More than three months had passed since Nameless's solo mission to Ursus.
At first, Blaze still had some complaints about Nameless destroying her weapon before leaving, but after Kal'tsit explained the situation to her, she finally understood his intentions.
Understanding was one thing, but as a normal person, Blaze still wished he had used a gentler method.
After all, not everyone could casually replace their weapon whenever they wanted. Originally, her chainsaw only needed a few parts replaced, but after Nameless "handled" it, the entire thing had to be rebuilt from scratch.
A new weapon was not bad, but it certainly was not friendly to her wallet.
In simple terms: Blaze, Rhodes Island operator, was now in debt.
"No, seriously, are you going out on another mission again?"
Watching Nameless submit another field assignment request, Blaze collapsed onto the table and complained.
Sure, she had debts to pay, but that did not mean she could keep taking missions nonstop like this.
Ever since she found an opportunity to complain to Nameless about the reason for her debt, he had started dragging her along on missions every chance he got.
Going on missions itself was fine, but the problem was that Nameless always dumped all the tedious tasks requiring memory and organization onto her.
That felt even worse than him smashing her chainsaw.
Should those jobs not go to the smart people instead? Why did they always end up with her?
Just thoroughly reading a single book already felt like it was making her bald. Now one mentally exhausting task after another kept piling up. At this rate she really was going to lose her hair.
"...There are some things I need to confirm."
Nameless kept his eyes fixed on the terminal in his hand. He tapped a location on a map of Terra and marked a yellow point.
That was the place he intended to visit next.
Other locations on the map were also marked with red dots: Ursus, Yan, Higashi, Rim Billiton…
Rhodes Island's current position was between Rim Billiton and Ursus, and he had already visited most of the nearby nations.
He had even infiltrated the chaotic land of Kazdel under a concealed identity, but gained no additional results.
The only exception was probably… Laterano.
He did not dislike the idea of people having faith, but the faith of the Laterano people was simply too overwhelming. Normally, on Rhodes Island or elsewhere, he could keep his distance from it.
But once he entered Laterano, it felt as though he had been completely submerged within it. The sense of disgust he felt for things like faith were even stronger than when he first heard about the "Red Devil" of Ursus.
On top of that, Rhodes Island had very few missions related to Laterano, and even when they did, they were usually carried out by Sankta operators. So Nameless temporarily set the matter aside.
At this point, he could roughly confirm that his summoning had nothing to do with a Holy Grail War, but gathering more information was never a bad thing.
There were two things he needed to confirm.
First: whether the Archer in Ursus was truly the only Servant who had descended upon this land.
Second: whether a Holy Grail actually existed somewhere in Terra.
The first point was easy to understand. If it could be confirmed that no Servants other than Archer had appeared, then aside from the red Archer and himself, there would most likely be one more person who would eventually descend here.
As for when… it would probably happen after he disappeared.
After all, the timing of Archer's disappearance and his own arrival had been almost back-to-back.
The second matter was both his own personal will and a request from Kal'tsit. Whether in his original world or in this land, the existence and functionality of the Holy Grail posed far too great a threat to people.
If it were obtained, analyzed, and exploited by someone with malicious intentions, it could have an enormous impact on the world.
Of course, that was assuming a Holy Grail actually existed here.
Trying to find a single Holy Grail across an entire world was like searching for a needle in a swimming pool.
Even Nameless himself was unsure whether he could resolve the matter before his own disappearance. There was a high possibility the "next one" would have to take over instead.
"But you still cannot keep running nonstop like this! I have practically not rested for an entire month!"
Completely unaware of Nameless's thoughts, Blaze let out another miserable cry.
"Do as you like."
Unfortunately, Blaze had chosen the wrong person to complain to. Nameless was not the type to indulge her like others did, even if it was true that he had been working nonstop for a month while constantly dragging her along with him.
If things truly became impossible, Rhodes Island would step in and stop it. As long as nobody stopped them, then there was no issue.
Besides, this so-called long-term high-pressure workload was actually an evaluation suggestion he had made based on Blaze's personality.
Naturally, the purpose of the evaluation was to determine whether she could become a qualified elite operator.
