064 - Strategic Meeting

Olga Marie Animusphere

Olga isn't the most socially aware of her peers, particularly when it comes to old historical trivia like culinary customs of Ancient Rome, but she's fairly sure the treats before her are incredibly scarce and valuable during this era, even for the imperial larders. Moreso, the long table dominating the dining room also displays anachronistic wonders of cuisine and confectionery that Olga is fairly sure are only possible due to the extratemporal nature of the current Empress.

And yet, it only took her a glance around the room to realize this wouldn't be a simple social breakfast.

Sure, the palace servants had outdone themselves in their service, with row after row of delicacies perfectly arrayed before them in a display that pleased the eyes just as much as it teased the appetite.

Sure, apron-clad attendants wait along the walls all around the room, standing perfectly still in an elegant display of discipline, ready to tend to the slightest whim of the guests.

But, much more important than the mouth-watering treats and impeccable service awaiting for them, it was the identity of the individuals arrayed around the table to share this meal with the Exploration Team.

Tohsaka-Senpai, in her role as the Crimson Empress, was of course a given. They were her guests, after all. She was followed everywhere by an absolutely titanic astralized presence who couldn't be anyone else than Altera. To her side, every Servant loyal to the 'Crimson Empress' they have met so far.

Crimson Saber, Yamato Takeru. The Great Unifier of Japan, Slaughterer of Demons and Gods.

Crimson Lancer, Nagao Kagetora. Also known as Uesugi Kenshin, the Reincarnation of Bishamonten.

Crimson Archer, Oda Nobunaga. The Fool of Owari and Demon King of the Sixth Heaven.

Crimson Berserker, Ibuki-Douji. The Child of the Orochi, second generation Evil Serpent God of Ibuki.

Crimson Assassin, Mochizuki Chiyome. In spite of the rather grim curse haunting her, the only one even slightly reasonable of the entire bunch.

And one more Olga hadn't had the chance to meet yet. A dog-eared woman carrying a long and thin blade, surrounded by eight levitating amber orbs and accompanied by a bull-sized shadow dog that seems to constantly phase through the walls and furniture simply to fit by her side.

Going by the fact the 'Crimson Empress' already has a Servant of every other regular Class under her contract, she most likely belongs to either the Caster or the Rider Classes. The clearly supernatural floating orbs around her might hint at her nature as a Caster, but they could simply be some sort of relic treasure. The huge dog could easily serve as a mount if her true nature is that of a Rider, but it could just as easily be some sort of contracted familiar.

Which is also a bit strange, because Olga would have expected Tohsaka-Senpai to have a Servant of each of the seven regular Classes bound to her under her role as the Crimson Empress. There's power in symbols and there's few things as symbolic when it comes to Servants as that one, but she's only been six so far.

That is, Altera clearly doesn't count for that math. For one, she was Tohsaka-senpai's Servant before she assumed the role. For another, last time she checked Altera didn't belong to the Caster Class, so it would have thrown the count off no matter what.

Shaking her head, Olga firmly pushes the rather unsatisfying math out of her mind. It's probably just another one of Tohsaka-senpai's schemes, anyway. Surely, her last Servant is being kept secret for some reason or another and, even that's not the case, it's not really that much of a big deal.

She should focus on this delicious-looking breakfast before her. They day promises to be just as intense and draining as the last and she will need the energy to see it through. Besides, she has to admit to being somewhat curious about the sort of delicacies Rome's Imperial Palace had to offer for their guests…

…

…

…

Olga didn't immediately notice, since she was rather distracted by the quality of the people around her. She didn't notice it afterwards either, since she was somewhat distracted by the scrumptious meal set in front of her, but now that her appetite is sated and she's finally paying a second look at the attendants… Aren't French maid uniforms a bit out of place in a Roman palace?

… She just found the missing Servant, didn't she? Or at least their familiars. They aren't even human-looking, for goodness sake. How did she manage to miss them for so long? Was it some sort of Skill or is she really that inattentive?

Her thoughts are interrupted when Tohsaka-senpai clears her throat, immediately causing the power of the astralized presence by her side to flare up in a way that demands attention. Looks like the real meeting is about to begin.

"Right, now that we are all aware, awake, clean and sated, it's time to start discussing serious matters." Tohsaka-san announces imperiously, slamming both hands on the table for emphasis. "The stalemate with the Purple Empress has lasted for long enough. Today, it will be broken, one way or another."

"Finally some real action, nya!" Crimson Lancer pumps her fist with a wide grin on her lips. "I was getting sick of border skirmishes and running after the small fry squeaky toys that managed to slip into our territory, I want to sink my teeth on some proper fights!"

"Umu!" Crimson Saber nods in agreement. "My hands itch for a decisive battle or two!"

"Joutei-sama1 ." The dog-eared woman speaks up for the first time, drawing Tohsaka-senpai's attention and causing Crimson Lancer to make a face like she'd just sucked on a lemon. "Pray excuse my forwardness, but I believe some introductions are in order?"

It's a soft and collected voice, smooth and articulate. The sort of voice Olga would expect of a daughter of noble birth, instead of, well… She steals a glance towards the Crimson Archer and Saber, then towards Chaldea's Rider and Lancer. Instead of the varying degree of social disasters she's been encountering so far.

