Pride and Prejudice

June 19th, 2015

"Thanks for the help!" Davinci said.

Ritsuka tried to speak, but the Caster closed the door to the workshop before he could get a word in. The male Master looked at the box in his hands and exhaled sharply. "Why am I doing this if she has nothing else better to do?"

The male Master sighed in defeat. "Well, I better deliver this like she asked."

The male Master then turned around and headed to his right. The recipient of said box was Roman, and Ritsuka knew he would be at the med bay at this time. It was a bit of a walk from the workshop, but it was close to the training hall, and considering the fact he had to prepare for Artoria's lesson in an hour, so in the end, it may have been in his best interests to deliver the box anyway…..

A few minutes later he finally reached the med bay, and opened the doors. The moment he walked in, he was surprised to see Roman and Henry sitting down, chatting away about random things. Ritsuka cleared his throat silently, causing both men to look at him with surprise.

"How long have you been standing there?" Henry asked.

"Not even a second." Ritsuka answered. The male Master turned to Roman. "Davinci asked me to give this to you."

"Really? I wonder what it is." Roman said. "Well, I'll just open it later."

Ritsuka was about to leave, but Henry turned his chair around to speak to him. "Why don't you sit down and join our conversation."

Ritsuka shrugged and nodded. "What were you talking about?"

"We were actually talking about the late Director Olga." Roman said. "Henry and some of the others wanted me to move my office into the Director's office, but I still don't like the idea. It'll be like I'm killing what's left of her."

"Roman, you're not being completely honest here." Henry said.

"Roman, is that true?" Ritsuka asked.

The acting director took a deep breath and nodded. "Henry's right. While I was being honest about respecting Olga's memory, the biggest reason is because that office reminds me too much of Marisbury."

Henry stared at Roman with a solemn look. "I had a feeling."

"Who's Marisbury?" Ritsuka asked.

"Oh right, you've been in Chaldea only for a few months. You'd have no idea who he is." Roman said. "Marisbury Animusphere was the first director of Chaldea, one of the Twelve Lords of the Clocktower, and Olga's father. If you could even call that bastard that….."

Ritsuka raised an eyebrow at the statement. "What?"

"Marisbury was a pretty shitty father to director Olga." Henry said. "Then again he was a terrible man in general."

"What was he like?" Ritsuka asked.

"He was the ideal mage." Roman said. "He was dedicated to the task at hand, but he never cared about the consequences, or who got hurt along the way if it meant he could achieve his goals."

"Honestly I had bad vibes about Marisbury the moment I met him." Henry said. "It was only a couple of months after I joined that I started to loath the bastard."

"You were lucky Henry." Roman said. "I was here years before you were, so I had to be around him much longer."

"Oh right, you two were friends at one point in time." Henry replied.

"And you know the reason why it ended." Roman said.

"Well, that's what happens when you trust a mage from the Clock Tower, especially a Lord." Ritsuka said. "You get burned."

The two men looked at the male Master with confusion.

"What did you just say?" Henry asked.

"I just stated the fact that Roman made the mistake of trusting a Lord of the Clock Tower." Ritsuka answered. "Did…did I say something wrong?"

"It's not that." Roman said. "We're just a little surprised to hear you have some resentment towards others."

"Well, Ritsuka already mentioned he has a hatred for rapists, so technically this would be the second group." Henry countered.

"Fair enough." Roman said. The doctor turned to Ritsuka with a concerned gaze. "Ritsuka, you DO realize that director Olga was from the Clocktower, so does that mean you hate her too?"

Ritsuka shook his head. "No, not at all. When I first met her, she may have been a little mean, but I could tell she was just stressed and scared. I could tell there was a good person underneath all that."

"Well this is interesting." Henry said. "You're biased against the mages from the Clocktower, but you decide to judge them on their character as well."

Ritsuka shrugged. "My mind can work in mysterious ways."

"Well that is true for everyone." Roman said. "I mean look at Fou, before you and Tatsuko came along, he'd only interact with Mashu. But now he's interacting with almost everyone in Chaldea."

Ritsuka raised an eyebrow. "That's strange. I would have thought that he would have been just as sociable to you and Davinci."

