Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

"I shouldn't have acted on my own..."

At this moment, Fujimaru Ritsuka's face turned red with embarrassment. She didn't understand why, even though she thought Novia's approach was quite good, she still uncontrollably grabbed his hand and ran away.

"It's okay, this is also a strategy. After all, I don't have a 100% chance of successfully persuading them."

"Thank you very much, I'm glad to hear you say that, Novia."

"Ah."

“Speaking of which, I’m very happy myself,” Fujimaru Ritsuka laughed. “I feel like this is the first time I’ve ever felt this way!”

Seeing her smile, Novia naturally laughed out loud as well.

Then came the moment of parting. Novia watched the girl's departing figure, thought for a moment, and called out to her:

"Consider this a gift for our meeting, Fujimaru."

"Um--"

Upon hearing this, Ritsuka turned around and saw Novia, who was standing close by, handing her the cross pendant hanging around her neck. She instinctively took it and held it tightly.

"Well then, see you next time, Fujimaru."

After delivering the items, Novia didn't say anything more, turned around, and left in the other direction of the girl.

The girl, staring blankly at the cross pendant, remained rooted to the spot. After what seemed like an eternity, Ritsuka finally hung it around her neck… In her daze, she had actually been wishing Novia had placed it on her finger herself—

"What am I thinking...?"

She shook her head sharply, calming herself down, and walked home, still holding onto her burning passion.

At this moment, what Fujimaru Ritsuka wants to do most is to open a bakery with the person she likes. Even though it is very ordinary and probably unchanging, it is what she wants to do most in her heart. The girl longs for such a life.

The thought of being given a pendant was probably a prelude to what I really wanted.

The next day, Fujimaru Ritsuka suddenly woke up in her own house and immediately discovered something quite extraordinary—

She completely forgot to ask for Novia's contact information!

257: You can also call me 'Father' (4k)

In the warm breeze at the beginning of the year, the trees next to the coffee shop swayed, their slender leaves touching the shop's signboard.

Novia, who had used magic to conceal herself, Draco, and Kichijoin's presence, sat in the coffee shop and squinted her eyes slightly.

"Wow, there are so many people here. Is my little Hibiki working here?"

Kichijou, being held by Novia, spoke in a coquettish tone, while Draco, standing to the side, gritted his teeth inwardly upon hearing this.

She was too proud to extend an invitation, which allowed Kichijou to beat her to it, leaving her to sit on the sidelines, resentfully eating her strawberry pie.

"Yes, she works part-time at the coffee shop 'Ahnenerbe' with her classmates."

"What a grand gesture! Was the Gemstone Elder involved in the establishment of this coffee shop? Is it possible that it could disappear into another world in the blink of an eye?"

"Humph."

Hearing Kichijouin's affected voice again only made Draco so angry that he could only continue eating his strawberry pie, as if that was the only way to vent his anger.

"Actually, only other parallel worlds can come over, but those here can't... You should know more about this than I do, since you used the Holy Scripture to defeat the Jewel Elder back then."

"Hehe." The girl curled up her lips with extreme embarrassment. "That was Sesshouin. I'm Kichijoin now, Lady Novia."

“…that damned brat……Yu….”

Draco's eyes were practically contorting with murderous intent. If he hadn't been suppressed by Novia, he probably would have already given Kichijoin a good beating for his arrogant attitude.

However, it should be noted that Draco, whose abilities were sealed by Novia yesterday, was not at a significant advantage as she was on par with Kichijoin. After all, Draco did not possess the 'Primal Flame' that Novia had once given him, making it difficult for him to contend with Kichijoin, who had been training as an Agent since childhood. However, thanks to the abilities taught by Novia, Draco was able to barely manage a draw with Kichijoin.

The street where the coffee shop is located in a bustling area of ​​Tokyo is crowded with people. Perhaps because the building was constructed with the help of Gemstone, most of the area around it is a degree or two warmer than other places, which is why most passersby are holding handkerchiefs and wiping their sweat.

When I see a coffee shop, I check if they have any cold drinks... In a way, Gemstone is quite supportive of George's business.

"Lord Novia, is that Hibiki?"

Kichijou raised his hand, gesturing towards the orange-haired, orange-eyed girl, who was then gesturing towards Novia.

"Hmm, Hibiki Hinohide, she's Hibiki, but..."

"but?"

"Xiaoxiang's personality shouldn't be like this..."

