With the Singularity resolved, the Counter Force began its restoration of the area.
The first place to be restored was the Holy City—after Artoria finished speaking to Ritsuka Fujimaru, Ritsuka Fujimaru was surprised to find her body enveloped in golden light.
It was the sign of a Rayshift—the Counter Force, having detected that the Singularity had been resolved, began its restoration starting from the Holy City, where the distortion had been most severe.
As a Master from another world, Ritsuka Fujimaru would naturally be sent back immediately through the Rayshift.
"So soon? The Rayshift is already starting?"
Ritsuka Fujimaru looked at her hands, now surrounded by light, and realized she was about to leave this Singularity.
She quickly turned to Zuke beside her and said:
"According to our agreement, I'll summon you once I return to Chaldea. You must accept the summon, okay?"
Summoning a Servant is a two-way process. The Master summons the Servant, and the Servant must respond to the summon for it to succeed.
If Ritsuka Fujimaru tried to summon Zuke but he didn't respond, it would be pointless.
"Even though this deal was proposed by Mr. Zuke, why does it feel like Senpai is the one who's more anxious about it?"
Mash, holding her large shield, walked over and sighed as she saw Ritsuka Fujimaru's anxious expression.
Even though "summoning Zuke to Chaldea" was a condition Zuke had proposed, Ritsuka Fujimaru's behavior made it seem like it was Chaldea's request.
"Is Mash jealous? Because her Senpai is being so attentive to another Servant?"
Da Vinci, also glowing with golden light, teased Mash in a playful tone.
"But this is good for Chaldea too. With such a powerful Servant, if we can summon his shadow in future Singularities, I feel like even the King of Mages wouldn't stand a chance."
...
A few minutes later, the Rayshift was complete, and Ritsuka Fujimaru, Mash, and Da Vinci returned to Chaldea.
"Ah, welcome back, everyone..."
Romani, who had been waiting for them, greeted their return. The speed at which the Sixth Singularity had been resolved had indeed exceeded his expectations.
Zuke's power in this Singularity had been so overwhelming that even Romani was taken aback.
While Ritsuka Fujimaru was talking to Artoria earlier, Romani had refrained from interrupting because he was busy accessing Chaldea's database to search for any mention of Zuke in myths or history.
But the search had turned up nothing. While the name "Zuke" appeared in some obscure corners of history and as minor characters in stories, none of them seemed to match the Zuke they knew.
So, for now, Romani had to set aside his doubts and focus on welcoming Ritsuka Fujimaru and the others back. He would address his questions later.
But as soon as he finished his welcome, Ritsuka Fujimaru rushed over, grabbed his collar, and shouted:
"Doctor! Can we perform a Servant summon now!?"
"Huh...? Well, yes, we can, but don't you need some rest?"
Caught off guard by Ritsuka Fujimaru's aggressive question, Romani's brain momentarily short-circuited, and he responded instinctively.
In the past, after returning from a Singularity, Ritsuka Fujimaru would usually chat for a bit before resting. But today, she seemed unusually energetic.
"Doctor, just let her do it. If we don't summon Mr. Zuke now, Senpai won't let this go."
Mash, standing nearby, sighed helplessly and pulled out her large shield, indicating that she was also ready.
Chaldea's method of summoning Servants used Mash's shield as a medium, leveraging the concept of gathering troops associated with the Round Table's shield to summon Servants to Chaldea.
So when Mash brought out her shield, it meant she supported Ritsuka Fujimaru's idea.
"Wouldn't it be better to complete the deal sooner? Otherwise, Mr. Zuke might think Chaldea doesn't keep its promises and drags things out."
Da Vinci also chimed in with a teasing smile—she was quite looking forward to Zuke's arrival as well.
Of course, Da Vinci didn't have any particular feelings for Zuke. She simply saw his arrival as a significant boost to Chaldea's combat capabilities.
"You just want to study the prototypes of Mr. Zuke's Noble Phantasms, don't you?"
Mash, who already knew about Zuke's "Gate of Babylon"-like ability, saw right through Da Vinci's true intentions.
This woman, who was fascinated by everything, naturally wanted to study Zuke's Noble Phantasm prototypes to uncover something new.
Especially since Zuke didn't seem to care much about his "Gate of Babylon," unlike Gilgamesh, who was very possessive of his treasures.
After all, Zuke had crashed Vimana straight into the Holy City's barrier—even Gilgamesh wouldn't have done something like that.
Da Vinci, an outsider, couldn't help but feel it was a waste, which was why everyone thought Zuke's "Gate of Babylon" was like something he'd picked up off the street.
But in reality, to Zuke, it really wasn't much different from picking something up off the street.
"Alright, alright, let's do the summoning first."
Seeing that all three of them supported summoning the Servant immediately, Romani waved his hand in agreement.
Unlike in the game, where summoning Servants was all about luck, in reality, there were many ways to summon a specific Servant.
For example, using a catalyst—and Ritsuka Fujimaru was still wearing the maid outfit Zuke had given her.
Although the others in Chaldea couldn't see it.
With Ritsuka Fujimaru's nervous anticipation, everyone headed to the room where Servants were summoned. After Mash placed her shield in position, the summoning could begin.
Although Ritsuka Fujimaru had performed many Servant summons before, this was the most nervous she had ever been.
As the ritual proceeded, Ritsuka Fujimaru soon saw the room fill with the light of a Servant summon.
Mana gradually condensed within the light, eventually forming a figure that stepped out of the room.
"That was faster than I expected."
Zuke slowly emerged from the light, stretching his body.
This was Zuke's first time experiencing being summoned—it didn't feel much different from entering a mission world.
It was just a matter of everything going dark, then light, and then he appeared somewhere else.
To be continued…
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