"Well regardless I'm glad for the change." Henry said. "I've always wanted to pet him, and now I get the chance."

"Well I can't blame you." Ritsuka said with a chuckle. "His fur is incredibly soft."

"Speaking of Fou, where's Mashu?" Henry asked.

"What do you mean?" Ritsuka asked.

Henry grinned mischievously. "I mean, you and her are usually joined at the hip."

Ritsuka blushed. The chief of security simply laughed and patted the black haired teen on the shoulder. "I'm just messing with you."

The male Master chuckled weakly until Henry's hand left his shoulder. "To answer your question, Mashu is helping Boudicca with something."

"What is she helping her with?" Roman asked.

"I have no clue." Ritsuka answered. "And I'm not going to pry either. It could be something personal, so I shouldn't include myself unless Boudicca wants me to."

"That's probably wise." Henry said.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Ritsuka looked at his watch and stood up. "I have to get going. Artoria wanted me to arrive early for our training session, and it'll be a few minutes until I get there."

After giving a small wave, the male Master left the med bay to the training hall. The moment he was out of sight, the doctor and security chief breathed a sigh of relief.

"I can't believe we managed to change the subject." Henry said.

"I should thank you for your quick thinking." Roman said.

"I'm glad I could help." Henry said. "I don't know what would have happened if he asked you what caused the end of your friendship to Marisbury…"

"I know." Roman said. "You, Davinci and I all agreed to not say anything to anyone about what happened that night until Mashu feels comfortable with it."

"Roman, there's no way she will ever be comfortable with what happened." Henry countered.

"You have a point….." Roman muttered.

"By the way, what do you think of the fact that Mashu and Ritsuka are attracted to each other?"

"Oh, that was completely obvious since Orleans." Roman said. "Wait, when did you figure it out?"

"Since Rome." Henry said. "I mean did you SEE the way Ritsuka looked at Mashu when she wore her toga for the first time?"

Roman chuckled. "Oh, I remember. Davinci was having a blast with his reaction there."

"Just Davinci? The whole room was having a blast." Henry countered.

"Okay, you got me there."

The two men continued to chuckle, and then returned to their random conversations.

"So how far are you in Dark Souls now?" Tatsuko asked as she, Mashu and Ritsuka sat down in the cafeteria with their trays.

"I just beat those darned gargoyles and now about to enter some fortress." Ritsuka said as he took a bite from his sandwich.

"Good luck." Tatsuko said.

Ritsuka raised an eyebrow in concern. "Why are you saying that?"

"Because you're going to need it." Tatsuko answered.

Ritsuka gulped. "I'm getting a bad feeling about that place."

"Do not worry, Senpai." Mashu said. "I am sure you will emerge victorious."

"You know, that does make me feel better." Ritsuka said.

"Then let me sweeten the deal." Tatsuko said before taking a bite out of her cheeseburger. "I'll swing by so I can help you with it if you get stuck."

"Thanks." Ritsuka said.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but can we sit with you?"

The Chaldean Trio turned around to see Iris and another woman with blonde hair and blue eyes standing behind them, their food trays half empty.

"I'm sorry, but who are you again?" Tatsuko asked.

"That woman next to Iris is Sylvia." Mashu answered. "We would like for you two to join us."

Iris and Sylvia sat down across from the Trio. Sylvia took a bite of food as Iris stared at Ritsuka awkwardly. "Well, this is…going to be awkward."

"Why?" Ritsuka asked.

"Umm…well, oh gosh how do I put this…." Sylvia muttered. "Iris and I were in the med bay when you, Henry and Roman had your conversation about Marisbury and how you don't like Clock Tower mages….."

Ritsuka's eyes widened in shock. "You…overheard that?"

"I told you that it was bound to come out eventually." Tatsuko said.

Iris stared at Tatsuko in shock. "You knew about this?"

"Yeah, Ritsuka told me and Mashu about that a couple of hours after arriving in the camp in Gaul." Tatsuko said.

"Well that explains why Ritsuka asked for the comms to be turned off…." Sylvia said.

Iris turned to face Ritsuka with a concerned gaze. "Sylvia and I were from the Clock Tower originally before we were recruited….I'm scared to ask, but do you hate us as well because of that?"

