Several days later, after a series of treatments, Nono had fully recovered and was summoned to the main hall, where she was personally questioned by Wajo… more precisely, she was required to recount her experiences as an experimental subject in the Chen family.
It was not a pleasant experience—in fact, it was the darkest abyss of the girl's life.
Chen's father's physical body was already dead, but the memories he left behind in Nono were a vast and unspeakable shadowy world.
"…It was a huge metal-walled unmanned laboratory, inside were cold, multi-functional torture machines. I remember they didn't just use waterboarding and electric shock—fire, needles, blades, they used those too."
"…But those methods that left external wounds were only used on the previous 'Frigg' subjects. Beyond that… including Zero, there's not much more I can infer."
At first, before she spoke, Nono's nervousness and disbelief leaked through.
After all, it's not easy to completely relax in a new environment. Especially after those memories.
Whenever she pulled herself out of the darkness of her memories, she felt as if that terrifying abyssal water cell, the suffocating feeling and the crimson blood would once again swirl around her in nightmare.
In this seemingly normal yet ancient family of Wajo's.
But she hid the deep pain in her eyes and forced herself to calmly recount the countless "interrogations" she remembered, as well as the glimpses of other 'Frigg' series subjects that she had inferred through profiling.
After all, the head of the Wajo family had at least helped her destroy her wicked original family and arranged her treatment. Therefore, Nono did not resist providing intelligence.
To be fair, the information she provided was extremely valuable.
Recently they had suspected that the underground of that massive testing center hid some secret, but during the exploration Emiya and the others encountered the "Odin" puppet. To end it quickly, several gensō hōkai (reality marbles collapse) had demolished the entire structure, leaving little to recover.
…Even if they dug through the ruins, all they would find were charred ash and twisted metal scraps.
Compared to that high-cost, low-yield excavation, Nono's oral testimony was much quicker and still credible.
As for her information, Wajo repeatedly assured her it would only be used as evidence of the Chen family's inhumane experiments, and would not be applied to related research.
"…Is that so."
Nono softly responded, seemingly unconvinced.
She blinked carefully—before her sat Wajo, a girl who looked even younger than herself, clad in a white dress, seated high on a platform just to be at eye level.
But Nono had seen her raise her snake's lower body to stand tall—truly terrifying.
Snakes aren't scary. Girls aren't scary. But together? It made Nono shiver.
She felt she had seen similar serpent-like monsters in the Chen family before… though her memory was too broken to recall clearly.
Instinctively she curled herself slightly back, like a wary little cat.
"…"
Wajo looked a little troubled at Nono's almost-bristling attitude.
Other than today's questioning, she really hadn't intended to force Nono into anything. Not everyone was like Chen's father, running his family with cruel jungle law.
The Wajo family, compared to the Chen family, was already far more normal.
…In fact, looking at the hair color similar to Emiya's, for a moment she even thought about treating Nono as his little sister.
Because Nono wasn't a naive girl. She had once lived pampered in the Chen family, and even if Wajo treated her well materially, it wouldn't win her trust.
Given her lack of warmth in her original family, forming new emotional bonds would be the key to opening her heart.
Wajo thought for a moment. "These past few days… what do you think of Shirō?"
Her intent was to probe Nono's attitude toward Emiya, since according to her subordinates, Nono seemed to only relax when around him.
"He…?"
Nono hesitated. She almost blurted out, "His cooking is amazing! It's a pity he doesn't become a proper chef!" but swallowed it, sensing Wajo's question wasn't that simple.
Wajo was a family head, like Chen's father—someone not to be underestimated. Nono quietly used shallow-level profiling, but Wajo's mental state was like a deep pond, unreachable.
No use. Deep-level profiling would be dangerous. Better to play it safe.
"Wajo, what is it you want to know from me?"
In the end, Nono chose to bounce the question back at her, fully defensive.
Yes, better to be vigilant of family heads, and never sell out Emiya!
"…"
In the end, no effective dialogue was achieved.
————
After Nono left, Wajo sighed slightly.
She called softly into the empty hall: "Shirō."
From the shadow of a pillar emerged Emiya Shirō.
"She's wary—not just of me, but of this whole family."
"I noticed." Emiya's gaze darkened as he stared at the 'Frigg No.3' intelligence Nono left behind.
Wajo continued, "It was more obvious before. She profiled everyone who approached her—cleaners, guards, doctors—to gather intel. She even pretended she couldn't walk yet, then snuck out at night to scout escape routes, as if afraid she'd wake up back in a lab."
Emiya sighed and facepalmed. "Thankfully she told me everything and calmed down after I talked her down."
Wajo eyed him suspiciously. "How did you get that crazy, bristling girl to listen to you?"
He answered honestly: "I don't know."
She pursed her lips, clearly dissatisfied with the answer.
"…Forget it, it's not something we can fix right away. How about you take her out for a walk?"
"Huh? By 'out' you mean…?"
"Out means out," Wajo said as she played with her black hair. "You don't plan to stay here forever, right?"
"…Right," Emiya admitted.
"Good. Then go. Just do it under the cover of a special travel order I sign—it'll save you trouble. Since the Odin fight, a lot of eyes have been on you."
Her gaze met his, black as a deep pool yet with faint ripples. Her tone and subtle movements were almost bewitching.
"…I see."
"Don't forget, the most iconic token of our family is…?"
"Danryūtai (Dragon Severing Platform)!"
Wajo nodded. "It only listens to you now anyway, ever since you signed a contract with that stubborn relic. So take it."
Emiya smiled wryly—she probably just wanted to send it away under a good excuse.
When he asked about the strange power he felt in the Odin fight, Wajo explained:
"That was the blessing—the resonance—of the ancestral spirits. The golden lights you saw were their eyes."
————
That evening, over drinks with Old Tang…
"Why so glum, brother? Partings happen, but we'll meet again!"
Emiya explained his planned departure, still a little uneasy.
Old Tang, drunk but still lively, laughed. "Women's hearts are like needles at the bottom of the sea! Don't overthink it."
Then he smirked. "You haven't heard the rumors, huh? That you're Wajo's secret kept man, or playing around with every girl from the loli to the model… even wilder stuff…"
Emiya silenced him with a glare and a hand to his chin.
"Focus, Old Tang. We need to talk business."
"…Fine, fine, I'll sober up."
Once he returned from splashing his face, Emiya handed him a report—Nono's testimony, detailing the Chen family's darkest secrets: the 'Frigg' experiments.
Reading quickly, Old Tang's eyes widened.
"Wait… Odin has Valhalla in Norse myth, right? You're saying… he might be setting up a Holy Grail War?!"
"…"
('Odin: I didn't! I don't know about any Holy Grail War! Norton, you bastard!')
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][www.p@treon.com/euridome]
[Thank You For Your Support!]