The sun climbed higher, painting the sky in soft morning light.
Adam and his group had finally reached their destination: the city where the three Servants—Kiyohime, Elizabeth Bathory, and Saint George—were holed up.
The fortress here was every bit as battered as the last one, its walls cracked and scorched from countless assaults. Yet something had changed. In the past few hours, not a single monster had shown its face. The streets and surrounding wilds were eerily quiet, the usual hordes thinned out to almost nothing.
It had to be the aftershock of that devastating combined strike from Artoria and her two companions—enough raw power to make even the boldest beasts think twice. Or maybe it was the sheer body count racked up by the Metatron Jeanne that Adam had summoned earlier. Either way, the drop in monster activity was a welcome breather.
High above the city's crumbling ramparts, a handful of hooded figures in flowing cloaks stood watch, scanning the sprawl below.
"Ugh, Adam, this outfit is killing me. Why do we have to wear these stupid things?" One of the hooded figures tugged irritably at her cloak. A stray lock of orange hair slipped free—Ritsuka Fujimaru, of course. Adam and the rest of the team stood beside her.
"Less trouble this way," Adam replied evenly. "Our clothes and faces don't exactly scream 'medieval locals.' Walking around like this would draw every eye in the city. And let's not forget we've got a certain dragon-girl whose chest literally glows."
He glanced sideways at Siegfried. Even under the heavy cloak, the soft radiance between those generous curves was impossible to hide completely.
Siegfried caught the look and tilted her head in adorable confusion, completely oblivious to what Adam was implying. If she strolled the streets without the cloak, the locals would probably mistake her for some kind of wyvern hybrid on the spot.
Ritsuka let out a small sigh and dropped the subject. She turned her gaze down to the city streets. It wasn't huge, but it wasn't tiny either—thousands of people moved through the bustling avenues below.
The thought of hunting three specific Servants among all those faces made her grimace. She shot Adam a helpless look. "This place looks pretty big. How are we supposed to find those three Servants in a crowd like this? Feels like searching for a needle in a haystack… Adam, got any bright ideas?"
The nickname made Adam's brain short-circuit for a second—his first thought was the all-powerful Gilgamesh. He shook it off quickly and stared down at the city again.
"If memory serves, the three of them are definitely here," he said. "But I don't have their exact coordinates. Our timing doesn't match up with what I remember from the game."
He'd been blazing through the Singularity way too fast. Less than fifteen hours since they'd arrived, and they were already this far ahead. Normally, they'd still be running for their lives from Jeanne Alter right about now. Instead, thanks to Adam, the whole thing had been smoother than a luxury cruise—with four hundred steel coils of pure momentum riding shotgun.
Still, he remembered one key detail: the three Servants hadn't stuck together. Saint George was off on his own, while Kiyohime and Elizabeth Bathory were paired up—at least when he'd first encountered them. They might not have met yet in this timeline, meaning the trio could be scattered across the city.
Speed-running had its downsides after all.
"How are we supposed to find them?" Ritsuka asked, echoing his thoughts. "We can't seriously rely on Chaldea's Servant search function and comb the place inch by inch, can we? That'd take until noon."
She wasn't wrong. For someone aiming to clear this Singularity in twenty-four hours flat, a slow grid search was the last thing they needed.
"Got any ideas yet, Adam?" she pressed.
"Ritsuka, can you please stop calling me—wait." A spark hit him. The nickname had yanked his mind back to Gilgamesh again, but this time it clicked on something useful: the Caster version's EX-ranked Clairvoyance that let him peer into the future. If they needed to see the present instead…
"Relax, everyone. I've got a fast way to locate them," Adam announced. "Haven't used her much lately, so I almost forgot I've got a Servant whose eyes can see for miles."
He pulled up his Servant list, scrolling down until he locked onto a white-haired, purple-eyed figure—the very definition of an internet-scamming Fou spirit.
Merlin. The Caster.
"Adam, are you summoning another Servant?" Ritsuka bounced over, eyes sparkling with excitement. "Who is it this time?"
"How do I even describe him… a total sleazy online scammer—"
The words died in his throat the moment he said "scammer." Ritsuka blinked beside him, utterly lost. "Scammer?"
Adam didn't answer. Instead, he opened the direct comms line to Chaldea. Olga Marie's face appeared on the screen instantly.
"What is it, Adam? Do you need backup from Chaldea?"
He shook his head. "No, Director. Just a quick question—is Dr. Roman on duty in the command room right now?"
Olga Marie glanced at the timestamp on her end. "Roman? He clocked out a few minutes ago and went back to his quarters to rest. Why? If it's urgent, I can call him back."
