would have allowed them the ability to continue on in the Singularity."

"And that's all that matters?" Romani pulled his arm free "Ash…you can't treat yourself like that."

"I do not see why not." Ash frowned "That is the purpose of Unkindled. We exist to fulfill our duty and die if necessary."

"Do you want to die?"

"I want to fulfill my duty." Ash replied stone faced "If that means I must die, then I have no complaints if it is not a meaningless death. That does not mean I have a desire to die, if I do so then I cannot aid Ritsuka until the very end."

"And what about at the very end?" Romani asked "What will you do when the Singularities have been restored and Humanity is back?" he gestured around "The Servants are obviously going to be sent back…what does that mean for you?"

Ash remained silent for a few moments "...My duty is to aid Ritsuka in undoing the Incineration of Humanity. What occurs after that is clear." he looked Romani in the eye "...Without a duty left to me, I will begin to Hollow. At which point I would soon cross into the point of being a danger to everyone else around me."

Romani felt his blood run cold at the Saber's words "Ash…"

"The only option remaining would be to have me killed." Ash casually remarked "It would be easy enough. With no Bonfire's around, I would not be able to return to threaten you."

"Ash…you can't ask me to let that happen." Romani frowned at him "Aside from the ethical implications, I'm a Doctor…"

"Which is why I ask you to keep this secret." Ash's tone shifted slightly, the Saber's eyes almost pleading "It would be better for those concerned if they remain ignorant to my present condition to avoid undue…worries."

"You want me to keep this a secret." Romani surmised, pursing his lips and staring at the Saber with a mildly distressed expression. The man raised his right hand to rub his brow "Ash…They'll find out eventually…and you're asking me to lie about something that could just as easily get you killed."

"It would not be a lie as much as simply not revealing the information. "Ash tilted his head "I do not see how my situation differs from Mash."

Romani pinched the bridge of his nose "Aside from the fact Mash isn't nearly as reckless…We all know about her situation." he explained slowly "Fujimaru-kun knows that even if she is a Demi-Servant, she's still alive and that he should ensure she isn't put in too great a risk." he paused and pointed at the Saber "Not to say that automatically means he'll treat the other Servants differently…he went all the way to Havel's room - a man who hates mages - and managed to convince him to give him a chance."

Ash looked away "...I cannot force you to do anything. I have made my personal feelings on the matter clear so as to avoid future issues." he winced as he stood up "If you believe it important to inform Ritsuka, then that is your choice to make."

The Doctor stared at him for a few moments before he let out a deep breath, the man turned around and cradled his head in his hands for a few moments. Ash watched him as he paced the length of the room for a few moments before he eventually stopped and raised his head to stare at the Saber. "Fine." he replied after a few moments "For now…I'll keep it a secret."

"Tha-"

"But…" Romani raised his hand "I can't say the same for anyone else who might find out. You can ask them but…" he paused "Da Vinci would probably keep it a secret as well and she'll likely find out before long but that's a separate issue altogether."

"...Understood."

"Just…" Romani waved his hand "Try to take better care of yourself…if that Grail had killed you, then nothing would have brought you back."

Ash released a thoughtful hum in response, his eyes darting downwards for a few moments before he nodded his head. "I see." Romani rubbed his brow at the casual tone the Saber had before he turned back to the door as it opened up. Both he and Ash watched as Ritsuka and Mash walked in, the former paused as he caught sight of the pair.

"Da Vinci said to send us over here…" Ritsuka remarked as he looked between the two of them, then back at Romani "How is he?"

"H-huh?" Romani jolted, then looked at Ash and then back to Ritsuka "...He's a little rough, but I'd say he'll recover in short order." he reassured him "A few of Siegward's healing spells and some natural rest will do wonders for him."

Ritsuka let out a sigh of relief while Mash visibly deflated "That's good…so that issue with his Spirit Origin thing? That's alright now?"

Romani stared at him for a few moments before he slowly nodded his head "...Yeah." he replied with an easy-going smile "I'd say it's all fine now. Just a little side-effect of the Grail being used like that is all." he chuckled and looked over his shoulder "Ash is pretty durable but I'd recommend he be a little more careful in the future."

