Don't use Type-Moon references in Oregairu!

"Then, what about the magic circle in America?"

"There was a slight fluctuation, but it's still operating. Nothing has changed. But perhaps there's one advantage: at least the citizens who turned into monsters no longer have to suffer, and those in America who weren't covered by the magic circle don't have to face monsters transformed from a large population." Yang Nai forced a smile.

“I see… I understand.” Fujimaru Ritsuka sighed. “Yino, keep gathering information. Be sure to tell me if there’s anything unusual. I don’t want to see a similar tragedy happen around me again.”

"understood."

Fujimaru Ritsuka silently put down her tablet, then suddenly remembered something: "By the way, Kaiki, you're very familiar with everything at Atlas Institute, aren't you?"

"Well, you could say that. What's up? Is there anything good I can take a look at?"

"Okay, you wait here. I remember it should be placed here."

Fujimaru Ritsuka searched for a long time in the corner of the storage room before finally finding a sealed box.

Originally, this laboratory was a secret room where Chaldea stored some rather special items. Later, due to its well-designed defensive schemes and advantageous location, it was converted into a laboratory. And inside, there are several rather special items.

"This is a special outfit we obtained during the Tokyo Tower incident, but because everyone's skills in this area are not high, we were unable to use it."

Fujimaru Ritsuka carefully opened the thick black box layer by layer. Although the defensive spells sealed on it were commonplace in the eyes of Lisa Lisa and Kaiki Deishuu, it showed how much importance they attached to the contents of the box.

"What is this? It looks like a moon?" Lisa Lisa asked, a little puzzled.

Bei Mud Boat held it in his hand, a hint of doubt creeping in: "Could this be...?"

"Uh, I don't know what it's called in your knowledge. But it should be called [PaperMoon], the Moon on Paper, the Imaginary Moon or something like that. It's an extremely rare prototype of the costume."

“A trial piece? A trial piece is enough!” Kaiki Deishuu almost danced with joy. “I actually stumbled upon such a miraculous dress! It’s amazing! I suddenly have an inspiration.”

He completely abandoned Fujimaru Ritsuka, focusing only on picking up paper and pen, then pulling out the ritual short sword made entirely of the Philosopher's Stone, and muttering incantations in a low voice: "Imaginary number observation instrument...flying trace...spirit particle calculation...could it also...hmm, that's it, yes, that's right...."

At this point, Kaiki Nishu had completely ignored everything else and devoted himself entirely to the calculation and design process to prove his new ideas.

Lisa and Rohan Kishibe slapped their foreheads in unison: "Trouble. Doesn't this mean we're completely short-handed? How come our lab has suffered a non-loss loss just because you came, Fujimaru?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka showed no shame, but rather great surprise: "The way you're saying it, it's as if you've suffered casualties? No way, do you also have experience with transferring memories or even souls through dolls?"

"Yes, take the spirit of a half-dream demon—"

Lisa cleanly and decisively elbowed down a certain unrestrained cartoonist who was even trying to tattle, and said with a forced smile, "No, not at all..."

"Sigh, this Kishibe-sensei is such a loser. He must be so distracted by work that he said the wrong thing." Fujimaru Ritsuka, whose skill in lying through his teeth is LV5, didn't wait for Lisa Lisa to give him a physical amnesia treatment, and decisively changed the subject: "By the way, how's the preparation of the 500 artificial spirit origins going?"

But clearly, this statement hit a nerve.

With a click, the door was locked shut by layers of magic. Fujimaru Ritsuka realized something was wrong, but it was too late to escape.

"You think we're magic laborers? I told you yesterday it would take at least two days... Even last night, when I was working tirelessly with the Philosopher's Stone, I only managed to get the number of artificial spirit cores to 400... Fine, since our big boss is in such a hurry, why don't we try it ourselves!"

"Wait! Wait! You're a scientist, you can't treat your boss like this! You can't do this!"

"Don't worry, there's no one to call for help here. Even your screams won't get out. Just stay here and help out. Okay, if we work together, maybe we can get it done today!"

"Yinno! Help me, Yinno!"

On the second floor, Yukino sneezed: "Why am I still sneezing in July? It must be because the air conditioning is too strong. I guess I should try exercising too." Yukino was itching to get started, so she used her telekinesis to pull herself up and flew directly to the training ground.

The training ground was bustling with activity, as the girls poured their magic and sweat into growing stronger little by little.

The laboratory offstage was like the underworld, where workers were exhausting their magic to complete the project bit by bit.

