Section 6

It looks like just about two hours have passed since Sieg took off with us. We were able to see a few cities beneath us, but we were mostly surrounded by the clouds.

"I'm almost out of mana in this form, I can feel it. Sadly, I'll have to land and drop you guys off soon.", Sieg warns us.

"It's okay, just please land somewhere isolated for us!", the Director responds.

The dragon begins his descent, my stomach moves up just as it would on a roller coaster. Much like an airplane, Sieg is adjusting himself before he lands so we don't get ourselves hurt. In a few minutes we can feel Sieg landing on solid footing.

In a hurry, we start to slide out from Sieg's back and onto the sides of his body. We would still be quite a few meters off the ground if we stayed on his back and waited for his transformation back to his human form, and we could get ourselves hurt.

Our eyes are met by a strong flash of light again, and we're able to see Sieg has taken his human form again. He looks pretty tired, and the first member of our party to come to him is Jeanne Alter. Just what is the face she's making to him now?

"I don't think we're quite at the place we should be yet. But Sieg, are you sure you're cut out to be Fafnir?", our new Avenger asks Sieg. Like she had said earlier, she would be passing her judgment down on him.

"I am, but this isn't my real body and that comes with its own problems…"

"Don't worry Sieg, you still took us pretty far. She's just pestering you to get your attention!"

"That's ridiculous, Serena!", Jeanne Alter tries to retort what I said. "Why would I ever care about him that way, I already made it pretty clear he's not my type!"

"You say that now, that you've only just met him. I'm sure it hurts to hear all those things, but pay no mind to it now, Sieg!"

Anyone could see it at this point. He's very tired, it's almost pitiful. But I MUST be a good friend for him and support him while Ritsuka is busy. I wonder if I should just put his arm over my shoulder and take him to Ritsuka, though…

"Really boy, just how strong are you?", Jeanne Alter poses another question to Sieg.

"I'm strong enough." Sieg exhales and almost falls over. Fortunately for him, he's surrounded by people with excellent reflexes.

"Oh crap!" Jeanne Alter's voice tone immediately changes, making herself sound worried. I don't think she has done this on purpose, either. She's able to hold Sieg before he's able to fall. I turn around as I begin to hear footsteps coming to us, and it's Ritsuka that has come to Sieg's aid.

"Sieg, hold on! We've overworked you…", he says as he starts to run towards us.

"Come on, you said you were strong enough. You're not looking good at all like this…"

While I hear no malice in her voice, couldn't she have chosen her words a bit better now? This only makes her sound condescending.

"Jeanne, enough! I'm tired of listening to you belittling my friend right in front of me! Keep this up for any longer and I'll forfeit our contract, you hear?", Ritsuka shouts at Jeanne Alter. There is anger in his voice, and it's enough to make Jeanne Alter fall silent, worried about whether Ritsuka's words are true or not. I think he's quite serious about what he said.

"It's alright, Master. I shouldn't expect to get along with every new friend I make immediately, even one that looks just like Ruler.", Sieg intervenes, to try and calm Ritsuka down.

Thank goodness, he still has enough strength left in him to talk. Ritsuka and Jeanne Alter are worried something fierce too…

"It doesn't matter, you took us pretty close to where we were meant to go. I won't forget to give you and Jeanne some company when I come back to Chaldea!"

"Thanks. Tell Ruler what happened, and that I'll be sleeping in our room…"

"Okay, I'll send you back and make a few calls. You were great."

Ritsuka pets Sieg for a few moments and lets him vanish, making his return to Chaldea. Jeanne Alter isn't looking so good anymore now that she had to hear Ritsuka lashing out. I hope she has learned something from this, or else I'll fight her and I'll kick her ass if she underestimates Sieg again! Of this I won't be afraid!

The Director taps her watch. "Chaldea, can you see where we are? How close are we?"

"You are right next to Angoulême. Sieg was able to cut down six of the seven days you guys would be walking on foot to reach Altrouge's location. You're a day away from where you should be!"

"That's great news."

"Before you continue, the readings here indicate you are on a leyline. Ritsuka, try summoning another Servant here! You clearly won't be able to rely on Sieg again for some time."

"Good idea, Da Vinci. I'll do just that.", Mash lays her shield down on the ground. "Will this spot work?"

Romani looks at his screen.

"Yes, that should work just fine. Go for it!"

"We don't have any catalysts to use this time, so we'll be getting the help of a random Servant. But our current location should affect this summon too, right?", Ritsuka asks.

"Well, we will find out soon enough!"

The shield lights up a shade of blue and bright light fills the air.