"Oh dear, perhaps it's one of the Instructor's children. Oh, Miss Draco, please don't be angry~"

Kichijou glanced at Draco, secretly chuckling to himself as if he were calculating something.

At this moment, she looked like a cunning villain from a TV series, or rather, she had the face of an evil person. This kind of appearance was not usually shown to Novia, but Melusin and Draco often saw it. However, Novia was well aware of this, but she did not care.

Draco suddenly spoke up upon seeing Kichijoin's appearance.

"That personality feels more like Shion."

"Miss Shion doesn't seem to have as much contact with Miss Draco as I do."

"That cold personality doesn't seem like the warm and lively person Kobek described at all. He doesn't seem to have many thoughts either, and he doesn't seem like someone who really wants to see the teacher."

"is it?"

“That’s right, Nero is right.”

"...Don't call me that stupid name..."

Indeed, according to her memories and Kobek's account, Novia did remember that the Holy Scripture, in human form, was a cheerful and energetic person who was popular with everyone, regardless of age or gender. In short, she had a puppy-like personality that made everyone feel warm and friendly just by being there...

At this moment, Hibiki Hinohide exuded a cold aura and did not show any bright and energetic appearance. She was as rigid as a robot, and the people around her did not seem to find it strange.

Actually, this is a consequence of the battle between Hibiki Hibiki and her 'younger sister', Pseudo-Symphony, a few days ago. Just like the cold personality corresponding to Pseudo-Symphony's younger sister, Hibiki Hibiki, as the older sister, has a vibrant personality. However, once they enter battle mode, their personalities switch.

The sacred text is devoid of emotion and is predominantly white, while the counterfeit text is very lively and predominantly black.

To be fair, the pseudo-scripture is indeed no match for the sacred scripture. It is merely a re-creation of the original scripture by a later maker using the fragments of the original scripture that are still in existence. It is far inferior to the original scripture in both quality and quantity. However, the problem is that Hibiki is unwilling to devour his sister, Mary Muller, so he has no choice but to defeat her and let her escape. But in order to avoid being accidentally ambushed, he has kept the scripture mode active.

Those who knew her well saw this as a consequence of Xu Fangzhi, the agent of the Holy Church.

"Alright, we've seen it all. Regardless of Hibiki's personality, let's go to the mansion tonight to meet Hibiki in person."

Novia got up, put Kichijoin down, and started walking towards the hotel.

Draco watched his retreating figure, then suddenly seemed to remember something and asked.

"Teacher, where's the cross pendant you wear on your chest?"

When Novia returned last night, Draco noticed that the cross pendant he wore around his neck was gone, leaving only the silver key pendant.

".....this..."

The silver-haired man touched the silver key with one hand as he spoke, then turned around to answer.

"I gave it away."

"Tsk, who did you give it to? It's not another girl, is it?"

Draco's words made Kichijoin smile slightly again.

"Most of the people who catch Novia's attention are girls~ And Miss Draco, you're really strange, who else would I give it to if not a girl? Or would I give it to you, Miss Draco?"

"You brat, Yu Zaowan..."

"Although it was indeed given to a young girl, it was ultimately due to a special connection. Speaking of white doves..."

Novia looked up at the sky visible between the buildings, a blue sky that connected Rome and the world.

"In a sense, one day she will face an event that is extremely important to the world itself, and I hope she will be successful."

Kichijouin and Draco listened to Novia's voice, both feeling annoyed that someone else might be involved in the future.

But Kichijouin was much faster than Draco. He casually let Novia take his hand and gave Draco a smug look. This made the blonde girl, who was already hesitant, take his hand without hesitation. However, judging from his size, it wouldn't be surprising if she thought he was a father with a child.

The three walked east from the coffee shop, casting heavy shadows on the asphalt road.

Despite the lazy, warm sunshine and the eager looks from many people, Novia's steps remained brisk.

It's a very strange sight. Even though Draco and Kichijoin are both very cute, people's eyes are drawn to Novia, and they naturally feel happy. In other words, the man really does attract everyone like the sun.

At that moment, Novia was quietly contemplating.

The Human Incineration will begin shortly after Fujimaru Ritsuka enters Chaldea. Fujimaru Ritsuka was tricked and taken away by Chaldea personnel during her high school graduation vacation while donating blood. That was in May, and it is now January, which means that there are four months left before Goetia begins the Human Incineration.

However, if Goetia were left to its own devices, it would inevitably fail sooner or later.

