Ritsuka, you're about to face a great hardship. But if I got my calculations right, this long and hard-fought battle will be winnable with about 1000 Saint Quartz. Please forgive me. I'm giving you an unbelievably harsh trial. It might be a curse, in a sense. But seeing how you just escaped THE Orion's fierce advances, I can't stop myself from believing in your potential.
"Any ideas what this is?"
Sherlock Holmes slapped a note against Leonardo da Vinci's face.
"Can I have any context?"
Da Vinci gave a displeased shrug at the man who intruded on her atelier to ask her rude questions. Holmes didn't show any signs of guilt for his attitude.
"I found it in one of the empty rooms."
Hearing that, Da Vinci finally grabbed the note. The text startled her.
"I know what room you mean... This is definitely Romani's handwriting. Where's the next page?"
"Unfortunately, this is the only one I found. Either the other notes are missing, or they never existed to begin with... But what intrigued me wasn't the note itself."
Holmes pointed to one particular line on the note in Da Vinci's hands.
"The most charitable interpretation of this extract is that an incredible supply of 1000 Saint Quartz exists in Chaldea, and Romani Archaman is offering it to Master... I believe this is quite different from what happened in the documents I read."
"We never had that many."
Da Vinci replied short and blunt.
"You might not know since this was before you were here, but we never could afford stockpiling resources. We do have a long-term production line to give Master some Saint Quartz little by little, but that was done out of my initiative, with no input from Romani."
"So your claim is that you never saw this note before and never heard anything about it from Romani Archaman?"
"Yeah. Why?"
Da Vinci frowned.
"You seem to be hiding something."
"Heh? From who?"
"From Master and I."
Da Vinci silently glared at Holmes and eventually turned her back to him.
"I'm busy right now. The Mage's Association will be coming soon to inspect us. Save it for later."
"You sound like you're asking for time to plant false evidence... But I don't mind."
Holmes turned around to leave after these taunting words.
"If you'll excuse me, I'll be doing some interrogations. But be sure I'll be back here if I need to."
-
"Have some more, senpai."
Mash Kyrielight filled my cup with tea. I thanked her and took a big sip.
The cafeteria was almost empty on this early afternoon. I recalled hearing something about someone from the Mage's Association coming here to inspect us, but I was assured that this would have nothing to do with me.
"It's so... peaceful here."
"I agree. I'm glad to have this chance to enjoy some nice tea with you."
The first August after Human Order was fully restored was being very satisfactory to me, Fujimaru Ritsuka.
"So much happened in these past two years."
"You tell me..."
I was effectively under house arrest, but this was Heaven compared to how things were back when the Human Order was at constant risk of incineration. Whoever this Mage's Association inspector was, he had nothing on a Demon Pillar.
"Well, we only earned these vacations because those fighting days were intense."
Though we'd just fought a literally huge hero in Agartha the other day.
"By the way, Senpai... do you have any moment that you consider particularly memorable?"
"Oh, don't make me choose."
Everything had been memorable. Since my life had been normal up to this point, I've been through a constant series of days I can never forget. It couldn't possibly be more difficult to choose just one.
"But if had to pick just one... I guess I'd go with the moon-viewing incident."
Mash looked surprised.
"That was immediately before the 3rd Singularity, correct?”
Yes, it happened in September 2015. What confused Mash was probably the strength of the enemy back then.
"There's been many situations where we've been severely underpowered. I remember Gawain, Tiamat, and Goetia..."
"Those battles were so intense I can barely believe we're both still here, alive. Still, I feel like the moon-viewing incident was pretty mild compared to those."
"But that fight against Orion was the first time I seriously felt like
our loss was inevitable."
"Oh, you mean the goddess-class Extra Match?"
Orion's Noble Phantasm, Tristar Amore Mio, was super effective against men, and even with class advantage, my Lancers couldn't survive it. Looking back now, I couldn't believe that the only female Lancer I had to save my bacon back them was Liz.
