In Chaldea's command center, Fujimaru Ritsuka, Mash, and Doctor Roman had gathered.
Adam had already decided the timing for the raid on the First Singularity: early tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow at dawn, Adam, Ritsuka, and Mash would Rayshift straight into it.
Right now he stood before them, laying out everything they needed to know.
"The First Singularity we're heading into occurred in 1431, in Orléans."
"France and Britain were locked in the Hundred Years' War at the time."
"The single most important event for human history during that period was Jeanne d'Arc entering the battlefield. Her involvement completely reversed France's losing streak."
"Jeanne's appearance awakened a national consciousness in the French people. Their fighting spirit surged, and that momentum carried France to victory."
"The end of that war is historically regarded as one of the major turning points that closed the Middle Ages, so this timeframe is critical."
"That's exactly why 'they' chose this moment to detonate a Singularity."
"The biggest reason the Singularity formed is that someone twisted the entire flow of the war. Someone destroyed France's path to victory and flipped the outcome completely."
"And that someone is… Jeanne Alter. She was created by the Holy Grail, and the Grail itself is inside her body."
"Our primary mission is to defeat Jeanne Alter and take the Grail from her."
Ritsuka rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful.
"A blackened saint? Sounds kind of hot."
Adam kept his face blank and pressed his lips together. He happened to agree—blackened saints were extremely hot, especially the idea of dragging the pure Jeanne down into complete surrender…
He cleared his throat twice and pulled the conversation back on track.
"There's one complication, though…"
"Jeanne Alter can keep summoning new Servants endlessly thanks to the Grail's power."
"Luckily, the Counter Force intervened…"
"In the First Singularity, a lot of Masterless Servants are already opposing her. Almost all of them were summoned by the Counter Force itself."
"If we gather those Servants, we'll have more than enough power to defeat her."
While Adam was explaining with full enthusiasm, Ritsuka raised a hand.
"Teacher Adam, I have a question."
Adam stopped and looked at him.
"Go ahead."
Ritsuka voiced his doubt.
"You can summon tons of incredibly strong Servants, right? So why do we need to collect the ones already in the Singularity? Why not just charge in and let her see exactly how strong you really are?"
Mash and Doctor Roman turned curious eyes toward Adam as well.
Yeah… couldn't Adam just summon an overwhelming force and end it instantly?
Adam stayed quiet for a second.
...
Could he do it?
Of course he could.
Even without bringing out the Beasts, his roster already included Servants capable of reaching Grand rank. He could summon any one of them and flatten the entire Singularity in minutes.
But then what about his emotion points?
He glanced at the counter.
Emotion Points — 16,400
Spending everything on the gacha would only get him about eighty pulls.
Deployment Cost — 0/24
Raising the limit would only add eight more slots.
Right now he could barely support summoning a single five-star Servant.
He still needed a massive amount of emotion points to unlock higher deployment capacity and increase the number of Servants he could field at once. Raising the active limit from six to seven was especially important, and if he had enough points there was technically no ceiling.
He wanted to recreate that legendary scene in the Final Singularity—hundreds of Servants appearing at the same time just to watch Goetia's face.
The thought alone made him smile.
Unlocking each extra slot, though, cost an insane 20,000 deployment points, and even after raising the limit the actual summoning costs still had to be paid.
The emotion points required would be enormous.
Still, it wasn't a problem. There were seven Singularities ahead of him to clear (and thoroughly enjoy).
Just this first one already had more than Jeanne Alter: the original Jeanne, Berserker Lancelot, Rider Marie Antoinette, and plenty of others.
Adam was already deciding which Servants from his own Chaldea he would pit against each of them.
The anticipation felt fantastic.
If he simply rushed in and crushed Jeanne Alter immediately, how was he supposed to farm emotion points?
So he cleared his throat and answered Ritsuka calmly.
"Ritsuka, I may be very strong, but I'm not from this world."
"I could enter the Singularity and solve it instantly, but then none of you would grow at all."
"This world ultimately belongs to you."
"In the end, you'll have to protect it with your own hands."
"That's why I'm holding back—so that when similar crises appear in the future, you'll be able to stand on your own without needing me."
His words carried real feeling, and his natural charisma made them land perfectly.
Instantly, Ritsuka and Mash's focus shifted. They were now determined to become strong enough that they would never hold Adam back.
Seeing their expressions, Adam decided to give them one last push.
"Ritsuka. Mash. Tell me—do you want to protect the world you love?"
"I do!" they answered in unison.
"I can't hear you. With that kind of volume, how do you expect to save everything you care about?"
"I DO!!!" they shouted, voices full of fire.
"Good. That's the spirit."
