Chapter 46

She did know that in the recent sub-Holy Grail War, Sajyo Aike was Novia's Master, but it was useless. But why would they use it now? Is it possible that Command Spells can reach the interior of the hot springs? Let me take a look...

Out of curiosity, and out of her own desire to not be the only one not soaking in the hot springs with Novia, she decided. The fifth extra-dimensional element, the ether line at the micron level connected to Shion's bracelet, invaded Aike's brain nerves from behind like a living thing, completely inserting its signal.

She began to examine the content that appeared in Aike's mind at that moment—

'This is... a labyrinth's hot spring? High altitude? So it's a third-person view? Do Command Spells also have a monitoring function...?'

Just as Shion was roughly figuring out her current situation, her gaze began to drift down towards the hot spring below.

"This is the first time I'm bathing with you, Melusine."

"I like it very much. This is also my precious first time."

A boy and a girl, or a human and a dragon, but the dragon's gaze seemed somewhat infatuated.

It was probably because Novia's body was reflected in the sight of both Shion and Aike.

"You have a great figure, yes, great... Let me see you more clearly, Novia."

The silver-haired girl's breath and voice escaped her lips, and then with a swish, she hugged Novia.

Thus, their skin, flushed red in the magic spring, pressed tightly together.

"Oh? After seventeen rounds, you failed in the end? I thought you would succeed, I was even looking forward to it a little."

In a place completely enveloped in blood red, the sky was a deep, rich crimson, as if covered by thick blood, not a single ray of sunlight could penetrate. The ground was covered in thick blood, forming patches of dark red swamps.

The Seven-Headed Dragon lay prostrate in the blood, a being that once existed but should no longer, yet it climbed back up from the unfathomable depths on its own.

From across the windless waves, a great city approached, the world king who possessed the right to blaspheme all things, the phenomenon governing affectation and decadence, another desire born in the center of the golden vortex.

"But it must have been the World's Will intervening. Did they summon a so-called Saint? In the end, both quality and quantity are only third-rate."

In this blood-colored world, one throne stood out particularly.

The throne was carved from dark red stone, with bright blood flowing over it as if seeping from within the stone.

Upon the throne, Nero, who had fallen into a beast, and the small figure now named Draco, flickered in and out of view. Her beast form was the same as when Novia first met her.

Her face was shrouded in a bloody shadow, with only a pair of crimson eyes gleaming with a dangerous light.

Although she supported Goetia's plan for Human Order Incineration, she had her own plans in private. For example, the solar magic array within Alcatraz Seventh Labyrinth was a move she had modified and deployed earlier, wanting to see if the Vampires who devoured numerous spirit cores could directly pull down humans without going through the Throne of Heroes.

Otherwise, how could a Vampire Species be capable of binding Servants to one place?

But unfortunately, it failed.

However, Draco didn't care whether it was the World's Will that interfered; in any case, she had failed.

After all, this experiment was just a whim for her, and it didn't even qualify for Draco to consider it a primary target.

"Teacher."

She called out to the irreplaceable existence for her.

"...Teacher."

I really want to see you, where exactly are you?

The Pope of the fallen Saintess would never say such a thing.

She knew that everything she had done should not have happened to her teacher, Novia, but—

"...I am already a sinful beast. You will always come to punish me, won't you."

She shifted her gaze away from the swaying sea of blood, curled up on the throne hugging her tail, and closed her eyes to reminisce about the past.

Then, as if in response, the beast's ears seemed to hear a distant and nostalgic voice from the past.

088: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

Generally speaking, being able to soak in a hot spring all night was highly unlikely.

But for the girl who transformed into the Strongest Dragon and Novia, who was powered by the 'Dragon Heart,' one night was still too short.

But this was the first time he had truly experienced such a thing, and to be honest, Novia felt a little shy, but he quickly got into the rhythm.

In any case, Novia, who was still energetic after a whole night, finally decided it was best to leave soon. There was no need to overdo it; there would be other opportunities.

"Alright, it's about time to finish. We've been soaking for so long."

Novia gave Melusine a gentle kiss on the corner of her mouth.

