Ritsuka Fujimaru's casual remark nearly made Merlin trip over his own feet.
"You really don't know? You're a magus, aren't you? Haven't you at least heard the name Merlin before?"
Merlin stared at her, unsure whether she was genuinely clueless or just messing with him.
"I don't." Ritsuka answered without the slightest hesitation, her tone firm.
Looking into those clear, untainted eyes of hers, Merlin's mouth twitched. He let out an awkward laugh.
"Hahaha… Looks like my reputation in the world of magecraft isn't as big as I thought."
"So anyway, who is Merlin exactly?" Ritsuka scratched her head in confusion, still pressing for an answer. She couldn't figure out how summoning this Servant named Merlin was supposed to help them locate the three missing Servants.
Merlin straightened up again, ready to impress this newcomer to the world of magecraft.
"Very well, then. I suppose I'll graciously explain it to you in detail. But try not to be too shocked once you hear it~"
"I am—"
Before he could finish, Adam cut him off with a wave of his hand.
"In short, Merlin is a Caster. Right now, our top priority is finding those three Servants. You'll understand who he really is once we reach the Seventh Singularity."
After thinking it over, Adam had decided not to reveal Merlin's full identity to Ritsuka just yet. They were short on time. Merlin's background wasn't important at the moment—Adam had only summoned him to use him as a living telescope.
There was no point wasting time on long introductions when they could just put him to work.
"Ehh…" Having his big moment ruined, Merlin shot Adam a pitiful, dejected look. The expression felt oddly familiar, like something he had learned from his kind and enthusiastic "little sister."
Adam chose to ignore it completely.
"Seventh Singularity? Is Merlin connected to the Seventh Singularity?!"
"Adam! You can't just drop something like that and stop halfway!"
"Don't keep teasing my curiosity like this and then leave me hanging!"
Ritsuka looked like she was about to explode from frustration, glaring at Adam as if she wanted to swallow him whole.
"You'll find out when the time comes. If you really can't wait, I'll tell you later when we get back."
Only then did Ritsuka calm down a little.
Adam turned to Merlin and pointed down at the city below.
"Merlin, use your Clairvoyance to locate Kiyohime, Elizabeth Bathory, and Saint George. Where exactly are they in this city?"
"With pleasure, Master." Merlin replied, then directed his gaze downward. A faint purple glow shimmered in his eyes.
"Clairvoyance?" Ritsuka, who still had no idea what that meant, looked confused. Still, from the name alone, she managed a rough guess. "Does that skill let you see really far away?"
"You're not wrong," Adam answered while waiting for results.
"So how far exactly can Merlin's Clairvoyance reach? Can it cover the whole city?"
"If that's the case, then I guess I owe him an apology. I thought he was just some weakling who could only fight Fou to a draw."
Ritsuka laughed awkwardly and scratched her head.
Her imagination was still a bit limited. Merlin's Clairvoyance was far more powerful than simply being able to see across one city.
"How should I put it… Merlin's Clairvoyance can observe a distance that's just a tiny bit larger than this city."
Ritsuka froze again. She stared at Merlin's eyes. "A tiny bit larger? Don't tell me… it can cover all of France?"
"It covers the entire world," Adam replied bluntly.
Ritsuka: "???"
She stood there stunned, her brain struggling to process just how ridiculous that statement was.
[Emotional Value from Ritsuka Fujimaru +10]
Adam didn't even realize he had just harvested another wave of reactions from her.
He turned his attention back to Merlin. The Caster had been scanning the city for nearly two minutes now, which was highly unusual. Normally, Merlin could complete this kind of task in under five seconds. The fact that he was still searching even after Adam had spoken so much with Ritsuka was suspicious.
"Merlin, did you forget to put in your eye drops or something? Why are you—"
Adam's teasing words died in his throat the moment he saw the sleazy, perverted grin spreading across Merlin's face.
"Heh… heh heh…"
In that instant, Adam knew exactly what the mage was doing. He stepped forward and knocked firmly on Merlin's head.
Thump!
"You perverted old goat! Are you using your Clairvoyance to peep at women bathing again?"
"You pulled this stunt in other Singularities too, didn't you?"
Adam clearly remembered one previous Singularity where he had asked Merlin to locate someone. Merlin had taken a full ten minutes, and only when blood started trickling from his nose did Adam realize what was happening.
