"So… I'm already dead?"
Instinctively, I tried to scratch my nose… Oh, well, it turns out even a simple action like that is now a luxury.
Because, right now, I'm nothing more than a small, white glowing orb.
Who would've thought that one day, the phrase I used to yell at people—"You're nothing but a ball!"—would actually apply to myself?
"Huh… reacting so calmly? Honestly, I thought you'd be more shocked, maybe struggle to accept it a bit more. Was my genius assumption wrong? I guess so. Compared to the burning of Human Order, this is nothing."
Uh, excuse me, I didn't even die back when Human Order was on the line.
The one talking is on a sleek, high-tech light screen—a delicate girl who could be described as a living piece of art.
To be honest, finding myself dead was less shocking than the girl on the screen.
After all, that face is nearly identical to that portrait hanging in the Louvre, Mona Lisa, albeit slightly smaller in size.
And the real Mona Lisa wouldn't just refer to herself as a "genius," would she?
If you're a veteran FGO player, you could probably guess this Mona Lisa look-alike's true identity in an instant.
"But, Da Vinci…"
"Please call me the adorable and reliable Da Vinci-chan~~"
"…Alright, adorable… reliable Da Vinci-chan."
Why does she sound so sweet and natural when she acts cute? Wasn't she a man in her previous life?
"What happened, exactly? How did I die? I was just playing FGO alone in my room, minding my business…"
"Uh… hmm… Are you sure you want to know?"
Da Vinci frowned. Damn it, she even looks cute when she's hesitant.
No wonder so many people buy her doujins even though they know she was a guy…
"What's your last memory?"
My last memory… is…
"I remember… I was rolling in the gacha pool, I think? It was year-end, and FGO just updated tons of banners."
Too bad I'm free-to-play. With my pitiful supply of Saint Quartz, I can only stare at all those amazing characters…
I remember saving up a good amount of Saint Quartz. I got pretty lucky when I pulled Tamamo-no-Mae. I still had some left over after, so I thought I'd try my hand at Koyanskaya of Darkness, and then… and then…
"I was about to roll for Koyanskaya of Darkness, and I think I even shouted… 'I sacrifice my buddy's lifespan by thirty years!' …or something like that?"
"Ah yes, that's right. Looks like your memory hasn't suffered any serious damage after becoming a soul. Well… I'd call that good news, at least."
Da Vinci was holding a pen in one hand and paper in the other, scribbling away.
"But that doesn't make sense. Even if the sacrifice worked, I was sacrificing my buddy's lifespan, not mine. Why did I end up dead?"
I'm totally baffled.
"Huh? Oh, that's because your sacrifice wasn't successful. Your 'good buddy' interrupted it," Da Vinci said, glancing up from her notes. "Before you could sacrifice his lifespan, he went ahead and sacrificed fifty years of yours."
"…He got the pull?"
"Of course, he got Koyanskaya of Darkness in a single roll, along with Gilgamesh, Reines, Caren, and Saber Astolfo. He even maxed out Astolfo's Noble Phantasm."
"Chaldea Expletive"
What a 'great friend' you are! I had no idea my lifespan was such valuable currency!
"So tell me, are you more upset that he sacrificed your lifespan without your permission, or more jealous he got all that good stuff?"
"Da Vinci-chan, please don't tease Senpai any further. Senpai is clearly distressed."
A second figure appeared on the light screen, with soft pinkish-purple hair covering one eye. Her voice and appearance gave off a sweet, gentle vibe.
"Mash! You're here too?"
Oh-ho, there she is! The lovely eggplant herself!
…Even if it's only through a screen.
"Yes, Senpai. I'm sorry I couldn't come to you right away. I'm supposed to be your shield and protect you…"
Given Da Vinci's petite figure, it seems this is the version of Mash without Galahad's Saint Graph, huh?
"It's alright. Just seeing you, Mash, makes me happy. Besides, you've always been protecting me, whether or not you're by my side, right?"
"Senpai…"
A blush spread across Mash's cheeks, her charm points increasing by at least five percent.
Wait, can I screenshot this light screen somehow?
"Senpai…"
"Hmm? What is it?"
Mash's eyes are a dazzling shade of purple, purer than any gem, clearer than any lake. Even after enduring so much hardship and malice, the light within them has never dimmed—and it's that very light that lets her keep raising that pure, untainted Wall of Chalk.
"…Nothing. It's just…" Mash blinked, a faint smile appearing on her face. "It's just that… Senpai is exactly who I thought you were."
Ah, a little cryptic, but sweet nonetheless.
"Honestly, is it really fair? You're all sweet for Mash, but completely different with me. I, Da Vinci-chan, might get jealous, you know."
"Huh? Can a soul have different expressions?"
"It's your tone, Master. As soon as you see Mash, you sound like you've had a honey cake."
Is that… true?
