"That's fine!"
Ereshkigal agreed immediately.
Though the three of them were one, they were still distinct individuals.
If it really came to that with him—
Ahem—her cheeks flushed faintly. Naturally, she'd use her own body!
Ishtar curled her lip. "Hmph, as if I'd want to!"
Her response could be considered a reluctant agreement.
Since the Age of Gods ended, deities found it incredibly difficult to descend into the human world.
Manifesting their true forms would incur the rejection of the entire world!
To be precise, the rejection of humanity's collective unconscious—Alaya!
Once the mental conference concluded.
Rin walked down the street, her expression dazed.
She hadn't forgotten—there were three other chairs beside hers.
So… just how many "hers" were there?
Did that mean in times of danger, she'd have to say—
"Please, other me inside my body!"
After breakfast.
Souma looked at the brat, then at the quiet chains coiled around his waist, realizing the situation was growing increasingly serious.
He pulled the brat into her bedroom.
After just a few days of neglect, the room was already a complete mess.
The walls were plastered with posters of King Arthur, Qin Shi Huang, and other Heroic Spirits.
The bookshelves were crammed with prize figures and collectibles.
And there were piles of merchandise everywhere.
Roya sat on the bed, swinging her white-stockinged legs casually. "Just so you know, I'm 14—careful, or it's the death penalty for you!"
"…Nonsense. Clean your room later—this is unbearable!"
Souma rolled his eyes.
He looked at the rows of Heroic Spirit figurines and casually asked, "Alaya keeps releasing those exposure videos. Which girl do you think would be suitable to take care of you?"
"Take care of me?"
Roya looked utterly baffled.
He'd mysteriously dragged her into the bedroom, making her think he wanted to do something that could literally be life-changing.
And this was it? This? THIS?
She eyed him suspiciously: "You're not trying to say which one would make a good mother for me, are you?"
"Ahem, you could say that."
Souma cleared his throat lightly.
The child was grown now—he needed to be more considerate of her feelings.
Especially since this was a genuine world-ending brat standing before him!
"Pfft, you're not actually looking for a wife, are you?" Roya gave him a look of utter disdain. "Don't tell me you seriously think any Heroic Spirit would be interested in you? Really? REALLY?"
He'd always treated her like a daughter.
The epitome of fatherly mode.
Even when she'd "accidentally" been undressed before, it hadn't stirred the slightest reaction from him.
Then again, maybe it was because she couldn't gather any "support"...
"Just chatting casually, think of it as a recluse's delusion," Souma replied with utter calm.
Believe it or not, if I revealed my identity and posted a marriage notice, all these people would be lining up to be your mom.
"Speaking of taking care of me..."
Roya thought carefully. "The Heroic Spirit I've interacted with the most is King Arthur. Far from the cold and distant rumors, she's actually very gentle."
"King Arthur?"
Souma recalled their encounters—teaching swordsmanship, pulling the sword from the stone, slaying the Tyrant King, the Battle of Camlann... So many things, now long past.
He couldn't help but wonder what expression that brat would make upon learning that the gluttonous freeloader she'd been hostile toward was actually Lily.
Her faith would absolutely shatter, right?
"Too bad King Arthur isn't good at taking care of people."
Roya continued, "Then there's the Dark Saintess. Ruthless and domineering to outsiders, but when we met, she seemed pretty nice too. Just... also not great at caregiving."
When King Arthur and the Dark Saintess had visited, the two top-tier Heroic Spirits had actually competed over who got to treat her like a daughter. It was easily the most glorious moment of her life.
Just mentioning it would drive countless people mad with envy, wishing they could trade places with her.
"Then there's the Academy Dean, Tamamo-no-Mae... but she's a fox spirit, so she's out of the question."
Roya glanced furtively out the window, afraid the woman might suddenly appear.
That was the Academy Dean, after all. If she overheard, Roya could forget about surviving in Fuyuki Magecraft Academy.
She was terrifying.
Originally, the academy had avoided hiring male staff precisely because of her fox spirit nature.
But it didn't matter in the end.
Half the female employees in the entire Academy had been "converted" by her, swearing they'd marry no one else!
What a waste of resources!
Countless single male teachers could only sigh in despair.
And in the end, even they became her devoted fans!
"Yeah, she's terrifying," Souma nodded.
That troublemaker was never an option.
Unless one day he chopped off all but one of her tails, reverting her to the wife-loving "Little Tamamo," then maybe—just maybe—he'd consider it.
Roya went on, "Come to think of it, Miyu's pretty good at taking care of people."
That little friend of hers was incredibly attentive.
Whenever they ate together, Miyu would share the best dishes with her like a doting mother, as if worried she wouldn't get enough.
She'd even help with outfits and styling, spending time carefully braiding Roya's golden hair into all sorts of pretty twin-tails.
