005 - Emiya Household

Mashu Kyrielight

Much to Mashu's relief, Einzbern-san and Berserker of Red weren't hostile. She can fight off weak monsters like the cursed skeletons due to her new Servant parameters, but she's not confident at all in her ability to take on a peer. In the same vein, Haku-senpai turned out to be a competent (and cool) fighter, but she's still human. Humans cannot beat Servants, that's one of the basics of the field.

Apparently, the city was devoid of human life beyond exactly three survivors, who struggled to keep an already bad situation from getting worse. There's a Holy Grail in play and it falls on these three survivors to keep it from being claimed by a monster. The city is also in a lockdown and travel or communication with the outside world is impossible, that's what made Einzbern-san interested in them in the first place.

It took some quick talking on Haku-senpai's side, but they managed to convince Einzbern-san that they've been sent here to help while keeping the truth of this place's nature as a Singularity quiet. Mashu is a bit in awe at Senpai's skill with words, especially because not a single lie was uttered.

In any case, it was enough to forge a tentative alliance and get them escorted to what Einzbern-san claimed to be the only safe place in this city, a big estate protected with Bounded Fields so powerful that trying to step inside felt like wading her way through jelly. And that was through her Magic Resistance, while being invited in. Mashu is no magus, but that feels like something worth mentioning.

So she did.

"The Emiya Household belonged to the Master of Caster during a previous Grail War." Einzbern-san explains smugly while taking off her shoes. "The witch isn't around anymore, but the protections she wove around the place are second only to the real bullshit out there. This place is a fortress."

"So why not bunker down here and wait it out?" Haku-senpai asks curiously. "If the place is so sturdy…"

"Because Saber has an Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm and she would take us out the moment she got frustrated enough with our opposition." The white-haired girl explains as she guides them towards the living room. "We are relying on a blind spot of hers to keep our base safe, but if we push it too far…"

"Kaboom, no more Emiya Household." Senpai finishes for her.

"Yup. Now come in and get yourselves comfortable. Rin and Sakura are outside playing distraction right now, but we'll have a proper meeting once we're all here."

At these words, Haku-senpai casts a longing glance towards the kitchen before shaking her head and making her way toward a small bookcase on the side. After eyeing it critically, she grabs one of the books there with a sigh and takes it to a big armchair to start reading it. Or rather, to distractedly flicker through the pages.

'I don't want to get hurt so I maxed out my defense'? What sort of title is that?

She's about to open her mouth to ask about it when she feels something cool and thin pressing against her shoulder. Turning her attention towards it, she notices Berserker holding a metal tray full of cookies in a clearly inviting gesture. Watching the Servant of Madness acting so calm is a bit surprising, but the offered cookies smell nice, so she accepts one.

"Ah, thank you very much. Berserker-san." She says politely, before taking a small bite. "... Tasty."

The cat-eared woman's stern attitude seems to melt at those words, giving out a warm smile that makes Mashu's heart throb with longing. Then she leans closer to pat Mashu's head gently before turning around without a word to join her Master on one of the couches. This leaves Mashu standing there confused and flustered, with half a cookie still held on her hand and her emotions in turmoil.

… What was that about?

Fortunately, her confusion is interrupted by the next arrival, a beautiful young woman with long flowing lilac hair and very…. generous assets who introduces herself as Matou Sakura, followed by her Servant Rider, an incredibly tall woman wearing glasses. Matou-san immediately takes over the kitchen, prompting Haku-senpai to spring from her seat.

"Ah, let me lend you a hand, Matou-san!" Senpai offers eagerly.

"Oh, I could never! You are a guest, Fujimaru-san." Matou-san declines without missing a beat. "Please sit down and enjoy our hospitality."

Without anything better to do, Mash finds herself observing Matou-san busy herself with cooking. For a girl like her, who had never set foot in a kitchen before, the way the older woman deftly handles the tools and ingredients is honestly fascinating. Speed and confidence speaking of long practice and an intimate familiarity that carries its own elegance.