"I'll say." Ritsuka nodded his head "...So…check up?"

"Right, right." Romani nodded his head, gesturing to one of the spare beds "Have a seat, just need to make sure your vitals are alright…we rushed you out of the Singularity pretty fast so it's just that I can send a report to the Director that you're all good."

Ritsuka gave another nod as he moved over to one of the spare beds and sat himself down, Ash stared at him for a few moments before his eyes turned towards Romani. The Doctor continued on with his work while sparing the Saber a glance out of the corner of his eye before he turned back to Ritsuka.

"Alright…we'll just go through this quickly…" Romani commented as he approached the bed "...The Director will probably want to hold a meeting…later."

"How is she?" Mash asked, Romani clicked his pen several times as he bit his lower lip.

"She's…" He sighed "We're all a little in shock right now…we know who we're fighting but if it is Solomon then…" he frowned "...Just give the news time to settle though." he turned to Mash, giving her a tired smile "We'll…We'll pull together."

"...Do you think he was right about the Singularities?"

Romani shrugged in response "I don't know…he might well be but if he is behind the Incineration of Humanity then it was inevitable we'd have to fight him either way." the Doctor offered "All we need to do is just…keep on moving."

The door behind her closed as she entered her office. The woman sighed heavily before she moved around her desk towards the seat. Raising her hand, she moved her palm over the top of the chair before she spun it around and sat herself down in it.

"...Go for a walk, Stahl." Olga ordered the Berserker in the corner of the room. The hulking metal golem turned its head to stare down at her for a few moments, seemingly unwilling to move from its location before the woman swiveled the chair to face the Berserker "Now."

Stahl stared at her for a few moments more before the armour turned away from her, its body creaked and groaned as the metal limbs shifted. The giant ducked low to avoid clipping its head on the doorframe before it stepped out into the hallway and did an about turn, marching down the corridors without much a sense of direction or purpose.

Olga watched as the door closed behind them, then swiveled her chair back around to face the wall.

"Why can't it go right?" She whispered out to herself as she stared at the wall "Just…once…once!" she hissed "Just…why can't you give me this one victory? Why does it never work out for me? Every single time it's always something that happens and it's not my fault!"

She stared at the photo on the wall "It's not my fault!" she shouted at it "I'm trying! It's just everyone else it's-...we won! We beat the Pillar and solved the Singularity! W-we even beat Lev…" she sniffled "I did it! Me! I can really do it if I try!"

The picture stared back in silence.

"How was I supposed to know it was King Solomon?" She huffed, thumping her hand into her armrest "How was I supposed to know that Lev was a Demon…it's not fair! Everything that happens is…" Olga reached up, wiping the tears from her eyes before they had the chance to slide down her cheeks "It's not my fault…I really can do it so please just…"

Her eyes locked onto the photo, already turning puffy. "Please just…give me a chance…I can do it…I really can…" Her head fell down into her hands, no longer bothering to try and prevent the tears from rolling down her face as she quietly sobbed alone in her office.

"It's not my fault…I did a good job…It's not my fault…" A faint - and somewhat desperate - chuckle escaped her lips "P-people said I did a good job! T-they praised me! I can do it…Just…" she quietly turned away from the picture, staring at the desk in front of her with reddening wet cheeks "I can do it." she affirmed to herself "I can do it."

"I…I can do it."

Da Vinci sat just aside from the head of the table, the seat remained empty in the conference room. The Caster looked around the room, noticing the complete lack of anyone else in the room. Sighing, the woman swivelled her chair and turned to stare up at the clock.

Raising her hand, she rested it on the table and slowly started to tap away.

The woman drummed at the table for what felt like hours as the clock continued to tick away, the time dragging on until it was almost nine in the morning. That wouldn't have bothered her so much if it were not for the fact that the meeting was scheduled to start at eight-thirty. She could understand if Romani was late, but for everyone else to be tardy - save her - was rather a big surprise.

It was also rather frustrating for her, especially considering that she had prepared a presentation and a small speech to try and get everyone's spirits back up. Even if they were understandably down at the time.

