By the Bonfire: Curse of creativity
"Where do they take all the clothes?" Astolfo gulped down another bite of his breakfast as he stared at Siegward with a puzzled expression for a moment, the knight nodded his head in response. "They take them to get washed."
"They have servants here?" Siegward blinked in surprise, then turned around to look at Archer "Did you know of that?"
Archer didn't even look away from the pan of food he was frying while he replied "They take them to the room with all the washing machines." He elaborated further on Astolfo's point "It's nothing special."
Siegward looked at him for a few moments more, then turned back to Astolfo and leaned in closer to him, dropping his voice into a low whisper "What's a washing machine?"
Astolfo remained silent for a few moments. There were many ways he could reply to this particular statement. Had he been more reasonable, he would have simply explained the entire idea of a 'washing machine' properly to Siegward as a contraption which cleans clothes. However, his sense of reason had long since evaporated and he was left only with a single desire to act on impulse.
As such, he decided to say the first thing that came into his head. "It's a metal prison where tiny fairies are forced to clean clothes forever." he blurted out in an equally quiet voice. Siegward's expression froze, the knight stared back into Astolfo's eyes in a searching manner. The pink haired Rider looked back at him with an expression of resolution, the two falling into dead silence as they stared back at eachother for a few moments before Siegward leaned back, his lips pursing.
"...I see." He muttered quietly, then looked left and right before leaning in again. "And…where is this room with the 'washing machines'?" he asked. Astolfo bit his lower lip in amusement, this was absolutely going to end splendidly with no possible consequences in any way shape or form.
"But it's like there's two of them now…" Romani leaned back into his chair with a face of resignation "One was bad enough but now she's acting like she's got to compete with a sibling or something."
Kerry turned around in her chair, leaning forwards and giving Romani a raised eyebrow "Is that bad?" she looked around at the others in the room "I'm asking seriously here, is that actually bad? Sure, Da Vinci is a little excitable-"
"You've never been in the same room with her alone." Ritsuka and Romani replied at the same time, then both frowned and looked at each other, their eyes full of kindredship. Romani shook his head and turned back to Kerry "It's not that bad a thing, I'm just worried she's going to bring out some of Da Vinci's less…restrained ideas."
Kerry nodded her head slowly, her eyes darting between Romani and Ritsuka before landing on the doctor. "Sorry, I was listening but can we just go back to you and Da Vinci being in the same room…alone?" she put on a catlike smirk as she stared at the doctor. The others in the Command centre slowly turned their chairs around to give the doctor equally inquisitive looks.
Romani matched them all with an unimpressed look on his face "Really? It's not what you're all thinking if that's what has you all so worked up."
"Oh~?" Kerry sang, leaning back into her chair and smiling wider "And what am I thinking R-man?"
"R-man?" Ritsuka spoke in a mirthful tone while raising an amused eyebrow to match, looking at Romani and then at Kerry "Can I call you R-man?"
"No." Romani shut him down instantly "Could you imagine what the Director would do if we all started using nicknames around her in a professional environment?" the man shivered, "I'd rather not contemplate it."
"Hmmmm." Maxwell gave a low hum in response "Yeah. Gods forbid anyone around here have fun." he muttered in a bitter tone as he turned his chair back around to face the screen.
Romani stared at the man with a brief frown for a few moments before sighing, turning his attention back to Ritsuka "Anyway, my relationship with Leo is hardly-"
"Leo?" Kerry chortled, Romani let out another sigh in response.
"Stop." He waved his hand at the woman "Listen, Fujimaru-kun. I was hoping that considering she was your Servant, you could try and convince Pharros to try and tone down her ideas."
"Have they been that bad?" Ritsuka tilted his head in puzzlement, leaning back and crossing his arms "I haven't seen all that much of her since she got summoned…actually, I haven't seen much of Da Vinci either now that I think about it." he realised with a growing look of worry "Is that a bad sign?"
"I'm not sure." Romani's eyebrows slowly raised themselves higher up his forehead "...I'm actually getting a little worried now. Leo was talking about making some improvements to her other inventions and how she had a burst of inspiration…should we go and see what's wrong just in case." he muttered as he gradually stood up from his seat.
Kerry looked at the two before she slowly stood up, Romani and Ritsuka stared at her in surprise. "What?" she shrugged at them "I'm not missing this."
"Alright then." Romani pointed at Maxwell and Meuniere "We'll be back soon. If the Director comes in while we're not here, tell her we're just following up on something."
"I'll be sure to inform her." Maxwell curtly replied as he continued to examine his monitor, Meuniere watched the man with a hint of a frown before he nodded towards the pair.
