Chapter 135: Meeting New Faces

Zenkichi made his way to the common area, where Altria, Gudako, Mash, the others and some unfamiliar faces were gathered. His eyebrows slightly rose when he noticed a unfamiliar man with long curly white hair that cascades down to his legs, wearing a white cloak and black baggy pants with golden accents along with boots. The strange and tall staff in his hand didn't seem to exude any magical energy, appearing as though it was an ordinary object.

But Zenkichi knew it shouldn't be an ordinary object, not if it were held by one of the most famous mages in history: Merlin.

'That must be Merlin. I wonder, how much does he know about me...?'

"Zenkichi!" Altria exclaimed, her face brightened as he entered, showing a mix of relief and concern. She stood up from her seat and hurriedly walked up towards him, snapping him out of his thoughts. "You're finally awake! You really worried us there."

Zenkichi smiled warmly at Altria. "I'm sorry for making you all worry. I'm okay now, thanks to you bringing me here to safety."

Altria smiled back at him, she raises her hand and gently placed it on his cheek. "No need to apologize, protecting you is my duty as your servant after all. Truthfully, I should've done more to help. If that....demon had been a little more stronger or had a stronger grasp of its abilities, we would've all been dead."

"But we're not," Zenkichi retorted, placing his left hand over hers. "We're still alive and together, and that's what matters most. So don't worry yourself too much."

"Hm."

Gudako approached next, her expression a mix of relief and curiosity. "It's good to see you up and about, Zenkichi. We were really concerned when you suddenly collapsed."

Mash stood beside Gudako, nodding in agreement. "Yes, we were all very worried. It was quite a scare."

Zenkichi looked up at them and smirked, trying to ease the tension in the room. "Well as you can see, I'm back on my feet now. Thanks for your concern, guys. I'll make sure not to push myself too hard next time."

"You better! You still haven't given the latest issue of One Piece and Attack on Titan!"

"....You sure about reading Attack on Titan? Because the ending-"

"Aaaah! Lalalala! No spoilers!" Gudako covered her ears and immediately turned, trying to tune out Zenkichi's voice, not noticing the teasing smile on his face.

Only for his smile to drop as his cheeks was getting stretched out by some dainty fingers.

"Please don't tease her." Altria dryly said, lightly pulling his cheeks.

"That's right, Zenkichi." Mash added, pouting. "Senpai's been worried about you for the last few days, and it's not nice to tease her right after she was so concerned."

Zenkichi raised his hands in a mock gesture of surrender, his smile returning despite his cheeks being pulled.

"Augh? Waht? Ish jus soom liht teesing~"

After exchanging a few words with each other, Zenkichi's attention shifted towards the unfamiliar faces in the room, though he could somewhat recognize some of them. He could already guess about who Merlin was, and judging by his sly smile he probably already knew who he was, so he turned to the other people in the room.

There were five unfamiliar people, though to be specific, two grown men, one young adult woman, a young girl that looked like she didn't wear a bra and one child that looked quite shy as she refused to make eye contact and hid her face under her dark hood that had a strange eye design.

Zenkichi looked at her curiously because he remembered her to be the younger and Lancer servant version of Medusa; the tall purple haired beauty with a curvy figure. But now, she was like an introverted child who seemed to shrink away from any attention directed her way.

"Hahaha! My friend! Good to you make a swift recovery!" A red haired man with a muscular physique approach with a wide smile, carrying a wooden mug full of ale. "I knew nothing would happen to you. After all, you and your companions have not only helped out my men clearing out the horde of Demonic Beasts, but you also helped getting rid of a cataclysm that would've wiped us all out!"

Zenkichi blinked. "....I'm sorry, but who are you?"

The red haired man froze, red ale dripping from his open mouth. It took a few moments for him to spit out his drink before exclaiming, "It's me! Can't you tell with these muscles of mine? It is I, King of Sparta, servant of the Lance, and the commander of the Northern Wall, Leonidas!"

Zenkichi chuckled and walked forward, offering him a hand. "I was just kidding around. Of course I knew who you were, your majesty. It was truly an hour to fight alongside you."

Leonidas grinned and shook his hand. "Right back at you, kid; this is the first I've seen a modern teen such as yourself with the capability of a servant! Also, cut the crap with all that majesty crap, I'm more of a soldier than a ruler anyway." He glanced at Altria and raised his mug at her.

"That kind of formality should be reserved to my master and that fine lady over there. Isn't she the King of Knights, Arthur Pendragon? Though, it seems history somehow made a mistake of writing her as a male somehow!"

He laughed boisterously, and Altria smiled politely. "Please don't undermine yourself, King Leonidas. You were a splendid leader and ruler to your people. Also, I am not a ruler right now but a fellow servant Lancer, Altria, to my master Zenkichi Hitoyoshi. So please, call me Altria instead."

Leonidas smiled, "Very well, I shall do that lady Altria," and he continued on drinking, his face petty flushed red and his legs wobbly.

"....Why does keep on drinking if he's a light drinker?" Gudako muttered, taking a step forward to assist the drunken spartan.

"Haha. That just means the booze here is good. Altria, can you bring me some as well."

Altria sighed and went to get drinks for herself and her master. "Fine. But only one drink! You just woke up from a coma..."

"Looks like it's finally our turn for introduction." A voice sounded. Zenkichi turned to the side and his eyebrows shot up find a young girl with long black hair tied into a ponytail that reaches her knees, blue eyes with red eyeliners and a smooth pretty face.

