Sure enough, had he been overthinking it?
After casually swiping the screen a couple of times, Ye Ming's doubts were cleared up, and he began thinking about what he should say after knocking on Fu Hua's door later.
But just as he was about to log out and uninstall Fate/Grand Order, he accidentally caught sight of the screen from the corner of his eye and was shocked to discover that the number of characters in his account seemed to have decreased.
The Vanishing Servants
Fate/Grand Order, also known as Fate: Grand Order, was a very famous mobile game. Ye Ming remembered that when the game had first launched, after waiting for it for so long, he had eagerly jumped into it that very day.
The main reason Fate/Grand Order had drawn Ye Ming in was the two anime series Fate/Zero and Fate/stay night.
Perhaps it was because of his attachment to those anime, but Fate/Grand Order was one of the mobile games Ye Ming had played the longest. He had invested a great deal of time and money into it. Yet, like most players who quit, his enthusiasm had eventually run dry. Maybe it started with forgetting to do his daily missions one day. Then, once there was a first time, there was a second. Slowly, he gave up on dailies entirely, logging in only occasionally during events. Later, after going so long without playing, he could not even be bothered to download the updates. In the end, he did not know when it had happened, but he had simply never logged in again.
After quitting, the only connection Ye Ming still had with Fate/Grand Order was occasionally reading fanfiction on a certain pigeon website.
But tonight, after logging into his long-abandoned Fate/Grand Order account, Ye Ming was shocked to find that several characters in his account seemed to be missing.
Which ones were missing?
Ye Ming scrolled with his finger, frowning at the phone screen as he sank into thought.
Although he had spent plenty of effort and money on Fate/Grand Order, Ye Ming was not some big shot with a complete collection. There were quite a few characters he did not have, whether because he could not pull them despite spending money or because he had missed event periods for one reason or another.
Besides, he had quit for over a year. His memories of many characters in the game were no longer that clear. He could only barely remember some powerful characters he had used often, as well as characters he particularly liked or who had memorable memes.
The first person Ye Ming looked for was Abigail.
Unfortunately, Abigail was still safely in the game. She had not disappeared.
Ye Ming sighed and continued searching for Jeanne d'Arc Alter Santa Lily, Cha Cha, Chloe von Einzbern, Jack the Ripper, Nursery Rhyme, Illyasviel von Einzbern...
All the cute little girls were still safely in the game. None of them had vanished.
For now, the little girls were not going to come to the real world. Ye Ming, who was not a lolicon, sighed without the slightest disappointment in his heart.
After confirming that none of the little girls had disappeared, Ye Ming searched more carefully. Based on the vague memories in his mind, he compared things for a long time before barely confirming that two Servants had indeed vanished—Sakura Saber, Okita Souji, and Jeanne Alter.
Ye Ming had a faint premonition that the Servants who had disappeared from the game had most likely come to the real world.
Still, if it was only those two, there should not be any danger, right?
Judging from her portrayal in the game, Okita Souji was a rational and cold swordswoman in battle, but a lively and cheerful girl in daily life. Though she bore a resemblance to Artoria, she was actually secretly quite well-endowed.
As for Jeanne Alter, although she was a Dragon Witch born for revenge, she was really just a tsundere. With the personality of a little girl, she could be said to be the easiest woman in Chaldea to deal with.
Neither of them was yandere or had antisocial tendencies. Even if they came to the real world, they normally should not cause any major trouble.
It was just that, for some reason, both Servants who had vanished were girls.
Still, that was probably a good thing. If certain male Servants came to this world, Ye Ming found it hard to imagine how he would get along with them.
For example, a boy as cute as Astolfo—would he treat him as a brother, or as... that?
And then there was that ill-tempered golden one. If he came to the real world, he would definitely cause huge trouble.
And the great hero Arash... Just thinking about it made Ye Ming feel a little guilty.
Ye Ming let his thoughts run wild for quite a while before pulling his attention back to the present.
First, if Okita Souji and Jeanne Alter had really come to this world and came knocking, then as their Master, he at least had to provide them with somewhere to live, right?
This small two-bedroom apartment already housed Ye Ming, Laffey, and Fu Hua. Keqing would be moving in tomorrow as well. By then, Ye Ming and Keqing would share one bedroom, while Fu Hua and Laffey would share the other. Once Miss Okita and Jeanne Alter arrived, there would be nowhere left for them to stay.
Perhaps it was time to move somewhere more spacious.
Second, if those two girls really came, what kind of attitude should he take toward them?
Jeanne Alter would be simple enough. Although she possessed Jeanne d'Arc's memories and abilities, and had the body of a mature girl, she was actually a tsundere little girl without much life experience. Her situation was similar to that of Honkai Gakuen's Senti. As a mature member of society, Ye Ming had a hundred ways to trick Jeanne Alter into bed and make her wash the sheets herself afterward.
As for Okita Souji, though she appeared to be a lively young girl, she was actually the Shinsengumi's greatest swordswoman from Japan's turbulent Bakumatsu era, an executioner who had fought her way through the blood and storms of a chaotic age. A girl like that definitely could not be treated like a child. Still, there was no need to be nervous either. Once they met, all he needed to do was treat her sincerely.
But regardless of whether Okita Souji and Jeanne Alter had come to the real world or would come knocking, those were matters for the future. What mattered most now was having a proper talk with Fu Hua and telling her that Keqing would be moving in tomorrow.