Ritsuka finished chewing his food and stared at them curiously. "If you don't mind me asking, but do you two behave like mages from the Clock Tower?"

"Well, I was never really good with people. I always felt more comfortable with animals, and enjoyed their company." Iris said. "But I never agreed with the Clock Tower's behavior or beliefs."

The Trio stared at Sylvia for her answer. The blonde woman looked away shamefully as she sighed.

"I used to be like that." She said. "Back when I first joined Chaldea about two years ago, I looked down on the regular people. I was arrogant, and I didn't have any friends because of that."

"Until she met me, at least." Iris said. "I've been here for four years, so I knew some of these people well. I helped Sylvia see the error of her ways, and she started to warm up to everyone after realizing how ridiculous the Clock Tower's elitist attitude was."

"So, does this mean you hate us?" Syliva asked.

"Nope."

Iris and Sylvia widened their eyes in surprise. "Really?"

Ritsuka nodded. "If I met Sylvia two years ago, that would be a different story. But now? I don't see why I should hate you as you are now."

Iris gasped. "You only distrust those that follow the Clock Tower's philosophy."

"It's more complicated than that." Ritsuka said. "It's not just the philosophy, but how they always try to justify their brutal actions and say it's to further their goals."

"I….think I understand what you're trying to say." Iris said. "They don't care about the consequences of their actions, nor who gets hurt because of it, as long as it furthers their research or goals. That's what irks you."

Ritsuka nodded. "Doc told me some of the things the Clock Tower would do, and it really colored my opinion of them."

"It sounds like Dr. Williams doesn't have a high opinion of the Clock Tower." Sylvia said.

"That's…an understatement." Ritsuka said.

Iris and Sylvia raised an eyebrow causing Tatsuko to wince.

"Yeah, Ritsuka told me and Mashu that Ms. Williams has an intense hatred of the Clock Tower." Tatsuko replied.

"Is that true?" Iris asked.

"Yeah, it's true." Ritsuka answered. "Something obviously happened with her, because her hatred for the Clock Tower seemed to be…..personal."

"And knowing how the Clock Tower behaves, it's safe to say they started it."

The group turned around and saw Emiya walking towards them, the Archer took off his apron and sat down beside them. "I'm on my break now, so if it's okay with you all, I'd like to join in."

"Sure." Ritsuka said. "Is there something in particular you'd like to know?"

"The reason you scowled upon hearing the Tohsaka family in France was because of this distrust, wasn't it?" Emiya asked.

"Kind of." Ritsuka answered. "See, Doc doesn't know much about the mage families in Japan, so she doesn't actually hate them even if they're associated with the Clock Tower. But she does feel distrust towards them because of this as well, because she doesn't know what they can do."

"That actually makes a lot of sense." Iris said. "Not trusting someone because you don't know them well is pretty normal, especially for mages."

"Senpai, do you think you could like any of these people if you got to know them?" Mashu asked.

"I'd say that's going to be a mixed bag." Emiya said. "I knew some of them personally, and I can say this much, only two of them are people he and this doctor Williams would probably befriend."

"And who would those two be?" Sylvia asked.

"The first one would have been my Master in the Fifth Holy Grail War, Rin Tohsaka." Emiya answered. "She may have had the typical haughtiness, but she didn't know anything else but having to rely on herself for so many years. So if given time, she'd probably come out of her shell, and probably be a good friend to have."

"Okay, good to know." Ritsuka said. "Then who's the second?"

"Sakura Matou, Medusa's Master from that War." Emiya answered. "She was a shy, but incredibly sweet girl. You and Doctor Williams would have liked her."

"What else can you tell us about her?" Mashu asked.

Emiya winced. "I probably shouldn't say more right now because it's not for polite company. All I'll say is that she and Rin are actually sisters."

"Really?" Tatsuko asked. "Then why the different last name?"

"She was adopted into the Matou family at a young age." Emiya answered. "And that's all I'll say on the matter."

"That doesn't really make us feel better." Iris said.

"Say Ritsuka, can you tell us some of the families in the Clock Tower that doctor Williams hates?" Sylvia asked.

"That's going to be difficult to answer because she hated a LOT of them." Ritsuka answered.