"It must have hurt, Senpai."
"I wasn't free to level my Servants however I wanted at the time, after all."
On the first two Singularities, I had to make do with just Tamamo Cat and Saber Lily, the two girls who had been here in Chaldea from the start.
"I remember now... At that time, it was difficult to get them past the first Ascension, let alone get them fully ascended."
"It was hard as heck to gather Embers and Ascension materials."
Although I understood the Class triangles well, Cat and Saber Lily were the only real decent options I had. I kept following this style until it eventually reached its first real roadblock in the moon-viewing event.
"I learned that there were things Cat and Lily simply couldn't defeat, even if I shot all three Command Spells. But I didn't know who I had to raise to win..."
"No? But I remember you did beat Orion. If I recall right, it was with the Cu Chulainns and..."
"You have a good memory, Mash. I did win, but it was with advice from the Doctor.
He told me we had two Cu Chulainns and a Hassan of the Cursed Arm here. He suggested the strategy of neutralizing Orion's Noble Phantasm with their Protection from Arrows and Protection from the Wind."
Hearing that, she flashed a bright smile... that soon changed into a sad expression.
"But I couldn't count on our Embers and Pieces. I checked all of our resources, and there was no way to raise three whole Servants starting from level 1."
"We still hadn't developed the golden apples to restore AP, nor the Super-Level Quests on Chaldea Gate..."
I remembered that later on the Doctor provided the Super Quests and Da Vinci provided the apples, but that wasn't a thing at that time. It sounded unreal now, but that's what the early days of Chaldea were like.
"I didn't have many options back then. That's why I had to bust a Saint Quartz. A Quartz I picked up to summon that same Orion."
My wish to summon Orion was indubitably real. But I had to beat that other Orion to advance.
"I still remember the face you made when you did, Senpai. You looked like you had swallowed a bug."
Was my face really that bad?
Well, you can’t look good when you spend limited resources on an opponent you're not sure you can beat. I barely had any Quartz left after I'd used what I had to level everyone up to the Second Ascension cap.
"But luckily enough, the Protection Against Arrows tactic worked wonders. I'm still holding the Crystallized Lore I got from beating Orion dearly on its shelf."
"Why? Don't you think you're wasting your victory by not using it?"
I completely agreed with Mash's cold-blooded commentary, but the fact remained that the victory tasted too sweet for me to ever use it.
"Thinking back now, busting only one Quartz was a cheap price to beat that Orion. But I won that victory on my own power, and it's thanks to that I learned that
if I make the right calls, there's nothing I can't defeat."
"Orion was Fujimaru Ritsuka's origin point as a Master. What an interesting story."
"My heart was racing because I used my last Quartz and the Command Spells weren't recharged either. That battle was literally all or nothing, so my feeling of accomplishment on that is bigger than it has any right to."
I tried to take a sip as I said this, only to notice my cup was empty. I drank it all without noticing.
"Do you want more, Senpai?"
Mash asked with the empty teapot in her hands. Seems like she brewed that tea just for me. Her posture was adorably shy. I was about to nod... when I remembered something.
"Oh... I was waiting for my AP to fill up."
I was less than 30 minutes away from a full AP gauge. Forgetting to check that was a tragic habit that had been consuming me these past two years.
"I see. Not now, then..."
Mash let go of the teapot, slightly disappointed. I'd never want to make my cutest kouhai sad, but such is a Master's fate. I'd just have to hang out with her when I'm done.
The moment I stood up from my chair, a gentleman called me.
"Hello there, my girl. Having fun?"
It was James Moriarty, a nice fifty-something I bonded with in Shinjuku a few months back.
He was very amiable to me and had a superb fatherly aura.
"Oh, Moriarty... I was just leaving for Ember dailies. Wanna come with me?"
Moriarty's level and Skills were already maxed, but I wanted to further my bond with him.
"Gladly."
Moriarty watched me closely while he answered.
"I know it's weird to bring it up now, but... It's hard to believe a girl like you managed to restore Human Order."