The sound of the door at the end of the room opening up attracted her attention towards the entrance. The woman watched as Romani walked into the room, scratching the back of his head and looking away from her "Sorry I'm late." he apologised as he entered "Had a little trouble sleeping…" he trailed off, his eyes sweeping across the room as he stared at the empty seats and then at Da Vinci "Where's…everyone else?"

Da Vinci shrugged, "Sent them the memo but they haven't shown up yet." her lips quirked into a faint smile "It seems for once in your life you're actually earlier to a meeting than everyone else despite it being late."

Romani let out a chuckle of amusement as he moved himself to take a seat at the opposite end of the table to the Caster "I suppose that's more everyone else being late rather than me, Leo." he excused with a slight wave of his hand "...I Don't blame them though." he quietly went on "Yesterday was a little rough."

"Hmm." Da Vinci nodded her in a knowing fashion, giving the man a saddened look for a few moments "I suppose it was a big surprise for everyone."

"...Yeah." Romani sniffed, spinning his chair to face the door "Any idea where everyone else is?"

She shook her head "No idea where Fujimaru and Mash are." the woman's lips pursed "As for the Director…I haven't seen her since yesterday. A couple Servants said they saw her Berserker wandering the halls aimlessly so…I suppose she probably wanted to be alone."

Romani slowly nodded his head.

The door hissed open as Ritsuka and Mash strode in, the former having faint bags under his eyes from a clear lack of sleep. The Master paused as he noticed both Da Vinci and Romani staring at him in concern, waving his hand he made his way over to one of the spare chairs and slumped himself down into it. Grabbing the rim of the table, he pulled himself closer before resting his arms on the surface and propping his head up.

"...You alright, Fujimaru-kun?" Romani called out with worry "You're looking a little tired there."

Ritsuka made to reply only for a yawn to cut off whatever sentence he was going to say, the young man raising his hand to cover his mouth and leaning back, his eyes fluttering slightly as they tried to keep themselves open "S-sorry." he got out "...Not a lot of sleep last night."

"I tried to wake Senpai up but he looked exhausted." Mash offered as a way of an apology "I thought it would be good for him to get a little rest before the meeting but then I lost track of time…"

"It's fine, Mash." Romani excused, giving the girl a reassuring smile "If anything, he looks like he could have done with a little more rest."

Ritsuka released a tired chuckle, shaking his head and slumping back into his chair before closing his eyes. "I'm just…gonna…" his head slowly shifted to the side before his body went loose. Da Vinci stared at him with a raised eyebrow and amused smiled as she understood what had happened.

"...How long should we leave him like this?" She asked, looking to Romani for an answer, the doctor let out a small chuckle as he stared at the sleeping Master.

"Until the Director gets here." He offered.

"Are you sure that's alright, Doctor?" Mash asked in a hushed whisper so as to not wake Ritsuka "What if the Director see's him and gets mad again?"

"I think she'll forgive this one instance." Romani remarked, waving his hand although he didn't look entirely convinced. "Although I am wondering when she'll show up." he pondered aloud, frowning as he stared at the door "We can't really start until she arrives."

A groan escaped her lips as consciousness returned to her, a numb soreness was present in her forehead as she felt herself resting against a hard surface. Olga exhaled as she quickly came to the conclusion that she had fallen asleep on her desk.

Taking in a short and somewhat annoyed breath, she pushed herself up so that she could see the clock on her desk.

The time of 9:06 AM was akin to a slap in the face. She'd known Da Vinci scheduled a meeting for half eight in the morning and she had completely missed it. A deeply annoyed growl emanated from her throat as she looked down at her outfit. Her uniform was crumpled and her hair was undoubtedly a mess from having slept with her head on her desk.

For anyone to see the Director of Chaldea like this would be nothing shy of a complete embarrassment for her.

She paused, slowly turning her head towards the corner of her office.

Ash was sat down - the left side of his face slightly red and at least looking presentable - in one of her waiting chairs with an entirely new set of armour on. This time he was wearing a thick leather set with an X shaped bandoleer across his chest with metal rivets around his waist. The collar was bright white fur extending down into a thick deep blue cape which he had draped around his body like a blanket.

His leggings were still heavy metal boots with his arms hidden underneath the cape.

"You are awake then." Ash grunted, standing up from the seat, his cape draped over his shoulders and covering his front. "That is good."

