My family runs an adventurer's guild.

Gu Mei, one of the "Eight Beauties of Qinhuai," was also a famous cat lover at the time, especially doting on a cat named "Wu Yuan." Unfortunately, due to Gu Mei's excessive pampering, the cat actually died from overeating.

During the Xianfeng era of the Qing Dynasty, an encyclopedia about cats, "Cat Garden," was published. The book was divided into seven parts: "Types, Appearance, Coat Color, Supernatural Aspects, Famous Things, Stories, and Characters," and even mentioned the treatment of cat diseases and the sterilization surgery.

The book "Cat Garden" collects a wide range of Chinese anecdotes, fables and legends about cats from all over the world. Among them, the most valuable is the compilation of "The Classic of Cat Judging", which has been lost to ancient times.

However, in the past, when even humans lacked food and clothing, it was impossible for Chinese people to love cats as passionately as they do today. It wasn't until after the reform and opening up that scenes of cat lovers everywhere appeared among the increasingly affluent Chinese.

Today, Chinese cats have moved from food warehouses to bedside tables, and what they carry in their mouths are no longer mice and sparrows, but cat food, wet food pouches, and canned cat food...

Despite this, due to incomplete domestication, domestic cats today still retain a lot of wild instincts. Humans think they are raising cats, but for the cat, it's simply sharing a room with a human.

Chapter 22, Even the God of Sleep Wants to Make His Presence!

After the seven members of the adventure team had assembled, the Dragon Sage Helena coughed and delivered a morale-draining pep talk:

"...Ahem, although in this interdimensional adventure, due to the rules of the magic ritual itself, you will have to fight a chaotic battle where you kill each other, please still uphold the spirit of 'friendship first, travel second, competition third'."

The so-called Holy Grail War is something to be dealt with casually; don't take it too seriously. Even if you lose, you won't suffer any losses, and conversely, even if you win, there's no prize to be won.

Instead of risking your lives to help some complete stranger from another world in a foolish war that has nothing to do with you, you might as well take the opportunity to see more of the scenery of this other world and gather some information about other dimensions...

Meanwhile, Ernest, the fake dragon boss, tapped Quark's head with his claws, lowered his voice, and sternly reprimanded the enslaved kobold warlock, "...Do you understand? Quark! The Holy Grail War is just for show!"

Once you get there, the key is to please the princess! You have to obey her every command, even if she orders you to commit suicide! After all, it's just a temporary clone.

Don't forget, you couldn't even last a month in that alternate dimension, but you could live for decades more here!

He threatened menacingly, "...if the princess doesn't execute you for offending royalty after the adventure ends..."

Faced with such a brutal threat, Quark, the kobold warlock already imprisoned and living in constant fear, could only submit and obey, "...Woof! Yes, Master! I will do as you say! Woof!"

Seeing this scene, although she largely agreed with the Great Sage Helena's words, Phil couldn't help but feel a deep sense of worry:

How utterly humiliating will this Holy Grail War, which started with a complete lack of morale, drive, and responsibility, turn out?

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However, just as the seven adventurers were ready and stepped onto their respective descent magic circles one by one, a new change occurred.

"...Wait a minute! Hold on! Don't teleport yet, I need to add another person!"

Harald, the demigod golden dragon and the proxy and mount of the sleep goddess "Mengmeng," swooped down from the central floating island in the dream space. As his enormous, shimmering golden body landed on the floating island, a small figure jumped off his back.

Phili turned her head and looked closely, and was surprised to see a small, delicate dormouse girl with round ears on her head.

This is an adorable little creature that exudes cuteness from head to toe. Its skin is as smooth and white as a freshly peeled boiled egg. It is only a little over one meter tall, with long orange hair that reaches its waist. It is wearing a pink pajama set decorated with a lot of lace, a pair of gray squirrel-shaped plush slippers, and a roll of printed cotton quilt in its hands.

At this moment, even though she was surrounded by onlookers, she still seemed to be half-asleep, squinting her eyes and yawning cutely. At first glance, she gave people a "soft" or "whimpering" cute feeling.

However, despite the fact that this mouse-eared loli looks so delicate and easily pushed over, as soon as you get close, you can clearly feel the immense pressure emanating from her, which is as surging as the ocean tide, indicating that she is a being even more powerful than a dragon.

