Okay, this one took me slightly longer to do, mostly because of college and the fact that I had projects to pass, especially with this month being the last one for our first semester before Christmas break, haha.
I really enjoyed writing this one, especially the last two scenes~.
"Ah, the joys of being young and innocent."
In spirit form, the Magus of Flowers chuckled to himself as he watched the various antics inside the clubroom of the Game Development Department.
"Hey, Castor-kun, check out this new idea I have, pretty please!"
"Tch, do not touch me, human!"
"This is how you pose when you punch, right…?"
"Close! Allow me to be hands-on, master."
"Hey… I know you're scared and all, but hiding in there all day can't be good for you…"
"P-Please don't knock on my safe place like that…"
Saiba Momoi was pestering a fairly tall blonde-haired young man, who was wearing a form-fitting white toga-like garment with modern flair, with black and gold patterns, as well as golden arm guards and sandals and a spiked green headpiece.
The pink twin had summoned the male half of Dioscuri, Castor.
Saiba Midori was shyly trying to get into a fighting stance with her fists raised, guided by a blonde-haired young woman, wearing a black skin-tight bodice with white drapery and gold accents, with golden arm guards, sandals, and a similar green headpiece.
The green twin had summoned the female half of the Dioscuri, Pollux.
Knock. Knock.
"I'm not trying to scare you, I'm just worried…"
Hanaoka Yuzu's whimpers were clearly heard inside the tall metal locker she voluntarily chose to hide herself in, which was located against the wall of the clubroom.
The young man sighed, running his hair against his dark windswept hair, which had a white streak on one side. He was wearing elaborate-looking armor, with colors that are a mix of silver and gold, as well as red and blue accents on his sleeves, and black leggings and boots.
Poor Mandricardo would have to work harder than ever with such a shy and anxious master, all while being rather awkward himself.
The situation he was seeing was quite the unlikely one, but it was one that he wasn't opposed to.
He wondered if there was a reason why Heroic Servants began to appear all over the world known as Kivotos.
"Merlin-sensei! Are you here?"
"Well now, time to do my part."
Blue particles appeared in the air as a tall man with an ethereal aura materialized inside the clubroom.
The man himself had long and flowing white hair with some lavender streaks that reached his shoulders, wearing white robes with flowing sleeves and intricate patterns in pastel pink and blue, black and gold trousers, and simple brownish black shoes. He also carried a staff with a curved, bow-like design, which was intricately decorated, featuring ribbons and accents in black, gold, and pastel tones.
"There you are! Aris has something to show you!"
He looked down and saw his bright master, Tendou Aris, showing off a detailed blade that closely resembled Caliburn.
"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow, amused. "Where did you get that one, my little master?"
"Aris got Utaha-senpai to make it for Aris~!" She answered, smiling and huffing her chest with pride. "Now Aris has her own hero's sword from the stories you told Aris!"
He constantly noted the way she often referred to herself in third person. Perhaps teaching her a little maturity would contribute to her long-term goals?
For now though, the white-haired magus knew that he wanted to humor her, as he found her innocence and lack of baggage quite refreshing compared to the ones he usually dealt with.
Well, aside from the fact that she's clearly not human like the rest of her fellow students, but it didn't seem to deter her in the slightest.
If anything, it only made her strive harder to be a hero that saved the day, complete with a shining sword, as she was currently about to demonstrate.
"Master, are you sure you should be swinging that sword here?" Merlin asked with a sweatdrop.
"Don't worry, Merlin-sensei!" Aris grinned at him. "Aris knows what she's doing!"
As she held the sword over her head, this caught the attention of Midori and Pollux, who stopped whatever they were doing to notice what she was doing.
"Wait…" Midori muttered, before widening her eyes. "Aris-chan! Don't-"
SLASH! CRASH!
"… swing it…" She finished weakly.
"Are you feeling the heat, master!?"
"Absolutely!"
On the other side of the destroyed wall, a large muscular man, with red hair and red markings all over his body and wearing what looked like a brown loincloth, was encouraging his master as she was lifting up a much heavier dumbbell than what she was usually used to.
Said master was Otohana Sumire, the fitness nut of the Athletic Training Club.
