Chapter 335

So much so that later, when Aria led everyone on their journey to find Jack, her expression was quite bewildered.

Parvati, who witnessed all these reactions, could only sigh. Indeed, no matter how times change, emotional entanglements are always a major attraction. Fortunately, although this Novia gave me a feeling of being a 'father,' it's not really him. After all, if he were, the mother would have already shown up.

It shouldn't have come to this in that place called United States... Sigh, really, because of this Human Order Incineration, even my usually composed mother has become childish like a mother. Speaking of which, what was my mother's purpose again? She didn't even tell me... I hope Rama can still hold on.

After a while, the group, led by Aria, followed the direction with the strongest smell of alcohol and arrived at a small box.

"Okay, Jack is in here."

Aria first checked the lock on the box to make sure it wasn't damaged, then turned to the three of them. "Earlier, Kisshouin said that Jack was important and shouldn't come with us, so we left her here to rest. We originally planned to put her on the next floor, but there are keys everywhere there, so to avoid any Court Lady or Police Officers accidentally opening it, we put her on the Third Layer."

"Hmm? From what you're saying, Aria, does that mean you managed to get to the very bottom level?"

Parvati asked, puzzled.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, I'm sorry."

That's what she said, but Aria's face didn't change at all; she still had a faint smile.

"Because of the magical fog incident in London followed by this Ooku fusion, I bravely led them in, but unfortunately, I was betrayed by Kisshouin in the end, and my mind was twisted by Kama."

From Tamamo Aria's words, one gets the impression that she would have solved the Labyrinth smoothly if she hadn't been betrayed by Kisshouin.

However, Novia could probably guess that the person who brought Aria and Jack was Kisshouin. As for the final encounter with Kama, it was unsurprising that Kisshouin eventually realized she couldn't defeat Kama, so she had Aria die in her place.

Although Kisshouin and Kama are each other's third beasts, Novia has yet noticed Kisshouin's ascension, or perhaps it requires Fe (presumably a specific type of beast). As for Kama... isn't he on the path to ascension?

"If that's the case, then how did you, Tamamo, manage to break the Vow Against Sexual Misconduct and successfully reach the final level?"

Well, Ritsuka's question made Aria's smile freeze.

Because she didn't know.

After all, Aria had relied almost entirely on Kisshouin before, and she only learned about the Five Vows of Buddhism from Kisshouin from time to time. However, there were some things that Aria remembered very clearly, namely that Kichijou -Kisshouin seemed to have done all the other Five Vows except for the last one, 'abstaining from sexual misconduct,' as if they were nothing special.

He was more ruthless than a Demon King, wantonly killing the dolls, fooling the Court Lady and the Police Officers, and then making them kill each other. While drinking, he demanded that they kill each other, and then used a stolen key to viciously stab the dolls in the eyes, making them fight each other...

Aria didn't dare to think about what bloody and strange things Kisshouin, that black-haired girl, would do if she really wanted to break the 'absence from illicit sexual relations' rule. Would she just bite someone to death? That would be too terrifying. There was no record of this type of human in the books.

"Well, this kind of thing, well, how should I put it, for someone like me, it's a piece of cake, practically anyone can do it, and it's not something that can't be talked about. Basically, that's it..."

Aria chuckled awkwardly at first, then quickly opened the box, seemingly intending to avoid the question.

"We found you, Jack... Oh right, I forgot to tell you, Jack really wants to find her mother, so her verbal tic is something like 'mama.' Don't worry about it too much, it's nothing, she's just a little kid after all."

"... Hey, it's Aria."

The White-Haired Girl, who had gotten up from inside the box, kept rubbing her sleepy eyes. "Isn't Yuanyuan here?"

"That guy, Kisshouin, has already been dismembered and fed to her favorite Mermaid."

Aria's cold reply made it clear that she was genuinely unhappy with Kisshouin.

"Oh, is that so? That's such a pity. Jack thought that if I could give my heart to such a cute girl like Tamamo, she would be so happy. It seems I can only take your heart from you another time... Mom, Mom?"

"I've already told you your mother isn't here. Stop shouting nonsense. Your mother isn't here, and she's not among these people either."

"No, it's true!"

Jack, who was talking to Aria he hadn't seen in a long time, spotted Novia in his field of vision. His expression instantly turned into undisguised joy. He even sheathed the Dagger in his hands and jumped out of the box towards Novia, tilting his head slightly and burying his face in Novia's neck.

"Mother!"

Jack.

Chapter 378 Kuchikamizake.

"How could your mother be a man?!"

"Aria, what are you saying? A mother is a mother."

