"Your Majesty?"
At this time, Erica's voice had already become somewhat uneasy.
She was truly worried that Kaiser would reject her.
However, Kaiser had already made his decision.
"I can accept your allegiance." Kaiser looked down from above at Erica, who was kneeling on one knee before him, and said, "But before that, you need to prove your capabilities."
"Please give your command, my king." Erica's spirit lifted, and she immediately said, "Erica Blandelli will do everything in her power to complete the trial set by my king."
"Good." Kaiser nodded and said, "If nothing unexpected happens, a divine artifact should appear soon here in Italy."
Upon hearing this, Erica was slightly taken aback.
"A divine artifact?"
Erica looked at Kaiser in astonishment.
"That's right." Kaiser said indifferently, "Don't ask me how I know. I have my own methods."
His method referred to the plot from the original story.
Kaiser had suddenly recalled that after the incident on Sardinia ended, not long after, a divine artifact would appear here in Italy.
In the original story, this divine artifact ultimately came into the hands of the main protagonist due to Erica's recommendation and was taken back to Japan, which resulted in a goddess—practically a main heroine—traveling across the sea to set foot on that island nation.
Thinking of this event, Kaiser naturally didn't want to miss it, and so he conveniently assigned the task to Erica.
"The task you need to do is simple—obtain that divine artifact and deliver it to me," Kaiser said. "A friendly reminder: this divine artifact will attract a powerful goddess. It is something she must obtain no matter what."
"By obtaining this divine artifact, you may very well become her target."
"Even so, are you still willing to take on this trial?"
Kaiser's words inevitably made Erica recall the events that took place in the underground temple beneath the Saint Bastian Ruins.
The pressure, the oppression, and the terrifying sense of dread she felt when facing the god-king Melqart resurfaced like a resurrection, slowly returning to her body.
Back then, Melqart didn't even acknowledge the existence of a mere human like her in his eyes, so he didn't deliberately target her.
But this time would be different.
If she accepted this trial, she could be targeted by a Heretic God at any moment, and might be personally sought out by that deity.
At that time, she would become the opponent's primary target, bound to have a direct confrontation.
She would have to face a Heretic God alone.
Realizing this, Erica couldn't help but waver.
But the moment that hesitation was born, this confident and proud girl immediately smothered it.
She was a prodigy of Milan's magical world, a person destined to one day stand at the pinnacle of humanity.
Someone of her status and strength—how could she possibly never come into contact with gods?
The descent of Heretic Gods was an inevitable catastrophe in this world, a natural disaster that humanity must face.
When facing this disaster called "God," if humanity did not resist, only death awaited them.
She didn't want to tremble in fear, unable to speak like last time, the next time she stood before a god.
She had to possess the courage to face a deity head-on.
Only then would she be a qualified knight.
"I accept this trial."
Erica, as if returning to her former self, revealed a confident and proud expression.
"Erica Blandelli hereby swears to complete the task entrusted to her by my king and deliver that divine artifact into his hands!"
This was not only the trial given to Erica by Kaiser—it was also the trial Erica had given herself.
If she couldn't even complete this trial, then all her grand ambitions would be shattered here, along with her inability to face gods.
Therefore, this test—she had to pass it.
This danger—she had to take it.
"Good." Seeing Erica accept the mission, Kaiser smiled and said, "I'll be waiting for you in Japan. I hope you'll bring me good news, Erica."
"Yes!" Erica nodded solemnly and said, "By the way, what exactly is the divine artifact that you desire, my king?"
Erica's question was met with Kaiser's calm response.
"It's called the Gorgoneion."
...
The next morning.
When Kaiser awoke from sleep and left his room, Erica had already departed ahead of him and returned to Milan.
Having received Kaiser's task, she didn't want to waste even a single moment—she wanted to return to her domain immediately, to use her influence to search for the Gorgoneion.
Doni had also vanished, seemingly dragged away early in the morning by Andrea Rivera, without even having the chance to greet Kaiser.
There were still some members of the Copper Black Cross left at the hotel, continuing to serve Kaiser, but he was already preparing to leave. So, after finishing breakfast, he departed the hotel and dismissed the people of the Copper Black Cross.
Today, the province of Oristano was lively, with people everywhere discussing the events of the previous day.
