Chapter 2: Home and New Home
The helicopter left the noise and snowstorms behind, and Fujimaru Ritsuka finally set foot on his long-lost hometown soil.
Everything here remained unchanged, yet Fujimaru Ritsuka felt a sense of alienation that went deep into his bones.
Perhaps it was an effect of the restoration of the human order; the home that was originally located next to the Kyoto Imperial Palace had settled into a city called Fuyuki.
But the smell of the air was familiar, and the layout of the streets was no different from his memories.
Although an invisible barrier always shrouded everything.
"This is... Senpai's hometown."
Mash's voice rang out behind him.
Fujimaru Ritsuka nodded, trying hard to draw a shred of comfort from this familiar scenery, but felt the sense of alienation growing heavier.
Chaldea had already taken care of everything for them, including their rooms and identities.
A three-story building near the outskirts of the town was their new home.
Fujimaru Ritsuka hesitated for a moment, but made an excuse to go for a walk, following his memory alone toward that alley he had walked down countless times, heading toward the house that should have been called "home."
The convenience stores along the way were still lit, the swings in the park swayed gently in the breeze, and everything was bathed in the glow of a peaceful daily life, yet it felt as if there was an invisible pane of glass separating him from it.
That door, painted light blue, was exactly the same as when he left.
He stood at the door for a long time, hesitated, took a deep breath as if to muster the courage to face a final boss, and finally reached out to ring the doorbell.
After a crisp ring, light footsteps came from inside the door.
The door opened.
A middle-aged woman with a kind face poked her head out, wearing a polite yet distant smile, the kind one gives to a stranger.
"Hello, who are you looking for?"
In an instant, Fujimaru Ritsuka felt as if the surrounding air had frozen.
His eyes trembled, and he almost blurted out the word "Mother."
His mother's face had wrinkles around her eyes, and the curve of her lips when she smiled was exactly the same.
But the way she looked at him was no different from how she would look at any neighborhood boy who knocked on the wrong door.
"Are you lost?"
The woman looked him over.
"It's cold outside, would you like to come in for a cup of tea?"
"Big brother, do you want to come in for some tea? My mom's tea snacks are the best!" A little head poked out from behind the woman.
The mother and daughter were so alike; their gentle features looked as if they had been carved from the same mold.
For so many years, he hadn't even been able to recall their faces in his mind, but the moment he saw them again, he recognized them.
They were exactly like the sister and mother in his memories.
No... what do you mean "exactly like"? They were clearly always themselves.
Fujimaru Ritsuka's heart constricted suddenly; he held back the tears that were about to spill, desperately suppressing the collapse within, his fingers clenched so tightly they almost dug into his skin.
"...Sorry, I think I got the wrong door."
He heard his own voice sound dry, carrying a calm that even he found strange.
"It's okay, get home early." His mother smiled very gently.
"Yeah, yeah, big brother, I heard it's going to snow tonight, so get home early."
The door was gently closed.
With a clang, it was as if all his connections to the past had been severed; he stood there, motionless, and it was a long time before he finally came back to his senses.
He had to go check the school... there were more people there with whom he had formed connections... maybe...
It was recess at school, and the playground was filled with the noisy chatter of teenagers.
The neighbor's junior who always came to help at his house, the classmate Orita who often came to cause trouble, the student council president senior who occasionally bullied him but was very good to him, and the otaku duo who were always hanging out together...
It was exactly the same as before.
They were laughing and playing, vibrant and full of life; their world was complete and fulfilling.
But when his gaze accidentally met one of them, the other person just glanced at him with slight confusion, then quickly looked away, continuing to engage in the conversation with their companions.
There was no astonishment, no joy of a long-awaited reunion, not even a shred of confusion like "this person looks a bit familiar."
It was as if he had never existed.
He felt like a ghost, walking in his own memories but stepping into a past that didn't belong to him, unable to find what he had lost no matter how he wandered.
The setting sun stretched his shadow out long.
Fujimaru Ritsuka stood at the intersection of the town, watching the endless stream of people, and finally deeply understood the meaning of being "conceptually erased."
"Senpai!" A familiar voice clearly pierced through the noise.
He turned his moist eyes, meeting the girl's gaze, which was filled with worry.
It turned out she had been following him the whole time, keeping a perfect distance—not disturbing his solitary mourning, but ready to come to his side the moment he needed her.
"I'm fine, Mash."
Fujimaru Ritsuka smiled and narrowed his eyes to hide the sadness in them.
