The conversation between Naoki and Aoko didn't last long. They weren't a love-struck couple. They'd been together for over a decade, and separations of a year or two were nothing new. Half a year apart was already within their comfort zone.
If they truly wanted to reunite, Naoki could visit her in the Singularity later. No need to rush.
"But still, even though I know your connections are extensive, Natsukawa, I never expected a Magician would actually come to help."
In Roman's mind, since the Incineration of Humanity had occurred, the outside world beyond Chaldea should now be completely inaccessible. Even a Magician would likely be unable to survive under the Incineration's influence.
"I heard you came to the Singularity from Avalon? Were you previously in the Reverse Side of the World?"
[I only arrived there recently. Before that, I was traveling around the world,] Aoko explained. [The reason I went to Avalon was because of a message from Naoki. He told everyone connected to him to go to Avalon to avoid the effects of the Incineration of Humanity.]
Hearing this, Roman immediately turned to Naoki. "Natsukawa, did you plan this from the beginning?"
"How could I?! You saw it yourself—I was just as shocked when Aoko appeared in the Singularity. At first, I just thought to evacuate everyone to Avalon. I have to protect my wives properly, don't I? Who would've guessed Aoko would get bored and run away from Avalon?"
[I already said it—because you never came to see me. Not only did you not come, you even called Touko to you. By the way, you didn't do anything bad to Touko, right?]
Hearing his wife's suspicious and distrustful accusation, Naoki frowned in confusion. "What are you talking about, Aoko? Touko is my teacher, and also our elder sister. How could I ever do anything wrong to my teacher and elder sister?"
[Fujimaru, is what he says true?]
[Um, I think so. At least, I've never seen the Chief do anything bad to Touko-san in Chaldea.]
"So why do you all think I'd do something bad to Touko?!"
(Don't you realize? Besides, after all these years, do you still not understand what they're implying?)
Roman, standing beside him, stared at Naoki with deep suspicion.
Among the three people in the Singularity, except for the naive Mash, the other three also looked at Naoki with slightly ambiguous expressions (from Naoki's point of view).
Yet, despite the suspicion, Aoko knew her little man's character. With that dense brain of his, him taking initiative would be like the sun rising from the west. Thinking about it, he only ever took initiative when it came to Merry. In all other cases, Naoki was always passive.
Whether it was her, or even Rei and Manaka—if they didn't take the first step, this ironwood tree would never bloom.
So rather than suspecting Naoki of doing something bad to Touko, it was more accurate to say Aoko actually suspected Touko of doing something bad to Naoki. Though the relationship between the two sisters had improved in recent years, there were still some unresolved tensions.
After staring at Naoki for several seconds, Aoko finally shifted her gaze and gave a cool smile. She relaxed and said, "Well, let's drop this topic for now. I'll have a proper talk with Naoki later. For now, let's discuss the Singularity and the Incineration of Humanity. You came here because of that, right?"
Ritsuka nodded. "Yes. Aozaki-san, may I—"
"Just call me Aoko. Though I might be around your mother's age, thanks to someone, I'm still very young in every way. Just call me Aoko." Aoko smiled. "You want to ask about what I know, right?"
"Yes. Aoko-san… you seem to have been here for some time. You must know more than we do. Could you tell us?"
"Of course, no problem."
After walking to the table, pouring herself a glass of water, and taking a sip, Aoko recounted her experiences: "I arrived in this Singularity about a week ago. At the time, it wasn't like it is now, with Wyverns everywhere—that happened a day later."
"The Witch Jeanne, resurrected, raised the dragon's banner, led a swarm of Wyverns, and declared destruction across all of France from Orleans."
"We already know that. We happened to meet a group of soldiers on the way." Hinako interrupted. "Are there any more specific details?"
Aoko paused briefly. "If I had to say, the enemy situation is actually quite simple. Broadly speaking, it can be divided into three parts. First, the leaders—Witch Jeanne and a man in mage's robes. Second, the Servants under Witch Jeanne's command. And third, the swarm of Wyverns."
[The man in mage's robes… That might be Gilles de Rais.]
"Gilles de Rais? Who's he?"
[A 15th-century French nobleman, a Marshal who fought alongside Jeanne. Originally a good man, but after Jeanne was executed by burning, he completely changed. He began summoning demons and kidnapped children in his territory for experiments, eventually executed himself. The 'Bluebeard' from Charles Perrault's fairy tale is a character based on him.]
Roman explained to Ritsuka.
[Compared to Gilles de Rais, I'm more interested in the Servants mentioned by Miss Aozaki… Specifically, how many are there?]
"I saw two." Aoko said. "That was three days ago. Perhaps because they knew this fortress wouldn't fall easily, Witch Jeanne attacked with Gilles de Rais, two other Servants, and a large number of Wyverns. Their auras were strong, but in the end, I managed to drive them away."
[Drive them away? That was two Servants and a massive swarm of Wyverns, plus Witch Jeanne… You drove them all away alone?]
Though Aoko was a Magician, she was from the modern era. Besides Magic, the mysteries she practiced were also limited to the modern age. Facing Servants whose mystery levels far surpassed the modern era, she actually defeated two Servants and won?
"What's so surprising? To keep up with that Holy Sword user, I've never stopped training for years. If I couldn't even handle one or two Servants, I might as well go home and babysit his kids—well, actually, I just made an extremely large magic cannon and scared them off with it."
Aoko laughed. "It was something I made by imitating Naoki's Moon Fall. Only the shape and aura resemble it—the actual power is nowhere close. It was just a mana balloon. Though I'm not completely incapable of defeating them, if I did, I'd have to use Magic, and the impact might not spare this fortress."
[Scared them off… impressive that you pulled it off.]
Naoki gave a wry laugh.
[Then, can you describe the appearance of those two Servants? Based on their looks, I might be able to guess who they are.]
"Of course. One was a knightly Servant wearing black armor and wielding a staff. He kept shouting 'Arrrr' during battle. And the other… Hmm, if I recall correctly, it should've been Atalanta."