Aria stared at Jack was more excited than ever before, with an expression of 'incredulity' on her face.

How did the Mount I was supposed to collect suddenly become your mother? Besides that, the gender difference is completely unrelated! A male should be called "dad" or "father"!

Compared to Aria's excitement, Ritsuka and Parvati were quite calm.

For Parvati, since it's not unusual in Indian Mythology for a man to transform into a woman and give birth, she felt fine about it.

As for Ritsuka, after hearing Jack's words, she subconsciously thought, "I see," and nodded in agreement.

Perhaps she had grown accustomed to the female Servant who frequently surrounded Novia.

After all, starting from France, characters like the Dragon Witch suddenly shrank, Melusine, and Kiyohime all followed this pattern.

Then, having probably reached a conclusion in her mind, Ritsuka nodded vigorously and continued with a smile:

"So, which aspect of yourself, Consultant Novia, is it this time?"

In response to this question, Novia, still rubbing against Jack, answered in the same manner she used to deal with Romani and Da Vinci, first raising one hand, then 'honestly' saying:

"I have no idea."

Nevertheless, Ritsuka's slightly suspicious gaze remained fixed on Novia.

"Consultant... I have something I'd like to discuss with you privately, is that alright?"

"Hmm? Uh, this--"

Novia wanted to say "wait a minute" to stop Ritsuka, but Ritsuka, unusually, grabbed his arm with an unyielding attitude and stared straight at him.

Compared to her 'subconscious' action at the Shrine back then, this time Ritsuka seems to have made up her mind.

"OK."

Novia nodded in agreement and then put Jack down. During this process, Jack did not make a fuss and behaved very calmly, even smiling and waving.

This is normal. After all, regarding Jack, Class Assassin, she is essentially the embodiment of the resentment of the children who were abandoned and drowned in the river in London. Novia purified them all during the Fa Holy Grail War, which means she arranged for their reincarnation.

Although the population of the Fa world might not be able to keep up with so many births all at once, there are always Parallel World that are severely lacking in population. Gaia, from a world that had just finished defeating the Holy Grail that swept the entire world, took over the reincarnations of these children.

The current Jack simply doesn't possess the concept of 'resentment,' nor is she naive; it's just a subtle disguise. Furthermore, it could be said that her mother truly is Novia; she could have been reincarnated, but she ran away alone...

Not long after, the Human Order Incineration took place, so Jack ran to familiar London, intending to meet Novia in a legitimate way.

"... What are you trying to say?"

Could it be a declaration of love?

The little fox from Japan and the Goddess from India both tilt their heads, each expressing a different sentiment.

"Yes, Mom should love the children, which means she should love me. Everything else is just a matter of the heart."

Jack then joined the conversation, to which Parvati simply smiled, while Tamamo Aria spread her hands in a horrified expression, as if to say, "Could it be?"

"Wait a minute, Jack, what exactly do you mean by 'mom'?"

"Because I love my mom the most! I'd do anything for her. I wish I could sleep in a warm bed with her forever, because it's so comfortable."

For a moment, Parvati and Aria both felt inexplicably that although the silver-haired girl in front of them was from a foreign land, she had a strange Japan and India style.

I never expected that brat Jack would be the enemy... Is this some kind of innate talent?

Having grasped the current situation, Aria has realized that Jack and Ritsuka are both enemies trying to steal the Mount. What's even more frightening is that these two have a better emotional connection than she does—one is her 'daughter' and the other is her 'junior,' their priority level is far higher than hers... It seems that she has no choice but to use 'cheating' methods.

Therefore, in the next instant, Tamamo Aria huddled in a corner of the room, looking as if she had been devastated and withdrawn.

Actually, that wasn't the case. She wanted to use the Labyrinth's layout to her advantage. This was the Third Layer of the Labyrinth, where you couldn't get out without drinking alcohol. Therefore, Aria felt she had every reason to make Novia drink the wine she had made.

Kuchikamizake.

So-called "Kuchikamizake" typically involves women who have washed their bodies first chewing raw rice and brushing their teeth with salt. Then they carefully chew freshly cooked rice, spitting it into a container at an appropriate time. A little water is then added to the container, and the mixture is stirred with a mortar and pestle. Once the contents become viscous, it is poured into a jar to ferment...

This is rarely the case in modern times.

But for Aria, who had decided to use this opportunity to make Novia her Mount, she didn't care about such things anymore. She chose to materialize the strong smell of alcohol that filled the Labyrinth, put it in her mouth and process it to create Noble Phantasm- level Kuchikamizake.