Thus, Ye Ming tapped the screen, intending to quit the game, turn off his phone, and go find Fu Hua.
But the instant his finger touched the screen, Ye Ming caught another glimpse of it from the corner of his eye and was shocked to find that the number representing the Servant count on the Fate/Grand Order interface had decreased by one again.
Ye Ming took a closer look. This time, the one who had disappeared was a certain long-lived purple-haired old hag, Skadi—ptui, no, Scáthach.
Scáthach.jpg
Had that famous purple-haired old hag, the demigod who had once been active in the era of Celtic mythology and the immortal queen of the Land of Shadows, come to this world too?
If the Scáthach in the game had disappeared, did that mean the other Servants in the game could also vanish and come to this world?
Ye Ming did not know, but merely considering that possibility made his mood grow heavy.
Unlike the Ship-Girls from Azur Lane, Fate/Grand Order had Servants whose existence was controversial.
Though he had once fantasized about thrilling adventures and passionate battles, now he only wanted to live peaceful, warm everyday lives with his girls.
What would the future bring?
Ye Ming did not know.
For now, all he could do was cherish the present and treasure the girls by his side.
With that thought, and with the determination to make Keqing happy, Ye Ming turned off his phone, quietly slipped out of bed, left the bedroom, and walked to Fu Hua's door. After hesitating for a moment, he took a deep breath and knocked.
Fu Hua: Take You Down and Become Your Wife
In the dim hallway, Ye Ming took a deep breath and raised his hand to knock on Fu Hua's door.
The bedroom was silent, without the slightest sound, yet under Ye Ming's knocking, the door slowly opened a crack.
Ye Ming froze.
Fu Hua had not even closed her bedroom door when she went to sleep!
Wasn't that far too unguarded?
Even if they were childhood friends, they were still a man and a woman. Wasn't she afraid something awkward might happen?
Ye Ming was surprised. Given Fu Hua's personality, she should not have made such a careless mistake as forgetting to close her bedroom door.
Was she waiting for me?
That thought flashed through his mind. After waiting a long time without receiving any response from Fu Hua, Ye Ming used a little more force and knocked again.
The bedroom remained completely silent, still without any sound, as though Fu Hua were fast asleep.
Ye Ming cleared his throat and knocked on the door once more, this time with greater force.
"The door isn't closed, is it? Why don't you just come in?"
Fu Hua's calm voice suddenly rang out without warning, startling the already somewhat nervous Ye Ming. "Come in."
"Ahem."
Ye Ming cleared his throat, pushed the door open, and entered. Putting on an easygoing act, he said, "Men and women should keep their distance. I was worried that if I came in directly, I might see something I shouldn't."
"What could there be that you shouldn't see? When we were kids, hadn't we already seen plenty of things we should and shouldn't have?" Fu Hua asked.
Ye Ming did not know whether it was an illusion, but he felt there seemed to be a faint trace of resentment in Fu Hua's tone.
"We were both children back then. Now we're adults, and we can't go back to childhood. Of course things can't be exactly the same as they were before."
As he spoke, Ye Ming had already entered the room and stopped in the pitch-black darkness. He strained to open his eyes wider, trying to make out Fu Hua's dark outline on the bed. "Fu Hua, it's too dark. Can you turn on the light?"
"Yes, we can't go back to the past. Naturally, things can't be like they used to be either."
Fu Hua sighed, sat up in bed, and looked at Ye Ming. The darkness did not affect her in the slightest. She could clearly see his appearance and every tiny change in his expression.
"I like sleeping naked. Are you sure you want me to turn on the lights?"
Fu Hua spoke calmly, as if she would turn them on immediately so long as Ye Ming dared to say yes.
Please, turn them on.
Though he dearly wanted to be cheeky, reason told Ye Ming not to court death.
Ye Ming did not believe Fu Hua actually slept naked, but if he said that, then regardless of whether she was naked or whether she turned on the lights, things would become very awkward.
"Then forget it. I mainly came over to chat. It doesn't really matter whether the lights are on, as long as you can hear me."
As he spoke, Ye Ming thought for a moment and asked, "Have you gotten used to living here these past two days? Actually, when I heard you were coming, I had planned to treat you properly. At the very least, I wanted to cook you a big meal myself, but for various reasons, I never got the chance. I'm really sorry about that. But if you have time, I'll definitely make it up to you this weekend."
"Fu Hua, we grew up together. People might say we're neighbors, but I've always considered you family. There are some things I don't want to hide from you, don't want to deceive you about, and I especially don't want to pretend to be some clueless innocent guy. Whenever possible, I'll tell you exactly what I think. So I hope that if you have any complaints about me, or anything you're unhappy with, you can tell me directly too. There's no need to bottle it up inside, and no need to worry or overthink so much."
"I think we still have that much trust between us. So you understand what I mean, right, Fu Hua?"
His words could not have been any clearer. How could Fu Hua possibly fail to understand?
She knew Ye Ming was worried about her. He was afraid she would get stuck in her own head, afraid she would be wronged, afraid she would have too many concerns and live unhappily.
In the Canghai City of the Previous Era, Ye Ming had used deception and lies to make an agreement with her, giving her a goal and the strength to keep living. In this world, Ye Ming did not want to conceal anything or deceive her; he wanted to speak openly and honestly with her. Lies and truth seemed like two completely opposite extremes, yet both carried his concern and kindness toward her.
But...
Before you continue