Chapter 5: Fortune Favors the Bold

After recovering from his initial stupor, Thomas adopted a wry smile as he said, "Welcome to the crew. Also, you don't need to call me Master. It's a little cringe, even for me..."

Without rising from her seiza position, Benienma looked up at Thomas, head tilted to the side as she questioned, "Are you not Benienma's Master, dechi?"

"I mean...I am..." replied Thomas, prompting the diminutive bird girl to say, "Then Benienma will call you Master, dechi. Manners are the backbone of good morals. Benienma must set a good example so that others do not go astray, dechi."

"..."

Since it would be pretty senseless to use a Command Seal to 'convince' Benienma not to call him Master, Thomas just pulled out the next card, the Navigator Card, as he said, "Well...welcome aboard, Benienma. Drake is still in her quarters, but she should be out soon."

Nodding her head, Benienma issued an affirming "Nn. Nn." before asking, "Might I inquire as to the location of the kitchen? I see that the Sun is in the process of ascending, so Benienma will prepare a sumptuous meal to ensure Master and Lady Drake have sufficient energy to get through their day, dechi."

Returning a nod, Thomas said, "Follow me." before leading Benienma to the kitchen. Their only ingredients were the tiger meat from the previous day, but they had everything from a blender to a Mana-powered stove to facilitate cooking. There was also a full array of knives and other kitchen utensils, but Benienma apparently didn't need them, manifesting smaller versions for her convenience.

With nothing better to do while he was channeling Mana into the Servant Cards, Thomas sat at the dining table and supervised Benienma cooking atop a crate. She was too short to use the stove, sink, and countertops without something to stand on, so they would need to pick her up a stool or something in the near future. Fortunately, her skills were as 'legendary' as Thomas was expecting, her speed and skill with a chef's knife so adept he could barely even see the afterimages of her movements as she sliced through thick meat and tendons as if they were tofu...

While Thomas was wondering who would win in a cook-off between the diminutive Oni and Sanji, Benienma abruptly turned to him, a radiant smile on her face as she said, "Everything should be finished within the next ten to fifteen minutes, dechi. It will taste gamey, and a little oily as the only seasoning we have on hand is salt. If you get a stomach ache later, just let Benienma know. I will lend you my lap and caress Master's head until you feel better, dechi."

Adopting a wry smile, Thomas replied, "I'll keep that in mind..." while also resolving to suck it up if he got a stomach ache. Benienma was adorable, and likely much older than both him and Drake combined, but the thought of using her lap as a pillow just seemed...sus. He appreciated her concern, but the thought of a little loli doting over him as if she were his mom made him uncomfortable...

Intruding upon Thomas's thoughts and the dining room, Drake's glistening blue eyes immediately zeroed in on Benienma, a broad smile adorning her face as she said, "Nice. At least now we won't have to worry about taking turns cooking. What's your name, little girl? You can call me Drake, by the way. Captain Drake."

Hopping from her perch, Benienma trotted over to Drake, stopping in front of her before bowing nearly 45 degrees as she earnestly replied, "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Captain Drake. This little one's name is Benienma, dechi."

Amused by Benienma's words and actions, Drake mused, "Hoooo~? This one's pretty formal, isn't she?"

Surprising the little bird girl, Thomas revealed, "She used to be a warden of Hell, one of the guardians of the Sanzu River. After her original death, she was adopted by Enma, the King of Hell, and placed in charge of an Inn called Enma-tei. She's very hospitable and regarded as one of the best Chefs among Heroic Spirits. Just be careful never to tell a lie around her...her origin ties to the legend of the Tongue-cut Sparrow. I don't think she will attack her allies, but she's known to cut the tongues of anyone who tells a lie..."

As a fan of Type-Moon and someone who had been playing Fate Grand Order since its English localization, Thomas knew a fair amount about the more fan-favorite Heroic Spirits. Benienma was A-Ranked on the Tier List and appeared in several character events and skits. He couldn't recall if she ranked highly in the official Popularity Survey, but she was one of the more famous 'loli' archetype characters.

Not expecting her 'secret' to be exposed so suddenly, Benienma showed a complicated face. Even if Thomas was her Master, no one liked having their background revealed arbitrarily.

Realizing he may have spoken out of turn, Thomas's smile became wry as he asked, "Should I not have said anything? If so, then I apologize. Two days ago, both you and Drake were just fictional characters that appeared in a purely fictional franchise known as Fate. There is no Magic back in my previous world, much less things like Servants and Heroic Spirits..."

Out of curiosity, Drake crossed her arms and inquired, "What do you know about me?"

Though he anticipated Drake's question, Thomas's smile became wrier as he replied, "Not much, sadly. You appeared in a game and an anime called Fate/Extra, but you were the Servant of one of the Antagonists. I know a little bit about your history and how your Noble Phantasm works, but you were overshadowed by the main Heroine, Nero..."