"We'll inform her." Meuniere reassured them as the trio swiftly made their way out of the command room. The Frenchman watched the trio leave before he turned his chair towards Maxwell. "You're getting frustrated again."
Maxwell sighed "I know…I just…"
"Don't like dealing with the Director, I know." Meuniere nodded his head, then offered a faint smile "She's changed a little-"
"Little." Maxwell pointed out, turning his chair towards the man "That's the key word. She's still…" he let out a low growl and spun his chair to face the monitor again "Much too demanding and much too inexperienced in this sort of thing. I know none of us were exactly ready for it but…we're running with a skeleton crew and she just expects excellence to just flow from our fingertips."
"It's not like we can afford mistakes though." Meuniere responded "There was that festival for the Moon a couple weeks ago." he pointed out "Could you imagine her doing that before?"
"Hmmm." Maxwell grunted in response "No. Doesn't change much though."
Meuniere let out a quiet sigh as he leaned back into his chair. Despite how Maxwell did have a slight point about the Director. She wasn't exactly trained for leadership and it showed, whatever minor improvements she made in her personality didn't change the simple fact that she just…wasn't suited for her role. She wasn't like Marisbury or like Wodime who had been trained to take up the mantle of commanding a place like this. She wasn't calm under pressure and she just seemed to expect excellence from anything.
Maybe she would improve or maybe she wouldn't. It was an instance of only time being able to tell, the problem was that they didn't have a lot of that.
The three walked through the hallway in relative silence as they approached the elevator, Kerry humming to herself as she walked besides Romani and Ritsuka. She actually liked the two of them. Romani because he was the type of lazy idiot that was just a breath of fresh air around a place like Chaldea. Especially considering most Magi didn't give her the time of day as one of the civilian staff members.
And Ritsuka was another civilian they had brought in. So they had that in common…
Actually, she didn't think they had spoken all that much beyond passing comments while he was on a mission.
"Hey, if when we get to Da Vinci's workshop and something is on fire…what's the proper course of action?" She found herself asking the duo, Ritsuka blinked while Romani suddenly looked as though he had only just considered that as a possibility. The man swiftly paling while the Master hummed.
"Do we have any fire extinguishers?" He asked, looking at the doctor, Romani quickly jolted himself back into the present and shrugged.
"I know we have some fire extinguishers knocking around but to be honest…I'm not that informed as to the safety layout of Chaldea." He admitted with a moderately embarrassed look, Kerry stared at him with an incredulous expression.
"Aren't you supposed to be a doctor or something?"
"Well…yeah. I'm here for when the accidents occur so I can heal someone." He replied while scratching his cheek "If you're asking about accident prevention…that would have been Raina Boycee's responsibility and she was…" he trailed off meaningfully. Kerry grimaced in response. Another of those who had been in the command room at the time of the explosion. "Sorry though."
"No, it's fine." Kerry sniffed "Just stick to your lane, R-man."
"...Please stop calling me that." Romani insisted with an almost pathetic whine, earning snorts of amusement from Ritsuka and Kerry at the man's response. The latter quietly chuckled to herself for a few more moments before the trio came to a halt in front of the elevator. Romani leaned forwards and pressed the call button before joining the other two again. "I wonder if Leo is going to be mad that we're approaching her like this."
"Heh." Kerry gave a short bark of laughter and elbowed Ritsuka lightly "Guess someone is afraid of the missus."
"You can laugh all you want, but you'll both be on her radar if we interrupt her in the middle of something." Romani pointed out with a wry smile, quickly snuffing out the amused looks on the pair's faces, he then paused and put on a thoughtful face "Actually, did Ash ever say what she had him doing after he ripped her door apart?"
Ritsuka opened his mouth to reply before he closed it again, the boy blinking several times. He actually hadn't heard what Da Vinci had him doing. Neither of them spoke of it and he'd never asked about it. Now he was actually a little worried considering how Ash had reacted at the mention of visiting Da Vinci when he put that hole in the wall in the gym.
"Do you think she's bullying the other Servants?" Ritsuka found himself asking aloud, Romani sent him an incredulous expression for a few moments before he let out a light chuckle and waved his hand.
"Probably not so much 'bullying' as harassing them to take part in whatever she's cooked up." The man reasoned "She might be a little-"
"Weird." Kerry helpfully added, the woman taking a single step forwards as the elevator doors opened up, the other two following her in. "And a bit on the impulsive side."
"...You said it. Not me." Romani muttered to himself, pressing the floor button and watching the doors close. "But yes. She might be a little like all that but she does mean well…she's probably eighty percent of the reason Chaldea is still running right now."