"It must be nice, being capable of cooking like that." Mashu finds herself commenting in a wistful voice. "I always wanted to learn someday…"

Matou-san freezes for a moment before gently letting down the kitchen knife and turning towards Mashu, a sweet smile on her lips.

"Would you like to learn now, Mashu-chan?" She offers kindly. "There's room for two in this kitchen and I wouldn't mind an assistant."

To be perfectly honest, Mashu isn't really aware of ever having accepted that offer. One moment she was watching the older woman move around the kitchen with wistful eyes and, the next thing she knows, she's standing in front of the counter, wearing a frilly apron and wielding a carrot peeler.

"What's with this double standard?" Haku-senpai tries to protest from her armchair. "Why is Mashu-chan allowed in the kitchen but not me?"

"That's because Mashu-chan's Kouhai Energy levels are off the charts." Matou-senpai retorts, wrapping a comforting arm around Mashu's shoulder as she does. "Haku-se— Haku-san wouldn't understand it."

And that's that, really. Haku-senpai settles down grumbling under her breath and Mashu lets herself become distracted by helping Matou-senpai around the kitchen. There's some sort of subtle, but deep-seated sense of kinship towards the older woman Mashu can't quite put her finger on. It makes her feel a bit like a lost duckling following after the first thing it imprinted on, but it's not a bad feeling.

They continue working together, falling into an easy rhythm as they slowly turn the seemingly-random assortment of raw ingredients into a rich stew letting out a mouth-watering smell. It was mostly Matou-senpai's doing, of course, but it still feels nice to think Mashu had a hand in making it.

"Now it just needs to settle for a while." Matou-senpai explains, cutting off the gas and putting a lid over the pot. "Just in time, too. Nee-san and Archer are at the door and they appear to bring guests of their own with them."

Olga Marie Animusphere

The first thing she notices upon crossing the threshold of this 'Emiya Household' is the impressive wards and bounded fields bearing down on her very soul. Not just a vague feeling of pressure or a threatening atmosphere, but as if her very existence was constantly being examined and judged. It's said that engaging a magus in their own workshop is suicide, but there are always degrees to anything.

This place is so well protected that merely considering a breach of guest rights is enough to send a thrill of danger down her spine. She'd die. She'd die before trying and the only reason her blood wouldn't stain the place is because there wouldn't be any blood left to stain anything with. That's the feeling she gets from the bounded fields.

What sort of monster designed this place?

"Medea of Colchis." Tohsaka speaks up, breaking Olga from her thoughts.

"W–what?" Olga asks, feeling a bit lost and (awed) off-balance. "What are you talking about?"

"The protections on the household, they were designed by Medea of Colchis." Tohsaka explains, is she reading her mind? "It's the first thing everyone asks about." Oh, that'd make sense too.

"Are you telling me one of the greatest spellcasters of the whole history is in this house?" Olga asks incredulously. That'd make no sense, unless… "Did one of you summon her as a Servant?"

"Not anymore, she was summoned for a previous War." Tohsaka denies, much to Olga's (relief) (disappointment) something. "You could say she left a gift behind before leaving."

"Hmm." Not sure of how to continue the conversation, Olga simply doesn't. It's a great conversational skill that has saved her much grief in the past, knowing when to… not.

"We're home!" Tohsaka announces as she opens the front door, stepping into a small entry area where she starts undoing her shoes. Beside her, Archer's simply deastralize, leaving the dark-skinned girl barefooted. "I brought guests!"

At Tohsaka's words, a beautiful young woman with lilac eyes and hair and a very generous ra– that is, very generous proportions, peeks from the other end of the corridor.

"Welcome back, Nee-san." She greets back. "Illya-chan found guests too."

"Oh?"

