Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

It's like not wanting to face reality.

At the same time, her voice was trembling, as if something was gripping her throat tightly.

Normally she could calm down, but now she just can't control herself!

Erise isn't Erise, but her grandmother, Chitose Manazuru. Yet Erise has those feelings for Novia, and so does Chitose. How can they have such a relationship?! Mom, I'm so sad…

Without intending to calm Tiamat down, Chitose walked up to her and suddenly raised her hand to greet her with a "Yay!"

"Long time no see, Tiamat."

"You seem very happy, Masuru."

"Oh, can you tell?"

In response to Yuzhu's question, Chitose glanced at Novia and then deliberately said loudly, "After all, it was your invitation. If there's really something going on, I hope you can tell me. You don't just want to look at me as your aunt, do you? That's not true, is it? You don't even have the courage to say hello. You just dare to watch from here. That's impossible."

"...Didn't I already say it wasn't me?"

Yuzhu looked at Chitose, who had become unusually active today, with a hint of helplessness. She then glanced up at Novia and met her gaze. "Eh—ah, well, how should I put it—"

The witch didn't understand why she was avoiding his gaze, so she could only awkwardly look away.

However, Chitose seemed satisfied with this, and with a smile as if searching for an accomplice to a prank, she strode toward Novia.

"Because I'm used to it, I haven't changed it much for many years. Speaking of which, is there anything strange about this outfit?"

"It's beautiful. What material is it made of?"

"The feathers of the Eastern Spirit Bird, forever frozen even at room temperature; the original baby hair used as an exorcising amulet; the dust scattered when the Void Shadow vanishes; the ominous bones entangled by curses; the oath-bound substance resembling ashes after burning..."

Chitose crossed her arms and poured out a whole string of things, some she could understand and some she couldn't, but Novia understood it instantly.

In short, the black sailor suit was created using a lot of resources and precious materials.

"How was it? Pretty impressive, huh?"

Chitose Masuru's joy was evident on her face.

"I truly deserve to be the victor of the Holy Grail War."

"I understand this without you having to tell me, Your Majesty."

Novia nodded in unequivocal agreement. "By the way, where's Lucius? Isn't he with you?"

"There was a recent murder case involving the theft of Command Seals, and he took charge of it. Otherwise, it would have been quite interesting if he had come."

Lucius might not know who the Demon King is, or he might not think that the silver-haired Eri's tone resembles anyone, but he would definitely recognize Novia now that she has appeared in physical form. In fact, his biggest purpose in coming to the world is to see her again.

“…Since there are cases, you should be in charge of them together with Lucius, right? It’s too selfish of you not to take them seriously. At the very least, you should ask for a leave of absence.”

Erise, who was resting her chin on her hand on the sofa, suddenly spoke, her displeasure evident in her eyes.

What's wrong with you, you tyrant, Chisui?! You act like a little girl, anyone who didn't know better would think you're an imposter. You're the famous Stigmata, and this guy is nowhere near as good as Lucius. Why are you so interested... Could it be that you still have feelings for him?

You bastard, Qian Sui! How could you face your grandfather? How could you face your father? How could you face your mother?!

“Erise…”

The girl called out hesitated for a moment, then her eyes flashed with a mischievous glint before she suddenly reverted to her usual cool expression as a magician.

“I started this, so I’m responsible for it to the end. There are a hundred different kinds of happiness in a hundred people. My duty is to protect this city and provide people with ways to achieve their own happiness. If you confuse my freedom with my selfishness, I will punish you.”

"Thousand years old..."

Eri Semoto wanted to refute him sternly, but she swallowed her words at the last moment.

Because it is the truth, Chitose Masuru is not a leader who was crowned based on the hopes of the masses. In the hearts of young girls, she is a dictator that can be seen everywhere in history, a tyrant with absolute power and violence—that is, an incurable tyrant, and at the same time, she is her grandmother, so she dares not resist.

But for some reason, Eri felt that Chitose was in an unusually good mood. Of course, she could tell that it was because of Novia, so she could only glare at him fiercely.

"...Actually, we're going to Tokyo this time, Eri Se."

"Tokyo?"