Adam's voice shot up in alarm. "No! Don't! Let the man sleep!"
Under Olga Marie's increasingly puzzled stare, he killed the connection.
Once the screen went dark, Adam pressed his lips together, fighting back a grin. He remembered the ridiculous stunts Merlin had pulled years ago, and the sheer absurdity of it all nearly cracked his composure.
Poor Dr. Roman… the guy really couldn't catch a break.
Even though Roman had been utterly duped by that scamming bastard Merlin, at least the Magical★Merli persona could actually ease some of the doctor's stress for once. Better to keep Roman in the dark about it for now.
Meanwhile, back at Chaldea.
Inside Roman's private quarters.
He had just finished handing off duties to Olga Marie and retreated to his room. Now he sat in front of his computer, venting the day's frustrations to the virtual idol glowing on the screen.
"Magical★Merli, you won't believe it—someone stole my ring the other day! Silver—er, Adam used my own identity to blackmail me! Waaah~"
"But even so… I can tell he really does care about me. I think…"
His words cut off. On the screen, Magical★Merli had frozen mid-expression, staring at something off-camera.
"What's wrong, Merli? Why'd you suddenly go quiet?"
After a long pause, the idol snapped back to her usual cheerful self. "Ahaha~ Nothing! I just caught a glimpse of… another me, that's all."
Roman blinked. "Another you? What do you mean, another you?"
"Is it one of your virtual sisters or something?"
Back on the city ramparts.
The moment Adam selected "Deploy," a white figure materialized beside them—
—only to slam face-first into the stone with a loud, undignified smack.
"Eh?"
Ritsuka and the others stared, dumbfounded.
Why face-first? Because the white figure had appeared sideways in mid-air and pancaked straight onto the hard rampart.
The figure rose slowly, brushing dust off his robes as if nothing had happened. A gentle smile curved his lips. He scanned the group, then locked eyes with Adam.
"Ah, Master, you called for m—pffft!"
A tiny white blur rocketed into his face—Fou, executing her ultimate technique in this form: the Spinning White Fou Assault!
"Fou! Fou~!" (Special translation: Merlin deserves to die!)
Merlin staggered backward from the hit and collapsed beside Fou. Somehow, the two of them ended up locked in what looked like an evenly matched brawl, Merlin flailing desperately.
"Ow! Why are you kicking me again?! Cath Palug, I thought you already got your licks in earlier!"
PS: Turns out "Cath Palug" really is the safe word!
Turns out Merlin had bumped into Chaldea's own Fou in a hallway right before the summon. He'd taken one brutal kick, and while still airborne and tumbling, Adam had yanked him here—hence the perfect face-plant landing. In the span of seconds, he'd suffered two different Fou critical hits.
Ritsuka and the others watched the "epic" skirmish with wide eyes.
"Senpai… it's a perfectly balanced fight."
"Yeah… he actually tied with the mascot?"
In their eyes, Fou was just an adorable, clever little creature—about as dangerous as a house cat. If they ever learned Fou's true identity, their reactions would be priceless.
Adam stepped forward into the fray. "All right, Fou, that's enough."
"Merlin's got plenty of beatings coming to him in the Seventh Singularity. Right now I need his eyes on the battlefield."
He plucked Fou off Merlin's face and cradled her in his arms. Even then, she kept snarling and swiping toward the mage, clearly not finished.
"Thanks, Master," Merlin said, climbing to his feet once more. He dusted himself off, the scratches on his face vanishing the instant he tugged his robe across them like a curtain.
His gaze swept over the group—lingering first on the unfamiliar Ritsuka, then on Mash and her armor. Something clicked. He studied the Mash beside Adam, then turned back to Ritsuka and Mash again. His expression grew thoughtful, a sly murmur slipping out.
"I see… So that's how it is. How delightfully interesting!"
Merlin had pieced everything together in an instant. He turned to Adam, eyes twinkling. "Master, it looks like you're in for another wildly entertaining adventure."
"I won't deny that," Adam replied with a small smile.
Ritsuka sidled up beside him, eyeing Merlin curiously before whispering in Adam's ear, "Adam, who exactly is this Servant you just summoned? He seems kinda… weak?"
"Oh dear, I can't let that slide," Merlin cut in before Adam could answer. He flourished his robes, arms wide, commanding the group's attention.
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Merlin. Please, feel free to call me Big Brother Merlin—no need to stand on ceremony."
He puffed out his chest proudly, certain that the mere mention of his name would make his power obvious to everyone.
He had severely underestimated just how badly Ritsuka bombed history class.
"Merlin? Who's that?"
***
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