"She'd probably say that number is too low." Ritsuka commented, giving Romani a knowing look "I'll say she would say it's more in the ninety percent region."
"That's probably not far off either." Romani chuckled in response, blinking as the doors opened slightly earlier than he was expecting. The reason for that being they had stopped one floor early.
The metal doors whined as they pulled themselves open, Siegward on the other side of them with an unusually serious expression as he walked into the elevator with the other three. Nodding and smiling to all of them in greeting before he turned around and stared at the button panel. "...Which of these takes me to the room of clothes cleaning?" he asked as he stared at them.
"That would be the fifth floor." Romani helpfully supplied, then tilted his head in puzzlement "Why?"
Siegward silently cast the doctor a glance over his shoulder before he stared straight ahead. "I believe I might be on a quest for liberation." he ominously muttered to himself before looking back at Romani "Do you also have any knowledge of tiny fairies here?"
Romani's eyes nearly bugged out of his skull "Wha-not that I know of!" the man shouted out in horror "Where did you hear about this?"
"Oh, good. You didn't know." Siegward exhaled in relief, then looked to Ritsuka and Kerry expectantly. Both shaking their heads in a negative fashion. Seemingly pleased, the knight turned back around and stared at the elevator doors in silence as the lift resumed its movements.
Romani would have most certainly liked to comment upon that odd topic further, however the chime of the elevator moments later informed him that they had arrived on their actual stop this time. Although he was hesitant, Romani supposed that it couldn't be that pressing of a matter.
The doctor moved around the onion knight and onto the floor with Ritsuka and Kerry following him out, the former eventually turned around to Siegward and tilted his head. "So wait…what did you mean by liberating?"
"I was just going to see if any small fairies were actually being held captive in metal prisons to clean clothes." Siegward helpfully explained as the doors slowly closed again, the Knight giving them a final smile "I will be back with news of success soon!"
Ritsuka furrowed his brows and stared at the closed doors to the elevator for a few moments in silence before he slowly turned to face Romani and Kerry. The two sporting equally uncomprehending expressions before the latter shrugged her shoulders. "Probably nothing to worry about anyway."
"Whenever someone says something like that, it's always something to worry about." Ritsuka pointed out, crossing his arms in front of himself "...I'm gonna have Cu check up on him later to see what that was about. Although it's Siegward…still…tiny fairies trapped in metal boxes that clean clothes?" he repeated with a bewildered tone "Do you actually have that?"
"Not that I know of." Romani shook his head "The only thing on the fifth floor that cleans clothes is the washing machines. Although those are running only on weekly cycles and only the seventh room is active right now for power consumption purposes."
"Is the power problem still that bad?" Kerry asked as they resumed their walk, Romani gave a 'so-so' gesture with his hand in response.
"We can only really power about six floors of Chaldea right now." Romani explained "That's pretty much all the vital area's that we still need like food, water and Chaldeas. The Simulator was booted up for the Servants to continue training and that's sort of pushing it." his expression shifted slightly "Although Da Vinci was saying she might have another method coming up to increase our power capacity to be able to activate more of Chaldea's systems."
"That's good news, right?" Ritsuka asked, looking to the other two then frowned when he noticed Romani cringe "What's wrong?"
"The issue is still the matter of repairs." Romani admitted "I don't understand a lot of the technical aspects-"
"A lot of Chaldea's equipment was made off site and flown in." Kerry explained, placing her hands on her hips and nodding along as she understood Romani's point "Basically, even if we can get power again it doesn't mean squat if none of the stuff we have here actually works. Da Vinci probably could make equipment which is as good if not better than what we already have…but we just don't have the supplies for them." she looked at Romani "That about right?"
Romani stared at her with clear surprise for a few moments before he slowly nodded his head "Y-yeah…how did you-"
"I was part of the engineering team before I was made into an operator." Kerry mirthfully pointed out "I might not look it but I am actually a very smart person." she sniffed and looked back at Ritsuka "Anyway it ain't so much an issue of powering up everything as it is making sure there's something to power up in the first place. We can do the floors we can because that's pretty much all we can reliably repair, try to go beyond this and…well…some of the wiring and what not might not be as good and you probably don't want to be in a corridor when life support turns off."
Ritsuka and Romani blanched, Kerry gave a lopsided smile and nodded her head "Yeah…bad times all around." she then blinked, her eyes looking up and her lips curving into a small frown as she stared at a few loose strands of curly hair falling across her face. "Do you think Da Vinci could invent me some decent hair straighteners?"
