For all of Chaldea, the past five months could be described as the most difficult period.
While the reasons for these difficulties stemmed from various factors, the greatest was the absence of Naoki, who served as the Head of the Operations Division and their greatest trump card.
Five months ago, when they heard from Fujimaru Ritsuka that Naoki had gone to handle the Imperial Capital Singularity, the Chaldea staff actually felt relieved. Having their trump card take the initiative to tackle a Singularity was a good thing. With his presence, they were sure to resolve the Singularity quickly.
Then Naoki stayed in that Singularity for over five months.
If it weren't for Rei's insistence that Naoki was definitely fine, Roman would have sent Ritsuka, Mash, and Hinako to check what was really going on.
But it was a Singularity that could hold Naoki for five months. Roman didn't even dare imagine how dangerous it was. Thus, even if Rei hadn't stopped him, he likely wouldn't have let the three of them go in the end.
The three of them were Chaldea's last combat strength. If something happened, what would they do?
As a result, given the circumstances, Chaldea could only postpone support plans for Naoki and focus on conquering the other Singularities.
And now, in these five months, out of the six remaining Singularities, Chaldea had successfully conquered three.
Singularity Two – Eternal Mad Empire – Seven Hills City.
Singularity Three – Sealed Four Seas – Okeanos.
Singularity Four – Magical Fog City of the Dead – London.
In just over five months, after fighting alongside the Roman Emperors to defeat King Attila of the Huns, racing across the End Sea with the legendary sailor and pirate Drake, and exploring the thick fog of London's nights with Round Table Knight Mordred, Chaldea had now arrived at the fifth Singularity.
Singularity Five – North American Mythological War – E Pluribus Unum.
This was the alternative name given to the Singularity after discussions between Roman, Rei, and Marie.
Although the United States was a prominent superpower in the modern era, from a historical perspective, the American continent had the shortest developmental history in the world. Its mythological heritage paled in comparison to other regions, especially the United States, which, as the current center, was only founded a little over two hundred years ago and couldn't develop its own myths and legends.
Thus, logically, the situation within this Singularity shouldn't be too difficult.
But in reality, it resembled a mythological era.
Celtic Queen Medb, Mad King Cú Chulainn born through the Holy Grail, prominent Indian mythological hero Karna and his archenemy Arjuna, Rama the protagonist of one of India's two great narrative epics, the Ramayana, and Shadow Land Queen Scáthach… Even by Holy Grail War standards, this was an extraordinarily impressive lineup.
In contrast, Servants like Edison, a collective of American presidents, Lady Helena, and Nightingale, the symbol of nursing, were somewhat lacking in mystery.
Fortunately, even in this challenging situation, thanks to Ritsuka's efforts, it had developed into a resolvable scenario. Now, it was nearly time for the final battle.
"—And now, you suddenly come back!! Where the hell have you been, you damn bastard!?"
In the control room, Roman, who had just returned, screamed hysterically at Naoki, as if he were a wife abandoned for over a decade finally seeing her husband return.
The overly intense aura left Naoki stunned.
"Hah… Hah… Gulp gulp… Huuuuuf!"
Taking a few deep breaths and downing an entire cup of coffee to soothe his throat, Roman kept glancing at the women behind Naoki. "By the way, who are those women behind you? I heard you're a woman-collecting machine who brings back women every time you go out, but wasn't that years ago? Has that old habit flared up again? One of them is clearly underage—watch out, I'll call the police!"
"Calm down, Roman. Aren't you overreacting?"
"How can I not overreact! You need to know, for the five months you were gone, I had to handle all the responsibilities that were supposed to be yours! Don't forget to pay me for covering your ass, you bastard! And about the Director—originally, you were there to listen to her complaints, but you suddenly disappeared for so long. The Director's been sulking every day as if I owe her hundreds of lives. The atmosphere in Chaldea has become several times gloomier!"
"Even… I got so stressed I went to vent to Magical Merry, but she chewed me out instead! Sure, it felt good, but thinking about it afterward, it still stings! Pay me compensation for my mental damages!"
Naoki: "…"
It seemed Roman had truly worked himself to death during the five months Naoki was absent.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
A few dozen minutes later.
After listening to Naoki's brief explanation of what happened in the Imperial Capital Singularity, Roman, now back to normal, nodded in understanding. "I see… Only nine days passed there? There's a time flow difference between the Singularity and the outside."
"I think it's Merry's doing. I don't know why she did it, but in the end, we were all manipulated by her. She's in the seventh Singularity now. When I go there, I'll hang her up and beat her." Naoki finished, then looked at the three people behind him.
"Also, these three are Okita Souji, Angelica, and Asama Kaname. Okita is the Servant I summoned there, and she'll stay in Chaldea as a permanent member moving forward. Angelica isn't. I seized an item there that needs to be researched by Da Vinci and Touko."
"As for Asama Kaname…"
Pulling Kaname to his side, Naoki explained, "She's a native I brought back from the Singularity for certain reasons. I was asked to look after her. Until the Incineration of the Human Order is resolved, I plan to keep her in Chaldea for now—say hi, Kaname."
"O-okay…"
The extremely shy Kaname nodded. "H-hello, I'm Asama Kaname… Please guide me, Doctor Roman."
"Hmm, please guide me too, Kaname."
(She has some mental issues. And her physical condition isn't great either.)
As a doctor, Roman immediately noticed a few problems with Kaname. Then he glanced at Naoki with a hint of exasperation, as if saying, "Look at the kid you brought back."
[Not my fault]—Naoki's eyes responded as such.
After that, he asked, "By the way, Roman, you said Fujimaru and the others are about to start the final battle, right?"
"Yeah. Fujimaru and the others have teamed up with Servants like Edison, Helena, Nightingale, and Rama. They're currently on their way to the final battle against Queen Medb and the others."
"Hmm… In that case, it seems I need to head over soon, or Fujimaru might run into trouble."
"Huh?" Roman was momentarily stunned. "Trouble? Our combat strength should be sufficient. If you're saying there's trouble… Is the other side going to intervene?"
Naoki waved his hand. "No, no. Not the other side. The Demon King probably won't show up again. The trouble I'm talking about is that Medb's combat strength can't be handled by Fujimaru and the others right now—especially Mad King Cú Chulainn."
"Though I have faith in Fujimaru—he's proven he's very capable by reaching this point without my support—it's, how should I say, a bit of senior pride. I'm a little worried about my junior's situation."
"So I'll go check things out for a bit. Besides, there's a promise from ten years ago, and now's the time to fulfill it."
(Ten years ago? The Fifth Holy Grail War?)
Roman furrowed his brow. He had left that Holy Grail War before its conclusion, so he didn't know what happened afterward. Did Naoki make a promise with someone after that?
"Well, that's the gist of it—sorry, Okita, Kaname, Angelica, I have to head out again. Roman, please take care of them for me."
"You think I'm your babysitter?!"