"T-The wall…" Yuzu peeked her head out of her locker.
"Your friends are definitely a handful, haha." Mandricardo remarked, letting a small chuckle.
"Eh? What happened!?" Momoi's eyes turned white with shock.
"Of course you wouldn't have noticed until it was too late…" Castor muttered under his breath.
"Oops…" Aris had the decency to smile sheepishly.
Merlin simply laughed and placed his hand over the smaller girl's head, gently ruffling her hair as he did.
"Is Aris in trouble?" She asked, looking up at him.
"Not in the slightest!" Merlin chirped with a smirk. "Your efforts are commendable, but you still have a long journey ahead of you, master."
"Oooohhh…" Aris' eyes twinkled at that.
That look on her face. He knew that he was going to have a great time with this particular master.
XXX (Later that Night) XXX
It was nighttime at Millennium Science School, as students were about to head inside their homes to rest for the night, while some chose to stay up late for some extra work or training.
The student-servant pair on the roof of the main campus building were among those people.
"Deep breaths, master."
"Mmmm, Aris is trying…!"
The more he got to know his master, the more he felt drawn to her unique aura and how she presented herself.
Aris had her eyes closed and her arms raised, holding out her hands in front of her as they glowed a bright blue.
To her credit, while several of her actions could be misguided and unintentionally caused some harm, which included the hole caused earlier by the Caliburn replica, he could tell that she meant absolutely no harm.
"You're a wizard like in the games! Will you help Aris level up~!"
He still remembered the first words she said to him when he first arrived in the fascinating world known as Kivotos.
Right off the bat, he quickly figured out that the current world he was in didn't experience much hardship, at least when compared to the other worlds he had visited prior. He felt a more hopeful and lighthearted atmosphere that took him a few seconds to adjust to.
Even with the constant gunfights, the students themselves treated it as a means to settle their conflicts, and because of the curious halos on their heads, it was nothing more than an extreme version of a school brawl.
However, he knew that he wasn't alone in being summoned out of the blue, as he sensed more than several other servants beyond the ones with the Game Development Department in the entire academy.
He also knew that other servants were likely summoned in the other schools beyond Millennium Science School itself.
Was there a reason why Heroic Spirits were beginning to appear by the dozen over the past week?
"These children…"
Deep down, he realized that his presence, along with every servant here in Kivotos, would affect the students' lives in ways that were considered foreign to them.
The fact that mysterious shadow beasts had randomly attacked a few students was proof of that.
SHATTER!
Merlin blinked as he saw that his young master had ended up breaking her concentration, the spell on her hands ending prematurely.
A small pout appeared on her features as she spoke, "Aris doesn't get it… What is Aris doing wrong…?"
She turned her gaze towards with a rare expression of frustration.
"How do you do this, Merlin-sensei?" Aris asked, frowning. "Aris really wants to be a hero like you!"
In response, the Magus of Flowers couldn't help but smile softly at the underlying eagerness behind his master's eyes, and then kneeled down to her level.
He opened his hand in front of her face, before a comforting whitish blue aura covered it, much to her awe.
Within just a few seconds, he had produced a white chrysanthemum flower and then placed it into the girl's hands.
"Wow…" Aris was amazed by what she saw. "Merlin-sensei, that was pretty."
"You see, for a magus like myself, I have thousands of years worth of experience for my Magecraft to be what it is today." Merlin began to explain. "Although, it's not exactly my forte and I only really use it when I absolutely need to."
"You mean it will take Aris that long?" She let out a gasp.
The white-haired magus chuckled at her reaction and continued, "Well, I'm not entirely human to begin with, but for those that are, it took them decades."
"Is it that hard?" Aris asked, tilting her head in curiosity.
"It usually depends on the magus, but indeed, Magecraft is something that's yet to be fully understood by even the most seasoned ones." He added, closing his eyes. "There are special cases that did manage to reach the root, but it came at the cost of their humanity."
Hearing this, Aris let her curiosity get the better of her and asked, "How did Merlin-sensei become like this?"
Such an innocent question from a girl with decidedly inhuman origins, but it was one that was clearly asked from the heart.
