In Thomas’ expert hands the block of wax slowly transformed into a fair representation of the human form, the sharp knife easily shaving away at the material as the head, torso and limbs began to take shape. The Magus listened carefully to his Servant’s report as his hands worked away almost automatically, years of practise meaning he didn’t really need to focus until it came time to carve in the finer details. “That’s good to hear Archer, though I do wish things would move along a bit quicker. The fact neither of us saw any sign of the other Master’s or Servants last night may mean that they are still taking things slow, but we can’t count on that continuing; we, or at least I, will be at a disadvantage once the fighting starts if we are not fully prepared.”

Preparation; that was the key to everything he did, the key to his Magecraft and the key to him winning this war. Thomas was no slouch in combat, his long years of study and practise made him more than adept at such things, but if everything went well then by the time he needed to fight his victory would already be assured; his dolls and his meticulous preparations would see to that.

Thomas set the partially finished figurine down on the table as the kettle began to whistle, the Magus standing up and brushing wax shavings off of his clothing before walking into the kitchen to pour two cups of tea. “Can you get the paper Archer? There should be one outside the door to the suite if the bellboy has done his job. Perhaps something of note has happened recently that would suggest Servant or Magus involvement.” Maybe not the best lead to go by, but it was better than the nothing they currently had while they waited for Archer’s work to bear fruit.

@PKMNB0Y

****

“The girl only suggested an alliance because she wasn’t prepared to fight; her motives are clear. Your motives for accepting are for more interesting to me.” Rider took to his spirit form and followed his Master out of the apartment; the Servant would have preferred to keep his corporeal form but they had yet to procure any modern clothing for Rider to wear and nothing Kazamyr owned would fit him. To say his armour would attract unwanted attention was an understatement, though even if suitable clothing was available his face had been seen by far too many people for the general to feel comfortable risking his Master’s identity by association.

Listening to his Master explain his plan as they, or at least Kazamyr, walked gave the Servant some much needed insight into the Magus’ strategies; the Master had so far shown an unfortunately tendency to leave Rider in the dark as he schemed. “I see. You plan to manoeuvre our ‘allies’ to our advantage while relying on their naivety to keep them from plotting against us in turn. Given what I observed last night I imagine the girl will allow you to take the lead in deciding any course of action, so it should be painfully easy to direct her to our benefit, though I don’t think Assassin will let her Master agree to anything that puts the girl in too much danger. It has the potential to work in concept, though its success depends entirely on the execution; I assume you believe yourself up to the task Master?”

@Anza

In answer to Rider, Kazamyr simply shrugged. "Of course. I'd never have chosen this plan if I didn't think I could pull it off." A sharp, one-note laugh escaped onto the morning breeze. "Come now, Rider, does a strategist of your caliber really need to ask something so obvious? Or could it be that your goal was to judge me based on how I answered? Shame on you!"

Even if his words were somewhat harsh, the Master's tone hinted that he was anything but upset. Indeed, his good cheer only seemed to be heightening as he entered the café and ordered eggs and hash browns, which were served on a white plate a few moments later. Greasy and messy, as American foods tended to be, but filling nonetheless. He ate them slowly, deliberately, carefully checking on the few familiars he'd kept active after sunrise to see if they'd found anything interesting. No such luck. The other pairings were still playing cautious, and conflicts between mages usually took place after dark in general. For the daytime, at least, he and Rider were probably safe.

Once he was done with his breakfast, Kazamyr quickly tidied himself up and left the building, hopping on a bus and riding the few short stops towards Redrock's public library. His posture and his movements were somehow both relaxed and controlled at once, mimicking the mannerisms of the locals and masking his accent whenever he needed to speak out loud. If the other Masters were being careful, then so could he, by blending in with practiced ease.

"Nothing yet. I suppose it's nice to have time to prepare." He idly scratched his shoulder. "How long, do you think, until one of the other pairings starts to make aggressive moves? Or maybe they already have, and I've just missed it somehow..."

@King Cosmos

"Mmm, well... In a world of peace, it's hard to find any real heroes. With all this fancy medical technology and the like, it's hard to even get close to someone for that purpose," Mist responded, a half-joking shrug matching her weak smile. "But yes, it's been... Difficult at times, to say the least. If anything, though, it's nice to have company. My daughter should be able to find someone there to fulfill our duty. Or, well, so I'd hope. On second thought, it'd be quite difficult to find heroes among modern magi, now that I think about it. Their methods are a bit far from heroic."