The circle contacts a Servant and a human shape appears in the light…

We all look on in shock, I wonder who it'll be this time?

"Servant. Avenger. My name is-"

"Haydée!? Is that you!?"

"That voice…Edmond, my love!"

"Haydée! It is you!"

"Who is that? Do you know her, Edmond?"

"She is my beloved wife, Haydée! One of the few people I've known to help me take revenge on the French nobility that imprisoned me!"

The red and blue haired angel blushes. "The Throne of Heroes has reunited us so many years later. What good fortune, for once.", Haydée says as she's taken into the arms of the Count for a sweet embrace.

"I must be the reason why she was summoned here."

"It only took me a moment, but I know where I am now. This is France, many years ahead of my time. I'm not fit for combat, but I'll try to help you all!"

"Please, let my Master form a contract with you first, like he has already done with me."

She looks around and notices the black-haired man with the now two command spells on his right hand.

"You must be the one, huh?"

Ritsuka extends his hand. "Yes, I am Ritsuka Fujimaru. Nice to meet you!"

Haydée smiles in response. "I am Haydée. I am glad to be here."

The contract is formed and Haydée now is receiving a steady mana flow.

Alice seems to realize something. "Wait, that's our third Avenger!"

"Yes I am. Most likely because I am the Count's main accomplice and am associated with him the most when people think back to us, and we could have also been summoned as a single Servant sharing a Spirit Core. It is not like I don't bear that many grudges, but the reason why I am an Avenger must be because of Edmond's sheer will, rather than my own."

"Three Avengers… Two is a coincidence, but three? This is intentional. What is causing such a thing to happen?", Nick says to himself out loud for us to hear.

"Oh? You wish to know why only those of the Avenger Class are being summoned to this time? That is simple. The Princess, or Altrouge in your view, is an 'Archetype of Earth,' even if only about 20 percent of it while Arcueid holds the other 80 percent. Due to this link to the Earth, I think her own views of everything match an Avenger quite well, so those emotions are going into the leylines around France and are messing with them. Therefore, only allowing those who qualify as Avengers, and prioritizing those who are French, or are linked to France, to manifest. This is all unintentional of course, just her mere existence here causes it."

"Yeah, that'll do it. That makes se-" Nick freezes, then draws his sword after realizing the situation. Edmond also goes into attack mode, and Haydée follows suit after seeing what her beloved is doing.

"This is one of Altrouge's bodyguards!"

With this in mind, our new meeting is cut short and we must assume battle formations again.

"Disengage now! I am not here to do battle with you lot, not when I'm at a very clear disadvantage. It's not yet nighttime."

"He's not lying.", Alice says. She's always been good at this sort of thing.

"My eyes would've automatically gone off if I was about to die or get hurt, so he doesn't seem to want to harm us."

We all look at each other, then look at him. We all lower our weapons, yet remain on guard.

The brown haired man begins to speak once more.

"My name is Fina-blood Svelten. One of Altrouge's two guards. I was just passing by and felt a spike in mana, so I wanted to check it out. I see you, 'White Hair.' That sword of yours, where did you get it?"

Nick looks down at his sword, and looks back up at the man. "What do you mean? There's nothing special about it at all. Why would you know where it comes from? Why are you here, Svelten?"

"Like I said, I felt a spike in mana readings and decided to come check it out."

"Quit acting suspicious, you weren't meant to be here."

"I AM meant to be here. Believe it or not, I had to come out and do some shopping for my Lady Altrouge."

And the worst part is, he's serious about it. Vampires still do have some speck of humanity in them, huh?

"I suppose I should elaborate. The Princess has sent me on an errand to buy some food. I was sent here by her shadow. She gave me money too. Only problem is, I have no clue what a lot of these modern foods are. I do not want to disappoint her though."

He then looks back up. "Would you kindly extend your helping hand to someone like me with those matters?"

"I'm sorry?", is all the Director can muster.

"Why would we help the enemy?", Mash asks.

"I knew you'd react like this, but I just don't want my Lady to be sad or upset. I don't know what humans normally consume these days, which is why I am seeking your help here. I already said I seek no quarrel with you…"

"Listen, Altrouge is most likely listening in to all I'm saying. If she had any problems with what I'm doing now she would have come to us personally and not only punish me for it, but also kill you guys. I know at least one of you is curious to know more about us."

We look over at Nick. "I will admit, not even I know what they are capable of. We should be as well prepared as we can be. Plus, it's daytime, it would be suicide to fight three Servants when he's weakened like this. So, let's help him."

"We're seriously about to assist a Dead Apostle…with buying groceries. This is unbelievable.", Olga still hasn't wrapped her head around all this, but she's not wrong to act this way.

