[Altair Brando]
"Can you get this thing off my neck already?" Da Vinci raised her finger, pointing to the gleaming blade.
Raikou completely ignored the Italian Renaissance genius, staring at me with those striking purple eyes. "Son, are you alright?" She asked as she pulled her blade back and sheathed it.
"I'm perfectly fine, just a bit sore." I gave a slight smile to my servant.
"Good..." Raikou advanced toward me, hugging my neck and pressing her generous bust against my shoulder. "Mama was so worried about her baby."
She's probably going to be out of it for a few seconds.
With that thought passing through my mind, my free hand slid along her back.
While this drama unfolded in my bed, our dear Italian Renaissance genius pressed her finger to her pink lips. "That's exactly the kind of reaction I'd expect from a woman who hasn't left your side for even a second."
Hmm... I was a bit surprised, so I turned my head to Raikou, who had her face buried in my chest.
"Fool!" She raised her face, staring at Da Vinci with a cold look, before returning her attention to me, changing her gaze to a warm one. "It was obvious I would stay by my master's side." She struck one of her hands on her chest with pride, creating a beautiful ripple. "It's every mother's duty to stay by her son's side... at every possible moment." It would be a cute speech if the last part hadn't come out with a slightly possessive-obsessive tone.
Not wanting to dwell too long on this subject, with slight fear of having my limbs severed and being delicately cared for by a mature woman... although...
[Al!?]
Just kidding, you humorless goddess.
*Cough! Cough!*
Let's change the subject a bit, gentlemen.
Before I could change the subject, Da Vinci rose from the chair, leaning on her staff. "Well! Well! Since our monkey hero has awakened, I need to notify our private doctor with questionable taste in programs."
Leaving the strange Italian servant aside, I turned my gaze back to Raikou, who was still hugging me possessively.
"Raikou, what happened after I passed out?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. As I said, my last memory was of using a command seal.
"I turned everything to ashes." She answered quickly, with a slight smile. "But I doubt that man in the top hat died... he probably fled before my attack hit him."
"Hmm." I raised my hand, placing it on my chin. "I agree. He seems to be the hard-to-kill type."
"Yeah, he's probably like a cockroach." Raikou rubbed her cheek on my shoulder, like a needy kitten.
Although I doubted it, I had a bit of hope that this man in the top hat had disappeared from our world.
[He seems to be the type of person who's going to be trouble.]
Agreeing with the voice in my head, I felt a slight movement in my arm. Turning my face toward this movement, my eyes fell on Olga, who was rising in the bed.
Raising her body, her long white hair fell down her back as she leaned on my shoulder, rubbing her eyes adorably.
When she moved her hand away from her eyes and saw me, she widened them.
"Good morning." I gave a smile to the beautiful lady.
Olga blinked her eyes at me, as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"Brando!" She cried, practically throwing herself on top of me and hugging me, resting her face on my shoulder, to Raikou's displeasure, who simply clicked her tongue.
"I guess there's no need to ask if you're okay, is there?" Running my hand over her long white hair, I gave a slight smile.
"I am! I am!" she repeated, like a scratched record. "Thanks to you." For some reason, I felt a sniff near my neck... strangely, this sniff seemed to be coming from the other side of my neck too... but it must have been just my imagination.
As the two hugged me tightly, in a completely pathological manner, suddenly the infirmary door opened and a man with orange hair entered.
He was of medium height, had orange hair tied in a ponytail, and green eyes that contrasted with the hair. He wore a medical coat over green clothing.
"Hello, how are you..." Before he could finish, his eyes landed on Olga clinging to me. His eyes widened in disbelief. He raised his hands and rubbed his eyes. "Director?" he exclaimed in complete shock.
Her face instantly turned red, embarrassed at being caught in that situation. But following the Law of my good old friend Murphy: if something can get worse, it will get worse.
"Al-kun."
"Altair-senpai."
"Fou!"
A redhead and a pink-haired girl burst into the room, accompanied by a small white fox. Both girls also widened their eyes seeing Olga hugging me, as if she were a plank in the middle of the ocean.
"Well, well! You're a real girl hunter." Da Vinci's head appeared at the door with a mischievous smile.
Olga's face looked ready to start steaming at any moment.
"Idiots!"
A cute shout echoed through the room, while Raikou simply ignored everything around her.
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After this beautiful explosion of emotion, the white-haired girl was standing, while Raikou continued lying beside me, hugging my arm.
"Ahem! Ahem!" Trying to dispel her embarrassment, a cough escaped her lips. "Romani, what are you doing here?!"
"I came to check on our patient." The orange-haired man raised a finger, scratching his cheek, clearly disturbed by the situation. "By the way," he turned to me, "Even though we've seen each other before, we weren't properly introduced. I'm Romani Archaman." He smiled gently.
"Pleasure to meet you, Altair Brando."
The moment my voice echoed through the medical room, a certain red-haired girl opened her mouth, almost interrupting me.