At this tangent, Astrid sighed and shook her head. It was a bit late for her mother to regret her choice is pushing her off now, but since she was already present, there wasn't much of a reason to not try her hardest. Any less might mean her death, after all... Or, well, so she had heard. Lancer's reaction, however, was enough of a clue for Astrid herself to pick up on.

"In any case, mother, I think that's enough for the moment?" the half-valkyrie asked, to which her mother responded with a light nod.

"Oh, certainly. Please, do be safe in your adventures over in America, my daughter. Elder Sister, may the Allfather's blessings be upon you."

With their farewells done, the call shut off, and Astrid quietly put her laptop away before turning towards Brynhildr.

"Well, I admit my actions were rather spur of the moment, but that seemed to have placated her for the moment. Now, if we work off of your suggestion to avoid the Church, then we can simply go and purchase you a few outfits. How does that sound, Lancer?"

@KoL


"Impatience will only get us killed sooner, dear Master," Archer remarked in turn, retrieving the newspaper as his Master ordered before promptly taking a seat at the table as well. Despite how one might have expected their relationship to play out, the two old men were on fairly even terms. Neither asked the unreasonable from the other, and as far as the Servant could tell, he would have free reign to work as he pleased.

If it couldn't be called 'ideal', especially given the lack of a certain detective, then he didn't know what could.

Thumbing through the paper as he casually sipped at his drink, Archer quietly glanced at the preparations that Thomas was preparing. Magecraft was still something he preferred to divorce himself from if possible, but at this point that was more or less impossible.

"Mmm... Seems like no odd occurrences in the paper yet," he finally said, handing the paper over to his Master. "Shall I go see if last night's investigations have borne any fruit?"

@King Cosmos

“That would be interesting, yes. We may even be able to find a suitable courier while we are out shopping,” Lancer replied to her Master as soon as the call ended. A look of sadness took over her face a moment later as she said, “How could I forget to tell Mist about Rider’s true identity? She probably would be overjoyed to know that her daughter is facing the King of Strategists, Hannibal Barca in this war. Even though his lack of honor makes me very sad, the feats he accomplished in life are enough to make me bring the best of me when we clash again.”

“Nevertheless, I’m ready to leave when you are, Master. I trust you haven’t forgotten my request from yesterday, right?” Lancer said as soon as she was done grieving over her forgetfulness.

The schoolgirl blinked a few times. Just like that? "You mean I don't need to climb a mountain barehanded and cut a waterfall to prove myself? Or swear some oath to join the... you know...?"

It was quite possible that the schoolgirl had gotten the wrong idea entirely about the sort of things a Servant would demand of their Master... or at least what Assassin was likely to make her do. Though she had a feeling that if her Servant cold find a good reason to, she might want to get that oath.

But Ami had no plans to try and take down the current government, thank you very much.

---

"If you would allow me to hide the hat for now, then yes. With a little work I could do a better job of fitting in than most of the other Servants," the witch replied, glad that it was her Master that had brought it up--she still needed to eat, after all, and using the excuse of blending in... well, it was somewhat more effective. She was a magus, not dead, and a Servant--it could be made a lot harder to work out that last one.

But she also needed to eat. And pancakes sounded good.

Ah...? Was that the kind of impression she had given!? Assassin hadn't ever intended to make it seem like that! Certainly, training in the way of the sword could be harsh out of necessity, but doing anything so excessive wasn't in her teaching repertoire at all! Waving her hand and giving a somewhat awkward smile, the girl samurai decided to quickly address her Master's concerns.

"No! Nothing like that," she said, quickly, "That kind of thing wouldn't let you learn how to use a sword at all! No, we'll start with the basics and work our way up."

She nodded firmly to herself. Assassin knew that it was simply logical, the best way to set up a student for success was simply to introduce them to the basics of swordplay and then pushing forward. To be both harsh and fair, to ensure that they would understand exactly how to expand their skills. To be honest, she was actually quite excited. It had been a long time since she taught any students, after all, and she had always enjoyed doing so.

@Raineh Daze

“If I am to play a part in your plans I need to know what they are, that is all.”

