Chapter 196: If Her Name Is Tamamo-no-Mae, Then It's Practically Set in Stone
"Mr. Blue Lancer said they are ready on their end."
Having received the message, Little Kiara skipped over to Tamamo-no-Mae and relayed the news from Noah. Tamamo-no-Mae smiled and gently patted Little Kiara's head.
"Alright, Kiara, stay here for now and don't wander off. I'll be back soon, and I'll bring you some ohagi when I return."
Tamamo-no-Mae said this, while Little Kiara stared intently at her.
Her eyes, capable of seeing through the essence of others, could clearly perceive the complexity within Tamamo-no-Mae's heart at that moment. Most of it consisted of bright and warm elements, similar to those she had seen in other people, but there were also some blue, icy-cold elements, as well as some black elements that felt utterly devoid of sensation.
She had never seen such colors before.
However, her curiosity about these colors didn't last long. Upon hearing about the ohagi, her attention was clearly diverted more toward the treat.
"Mhm! I understand, I definitely won't wander off!"
Seeing Little Kiara like this, Tamamo-no-Mae smiled and bid her farewell before leaving.
From Little Kiara's perspective, just after she spoke those words, the bright and warm elements within Tamamo-no-Mae noticeably increased, while the black, sensationless elements completely vanished. The blue, icy-cold elements also became somewhat less prominent.
This change made Little Kiara a bit curious.
Hmm... If those bright and warm elements became the entirety of the colors, then it would be just like the adults she usually saw on the streets.
Then... what would a person who was entirely blue be like?
And why did that black color feel like nothing at all?
Little Kiara was somewhat curious.
But before she could ponder further, Noah's communication came through once again.
"We are about to set off toward Japan. We have a general idea of the location, but what about the specific spot? Also, what is the environment like there? We have personnel arrangements to consider, so could you let us know in advance?"
Seeing this message from Noah, Little Kiara slightly furrowed her brow.
"Mr. Blue Lancer, Teacher just went out. I don't know the answers to your questions, but I'll relay them to her when she returns."
Seeing this reply from Little Kiara, Noah used the Star Performer's ability to sense her surroundings and confirmed that, indeed, only Little Kiara was present—the guardian's presence had disappeared.
After confirming the situation, Noah began arranging personnel to board the ship while continuing the conversation with Little Kiara.
"In that case, we'll wait until she returns... There are indeed many things I feel I should discuss with her properly... Since she's not here, it can't be helped. But Little Kiara, it's best if you don't wander around during this time—it might be dangerous."
Noah was still uncertain about the situation in the Heian Capital.
However, he didn't want a child to become a casualty in this matter, even if that child was Kiara Sessyoin.
He remembered from playing FGO that there were plenty of sneaky characters in the Type-Moon universe.
You never know when some sneaky bastard might pop up, appearing in a place he shouldn't be when you least expect it, then stabbing you in the back.
That's why Noah felt this operation needed further refinement.
Moreover...
He also wanted to talk to Little Kiara's guardian.
Although the other party's identity was now almost certainly the Heavenly Fox, since he hadn't actually seen it with his own eyes, Noah still had some doubts.
Just then, he received a sudden communication from Little Kiara.
'What Mr. Blue Lancer said is exactly the same as what Teacher Tamamo-no-Mae said!'
Seeing this message, Noah, who had just been directing the team to load supplies onto the ship, froze completely.
Then, three more messages came through in quick succession from the other end.
'Ah, Teacher Tamamo-no-Mae told me not to mention our names in communications!'
'Sorry—wait, no, I probably shouldn't apologize to Mr. Blue Lancer... but, could Mr. Blue Lancer please not tell Teacher Tamamo-no-Mae about this?'
'Otherwise, she might get angry...'
Noah was stunned for a moment, but after reading the messages Little Kiara sent afterward, he let out a sigh of relief.
Right now, if he wanted to communicate with the other party, he still had to go through Little Kiara. In such a situation, she wanted to hide something but still came to ask me... Well, I guess that's just how a child's logic works sometimes.
"Of course, I can. Ah, wait—I didn't see the messages just now. Did you say something?"
'I didn't! I said nothing at all!!'
Seeing Little Kiara like this, Noah felt he should probably teach her a lesson. But Tamamo-no-Mae... After hearing this name, Noah was almost certain that Little Kiara's guardian was the Heavenly Fox!
After all, Nine-Tailed Fox, Tamamo-no-Mae... Did they really think he hadn't played Fate/Grand Order?
So, for now, he decided to let it go. He would wait until he could bring Little Kiara to a place he deemed safe before properly educating her about such matters.
Now wasn't the right time—if that Heavenly Fox really had some scheme, it would be too dangerous for Little Kiara.
With this in mind, Noah comforted Little Kiara a little before ending the communication.
Meanwhile, Morgan, who had stepped up to direct the others in loading supplies when she saw Noah spacing out, had almost finished arranging everything. She then walked over to Noah's side.
"Did something happen just now?"
Morgan was a bit worried.
Noah, however, just smiled and shook his head at her...
"It's nothing major... It's just that some things I wasn't sure about before, I'm now almost certain of."
Noah hadn't been entirely sure before whether Little Kiara's guardian was the Heavenly Fox.
But now he was certain.
After all, Little Kiara's guardian was named Tamamo-no-Mae... It couldn't just be a coincidence, could it?
Noah had basically considered all possibilities.
He remembered hearing from Little Kiara before that her teacher had once taken her and the other children to watch the Heavenly Fox's procession festival from afar.
In other words, although it wasn't a private meeting, this Tamamo-no-Mae had indeed met that Heavenly Fox.
If they were different tails of the Golden-Haired White-Faced Fox, they would have recognized each other the moment they met—and the relationship between tails was unlikely to be as it was now.
If one considered that Tamamo-no-Mae was an existence brought about by distortions like Mary, Manaka, Little Kiara, and Minamoto-no-Raikou... then it was possible they wouldn't recognize each other even if they met—even if the other was a tail from a parallel world, other problems would arise.
Mary was still hiding in his dreams right now.
She was doing so precisely to avoid suddenly running into Merlin.
If she were discovered by Merlin—even if only seen through Merlin's Clairvoyance—Mary's existence would be directly extracted by Merlin.
According to Mary, the worldline Noah was in connected to nearly all other worldlines, a privilege only the main worldline possessed.
If someone from the main worldline saw an alternate version of themselves from another worldline on the main worldline, such a situation would occur.
So if that Tamamo-no-Mae was sent here by distortions, and she and the Heavenly Fox were both tails of the Nine-Tailed Fox, her existence should have been extracted by the Heavenly Fox the moment they met!
Yet she met the Heavenly Fox without incident, and nothing happened at all...
Then the problem was already clear.
She was either allied with the Heavenly Fox, or she was the Heavenly Fox herself!
In any case, regardless of which outcome it was, it was best not to let the control of the Great Yata Barrier fall into her hands... Otherwise, his side would be far too passive.
Moreover, with the control of the Great Yata Barrier on his side, he could also protect Little Kiara as quickly as possible after truly intervening in this matter, preventing her from being dragged into it.
Having confirmed his thoughts, Noah looked at the travel arrangements for the considerably long journey ahead, let out a sigh, and then gave an order to the ship he was on.
"————We need to record a very detailed sea chart during this operation, so we'll be spending a considerable amount of time at sea. Everyone, stay alert, prepare yourselves mentally, and bid temporary farewells to your families and loved ones—we're setting off!"