Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

"If I look at it a little longer, will you get jealous, Demon King? Sigh, there's nothing I can do about it. After all, everyone wants to see something beautiful."

"...I think we really should let the Emperor manage you."

Novia couldn't help but laugh at Erise's inexplicable 'confidence'. "I don't think anyone would like someone covered in mud and garbage."

"Is that so? All I see is the resentment of an ugly fellow."

Just as Eri and Novia were bickering in their hearts as usual, the two of them smiled at Eri after finishing their "Revolutionary Trial" mini-theater.

"This lady—"

"I'm busy, don't bother me."

Chapter 480: The Nordic Serial Murders.

Unlike the group therapy rooms in Shinjuku, the therapy rooms in Akihabara are much more formulaic.

A uniform behavioral pattern is applied to all those defined as patients, whether they are old humans who fell ill due to the war or new humans after the war. The city will quantify the treatment progress by monitoring parameters such as the Master's brainwaves and spiritual resonance rate. When the Servant's rejection index drops below a threshold, the 'Contract Reconstruction Procedure' will be triggered, forcing the Master and Servant to establish a bond.

As a rare case, Eri, who has no Servants, was forced to participate in this treatment in Akihabara.

If she hadn't spent time with Novia, the Demon King, Erise, who had come to Akihabara to live independently, would probably have chosen to help this leatherworker who was "living in Mosaic City, struggling to find his own place to belong."

Because Eri felt that as someone who was also homeless, she thought that she could help the leatherworker out of his predicament—without relying on the Ais or Lucius, but on her own abilities. This was the most important point, in other words, her first real job.

Now, at the Kuonji residence, Erise no longer feels so eager to prove herself. She even thinks the job is alright, and it would be even better if she could also annoy the Demon King, that good-for-nothing. Just thinking about it makes her feel happy... Unfortunately, she's the one who keeps getting the short end of the stick.

"—Utsumi, I have something to tell you, listen carefully."

Just as Eri was coldly refusing the cobbler and Louis, and preparing to get up and leave the treatment room where she was now alone with the two of them, the cobbler said something to himself.

"Master..."

Louis, who was standing next to him, wanted to stop him, but it was too late.

Upon hearing this, Eri turned around and frowned slightly.

In the group therapy room in Akihabara, she never revealed her name. The fact that she was the granddaughter of Chitose Manazuru was something that almost no one in the night police knew. Even if you searched for her on the city's intelligence network, she had already tampered with the basic database, and the search results would only be false information.

So, how did this guy know me?

Before Eri could think any further, she saw Pi staring intently at her, his dark eyes bloodshot from intense emotion.

"Have you ever thought about changing this city, Utsumi?"

"Change...the city..."

The girl was instantly shocked to realize that the seemingly gentle man in front of her was some kind of dangerous individual, who desperately wanted to change everything in the world.

"You don't have a Servant, right? A Master who comes to the therapy room can't come without a Servant. You must be having a lot of trouble living in the city like this."

"...I don't understand. Could you explain it to me in detail?"

When Eri answered this question, her hair turned completely silver, in other words, Novia possessed her, and her tone was much better than before.

"You were born just as that war had ended."

"Yes, Eri Se didn't actually experience that war; she only heard about it from her teacher in class."

“The world wasn’t like this when I was born. It took a lot of effort just to get to know this world. I want to change it.”

The leatherworker stared intently at the silver-haired Eri, and continued speaking.

“During a group therapy session, an elderly man once said, ‘I don’t want to live forever. I just want to live naturally and then die. The Holy Grail isn’t something you can get without paying a price. If it were so easy to obtain, wouldn’t all those who died in wars have died in vain…’”

Facing the emotionally charged leatherworker, the silver-haired Eri sighed: "I know that old man is deceiving himself. He actually wants to see his family members who died in the war. The Holy Grail can never help him fulfill such a wish; it can only comfort him."

Just like the Night of Snow Letter, many people who have lived from the old era to the present have suicidal thoughts. However, in the new era, suicide is a very terrible act, and Servants will take the initiative to stop it and send them to the psychological treatment room for treatment.

Novia, using Eri's body, asked again:

Do you hate this city? Do you have a thought that you want to completely destroy it?

The man was initially filled with intense emotions, but when the girl's eyes turned even deeper blue and gazed at him, he felt embarrassed, stepped back, looked away, kept his distance from the silver-haired Eri, and fell silent again.

"Ah...I'm sorry...I'm sorry."

"I'm so sorry, my Master's mental illness has flared up again. I hope you can forgive him."

Louis stepped between the two, smiling apologetically, "We'll leave now, please don't mind."

The silver-haired Eri didn't say anything, she just watched as Louis pulled the absent-minded leatherworker out of the treatment room.