Survivors? No, according to Tohsaka, there are no survivors. Only those fortunate enough to have been inside this place's ludicrous wards at the time survived whatever finished off humanity in this Singularity. Besides…. The timing is far too coincidental. The same day she arrives here, some other unrelated people do the same?

No, it's safe to assume they're fellow Chaldeans. Maybe Team A? Since they were inside their coffins during the incident, they might have been sent here like her. That would be extraordinarily helpful for her peace of mind.

If nothing else, seven top tier Master-Servant teams would be extraordinarily useful in dealing with the singularity. Nevermind the fact it would give Olga the backing required to take control of the situation. She has nothing against Tohsaka and her Red Faction, but she won't deny feeling a bit uncomfortable about being so hopelessly outgunned by others.

Unfortunately, her hopes soon prove to be misplaced when she's not greeted by fourteen strong and competent individuals but rather…

"Lady Director?"

Mashu Kyrielight, the failed Demi-Servant and (the last person Olga wanted to have to rely on) most useless member of the A Team, alongside the second-to-last person Olga ever wanted to see here.

"Kyrielight? Fujimaru? What are you doing here?" She asks in dismay, before noticing the girl's appearance and frowning. " And what are you wearing? Is that an apron?"

Kyrielight takes a step back, seemingly (hurt by her blurted out incredulity) properly chastised about her lack of professionalism, only for Fujimaru to protectively step in front of the girl, frowning at Olga (and making her feel chastised) as if she'd done something wrong.

"Hey now, I get that the situation is tense and stressful." Fujimaru says with a dumb smile that makes Olga want to punch that idiotic face. "But there's no need to lash out like that, is there? Mashu-chan isn't hurting anyone."

Of course, she takes a break to play house in the middle of an active zone and that's not hurting anyone. But the moment Olga tries to instill proper discipline, she becomes the villain. No matter, it's been a long time since she learned how to harden her heart against entitled subordinates and unwarranted criticism. She might've expected more from Fujimaru, but she can deal with the disappointment.

"I don't want to hear anything from the unreliable slacker who missed their introductory speech." She hums, crossing her arms and looking away to emphasize her disdain. "How you even got authorized for Rayshifting in the first place is a mystery I can't wrap my head around. Who is directing operations in my absence, Archaman?"

"So harsh! And here I thought the Lady Director liked me!" Fujimaru answers, that ever-present smile of hers finally sliping from her dumb face. It doesn't feel half as satisfying as Olga was hoping it would, though. "Was it the perfume? Maybe I was too forward? Or maybe it wasn't to your tastes?"

"Buh!" The combination of Fujimaru's disappointment and innocent eagerness hits Olga like a punch in the gut. That's not fair, she was the one wanting to punch Fujimaru! Flustered and on the back foot, she tries to recover ground the only way she knows: Denying everything until she finds another attack vector to aggressively regain the initiative with. "Tha– That's not–"

"A– Actually, Lady Director…" But Kyrielight cuts her off before she can really get going. "Doctor Roman is in charge of operations."

"WHAT!" She finds herself -very reasonably, in her humble opinion- screeching at the catastrophic news. "What in the name of all that's sane and reasonable is wrong with the world for that spineless shame to the human species to end up in charge?"

"Apparently, there was—"

"It was a rhetorical question!" She cuts off the reply with (a defeated whine) exasperated huff. "Wait, you have a line with Chaldea? Put me through! I'll hear it from him!"

It takes some explaining to the Household residents and about twenty minutes of preparation, but they manage to set everything up. Mashu's shield is placed on top of the living room table with everyone sits around it when the communication gets through, making a faintly distortion projection of Archaman's face appear in front of them!

"Ah, communication has been restored! I was worried that—! A– Ah! Lady Director! What are you–!? I– I mean, It's great to see you again, Lady Director!" The wishy-washy man manages to stammer out. "After the explosion, we feared the worst!"

Olga holds back the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose. This is going to be a long debriefing.

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