Itching For Etna

(I do have a question for all of you, and be honest: is the pacing of this too slow? I try to give time to give a decent amount of the characters some spotlight. It is somewhat difficult as I've spent a lot of time just thinking about how to include each character, but with my main character being so powerful, it's hard to do so.) 

Linus Ozias POV:

A new day with the sun shining and the birds singing. Nothing can disrupt this peace of mine. Which is immediately ruined as a figure bursts into the room with all of us eating.

"UMMMMMMMUUUU! Good day, my viceroys. Arise, it is time to begin today's objective." Nero says as she enters like the Kool-Aid man to which I repair the wall. 

I say, "May I ask what today's objective is and Empress Nero?" The Empress then says, "We must head to Gaul as I have heard word of one of the generals of the United Roman Empire, Julius Caesar."

Mash then asks, "Caesar, as in the Caesar?" Nero nods and says, "Umu." Ritsuka then asks, "So what you're saying is that we have to go to Caesar, find Caesar, and conquer Cesar, yes?"

Nero seems a bit confused by the wording but nods nonetheless as I ask, "How are we supposed to get there exactly?" Nero then sighs and says, "Sadly, we must ride there and also walk." Romani then says [ We also need to establish a connection to the leyline at Mount Etna. To keep the connection with all of you.]

Nero then asks, "Do you all carry an invisible attendant? I can hear him, but I cannot see him." Romani then says [ It is a form of long-distance communication magic, Empress Nero.] Nero nods and says, "So what you're saying is that I can contact people from hundreds of miles away? Amazing umu!"

We chuckle as I explain, "Worry not though, Empress as we have other means of transportation." I can physically see the question mark appear as everyone looks at me in confusion. 

I then directed everyone outside and placed an abounded field over the large backyard, and as Ritsuka asks, "Oz, there is nothing there."

I then say, "Observe." The stealth tech then disengages, and what can be seen is a copy of the Millennium Falcon, which causes Ritsuka to immediately run up to me and ask, "Can I drive it?" 

I shake my head and say, "Of course, you can drive it once you finish the multi-day training program, as well as read all the individual manuals and then have me test your skills."

Her shoulders drop as she then asks, "Does it have the holographic chess table?" I nod, and as the ramp lowers, Nero asks, flabbergasted "What manner of sorcery is this? "I smile and say, "How do you think we made it all the way to Rome? This is the future Empress, and besides, are you not one that enjoys traveling and living in style?"

Nero then nods and says, "Of course, as the Empress of Rome, I must always lavish myself in the finest of luxuries to prove the success of my Empire." I then beckon them all inside, and as Nero, Mash, Fou, and I enter the cockpit with the servants in the main area, I begin the take-off process.

To many, it may seem like I am simply flicking dials and pressing buttons, but I am actually adjusting the ship's output and how much force and thrust is required for the ability to fly without destroying the surroundings. I then say, "Hold on to your seats, and please do not touch anything."

As I say this, Ritsuka was about to press the hyperdrive button, and she chuckled and removed her hand while the ship took off. We traveled south toward Etna to establish a connection to the leyline should we need supplies sent from Chaldea. I then say over the PA, "We are now flying towards Mount Etna. Current ETA: 45 minutes. Please feel free to move about the ship, but Artoria, please do not eat all of the food."

"I take offense to that, Lord Ozias !" I hear her say as Karna then says, "You have already eaten a third of what is in the fridge." I begin to laugh along with Ritsuka as we fly across the Roman lands in stealth so as not to be seen. Ritsuka then asks, "So Oz, can I go to the turrets seats?"

I then respond, "As long as you don't actually shoot anything, sure." Also, suppose anyone reading this journal is trying to understand how this machinery can operate so close to the era of the gods. 

In that case, it is due to the innate nature of how I create my machinery, as I have combined multiple different technological paths to make any of my future machinery adaptable to the mana in the air.

It is the reason why Ritsuka is not suffering from being exposed to so much mana from being so far in the past, and while her connection to Mash allows her to have resistance to poison and increased mana in the air, I do not want to take chances. For now, though, Nero asks, "How is it possible we are flying without the need for magic?"

"Science, my dear Empress. Our group isn't just from the Far East. We are also from the future." Nero then says, "If you said that without showing me things like this, I would have said that all of you have issues in mind, but even I cannot deny this advanced technology." 

I nod as I say, "That is understandable as you can't just go up to someone and tell them you're from the future and they'll believe you, but for now, this just serves to expedite our journey as I do not have the patience to ride on horseback for days on end as well as risk your safety."