"Oh come on, Master. An occasional peek is good for the mind and body, you know."
"Besides, I only looked at women who have nothing to do with you. I've never once peeped on anyone who has any connection to you—or even those who hold good feelings toward you."
Adam gave him a deadpan stare. After a few seconds of silence…
"This is your last warning."
"Is that what you're supposed to use Clairvoyance for? If you do it again, I'll have Merli deal with you."
Merlin's expression changed instantly at the mention of Merli, as if he had recalled something truly terrifying.
But Adam wasn't finished.
What came next was one of the worst nightmares in Merlin's long life.
Adam leaned in close and spoke slowly.
"And if there's a next next time…"
"I'll have Chen Gong release you."
The moment he heard that name, Merlin completely lost control of his facial expression. He hurriedly declared his loyalty, terrified that Adam might actually summon those two.
"No! Please, Master! I'll work properly! No slacking off!"
"Anyone but the other me and Chen Gong! Please don't bring them here!"
With that, Merlin quickly refocused his Clairvoyance on the city. In just a few seconds, he had pinpointed the exact locations of the three Servants.
So the old pervert really had been using his eyes for something else earlier.
"Master, Saint George is over there." Merlin pointed toward the eastern side of the city.
"And Miss Elizabeth and Miss Kiyohime are over in that direction." He pointed west.
Adam looked at the two opposite ends of the city and stroked his chin in thought.
If the whole group stayed together, traveling to either side would waste too much time. To be efficient, they needed to split up.
He turned to Ritsuka and the others behind him and shared his plan.
"Since our targets are split between two different locations, we'll divide into two teams to save time. One team heads east, the other heads west."
Mash instinctively glanced over the group, her eyes lingering a bit longer on Ritsuka, Adam, and [Mash]. She clearly had some thoughts about how the teams should be formed.
Curious, she asked, "Senpai, how exactly are we going to split the teams? Draw lots?"
"Draw lots? No, no."
Adam waved his hand, dismissing the idea.
"For the team assignments…"
He glanced at the Saint Knight Shield Maiden [Mash] standing beside him and announced his decision.
"[Mash] and I will form one team. The rest of you will be the other team."
Mash blinked in surprise. Forgetting her own earlier thoughts, she frowned, clearly confused by the extremely unbalanced team sizes.
"Why split it like that? Isn't this division a bit unreasonable in terms of numbers?"
At that moment, Ritsuka narrowed her eyes, her gaze shifting back and forth between Adam and [Mash]. She seemed to have picked up on a suspicious vibe.
"Adam, the way you're splitting the teams… You're not just trying to create a situation where you can be alone with [Mash], are you?"
Adam glanced back at [Mash]. Seeing the mix of expectation and shyness in her eyes, he answered honestly.
"Yeah, I won't deny that's part of the reason."
The impact of those words caused a puff of steam to rise from [Mash]'s head.
Ritsuka muttered quietly while staring at [Mash], "As expected, [Mash] really is the biggest obstacle… Sigh~"
In her quest to win over Adam, she saw [Mash] as her greatest rival.
However, what Ritsuka didn't know was that if you measured things purely by the intensity and frequency of passionate moments, [Mash] was nowhere near the top of the list.
Of course, Adam had other reasons for this team arrangement as well.
"It's not just for that reason…"
"The main reason I put [Mash] with me is strength. I'm dividing the teams based on combat ability."
Siegfried, Jeanne, Mary, and Mozart: "..."
The entire group fell into stunned silence.
Seeing their reactions, Adam gave them a slightly apologetic wave.
"I don't mean to offend any of you, but…" He calmly compared their strengths and stated the facts. "Do you honestly think all of you combined could last very long against [Mash]?"
Ritsuka pursed her lips helplessly. "You've already assumed we'd lose and are just asking how long we could hold out?"
She glanced at [Mash] and immediately recalled how the other Mash had charged through enemy Servants like a runaway freight train, completely steamrolling them.
At that thought, both Ritsuka and Mash wisely kept their mouths shut. The team split suddenly seemed extremely reasonable.
The others, however, who hadn't witnessed [Mash]'s full power, still looked skeptical. They had only seen the normal Mash in action—the one who had merely cleaned up some weak enemies. They had no idea just how strong the other [Mash] truly was.