The girl, humanity's last Master, embarks on this journey for her own survival and that of countless others.

therefore--

It was this courage that allowed the man, who had been running away for years, to confront the 'evil' born within him, to bid farewell to his 'cowardly' self, to end Goetia, and to reach a 'final destination' in a different direction from the only enlightened savior among humanity.

Novia was very unhappy about this, not with Roman, but with the god who gave the Ten Commandments to the Magic King.

The god foresaw this ending long ago, knowing the man's demise, yet let things unfold as they would. Although everything was meaningless to the god, Novia was not a god and therefore did not think so. He did not think this was good for the man who had reached another end, even though he had indeed accomplished a great feat, but could never appear again.

But no one paid any attention to the burning; Roman would continue to be a 'coward,' and no one knew how he had managed to acquire so many wives during Solomon's time...

However, upon closer inspection, Novia's attitude towards the burning of humanity was actually quite simple: this could happen, but no one was allowed to die in it.

The outcome that the god foresaw was completely reversed.

Even if a year passes on Earth as a result, he will still pay the price to reverse time. However, for someone who is a UO sun, this is not a difficult task.

Magic is the law of stars, and so is the law of the universe. As the sun UO, which is blessed by countless stars in the galaxy, its power has already approached the law of the universe.

The moment Novia saw and observed the five great mages, she was able to instantly analyze the underlying principles.

Speaking of which, it seems that due to the great battle between Novia and Olt that year, the other world was completely sealed off, so the magic world has never been able to enter it. Only legends about Olt are circulating, and even the Jewel King thought that the Great Spider was still asleep.

......

At night, outside a Western-style mansion in Tokyo, the darkness brought by the setting sun seemed to change the temperature and hue of the world.

It was an incredibly grand building located in the suburbs outside of Tokyo, blending seamlessly with the local atmosphere.

"It's clear that Mr. Kobek is quite concerned about Hibiki's safety."

Kichijou immediately recognized that this mansion was an excellent barrier, strong enough to protect a small country.

It should be noted that there are various types of barriers, including so-called magical barriers, as well as scientific barriers and psychological barriers that appeal to human psychology. This mansion, however, made a small contribution to the spiritual energy of Tokyo. After all, Cowbeak was a Dead Apostle who created the Great Labyrinth, so it was no exception for him to be able to do this.

"If nothing unexpected happens, Tokyo is the barrier itself."

“That’s right. To destroy the defenses of this mansion, we need the power to completely destroy Tokyo in one blow, otherwise it will be difficult to open it up.”

Although Novia wasn't exactly a master at setting up barriers, he could tell that it took a lot of effort and time to set one up. However, there was something that puzzled him: looking at it this way, Kobek shouldn't have been so terrified. He hadn't been that flustered during the American Holy Grail War.

Novia, who was unsure why Kobek acted that way, thought she could ask Hibiki later if something had happened to Kobek.

After a moment's thought, Novia used the key that Kobek had given her to open the mansion's door—

“My dearest sister, please let my existence be truly complete, let me truly become a father—”

The purple-haired girl, radiating such enthusiasm from inside the mansion, was about to do something to the person who had just arrived at the door. However, when she saw that the person was not Hibiki Hinohide, but someone she didn't recognize... no, the light on her chest grew even stronger, and she instantly realized something.

Mary Muller pointed tremblingly at Novia:

"Father, dear Father..."

The purple-haired girl, who was actually a pseudo-classic, had a variety of emotions flashing across her face at this moment.

From breathtaking passion and terrifying cold to flower-like resilience and pitifulness, nothing is false.

"No, don't look at me. I'm not Father's child yet. Only after I eat Hibiki Hinata, yes, only after I eat Hibiki Hinata will I be the real one..."

The pseudo-canon believes that it is merely a counterfeit created from the incompleteness of the sacred text, and therefore cannot accept itself as it does, because it must devour the other to become whole, and only by becoming whole can its world become beautiful.

Everyone can see that Marie Muller and Hibino Hibiki look almost identical, but it's impossible for Psaki to say that someone considered her father wouldn't look the same.

In any case, the sacred text was born because of him, and no matter what he does, he is incomplete as a false text.

Mary Muller felt that this person could never be blind to such things.

Indeed, that was the case. When Novia saw the girl who was different from Hibiki Hinano except for her hair and eye color, and the aura within her that was similar to that of the Holy Scripture, she understood that this person was undoubtedly the pseudo-scripture... Marie Muller?

"That doesn't exist."