It was quite rare to have a beautiful girl throw herself into one's arms naked upon first meeting.
However, Su Mo wasn't particularly confused by the girl's enthusiasm. He recognized her identity immediately.
"Manaka Sajyou?"
"That's right, that's right! The so-called Root Princess, the princess who's been waiting for her Big Brother Su Mo, that's me!" Hearing Su Mo say her name, the blonde girl was overjoyed, her eyes curving into crescents. She introduced herself while hugging Su Mo tightly with her small body.
"I can't believe my darling said my name right away! This must be a fateful encounter!" Naturally, the girl named Manaka Sajyou's way of addressing Su Mo became extremely intimate within a few sentences. Not only did she revel in their contact, but she also added happily, "Of course, if Big Brother Su Mo wants me to take your surname, that's okay too! I can propose to my darling anytime and be with my darling forever!"
In just a few words, the princess-like girl, without a shred of modesty, proactively proposed to Su Mo. Even among the many women Su Mo knew, few were as forward as Manaka.
Su Aika... the name doesn't sound half bad. But that wasn't the issue at hand.
Su Mo looked down at the lively, exquisite, doll-like girl hugging him tightly, then at the cool, aloof girl kneeling before him like an obedient maid.
Sensing his gaze, Manaka flashed a big smile, her eyes full of love. Void Shiki's gaze was empty, but her posture was extremely submissive, as if she would do anything Su Mo told her.
"One is the world observing itself through a human perspective, and the other is a human observing herself through the world's Root..." Su Mo had a slight realization.
Although both Manaka and Void Shiki were connected to the Root, they were not the same type of existence. Void Shiki's essence was the Root, merely manifested in human form, so she was internally a blank slate that needed to be filled with external information. Manaka's essence was human, just overly connected to the Root, which gave her the ability to manipulate all magecraft, but she was still fundamentally a willful princess.
If the power of the Root or the world were to be compared to a god, Void Shiki would be the god descended as a human, while Manaka would be a human who could command divine power. Thus, their personalities were vastly different.
To answer Su Mo's question, the Root had provided these two answers.
"That's right, that's right! I'm not the same as that cold girl. Don't you think I'm cuter, Big Brother Su Mo?" Hearing Su Mo's words, Manaka smiled innocently, but her slender body began to rub against him in a way that was anything but. She didn't understand what Su Mo had said, but it didn't matter, as long as she was cute enough.
Faced with Manaka's competition, Void Shiki glanced at her, said nothing, and only spoke after a moment of thought. "If my lord wishes for a new change, perhaps you can try dominating me—dominating the Root."
"Actively inviting domination?" Su Mo was slightly surprised.
The Root itself had no will; only by being 'demoted' could it manifest one, and Void Shiki was the Root with a manifested will. For her to say this was like the Root itself actively asking to be dominated by him. This was very rare. Who would rush to become another's slave, another's property?
Faced with Su Mo's question, Void Shiki considered for a moment and answered, "The Root is the undefinable 'Void'. But if the Root establishes a connection with an existence outside itself, whether as ruler or ruled, it means the Root is no longer empty, but that an 'Other' exists."
Manaka was completely confused by Void Shiki's words; her more human mentality couldn't grasp such an ethereal perspective.
Su Mo, however, quickly understood her meaning. "In other words, you want to define your meaning as a possession by acknowledging me as your master..."
Just as the Root needed humanity to recognize itself, the Root, being all and nothing, could not be defined. Therefore, it needed a mirror, an 'Other' of at least equal standing, to confirm its own existence. As an existence in the realm of the multiverse, Su Mo was the most suitable candidate.
For the will-less Root, being master or servant didn't matter. What mattered was establishing a master-servant relationship, allowing it to observe itself through negation, and through the negation of negation, enter a path of spiral ascent.
Of course, a simpler way to put it was—latching onto a powerhouse.
"I agree."
Without any hesitation, after a brief thought, Su Mo accepted Void Shiki's proposal.
The next moment, an invisible throne of the void appeared behind Su Mo, and a scepter, granting authority over the world like a Holy Grail, appeared in his hand. Su Mo grasped the scepter and sat upon the throne of the void.
In that instant, an invisible wave permeated the entire Type-Moon universe, sweeping through all parallel worlds. Besides the two "daughters of the Root" before him, probably no one knew that in that moment, the entire Type-Moon universe had completely changed hands.
Su Mo had become the ruler who could dominate all parallel worlds of the Type-Moon universe, the master of the Swirl of the Root of all and nothing.
"Although I didn't hear what my darling was discussing... does this mean from now on, I should call you Father Emperor?"
Witnessing Su Mo's coronation, Manaka sat directly on his lap, facing him, her eyes sparkling as she looked at her Prince Charming. Since she was the Root Princess, Su Mo could now be called the Root Emperor. Their relationship had changed in an instant, but Manaka wasn't dissatisfied; on the contrary, she found it quite exciting.
"Call me what you like. More than that, I'm interested in the Root's current changes," Su Mo said casually. Although the knowledge within the Root wasn't very meaningful to him, the Root's own inclinations were valuable. Void Shiki's existence itself showed that the world had an instinct to recognize itself through humanity, and this instinct might offer a brand-new perspective.
Hearing Su Mo's unromantic words, Manaka pouted slightly. A few seconds later, she suddenly thought of something, reached out and pulled Void Shiki over, sat up a little straighter, wrapped her arms around Su Mo's neck, and whispered intimately in his ear.
"My dearest Father Emperor, if you want to explore the Root, to truly enter it... there's a much more direct way!"
"Please, feel free to use me and Sister Shiki to your heart's content!"
Only now was she willing to acknowledge their spiritual kinship.
And apparently, this tactic was quite effective.