"Yes," Fujimaru Ritsuka answered. Then she noticed that Wu Ling was studying her face with a thoughtful look.
"Um, is something wrong?" she asked carefully.
Wu Ling waved it off. "Nothing. I only thought of something."
"Something?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka touched her own face in confusion. Why would looking at her face make him think of something?
"Yes. Something."
"Ah. Right. I understand."
The air between them cooled at once. Fujimaru Ritsuka had no idea how to continue after that answer, while Wu Ling felt too awkward to stare at a woman's face for a while, say nothing useful, and then simply turn away.
"Ahem. Ritsuka, you arrived at the right time. Mister Wu Ling was just getting to the important part. You should listen too."
Doctor Roman's voice arrived like salvation and broke the mood between them. Fujimaru Ritsuka and Wu Ling both relaxed.
The two walked to the front of Doctor Roman, Mash, and Da Vinci. Everyone's curious gaze returned to Wu Ling.
"Mister Wu Ling, could you explain what you meant by King of Heroic Spirits? This is not an order, of course. It is so we can coordinate with you better. If there is anything you cannot explain, such as your True Name or a weakness, you do not need to say it."
Doctor Roman spoke in his usual gentle voice. His tone was neither too distant nor too familiar. For a Servant Chaldea had just met, but who had shown no hostility, it was nearly perfect.
But Wu Ling openly held his chin and stared at Doctor Roman.
"Mm. Mm. Mm. Honestly, if anyone else said that, I would feel plenty of sincerity. But when you say it, for some reason it feels fake and perfunctory.
"Also, I did not notice it earlier, but now that I am looking at you carefully, I cannot explain why, yet I feel that all of this must somehow be your fault. I even feel that whenever you appear, Tokiomi has to step aside."
Doctor Roman gave him a smile that was awkward yet somehow still graceful, but he did not argue.
Da Vinci seized the chance and said, "Right, right. Roman may be managing all of Chaldea right now, and doing a decent job of it, but in essence, he is a realist and a pessimist."
"Oh, you must be the Da Vinci Mash mentioned, the one with Mona Lisa's appearance. I have to say, your looks, figure, and that spring breeze charm mixed with playfulness do make you close to a perfect woman."
The moment Wu Ling mentioned her Mona Lisa form, Da Vinci's eyes lit up. Even among all the works of the universal genius of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the Mona Lisa was something she could be proud of. The fact that she chose to change from he to she and use this body proved it.
"Exactly. Becoming a beautiful girl is every man's dream. And this perfect female body? Even better."
"Ha ha. I do not share that dream. I think being a man is fine. But I agree with your second point. When I passed through parallel worlds earlier, I even learned about a certain man who could get excited just by looking at paintings."
As Wu Ling and Da Vinci's conversation drifted further off course, Doctor Roman remained calm, but Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash both turned red.
To stop the two shameless people from saying anything more destructive, Mash lightly poked Wu Ling.
"Um, Mister Wu Ling. You still have not explained the important matter."
Mash's reminder brought Wu Ling back.
"Right. I forgot the serious part."
With a wave of his hand, a long wooden table and five stools appeared in front of them. Wu Ling sat at the main seat. Another wave brought out pastries and hot tea.
"Sit down first. We can drink while we talk."
Doctor Roman and Da Vinci exchanged a glance, then walked over first and sat on the two seats closest to Wu Ling. Mash and Fujimaru Ritsuka followed and sat farther away.
After sitting down, Mash gently picked up a pastry and took a bite.
"Mm. It is good. Is this the same type of Noble Phantasm as Mister Gilgamesh's?"
"Goldie? Mine is different from his Noble Phantasm. But let us leave that aside and discuss the serious matter first. To explain how this King of Heroic Spirits came to be, I would have to start from twenty years ago, plus twenty years before that...
"Actually, no. Too troublesome. And it looks like we do not have enough time anyway. I will show you directly."
As soon as Wu Ling finished speaking, before Doctor Roman and the others could react, a massive golden throne replaced the ordinary chair beneath him.
Wu Ling's presence changed at once. To Mash, the gentle boy next door from a moment ago became a sovereign who ruled beneath heaven. Even the power inside her body was suppressed to a degree.
"This... this is!" Doctor Roman and Da Vinci cried out at the same time.
Mash and Fujimaru Ritsuka lacked the experience to understand what the throne beneath Wu Ling was. But Doctor Roman and Da Vinci understood. One had once been a Grand Caster and King of Magecraft. The other was a living Heroic Spirit and universal genius. How could they not recognize it?
"Is that the materialization of the Throne of Heroes?" Doctor Roman asked, though his tone was certain.
Wu Ling nodded. "Correct. It is indeed a manifestation of the Throne of Heroes. But it is only a small part of it, and some other things have been mixed in."
"That is shocking enough. It is almost a concept given form. Wait, if that is the case, can you freely summon Heroic Spirits? I see. Is that why you are called the King of Heroic Spirits?" Da Vinci added quickly.
This time, Wu Ling shook his head.
"I can summon multiple Heroic Spirits, but there are conditions. It still depends on the Heroic Spirits' own wills. The nine who contracted with me are different. They are fine."
Wu Ling began letting the nine Heroic Spirits possess him one by one, from Sasaki Kojiro to Hassan of the Hundred Personas, while continuing his explanation.
"It is like how the land summons Heroic Spirits tied to itself when danger approaches. This incident must involve such a wide range that the Counter Force sensed the threat. Ordinary Heroic Spirits under contract with the Counter Force could not solve it, so it found me and gave me this power."
After that buffer, Doctor Roman and Da Vinci gradually accepted the situation. More than accepted it, in Chaldea's current condition, Wu Ling was exactly the medicine they needed. He gave them hope again.
Then Wu Ling suddenly added, "Right. One more thing. Remember to watch out for an attack."
"Attack? Attack!"
Doctor Roman reacted at once and rushed to the monitor. The two small points on the screen were already very close.