Originally, she should have passed the assessment and become an elite operator long ago. Unfortunately, someone had suddenly "gotten inspired" and come to ask for Nameless's opinion, which eventually led to the current situation.
If she chose to slack off and stop now, then the assessment would naturally end there as well.
"Victoria-style profanity So where are we going next?"
Despite the dramatic wailing from earlier, Blaze honestly stood back up and began packing her equipment and tactical gear.
"Columbia," Nameless answered.
"Columbia? What are we going there for?"
Blaze looked confused after hearing the destination.
She knew about Columbia, but usually missions there… were not the sort assigned to people like them.
Compared to other nations, Columbia's entry requirements were much stricter. Foreign weapons and most tactical equipment were not allowed inside.
Furthermore, the work there generally involved things that required brains — negotiations, partnerships, and the like — which had absolutely nothing to do with a brute-force fighter like her.
"Read it yourself."
Nameless had no intention of explaining further and directly tossed the mission details over to Blaze.
"Alright~ The client this time is the Maylander Children's Rights Foundation? And it has something to do with kids?"
By now, Blaze was already used to Nameless's behavior.
She never expected him to sit down and properly explain missions to her anyway. Honestly, if he suddenly did start calmly explaining everything in detail, she would probably get worried instead.
With his personality, that kind of thing would actually scare her.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Blaze quickly began reading through the mission details.
In simple terms, this was a mission issued by the Maylander Children's Rights Foundation under Columbia's Maylander Foundation.
Their main request was for Rhodes Island to take in a child rescued from the ruins of an experimental facility.
Experiment. Ruins. Child.
That combination sounded extremely bad.
"The trip there may take over ten days. However, personnel from the Maylander Foundation will meet us halfway, so we only need to worry about the journey there. They will handle the return trip and all matters inside Columbia."
Nameless had long since grown accustomed to Blaze's tendency to overreact, so he ignored it and continued explaining the schedule.
"Sounds pretty easy? What about you, Nameless?"
Blaze sighed in relief after hearing this.
Finally, she could do work she was actually good at. Even if it was only driving, at least it was within her area of expertise.
But based on her experience accompanying Nameless on missions lately, whenever he specifically mentioned arrangements like this, it usually meant those were tasks assigned to her — while he himself would go off alone to handle something else.
"I am going to inspect the ruins of the laboratory. According to the client, a laboratory would not collapse into ruins for no reason, and a child could not possibly survive the destruction of such a massive facility."
Incurable disease. Cults. Children. Laboratories. Human experimentation…
One fragmented image after another drifted through Nameless's vision like crawling insects.
These images did not cause much emotional fluctuation within Nameless.
After all, he had understood long ago that humans were simply this kind of creature, whether they were magus or ordinary people.
Only when he saw the blurry figure wearing a headscarf did he finally close his eyes.
But the images did not disappear after he shut them.
The once indistinct silhouette gradually became clearer, to the point where he could even make out the brown hair hidden beneath the headscarf.
The person seemed to notice something and attempted to turn around.
Yet before they could fully turn, Nameless was abruptly awakened by a loud noise.
"Hey! Nameless! You are not dead, right?"
It was Blaze. Her hand was waving repeatedly in front of Nameless's face. Only after he opened his eyes and glanced at her did she awkwardly laugh and hide her hand behind her back.
Mostly because she felt guilty. After all, when calling out to him earlier, she had slipped in a little Yan-style pun.
Still, it was not really her fault. Nameless's expression had suddenly become terrible, and after closing his eyes he had remained motionless for over ten minutes. Anyone would think something had happened to him.
But judging from the situation now… had this guy actually fallen asleep?
Impressive. He could just close his eyes and immediately sleep. Unless she had alcohol in her system, she definitely did not have that kind of sleep quality.
"It is nothing. I just remembered some things from the past."
With Blaze interrupting him like that, all those things that had been clinging to him like insects vanished without a trace.
"Oh? Care to elaborate?"
Hearing that there was potential gossip, Blaze propped both hands on the table and leaned forward eagerly, her face full of curiosity.
"I forgot. They were things from a long time ago. Pack your things, we are leaving soon."
Looking at the curiosity practically overflowing from Blaze's eyes, as well as her posture that seemed ready to keep inching closer unless he answered, Nameless decisively cut off the topic, stood up, and left.