"How about you tell us only a couple of them, then." Tatsuko said.

"Okay, I'll do my best." Ritsuka said. "There's the El-Melloi family, the Sophia-Ri family, the Einzbern family."

Emiya's eyes widened in shock. Mashu stared at him in concern. "Emiya, is there something wrong?"

Emiya calmed himself and took a deep breath. "I'm actually a member of that family through adoption. Artoria and I will explain more later, but I shouldn't be surprised that she would hate them."

"Well this next one might actually surprise you." Ritsuka said. "Because it's the family she hates the most."

"And who would that be?" Tatsuko asked.

"That's the irony of it. The family she hates the most is none other than the Animusphere family."

Iris and Sylvia widened their eyes as they choked on their food for a moment. The moment the two women managed to stop choking, they took deep breaths to get some air, and stared at Ritsuka as if he sprouted two heads.

"If she hated the Animusphere family so much, why did you join Chaldea?" Emiya asked.

"I didn't even know they owned Chaldea until director Olga introduced herself." Ritsuka said.

Mashu's face fell into sadness. "Does that mean Miss Williams would have hated director Olga?"

"At first maybe." Ritsuka answered. "But if Roman and Henry told her what they told me about how Marisbury treated her, she'd probably change her tune and warm up to her."

Mashu smiled slightly. "I am glad to hear it. But I have my own question. Are there any mage families that Miss Williams does not hate, or at least is neutral towards?"

Ritsuka nodded. "There's not many, but yeah, there are some she doesn't hate."

"Can you tell us who they are?" Iris said.

Ritsuka looked at Emiya sheepishly. "We're going to need more food….."

Emiya nodded. "Hey Boudicca, can you get some more food ready? We're going to be here for a while."

"Sure thing!"

The group then returned to their conversation as the Rider prepared their second lunch.

Half an hour later, the group was done with their lunch, and decided to head to the Summoning Chamber to see who they could summon. The Chaldean Trio invited Iris and Sylvia to join them, and Emiya went with them for an extra hand. Along the way, they found Artoria, and invited her along, with the Saber accepting the offer. It didn't take long for them to explain their conversation from the cafeteria to her, causing the Saber to be slightly surprised.

"So Iris, how does it feel knowing that doctor Williams doesn't have any beef with your family?" Tatsuko asked.

"I honestly don't know what to think." Iris said. "I'm just surprised that she has a high respect for the Musik family."

"I am still saddened to hear that she hates the Einzberns." Artoria said. "Granted, the majority of them I can understand earning her ire, but I knew one personally."

"Who would that be?" Mashu asked.

"Irisviel von Einzbern." Artoria answered. "She was a wonderful woman, and if she was the one who took Ritsuka in, there's no doubt in my mind that she would have doted upon him as if he were her own son."

"She definitely sounds like a good person." Ritsuka said.

"Her husband, on the other hand, I still have a hard time forgiving him….." Artoria muttered as they entered the Summoning Chamber. The Chaldean Trio turned on some lights, and flipped some switches to get the Summoning Chamber ready for their attempt. Iris and Sylvia decided to stay by the door alongside Emiya and Artoria. The Trio then walked up to them and handed them each a pair of sunglasses.

"Please put these on." Mashu said. "After the orbs spin the pillar of light always appears, and it gets really bright, so Davinci made these for everyone after Tatsuko and I put in a suggestion."

The two mages and the two Heroic Spirits nodded and put on their sunglasses early to put them somewhere. After the Trio put on their own sunglasses, Tatsuko stepped up to the panel and put a Saint Quart into the slot and pulled the lever. The Chamber hummed to life as the orbs appeared, and spun around in a golden light. The orbs spun around in three rows, and the pillar of light erupted for a moment, before disappearing, leaving only the Servant that was summoned on the platform. The moment everyone took off their sunglasses, Artoria's eyes widened in surprise as she saw the Servant rise up and looked around the room.

The Servant in question was a young boy with red hair and eyes. On his hip was a short sword, while the rest of his outfit consisted of a sleeveless black shirt exposing his midriff, a black skirt, fingerless gloves and boots. Of course, the most distinguishing figure was the large black horse by his side.

