Chapter Thirty-Five

Boudica would proceed to show us our way around the camp, and it was a good thing too. The Roman camp was made up of dozens of streets, each street lined with dozens of tents if not more, and it felt more like we were inside a small city rather than a military camp. There had to be several hundred tents here to house the thousands of Roman soldiers manning the fortifications against the relentless hordes or URE soldiers. Boudica would give us a tour of the fortifications, which consisted of several layers of impressive stone walls and watchtowers. Each wall was lined with archers and ballistas all pointed down the narrow valley, and if any of the walls did get breached there were moats dug in between filled with spikes. The final wall had several layers of wooden spikes pointed towards its large wooden doors with pikeman at the ready, and even more soldiers standing at the ready incase of a breach. We didn't see any sign of the URE this late into the evening, but if one were to look down the valley you would see it was littered with the corpses of URE soldiers, broken siege equipment, and horses. In the distance, one might even make out the dim light of the torches in the URE camp. I was surprised that they had been holding out this long, but Boudica informed me that if things ever started to look dire Spartacus head out on the battlefield making it his own playground. I guess that made sense, releasing a berserker into a narrow valley with only one way to escape was bound to cause chaos and turn it into a deathtrap for ordinary humans. My only concern was what of the enemy servants, and why hadn't they been sent against Nero's defenses. Surely a servant's noble phantasm could rip right through these walls with no trouble, but maybe Boudica or Spartacus had been preventing that?

Our tour would bring us back to the camp with Boudica showing us to our tents, which were all located next to one another so we wouldn't have to go far to find one another. We were informed that Nero's tent wasn't far from ours so we could link up with the Empress incase of an emergency. Boudica would show us where her tent was located as well in the event we ever needed to find her. With most of the important locations out of the way our tour would wrap up at the mess tent, which I doubt we'd need to use since we got most of our food from Chaldea, but useful to know where it was nonetheless. With the tour concluded Boudica would take a seat at one of the logs located around a campfire and Spartacus would stand close by. The four of us proceeded to join her at the campfire taking seats at accompanying logs.

"So I think it's only fair if you tell me your story, since you likely know mine already." Boudica said after a momentary silence, her eyes looking at me. I don't know a whole lot about Boudica, but I'm guessing Mashu might have and so did Scathach, more than likely.

"Well it's kind of a long story…" I said scratching my head.

"The Night is still young." Boudica replied.

"True enough." I said with a sigh. I opened my mouth prepared to tell Boudica the story of who we were and where we came from, but was stopped short.

"Don't worry Senpai, I'll fill Boudica in on Chaldea and who we are." Mashu said, placing her hand on my shoulder. "I know how tired you must still be from the journey, so let me handle this." Mashu insisted, and I could only nod my head in thanks. Mashu smiled and turned to face Boudica, meeting her gaze directly.

"We come from the year 2025 representing the Chaldea Security Organization…." Mashu began.

The sun had gone down by the time Mashu had finished filling Boudica in all of the various things from where we came from, who Chaldea was, what the situation was in our timeline, and what our purpose was here. I felt myself dozing off during certain parts, but did my best not to fall asleep for fear of making a fool of Mashu or myself.

"So that's our story. I think we'll be in your care for a while." Mashu wrapped up her explanation to Boudica, who had been diligently following along the whole while.

"...From an alternative timeline in the far off future, what a strange yet intriguing story." Boudica said after several moments of silence. "I see, I guess such things really are possible." Boudica said with a soft smile.

"Thank you for your understanding, Boudica." Roman's hologram appeared. "You're a servant too, correct?" Roman would ask next. I feel like that much was obvious at this point, but I guess it couldn't hurt to confirm.

"...Doctor." Mashu frowned in embarrassment. Instead of getting angry however, Boudica only laughed it off.

"It's all right, no need for you to hold your tongue. Yes, I "should be dead" already." Boudica confirmed. "Which means you're probably wondering "How did Queen Boudica become a Roman General?" Correct?" Boudica inquired, and we nodded our heads.

"Yes." Mashu answered. "In the history that I'm aware of, you…" Mashu said, but before she could even finish she was cut off.

"Yes, that's right." Boudica said with a more stern expression. "I'll never forgive Emperor Nero or Rome. I swore as much to Andraste." Boudica stated, but her stern expression would soon give way and she let out a sigh. "... And then I materialized here. To this era right after my death of all things." Boudica said with a frown. Her story sounded similar to Jeanne's, could this singularity possibly be an Alter version of Boudica? It's a possibility that we'll have to take into account, but for someone who already hates Rome what point would there be in an alternate version? Hell, what am I even talking about? I don't even know how Alter versions work! I just assume they're evil versions of one self. "I thought maybe it was my chance for revenge, but when I saw Rome overrun by the United Empire… My body moved on its own. Not for Nero's sake, but for the people who live there." Boudica said. See! There went that theory down the drain, she already hated Rome enough that she wants revenge she doesn't need an Alter version.

