The next day, at the temple on Hestia Island.
From the village's high platform, the temple already looked abandoned. Getting closer only made that impression stronger.
"This temple… looks about the sa as the temple ruins I saw back when I traveled in Greece," Sakura said first.
Baobhan Sith stood beside a stone column and adjusted her glasses. "Judging by the weathering on these listone pillars, it's been abandoned for at least several hundred years. Maybe even longer. I've never seen Greek ruins from Proper Human History myself, so I can't say for sure."
"Who knows? At least we can trust these pillars won't crumble halfway through, right?" Caren said, extending a finger and giving one a push that looked fairly forceful.
Ritsuka Fujimaru hurried to stop her. "Don't push it! What if it actually falls over?"
"It's fine. I'll protect everyone," Mash said earnestly, as if the pillar truly might topple.
The girls traded comnts back and forth about the columns, while Olga Marie wore the faintly pained expression of soone developing a headache.
"…We're not here for a spring outing…"
Since the temple was visible from the village, the party they brought along was relatively relaxed.
But everyone's mood was relaxed too, to the point that Olga Marie honestly felt like she couldn't keep up.
"This isn't so bad. We've confird there are no enemies around, so letting your guard down a little is fine," Shiomi said, turning to Skadi at his side as if asking her to back him up.
Skadi ran her hand over a pillar worn down by ti. "But I can tell these weren't built purely by human labor. Perhaps they're ruins left behind by the gods of Atlantis before they retreated to Olympus?"
"Ruins left by the gods…" Shiomi muttered, reminded of the "inheritance" and "remnants" they'd heard about earlier.
On the sea chart, the islands near Hestia Island were all nad after Olympian gods.
Heracles Island was the sa.
And according to Bartholow, the Heracles of this Lostbelt was a full god, not a demigod hero.
"Is sothing bothering you, Teacher?" Olga Marie asked.
"No. I'm just thinking about when exactly this Lostbelt diverged from Proper Human History," Shiomi said with a shrug. "It's not especially important, but it's still a useful foundation for understanding this Lostbelt."
Skadi chuckled softly at that. "For the gods to abandon Atlantis and retreat to Olympus, the City of the Gods, it couldn't have been a simple matter."
"Sothing about it feels off," Shiomi said with a nod. "It's supposed to be an Olympian Lostbelt, but I've got this strange sense of déjà vu."
"Could it be… connected to the white giant that ravaged the planet fourteen thousand years ago?" Baobhan Sith turned back to ask him.
"Maybe," Shiomi said, nodding. "According to Proper Human History records, when the white giant tore across the land, the gods of the entire planet beca, you could say, helpless. Only the Holy Sword, forged from the planet's hope, could defeat that predatory wandering star from beyond the cosmos."
"It's a similar record on the Scandinavian side," Skadi said with a nod. "So later, when I heard from you that there was a history where the Holy Sword of the Planet wasn't even forged, I was shocked as well."
Even in a Lostbelt, history remained largely consistent with Proper Human History up until a certain point of divergence.
Shiomi fell deeper into thought, only to be pulled back by Olga Marie's voice.
"Teacher—"
She tugged on his arm, looking genuinely worried.
"Sorry. Daydreaming here won't accomplish anything. Let's go inside the temple first," he said, smiling helplessly.
Skadi laughed with him. "They're all waiting for you. Don't waste ti here."
So, with Sakura and the others watching, Shiomi started forward and entered the temple first.
The outside was ancient Greek in style, but the inside felt more like a laboratory, or even a research institute.
From the walls to the floor, everything was clad in tal. Straight lines were engraved into those surfaces, not flashy at all, but only making the interior look cleaner and sharper, and the level of technology more advanced than Proper Human History.
In the very center of the temple stood a cylindrical chanical apparatus.
The contrast between the outside and inside stunned everyone.
Skadi reacted differently. She moved quickly to the front of the girls, taking position behind Shiomi and preparing to protect them.
At the sa ti, Shiomi lifted an arm, stopping the others who were still craning their necks to look around.
"Stop," Shiomi said quietly, a warning under his breath.
"What is it?" Olga Marie asked.
Ritsuka frowned as well. "There shouldn't be anyone here."
"No, there is soone," Baobhan Sith said, having noticed it too. "Soone arrived here before we did."
"That's right." Shiomi nodded once, then raised his voice. "Who's hiding in the shadows? If you're not an enemy, show yourself now. If you are, then so be it. I'll make this temple your tomb."
A figure deep within the temple slowly stepped forward. Crisp footsteps echoed through the vast, empty hall.
The person clearly had no intention of concealing himself, erging openly from the darkness with an unapologetically confident air.
When he ca fully into view, everyone except Skadi and Baobhan Sith showed varying degrees of strange expressions.
"Long ti no see. I trust you've all been well?"
One by one, the girls relaxed their guard. Baobhan Sith looked puzzled.
"You all know him?"
"He's Hols," Mash explained. "He assisted Chaldea at the Atlas Institute during the Sixth Singularity, and later in the Shinjuku Sub-Singularity as well."
"That about sums it up," Hols said. He remained at a careful distance, close enough to speak but far enough not to appear threatening or deliberately intrusive to Shiomi. "At present, I am acting as a Servant dispatched by Proper Human History, conducting investigations across the various islands of Atlantis."
"I see." Shiomi walked forward slowly until he stood before Hols, eting his composed gaze head-on. "Still, I didn't expect a Servant to repeatedly retain mories from other Singularities. Which god lent you that kind of support?"
"I'm afraid I don't know myself," Hols replied, shaking his head.
"If you don't know, then never mind," Shiomi said, letting the matter drop.
After all, there were precedents, Mordred being one of them. If a god of Proper Human History had secretly opened a backdoor in the Heroic Spirit Summoning system to preserve records, it wasn't entirely implausible.
"Even so, I've been aning to et you for quite so ti, Mr. Shiomi."
Hols then offered his greeting in a courteous, almost formal tone.
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