CHAPTER 2

 Location: Unknown. Time: 3;42 P.M. Date: 6th August 2008

"Hmmm...."

"..."

The girl felt the wind within the basement abate and settle. A deep frigid cold took its place and the sound of human breathing was the only thing to be heard.

The girl knew what it meant. She had succeeded! And so with trepidation, she dared to open her eyes to gaze upon her servant.

"WHAT THE!?-"

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"..."

{This, this is wrong. It shouldn't be like this.}

Over and over, this thought played through the boy's mind. He was dressed in a clean hospital gown, tied by the waist, and lying in a bed. 

He didn't notice any of this, however, as his mind played like a broken record. Never moving past a certain point.

{This should not be... perhaps a flaw? So many flaws...}

He was in a private ward and was attended to by a team of personal nurses and doctors. Although in truth they were unrequired.

Every injury had healed.

Every injury except the boy's mind.

{The flaws should not be...that is what is wrong...}

The doctor on duty worried for the boy. No progress had been made in terms of Psychiatry treatment and the boy responded little to any form of stimulus, even food. But when he remembered the words of the general earlier, words of fear about the boy, he couldn't help but wonder. He knew little compared to his superiors regarding the group the boy belonged to after all.

The Magi.

The doctor wondered if they had some method to help the boy. He stressed over it when the next day came and he found all of his worries unnecessary.

"Hello!"

A beautiful man. These were the only words to describe the man in the white designer suit and brown hair that flowed down his back. Here he stood in the reception area, receiving glances of awe from every passing person. Acting oblivious as a goldfish.

European? yes he had the features. But there was something else about him that carried a presence that filled the room. Even the doctor who had been married for 7 years couldn't help but feel attracted.

And when the man spoke, he was polite. Without a second thought, the doctor agreed to the peculiar request asked once the man met him.

"Of course, sir. The boy is in the private wards. Please come this way."

Not once did the doctor ask himself the question.

{Why am I letting a stranger into the private wards?}

They passed into the west wing of the hospital and arrived on the second floor. The floor of the private words.

Although the boy had lost favour with the general in charge of the newly formed Magic frontal unit, the door to his ward was guarded by two soldiers. At one glance at the new stranger, however, they simply saluted and allowed the two men into the ward.

The man was not a member of the army.

When the doctor and the man entered the ward, the boy broke out of his seemingly never-ending reverie and glanced towards the brown-haired man. His formerly glazed grey eyes shining lightly with newfound interest.

Silence ensued, but in that silence the brown-haired man smiled. Much to the doctor's confusion.

"Thank you for caring for him. I shall take him now."

"Right. Of course."

The doctor's response came naturally and, just as naturally, he dismissed himself from the ward. A few hours later, he would come to his senses and ask himself all the questions he should have, and realise the oddness of what transpired.

But as soon as the doctor left, the brown-haired man turned to the boy. A large father-like smile played across his lips.

"Well. It's good to see you in good health, young sir."

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"Oh my..."

"..."

{w-why?...}

The girl felt dumbfounded. Absolutely confused. Surely such a thing was not possible.

At the heart of the summoning circle, two individuals stood. Girls. They were a pair of astoundingly beautiful girls.

"Mary~ It appears we surprised our master~"

"..."

A tall big breasted woman with a generously glowing smile and a short child-like girl silent as a tombstone and with an air of unapproachability. The former a bright blonde and the latter a snowy white-haired.

{Two?... Have I summoned two?}

The girl couldn't comprehend the existence of the two before her. She had summoned using a brilliant scarlet cloth tied to the Golden Age of Piracy. She had no idea to whom it belonged, but to look at the two before her, she absolutely couldn't understand.

{Is it even possible to summon two servants... how?}

At the girl's apparent confusion, the tall big-breasted woman put a gloved hand to her cheek and smiled. The short girl to her side and pressing close had her mouth concealed by her heavy grey coat. But her pensive aura seemed shadowed in the delight of her tall companion.

"Well... If it shall make you feel better master, perhaps we should clear any misunderstanding."

The short girl remained silent.

The girl suddenly came out of her stupor and simply stared at the tall woman.

"Wha-"

"We are one servant~"

She said it plain and simple. No complex terms or sentences used but yet the girl remained still and confused.

"..."

"Oh my... Mary, I think our master might be useless~"

"...stupid."

This brought the girl out of her reverie at once.

"I'M NOT STUPID!!"

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"..."

A brilliant silver luxury car was driving down a rough track. It had escaped the confines of the city some minutes ago and were now in the countryside heading towards the tall rising hills.

Within the car were two people. An extremely attractive brown-haired man that flowed down to his back and a young average looking boy with black hair and dull grey eyes.

They had remained silent from the start of the journey to this point, and now the journey was approaching its end.

The weather was sunny and approaching evening. The journey had been, to put it bluntly, nothing short of peaceful.

"Thank you."

The boy said it without warning, context or follow up. Just two words and silence, but with just those words, all tension within the car came to an abrupt close. The man smiled.

"It is all right, young sir."

No other words were said until the car finally came to its destination. A large isolated stone cottage.

From looking at it outside one would appreciate it's simplicity. Nothing about it stood out except for the large empty terrain that surrounded it. No other sight of humanity could be seen.

The car drove up the driveway and came to a halt.

"I shall take my leave now. Do you have all you need?"

The man was polite and respectful in his tone. Albeit a bit worried.

But the boy simply waved away the man's concerns. 

"I shall be fine. You may take your leave now."

The man nodded and kept his silence. Once the boy took his leave from the car, the man drove away immediately, not bothering to look back.

Of course, they both knew that from that point on any more contact between them would not be favoured, given their individual identities. After all, the Grail War was yet to begin.

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"Aww~ master, do you live by yourself?"

The girl felt a vein pop in her head as she began to sort out the books and notes on the top of her desk. She had a desk lamp on and an ink brush dipped into an ink bottle.

The big-boobs was getting on her nerves.

The girl was seated at her desk within the master bedroom of the small house she had prepared on the outskirts of the city. Currently she was thinking and contemplating multiple things but her servant was distracting.

Very distracting.

Meanwhile, the other half of her servant, the short white-haired girl, was sitting atop the bed and staring in her direction silently. Not once had she said anything since the 'stupid' episode and, honestly, the girl appreciated that more.

{But this big boobs woman...}

She never stopped talking and even when the girl threatened to use a command seal to do so, she simply smiled smugly, as if her master's irritation was her greatest pleasure.

"Sigh..."

The girl didn't know what to do and simply tried to ignore her, but an important question needed to be asked.

"What shall I call you two?..."

"Hmm?"

Big boob's smile faltered for a second, unsure of what to say. She turned to her other half, who sat atop the bed and showed no emotion on her face.

"..."

Her silence seemed to communicate something to big boobs, who got her smile back and nodded enthusiastically.

"Right!"

She then returned her gaze to the girl who, at no point in time, had dropped her gaze from the document she had been inspecting upon her desk.

"Well?"

"Hmmm. If you want for something to call us, master. Then simply call us Archer. We are Archer Of West at your service~"

At this, the girl nodded and placed the document down on the desk. With this, her identity as a master was confirmed. And so, to conclude her last obligation, she decided to introduce herself to her servants.

"Then you may call me Alyza. Alyza Lohmus."

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