Author's notes
Well, I can't be writing the entire volume 1. So, I tried to leave the filler parts as much as possible. This chapter is theprologue of Foreclosure Task Force,things get real next chapter.
ENJOY!
Fate/Grand Order: Where All Miracles Begin, SCHALE
Foreclosure Task Force (1/3)
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"..."
"Hmm..."
"..."
"Hmmmmmmmmmm..."
"..."
"Hmmmmmmmmmmmm...!"
"Just when will you find him,Merlin."
"Hey! Pressuring me won't let me find him any quicker, you know?" Cried the man in a pure, white coat. The mage of flower, Merlin, disputed with an annoyed yet nervous sigh. "My clairvoyance works as long as I know where to look— it's not like I know where his soul went!"
"Hoh... you mischievous mage, do you want me to lock you permanently in Avalon again?" With a cold voice, she oppressed the man even further.
"Sigh... Morgan, I know you're worried about your 'husband' but calm d—"
"Looks like he's useless now... In any case, let's decapitate him." Instantly cut the mage's sentence short, a sweet voice argued... yet her point was far from 'sweet'. Nonetheless, the first, cold woman's lips curl up. "Very well... That's a good one. I shall do it your way."
Seeing the situation not looking good, more beads of sweat emerged on his face.
"Stop it right there! STOP! You sisters are ruining the image of fairies!"
"..."
"..."
"—!" With a firm stance and two arms outstretched wide, the man tried his best attempt to stand down the two ferocious women.Gulp—He swallowed a huge gulp of saliva, yet the nervousness didn't cease at all.
Truth to be told... Infront of him, they were two women he wanted to avoid the most.
Sending him a cold, piercing gaze, her aura alone was more than sufficient to make a king kneel— Morgan le Fay, the High Queen... The Queen of Fairies looked as if she could swallow him whole. Next to her was a blonde girl who radiated hope— Artoria Avalon, the embodiment of the sacred sword.
Sweating nervously, thought he must face two of the most dangerous people in Chaldea. No, it wasn't two— but four. The presence of the other two was even worse. One had emerald-green hair, she wore what looked to be a combination of tribal clothes and a space suit. The other one wore a pure, white dress in contrast with her blood-red eyes like a vampiric princess.
Both archetypes, Kukulkan and Archetype Earth, came with both fairies of paradise... the high queen and the planet's holy sword.
Even a cat with nine lives wouldn't survive this insanity.
Glancing left and right for help, Merlin helplessly looked at the other two men. One was normally chatty yet he became so calm, he didn't even open his eyes.
Thut...a hand placed on his shoulder. Still closing his eyes, the Chinese man gave him a warm smile with a bro-code. 'Merlin-dono, I wish you the best of luck.'
That didn't help at all!
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The heavy metal door muffled the argument within the room. Outside, with a hi-tech communication device in hand, a woman responded.
"Yes... Thank you, report me if there are any updates." Her blonde hair swayed as she walked, her blue eyes gave off a serious look.
"Officer-san, you've got any updates?" Leaning her back against the door, the space executor, Ciel, asked.
"Unfortunately, no. Ahh— Where on Earth did he disappear to?" Space Artoria— Mysterious Heroine XX facepalmed tirelessly. For the past few days, she had dispatched the galactic police force to search for 'the missing person'. The girl sighed heavily and leaned next to the other girl.
Sigh...Both exhaled at the same time. Since the matter was irrelevant to vampires, they could only rely on the police force... the church would not bend an eyelid.
Out of the blue, a newcomer's voice rang in their heads.
"He is not in the servant universe."
To their surprise, a reality in front of them warped— the newcomer walked out from a swirl that seemed to bend into a black hole or a galaxy. Space Ishtar, or rather— the primordial goddess Ishtar Ashtart, said firmly.
Within the same breath, another dimension warp occurred next to the goddess.
"He's not dead either, he is alive somewhere." After asking around other netherworld keepers, Space Ereshkigal, the primordial goddess of the underworld, joined the conversation.
"Huuu— This is the worst." Said Mysterious Heroine XX. "If only the Count were still with us, maybe we'd get more intel."
"..."
"So if he's not in this world, not in servant universe— maybe he's in a dream? No, no, no, if that's the case the flower mages would have figured it out."
I swear he's not in a dream! This isn't my prank!
Why is it always you two to blame me when he goes REM REM!
A man's voice seeped through the door, echoing faintly in the hallway.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Then it's possible if he's on another planet of this universe right?" the heroine continued expressing her theory, only to get turned down a few seconds later.
"We excluded that possibility. If it had been the case, Abigail would have found his traces." The underworld goddess explained. She just returned from visiting the girl. She was now consoled by the parent servants... She blamed herself for failing her duty to protect him.