"Ahaha, I get that a lot."
Moriarty wasn't trying to tease me. On the contrary, he was genuinely impressed. Despite his constant quarrels with the Great Detective Sherlock Holmes, I couldn't see him as the evil villain he's famed to be.
"You had no professional experience with this before coming to Chaldea, right?"
"Yup. Naturally, I couldn't join the A-Team or the B-Team. I was pretty much selected just to fill a quota."
I mean, it made perfect sense. Everyone else was an elite candidate, while I was scouted by chance.
"So learning that humanity's fate was in my hands was complicated. To be completely honest, there were moments I thought what happened in August 2015 marked the end of Chaldea..."
I wasn't really expecting a smooth start, but I couldn't imagine the series of nightmarish accidents that happened to me either. Me being here today sometimes felt like an impossible chain of coincidences.
"And yet, all mages in the world have their eyes on you now. While I think the system that raised a complete amateur this far is magnificent... I can feel the malice of the system's designer."
Moriarty let out a deep sigh.
"I really feel this Chaldea system was created for the purpose of evolving you into a competent Master. Yet I'm not too sure that they factored in the fact they would lose the A-Team, along with all the other Masters who also had a high level of proficiency from the start."
Moriarty furrowed his brows.
"It's not that deep, Moriarty."
"Yes, Mr. Moriarty. They would never go this far."
Moriarty shook his head. His expression was a bit serious.
"Actually, Ritsuka, you remind me of an old interesting client of mine."
"Were they pretty?"
"More strong than pretty."
Strong... Well, I'll take it as a compliment.
"It's someone from your country I met back when I was alive, see... He was a black belt in your land's traditional karate. He gave me a demonstration for reference. The sight of his muscular limbs smashing bricks like they were pudding was stunning."
"Just imagining it is making my hands hurt," Mash scowled.
"You wouldn't believe it, Mash. His hands were very rough when I touched them. That was the first and last time I saw fully calloused hands."
"Callouses...that's something a young lady like me wants peeled off mine."
When I cross a Rayshift location entirely by foot, my feet always get a bit calloused. That's why I made it my secret mission to do thorough skincare once I'm back in Chaldea.
"So, what happened to your karate man?"
You're not insinuating that my hands are coarse, are you?
"Yes, that man was always punching the walls and the floor when he had nothing else to do. That looked like self-harm to me, so against my best judgment, I decided to ask. According to him, calloused skin goes soft again if left alone for a day. That's why he needs to spare an hour of his time to punch things every day."
"Bullshit, my legs don't get any softer without proper maintenance."
In fact, the callouses my legs developed in Agartha were still there.
"Calm down, calm down. That's just what he believed. Or perhaps that's actually the level of maintenance necessary for someone wanting to use their limbs as weapons. You can already see my point, can you? He took every chance he got to strengthen his limbs and you take a few hours of each day for Chaldea Gate training. I see you two as mirror images of each other."
"No way. We're nothing alike. Right, Mash?"
"Y-yes, Senpai."
Mash's answer was evasive.
"I'll ask just to be sure. Has the AP meter ever been full in these past two years?"
I puffed my chest with pride.
"Not once. No matter how sleepy or sick I am, my AP consumption never skips a day. My status as a Master never ever slips my mind!"
After I was done boasting, I noticed Mash and Moriarty had recoiled a little.
"Look. You don't need to keep always doing these Ember dailies anymore, you know? Same for the Training Grounds and Treasure Vault, honestly. You can sleep when you need to and don't need to force yourself when you're not feeling well. You're the Master who restored Human Order, no one in their right mind would call you a slacker and pull you back to work for just that."
"I must admit the same thought crosses my mind whenever I see Senpai's machine-like AP consumption routine..."
Ouch, that hurt! I didn't have to find out like this.
"But letting AP fill up is wasteful, you know?"
Moriarty raised a finger to my answer.
