Fate/Counter Order

7 - Coeur and Blood (Part 2)

"Now that you've got that bit of enlightenment out of the way..." The girl continued. "Do you agree that everything you know is wrong?"

This question threw Gabriel off guard. Was this really happening? He had never received such an inquisitive answer from a young woman who wasn't in his friend group, let alone a stranger whom he was supposed to dislike at that moment.

He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again, not sure what to say. Did he disagree with her point of view? Or did he agree with it? He wasn't quite sure. In all honesty, he wasn't completely convinced. He still had questions he needed answered, but now wasn't the time to ask them. Not yet anyway, he decided.

Gabriel hesitated a moment. Yes, he did understand that he was wrong to think of these beliefs, but he didn't think she could have possibly meant that everything he thought was wrong. He didn't believe it.

Gabriel answered carefully, "Of course, I don't believe every single thing I think is wrong. All of those beliefs are simply different interpretations of the same truth. I think that there are some truths that cannot be fully explained."

The girl laughed aloud. "I'm sorry... it sounds like you're making excuses for yourself! You know, there's a lot of nonsense about science and magic and all kinds of weird things. I wish that everybody would take the trouble to look beyond such superstitious notions and really analyze what they mean!"

She stood up from her desk and made her way toward the door of the classroom. She stopped at the doorway and gave him a curt bow.

"See you around Gabriel." And with that, she closed the door behind her.

As soon as it shut, Gabriel slumped in his chair, utterly defeated. "That was pointless, who the heck is she anyway?" He muttered under his breath.

~F/CO~

His next class is Physics and Chemistry-it's a class filled with kids who probably have very little idea of where science actually begins and ends.

Professor Larkin walked up to the front of the classroom and began talking. "Hello everyone, welcome to today's class. I want you all to introduce yourselves before class starts. I will be taking attendance first, please tell me your name, occupation, and specialty."

The boy next to Gabriel raised his hand, "I'm Emilien LeBeau, I study Biology and Physiology at the Sorbonne, my field of study is biochemistry and the biological sciences, I am especially great at the latter, yearning for a top place in this curriculum in the class, and I-"

Larkin interrupted impatiently, raising a finger, "Hold up." Then he turned toward the boy, "No need for further explanation; you clearly knew your subject material before I asked you to tell it. As far as I am concerned, that was enough. Now, please give others a chance to introduce themselves."

Emilien bowed politely to everyone else in the class and spoke to them briefly before sitting back in his seat. Gabriel noticed him roll his eyes slightly as he took his seat.

After a few moments, a tall boy with brown hair stood up, "Hi, my name is Nicolas de Montrose. My specialty is physics, my favorite hobby and interest is to create models from scratch."

He spoke with an air of confidence that didn't suit him, giving off a sense that he was uncomfortable. However, after he was finished he sat down again, as if he was waiting for his classmates to respond.

Professor Larkin introduced everyone one by one to him and then went on to assign the various topics of the day.

The professor glanced at the clock and then took out a large textbook with a worn leather cover. He flipped open to page 3 and pointed to the paragraph he wanted. "Okay," He said, flipping past a couple of pages, "that answers the basic introductions."