Considering the current situation, the identity of this pajama-clad mouse-eared loli is self-evident.

Sure enough, the next moment, Phil heard the demigod golden dragon Harald explain loudly, "...My princess Mengmeng is also very interested in this interdimensional adventure, so she sent an avatar to participate. Therefore, please bring her along as well..."

Hmm? The landowner of this space, the goddess of sleep "Mengmeng," is also personally sending an avatar to join this adventure group heading to the Type-Moon world?

Although it sounded a bit surprising at first, Phil thought about it carefully and realized it was quite normal.

After all, the gods in this world are mostly like this in legends: after being made gods, their main bodies stay in their divine kingdoms until they die, while they create an avatar and wander all over the world, encountering all kinds of heroes and monsters in their adventures, leaving behind all kinds of legends that are romantic, tragic, or terrifying, and incidentally boosting their presence and fame.

—Deities are actually similar to idol stars; their greatest fear is being forgotten.

At least half of the world's myths, legends, and epic tales contain elements of such interactions between mortals and deities.

However, this method of gaining notoriety is not without risk, since the combat power of an avatar cannot compare to that of the original. Many avatars of gods have been ambushed, even destroyed, and skinned alive while traveling, essentially risking their lives to gain fame.

—If a deity's avatar is destroyed by an enemy or accident in the mortal realm, the deity will not die, but it is still a huge loss equivalent to a failed investment. It will take at least several decades of strategic contraction to recover its strength.

As a weak new god who is not good at fighting, perhaps fearing that she would be crushed by the veteran powerhouses as soon as she descends to the mortal world, the god of sleep "Mengmeng" has not yet sent any clones to travel to the mortal world. However, in order to spread the faith and make her presence known, she cannot stay at home forever.

Therefore, it is understandable that she plans to participate in this seemingly absolutely safe alternate dimension adventure in the Type-Moon world first, in order to accumulate experience for her future formal descent to Earth.

In short, since this is the territory of the god of sleep, this small request from the deity is naturally impossible to refuse.

The problem is, all seven members who were supposed to replace the Servants from the Type-Moon world in the Fuyuki Holy Grail War have already been assembled, and there are no more slots available!

In that case, one member must abandon this adventure to make room for the teleportation array for Princess "Dreamy".

As Phil thought this, she looked around, only to find that everyone seemed to be pretending not to hear her.

Princess Catherine, the golden dragon, was filled with excitement as she looked forward to her first interdimensional adventure, with no intention of giving way to the god of sleep.

The librarian, Miss Ghost Portia, has no intention of quitting in order to save the library from closure and to obtain a new body.

The little fairy Flora had just asked her boss for leave to participate in this wonderful adventure, and naturally didn't want to waste this rare vacation.

Since Princess Catherine had no intention of withdrawing, Ernest, the fake dragon boss who was eager to make a good impression on her in order to redeem himself, naturally did not say or do anything rash.

This thing's original form is currently locked up in a cell because of a crime, awaiting the judgment and punishment of Princess Catherine, the new lord of Totoro Town!

If I slip away now, but the princess sees it as desertion and adds it to her blacklist, wouldn't that be terrible?

Then, since Ernest, the master, gave no further instructions, the slave, the kobold sorcerer Quark, dared not make any rash moves.

As a result, Lulutia, the silver dragon and proprietress of the Adventurers' Guild, looked around and realized that the members of this interdimensional adventure were either her superiors, her creditors, or her longtime neighbors. No matter who she messed with, it would ruin their relationships...

So, Miss Silver Dragon Lulutia rolled her eyes, stretched out her dragon claws, grabbed Firi by the scruff of her neck, and lifted the still bewildered cat out of the teleportation magic circle.

"...Ah, in that case, I won't bring my pet on this adventure. Please, Your Majesty, step onto the teleportation array quickly!"

Chapter 23, Even if it means being a Rider's mount, I will still participate in the Holy Grail War!

Huh? Why am I the one who got eliminated?

You guys go on an adventure to Earth and don't even need me, a time traveler, to guide you?!

Where is the most basic trust between people, no, between a dragon and a cat?!

Even as the mistress grabbed her by the back of the neck and dragged her out of the teleportation array, Phil was still in a daze, her thoughts a jumbled mess.

