After the initial commotion settled, they all sat around the long table. However, since the room wasn't very large, Xiang Yu had to switch to his spirit form first. Mash, Rei, and Hinako could only stand to the side.
Ignoring Merry, who was still stuck in the hole in the ceiling, Merlin, holding Fou, cleared his throat and laughed.
"Since this is our first meeting, let's introduce ourselves. I'm Merlin, a Caster-class Servant. My relationship with the one hanging from the ceiling is that of a parallel version of myself. Don't feel awkward; you can also call me Big Brother Merlin."
"Shameless as ever."
Morgan scoffed coldly.
"I'm Morgan. You met Artoria in the sixth Singularity. I'm her half-sister. Like Atalanta in Chaldea, I'm a former Servant who gained a physical body thanks to the Holy Grail. Nice to meet you all."
Merlin and Morgan.
[This is truly a dreamlike scene, Merlin and Morgan. You two can actually get along like this]
Roman's voice came from the communication device on Ritsuka's wrist.
Morgan snorted coldly. "I only tolerate his existence. My personal hatred for him remains unchanged. If he were on the edge of a cliff about to fall, I'd be delighted to kick him off."
"But seeing as he's willing to show up here to help restore Human History, I'm willing to work with him."
"Hahaha~~~ You're really strict." Merlin gave a wry smile. "Well, my situation is more or less the same. Honestly, before you all arrived, I was worried every day about whether I'd be poisoned by her. Now that you're here, things are much better."
Ritsuka was a bit confused. "Huh? Why?"
Merlin pointed at Naoki. "Because Natsukawa's here~~~"
(Oh, I see.)
Those who knew about Naoki's situation immediately understood, while Ritsuka and Mash gave helpless smiles.
"Department Head, I'm starting to wonder just how vast your social network is. How do you seem to know people everywhere?" Ritsuka asked.
"I feel the same way. Also, Brother, though it might be a bit late to say this… please be a little more mindful of your relationships with the opposite sex." Mash added.
[Exactly, exactly, exactly!]
Hearing Roman's agreement, Naoki's eyebrow twitched. "Advice from Fujimaru and Mash is acceptable, but Roman, do you have any right to say that to me? Miss Sheba should be there. Please check if she's got amnesia or a malfunctioning brain."
[Alright—wait, Sheba, what are you doing? Help—!]
The communication from Chaldea cut off.
Merlin: "Hm… Chaldea summoned Queen Sheba? Hahaha, isn't that a bit too shocking for Romani? So that's why he hasn't been watching Magical Merry these past few days."
"You know about Magical Merry?" Ritsuka was a little surprised.
"Because that's him."
Naoki stated it bluntly. The Chaldea staff, along with Ritsuka, Mash, and Hinako, were shocked in unison.
Magical Merry was… Merlin?
Pointing at Merry, who was still hanging, Naoki explained, "Actually, it's operated jointly by Merry and Merlin. Merry provides the physical appearance, and Merlin acts as the 'talent' disguised as a woman."
"That's actually quite interesting. Thanks to that, the succubus part of me can feel quite satisfied every day." Merlin laughed. "But after the Human Order Incineration started, it was temporarily paused. Now I basically just scold him whenever Romani complains to me."
Scolding…
Ritsuka recalled that Doctor Roman always seemed fanatically devoted when watching Magical Merry.
(Sigh… It seems I've learned something very important about the doctor.)
[THUD!]
At that moment, a loud crash echoed from Chaldea, followed by Marie's voice.
[Damn it, that Romani… Sorry, since Romani was just dragged off by Queen Sheba, I, Olga Marie, Director of Chaldea, will now take over communication with you all]
[First, I want to confirm one thing—Natsukawa mentioned that some pioneers had gone ahead to assist with restoring Human History in the Singularity. That's you all]
*POP!*
Pulling her head out of the ceiling, Merry floated down and nodded. "Yes, exactly. Since the situation in this Singularity is the most troublesome of the seven, we came to help a bit. I arrived first, while Merlin and Morgan came later."
[Thank you so much for your help, all three of you. So, regarding the situation in this Singularity, you must have a good grasp of it. Can you explain it to us?]
"Of course, no problem. We were planning to do that anyway."
Casually sitting on Naoki's lap, Merry began recounting the events of the six months she had spent in the seventh Singularity.
The relentless attacks from Demon Beast armies targeting Uruk, the Three Goddess Alliance that emerged to destroy Uruk, the various countermeasures taken by King Gilgamesh… Merry explained most of these things one by one, except for the issue of Goddess Tiamat at the end.
"So, as a result, Uruk is now in a state of war. One of the three goddesses in the alliance, the Magical Beast Goddess, creates countless Demon Beasts and aims to destroy all of Uruk."
"Meanwhile, the other two goddesses haven't done anything yet. They might be planning to observe for now, or perhaps they have their own plans, but either way, they're definitely enemies."
"During this time, Uruk has always been on the losing side of the war. Though King Gilgamesh summoned Servants, and I also brought in one foreign aid, the situation has improved. At the very least, it's balanced now, but that's only because the goddesses haven't personally joined the fight. If they do, the situation will flip in an instant."
Speaking up to this point, Merry smiled and hugged Naoki's arm. "But that's no longer an issue now. If those goddesses show up, our dear King will easily take care of them."
"Can you stop talking as if the goddesses are just ordinary troops?"
"At most, they'd just have a health bar at the bottom of the screen. They might pose a slight threat to you, but that's about it."
Jumping off Naoki's body, Merry laughed. "So, that's it for the situation briefing. Now let's go meet the king here. We might be staying here for a while, so it's better to meet the local ruler first."
The local ruler…