"You actually managed to come here."
Morgan indeed needed someone to watch over Fairy Tristan; she couldn't trust almost any fairy in the Faerie Realm. As Jiang You suggested, there was no harm in trying. She accepted the Blank Card he offered as a catalyst and attempted the summoning ritual. Once again, Jiang You successfully unlocked a new Script.
"To be honest, I'm quite surprised myself."
Jiang You's surprise stemmed from the sheer scale of the collaboration. It felt as if Konami had dragged the entire Type-Moon World over here.
"Since none of the Heroic Spirits from Pan-Human History recognize me, I figured I might not even qualify as one myself. I didn't expect that calculation to actually be correct."
"You're not a Heroic Spirit from Pan-Human History...?"
Morgan hadn't considered this possibility. No wonder Jiang You was so confident in his ability to cross over.
"Alright, this isn't important anyway," Jiang You said, cutting off the pointless conversation. He was here to grind favor and obtain Fairy Tristan's Deck—a powerful, female-centric Deck with dragons and machines. Who wouldn't want that? "Let's take it one step at a time. We'll start with Fairy Tristan. I know you won't trust me easily. To earn your permission to assist Fairy Tristan, I must prove myself. Let's begin the Shadow Game. Come, bind me with its rules!"
During the meaningless Duel...
"You're forbidden from harming Fairy Tristan and forbidden from deceiving Fairy Tristan. Are you sure that's all? It feels too broad—there might be loopholes."
Having lost the Shadow Game, Jiang You felt his legs go weak. Morgan thoughtfully conjured a chair behind him with her Spell, sparing him the indignity of collapsing.
"You could have made more unreasonable demands," he said, "like giving you complete control over whether my Noble Phantasm affects you. You know my Noble Phantasm is laughably weak otherwise."
In truth, Morgan had already prepared for Jiang You's ulterior motives, such as tricking her into a Shadow Game.
But the throne beneath her gave her immense confidence. Seated upon it, she was virtually omnipotent within this Lostbelt. Yet she never expected Jiang You to surrender so easily, allowing the Shadow Game's rules to bind him completely. After repeated verification, she confirmed that his peculiar Noble Phantasm was indeed a rule-level, quasi-compulsory contract. In other words, Jiang You...
"You've shown me sincerity, so naturally, I'll reciprocate."
Morgan rejected Jiang You's proposal. She had no need to bind him in such a way, nor did her strength require it. Moreover, Jiang You had been summoned as her servant. Though she could tell the Command Spells had no effect on him, she retained control over his magical power supply. His Noble Phantasms, after all, required magical power to maintain.
"Then, I should grant you a proper title to facilitate your movements within my kingdom..."
Jiang You immediately thought of "Morgan's husband," but he certainly wouldn't ask for it directly. He and Morgan weren't close enough yet. Besides, Morgan's "predecessor" was still toiling away at a sewing machine; bringing it up might trigger her PTSD.
"How about... Scribe?" Jiang You suggested.
He recalled a poor fairy who had been beheaded by Fairy Tristan during a meeting. Having been killed by his boss's daughter on his last day of work, Jiang You, a fellow worker, decided to lend him a hand.
"That works too. As for the position, there's no problem."
Of course, Morgan couldn't immediately assign Jiang You to the Scribe's duties. Apart from being uncertain about his capabilities, there were certain matters he wasn't yet qualified to handle.
"I'll give you a token to prove your authority. For now, I'm entrusting Baobhan Sith to you. You said my ending wouldn't be a happy one, didn't you?"
Morgan had no intention of giving up. Having endured for over two millennia, she would persist for Britain's sake no matter what. But she wanted to secure a safe path for Fairy Tristan. Jiang You's strength might be lacking, but his Noble Phantasm was perfectly suited for protecting others. Moreover, Morgan was certain she would remain in Fairy Tristan's Deck, allowing her to continue protecting her. "Your Noble Phantasm can transport Servants to other worlds. If the time comes, I beg you to take Fairy Tristan away from here."
"Is Your Majesty the Queen one to falter before the battle even begins?"
Jiang You shook his head. He was determined to raise Morgan's Affection to the maximum.
"Since I'm already here, I'll definitely help you. Look, Fairy Tristan's fate has already changed with just a word from me. Changing yours will be a piece of cake. Besides, Artoria had Merlin by her side, so let me be your Merlin."
"Merlin?"
Morgan laughed. Even the real Merlin wouldn't be a match for her, and the ending of Pan-Human History's Artoria wasn't exactly a happy one. She couldn't quite tell if Jiang You was offering a blessing or a curse.
"You half-baked Magus should focus on mastering your spells before making such grand pronouncements. The contract is sealed. When you need me, I'll answer your call. In the meantime, I'll entrust Fairy Tristan to you."
"Don't worry, but don't expect me to teach her how to slaughter people."
Jiang You understood that Morgan's true intention was to ensure Fairy Tristan's survival. Her bloodlust was merely a means to that end, not the desired outcome.
"As long as she can live happily, do whatever you need to do."
Since Jiang You could guess her intentions, Morgan didn't press further. "But if she suffers any further harm because of this, I will never forgive you!"
"Leave it to me," Jiang You replied confidently. "If I fail, I'll offer my head as forfeit!"
Jiang You made light of the situation, knowing he could always reload his save if things went wrong, ensuring a perfect outcome.
-
New Darlington,
"Court Scribe, I must now report back to Her Majesty the Queen. Please be careful—Fairy Knight Tristan has a notoriously volatile temperament. Given your strength... please proceed with caution."
The Queen's Knight, serving as both guard and observer, offered Jiang You a sincere warning. Fairy Tristan had a history of wantonly slaughtering other fairies for no apparent reason, and Jiang You's stats were clearly inadequate against such a formidable foe.
"Mm, don't worry," Jiang You assured him. "If Her Majesty the Queen dared send me to replace Beryl, she must have given me a means to resolve this."
Jiang You thanked the Queen's Knight. It seemed there were still fairies worth saving after all. Of course, it was also possible this knight was simply lost in the joy of playing the role. But regardless, the outcome would be positive.
When Jiang You pushed open Fairy Tristan's door, he found her sobbing as she organized her collection of high heels.
A tearful Fairy Tristan was quite endearing, but it would have been better if some of the shoes hadn't been hacked off along with the feet.