"Queen of Assyria"
Chaldea and the Mother of God entered the city of Babylon, the provisional capital of the Queen Semiramis' domain. Mary explained the state of affairs before their arrival, but neither Mash nor Ritsuka could see a trace of the stain on the faces of the people of Babylon. As far as the eye could see, trade and joy had not been impacted by the advent of the Beast in the North. For the time being, there was peace.
"Beast VI... so it's already begun to mobilize in this Singularity?"
"Allegedly so." Mary's smile had not faltered since meeting the two. "There is indeed some malignant beast in the North, who repelled the Queen from her capital, but I have my doubts about its true identity."
Mash's brows furrowed, trying to piece together the situation from what Mary could tell them. Riding on a Dragon was not the most quiet means of travel, so she could not completely trace the path of Mary's logic.
Almost as if she sensed the young woman's confusion, Mary spoke, "Simply put, if it was the Beast, it would automatically have begun to move against me. We're fated enemies. As it has not, I can personally conclude there is more to this story than I know now. Ah, here we are." They had already arrived at the Queen's temporary palace, the capitol building of the city. Guards crossed their spears over the entryway, a large set of stairs that led up the Ziggurat.
"Halt! Her Majesty is in session. Citizens must withhold their requests and complaints until She has concluded."
"I come bearing the mark of the Queen. I shall await her in her throne room." Mary held out a copper plate, the Queen's regalia inscribed upon it with the unmistakable scent of Bašmu acid.
"Of course. We shall inform her."
An uneventful half hour passed, occasional messages from Chaldea briefing Fujimaru on the conduct to display before the legendary Empress of Assyria (as if he had not already met her Heroic Spirit self, but standard procedure was procedure), and other esoterica, before a gaggle of scholars and advisors broke the quiet of the throne room, heralding the arrival of the Queen. Without stopping to provide pleasantries, she approached the throne, and sat in silent thought for a few minutes before addressing the Virgin and the duo of (now-cowed) humans.
"I see you've returned from your errand, Mary. Am I to assume these worms are the ones that your God said would aid us in defeating the wretched Beast?"
"Correct, Empress."
"Name yourselves." Her keen eyes focused in on Fujimaru and Mash, who found their tongues tied by her overwhelming presence. "Oh? Even after everything I hear that you've accomplished, you can't introduce yourself to an empress? Very well, Ritsuka Fujimaru, Mash Kyrielight. Your disposition is noted."
Mary raised an arm in front of the two, smiling up towards the Queen, yet despite the difference in position, there was an air of contentious equality between the two women. "Pray do not hold their silence against them, Your Majesty. They are kind souls, and wish only to help. I can assure you of that."
"We shall see." And with that, her attention broke from them, releasing their tongues from their ties, as if a spell she had cast upon them had suddenly been snapped by her concentration waning.
One of the Queen's advisors broke off from the group, which assembled on the other side of the room from these "outsiders". He had a distinctly modern, and artificial, appearance to him. An obvious Heroic Spirit. "Hey there [CAKES]! I'm the [BIG SHOT]'s other Heroic Spirit. [Customers], huh? Then we're already [Half Price Sale], aren't we! I'm Nacton H. Ashling, your friendly [[Hyperlink Blocked]] provider!"
Mary shook her head at the tiny man. "Would you please not heckle these poor children when they are newly arrived, Serpent? Ah, I should arrange housing for them, too..." Almost as soon as she had moved to protect them, she left, approaching the enthroned monarch without hesitation, leaving them with the extremely-shady and somewhat-evil-looking Heroic Spirit.
"Um, it's nice to meet you, Nacton." Mash started nervously. Outside of the Babylonian Singularity, she had little experience in the field of salesmen or their tactics, but even she felt extremely offput by his demeanour.
Fujimaru stayed silent for a moment, before cautiously asking the little puppet a question. "Is 'Serpent' just a nickname or...?"
The shades that the puppet wore shone for a second. "Now that's a [$4.99] question, little [Cake]. How about I make a visit with some [Low L0w Prices] and [Wacky Stacks] later, and we can talk about just [Tre3] I am? Is that a deal?" His fake hand extended out, and waited for Ritsuka's response.
Fujimaru's hand gripped the tiny man's, clearly feeling the cold plastic that comprised his body. "Deal."
"You got guts [Ckae], real [Four Easy Payments of $9.99] guts. I [Abdominal Pain] that. Your [[Hyperlink Blocked]] are [HOtSingelsFORgrBs]."
Somehow, Ritsuka felt that he would regret his choices later, even as Mother Mary's comforting presence ushered the Chaldeans out, to their temporary residence.