Absolutely

Chapter 31: Absolutely...

Minutes later, Luo Zhen and Mashu had already left the iron tower and returned to the burning town.

Staying on that iron tower was too conspicuous. Luo Zhen could only have Mashu take him away, find a temporary base as quickly as possible, and hide inside to avoid a second attack.

That's what he said, but the so-called base was just one of the buildings in this ruined town.

But in any case, the two of them at least had a chance to catch their breath.

However, when they came back to their senses, they looked at each other and fell into an unspeakable complex mood.

"Um... are you okay? Senpai?"

"...Yeah, no problem."

"Then... is there anything abnormal with your body?"

"I don't think so?"

"Then... that's good."

"Yeah..."

After a very brief conversation, the two fell silent.

Luo Zhen raised his eyes and looked at the girl in front of him, who had changed her image greatly, looking both dignified and a little uneasy. He couldn't help but sigh and took the lead in breaking the silence.

"In any case, let me understand the situation first." Luo Zhen asked Mashu in a calm tone, "If I'm not mistaken, Mashu, you have indeed become a Servant, am I right?"

This was an undeniable fact.

Luo Zhen, who had already escaped from the sudden incident, had long felt something that he had been ignoring.

That was a faint connection between himself and Mashu.

This connection was like an invisible channel connecting himself and Mashu, allowing Luo Zhen to easily send his magic power into Mashu's body, and even use the Command Seal on the back of his hand to give orders to Mashu.

Luo Zhen knew very well what this meant.

This meant...

"You have made a contract with me as a Servant, right?"

Luo Zhen asked word by word.

In response, Mashu nodded, then shook her head, making a correction.

"I did make a contract with Senpai, and I did gain the power of a Servant, but my state is not considered a regular Servant."

Speaking of this, Mashu paused slightly, and then said this sentence.

"I have now become a 〈Pseudo-Servant〉."

Hearing this sentence, Luo Zhen's first reaction was not surprise, but a wry smile.

"As expected... is that so...?"

————〈Pseudo-Servant〉.

This was not a special Servant, but something created by human hands.

Although Servants possessed inhuman power and could provide amazing combat power, they were heroes, legends, and fantasies of the past, each with extraordinary will and beliefs. It was a bit unrealistic to use them as Familiars at will.

In other words, Servants might betray their Master, or even violate the Master's orders, disobey commands, and even harm the Master, causing the summoner to lose more than they gained.

It was to prevent this situation from happening that Command Seals came into being.

A Command Seal was a right to command with a limit of three uses. Each use was a command, and its original purpose was to forcibly control Servants and make them obey the Master's commands.

Chaldea had remade this command system and coordinated it with the Heroic Spirit summoning system, so that the Master who contracted with the Servant could also have Command Seals.

However, Chaldea's Command Seals did not focus on the "domination" aspect, but specialized in the "support" aspect, abandoning the mandatory command power, and had miraculous effects in strengthening and healing Servants. The control of Servants was at most a "curse"-like effect.

Of course, if all three Command Seals were used at once, it was still possible to forcibly command the Servant.

Anyway, with Chaldea's magic power supply, Masters could obtain one Command Seal every day, and the Command Seals would be fully restored in three days. When it was time to use them, they could still be used.

However, if the Servant did not obey the command and had to use the Command Seal every time to drive it, it would also cause great trouble and would not be conducive to combat at all.

In addition, the Servant itself was a spirit body, and its existence itself required magic power consumption. In order to make up for various shortcomings, Chaldea launched an experiment.

"The fusion of humans and Heroic Spirits..."

That's right.

The fusion of humans and Heroic Spirits.

This was one of the researches that had been going on for more than ten years, and it was Chaldea's sixth experiment.

"By fusing with Heroic Spirits, the experimental subject can not only obtain the power of a Servant-level, but because it is not a spirit body itself, it does not need to consume magic power just to exist. What is even more valuable is that it will obey orders and can avoid various disadvantages. This is————〈Pseudo-Servant〉."

Luo Zhen looked at Mashu and said with some bitterness.

"This experiment, was it actually completed now?"

The Pseudo-Servant experiment had been launched more than ten years ago, but it had not been successful until now.

Luo Zhen never expected that this experiment would be completed in this situation.

Mashu said as such.

"After all, I was originally created for this purpose."

Mashu's words, devoid of any emotion, made Luo Zhen clench his fist.

At this point, there was no need to even say it.

Mashu was one of the test subjects of this experiment.

This was Mashu's past, and the fate and life she possessed before appearing in Chaldea two years ago.

The girl, who was finally liberated two years ago due to the failure of the experiment and could openly appear within Chaldea, had ultimately become something not human.

"Damn it...!"

Luo Zhen couldn't help but curse.

A moment later, Luo Zhen's clenched fist was grasped by a pair of soft hands.

"Please don't be so angry, Senpai."

Mashu gently enveloped Luo Zhen's clenched fist with her own hands.

Her face also wore a serene smile.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with it."

Mashu's straightforward words echoed around them.

"At least, the current me possesses the power to protect Senpai, and I can fight alongside Senpai as Senpai's Servant. I feel very happy."

This was definitely not a lie.

The girl named Mashu was certainly grateful for her current situation from the bottom of her heart.

"If it's the current me, then I have the ability to fight."

Mashu smiled at Luo Zhen.

However, this girl didn't know that her smile only made Luo Zhen feel heartache.

(Saying she's very happy, huh?)

Luo Zhen recalled the look in Mashu's eyes that he had seen not long ago.

In addition to the usual trust, there were other things in those eyes.

That thing was called fear.

(On one hand, she's happy to have gained the power to fight alongside me, but on the other hand, she's afraid of the battle itself, and feels fear about it...)

Luo Zhen gripped Mashu's hand in return, putting strength into it, while resolving in his heart.

(I will definitely not let her face all of this alone...)

(Absolutely...)

PS: Today is Ru Qing's engagement day, and in two weeks, I'll be getting married. I've been so busy lately that I'm just using pre-written chapters to update. It's pathetic, so please support this book more to reward me! (crying)