Despite his Master’s confidence Rider kept a watchful eye over the café and the street outside as Kazamyr ate. While launching an attack in the middle of the day and in front of so many witnesses would be anathema to most Magus, it didn’t take a tactical genius to realise that there was much merit to attacking an opponent when they felt safest; there were any number of more subtle or mundane ways of striking at a vulnerable Magus that wouldn’t expose the Holy Grail War to the public.

Fortunately they made it through breakfast in one piece and the two began to make the journey to the public library by public transport. “It’s hard to make any kind of guess when we don’t know anything about our remaining opponents. I would have expected more aggression from the Knight Classes or Berserker, but things have been fairly quiet. I take it your familiars haven’t found anything else? Tell me more about the Caster you saw last night.”

@Anza

****

“Moving too slowly will also get us killed Archer. I can’t begin my preparations proper until I can at least find out what our enemies look like; so far I’m limited to making a simple poppet of the Church’s representative, which will hardly win us the war.”

Thomas carried two cups of tea back from the kitchen and placed one in front of Archer; taking the second he returned to his seat and went back to shaping the wax, now working on the finer details. The paper apparently had no information of note to give them, but just to be sure he would check it over himself later; if nothing else it would give him something to do while they waited for nightfall.

“Hmm, if you think it’s worthwhile. I daresay it’ll be a better use of your time than staying here. Keep me informed of any developments.”

@PKMNB0Y

it took a few moments before Astrid realized what her Servant had meant by 'promise'. It had been a bit of a passing comment, yes, but it wasn't as if the thought had been wiped from the half-Valkyrie's mind from a few hours of sleep. Emphasis, of course, on few.

"You wanted a pair of glasses, correct? I'm not sure if finding a courier to deliver a message to the Church is as simple as buying some clothes, but glasses are definitely doable," she said, taking the chance to switch to her phone to look up a map of the area. That action was soon interrupted by a growling stomach, causing Astrid's face to turn red in embarrassment in turn.

"A-ah... Maybe some breakfast first might be in order," she said in haste, scrambling to look at nearby restaurants that were cheap enough to grab a quick bite to eat at. "If you want to eat too, then you're free to use some of the spare clothing in my luggage for the moment. It'll make trying clothes on later need less of an alibi from me, regardless of whether or not we actually need one."

A few seconds later, the young woman had found a diner not too far away from the hotel; convenient, considering how she planned not to throw her money away by ordering room service.

@KoL

With his Master's assent given, the Archer smiled and nodded as he took a sip from his own cup. The aroma and taste was pleasant enough as a way to start his day, though some part of him desired a light snack to eat before he went on his way. Not as if he actually needed food as a Servant, of course, but simply tea wasn't enough in his heart.

"Well, of course. One does not need an exorbitant amount of money to get the homeless to work. Not all of those on the streets are panhandlers, and those who live without walls tend to see far more than those who do," the Archer said, calmly finishing the rest of his tea before donning an outfit to disguise himself with. "In any case, Master, I shall be off. Do call if any developments arrive from your end as well; I'll be spending some time verifying claims for the moment."

And with that, the Archer set off, walking out of the building as a normal human might. In the current situation, drawing attention as a Servant would only throw wrenches into his plans, and having that occur during setup, while not impossible to work around, was a tad more of a nuisance that he would like.

---

The vagrants that he had offered the job to had done their job far better than the old man had expected them to; the establishment of the existence of two odd pairs, both apparently composed of strange young woman (one of whom was wearing an abnormally large hat?), was enough to give him somewhere to start. While the pair that had went to the Church was likely unable to be tracked in detail, the vague description of their facial features and apparent age was enough to look out for.

After all, who else would visit an old church in the middle of the night like this other than a Master and their Servant?

No, what was more interesting was the pair of Asian girls that had apparently popped up out of nowhere and were currently squatting in some old abandoned building. The largest warning sign here was, of course, that two Asian women (when the general demographic of the region would have none if the census was to be trusted) would come and live in squalor than, say, rent some sort of room. It was possible that the Master of that pair was attempting to set up a workshop of some sort, but given how one of the vagrants mentioned her outfit being far more like a generic schoolgirl's uniform than anything more formal, that seemed less likely than anything.