Nevertheless, with Ishtar Ashtart's authority, she already searched this universe and found nothing.
"Hnhhhh!" Two hands at her temple, the galactic officer didn't give up.
"If he's not anywhere here... What if— he's in a parallel world-liked singularity?"
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Back inside the room, the tense atmosphere did not fade.
Whenever Fujimaru Ritsuka disappeared, Chaldea could track him— whether he was in the Papermoon, a dreamscape, or a random singularity. Of course, there were a few exceptions, one being the Moon Dubai where the singularity happened in a parallel world and a far future at that. In addition, the time factors played a role— if not for his report, no one would have known the man went through almost a month of moon-apocalyptic events in one night.
But now, they all have no clue where he went.
"Please calm down beautiful fairies..." Taigong Wang spoke dryly. The entire room was a mess. Two sisters were threatening a poor mage. One frustrated archetype tried to fly off yet blocked by another one.
Only in Chaldea... where one could find three grand caster candidates pressed by ultimate beings.
Wait— that's wrong. First, my current spirit origin is grand rider. And second, the beast candidates can also slap us too.Finishing the pessimistic yet realistic thought, the Taoist practitioner shuddered. His head turned to a man who had been very quiet since the beginning.
"King Gilgamesh... How's your Highness doing?"
"..."
"..." No reply came back, his pupil trembled. Nonetheless, his trust was resolute— the wise king of heroes could certainly figure out something.
Only in Chaldea... where powerful entities, whether urban or planetary-level, boiled in frustration for one man. No one would believe that the powerhouses of Chaldea— Earth, or even an entire universe were to gather in the same place for the sake of one man.
Damn... what a scary yet astounding place.
Like a gift from heaven, suddenly— a resounding laughter rang.
"Ku— Hahahahaha."
"..."
"Hhahahahaha."
"..."
Everyone's eyes all focused on the source, there could only be one person to produce such a kingly laugh. Gilgamesh, the wise king in caster class, finally returned.
"Wow... that was a good one. This is interesting, Ritsuka never failed to amaze me." Finishing his laugh, the king of heroes slowly opened his eyes. The crimson-red eyes shone bright, getting everyone attention.
"King of Heroes... So you've managed to discover something." Shifting her opinion away, Morgan asked. The sly mage let out a big relieved sigh, thankful for the king's rescue.
"Rest assured, Fairy Queen. The man is doing fine." With a convincing grin, the king continued. "Foreigner— you lost your cool, loosen up or else he'd return finding his home was gone."
"I'm calm, very calm, absolutely calm!" Argued the artificial sun, dispersing her leaking emerald aura due to sheer frustration.
"In that case, could you tell us his whereabouts?" said another archetype, her red eyes met with his. Despite hers having a rainbow-rank mystic eye, they did not have the observation skills like those of grand casters'.
Sha Naqba Imuru, a clairvoyance in the form of noble phantasm. It allowed the King of Heroes to discern any concealed truths, see the probabilities, witness past, present, or future events... and lastly, glimpse at other parallel worlds.
"He is not in this world nor this plane. Call that small foreigner girl, she has a job to do."
"Having said that... What you should be worrying about is not how he's doing, but what will you do."
"—?"
Looking at the confused four women, he let out another grin from ear to ear.
"What will you do, what actions will you take— if a number of your love rivals went up by two-three folds."
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It'd been a month since I was transported to this world.
After officially receiving the title 'Teacher' working under the federal organization of 'SCHALE', I received my first help request.
On that fateful day, my role began.
Under the sun's shimmering heat, a silhouette emerged on the horizon. At first, it seemed like a mirage, a trick of the oppressive heat. But as it drew closer, the figure became clearer—a girl gliding effortlessly over the sand on a bicycle.
Her silver-blue hair shimmered under the harsh sunlight, each strand catching the light in a way that seemed almost otherworldly. The soft breeze stirred her short locks, making them sway with her every movement. She came to a stop a few feet away, her gaze steady, her presence dazzling against the backdrop of endless dunes and the remnants of ruined cities.
The heat was strong today.
And yet, as if by magic, the intolerable heat dissolved and the clouds drifted.
The sun's rays poured over her, She stood there like a beacon, a singular figure of clarity in a world of endless haze.
I was speechless.
"..."
The girl stared at me emotionlessly with her jewel-like eyes.
" –I ask of you. Are you my teacher?"
That was how it started, the first moment I met a student in my care.
And of course, I have more reasons to buy a car for commuting to work. Who could have thought that the Abydos district's borders were that desolate? The public transport didn't work that day due to piling sand on the train rails— As a result, I walked. Thanks to my prior experience and my durable body to hardships, Shiroko found me intact. The girl shared her energy drink too— she also gave me a ride on her bike, bringing me to Abydos.