"Eheheh..." Melusine cautiously leaned close to Novia's ear and whispered, "It's only been one night, you know. With my Dragon Heart supporting you, three days and three nights wouldn't be a problem..."

The dragon girl's clear voice and the breath escaping her wet lips brushed past Novia's ear, creating a peculiar itch in his heart.

"Listen to me."

"Alright, I'll listen to you, Novia."

The silver-haired girl moved her fair, slender wrist away from Novia's chest and slowly began to put on her clothes. She slightly revealed the hem of her skirt and changed her wet white garter stockings.

"Oh, right. Novia, can you help me put them on? Please?"

Perhaps the girl was just playing a small joke in her own way, but she did stop changing her garter stockings and languidly lifted her leg, her toes dangling on Novia's chest.

Novia didn't say, "Do your own things yourself, do you think you're a child?" Instead, he followed the direction her toes pointed, narrowed his eyes, and then grabbed her foot, circling the sole of her foot.

"No- Novia, don't do that... it tickles me... I can't help it..."

"Then don't hold back."

In the end, he still postponed things a bit, and finally carried Melusine out of the hot spring where the two had stayed all night.

The magic that shielded the hot spring environment was removed. Perhaps because the hot spring had been enclosed for a long time without ventilation, a warm breeze immediately filled the third level of the entire labyrinth.

Just like Novia and Melusine, whose bodies were flushed red from soaking in the hot spring all night, Sajyo Aike and Shion also had slightly red skin. When they saw Novia and Melusine emerge, the two of them had trembled involuntarily as they lay on the ground. After taking a deep breath, they slowly got up.

The obvious, hazy look in her eyes, like she hadn't slept all night, appeared instantly towards Novia. She seemed to be looking him up and down meaningfully, as if she had something to say but hesitated.

Seeing this, Novia probably understood the reason. Was it possible that Melusine's magic for soundproofing wasn't very good?

He'd deal with it later when they returned to Romania. He wasn't too worried and had already thought about future developments.

He had brought Melusine out this time. In a while, he would go to the United States to participate in their Holy Grail War and summon Nero.

'Friendly reminder, the one-day time-limited travel is about to end.'

As soon as they stepped out of the labyrinth's entrance, they could see a dense green forest and a soft sunset.

But what followed was a system prompt appearing suddenly before Novia's eyes.

He stared blankly at the system text before him, as the 'travel' option was subtly flickering and refreshing.

Unlike before, this time the era for the travel option was not marked, only: ???

And with a final five-minute countdown, Novia pondered. A one-day limit meant it was probably triggered between defeating Wolfgang and letting that golden-haired Dead Apostle go. So, was it related to Dead Apostles and Vampires? Could it be… an era where the Age of Gods had not yet declined?

But as soon as this thought arose, he dismissed it. It seemed impossible, because this system had never displayed any timeline from the Age of Gods since he obtained it. Common timelines such as the Norse Age of Gods, the Greek Age of Gods, and the Japanese Age of Gods were all absent.

However, the absence of a marked era also cut off Novia's possibility of thoroughly researching historical data and grasping the overall situation in his hands before this travel.

In other words, for this travel, Novia could only rely on the history or legends and myths that his brain could remember.

But Novia didn't really need to take this risk. After all, the status he obtained in Rome and his actions were etched into the world, into the dream that the planet made all living beings have.

This was already enough for him to ignore the potential Human Order Incineration. Speaking of which, Goetia still owed Novia a life.

For all intents and purposes, Novia no longer needed to care about this unknown period of time. If he were to go, he should go to a time with known historical development and spend it leisurely. Anyway, all he needed to do was wait slowly.

However—

Novia had a premonition that something extremely related to him was behind it, as if it was something that started because of him.

This premonition was so strong that even when facing the possibility of the unknown, he had already made up his mind.

"Melusine, Aike, Shion, I have to sleep now. I'll trouble you all later."

The silver-haired youth looked into the eyes of the three and spoke. As his intention solidified, his vision suddenly went black, and his body, losing support, leaned onto Aike, who was the fastest to reach out.