As such, it was only fair to go check out the two in person. He had an alibi, and concealing his nature as a Servant was simple child's play, especially with a disguise such as his. Hopefully, they weren't the type to attack old men on sight, or they'd have to be moved up on the list of Servants to eliminate. Respect was of the utmost, after all, even in the underworld.

Once he had arrived at the building that the homeless people had pointed out to him, the Archer cleared his throat and slowly walked forward. The police tape cordoning the area off was cleanly cut, and given how the tape itself was laying about it was a guarantee that it had been done recently. In order to avoid any needless conflict, though, there was only one route that had to be taken, foolish as it may have sounded.

"Hello? Is there anyone here?" he called out, glancing around with a casual air of coolness as he waited for a response. "I heard that a pair of young ladies from out of town spent the night at this place, and I'd like to confirm that for myself. This is no place for anyone to rest if even the unfortunate avoid it, after all."

Play the benefactor and take them by the strings. A simple matter, and at worst he could act like a kindly older British gentleman and simply take his leave. Their presence alone would speak volumes to him, after all.

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze@King Cosmos

“That’s certainly strange. Doesn’t this era have services like the post office and delivery companies? One of them should be able to deliver a letter without requiring us to step into a trap needlessly,” Lancer said after nodding, confirming to her Master that she indeed had the right recollection. These glasses would not only be important for Lancer herself but, after this war ended, they may as well remain as a keepsake that would help the young girl before her flourish into her destined self.

“That said, with your permission, I don’t plan to bide our time until the two days I gave to Rider and Assassin come to pass. If possible, I would like to draw attention to myself and challenge one of the other Heroic Spirits yet today,” Lancer said as she accepted her Master’s offering and lightly perused her belongings until she found a business suit that seemed to fit her image well. Sure, it would look much better if they already had any glasses to go with it, but there was only so much that could be done after all.

A moment later, the silver-haired Lancer was ready to leave as soon as her Master did so.


“Sure! I think you are cuter with it but it probably would attract too much attention, wouldn’t it?” Kirsi said as she too put on a disguise. A dark-haired wig and a cute hat were all that Kirsi needed to look like a completely different person, though her conspicuous smile remained the same as ever.

“We can go as soon as you are ready then. There’s a place I remember that’s not that far from one of the exits in that — no, that direction,” Kirsi said while pointing at the general direction of the city properly said. “Oh, by the way, do you think that we should set some traps? You know, just in case someone tries to invade while we are out?”

"Nothing beyond what I'd told you about." Kazamyr still had a few familiars perched about the city, even now, but he was leaving the majority inactive until nightfall. Keeping track of them all at once was taxing both on his mind and his Magic Circuits. "It would seem that the remainder of our enemies are either patient or cowardly, and alas, I wouldn't bank on the latter."

The bus came to a slow and creaking halt, and Kazamyr stepped off, striding down the sidewalk towards the destination now in sight. "As for Caster... she looked like a witch. Almost too much like a witch, even." Could ancient spellcasters truly have worn hats that ostentatious? Then again, it wouldn't be unexpected for the collective perceptions of society to influence the nature of a Heroic Spirit in such a manner. "Call it a hunch, but I'd bet money she has something to do with Salem and its sordid history." He paused, frowning slightly. "Wait, would you know what that is?" Servants were supplied with a certain level of information to help them make sense of whatever era they were summoned in, but Kazamyr wasn't sure how much that would apply to historical events. "There was a witch hunt in this country around three hundred years ago. Supposedly many innocents were tried and executed, but it's rumored that some real mages were involved..."

The Redrock Public Library was a modest two-story brick building, with a wide entrance that loomed over the street before it. As Kazamyr swept through the doors, the noise of the outside world faded behind him, replaced by a dull and heavy quiet, the faint rustling of paper and occasional clicking of old computer keys.

Following the plastic-coated signs taped to the top of the bookshelves, the Russian magus made his way to the history section, briefly pulling out his phone to check some of the notes he'd made earlier. "Salem will be worth looking up. Then Norse myths, and old Japanese war stories. Maybe some histories of the town itself."

Then he stopped in his tracks, and smiled. "Ah, but I'm being selfish! There are probably things you're curious about as well, yes?" He ran his fingers along a row of books, searching idly through their titles for a few moments before pulling one off the shelf and flipping open its first page:

Sun Tzu said: The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected...

