"Tell me," Charlemagne said, his eyes wide with curiosity as he took in the high-tech interior of the Hyperion, "has human technology really advanced this far?"
Initially, he had assumed the people from Chaldea had used some special magecraft to reach him so quickly. Or, at the very least, some unique mode of transportation. He would have even accepted it if they had pulled up in a car.
But a science-fiction-style starship? What was that all about? It felt like they had jumped from a near-future setting straight into an age of cosmic exploration.
"Heh, surprising, isn't it? To be honest, we were pretty surprised too." Archer and Cu Chulainn exchanged knowing looks. Anyone who saw Mo Wang summon a starship out of thin air would probably have the same dumbfounded expression.
Thinking back to that morning, the two of them couldn't help but chuckle.
Flashback to earlier that day, when the Chaldea team first arrived in the singularity—
The Rayshift was successful, and Mo Wang's group arrived safely in the first singularity.
"So this is a singularity?" Shirou-Morgan asked, her eyes filled with curiosity as she scanned her surroundings. They were standing in a beautiful, flat grassland, a scene that was completely at odds with the disaster they had anticipated.
It was a stark contrast to the desolate Fuyuki. Fortunately, the transfer this time had been much smoother than the previous accidental one, and everyone was in good shape.
However, the first problem presented itself almost immediately.
"Does anyone know where we are?" Mash asked, raising a very practical question.
They knew the Hundred Years' War was the correct time period and that they were in France, but unfortunately, none of them—not Archer, not Cu Chulainn, not even Shirou-Morgan—were familiar with the landmarks of this era.
The group exchanged blank stares. Their biggest problem upon arriving in the singularity wasn't danger, but the fact that they were lost.
"Should we ask Dr. Roman?" Mash suggested, pulling out her phone.
Romani's voice came through, tinged with embarrassment. "Uh, hahaha, sorry about that. We were in such a rush that we didn't have time to upload a map of France from this period, so..."
"We got lost in a singularity? Romani, what have you been slacking off on?" Mo Wang immediately began to heckle him.
"I apologize, but being called a slacker by you is really not a good feeling," Romani retorted, amazed that he was being lectured by Mo Wang of all people.
"Hehehe, lucky for you, I came prepared! I have a map!" Mo Wang declared, pulling a very old, rustic-looking map from his robes.
"Senpai, what is this?"
"A map of France from this period, of course. I dug it out of the library."
"You actually found one of these?" Romani asked, surprised. The map looked ancient, but it was still usable. When had Mo Wang even had the time to find it?
Mo Wang just smirked. He had known they were coming to this period, so it hadn't taken him long to find the map in Chaldea's library. By the time Romani remembered, it would have been too late.
"Senpai, it looks like we're close to Orléans. Should we head there first?" Mash asked after studying the map.
But Mo Wang wagged a finger. "Nonono, Mash, we can't go to Orléans just yet."
"W-why not?" Mash asked, confused. Shouldn't their first step be to gather information in a populated area and find a leyline?
"No. The first thing we need to do," Mo Wang said, pulling out a shovel and handing it to Mash, "is rob some graves."
"Huh?"
Everyone was stunned. They couldn't have heard him right. Rob... graves?
"That's right. We're going to dig up the graves of all the famous French heroes and summon them," Mo Wang explained. "How can you go into a dungeon without pulling from the gacha to expand your party first?"
In his mind, since they were in the first singularity, they had to take some souvenirs with them. The heroes buried here had no use for their belongings anymore, so he might as well take them back as summoning catalysts.
"W-wait, can we even do that?" Cu Chulainn asked, feeling that this was getting a little ridiculous. The thought of their first stop in a singularity being a graveyard was enough to make anyone's spirit crumble.
But, as everyone knew, there was no arguing with Mo Wang. No matter how much they protested, he would still drag them along.
"B-but, even if we are going to rob graves, whose grave are we even looking for?" Archer asked, morbidly curious about who the first lucky victim would be.
"Don't worry, I've already done my research," Mo Wang said. "First stop, the tomb of Emperor Karl!"
He had decided to go for the best of the best. Charlemagne was an excellent choice.
"But how are we supposed to get there? His tomb is pretty far from here, isn't it?" Cu Chulainn asked. By the time they walked there, the singularity would probably be over.
"Hehehe, just look up," Mo Wang said with a smug grin.
They all looked up at the sky, and their expressions gradually morphed from confusion to utter disbelief. A massive, pure-white starship was slowly emerging from a giant black hole in the sky.
"A... a starship?!" Shirou-Morgan's beautiful face twisted in shock.