"Hold on, your explanation doesn't make sense." Scathach spoke up and Boudica looked up at her in surprise. "You are the same Boudica whose forces ransacked three Roman cities killing up to around eighty thousand people including women and children, with some accounts of noble women having their breasts cut off and sewn to their mouths after being impaled on spikes." Scathach confronted Boudica and I was a little shocked by this confrontation, and looking over at Boudica I expected her to be fuming. Instead however she had her eyes closed with a somber expression on her face.

"...You've got me dead to rights, Lancer." Boudica admitted. "Perhaps it was because I felt guilty towards the people of Londinium whom I brutally murdered and tortured for the sake of my vengance." Boudica directed her reply at Scathach. "I don't really know myself to be honest. But when I think about it, I've always been like that." Boudica said. "I think fighting to protect something is just my personality. That's what seems most natural to me." Boudica said with her eyes closed an embarrassed look to her face. "Does that answer satisfy you, Lancer?" Boudica asked, opening her eyes as her expression turned stern once more. Scathach closed her eyes in response and crossed her arms.

"For the time being." Scathach replied.

"And now I can't help but have this familiar feeling about you, Lancer." Boudica said.

"I can assure you it's just your imagination Queen Boudica, we never met while you were alive." Scathach stated.

"No we certainly haven't, but I feel as If I've heard of that red spear from somewhere before." Boudica said. Could it be possible that Boudica might have figured out Scathach's idenitity? That wouldn't be good, the only ones who knew who Scathach was, were Mashu and I. The Director and Roman might also know, but if they did they hadn't said anything about it or knew to keep their mouths shut. Scathach said nothing in response, and there was an awkward silence hovering over the group, but it didn't last for very long. "... So anyways, my apologies to Nero, who wrongly sees me as a "worthy living opponent," but…" Boudica said.

"Are you keeping your death or servant status a secret?" Mashu asked.

"Yes, because somehow she's even more dangerous than before. If she were to become overly concerned about me, who knows what she might do." Boudica explained.

"We understand, we'll keep our mouths shut about your status as a Heroic spirit." I said. "We're good at keeping secrets." I reassured her.

"Thank you." Boudica nodded her head in response.

"So you're a proper Heroic spirit?" Mashu inquired. "A hero whom others aspire to be. The symbol of strength used to suppress villainy and save others." Mashu childishly stated. Boudica only let out a soft chuckle and smiled in response.

"Nyahaha, I was just doing it on a whim." Boudica replied. "Although if that's how I look to you, who am I to disagree?" Boudica said.

"There are not many Heroic Spirits who could put it quite like that." Roman said. "Queen Boudica, your pride is quite awe inspiring." Roman said.

"Senpai?" Mashu said to me.

"Yeah Mashu?" I asked, looking over at her.

"I hate to ask, but do you know who Queen Boudica is?" Mashu asked in response. "If not I can understand how it might be a bit confusing to understand what we've been talking about." Mashu said.

"Well Mashu. I may be retarded at times, but I've been able to put two and two together from what I've heard thus far." I replied.

"N-No, that's not what I meant…!" Mashu exclaimed embarrassed as she frantically waved her hands out in front of her.

"It's okay Mashu, I was only teasing you." I said as I reached over and patted her on the head. "I don't know Boudica's whole story, but I've been able to put together some of the pieces from this conversation." I said.

"You big jerkface." Mashu pouted as she crossed her arms. I took my hand from her head and chuckled at the cute face she was making which only seemed to annoy her even further. Mashu's annoyance would subside after a minute and she would turn to face Boudica clearing her throat. "..Ahem, I do have one question however. I mean, why…." Mashu asked, but barely managed to get the question out before being cut off.

"It's not that difficult of an answer." Boudica said with a serious expression. "I hate the United Roman Empire more than Nero." Boudica answered. "You feel the same way, don't you, Spartacus? You intend to fight a legion of oppressors." Boudica turned to Spartacus. "It's dangerous to say this, but she isn't the enemy. You don't consider yourself to be Nero's ally, do you?" Boudica asked. Spartacus would laugh in response with a hearty smile.

"The walls of the colosseum have fallen. Soon, all of this land shall become my colosseum." Spartacus replied.

"You see?" Boudica asked, looking back at us.

"Not really, No." I said. Looking over at the others, they all had the same puzzled expression on their face telling me they didn't either.

"Maybe she possesses a special skill. Like madness Comprehension… or something?" Roman whispered into our ears.

"A-Anyways, both of them are Heroic spirits. Just like in Orleans, right?" Mashu said after clearing her throat. "In a singularity, multiple servants will materialize, but not all of them will be enemies. They have wills of their own and stand on the side of justice." Mashu said.