Romani almost face-faulted "Wh-what?" the man choked out in surprise "You want to ask Leonardo Da Vinci, Caster class Servant and our lead technical advisor to make you some hair straighteners?"
"Well…yeah." Kerry shrugged "I mean, they'd be good wouldn't they?"
Ritsuka tilted his head "I thought you were an engineer?"
Kerry gave him a flat look "Just because I can help manage the running of a secret facility and help someone travel through time doesn't mean I can make hair straighteners."
Ritsuka just shrugged "Fair enough." he replied without much other words on the topic. Romani stared at him with a gobsmacked expression before swiftly returning his attention to Kerry.
"You're not asking Leo to make you hair straighteners." He spoke in a stern tone with his hands on his hips, Kerry rolled her eyes in amusement before shrugging.
"Alright then." She waved her hand "Maybe next time we can summon a hairstylist or something."
Ritsuka blinked, looking at Romani "Are there any famous hairstylists?" he found himself asking, the doctor gave him a surprised look before shrugging his shoulders in response.
The door to the room gradually opened up, Siegward stared at the rows of white metallic cubes. All of which held a circular glass window on the front of them with buttons layering their front. The Knight frowned as he walked into the room, looking at each of them with a studious expression.
This was certainly not what he had been expecting to see.
The man moved through the room with purpose, drawn towards the low rumbling sound at the far end from one of the metal cubes. He could see a faint flashing green light emanating from the front of the strange contraption, hidden behind a black glassy surface. Siegward frowned as he approached.
He had only ever seen such flashing lights from bugs near the swamps during the night on his journeys. Were they trapping insects in these strange devices too? Unless…
He recalled what Astolfo had to say on fairies.
"Those things? Oh, they're normally just little floating orbs of light that make little high pitched noises. I mean, that's how the stories normally go and all that. Actually, they are much weirder than those stories mention. More often than not you'll find they're taller than me. Actually I heard that Goblins are a type of fairy so that might actually be different from what I know…unless they're a different type of fairy!"
…The boy liked to rant on at times but he meant well.
Siegward slowed to a halt as he stared down at the metal box in front of him, squinting his eyes at the reflective surface he could make out words being shown back at him.
"Spin…cycle?" He muttered to himself in confusion, tilting his head. What manner of cycle had they trapped these poor glowing creatures in!? His eyes danced across the surface as the numbers continued to count downwards. Their cycle was coming to a halt? What would happen when it reached zero?
He slowly looked around at all the other metal boxes in the room.
Their lights were empty with no words upon them. No trace of light indicating there was anything there.
Siegward's eyes widened as he turned back to the box. These poor fairies were stuck in a cycle and were about to be sent into the dark age!
"Fret not my small friends!" Siegward boomed out, cocking his fist back "I, Siegward of Catarina, shall free you from your cursed fate!"
"I'm just saying that if you can summon someone like Da Vinci, I don't see why you couldn't summon Franz Ströher or something." Kerry continued on "I mean…that's pretty famous, right?"
Romani looked at her with a confused expression - a look which Ritsuka copied almost perfectly - earning a roll of the eyes from the engineer "Really?" she huffed "The founder of the Wella company? They're a German hair-care company."
"I don't think that's in the same sort of group as the likes of Da Vinci." Ritsuka replied with a dubious look on his face "I thought they were supposed to leave their mark on History or something like that?"
"Are you saying this German company that specialises in hair products hasn't left their mark on History?" Kerry retorted with narrowed eyes at the pair before she let out a disappointed sigh "Actually, now that I say it aloud you're probably right. What would their Noble Phantasm even be? Shampoo based?"
Ritsuka snorted, "Actually, I'd like to see that purely for the entertainment value alone." he then sighed "Although I think the Director would disagree."
Kerry released a sigh "Yeah…you're probably right." she replied in a crestfallen tone of voice as the trio finally approached the door to Da Vinci's workshop. The brunette came to a halt in front of the door before looking over her shoulder at the pair behind her "So who's knocking?"
Neither of them replied to her.
"Seriously?" She sweatdropped "It's not gonna blow up."
"Then you knock." Ritsuka gestured to the door, Kerry gave him a flat look.
"Fine. I will." She let out a huff as she turned to the door, reaching towards it before her hand stopped barely an inch from touching the metal. "I mean, it's not like she's rigged the door or anything, right?"
"No./Of course not." Ritsuka and Romani replied at the same time with equally reassuring voices, the only issue was that neither of them was willing to knock on the door. Meaning the support fell flat on its face.