"M-Mo Wang, where did you get that thing?" Romani's first reaction was to think he was dreaming. After rubbing his eyes and confirming that the ship was real, his expression became a masterpiece of astonishment.
"Oh, a friend gave it to me. I never had a chance to use it. Since we need a ride, I guess this will have to do," Mo Wang said with an air of casual arrogance, as if the Hyperion were nothing more than a common trinket.
"What kind of friend gives people starships?!" everyone shouted in unison.
...
In short, the moment Mo Wang pulled out the Hyperion, the entire tone of FGO seemed to shift. The idea of using a starship to go on a grave-robbing spree was absurd on a whole new level.
Even now, Archer and Cu Chulainn hadn't fully processed it. A fantasy story had just taken a hard turn into science fiction, and there was no going back.
Mo Wang, however, felt that he was already being considerate of the genre by not using a giant robot to dig the holes. If he had used Great Magnus or the Sky Thunder, that would have been a real genre-breaker.
"Do you think our Master really needs us to solve this singularity?"
Charlemagne asked Archer and Cu Chulainn. He was starting to suspect that his Master was an alien.
He wasn't the only one. The entire staff of Chaldea had their suspicions. With his ridiculous strength and a starship at his disposal, Mo Wang was starting to look more and more like an otherworldly demon lord from a light novel.
...
By dawn, they had returned to where they started.
"Senpai, that's Orléans up ahead. What should we do now?" Mash asked, relieved that they had finally arrived without any more detours.
"I'm wondering if they sell fried chicken here," Mo Wang mused. Whenever he heard "Orléans," the first thing that came to his mind was New Orleans-style fried chicken. It had been a while since he'd had some.
"Senpai, be serious!" Mash said, her weariness returning. "And they don't sell fried chicken in Orléans."
"I know. I just feel like eating some," Mo Wang replied, his stomach rumbling.
On a side note, he really wanted to complain about the Nasuverse's wonky history. The city of Orléans wasn't founded until 1718. In the correct timeline, it probably didn't even exist yet. But that was just how the Nasuverse worked. Nasu just wrote what he wanted, and history could sort itself out.
"By the way, Charlemagne, are you familiar with this area?" Archer asked. As the only local among them, he would surely know more than they did.
However, the only local just shrugged. "I have no idea. This city didn't exist when I was alive."
Charlemagne was just as clueless as the rest of them. Several hundred years had passed since his time. The relationship between the current Capetian dynasty and his own era was like the relationship between the Song dynasty and the Qin dynasty.
Even though they were both "France," he had no idea what the situation was.
Everyone groaned. Their only local expert was useless.
Mo Wang, however, was thinking that Charlemagne's status in France was probably comparable to that of the First Emperor of Qin in China.
He wondered what would happen if he found someone and said, "I am Charlemagne. Give me money."
Unaware of the new scheme brewing in Mo Wang's mind, Charlemagne spotted a group of patrolling soldiers up ahead. "Why don't we go and ask them for information?" he suggested.
"I'll go!" Mash volunteered immediately.
But before she could take a step, Mo Wang pulled her back. "Do you even speak French?"
"C-can't I use English?" Mash asked, embarrassed.
"What do you think?"
Okay, she had to admit, she didn't know French. She could speak English, but in this era, speaking English to French soldiers, even if they understood, would probably get you arrested as a spy.
"Then what should we do?" Shirou-Morgan asked. If none of them could speak French, how were they supposed to communicate?
In reality, the only ones who didn't know French were Shirou-Morgan and Mash. Even Cu Chulainn knew a little. As for Mo Wang?
He had his globetrotting adventures in the Street Fighter universe to thank for his linguistic skills. He was fluent in dozens of languages, even the tribal languages of the Amazon.
But even so, not many people in their group were suitable for making first contact. Cu Chulainn would probably be mistaken for a terrorist.
And as for Archer... if he were ten years younger, it might have been fine.
But ever since he had become a Counter Guardian, his skin had darkened, his hair had turned white, and the kind, good-natured young man had transformed into a bona fide terrorist.
If you put him next to his cheap old dad and asked who looked more dangerous, he'd win by a landslide.
In fact, besides Charlemagne, who fit the classic hero archetype, no one else in the group was suitable.
"Don't worry, I have a special way of scouting," Mo Wang said. He had a much more efficient way of entering the city and gaining their trust than just asking for directions.
In the next moment, a holy light enveloped him, and a pair of sparkling chicken wings sprouted from his back. His expression became serene and angelic.
Everyone's eyes widened. That outfit... don't tell me you're trying to pass yourself off as an angel?