A young man approaches the training room like he was told to do. It was something to complete his registration to the facility, the others told him. To be perfectly honest, he was still amazed at all of this. This was technology beyond his wildest imagination. To be fair, he lived the most uneventful life before. Before he was taken to this strange place, he was just a typical college student. Nothing at all special, maybe even more mundane than that. A normal person from a normal life, he wonders how he was even accepted into something like this. He doesn't even know where they really are. Someplace that was considered top screen that even he wasn't allowed to know.

Seems strange but the pay was really good. So here he is.

He placed his hand on the panel on the left of the door. The panel scanned his handprint. Then, in a robotic voice:

—Base sequence: human genome confirmed

—Alignment: Lawful-Neutral

Welcome to the data center for the future of humankind.

This is the Security Organization for the Preservation of Humanity, Chaldea.

Fingerprint, voiceprint, and DNA authentication cleared.

Magical Circuit assessment complete.

Username matched.

You are recognized as a member of the primates.

Nice to meet you, Ritsuka Fujimaru

You're our final visitor today.

We hope you enjoy your time here.

The door slid open to a dark room. He was feeling nervous about all this but still, he went inside. The door closed behind him with a satisfying thunk. The room came alive around him. It was quite a large room, but there was a large empty space that stretches for a respectable distance from the door. He stood on a glowing panel, which began to scan him. Once more, the robotic voice rang around him.

We are very sorry. Another 180 seconds is needed to complete the admission process.

Enjoy a simulated battle while you wait.

Regulation: Senior Contract Servants: Saber, Lancer, Archer

There will be no record of your score.

Please feel free to enjoy.

Activating Heroic Spirit Summoning System Fate.

We hope you have a good experience as a Master for these 180 seconds.

"Oh… Um…" Ritsuka was a bit confused. The large space inside the training room turned into a wide open space. The marks on his hand, his Command Spells, proof that he is, despite appearances, a Master, glowed in response to the activation of the Fate system. A Golem, a crystallized monster, appeared opposite him. He understood what was happening. He stepped away from the console and into the simulated green lands, and as three Servants manifested, he recounted his briefing and training.

As a Master, he commands Servants, Heroic Spirits from History and Myth in order to do his task. Specifically, as a Master of Chaldea, he commands Servants to preserve the Human Order.

He began the first of his many battles.

—

"Fou…? Kyuu… Kyuu…"

Ritsuka stirred from his somewhat deep sleep, but after a few seconds, went back to it. And yet the feeling continued.

"Fou! Kyuu! Kyuu!"

Ritsuka wiped something off his face. "Feels like something licked my cheek." He slowly opened his eyes to see a white, fluffy creature. He tried to grab it, but the creature ran away and jumped onto another person's shoulders. He wonders if he was still dreaming, but in his mind most of the things he saw in that training room might as well be dreams.

"Umm… Since it's neither morning or night, please wake up, Senpai." A female voice softly told him.

Now that his eyes adjusted to the light, he can now clearly see the girl in front of him. She had pink hair and had glasses on. She also had the Chaldea logo, so he assumed she was part of the staff, but he couldn't be sure. "Who are you?" he asked.

The girl seemed conflicted. "That's a hard question to answer suddenly. Maybe I'm not important enough for you to know my name?"

"That's not-" He feels like he just offended her but he really couldn't be too sure. Still, he found her response strange.

"No, I do have a name. I have a proper name. But I never really had the chance to use it… I'm afraid I don't leave a good first impression…" The girl said almost matter-of-factly.

'Did I ask the wrong question?' He thought. "Um… Here's another question…" He wanted to ask about the creature that was calmly and satisfiedly sitting on her shoulder, but refrained from doing so. It felt like one of those things you shouldn't ask about. "Where are we?"

The girl breathed a sigh of relief. "Right. That's a simple question. I really appreciate is the passageway from the front gate to the Central Command Room, which is in front of the Main Chaldea Gate. "

"I… uh… appreciate the answer." Ritsuka stood up. He didn't know how but the girl in front of him was strange but he felt like they were going to get along just fine.

