Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

Novia, having heard Eri's thoughts, couldn't help but speak up.

After all, he had seen Lucius's efforts to ease the tension between the two, but unfortunately it was all in vain.

Expecting any affection from Chitose Masuru would be a huge mistake! That guy is a cold-blooded and ruthless tyrant!

Because Eri had already cursed Chitose Manatsu in her heart, her cheeks puffed up involuntarily as Chitose touched her shoulder, as if she was about to unleash a torrent of abuse at any moment.

"You know, if I ask for it, the city AIs will listen to me."

"No! I absolutely won't!"

Eri punched Chitose in the stomach and pressed her for answers.

"What right do you have to treat me like this—"

Immediately afterward, in Eri's eyes, Manatsuru Chitose deliberately feigned a disappointed expression and quietly spoke: "...I—"

Chizuru seemed to notice something was amiss and looked away.

Even Eri felt like someone was calling her. She turned around and saw a crowd gathered in front of the shopping street in front of the station. The voice that had caught the attention of the grandmother and granddaughter was coming from there.

"Ellie!"

"Sister Elizabeth~!"

"Elili~!"

"Lord Yili!"

"Miss Elizabeth!"

The air was filled with the loud cheers of "Elise, Elise!", which was the nickname Eri was given when she received help from her Newtype classmates at school.

"They're calling you by your nickname, right? Are those people your friends from school? Are they here to see you off?"

"Ah? No..."

Eri felt that the corners of Chitose Manazuru's mouth seemed to be slightly upturned, as if she was smiling? But the next second she would be back to her cold and indifferent expression, so Eri wasn't sure.

"Maybe……"

"Let's go over and take a look."

Hearing that name being called out repeatedly as if to liven up the atmosphere, Eri was pulled forward by Chitose to take a look. It turned out to be the entrance of a clothing rental shop, which had only recently opened.

There were about thirty people in the group at the store entrance, and the whole place was packed with people.

Surrounded by the shouting crowd were a group of beautiful young women whose aura made the surrounding atmosphere lively.

She was a female servant with long, blood-red hair, two curved horns on her head, and a soft, reptilian tail on her waist.

"So it was Elizabeth. That Eri is actually Elizabeth's 'Ellie'."

The Japanese word for Eli is pronounced the same as Eri.

"I told you it wasn't me, after all, I don't have many friends..."

Elizabeth Bathory is a countess from Hungary, originally known as a wicked woman. Her current appearance as a young girl must be due to the abnormal combination of the Holy Grail, which allowed her to appear at her peak, achieving the perfect balance between cruelty and innocence.

"How does it look, my little squirrels and pigs? Do I look good in this style called Taisho Modern?"

"It's okay, please take as many photos as you like."

"Hey little puppy, who are you looking at? Are you trying to take a picture of me?!"

Wearing kimonos with arrow and camellia patterns paired with dark blue culottes, this is one of the most traditional outfits for women in Shinjuku. They strike various charming poses, causing the camera flashes of smartphones to go off non-stop.

There were five Elizabeths present. They weren't quintuplets, but rather several people summoned by the same Servant. These five Elizabeths might even have different classes. The people around them were probably their Masters and enthusiastic fans.

"However, it seems like even the spirit origin of these clothes has been modified..."

Eri muttered to herself, "They're toying with the Servants' pride again..."

Clothing rental shops are a new service industry that emerged in Shinjuku targeting tourists from other cities.

Human guests will rent authentic costumes from the early Showa or Taisho periods.

Then, for the Servants' guests, professional magicians would drape them in very small layers using a Spirit Cloth that was effective for a fixed period of time. After all, the fact that the service targets included Servants was indeed quite novel.

After all, this is a hacking technique that intrudes into a spirit origin, which is a very advanced technique in terms of magic. It would have been illegal in the early days of the new era. However, the fact that this store is so openly advertising it shows that the regulations have been relaxed.

"Playing with people? But I consulted with all the citizens and followers of the city before relaxing this restriction."

"Treating ancient heroes like performing animals, and dressing them in clothes that are out of touch with the times..."

Eri said aggressively to Chitose, "This world is absolutely terrible! It's rotten to the core!"

"what……"

Chitose Masuru hesitated, then said, "But weren't you having a good time in the Holy Grail War?"

"...That was because I was forced by that Demon King!"

"But in a later interview, Karna clearly stated that you and the Demon King are the most respectable combination, and your performance is like that of a single mind. I'm afraid no Servant in this world can say that they are definitely better than you... This is probably not something that can be achieved by simply forcing them."

Although Karna left with the Master of the Leidenfoss family after the Shinjuku elimination rounds, he made a point of saying goodbye to Eri before leaving, showing great respect... However, what he said was indeed not wrong.

"And one more thing."

As if ignoring the dissatisfaction in Erise's tone, Chitose's fair fingertips gently stroked the gap under the girl's left ear hidden in her hair, the very ear that she had accidentally cut almost halfway when she was cutting Erise's hair years ago. "Call the Demon King out."

"Huh? Why should I!"

“…Please.”

"Yes, yes, I'm impressed."

Suppressing her dissatisfaction, Eri placed her hand on her chest and called out to the Demon King. The next moment, her hair turned completely silver.

Before the girl could react, Chitose Masuru hugged her silver hair. To Eri, it looked more like hugging a demon king. A few seconds later, Chitose released her and placed her hands on Eri's body, looking at her with resentful eyes.

“…Take good care of Utsumi Erise, the demon king who kidnaps children.”

Eri managed to suppress her rapid breathing, forced herself to sit up to calm her heaving shoulders, then picked up her luggage and ran towards the train without looking back.

Chitose Masuru watched the girl's retreating figure until the train departed, at which point she slowly walked away.

