Chapter 58: Convincing

Chapter 58: Convincing

Shortly after Shirou's departure, Illya, Chloe, and Miyu returned to the living room wearing markedly more 'conservative' clothing. Chloe was toeing the line with a choker, a sleeveless black crop top, and a pair of blue jean short-shorts, but it was a significant improvement compared to the black string bikini she wore previously.

Seeing no signs of Shirou, Miyu, accompanied by her floating magical wand, asked, "Is Onii-san preparing lunch...?"

Nodding his head, Thomas replied, "Yeah, he left just a few minutes ago. You should be able to find him in the kitchen."

Without another word, Miyu departed to help Shirou prepare lunch while Chloe practically dragged the nervous-looking Illya into the living room, asking, "So, what did you say your names were?" after taking a seat.

Adopting a somewhat forced smile, Thomas replied, "My name is Thomas, Thomas D. Jensen. These are..."

With Thomas looking toward her, Vivi adopted a more sincere smile as she said, "My name is Vivi. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintances."

Immediately following Vivi, Astolfo practically shouted, "And I'm Astolfo, one of the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne! Nice to meet'cha~!"

Though Illya was a bit taken aback by Astolfo's vigor, a nervous chuckle emanating from her throat, Chloe was far more composed, responding, "I'm Chloe, and this is my cousin, Illya."

Following Chloe's introduction, the magical wand hovering next to Illya moved forward to perform a pirouette as it cheerfully appended, "And I've already introduced myself as the marvelous Magical Ruby~!"

Pushing Ruby aside, Chloe said, "Now that we've got the introductions out of the way, let's get down to business. Those markings on your hand are Command Spells, aren't they? That makes you a Master. And if that's the case, there should be a Holy Grail somewhere in this world, right...?"

As it wasn't something he could keep secret if he planned to work with the displaced quartet, Thomas replied, "Yeah, though it's somewhere on Laugh Tale, the final island. Why, are you thinking you can use the Grail to assemble the remaining Install Cards...?"

Spreading her hands in apparent helplessness, Chloe replied, "That would be nice, but I can't imagine you or your Heroic Spirits would simply hand it over. What I'm more interested in is your status as a Master. I want you to form a contract with me."

Surprised by Chloe's request, Illya broke free from her nervous silence, exclaiming, "Chloe!? What are you thinking!? You can't just form a contract with someone we just met...!"

Furrowing her brows, Chloe crossed her arms and retorted, "I don't want to hear it, Illya. You and Miyu have become complacent, and Shirou is on his last legs. We've only collected a single card in the past year, so one of us 'has' to venture outward. We can't keep hiding here and waiting for the Kuja Pirates to locate the cards for us...!"

Pointing to Thomas, Chloe added, "This guy here is our ticket to success. He has a ton of Mana and a Heroic Spirit that can apparently locate Install Cards across vast distances. How else would they know to look for them here...?"

Instead of directly supporting Chloe's argument, Thomas said, "Calm down. I already told Shirou that I would help you assemble Install Cards in exchange for lending me one of your Caster Cards. There's no need for you to contract or travel with me."

Slamming the table that was separating them, Chloe exclaimed, "You're wrong! We've been in this world for three and a half years and have yet to collect even half of what we need to restore Miyu's world! Someone from our group needs to get out there, and I'm the best choice...!"

Though he couldn't help feeling he was walking directly into Zelretch's trap, Thomas nodded his head, meeting Chloe's gaze as he said, "Fine. I still plan to do my own thing, but Ruby makes a lot of good points. So long as you don't try and dictate my actions, I don't mind if you accompany us on our journey..."

Pumping her fists, Chloe responded with a triumphant "Yosh~!" before adopting a broad smile as she said, "Now we just need to form a contract. My body practically hemorrhages Magical Energy, so I need to constantly resupply."

While he had never watched the Fate Kaleid anime, Thomas had acquired Chloe in FGO and seen several GIFs associated with the series. Just to be certain, he asked, "And how, exactly, do we form this contract...?"

Leaning over the table, Chloe replied, "It's embarrassing to say out loud. Why don't you lend me an ear...?"

Interrupting before Thomas could call Chloe out, Illya stammered, "N-N-Now, hold on just a minute! We still need to discuss things with Shirou-nii and Miyu! You can't just go making decisions on your own! And Ruby, why are you encouraging them...!?"

Shrugging her feathery appendages, Ruby sighed before saying, "Chloe is right. It's been nearly a year and a half since we settled here, and you and Miyu have become complacent. You even started treating Miyu's Onii-san as your own..."

Flying over to Thomas, Ruby hovered above his head, asserting, "I'm pretty sure this big fella was sent here to remind us that there are worlds beyond this one. If we're going to save Miyu's world and stop Darius, we can't stay here, waiting for things to change. Don't forget that Rin, Luvia, Tanaka, and countless others are waiting for us..."

With a clearly conflicted look on her face, Illya replied, "I know all of that, okay? It's just that even with the Grade-8 Archer Card, we couldn't defeat a Marine Admiral. If we appear on the open seas again, the Marines might send one to try and capture us. Then everything we've worked so hard to obtain will be lost..."

Exhaling another sigh, even though she didn't have a visible mouth, Ruby responded to Illya's words by stating, "And this is why Chloe wanted to go alone. You haven't given up, but you've allowed yourself to be weighed down by despair. At this rate, we can only achieve our goals by relying on 'external' factors."

Plopping down on Thomas's head, Ruby asserted, "My Creator must have sent this man here for a reason. With the power of the Mana-Mana-no-Mi, he could be the key to defeating the Admirals, overthrowing the Celestial Dragons, and collecting the remaining Install Cards."

Resisting the urge to grab Ruby from his head, Thomas flatly remarked, "I'm right here, you know..."

Leaning forward to look Thomas in the eye, Ruby asked, "Am I wrong? If your desire is to stand at the pinnacle of the world, you'll naturally have to depose those already there. Our goals are aligned, so be a good boy and let big sister Ruby do all the talking, okay?"

Raising her 'face,' Ruby looked toward Illya, her voice making it sound as though she was smiling as she said, "Don't worry. Illya can be pretty slow to act, but she's fairly reliable when she does. She just needs someone to give her a light push. What do you think, Shirou-san~?"

In response to Ruby's words, Shirou emerged from the hallway with a wry smile. What he said next all but forced the matter of Thomas lending them a hand...

...

..

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(A/N: We lost power for a few hours just when I was going to start writing. It's still storming, but I'll see about releasing a few more before the next reset.)