"Yeah…that would be silly." Kerry mirthfully chuckled, gradually reaching closer to the door before she retracted her hand spun around to face the duo "Just because everyone else who has thus far approached her door has done so with permission or just flat out ripped it off its hinges doesn't mean she wouldn't rig up a booby trap, right?"
"Yeah." Romani nodded his head "Leo isn't really like other Magi, she wouldn't rig up her workshop to kill uninvited guests."
Ritsuka and Kerry stared at the man with rapidly paling features. "T-they don't actually do that…right?" the woman asked first with a shaky expression, searching for any hint of jesting in Romani's voice. When the man froze on the spot and gave the pair of them thoroughly surprised expressions, she figured that he was being serious.
"Oh…right…you didn't interact with Magi all that much, did you?" The doctor muttered to himself before shaking his head and waving his hand "But come on, it's Leo. She wouldn't do something like experiment on us-"
"That would depend on whether you would be willing volunteers."
"Take him!" Kerry reacted on instinct to the arrival of the sudden voice, lashing out and grabbing Romani by the shoulders and swinging him around to be held in front of her like a shield. The doctor himself only had a second to realise what had occurred before the man sputtered in shock.
"What-!?"
"Pfft." Da Vinci snickered at the three before slowly shaking her head, moving past them before giving Romani a side-eyed look "Maybe later~" she sang out, earning a terrified expression from the man as she opened up the door to her workshop "Now, now. Don't dawdle, you're just in time to witness my latest creation!" she exclaimed as she rushed into the room.
Romani looked over his shoulder at Kerry with an expression of pure betrayal, Kerry gave him a nervous giggle before releasing the doctor and spinning on her heel and following after Da Vinci. The doctor stared at her retreating form for a few moments before he straightened out his messy coat and turned to Ritsuka.
"You wouldn't offer me up as a shield, would you?"
"No." Ritsuka shook his head "I'd run and pray that you were slower than me." that earned a huff of barely concealed amusement from the doctor.
"At least that's a fair chance." He replied as he followed the Master into the workshop. The three entered the rather spacious and jarring tonal shift of the room with a slight hesitancy about them due to the relative excitement of the Caster in question.
The three came to a stop as they stared at the table in the centre of the room, staring down at the object in question with equally blank looks before they turned their attention towards Da Vinci. The woman gazed back at them with an ecstatic smile.
"Don't all praise it at once." She exclaimed, resting her hands on the table "Come on, let me hear your lavish praises!"
"So what does it do?" Ritsuka found himself asking first, looking towards the genius with a raised eyebrow. Da Vinci blinked then nodded her head.
"Ah, right. I should probably explain it first." She muttered to herself, flipping the box around and sliding it towards them. "This is the Da Vinci patented 'Little Big Box'."
"Little big box." Romani repeated slowly "Huh?"
"Come on now, it's not that complicated." The woman muttered under her breath as she gestured to the small white container with a length of twenty centimetres, a height of ten centimeres and a width of ten centimetres. "It's a little box…that's actually a big box."
"So…it's a big box that you've shrunk down?" Ritsuka guessed with a shrug, Da Vinci stared at him with a blank look before she sighed.
"When you put it like that it doesn't sound so impressive, but yes." She gestured to it "Ash's Bottomless Box actually gave me the idea although it isn't nearly as good so far. The inner volume of the box is basically double the volume of the box if it were the dimensions of what it appears to be."
"Ooooh." The three made equal noises of understanding, then looked at the plain white box with varying degree's of interest to it. Da Vinci waved her hand with a frown.
"It's not my best work, I was only making it as a side project while I worked on the generator and the Divine Basin." She smirked slightly "I'm calling it that because it's easier to differentiate it between the Holy Grails we currently have. Also I prefer it to Lordvessel."
"Lord Vessel?" Ritsuka asked with a confused expression "Is that what it's actually called?"
"Yeah but I like Divine Basin. It sounds more quirky." She offered as way of an explanation "But as for an early project incorporating some of that Bottomless Box idea, it's not that bad. If I can improve upon it further then we might be able to bring down supplies in the Rayshift." she winced "Still a few teething problems though."
"What sort of problems?" Romani tilted his head "It's not dangerous is it?"
"No, but the box doesn't decrease the weight of what you put in it." She explained "Even if I adjust the inner volume of the box to increase its load capacity, it does not affect the total weight of the box once it's filled up. Basically it's going to weigh as much as whatever you're carrying."
Ritsuka looked at the box in a new light with a slight frown "Well…at least it's smaller?"
"It's only a prototype so it's not meant to be perfect." She turned her eyes to the door and quirked her lip slightly. "I was wondering when she would arrive."