"That would be a story for another time, I'm afraid." Merlin chuckled and ruffled his master's head again.
"Really?"
She didn't need to know right away. For now, both of them had plenty of time before they would reach that point.
XXX (One Hour Later) XXX
After their brief training session on the roof, which turned into a small lesson from her awesome wizard servant, Aris went back to the Game Development Department clubroom to brainstorm a new idea.
The hole on the wall caused by her had been fixed, and that was after she received an earful from Yuuka.
"Honestly, I really need to set boundaries on commissions accepted by the Engineering Club…"
She remembered her saying that before going off to find the Engineering Club room to scold Utaha for even making the sword in the first place.
"Mmmm…"
Her fellow club members already fell asleep, with Yuzu comfortable inside her locker and Momoi and Midori sleeping on the same couch.
This meant that Aris was on her own in having to create a new idea for a game, especially after the last one only received mixed reviews.
The girl took it upon herself to sit down and do her thinking on a desk away from her sleeping clubmates, their soft snores being the only faint noises.
"Come on, Aris, think…" She whispered to herself, closing her eyes.
"Merlin-sensei."
The first person that came to mind was her amazing Caster-class hero and the fact that he was a legendary figure!
She recalled that her fellow clubmates and even other students had their own servants, and how they all look like people that came from her favorite RPG games.
"Aris wonders if-"
Bzzzzt.
A sudden buzzing entered her artificial mind, as Aris blinked in confusion for a few seconds, before she widened her eyes at what she saw afterwards.
Status Menu
Class: Caster
Master: Tendou Aris
True Name: Merlin (Magus of Flowers)
Sex: Male
Height/Weight: 178cm/67kg
Alignment: Lawful Good
Strength: B
Agility: D
Luck: C
Endurance: E
Mana: A
Noble Phantasm: C
Class Skills
Territory Creation: C
High-Speed Incantation: C
Item Construction: C
Mixed-Blood: EX
Independent Manifestation: A
Personal Skills
Hero Creation: EX
Charisma: B
Illusion Arts: A
"Whoa…!" Aris exclaimed, standing up from her seat.
Initially, she rubbed her eyes to see if she was seeing things, but instead, she realized that she was really looking at actual stats!
She also realized that those stats belonged to Merlin, which meant…
"Aha!"
An idea and a source of inspiration had struck her, before she sat down again and began to eagerly write as much of her idea as she could.
…
It only took her around fifteen minutes to write down the rough draft of what she wanted the new video game to be.
"Everyone! Aris-"
At first, she wanted to show it to her clubmates, but stopped herself at the last second, as they were still asleep and she didn't want to bother her dear friends.
"Merlin-sensei!"
She decided on the next best option, which was to call out her servant.
Blue particles appeared in the air as the white-haired wizard appeared in front of her, leaning on his staff with a smile on his face.
"Yes, master?"
"What do you think of Aris' new game idea?" She wasted no time showing the notebook, which had the idea, in front of him.
" … " For a moment, he seemed to remain silent.
"Merlin-sensei?" Aris asked, tilting her head as she wondered if she did anything wrong.
"… Pffft…!" To her surprise, Merlin stifled a laugh and briefly turned away from her, much to her confusion.
"Is there anything wrong with it?" She asked, wondering what her servant found so funny.
"Oh, absolutely nothing, don't you worry." The Caster hero smiled and waved his hand. "Your concept has excellent potential! I just…"
He let out a small chuckle and reached out to pat her on the head, which felt comforting.
"I simply couldn't help but feel amused, that's all." Merlin shook his head with a small smirk.
"Well…" Aris rubbed her shoulder, being uncharacteristically shy. "Is this good enough? Aris wants to honor you and the heroes you told me from your stories…"
"I believe that the majority of them would be honored to be presented in such a way." Her servant was quick to reassure her, his smile filled with warmth.
Seeing the encouraging smile on his face, Aris knew what she wanted to do next with the new idea.
"Okay then, it's settled!" She nodded to herself, clutching her notebook close to her chest. "Aris will show it to Sensei tomorrow!"
"Oh? So you have another mentor?" Merlin asked her, letting go of his hand.
"Mhm!" Aris was quick to grab her phone from her jacket. "This is the picture we took from two weeks ago!"