The Saint Bastian Ruins had been destroyed overnight, and all the people in Tharros had witnessed mysterious phenomena—these events would undoubtedly become hot topics, frequently mentioned by the people.
However, this topic probably wouldn't last long and would quickly vanish under the concealment of forces on the mystical side.
Moreover, with reconstruction taking place all across Sardinia and post-disaster recovery underway, these mysterious phenomena would likely fade from memory with time.
Kaiser brushed past one passerby after another. Only after leaving the province of Oristano did he unfurl his pure white wings of light, accompanied by a sonic boom and a sharp ripping sound, and flew eastward.
Compared to Doni and Erica, Kaiser's movements were undoubtedly more free. He didn't need to take a plane—he could leave Sardinia and Italy by himself and return to the far eastern island nation.
The distance between the two wasn't short—by plane it would take half a day—but Kaiser's Divine Dividing was far faster than a regular passenger jet, even surpassing supersonic aircraft. So a journey that would take others half a day could be completed by him in just one or two hours.
The key point was that the flight capability of the Divine Dividing was only its most basic function—like punching someone while wearing the Boosted Gear. It barely consumed any stamina, and as long as he didn't activate the Sacred Gear's abilities, there was no energy cost. Therefore, even if Kaiser flew for three days and nights, it would be no problem—let alone one or two hours.
If he activated his Balance Breaker, explosively unleashing the full power of the Divine Dividing, Kaiser's speed would be even greater.
But there was no need. Kaiser was neither in a hurry nor found one or two hours too dull to endure, so he maintained a steady flight speed with the Divine Dividing and returned to the east—back to the island nation in the far east.
By now, it was nearly night.
There was an eight-hour time difference between Japan and Italy. When Kaiser departed in the morning, it was already afternoon here. After one or two hours of flight, it was naturally close to nightfall, with the evening glow already painting the sky.
Kaiser, like a meteor trailing a streak of light, swept across the sky and finally arrived in the Kanto Region, landing near Shiba Park.
Then, he returned to the apartment where he had stayed before, and sitting in the small, empty room, a sudden thought crossed his mind.
"This place is no longer suitable for me to live in."
The reason he said this wasn't out of sentimentality or arrogance—it truly was unsuitable.
The space was too small, with neighbors on all sides. If he made any noise, the worst-case scenario would be the apartment getting blown up, but what truly worried him was the potential for others to be caught in the aftermath and suffer misfortune.
Even if Kaiser restrained himself and didn't cause any incidents inside the apartment, there was no guarantee that trouble wouldn't find him.
For example, if Erica really did obtain the Gorgoneion and brought it to him, then that goddess might come knocking at any time.
At that point, she wouldn't care about who lived nearby or whether this apartment might explode.
"I should move elsewhere."
Kaiser made the decision and left without any hesitation.
Now the question was…
"Where should I live?"
Continue staying at a hotel?
That wouldn't be impossible…
But more than a hotel, Kaiser wanted to go somewhere else.
...
At the Shichio Shrine, in a building not far from the front hall…
This was an administrative office built as a single-story house.
The design of the office was very simple—neither luxurious nor flashy—exuding a low-profile atmosphere throughout, making it hard to imagine that the person living here was a Hime-Miko with considerable status in Japan's magical society.
At this moment, Mariya Yuri was showering in the office's bathroom.
Water continuously poured from the showerhead, drenching the Hime-Miko's body beneath, causing water droplets to slide down her naked figure.
Her light brown long hair, soaked by the spray, clung to her slender and fair back, reaching just above her hips and tracing out an alluring silhouette.
To be fair, Mariya Yuri's figure wasn't especially voluptuous—at least compared to Erica's curvaceous body, it couldn't compare at all. However, her overly slim figure gave a sense of delicate beauty, displaying a non-human allure that could burn away the rationality of any man.
In fact, Mariya Yuri was indeed an exceptional beauty—this was also evident from her school.
She attended Private Jonan Academy, and ever since middle school, she had been recognized as the school's most beautiful girl. Her grades were always in the top five of her year, and she was acknowledged by all students as the most beautiful campus idol, to a degree that didn't even require comparisons to be accepted.
Such a great beauty, who was also a Hime-Miko, should logically be the unattainable flower atop the peak that every boy admired from afar.
Yet at this very moment, this flower atop the peak was troubled… all because of a man.