Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

However, Ivia inside the suit didn't feel particularly frustrated. After all, a momentary action couldn't restore the lost trust and distance. So he just sighed and said gently.

"I want to go back."

The black-haired girl did not answer, keeping her head down and her lips pressed tightly together.

Only after Ivia left did she squat down, pick up the jade stone that had fallen to the ground again, lean forward, and touch her cheek. Realizing that she was crying, she covered her mouth with her hands, trying to suppress her sobs, which showed no signs of stopping.

Sometime later, the rain stopped, and the sun came out, bringing with it the dazzling and beautiful light often seen after a sun shower—a rainbow.

Perhaps it was the dazzling sunlight, or the beautiful rainbow, that caused the girl's eyelids to flutter slightly.

Under the vast blue sky, was that a gentle breeze or a young girl's murmur that brushed past my ears?

Under the seven-color spectrum, is the crystal-clear droplet sliding down your fingertip rain or your own tear?

The cicadas began to chirp in the treetops, and the calls of unknown insects rang out. May 5th is both Children's Day and the beginning of summer in Japan.

When she was six, the girl's initial wish was, "When summer comes, let's go see the real sea together." However, when she was seven, she said, "I never want to see that person again."

But saying "never to see you again" is probably a way of saying that you really want to see you again.

Chapter 402 The Vow of Longhua in the Sutra of the Extinction of the Dharma (7.K)

Chloe woke up at six in the morning.

Since Ivia was already up, her getting up didn't disturb anyone. The pink-haired girl touched a trace of drool at the corner of her mouth and revealed a subtle smile, not towards Ivia, but rather a shy expression of embarrassment at her own embarrassing state.

Ever since Ivia pointed out that she came here every night at midnight and then ran back at five, perhaps thinking she might as well give up, Chloe never went back after she arrived. And then, somehow, she started drooling...

You can probably always feel this warmth, like something you'll never get tired of no matter what.

Since things had come to this point, and Ivia hadn't said anything more to her, Chloe figured it wasn't a big deal. After all, they were family, and this little thing wouldn't affect anything. That's what she thought.

Then, as Chloe was about to go out to wash up, she saw a scene that made her think she was dreaming—

The moment the tent was opened, a wave of moisture rushed towards Chloe, and the sweet, humid smell of grass and soil filled the air. Among them were a group of girls, about 1.2 to 1.3 meters tall, dressed in European-style maid outfits, with large ears on their heads that looked like ornaments, and with skin as dark as Chloe's.

At first, Chloe thought she was confused and subconsciously rubbed her eyes. She realized that the group of people seemed to be laying the foundation for this small park, just like building a house. Then she felt a faint but familiar flow of magic on it.

Chloe stood there, unsure what to say, when the maids noticed her and hurriedly stopped what they were doing. They came to Chloe's side and began to dress her and give her massages, basically serving her in every way imaginable.

"Please tell us what you need us to do, Madam."

"what?"

"Please allow us to serve our wives wholeheartedly."

"This……"

After hesitating for a while, Chloe brought up the topic.

"Who exactly are you...?"

She could sense that these people who had suddenly appeared meant her no harm, but were genuinely working for her, just as their strange words suggested. This left Chloe completely baffled.

What is this? Could it be due to the ability that comes with this job card?

Upon hearing this, dozens of maids who had surrounded Chloe—yes, dozens—came to her. Some of them, after finding no room, transformed into the size of cats or dogs to serve Chloe. Now, they all stood before Chloe, striking incredibly elegant poses.

"Our names? We don't have individual names, but for convenience, each of us has been assigned a number. I am number 1, and this one is number 2. We each have our own number on our arms."

"You can call us whatever you like, madam."

“Our master called upon us incompetent beings and readily accepted us. In order to repay his unparalleled kindness, we will serve him with all our heart.”

"This is the collective opinion of our family, passed down for millions of years and thousands of reincarnations—all of us will devote ourselves to serving, working and caring for our master and mistress."

Although they all seemed very enthusiastic, Chloe still had a troubling question:

"Wait, your master is—"

As they turned away silently, Ivia, who was behind the park fountain, also turned around and made a sound at that moment.

Good morning, Xiao Hei.

Now that things had come to this, Chloe could guess that the master these suddenly appearing maids were referring to was Ivia.

So she went up to Ivia, who was gently patting her face after washing it with water, and pouted. Ivia could tell what she was thinking, so she spoke first.

"Beast magic, or anti-beast magic, that's pretty much it. After I taught them, they successfully became human and were willing to help us build houses."

Beast magic is magic that transforms the body into a beast. As the name suggests, beast magic is magic used to deal with wild beasts. However, no matter how Chloe looked at these people, they seemed to be a group of little girls using beast magic, after all, they had those big ears that looked like rats. But she couldn't understand how Ivia managed to do it in one night, since beast magic gradually loses its humanity and is difficult to pass down as a family line.

But this wasn't something Chloe needed to delve into, so she smiled and said:

"I'll take that as it is."

After all, she was quite happy to be called "Madam," and it meant she would have maids to serve her, which suited her impression of Einzbern's status as "Ilya."

