Chapter 87: The 'Problematic Children' of Chaldea

Chapter 87: The 'Problematic Children' of Chaldea

"Ethan, Mash."

Doctor Romani looked at the two with an exhausted expression.

"I'll get straight to the point. After the technical department worked day and night, we have made initial progress in resolving the communication issues."

"Oh? Does that mean we can proceed to the next Singularity?"

"That's right. We've already wasted quite a bit of time, so as soon as we finish reconfirming everything today, we'll proceed with the Rayshift. I wanted to check with you first."

"Understood."

Ethan nodded. Then, Doctor Romani continued:

"There's one good news and one bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"

Mash turned to Ethan, signaling for him to decide.

"...Let's hear the good news first."

Sitting in the chair, Ethan quickly made his choice.

Doctor Romani suddenly called him to the control room, and upon stepping in, Ethan noticed that Da Vinci was also present.

For now, let's keep a steady mindset.

"Chaldea has approved the terms of cooperation with your livestreams, temporarily classifying them under the Master Support regulations. This means you are free to use Chaldea's resources and personnel for your livestreams, including the relics and Holy Grails that Chaldea currently possesses or has recovered. You may use them all."

"I can use both relics and the Holy Grail? That kind of authority?!"

Ethan couldn't help but be astonished.

Previously, whenever he requested to use a Holy Grail, Doctor Romani would hesitate for a long time before finally agreeing.

"To be honest, even if we didn't grant you this authority, you've already been using the Holy Grail without permission, haven't you?"

Doctor Romani sighed helplessly.

"That was because the situation was too urgent at the time..."

"Now that the good news is out of the way, it's time for the bad news."

Doctor Romani turned to Da Vinci, signaling her to speak.

"Hi~ Ethan, Mashu-chan."

Da Vinci immediately stepped forward with a smile.

"Since you two returned to Chaldea from the Singularity, we have received a total of 89 complaint reports. Among them, 88 complaints are related to Servants, and 1 complaint is about you, Ethan."

"Out of the 88 Servant-related complaints, 44 involve Jeanne Alter destroying property, 33 are about Mordred disrupting order. Among the remaining 11 cases, 5 complaints are about Martha-Tarasque making excessive noise during training, and 6 are complaints about Popess Johanna being too dazzling."

Da Vinci read through the list like a machine gun.

"…I don't care about those, I just want to know what the single complaint about me is."

With a "-_-" expression, Ethan decided to ignore the rest.

...Wait a minute, someone actually complained because Johanna was too dazzling???

"Da Vinci-chan, I'm also really curious who complained about Senpai!!!"

Mash raised her hand.

"Very well, Mashu-chan."

Da Vinci leaned in closer and whispered:

"That person was me."

"Eh? Why you, Da Vinci-chan?!"

"Of course, it's because all the things they destroy need to be repaired and maintained by my workshop. Even if I am an Universal Genius, it's still exhausting. And while the damages were caused by Servants, Ethan, you never try to restrain them at all."

Da Vinci still had a smile on her face, but that smile was gradually becoming terrifying.

"I'm sorry! Truly sorry!!!"

Ethan immediately apologized.

After all, compared to lecturing those troublemakers, apologizing to Da Vinci was much easier.

"In short, the presence of these Servants has made Chaldea—which was already suffering losses—even more troublesome. But everyone understands that this is inevitable."

Doctor Romani spread his arms and said:

"Therefore, we hope you two can achieve worthy results, so that everyone can continue their work with higher morale."

At this point, Doctor Romani immediately waved his hand.

"Ah, of course, there's no pressure. After all, your performance in Fuyuki and France has already far exceeded our expectations. It's just that… so far, we've only managed to repair one Singularity. To be honest… everyone within Chaldea is extremely uneasy."

That made sense. If he put himself in the shoes of an ordinary Chaldea staff member…

Repairing seven Singularities was already an almost impossible task for humanity.

Moreover, the sudden appearance of Andromalius—Music Demon God Pillar—made everyone realize that the mastermind behind it all might actually be King Solomon. So, it was understandable that morale within Chaldea had plummeted.

"I understand."

Ethan nodded.

"I'll do my best to achieve results."

"I will also do my best to support Senpai!"

Mash immediately stood up, declaring with strong determination.

"By the way, Ethan, I have a few questions for you."

"Doctor, please ask."

"Has your livestream from the past few days concluded? How's the mana collection going?"

Doctor Romani looked at Ethan seriously, asking for specific data details.

"According to the plan, it will end today. The amount of mana collected… is enough to summon about two Servants."

Based on today's system data, his current livestream points had reached nearly 250,000.

If he used the standard summoning method, he could guarantee obtaining two Servants.

Moreover, if he exchanged them for premium summoning tickets, there was still a chance to gamble on something better.

"Two Servants?!"

Doctor Romani's exhausted face finally showed a hint of joy.

"To be honest, reaching this level is already quite impressive. This way, when you arrive at the Singularity, you can summon two Servants immediately, which will significantly strengthen our combat power. After all, this time, besides Mash, you can only bring two more Servants to the next Singularity."

"Huh? Why???"

Ethan was stunned.

Aside from Emiya Kiritsugu voluntarily staying behind to assist Chaldea, he should have been able to bring four Servants into the second mission, right?

Why was he only allowed to bring two?

"In Chaldea's original plan, we didn't anticipate that so many Servants would participate in the Rayshift. Right now, we only have four available spiritron chambers, and you and Mash have already taken up two of them."

Doctor Romani showed an apologetic expression.

"We will do our best to increase the number of spiritron chambers during this time, ensuring that in the next Rayshift, we can bring as many Servants as possible."

"I see. I'll go and think carefully about my choices."

Ethan nodded.

If he could only pick two, then he had to choose between the remaining four.

Johanna had Territory Creation and could provide a place to restore mana.

It wouldn't feel right to go without a support-type Servant.

Mordred's firepower was slightly weaker than Jeanne Alter's, but Jeanne Alter was much harder to communicate with, making the decision tough.

Martha "The Iron Fist" was a well-rounded Servant with both offense and defense, boasting A-rank strength and speed—an undeniably solid "team carry." Bringing her along wouldn't be a bad choice.

It was… too difficult… to decide…

"Ethan, I know you're struggling, but if possible, I'd like to say something."

Doctor Romani hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"What's on your mind, Doctor?"

"I just hope that the Servants staying behind can cooperate with Chaldea in gathering data. Preferably… without causing any more destruction. If you manage to fix the Singularities, but Chaldea disappears before that, it wouldn't exactly be funny."

Seeing Doctor Romani's troubled expression, Ethan sighed.

Understood, he now knew which two Servants to choose.