The girl cleared her throat. "...Ahem. Anyway, can I ask you a question, Senpai?"

Ritsuka nodded. She pointed to where he was just lying down. "You were asleep, but I don't see why you'd sleep in the hall. Can you not sleep unless you're on a hard bed?"

He scratched his head. "Was I sleeping here?"

The girl nodded. "Yes, like a log. It was such a deep sleep, it was almost textbook."

"I-I see. Sorry about that." He remembered the Master training that occurred however long ago and decided that maybe he was more tired than he'd like to admit. "By the way, I didn't catch your na-"

"Fou! Kyauu!" The strange creature started running in between the girl's shoulder.

"Fou, I- Oh, right, I haven't introduced you yet, have I, Fou?" The squirrel-like creature jumped down and bowed, as if introducing itself. Ritsuka raised an eyebrow at this strange display of intelligence. "This is Fou, a privileged life-form that's allowed to roam around in Chaldea. Fou led me here and that's how I ran into you, Senpai."

"Oh, I see…" He answered. Wait, Senpai? Was this girl japanese? "Shouldn't I be calling you Senpai since you're-"

"Fou!" The animal jumped off the girl's shoulders and ran away

"He ran off somewhere again. He does that sometimes, just walks around. I guess he is allowed anywhere, unlike us." She smiled.

Losing his train of thought, he shrugged and decided to try and think about the weird creature. It was fluffy, at least when it was on top of him. Quite cute, though there was something he couldn't put his finger on. "What a mysterious creature."

She nodded. "Normally, Fou doesn't go near anyone besides me, but he seems to like you, Senpai." She softly grabs his hands. She seems quite excited. "Congratulations, you shall be the second caretaker of Fou in Chaldea."

Ritsuka felt his face flush for a bit. "U-uh, yes, that would be-"

"Ah, there you are, Mash. You know this won't do, walking around without permission." A tall gentleman approached the two of them. At first, he seemed to only notice the girl, who Ritsuka now knows to be Mash, but the man raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh, someone's already with you. I see."

"Good day, sir."

"Polite. I think I like you already. Let's see… you're…" He pulls up a holo-terminal. "Ah I see. You're one of the rookies." The gentlemen offered his hand for a handshake. "I'm Lev Lainur, one of the technicians employed here. And you are?"

He took the man's hand and shook it. "Ritsuka Fujimaru, sir."

"Fujimaru… so you're the last of the 48 candidates. Well, Fujimaru, I'm glad to have you with us." The holo-terminal disappeared. "I heard you were selected out of many public applicants. How long was your training? A year? 6 months? 3 months?"

Ah, Ritsuka thought. Training. The one that knocked him out which is why he's here right now. Or was that training? He wasn't really guided and trained for that part. Which means…

"No… I don't think I did any training." He said sheepishly. To his comfort, Lev simply nodded.

"I understand, so you're a complete amateur? Well, we were filling in the seats with last minute recruits. Oh, forgive me, that was rude and inconsiderate. Please, I didn't mean anything by it. Rest assured, we need all of you for this mission." The man smiled at him and it made him feel at ease. "38 elite mages and 10 public applicants, such are yourself. That is something to rejoice over. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask me or Mash over here. We'll be happy to answer. We need to prepare as much as possible, of course. Hmm?"

He turned to the girl with the pink hair. "Come to think of it, what were you talking to him about, Mash? That's not like you. Did you meet him before?"

She shook her head. "No. This is the first time I've met Senpai. I just saw Senpai sleeping here and I…"

"Interesting. Sleeping? Here?" The man thought for a bit and came to a realization. "I see. So you went to the simulator. Spiritron dives can get to you when you're inexperienced."

Ritsuka shook the last dregs of sleep from his eyes. "I see. I guess that's what happened. Sorry for the inconvenience I caused."

