"Yo, a rare guest!"
Dr. Romani, holding a cup of coffee, immediately noticed the servant who had suddenly appeared in the corridor. "What brings you here today?"
Mash had already informed Romani about Jiang You's ability to move between worlds at will, so Chaldea wasn't particularly surprised by his sudden appearances.
"How's the tracking on Solomon/Goetia's location coming along?" Jiang You asked.
He was actually just checking on the plot's progress. Recent inactivity had Jiang You itching to play other games, but his daily gameplay report remained unfinished. He had no choice but to log back in and wander around; that testing compensation wasn't going to earn itself.
"Could you call me Romani while we're here... or just Roman, either works," Dr. Romani said, sounding somewhat guilty at the mention of his true name, even though most of Chaldea already knew his real identity.
Are you sticking your head in the sand like an ostrich? Jiang You quipped inwardly. The King of Mages is quite the comedian! Your title is weeping!
"Look, I'm right here. If it weren't for this whole mess, I'd probably still be traveling the world. Anyone who wants that title can have it."
If Romani truly cared about his identity, he wouldn't have wished on the Holy Grail to become an ordinary human.
"Alright then," Jiang You conceded.
Jiang You couldn't argue with that. "So, how's the homing in on your old place going? I've been meaning to ask for ages. Isn't that Grand Temple of Time your territory? How come you can't even find your way home?"
"Why do you think it's called that?" Romani retorted.
Romani felt it was pointless to discuss such matters with a Caster who knew nothing about magic. He still couldn't understand why Jiang You's Class had ended up being Caster, though the guy's aptitude for other Classes was even more questionable.
"Because it exists nowhere and at no time—or rather, it has no fixed location or time. Without the Holy Grail from the Seventh Singularity, we'd never have found the key to reach our destination."
"So, how much longer will the lock-on take? Can we skip it?"
Having nothing else to do, Jiang You considered trying to improve his relationship with the Prisma Illya girls. But recently, aside from the original Illya, progress with the others had stalled. Miyu had started with high favor due to initial gratitude, but her attitude hadn't changed much since then.
"You think this is some kind of scripted dialogue?" Romani scoffed.
Romani found Jiang You to be a rather detached figure, constantly spouting things no one else understood.
"Besides, even games get stuck on progress. The reason is always 'insufficient production capacity.'"
"True. The final chapter has been delayed for almost two years now."
Maybe they're planning to extend Fate/Grand Order to version 3.0, Jiang You thought. As the IP's biggest cash cow, it's unlikely to end with 2.0. There are still so many "satellites" yet to be launched.
"What exactly are you getting at?" Romani sensed Jiang You was subtly criticizing them, but he lacked concrete evidence.
"Time-wise, it'll take about a month—roughly forty days, to be precise. During this period, aside from essential training, we really should give the Master a break. She hasn't had a proper rest in ages. Speaking of which, what brings you here this time?"
"Bored. Came to mess around with a Spirit Origin. I'm getting tired of being a Caster."
As previously mentioned, due to the Existence Outside the Domain Unique Skill, Jiang You had decided to play the role of a noble outsider for a while. This Skill had been lying dormant in his Parameters for several Scripts already; if he didn't use it soon, it might start to rust.
"...You're planning to transform into a Beast again?"
When Jiang You transformed into the Beast Class, it caused immense chaos in Chaldea. Da Vinci immediately halted the Spirit Origin Transformation Device, forcing Jiang You to revert to Caster. The device was subsequently locked against him, and no matter how much he pleaded, Da Vinci vehemently opposed any further attempts by him to use it.
"Honestly, I'm also curious about which Beast you correspond to... But you know the risks associated with that Class. We can't guarantee you won't go berserk after transforming."
As a player, Jiang You naturally assumed he wouldn't lose control. But upon reflection, it wasn't entirely impossible. Given the right mission, he'd absolutely start causing mischief, so long as he could ensure the Human Order wouldn't be destroyed.
Seeing Jiang You offer no rebuttal, Romani breathed a sigh of relief. "Chaldea simply doesn't have the resources to handle another Beast right now. You'll have to suppress your curiosity for now... Speaking of which, how do you not know why you have compatibility with that Class? It's not something just any Heroic Spirit can achieve."
"...Hard to say."
Jiang You imagined a swimsuit-clad Servant transforming into a Beast after just one night's sleep. This made the onmyouji who had once rivaled Abe no Seimei in fame, and who had schemed tirelessly to become a Beast himself, look utterly foolish.
"If you live that long, you might get to see it," Jiang You said. "By then, Chaldea will have so many Beasts, you won't be able to count them all on one hand."
"What do you mean, if I live that long? And what's with this Chaldea will have so many Beasts you can't count them all on one hand nonsense? Is Chaldea some kind of demonic den?!" Romani retorted, indignant at his seemingly arbitrary death sentence. But seeing the serious look in Jiang You's eyes, he knew hiding the truth was pointless.
"Fine, I forgot you also have Clairvoyance—and a higher-grade one than mine. I genuinely thought I'd never have a chance... but now it seems there might be a way after all. You're far more absurd than I am, aren't you? Your abilities completely disregard the laws of the world."
Jiang You chuckled and clapped Romani on the shoulder. "Easy peasy. When the time comes, I'll just drag Tiamat over for a Beast showdown. If that doesn't work, I'll transform into a Beast myself and brawl with Goetia!"
Romani couldn't quite picture that scene. The apocalyptic crisis suddenly felt like it had veered into slapstick comedy.
"But I still need to change my Spirit Origin today. Don't worry, I won't become a Beast. If things get out of hand, I'll have Da Vinci accompany me."
Jiang You had to change his Spirit Origin today.
"I have a feeling you're going to pull another stunt. By the way, Chaldea's summoning array is almost fully repaired. We can now summon permanent Heroic Spirits. Today is Ritsuka Fujimaru's first permanent summoning. Want to come watch?"
Romani tried to distract Jiang You, but Jiang You saw through his plan.
"Sure, but let me change my Spirit Origin first."
He'd long grown tired of summoning rituals. Though he was a bit curious if Gudako would actually summon some kind of conceptual Mystic Code, like those random Black Keys.
In the end, Romani relented to Jiang You's request, and Da Vinci escorted him to the designated room.
"You don't need to be so tense," Jiang You said with a smile, trying to ease the atmosphere as he saw Da Vinci's battle-ready stance. "It's not like I'm going to become a Beast again."
"This time, I've chosen the Class: Foreigner!"
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