"Inviting me to your house?"
Mordred was slightly taken aback.
This little friend was someone she had met during the grand welcome ceremony held in the Academy City when she first arrived in Winterwood City.
Among hundreds of thousands of students, a few were selected as student representatives to welcome the visiting Servants from the Three Kingdoms.
But little friend Roya was not a student representative; she unexpectedly came to the Winterwood Grand Hotel to meet her.
Roya was only twelve, a quirky little elementary school student, wise beyond her years.
And Mordred, as an artificial human, had grown at a rate far exceeding that of ordinary people; she was only eight years old when she perished alongside her father in the battle at the Sword Bar.
Their actual ages were not far apart, and their personalities were quite similar, allowing them to hit it off immediately.
Mordred felt an inexplicable sisterly bond with her, which made her completely unconcerned about her friend's ordinary status, and they became nearly inseparable confidantes.
This feeling was truly wonderful.
For Mordred, who had been raised as a boy, identifying as a boy, and training hard to gain her father's approval, it was impossible to refuse.
With her little friend, there was always a sense of familiarity, as if they were destined sisters from a past life.
Perhaps this was a fateful encounter!
But ultimately, one was a powerful Servant, and the other was a weak ordinary person.
The vast difference in their identities made Mordred reluctant to impact her friend's life.
She curiously inquired, "Your... guardian, probably wouldn't welcome me over, would they?"
Her little friend had admired Servants since childhood, spending all her pocket money on figurines, posters, and other merchandise.
As a powerful Servant, if she were to visit her friend's house, she would surely be warmly welcomed.
But it seemed that her friend's guardian didn't like famous people.
That guy, named Souma, had a name that sounded similar to the heroic Emiya, yet his personality was entirely different.
He was a complete slacker, pursuing a laid-back life as an ordinary high school student.
The only thing they had in common was their excellent cooking skills.
"He will definitely welcome you!" Roya replied confidently, "He's just an ordinary otaku; if a Servant shows up, he would be so excited he wouldn't be able to speak. How could he not welcome you?"
Come on, this little friend was a genuine powerful Servant.
Countless people cried and begged to get close to Servants, seeking autographs and photos.
Now, she was directly bringing Mordred home; it would surely make him so excited he would cry tears of joy, wanting to reward her with a few more figurines or something.
As Roya thought about this, she suddenly remembered that the last time she went to the market to buy soy sauce, she had run into King Arthur out for a stroll and almost brought her home.
Unfortunately, King Arthur ultimately cared about her identity as a Servant and politely declined her invitation.
Now inviting her daughter, Mordred, could be seen as a way to repay her father's kindness—
No, it was a matter of filial piety.
Letting Mordred replace King Arthur to get close to an ordinary person.
Mordred hesitated for a moment but nodded, "Alright, you go to the hotel first, and then we'll go together."
It was just right; she was envious of her father becoming a Grand Servant.
Might as well leave the hotel and avoid seeing him.
But still, she was envious!
If I could become a Grand Servant, would I still be labeled as a "brat" or "incompetent prime minister"?
"No problem, I'm heading over now!" Roya said without hesitation, changing into her outing clothes and calling out, "I'm going out to play!"
"Oh, be careful on the way back early," Souma replied casually.
The security in China goes without saying, and with the protection of Qin Shi Huang, the King of the Recovered Anomalies, it was incredibly safe.
Previously, during the confrontation with the Star-Stream Vanguard, Qin Shi Huang's passionate speech had united and instilled confidence in China like never before.
What he needed to do now was simply gather the seven Grand Servants as teammates.
Among the seven Grand Servants, only the Grand Berserker had yet to be determined.
But Souma already had a suitable target in mind; it was just a matter of whether the other party would accept.
So, where was Athena?
Souma felt a bit puzzled.
The Primordial Father, Chaos, was one of the terrifying enemies to come.
He was strong enough to instill despair, far surpassing the Star-Stream Vanguard.
The gods of Olympus had forcibly transported to Earth using 97% of Chaos's resources.
Souma wanted to actively seek him out to discuss more information about the Primordial Father and strategize.
"Well, it seems I can only trouble Abby."
Souma looked at the door-shaped mark in his hand.
This was the contact method left by Abigail, which could summon her like a command spell.
As a representative of the evil god, she had been rejected by the world and could only descend in her Servant form.
Buzz~
The door-shaped mark gently vibrated, emitting a soft, cute voice—
"I am your key; where shall I open the door to today?"
Previously, discovering the awakening of the Star-Stream Vanguard and opening the door linking the inner world and the outer world were all Abigail's handiwork!
She could open doors to anywhere, directly transporting people through space.
"Abby, can you help me find the Goddess of Wisdom?" Souma asked, slightly embarrassed.
During the confrontation with the Star-Stream Vanguard, she had helped him so much, and he hadn't even treated her to a meal as a reward.
Abigail's voice carried a hint of hesitation: "The Goddess of Wisdom... um~"
"Uh, what's wrong?" Souma asked, somewhat confused.
Did something unexpected happen?
"Wait, just take a look for yourself."
Abigail exerted her power, opening the portal to the outer world.
Buzz~
A dazzling door appeared before Souma, and he casually stepped through.
A chaotic and disorderly world instantly came into view.
He had arrived at the rift between the two realms.
In this endless chaos.
In the distance, it seemed a chaotic and mysterious source was gathering, filled with a sea of information that could drive one to madness.
Souma's expression tightened as he instantly realized this was undoubtedly from Abigail's father god—
[Yog-Sothoth!]
This Outer God was genuinely at a transcendent level.
Known for possessing all knowledge and being exceedingly generous, he was said to grant any request.
This god, driven by insatiable desire, was clearly praying to him!
"Really... overestimating oneself!"
Souma sighed softly.
Let alone ordinary people, even gods cannot withstand the corruption and pollution of Outer Gods.
The evil god that appeared in "The Eternal Emperor" was precisely the result of the gods of the Dragon Kingdom being corrupted by Outer Gods.
Forcing Souma to sever the connection between gods and humans at all costs, cutting off their path to continue corrupting the human realm.
Now.
This truth-seeking [Goddess of Wisdom] was clearly being corrupted by the Outer God and was about to fall completely!
A pure and innocent virgin goddess, truly a wicked duo!
She was rolling her eyes, her entire body trembling violently, looking as if she was about to break.
Souma couldn't bear to watch.
As expected, that Outer God was far too generous—each time, it lavished endless knowledge upon you, far beyond what you could endure.
He stepped forward and pressed a finger to the other's forehead.
With his willpower surpassing even that of a god, he intended to forcibly pull them back to reality.
Just then—
Athena instinctively wrapped her arms around him, her eyes glistening with moisture as she pressed her body tightly against his, rubbing lightly.
"Uh…"
Souma felt slightly helpless.
The little girl beside them was watching—what if she got the wrong idea?
He gently pushed her away with both hands. "Are you alright?"
"I-I'm fine…"
Athena finally managed to break free from the strange sensations earlier, yet she still unconsciously clung to him.
Her mind was still dizzy from the overwhelming knowledge bestowed by the Outer God.
And this human—his body was like a furnace in the depths of winter, making her instinctively reluctant to let go.
They were so close that she could clearly feel his breath and heartbeat.
So warm…
"Mmm~"
Athena let out a low murmur before finally managing to pull away.
Yet suddenly, she felt an unprecedented emptiness, as if something vital was missing.
"It's good that you're fine. Even as the Goddess of Wisdom, you can't withstand the generosity of that Outer God," Souma warned calmly.
"I underestimated the power of that Outer God."