As soon as she showed the picture from her phone, the white-haired wizard widened his eyes for a quick second before he smiled wider than before and let out a slightly louder laugh.
"Hahaha, why am I not surprised?" He said, shaking his head while grinning. "That means all of you are in good hands."
"Eh, what do you mean, Merlin-sensei?" Aris was curious on why he reacted the way he did.
"Well, let's just say…" Merlin smiled at her, as his body began to fade away. "He's something of an old friend of mine."
He disappeared from the clubroom afterwards, which left the girl feeling more confused than anything.
"How does he know Sensei?" Was what she asked herself as she cupped her chin thoughtfully.
XXX (The Next Day) XXX
"Bye bye~!"
Aris waved at Yuuka as she walked away from her sight, before she turned around to make her way towards Sensei's office.
After hanging out with her friends for a couple of hours, she felt like this was the perfect opportunity to show her Sensei the new video game idea.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Sensei! It's Aris!" She announced after knocking on the office door. "Can Aris come in?"
"The door is not locked!" The adult man called from the other side.
Click. Creak.
"Sensei~!"
The sight of his smiling face and polite demeanor filled Aris with a different kind of warmth as she skipped her way towards him.
"What do you need, Aris-chan?" Sensei asked, making a gesture for her to sit down in front of him.
The girl did what she was told, before she reached into her jacket and pulled out her notebook.
"Sensei," She said, gripping her notebook tightly. "Last night, Aris got a huge inspiration for a new video game and wanted to show you!"
In response, Sensei simply chuckled and asked, "Alright then, what did you come up with?"
"This!"
She opened her notebook wide and showed it to her Sensei's face, which got him to widen his eyes in complete surprise.
"Aris' super cool new friend and his stats gave Aris the idea of making an RPG turn-based game!" Aris explained, grinning in pride. "With Aris' friend and other heroes as the characters!"
"I… I see…" Sensei mumbled, before coughing into his fist.
"Sensei, are you okay?" The girl asked, immediately concerned when she saw him cough.
"It's nothing, I'm fine." The adult man waved off her concerns, before asking. "Who is this friend you're talking about?"
Aris smiled and quickly answered, "A super cool wizard that can make pretty flowers!"
"Ah…" Sensei looked thoughtful for a few seconds, before he smiled at her again. "That idea sounds great. Did you tell your friends about it?"
"Oh…!" Aris widened her eyes at that.
She knew that she was forgetting something!
"Aris has to go now, Sensei!" She hopped off her seat and placed her notebook back in her jacket. "Aris forgot to tell her friends!"
The last thing she saw was Sensei's amused face before she dashed out of his office.
XXX (Later that Night) XXX
"Just what the hell is going on that warrants this many servants to be summoned here in Kivotos…?"
This was Sensei's main thought as he looked out the window and saw the view of the city surrounding the SCHALE building.
He didn't think that he would ever see the Heroic Spirits again after several years since he fought alongside Chaldea.
Olga. Romani. Da Vinci. Holmes. Goredolf. Sion.
Mash…
"I miss them…" He muttered to himself.
"Well now, never would I have expected to see you in this state?"
A very familiar voice spoke up from behind him, prompting to swiftly turn around and then widened his eyes in shock upon seeing who had spoken to him.
"Merlin…?" He uttered.
"Hello there, Fujimaru Ritsuka," Merlin waved at him with a grin. "Or should I say, the Sensei of SCHALE?"
Sensei, no, Fujimaru Ritsuka stood up from his desk and slowly walked towards Merlin, before pulling him into a warm embrace.
The white-haired magus was surprised by the sudden hug at first, but then smiled and immediately reciprocated the action.
After a few seconds, both men pulled away from each other and shared a small laugh afterwards.
"Heh, look how much you have grown." Merlin said with a shake of his head. "You must now look closer to your father, I assume?"
"And you're still the same from when I last saw you." Ritsuka remarked with a grin of his own.
Merlin simply laughed at that and said, "Hahaha, such is the nature of our existence as Heroic Spirits, but to see you become a mentor for so many aspiring lives warms my heart."