The boy smiled at the Trio and patted his horse. "I'm Rider. But you can call me by my name of Alexander. Of course other nicknames are welcome too."

"Alexander…Wait, as in Alexander the Great?" Tatsuko asked.

"Well yes, but my memories of my conquests right now are a little hazy." Alexander answered.

"Well, isn't this a small world." Artoria said. "I am glad that you have come."

Alexander turned to Artoria and raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I'm sorry miss, but do we know each other somehow?"

Artoria nodded. "I fought against your older self in a Grail War in a different timeline."

"I see, but why are there multiple Servants in the room?" Alexander asked.

"I am sorry for the confusion." Mashu said. "Please be patient, and we will explain in a little bit."

"Okay!" Alexander said. "Wow, you're really beautiful."

Mashu raised an eyebrow. "Thank you?"

Alexander winced under his breath. "I guess she's not really knowledgeable about this sort of stuff yet…."

"How about you stand by me, Alexander." Sylvia said with a warm smile. Alexander nodded and walked towards the blonde mage.

"Welcome to the team Alexander." Ritsuka said. "I know Mashu said this already, but please be patient before you ask us questions. I'll try to summon another Heroic Spirit and then we can answer all your questions."

Alexander smiled and nodded. Ritsuka proceeded to switch places with Tatsuko, and put his Saint Quart in the slot, and pulled the lever. The Chamber hummed once more as the orbs appeared. The moment they started spinning, everyone's eyes widened in surprise.

The color wasn't gold. Instead, it was multicolored, almost like a rainbow.

"I don't know what's happening, but this is a good sign, right?" Tatsuko asked.

Not a second later, the pillar of light erupted. The group put on their sunglasses, with Sylvia covering Alexander's eyes as the pillar pulsated for a few moments. The moment the light dissipated, the group stared at the Servant on the platform, with the majority of them with raised eyebrows.

The Servant in question was a tall man with black hair and eyes. He wore a sharp black suit, and glasses. In his hands was a cigar, and a book.

"I am Servant Zhuge Liang, Caster Class."

"Ummm, are you sure?" Ritsuka asked.

"What? Are You asking if I am the wrong person?" The man asked.

"Kinda." Tatsuko said. "Don't take it the wrong way, it's just you don't look like…well, a strategic general."

The man sighed. "Well, technically I'm not him. I am actually El-Melloi the Second. But I did inherit all the powers, so there's no issue there."

"I don't know whether to offer my condolences, or to chuckle at the irony." Artoria replied.

Lord El-Melloi II"s eyes widened. "Oh bloody hell, you're here too?!"

"I'm surprised with your new name, boy." Artoria said. "What was your real name again? I never managed to remember that."

"Waver Velvet!" The Caster said. "But since it's because of you, and my own damned stupidity, I'm now Lord El-Melloi the Second, so I'm going by that now….."

"But why?" Mashu asked.

"Well, the original Lord of the family, Kayneth Archibald, died in 1994, and I was somewhat responsible for that." Waver answered. "So when the family was in debt, I was forced to take the position until the next heir came of age."

"That can't be right." Iris said.

Waver raised an eyebrow. "Come again?"

"Lord Kayneth is still alive." Sylvia answered.

Waver's eyes widened. "How in the hell is that possible?! He died in the Fourth Holy Grail War!"

Tatsuko raised an eyebrow. "Did you just say Fourth Holy Grail War?"

"Yes, what of it?"

The Chaldean Trio, Iris and Sylvia widened their eyes in shock. This man was….

"You're from the same timeline as Emiya…." Ritsuka muttered.

Waver's eyes widened. "So the Magus Killer is here too?"

Ritsuka turned to Emiya with widened eyes. "What is he talking about?"

Emiya sighed. "He means my adopted father."

"Your dad was the Magus Killer?!" Ritsuka asked.

"Whoa, what's with that reaction?" Tatsuko asked.

"His dad specializes in killing mages, Tatsuko." Ritsuka said. "Doc told me of what he could possibly do, and she was terrified of him!"

"Did she even meet him?" Emiya asked.

"No, but she heard about him." Ritsuka answered.