Both of them were now brimming with energy, itching to Rayshift right this second instead of waiting until tomorrow.
Adam nodded, satisfied.
Doctor Roman watched him with a thoughtful look.
A few sentences and morale had skyrocketed. Adam really did have the aura of a true leader.
In fact, almost everyone in Chaldea had already accepted Adam as the de facto head of the organization.
He had only been here three days.
And he had already won everyone over?
Roman suddenly realized something.
Wait… if that's the case, then what am I? The acting director?
The acting director quietly questioned his own existence.
Just as Adam was about to dismiss the meeting, he remembered one more thing.
"Oh, good news."
"I've almost finished preparing the Director's new body."
"If everything goes smoothly, you should be able to meet a living, breathing Director sometime before tomorrow morning."
With that, Adam left the command center.
Ritsuka and Mash were thrilled to hear Olga Marie would soon be back.
Roman, however, felt a complicated mix of joy and dread. He could already imagine the Director's face when she woke up and discovered that her position as director had become purely ceremonial—and that the person who had taken over was Adam.
Adam headed back toward his workshop, planning to spend the remaining time finishing Olga Marie's body.
As he rounded a corner, he walked straight into something incredibly soft.
The sensation was familiar.
Familiar, but the owner of those soft curves stood perfectly steady, while the impact sent Adam stumbling backward.
Before he could fall, the other person moved with blinding speed and caught him from behind.
Adam suddenly felt the back of his head sink deep into two warm, pillowy mounds—soft as the finest tofu, yet springy and impossibly comfortable.
"Are you alright, Master?"
He looked up. Purple hair tickled his face. Through the strands he saw a pair of jewel-like violet eyes.
It was Medusa.
"Sorry, Master. I was lost in thought and didn't notice you."
Her eyes were full of apology, but beneath that apology hid a tiny spark of triumphant delight.
Adam shook his head casually.
"It's not just your fault, Medusa. I wasn't watching where I was going either."
Then something occurred to him and he tilted his head, curious.
"Funny running into you here like this."
Medusa smiled sweetly.
"Yes, Master. What a coincidence."
On the surface it looked like an accidental collision.
In reality, Medusa had asked around, memorized Adam's schedule, calculated the exact route from the command center to his workshop, and carefully arranged this "coincidental" meeting.
Adam, who knew her very well, had already figured it out.
But right now there was something more pressing.
"One thing at a time. Could you let go of me first?"
"You're holding me a little too tight… it's getting hard to breathe."
His head was still buried deep between her breasts. The feeling was heavenly—far better than any pillow—but Medusa had wrapped her arms around him like a python claiming its prey, refusing to let him fall.
Only when he spoke did she reluctantly loosen her grip.
Adam regained his freedom.
He remembered the promise he had made to her back in Singularity F—to summon her older sisters.
Even though this Medusa was the one from his original Chaldea and had spent plenty of time with them already, a promise was a promise.
"I almost forgot."
"I'll summon Euryale and Stheno right now. You can only spend a little time together though—I still have work to do, so they can't stay manifested for long."
After all, he was Rayshifting tomorrow morning and would need to summon more Servants afterward. He didn't have enough emotion points to keep them around indefinitely.
He opened his Servant list and searched for their profiles.
But Medusa suddenly bit her lip, looking like she wanted to say something.
Adam thought she might be disappointed about the short time and tried to comfort her.
"Even if it's only a short while right now…"
"After we clear the Second and Third Singularities, your sisters can stay in Chaldea with you permanently."
He was about to summon them when Medusa gently caught his hand. A faint, unnatural blush colored her cheeks.
"It's alright."
"Don't summon them yet."
Adam blinked in surprise.
"Eh?"
Medusa's breathing had grown slightly faster. Her violet eyes were locked on him, burning with clear desire.
"Normally I'm always with my sisters… but this time, I want to be alone with you, Master…"
Adam stared at her, reading the hunger in her gaze. It was the look of a giant serpent that had finally cornered its prey.
He had never expected this.
Medusa—wanting to have him all to herself?
Or maybe she had always wanted to, but her sisters had kept her in check until now.
He wondered what Euryale and Stheno would think if they ever found out.
Medusa's longing eyes made his resolve waver.
But he still had Olga Marie's body to finish.
And tomorrow morning he had to Rayshift.
If he got too carried away with Medusa, what if he wasn't ready in time?
"Is… that not okay?"
Her voice had turned soft and disappointed.
When Adam looked at her again, those beautiful eyes were practically pleading.
He drew in a sharp breath—and because they were standing so close, he caught the unique, intoxicating scent that belonged only to her.
Mental hesitation and physical temptation collided inside him.
Damn it… using that look on me?
***
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