Furrowing her brows slightly, Drake asked, "I was a villain? I mean, I'm no Saint, but most of my privateering was done for the benefit of my country, England."

Feeling even more awkward, Thomas replied, "Yeah...about that. England doesn't exactly have the best reputation in the modern era. Your country started a rampant slave trade and made an enemy out of pretty much the entire world during the colonial and industrial era. You weren't presented as an outright villain in the games. In fact, a lot of people really liked you as a character. When you were defeated, you went out like a complete badass. Your Master, however, is one of the most hated characters in the entire fandom..."

Exhaling a faint sigh through her nose, Drake adopted a teasing smile as she playfully remarked, "Let's hope this Master is a bit better..."

"..."

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Frowning at the thought of being compared to Shinji Matou, Thomas was about to defend himself when Drake added, "Relax. It was just a little joke to lighten the mood a bit. Don't get your skivvies in a bunch."

Without waiting for Thomas's response, Drake shifted her attention to Benienma, adding, "I'm not going to tell you how to do your job, but you should probably pay attention to the stove. Our Master over here is going to need a lot of protein if he intends to bulk and lose that belly fat."

Maintaining control of the conversation, Drake immediately returned her gaze to Thomas, asking, "Have you ever fired a gun before? Firearms are a convenient alternative until you gain the strength necessary to protect yourself."

Nodding his head, Thomas answered, "I spent two years in the Reserve Forces of the United States Coast Guard. I've never fired a pistol, but I've done competition shooting up to 500 yards with a rifle..."

Blinking in surprise, Drake parroted, "500 yards? That's significantly better than I was expecting. The range of a musket from my era was around 50-100 yards. The rifles from your era must be pretty incredible."

Before Thomas could answer or even think about bragging, Drake raised her hand and whipped out one of her ornate flintlock pistols, teasing, "Too bad you're stuck with the weapons from my era. Tell you what. If you can hit a human-sized target in the head or chest from 50 yards away before the day ends, I'll give you a little peck on the cheek. Manage it ten times in a row, and I'll let you take a shower with me."

Seeing the pupils of Thomas's eyes contract before subsequently dilating, Drake chortled in amusement. Men like Thomas were easy to deal with, as there were generally only two things they cared about when an attractive woman was involved. Could they, or could they not fuck them? If there were even a slight possibility that the answer was yes, they would do just about anything...

Flipping the pistol around, Drake entrusted it to 'resolute-looking' Thomas before walking around him to sit at the dining table. She half-expected him to run up to the deck and set up a few practice targets. Instead, he sat in the chair next to her, silently channeling Mana into the Navigator's Card with a thoughtful look on his face...

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After eating the barely palatable meal provided by Benienma, Thomas rowed the three of them to shore. Immediately afterward, Benienma split off from them to gather ingredients for lunch.

Despite her diminutive stature, Benienma was typically a Saber-class Servant, widely regarded as the most powerful of the standard Servant Classes. Her skill with a katana bordered on legendary, and when she moved at her fastest speed, not even Drake could follow her movements. More importantly, she was a skilled hunter and could identify whether or not a plant, fruit, or fungi was edible at a glance. Thus, while she ran off to gather food and ingredient, Thomas remained on the beach, learning how to fire and operate a flintlock from Drake.

Though the literal power of Magic allowed them to skip the usual process of operating a flintlock, Drake insisted that Thomas knew how to use and maintain the weapon properly. Even with his foreknowledge of the future, there was no way of knowing what fate had in store for them. If he found himself in a situation where he had to rely on a normal flintlock and didn't know how to use it, he might pay for his negligence with his life.

As he didn't actually mind learning how to use a flintlock the 'right' way, Thomas listened attentively to Drake's instructions. He planned to learn swordsmanship or simply punch things in the future, but knowing how to use a pistol might prove useful if they managed to acquire some ammo made from Sea Prism Stone. He suspected that was what Ben Beckman used to make an Admiral like Kizaru 'nervous,' and it never hurt to learn a new skill...

Unfortunately, while he was able to hit target around 20 yards away consistently, no amount of compensation allowed for Thomas to hit the same target from 50 yards. Flintlocks had a 'massive' deviation, so even if he aimed at the same place repeatedly, the impact point was all over the place. Even Drake could only manage an average of 7 out of 10 shots on target, and she was a literal superhuman. Her accuracy increased to 100% when a wager was involved, but, inversely, Thomas's seemed to plummet down to 0%. He spent the entire day trying his best but never once hit the target in the intended location...

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(A/N: Drake has EX-Rank Luck. In other words, depending on the circumstances, she can effectively manipulate reality to guarantee a favorable outcome. She's the type of person that could fire her pistols at random during a firefight, and the bullets would ricochet off random posts and polls, hitting even concealed targets without having to aim. When she gets 'serious,' not even Domino from the X-Men can compete xD...)

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