The former is joyful, and the latter... if Mr. Ma were here, he would definitely think they are joyful too.

But Fujimaru Ritsuka just wanted to yell "Fuck!" at those who spouted talk of good fortune.

Unfortunately, he no longer has the strength to even raise his middle finger.

"Really... not a single drop left..."

He sat blankly surrounded by bottles of blue energy potions, exhibiting typical symptoms of the 996 work culture.

"It feels like... even my brains splattered out." Rohan Kishibe slumped listlessly on the table, his body twitching slightly from time to time. "I never imagined I'd end up drinking energy potions and eating things that make me nauseous."

"How...how can you be so weak..."

"Lisa, can you please shut up? You're making me want to vomit too..."

The three men's faces turned ashen, and each of them was retching while holding a trash can.

After a long while, they looked at the table with mixed feelings.

Inside the square box, which was over a meter long, was a specially made velvet lining, divided into different compartments, containing the dazzling and beautiful artificial spirit core.

"Five hundred, really five hundred. It really took...a very long time." Fujimaru Ritsuka murmured as if in a dream.

Rohan Kishibe chimed in, "I never want to make this thing again."

"No, Kishibe-sensei, you can't rest yet. The creation of artificial spirit cores can't stop."

"What did you say!"

Rohan on the shore was shocked, and Lisa nodded sadly.

Fujimaru Ritsuka rushed forward, grabbed the box, and dashed out of the lab: "Artificial spirit origins are related to the teammates we can find in the future and their strength. Good luck, ganbatte!"

"Fujimaru Ritsuka, I'm going to kill you!"

205. Building an impregnable defense line

"Those in a position must fulfill their responsibilities. It's not that I, Fujimaru Ritsuka, am unwilling to share the joys and sorrows with everyone and work hard as a magician, but rather that I have more important things to do!"

Everyone has their own things to do. You guys are working hard to create artificial spirit bases, and Yang Nai and I are confirming our future strategy. Aren't we all quietly contributing our share?

...She couldn't make this up anymore. Fujimaru Ritsuka felt like she was being infected by those bosses who were shouting about good fortune. She couldn't just take advantage of them like this anymore—she had to find a way to compensate them later. But right now, she really needed to exchange information with Haruno.

Therefore, Fujimaru Ritsuka did not rashly choose to immediately take the five hundred artificial spirit origins to Senji Muramasa and the others. Instead, she went to find Haruno first and obtained the Holy Grail Drops while she was at it.

Of course, this also drew some complaints.

"Hey Fujimaru-kun, do you only come to me when you have something to say? Every time you come to see me, it's just to mess with me. Can't you bring me some good news?" Yukinoshita Haruno looked at Fujimaru Ritsuka with a resentful expression and pointed her finger at his chest without any politeness.

Fujimaru Ritsuka leaned back slightly and subtly took half a step back: "No, Haruno-nee, you're scaring me a little."

"Why do I feel like I'm being rejected? Are you toxic, Fujimaru Ritsuka?!"

"Hehe, how could that be? Haruno-nee is loved by everyone!" Fujimaru Ritsuka made an exaggerated expression, which amused Yukinoshita Haruno, but he also became happy. "Is there some good news?"

"It's a rare piece of good news amidst all these bad things."

Yang leaned back comfortably in her chair.

"Didn't we find in the previous live broadcast that nuclear weapons didn't seem to have much effect? ​​Now it seems they are having a good effect after all."

"First, the intensity of the disruption to American communications has weakened, and we have made contact with some of the superhumans who are still in America, and they are still resisting."

"At the same time, the Russian bear and the powerful European countries also sent people to the area to conduct reconnaissance through various means, including sea and air transport."

"Based on current testing, the area affected by the magic array is mainly concentrated in several major cities in the United States. Although the spilled power has also affected other places, overall it is not as terrible as the total annihilation we imagined. A conservative estimate is around 30% to 50%."

"At the same time, a large number of submarines or bases loaded with mushroom eggs were dealt with by the hacker who detonated them using various prophecies and curses. There is no need to worry about those people dragging the whole world down with them in their madness. Although this was accomplished by a certain American supernatural organization that uses prophecies and curses, with all 66 members sacrificing two or three drops of the Holy Grail and all their lives."

Yukino Yukino sighed deeply. As the descendant of a politician, she naturally didn't really regard America as a beacon of humanity or a symbol of freedom. She would occasionally join in mocking some self-righteous liberals, but this time she genuinely believed that these people, regardless of their motives, could be called heroes.