Hmph, this is absolutely enough to make this guy's soul, Flesh, and spirit completely infatuated with me, and kneel down at my feet!

With this in mind, Aria secretly started making Kuchikamizake.

"What's wrong?"

On the other side, Novia, being Ritsuka into the room where they had previously entered, looked at Ritsuka with a puzzled expression, thinking to herself, "This expression is truly rare to see."

"Consultant, I guess you..."

"Uh, um."

Has Ritsuka already figured something out?

Novia couldn't help but think the same thing because Ritsuka's expression was so serious.

However, if it's really discovered, then there's no need to hide it anymore. It's just that Romani and Da Vinci, Gran might be in some trouble...

"Aren't you finding these girls a bit of a hassle?"

The question was far too direct, so it took Novia by surprise. He deliberately looked at Ritsuka with a blank expression for a while, then slumped his shoulders as if dejected.

"How should I put it..."

"I understand. There's nothing we can do about it. Although Consultant can control them, the reason they care is because you, as Demi-Servant Consultant, are possessed by a bunch of 'shadows.' To be precise, the objects are Consultant you, but those within your body. Yet you have no Consultant but to come into contact with them. That must be very uncomfortable for you."

Ritsuka grasped Novia's hand and gazed at him with straightforward, clear, and transparent eyes that had remained unchanged since they met.

And so it was announced.

"Whether you're Demi-Servant or not doesn't matter. I believe in you, Novia, you must be a very capable person. After all, you saved me at Chaldea, right? Whether you're Demi-Servant or not, Novia would still do the same thing, right?"

Although somewhat surprised by Ritsuka's Ritsuka when her hand was being held, Novia nodded ambiguously.

That's right, if that's what Ritsuka Sion thinks, it's pretty good.

"Whether I died in failure or survived in success, none of this would have started if you hadn't saved me, Novia. I wouldn't have been working towards my duty as Master until now. It's a miracle that I'm even here. So it's okay. If this Demi-Servant status makes you uncomfortable, you can always choose not to come with us to the Singularity."

"It's okay even if the Singularity raid fails?"

"I'll work hard, and so will Mash."

"He might die."

"Maybe you won't die. After all, no matter what the outcome, we can't stop here now. I hope Novia, you can just be yourself and not force yourself to interact with them."

Novia seemed to breathe a sigh of relief at this.

"I see."

"Yes, that's enough."

Is this really okay?

The reasoning is sound, but even so, Ritsuka Fujimaru should have been able to refuse.

"I'm Xiao Xiang's senior, so it's okay. After all, Novia, you're also Xiao Xiang's father, and Xiao Xiang and I are friends. I feel it's only right to protect your relationship with her mother from being compromised... Anyway, I'll try my best to help... I won't tell Xiao Xiang about these things."

That's really a heartwarming statement.

Novia chuckled to herself as she thought this. Logically speaking, this was normal talk for someone living in modern times. Magecraft, of course, wouldn't put himself in such a logical situation.

In fact, Ritsuka managed to suppress a sentence from her mouth. "If another female Servant comes looking for Novia, you can say I'm your girlfriend and act as a shield." This sentence was originally meant before she said, "I won't tell Xiao Xiang these things," but it was suppressed by the girl with extremely strong willpower.

After finishing their conversation, the two returned to their original room and, together with the three others inside, headed towards the deepest part of the Third Layer of the Labyrinth.

"I wasn't originally planning to show up."

With an unchanging expression, Kama spoke these words to the intruders from the deepest part of the Third Layer.

"The reason I'm here is simply to check on the guests' condition. That little fox actually woke up? The Goddess's abilities from the Japan are quite unique..."

On the other hand, she tilted her head in bewilderment, as if she were genuinely incredulous.

"But it's strange, the form doesn't fit, and the substance doesn't fit either, yet I still managed to get here. It's really odd. I didn't drink, I didn't enjoy the banquet, yet I still managed to get here. What should I do...?"

Immediately afterwards, a loud bang swept past Kama, a storm swept through the room, and arrows wrapped in death swept through the Od within the Labyrinth, rushing towards the five people.

But Parvati immediately released Od from her hand to envelop the arrow, and the resulting air vibrations echoed throughout the Labyrinth.

"Mother, stop! If Durga's mother finds out, she'll surely transform into Kali, and then things will be very difficult to handle..."

"Shut up. I'll teach Durga and Kali a lesson they won't forget sooner or later."

After saying this, Kama waved his hand downwards.

Then, in an instant, all the Od within the Labyrinth scattered, and even Parvati felt her own Od disappear.