I met lovely students— Hoshino, Serika, Ayane, Nonomi, and Shiroko. A lot of things happened: we repelled the Helmet Gang, they told me about their 900 million yen debt, Serika's mistrust and her kidnapping incident, Problem Solver 68 and Gehenna's Prefect Team, and the most peak of them all— we robbed a bank. To phrase it better, it's for uncovering the dark ties between Kaiser Corporation and the school's dire situation.
I also got to know them better. I randomly encountered Shiroko on some corners, assisted Ayane with her daily struggles, hung out with Nonomi, helped Serika with her part-time jobs, and talked with Hoshino.
"Right, it's rare to come. Let's take a photo here!"
"Sure!" Nonomi quickly responded to her cat-like friend who brimmed with excitement.
"Agreed." Even the most stoic ones nodded to their opinions.
"Then I'll take it. Everyone goes line up okay?"
"Sensei, aren't you going to join us in the photo" Ayane quickly disputed in surprise.
Bombarded heavily, I was stupefied for a second. "Well, I—"
"That won't do."
"Don't be shy!"
"Sensei has to take it with us, yes?"
"Standing there alone is lonely right?~ " Hoshino teased, sweeping her hand in a beckoning gesture.
In front of the aquarium's landmark, stood there 5 students of Abydos High School. They were waiting— waiting for me to join in. Some doubts clouded my mind.. as a Master of Humanity whose true role is to resolve this singularity— Fujimaru Ritsuka must avoid forming unnecessary bonds that may hinder my ultimate goal. I did not belong here.
In our singularities or lostbelts, it was true that we helped and associated with locals. Nonetheless, it was like a temporary act of goodwill. We, the crew, knew that in the end, we would pursue our goal even if they would perish. Still, we gave our best to them— to maintain our morals and stay true to our nature.
But in this world, I helped them... and watched them grow. The difference was like heaven and earth. I did not dare to think about what would happen.
Nonetheless, their teamwork this time was definitely unmatched. I could not even come up with a decent excuse to bail out in time. In addition to the unexpected guests, just as I realized, I was drawn in.
Is this really correct?Is this really what should I be doing?The thoughts lingered in my mind.
Snap!—Rang the sound from a phone camera.
Hopefully, I will be able to bid them farewell.
With a genuine smile on my face.
Keeping that thought in mind, I continued giving my very best to help them. The printed photo came out nicely, marking the first time I ever was solely responsible for someone.
Despite troubles along the way, the Foreclosure Task Force stood together and overcame them.
Just until the one day...
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"That's a lie."
Seeing the girls standing face to face, we managed to settle the dispute between Shiroko and Hoshino. Shiroko also told me she found Hoshino's resignation letter. But due to the tension between Abydos and Kaiser, I shouldn't have left the matter slipped by.
We investigated the desert and found what looked to be a huge military ground of Kaiser PMC, another subsidiary of Kaiser Corporation. Its Director made his appearance, he was the creditor— the mastermind that exploited the Abydos district and pressured the students to leave school. To pursue the hidden treasure buried somewhere, he used dirty methods to take over the district.
As a result, with no lawful solutions... we could only retreat. Later on, Hoshino finally admitted she had received offers to forgive half of Abydos's debt if she worked under the weird person, Black Suit.
And like that— Just the next morning, Hoshino left, leaving behind a resignation letter... and her wishes for everyone.
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It's time to end this.
I couldn't let that corrupted business keep getting their way any longer.
The matter involved things too soon for them to handle— It's an adult's responsibility.
It was now my part... to deal with bad adults who exploit innocent childrens.
With the help of Arona, I tracked down the Hoshino's location. Her last signal led to this building, to this room.
My breath hitched as I stepped inside, the dim light of the room contrasting sharply with the blinding daylight behind me.
At the far end of the room, seated behind an imposing wooden desk, was a figure unlike anything I had expected— The man, if I could call him that, has an unnatural black skin with cracks. From the cracks, a pale blue glow emitted, forming a right eye and a mouth. In addition to his black suit, a black flame burned the top of his head.
A foreign entity I never expected to see in this world.
"I've been waiting for you, Ritsuka Sensei."
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END.
Author's notes
Writing this was hard! Imagine compressing almost all vol. 1 chap 1 and 2 /wiped sweat.
Well, I can't be writing the entire volume 1. So, I tried to leave the filler parts as much as possible. This chapter is theprologue of Foreclosure Task Force,things get real next chapter.
NEXT CHAPTER! Ritsuka meets Black Suit!