In Chaldea's largest workshop.
Looking at Naoki and Angelica sitting in front of her, Touko, smoking a cigarette, displayed a gleeful expression at his misfortune. "This is your retribution, young man. Who told you to lose control back then? Now you're suffering, aren't you?"
"It wasn't me who started it. When it comes to Rei, I've always been passive…"
"Then blame yourself for being too popular with women. You never considered how many women you've charmed over the years."
"N-Not that many, right…?"
Naoki himself wasn't entirely confident in his words. Thinking about it, among the people he knew, there did seem to be more women. But most were just acquaintances. He still handled himself quite well—at least, that's what he thought.
Seeing the oblivious man in front of her, Touko sighed helplessly.
Beside her, Da Vinci, shifting her attention from her workbench, teased, "You two always tease and flirt every time you meet. Don't tell me you secretly have that kind of relationship too? You've known each other for over ten years; it doesn't seem impossible~~~"
"If that were true, Aoko would hunt me to the ends of the earth. For the sake of my safety, please don't say irresponsible things like that, Da Vinci." Naoki said with a serious expression.
"Tch…"
Touko scoffed softly.
Da Vinci also gave a helpless, wry smile. "Alright, alright, I'll be more careful next time—by the way, you can't actually die. You're a fairy. Unless you kill yourself, it's nearly impossible for an external force to take you down."
"Even so, pain is still pain. I'm not Roman."
"Yes, yes~~~ Let's talk about important matters. First, about Angelica."
The reason Naoki came here, aside from the issue of the Holy Grail bomb mentioned earlier, was about Angelica—though this was something Da Vinci and Touko took on after he arrived.
As a puppet from a parallel world, created by a family that had thrived for thousands of years, Da Vinci was deeply intrigued by her and expressed a desire to study her thoroughly.
Now, Da Vinci picked up a freshly completed report from her desk. "Her condition isn't optimistic. Based on your explanation, Natsukawa, she's someone who died decades ago. She only continues to exist now because she's possessing a puppet."
"Though I'm a genius, I must admit this technology is truly remarkable. Whoever devised this method was extraordinary. Using Displacement Magecraft in this way—hardly anyone would think of it."
"However, no matter what kind of Magecraft, its duration isn't permanent. And no matter how precise the puppet, it will degrade after prolonged use. She's been operating as a puppet for decades, so it's understandable if she's completely breaking down."
Yet, for now, Angelica seemed fine—at least on the surface.
"Frankly, she needs a thorough repair and maintenance, Natsukawa." Da Vinci said. "Though she's essentially a puppet, she has her own mind, so I'll treat her as a human. And before I perform any operations on her, I'll ask for your opinion as her family."
"Hmm, thank you so much."
"You're really decisive. You can think it over more."
Naoki smiled and shook his head. "You're an all-purpose genius; I have one hundred percent confidence in you, Da Vinci. And Touko, when it comes to puppets, you're a Magus even better than Da Vinci. I'm certain you both can fix Angelica."
"Oh~~~"
Hearing such straightforward words, Da Vinci and Touko couldn't help but smile.
"Hmm, since you've said it like that, as a genius, I'll definitely heal her—now, about the other issue, the modified Holy Grail you brought back… That's a bit tricky."
Da Vinci said, furrowing her brow.
"Besides the Holy Grails from the First and Fifth Singularities, which left no trace, Chaldea has collected the other three Holy Grails so far. Their analysis is nearly complete. I've compared their data with the modified Holy Grail you gave me…"
"It can't be repaired anymore."
"In simple terms, it's a finished bomb. There's no possibility of using it as a Mana source or reusing it as a Holy Grail."
It was beyond salvaging.
Though he had expected this, the result still made Naoki sigh helplessly. "If that's the case, there's no choice. Just keep it in Angelica's Gate of Babylon. Maybe one day it'll come in handy."
"A situation where something like that would be useful… How about throwing it in that Demon King's face when we fight him later?" Touko suggested. "That kid said its power could blow up all of Tokyo, so wouldn't it be a nice greeting for the Demon King?"
"Hmm, good idea. Then I'll think of ways to amplify its power."
Seeing the two begin to discuss how to torment Goetia, Naoki gave a wry smile. It seemed Goetia would suffer greatly in the Final Singularity.
(Though we might not even need to use the bomb.)
Touching his eyes, Naoki said, "Alright, I'll head back now, Touko, Da Vinci. I'll leave Angelica to you. Please fix her issues."
"Okay! Leave it to the all-purpose Da Vinci!"
"And make me some food later."
"Me too!"
Naoki nodded. "No problem, I'll cook whatever you two want. Also, today and tomorrow… maybe the day after and the one after that, I won't have time. I've got some matters to settle during that period. Please let the others know too."
Touko furrowed her brow. "Where are you going?"
"Uh… well… to fight the end of the world for three days and three nights—something like that."
The end of the world?
(Oh~~~ those two.)
Giving Naoki a pitying look, Touko waved her hand. "If that's the case, no problem, hurry up and go. And Da Vinci, we should probably start preparing a coffin for him now. We might need it in a couple of days."