Please Play Fatego With Me

"What is this?" Mash asked.

"This is an electronic combat assistant Servant I created by connecting part of my memories and a fragment of my spiritual core to Chaldea's database. It basically has the same functions as Mash's phone—it can open a map, detect anomalous space monsters appearing nearby, and contact me."

"I named her Da Vinci Lily 2.0. What do you think? Cute, right? She even comes with a customizable outfit feature—Cat Ear Maid, Futon Outfit, Mejed Divine Outfit, and more." Da Vinci said, brimming with confidence in her creation.

Chapter 29: Mini Da Vinci

On the screen appeared a little girl with long, wavy black hair, wearing a European Renaissance-style ruffled collar tied with a blue ribbon, a vibrant outfit, a red skirt, and long blue gloves. She bore a seven or eight out of ten resemblance to the adult Da Vinci, but was much more childish, and in the phone, she could switch between a mini-proportioned child form and a chibi two-head-tall form.

At that moment, the little girl stared with big, round eyes through the screen toward them.

"Rather than Da Vinci-chan, I'd prefer a two-head-tall Gudako-senpai," Mash said, sizing up the mini Da Vinci.

Yuihama leaned over and said, "Mm, she really does look way better than the real thing."

Yukino also nodded and said, "If she had cat ears on, I'd be willing to take her home and raise her."

Because she was so lifelike, Yuihama tried greeting the little figure.

"Yahallo~! Little Da-chan?"

"Yahallo~!" The mini Da Vinci Lily on the screen waved at Yuihama, returning the greeting.

"Whoa! She talked!" Yuihama shrieked and hugged the black-haired girl.

"I told you, she's a game assistant, a mini electronic Servant. Of course she has considerable intelligence. Little Da Meow, can you meow?" Yukino said with a smile.

"Like this, meow? Meow~!" The two-head-tall Da Vinci Lily, now in a Cat Ear Maid Outfit, responded.

"So cute!" Yuihama exclaimed, clasping her hands together in admiration.

"Yes, meow... Meow~!" Yukino was completely captivated by the little figure.

"Whoa... two girls have already been conquered here," Shirou said, unable to agree. Especially thinking that the soul acting cute inside is actually a white-bearded old man from that famous story about painting eggs—it's really creepy.

"Ahem, at least the effect is outstanding! And this cute appearance lowers people's guard, so recruiting members should go more smoothly too," Da Vinci said with a meaningful smile.

"Wait! You don't mean you're planning to install this on everyone who plays this game, do you?" Shirou asked.

"That's right, but it will only activate for those with the right qualities. I intend to use this as a safety mechanism. Think about it—if someone gets caught in danger, Little Da can sense it, fly over, and assist them with a possession summon for battle."

"Of course, if it's someone who clearly wouldn't want to fight, I'll just remind them to run away before they wet their pants," Da Vinci explained with a laugh.

"Well, that's a good method then," Shirou said, nodding after hearing this.

"Then I'll update you all right now!" Da Vinci said, and began operating the machine.

Da Vinci Lily 2.0, inside the tablet, flew through Chaldea's data channel into the FGO server terminal connected to the Holy Grail, able to enter and exit the background of every phone with FGO installed. As the Fate series spread, its reach would expand even further.

The phone let out a 'ding' sound.

"Huh? Is the update done already?" Shirou asked.

"Hello there, Shirou!" Little Da Meow, wearing a Cat Ear Maid Outfit, appeared on the youth's phone screen, striking a cute pose with a cat paw punch she'd just learned from her fellow Yuki-nyan.

"But the data usage hasn't changed, and the memory doesn't seem different either! Could Da Vinci-chan actually be super amazing?" Yuihama said in surprise.

"It really is incredible. I thought an AI like this would take up a lot of memory. It seems the other world not only has magecraft but also technology far beyond this world's?" Yukino mused thoughtfully.