"Okay, calm down, and can someone tell me what's going on?!" Waver shouted.

Ritsuka took deep breaths and exhaled. "Sorry, I shouldn't have been so loud. But here's the deal Lord El-Melloi the Second, our timelines are vastly different. And I have reason to suspect that you come from the same one as Emiya's."

"That might not be right either." Emiya said. "He's probably from a similar timeline as mine, but still somewhat different."

Waver opened his mouth to speak, only for any words he wanted to say catch in his throat as he stared at Alexander. The Caster's eyes widened in shock, and walked towards the Rider. "Is he who I think he is?"

"He is, but his younger form." Artoria answered. "He was summoned just a few moments before you."

Alexander stared at the Caster with curiosity. "I suspect you met my older self at some point."

Waver nodded, and smiled. "I did. But regardless I look forward to working with you too."

"Wait, how would you know his older….self…." Iris's eyes widened. "Ohhhhh I think I know what's going on here."

"And you would be correct." Artoria said. "This man was a Master in the Fourth Holy Grail War, and the Master of Alexander's adult self."

The two Masters stared at the Caster in shock, causing Waver to stare at them with a calm gaze. "I suspect you three are Masters yourselves."

"No, just me and my friend here." Ritsuka said when pointing at Tatsuko. The two of them then proceeded to show the Caster their Command Seals.

"Interesting. Now the real question is why they're not fighting each other." Waver said.

"N-no one is fighting anyone." Mashu said. "I apologize for my brazeness, but we will explain everything during the tour."

"Maybe we should all sit down and talk about all this before going on a tour." Waver suggested.

"That might be for the best." Sylvia said. "We just got hit with a lot of information, and so did you, so there's a lot to process here."

Waver turned to the Trio with a sharp expression. "What are your names?"

"I'm Ritsuka Fujimaru."

"Tatsuko Tachibana."

"I am Mashu Kyrielight."

Emiya cleared his throat to get Waver's attention. "I will have to warn you, Ritsuka has a bit of a distrust of the Clock Tower, especially Lords."

Waver looked at Ritsuka and chuckled. "Oh, I like you already. It means you're not some idiot who blindly thinks that there is good in everyone."

Ritsuka raised an eyebrow. "And here I thought you'd be scowling at me for judging you solely because you're a Lord of the Clock Tower."

"Nah, I'm not a fan of them either." Waver answered. "I hate the cutthroat politics of it all, and just want to further my own career as a Mage."

"That'll have to do." Ritsuka said. "Also I don't mean to be rude, but please don't smoke here."

Waver raised an eyebrow. "You hate smoking as well?"

"Kind of, but that's not why I asked." Ritsuka said. "This room is a non-smoking area. So if you want to smoke, there are some designated areas for that."

Waver shrugged. "Fair enough. Though I'd like to request that Saber here stays as far away from me as possible."

"Unfortunately that might not be possible." Tatsuko replied. "You two may have to work together at some point, so you can't avoid each other forever."

Waver sighed. "Fine, fine. Let's just sit down and have this talk."

The Chaldean Trio nodded and walked towards the door, with Mashu opening it. Emiya, Artoria, Iris and Sylvia walked out while Mashu smiled at the two newcomers. "Welcome to Chaldea."

The two Servants nodded and walked alongside the Trio. As they walked the halls to catch up with the others, Waver and Ritsuka glimpsed at each other occasionally, with only one thought in mind.

Things were about to become more interesting.

OC: Well, this has been perhaps the most lore heavy chapter we have ever done.

CV: Most lore heavy chapter so far.

OC: Okay, you got me there. But we definitely learned a lot of interesting things about some people here. And first up is none other than Roman's opinion of Marisbury. For those that have completed the Grand Order Saga already, you already know how shocking this would be for Roman to actually hate Marisbury here. Well the thing is that after all the shady shit Marisbury did, and how cold and ruthless he was, I find it hard to believe that even a nice guy like Roman would still see him the same way, and so we decided to make it so while they started out as friends, things went sour over the years, and during that time, Roman saw how bad he could be, and after a certain point, ended their friendship, and only stayed on for personal reasons. We know that Roman liked to see the best in people and the beauty of the world, but for him to see Marisbury in that same light, even with all he did, doesn't really look good. It doesn't matter how well intentioned your goals are, there is a certain line that you must not cross, and Marisbury crossed it twenty times over.

