CHAPTER 15:

TENSIONS IN CHALDEA

The small party kept going for a little while longer, before Olga finally deigned to grace them with her presence. Her greetings were cold but cordial, little better than the average Magus. Lev Lynor was more affable, but something about the man raised Barghest's hackles. Then again, many Magi did. His smile seemed so false, like everything was an act, typical of a Magus.

Though he at least seemed less false than that monster Beryl. Barghest wanted nothing more than to beat the man into a pulp for what he did, and not just in her Lostbelt. What he did to Mash not so long ago, sneaking into Dr Roman's office while she was having a check-up and breaking her fingers out of curiosity and a desire to elicit some reaction from her, deserved a brutal punishment. Mash was a sweet and kind girl who had gone through enough, and she had the makings of the warrior she would become too. Beryl, on the other hand…he fit into the Lostbelt too well, having playful malice on a par with many of the worst Fae.

Thankfully, Hermione smoothed things over, and Barghest had to admit, the rest of the day was still enjoyable. They were given the tour by Hermione, issued their IDs, and then left to settle in. Indeed, the quartet came to the kitchen, and after talking with the staff, both Barghest and Harry were allowed to cook meals themselves if they wished, as long as they got permission first. Da Vinci and Mash had joined them for dinner, as had Hermione. Da Vinci had been something of a raconteur on previous visits to Oxford for Christmas and Mash and Delphi's joint birthday parties, with the Renaissance Woman always holding forth on some subject matter or other and making it interesting. In fact, Da Vinci lamented that she could not go on the TV show QI, which would've been Quite Interesting(1).

After dinner, they retired for the night. While they had been officially assigned a room each in Chaldea's staff quarters, Harry had brought his Expanded Trunk, and the quartet spent the night in it, Melusine in one room, Delphi in another, and Harry and Barghest sharing a third. The bed was as spacious as that in Potter Manor in Oxford, something Barghest was grateful for, given her stature…and that she was sharing it with Harry.

Her slumber was blessedly free of nightmares, and she woke to a sight she had seen for the past few years, the naked form of her lover. A smile touched her lips, even if it was still a little melancholy from the reminder that her previous lovers hadn't survived her, or rather, her curse. She felt guilty that none of them were here. But in the end, she was here, and so was Harry, and the once-familiar pangs of the curse stirring were conspicuous by their absence. Even when she had Adonis, the pangs, while muted, were still present.

He stirred, and his emerald eyes flickered open and met her own gaze. "Had a good night?" he asked gently.

"Indeed. What of you?"

"Good enough, especially after last night." His hand reached out, and stroked her horns affectionately. She felt a distinctive tingle as he gently channelled his magic through his hand. It had become a signature intimate gesture for them, and she shivered in delight.

She leaned down, and pressed her lips to his own, their tongues warring briefly, before they broke it off. "I think we had best rise," she said. "We'd best see what the day has in store for us…"

The memory of Barghest's naked body (to say nothing of their lovemaking the night before) remained with Harry throughout the morning. True, the first time they had met, she was naked, but while that made an impression, it was also under less than ideal circumstances to say the least. But now they were lovers, he could appreciate it more, and with her consent. Though her body was but one thing he appreciated about her.

Soon after breakfast, Da Vinci called them down. She wanted to run some tests on Melusine…which was basically an excuse for the offshoot of Albion to be able to fly around Antarctica. Because Chaldea was affiliated with the UN to some degree, a number of the bases in and around Antarctica had been warned with the UN's authority that Chaldea was testing a special experimental drone, just in case they saw Melusine on their radars or heard the sonic boom from her passing.

Delphi, meanwhile, had gone to watch some shows with Mash, under the supervision of Dr Roman. As flaky as the former Grand Caster Servant was, Harry trusted him enough to keep an eye on his daughter. Not that Delphi couldn't look after herself, she was 18 now, and a lethal fighter besides if she wanted to be, but with the likes of Beryl Gut around, Harry wanted to ensure she had enough protection. Dr Roman may have been a flaky sod, but he also managed to throw Beryl Gut out last time, no mean feat. Apparently, while training as a doctor, he'd worked with Doctors Without Borders, and had learned some self-defence skills while in more dangerous parts of the world.

