Anime Crossover: Master is Not Here Today

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 425 Fujimaru Ritsuka vs. Merlin

"The power of love..."

Seeing that Fujimaru Ritsuka's expression seemed genuine, Merlin murmured to himself for a moment, then smiled helplessly:

"It's a real shame, that's probably a skill I'll never be able to master."

"After all, I'm just a nightmare."

To be precise, Merlin is a hybrid of a human and a nightmare.

Although both were of mixed race, Gilgamesh identified more with his human identity, chose to live as a human, and thus parted ways with the gods.

Merlin, on the other hand, believed himself to be a nightmare mixed with human blood, and that he had completely inherited the characteristics of a nightmare.

He is incapable of generating any emotions himself; he feeds on human emotions and expresses his thoughts by consuming stored emotions, making his existence vastly different from that of humans.

Merlin chose to help the Chaldea group save humanity because he enjoyed reading the stories/history woven by humans, not because he liked humanity as a whole.

only--

"That's what it says,"

Fujimaru Ritsuka smiled and said:

"But Merlin still possessed some human qualities, didn't he?"

Merlin was taken aback by this, then chuckled and said:

"...Well, who knows?"

Without dwelling on the topic, Merlin turned his gaze back to the sleeping Tiamat, a glint of curiosity in his eyes, and smiled:

"I have to say, the effect is really immediate."

As he spoke, he suddenly changed the subject, looking back at Fujimaru Ritsuka, and said with a grin:

"Since you can keep Tiamat asleep so easily, then this job will be handed over to you from now on!"

"……Eh?"

Merlin stretched lazily and said:

"Haha, I suddenly feel so much more relaxed!"

"Hey, wait a minute!"

Seeing Merlin's relaxed smile, Fujimaru Ritsuka realized what was happening and said with a black line on his forehead:

"Don't just stand there making decisions on your own!"

"I can't stay here forever, and besides, I can't just come and go as I please!"

She herself came here unintentionally in a dream while sleeping. Unlike the previous "transformation" where her body also appeared, this time it was more like a "dream" when she went to the Shimousa Singularity.

In other words, her body should still be lying on her bed in her room at this moment.

She was just an ordinary person; if she stayed here for several days in a row, she would probably have to stay here forever.

More importantly, she has no control over when she dreams, nor can she control whether she comes to this place.

"Existing in the form of a dream... Is that so..."

After hearing Fujimaru Ritsuka's explanation, Merlin looked her up and down several times with curiosity, then suddenly asked:

"You wouldn't happen to be a nightmare too, would you?"

"certainly not!"

Fujimaru Ritsuka firmly denied the allegations, issuing a solemn statement:

"I am a 100% ordinary human being, thank you."

"One hundred percent human..."

Merlin glanced at her with a strange expression. He didn't think any ordinary person could dream of the Imaginary Sea and so easily appease Tiamat.

However, he chuckled twice and nodded vaguely, saying:

"Hehe, let's just say that's how it is then."

"Hey, hey, hey, what do you mean by 'just consider it this way'? What do you mean? Explain yourself!"

Ignoring Fujimaru Ritsuka's disgruntled protests, Merlin lowered his head and pondered for a while before suddenly having an idea.

How about this?

He looked at Fujimaru Ritsuka and suggested with a smile:

"If your appearance here is just a dream, then this happens to be my area of ​​expertise!"

“Although I haven’t tried it, I should be able to consistently get you here every night.”

"So, we'll split this job 50/50. I'll still be in charge of hypnotizing Tiamat during the day, and you'll be in charge of watching over her at night, how about that?"

"Um……"

Fujimaru Ritsuka's brows furrowed deeply, her face filled with resistance, reluctance, and a hint of inner conflict.

She had no doubt about Merlin's abilities and believed he was fully capable of doing it.

Faced with this job that was suddenly thrown at her, and the thought that her sweet sleep would be gone for quite some time, she really wanted to refuse!

However… after hesitating for a while, she finally nodded and said:

"Okay, I'll just agree."

Upon hearing this, Merlin slightly curled the corners of his mouth, revealing a 'perfect plan' expression, and said with pleasure:

"Thank you so much, Gudako-san, for your great help..."

"but!"

Before Merlin could finish speaking, she smiled at him again:

Now that you've shed such a heavy burden, Merlin, you have no excuse to slack off anymore, right?

"...Ah?"

Merlin's smile froze instantly. Under the other person's ambiguous gaze, he sighed helplessly:

"That's really something, we've seen right through you."

Since appearing in this world, he has mostly acted as if he is doing nothing, leaving most people with the impression that he likes to slack off. This is partly because he does like to slack off, and partly because he really doesn't have the time to do anything else.

As the goddess of creation and a fully-formed beast, Tiamat was not an easy target for anyone, even for him.

Furthermore, King Gilgamesh forcibly summoned the seven Servants to the world, resulting in severe depletion of his magical energy. Not only was he unable to maintain his peak condition, but the magical energy he could provide to them was also completely insufficient.

Therefore, Servants like Ushiwakamaru were given physical bodies, allowing them to use their own magical power as much as possible. However, Ushiwakamaru, being a special case, had to find a way to replenish his magical power every night.

Of course, this is actually a kind of enjoyment for him.

In short, although Merlin always seemed to be doing nothing, he was actually fully supporting the restoration of humanity, but he never told anyone.

That is why Gilgamesh, the only one who knows the truth, tacitly allows him to slack off at will and gives him the authority to act freely.

Now, besides Gilgamesh, another person who knows the truth is Fujimaru Ritsuka.

Back to the point.

Having been completely seen through, Merlin could only helplessly spread his hands and sigh, saying:

"Okay, okay, what can I do? I came here to help voluntarily."

"Isn't this what they call reaping what you sow?"

However, after sighing, he quickly recovered and smiled again:

"Well then, considering how hard I've worked, could you grant me a small request?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka said somewhat warily:

"What request?"

"Please don't look at me so warily, it's really just a small request."

Merlin smiled sincerely and said:

"Miss Gudako, may I know your real name?"

As he said this, his gaze moved slightly downwards, eventually settling on the back of Fujimaru Ritsuka's right hand.

After the cloak was removed, the bright red mark on the back of the other person's right hand was extremely conspicuous.

Without a doubt, it was a mark called Command Seals, the absolute proof of being a Master.

He chuckled with a hint of surprise in his voice, finding it quite amusing:

"Although I had noticed something unusual a while ago, I never expected that such an interesting situation was hidden under the cloak."

"Miss Gudako, you're not from this world, are you?"

Come spicy!

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 426 Days as a Beast in Uruk

The next morning.

Seeing Fujimaru Ritsuka come downstairs, Mash, who was preparing breakfast, greeted her with a smile:

Good morning, Gudako.

"Good morning. Haha—"

Fujimaru Ritsuka responded listlessly, sat down at the table, and couldn't help but let out a long yawn.

Seeing this, Gudao asked with concern:

"Gudako-san, did you not sleep well last night?"