Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

Inside the Kuonji residence, Kuonji Yuzu held an old book while explaining to the slightly reserved Eri Se in front of her.

"From now on, you can live here as long as the tasks given to you by the city AI are canceled."

"……is that so."

Eri looked up and glanced around the room.

Strangely enough, she felt that compared to the resort-style seaside city of Akihabara, the original design of this house should have been more in line with the Shinjuku area, since it was too old and... too strange.

The corridor you walk into has no electricity or windows. The walls are decorated with luxurious patterns, there are antique sofas and obviously high-end carpets. If someone accidentally wanders in, they might think this is a mansion designed according to the scale of an ancient family.

However, what was initially thought to be an old-fashioned room turned out to contain a rather modern large color TV.

"These were placed here by the guys who used to live here."

Perhaps sensing Eri's thoughts, Arisu explained, "Although I don't accept this house being arbitrarily altered, and I once had a big fight with her over it, now that I think about it, it was all pointless. If you have any ideas about the room, you can discuss them with me, and I will try my best to accept them."

"Uh, okay..."

"correct."

Yuzhu put the book aside and said, "You should change your Shinjuku-style clothes to the style here as soon as possible, otherwise it will hinder your mission."

The people of Shinjuku and Akihabara dress completely differently. Shinjuku is in the Taisho and Showa era style, while Akihabara is in swimwear and casual wear. Therefore, in this new era with a sense of 'distancing', if Erise, dressed in all black and with an old-fashioned style, came to Akihabara, it would cause some unnecessary 'disputes'.

"However, I have already prepared your clothes, which are in your room. I hope you are satisfied."

Eri nodded frantically at Arisu's words.

Well, she thought Kuonji Yuzu was such a good person, a million times better than that tyrannical Chitose!

In fact, Chitose would do this for her too, but the relationship between the grandmother and granddaughter was so bad that in Eri's heart, Chitose was probably the worst of the worst. So after escaping from her side, the girl thought that whoever did it better than Chitose was better, which can be considered a double standard.

"Oh right, so what about Kuonji..."

Eri looked hesitant, then averted her gaze shyly.

At this moment, her expression was very gentle, just like that of a well-behaved child.

"I wonder if I'll ever see you with that expression in my lifetime."

Novia observed Eri's first expression and wondered, "Is this what they call encountering the light?"

"Shut up! You've already ruined my life!"

Erizo's implication is that her public apology during the Shinjuku Holy Grail War tournament was probably on file, such a huge black mark on her record...

She even felt like dying.

At the same time, Kuonji Yuzu looked at Erise, who was arguing with the Demon King but still looked like an obedient child on the surface, and covered her mouth with one hand.

Are you asking about my outfit?

"I'm not really curious, I just feel a little strange."

Kuonji Yuzu's outfit is all black, consisting of a black long-sleeved top, black leggings, and a brown patterned skirt. This outfit is completely out of place in Akihabara, which is themed around swimwear and casual wear, and is more in line with the atmosphere of Shinjuku.

"This house was originally located in the now-destroyed Misaki City."

Yuzhu took a sip of red tea and gently explained, "I did not participate in the Holy Grail War at that time. When the Holy Grail War swept through Misaki City, I could not do much to protect it. I thought this place would be destroyed along with me."

At this point, Yuzhu turned her face to the side.

"But thanks to your grandmother, she and Lucius ended the Holy Grail War, and even helped me recreate this place in the mosaic city in its original style at the birth of the new era. Although it doesn't fit the atmosphere of Akihabara, I am still grateful to her."

"As for inappropriate attire."

The girl dressed in black paused for a moment, "I don't usually move around inside the city. My main activity area is the wasteland outside, so it hasn't caused any disputes between me and the citizens."

"Is it possible that the tyrant Chisai could have such a kind and understanding side? It's unbelievable, I never would have imagined it..."

Hearing the little girl's murmur, Kuonji Yuju turned her face and stared at her expressionlessly.

Do you have any conflicts with your grandmother?

"It's alright, it's not like there's any conflict..."

Feeling pressured, Eri shook her head cautiously.

Kuonji Yuju didn't say much, she just silently drank her black tea, and after a while she got up.

"I'm sorry, I have work to do now. I'll leave the rest to you, Utsumi."

After saying that, she turned and walked out of Kuonji Temple without looking back, probably to the wasteland to have her familiars observe the sky and analyze the data.

Why is Kuonji so temperamental, sometimes cold and sometimes warm? I didn't do anything to her.

Have you forgotten that we used illegal artifacts in the elimination rounds right in front of her?

...Shut up, it's all your fault!