"R-Right." I said.

"You're embarrassing me. I'm not all that." Boudica laughed. Spartacus would join Boudica in her laughter as well.

"Behold, this muscular body is proof of the uprising. The oppressors shall know any injuries inflicted are my strength." Spartacus proclaimed. Well he certainly had the muscles, I'll give him that.

"There, you see? Even Spartacus is embarrassed." Boudica pointed out. You call that embarrassment? None of us said anything in response, not even Roman or the Director. All of a sudden I felt someone tugging on my sleeve and saw it was Mashu.

"... Senpai, did you understand what he said?" Mashu asked, looking at me.

"I feel as if you should already know the answer." I replied.

"I thought as much, I just thought because you understood some of what he said earlier that you might have understood…." Mashu said.

"Mashu I can only understand so much." I told her.

"R-Right, my apologies Senpai." Mashu said.

"All right then, shall we get started then?" Boudica asked all of a sudden.

"Pardon me?" I said turning to face Boudica.

"I don't doubt your skills, but…" Boudica paused for a moment. "Ah, actually, maybe I do." Boudica said truthfully. "Right now, the United Roman Empire controls all of Gaul and everything past it. Not even we can drive them out. The ruler of Gaul, one of the "emperors." is strong. There's nothing excessive about him, body or mind. He's a top notch hero in both looks and skills." Boudica told us. "Do you have the strength to fight him head-on? Or should I use you as back-up?" Boudica said. "What I'm trying to ask is, Could I put your abilities to the test?" Boudica asked.

"What? I thought you were a rational queen, but it turns out you're a hero who "speaks" with her sword!" Roman exclaimed.

"Ahaha, now you've got the picture." Boudica laughed, and her expression turned serious all of a sudden. "So shall we?"

"Are you kidding me?" I exclaimed standing up. "We're not going to fight you, we're exhausted and the only thing I want to do is go to bed." I stated. I know that refusing to fight was likely rude and disrespectful or even considered cowardly, but I was dead tired and there was nothing to be gained from fighting our supposed allies except wasting our energy. "I'm going to my tent to get some rest, if you don't like that, tough luck." I said to Boudica and turned around prepareded to head off. Before I could even get my other foot over the log there was a loud clang and from the corner of my eye I could make out the glint of a sword blade centimeters away from my face. I felt sweat roll down from my temple and down the side of my cheek, if I so much as turned my head I would end up cutting myself on Boudica's blade. Averting my eyes further to the right saw that Mashu stood in front of me with her shield raised, preventing Boudica's sword from slicing my head in half. Jeanne and Scathach were now standing up as well with Jeanne's hand gripping the hilt of her sword and Scathach's spear already in her hands pointing directly at Boudica's neck.

"The enemy won't let you rest." Boudica said to me with stern eyes. "Those were some fast reflexes with your shield block." Boudica complimented Mashu. Boudica's eyes darted side to side now looking at Scathach's spear pointed at her throat and Jeanne ready to strike, and took this moment to step back several feet.

"Senpai, I don't think this is a fight we can avoid." Mashu stressed. She was right, this was going to be one of those fights where we'd be forced to fight otherwise Boudica would keep trying to kill me, and if I died that was it for the others.

"Fine, if you want to get your ass kicked that badly we'll fight you." I said pulling my M4 from my back and shouldering it. Boudica smiled in return seemingly pleased with my commitment to fight, not that I had much of a choice.

"Good, just try not to die. If you survive this I'll whip you up something delicious." Boudica seemed happy about this fight. "Of course I meant Britannia cuisine, not Roman." Boudica clarified, and to be honest if British cuisine was all I had to look forward to after this fight I think I'd rather just die. "Now then let's cross swords!" Boudica said, stepping back with her sword by her side. "My true name is Boudica, class Rider!" Boudica proclaimed pointing her sword at us, from her side I saw Spartacus step forward drawing his sword and it looked like we'd have to fight him as well. Well I guess that was to be expected, but we still had the numbers advantage, it was four versus two.