"Thanks for proving my point. In case you don't know, the word 'wasteful' is a binding curse... Seriously, I can feel the malice in the concept."
"Whatever! Some people have their work as their hobby. I mean it, this Master job is my calling!"
"Calling to what, now that Human Order is already restored?"
"Gh-."
Those words were my weak spot.
"I have to be prepared for the next threat, and the next next threat, and the next next next threat."
According to Da Vinci, things were being arranged to decommission all Servants still in Chaldea in 2017. Even so, I was still sporadically getting missions to restore Sub-Singularities, so I had to keep up the pace.
"Besides, I'm very calculating in how I process Super-level Quests."
"I see... You need 40 AP to take on a Super-level Quest. Considering 1 AP recharges in 5 minutes, you must consider it as worth 3 hours and 20 minutes. You can only do 7 Super Quests a day, and how do you process them makes a big difference to Chaldea's squad management."
"Back when I first became a Master I was constantly starving for more Pieces and Monuments, but before I knew it I had more than I needed."
I still wanted more Embers, but my priority now was the Treasure Vault, to get some Skill levels up. If I had to complain about something, it'd be the proportion of QP gained to QP spent. I often spent a whole day in the Treasure Vault and got out still under 10 million QP.
"Ritsuka, dear, it's perfectly clear why you don't want to let any AP go to waste."
"What else am I supposed to do? Back when I first became a Master, my AP gauge capped at a measly 20. I couldn't even dream of taking on Super Quests."
Though said Super Quests weren't even ready, to begin with. Well, even if I could do them back then, I couldn't have won them.
"I see. That's another reason... but don't dodge the point."
In a sleight of hand, Moriarty conjured one Saint Quartz out of thin air and ran it across his fingers to taunt me.
"You've been pushed into a mental state where you convert anything you see in terms of Saint Quartz value, wouldn't you say?"
"Gh-!"
Moriarty was right. Before I started getting Golden Apples, I used Saint Quartz to recover AP, and because of that, the mindset that
AP is a precious resource I only get 288 of a day had stuck with me to this day. Skipping a whole day means flushing 2 Quartz worth of AP down the drain.
I wanted my Master's Level to get even higher, still.
But above all else, my eyes were lured by the Saint Quartz dancing on Moriarty's palm. Saint Quartz, a literal magic stone. Its versatility knew no bounds.
"Saint Quartz is a very convenient resource, being used not only to recover AP, but also re-engage combat, summon Heroic Spirits, and maybe more. But somewhere along your time in Chaldea, you started to let Saint Quartz control you."
"I mean. Saint Quartz can theoretically do anything, but if I can get away with not spending them, why would I do it? I want them for summons."
"Saint Quartz, what a wonderful name. But if I had invented the Quartz, I would have picked a name that avoids the pointed shape of the item, to conceal its wickedness."
"Wickedness? How could something so pretty and useful be any wicked?"
Moriarty sighed.
"That thing really stole your heart. I'll take it as confirmation of the creator's malice."
And in another sleight of hand, the Quartz disappeared from sight. I know he didn't throw it away, but if he didn't feel like holding it, he could have given it to me...
"Why do you still need to do Super Quests? Your army is more than well-equipped enough."
In these two years' time, I had properly leveled Servants of every Class. If a new Singularity were to appear, I wouldn't have to rush to level anyone.
"Is that something you truly need to ditch me and your partner Mash for?"
"Agreed! Dedicate more time to me, Senpai!"
You're making me sound like a monster for my iron will when dealing with Super Quests.
"You might have a point, Moriarty. I understand, but..."
I like going to bed thinking about how many days I'll take to level someone... I know how weird I sound, but that was my whole routine now.
"I don't have anything else to do. That's why it's so easy to put up with all this work..."
Mash gave me a loving stare.
"Senpai, you have me..."
"You got me at a good moment! I'll pamper you some. Consider me your papa!"
Mash's words were drowned out by Moriarty.
Oh, but what an alluring proposal. I wouldn't mind taking vacations with Moriarty and whoever else is in our pseudo-family.