Immediately afterward, as Ivia and Chloe were leaving, the leader, Number One, said respectfully:

"We will deliver lunch to the school at noon. Please accept our kind offer, sir and madam."

These little maids are actually 'Mahakala', which are the rats that were enlightened by Gavia, the god of form in ancient India, or their descendants that have survived to this day. In other words, it is not an exaggeration to say that they are a mysterious species with fantasy that has survived to this day.

After returning from the animal park yesterday, Ivia thought that since she had been making the tent for so long, even though she didn't care, she should at least let Chloe have a better place to stay. So she called out to the Datura. For the rats living on the inner side, Gavia was their enlightened master, a master they had to serve.

The women who accompanied the master, namely the wives, were those who had to serve him until the end of time.

They were actually quite self-aware and would never tell Mrs. Chloe that there were other wives. After all, such matters should be discussed when the wives met. As the master's maids, their job was simply to serve him well.

In addition, Ivia also has another purpose: judging from the timing, Bazett is about to come and compete with Rin Tohsaka and Luvia for the right to hold the class cards. Therefore, Bazett will first beat up Luvia and Bazett, then defeat Kuro and Illya, and then Miyu. Finally, the defeated group will join forces to temporarily stop the war.

Of course, Ivia felt that Little Black wouldn't get involved now, since she was living with him. However, he thought it best to let the Mahakala handle Bazett for him. He didn't really want to take action himself, since the Celtic god-king Nug was the sun god, and Bazett was a descendant of the Red Branch Knights, to which Cú Chulainn belonged. He felt that it wasn't quite right, so he chose the Mahakala.

Moreover, he also needs to go see the Bodhi Tree of Longhua today and take Chloe to Ilya's house to meet Mrs. Alice.

For the Dark Knights who mostly rely on basic attacks, Bazett's Reverse Light Sword is essentially ineffective, and Bazett will most likely fall into their traps.

……

At the table by the window, Ilya squinted in the sunlight.

She really wanted to turn around and ask Ivia to tell her what had happened between him and Miyu, and why yesterday's incident had occurred. After all, in her mind, the atmosphere should have been loving and affectionate, but the result was completely different.

If the ruby ​​in the schoolbag knew what the silver-haired girl was thinking, she would definitely be sadly and absurdly so:

Ilya, for the sake of your childhood sweetheart dream, I spent a whole day entangled with Sapphire, who rebelled and became a "suddenly appearing" member. But now you've surrendered without a fight, your buffs are fully stacked! If we reconcile, then it'll be like a childhood sweetheart appearing out of nowhere. Your special abilities are far superior to yours. Can you really win just by relying on your magical girl advantage?

Then, the silver-haired girl began the first lesson in handicrafts while she was deep in thought.

However, for some reason, while Ilya was sculpting the clay dolls, she kept feeling someone outside the window waving at her. But when she turned around, she only saw the same old tree. When she turned back around, she found that a lot of the clay sculptures on the table were missing. She knew at a glance that it was Chloe, who had gone to sit next to Ilya, who was up to her...

However, knowing that she would see Chloe's smug face if she turned her head, Ilya chose to endure it.

You wretched little black guy, you just wait...

The withdrawn girl could only mutter to herself.

"You two have such a good relationship, that makes me feel at ease."

But all of this evoked such a sigh from Alice, who was hiding in the tree observing her daughter.

The main reason she came here today for this solo 'teaching visit' was not only to see Ilya, but also because of Chloe. Several weeks had passed since Alice returned, so she naturally had some information about Chloe's current situation.

This includes, but is not limited to, adopting the boy Ilya is interested in as her older brother, living with him, and cooking for him every afternoon when they return home. How could Alice not see that Chloe and Ilya are the same? So, how should one explain that both of her children are interested in the same person…?

Thinking about it carefully, it's actually quite interesting, but this won't do. But let's just let things take their course, since I've already said that. As for Kiritsugu, let's wait for him to find out for himself.

The reason Alice stayed for so long was that she planned to wait for Ivia to bring Chloe to see her, so that she could also explain the relationship between Ilya and Illya, who had already come into contact with the 'mystery'. However, she waited for a long time without any news, so Alice, who wanted to see her daughter Chloe, came secretly.

Hiding in the tree, Alice observed the classroom. Behind Illya was Ivia, next to Ivia was Miyu, and next to Miyu was Chloe. However, Chloe always seemed to move next to Ivia, which made Illya grit her teeth in frustration. And Miyu… hmm? That expression…

Alice felt that the Edfeldt child, with his head bowed, was like a puppet, completely out of place in the atmosphere.

In fact, just as Alice observed, Sapphire and Miyu, who were in Miyu's backpack, had been silent for most of the day.

Yesterday, in order to help Miyu get along better with Illya, Sapphire tried to get back at her older sister to keep Illya occupied, but she failed. When Sapphire finally saw Miyu back at home, she thought Miyu would be smiling, but when she saw Miyu's expression, she felt like the sky had fallen.

Miyu's expression at that moment was so unreal, as if she might collapse at any moment, which worried Sapphire. What was the real expression behind Miyu's feigned calm face?

"It has ended."

"..."