"You have my thanks, all of you! The last thing I'd want to do is to make my Lady Altrouge sad..."

"You'll have to follow us into the city ahead of us. We will help you out."

We begin to walk.

"You know, you could have killed me there if you wanted, why did you not?"

"If we attacked you, you'd be in the right to strike back at us. And worse than that, you would have held the entire city hostage."

"Yes, my Lady said I was allowed to fight if I were to be attacked first. Otherwise, I should remain passive, she said."

"I see. This Altrouge, what is she like?", Ritsuka asks.

The man in casual wear responds. "She is quite mature for her looks. Despite looking like a child, she acts grown up. She has been alive for thousands of years. A little under two thousand I believe, so her maturity makes sense. She always has a level head, that is why we follow her. She always has a plan for any given situation. In my opinion, she should have wiped you out instantly just to play it safe, but she does not wish to even bother with you all. So that is what I will follow."

"Though, she has been sleeping a lot more as of late. But, she's not someone that would ever need to sleep…"

"When we saw her two days ago now, she did seem quite overconfident, but she also seemed quite scary. I genuinely believed she could have killed us there if she wanted."

"She could, and should have. She just chose not to. She is still a True Ancestor in the end."

"What's that?", Ritsuka asks the brown haired man.

"A True Ancestor? They are beings who protect the planet, nature spirits if you will. Insanely powerful, and royal vampires made by Crimson Moon Brunestud. He is the King of Vampires. Rather, he was. He was killed a few thousand years ago by a powerful wielder of True Magic. Some say his mind still remains though, killing what that man was is insanely difficult. Revival is possible, albeit very difficult and only obtainable through tedious methods, so he made more bodies for him to inhabit after death, Altrouge being one of those. He made those spare bodies knowing he could return after death, so I believe he is still around in some way."

Nick's mouth forms a small, knowing grin.

"Are you sure you're not letting us know more than we should here?", Ritsuka asks.

"Not at all, this is all basic information about her. I won't go telling you her goals or anything though, no matter how much you ask."

"We'll stop her before she succeeds anyway.", The Director says confidently.

"I don't suppose there's any harm in letting you mortals try, right? Oh, we are here."

Before us stands a small city. There's no need to describe something we have already seen so much of before, right?

"Well, Chaldea? Where should we start?"

"If we can find a market, that would work well."

"If it helps, us vampires have a dulled sense of taste, so sweet foods will be best."

"Got it."

We look around the store and pick out some sweet foods for him. "You don't have to worry about proper nutrition, do you?", I ask.

"We do not. Our nutrition comes from blood. Food only acts as a minor boost in energy. Nothing that matters really."

"Lucky. I wish I could eat whatever I wanted."

"Serena, you'll get fat if you do that."

"I know that, Alice! That's why I'm mad!"

"Another thing you can do is get a bunch of normal food like meat, and add seasonings and spices to it. That'll help boost the flavor a bit, but I'd advise against garlic.", Nick suggests.

Svelten grabs something from a freezer. "What about this? This is ice cream, right?"

"Yes, chocolate. I'm surprised you know what ice cream is."

"I am not ancient, you know. Of course I know what ice cream is.", he places it into his basket.

"I think I will get this too. Altrouge would like it."

"Let us be quick on getting other food then, since that could easily melt.", Ritsuka suggests.

"Do you even have a freezer back at your base?"

"Yes, we do. We have some modern appliances around. This will not melt, so do not worry."

"Next is…what about some chocolate?"

"Chocolate? Yes, that would work. Altrouge likes this a lot, why did I not think of that sooner?"

We walk to the candy aisle and grab some chocolate.

"So by the way, is it true? That garlic is bad for vampires?" Mash asks.

"Actually, it is not fatal, it only makes us sick. Like if you humans ate something past its expiration date. It will not hinder our fighting ability if you are trying to use it on us."

"Dead Apostles are so weird. I thought they were evil, but we are going shopping with one right now."

"We are not all evil. Most simply want to live longer. Some are actually evil. Some just want to learn more knowledge, others wish to live in luxury. There's this one that lives on a yacht. I think that is what it was called. All he is doing is living his best life, not bringing harm to anyone."

"Interesting…"

"By the way? Where did Jeanne run off to?", Mash asks as we now all look around for her.

"The woman in black? She muttered something about this being stupid and left. I am sure we will catch up with her eventually.", Haydée informs us. "Sorry I did not say anything…"

"Do not worry about it my beloved, this seems to be how she normally is, and nothing would have kept her around."

"Yeah, we can catch up with her later, she isn't too far away according to what I can sense from our contract together."