Even so, they felt Adam's claim was a massive exaggeration.
After all, six Servants working together should be able to handle one [Mash], right?
Siegfried stepped forward with a serious, lecturing expression.
"Master, confidence is good, but too much confidence becomes arrogance."
Adam, seeing their doubtful faces, simply waved them off, too pressed for time to argue.
"I know you don't believe me, but you'll understand when we face Jeanne Alter in the final battle."
After that, he gave each team their directions.
"Ritsuka, your group will go find Saint George."
The reason he assigned Ritsuka's team to Saint George became clear when he looked at Jeanne.
"Jeanne, since you and Saint George are both saints, communication should be much easier between you."
"I keep telling you, I'm not a saint…" Jeanne's face flushed red.
"[Mash] and I will go look for Kiyohime and Elizabeth Bathory."
Once the teams were set, everyone began heading toward their assigned destinations.
After the two groups had separated, Merlin was left standing alone, looking lost.
"Eh?"
After a few seconds of confusion, he glanced between the two departing teams and hurriedly chased after Adam.
"Wait, Master! What about me? Which team do I go with?"
Only then did Adam remember Merlin was still there.
"Hmm… Merlin, to be honest, we don't really need you for anything else. You can join whichever team you want."
Merlin froze, completely taken aback by how casually Adam had brushed him off. His voice was filled with disbelief.
"B-But Master… Are you saying you summoned a Grand Caster candidate like me just to use me as a telescope to find three Servants, and that's it?"
"Yep. What else would I need you for?" Adam nodded.
Merlin's eyes widened in shock. He still couldn't believe it.
"Don't I have any other uses for you?"
"Like hypnotically sealing away some incredibly powerful being so it doesn't cause trouble?"
"Hmm… Nope." Adam thought about it for a split second.
"That answer really hurts, Master. You're breaking Big Brother Merlin's heart." Merlin put on an extremely dejected expression.
"I had finally made up my mind to stop being a mere observer and become part of the story this time. I was really looking forward to it. A max-level Master re-clearing a Singularity with his Servants sounded so entertaining. And now I can't even participate? What a shame."
Adam could tell Merlin was genuinely a little disappointed. He offered some comfort.
"Don't worry. There's no opportunity for you right now, but you'll have plenty of chances in the future."
Merlin's face brightened as he started to smile in gratitude—
—only to get kicked in the face by Fou, who had escaped from Adam's arms. The two immediately began wrestling again.
"Ow! Ow! You vicious little beast, stop scratching me!"
"I've already been scratched by you so many times in that other world! If Master really doesn't need me anymore, just send me back already. Why does this world's Cath Palug feel so much stronger?"
"Fine. I'll send you back then."
With that, Adam dismissed Merlin.
...
Not long after, Adam and [Mash] arrived near the location Merlin had indicated.
"Senpai, we've reached the area."
"But I still don't see Miss Kiyohime or Miss Elizabeth anywhere."
Even though they had arrived at the right spot, there was no sign of the two Servants. Adam wasn't surprised.
"Yeah, that's normal. It took us some time to get here."
"They might have moved somewhere else during that window."
"Still, neither Kiyohime nor Elizabeth is particularly agile. If we search around here, we should find them soon."
Adam scanned the surroundings, looking for the two familiar figures he remembered.
At that moment, a massive pillar of flames suddenly erupted in the area to their left-front, instantly drawing both Adam and [Mash]'s attention.
The flames shot dozens of meters into the air.
Right after, an ear-piercing scream rang out.
The shriek was so unpleasant it sounded like nails scraping across a chalkboard. If Mozart had been there, he probably would have said, "That's not even close to good. It's worse than nails on a chalkboard."
The dangerous commotion caused the few remaining people on the street to scatter in panic, all desperate to get away from the disaster zone.
Only Adam and [Mash] stood firm against the flow of the fleeing crowd.
Looking at the familiar combination of roaring flames and terrible screaming, both of them twitched their lips in recognition.
"Never mind. No need to search anymore. I know exactly where they are now."
***
If you want to read up to 25 chapters ahead, don't hesitate to visit our patron: pat reon . com / XElenea (remove space)