Fate Grand Order: Broadcasting Master Love — Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Arriving at the Counterfeit Workshop

Da Vinci’s eyes crinkled into cheerful crescents, a bright, airy laugh escaping her lips as she waved the group forward. “Excellent work, thank you! Come on, everyone, let’s head straight to the Counterfeit Workshop!”

Without waiting for a response, she took the lead. Her brisk, almost skipping steps sent the hems of her heavy robes fluttering, radiating a lively eagerness that cut through the tense atmosphere of the Singularity.

Before the rest of the vanguard could catch their breath and follow, a flurry of pale blue virtual light particles coalesced in the air above them. The holographic projection of the Chaldea Control Room flickered to life, snapping into the familiar, slightly slouched figure of Dr. Roman.

His brow pinched, stripping away his usual easygoing demeanor. “You’re almost at the destination coordinates,” he warned, his voice urgent over the comms. “The Control Room just detected a massive spike in enemy reactions directly in your path. Everyone, weapons ready!”

Static chewed at the edges of his projection, the signal struggling against the ambient magical energy, but the gravity of his warning rang loud and clear.

Mere seconds later, the ambush hit.

The corridor erupted into chaos. Steel rang sharply against phantom armor, and the blinding flares of magecraft illuminated the dim stone walls. The team moved as a single, well-oiled unit. Emiya’s twin blades carved through the encroaching shadows with lethal precision, while Mash’s massive shield shattered the enemy lines, creating openings for Ritsuka’s rapid-fire support spells.

When the final enemy phantom dissolved into a shower of fading golden dust, the heavy, ornate doors of the Counterfeit Workshop finally loomed before them.

Da Vinci didn’t hesitate. She pushed the heavy double doors open and stepped inside, letting out a soft, breathless gasp. Her gaze swept across the sprawling room, taking in every shelf, table, and easel. “Whoa… this place is exactly like my workshop. Down to the very last detail of the furnishings!”

Mash followed closely on her heels, stepping over the threshold. The moment her eyes landed on the massive canvases lining the walls, her boots rooted to the floor. Her fingers instinctively tightened around the heavy rim of her shield.

“It’s not just the Mona Lisa…” Mash murmured, her clear eyes wide with disbelief. “This is too unbelievable!”

Following her junior’s gaze, Da Vinci practically glided over to the nearest wall. Her fingertip hovered just an inch above the painted canvases, tracing the air over The Annunciation and then the Vitruvian Man. Finally, she stopped before a massive mural that commanded the entire back wall.

Her voice pitched up in pure, unadulterated shock. “It’s true! And these… No way, even The Last Supper is replicated so flawlessly?”

Emiya stepped into the room at a much slower, measured pace. His sharp, metallic gaze carefully scanned the brushstrokes, the pigments, and the canvas textures. “Just in terms of preservation,” he noted, his calm tone failing to mask his underlying amazement, “these are in significantly better condition than the existing originals sitting in museums back in 2017.”

A flutter of parchment drew Da Vinci’s attention to a heavy oak desk in the center of the room. She leaned over, her delicate fingers pinching the corner of a yellowed page. Her brow furrowed, a rare note of confusion creeping into her voice. “Hmm? What’s this…”

Emiya drifted over to the desk, peering over her shoulder. His eyes locked onto the strange, backward scrawl covering the parchment. “Is this your manuscript?”

Da Vinci rubbed the rough texture of the paper between her thumb and forefinger. She stared at it for a long, silent moment before giving a slow nod. “Uh… yeah. This one right here is indeed my genuine work.” She then gestured toward a towering, neatly organized stack of papers on the opposite side of the desk. “But that stack over there is clearly a Counterfeit.”

Hearing the exchange, Mash hurried over to the desk. She leaned in close, her eyes darting back and forth between the two piles of parchment. Her brow knit together in utter bewilderment. She turned to Ritsuka, who had just walked up beside her. “This one is the real one, and that one is the fake… Master, I’m looking right at the texture and the handwriting, and they are completely identical. I can’t tell them apart at all.”

Ritsuka paced slowly along the edge of the desk, squinting at the ink strokes on the scattered pages, then looked up at the priceless masterpieces dominating the room. Finally, she let out a long breath and shook her head. “I can’t tell either. They’re just too perfect.”

Da Vinci let out a soft, airy chuckle, a knowing glint in her eyes. “I thought as much. After all, these Counterfeits are crafted with such terrifying realism that even the person who painted them might struggle to distinguish the real from the fake.”

Emiya crossed his arms over his chest, his gaze settling heavily on the mountain of forged documents. “Speaking of Leonardo da Vinci’s manuscripts, historical records state that thousands of pages still exist in the modern era.” He paused, his eyes narrowing at the backward lettering. “, since all of your notes are written in mirrored script, replicating them to this exact standard must have taken a staggering amount of effort from the forger.”

Mash stared at the sheer volume of famous works and papers stuffing the room, her confusion only deepening. “Leaving aside the Mona Lisa and the grand paintings… why would the enemy go to such extreme lengths to replicate all these random manuscripts too?”

Da Vinci suddenly straightened up. She clapped her hands together, the sharp sound echoing through the quiet workshop. “Alright! Whether they’re genuine or Counterfeits, we are taking them all back to Chaldea!”

Mash flinched, her eyes widening to comical proportions. “Huh?! Take them all back?!” She spun around, staring at the literal mountains of canvases, frames, and paper. “I mean… individually, they aren’t particularly heavy, but with this kind of volume? Trying to pack and haul everything out of here is going to be a nightmare…”

Ritsuka slumped her shoulders, her face twisting into a mask of pure, unadulterated exhaustion. “What a pain—” she groaned, dragging the words out with heavy resistance.

Catching the absolute lack of motivation from her Master, a cunning spark flashed in Da Vinci’s eyes. She leaned in, a sly, mercantile smile spreading across her lips. “Don’t worry. If you manage to haul all of this back, I’d be more than willing to trade you some highly rare items from the Chaldea store. Sound like a deal?”

The exhaustion vanished from Ritsuka’s face as if it had been physically wiped away.

Her eyes ignited with a terrifying, blinding intensity. She stood ramrod straight, her voice ringing with absolute, unshakable conviction. “I will recover every last scrap! I swear it, not a single piece of paper will be left behind!”

The hesitation in Mash’s eyes evaporated just as quickly. She slammed a fist against her chest, her voice burning with fierce resolve. “We will stuff our inventory to the absolute brim! Even if the backpacks tear at the seams, we will carry it all back!”

Emiya stood off to the side, watching the two girls practically vibrate with newfound greed. He let out a long, heavy sigh and rubbed his temples.

“Your change in attitude,” the Archer deadpanned, “really isn’t just a little fast.”