Svelten, since it looks like you're at a store now, could you pick up some meat? They don't sell human meat, so bovine steak would be fine. We can cook it here.

Svelten stops mid-walk. Of course, Princess. But do you not think I am getting too much? So far I have ice cream, chocolate, and now steak. Oh and some sauce to sweeten things. Chaldea recommended it.

Chaldea, huh? Wait, are they helping you?

Yes, I ran into them after I was dropped off. I asked for their help since I do not know much about food in this time period, I of course offered them some information about us two bodyguards, I assume that is not an issue?

No, you are fine, I'm just surprised they didn't just try and kill you.

Well, I could have fought them during daytime if I wanted to, they are not a threat to me.

Very well then, I await your return, Strout is back here with me too.

I will return as fast as I can, Princess.

Svelten looks back up and smiles to himself.

"Well, how about we try and pick this up now that your friend is waiting and Altrouge is awaiting my return. Plus I do not want this ice cream to melt."

"Sure thing."

We grab the remaining food he needs and he pays for it all. Afterward, we leave and see Jeanne Alter sitting on a bench outside reading a comic.

"Jeanne! Are you ready?"

"Eh!?"

Jeanne Alter looks up, then quickly hides the comic under her butt.

"What were you reading?", Ritsuka asks the woman.

"Nothing, don't worry about it."

"You hid it under your big ass, don't think we can't see it making volume.", I point out.

"You're delusional."

"Now now, both of you.", Haydée gets in between the two of us. "No fighting please."

"Hmph, fine. I thought we could share some interests but she's being stubborn."

While we go on about this stupid topic, Nick and Fina-blood talk to one another.

"Chaldea seems like an interesting group, a shame we are enemies."

"Yeah, I guess so. For helping you, will you let us pass and get to Altrouge easily when the time comes?"

"That's something I cannot allow, I will follow whatever the Princess says down to the word. But, I will give you all an easy, painless death as thanks."

"I was hoping this could be easier, but I guess we will have to kill each other."

"Indeed. Oh right, I promised information about us, did I not?"

We all look at him and Olga confirms this.

"Very well, I have a Reality Marble called 'Parade.' It is a pirate ship with a 'crew' and everything. A portable small army if you will."

"Wait, so you're a pirate?", Ritsuka asks.

"Yes I am. I do not look like a normal one, do I?"

"No, you're wearing casual clothes, so of course you wouldn't."

"Heh, you will see what I look like during battle. As for Strout, he has a demonic sword called True Demon Neardark. Also, he is invincible due to a curse placed on him relating to time. I believe whenever he dies, it just resets him to when he was alive. So, have fun with him. He is the oldest of us two, and much stronger than me. He is very loyal to Altrouge, he probably won't leave her side when you attack unless ordered to."

"Interesting.", Nick says to himself.

"That's all the information I can disclose to you about us. Or our fights wouldn't be half as fun."

"Yeah, that'll work fine.", Olga responds.

He smiles at us and walks off out of town after saying his farewells. This day overall was quite weird, but we ended up learning more about them, so not all of this was a total waste.

"Well Chaldea, let's get a move on, we have a day's walk ahead and plenty of daylight left!"

"Can't we eat first? All this food talking got me hungry."

"Serena, you're always hungry."

Ritsuka touches his stomach. "No, actually I could eat too."

Mash joins in.

"Fine. We can get some lunch, then continue moving. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am!"

Fina-blood is raised through a shadow. The shadows were his transportation to and from that city.

"Svelten, you've returned!"

"Yes I have, Princess. I got a lot of food here, please, take a look."

Altrouge looks through the bags and places the contents onto a wide table. "This all looks great, thank you."

"It is no problem, but if I may, why do you need all this?"

"Oh right, Strout!"

The Black Knight walks in the room in the same second. "Yes, Princess?"

"I wanted this food because I wanted to have it with the two of you."

"Princess?"

"I know we don't need this to live, but simply eating together is nice. You two are my only family, so I want to show you both how much I appreciate you for sticking with me all this time. I figured sharing a meal like this would be a kind gesture to the two of you. If you don't want to though, I will understand. We can eat humans later if need be."

The two guards look at eachother, then look back at their Princess. "Of course we will join you. We swore an oath to protect you with our very lives, of course we care about you too. Eating human food is not bad either, we would be happy to share this with you! Thank you for this generous gift!"

Altrouge lights up. It's hard to tell that this girl is an evil vampire, at this moment, she seems like an average, everyday, young happy teenager as her looks suggest.

She runs over and hugs the two of them. "I love you both so much!"

The two guards smile and hug her back.

