Type-Moon, but the Servant is Tom - Chapter 195: Servant Astolfo Appears!
“Your body shall serve under me. My fate shall be with your sword. Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail. If you will submit to this will and this reason…… then answer!”
“An oath shall be sworn here! I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven. I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell! – From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power, come forth from the ring of restraint, Protector of the Balance!”
As the incantation concluded, the gentle blue light suddenly surged, as if several flashbangs had been detonated here. Fujimaru Ritsuka, however, remained unfazed and calmly shielded his eyes with both hands, demonstrating a remarkable level of proficiency.
He knew all too well that merely closing one’s eyes wouldn’t prevent the blinding effect. Hence, using both hands as a shield was the optimal approach. Having experienced being temporarily blinded by intense light twice before, Fujimaru Ritsuka had no intention of undergoing that experience for a third time.
As the radiance gradually subsided, Gudako lowered her arms that had been protecting her eyes. Before her stood a pink-haired… girl?
“Yay! I’m Astolfo! My class is Rider,” the “girl” introduced herself, hands behind her back, leaning forward, and then hesitatingly continued, “Um… nice to meet you!”
“Astolfo…” Fujimaru Ritsuka repeated the name as he gazed upon the adorable figure before him. He had encountered this Servant during a previous Singularity.
“That’s right, I’m Astolfo, one of the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne. You’re my master, aren’t you?” With those words, Astolfo cheerfully grasped Fujimaru Ritsuka’s right hand, shaking it vigorously in a familiar manner to greet him.
And so, they exchanged greetings.
“I’m Fujimaru Ritsuka.” He maintained eye contact with Astolfo and continued, “We meet again, Astolfo. The last time we crossed paths was during the Grand Finale Singularity.”
Astolfo nodded enthusiastically, his face adorned with a bright smile. “Yeah, yeah, we last met during the last time!”
“Oh, by the way…” Suddenly remembering something, Fujimaru Ritsuka shifted his gaze towards the ground beneath Astolfo. There lay the Spiritron Case.
Stepping forward and squatting down, Fujimaru Ritsuka extended his hand towards the disc resting on the ground beneath Astolfo.
“Guwee?!” Startled by Fujimaru Ritsuka’s actions, Astolfo quickly covered his crotch and took a couple of steps back.
“What are you, you, you… Master, what are you doing?!” Astolfo’s left hand gripped his ‘weapon,’ while his right hand pointed at Fujimaru Ritsuka. His face was flushed, and he stammered out his question.
“Huh? I picked this up.” Fujimaru Ritsuka shook the Spiritron Dresser he held in his hand, seemingly oblivious to Astolfo’s exaggerated reaction. Unfortunately, he had disconnected the communication right after the summoning, or else Mashu might have understood.
Seeing the disc in Fujimaru Ritsuka’s hand, Astolfo’s momentary excitement dissipated. He had assumed something else just a moment ago… well, that starry enthusiasm was gone now.
“Oh, I thought… it’s nothing!” Astolfo awkwardly tried to cover up.
“????” Fujimaru Ritsuka was utterly confused by Astolfo’s reaction and simply put the disc back into his pocket.
Fujimaru Ritsuka shifted his gaze towards the entrance of the alley. “For now, let’s investigate the surroundings.”
“Understood, Master.”
After responding to Fujimaru Ritsuka, Astolfo walked ahead, taking the lead to explore the outside of the alley.
However… after only a few steps, both of them halted in their tracks.
If you were to ask why they stopped, well…
Astolfo pointed to the backside of a wall on the right, tilting his body to the left as he addressed Fujimaru Ritsuka, “Hey, Master, why does the wall in front have a butt?”
“Butt? Oh… it actually does.” Following Astolfo’s gesture, Fujimaru Ritsuka looked in the indicated direction and saw a man’s lower half wedged into the wall.
“Is this guy some kind of decoration? He’s not moving at all, huh?” Astolfo remarked before casually poking the middle of the figure with his finger.
“Beep beep beep~~~.”
Just as Astolfo was casually poking at the figure, Fujimaru Ritsuka’s wristwatch emitted an urgent beeping sound. Reacting to the alert, Fujimaru Ritsuka swiftly activated the device.
The moment the communication connected, Da Vinci’s voice immediately rang out from the wristwatch, “Fujimaru Ritsuka, get away from there quickly! We’ve detected a Servant’s reaction!”
From the urgency in her voice, it was clear that Da Vinci was greatly concerned.
“Servant?!” Upon hearing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka immediately rushed to Astolfo’s side, positioning himself behind Astolfo and preparing to provide backup at a moment’s notice.
“Astolfo, get ready for battle!”
“Understood, Master!” Astolfo ceased poking at the rear end and casually waved his right hand. Accompanied by golden spiritual particles, an exquisitely ornate and overly dramatic cavalry lance materialized in Astolfo’s hand.
With his prized possession now in hand, Astolfo surveyed his surroundings with a serious expression.
Meanwhile, back at Chaldea, Da Vinci grew increasingly anxious as she watched Fujimaru Ritsuka getting dangerously close to the hostile Servant.
“Wait a minute, Fujimaru Ritsuka! Why are you getting even closer to that Servant?! You’re within one meter of it already!”
Perplexed, Fujimaru Ritsuka looked around, only to find Astolfo within one meter. Confused, he asked, “Closer…? Wait, are you saying that the Servant’s reaction you mentioned isn’t Astolfo?”
Hearing this, Da Vinci immediately negated that possibility. “No, Astolfo is a Servant summoned by Chaldea’s summoning system. We received a signal from that end, and the hostile Servant is nearby you!”
Upon hearing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka seemed to realize something and immediately turned his gaze towards Astolfo. Astolfo also shared a knowing look with Fujimaru Ritsuka, and the two nodded in agreement.
They both then directed their attention towards the wall. As they looked at the figure wedged into the wall, which they had mistaken for decoration, Fujimaru Ritsuka exclaimed in surprise.
“So, this butt is actually…”