The first to strike was Spartacus as the lumbering giant stormed towards us in a frighteningly short time. Spartacus was on top of us in seconds and swung his sword over his head and brought it down upon Mashu. His attack would miss its mark and strike the ground in front of her, but even so the attack sent tremors through the ground and kicked up a huge amount of dirt, rock, and dust into Mashu's shield causing her to stumble back. In the midst of our coughing fit a figure leapt through the clouds of dust and was now right on top of us. Looking up I saw Boudica coming right down on top of us with her shield raised in front of her and sword overhead. With Spartacus right in front of us there was little options for Mashu to maneuver, but before Boudica could bring her blade down on me, a figure crashed into her midair and both of them hit the ground. Upon crashing into the ground, both figures split apart and Boudica went tumbling for several meters before coming to a stop and quickly getting on her feet to face the person who had tackled her. The person was none other than Scathach who had done so, but before Boudica could even take any action a figure came at her side and Boudica was forced to raise her shield to block the incoming attack. Jeanne's blade struck her shield and the two were at blows with one another, and giving her little time to breathe Scathach lunged at her with her sword forcing her to block Scathach's attack with her sword causing sparks to fly. Now faced with two opponents it seemed as if Boudica was at odds end, but despite this when Jeanne went to swing her sword at her she found herself parried by Boudica who followed it up with a kick to the chest sending her skidding backwards. With that small window of breathing room Boudica turned all her attention on Scathach whom was right on top of her and thrusted her shield at her face bashing her with it. This sent Scathach staggering backwards too as she brought her hand up to her face, and taking this opening Boudica swung her sword across her chest. Despite her dazed state Scathach was still able to block Boudica's strike much to her surprise leaving them in a grid lock. By that time Jeanne had regained her composure, and was back in the fight as she came at Boudica from the rear. She must have sensed Jeanne coming as she broke off from her fight with Scathach and stepped back out of the way, causing Jeanne to crash into Scathach. I could see the look of annoyance flash across her face, but despite that she promptly pushed Jeanne back causing her to barely miss getting sliced in two as Boudica sword sliced through the air through the middle of them. Boudica was exposed now that her attack had missed and Scathach swung her spear down at Boudica. Instead of hitting Boudica however, she transitioned into a roll, barely dodging having a massive gash across her back. Once out of her roll she quickly spun around and faced the two, seemingly determined to keep the two of them in front of her now. Jeanne would take the lead as she swung her sword at Boudica who promptly blocked it with her shield, and Scathach followed up on Jeanne's attack by swinging her spear at Boudica who in turn ducked her head dodging her swing…

"Senpai watch out!" Mashu exclaimed suddenly. I had been so caught up in their fight, that I had forgotten about our own fight! Turning my attention forward I saw Spartacus sword coming down on top of me, and taking a book out of Boudica's playbook I rolled forward out of the way. The entire earth shook once more as Spartacus struck the ground behind me. I turned around with my rifle raised and switched over to full auto on my rifle, hoping to god it still worked and centered my sights on Spartacus who was stomping towards me. I squeezed the trigger back and was met with several cackles as the M4 spewed shell casings out the ejection port onto the ground at a rapid pace. Several of my shots would whiz right past Spartacus, but those that did find it's mark struck center mass. It didn't matter though, because every single bullet just bounced right off his chest. No maybe that was wrong; it looked as if his chest was just absorbing the bullets. It didn't matter though, because Spartacus seemed completely unfazed by being shot. Just as quickly as my rifle had expended its entire magazine, Spartacus had closed the distance between us and was right on top of me and I fell back in surprise. Just as I thought I was about to have my head caved in, a figure smashed straight into Spartacus with a powerful impact causing even him to go flying several feet crashing into the ground. My mysterious savior was none other than Mashu, who was standing over me. Mashu quickly diverted her attention to me once it was clear and looked me over.

"Master, are you okay?" Mashu asked.

"I'm fine." I said.

"That's good, now get up and give me your orders!" Mashu exclaimed.

"R-Right." I said as I got up off my ass, and ejected the mag from my rifle before pulling a topped off one from out of my jacket. "It looks like we'll have to deal with Spartacus while the others fight Boudica." I said.

"Understo.." Mashu said and before she could even finish Spartacus had recovered and was right back to attacking. The ground rumbled as Spartacus smashed his sword into the ground right where Mashu had been standing. Mashu had jumped into the air and landed on Spartacus's blade, landing on it caused it to sink deeper in to the ground. Taking this chance Mashu ran up Spartacus's arm and nearing the top she would jump kick off his face causing him to stagger backwards briefly. Mashu would land in front of me and take up a defensive stance once more. Sweat rolling down her forehead with ragged breathing she gripped her shield tightly as she faced off her opponent.

"I don't think my attacks are doing any damage, he just keeps on coming…" Mashu said.

"Neither are mine, in fact it seems like he's enjoying being attacked." I said and saw Mashu grimace in response.

"Please stay behind me at all times Master! I'll do my best to defend you!" Mashu said back at me.

"I know you will, now give me your all, Mashu! I know we can beat them!" I exclaimed. Mashu nodded her head and turned to face Spartacus who was now pulling his sword out of the ground. I slapped my fresh magazine into my rifle and squeezed the bolt release loading one into the chamber. That was easier said than done however, we were facing off against a fully rested opponent whose strengths and weaknesses we knew nothing about. However that didn't matter, Mashu was giving it everything she had and I would give her my all in return.

"Now pound his face into the ground, Mashu!"