"Let's go."

"Ah."

"Actually, there's no need to leave, is there?"

"No...I don't know..."

Eri looked out the train window at the receding figure of Chitose Manazuru. The railway stretched out from the gray sea, and at its end, she could see a group of buildings that looked somewhat similar to the rocks in Monument Valley. "Chitose, how does she really see me? She used to cut my hair, but over the years she has become more and more indifferent to me, and she also controls my whereabouts so forcefully. Sometimes I really hate her."

"However, it only happens occasionally."

"……almost."

Eri lowered her head. "If Chitose and I weren't biological grandmother and granddaughter, I wouldn't be so angry. If we were, I would definitely be determined to break free from the shackles imposed on me and then retaliate by beating her up. But I can't do that. The best way I can think of is to run away and not see her."

"You two really have a bad relationship. I'm starting to worry about Lucius."

As Novia spoke, he recalled the resentful look in Chitose's eyes back then. He always felt something was off, because her gaze didn't seem like that of a granddaughter being taken away, but rather towards him...

“Lucius is different; he is the servant I respect most!”

Perhaps to change the subject, Eri said in a very high-spirited tone, “He said that one day he would recommend me to be the leader of the Roman Praetorian Guard so that I could deal with the dark side of the church. So I’m going to go on a killing spree and kill all those bad guys, leaving no one alive… Of course, even though you’re the Demon King, I’ll spare you for now, considering how hard you’ve worked.”

"...That's it."

Novia replied dismissively, "Whatever makes you happy, Eri."

Meanwhile, outside Shinjuku Station, Chizuru Masuru stared expressionlessly at Lucius, who was wearing a white suit but carrying many bags.

"do what."

"I was just thinking that Eri was going out, so I bought her some local Shinjuku specialties to take with her, to prevent her from getting homesick..."

"It only takes two hours to get from Shinjuku to Akihabara."

Chisui glared at Lucius. "She simply didn't want to live like me, so I just went along with it."

Before giving Eri Sei a mission, the urban AIs naturally consulted Chitose Manazuru, since he was in charge.

"It's strange, I remember you two were pretty good at the beginning, but it feels like it suddenly and inexplicably turned bad."

Lucius ate the snacks he had bought, puzzled. "Didn't we agree that grandparents and grandchildren are more affectionate towards each other? I don't see that at all in you two."

"Ah."

Chitose Masuru sneered, raising her head to look dejectedly in the direction the train was moving. "Grandparental love? It already exists."

"what?"

"No, it's nothing, just take it as me talking nonsense."

After saying that, the silver-haired woman walked away from her workplace, Shinjuku Garden, without looking back.

Two hours later, at the reception center of Akihabara Station, Eri, who had just gotten off the train, looked at the crowded platform and saw the sign above it that read "Welcome to Akihabara, the City of Tourists".

Akihabara is a seaside city that sells itself as a resort. Unlike Shinjuku, where people generally wear clothing from the Taisho and Showa eras, people here generally wear swimsuits or casual wear.

Furthermore, due to the rise in sea level caused by global warming, Akihabara is surrounded by the sea and has a powerful barrier. The Holy Grail will never allow any attempt to break through the barrier and reach the shore.

Eri was in an exceptionally good mood, feeling as free as a rebellious teenager with money to control at will.

"Good! We've finally escaped the control of that stinking dictator, Chisui!"

Just as the black-haired girl was walking smugly, she suddenly caught sight of a blue robin carrying a small piece of white paper in its beak flying towards her.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the white paper had the name 'Utsumi Erise' written on it.

Moreover, the more Erise looked at this blue robin, the more familiar it seemed. It looked just like the one she saw when she went to register with the Demon King...

When she saw the person in front of her clearly, Eri instinctively covered her mouth.

Because it really was Kuonji Arisa, just as she had imagined.

"It's been a long time, Utsumi Erise, and the Demon King, Masuru asked me to pick you up."

……

A wasteland in Syria.

Due to the great war, the world outside the city is covered with some kind of ash. The ash turns into bronze thorns as soon as it touches the ground, piercing through concrete and steel. Only the uncontrolled drones remain uncorroded.

In this pitch-black darkness, a black, asphalt-like liquid gushed from the cracked earth, carrying with it the stench of decaying bronze.

A sound rang out; it was a wail.

The rustling sound is the mournful cry of a living thing dying.

The aura of death swayed and rustled around the black liquid.

The wasteland, of unknown size, seemed to be a re-enactment of the deaths in the 2011 Holy Grail War, a dimensional transformation.

Then, the sea-like black liquid transformed into seven tall doors, which, though incomparably black, were highly transparent.

Therefore, it is possible to glimpse it.

Six bodies lay within seven large doors made of black liquid, their eyes closed as if they were dead or asleep.

No one can deny that what is called a corpse possesses a terrifying aura.

However, if people from the old era were to see this, they would definitely find it familiar, because all six of them are Servants who appeared in the global Holy Grail War. The black ones are from various regions of the Death God, but they would only be familiar because their current appearance has changed too much.

The black dog with Egyptian flair, its true form behind the door now covered in obsidian armor, its scales transformed into a guillotine guillotine.

The aloof woman with a Nordic style had half of her body completely rotten behind the door, while the other half was a mixture of mechanical and physical remains.

A total of six Grim Reapers suffered varying degrees of 'rot'.

Judging from the scene, if this is a Yi-style formation, then judging from the seven doors, one more Grim Reaper is still missing.

Suddenly, a voice rang out from the darkness, and as the voice spoke, a string of Primal Canaanite letters emerged from the black liquid—

“Go and tell the human who shelters the woman of the underworld.”

"Death is imminent!"

Chapter 478 Death God Mote.

"In conclusion, that's the situation."