When the newbies heard Hinako planned to head back to Chaldea first, they didn't argue. After all, they were still just newbies. But this was their first time stepping into a connection point. Even knowing full well the dangers that lurked here, excitement still bubbled up inside them.
Before leaving this place, they wanted to explore the park and make some memories from their first mission.
Hinako exchanged intel with Salter - though neither was thrilled to stomach the other's company. Hinako inherently disliked humans. She didn't want anything to do with them. Not to mention her hot temper. Salter's temper burned equally hot.
Putting those two hotheads together? Let's just say it's a miracle a brawl didn't break out.
As for the missing Caster...
Caster was a class that would surely be summoned in a Holy Grail War. Chaldea's records showed that connection points tended to summon seven classes in those wars. And Caster was one of them.
For really special connection points things might be different, but this one's depth was only E-rank. Having Casters should've been a given.
Yet according to Salter, there hadn't been one here from the very start.
What was going on?
Hinako could already feel a headache coming on. She'd take smashing through enemies over mental gymnastics any day. Thinking wasn't exactly her strong suit - that's what Morgan was for.
Generally when clearing connection points, she was the one taking action while Gao and the others handled the planning and intel. That was called effective division of labor. It couldn't be helped since she was so strong, after all!
But that wasn't an option now since a certain nasty magus had conned her into leading the newbies. No dividing work here.
"Anyway, you should stay put until your transfer device opens, then head back to Chaldea for backup. Berserker is not someone easy to deal with." Leaving those parting words, Salter turned and left, black sword in hand.
Hinako didn't try to stop her. For one, she really didn't want contact with humans or Heroic Spirits if possible. For another, she felt even Salter was weaker than her, so there was no need to keep her around.
Of course, most importantly, Hinako felt that if Salter remained by her side, she wouldn't be able to resist punching her.
One hot-head simply couldn't tolerate another.
But she didn't take Salter's advice to heart. What was true was that she planned to return to Chaldea soon.
Glancing back, Hinako saw the newbies messing around exploring the industrial park, even looking for mementos of their first mission adventure, and felt it was truly childish.
"Hey, look what I found!"
Someone had discovered a bundle of tattered manuscripts and gathered everyone over to show them.
It was an extremely damaged bundle - full of ink splatters and burn marks, with barely any readable words left.
"Isn't this just some torn up manuscripts? Probably some equipment design drafts or product R&D stuff for this factory, right?" Someone said, "What use is this?"
"No no, look closely, there are some readable words here."
"Huh? This is...?"
Kiara took a look. Apart from the mess of ink splashes and burn marks, there were still some visible words on the manuscripts. Kiara glanced at them and read aloud: "...forget *** can't forget him..."
Just that little segment was legible.
The rest of the words were either burnt or smudged by spilled ink beyond recognition.
But...
"Huhhh? Can't forget him?"
Kiara was stunned, making a shocked (⊙_⊙) expression.
"I thought this would be something fun, but it turns out it's just some random teen's diary," the one who found the manuscripts sighed in disappointment, tossing the manuscripts back to the ground. "If anyone sees me with this, I'll never hear the end of it."
Hinako clapped her hands sharply, gathering everyone's attention.
"Let's take a day to rest," she announced, "Then we'll head back to Chaldea before returning here."
With that said, she immediately turned and left, not wanting to say another word to the others.
"This senior's really hard to approach," one said. "But then again, she is on the A-Team. Still, it's crazy that she forgot to even bring her Servant along."
"Hey now, don't forget - even without one, this senior still smashed a Servant's head in with a single punch!" another replied.
"That was a spell! Magecraft!"
...
"...She looks so lonely," Ayaka murmured as Hinako disappeared into the darkness.
Kiara tilted her head. "What are you mumbling about?"
"Oh...nothing. Don't worry about it," Ayaka said, hurriedly shaking her head.
Kiara looked at her suspiciously but, true to her personality, didn't press further. Instead, she turned and gathered up the pile of discarded manuscripts, neatly folding them and tucking them into her pocket.
Ayaka eyed her strangely. "Why'd you take those? As a memento?"
"Nope," Kiara smiled, shaking her head. "I'm just curious. Apart from that one phrase, there were some other readable words too. It'd bug me if I didn't at least try to figure them out."
"I see," Ayaka said with a nod.
OCD, huh? Ayaka didn't have it herself, but she more or less understood the traits since some patients did things like only walk in the middle of roads.
So Kiara's urge to decipher those words wasn't too strange.
"Let's go get some rest, Ayaka," Kiara said with a smile.
"Sure," Ayaka nodded.
They only needed to stay there overnight. When it turned the same time tomorrow, the transfer device's cooldown would finish, and they could head back to Chaldea.
But there was something Kiara had to confirm for sure.
"Berserker... Eternal King... Mr. Assassin..." she murmured softly.
Even now, over three months later, she vividly remembered everything that happened back in Romania.
How Shirou had destroyed Devil's Bodhisattva with one shot, saving her.
She had chosen to join Chaldea and become a Master, setting foot on this path.
Perhaps she was simply moved after seeing Mr. Assassin's radiance that day - so dazzling, so warm, so... admirable.
That was likely why she started down this road.
So for that magnificent Mr. Assassin to now fall under the Black Grail's control, becoming a guardian of a connection point, an enemy of Chaldea... that was simply unbelievable!
She would sooner believe Salter had lied than think Shirou was being controlled by the [Council] and made to oppose them.
Kiara had to see for herself, with her own eyes.
She had to confirm...that the person there was not Shirou, not her Mr. Assassin!
According to Saber's intel, the target was in the massive cavern beneath Mount Enzou - the place stated in Chaldea's records as housing Fuyuki City's Greater Grail.
So under the cover of night, Kiara snuck away from the industrial park, quietly heading for the mountain.
But not long after leaving, a voice suddenly spoke up behind her. "Hey, where you going?"
"Kyaa!" Kiara jumped with a yelp, whirling around to find Hinako staring at her.
"Oh, Hinako senpai, you scared me!" she patted her chest with relief.
"Why are you sneaking out so late?" Hinako asked coldly.
"Um, well...I was just..." Kiara stammered before blurting out, "Hey wait, why are you out so late too, Senpai?"
"Going to the cavern to clear this connection point." Hinako stated flatly.
"Huh?! You're heading there too? Me too!" Kiara said with a smile.
Hinako's slender brows rose slightly. "You? Go back. You're too weak - going there would be suicide."
"But I need to confirm something there! Don't worry, I'll be careful and won't drag you down, Senpai!" Kiara assured, patting her chest.
"Whatever. But remember, you're on your own, and I won't save you if anything happens."
"Mm!" she nodded with a bright smile. "Thank you, Hinako senpai!"
(*^▽^*)
Hinako: "..."
Why isn't this human scared at all? Morgan, your guide isn't working!
...
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