But just as he was about to leave, the cobbler seemed to come to his senses and uttered empty words:

“I...love this city deeply. I truly want to save it from the bottom of my heart.”

……

"that person……"

Walking along the long path leading to the Kuonji residence, Eri frowned cutely because of what had just happened.

The cobbler asked her if she had ever wanted to change the city. She had never had such an idea, but in some ways she was trying to adapt to the city.

Even though she could live a good life in the city without doing anything, Eri still chose to take missions from the AIs. She wanted to prove that even someone like her, without the 'Holy Grail' or the blessing of immortality, was still needed in this paradise-like world.

Eri wanted to convince herself that she could live on her own even without her grandmother Chitose's protection; that she could live well on her own even without a Servant by her side.

Fortunately, the girl is possessed by a group of evil spirits and a strange demon king.

To be honest, ever since that Holy Grail tournament, Eri has been delighted by the inexplicable evil spirits lurking in her blood that she can use with ease, since they can sometimes be used as weapons that are faster than daggers.

She once thought smugly, "This isn't just for protecting my body; it also has the ability to hunt down enemy Servants. Now that Demon King can't underestimate me anymore; I have power."

that's it--

"Could it be related to that recent murder case?"

The shocking crime in the city of Embossed City, which stunned all of Japan, naturally resulted in photos of the victims' bodies being sent to the phones of every night watchman. This facilitated the assistance of well-known criminologists or detectives still at the scene, so it was only a matter of time before the perpetrator was caught.

Because very few criminals in the world can escape the pursuit of such a large number of followers, as time goes on, the analysis of criminals becomes more and more detailed, and the entire investigation network is gradually tightening.

At this moment, Eri also realized that the expert Servants who had dealings with Lucius and Chitose and were specifically responsible for maintaining the order of Mosaic City were already rushing around for this incident. However, she only felt a little uneasy and alienated, without even a sense of crisis.

Even now, when people suspect the leatherworker, they only think that someone like him might replicate such things in the future, and they don't think he is a murderer.

"Emotions can only be expressed through actions. True desires will not come true on their own if they are only thought in one's heart."

The Demon King's voice echoed in the girl's mind: "Whether it is people, cities, or the world, only bloodshed can change them."

"...You talk like you know everything."

Eri clicked her tongue in disdain. "Anyway, the culprit will be caught soon, so it's not a big problem."

Eri, who was arguing with the Demon King, placed her hand on the old iron gate. Before she could take out her key, the heavy iron gate silently welcomed the young girl and slowly opened.

"Huh? The door's already open? Miss Kuonji's back?"

These days, the number of times that Kuonji Aratsume and Eri Se met can be counted on one hand. After all, Aratsume spends her days exploring the sky with her familiars in the wasteland, and she usually comes back later than Eri Seme, who works as a night watchman, and goes out earlier than her.

Thinking that she was staying in someone else's house no matter what, Eri walked towards the living room with a slightly reserved demeanor.

Then, in the living room with its strong antique atmosphere, Kuonji Yuju sat on the sofa with an expressionless face, reading an old book in her hand. At the same time, there were two cups of black tea emitting a strong steam on the table.

"Miss Kuonji, you're back so early today."

"Ah."

Yuzhu replied indifferently, "The city has issued a martial law order, prohibiting Servants and humans from leaving the city in the near future."

"Is it because of theatrical crime?"

Eri sat on the sofa, picked up her black tea, and took a sip. "Since so many Servants and Night Watchers are working hard, it should be resolved soon, right? Such a blatant provocation shouldn't be from a mysterious and unpredictable criminal mastermind like Moriarty..."

“It’s not that…this is your job, Robin.”

Yuzhu raised her head, her cold eyes fixed on Erise. At the same time, the blue robin that had been on her shoulder heard this and fluttered over to Erise with a communication phone used by the night guards, tapping the screen with its wing.

What unfolded before Erise's eyes was an image even more chilling than the 'work' displayed in Shinjuku Plaza—

The icy blue of death... it was practically a slaughterhouse at tens of degrees below zero, filled with all sorts of frozen humans.

A man dressed as a detective had his body sliced ​​into hundreds of thin pieces by ice crystals, his limbs twisted into bizarre dance poses, and his core removed and frozen.

"The Servant, Kogoro Akechi, is a detective dispatched by the city of Tama to solve the Shinjuku murder case. His body is frozen in ice layers with different flow rates of time. He is in a state between death and life, because once the ice melts, his spiritual core will also melt."

Kogoro Akechi is a fictional character created by the Japanese mystery novelist Edogawa Ranpo.

Besides his tragic death, the photos also show a night watchman whose upper body is in a firing position, with the bullet frozen the moment it leaves the barrel, while his lower body is melted by liquid ice. There is also an investigator whose torso has been transformed into a transparent state by ice crystals, with his heart still beating visible inside, and ice crystal tentacles extending from his limbs, connecting him to the ice sculptures of other victims.