She stared at him in silence "...How long have you been there?" she asked in a quiet voice, her eyes flashing themselves away from him for a few moments and down at her desk as she struggled to contain the mix between rage and embarrassment she felt.

"I do not know." Ash replied "After Siegward healed the worst of my injuries I ventured to the cafeteria to speak with Ritsuka. However, he had already returned to his bed and Da Vinci informed me that you had retreated to your office and failed to re-emerge."

"Oh really?"

"Yes." Ash nodded his head "I entered your office to ensure your wellbeing and discovered you were already asleep on your desk." his eyes shifted to the object in question.

"Then why did you stay?" She asked in a slightly sickly voice as she gave the Saber a strained expression.

Ash frowned for a few moments "...Whenever the Fire Keep-...Cecilia said she felt troubled…she told me that simply providing her with company was calming." he offered "I had hoped that remaining here with you would alleviate any concerns you might have."

She sighed "So…what you're telling me is that you broke into my office and watched me sleep?"

"Yes."

"Ash?"

"Hm?"

"Get out."

"Very well." Turning away from her, the Saber walked towards her office door and stared at it for a few moments before it gradually started to rise up.

"One more thing." Olga called out, causing the Saber to turn his head towards her and tilt it in an innocent fashion "...Please don't enter my office and watch me sleep. At the very least, make sure I'm awake."

"Understood." He stepped out of the room and turned back to face her "How long shall I tell the others to wait before you arrive?"

Olga sighed "...Give me fifteen minutes. Also, don't tell them how you found me or what you were doing." she'd have to rush herself and wear one of her less intricate outfits. Then there was the matter of her hair to deal with.

Ash turned away from her, marching down the hallway and towards the conference room where Da Vinci had told them to meet. He still didn't understand a lot about time yet, but he would imagine he was getting close.

"Boudica's going to be fine though." Romani continued on "She stopped by the infirmary with Siegward helping her. It'll take a couple days of rest but by the end of it she'll be back to her old self." he chuckled "Although she says she feels a little guilty about leaving the Kitchen."

"Is she saying that or are you just going to miss her meals?" Da Vinci raised a suspicious eyebrow at the Doctor. Romani pointedly remained silent for a few moments before he pointed at Da Vinci.

"...Maybe." He admitted quietly "But they're so good though…Besides, you really like Siegward's coffee." he pointed out with a mildly victorious expression.

"That's because he decided to mix a rejuvenating spell into it." The woman dismissed "Everyone can agree that Siegward makes the best coffee. Right now it's who makes the best meals between him and Archer."

"I think Siegward-san and Archer-san both make very good meals." Mash offered with a small smile "It's very nice of Siegward-san to offer to help so much in the kitchen anyway."

"He just likes keeping busy, I think." Da Vinci replied with a chuckle "...I'd say he's the better baker." she nodded her head "Archer is good at traditional means while Siegward is good at breakfast goods."

"You're addicted to those pancakes." Romani sighed, shaking his head.

"Sbagliata!" Da Vinci beamed "I'm addicted to genius!"

The doctor let out a faint huff of amusement as he stared at the genius "...Those are very nice pancakes though." he admitted, then his face contorted into a sad frown "I feel bad that he can't taste anything though. I wonder if there's something we can do for him."

Da Vinci grimaced "That might be tricky. From what we can gather it's something ingrained into the Spirit Origin itself." she exhaled "...As far as Curses go it's probably one of the most powerful I've ever seen that can even afflict someone after they've died and become a Servant."

"Ash-san said it affected nearly everyone…" Mash mumbled under her breath before she looked around with a hopeful expression "B-but I'm sure we'll find a Heroic Spirit who might be able to help? Right?"

Romani stared at her for a few moments before he gave her a warm smile "Don't lose that optimism of yours Mash." he leaned back in his chair "Seriously…don't."

The door hissed open, attracting the attention of the three in the room who were awake. The watched as Ash strode into the room - briefly exchanging a glance with Romani - before they moved to one of the spare seats several down from Da Vinci and sat themselves down within it. Pulling themself closer to the table before resting with both arms on the surface. The Saber looked around the room in silence before his eyes fell onto Ritsuka. "...How long has he been asleep?"