CV: Especially with the newer revelations brought about by the end of Lostbelt 7, as well as the reveal of Ordeal Call. Marisbury wasn't only shady, dude was playing a game like 5 years before the game actually started, and without good intentions either.

OC: Well as stated by Koyanskaya and Roman, Marisbury is the ideal Mage. Speaking of that, we also decided to make things interesting, and have Ritsuka have a distrust of the Clock Tower, and the Lords. This was something that we have been waiting to reveal for some time. And the reason we did this is because, well, the Clock Tower and the majority of Mages are shitty people. For someone to see the good in every one of them is a fool's errand, and so we decided to make Ritsuka a more realistic person, and actually have a BIAS, and distrust them because of the shady shit they do. Yes, he doesn't hate the ones in Chaldea or USED to act like that, mainly because they have changed for the better, so he's not going to judge them for that, but he's not going to be as accepting of people as he is in the game. I'm sorry, but it just doesn't paint a good look for them when they continuously try to see the good in irredeemable villains when there is NO good in them at all. And in light of this, Vlad and I have decided to actually not have Caster Gilles come to Chaldea. If he did, then you know Ritsuka would have nothing to do with him, considering what he did to little kids…..

CV: I can make arguments for villains like Douman that while evil, do have an arc in Chaldea, as well as being charismatic and entertaining. Caster Gilles has the evil with none of the other stuff, so I'm more than happy with him sitting this story out.

OC: Then there's the fact he doesn't really play an important role in ANYTHING so far aside from Orleans. Well aside from Imaginary Scramble, but that's all he's done since Orleans. So yeah, cutting him out won't change much.

CV: Pretty much. I apologize to all Caster Gilles fans, all 3 of you.

OC: And then we have another interesting point of lore. And that is Doc's hatred of the Clock Tower, and how it affected Ritsuka's opinion. Hannah's hatred of the Clock Tower was one of the things we discussed most about her character, and the fact that it never waned shows that we stumbled upon a gold mine for people to FINALLY call out the Clock Tower for all their shit in universe. And her hatred for certain families? Well that was actually something we discussed while making the chapter, and we decided to have some familiar names show up to show how bad Doc's hatred runs. And the fact that the Animusphere family is number one on her shit list is both amusing, and an ironic twist that Ritsuka ended up working together with one briefly.

CV: Hannah's a person that has quite the story with the Clock Tower, because while there can be good people that come from it like Goredolf, Rin and such, most of them can't really be called "good", or even "decent", and the examples I mentioned are the exception that proves the rule.

OC: Though Hannah does have a limit to her hatred, and if there is a mage from the Clock Tower who is a decent person, even if they're from one of the families she hates, she will take a liking to that individual because that individual is genuinely a good person. So for example, if she met Olga, she'd be annoyed by her at first, but she'd definitely warm up to her and probably show some respect. Another example would be Sakura. If she ever met her, or learned of her past, let's just say that Hannah would immediately fight a custody battle for her, and give her lots of hugs.

CV: Hannah with like 90% of the Clock Tower is the "May God have mercy, because I certainly won't" meme.

OC: She'd probably settle for arson, but yeah she'd definitely like seeing them be taken down a peg. Like all of us.

CV: Just taking them down a peg? I would throw them off the building entirely.

OC: Yeah, but all of this pales in comparison to the biggest revelation of this chapter: The confirmation that Ritsuka and Mashu are attracted to each other! Though it was probably obvious considering the number of times Ritsuka just stared at her like a lovestruck goofball. The boy is smitten.

CV: Ritsuka wants a piece of the Mashu cake lol.

OC: He has great taste, I'll give him that.

CV: He sure does. But he ain't the only one, Mashu wants a taste of the forbidden fruit as well.

OC: I mean they're both at that age. Who can blame them?

CV: Not me at least lol.

OC: Neither can I. Oh would you look at the time. Thank you all for tuning in for this week's chapter for Chronicles. Please come back next week as we unveil a very special chapter. Cosmic Vlad and Owen Chaser, signing off.