Altrouge pulls herself back. "Sorry, that wasn't like me."

"Do not worry about it, Princess. We do not mind at all.", Strout reaffirms to her.

"Then, please help me prepare this meal as best as possible!"

"Right!"

Chaldea now is walking through the town while eating the food they had bought in that store a while ago.

"So, what powers were you granted as a Servant?", Edmond asks his beloved.

"My abilities? I know how to assist and heal those that have spent their time on the battlefield. I also have the gift of foresight."

Foresight? Just like me?

I finish up the crêpe I'm eating. I then notice Alice is still eating hers.

"Hm?", she notices my gaze and I quickly look away.

She smiles a little and breaks some of it off. "Serena, here."

She holds it in front of my face now. I open my mouth and wait for her to feed it to me. Once it reaches my mouth, I close and eat the small amount she fed me.

Alice lets out a small chuckle. I hope you never stop being cute like this, Serena.~

Alice takes another bite out of her crêpe and holds it back up to my mouth.

"Are you sure, Alice?"

"Yeah, it's fine with me. I'm not as hungry as I thought, don't eat all of it though, just a bite."

"Okay.~", I take a bite directly from it and Alice does the same afterward.

"Serena, how can you even eat this much? Don't you get sick?"

"I don't really know, I just eat until I'm full."

"How do you not get fat? I've seen you eat a ton before, yet you gain no weight.", Alice touches my stomach.

"Rude. I just don't gain weight easily. It's a special skill of mine!"

Jalter looks on from behind, thinking to herself: Yeah, you don't get fat because it all goes to your big ti-

"Jeanne, how do you like modern food?", Mash asks the second Avenger.

"Hm? It is surprisingly good. Humanity has improved a lot, compared to the time I was alive. I never was able to have this good food then."

"It's just like the Ruler that we know…"

"Tch. Quit bringing her up, I'm nothing like her.", Jeanne Alter hissed.

Mash appears momentarily startled, but then returns to her normal self.

"Will do, Avenger."

She says she's nothing like the Ruler we have come to know, but we've all seen how she treated Sieg…

Jeanne Alter smiles. "Modern France…is not awful. It is not good either, but I'd much rather live in the now and not during the Hundred Years War again…"

There's one thing I'll never forgive, however. My imprisonment, all those needless trials and questionings, all because those around me didn't have enough faith in God. I'd burn them all an infinite amount of times over for this injustice, and I'd make God watch, in fear!

"At least we won't have to be here for much longer. We must eliminate Altrouge, her guards, and retrieve the Grail in her possession. Are we ready to move out, Chaldea?"

"Yeah!", we all replied.

We begin to walk to the next town after looking at a map.

Haydée and Edmond are lucky they don't need to walk. My legs are starting to get numb out here…

Back at Chaldea…

"The Singularity's difficulty is placed at A-Rank. But, after that last fight they had, do you think SHEBA was wrong?"

"I doubt that. Our systems would be able to detect this sort of thing. Romani, are you worried?"

"A little bit. That Vlov guy seemed really strong. It makes me wonder what Altrouge is like, or even her guards now that we have more information on the two."

A picture of Altrouge flashes onto the screen. Alice's body cam caught it since she was on the surface and had a connection with Chaldea at the time.

"Fou!"

Fou hops onto the counter and looks at the screen, at Altrouge.

"Hm? Fou? Is something wrong?"

"Fou, fou!"

"I can't understand you, sorry."

Fou paws at the screen, then sits down, still staring.

"By the way, Romani. Do you even know what Fou is? A dog?"

"He seems closer to a squirrel sized fox, or maybe a cat. I always assumed he was Marisbury's pet. Maybe a phantasmal or something? It wouldn't surprise me if Marisbury had one."

"Fou!"

He then curls up and falls asleep on the counter.

Romani and Da Vinci both smile from the cuteness.

Da Vinci stretches.

"Do you mind if I take my break now?"

"Go ahead. I doubt anything will happen."

Da Vinci walks off and into the hallway. I guess I'll get something to eat!

After entering the cafeteria, she is greeted by the usual Emiya. "What will it be today?", he asks with a smile.

"Surprise me."

"Very well.", he then walks into the back.

He returns with the food fairly quickly. "Here you are."

"Thanks, Emiya!"

She takes a seat and begins eating.

SHEBA might be wrong? I doubt that, but I do agree it is odd that it's A-rank, yet it is already this difficult. We are going about these by predicted difficulty so they don't get overwhelmed since they are still getting the hang of things, and yet they are now on their way to do battle against the Queen of the Dead Apostles. But, I'm sure this isn't what will stop our team…