"After all, Da Vinci is a universal genius," Mash praised without reservation.

"Ahem, you can admire me even more, you know," Da Vinci said, nodding with a smug smile.

"Maybe I should just develop an app and let all players experience the charm of my masterpiece: 'FGO Vinci Lily 2.0.' Then they'll definitely say things like, 'Such a cute Da Vinci can't be a swindler—I'll clear all the Magic Crystals every day and show up at the shop on time to buy everything out!'"

"Truly worthy of Da Vinci-chan!" the youth and girls exclaimed in unison.

"..." Mash felt like the seniors were admiring the wrong thing. And if it was VR, she should be the main character!

"But doesn't that mean it's like being monitored by a hacker on your phone?" Shirou frowned, turning his gaze to the black-haired girl still meowing at the screen. "Hey, don't play with your phone when you're in the bath."

"What? Mind your own business!" Yukino froze for a moment, then blushed and glared at the youth.

Little Da Meow angrily retorted to the youth, "That's too much! Shirou! Unlike the original, I'm completely a girl! I just have memories from before the original! I'll protect my Master's privacy!"

"I don't doubt that, but the data you collect will be known to Da Vinci, right?" Shirou countered.

"I love all beautiful things, but I myself am the most perfect!" Da Vinci puffed out her chest confidently, showing off her perfect figure. Though she said nothing, her meaning was clear.

Shirou looked at Da Vinci, then at Yukino, and realized he'd said something very rude.

"Sorry..."

"Don't apologize!" Yukino Yukinoshita felt the malice of the world at that moment. Lately, every woman around her seemed to be developing way too well.

Da Vinci was a perverted adult, ignored. Yuihama was one thing, but why was a mere junior growing so well instead!

Yukino held her phone, staring at Little Da Meow inside. Only in her could she find some comfort.

"Meow meow meow??" Little Da Meow sensed the girl's gaze and tilted her head in confusion.

At that moment, on the school rooftop, a beautiful girl with long, flowing light brown hair, gentle eyes, and elegant manners sat alone. She possessed a unique aura that only a well-bred lady raised from childhood could have. (Monthly Fee Group 694936135)

After finishing her meal alone on a chair, she pressed her hands together, put away her lunchbox, and skillfully pulled out her phone.

Opening the chat app, she found a new private message.

"Group leader, thank you for the materials you provided before. I'll repay this favor."

The girl saw that it was actually Mr. Aipan's Snow Cat, a friend from the game group. Though they'd never met in person, she felt like it should be a cute girl who loved cats, but the way she talked was more about social etiquette. This maturity unlike other girls her age, paired with such an adorable name.

The girl chuckled softly at the message, her fingers deftly tapping the screen as she quickly typed a reply.

"No need to be polite. It's rare to find someone willing to discuss game content with me, so I'm happy too."

"By the way, group leader, have you noticed anything different about the FGO system lately?"

"Different?" The girl with light brown hair looked at her phone, puzzled, and opened FGO. She didn't feel anything had changed—could it be about some character's battle model being improved?

She tapped into the game. Her character name was Asuna, level 140. The reason it was 140 was because that was the current level cap in the game; otherwise, as a veteran player, her ceiling would be far higher.

She opened her Servant list. Row after row of sparkling gold, the first two lines full of five-star maxed-out copies, dazzling to the eye. If Mash saw this, she'd immediately kneel and beg to latch on.

Though the girl maintained an image of being studious, intelligent, and gentle in class, she was actually quite the gaming fanatic.

She preferred large-scale games, chasing the thrill of walking the line between life and death. Big, punishing single-player games where one slip against a boss could wipe out your health bar suited her better.

As for mobile games, only FGO could keep her hooked. It had a kind of addictive charm that drew her in, and before she knew it, she'd spent enough money on gacha to buy several full games.

Luckily, her luck was decent. She'd collected all the characters now, finished all the Strengthening Quests and Story Chapters, and was playing casually—just doing daily missions for fragments and mana prisms before heading home to play other games.