"Ahem! Alright, touching reunion time is over. Now, let's enter the genius Da Vinci's Q&A segment." She paused, smiling slyly. "Master, you should be thrilled. Your lifelong dream is about to come true—you'll have the chance to travel to another world, just like you always wished."
"Because there's no supernatural force in your old world, if you'd simply died, your soul would've just disintegrated into base Spiritron particles. Although Chaldea barely managed to hold onto your soul, without a framework to anchor you, your only outcome is to become 'something that doesn't exist,' fading into Imaginary Space's depths. In that case, dissolving into Spiritrons and returning to the world might even be kinder."
"So, to stabilize your existence, we urgently need to send you into a stable world, an isekai, if you will. Since you've already 'died' in your original world, we can't—at least for now—send you back there."
"Moreover, there's another tricky issue. Since we didn't bring your physical body with you, we could rebuild one to house your soul—I mean, it'd be as easy for me as unscrewing a juice cap—but we have no idea about the dangers in these other worlds. There could be powerful foes that would pose a real threat to you, and Chaldea's team wouldn't be able to reach you."
"So, after deliberation with everyone at Chaldea, we've decided that each time you cross into a world, a Servant will lend you their Saint Graph. You'll have full access to that Saint Graph's powers and skills to protect yourself. Oh, and, fun fact: the inspiration for this came from the novels on your bookshelf, I Refuse to Be a Valkyrie, Transforming into a Genshin Character… and One Transformation Per World."
Her words gave me a jolt.
"Hold up, Da Vinci, how do you know about my bookshelf? And… am I actually going to transform like in those novels?!"
"Please. You're thrilled on the inside, aren't you?"
Ah, she saw right through me.
After all, in FGO, each Servant is cooler than the last: Siegfried, the dragonslayer; Rama, the hero's prototype; even Cu Chulainn, as long as you ignore his tragic luck, is still undeniably cool.
…Though I'd probably want to steer clear of Cu if given the choice.
Oh, wait a minute.
"Um… is the Saint Graph selection random?"
"Of course, although the probabilities will differ slightly."
Is it just me, or did Da Vinci's smile suddenly look a bit… mischievous?
"Think of it like a summoning banner, but with a twist. The probability of drawing each Servant's Saint Graph is influenced by how high you've leveled them. So if you've only maxed one Servant to level 100 with Grails and another is just level 1, then your odds will be around 100/101 for the level 100 and 1/101 for the level 1. Naturally, we want to give you the strongest Saint Graph possible to keep you safe. It's all for your benefit."
"…"
Da Vinci's explanation sounded pretty reasonable at first.
But there's one small problem…
"I've hardly leveled any male Servants—what the heck!!"
"That's not our fault. It's not like we stopped you from leveling the male characters."
You're mocking me, aren't you? You totally are!
I don't play FGO to get stronger; I play it to collect waifus!
It's not my fault the official art for female Servants is so beautiful. Even if they're not the strongest, I'll level them up just to complete their portraits.
My rare max-leveled male Servants… are probably Arash and Astolfo?
Good grief, one is a self-sacrificing hero, and the other… a trap?
I leveled up Arash because I was blown away by his Stella in the Sixth Singularity. As for Astolfo…
Well, my thinking back then was—hey, it's just a game character; who cares about gender, right? I say Astolfo's a girl, and that's that!
"Alright, Master. I trust you're mentally prepared. Without further delay, we'll send you to the nearest world. Deep breath. This'll feel like Spiritron Transfer—though I suppose you haven't experienced that in the real world. Just think of it like riding a rollercoaster without a seatbelt."
"Isn't that dangerous?!"
"Don't worry, don't worry. A little dizziness and nausea are normal, but as a soul, you won't have to worry about vomiting your guts out."
"Do… do people actually vomit their guts out?!"
My anxiety deepens with each of Da Vinci's words, but instead of answering, she just tinkers with some controls. The next moment, an irresistible force starts pulling on me, and my consciousness fades away…
…
…
"Is Senpai… going to be okay?"
With her hands clasped over her chest, Mash looked at the now blank screen, her worry barely contained.
"Have a little more faith in her. As someone who stood beside you through the burning of Human Order, you know better than anyone just how resilient her seemingly fragile exterior hides a steadfast spirit."
Gently placing her hands on Mash's shoulders, Da Vinci's tone softened as she spoke to the pure-hearted girl.
"Though you can't use your shield to ward off every threat for her as you once did, support comes in more forms than just one. We, the ones aiding from the sidelines, are just as much her 'shield.' A shield that's unseen but essential."
"Even the great genius Da Vinci can't do everything alone. So, for now, all we can do is trust her."
"Trust her. She's never let us down, and I don't think she ever will."
---
T/N: You guys might be confused to why the great Da Vinci-chan! and Mash refers to our MC as she but that's most likely because HE chose GUDAKO when playing through FGO!