Harry and Barghest, meanwhile, were trying out the Simulator, a device that used a combination of magecraft and technology for combat simulations, amongst other things. Harry had snarked about Chaldea inventing the Holodeck from Star Trek. Hermione, who was monitoring the test, had decided on this scenario, dealing with rogue Homunculi. Not the human-like ones created by the von Einzberns or the Musiks, but barely-formed humanoid lumps of white flesh. A few Golems were thrown in, the classic type that looked like humanoid boulders. Harry got out his shotgun, while Barghest manifested her armour and sword. And then, they fought.

The pair of them had worked together so long on cases for the Enforcers, for Waver, and the occasional Magus hiring their services like the Edelfelts, their combat styles meshed together. At one point, Harry even handed the shotgun to Barghest, who fired the gun one-handed (even doing a Terminator-style one-handed reload with the lever action), while Harry fired off spells at their foes. She handed it back in a smooth motion once that wave was done.

Once the simulated battle finished, they headed to the control room for the Simulator, where Hermione and a few others were waiting. Olga-Marie was, watching them with a thoughtful frown, but so was Wodime and Kadoc. Kadoc was the first to talk. "I heard from Granger, but I never thought the Boy Who Lived would use a shotgun until I just saw it."

"Blame Kiritsugu Emiya," Harry said, noticing the Magi present wince at the mention of one of the Moonlit World's biggest human boogymen. "He taught me a lot about how to fight dirty, like a Mundane, but with magic. Kairi Sisigou gave me some pointers too, and I actually was inspired to use a shotgun by him. But I don't use his thumb ammo."

"For which we should be grateful," Olga remarked. "Still, you fought well enough. Just remember, though, you are Master candidates. Barghest may be capable of fighting on the same level as a Servant, given her nature as an A-Ray, but you, Harry, should consider that you are not on the same level as a Servant. A Master is there to supply support to a Servant in the form of a mana supply and orders, they are not there to fight enemy Servants directly. Foes on a level with those Homunculi and Golems, yes, you acquitted yourself well. But Servants are another matter entirely."

Harry bristled a little, but he understood Olga's logic. "Even so, a shotgun blast or a well-timed or placed spell can be a handy distraction, even to a Servant. It may do sod-all, but a moment's distraction in battle can mess with an enemy's concentration long enough for an ally to take advantage."

"I agree," Barghest said. "A firearm is a loud and inelegant weapon, but even if it can't do direct damage to a Servant, it can potentially distract one. What's more, weaker Servants, particularly the Caster or Assassin classes, may be harmed by them, given the magically-enhanced ammunition."

"A possible scenario, but unlikely. Still, as inelegant as the Magus Killer's methods are, one can't argue their results," Wodime said. "I could say the same thing about Sisigou. But you both fought well. It will be an honour to fight by your side."

"And yet we're being kept in reserve," Harry remarked, failing to keep an acidic edge off his voice.

Olga's gaze snapped to him. He didn't flinch from her glare, impressive though it was, as he'd experienced worse. "There are good reasons for that. Firstly, I already have Team A, whom my father recruited. Yes, we are recruiting more Master candidates in earnest, especially as we've been receiving troubling readings on CHALDEAS via SHEBA. And secondly, as reluctant as I am to recruit a known troublemaker, the facts speak for themselves. Granger insisted I have your family tested for Master and Rayshift compatibility, and the four of you have high ratings. In addition, save for Delphini, you all have substantial combat experience, with Barghest having centuries' worth by herself. As long as you are committed to Chaldea's mission of safeguarding the Human Order, I would be a fool not to have you here in some capacity. But I need people in reserve in case the worst happens, people near or on the level of Team A."

Harry understood her logic, but her imperious and haughty tone and the way she referred to Hermione by her last name (and with a cold edge to her voice) rankled with him. He had thought them close, but even though he had heard of the tensions between them, this attitude was pretty bad, worse than the last time he had met her. Olga always had a reserved, haughty nature, but it seemed tempered by a genuine decency.