"A couple minutes." Da Vinci replied to him "...So how come you were late?"

Ash remained silent for a few moments before he responded "I have yet to fully understand the passage of time being measured."

"You lost track of time then." Romani surmised "Alright then…Suppose we can keep track of the Director-"

"She said to give her fifteen minutes."

"...How do you know that?"

"I passed her office on my way here." He replied without missing a beat, although the slow manner in which he spoke and the fact he was still staring at the table indicated that it wasn't entirely accurate "...She told me to pass along the message."

"Hmmmmm." Da Vinci swivelled her chair towards the Saber and leaned in slightly "Is that so? Piccola bugiarda." she looked him up and down "I like the new armour by the way. I suppose your old set got a little ruined."

"I did." He nodded his head "I have already begun to use repair powder to try and fix some of the damages to it. "Ash's brows furrowed "...What were the other words you used?"

"Nothing~" The genius sang as she spun around in her chair before she exhaled "On an entirely unrelated note…how do you suppose she's doing right now?"

"I am not good at understanding people…as recent events have shown." Ash remarked as he stared down at the desk.

"You get used to it." Romani chuckled, "It's mainly women though."

Da Vinci stopped spinning in her chair, slowly turning it around to face Romani while her expression was perfectly blank. "Beg pardon?"

"W-wait…wait a moment…that's not what I…um…"

"Doctor?" Mash stared at him with a hint of hurt "Does that include me?"

"Wait, wait a second!" Romani looked between the two of them "That's not…I…"

Olga arrived twelve minutes later only to find Ritsuka asleep in his chair, Romani looking like he'd been subjected to a vicious game of childhood nicknames and Da Vinci looking oddly satisfied with herself.

Ash continued to just stare at the table in silence as she walked past him, moving towards the chair that sat at the very end of the conference table before sitting herself down in it. The woman's eyes turned to Ritsuka "...Wake him up."

"Senpai." Mash rubbed his shoulders gently "Senpai."

"Mmmmh?" Ritsuka murmured as he turned in his sleep, blinking "M-Mash?" he whispered out, reaching a hand up to rub his eyes "Sorry…just closed my eyes for a moment." he apologised as he sat up "What did I miss?"

"Nothing." He froze at Olga's voice, slowly turning his chair around to face her. The woman stared at him in complete silence, seemingly examining him for any further signs of drowsiness. "Fortunately for you."

"Now now…" Romani waved her down "It's been a rough couple of days." he explained away "And they just returned from a Singularity. I'm sure it can be-"

"I would agree." She curtly cut him off "Were it not for the fact we came face to face with our adversary." she took in a deep intake of breath "King Solomon - if he is to be believed - is responsible for the incineration of humanity. The King of Mages and founder of Magecraft itself had apparently decided we no longer deserve to live…"

"So it seems." Da Vinci cupped her chin with a serious expression on her face "...And it seems that he will be our final target once we deal with the Singularities."

"Y-yeah." Ritsuka rubbed his brow "We have to deal with him personally…that's what he said?"

"That's what he said." Romani nodded his head, frowning "Restoring the Seven Singularities apparently means nothing to him. The fact he didn't even attempt to kill you shows that he doesn't take us seriously in the least."

Ritsuka remained silent for a few moments before he looked around the table "That's a good thing…right?" he saw the brief expressions of confusion "Well…he said he won't interfere and if he isn't taking us seriously then he might make a mistake?"

"I'm going to excuse that comment on the fact that you are ill-informed as to quite how powerful Solomon is." Olga raised her hand "His dismissal of us is because we apparently don't even register as a threat to him and with seventy-two of the Demon Gods - like the one we encountered in the third Singularity - at his disposal he does not need to intervene personally."

"We beat Forneus though…" Ritsuka pointed out, only for Olga to give him a flat look.

"We beat one. After it killed one servant and crippled another and was attacked by a wayward Phantasmal, then relied upon Francis Drake using the Grail to fuel the use of a Noble Phantasm." She let out a breath and slumped "Seventy-two of them is…"

"Well…let's focus on what we know for now." Da Vinci spoke up, flashing Mash and Ritsuka a faint smile "I got the report back from Maxwell. The third Singularity was restored. It seems whoever saved Francis Drake returned her back to her proper time and place. So we might have a little assistance from someone out there."