Lev smiled. "It was no inconvenience at all. You know there's such a thing as being too formal. Well, you seem to be fine but I'd like to take you to the infirmary just in case." Then. "No, on second thought, you should hurry to the Director's Orientation."

"Orientation?"

Mash nodded. "Yes, it's to welcome new Masters such as you, Fujimaru."

"Yes, yes, it's for the big boss to welcome the hapless and careless newbies." Lev laughed. "The Director's not the type to forgive and forget, if you're late to the orientation, you'll be on her radar for the entire year. Trust me, you do NOT want to be on her radar for the entire year. Just hurry down this hall. You have…" He checks his watch. "Five minutes until it starts. Go on, hurry."

Mash tugs on Lev's sleeve. "Do you think I would be allowed to go to the orientation?"

"Well, if you stand in the back, I don't think she'll mind but why would you want that?"

"I just thought I should accompany Senpai to the Command Room or else he might fall asleep again."

"I'm ok no-" Ritsuka was cut off by Lev.

"The Director will kill me if I leave you as you are. I really don't like her shouting in my ear. Guess I have to tag along too. If that's what you want Mash, go ahead. Do you have any more questions, Fujimaru?"

There was one question on his mind. "Why does she call me Senpai?"

Mash stays quiet.

"Oh well, I don't think it means much. For her, every human your age is a Senpai." Lev stopped to think more on it. "Actually, now that I think about it, this is the first time I've heard of it. Now I'm intrigued. Mash, why do you call Fujimaru here Senpai?"

Mash thinks about it for a bit and answers. "Because Fujimaru is the most human person I've met."

"Meaning?"

"I don't feel threatened. So I don't have to be hostile."

Lev let out a laugh at this. He was thoroughly amused at this exchange. "I see. That is important! I don't know what that says about the people at Chaldea, mages are pieces of work." He eyes Fujimaru, who was keeping quiet. "I agree though. Fujimaru, I like you. I think we'll all get along really well."

"...If you like him, Dr. Lev, then the Director will probably hate him. Why don't we just hide in the restroom and boycott the orientation?" Mash suggested.

Lev clicks his tongue. "No, no that won't do. It will make the Director even more upset, and trust me, Fujimaru, you won't like the director when she's upset. At you. Specifically." He smiles and messes with Ritsuka's hair. "Shall we jump into the lion's den then, you two? Once you get to know her, she's a very sweet person."

The walk from the simulation room to the Command Room was short, which was just as well. Lev was nervously checking his watch every thirty seconds. Fujimaru decided that he has probably been told off multiple times already. On the other hand, Mash didn't show much emotion about the situation. He wondered if she was just used to all of this by now.

The Command Room was quiet, and the Director was already in front. Mash tapped his shoulder. "This is the Command Room, Senpai. Your number is… Single digit, please take a seat in front."

"Thanks Mash-". A bout of dizziness hit him, causing him to drop the number. The number card caused a clack on the floor. "Sorry."

"...Senpai, are you ok? You're looking a bit pale." She asked with a worried look.

"I'm sorry. I'm… starting to space out again." He picked up the number card from the floor.

"It's an after-effect of the simulator. I wish I could take you to the infirmary."

Ritsuka walked to his seat.

"Enough small talk. The orientation has began."

The woman in front of the Command Room looked at Ritsuka but continued with her talk.

"Well, that wasn't on time, but it looks like we're all here now. Welcome to the Security Organization, Chaldea. I'm the director, Olga Marie Animusphere." The woman was not particularly tall. She had long, white hair and had the air of a noble. There was something else, however, but Ritsuka couldn't put his finger on it just yet. That and his body was fighting his spirit in the bout to stay awake.

Despite trying his best to keep his eyes open, the exhaustion was washing over him.

"You have been selected, or discovered from each nation for your rare—" Olga Marie's voice faded into the background as he finally succumbed to sleep.