The trio remained confused for a few moments until the door opened up, the unmistakable figure of Pharros marched into the room with a faint spring in her step before she caught sight of the three individuals in the room with Da Vinci. "Oh! Judges for my prototype idea. Excellent." she beamed, moving around them while carrying something under her arm.
"So how did it go with you?" Pharros directed the question to Da Vinci as she moved around the table to stand opposite the Caster "I know you've got a lot of responsibilities right now but-"
Da Vinci gestured down at the box, Pharros turned her head to stare at it before giving a thoughtful hum. Placing her own wooden box on the table and leaning over to grab Da Vinci's. The woman raised it up to her eyes and examined it from every angle before she opened it up and hummed again. "Bigger on the inside." she immediately identified, then frowned "But around double the volume of what it would be normally." she placed it back down.
"For a first time attempt, this is incredible." Pharros smiled at Da Vinci "From what I heard, the earliest Item Boxes were constructed by the founder of Sorcery although his name escapes me." she muttered to herself "I believe their alias was Paledrake but I might be wrong on that."
"Don't worry about that, I'll make a Da Vinci version soon enough." The Caster remarked with a smirk before she looked at Pharros box with a raised eyebrow "Did we have the same idea?"
"Hm?" Pharros blinked and turned to the box before chuckling and shaking her head "No, not exactly." she replied, sliding her project in front of her and opening the lid to reveal what was inside.
"Binoculars?" Kerry blinked, squinting at them "Are they at least…special binoculars?"
"Well…obviously." Pharros gave a mirthful huff, picking them up and handing them to Romani "Have a look."
Romani took the binoculars out of her hands gently before slowly holding them up to his eyes and looking around the room. The man swiftly lowered them again as his gaze fell onto Da Vinci, he blinked several times at her before raising the binoculars once again.
"Wow…Leo, you're glowing!" He blurted out in surprise, Da Vinci raised an eyebrow at him before she gave a coy smirk and placed a hand on her hip.
"Really Romani?" She chuckled, "I am surprised it's taken you this long to notice my beauty." the doctor spluttered and swiftly lowered the binoculars again before giving the Caster a pitiful expression.
"Don't tease me, I was being literal." He whined, handing the binoculars to Ritsuka "You have a look, Fujimaru-kun."
Ritsuka gave a short hum as he took the gadget from the doctor and gave it a once over, shrugging his shoulders he then held it up to his eyes and looked at Da Vinci before he slowly lowered them. Blinking several times, he raised them up and stared at her "Huh…he's right." he remarked.
"Really?" Kerry found herself asking, leaning over and deftly plucking the bino's from Ritsuka's hands "Let me have a…hey, he's right!" she exclaimed as she looked through them, then turned her attention to Pharros "Hey, so are you! You've both got this white glow around you."
"Something simple I whipped up quickly to show you." Pharros explained "A lot of my work usually relies on lockstones that I invented but I had a couple new ideas." gesturing to the Binoculars, she turned her attention to Da Vinci "Those will highlight anyone with a significant amount of magical energy to them. I used a refractory lense that would usually be used in a catalyst and placed them in the binoculars." she shrugged "It isn't actually all that specific though…"
"It just lets you see if someone isn't all they appear to be." Da Vinci hummed to herself, reaching out and taking the binoculars from Kerry and closely examining them "It's nothing that a normal Servant couldn't account for and it's hardly something that can pierce through decent presence concealment I assume?"
"Probably not." Pharros admitted easily "But the way I see it, it's probably good for Servants without a good eyesight or senses."
"It is." Da Vinci admitted "If an opponent is at a considerable distance and out in the open, it would most certainly highlight them. Although if they used this on a Divine Spirit, they'd probably end up blind. Or any Servant with a high magical signature." she muttered to herself.
Pharros winced and nodded her head "Still a few teething problems."
The two gave identical hums of thoughtfulness.
"This is less destructive than I was envisioning." Romani quietly admitted to the other two "This sort of stuff actually sounds pretty impressive. Once all the kinks are worked out, but it's still amazing."
""Thank you."" The two women replied at the same time before they stared at eachother in silence. ""He meant me.""
Ritsuka pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head, he could already tell where this was going. Evidently so could Romani and Kerry if the exasperated expressions on their faces were any indication.
"It was mainly directed at both of you." Romani hastily replied in an attempt to halt any sort of competitive argument that might have emerged as a result as he looked between the two of them. "Anyway…as for why we actually came down here to begin with."