Nero slightly blushes as she asks, "Why do you seem to show such patience and concern? We have just met." I simply say, "If I were to be completely pragmatic, it is the fact that your existence keeps the future on track, but on a more personal level, I have come to enjoy your presence as well. I do deal with eccentric personalities. You seem just to brighten up the room."

Nero then smirks and says, "If you were anyone else, I would have you thrown out for such flattery, but I feel it is genuine coming from you. Thank you for trusting me enough to reveal such technology."

I nod a bit solemnly internally as after the singularity, unlike the previous one, she is still alive, and due to the nature of singularity, simply reverting back to the normal history after the change is taken care of, she will forget all of this and in a couple of years she will commit suicide. Due to the nature of how the timelines work in this universe, even I cannot do anything to change history.

Mash then asks, "Ozias Senpai, when did you have the time to make this?" I respond a bit pridefully, "I completed the ship over the night as I do not require sleep." Mash then pots and says, "Senpai, I told you before you need to rest as our leader should not lack proper rest."

I sigh as Nero says, "It's nice to have people you can trust." I nod as Fou also nods his head. Mash holds him as I ask, "Is something bothering you, empress?" 

She shakes her head and says, "It is nothing, just reminiscing on old memories." I imagine she must be thinking about her relationship with her family or lack thereof as her mother tried to poison her, so she poisoned her back, and her uncle has been reduced to a raving lunatic.

Not to mention that her father died or was assassinated, so finding people to trust must be few and far between. I simply pat her on the head as she smiles and says, "This is nice, umu. Keep doing this." I decide to humor her, and thanks to my ability to form constructs, I can pat her and drive the ship with holy construct arms.

Han Solo ain't got nothing on me. But that is just me padding my own ego as I talk with the Empress about the future, to which she says, "It sounds beautiful if not imperfect, but it does sound nice being able to travel the world umu." 

I nod as I say, "It really does put things in perspective when one can view the entire planet from space and all things, and to physically be able to feel like you can put stars in your hands is truly enlightening." 

Nero almost jokingly says, "You sound as if you have held a sun in your hands." I say nothing as Mash looks at me and says in a sweet voice, "Senpai, did you try to hold a sun at one point?" I say nothing as I fly us closer to Etna.

"Jiiiiiiii." Both say as I say nothing, but as I see Etna, I say into the PA, "Well, everyone, we are about to reach Mount Etna and prepare to disembark. I would ask all of you to stretch your legs before the long haul towards Gaul." 

 When we land the ship and cloak it, and as we walk onto the ground, Nero says, "That was definitely an amazing experience, Viceroy Ozias, and I cannot wait to use the weaponry you mentioned to Viceroy Ritsuka." I nod as we begin to trek up the mountain, but soon enough, we find our path blocked by what looks like ringwraith wannabes.

Mash then says, "Ghost-type monsters? If it's naturally occurring, that's quite a leyline! Engaging hostile ghosts." I then hand Ritsuka an ectoplasm disintegrator from Danny Phantom meant to kill ghosts. I myself pull out a glowing green sword and engage the ghosts along with Artoria, using Excalibur to slice them into dust.

One attempt to stab me as, I dodge and stab it through the head. It then glows green and poofs into dust. Ritsuka is laying down, covering fire with the ghost buster as Karna and Mash defend her, with Nero distracting them as Nobu mutters, "It's not fun when there's no blood."

Nobu then uses her musket to incinerate the ghosts with black fire, and then she proceeds to show off by stabbing one and shooting three through the head without looking while smirking, to which I just deadpan her as she laughs at my expression. Another ghost tries to grab me, and it burns as it tries to touch me, screaming out in agony as I simply slice it in half.

After around a couple of minutes, the ghosts are dealt with as we scale the mountain, which luckily involves more walking than climbing, to which Romani asks [ I do have to ask Ritsika if you have prior experience of being outdoors for long periods of time?]

The girl says while looking smug, "I have a very extensive experience being outdoors as I was a proud member of the Girl Scouts for years and not those namby-pamby Girl Scouts that just sell cookies. I'm talking about the real stuff where we camped outside with our own tents and fires. And even to this day, I always remember to bring a shovel."

That last comment has many implications, but I decide not to think about them as Romani decides as well to do the same as he says nothing, and after around a couple more minutes, we reach the leyline and establish the connection to which Olga says [ Well done everyone our connection is coming in loud and clear and we are free to send any needed materials .]

We nod as Nero says, "Well then, now that this side objective is taken care of, it is time for our glorious party to make our way to Gaul and deal with Caesar back to the Ortu Stella. (Rising Star in Latin.)

Technically, it's the Millennium Falcon, but I'm going to allow her to do what she wants, and after we battle a couple more groups of ghosts, we make it to the ship and take off for Gaul. The only caveat is Ritsuka constantly asking me, "Are we there yet?"