"Solomon said he didn't know about them…" Ritsuka pointed out.

"That might also be because he made no effort to look into us." Olga muttered, then shook her head and turned to Da Vinci "What did you get from the readings of Forneus?"

The genius winced slightly, then pressed a small button and pointed towards the wall behind the Director. The lights dimmed as a projector descended from the ceiling and flashed an image onto the wall.

"This number is the Saint Graph reading of our resident Irish Lancer." Da Vinci pointed at the screen as a number flashed up "He's considered to be a B+ to A rank Servant so his power ranking sits at around eighty."

"...Is that high?" Ritsuka looked around the room.

"Usually? Yes." Da Vinci nodded her head "In a traditional Grail War, this would be very high. Usual rankings go from E to A with each increase representing an addition of ten to the original value. If we get into the plus, then that's just doubling the value of the original number."

"Right…" Ritsuka nodded his head "...What's Mash?"

"Senpai?"

"...She's around C+ to B at the moment." Da Vinci admitted, Ritsuka smiled and sent the shielder a thumbs up, earning a faint smile from the girl in response.

"Anyway. That's just the usual Saint Graph readings." Da Vinci's expression tightened. "...This number represents the power Ranking we discerned from Forneus." she pressed the button again.

Ritsuka's expression faltered into a slight downwards expression.

"...Two and a half thousand?"

"His magical signature was higher than that of a Holy Grail." Da Vinci replied "Moving on from that, Forneus' rank in the book of Ars Goetia places him as a Marquis. Which is slap bang in the middle of Pillar rankings."

"Then…he's average?" Ritsuka looked down.

"He's Average." Da Vinci nodded her head "...Then there was Solomon."

"...What did he register as?"

Da Vinci's expression faltered slightly, looking away for a few moments as she bit her lip. "It's not that importan-"

"Da Vinci." Ritsuka stared at her "...What did Solomon rank at?"

The Caster stared at him, then wordlessly pressed the remote again.

"...Is that a decimal point?"

"...No." Da Vinci shook her head "...Solomon ranked at Twenty-thousand on the Saint Graph reading from what we could get from him. " she quickly raised her hands "Don't worry too much about the numbers miei amici!" she hastily added on "I'd only rank as a C rank Servant so I'm only at a value of thirty but I'm obviously worth much more than that."

"Right…" Ritsuka shakily nodded his head "Just a big number is all…" He admitted with shaky breath. He exhaled "So…Singularities first then?"

"Singularities first." Olga agreed "With Solomon refusing to act, we are afforded freedom through apathy. Our goal remained the correction of the Singularities anyway."

Romani nodded his head before he frowned "...Solomon said all seven of his Singularities." he commented after a few moments, his brows furrowed in confusion.

"And?" Olga gave him a raised eyebrow.

"...There are eight Singularities." He replied "Excluding Singularity F." he added "So…does that mean that the eighth Singularity isn't his?"

Olga frowned in thought, turning to Da Vinci who sported a similar expression of puzzlement "Perhaps a third party?"

"It's possible." The Caster slowly nodded her head "But a minute Singularity was created when the Goddess Artemis broke into Chaldea and stole all our food. It might be something like this."

"Someone stealing all our food?" Ritsuka gave an incredulous expression, earning a roll of the eyes from Da Vinci.

"Not what I meant. I mean someone creating a Singularity themselves outside of Solomon's designs. However, as the end result still distorts the natural flow of human history he would have no reason to correct it so it works out in his favour."

Olga hummed in response, leaning back into her chair before she sighed "Alright…alright…for the time being, focus on finding the next Singularity." she looked down "When it comes to Solomon we can…we can…" she looked down at the desk, her lip quivering slightly "We can…"

"We can deal with it later." Romani quickly cut in "We've only just found out what we're dealing with. For the time being we should prioritise the Singularities. We can worry about Solomon as a secondary objective until we're ready to face him." he gave a faint smile "We'll probably get some other Servants at some point…we can begin strategising after we know more about the Singularities. We did defeat a Demon Pillar God. So it's not impossible."