Barghest, while she too bristled, shrugged, her façade of indifference helped by centuries of experience dealing with noble and royal courts. "It can't be helped. But combat is not the only way to deal with enemy Servants. Servants, while nominally familiars, are also people. Negotiation can potentially help."

"An interesting approach, though a valid one," Wodime observed. "Too many Magi forget that Servants were once people before they were inscribed into the Throne of Heroes. Communication and empathy could potentially resolve a conflict if it was born from misunderstanding. Though I doubt it would work with a Berserker, or any other Servant with Madness Enhancement."

Olga harrumphed. "Very well. Granger, I need a recording of that Simulator session archived for analysis. Once Da Vinci is done playing around with Melusine, I'd like her analysis of Melusine's flight. See to it."

After Olga left, Hermione sighed. "Please and thank you," she muttered sarcastically.

"Why are you letting her talk to you like that, Hermione?" Harry asked.

"…Just leave it, Harry. She's under a lot of stress, and Lev Lynor…" Hermione shook her head, before whispering quietly to Harry, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

Harry's eyes widened briefly, before he nodded, murmuring, "Mischief managed" under his breath. If Hermione was using the Marauders' passphrase, maybe it was her way of telling him there was more going on here than he noticed. But what was it?

Kadoc wandered over, the haggard-looking Pole shaking his head. "The Director's getting more and more uptight. I get that she's under a lot of pressure, but she doesn't have to take it out on us. Did you have to deal with such shit before, Harry?"

"Too many times. I mean, I got hauled up before the Wizengamot for the crime of defending myself from Dementors," Harry said. "At 15, I should add. That was an attempted frame-up."

"I'm hardly surprised," Wodime said. "Magi and wizarding politics are too much alike than either side would care to admit, conservative, nepotistic, and corrupt. That was about the time the Ministry was denying Voldemort's resurrection. I was only a young boy then, somewhat younger than you. I wouldn't hear about the exploits of Harry Potter in any detail until after Voldemort fell. The follies of humanity are magnified in magic users. But…it doesn't mean their virtues are absent." His eyes flickered over to Harry and Barghest. "I have seen the worst and the best humanity has to offer, as I am sure you have as well. And yet, you find the Human Order worth fighting for."

"I find the world worth fighting for," Harry said. "The world is more than just the Human Order. Look at Barghest. Just by looking at her, you wouldn't know she was a Fae, and she is more human than many humans I have known. Same goes for Melusine. One of my best friends is Arcueid Brunestud, and while that sounds like name-dropping, if you've ever met her, you'd think of her as an energetic and nice young woman, not the White Princess of the True Ancestors. One of my teachers was half-Goblin, and another was half-Giant. Just because the Age of Gods and the Age of Heroes have come and gone, and most mystical beings have buggered off to the Far Side of the World doesn't mean a thing."

"I concur," Barghest said. "To my shame, many Fae were unthinkingly cruel beings, yet many humans are too. Yet the Human Order, no, Proper Human History has much to commend it. Perhaps it should simply be called Proper History, for what you call humanity is not necessarily confined to humans. After all, it is possible that non-human beings are engraved on the Throne of Heroes. So why would they then fight for humans? It is because they choose to. Heroic Spirits, after all, are apparently engraved on the Throne of Heroes to act as agents of the World. Chaldea is merely exploiting that for its mission. And I fight for Proper History because I choose to."

After a moment, Kadoc muttered, all while rubbing his head, "Nice speeches. Do you rehearse them? Don't get me wrong, I get what you're saying, and I'm glad you're part of Chaldea, Potter, no matter what the Director claims. I just wonder how you went through the crap you did and still remain sane."

Harry sighed to himself. Kadoc was a pessimist with a lot of self-esteem issues that made Harry's own cynicism look optimistic by comparison. "It wasn't easy, as I've told you before. And the stakes are higher here at Chaldea than it ever was with Voldemort. But that's all the more reason to fight. And you were chosen for a reason, Kadoc. You may not be the best Magus in terms of power, lineage or technique, but you tick all the right boxes for a Master of Chaldea, and despite all my issues with Marisbury Animusphere, he chose you for a reason. And any idiot who says otherwise is full of crap. If nothing else, kick some arse while telling said idiots to fuck off."