Kazamyr's eyes briefly glanced up at thin air, with a hint of mischief. "Interested? I think you might like this one."

@King Cosmos

As his Master strode purposefully between the rows and shelves of books, Rider followed at a more leisurely pace as he swept his gaze along the multitude of books before him. “There is much that I am curious about. I wish to study everything that has become of this world since my passing, its history and its wars, the rising and falling of empires and so on; it has been two thousand years since my death and these is much I would like to know.

“I know that Carthage fell, and that Rome tried to erase it from memory; my home relegated to a footnote in the history of my enemy. I would like to know what else has happened since then, but that is not our priority at the moment. We will have time for indulgences once this war is over.”

Rider stopped as he caught up to Kazamyr and found his attention brought to the book in his hands, ‘The Art of War’, which his Master no doubt found amusing. “I’d be intrigued to read the thoughts of another scholar on the subject, especially one who experience war in a different culture than my own. Other than that, maps of the town and the surrounding area, then the histories of Salem, Scandinavia and Japan, as you suggested.”

@Anza

"Start with the basics...? Are my basics not good enough?" Ami wondered, looking down at the sword she was holding. Of course she might expect that anyone summoned as Saber would have high standards, but... her skill, such as it was, had been enough to merit practising with a real sword on occasion. Though now that she thought about it, Okita was right. For all she knew how to draw, cut, and sheathe in one motion, actual combative sport was something that the schoolgirl was entirely unfamiliar with.

"Where are we going to get practice swords?"

---

"No need for traps," was the reply, as the Servant busied herself doing... something. Knocking something over here, the most meagre of all curses there to make it all dusty, "If we just make it look abandoned then everyone will pass through, none the wiser, and never think to come back and check."

With her security measures in place, the witch temporarily stepped away from her Master, through another brief portal--and into the back rooms of a different clothing store. Though Kezia was only gone for a few minutes, by the time she returned, the old dress and witch's hat had been exchanged for a far less stand-out skirt and hoodie combo. Though the old clothes were probably in the sports bag. Nobody knew what she looked like yet, so the hair wasn't a problem.

"Shall we go?"

“Oh! that’s smart, Caster! Even if anyone comes all the way down here they’ll never think this place was being used,” Kirsi said as she finished getting ready to leave. She only noticed that Caster has changed clothes, despite hearing the funny noise made every time she used her portals, when she turned around and began to move towards the nearest exit.

“By the way, how should I call you out there? Maybe we should come up with a way to do it while we are on the way. It probably won’t be good if either I call you Caster, or your real name, right?”

"I still need to see where you're at, when it comes to skill. To get a better sense of where to start, and refreshing a student on the basics with the start of a new class always makes sense," Saber responded with a pleasant smile. Fond memories of teaching flooded her mind. Aside from her time spent with her friends in the Shinsengumi, teaching others the way of the sword was one of the things she looked back upon most warmly.

Indeed, she was so wrapped up in fond memories that the samurai Servant failed to recall one of the most important factors in instructing swordplay, at least until her Master mentioned the fact to her.

"... Oh. Training swords. Er... eh-heheheh..."

Embarrassed at overlooking something so important, Saber averted her eyes slightly, scratching at the back of her head.

@Raineh Daze

Smiling to himself, Kazamyr closed The Art of War and tucked it under one arm, before setting about the bookshelves in search of other titles. His gaze swept over hundreds of titles with laser-like focus, picking out a relevant few to be pulled from their places and added to the swiftly-growing stack he now carried. Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs. Samurai Women of Japan. Salem-Village Witchcraft: A Documentary Record of Local Conflict in Colonial New England. There was a wealth of knowledge at his fingertips now, so much that he doubted he'd have time to read them all. Best to skim, to pick out the parts most likely relevant and compare them to what he'd researched online.

Leaving the shelves full of history and mythology behind, he swung through other sections, picking up two detailed maps of Redrock and its environs (one recent, the other decades out of date), and a slim volume on the town's past, written by a local. With all these in his arms, he finally made his way to the reading room, setting the whole pile down on a sturdy wooden desk.

"There. Time to see what we can find." Rider was still in spirit form, but that didn't mean Kazamyr wouldn't be making use of his Servant. "Pick a tome, and I'll turn the pages for you. We can cover ground faster with the two of us, and one might catch what the other would miss...