Eri couldn't help but murmur, while Chitose suddenly fell silent as well.

It's that word again. Every time Eri tells someone that word, her heart is stirred. Seeing that Eri doesn't know how to react, Chitose gives her a helpless smile for a moment, an expression that looks like she might burst into tears at any moment. This makes Eri subconsciously touch her ear.

For her, the scar from when her grandmother accidentally cut her ear while cutting her hair when she was four years old still remains.

"...What's wrong, Chitose?"

"It's nothing, because Erise, you are Nami's only daughter."

Novia gave a faint smile. "Everything that happened on that land would probably be an indelible and tragic memory for anyone who experienced it. Please don't take offense."

What is he saying...?

Anyone who knows my background would surely say I'm a relative of that Masuru Chitose, or some unruly granddaughter, and that's why he calls me that. This person knows my mother...

Having met Novia many times, Eri also created a profile of him based on the principles of night watchman work.

His stern demeanor exuded a kind of awareness and resolve typically found in soldiers who had faced life and death on the battlefield. Yet, miraculously, she also retained the sensitivity usually found in ordinary civilians—

A kind-hearted older brother next door, and a second-rate magician.

This was Eri's previous assessment of Novia.

But some questions still puzzled her. Novia, Chitose, and her mother seemed very close, but why didn't she remember him at all? Until she found out the reason, Eri was very wary of him. She wanted to ask more questions, but she couldn't because she was afraid.

Deep down, Erise kept crying out that she wished she didn't know, but—

"Are you... going to abandon me again... and leave me behind...?"

Part of the whisper was just Eri's bluff, but Novya, who had been silent until then, reacted immediately upon hearing it.

He understood, of course, that Eri was just bluffing and hadn't recognized him as the Demon King. Therefore, he could simply ignore her words. However, after learning about Eri's life over the past five years from Enma, he still felt a little reluctant to do so.

"You're just putting on an act, but it should be almost time, after all, you're all grown up now."

"...If you don't tell me, I won't leave you, and I'll do everything I can to interfere with your communication with Chitose and Tiamat."

Eri bit her lip, trying hard not to let anyone see her pathetic tears, even though she was actually completely incapable of shedding tears.

"Haha, how could you say something so troublesome?"

Novia's tone suddenly turned into a ghost story, "So let's go to Tokyo together, Eri Sei."

"……what?!"

……

After seeing everyone off, the witch, still warming herself with red tea, continued reading her book as time slowly passed.

I don't know many of the people who have visited this ancient temple.

Parents, friends, Aoko, Manazuru, Erise, Tiamat, Novia.

There will probably be other guests visiting here in the future.

This is because the Western-style mansion, which belongs to the 'past', is always very conspicuous, and it is also because of this that it is impossible to predict how many people will live there in the future.

However, compared to herself, these two are still better, Yuzhu warned herself, who was feeling increasingly strange.

...I'm a little sleepy, I'll close my eyes and take a nap.

But in her light sleep, Kuonji Yuju seemed to hear a mournful laugh coming from somewhere, and at the same time felt something about to overflow from her body.

"What a pity, we're back to square one again. Don't give up until the very end, but swallowing a live animal whole is too barbaric, isn't it?"

"Soon, right in front of you."

"That person, right?"

"Before your face becomes mine, embrace it, bathe in it, dissolve in it, my lovely Alice."

……

Stepping off the underwater tram, the pitch-black depths of the seabed were clearly visible. Logically, at this depth, even sunlight should not be able to produce such brightness.

"The surrounding area is being corrected using sensors left over from Tokyo."

Chitose Masuru explained this.

As a former metropolis, Tokyo is a melting pot of cultures, boasting diverse cultural and architectural styles. To put it nicely, it is diverse; to put it bluntly, it is a chaotic metropolis, especially evident in the post-modern era.

However, after collapsing and becoming ruins, only a small number of people survived, with only a few night police officers remaining to operate in this Tokyo submerged by seawater.

"Greetings, everyone. I am grateful for your visit to Tokyo from Shinjuku amidst your busy schedule. I am John, the alchemist who was in charge of the night watch in Tokyo and was formerly under the Atlas Institute. This is my servant, the assassin Cleopatra, the Egyptian queen."