"Al-kun, are you okay?" Just as her golden eyes stared at me, the angelic Mash's eyes looked at me with concern.
Speaking of our cute shielder, she now wears slightly different clothes, which, honestly, fit like a glove on her small body.
Averting my eyes from her legs covered in tights, I gave a slight smile. "I'm perfectly fine."
"Even so, I should examine you." Dr. Romani walked toward a computer. "I don't think it's exactly healthy to fight a King of Britain almost completely on your own, not to mention you lost your right arm in a way virtually annihilated by something that was essentially a miniature black hole." Romani cast a glance at my arm before returning to the computer screen.
With the mention of my arm, a flash of guilt passed through Olga's eyes, while an angry gleam crossed Raikou's gaze.
Meanwhile, the small fox jumped onto my lap, practically settling on my thigh.
I raised my hand and stroked her white fur.
"Fou! Fou!" she exclaimed, feeling my touch.
As I ran my hand through her fur, I heard Romani's voice.
"Oh! You're fine, just a bit exhausted."
With his words, the four girls sighed in relief.
"I told you, miss." I moved my shoulders, shrugging them. "Now that I think about it, how many hours was I asleep?"
"Hours!?" Raikou tilted her head to the side. "Master was unconscious for two days." A sad expression formed on her face.
"Two days?!" My eyes widened. I wasn't expecting that.
"You suffered both magical and physical exhaustion. Not to mention you spent almost the entire Singularity fighting non-stop, and your regeneration had to work at maximum capacity to restore your arm, which had been disintegrated at the molecular level. Two days of rest is even normal, Brando." Olga looked directly into my eyes, worried.
"You must have burned a lot of youthful energy." Romani placed a hand on his chin with a slight smile.
"Dr. Romani, you're only showing your age again..." Mash commented, making the doctor choke.
"M-Mash, I'm only thirty! Why did you have to say it like that?!" he protested.
I smiled slightly at their discussion.
"Joking aside, Altair, your wounds healed quickly, without leaving scars." Romani got up from the chair.
"That's good, but what did that guy mean about bringing the end to humanity?" I tried not to say Lev's name to avoid hurting Olga, but even so, an expression of pain appeared on her face.
She let out a sigh, dispelling her anguish. "That..." She looked away, hesitant. "It's hard to explain... but we failed. The Incineration of Humanity has already happened."
"Wait… are you saying humanity is already gone?"
I asked, but a heavy silence followed. Mash, beside me, placed her hands on my shoulders, while Ritsuka, who seemed to already know, clenched her fists tightly.
"Essentially, yes."
She didn't say the Incineration of Humanity was happening. She said it had already happened.
So...
"We already tried contacting the rest of the world. Our allies in the United Nations, the Clock Tower, other parts of the globe..." Romani explained. "There's... there's nothing. Outside this base and the mountain, there's simply... nothing..."
I let out a long sigh, placing a hand on my temple. Even though it wasn't my world, knowing that all of humanity had been eliminated was still shocking.
As sad as I was for the people, there was someone in the room who was in an even worse state.
Ritsuka's expression oscillated between anger and sadness. Her fists were clenched so tightly it seemed her nails might pierce her skin.
I raised my face with a neutral expression, wanting not to let my true feelings show. "We may have failed, but we still haven't lost, right?" My voice echoed through the room, making Raikou, who seemed a bit unhappy that I had gotten up, give a smile.
Ritsuka, beside Mash, cast a look at me.
"Definitely." Olga crossed her arms, huffing. "After we returned, Romani, Da Vinci and I detected other Singularities, like Fuyuki. Undoubtedly, they also have Holy Grails functioning as the axis of these temporal distortions. We haven't yet traced their exact locations, but..." her voice became firmer. "If someone goes to these Singularities and recovers the Grails that are distorting time and space... we can reverse the Incineration of Humanity." For a few seconds, she maintained her proud gaze on me.
"Brando, I already owe you more than I can repay for what you did for me. Even though this isn't your responsibility – or Fujimaru's –, I'd like to ask you both..."
""I'll do it!""
Ritsuka and I spoke at the same time, our voices echoing in the room. We looked at each other and smiled.
"Idiots, I hadn't finished." Olga couldn't help but smile.
"You didn't need to finish," I said, getting out of bed. My legs were a bit weak, but I held myself firm, earning a grunt of approval from Raikou. "You want us to enter these Singularities and fix all this." I walked over to Ritsuka, who looked at me with the same determination. "It's not even a choice, is it?" I asked, looking into her blue eyes.
"Of course not. This is our obligation, Al-kun." Ritsuka raised her fist, smiling.
"Absolutely. Let's clear all these Singularities and kick the ass of whoever thought of incinerating humanity." I bumped my fist against hers, sealing our determination as everyone in the room watched. Strangely, Da Vinci had an even more intense gleam of interest in her eyes, directed at me.
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