𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖑𝖉𝖊𝖆'𝖘 𝖀𝖑𝖙𝖎𝖒𝖆𝖙𝖊 𝕸𝖆𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗

Ten: Squabbling

"Damn can you cook, Aleksei!" Chulainn and Iskandar were scarfing their breakfast down as the others sort of sweatdropped at their enthusiasm. As everyone ate, Fujimaru found himself staring at the distance between Enkidu, Aleksei and Chulainn.

It was almost non-existent.

Medusa noticed it as well, but she figured it was from the conversation they had been having that morning. She knew that Aleksei treated his servants like family, which could lead to some misconceptions. She herself had had misunderstood and ended up developing feelings for the Russian.

That was one of the reasons Aleksei trusted her so much; it was because she had told him of her feelings as soon as she realized them. At first, he hadn't been sure of what to do, but he decided to suggest going on a date to see if they were truly compatible.

It ended up that they were, considering they were still dating to that day. Neither of them were big on public displays of affection, but Medusa was starting to get a bit antsy at the sight of the newbies going after her man.

However, she held herself back and just continued to eat while averting her gaze. It's only natural that all of the new servants will fall for him, she told herself, he's just that amazing.

After breakfast, everyone cleaned the campsite up as the two masters spoke with Jeanne. "If it's that direction, we should head to Orleans," The ruler said as Aleksei pointed out where he was feeling the grail coming from. "Though we should probably scout around to gather information instead of plunging straight into the fight."

"I'm more than willing to split up like we did last time," Aleksei glanced at Fujimaru, who opened his mouth to speak.

"No!" Roman's voice broke through the air, startling them enough to cause them to flinch. "No splitting up! You all need to stay together!"

"If you're worried about their manpower, I can just leave Chulainn here with them--"

"That's not what this is about!" Da Vinci joined the conversation from Chaldea. "Aleksei, I understand that you like doing things your way, and as much as we want these singularities to be over as quickly as possible, it's also important to go through the journey. Not to mention you'll need to be stronger to face the other singularities. If you aren't forced to grow here, you may not get the chance as you advance."

"But I don't need to grow?" Aleksei furrowed his eyebrows, looking confused. Immediately, the two in the Chaldea control room sighed loudly.

"You may not," Romani said. "But those around you do. Think about Mash, think about Fujimaru. Help them get stronger so that they can stand next to you proudly rather than behind you."

"...I suppose that's fair," The Russian gave in with a sigh, looking a bit dejected. "Fine, we'll go on foot for now until we reach open plains, and then we'll use the chariot."

"I knew you'd make the right decision!" Da Vinci trilled.

"Whatever," He rolled his eyes. "So, where are we headed first, since we obviously won't be able to go straight to Orleans on foot."

"Right," Jeanne agreed. "The closest town in the direction you were pointing would be La Charite."

"We can stop there to get supplies so we can eat something other than wyvern!" Fujimaru cheered, making sure he threw a look at the Russian. The other master didn't react, only went off to talk to his servants about the new plan.

Soon, the group set out for La Charite with Mash and Chulainn in the front to clear away low hanging branches and underbrush to make a clearer path for the others. "We're almost at La Charite," Jeanne announced once they had gotten out of the forest and had made a large headway through the vast green.

"Wait a minute," Romani's voice suddenly said urgently. "A servant was detected just ahead of your current path. It's location is in La Charite, which is your destination... Huh, it's getting further away.. Oh no, I've lost it! It's too far away!"

"Fou!" The squirrel-like creature suddenly scrambled onto Mash, who tried to accomidate it.

"What is it Fou?" The demi-servant asked. "Suddenly climbing on my head? You want to see the sky over there?" Her eyes widened as she realized what Fou was looking at. "The town.. it's burning?"

"Lead the way, Hero Complex."

"For the last time, it's Fujimaru!"

~*~

"That was fun," Chulainn grinned as he sat on a pile of corpses with his spear in hand. It was a mix of human corpses and dragon corpses, all of which had been dealt with by Chulainn and Mash.

"That was the last of the wyverns," Mash reported to the two masters. "No sign of the enemy nearby. The battle is over."

"Chulainn wouldn't be loafing around if it wasn't," Aleksei rolled his eyes as Fujimaru scoffed.

"I'm not loafing!" The lancer yelled over.

"Jeanne?" Mash tilted her head at the ruler, who looked a bit more down than usual.

"...It was most likely 'me' who was behind this," She murmured.

"We can't be sure of that yet--" The demiservant protested.

"No, I can tell," Jeanne asserted. "I am sure of it. There's just one thing I don't understand," She frowned deeply. "How much do you have to hate others to wreak such havoc? I can't understand it."

"Me neither," Aleksei grumbled. "Too much work."

"...I can't understand you either," Jeanne made a face at the Russian, who just shrugged until suddenly, Romani's voice broke out.

"Hold up! The servants that just left have reversed course!" He yelled. "This isn't good. They must've realized you're here!"

"Less work to do," Aleksei smirked.

"How many?" Mash questioned.

"You must be kidding... There are five!" The doctor exclaimed.

"How perfect," The russian hummed as his servants gathered around him. "We have five as well."

"Six," Jeanne stepped forward, only for the master to push her backwards.

"No, uselsss rulers don't get to fight."

"Why are you so condescending all the time?!" Fujimaru snapped at him, causing Aleksei to slowly glance towards him. The look on his face made the other master freeze.

"Because that seems to be the only way to get things done around here."