Without further ado, he lifted the first volumes off the pile, and dove in.

Caster. Sarah Good, Susannah Martin, Alice Parker, Margaret Scott, Keziah Mason... there were just too many figures involved, and he had only the fleeting memory of a glimpse to compare with them. He idly wrote down some names, but stopped there, knowing he wouldn't make much headway. To figure out who Caster was, he'd need to see her in person, or at least have some idea of her specific abilities.

Saber. The warrior they'd first encountered had been strong, and Kazamyr had the sneaking suspicion she'd been holding back. Tomoe Gozen, Nakano Takeko, Hōjō Masako? He couldn't rule any of them out, but at the same time something didn't seem to fit. An Onna-bugeisha would normally wield a naginata, qualifying better for the class of Lancer than Saber. And, having witnessed Lancer's summoning through his familiar at around the same time he'd spotted Saber, he knew that Saber had been summoned first. So why that class? There's something fishy going on here...

"Rider, when you were fighting with that woman, what impression did you get from her blade-work? Did it seem like she was new to her weapon?" Tomoe Gozen was often portrayed with a katana, but then she was more famed for her archery. Had Kazamyr been too narrow-minded in his search thus far? The pieces seemed to be pointing in a new direction, a strange and fascinating one.

Finally, Lancer. It was here that he finally thought he'd found something. As numerous as the Valkyries were, Kazamyr soon found that many of them were mere footnotes, mentioned only in a few stray stanzas of ancient poems. Hardly notable enough to be a Heroic Spirit as powerful as the one he'd witnessed. That narrowed it down to those few shieldmaidens with their own unique legends, and among those one story stood out, blazing like a torch.

"Brynhildr!" Kazamyr grinned as he set his finger on the name. "I'm sure of it!" Even if he could not determine it with absolute certainty, a part of him knew that he was facing the most renowned of all the Valkyries, even wanted it to be her.

"Magnificent! Outstanding! To be facing such an opponent, is it not the most wonderful feeling?"

@King Cosmos


"Master..."

Daylight shone through the curtains of a luxurious bedroom, painting the sleeping girl in a gentle, golden glow.

"Ah, Master..."

So small, so sweet and delicate, her tanned skin smooth and unmarked, her pale hair gently tousled from a short night's rest. A young heart full of innocence, a young mind full of wonder and precocious daring. She was precious, more precious than anything in the world.

And she would be cherished, and protected, with all the strength and fervor that she deserved.

"Mas-ter, it's time to wake up. We have a busy day ahead of us, don't we?"

The girl's mother smiled as she softly spoke these words.



"Berserker," she began, "Are you ready to destroy them all?"

Estelle Varianbec had wasted no time in getting to the point. What else would she have summoned a Berserker for, if not to destroy? Her question was likely a rhetorical one, meant to be answered with grim obedience, enthusiastic agreement, or even a roar of untamed rage (though the latter seemed unlikely, coming from the elegant and voluptuous woman who had answered her summons).

But instead, the Berserker had burst into tears.

"Ahh! To send one so young to the battlefield, how cruel!" She shook her head vigorously, her expression one of agonized resolve. "Master, I won't allow it! A child of your age should be at home, not at war!"

And so it went. Estelle's Berserker, the one supposed to be a mighty sword who would smite down her enemies, had cried and fussed and worried, had demanded to speak with her Master's parents, had refused to even let Estelle out of her sight lest some enemy Servant suddenly appear. By the time the young homunculus had managed to assert herself and calm her Servant down, it was too late: the other Masters and Servants had already made their opening moves and retired, leaving Estelle with nobody left to ambush. She'd have no choice but to try again on the second night, assuming she could even form a working relationship with her Servant by then.

For the heir of Varianbec, it seemed that the Grail War would be far more difficult than envisioned...



Berserker knelt down at Estelle's bedside, quietly waiting.

"Are you still tired, Master? Oh, that's all right. You can rest a little longer." She stood up, briefly adjusting her hair behind her, eyes never leaving her child. "But not too long, okay? It's not healthy to sleep in all day."

Stepping so softly it was barely audible, she made her way to the door. "For now, I'll get breakfast ready..." she hummed happily to herself as she went, pausing briefly to glance one last time at her Master. Magi, Servants, the Grail; none of them even felt like they mattered to her right now.