In addition, many other human skins that had been peeled off were wrapped in ice crystals elsewhere in the factory.

"The day before yesterday, in a remote area of ​​Tama, their investigation team was wiped out. They were unable to send out a distress signal before they died. It was only this morning, when the temperature in that area was so abnormal, that the city AI marked it as an anomaly and discovered it."

Normally, people who see this scene for the first time would feel nauseous, but Eri didn't feel that way.

Although she knew she should act like she was going to vomit, she couldn't do it. Just like when she was a child and Chitose cut a big slit in her ear and her face was covered in blood, she couldn't cry. She just looked at him coldly, just like Yuzukuji in front of her.

"This is... a serial murder case?"

"Do not."

Kuonji Yuzu shook her head. "Based on the analysis, the methods used in this case are completely different from those in Shinjuku Plaza. It can be said that different people committed the crime. The preliminary conclusion is that it was committed by a modern Servant, since the slaughterhouse is a product of modern times."

"Could it be some kind of imitation...?"

"It's unclear at the moment."

Kuonji Yuzu sighed softly, "In short, starting today, your night patrols will be prohibited from any operations involving fewer than ten people to avoid secondary casualties. You should also be careful, as this case is still confidential, so don't talk about it casually."

Eri understands perfectly well that the Shinjuku theater-type crime could not be hidden and was therefore made public, while the mass deaths in Tama could be concealed to prevent the public from panicking further. This time, even Servants died... So many people did everything for the stability of the city.

"Thank you."

"It's alright, it would be a big problem for me if something happened to you."

Upon hearing Yuzhu's emotionless voice, the robin named Robin tilted its head, chirped, and flew back to her shoulder.

The owner must be working hard most of the time, but a proper rest is also very good. Doing the same thing day after day for years must be tiring, and he's almost fifty years old. Don't you really want to find a family heir for the house? It must be tiring for everyone to come and help you every day...

Upon hearing this, Yuzhu glanced at the robin, which trembled in fright, before looking directly at Erise.

"...As someone qualified to work outside the city for an extended period, I was also recruited because of this. See you at the Night Police Headquarters in Akihabara later."

After saying that, Yuzhu, who still looked like a cold and aloof girl, walked out of the living room without looking back.

Afterwards, Erise gulped down her almost-cold black tea and lay down on the sofa without any decorum, hugging a pillow and muttering, "...Another murder case? Could it be a fan I suddenly fell for?"

"It might just be a coincidence."

Novia replied to Eri, who seemed to be talking to herself but was actually trying to have a conversation with her.

"Haha, the thought of that tyrant, Qian Sui, being troubled by this makes me even a little happy."

"You're being incredibly heartless, Erise."

"Who cares? And I wasn't talking to you, so don't suddenly start talking to me, thank you."

Eri stopped smiling and pouted, "But I am a night watchman after all, and it is necessary to do some things within my duties... It is nothing to be proud of. Just reading what is written in books is far from enough, and the rules of the night watchman are so complicated, so I hope that tyrant Chitose can be dealt with soon."

That's what she said, but Eri still seriously took out her tablet, logged into the Night Watch's exclusive account, and searched for information on famous, real and fictional murderers who worked in slaughtering in modern times on relevant urban information networks. After all, Fr's Servants come from many sources, and not everyone is a famous hero. There are many nameless Servants.

"No need. Seeking followers of modern serial killers is the wrong direction."

"……Why?"

"They should be heroes from the divine era of Norse mythology."

Novia was all too familiar with it; the lingering scent of the slaughterhouse, though incredibly well concealed, was immediately noticeable.

That is Helheim, one of the nine realms of the Norse underworld.

Chapter 481 The Wandering Jew.

"Quiet."

At the end of Akihabara's electronics district stands a large billiard hall whose exterior resembles an inverted samurai sword. Its exterior, forged from matte black steel, exudes a cool and austere atmosphere, attracting numerous tourists for photo opportunities.

This billiard hall is not only a landmark building in Akihabara, but also the location of the night police headquarters. Because the new era is considered a "peaceful" era, the night police usually do not appear in public, but exist in various disguises. For example, the night police headquarters in Shinjuku is located in a coffee shop.

At this moment, Eri, who had come to the Night Police Headquarters with Kuonji Arisu, looked up at the "Sincerity" flag that was dynamically flowing and hanging in the building using holographic projection technology. Next to the flag was Hijikata Toshizo, the current deputy commander of the Shinsengumi, who was the chief of the Akihabara Night Police.

"Effective immediately, Akihabara is under Level 1 alert, and no more than ten people may be dispatched on their own."