A handsome man with skin as white as milk lowered his head seriously, and standing beside him was a noble-looking woman with blue hair.

"...Is Dr. John Nasno here too?"

Eri suddenly spoke up.

Johann Snow, one of the Servants who appeared in Fr.

He is the head of the city's health department in Mosaic City, and works with his Master who is in charge of care, not only providing medical advice but also paying close attention to the pollution caused by magic.

As a British doctor in the early 19th century, he made significant contributions to the prevention of infectious diseases and even assisted the famous Queen Victoria in childbirth. Compared with medical giants such as Koch, Pasteur, and Kitasato Shibasaburo, his global fame may be slightly less. However, for Eri, who had lost her demon king, Dr. Snow was a trustworthy person who took good care of her.

John Snow disliked others interfering with his work and kept his distance from Chitose Masuru, maintaining a completely neutral stance.

Eri knew him because he had once asked her to do a secret job through an urban AI. Conversely, the girl, who worked as a night patrol officer, had also sought his help when handling certain cases.

"Dr. Snow is currently preoccupied with some matters and is therefore unable to receive you all at the moment. I apologize for that. This young lady must be Eri Utsumi, the granddaughter of Chitose Manazuru, right? Yes, she is an excellent night watchwoman. I hope you and your grandmother can spend this precious holiday time safely for the next seventy-two hours."

Ok?

The moment John Dee saw Eri in person, he realized the 'abnormality' about her.

That is, the 'evil spirits' became incredibly compliant, completely losing their ability to bewitch and sway them, and instead became extremely obedient and docile.

Why is Dee so concerned about the 'evil spirit' on Eri Se?

Because that information was essentially malicious, like 'black mud,' years ago, when Dee was plotting it, he had already used the highest level of analytical thinking to determine, through his own actions, the most likely scenario for Eri, which could also be considered a prophecy:

A torrent of blood will overflow her sides, and she will wail in its fury; the blood will not only pollute her sacred heart, but will also flood everywhere, burying far more people than the living, and committing far more evil deeds.

Worse still, she will succumb to evil.

Just as Egypt was lost, so too were the gods and men there abandoned.

Therefore, she must eventually stand in the wilderness, facing the south wind as the sun sets, bowing in reverence; and when the sun returns, she bows again to the east.

But at this moment.

At the bottom of Eri Sei's pupils, a flame burns—a passion that will never be lost, whether it be fear, humility, or self-torture.

Dee wasn't particularly surprised by this; since the wise should know all things in advance, they certainly couldn't be ignorant of this—

"Then I'll trouble you to show us around Tokyo."

Novia moved closer to Dee and put her hand on his shoulder. "You should know him well, John."

“…Okay, of course, yes.”

Seeing John nod, Novia immediately continued, "Speaking of which, haven't we met somewhere before?"

"No, that's not true."

Dee smiled and said, "Of course, if we're going to play this game of being overly familiar, we can really play for a long time. I invite you to play by yourself until the ground beneath your feet collapses. As for me, I don't need to. Long, long ago, the shadow of death was already closer to me than the veins on my neck. To quote a beautiful verse from the Quran—"

"Let me think."

Novia, who interrupted Dee, said bluntly.

"Your next line is supposed to be: 'If you could really make me cry, my tears would corrode your face.' That should be it."

"……what?"

"Could I have guessed wrong? I don't think so."

"Haha, no, you're right."

Dee admitted, scratching her neck shyly, her expression suggesting the two were longtime friends who hadn't seen each other in years.

"As you said, I would still feel embarrassed if others saw through me. Yes, that's probably what I think... Were you once a member of the Atlas Academy? I haven't seen any of my fellow students since the academy disbanded."

Like the clock tower, the Atlas also met its demise, at least on the surface in the new era.

"That's it for now."

Although Novia never studied at the Atlas Academy, she had in-depth exchanges with Shion, so she could be considered a member of the Atlas Academy in a way.

"Oh my, no wonder you were able to say what I wanted to say. You must be one of the best in my class. You will undoubtedly become an instructor, and you might even be able to take the position of dean."