After a moment, Kadoc chuckled. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Potter…"

The two Team A members left not long afterwards, but Hermione kept Harry and Barghest aside. "Incidentally, Harry, Barghest…they've found him."

"Found him? Found who?" Harry asked.

Hermione wordlessly held out her iPad to Barghest, who took it, only for her eyes to widen in surprise. "This…this is him! I recognise his face!"

Harry took the iPad from Barghest, and stared at the recruitment file it displayed. There was a photo of a Japanese boy in his late teens, with aqua eyes. For a moment, he was about to ask why, until he realised the boy looked vaguely familiar…from Barghest's memories. And then, he saw it, the boy's name, and now he knew why.

The boy's name was Ritsuka Fujimaru.

CHAPTER 15 ANNOTATIONS:

Oh dear. More tensions, and at long last, Ritsuka makes his appearance, or at least a cameo.

I wanted to show more of Team A, particularly Wodime and Kadoc, prior to them getting bombed. I actually don't know why Kadoc, of all people, was saved and someone like Ophelia bit the dust. Canon Kadoc was a whiny little prick with a huge sense of entitlement to offset his inferiority complex, with only two interesting bits of character development: he was a dark mirror to the protagonist of Fate/Grand Order, and he had a genuine friendship with Anastasia.

Out of Team A, the ones I would have loved to see join Chaldea as Masters would have been Pepe and Ophelia. Ophelia has fertile grounds for character development, growing from a cold, detached Magus into a more complex character, while Pepe…he's very camp, but he's a complex character both morally and in terms of his past, and he seems to be a genuinely nice guy despite that. He's a bit like Wodime, but without the starry-eyed idealism. Though I'm not sure how to write him without my characterisation of him becoming a parody.

BTW, I was musing idly on dub voice talent for the Crypters. Wodime, I think, should be Ray Chase, as I feel Wodime, in some ways, seems like Neuvilette from Genshin Impact. Oddly enough, I feel Hinako should be played by Erica Lindbeck. Kadoc, oddly enough, seems to be played by Chris Guerrero in my head, but not in his usual deep, raspy tones for characters. I was thinking closer to his natural voice, the one he uses for Momonga's thoughts in Overlord rather than for Momonga/Ainz's speech.

Anyway, I'm not sure when the next chapter will be out.

Review-answering time! waytodawn0: Let's just say there's more going on than meets the eye, something that is hinted at in this chapter. But also keep in mind that Hermione has been Olga-Marie's tutor from a very young age, even before Lev Lynor became her tutor.

The Disquieting One: Yes. Because Hermione knows the Fidelius, they were able to hide Roman's true identity, and reveal it only to a select few, with Roman as the Secret Keeper. Harry's household, Da Vinci, Hermione, and Fou are amongst the only other ones to know, though Merlin also knows thanks in part to linking his senses to Fou (I used a similar conceit for Il Dottore to learn Nahida's true identity in my Genshin Impact crossover My Sister's Keeper). Goetia could, in theory, discern the truth by overpowering the Fidelius by sheer brute force, but he is wholly unaware that there is a secret to even discover in the first place.

As for Mash's reaction, to her, Dr Roman is the closest thing she has to a father figure, and she doesn't care that he was Solomon, especially as he gave up all his wisdom and magic at the end of his old life, as well as during his wish for the Grail. Mash tries to treat Roman as a normal human being, something Roman appreciates. So too do the others in the know: while they wish he would be less of a lazy bugger, they also appreciate his humanity. Harry, Barghest and Melusine in particular know what it's like to be dangling on the strings of others, so while they want him to do better, they also understand and sympathise with his reasons.

1. QI is a British comedy panel quiz show where points are given more for interesting answers than the supposedly 'correct' ones. It was originally hosted by Stephen Fry, before he handed the reins over to Sandi Toksvig. Da Vinci has been a subject of the show before, but I reckon having Da Vinci-chan on it would be hilarious.