"Right, I won't let you down Master!"

The six of us stood across from one another in the clearing panting heavily after what had felt like ten minutes. Honestly I didn't know how long I could keep this up, I was exhausted and my weakened state was affecting the others too. Before I could plan what our next move would be, Boudica lowered her sword suddenly and exited her stance. Spartacus would follow suit and return his sword to his side and didn't look like he was going to pounce on us at any second.

"Ah. I must say, I am happy to be proven wrong about you." Boudica smiled. "You showed me how competent you all are, Thank you. I know you must be exhausted from your travels." Boudica said. No shit, that's what I was telling you from the start, but you didn't care what I had to say. "My defense and Spartacus's offense pair pretty well together. You held your own against us, I underestimated you!" Boudica stated.

"Thanks…" I murmured, lowering my rifle. Jeanne would return her sword to it's sheath, while Scathach would still grip her spear in both hands, and Mashu would exit from her defensive stance.

"As for you… Mashu, was it? You're a shield-wielding Heroic Spirit right?" Boudica asked and Mashu nodded her head. "I really like you. I know it's twisted to have a weapon solely for defense, but it's far better than one solely for killing." Boudica proclaimed. Mashu's shield was a tool, like all weapons, tools are neither good nor evil and it depends solely on the wielder of such a tool. I would keep those thoughts to myself though. "I mean how can you be so reliable when you're so slim?" Boudica asked. That's an odd way of putting that, but alright then.

"Fou?" Four murmured from out of nowhere.

"R-Reliable?" Mashu stuttered with her cheeks flushed.

"Yes, when you wielded your shield and stood your ground… It was like you had taken root." Boudica explained. "If Lord Nero is the violence of fire, then you're the riches of the earth. I think you'd be compatible with any Heroic spirit no matter who they are." Boudica said, and that part was true enough. Mashu did pair well with either Scathach or Jeanne, but I feel as if Scathach was a better match up since her spear had longer reach then Jeanne's sword if she were to stay behind Mashu and thrust at the enemy like she had beforehand.

"Right." Mashu smiled affirmatively.

"Yes, good answer. Indeed, indeed." Boudica nodded her head. She then grew silent and proceeded to stare at Mashu for a long period of time, long enough to start making Mashu uncomfortable. Hell I was starting to get uncomfortable from her stares and I wasn't even the one being stared at.

"W-What is it, Boudica?" Mashu finally asked after being stared at for long enough.

"Now that I look at you carefully…" Boudica murmured. "Yes, I see now. So that's what it is, if that's the case you should have told me earlier!" Boudica spouted out, none of what she said making any sense.

"E-Excuse me?" Mashu said bewildered.

"Things are getting complicated, aren't they?" Boudica smiled. "Even we… Ah I just noticed something, how adorable!" Boudica said.

"Huh?" Mashu was even more confused now.

"Come here." Boudica walked up to Mashu and pulled her into a hug. "There, There." Boudica said, rubbing Mashu's head affectionately.

"Ah….!" Mashu was taken aback. "W-What is it, Boudica?" Mashu looked like she was suffocating in Boudica's chest. "Augh… What's with you all of a sudden…" Mashu managed to get out.

"Are you sure she's not a Berserker Roman?" I murmured under my breath.

"I-I'm positive." Roman replied.

"You don't sound so sure." I said.

"None of her readings seem to suggest the contrary." Roman said.

"If you say so, she's making about as much sense as Spartacus right now." I murmured. From my side I saw Scathach rubbing her temples as she let out a sigh.

"If this fights over, I'm going to my tent to go lie down." Scathach said before turning around and heading off in the direction of our tents. Damn it, she's running off to go do what I want to do!

"You're like a little sister to me. Maybe both of you are actually." Boudica said as she pulled back from her hug a little, yet still gripping Mashu's arms. "I'm so proud of you, coming from a faraway time period. You're so strong." Boudica said as squeezed her tight once more and rubbed her head.

"Should we do anything Chris?" Jeanne whispered into my ear.

"No, it's best not to get in between an Aunt and her favorite niece." I whispered back to her.

"Is that how you look at it?" Jeanne said.

"Well it's one way of looking at it." I murmured.

"U-Um, y-your chest…." Mashu stuttered. "I can't breathe…" Mashu sputtered out.

"Mmm, good girl, good girl!" Boudica wasn't even paying attention to Mashu's pleas.

"You called yourself Nero's ally so I was on my guard for a bit, sorry!" Boudica apologized. Did we? I don't recall ever calling ourselves an ally of Nero, but I suppose one could have interpreted it that way. "But now I'm in a gread mood! All right, tonight I'll make you all something wonderful to eat!" Boudica said. "Your big sister here is really good at cooking Britannia cuisine. You'll eat it, won't you?" Boudica asked, finally pulling back from her hug.