"???"
Souma was baffled.
That's your best friend—are you seriously considering her as a mom candidate?
Still, his mind flashed to the daily life he'd shared with Miyu.
Despite being an adorable little girl, she was remarkably nurturing.
While cooking, she'd assist without being asked.
When he returned home, she'd greet him, take his things, and help him out of his coat.
She'd even stand on tiptoe to straighten his collar—like the most devoted wife imaginable.
Too bad she was too young. More like a little sister...
"Ugh, you're actually considering Miyu? You creep!" Roya scowled in disgust.
"Of course not! I'm not into lolis!"
Souma vehemently denied it.
This was about his dignity—he wouldn't tolerate such slander.
Roya scoffed. "Hmph, when I brought Miyu and Illya home, you were happier than anyone. Admit it, you are!"
"...Let's not talk about this. Anyone else?"
Souma didn't hesitate to change the subject.
This girl loved nothing more than to turn him into a loli-con and would pester him endlessly.
"As for the others, let me think."
Roya took out her phone and browsed through a website, growing increasingly frustrated.
If he wasn't into lolis, that meant she had no chance at all.
Damn it, why can't I grow up?
She glanced at the list of Servants on the website: "Ereshkigal is too tsundere—she'd never take care of anyone properly. Ishtar is too much of a troublemaker and unreliable—who knows what kind of mess she'd cause?"
"Jaguar Man is just like Fuji-nee. And Fuji-nee is practically being turned into a useless NEET by you!"
"Morgan is a full-blown yandere—way too terrifying."
...
She went on listing female Servants one after another, finding fault with every single one.
This left Souma utterly speechless.
Weren't you obsessed with Servants? Why are you suddenly so picky when it comes to actually being with one?
Could it be that your Clairvoyance has awakened, making you realize they'd all gang up on you?
Souma was deeply suspicious and debated whether he should tie her up with a few more ropes.
Luckily, Enkidu was around too.
He could ask for help reinforcing the bindings—tying her up would be much easier this time.
Roya tapped on an image: "The best one to take care of people is obviously Tiamat!"
"Uh..."
Souma stared at the image of Tiamat, tears streaming down her face as she reached out to stop him from leaving, lost in thought.
Could it be that Beasts were drawn to each other?
"She absolutely adores humans, is so gentle it's intoxicating—she's literally the perfect mom choice!" Roya declared matter-of-factly.
In fact, within just one day of Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia airing, Tiamat's fanbase had skyrocketed like a rocket.
It couldn't be helped. Here was an invincible, transcendent Beast who ruled above all life, yet was so gentle she couldn't even bring herself to strike back at the humans who betrayed her.
In the end, she gave all her power to Nameless, allowing him to use it to restore the world.
She herself abandoned all resistance, letting the King of Heroes banish her to the Imaginary Number Space with Ea.
Who wouldn't love a Tiamat like that?
"But she's a Beast!" Souma reminded her.
To put it simply, Tiamat's descent into the world would be a disaster for human history.
Or rather, she created the world of Sumer, only to be betrayed by humanity—something that shouldn't have happened.
When she descended, her [Self-Sealing] was meant to minimize the harm she caused to humanity!
"If the villain is hot enough, morals go out the window. For a deadbeat otaku like you, a Beast would just make you even more motivated, right?" Roya shot him a sidelong glance.
They'd preach about justice and saving the world, but when otaku saw beautiful villainesses, they got way more excited than when they saw kind-hearted girls.
Like Makima, Echidna, Kurumi, and so on.
And a gentle, motherly Tiamat? That was a surefire way to win hearts.
"That does make sense."
Souma nodded.
There really was no way to argue against that.
However, Tiamat could never descend into the human world.
Her mere arrival would bring indelible disaster upon humanity!
If she truly descended, it would undoubtedly plunge all the heroic spirits of the world into utter terror.
Add the apocalyptic brat before him into the mix...
Well, he might as well slit his own throat and report to Alaya to continue working.
"You should just wash up and go to bed. You can dream about whatever you want!"
Roya reached out and patted his head. "Even if the heroic spirits misjudged things, they wouldn't come knocking on our door!"
Or rather, even if the heroic spirits did come, they'd have to get through her first!
Roya didn't want the pig she accompanied every day to be lured away by some flying cabbage.
That would be a real loss!
"Alright, let's leave it at that."
Souma chose to give up.
The brat clearly still wanted to treat the heroic spirits as idols rather than family.
That was troublesome.
Ding dong~
Just then, Roya saw a notification pop up on her phone—
[The UP you follow has updated early! Come watch now!]
After seeing the title, Roya exclaimed in delight, "Wow, speak of the devil! Did Alaya eavesdrop on our conversation?"
She turned her phone around to show Souma the title—
[Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia Side Story—The Primordial Mother Goddess!]
***
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