Berserker was happy right where she was.

@VitaVitaAR

"Mmmnn..."

Estelle slowly stirred. Last night... her plan had fallen apart, hadn't it? Memories of the summoning slowly filled her mind as she blinked blearily. Her Berserker... that incredibly pretty lady, Minamoto no Raikou, had... well, she'd immediately dumped a whole load of concerns onto her. But not her plan, not at all, it was about her well-being. It wasn't as if Estelle didn't appreciate a Servant who felt she was so important and precious(of course she was, after all), but at the same time her entire plan for the night had been completely derailed. Ambushing a Master and Servant with one of the most powerful Samurai of Japanese history had seemed to be an excellent plan... but instead, every other Master had long since finished their business, and Estelle had begun to find it difficult to keep her eyes open. It wasn't as if her plan didn't have another chance(especially given the power of her Servant) but this...

Gaah, she didn't need to be treated that way!

... Even if it wasn't bad, it was still... still... whatever!

Rubbing her eyes again, Estelle clambered out of bed and yawned once more. Well... before anything else, she'd have to plan for the day before getting another chance to spring a trap on an enemy Servant... it was probably for the best to acclimate Berserker to the town, as well, to let her see what battlefield she'd be fighting in.

Even after he strange start, the little girl was filled with nothing but boundless confidence. She was undeniably the strongest Master in the war, with one of the most powerful Servants. But for now...

She headed downstairs, still in her pajamas. Her mansion was huge, likely one of the largest private residences in Redrock that still existed. And yet now there was only Estelle, Berserker, and her maids living within it...

"... Berserker," she called, "I have an idea. We can take this chance to go out for breakfast and I can show you your battlefield!"

She was already being followed by a gaggle of maids, some of whom were eyeing Berserker with jealousy. Did they think that she was trying to take their job? Some had already offered to help her bathe, but Estelle was on a mission she wanted to complete before anything else!

@Anza

Astrid had to admit that the suggestions that Lancer had put forth were valid, but it took a few moments of mulling both of the possibilities over to cause her to discard them. Ignoring the issue of the speed and safety of any given transmission, letters did require a return address. One slip-up, and the two of them would likely have to relocate—unless they wanted to be assaulted day and night by enemies vying for their heads.

Once her Servant had picked out a set of clothes for herself (a suit, which Astrid found oddly fitting on her frame), the young woman nodded and promptly left her room. She made sure, of course, to lock the door on her way out after her Lancer left; there was no issue in being too cautious with security.

A quick elevator ride down and a short walk away was all that the half-Valkyrie needed to find her destination—a diner that, in person, seemed a lot less flattering than it did on her phone.

"Uh... Hm. Well... We may as well buy something here, then...?" she asked to herself before walking inside. The first thing to assault her nostrils was the smell of oil in the air, and it took her a good few seconds to adjust to the atmosphere in the room. The locale felt smaller on the inside than it looked, and after a few seconds of looking around in mild curiosity, a middle-aged lady behind the nearby counter-top waved at the two of them before directing them to a table near the window.

"I hope I haven't made a poor decision this morning..." Astrid sighed to herself as she promptly took a seat where she was directed and a one-page menu (laminated, of course) was placed in front of her and her Servant by the same lady who had directed them there.

"Take your time, all right?" she said before leaving both women behind to head back behind the counter. To this, Astrid could only scratch her head before going to read the menu.

"Mmm... Coffee and a few pieces of toast should do fine for me," she remarked, glancing over the menu before handing it off to her Servant.

"So... Thus far, we've made contact with Rider and Saber, and you've already ascertained the identity of the former. What's your personal evaluation of them, Lancer?"

@KoL

"Well, we can't do it with money, though shinai would probably be available somewhere as this is a pretty big city..." Ami said, thinking about what she knew of the rest of the world. Not much, to be honest, but she thought she'd heard something about kendo being practised outside of Japan? Getting an actual wooden sword would pretty much be a matter of finding appropriate wood and hoping that Musashi wasn't the only swordsman able to whittle himself a sword.

It was at this point that the girl finally noticed the shady looking old man standing nearby, only able to ask him who he was and why he was there. Unfortunately, like the entire rest of her conversation with Okita, she hadn't thought to speak in English.