He forgot that for an adventure like this, which is purely a trial run and has no clear objective, why would one need a guide?

Just like those kids who excitedly get a new game, at least seven or eight out of ten don't have the patience to read the instructions slowly, but just start playing it first!

Anyway, it doesn't matter how badly we play, as long as the game can run normally.

"...Thank you so much!"

The goddess, transformed into a dormice girl, nodded slightly, then stepped onto the magic circle where Phil had just stood, with sleepwalking, slow steps.

The next moment, almost the instant the Goddess of Sleep stepped onto the teleportation magic circle, the seven teleportation magic circles that had been prepared lit up one after another, and the interdimensional teleportation of "Heroic Spirit Descent" began.

First, there's Portia, the assassin; then Catherine, the golden dragon princess; Momo, the mouse-eared lancer; Lulutia, the silver dragon archer; Ernest, the fake dragon boss berserker; Flor, the fairy knight; and Quark, the kobold slave sorcerer caster…

Hmm, upon closer inspection, it seems that there isn't a single human among the "guest Servants" who have arrived this time.

In other words, this essentially turned the Fourth Holy Grail War into a "non-human Holy Grail War".

As their figures disappeared one by one, flashes of silver light appeared in mid-air, revealing virtual screens that showed the scenes after they were summoned to the Type-Moon world.

A group of dragons, humans, cat people, and other sleep god followers gathered around curiously to watch.

Only the dejected Phil was pushed to the side, remaining in a posture of dejection and hunchback, as if his soul had been struck by a million tons of force.

There was no other way; five years had passed since he transmigrated to this remote and backward fantasy world!

Whenever she wakes up from a dream in the dead of night, Phil can't help but miss the bustling modern cities of her hometown, the brightly lit concrete jungle, the rich and exciting online information, and the various new and exciting anime and games.

Firi was actually quite excited to have the opportunity to descend into the Type-Moon world. Even if she couldn't return to her real hometown, it would be nice to take the chance to see Japan's modern cities; at least she could feel some familiar atmosphere and feeling.

Although video games from the 1990s were still primitive, crude, and tragic compared to products from the 21st century, Fuyuki City, where the Holy Grail War was about to break out, was still located in Japan, a major country in anime and games.

VR games and online games are out of the question, but at least you can still play Nintendo's Famicom and arcade games!

But how could this be? Why am I, a transmigrator, being excluded by a group of natives from a world of swords and magic?

Miss Lulutia, have you forgotten? I was the one who provided the coordinates for this Type-Moon universe!

Otherwise, if you just stumble around randomly, it will take forever to find that place!

When it came time to leave, they actually abandoned me? Don't you have any conscience?

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After a long while, Phil managed to compose herself, pull herself out of her slumped position, and stand up again.

Since it's already happened, there's no point in wallowing in self-pity. Anyway, if this interdimensional spirit summoning experiment succeeds, there will definitely be more opportunities to participate in interdimensional adventures. If you missed the first train this time, so be it!

After all, as a tiny cat living under someone else's roof, it really can't compete with its owner or the gods.

After standing up, Phil originally wanted to look at the current situation of the adventure team in the Type-Moon world through the screen.

However, the floating island was already packed with spectators and overflowing with people, especially in front of the row of screens, where there was a huge crowd and it was impossible to squeeze through.

He reluctantly squeezed out of the crowd, occasionally glancing back, and saw the Dragon Sage Helena adjusting the interdimensional teleportation array, chanting incantations and activating magical items, busy as a bee.

Meanwhile, the demigod golden dragon Harald was squatting idly to the side, lost in thought, seemingly preoccupied with something.

At that moment, a sudden thought flashed through Phil's mind, and she remembered a question she hadn't had time to figure out before.

"...Um...Your Excellency Harald, I would like to ask you something."

You mentioned before that in order to obtain the 'Heroic Spirit Descent' system technology for the Holy Grail War, you made a deal with the world's will, agreeing to help them solve a problem..."

Phili called out to Harald, "...So, what kind of trouble is it that requires you to solve it?"

"...Oh, that? It's nothing serious. The Holy Grail on the other side has been corrupted, hasn't it? It's no longer filled with colorless magic, but with disgusting black sludge. The world's will over there wants us to get rid of this sludge."