"… It's great to see you again, Merlin, I mean it." The Sensei of SCHALE said with a small smile.
The white-haired magus smiled back at him and replied, "Just know that I will always look after you and step in if you absolutely need it, even when you're no longer the Master of Chaldea."
Ritsuka nodded and asked, "Aris is your current master, isn't she?"
"Why yes she is," Merlin nodded in response. "She's quite the innocent and earnest soul, even with her existence as an android."
"Merlin, please keep looking after her," Ritsuka requested, sporting a look of concern. "She went through a lot at the beginning, especially when Rio tried to kill her at one point, so she needs all the support she can get."
"As you wish, Fujimaru." Merlin replied and bowed respectfully, even as his body was about to fade away. "I will see to it that her journey as a hero will be fruitful."
With that, the Magus of Flowers disappeared from Ritsuka's office, presumably to return to his master's side.
Ritsuka, also known as Sensei, looked out the window once more, this time walking forward to touch the glass with his hand.
He wondered if more servants aside from Merlin himself would remember him.
Meanwhile, inside the Game Development Department clubroom, the members were once again choosing to sleep inside it for the night, especially after the excitement from Aris' new game idea had worn them down.
Even Aris herself had fallen asleep, slouching on her desk as she had an expression of complete peace and bliss.
However, the peace itself would soon end as the girl slowly opened her eyes…
…
… except that they weren't her usual bright blue innocent ones and a pair of pink glowing ones took their place.
With the Princess asleep, Kei looked around to see if the other club members were still asleep.
To her quiet relief, they were deep asleep without a single care in the world.
"I need some fresh air…" Kei muttered to herself.
She stood up from the desk and proceeded to make her way out of the clubroom.
Click. Creak. Thud.
…
It didn't take long for Kei to stroll into the campus grounds while it was still dark, before she looked up and admired the stars in the night sky.
"Everything that happened last week was quite strong…" She whispered under her breath.
Would this Sensei really help with what was currently happening around Kivotos? She knew that he couldn't be at several places at once, so she couldn't help but wonder…
"I think you need to have more faith in Senpai, Kei-san."
A new voice spoke as a new person was in the midst of materializing into existence.
After a few seconds, the particles disappeared as a slightly taller girl stood next to Kei.
She had short pink hair that covered one of her purple eyes, while she sported a black dress-like armor with purple accents, similarly colored arm guards and thigh-high heeled boots.
The new girl also seemed to be carrying a shield that was much larger than her, and was shaped like a cross with a circle at the center.
"You seem to know the Sensei, Shielder." Kei glanced at her servant with a neutral expression.
Shielder simply smiled at her and replied, "Of course, we used to fight alongside each other, after all."
Millennium students and their servants:
Seminar
Rio and Artoria Pendragon
Yuuka and EMIYA
Noa and Chiron
Koyuki and Red Hare
Veritas
Chihiro and Thomas Edison
Maki and Heracles
Hare and Nikola Tesla
Kotama and Osakabe-hime
Cleaning and Clearing
Neru and Cu Chulainn
Asuna and Gareth
Karin and Arjuna
Akane and Charles-Henri Sanson
Toki and Altera
Super Phenomenon Task Force
Himari and Leonardo Da Vinci (Rider)
Eimi and Roland
Engineering Club
Utaha and Senji Muramasa
Hibiki and Avicebron
Kotori and Charles Babbage
Athletic Training Club
Sumire and Leonidas
Rei and Beowulf
Game Development Department
Yuzu and Mandricardo
Momoi and Castor
Midori and Pollux
Aris and Merlin
NEXT CHAPTER: Omake: Kivotos Grand Prix!
Well, I'm sure that absolutely none of you are surprised by the identity of this Sensei for my crossover fic, especially if you're familiar with FGO.
Also, I bet you didn't see the very last scene coming, and I don't think I have to list that one for any of you to recognize the servant through their design alone.
The next chapter will be an omake (a la Carnival Phantasm), which will happen every five chapters, so keep that in mind.
Don't expect a new update anytime soon, though. I will have to put full focus on my remaining projects for the rest of the semester, but I'll try to at least have some progress in-between making them.
I hope you look forward to the Kivotos Grand Prix!