"You were worried that me and Pharros would get too competitive?" Da Vinci guessed, sending Romani a flat look before giving him a disappointing eye roll "Come on now, Romani. I know how to organise my time efficiently, and while I do appreciate the challenge I'm not going to lose myself in a little comparison match while Chaldea is still in need of my genius."
Pharros shrugged "I haven't actually been asked to do anything yet so I was still just getting used to my location." she admitted "I never really spent that long in any one place before so it's a little jarring to be given an area where I can create items for use." she then looked around the room "Although I doubt it will be as impressive as this…" she quietly muttered to herself.
"That's more because my Territory Creation skill is better than yours." Da Vinci waved her hand "Also I've been here longer anyway." she then paused before cupping her chin "Actually, I was looking at designs for Mystic Code uniforms."
"I suppose I can make a few." Pharros replied, then shrugged "Actually it would more be personal items like my mask to protect you from fire rather than clothes." she gestured to her plain dark blue robes with a knowing smile "I'm not exactly what you would call…fashionably gifted."
"We can't all be universal geniuses." Da Vinci gave an exaggerated sigh while her lip quirked into a faint smile, Pharros responded with a playful click of the tongue before she crossed her arms.
"Hmmm." The opposing Caster hummedin response before she looked at the three, then at Ritsuka "So…I don't suppose there's actually anything I can do to help around here? I'm asking considering you are my summoner? Master?" she frowned, scrunching her face up in thought "That's a weird thing to call someone, isn't it?" the woman turned back to Da Vinci "Does it ever feel weird?"
Da Vinci shrugged "If you just think of it like a title denoting an occupation rather than a position built around a societal norm then it's not that bothersome."
"Ooooh." Pharros let out a noise of understanding as she nodded her head "Alright then." her attention returned to Ritsuka "So?"
"Umm…" He blinked, looking between the two of them for a few moments before he turned to Romani and shrugged "I'm not that sure?"
"We could probably do with some help in the engineering and repairs department." Romani offered up, then gestured to Da Vinci "Leo could probably do with some help, right?"
Da Vinci gave Romani a look of faux hurt "Are you saying my genius isn't good enough for you?" she asked, placing her hand over her heart and recoiling as if wounded. Romani froze for a few moments and went to speak again before the woman waved her hand and cut off whatever he was going to say "I'm joking. Another Caster Servant who know's their way around inventions is definitely something we need right now. It means I have more time to myself!"
Romani blinked at her "So you just want someone else to do the work for you?"
"Not all of it." She replied instantly "But I'd like some help from someone who knows what I'm talking about."
Kerry pursed her lips "I know what you're talking about…" she paused "Sometimes anyway."
"Yes, but you're needed for the Coffin operation." Da Vinci pointed out "It's why I took up the role of engineer to help replace you and those we lost in the initial bombing. Also I could do with someone else aside from Parhope to talk with." she sighed "He's-"
"An idiot, I know." Kerry waved her hand, then put on a thoughtful frown and looked at Romani "Hey…If we got a Servant who knew how to operate the Coffin equipment, would I be allowed to take some off days?"
"The Director would probably have you doing something else." Romani pointed out "Also, really? Off days now of all times?"
"It was purely hypothetical." Kerry raised her hands in surrender.
Ritsuka shrugged and looked back at Pharros as the woman watched the odd interaction with a hint of befuddled amusement. "Well, I guess you're on Team Da Vinci."
"Can we change the name?" Pharros asked, tilting her head and cupping her chin "What about Pharronardo?"
Da Vinci scrunched her face up in thought "Da Virros?"
Ritsuka sighed in relief "Glad to see you getting along so well anyway." he commented, turning to Romani "So, no big issues then?"
"Doesn't seem so." Romani replied with an equally relieved tone before giving Ritsuka a smile "Seems I might have been worried over nothing."
A knock at the door had the room turn their attention towards it, all blinking once before Da Vinci called out. "Enter!"
Cu Chulainn strode in with an exasperated look on his face, pausing for a few moments as he took notice of Kerry and Pharros and giving each of them a wink and a smile.
Both Romani and Ritsuka rolled their eyes at his behaviour before the Lancer looked towards the young Master.
"So yeah, followed the big guy like you asked." He began with, cringing slightly "You weren't wrong to be worried…the little crazy Rider got into his head."
Reaching towards his head, Ritsuka pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled loudly "...What did Astolfo do?" he asked in an already exasperated tone of voice. The Rider had developed something of a reputation for being very much eccentric. The only Servant it didn't bother all that much seemed to be Havel.
"Managed to convince the big guy that we had tiny Fae slaves living in those 'washing machine' things you have on the fifth floor." Cu threw a thumb over his shoulder "Walked in just as he was ripping one of them to pieces while ranting about how he wouldn't let them fall victim to a cycle."