---

"A name, yes... you can call me Abigail," the witch said after a brief period of thought. She had that little girl on the mind anyway, so what harm could it be to borrow her name? It wasn't like anyone could possibly draw a connection from such an innocuous name to Salem.

"I don't know why but... this name sounds quite familiar," Kirsi said as Caster gave her a (fake) name to use. "Anyway, let's get going, Aby! Those pancakes aren't going to eat themselves," she added as they made their way out.

Not a long time later, they would find themselves in a rather simple-looking restaurant. There weren't many patrons there at this time of the day, just a few locals having breakfast on the way to their jobs, and a pair of obvious-looking foreigners, one of which looked to be some kind of model.

"Hey, miss! Can you get us some pancakes and an orange juice?" Kirsi said in a rather eager tone as she waved a hand, calling the waitress. Even a tall, silver-haired beauty that probably was some kind top model trying to have breakfast in disguise, wasn't enough to distract Kirsi of the objective of her trip out of the bone zone.
@Raineh Daze

"I haven't mentioned it to you already, have I?" Lancer said after being asked about her opinions on the other Servants they met the night before. "Rider is Hannibal, otherwise known as the King of Strategists, of the great generals of the twilight of the Age of the Gods. I'm... disappointed that such a brilliant hero would choose to negate his own legacy for a better chance to obtain the Holy Grail," she continued in a sad voice, revealing both her torn feelings about Rider and disinterest in the prize for which they fought.

"As for Saber, I can feel that she's a brave warrior but since I have never heard about her, I assume she's a Heroic Spirit of the Age of Man. I have no doubt that she's a Japanese warrior, but I could not watch her for long enough to understand the root of her technique. Maybe, if I get the chance of crossing blades of her I can get more information," Lancer made a short pause as the woman handed them the menu in a rather non-subservient manner for someone in her position. Fighting back the urge to make the woman know her place, she continued, "However, I'm not sure of it yet but... she seemed to be having some difficult to breathe during a few points of her duel with Rider. Again, if I get to fight her, I can be sure of that."

And, after taking a good look at the menu, she said, "Bacon, a piece of toast, and beer should be enough."

"Now that I'm here, I might as well see how the pork and alcohol of this era are in comparison to what I know."
@PKMNB0Y

With Lancer's analysis in mind, Astrid closed her eyes and nodded as she tried to remember what little she could about the Rider that they would have to deal with in the near future. Having grown up in South Korea, the only thing that she knew about Hannibal was that he was famous for sacking the Roman countryside by means of war elephant... Or something of the sort. It was likely something that she would have to research at a later time, given her Lancer's own intentions with regards to combat. The Saber's identity still being up in the air remained a tad worrisome, but given the circumstances it wasn't entirely impossible to deal with that lack of information. All that they knew was that she was Japanese, yes, but beyond that...

"Well, for the moment, breakfast takes priority," the young woman said, moving to wave the waitress back over before her brain processed what it was that Lancer had just ordered. There was a pause, however brief, as she realized that they would be ordering alcohol first thing in the morning.

Um.

Before she could renege, though, the older woman came over to take their order; Astrid, of course, put in her own order without hesitation, and watched as Lancer did the same. There was a complicated expression on the woman's face for a moment, but there didn't seem to be any actual issues with the order, given how she simply walked off to deliver the order.

"Er... I... Would recommend not ordering alcohol this early in the day in the future," Astrid said, scratching her cheek nervously before taking a deep breath. "In any case... After this, clothes."

"I doubt anyone would attack us in a boutique, so it'll give both of us some time to relax before night falls, if anything."

@KoL


Once one of the squatters—the schoolgirl—had finally realized that he was waiting for a response, the Archer couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

That relief soon turned to cloaked irritation, though, as the girl began to speak in a language that he could only barely identify as Japanese due to a brief foray into the odd realm of Eastern linguistics. Beyond identifying the language itself, though, the older gentleman was at a loss for what to do. He had expected at least some attempt at English, but...

"A-ahem. I heard that you were staying here instead of a home. Why?" he asked, motioning with every emphasized word. Given the presence of a Servant in the area, this was likely the Master of the duo that decided to live here. That being said, though...

"Who thought it a good idea to have an Asian schoolgirl come here with no knowledge of the English language?!"

@Raineh Daze@VitaVitaAR