The most prominent part of herself was her very revealing samurai outfit; with just some pieces of armor, white sleeves and some shoulder-pads? that were used to partially cover her sizable breasts; she didn't wore any shirt, revealing her flat stomach and abs faintly etched into the surface. Also, she was wearing either blue panties or stretchy blue swimsuit panty, either way, she didn't seem to know the word "modesty" as she cooly present herself to him.

"Hello, Lord Zenkichi Hitoyoshi, was it? I've heard a lot about you from my colleague and your friends. My name is Ushiwakamaru, Rider servant, and it's a pleasure to meet you." She bowed gracefully, her movements fluid and precise, reminiscent of a skilled warrior.

Was that a katana fashioned as a broom on her side? Zenkichi remembered her, anyone who played FGO would, but it was still a different feeling when he sees them in real life, just like how he almost didn't recognize Leonidas.

Yeah....he really wasn't kidding that he almost didn't recognize him. It might not even help that he mostly used 4 to 5 star servants in the game, so his impression of the other servants was almost zero. Ushiwakamaru on the other hand was pretty memorable, after all, there were only a handful of female servants that showed too much exposure such as herself.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Ushiwakamaru." Zenkichi nodded back at her.

Ushiwakamaru lightly smiled and gestured with her hand to a stern looking man, wearing warrior clothes, with numerous weapons on his back with red hard gauntlets on his forearms. Still, he offered Zenkichi a slight smile. "This shy guy's name is Musashibou Benkei, one of the most famous spearmen in Japanese History. You could say that we're old friends."

"Ah, lord Ushiwakamaru, you flatter me," Benkei responded, his voice deep and respectful. "It is an honor to meet you, Zenkichi Hitoyoshi. I've heard much about your bravery."

Zenkichi nodded, appreciating the formality. "The honor is mine, Benkei. Your feats are legendary."

Next to introduce herself was the young girl with long purple hair and a hood adorned with an eye design. She stepped forward reluctantly, having been nudged by Merlin, her eyes on the ground.

"....I'm Ana, a Lancer-class servant. It's nice to meet you." she softly said.

Zenkichi lightly smiled and crouched down to her level, holding out his right palm, a bag of cookies appeared in his hand.

Ana widened her eyes as the delicious scent of freshly baked cookies filled the air. She looked at Zenkichi's offering with a mixture of surprise and curiosity, slowly extending her hand to take a cookie.

"Thank you," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. She took a small bite, her face lighting up slightly as she savored the treat.

Zenkichi stood back up, his smile growing warmer. "You're welcome, Ana. There's no need to be shy around us. We're all friends here."

Ana nodded slightly, still avoiding direct eye contact but seeming a bit more comfortable.

As Zenkichi turned his attention back to the group, Merlin stepped forward, his presence commanding yet gentle. "It's quite the gathering we have here," Merlin remarked, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "I believe we all have much to learn from each other."

Zenkichi nodded, feeling the weight of Merlin's gaze. "Indeed. I'm looking forward to working with all of you."

Merlin tilted his head. "Oya? You seem as though you know of me?"

"I have pretty good idea about who you are, since Brunhilde explained to me some of the stuff after I collapsed."

Gudako blinked. "Wait, where is Brunhilde?"

Zenkichi chuckled as Altria came back with mugs of ale in each of her hand. He thanked her as he received one before addressing Gudako's question, "Uh, she's feeling a bit under the weather so she's resting in my room for a while."

"Eh? But she was looking completely fine a while ago. Is she really alright?"

"Trust me. We just got a bit....emotional is all. So leave her be for a while, she should be out in a few." He chuckled, hiding the nervousness in his voice.

"I see..."

The others didn't seem to notice anything, except for Altria and Merlin. The former lightly blushed as she remembered when she came up to his room to check on them, as Brunhilde was taking too long from feeding Zenkichi his meal of porridge so he wouldn't starve, only to hear lewd groans and moans from familiar voices.

She hurriedly down back and tried to repress the memory, which is why she acted like she didn't already know her master was already awake.

As for Merlin....he just knew, even without his Clairvoyance. Game recognizes game after all.

He's half incubus and has decades of sexual experience, it'd be stranger if he didn't recognize the signs of someone getting some just moments prior.

"Pardon the belated introductions," A woman dressed in a garbed in a green dress with a white headdress that flowed down her back stepped forward, her expression calm and serene. A veil covered her mouth as she places her hand over her chest and lightly bowed towards Zenkichi. "I am Siduri. I manage the Ritual Site. Congratulations on your recovery, Lord Zenkichi."

Zenkichi returned her bow with a nod, feeling the warmth of her sincerity. "Thank you, Siduri. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Ushiwakamaru clapped her hands, gaining everyone's attention. She smirked and raises her mug.

"Well, introductions now done, let's celebrate Lord Hitoyoshi's recovery! Cheers!"

...

❄️Shout-outs to the best Reincarnators who arrived in my patreon! 

•terrence L mccall

•LowTierDood

•Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

•Lustful-Angel96

•Knight Wolf

•Mohammad Chammaa

•NocYoCheese21

•Stephen Scott

❄️A bigger shout out to the who ascended to become a One Above All!!

•Adrian Durand

•Banphot Chada

•Jonathan

Wanna read advanced chapters, stock-piled stories, photos of the characters and support me all at the same time so I can pump out more chapters, and possibly dish out extra chaps? Well then, head on over to my patreon and become enlightened cultivators!

p.a.t.r.e.o.n.com/FroztDouluo