In the pitch-black consciousness, after an unknown amount of time, a hoarse, seemingly exhausted voice slowly sounded in his ear.

"Elder, this child... to think there's an abandoned child in a place like this... this is the great desert..."

"This must be divine will. God is telling us that our interpretation of the murals is correct. If we continue in this direction, we will surely find traces of God."

"Then what about this child...?"

"We'll raise him. The Romans have also opened up trade now, so we can afford to raise a child."

The time has come, the ancient bells will ring again, and a new world will arrive.

Under the star-dreams unfulfilled by the common people, bells ring across the white land.

Purple orchids ignite hope and pause here, death is not life.

Black comes from the end, lingering again, darkness is also light.

—Interpretation of the murals passed down by the Huns, around 400 AD.

089: 418 AD, Western Roman Empire (Seeking votes)

418 AD.

The Holy Church, created by Pope Novia, had unified the faith as the state religion. After the reforms of Emperor Nero, it had completely grasped the entire country. This Roman Empire, which had continued to this day, had, after 300 AD, entered its current state. For a century, the increasingly fierce struggle between papal power and imperial power had led to its division into the Eastern and Western Roman Empires, which occurred 23 years ago.

To this day, the two ostensibly friendly Romes were still secretly competing with each other. Within the Western Roman Empire, which was dominated by papal power, the idea that heathens were not human was increasingly prevalent. In contrast, the Eastern Roman Empire, dominated by imperial power, adhered to the former concept of peaceful believers.

Based on this, the Holy Church headquarters in Rome, the capital of the Western Roman Empire, and the church coalition organization led by the Patriarch of Constantinople in the Eastern Roman Empire, had gradually developed a rift for this reason.

And at this very moment, Novia, who had arrived in this era, was fourteen years old. He was to be found in a room within a small courtyard specifically provided for 'hostages' in the royal palace of Milan, the capital of the Western Roman Empire, writing a letter.

This was an old room, empty except for his younger self. The walls were mottled and worn, with weeds and moss growing in the cracks between the walls.

Novia sat facing a dilapidated table, gazing at the yellowed paper. The pen in his hand had not moved for several minutes, in silent contemplation.

Looking out from the room, gray and white snowflakes gently fell from the sky, quickly accumulating and dominating the entire land.

Perhaps the cold weather stimulated his brain. After drinking the already cold water, he placed the cup where the raindrops had fallen earlier, making a crisp sound.

Then, he began to write:

My dearest King Lua, I have been in the great city of Milan with my master for three months now. Although my movements are restricted, she has received an excellent education in the Roman court, so please be at ease. I am slightly older and will naturally be responsible for her daily life, including managing her interactions with the Roman royalty.

On a side note, she attempted to run away a few times, but after I brought her back, she has been much more obedient.

Nowadays, she no longer dislikes the sound of her own name, unlike before, when she used to complain and want a cuter name.

Perhaps it's because the elders can no longer hear her protests, and no one continues to smile and say, "Here she goes again."

For these reasons, she has gradually become someone who can stand on her own.

In short, everything is well here. We haven't been treated differently for not being believers, and the treatment has been very good. Please rest assured about this.

The King Lua mentioned in the letter is a leader of the Huns, who reached a peace treaty with the Western Roman Empire this year. According to the treaty, both sides must send a noble member to the other as a hostage.

After sealing the letter, Novia stood up, intending to mail it.

In the time it took him to stand, the wind in the heavy snow battered the window, making it emit a violent sound, giving the impression that it would collapse at any moment.

Although it was a habitable house, living here long-term would likely be worse than a slightly better prison.

With an unspeakable feeling, Novia slowly walked towards the door.

As soon as the door opened—

"I don't want to stay here anymore. Everyone here is a complete scoundrel, nothing like the good people you described. I don't want to continue for another moment. I want to go back, let's go together, Avia."

At the doorway, a twelve-year-old white-haired girl with brown skin stared intently at him, her eyes the color of blood-red rubies.

And Avia was the name Novia received after being found by the Huns in this era.

"Attila—"