"T-Thank you… Senpai, Saber, how about you? Are you hungry?" Mashu asked, looking over at me. British food? No thanks.

"I appreciate the offer, but I'm going to head to my tent and go to sleep..." I said.

"I think I'm going to go lie down as well, but thank you for the offer." Jeanne said, shaking her head.

"Ah… I-I know, right?" Mashu closed her eyes. "I'm exhausted from traveling, too. I'm sorry!" Mashu apologized.

"There's no need to apologize Mashu." I said.

"Awe, are you sure you won't come and join us?" Boudica said with a frown. "Eating a healthy meal before going to sleep is the key to having plenty of energy. Even if you don't like it, I'll force you to eat it!" Boudica said. I don't think that's very healthy to force someone to eat, usually that would make me want to throw up. "Then after dinner we'll take a bath! I'll even wash your back." Boudica said. That's going to be a no from me.

"Huh?" Mashu murmured.

"I hate to admit this, but Roman baths are the best in the world. It goes to show that even Nero can be useful." Boudica admitted, although be so reluctantly it seemed. I don't think Nero invented the public bath, but once again I will keep that thought to myself. "It feels amazing. Even Spartacus calms down when he's immersed in hot water." Boudica said, and a disturbing scene played out in my mind sending shivers down my back. Where the hell did they even have a public bath here? I thought this was a military camp? All the military camps I've been to had shower heads with drains and that was all you got!

"Huh?" Mashu murmured, sounding even more confused. "U-Um… I think you can let go of me now…" Mashu said, squirming underneath Boudica's grip.

"Huh, Berserkers calm down when they're immersed in hot water… This is a revolutionary discovery!" Roman proclaimed into our ears.

"No it's not you idiot." Olga said.

"A-Ah Director you're back!" Roman exclaimed.

"Yes I'm back, only to discover you slacking off like always!" Olga barked.

"N-No that's not true…!" Roman protested, but was cut off.

"I don't want to hear any of your excuses, get back to work!" Olga ordered.

"Y-Yes Director." Roman said in defeat, and with that the two of them went silent.

"M-More importantly, please help me out here Senpai!" Mashu said, looking over at me. Mashu looked at me with pleading eyes as Boudica still held her tightly, and

"Ahem, I'm sorry Mashu, but I'll be heading off to bed like I said. So you're on your own I'm afraid, good luck." I cleared my throat as I turned around and hastily made my way off to our tents.

"A-Ah I'm sorry too Mashu, but I need to accompany Chris to keep him safe." I heard Jeanne's footsteps chase after me, and the both of us hurried out there as fast as we could.

"W-Wait Senpai! Saber! Come back!" Mashu cried out, grasping her hand out at us. Your sacrifice will be remembered Mashu. "I'll remember this!"

I ducked into my tent and plopped down on my cot with a loud sigh. Behind me I heard footsteps follow me into the tent and looking up I saw it was none other than Jeanne who had followed me into my tent. I looked up and found her standing in the entrance looking around the tent.

"You didn't actually need to follow me into my tent." I said. "I know you said you were going to keep me safe, but now that we're not under threat of being forced to eat British food you don't have to pretend anymore." I added.

"I don't need an excuse to protect you, that's my job as your servant." Jeanne protested at first, but let out a reluctant sigh. "Ahem, More importantly I just wanted to talk to you. Do I need an excuse for that too?" Jeanne said, placing her hands on her hips.

"No, but what did you want to talk about?" I asked.

"I wanted to talk about the plan?" Jeanne said.

"About our strategy?" I asked and Jeanne nodded her head. "That's fine, but I'm going to lie down. I hope you won't mind." I said as I was about to lie back on my cot.

"Wait, let me offer you my lap again." Jeanne rushed over to me, and before I could even object to her she was already on the cot behind me with her hands guiding my head onto her lap. Laying my head in her lap I was reminded of how comfy it was and felt myself getting sleepy already. I closed my eyes and frowned in response at letting myself get forced into this again, and I swear Jeanne was getting more aggressive each time.

"See isn't that better." Jeanne smiled down at me.

"Saber, you really didn't need to do this." I crossed my arms.

"What do you mean? Do you not like laying in my lap?" Jeanne asked in response. I couldn't say no, every time I laid in her lap it felt like I was on cloud nine…

"Ahem, Whether or not I like laying in your lap isn't the issue here." I replied clearing my throat and Jeanne tilted her head confused for a moment. "...The problem is that you're acting like an overprotective mother." I finally said it.

"What's wrong with that?" Jeanne asked.

"Well for starters, you're way too young to be my Mom…" I said.

"What about older sister then?" Jeanne interrupted me.