Sometimes she wished there were more thrilling games, like climbing a 100-floor tower from the bottom up, charging in with a sword to fight a seven- or eight-meter-tall floor boss without any ranged attack methods.

But reality was always disappointing. VR games were expensive and incomplete, while real-life games lacked fantasy. Games where you could dive into a virtual reality in your sleep only existed in anime and light novels.

The girl finished her daily missions, checked the time, and saw it was almost class time. She got up and headed back to the classroom.

Unbeknownst to the girl, in the connected Chaldea dimensional passage, a small black-haired figure, glowing faintly, slipped through the FGO system's channel and quietly burrowed into the girl's phone's background.

Chapter 30: Conditions for Possession Summoning

Back at the Service Club.

"What did they say?" Shirou, Yuihama, and Mash all looked at Yukino.

"No, they said they didn't notice anything unusual." Yukino shook her head.

Because Little Da Meow had already connected to the server terminal and could enter everyone's phones at any time. As Da Vinci had said, Chaldea would open the Spirit Support System to qualified Masters, bringing them in as partners to protect the world.

Yukino remembered the game group leader who had given her detailed monster data. She was easy to get along with, knew a lot, and was skilled at the game—she should be someone Da Vinci would choose.

So while sending a thank-you message, she casually probed to see if the other might become a partner. But from the calm response, it seemed not yet.

"What a shame. They're a veteran player. If we could convince them to join, we might get a full boost in combat power, tactics, and strategy," Mash said regretfully.

"Right, right! Then it looks like we'll have to work hard as the four of us for now," Yuihama said with a carefree smile.

"You seem pretty happy about that," Shirou teased the girl with the bun hairstyle.

"Well, I think—even if it'd be nice for the Service Club to be livelier—Mash just joined. We don't need to rush. Let's take it easy and figure things out together slowly. That's fine too," Yuihama explained with a smile.

"That's true. Lunch break is almost over. Everyone head back to class, and we'll meet here again in the afternoon." Yukino stood up and began tidying the tea set.

"I'll handle it. You all go back to class first." Shirou took the tea set from the girl.

"Really! We'll wait for you. Let's go together!" Yuihama said to the boy, dissatisfied.

Yukino stood there with no intention of leaving either, and Mash nodded repeatedly.

"Fine." Shirou took the tea set to the sink, rinsed it clean, set it out to dry, and then followed the girls back to class.

"See you this afternoon, Senpai."

"Mm, see you this afternoon."

Mash was in the first-year international class. She waved goodbye to her seniors at the stairs and headed down.

Yukino was in the second-year international class. After walking a few steps forward, she parted ways with Shirou and Yuihama.

So only the boy and girl remained on the hallway, walking in silence.

"Shirou!" The girl suddenly stopped and called out to the boy walking ahead.

"What?" Shirou turned around.

"Don't say lonely things like 'go on ahead' anymore. I'll wait for you! Always!" Yuihama finished and ran back to the classroom first.

"Yahallo~!" Yuihama pushed open the door, returned to her little circle, and started chatting with her friends.

The group of four boys was also laughing and talking noisily today.

The boy was stunned for a moment, then walked into the class. The silver-haired delinquent girl Saki looked over, and the little angel Saika waved at him from across the room.

Shirou nodded to them and went straight back to his seat. The class was peaceful as usual today.

After school in the afternoon, Shirou first stopped by the Kyudo Club to show his face, then returned to the school building and came to the Service Club.

The girls were already chatting inside. Shirou didn't interrupt them; he walked in, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

Yukino was flipping through the materials Da Vinci had sent to her phone after the FGO system update.

"It seems not everyone meets the conditions for Possession Summoning. Mutual recognition is required. The more unique and legendary the Servant, the harder it is to find a suitable vessel. A kind and righteous Servant won't choose an evil-hearted host, while a free-spirited, easygoing Servant will value someone disciplined and honest."