"How does someone forget something one second after thinking about it?!"
Unable to hold herself back, Blaze complained about Nameless's excuse and attitude, though her body honestly continued packing the terminal and documents on the table before following after him.
She was only complaining for the sake of it anyway. She had never truly expected him to sit down and let her enjoy some gossip.
Rather than hoping for that, she might as well hope Ace would return the alcohol he secretly drank two days ago.
Damn it, just thinking about it made her angry. Next time she was definitely stealing it back.
No, no, no. What stealing? She was reclaiming what rightfully belonged to her!
And so, while fantasizing about how to reclaim all her belongings, Blaze finished packing everything and loaded it into the vehicle.
"Huh? Amiya? Why are you here?"
The moment she opened the rear compartment, Blaze noticed a pair of rabbit ears swaying back and forth in the back seat, looking incredibly tempting to rub.
The owner of those rabbit ears was Amiya, which only strengthened Blaze's urge to mess with them.
Unfortunately, she still needed to finish loading the equipment into the vehicle, so she had no choice but to suppress the temptation.
She did not want to get distracted teasing something adorable, end up delaying their departure, and then get caught and thoroughly scolded for it.
So Blaze could only continue talking with Amiya while moving supplies into the vehicle.
"Doctor Kal'tsit asked me to come. She said the place Nameless is going this time is rather far away, so she wanted me to accompany him and also use the opportunity to see more of the outside world."
Hearing Blaze's voice, Amiya immediately turned around, leaning half her body over the backrest as she spoke to her.
When she mentioned going outside, her eyes visibly brightened.
It had already been a very long time since she last left. Ever since Rhodes Island was established, she had mostly remained aboard the landship. Although she understood that this was part of Doctor Kal'tsit's protection, she still occasionally wanted to go outside and see the world.
Perhaps Doctor Kal'tsit had noticed this. That was why she specifically arranged for Amiya to accompany Nameless and take the opportunity to broaden her horizons in the great city of Columbia.
"Is it just you?"
Once Blaze learned it was Kal'tsit's arrangement, she quickly accepted the situation.
In fact, she was more than happy about it. Compared to going on missions with a gloomy, cold guy dressed entirely in black, having an adorable rabbit along was infinitely better.
Still, considering the level of protection surrounding Amiya on Rhodes Island, Blaze felt things could not possibly be that simple.
Sure, Nameless would be there, but he had his own matters to deal with and could not constantly watch over Amiya. As for herself…
It was not self-deprecation; Blaze knew her own limits. She understood that she still had not fully earned the trust of Doctor Kal'tsit and Rhodes Island's elite operators.
Otherwise, her elite operator application would have been approved long ago.
"Mr. Logos will also be coming with us. He went to finish packing, so he should arrive soon."
Although she noticed the subtle change in Blaze's expression, Amiya thoughtfully chose not to ask further questions. Nor did she activate her Originium Arts. She simply answered Blaze obediently.
"Logos, huh? Yeah, that definitely works. Going out with those two together feels so safe it is almost excessive."
The moment Blaze heard Logos was joining them, an overwhelming sense of security filled her.
There was no need to explain Nameless. Ruthless and quiet, he was the very definition of a man of action. Even though he usually operated alone, whenever trouble appeared elsewhere he would immediately step in and resolve it. By himself, he was worth several squads.
As for Logos, there was even less need for explanation. Before Nameless arrived, Logos was already one of Rhodes Island's main pillars. More importantly, he was a caster, perfectly covering Nameless's weak points.
Wait… hold on.
Sending these two together… were they trying to flip Columbia upside down?
Once the overwhelming sense of safety settled in, Blaze's thoughts began wandering in strange directions.
After all, aside from Originium Arts, Nameless had invested his abilities to absurd levels across the board.
Meanwhile, Logos, as one of Rhodes Island's strongest casters, wielded Originium Arts with extraordinary skill. His other abilities were also impressive, though not as exaggerated as Nameless's.
This combination basically amounted to two powerhouses joining forces and becoming even stronger.
At least, Blaze could not imagine how anyone was supposed to deal with these two working together.
Actually… she could not even get past Nameless alone.
Well then, never mind.