"No." I was quick to kill that suggestion. "Firstly, again, you're too young to be my big sister, secondly I already have a twin sister and she's enough of a handful." I said which caused Jeanne to slightly frown. "And thirdly, I don't need you to coddle me. At this rate you'll wind up like Lancer, who doesn't want me fighting at all." I scolded Jeanne, who puffed out her cheeks in response.

"Fine…." Jeanne murmured.

"Didn't you come here to talk about the plan?" I asked.

"Oh yeah." Jeanne said, looking surprised as if she had forgotten. "I just wanted to ask you how confident you are in this plan." Jeanne inquired.

"Well I'm somewhat confident in the plan." I said resting my hands on my stomach now. "Nero said the terrain has been impassable for the enemy armies, and that's one of Italy's advantages is that it has the Alps running through it." I said. "A small team like ours should be able to scale the mountains with modern climbing equipment and come out somewhere behind the enemy, and I'd prefer if we came down into some woods to cover our approach." I explained. "Once we get down we should be able to sneak up behind the army, and do some light recon before striking. See if we can't kill any of the enemy commanders and cause disarray. Then it should be mostly short work for Lancer and Mashu. Of course I'll be supporting them from afar as per usual." I said.

"You act as if it's really that easy, there's a strong possibility you could run into an enemy servant with the army or even up in the mountains." Jeanne said.

"Yeah I've given that a lot of thought." I said and crossed my arms. "I've been trying to figure something out, they have to have some sort of servant with the army right? Nero said their General was in the Gaul capital, so he shouldn't be here, but that doesn't rule out others." I explained. "They have to have someone, otherwise couldn't Boudica or Spartacus steam roll the enemy army if it's just normal humans? I know the enemy soldiers number in the thousands, but that shouldn't be anything for servant's right?" I asked and Jeanne nodded her head. "But if they have an enemy servant with them, why haven't they just blasted away Nero's defenses with a noble phantasm? The only thing I can think of is that Boudica and Spartacus have been stopping them from doing so." I explained.

"It's possible that the enemy general is a master strategist so he has some sort of tatic keeping Nero's forces from breaking out. Or there could be a competent human commander on the enemy side." Jeanne suggested.

"Well a human could only do so much." I stated. "I can strategize as much as I want, but if a servant comes along they can just blow all my forces away and kill me. Heroic spirits are basically cheating." I said.

"Heroic spirits aren't invincible Chris." Jeanne scolded me lightly.

"Only against human weapons and guns." I said.

"We're still vulnerable to magecraft and various other things." Jeanne said.

"True, I guess they could have a powerful mage with them." I said. "Also if this enemy general is a master strategist, he hasn't done a good job by just throwing men at Nero's chokepoint." I added.

"There's not much they can really do except try naval landings, but they would need to establish a foothold and supply lines for that to last very long." Jeanne explained.

"Yeah, which is why I guess they've only been doing skirmishes and attacking Nero's supply lines." I said.

"It's the most effective strategy, if they disrupted her supplies to the frontline soldiers would starve and either grow weak or desert. Then even with her defenses, they would be overrun." Jeanne pointed out.

"All very true, you can't wage a defensive war forever." I said. Although there have certainly been times where wars have been won, just by defense alone. We fell silent for a few moments, but it didn't last.

"I'm still hesitant about the three of you going in there blind." Jeanne spoke up. "Also why are you bringing Lancer along when France is my home, and I know it best." Jeanne protested my team composition.

"Well, you knew 1400s France. I think France is a little bit different right now then when you remember it." I said after a deep breath. "Also my choices were to bring Mashu who is more of a defensive person while you and Lancer are more offensive, or bring two offensive people and no defense. I'd rather have a balanced team for this, and someone needs to stay behind to tell Nero we're attacking so we can coordinate our strike." I explained. "No offense, but neither you or Lancer even have an Anti Army Noble Phantasm so I don't think it really matters which one of you I bring. Also your Noble Phantasm was a Defensive one." I said.

"When I had it." Jeanne said.

"When you had it, I'm still baffled why you left your flag in France." I said.

"I know it was stupid alright!" Jeanne exclaimed. "But it was important to me that I hoisted my flag back above of Orleans where it belonged, it was symbolic and it was of great importance to myself!" Jeanne said.

"Alright, Alright…" I said waving my hands. "I was just saying, but anyways it doesn't matter which one of you I bring. Although at least with Lancer we have an offensive noble phantasm if we needed it." I murmured.

"Do you even know what Lancer's noble phantasm is?" Jeanne inquired.

"No." I replied.

"You don't even know what it is?!" Jeanne exclaimed.

"N-No!" I said. "She's never used it, so why the hell would I know what it is?!" I exclaimed.

"She's never used her Noble Phantasm?" Jeanne asked, stunned.

"No, never." I replied.

"And you managed to defeat several servants in the singularity before mine?" Jeanne asked.

