"What the heck is going on?"
Back in the city, Mo Wang found that his team had somehow gotten even bigger. Several Servants he had never met before were already chatting with his regulars.
"Master, you're finally back. This is...?" Jeanne asked, looking at Siegfried, who Mo Wang had unceremoniously dumped on the ground.
"Oh, this is Siegfried, still fresh and warm," Mo Wang said casually.
"Siegfried? The legendary dragon slayer? What... happened to him?" Jeanne looked at Siegfried's battered state with surprise. "Isn't he supposed to be immortal?"
"That's not my fault," Mo Wang said, averting his gaze. "The other Jeanne just thought he was too much of a threat to Fafnir, so she beat him up. It wasn't me."
Jeanne gave him a knowing look. Even if Mo Wang wasn't completely responsible, he was probably at least partially to blame. But she wisely decided to say nothing.
"Anyway, who are these people? How did they get here?" Mo Wang asked, gesturing to the newcomers. These had to be the rest of the Servants from this singularity, but he hadn't even looked for them yet.
"Ah, I forgot to mention. These Servants arrived while you and Mash were gone," Jeanne said. "They heard that you defeated the other Jeanne and established a resistance force, so they all came here."
"Really?" Mo Wang was surprised. In the game, he had had to search all over France to recruit them. Now they had all just shown up.
It felt like the system was afraid he would get stuck, so it was just shoving all the teammates at him.
"Oh, Master Anchin!"
A girl with light green hair came barreling towards him with the force of a dragon. He quickly grabbed her face to stop her.
"Master Anchin! Master Anchin!" Kiyohime chanted, waving her arms with terrifying force.
Mash and the others were startled. Who was this crazy woman?
"Um, who is that?"
"No need to introduce her. I know her. It's Kiyohime, right?" Mo Wang interrupted, rubbing his temples. Kiyohime was a well-known yandere in the FGO community, known for her obsessive and violent tendencies.
If there was one Servant he wanted to avoid in this chapter, it was her.
She was popular, but not with him. Yanderes were better admired from afar. And besides, he wasn't interested in becoming her "Anchin" substitute. Not now, at least.
"Kiyohime? Isn't that the name of a famous yokai?" Mash asked, eyeing Kiyohime warily.
On the outside, Kiyohime was a beautiful girl: gentle, virtuous, and refined, all very attractive qualities.
But seeing the look on Mo Wang's face, Mash realized that this was a kind of woman he wasn't good at dealing with.
"Master Anchin?! Master Anchin, why won't you accept my love?!" Kiyohime yelled, still trying to break free.
"Shut up! Be quiet! Calm down! If you don't stop yelling, I'm going to ignore you!" Mo Wang snapped.
Kiyohime immediately stopped and stared at him with puppy-dog eyes. Mo Wang sighed. Her Mad Enhancement EX was no joke. He had thought that the game's weird affection mechanics wouldn't apply in the real world. But it seemed reality was even worse. Who had maxed out her affection for him?!
"Hahaha! It looks like our Master is having a hard time," a hearty voice boomed.
A handsome man in shining armor approached, radiating a saintly aura. "Oh! WarGreymon! You finally made it!" Mo Wang's expression immediately brightened.
This was Saint George, their designated early-game farming machine. He was so radiant, it was like seeing Joseph Joestar in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.
"It seems you were waiting for me, Master?" Saint George asked, surprised.
"Oh, yeah, I was. But you're a little late. We've already killed all the dragons," Mo Wang said with a sigh. He needed to be more useful.
"Ahem! I apologize, but I have been evading the other Jeanne's forces. But do not fret! As a Servant, I will never give up!" Saint George declared confidently.
"Yeah, about that, you probably won't need to fight," Mo Wang said. "We need some extra hands in the kitchen. Can you help with processing the wyverns?"
"Huh? Master, wait! The kitchen? What do you mean?" Saint George stammered, but Mo Wang was already distracted by a cute girl running towards him.
"Hooray!" a girl with bright pink hair yelled. "It's me, Elizabeth Bathory!"
Mo Wang grabbed her and started rubbing her head.
"Master, what are you doing?! Don't touch me like that!" Elizabeth squeaked.
"Hey! Why does Elizabeth get a hug from Master Anchin?!" Kiyohime's rage was about to explode.
"Senpai! What are you doing?! Let her go!" Mash cried, tackling Mo Wang.
Thud!
Mo Wang released Elizabeth and rubbed his sore back.
"Sorry, I got a little carried away," he said. He had a soft spot for dragon lolis. She had been his first four-star Servant, and they had been through a lot together. Plus, Elizabeth was a popular character in FGO, the number one idol, even!
"Master, you messed up my hair," Elizabeth said, smoothing her pink locks.
It was hard to believe that this cute girl and that old crone, Carmilla, were the same person. How did she go from pink hair to silver, from a dragon to a vampire? Their personalities were also completely different.
Elizabeth was bubbly and energetic, while Carmilla was cold and cruel. They hated each other. In fact, they were probably the only Servants who actively despised their past or future selves.
Oh, and Saber Elizabeth is number one!
"Are we the last ones?" another energetic voice asked. "Hello! I'm Astolfo! Nice to meet you, Master!" A boy with pink hair, followed by a exasperated Charlemagne, joined the group.
"It's an honor to meet you, Master," Astolfo said. "Sorry we're late. I was having such a great conversation with His Majesty. I heard you single-handedly defeated Fafnir? You don't look that strong. No wonder His Majesty summoned you."
Mo Wang, however, was staring intently at Astolfo's lower half.
"Uh, Master, why are you looking at me like that?" Astolfo asked, taking a step back.
"Tell me, are you a boy or a girl?"
The question shocked Astolfo into silence.
"A boy, I am," Astolfo replied.
"Damn it!" Mo Wang wailed, dropping to his knees.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Astolfo asked, confused. But then he saw the look on everyone else's faces.
"Wait, that's a girl?"
"No way."
"Seriously?"
"What did I tell you?" Charlemagne said, giving a resigned sigh.
The bottom had dropped out of Mo Wang's world. He fell to the floor. Now he was cursing the game developers. They could feminize Arthur, Mordred, Okita Souji, Oda Nobunaga, but they had to make Astolfo a trap?!
Astolfo was ridiculously popular. According to some obscure website like N-site, his doujinshi once topped the charts. And who wouldn't be fooled by his cute face, slender frame, and pink hair?
He was also a powerful Servant, with a Noble Phantasm that could break any magical defense. If he could remember his True Name, he would be a five-star, no question. But alas, why did Astolfo have to be a boy?
Why couldn't they just make a fully feminized version of Astolfo? He would have whale-ed for that! Shut up and take my money!
"I don't believe it! There's no way someone this cute can be a boy! Let me check!" Mo Wang jumped up and reached for Astolfo's pants.
"Master! Please calm down! He's really a boy!"
"Oh no, he's lost it! Someone stop him!"
The other Servants rushed in, but it was chaos. Despite the sloppy recruitment process, Mo Wang's team had finally assembled.
And hey, where was Siegfried?
Oh, everyone forgot about him.