"Right, I forgot you guys didn't all meet yesterday." Tohsaka-senpai nods, extending a hand towards the woman and her dog. "These two are Servant Rider, Fusehime and her husband Yatsufusa."

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintances." The now identified Crimson Rider greets the Exploration Team with a polite bow. "Please take care of me."

Olga's brain stalls for a moment at the announcement, but she recovers quickly. Myths can get strange at times and Servants are victims of their legends just as often as they are boosted by them. Surely, there's something here that goes deeper than the most obvious and vulgar—

"I still don't trust the dog fucker, nya."
"Shut up, dogs are cool."

Olga's eyebrow twitches as she does her best to ignore the whispered argument between Crimson Lancer and Saber. The tale of Fusehime isn't one she's familiar with at all, but the woman carries all the hallmarks of a prim and proper dignified noble lady and Olga refuses to believe Crimson Lancer's snide comments have any grounding in reality. Surely, it's all due to some corruption of the original story that was immortalized as part of her legend or some other reasonable explanation along these lines.

"...And Caster was supposed to remain inconspicuous, but they seem to have gotten overexcited and dropped their glamour at some point, so…" Tohsaka-senpai sends a half-hearted glare towards the mice servants, who at least seem to have the decency of looking bashful. "No point in keeping it quiet anymore. Servant Caster, technically Daikokuten."

"Greetings, honored guests." One of the mouse maids takes the lead, speaking up as she takes a deep bow, quickly followed by the rest of them. "Unfortunately, our lord Daikokuten was too busy to answer the summons in person, but it will be our pleasure to play the role of Caster in his name! We aren't very good in direct combat, but you can leave any household task to us!"

"... Right. As you probably guessed already. Caster won't personally take to the field." Tohsaka-sensei elaborates. "Instead, they'll make sure our logistics are kept to the most enacting standards."

"As they should!" Crimson Archer nods in approval. "A warrior may live and die by their blade, but an army marches on its stomach!"

"And speaking of marching, on to the plan. Our main goal is to ensure the Chaldeans make their way to the main base of the Purple Empress somewhere in the heart of Iberia." Tohsaka-Senpai explains, pointing a hand towards the table -When did it get cleaned out? These maids are good- to manifest some sort of tri-dimensional map of the Singularity, with the city of Rome marked red and a wide blurry area around the middle of Spain marked purple. "To that effect, we will launch a naval attack to draw attention so the Chaldeans can take an indirect land route through Gaul and the Pyrennees with their superior mobility."

Tohsaka-senpai continues on her explanation going into specific details about fleet composition, soldier numbers and sea currents that are mostly beyond the scope of what Olga's people need to know to play their own role. Still, watching the map change with her every gesture to reflect more and more detailed information is fascinating all on its own.

Chaldea can easily achieve the same, but they rely heavily on technology to supplement their magecraft in the strategic field. Watching the same being achieved through purely thaumaturgical means has a special charm that speaks to her pride as a magus.

"Nyaa… I see the merit of this strategy." Crimson Lancer mulls over the map with a small frown. "But this looks much more reckess than your usual approach?"

"Pretty sure that's on purpose, cat." Crimson Archer retorts snidely, before sending a knowing grin towards Tohsaka-senpai. "After all, something has changed. Isn't that right, Empress?"

"Indeed, though this level of recklessness remains well within the scope of tactical soundness. A decapitation strike is a perfectly valid method to end a stalemate." Tohsaka-senpai nods confidently, before turning towards Olga with a fierce smile on her lips. "Most importantly. Now that we have the Chaldeans on our side, we can afford to take some risks that would've been previously unthinkable."

"So we're relying on them?" Crimson Saber questions with a dubious frown. "I'll be the first to admit they are strong, but—"

"You would know about that, wouldn't you?" Crimson Archer cuts him off with a taunt. "Mr. Divine Popsicle?"

"Fool." Crimson Saber snarls at her, a hand landing on the pommel of his blade. "If you are so eager to test your skills against a true divine blade–"

"Archer, Saber! Not the time." Tohsaka-senpai cuts the two of them off before they can truly get going. "I have full trust in the Chaldean's ability to face the Purple Empress without support and end this war once and for all. We won't discuss this topic any further."

Well that's… that's certainly a morale booster, to be given so much trust for something so important. But it's also somehow even more terrifying than having the fate of the entire human history resting on your shoulders. After all, humanity is a big, abstract, faceless crowd that Olga only cares about in the most general of senses. Tohsaka-senpai on the other hand is someone she personally respects and looks up to.

Someone she wants to make proud and show off in front of. She can't afford to fail here.

1: Joutei - A composite word made up by the kanji '女 (onna, jou)', meaning 'woman, female' and '帝 (mikado, tei)', meaning 'emperor, specifically the Emperor of Japan'. This word refers to the legitimate claimant to the throne, as opposed to a consort, regent or dowager, which all use different words. As far as I'm aware, the word belongs exclusively to works of fiction and has seen no historical use whatsoever.

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