"Yeah, although we had help from another servant…" I said. I still never figured who that guy was or his name, other than he was a Caster servant.

"Good grief." Jeanne sighed as she brought her hand up to her forehead. "I guess it makes sense, that is her trump card after all and doing so would reveal her name." Jeanne murmured, bringing her hand to her mouth.

"Lancer's also pretty strong, just don't tell her I said that." I pointed out.

"Even so, there might come a time when you need to order her to use her Noble Phantasm to defeat an enemy servant." Jeanne said with a stern look.

"If we ever get to a point like that, I'm sure she won't need me to tell her to use it." I said.

"True…" Jeanne said.

Silence enveloped the tent once more and I thought maybe I was going to be able to fall asleep at last. "I don't think it's a bad plan, but still. Are there any other alternatives?" Jeanne asked.

"Not many." I replied.

"What are the others?" Jeanne asked next.

"Well our only real options are to charge them with a frontal assault, which very well could amount to suicide with how little we know." I said and Jeanne nodded in agreement. "Or we could try to flank around them via boat with some of Nero's army, but there's a few problems with that as well. Firstly we don't know the United Roman Empire's Naval strength, and we could just sink to the bottom of the ocean." I pointed out. "Even if we made it to land, we'd suffer the same thing as the enemy. We'd have to maintain a foothold and have no reliable supply line unless we could push out and take enough land." Jeanne nodded in agreement again. "Secondly I really don't want to take another boat ride this singularity if we can help it." I said.

"Is that last part really that important?" Jeanne asked.

"It is for me!" I exclaimed and Jeanne sighed.

"Alright then, are there any other choices?" Jeanne asked.

"There's another idea actually." I said.

"What is it?" Jeanne raised a brow.

"Well we could try and lure the bulk of the enemy army into the mountain pass." I said. "If Nero were to make it appear as if she had to abandon the defenses, it could bait the enemy into sending their army into the pass." I cupped my chin.

"That actually would put Nero's forces at less risk then meeting them out on the field." Jeanne pointed out.

"That's true." I nodded my head. "It still means that Lancer, Mashu, and I would need to scale the mountains to get around them. That way we could box them in and prevent any from escaping, and wipe them out." I said.

"Chris, you can be pretty brutal sometimes." Jeanne interrupted.

"Well you should know as well as anyone, war isn't fair. It's merciless and shows no regard for who gets killed or dies." I pointed out.

"Fair I suppose." Jeanne murmured.

"Anyway, if we could lure them into the pass we could avoid having to fight them head on." I continued on. "I was going to suggest that I could try and rig explosives up to cause a rockslide to block their escape, but then we would have to deal with it ourselves. Even with servants it could take awhile to clear the debris, and that could give the enemy time to reinforce." I said.

"Also true." Jeanne nodded her head.

"It would be best if we could avoid that." I said. "The only real problem is luring them into the valley, Nero's forces would have to pull back or make it look like everything was deserted." I went on. "There's a risk that they could drive her back into Italian lands, but even then their army would be cut off from any supplies, but Lancer, Mashu, and I could only hold out for so long." I said. "The real question is, how could we convince the enemy that we had deserted the defenses and pulled back. If the General or Commander isn't a complete fucking idiot, there's a chance they won't take the bait. Which means that Lancer, Mashu, and I would be going up against an army alone." I said. "It's possible we could take them on by ourselves, but that would be very risky since all the attention would be on us while Nero tried to get her forces back up here and push out to attack the enemy." I ran through several ideas in my head. "We need to come up with something on how best to conceal Nero's forces, and draw the enemy into the mountain pass. Even if it means that Nero's men might have to fight in the camp, that would be preferable to having to meet them out in the open." I said rubbing my forehead, I was starting to stress myself out thinking about what to do.

"Maybe if you sleep on it, you might come up with an idea." Jeanne suggested.

"Maybe you're right." I rubbed my eyes which at this point were impossible to keep open. "I've been wanting to go to sleep ever since we got here, but nobody will leave me in peace!" I exclaimed, letting out some of my earlier frustrations that Boudica made us fight her and Spartacus when we were completely worn out.

"So then I take it you don't want any more lap pillows I presume? Then shall I get up?"

"No, don't do that..."

Hello there lovely readers. I know this is a very late night post, I wanted to get this chapter out before July was over. I had originally planned to get two chapters out this month, but you know how that went. If you want to know when the newest chapters come out, make sure you follow Fated Destiny on Fanfiction to know when its updated and hop on over to my Discord. Anyway, Thank you for reading and for your continued support! If you enjoyed the chapter, please consider leaving a favorite/like. Feel free to leave feedback and reviews in the comments below or tell me what you think I need to improve on. Just a reminder that new chapters of Book Three should release every two weeks on Friday, Saturdays, or Sundays, but that's subject to change.

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