"Another welcome party?" Romani grumbled, watching the Chaldea staff scramble to get busy again. "Didn't we just have one a few hours ago? And at this hour, too."
"We have no choice. At the end of the day, we Servants are still people. If we're treated differently, it's bound to cause resentment. We have to treat everyone equally." Da Vinci directed the staff on-site as she spoke. "Besides, we haven't completely dismantled the previous setup, so it won't take much effort."
"I have a bad feeling about this." Romani pressed a hand to his forehead. The (physical) impact from Nero's performance had been overwhelming. Most Servants were problem children—himself included.
"I have a feeling the next Heroic Spirit to show up will be another troublemaker."
"Relax, relax." Da Vinci disagreed. "If they're willing to answer the summons, they'll naturally be on our side. Even Jiang You is pretty easy to get along with most of the time, so don't overthink it. Since Ritsuka and Mash aren't here, it's up to us to handle the reception. You just rest here; I'll take care of everything."
"I hope you're right." Romani's ominous premonition grew stronger. But as an ordinary human, he had no way to verify his gut feeling and could only suppress his unease. Chaldea could have cut the power to the Summoning Circle and forcibly halted the ritual. However, turning someone away when they were already on their way felt rude, so Romani kept the thought to himself.
Finally, the magical power gathered in the Summoning Circle reached its peak. A storm of magical energy swept through the Summoning Chamber. When the crackling electricity dissipated, a small girl clutching a doll appeared at the center of the circle.
"Hello, everyone! I'm Abigail—Abigail Williams. I'm a For...eigner... Is this... Chaldea? If you don't mind, you can call me Abby. I think we'll become friends very soon."
The girl greeted everyone timidly.
"Welcome to Chaldea."
Da Vinci, who was handling the reception, was the first to respond. She carefully observed the young Servant named Abigail. (Her Parameters actually listed her as 1 cm taller than Nero.) The girl wore loose, black-based clothing adorned with orange ribbons. Beyond that, there was nothing particularly unusual about her, except for her remarkably high and wide forehead. It was so prominent that it was impossible not to notice. If it were an intentional style choice, it seemed excessive; it just gave the strange impression that something should be there.
"I'm Da Vinci. We've prepared a welcome party for you, but before that, let me show you around."
"O-Okay... Thank you for your trouble."
As a good girl, Abby remained quite polite. However, her gaze never lingered on Da Vinci, instead sweeping over everyone present. "Before that," she said, "Abby wants to find someone. He should be here too."
"No problem. You can look for anyone you want."
Da Vinci had a good idea who Abby was looking for. As a fellow special Class Foreigner, Abby had actually been summoned by Jiang You. It was perfectly normal for a Servant to want to confirm their Master's identity first. Still, it was best not to assume. Da Vinci asked politely, "So, Abby, who is it you're looking for?"
"Abby doesn't know." Abby shook her head. She didn't even know what the person she wanted to meet looked like. But for the first time, she had clearly heard Father God's whisper. "Father God said that appearance doesn't really matter to that person. I'll know who it is as soon as I see them."
Appearance doesn't matter? Da Vinci felt like she had just fitted another piece into the puzzle of Jiang You's true identity.
"Have you found them yet?" Da Vinci unconsciously slipped into a tone one would use with a child—though Abby was a child.
"Abigail?"
Sitting in the main control room, Romani muttered the name. Though he had lost the modern knowledge granted by the Holy Grail, his travels had given him a thorough understanding of human history. As long as he had a name, he could quickly recall the corresponding Servant's historical background. This was precisely why Jiang You baffled him so much—the name simply didn't exist in history. He could only assume Jiang You was a Servant from the future.
But there was a bug in that theory. After the Incineration of Human Order, human history theoretically ceased to exist after 2017. Logically, there shouldn't be any future Heroic Spirits. In the end, even he, the King of Magecraft, couldn't make sense of these spells.
Romani quickly recalled Abigail's identity. Late 17th century, the first victim of the Witch Trials, a young girl accused of being the first to show signs of demonic possession. Beyond that, there were no other notable deeds. However, as the original "witch," she appeared frequently in later compilations and artistic works. Based on this, Abigail should have manifested as a witch, likely a Caster Class. Yet here she was, a Foreigner.
Even demons are native to this planet, so that term shouldn't apply.
Then there's the title "Father God." Abigail's parents were Puritans, and she would have been one too. This likely refers to a Supreme God—the very same deity Romani revered when he was Solomon, the one who granted him wisdom. If it were that God, Abigail should have manifested as a Ruler. So, it couldn't be Him.
But an entity capable of directly communicating with Heroic Spirits on the Throne of Heroes certainly possesses divine power. Who could it be?
Solomon watched the monitor, feeling that Abigail's presence was somehow unreal, as if her true form was hidden. His gaze fixed on her, then unconsciously drifted to her conspicuous forehead.
The screen suddenly flickered with static, as if the signal was being jammed, blurring the video. But Romani's sharp eyes caught the instantaneous change. For a fleeting moment, a black hole appeared on Abby's forehead. It vanished so quickly that he couldn't see it clearly, but the shape seemed like... a keyhole?
Romani knew he wasn't imagining things. The sense of unease deepened once more.
"...He's not here?"
Upon learning from Da Vinci that Jiang You wasn't in this Worldline, a look of disappointment crossed Abby's face.
"Father God even said He wanted to meet him personally."
Unseen by anyone, the Summoning Circle began to glow with a light invisible to the human eye.