The demigod golden dragon Harald casually replied, "...Based on my experience, this should be some kind of negative energy. I can purify it slightly with my divine power if you ask me to do so."

Even if my lord can't purify it, I can give it to the gods of the darkness and death pantheon; I'm sure they'll like it. Sigh, speaking of which, this other party claims to be the will of a planet comparable to the creator god, so how come they're finding even such a small matter troublesome?...

Harald, always prone to rambling, glanced down at Firi and casually rambled on, "...Uh, anyway, as agreed beforehand, after we complete this interdimensional adventure, they'll teleport Lulutia and the others, along with the Black Mud, over here..."

Although Harald spoke of it so casually and nonchalantly, as if it were truly a trivial matter, it sent chills down Firi's spine and sent cold sweats down his spine!

The price for obtaining the technology to summon Heroic Spirits is actually helping to deal with the black sludge in the Holy Grail?! Black sludge whose true name is "Evil of This World"?!

Good heavens! Do you know what that thing is?

Judging solely from the screen, this thing looks like a lump of melted tar, perhaps with the added attributes of being highly toxic and extremely hot, hence the name "black mud." The damage it causes is merely similar to the incendiary agent in an incendiary bomb; it doesn't seem particularly terrifying.

But in fact, the black mud that is presented to people is just a materialized form of the evil in this world.

Essentially, the black mud in the corrupted Holy Grail should be considered an indescribable substance somewhere between a curse and energy, or a materialized curse.

If left unattended and allowed to flow freely, this black mud will continuously spread malice against humanity, invoking endless calamities until it destroys all of humanity—otherwise, why would its full name be "all the evil of this world"?

Don't think that it's just a lump of toxic black tar that can be easily disposed of—it represents the malice of the entire world!

The thought that Harald, the demigod dragon unaware of the truth, had actually made such a deal with the world will of the Type-Moon world, preparing to bring even a small part of the malice of the entire world into the dream realm before him, made Phil tremble with fear.

This is clearly a recipe for disaster, and it's about to cause a huge mess!

Can that sleeping god, who looks absolutely adorable, really purify the sinister malice of the entire world?

Even if the worldviews and power systems are different, it is impossible to make a very direct comparison between the high-magic world here and the low-magic world there.

Even among the gods of this world, the goddess of sleep, Mengmeng, is not among the top tier with powerful divine strength. She is merely a weak little god who has only been a god for twenty years and has fewer than 20,000 followers.

Even with the advantage of being in a high-magic world, can Momo, a dormice girl who looks weak and is actually weak, really hold her own against the "all the evil of this world" in the Type-Moon world?

Although Gilgamesh, the oldest king in the Type-Moon universe, did successfully withstand the corruption of the black mud, and even drew power from the evil of this world to condense a physical body...

But the question is, does the goddess Hypnos actually possess the abilities of Gilgamesh?

Phil expressed deep doubts and concerns about this.

However, before Ferry could say anything more to Harald, a small six-pointed star teleportation array suddenly formed and lit up beneath his feet. Before he could react, Ferry felt a darkness before his eyes and his body become light…

The next moment, he inexplicably found himself lying on the wooden floor of an unfamiliar room in the form of an orange cat. The furniture around him had become unusually tall, and something seemed to be moving on his head...

Looking up, he immediately saw the little fairy Flor flapping her translucent wings, flying around above his head, and strutting arrogantly at someone, boasting:

"...Look! Webber, this is my steed, the big cat! How about that, pretty impressive, right!"

—Well, from Phily's perspective, the orange cat can only barely see the person's two legs, and they seem to be... trembling slightly?

Immediately afterward, before he could even raise his head to see what was going on, a deluge of information, like a tidal wave, flooded into Phil's mind, making him instantly understand what had just happened. A complex and unreadable bitter smile crept onto the corner of his cat-like face.

—Although he did not obtain the class of Heroic Spirit, he still descended upon Fuyuki City in the Type-Moon world as a Rider's mount...

Okay, there are just too many things to complain about. Not only is it clearly Lulutia's summoned pet, but somehow the Holy Grail System categorized it as an appendage of the fairy Flor. This bizarre way of participating in battle is truly novel and perplexing!

Regardless, the cat-like Firi ultimately participated in the Holy Grail War in a way that was neither a Heroic Spirit nor a Master.