Yukino posed a question to the group. "For example, Saint Joan of Arc. What kind of child do you think would be needed to summon her?"

"A 17-year-old JK?" Shirou said.

"A village girl?" Mash tilted her head in confusion.

"French people? A girl in a military uniform? That's so hard!" Yuihama imagined it, scratched her head, and sighed.

"Yes, a famous and unique Heroic Spirit like Saint Joan of Arc is likely extremely rare—hard to find even among the world's seven billion people."

"As a saint and national heroine, she must meet strict hardware requirements in faith, bloodline, spirit, gender, physique, personality, and Spirit Core. There are also software requirements like character, convictions, and wishes. To improve compatibility, there needs to be resemblance, common ground, and mutual understanding."

"I see." Shirou nodded thoughtfully. Physique, huh... that's true.

"Mm, I'm glad you understand." Yukino nodded approvingly, seeing the youth grasp it so quickly.

Take Ushiwakamaru and Yukino, for example—both had a powerful older sister and the founder of the shogunate system, the Shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo. Then there was Haruno Yukinoshita, smooth and flawless, impossible for anyone to fault.

Carrying the same complex feelings of wanting to be acknowledged by her sister yet not wanting to become like her, Yukino Yukinoshita genuinely sympathized with and adored Ushiwakamaru. In turn, the Heroic Spirit Ushiwakamaru sensed this and responded to the girl.

In middle school, Yuigahama Yui was actually a plain, unremarkable kid. When she entered high school, she debuted, started dyeing her hair and wearing makeup, wanting to become—Her motto was, 'Life is short, fall in love, girl!'

Suzuka Gozen, due to a tragic love in her past life, yearned for an absolutely wonderful romance. So she transformed into a fox JK, waiting for the call of her destined one.

As for Shirou, he held a strong conviction to protect this world, his family, and his friends. Saint George was a Great Hero renowned for protection, slaying rampaging poisonous dragons and safeguarding many nations.

"After the body meets the possession conditions, the next thing to focus on is compatibility. To satisfy the requirements of a possession summon, you need at least 50% compatibility. The higher the compatibility, the greater the power of the Heroic Spirit you can unleash. Ways to improve compatibility include passion for the Heroic Spirit, nurturing and strengthening them, fulfilling their wishes, and building deeper bonds with them."

Similar bodies, similar spirits, similar circumstances. Beyond that, the most important thing is mutual recognition between the summoner and the Heroic Spirit—the summoner acknowledges the Heroic Spirit's convictions, and the Heroic Spirit recognizes the summoner's thoughts.

Heroic Spirits are the sublimation of human heroes. Countless Heroic Spirits are strong, cool, and beautiful, and the famous standouts among them are naturally loved by many. But there are always differences. Someone who likes Chevalier d'Eon might also like Young Gil and the Young Emperor, but not necessarily the King of Heroes or the Conqueror King—though they'd definitely all like Afu.

There will always be people who hold unusual feelings for certain Heroic Spirits, finding resonance or being moved by a particular one. This becomes the opportunity to encounter that Heroic Spirit, and the bond connecting the two.

For example, the Heroic Spirit Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, who harbored a grand ideal and saw it through to the end, never recognized by anyone, never understood by anyone, yet still persevered tirelessly.

For example, the Great Hero Arash, who loved peace, was kind and upright, sacrificed himself for others, and faced countless choices, yet always resolutely drew his bow and fired 'Stella.'

For example, Nitocris, strong yet endearing, who avenged her brother by drowning her enemies in the waters of the underworld, but couldn't escape retaliation. To uphold the dignity of the pharaoh, she threw herself into a dark room and left the world.

FGO players are spread across the world, working in all kinds of professions. Perhaps in the Hall of Heroes, there's a Heroic Spirit who shares your deepest affinities, waiting to be summoned.