"Oh my goodness." Romani's head fell into his hands, the man muttering in a low and shocked tone. Kerry - meanwhile - had the exact opposite reaction. The woman bit her lower lip as she tried to avoid laughing at the story.
Pharros turned to Da Vinci and cocked an eyebrow "Washing Machine?"
"We use them to clean clothes." Da Vinci explained, the other Caster blinked before she slowly nodded her head in response.
"I was wondering how you cleaned them without a river."
"So…how many machines did he break?" Ritsuka asked, looking up at the Lancer.
"Just the one." Cu replied "Stopped him before he could move onto the others." he grimaced "He's a mess right now though, somehow convinced he's failed and the Fae in the washing machine are now dead. I've got no fucking idea what I'm supposed to do in this situation."
Ritsuka stared at the man incredulously before he turned to Pharros "So…how quickly can you understand technology?"
Pharros blinked "Depends on what I'm looking at. Honestly, I've never heard of a washing machine until just now."
"Today's your lucky day then." He sighed, turning to Romani and Kerry "I'm gonna take Pharros down and see if she can fix it. Try and keep the Director from finding out about this…and someone tell Siegward that nothing is living in the washing machines." he paused, then frowned "There isn't anything, right?"
"No." Kerry shook her head "They're just washing machines."
"Good." Ritsuka sighed, then waved to Pharros "Come on." he paused, looking at her "You don't mind, right?"
"Honestly, I'm a little excited." The woman admitted with a smile "Never thought I'd find something so amazing."
"...You know it washes clothes, right?"
"Yeah, but I used to wander the world as a vagrant and washed my clothes in the same sort of dirty river that I got my drinking water from." Pharros pointed out, placing her hands on her hips and cocking an eyebrow "How do you think learning about a machine which washes my clothes for me sounds?"
Ritsuka blinked "I…probably amazing."
"Exactly." She gave a satisfied nod and walked past him "Come on then!" she shouted out as she disappeared around the corner "To the cleaning contraptions!"
"Other way!" Ritsuka called out as he left the room and walking in the opposite direction, Pharros form crossed the doorway from the opposite side as she followed after the Master.
"Never a dull moment around here." Romani sighed, shaking his head.
"Yeah." Kerry patted him on the back "...So good luck telling Siegward about the washing machine." she walked past him, cracking her own challenging wink at Cu as she left the room. The Lancer raised an eyebrow at her before a pleased smile came onto his face.
Spinning on his heel, he turned away and walked out of the room, leaving Da Vinci and Romani alone together.
"How come I have to explain it to him?" Romani asked himself, giving a small frown.
Da Vinci shrugged her shoulders "I could have seen that coming a mile off and I don't even have Clairvoyance." Romani levelled her with an unimpressed look which only succeeded in earning a casual smile from the inventor "Hurry up now Romani, sounds like Siegward is in a real pickle right now. Wouldn't want Chaldea's resident baker to feel sad for too long. He might stop making those coffee's you seem to love so much."
"...You drink them too!" Romani accused with a pointed finger as he moved for the door "So it's just as bad for you as it is for me!"
Da Vinci paused for a few moments before she shrugged "True…but I'm a Servant so it's less vitally important to my diet."
"...Alright." Romani sighed, opening up the door and moving out. "Not my fault he makes such good coffee…it's unnatural."
"Probably because it's made with Age of Gods magic~" Da Vinci sang "The work of a genius!"
"Are you really saying that his Coffee is genius?"
"It manifests itself in mysterious ways~"
"Really?" Romani gave her a flat look as the door closed behind him, the last expression he saw was a knowing grin from Da Vinci. "Of all the words to use Leo." he muttered under his breath, shaking his head and walking through the halls.
Now he had to think of a way to explain the concept of a machine to a man from the Medieval times. He frowned as he thought about it. They had clearly had golems…maybe he could just say that's what a washing machine was?
As long as it made sure Siegward was alright.
And ensured he kept making that Coffee. Romani was starting to worry about how good that coffee actually was at this point. He knew it was addictive but that blend Siegward made was just waaay too good.
AN: I posted this on Spacebattles but I'll post the Timeline for events up until the 4th Singularity. So the next Chapter is when we probably summon Nero and the Chapters after that will go as follows.
Nerofest
By the Bonfire Chapters
Halloween
By the Bonfire Chapters
GudaGuda
By the Bonfire Chapters
Shishou trial quest
Singularity 3.5: ?
Singularity 4: ?