These "holier-than-thou" types clamor for others to sacrifice themselves, for example, claiming that a large, populous country consuming too much meat will harm the world's greening efforts.

The Virgin Mary, on the other hand, places herself on a divine altar to sacrifice herself, treating everyone equally and sacrificing herself first.

"...That's humanity for you. Always fighting amongst yourselves in all sorts of bizarre places, yet unexpectedly uniting when faced with a crisis of destruction." Fujimaru Ritsuka nodded. "Go on."

The previous mushroom egg explosion plan doesn't seem to have been entirely ineffective. Many people have reported that not only have most of the monsters in the city disappeared, but even some areas that were once dominated by the magic circle have retreated.

Although many people are still alive in the United States today, and even various states have begun to spontaneously form resistance forces, they still face many difficulties.

The unknown superhuman who bombed New York City only temporarily alleviated the city's crisis. Cities like Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., continued to send monsters out.

New York City even completed the ritual ahead of schedule, and quite a few individuals who had clearly evolved into lucid, high-level Dead Apostles appeared.

Despite their malnourished appearance, they possessed formidable strength, venturing directly to other cities covered by the magic array. With monsters as their subordinates, they began to sweep across the entire United States, feeding on living people.

Upon hearing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka had a strange conjecture: it was possible that the magic circle was not unable to cover the entire United States and transform or absorb everyone, but rather that they deliberately released a large number of surviving people to serve as food for the future.

He buried this terrifying thought in his heart and patiently listened to Yang Nai continue speaking.

The team, comprised of Russians and European nations, encountered numerous extraordinary individuals who fought against them and suffered defeats.

Within half a day, it is said that some extraordinary individuals tentatively surrendered and were accepted.

Overall, however, the United States has pulled back one foot from the edge of the cliff; it's just standing on one leg, not completely falling off.

However, at the same time, the bases that the United States has stationed abroad have also received relevant information and are very likely to be transformed into independent forces.

"While those bases aren't lacking in scum, well... even scum fear the might of the strong. Without domestic support, even internationally hired superhumans have to consider whether they can still bully others. Modern bombardment or precision assassination can indeed threaten superhumans. But conversely, they don't have many countermeasures against our infiltration operations and urban warfare. Therefore, the Tokyo Special Affairs Bureau might establish a strategic partnership with the US military bases."

"Hmm... To be honest, I was a bit surprised that they didn't choose to use people with special skills such as charm, domination, or brainwashing."

"The military base has been implementing these defenses for years. And how do you know this outcome isn't already a successful one?"

"alright."

Fujimaru Ritsuka sat down, her expression extremely serious: "From America, is there only news of the Dead Apostles running rampant?"

“Of course not.” Yang Nai forced a smile, clearly unable to even manage a genuine laugh. “In America, the militia and supernatural organizations aren’t most worried about the Dead Apostles right now, but rather about all sorts of anomalies that might appear at any moment. According to reports, various strange entities are constantly disrupting the battle. From ancient creatures made of fossilized bones, or truly resurrected ancient creatures, to terrifyingly fleshy monsters, to conceptual paranormal locations that automatically change their positions, they’re all springing up like mushrooms after rain across America.”

Fujimaru Ritsuka nodded silently upon hearing this; he didn't think this was a show exclusive to America.

It's possible that this is the strange scenario they'll face in a few days.

Are the Russians or the EU some kind of saint who have to step in and save the poor civilians of America?

Even if the civilians are innocent, it is foolish to place too much faith in friendship between nations.

They might offer some small assistance to address this tragedy, but more importantly, they would observe the situation as a possible contingency plan for the future.

Lessons from the past, the teacher behind the car.

"We should also make some preparations."

"First of all, how's the construction of the dormitory around our Chaldea Mansion going? I remember you talked to Hitagi Senjougahara about it, and it seemed like several buildings were being built directly?"

Speaking of this, Yukinoshita Haruno gave the fox spirit a thumbs up with satisfaction: "I have to say, Senjougahara Hitagi is really sincere. The construction team she recruited, with the help of magic and technology, built a large apartment building with our support regardless of cost, and then concealed it with a sleight of hand. It can currently support nearly a hundred households."

Is it that powerful?

Fujimaru Ritsuka did some mental calculations, then looked up and asked Haruno:

"So, if all the family members and friends of Chaldea members, as well as our sponsor Mrs. Sawamura, move in, how many vacancies will there be?"