"Sapphire, do you want to know the reason?"

"Ah."

"But does everything have to have a reason?"

"But……"

"So it's already over."

After saying those words, the black-haired girl didn't look at the sapphire again and returned to her room alone.

Did I think it was a good thing for Miyu-sama, but it turned out to be a mistake? However, Miyu-sama's words sounded somewhat melancholic.

So, that's right, just like what my sister said, people who always say 'it's over' or 'it's impossible' actually really want to continue, really want it to be possible. Therefore, Miyu-sama, I will still find a way to give you the opportunity to be alone with Ivia-sama again!

And so, the composed Sapphire made her decision, and in a way, became what Ruby considered a 'sudden arrival'.

That being said, Sapphire still doesn't know how to start a conversation with the silent Miyu.

Lunchtime arrived quickly, and Chloe was about to take Ivia to another empty classroom for lunch, just like before, when Ivia refused. Frustrated, Chloe had no choice but to return to the classroom, where she bumped into Ilya, who was about to open the door.

"Ah, ah, Little Black, you're back! Haha..."

"uh-huh?"

Chloe, watching Ilya's eyes darting around, could guess what she was planning. She probably intended to follow her and Ivia, but unfortunately, she was caught red-handed the first time. However, Little Black had no intention of mocking Ilya at the moment.

"My brother had something to do, so I ate in the classroom today. You're doing the same, right?"

Although Chloe had no need to explain to Ilya, she said it to prevent Ilya from going out and bothering her.

Then, just as the twins were eating lunch, staring at each other blankly, the classroom door slammed shut with a loud bang—

"Good afternoon, Chloe... Miss, the meal we all spent an hour preparing, using a local recipe, is ready. Please enjoy it. If you need anything, please let us know before class."

The seven Daikokuten girls dressed as maids entered the classroom, first serving the lunch prepared by all the members, and then standing respectfully beside Chloe.

The reason I didn't call her "Madam" but "Young Miss" was probably because I felt that using that title to address students in a school would cause unnecessary trouble, so I made a slight change.

"Ah? Miss?"

Ilya stared blankly at Chloe in front of her. Wasn't this girl sitting in the tent with Ivia? How come there's such a high-class maid? Why didn't she see her before?

Actually, Chloe was a little embarrassed by the sudden reaction from the Dakotas, but seeing Ilya's shocked expression, she felt quite pleased and waved her hand triumphantly, as if she didn't care at all.

“That’s normal. After all, I am ‘Ilya’. Isn’t it only natural that I have so many excellent and elegant maids? I’m not like you, an imposter.”

Wow, there are so many maids!? And so many at that? Just looking at their entourage, you can feel how incredibly high their standards are. And they're all so petite, a perfect blend of cuteness and authority. Ugh, I'm so envious! Sera is too strict, and Lyselite is just a freeloader, she's incomparable. Kuro only became Ivia's sister because of me... Why can't I enjoy this?!

"That's all, Xiao Hei, don't get too excited—"

Ilya smiled coldly, while gritting her teeth.

"As a magical girl, I won't lose like this!"

……

At the same time, under the newly grown Bodhi tree at Suiqunyuan Elementary School, the weeds that had just been cleared away last week sprouted up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. The nearby trees had also shed their tender green leaves, which were now absorbing yesterday's rainwater and preparing for the upcoming summer sunshine.

Ivia was looking at the tree. For Ryuka, who was closely associated with 'Miroku', Ivia could grasp everything about Ryuka without even meeting him in person. This was one of the abilities to know things that were originally unknowable in the distant future, after all, it was Miroku.

But the reason he came was because he felt it was better this way.

No dialogue is needed; just by looking at Ivia, one can instantly understand the reason for the appearance of the Longhua Bodhi.

Just as he thought, Longhua Bodhi truly believed that this was for his own good.

because--

Just as the 'present' enlightened beings attain enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, the Dragon Flower Tree is the place where 'future' beings will attain enlightenment.

The true Dharma can only be known by Buddhas who have personally realized it. This is the reason why it is said that "only Buddhas can fully understand the true nature of all phenomena." In other words, only those who have attained Buddhahood know the true Dharma. Even if it is told to the world, people will have different preferences due to their different natures.

Maitreya, the future Buddha among the three Buddhas of Buddhism, will always be a Bodhisattva in a certain sense, because the time when he attains enlightenment will not arrive in the Dharma-ending Age, or it will be a very long time.

Because Buddha is a concept on a cosmic level, the corresponding end of Dharma is not actually the end of humanity. Humans are merely the primates recognized by human reason in this generation. In the years to come, new primates may even be AI or other species. The so-called Maitreya saving the world 5.67 billion years after Buddha's passing is only a human understanding of the solar system. On a cosmic scale, it is the end of the universe.

At the end of the universe, or perhaps its final phase, will the primates still be human? We cannot know.

In the Dharma-ending Age of Buddhism, the Dharma will gradually disappear, like an oil lamp that shines brightest when it is about to go out, then vanishes completely. This is the prophecy in the *Dharma Extinction Sutra*. And after the Dharma's extinction, tens of millions of years later, Maitreya will be reborn as a Buddha.