"Yeah." Ritsuka gave a nod of his head, his lip twitching upwards "We can do this…"

"Nice attitude!" Da Vinci snapped her finger while pointing at him "Positiva thinking is what we need right now!"

"...What language does she keep speaking in?" Ash frowned at the Caster before looking around. "It doesn't make sense to me."

Romani blinked "Why not?" then paused "By the way…is that Grail still in your Bottomless Box?"

"Yes." Ash nodded his head, then looked at Da Vinci "...I assume you want it put with the others?"

"For the time being, yes." Da Vinci nodded her head "Considering its a Grail from another world, it is certainly something worth looking into. Stop by my workshop later." she paused, then narrowed her eyes at him "And don't break anything this time."

"...I wasn't intending on it." Ash replied with a small frown, looking down.

"Alright then." Olga interrupted "Jokes aside. This concludes our meeting." she looked at Romani "You start searching for the next Singularity." then turned to Ritsuka "You…get some rest. Same with you Mash. Your performance has been adequate thus far and you are in need of sufficient rest before we resume teaching and summoning."

"Alright." Ritsuka nodded his head, giving Olga a faint smile "Thanks Director."

"Hmm." Olga hummed in response, "Just prepare yourself and remember the notes I gave you." she then turned to Ash "And you."

"Hm?" Ash tilted his head "Is there a problem?"

"While Chaldea's generators are capable of supporting multiple Servants and repeated summonings, that does not make our reserves infinite. Repeatedly summoning someone back after they stupidly threw away their life is not something that can be justified." she narrowed her eyes "Refrain from such acts in the future."

Ash looked down at the table again "...Hm." he let out a small hum in response.

"Alright everyone." Romani slid back "...I heard Siegward was making cake. So I'm going to the Cafeteria."

"Is it his chocolate or caramel?" Olga asked.

"I don't know…" Romani frowned "It might also be velvet…He was looking through some of Julius cookbooks and thinking of branching out. I wanted to get some before the Servants did."

Olga wordlessly stood up from her chair and quickly paced over to the door, Romani watched her leave before his eyebrows raised themselves "H-hey!" he skirted around the table after her "I want some of that cake too!" he called out as he raced for the door.

"You eat enough cake! You're a doctor, take better care of your body!" Olga's voice echoed back through the hallway.

Ritsuka, Mash, Ash and Da Vinci watched the duo sprint out of the room and disappear around the corner as fast as they could before they all looked back around. "...I wonder if Siegward is putting some of that magical stuff in his cake." Ritsuka muttered aloud as he stood up.

"Senpai." Mash frowned at him "You need rest. Having cake so early in the morning is bad for your health."

"Yeah…" Rituska looked down, idly drawing circles on the table with his fingers "...but what if it all gets eaten." he muttered aloud.

Mash opened her mouth to reply before it slowly closed "We…should probably get him to save us some." she allowed, standing up and following Ritsuka out of the room quietly.

Da Vinci and Ash remained in the room by themselves, both staring at the now empty room before the Saber slowly rose from his seat. "I shall wait for such a time as I am needed."

"Not going for any cake?" Da Vinci asked, Ash shook his head in response.

"It would be wasted on me." He commented as he walked towards the door.

Da Vinci sighed at him, shaking her head at him as he left.

She would have to thank Siegward for accepting her request for cooking the velvet cake. Considering how stressful the situation had been, it hadn't taken much to convince the Saber to try and cook up some treats for the staff to try and take their minds off of everything. Suffice to say the Saber had been all for it once she explained it to him.

It might not be healthy, but she figured they could afford to indulge themselves.

Especially with everything that lay ahead of them. They'd probably need a few more rests like this.

AN: Little Aftermath Chapter. A nice little Siegward and Da Vinci collaboration to make everyone sugary treats.

Anyway, we're going onto a By the Bonfire Chapter after this…

Oh yeah.

Ash isn't dead. Surprised no one realised that. He never had a final death and was summoned moments after snuffing the flame.

As for why he's weaker than you expected, there's a very good reason for that.

His Servant Container is restricting him in the same way you summon Servants as opposed to Heroic Spirits themselves.