He grasped her hand tightly, as if afraid that she, too, would disappear from this world, holding on tightly.
"Mash, you're still here, it's so good."
His voice did not hide his inner emotions in the slightest.
It was her, and only her—the one person who witnessed all his battles, the one who had been by his side from beginning to end.
She was also the only one who was "living in the present."
From the burning Fuyuki to the ruined Temple of Solomon.
From the frozen empire of a thousand years to Mictlan, where the gods had perished.
No matter how cruel the battle or despair, she had always been by his side, standing in front of him—his first and last Servant, that ordinary girl.
Because of his gaze, Mash's face turned red in a flash.
"I... I just couldn't worry about you being alone, Senpai." She shifted her gaze, hurriedly changing the subject, explaining in a rush.
"And also..." Mash looked at him seriously.
"I remember everything about you, Senpai. No matter what difficulties lie ahead, I will be with you."
As smart as she was, how could she not see it?
Facing her concern, Fujimaru Ritsuka didn't mention those things; he took the hand of the person beside him and walked in another direction.
That was the busy downtown area.
"Let's go home, Mash." He said softly, his voice devoid of resentment, instead carrying the relief of everything having come to an end.
"Tonight, we're having sukiyaki."
"That's great, I'm looking forward to it!"
The two of them were busy in the kitchen wearing aprons, with pots and pans clattering loudly.
This new suburban house, which had never been lived in, lacked "life," so it certainly needed some liveliness to brighten it up.
The steaming sukiyaki dispelled the chill of the southern winter.
Beef, vegetables, meatballs, mushrooms... all were neatly placed in the pot, aromatic and piled into a small mountain.
Both of them frowned slightly as they looked at it.
It seemed like a bit too much.
Mash's throat moved, and she said very seriously: "Mash Kyrielight will give it her all!"
"Let's eat."
The two of them put their hands together.
The TV was playing recent news, noisy amidst the steam of the sukiyaki.
Suddenly, the two of them seemed to realize something and both turned their heads to look outside.
It was snowing.
The warmth of the room and the aroma of the food wove a gentle net, isolating all the cold and noise of the outside world.
And outside the window, the snowflakes gradually became denser, from sparse at first to later falling thick and fast, like countless white feathers silently swirling and falling in the dim halo of the streetlights.
They softly covered the streets, roofs, and bare branches, slowly painting the world in a quiet color.
"It's so quiet..." Mash murmured.
Indeed, apart from the fuzzy sound of the news broadcast on TV and the slight "gurgle" from the pot, it was as if the world had been muted by this snow.
It was completely different from the violent blizzards of Antarctica.
The snow here was gentle and soothing to the heart.
Fujimaru Ritsuka looked at Mash's cheeks, slightly flushed from the heat, and at her purple eyes reflecting the lamplight and snow, feeling his heart instantly filled.
Neither of them spoke, as if afraid to disturb the tranquility before them.
"What does Senpai want to do next?" Mash suddenly asked.
"And you, Mash?"
"Hmm..." She looked at the snow falling outside, thought for a moment, and then said calmly, "I lack knowledge of the outside world, so I don't know where to go... So I think, wherever Senpai goes, I will go."
She looked at him, her gentle purple eyes filled with a smile.
"Same here." Fujimaru Ritsuka smiled.
"There are still many places we haven't been to, and I hope to see them with Mash."
The next day, a new shop opened on a small street in the downtown area.
"Antarctic Bakery."
The shop name was written in a cute font on a simple sign, with two overlapping diamonds drawn next to it.
[New Shop Opening: Purchase any dessert and receive a Romantic Strawberry Cake for free]!
[New Shop Specials: Barbatos Strawberry Tart, Colored Fruit Cake, Blue Fruit Cake, Golden Fruit Cake; PS: Heard that eating them has special effects]
[Snacks: Deep-fried Cursed Bone, Dragon Fang Crunchy Horns, Proof of Hero Golden Eggs, Hero's Proof Milk Shells]
[Will still be sold even if we go out of business: Classic Sesame and Red Bean Paste Buns]
"Hmm, done!"
Fujimaru Ritsuka, covered in sweat, crossed his arms, looked at the sign they had hung up, and exchanged a smile with Mash.
Although Director Gordolf had given him a black card with a full seven million, and with the seven million on Mash's card, it was enough for them to travel the world.
But the two of them unanimously decided to take a portion of the money to open a bakery. That way, their future days would be more fulfilling.
Learning baking skills, running the bakery, and traveling in their spare time.