Just as Eri and the Demon King were arguing in their hearts, Yuzu, who had walked to the door, turned around and said calmly, "...Matsuru said that it is normal for young women to keep their distance from adult men."

After saying this simply, she immediately walked out of the living room, leaving Erise standing there dumbfounded.

"...You, you traitor!"

Eri scratched a few silver strands from her hair. "You bastard, did you sign some weird agreement with Chitose behind my back?! Tell me! Did you tell her I was leaving behind my back?!"

"No, that's the truth. Apart from sending you a message on your phone saying that you're coming to Akihabara to live independently today, we haven't had any other communication."

"Message? I didn't see it on my phone."

"Because I deleted it."

This sentence left Eri Se speechless.

For a moment, she had the illusion that the Demon King was treating her like a child who could be fooled with a few casual words.

No, that's how it is normally considered, since she is indeed almost nine years old.

However, Eri was genuinely troubled. She wasn't particularly annoyed by the Demon King; she just felt that these things could be discussed, and if he insisted, she would probably have to give in... But doing things directly without her consent was really making her unhappy.

Why don't they say a few more words to me? It's not like I'm really not listening.

While muttering to herself, Erise suddenly remembered something, so she suppressed her shyness and said it in a cold tone.

"So you really did secretly possess me and do things I didn't know about, right?"

Novia nodded upon hearing Eri's words.

"That's about right—"

"Demon King!"

Before Novia could finish speaking, Eri shouted, and an alder tree appeared beside her—the same tree as the Demon King from "The Demon King," which was the ability she had acquired during the Holy Grail War.

"Keep a close eye on this demon king, don't let him leave this place!"

After giving orders to the demon king she had summoned using her evil spirit abilities, Eri quickly left the area.

However, the scene in the living room was not as Eri had imagined. The alder tree not only did not listen to her and use its branches to trap Novia, but instead bent down for him in a rather humane way, literally bending down.

"I know, I know, it's okay, it's okay."

Novia waved her hand. "I am a fictional demon king, and you are the demon king among demon kings. We are both demon kings, so there's no problem."

After all, if things had gone according to plan, Eri would have had 'Magic Bullet Shooter' in addition to the Demon King, which is the phantom spirit that fused with Moriarty in FGO.

Novia understood perfectly well why Eri was doing this; she was simply afraid he would see her changing clothes...

While making sarcastic remarks, Novia also reminisced about her experiences in the Fr world so far. She was the Demon King who was 'born', while Eri was the one who welcomed 'death'. In other words, there should be another being connecting the two, but it has not yet appeared.

In addition, Novia also found that the new era was very strange. It did not allow human suicide, severed the connection between the continents by claiming that the sky and the sea were dangerous, and the new humans were rapidly becoming isolated. If Novia had not witnessed the effects of the Moon Cancer, he would have thought that this was very similar to the Moon Cancer's methods.

However, that's not the case. Based on Ye Jie Xue Xin's experience, it's probably the Holy Grail that did this.

Because the Holy Grail revealed Yukinobu's experiences in the parallel world, he betrayed Ōkuninushi and massacred his entire clan... But what was the reason? What was the significance of Ōkuninushi's death? Furthermore, Novia is convinced that Chitose Masuru's wish upon the Holy Grail was the reason for creating a new era—

'The Holy Grail, as a wish-granting machine, continues to exist and be distributed.' However, Chitose Manazuru, as Lucius's Master, undoubtedly wants to save the world from the ravages of death and has no other selfish motives. Perhaps the final Holy Grail is indeed the one that grants wishes, but there is a problem with the Holy Grail in the Izumo region.

Of course, Novia also remembered that in the original Fr story, five years later, when Eri was 14 years old, the Mother of Death of Congo, Nsambi, would invade Akihabara where Eri lived and control the Servants to carry out massacres. During this time, the black dog, who was suspected to be Anubis, said the following to Chitose Manazuru, who was resolving everything: "Death has come to greet us."

From God's perspective, it's understandable that humanity's awe of death has diminished in the new era due to the widespread adoption of immortality, leading to anger and a desire to correct it. However, this is no longer the age of gods, and with many Death Gods participating in the global Holy Grail War in 2011, it makes no sense no matter what.

During Novia's research over the years, she discovered that the Servants who participated in the Holy Grail Wars in various regions at that time were recorded to some extent. However, there was no record of who attacked Cape Canaveral, the aviation holy site. At that time, the Grim Reaper who appeared in the Americas included Mikkelsen and several death saints from the church.

However, precisely because almost all the Grim Reapers appeared in the 2011 Global Holy Grail War, Novia actually found it easier to lock onto her target.

The only Canaanite god of death, Mot, who has no existing records.

He was a formidable enemy of Baal, the king of gods in Canaanite mythology.