"Baritsu!"
The next second, before I could react to the attack name, Moriarty had been sent flying. I saw Sherlock Holmes slowly lowering his leg after the kick.
Minor question, was there a rule saying you have to yell "Baritsu!" when you use a Baritsu move?
"Holmes... what happened?"
"My apologies. I was just trying to retrieve the precious item stolen from you by a filthy criminal."
Holmes picked the Saint Quartz up from the floor as he spoke. The Baritsu attack seemed to have made Moriarty drop it.
"Apologies? You're not sorry for anything!"
Moriarty stood up. Seeing he didn't complain about any damage to his hips, it wasn't a serious kick.
"You're just jealous of my relationship with Ritsuka."
"As if I don't know you're taking advantage of Miss Ritsuka's kindness to evade your forced dismissal."
"I wasn't thinking about that... too much."
So you were!
"Though I really mean it when I say I worry about Ritsuka. Her behavior is very unnatural for a youthful maiden. Some things need to be unlearned before it's too late."
"Your argument is sound, Professor."
"Holmes?"
It was really rare for Holmes to agree with Moriarty.
"I don't deny this man's every word on principle. If anything, his brain is comparable to mine. His only problem is everything else."
"Can you praise me without making it a stepping stool to praise yourself?"
A boomerang compliment, as I liked to call it.
"If, as this man says, my Master is being manipulated by a form of malice, then it's my duty as a Servant to unravel it, is it not?"
"Sure, but... I'm not being manipulated by anything."
Crap, I said exactly what a manipulated person would say.
"I can vouch for that, Mr. Holmes. It's a really long story, but it's nothing serious."
Holmes closed his eyes and gestured for Mash to stop, then pointed to a distant table.
"To be completely honest, I came here precisely to ask to hear your story from the start."
A half-drunk cup of coffee was atop the table. He wouldn't be called the Great Detective if his tricks to hide his presence weren't this crazy good.
"What are you doing to Ritsuka, Peeping Tom?"
Holmes shrugged unconcernedly.
"You see, I'm investigating a note left by Romani Archaman."
"By the Doctor?"
I snatched the note from Holmes's hands and read it.
"Hmm..."
"Anything on your mind, Senpai?"
"I'm wondering if there isn't more to this note."
The Doctor was clearly apologizing to me, but I don't remember him doing anything that would warrant an apology.
All I could confidently say is that judging from the mention of the Orion battle, it's highly likely that this was written in September 2015.
"That aside, the part about the 1000 Quartz intrigues me..."
"So you don't remember Romani Archaman ever handing you 1000 Quartz?"
Holmes asked just to be sure.
"No way! I mean, I regularly got Quartz from Da Vinci, but I don't recall ever getting a whole bunch of them at once, nor she ever telling me they were from the Doctor."
I might have received close to 1000 in total, but I think that's not what the note is talking about.
Moriarty asked me, nervously.
"What, you mean there is a stash of 1000 used Quartz hidden here in Chaldea?"
"Mr. Moriarty, you're drooling."
"Oops..."
Moriarty wiped his mouth, stabbed by Holmes's icy glare.
"It's less that I'm pursuing the mystery of the 1000 Saint Quartz and more that I want to prove the stash doesn't exist before our row of miscreants gets any wrong idea. That's also part of a detective's job."
"But can you really solve this mystery?"
"There's no mystery I can't solve. Still, considering where your talk with the Professor was going, I must also confirm whether or not Saint Quartz are as wicked as he says."
"How can you verify that?", Mash pondered, brimming with curiosity.
"It's not that difficult. After all, I already know something quite similar to it."
"What?"
"This particular shape of octahedron is known in Japan by the name 'star of Da Vinci'."
"We're suspecting Da Vinci?"
After a silent nod, Holmes started walking, implicitly commanding us to follow him. The three of us rushed after him. My AP gauge might get too full, but I had to see what Holmes is getting at.