After being defeated by Mot, Baal shouted: Holy Mot, I will always be your slave, forever loyal to you.

However, Mott still managed to eat him whole, causing the sky to darken.

As the god of death in Canaanite mythology, he is described in Ugaritic texts as having seven gates to the underworld similar to those in Mesopotamia, and also similar to the concept of the underworld in Egyptian mythology. From the perspective of human history, this reflects the commonalities of ancient Near Eastern cultures.

In addition, after Baal's death, El decided to let Attar, the god of Venus, inherit Baal's throne. However, when Attar ascended Baal's throne on Mount Zafen, he found that he could not reach the heavens and tread the earth like Baal. So he gave up the throne and became the ruler of the earth.

The fact that Attar had seized control of the Baal kingdom is considered the origin of the famous myth of the Venus god falling from the sky.

Because Baal's father, El, is the 'Ancient One' in Canaanite mythology, which is also the title of Yahweh in the Old Testament...

Therefore, given Mote's strength, he could indeed completely suppress Eri's mother, Izanami, in Japan.

However, this was merely Novia's conjecture based on Anubis's statement, "Death has come to greet us."

……

At the same time, in Eri's room inside the Kuonji residence.

Eri walked in fuming and stood in front of the full-length mirror. She took a deep breath, patted her face twice, and then quickly changed into the Akihabara outfit prepared by Kuonji Yuzu: a black vest, a tight-fitting bodysuit with white and dark blue polka dots that revealed her belly, and a pair of super short tight pants with the same white and dark blue polka dots.

After changing, Erise stood confidently in front of the mirror with her hands on her hips.

"Heh, I knew the Demon King couldn't stop you, after all, you're His senior. But don't think I don't know you're here! Someone like you, who came here when I was six, probably won't let this opportunity pass by! I know that perfectly well, it's truly despicable!"

The girl looked angry, though it was unclear how much of it was genuine.

"Still not saying anything? Have you been rendered speechless? After all, peeping at someone changing clothes is a rather lewd thing, oh dear, how shameful."

Eri sighed smugly, "Well, I can understand you after all. Where else can someone like you, who's no different from an evil spirit, go besides me? You can't do anything without me, right? Oh dear, how pitiful. Without my pity, you'd probably be wandering the streets, disappearing while wailing my name. How pitiful, how truly pitiful."

Eri is now acting as if she is seeking revenge for her previous belief that she was fooled by the Demon King like a child.

"But even if an old man like you, Demon King, had the chance and the body, no one would want you, right? Who would want an old, burdensome person like you? Especially a nobody like you. It's impossible. Only I, Erise, could reluctantly take you, since you are indeed somewhat useful to me..."

Something's not right. Why is the Demon King being so patient today?

As Eri became increasingly engrossed in her conversation, a strange light flickered in her eyes. Normally, the Demon King should have already launched into a verbal attack the moment she uttered her first sentence...

Eri quickly placed her hand on her chest, but nothing changed. Still in disbelief, she held on tightly and even pounded on it a few seconds later.

Finally, Eri, her face flushed with anger, ran straight to the living room. When she arrived, she saw the alder tree still there and heard a familiar voice—"Why is it taking so long to change?"

"What's it to you!"

After shouting angrily, Eri crossed her arms and looked at the Demon King's direction with disdain. "And you're really a disgrace. You can't even beat a junior Demon King who claims his name. You're a useless guy. I think Karna probably admitted defeat on purpose!"

"..."

Novia hesitated, unsure whether to mention that Alder had just told him about Eri's inner turmoil...

Just now, Eri was mentally yelling at Alder: Who told you to actually stop him? If this guy is really that useless, couldn't you have at least given way? Don't you know any manners? Don't come out next time, you rude jerk! Go back to being with that bunch of evil spirits!

Logically speaking, Novia should be mocking Erise in a very sorrowful tone at this moment.

After all, this is more in line with how the two of them used to get along.

But judging from Eri's words just now, he felt a familiar emotion.

"I think this outfit suits you quite well."

"……Ah."

At first, Eri seemed not to have reacted yet, but when she did, she snorted coldly, "I didn't expect an old relic like you to have any taste. Actually, it's just so-so, but it's a treasure for an old thing like you."

"...Erise, when did you become so confident?"

Novia laughed and said, "Or is this your true nature after you left the management of the Thousand Years?"

Of course, Eri Se couldn't possibly say that she thought the Demon King was an even more amiable old man because of his great affability. She simply crossed her arms and replied nonchalantly, "Heh, you're calling me a thousand years old and you say you don't secretly communicate with me behind my back? I don't care. After all, where else can you go but my body?"

"you're right."

After saying that, Novia possessed Eri's body.